Posted on June 19, 2019
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
The executive director of the Kankakee River Basin Commission gave the Starke County Council and Starke County Commission members an overview of changes coming to the Kankakee River Basin Commission.
Scott Pelath noted that the 24-member board will shrink to 9 members from counties within the basin area and they plan on focusing efforts on cleaning up the Kankakee River and Yellow River.
“Bank stabilization, getting the banks to stop caving in, channel reconstruction, acquisition of land for flood storage, construction of levies, sediment removal and sand traps, and tree removal and construction of access roads,” commented Pelath.
In order to fund these improvements, Pelath said the Public Law passed on the matter, the capital use dollars will be gathered per parcel located within the basin as defined by the U.S. Geological Survey.
“That’s $1 per farm acre, $7 per residential parcel or $3.50 per tax bill, $50 on developed commercial parcels, and then utilities and industrial parcels that some in some counties obviously contribute a lot, a $360 annual assessment.”
The county has several options on how they want to handle funding. The county council members could do nothing and the assessments Pelath mentioned would be put into place. Pelath said another option would be to pay with existing funds within the county budget.
“If a county does that, they only have to pay 90 percent of what otherwise would be gained from the assessments. If that happened, there would be no assessments. The county would simply supply those dollars with its own dollars.”
The council could adopt a different assessment schedule along with providing county funds, or adopt higher assessment and keep the difference. The last option is highly unlikely, but it is written as an option.
The council did not make a funding decision Monday night for the newly formed Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission.
The entire presentation can be heard during the Kankakee Valley Viewpoints program this Sunday, June 23 on K99.3 FM WKVI.
Showing posts with label Kankakee Valley Viewpoints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kankakee Valley Viewpoints. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Friday, June 9, 2017
Additional Men Graduate From Drug Treatment Program at Starke County Jail
Posted on June 9, 2017
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
Another nine Starke County Jail inmates have graduated from the voluntary drug treatment program offered in partnership with Porter/Starke Services. The grant funded program launched last September for men and women with a history of substance abuse problems who are awaiting sentencing.
It’s separate from the Indiana Department of Corrections Therapeutic Community, which is also based at the local jail. That program is for area inmates who have been sentenced to the intensive rehabilitation program while in prison.
Participants meet several times a week with coordinator Leo Smith from Porter/Starke and members of his staff. Their final assignment was to write a goodbye letter to their addiction and read it to their classmates and members of the law enforcement and corrections community at the ceremony.
Daniel Allen says he’s learned addiction is a disease.
“For the last 15 years my addiction has ruled my life and made me more miserable than I ever thought was possible. It took me further than I ever wanted to go, cost me more than I wanted to pay, and kept me longer than I ever wanted to stay. It makes me sick to wonder what my life could have been without addiction and to realize all the potential and opportunities I’ve thrown away.”
Allen says he’s got a plan for the first time about how to live a sober life after he is out of jail.
Trenton Mullet admits he got lulled into a false sense of security by his addiction only to realize the light he was following was leading him into a deep, deep darkness.
“I’m not alone anymore. You are strong, but we are stronger. I won’t forget what we’ve been through. I will use what you’ve taught me against you. I will go on with my life and tell others just how sneaky and dangerous you are. I just pray that God will grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. Goodbye, addiction.”
John Schacht has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for many years and says the goodbye to his addictions and criminal behavior is long overdue.
“I’ve learned how to stop and think before I respond. I’ve learned how to decipher my defects, avoid the triggers, and change my thinking before the thought or the situation to use or negative acts come about. So my once friend to the end, this is the end. Thank you.”
We’ll hear from all of the program graduates on Sunday’s Kankakee Valley Viewpoints pubic affairs show. It airs at noon CDT on K99.3 WKVI FM.
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
Another nine Starke County Jail inmates have graduated from the voluntary drug treatment program offered in partnership with Porter/Starke Services. The grant funded program launched last September for men and women with a history of substance abuse problems who are awaiting sentencing.
It’s separate from the Indiana Department of Corrections Therapeutic Community, which is also based at the local jail. That program is for area inmates who have been sentenced to the intensive rehabilitation program while in prison.
Participants meet several times a week with coordinator Leo Smith from Porter/Starke and members of his staff. Their final assignment was to write a goodbye letter to their addiction and read it to their classmates and members of the law enforcement and corrections community at the ceremony.
Daniel Allen says he’s learned addiction is a disease.
“For the last 15 years my addiction has ruled my life and made me more miserable than I ever thought was possible. It took me further than I ever wanted to go, cost me more than I wanted to pay, and kept me longer than I ever wanted to stay. It makes me sick to wonder what my life could have been without addiction and to realize all the potential and opportunities I’ve thrown away.”
Allen says he’s got a plan for the first time about how to live a sober life after he is out of jail.
Trenton Mullet admits he got lulled into a false sense of security by his addiction only to realize the light he was following was leading him into a deep, deep darkness.
“I’m not alone anymore. You are strong, but we are stronger. I won’t forget what we’ve been through. I will use what you’ve taught me against you. I will go on with my life and tell others just how sneaky and dangerous you are. I just pray that God will grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. Goodbye, addiction.”
John Schacht has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for many years and says the goodbye to his addictions and criminal behavior is long overdue.
“I’ve learned how to stop and think before I respond. I’ve learned how to decipher my defects, avoid the triggers, and change my thinking before the thought or the situation to use or negative acts come about. So my once friend to the end, this is the end. Thank you.”
We’ll hear from all of the program graduates on Sunday’s Kankakee Valley Viewpoints pubic affairs show. It airs at noon CDT on K99.3 WKVI FM.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Public Comments Favor Elected N.J.-S.P. School Board
Posted on September 13, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
Members of the public who spoke during last night’s North Judson-San Pierre School Board meeting expressed overwhelming support for an elected board. The five-member appointed panel is meeting Monday evening for a work session to discuss next steps and will announce during their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20 whether they will voluntarily transition from an appointed to an elected body.
Of the 10 people who signed up and spoke, seven favored a change, one opposed it and the other two stressed the necessity of doing what is best for the community without formally stating a position.
Board members listened intently without comment. At the conclusion of the meeting, Matt Bailey reaffirmed his support for a change to an elected school board.
“It allows 100 percent of the community that choose to get involved can vote to do so. Everyone has a say. That’s the way it should be. All of us should have a say. Then not only do you have a say, but you’re allowed to run for the position if you feel you have the qualities and credentials to do so. Then we the people make that decision if you would be the best person for the positions.”
Bailey added the current appointed process is very exclusionary.
“With an appointed board, less than 1 percent of the people are allowed to be involved—one to three people making the crucial decision of who is running our schools and making decisions for our children and future generations. So we see the appointed process flawed in many ways. Not just that it keeps 99 percent of all the citizens from participating, but normally when the process does happen, we don’t have a clue that it took place.”
Wayne Township resident and North Judson-San Pierre graduate Nathan P. Origer spoke in favor of keeping an appointed board. He says greater accountability is a laudable goal but is not guaranteed, even if board members are elected.
“That accountability argument assumes that you are going to get a better candidate because the person you vote out, if you do vote somebody out, that somebody’s going to step up and that somebody is going to put his reputation on the line to publicly campaign and is going to put money into campaigning. It also assumes that somebody can’t do sufficient damage in four years. I work in government, I work in county government. It takes less than four years for somebody to set back progress decades. You don’t need to wait to get them out to see that, and sometimes that damage cannot be undone.”
Origer says the school board is not the issue when it comes to declining revenue and drops in enrollment. Rather it’s an issue of economics and demographics.
“Going from an appointed board to an elected board because you don’t like how the transparency is missing for some of the townships is like going to a neurosurgeon for a paper cut. Replacing an appointed board with an elected board to solve problems rooted in economics and demographics is like going to see a psychiatrist because your car won’t start. This is not going to fix things, and we’re going to take some serious risks by making change for the sake of change.”
WKVI will air last night’s meeting in its entirety on Sunday at noon on Kankakee Valley Viewpoints.
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
Members of the public who spoke during last night’s North Judson-San Pierre School Board meeting expressed overwhelming support for an elected board. The five-member appointed panel is meeting Monday evening for a work session to discuss next steps and will announce during their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20 whether they will voluntarily transition from an appointed to an elected body.
Of the 10 people who signed up and spoke, seven favored a change, one opposed it and the other two stressed the necessity of doing what is best for the community without formally stating a position.
Board members listened intently without comment. At the conclusion of the meeting, Matt Bailey reaffirmed his support for a change to an elected school board.
“It allows 100 percent of the community that choose to get involved can vote to do so. Everyone has a say. That’s the way it should be. All of us should have a say. Then not only do you have a say, but you’re allowed to run for the position if you feel you have the qualities and credentials to do so. Then we the people make that decision if you would be the best person for the positions.”
Bailey added the current appointed process is very exclusionary.
“With an appointed board, less than 1 percent of the people are allowed to be involved—one to three people making the crucial decision of who is running our schools and making decisions for our children and future generations. So we see the appointed process flawed in many ways. Not just that it keeps 99 percent of all the citizens from participating, but normally when the process does happen, we don’t have a clue that it took place.”
Wayne Township resident and North Judson-San Pierre graduate Nathan P. Origer spoke in favor of keeping an appointed board. He says greater accountability is a laudable goal but is not guaranteed, even if board members are elected.
“That accountability argument assumes that you are going to get a better candidate because the person you vote out, if you do vote somebody out, that somebody’s going to step up and that somebody is going to put his reputation on the line to publicly campaign and is going to put money into campaigning. It also assumes that somebody can’t do sufficient damage in four years. I work in government, I work in county government. It takes less than four years for somebody to set back progress decades. You don’t need to wait to get them out to see that, and sometimes that damage cannot be undone.”
Origer says the school board is not the issue when it comes to declining revenue and drops in enrollment. Rather it’s an issue of economics and demographics.
“Going from an appointed board to an elected board because you don’t like how the transparency is missing for some of the townships is like going to a neurosurgeon for a paper cut. Replacing an appointed board with an elected board to solve problems rooted in economics and demographics is like going to see a psychiatrist because your car won’t start. This is not going to fix things, and we’re going to take some serious risks by making change for the sake of change.”
WKVI will air last night’s meeting in its entirety on Sunday at noon on Kankakee Valley Viewpoints.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
N.J.-S.P. Board Defers Voluntary Resignation Request
N.J.-S.P. Board Defers Voluntary Resignation Request
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board last night deferred a request to voluntarily relinquish their appointed status to clear the way for the establishment of the first elected board in the corporation’s history. That happened after an hour’s worth of discussion and public comment before an audience of 150 or so people in the high school cafeteria. The board reconvened there after North Judson Town Marshal Frank Thomas advised them the administration building was beyond its capacity as audience members spilled from the meeting room into the hallway and out the doors.
Following the public comments, N.J.-S.P. School Board President Pat Goin raised numerous procedural questions about how a transition from an appointed to an elected board would work.
“We certainly don’t want to have a separate election and incur additional costs,” Goin said. “We need to be cognizant of our money here at the school corporation, of your taxpayer dollars. How is it going to be phased in? Is it going to be phased in in July or January? What would be the new seating of board members? If a special election petition occurs, who is responsible for the cost of this, because there is a cost?”
Goin added the school board is willing to sit down with a few members of the group leading the charge to change from an appointed to an elected board and talk things over before the board takes a position.
Matt Bailey is one of those spearheading the effort. After the meeting adjourned he said the comments offered by Goin were positive.
“We would love to just give our input. We know they have the final say. We know that they make that final decision. If they’re the ones that vote yes to have a new plan drafted, then they have that final say, but it would be so important. I think we have a great group of people that could be a part of that to see a new plan drafted and really do what the people want.”
Bailey added the majority of those in attendance favor a change to an elected school board. Most just came to listen, but 17 people spoke. Of those who did, several spoke in favor of changing to an elected school board, while others support the current appointed system. WKVI will present the comments in their entirety Sunday at noon on Kankakee Valley Viewpoints.
Bailey says he’s going to see what the board does next before making any decisions. He adds he’s prepared to take the issue to a referendum if necessary.
Friday, May 1, 2015
North Judson-San Pierre School Officials Propose School Funding Referendum
Published: May 1, 2015
By: Mary Perren, WKVI
North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation officials will ask voters to approve a property tax referendum this fall to help fund day-to-day school operations. Superintendent Lynn Johnson says a combination of declining enrollment and state budget cuts have forced the corporation to cut $2.5 million since 2010. She stresses there are no plans to close schools or consolidate with another corporation, despite rumors to the contrary.
Johnson told the audience at last night’s fight for public education informational meeting she is still crunching numbers and hopes to have a dollar figure for the proposed increase by early June. She mentioned $800,000 a year for each of the next seven as a round number to boost the corporation’s general fund balance again, but stresses that figure is not yet firm. First the school board will need to pass a resolution to seek a tax increase, and then a political action committee will need to be formed to raise money for the endeavor. Johnson says neither board members nor teachers are allowed to serve on such a committee.
More information is available on the North Judson-San Pierre School corporation website at http://www.njsp.k12.in.us/the-fight-for-public-education.html. Johnson’s presentation as well as comments from school board president Pat Goin and treasurer Guy Richie will be featured on Sunday’s Kankakee Valley Viewpoints program at noon CDT on K99.3 WKVI-FM.
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