Myrtle Beem Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Myrtle Beem

Myrtle Beem was recently sentenced in Starke Circuit Court.

She was sentenced to serve six years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on one count of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class B Felony. Four years of that sentence was suspended. Upon completion of her sentence, Beem will be placed on probation for four years and she shall complete a drug evaluation program and follow any recommended treatment as approved by the probation department.

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Winamac Man Charged with Felon in Possession of Firearm

Ryan Clouse

A Winamac man was arrested after police found a gun and narcotics in his room at a residence of 475 W. in Winamac, on Monday, December 19th.

Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies learned that Ryan Clouse, 39, is good friends with Matthew Nolte, who was recently arrested on methamphetamine related charges, and the pair may be manufacturing methamphetamine at the residence where Clouse was staying. Police arrived on scene and requested permission to search Clouse’s room. Police reportedly found narcotics in his possession and a loaded rifle. The officers asked Clouse if he was convicted of any felonies and he replied that he had. He was then told that a felon can not possess a firearm. He had a prior conviction of robbery in 1994 and he was arrested on a charge of Burglary by the Rochester Police Department in 2004. Police also asked if he had a prescription for the narcotics found in his room and he said no.

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Fire Safety Advice Stressed after Fire Consumes House in Washington Township

Fire crews remain on the scene of a fire at 2915 S. 800 E. in Washington Township

Fred Sumpter from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the fire at 2915 S. and 800 E. in Washington Township Friday morning as accidental. A wood burner was the cause of the fire.

Washington Township Assistant Fire Chief, Dave Pearman, said that if you use a wood burning stove, keep it clean and make sure that it is cleaned before the heating season.

Pearman has another piece of fire safety advice.

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Winamac Man Arrested after Domestic Dispute

Charles Cole of Winamac was arrested on Christmas Day after police were called to his home after a domestic dispute.

His wife, Suzanne, told Pulaski County police that Charles allegedly set fire to their bedding and mattress that morning during the argument which burnt down the camper in which they reside. As officers were trying to get the details of the event, Cole, who was intoxicated, continued to be disorderly. He was asked by the officer to step out of the camper and Cole was told he was under arrest. Cole then took off running from police. The officer ordered him to stop or he’d be tased. He stopped and police attempted to take him into custody but he resisted.

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Year in Review – Part Three

We continue to count down the top ten stories of 2011.

Starke County moved into the national spotlight when the new Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN, featured a series on “Women Behind Bars.” One of the women featured was Lisa Owens, who, a decade earlier, had taken the life of her husband in Knox. Owens told of life behind bars and her hope for early release from prison for the shooting. That wish was granted when Owens received an early release. She was paroled into the custody of a sister, who did not live in the county. The story evoked many emotional comments on the WKVI Discussion Board arguing the pros and cons of her early release.

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Indiana State Fire Marshal Determines Cause in Washington Township House Fire

This home, at 2915 S. 800 E. in Washington Township, was a total loss

The fire at at 2915 S. 800 E. in Washington Township has been ruled accidental.

“The fire started on the west side of the house around a wood burner and that’s what caused the fire,” said Fred Sumpter from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office. “The burner was positioned around the center portion of the house.”

Sumpter said his investigation into the incident is now complete.

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Power to be Restored to Knox Residents at 1:30 p.m.

Power should be restored to 732 Knox customers by 1:30 p.m.

NIPSCO Public Affairs Officer, Rick Colinski, said that a car accident at Portland and Pacific streets in Knox caused the outage. Crews are replacing a cross bar that was broken on the pole that was hit by the car. Officials at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department said there were no injuries sustained in the accident.

North Judson Police Investigate Theft Calls

police badge

The North Judson Police Department received theft calls on Friday. The callers reported a laptop and a wallet stolen from their vehicles.

North Judson Town Marshal, Doug Vessley, would like to remind you to make sure you keep doors locked on homes and vehicles. Vessely added that keeping the doors locked helps to deter crime and keeps your valuables safe. Criminals are always checking for unlocked cars to try and find cash and other valuables.

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Knox Man Found Breaking into Home

Timothy Howard, Jr.

A Knox man was found breaking into a home and then ran from police.

On Friday, December 23rd, Knox City Police received a complaint of a person breaking into a home on Pearl Street. The officer arrived at the residence and got out of the car and announced his presence. The suspect, Timothy Howard, Jr., ran from the scene. The officer got back into his car and pursued the suspect. The officer went into the alley from Washington Street and Howard ran in front of the car.

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Public Hearing on Klockner Drive Construction Scheduled for Next Week

A public hearing has been scheduled to gain opinions on current design plans for the Starke County Commissioners’ project to reconstruct a portion of County Road 300 East, or Klockner Drive, in the Knox Industrial Park.

The proposed improvements include the reconstruction of County Road 300 East between Culver Road to north Pacific Avenue. The project proposes installation of new pavement, concrete curb and gutter, storm sewer collection, driveway and approach work. The project will be constructed in three phases and impacts 33 parcels and will require the acquisition of 3.4 acres of right-of-way.

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Knox School Board Recognizes Retirees

Gary Dulin, Jerry Fletcher, Harold Welter, Mary Lynn Ritchie, Kirk Bennett, Nathan Marcum, Mike Yankauskas, Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board recognized the recent retirees at their recent meeting.

“We had two different employees who had been at the Knox Schools for a number of years retire,” said Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “John Tepes, a Maintenance person from the Middle School, had retired and it was effective last week. He had been with the Corporation for 16 years. Dick Wagner, a teacher at Knox, who has been with the Corporation for over 40 years actually retired in November. He, for personal reasons, decided that it was in his best interest to retire in November. We honored these two retirees with clocks from the Knox Community School Corporation and the Board presented the clocks to those people at the meeting.”

Hobart Woman Arrested for False Informing, Reckless Driving

Stephanie Berg

A Hobart woman was arrested Friday after she reportedly told police her name and it wasn’t her correct identification.

Police saw a vehicle traveling around Henry Street and saw that the driver disregarded stop signs. The officer engaged his emergency lights and the driver didn’t stop. He continued to follow her at a slow pace. He eventually pulled over the car at the intersection of Bower Street and Culver Road. Police asked the driver for her name and she said her name was “Tracey Rowe”. Police ran her information and found that “Tracey Rowe” was not on file. Police took her to jail on preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement and Reckless Driving.

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DNR Year in Review

Indiana Conservation Officers have had their work cut out for them this year, with an increase of over 60% in hunting violations this year. To date, 489 separate hunting violations were reported within District One, which covers the seven north-central counties of St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, Kosciusko, Fulton, Miami, and Wabash. Last year, only 304 violations were reported.

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Community Corrections Gets Approval to Proceed with Grant Application

Robert Hinojosa

Starke County Community Corrections Director, Robert Hinojosa, appeared before the County Commissioners recently to request a letter approving a grant application for 2012. The grant is administered by the Department of Corrections and is for almost $188,000 of a $346,000 Community Corrections budget. The shortfall is made up from user fees. The letter was signed as requested.

One of the goals of the local Community Corrections organization is to become a level one program.

“There’s three levels,” explains Hinojosa. “If you are a level one program, that means that you have done a great job in adopting a lot of the practices, doing good case management work and identifying which service providers are effective, etc. If you are a level two, you are doing a good job but not exceptional and if you are a level three you’ve got some major problems in the way you run your program. The first year they instituted the level status was last year and we came in at a high level two and I was proud of that. We had really limited resources to do some of the things that we were asked to do. I believe that this application we’re submitting will get us to level one.”

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Henry F. Schricker Award Winner Announced

Henry Schricker

The Henry F. Schricker Award is being announced today by Starke County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debbie Mix.

“The winner is Dorene Matzat from North Judson,” said Mix. “We’re so excited and she’s so deserving. She has just done so much and so quietly. I’m just so happy that her efforts have been recognized and she’s been doing them for a lifetime.”

Dorene Matzat was born in North Judson, is an identical twin, and has been a lifelong resident of the town. In December of 1996, she received the “Just Say Thanks” award from Thrivent for her work with taking veterans back and forth to Hines VA Hospital in Chicago. She continues her service work today. She feeds the hungry and when she becomes aware of the need, she clothes the needy, visits the shut-ins and the lonely, and always brings comfort to all in a time of despair. In her 80’s she continues to mow the grass at her church. She is one of only a handful of people alive today in North Judson who actually knew Henry Schricker before he was governor.

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Congressman Donnelly Working on Campaign for U.S. Senate Seat

Joe Donnelly
Congressman Joe Donnelly

If the Republican Presidential candidates debates are any indication, 2012 should be an exciting year on the political trail.

It will all culminate with the Presidential election in November.

The primary should be interesting, too, as State Treasurer Richard Murdock, who calls himself the Tea Party supported Republican Senatorial candidate, attempts to unseat Sen. Richard Lugar who will be going for his seventh term.

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Starke County Republican Swearing-in Ceremony this Thursday

The Starke County Republican Party will host swearing in ceremonies on Thursday, December 29th at 6:00 p.m. CT at the Knox City Court.

Five candidates who were successful in the Municipal Election will be sworn into office and they include: Charles Hasnerl, Knox City Court Judge; Donna Henry, North Judson Town Clerk-Treasurer; Tim Cummins, North Judson Town Board; Wendy Hoppe, North Judson Town Board; and Dave Kesvormas, Hamlet Town Board.

North Judson Man Arrested after Fight

Brian Lovins

Brian Lovins, of North Judson, was arrested on Friday after he arrived at a residence to fight with another subject.

Lovins reportedly heard that someone was threatening a family member of his. He went to a residence in the 300 block of Franklin Street in North Judson to confront the subject. North Judson police were called to the home and Lovins was arrested on preliminary charges of Public Intoxication and Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon.