Jonathan Hummel in Police Custody

Johnathan Hummel

A suspect who had remained at-large since December 20th in the Knox CVS armed robbery incident, is now in the Starke County Jail. Jonathan Hummel is facing charges of Dealing a Narcotic Drug, two counts of Armed Robbery, Resisting Law Enforcement, Criminal Mischief, Forgery, Attempted Forgery, and Theft. He is being held under a $500,000 surety bond. The other suspect, Nathan Hummel, was arrested at the Raymond Hummel residence on Union Road in Marshall County after the incident occurred.

It is alleged that on Tuesday, December 20th, Jonathan Hummel, along with Nathan Hummel, entered the CVS store wearing disguises and held one store employee at knife-point and the other demanded prescriptions from the pharmacist at knife-point. The pharmacist ran to the back of the store and the suspect reportedly jumped over the counter and removed several thousand dollars worth of prescription drugs from the pharmacy. The suspects then left the store and the employees called 911.

Continue reading

No Life Threatening Injuries in Fiery Crash in San Pierre

Starke County emergency personnel were called to an accident yesterday afternoon where two vehicles burst into flames.

When officers arrived at the scene at U.S. 421 in San Pierre, they found a semi and a car fully engulfed in flames. Both drivers had been pulled from the wreckage. Officers determined that the driver of the passenger vehicle crossed the center line causing the accident. The semi was hauling mattresses which took firefighters nearly three hours to extinguish.

Continue reading

Claims of Impropriety Filed Against Starke County Sheriff

Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen

The Indiana State Police have informed Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff that claims of impropriety have been brought against Sheriff Oscar Cowen by former deputy, Don Ferguson.

Because he works closely with the Starke County Police, Prosecutor Bourff petitioned for a special prosecutor to handle the claims. Also issuing an Order of Recusal and Assignment of Special Judge was Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall. The Special Judge assigned to the case is the Honorable Jeffrey Thode of Porter Superior Court #6 located in Portage, Indiana. This Judge will conduct all future proceedings including a ruling on the pending Petition for a Special Prosecutor.

Continue reading

Gas Prices to Slowly Rise to over $4.00 a Gallon

As gasoline prices go up dramatically at the pump, everyone is considering how to absorb the extra cost of driving.

With gasoline consumption down to the 1989 level, it looks like gasoline prices should be going down. According to Don Good from the Good Oil Company in Winamac, the speculators are holding the prices in the higher price range. There’s something else coming soon that will impact prices, too.

Continue reading

CADA Receives $10,000 Grant

Judy Jelinek, Operation Roundup member, presents a check to Wendy Elam, Executive Director for CADA

Starke County’s Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, or CADA, is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from Kankakee Valley REMC.

CADA received the money through the Operation Round-up Trust grant program. The money will be used to expand the Phoenix House, a transitional housing program for victims of domestic violence and their dependent children. The additional space will add meeting/advocacy rooms for clients, additional office space and storage space for donated items for victims of domestic abuse. A restroom will also be built for convenience of advocacy volunteers.

Continue reading

It’s Leap Day!

Today is Leap Day! February 29th is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called Leap Day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days.

In the Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are evenly divisible by four are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a solar year by almost six hours.

Taylor Davis Named Employee of the Year

Taylor Davis

Taylor Davis, Charge Nurse at Golden Living Center – Knox, has been selected as Employee of the Year.

Taylor Davis has been part of the Golden Living Center team since September 2009, and is responsible for supervising resident’s nursing care. Davis was selected as Employee of the Year based on her contribution to providing excellent care in a compassionate and comfortable environment. Additionally, she was one of the team members who helped the facility achieve a deficiency-free survey in 2011.

Continue reading

North Judson-San Pierre Woodwind Ensemble Performs Live on WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre Woodwind Ensemble performs live on WKVI

Members of the North Judson-San Pierre Woodwind Ensemble performed the “Reformation Symphony – Symphony #5” by Felix Mendelssohn this morning live in the WKVI studios. The group, lead by Director Matthew Hibbets, played for about 10 minutes and thoroughly entertained the staff at the radio station and the listeners. Any other ensemble wishing to perform live at the WKVI Studio is welcome to contact Tom Berg at (574) 772-7600 or email Tom at tom@wkvi.com. (Anita Goodan plays the alto saxophone and would love to play along if you would be willing to share the music. Her sight-readings skills are pretty good, but she would appreciate a chance to practice before performance time.) Continue reading

Oregon-Davis Referendum Should Not Impact Circuit Breaker

The Oregon-Davis proposed operating referendum will not impact the Circuit Breaker if approved. That information was received yesterday from Curt Pletcher of Umbaugh and Associates in Plymouth.

“With a referendum, a school corporation would have a question on the ballot which would have a maximum tax rate,” explained Pletcher. “When a school really pursues an operating referendum, they look at their state support for their General Fund. If a referendum is passed, it is not subject to the Circuit Breaker caps. In other words, the levy would not impact the current Circuit Breaker tax credits for the school or the overlapping taxing units.”

Continue reading

Gas Prices on the Rise

West Covina, California, became the first area to hit $5.00 a gallon gasoline over the weekend. Could we be far behind? Will it be $5.00 a gallon gasoline for us by Memorial Day?

Don Good of the Good Oil Company in Winamac explains how gasoline prices could be going up so radically while consumption is going down.

Continue reading

Plymouth Woman Crashes into Fire House

A Plymouth woman was arrested Saturday after leaving the scene of an accident.

Officers from the Plymouth Police Department were called to the Plymouth Fire Station in reference to an accident. According to police, a red Jeep had struck the Plymouth Fire Station and two people fled the scene on foot at about 2:35 a.m. ET. Police learned that one possible suspect lived in the Plymouth area.

Continue reading

Pulaski County Police Find Wanted Man Underneath House

Randall Grigsby

A Francesville man was captured after police found him hiding underneath his house.

On Tuesday, February 21st, Pulaski County officers were notified of the whereabouts of Randall Grigsby who was known to have a warrant out for his arrest. The anonymous caller reportedly said he was out of control and that he was on something.

Officers went to Grisby’s house and one resident said she thought Grigsby had left the residence just moments ago. Officers searched the residence and didn’t find him. Officers searched a vehicle on the premises and found drug paraphernalia between the driver’s door and the seat. The item was seized and put into evidence. However, Grigsby was not hiding in the vehicle.

Continue reading

Knox Music Students Peform Well in Area in State Competitions

Hannah Janson, Brendon Owens and Matt Miller

The Knox High School Instrumental Music Department had three soloists perform at the ISSMA State Solo & Ensemble Contest on Saturday, February 25 at North Central High School. Brenden Owens earned a Gold rating on an alto sax solo, Hannah Janson earned a Gold rating on a horn solo and Matt Miller earned a Silver rating on a trumpet solo. All three students were accompanied by Mrs. Char Geisler on piano. Congratulations to these students on their fine performances!

Continue reading

Alligator Found in Kankakee River in Starke County

Conservation Keith Wildeman takes possession of the alligator found dead in Starke County

Two fisherman found a dead alligator in the Kankakee River in Starke County yesterday.

Jeff Brewer and his father, Steve Brewer, discovered a dead alligator stuck in a logjam about two miles downstream from the English Lake Public Access site. They just launched their boat and were headed out to fish and Jeff Brewer spotted the foot and tail of the alligator sticking out of the water. They retrieved the alligator and met with Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman. The four-foot, seven-inch alligator’s mouth had been taped shut and officer Wildeman believes that it had been dead for a while and it was a pet that outgrew his welcome. It was released unlawfully into the river. Wildeman believes this to be an isolated incident.

Continue reading