Senator Decries Legislature’s “Education Session”

Senator Jim Arnold
Senator Jim Arnold

A local lawmaker says the recently completed session of the Indiana General Assembly was the most trying and most contentious of his nine-year legislative career. Gov. Mike Pence touted it as the education session. Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, agrees this year’s 2.2 percent increase in school funding and next year’s 2.5 percent hike are the largest increases in education funding in history.

“It sounds very good. The downside of that is that the vast majority of our increased money now is going to vouchers and going to charter schools, not going to public school systems,” Arnold recently told the Starke County Council and Commissioners. “The big winners of this are going to be the urban schools. The rural schools such as Knox are going to be the big losers.” Continue reading

Indiana State Police Post Adds K-9

Indiana State Police Master Trooper Steve Caylor and his K-9 partner, Nikan
Indiana State Police Master Trooper Steve Caylor and his K-9 partner, Nikan

The newest addition to the Indiana State Police Lowell post has four legs and a tail. Master Trooper Steve Caylor and his K-9 partner, Nikan, are graduates of the 2015 ISP K-9 Class. Caylor has been with the department for almost 20 years. Nikan is an 18 month old Malinherd, which is a cross between a Belgian Malinois and a German Shepherd. Continue reading

Kids Closet Receives a Plethora of Supplies for Upcoming Back-to-School Event

pack a backpackKids Closet Ministry annually provides school supplies to underprivileged children in Starke County with their Pack-a-Backpack event. Community members get the chance to contribute during their school supply drives. This year while Kids Closet was posted outside the Dollar General stores in North Judson and Knox they received an ample amount of supplies from weekend shoppers. However it was the donations from two other local foundations that helped provide the new backpacks for all the donated supplies. Continue reading

Knox Sewer System Requires Expensive Upgrades

City_of_Knox_LogoThe City of Knox wastewater treatment system needs some costly upgrades to address aging infrastructure. Superintendent Kelly Clemons told the board of works this week a sewer main that broke near the White House Motel a few weeks ago is 80 years old. Crews patched it together, but that’s not considered a long-term fix. Continue reading

Historical Marker Commemorates Knox Drugstore Site

Koffel buildingA historical marker now stands on the site of one of downtown Knox’s first commercial structures. The Koffel Building at the corner of Main and Lake Streets was completed in 1891, a year before the city’s streets were paved with brick, four years before municipal electrical service was offered and 17 years before city water was available. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver says drug stores were a vital part of a booming business district.

“Always in the drugstore the fountain was a big thing. From the very beginning there were tables where it was appropriate for the ladies to come in to have coffee, tea or a soft drink or whatever from the fountain. That became quite a social center in the day.” Continue reading