Week in Review for April 11th-14th, 2011

John Brooke

Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:

A Starke County jury found John Brooke guilty of six of the seven counts against him: Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful Use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal. The jury found him not guilty of the count of Possession of a Destructive Device. Sentencing is scheduled for May 12th at 10:00 a.m. in Starke Circuit Court.

Knox residents were without power Monday morning after a storm blew through the area overnight. At one time 795 residents were without power in Knox. Power outages were also reported in Pulaski County and in Culver Monday morning.

Col. Mark Reeves
Col. Mark Reeves with the Indiana Civil Air Patrol

The Indiana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol conducted a search and rescue exercise last weekend at the Starke County airport. The Civil Air Patrol is an official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

Sam Frain was selected as the Chairman of the Second District Republican Congressional Committee at a recent caucus.

April is Autism Awareness Month. Signs of the disease usually show up in a child between the ages of two and three, although some children regress into the disease as they get a little older.

Indiana’s redistricting maps were revealed this week. If the proposed maps are approved, State Representative Nancy Dembowski would be in the 20th District, paired with Representative Tom Dermody. State Senator Ed Charbonneau would lose all of Marshall County and the top half of Starke County and the Congressional map takes Democrat-leaning LaPorte County out of the 2nd District. The map is likely to be passed out of the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

Emergency dispatchers were recognized this week as part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The dispatchers are the first people you speak to when you call a law enforcement agency to report an emergency.

The Starke County Commissioners and the members from the County Council met in a work session Monday night with representatives from RQAW and H.J. Umbaugh and Associates to consider county projects and funding mechanisms for those projects.

Chris Dalton has been selected as Starke County’s new Sanitarian. He replaces David Singleton who recently retired from that position. Dalton, who has been busy working with the Building Inspector this week, was selected from 20 applicants to fill the vacancy.

The North Judson Police Department investigated vandalism and damage to property at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum last week. Four juveniles have confessed to the police that they were involved in the incident. Charges and restitution are pending with the Starke County Probation Department.

The City of Knox has stopped treating the waste water from the MPI plant in Knox as it prohibits the UV lights at the Wastewater Treatment Facility from killing the bacteria presented in the waste.

Knox City Council final #3

The Knox City Council agreed to purchase Dean Wells’ property located across from Knox City Hall. The Council will put $28,250 down with payments of $25,000 a year until the end of the contract.

Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman and the Teacher’s Association President, Kyle Johnson, agreed on a memorandum of understanding where the Superintendent doesn’t have to follow the strict guidelines in the contract in letting teachers know that they’re going to be without a job due to budgetary constraints. The deadline is now June.

And that is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week.