County Officials Unhappy with IU Health’s Hospital Plan

 
 
IU Health Starke Hospital would be such in name only if the health care corporation moves forward with plans to replace the existing facility. Management recommends building a single-story structure with four medical/surgical beds, that is slightly more than half the size of the current hospital. The 36,000 square-foot-facility would be behind the existing building for a cost of $11.8 million and would open in 2016. County Commissioner Jennifer Davis shared an overview of the plan during a special joint meeting between the council and commissioners and called the proposed facility “disappointing and almost insulting.”

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Rowe Sentenced to 25 Years in DOC

Randall Rowe
Randall Rowe
The case against Randall Rowe in the Starke Circuit Court has come to a close after Judge Kim Hall sentenced him to serve a total of 25 years in the Department of Corrections on his charges of Robbery, Battery, and Receiving Stolen Property.

Randall Rowe, 36 of Hamlet, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state in a previous hearing to charges of Robbery as a Class B felony, Battery as a Class C felony and Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony. Ten other charges would be dismissed. He was to be sentenced on June 25 but it was continued to allow the state and defense to prepare arguments for the judge to make his decision as to whether the sentences on the counts should be consecutive or concurrent.

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City of Knox Receives Second Life Insurance Rebate

Knox City Council
Knox City Council

The city of Knox will be receiving another rebate from their life insurance company to the tune of $8309.98, according to Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston.

Houston explained that the city had received a letter from Trustmark Life Insurance Company explaining that the city would receive the rebate as required under the Affordable Care Act. The company had spent more than 20 percent of its premiums on administrative costs, salaries, sales, and advertising, and as a result, that extra amount spent must be returned to the city.

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Fish Lake Man Charged With Multiple Sex Offenses

David Kaufman
David Kaufman

A Fish Lake man faces multiple felony sex offenses after an extensive investigation by the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office. They arrested David G. Kaufman, 57, without incident last night at his home. He’s charged with three counts of attempted sexual misconduct with a minor and one count each of attempted possession of child pornography and false informing. Kaufman is scheduled to appear in LaPorte Circuit Court on Friday, July 26.

INDOT Announces Road Closure in Starke and Marshall Counties

 
 
Motorists traveling between Bass Lake and Culver will need to seek an alternate route for the next couple of days. INDOT plans to close State Road 10 between state roads 23 and 17 in Starke and Marshall Counties Wednesday and Thursday, weather permitting for chip and fog seal repairs. INDOT’s marked detour will use State Road 8 to get around the closure. The work will only occur if it does not rain. The chip and fog sealing process is designed to extend the life of the pavement. INDOT officials say crews are trying to get as much done as possible before school starts so as not to disrupt bus routes.

Scam Swindles LaPorte Man Out Of $2500

  
 
A LaPorte man is out $2500 after falling victim to a telephone scam. According to the report, a 63-year-old man told police that on July 17, he was contacted by man over the phone who identified himself as a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agent and told him that the agency had learned that he’d purchased drugs illegally over the internet and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

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Interim O-D Superintendent Adjusting to New Role

Greg Briles
Greg Briles
The new Oregon-Davis School Corporation interim superintendent is adjusting to his role after moving from the position of high school principal to overseeing the operations of the entire corporation. Greg Briles was the principal of the high school for 11 years, and he said he is still adjusting to his new role but looks forward to the challenge.

“Coming to the corporation office, I found that there are a lot more responsibilities than being a building administrator. I found myself walking the grounds throughout the corporation, walking the buildings throughout the corporation, getting an overall picture of the needs of a corporation rather than the needs of a building. Dealing with vendors, dealing with the insurance trust – just the overall operations of a corporation compared to the overall operations of a building have been a transition for me,” Briles said.

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Bella Vita Takes Up Occupancy in Former Starke United Building

Bella Vita Executive Director Susanne Lange
Bella Vita Executive Director Susanne Lange
Bella Vita has made its way into its new home near the corner of Lake and Shield streets in Knox, and according to Director Susanne Lange, they’re settling in nicely but a few maintenance items do need to be taken care of. Lange said the move went well and they’re working on getting the Baby Bucks store in order, but they are open for business and are doing intakes.

Bella Vita moved into its new location about two weeks ago, taking up the old Starke United building that they purchased for $1 from the Starke United Board. Lange said their previous building on Heaton Street in Knox was owned by the Lutheran Church and they wanted to find a location they could own that would better suit their needs, though the old building suited them well for more than two years.

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Bass Lake Festival Begins Friday

Bass Lake Beach
Bass Lake Beach
The 2013 Bass Lake Festival kicks off this weekend with a number of events planned to entertain attendees through Sunday. Beginning Friday, the festival starts with a fishing derby at 3612 S. County Road 210 from 8 a.m. through 6 p.m. Saturday. An amateur open mic night follows at the Bass Lake Property Owner’s Association building from 7 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m., and live entertainment will be provided by the Carlos Ramos Band and Nicole Garza across the street from Fingerhut Bakery from 8 p.m. until the close of the day Friday.

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Toxicology Results Released in Lake Max Drowning Death

 

 

Valentin Sirghi
Valentin Sirghi

Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the July 14 drowning death of a 22-year-old Plymouth man, according to toxicology results released by the Marshall County Coroner’s office. Valentin Sirghi, 22, was swimming with a friend near the public beach at Lake Maxinkuckee when he went under water. Rescue teams searched the area for about an hour before they found his body. Sirghi was pronounced dead at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Plymouth. Final autopsy results are pending, but preliminary indications are that Sirghi died as a result of asphyxiation due to drowning.

 

 

 

Sirghi

Starke County Officials Host Open House at New Jail Facility

This building will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
This building will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
Starke County Commissioners should have final plans for the new jail facility within the next month. The architectural and engineering firms will consider comments from last night’s open house at the facility on State Road 8 across from Sabre Manufacturing as they put the finishing touches on the project. President of the Commissioners Kathy Norem says inmates will be brought in through a secure entrance.

“When inmates are brought to the facility, they will enter through the sallyport area. The doors go up, the car goes in, the door goes down again. They’ve got them secured, and then they take them through the sallyport to inmate booking,” said Norem.

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Turnout Excellent at NIPSCO Open House Held in Winamac

 
 
The second round of open houses held by NIPSCO is underway, aimed at informing the public and garnering their input on the proposed routes for the Reynolds-Topeka Electric System Improvement project. The project entails the construction of a 100-mile electric transmission line from Reynolds to Burr Oak to Topeka, and because the proposed routes pass over privately owned properties, the open houses are being held to get input from the public.

Kathleen Szot, communications manager for NIPSCO, explained that the open houses have been very beneficial.

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Knox Laundromat Demolished; Rubble to Be Cleared Soon

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers
The old Knox laundromat is now a thing of the past, as demolition crews tore down the building this weekend after a lengthy salvage process. The contractor salvaged every item within the building, and Mayor Rick Chambers explained the landfill was spared the burden.

“Nothing from that project went to the landfill; he salvaged everything, so he’s taking the insulation, the two-by-fours, the metal. He has taken everything out of there and salvaged everything, and he’s now to the point where he was ready to demo the building,” Chambers explained.

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Clerk Clarifies Deadlines, Procedures for 2014 Elections

 
 
Candidates for county-wide office in 2014 can’t officially get their names on the ballot until early next year, but they do need to let the county clerk’s office know their plans if they intend to start campaigning now. Clerk Evelyn Skronski says they just need to stop by her office in the courthouse and fill out a form in order to campaign or share their intentions with the public. That should be done immediately. However, the first day to formally file intentions of candidacy and get your name on the ballot for the primary next May is Jan. 8, 2014.

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Residents Warned of Telephone Scam

  
 
We’ve received word of a telephone scam targeting people in the WKVI listening area. Several local residents are receiving telephone calls from a number that says “not in use” on the caller ID. The number is (786) 358-6691 and is from Jamaica. The callers are asking for Medicare numbers and information. NEVER give this information or your Social Security, bank account or other sensitive data out over the telephone. If you receive such a telephone call, contact the authorities.

INDOT Schedules Road Closure For State Road 110

 
 
Monday’s rain delayed INDOT’s scheduled chip and fog sealing of State Road 110 east of U.S. 31. The work is now scheduled to start Tuesday and wrap up Wednesday. INDOT’s marked detour will utilize U.S. 31 and State Roads 10 and 331 to get around the closure. Chip and fog seal repairs are performed in order to extend the life of the pavement. INDOT officials are trying to complete as many projects as possible before school resumes in order to minimize disruption of bus routes.