Winamac Town Board Approves Several Ordinances

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac Town Hall

The Winamac Town Board approved several ordinances during their meeting last week, including an ordinance establishing the regulation of the opening of the fire hydrants owned by the Winamac Municipal Waterworks Utility.

The Town Board also approved ordinances that establish the salaries and wages for the position of town mechanic, Town Manager, clerical personnel for the Town of Winamac, the seasonal position of Park Manager Assistant, the Winamac Police Department and the crossing guard.

One board member opposed the salary ordinances stating that the federal government gave a 1.7 percent standard of living increase and did not agree with the $.50 raise. The ordinances did pass with four out of the five members approving the vote.

Winamac Police Receive Best in State Award

Posted on Author WKVI

The Winamac Police Department has been commended on their efforts in Operation Pull-Over.

Officer Mike Hoffman told the Winamac Town Board this week that the Winamac Police Department received the Best in State Police Department award and was given a $2,500 equipment grant. The department will be using that money to purchase a computer for a police car. A plaque was displayed to the board.

Rick Dilts, the town park manager, told the town board this week that the park is now closed for the season. More than 100 tables have been placed in storage, the bleachers are now stored and the restrooms have been closed. The volleyball and basketball courts will be winterized this week and a tractor will be set up for the snow season.

Safe Routes to School, Winamac Receive $250,000 Grant

Posted on Author WKVI

Dave Bennett and John Bawcum from the Safe Routes to School organization told the Winamac Town Board this week that Safe Routes and the town received a $250,000 grant.

The money will be used to pave the pathway to the depot in Winamac, possibly to State Road 14 West. Bennett shared that he has been in contact with a company to do the paving. An environmental study will also need to be done.

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WKVI Saturday Sportsline Live Show on the Road!

Posted on Author WKVI
Coaches gather to talk about their seasons

WKVI Sportscasters Harold Welter and Nathan Welter took the Saturday Sportsline Live show to Kosta’s Restaurant in Winamac on Nov. 10.  Several area coaches were on hand to discuss the upcoming basketball season and a wrap up of the football season.  The crew were fed by Gus and the gang at Kosta’s!  Who knows where they’ll be next…. Continue reading →

Winamac Man Arrested For Threatening People With a Gun

Posted on Author WKVI
Kit Matthes

A Winamac man was arrested Thursday after allegedly threatening the lives of two people with a gun.

Pulaski County police were called to Kit Matthes’ residence after a 911 hang-up/open line phone call was made to the dispatch center. Police arrived at 2979 North County Road 800 West and found Matthes, who said two people were in the house with him. Officers noted that Matthes was acting like he was intoxicated on a controlled substance.

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Winamac High School Weatherbug System to Be Repaired, Upgraded

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Besides the technology upgrades in the classroom at Eastern Pulaski schools, Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said they are also working on upgrading a lesser-known device: the Weatherbug system atop the school. Klitzman said the weather station had been damaged by this summer’s strong, damaging winds, and the corporation’s insurance company will be funding its repairs.

“The nice thing about this weather station is it’s on top of our high school, so in terms of the readings for temperature, wind direction, wind speed, humidity, all that is right here in Winamac and right now it’s not working. The camera is not working, so we need to repair that,” said Klitzman.

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Winamac Felon Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm

Posted on Author WKVI

A Winamac man has pleaded guilty to federal charges in U.S District Court.

Forty-nine-year-old Paul Minix was arrested on July 25 and taken to the Pulaski County Jail on an active ATF warrant. As a result of an investigation by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Division, a grand jury indicted Minix on two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He allegedly committed the offense on Feb. 21.

Last week, Minix pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to the felony offense of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 10, 2013 in U.S. District Court in South Bend.

Winamac High School Raises Over $2000 For Peyton Manning Children Hospital

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac Community High School

Monday was an emotional day at Winamac High School as the entire student body saw the impact their support had on those they sought to help. Karen Butler, the student council advisor, sophomore sponsor, and sophomore English teacher at the high school, organized a penny war fundraiser between the high school classes with the help of the 36-member student council. The goal of the fundraiser was to raise as much money as possible toward the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent in honor of second-grader Aiden Spoor, the grandson of a teacher at Winamac High School.

Aiden was diagnosed last year with leukemia, and shortly thereafter, he began seeking treatment through the hospital. Earlier this year, Aiden’s grandmother Mary Plummer – a teacher at the high school – asked Butler if she would be interested in holding a fundraiser to raise some money toward the programs helping Aiden, and Butler agreed. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 5, five-gallon water jugs were put in each grade sponsor’s room, and students competed to raise the most money in pennies to score points, or the students could go on the offensive and drop silver change in their opponent’s jugs to reduce their points.

Within five days, the combined student body raised $2439.08 in change – a shocking amount, Butler said.

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Two Winamac Men Arrested After Threatening Police

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Winamac residents were arrested after resisting law enforcement and threatening the police on Sunday.

Pulaski County police received a noise complaint at 310 North and 300 West and, when they arrived at the location, several people fled the area. One officer was approached by a man later identified as Mitchel Shidler and began talking to him about what was going on at that location. As the conversation went on, the officer noted in his report that Shidler became a little more agitated. It got to the point where he was reportedly combative and was tased by the officer to get him to comply to the command of putting his hands behind his back. He was taken into custody.

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Eastern Pulaski School Board Discusses Harmony Program

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Winamac High School Principal Rick DeFries discussed the Harmony program with the Eastern Pulaski School Board. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman commented that it’s a great way for parents to keep track of how their child is doing in school.

“Harmony has a lot of information for parents,” said Klitzman. “If they can get on the internet, they can actually get into a teacher’s grade book and see their child’s scores, grades, absences and discipline. Harmony is a great feature. Parents can get in there and keep track, on a daily basis, of what their children may be doing.”

Kiwanis Club’s Farmers’ Market Returns to Winamac

Posted on Author WKVI

In celebration of the return of the Winamac Kiwanis Club’s Farmers’ Market Festival, the club is inviting every member of the community to downtown Winamac on Saturday, Sept. 8. Glenn Wilson of the Kiwanis Club says this year’s festival will be packed with live entertainment, food vendors, craft booths, and of course, the popular pancake breakfast – on top of a couple new features.

“We’re adding a couple extra features to the festival this year that we’ve never had in the past. We’re going to have live entertainment as well as a 5K run, which we’re calling the Harvest Hustle, and a three-on-three tournament for middle school-age students – that’s sixth through eighth grade. Students from all area schools are welcome,” Wilson said.

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Intoxicated Winamac Man Arrested Following Accident

Posted on Author WKVI

A Winamac man was arrested after a late Friday night accident that injured two people.

A call had been placed into the Starke County Dispatch Center of a man speeding and driving off the side of the road. A short time later, Starke County emergency personnel were called to a two-vehicle accident at County Road 450 South and County Road 210 near Bass Lake. The driver of the vehicle that reportedly caused the accident, Gregory Moore, was extricated from his vehicle and taken to IU Health Starke Hospital. A blood draw was performed which showed that Moore was intoxicated at the time of the crash with a BAC of 0.25, which is more than three times the legal limit.

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Winamac Community Parkway Project Moving Along

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac 3rd grade students on a visit to the Panhandle Pathway. Photo by Tom Anspach

The Winamac Community Parkway Project is underway, and Dave Bennett is hopeful they’ll have the way paved to the depot by summer.

In an effort to build on the success of the Panhandle Pathway and provide access to the trail system for residents of Winamac, the Winamac Community Parkway Project consists of the development of a 1.05-mile stone trail, 12 feet wide within town limits, and a 1.6-mile, 10-foot wide stone trail outside of town limits.

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Winamac Kiwanis Club Farmers Market Festival Announced

Posted on Author WKVI

In celebration of the return of the Winamac Kiwanis Club’s Farmers’ Market Festival, the club is inviting every member of the community to downtown Winamac on Saturday, Sept. 8. Jon Frain of the Kiwanis Club says this year’s festival will be packed with live entertainment, food vendors, craft booths, a 5k run, a three-on-three basketball tournament, and the popular pancake breakfast.

The Kiwanis Club encourages families to visit downtown Winamac for a family-friendly day of food, fun, and good shopping. This year’s festival will kick off with the annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at 7 a.m. in the Goble-Heal parking lot.

The club is also seeking vendors and local groups to participate in making this year a success. To fill out a vendor registration form, visit www.winamackiwanis.com.

More information will be announced on the event as it approaches.

Winamac Clerk-Treasurer’s Office Playing Billing Catch-Up

Posted on Author WKVI

The Winamac Clerk-Treasurer’s Office, at the recommendation of the State Board of Accounts, is attempting to catch up with billing for water and sewer services.

The town had been billing two months behind and found that the method is not cost-effective. If a resident moved out of town or shut off services, the billing cycle would not allow the proper revenue coming into the department in order to distribute deposits.

Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Parish-Berger said that there will be two bills this month. The first bill was due Aug. 5 and the next bill will be due Aug. 30. After that, bills will be due Sept. 25, Oct. 21, and by the time the bill goes out in November, it should be on the right billing cycle. The November bill should reflect October usage.

District 2 Task Force Gets Some Exercise In Winamac

Posted on Author WKVI
A District 2 Task Force exercise was held in the Winamac Town Park.

The District 2 Task Force wrapped up operations yesterday in the Winamac Town Park. Sherry Fagner, District 2 Service and Support Element Leader, explains what the exercise entailed.

“What we’ve done the last two days is set up our equipment, our base camp, and completed a field operation exercise,” said Fagner. “We’ve had a lot of people in from the state and the other task forces to check out what we have. A lot of the other task forces are in the learning stage of forming their service and support groups so they came in to see what we have. We’re doing some best practices from their groups as well as with ours.”

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Winamac Mural Unveiling Held Last Weekend

Posted on Author WKVI
Indiana artist Zach Medler and Don and Lynn Darda collaborated with community members to develop this mural.

The unveiling of a unique mural in Winamac depicting several activities relevant to Pulaski County was held Saturday.

Zach Medler, an Indiana artist, and Don and Lynn Darda collaborated with students and Pulaski County residents to develop the images that were used in the mural.

This is the eighth mural in the Tippecanoe Arts Federation’s Mural Art Initiative program. This project was possible thanks to a grant from the Pulaski County Community Foundation.

The Mural Art Initiative is a collaborative educational outreach program that serves at-risk youth areas. There are three main objectives to this program: to visually enhance the community, promote the understanding of the benefits of the arts and provide a lasting impact of those who participate in the development of the murals.

Winamac Power from the Past Continues Today

Posted on Author WKVI

The Winamac Power from the Past show continues today in the Winamac Town Park.

On display are Ford and Fordson Tractors, machinery, and tools. Starting at 10 a.m. today and tomorrow, visitors can enjoy viewing antiques and collectibles, a quilt show, flea market, antique motorcycles, shingle mill, tractor games, wheat weaving and crosscut saw contests.

“Over Due” will perform tonight at 8 p.m. and there will be a spark show after the horse pull in the steam engine area.

More great features are set for tomorrow. Admission is $3.