A Bourbon woman was sentenced in Marshall County Superior Court 1 on Thursday on a charge of Manufacturing Methamphetamine.

Amy Dawn Banks, 37 pleaded guilty to the charge in a plea agreement with the state. Judge Robert O. Bowen sentenced Banks to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended.

Banks admitted that she was manufacturing methamphetamine in a home she shared with others on Main Street in Bourbon. An Indiana State Police officer arrived at the residence with a search warrant and found an active methamphetamine lab in the home, plus a loaded handgun, meth, drug paraphernalia and precursors.

One adult and one juvenile were taken into custody after Pulaski County police allegedly found drugs in a car after a traffic stop Friday morning.

A Pulaski County deputy was patrolling on U.S. 421 when he saw a vehicle operating without a working passenger side headlight or a license plate light. The officer pulled over the vehicle just south of Medaryville and found a 17-year-old male operating the vehicle. As the driver was attempting to locate the requested license and registration, the officer reportedly saw a marijuana cigarette in the vehicle.

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It was a Day of Community Service for employees from IU Health Starke Hospital Friday at Wythogan Park in Knox.

Approximately 50 volunteers from the hospital took four hours to install exercise equipment at the park as a way to help residents get moving and improve wellness.

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The Eastern Pulaski School Board members did agree to apply for two routine grants.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that the corporation will be applying for Title One and Higher Ability federal grants.

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Knox Mayor Rick Chambers has gotten several complaints from residents about the early annoyance of mosquitoes.

This wet, warm spring has allowed the mosquito population to get busy early and the Knox Street Department will be spraying for mosquitoes at 6 a.m. today.

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John Glenn School Corporation officials recognized Lisa Rizek, a special education teacher at Walkerton Elementary School, as the “Teacher of the Year” this week. Other teachers considered for the distinction included John Glenn teacher Julie Parent; Damon Groves, an instructor at Urey Middle School; and North Liberty Elementary teacher Sandra Anderson.

Superintendent Richard Reese presented the audience with a letter which he read aloud, written by a parent of an autistic child who wished to thank Rizek for helping the child show outstanding improvement throughout the course of the school year.

Rizek will now vie for the distinction of the state “Teacher of the Year” award, an award that had previously been given to the late Bob Mulligan, at art teacher at the corporation who won the award in the 1970s.

McDonald’s restaurants in eight Indiana counties and two counties in Michigan will be offering a free Extra Value Meal to active-duty and former military personnel today in honor of Armed Forces Day. The free meal will be offered from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. to any man or woman who is currently serving or has served in any branch of the military.

To receive a meal, the service member must be in uniform or present a military ID. A representative with McDonald’s stated that this is just a small way for McDonald’s to say “thank you” to the men and women who serve our country.

The offer is valid at participating McDonald’s restaurants in Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Pulaski, Starke, and St. Joseph counties in Indiana, as well as Cass and Berrien counties in Michigan.

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health is encouraging horse owners to update their animals’ vaccinations now that warm weather has arrived in order to ensure the best protection against disease-carrying mosquitoes. Vaccinations against diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile virus are available to protect horses, mules and donkeys with annual booster shots to maintain protection.

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A fiery Friday afternoon crash on U.S. 35 in front of Stelrema closed the highway and sent one person to IU Health Starke Hospital to be checked out. It happened around 3:15 this afternoon. Jennifer Bye, 40, of LaPorte, was southbound on 35 in a Chevrolet TrailBlazer and slowed for a farm implement crossing CR 250 N. William Trent, 36, of Hamlet, was behind Bye in a Buick and was unable to avoid rear-ending her, spinning her SUV into a ditch on the east side of the highway. Trent’s car burst into flames. Neither driver was injured. A juvenile passenger in Bye’s car was taken by ambulance to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the blaze. The heat was so intense a portion of the pavement beneath the car melted.

 

 

Michael Scott Weaver was sentenced to 12 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections in a hearing in Marshall County Superior Court 1 Thursday. He pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine.

Judge Robert O. Bowen handed down the maximum sentence outlined in the plea agreement.

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A former employee at a Fulton County business surrendered to officers at the Miami County Jail after a warrant was issued for her arrest.  An Indiana State Police investigation revealed she stole more than $70,000 from the company for her personal use.

Indiana State Police Detective Josh Rozzi initiated an investigation after the owner of R&W Concrete LLC and R&W Excavating in Macy noted that an IRS audit and an internal audit found that several business checks were written for personal expenditures.

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The North Judson Board of Zoning Appeals this week considered a request for a zoning variance from a town resident who is interested in running an internet gun sale service from his home, currently classified as a single-family residential dwelling. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that resident Jason LaMantia Sr. requested the variance to a commercial zoning to allow him to run the business, but a number of concerned residents spoke up against the request at the board meeting.

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An Illinois man was sentenced in Marshall County Superior Court 1 to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Jerome Williams, 39 of Dixmoor, Ill., pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of Dealing Cocaine. Judge Robert O. Bowen ordered him to serve 10 years on that count and suspended no part of the sentence.

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Preliminary work is underway to develop an industrial park between Medaryville and Francesville in Pulaski County in order to take advantage of the area’s rail access. Economic Development Director Nathan P. Origer says the goal as stated in the 2010 “Pulaski County: Mapping a Path Forward” report is to draw agriculture and technology businesses to the area.

“Ultimately it’ll be an industrial park, but one that we hope will attract tenants, primarily in some way related to agriculture or otherwise complementary to existing business in the county, the county’s major sectors,” said Origer.

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