LEPC Legal Notice
The Starke County Local Emergency Planning Committee will hold its meetings for the year 2016 at 9:00AM (CST) at the Starke County Annex Building 53 E Mound Street Knox, Indiana 46534 on the following dates: January 20, February 17, May 18, July 20, September 21, and November 16 and at such other times as shall be duly authorized by the Committee or its Chairman. All interested parties are encouraged to attend.
The Starke County Local Emergency Plan for Hazardous Materials Incidents may be reviewed during regular business hours at the office of the Emergency Management Agency at 53 E Mound Street Knox Indiana 46534. All information filed covers SARA Title III facilities in Starke County may be reviewed during regular office hours at the office of the Emergency Management Agency at 53 E Mound Street Knox Indiana 46534. Copies of documents may be obtained at this office, and the Committee may charge a fee for copies. For further information on these matters, please contact Jacob W. Lippner, Chairman, at 574-772-9182.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Deep Starke County Budget Cuts Anticipated Today
The Starke County Council and Commissioners have less than two weeks to slash half a million dollars from the 2016 budget. They’re meeting jointly today at 3 p.m. to begin that task.
The cuts need to be made due to reductions made by the state to the budget submitted by the county for approval. Auditor Kay Chaffins broke the news to the council and commissioners during a special joint meeting last Monday to discuss capital project spending priorities. Those have also been scaled back due to the county’s financial constraints.
County government officals asked Chaffins to go over the budget and find possible spending reductions. They’ve also asked department heads to do likewise. Final action on those budget cuts is anticipated during tonight’s regularly scheduled council meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. in the annex meeting room.
In addition to cutting the budget for the new year, the council will also move funds around as necessary to close out 2015 and consider a few requests to amend the salary ordinance. Their agenda also includes setting the daily convicted inmate cost of reimbursement rate. State law caps it at $30 per day and outlines who is exempt from paying based on their financial situation. During their most recent meeting, the county commissioners approved the collection of the fee from inmates sentenced to at least 72 hours in the Starke County Jail.
The commissioners are also meeting this evening following the council meeting. Their agenda includes discussion with the park board about removing beavers from the Starke County Forest. County building administrator Terry Stephenson will present information about tax sale eligible delinquent properties with unsafe building liens and a public nuisance ordinance as well.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Scholarships Available @ Starke County Adult Learning Center
The Starke County Adult Learning Center is offering 10 $90 scholarships to those needing assistance to pay for and take the High School Equivalency (HSE) exam—formerly known as the G.E.D.
The funding of these scholarships was generously granted by the Northern Community Foundation and Starke United. Call the Starke County Adult Learning Center at 574-249-8720 or 574-772-6882 for more details.
The funding of these scholarships was generously granted by the Northern Community Foundation and Starke United. Call the Starke County Adult Learning Center at 574-249-8720 or 574-772-6882 for more details.
Starke County to Take Over Maintenance of North Judson Road
The Starke County Highway Department will make improvements to Arlington Avenue in North Judson in the spring in anticipation of absorbing it into their inventory for tax purposes. The three-quarter mile street is just outside the town limits of North Judson and is the main artery to the industrial park.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver last week to put the rest of his five-year infrastructure improvement plan on hold if the county would allocate $60,000 of economic development income tax money for the paving project.
The actual cost for the county highway department to upgrade the shoulder, apply pug asphalt and chip seal the road is closer to $35,000, according to highway superintendent Rik Ritzler. He notes the road will need another pug and chip seal application in 10 years.
The initial work needs to be done before the county will accept the road into its inventory. Weaver notes doing so will generate $2,500 in tax revenue from the state and save the county $2,400 annually in fire hydrant fees.
North Judson Industrial Park tenants include American Oak and Johnny on the Spot. Metro Recycling will begin operations there in the spring.
The council agreed to allocate $35,000 for the initial paving. Ritzler notes it will be done in the spring.
Utility Provider Now Offering Text Alerts During Power Outages
NIPSCO has developed a new way to report a power outage.
The utility service provider says that electric customers are now able to text the word “Out” to 444111. That will notify the company of a power outage at their place of residence. Businesses may also participate in the new service.
NIPSCO says it now has four ways customers can report a power outage to its service representatives. Over the phone, online, or online by mobile phone are the others in that list.
According to a press release, those submitting a text to report a power outage will receive a response to confirm the outage and its address. The texter will also receive an invitation to receive updates about the power outage as work is progressing to restore energy.
NIPSCO says customers can also prepare themselves in the event of a storm by regularly checking weather reports and updates. Wind and excessive ice are leading causes of power outages in Northern Indiana.
N.J.-S.P. Board Approves Special Education Agreement
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week approved a new agreement as part of its existing special education cooperative. The new JESSE agreement allows for easier separation should a member school decide to leave.
Under the agreement, nine corporations share special education services that are not feasible for them to offer individually, including administration, psychological and therapy services, transition programming and counseling. Special education classroom staff were previously JESSE employees but are now employed by the individual corporation.
Member corporations include Argos, Culver, John Glenn, Knox, North Judson – San Pierre, Oregon-Davis, Plymouth, Triton and Union-North. The 29 area schools offer 70 special education classes and programs, according to information on the cooperative’s website. The base student population is approximately 14,000, and JESSE serves more than 1,600 students with disabilities.
The Plymouth Community School Corporation administers the program and pays the claims. All of the corporations have recently been tasked with ratifying the new agreement. N.J.-S.P. Superintendent Lynn Johnson says there are no significant changes over the original agreement that was signed to set up a Joint Service and Supply Fund Cooperative on July 1, 2012.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Starke County Receives OCRA Grant for Workforce Training
Local residents will soon have access to expanded adult workforce training programs, thanks to a grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver says the county’s gotten $250,000 towards the cost of equipment for an automation technology and equipment maintenance program. “This is a huge step towards our program,” Weaver says. “Our total program cost of equipment is $450,000, and so, the $250,000 is a great start towards that.”
The program will be offered at the SCILL Center and will be available to people from other area counties, as well. Before applying for the grant, the SCEDF had surveyed manufacturers in Starke, Pulaski, Marshall, and LaPorte counties to figure out what skills were needed most. According to Weaver, the local industries were most in need of people to take care of the latest automation and robotics equipment and who have hands-on experience working with it. He says the new program will give workers those skills, “It’s hands-on training, so that when this adult worker, whether they’re unemployed or they’re underemployed or they’re currently employed, whatever, they can go through this training, and they will be able to, after the training, go into the plant and actually repair automated equipment, industrial equipment of all types. So, they will have some book learning, but mostly it’s hands-on.”
Weaver says they’re already in the process of organizing the program. “We expect to have this program up and going this next summer,” Weaver says. “We know we’ve got the money now to get that equipment. We’ve been working locally with Alex Weisheit of our board and putting this program together. We’re working with Ivy Tech to provide instruction.”
Starke County was one of the eight that received the grants through OCRA’s Workforce Development Program, which is funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant.
Starke County Officials Prepare For Building Renovations
The Starke County Council and Commissioners are almost ready to proceed with renovations to the courthouse and old jail building across the street. They’ve got money left from the construction of the new jail east of Knox to make upgrades to both buildings for continued correctional use.
The old jail will become office space for Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Community Corrections Director Bob Hinojosa told the county council and commissioners Monday his board has committed $100,000 toward the renovations on the condition that the former sally port can be turned into a conference room.
That space was being eyed as a spot for the coroner, as the county does not have a permanent area for body storage and viewing. Now the county is looking into the feasibility of enclosing the outdoor recreation area and adding utilities to turn it into a morgue. They’ve asked the architects for a price to reconfigure the yard.
Another option is to add space for the coroner to a new EMS base which will eventually need to be constructed in Knox. The current Medic 3 base on Main Street between Culver Road and Redskin Trail sits on land that’s included in the plans for the new hospital, according to IU Health Starke Hospital President Craig Felty. There’s also been confusion as to whether those plans include morgue space for the county. Felty tells WKVI news that was discussed early on in the process but never promised. It has since been eliminated from the design.
The council and commissioners were waiting on word about the coroner space before giving final approval to the renovation proposal. They could make a final decision during Monday’s joint meeting.
Money from the jail bond can also be used for work at the courthouse that is directly connected to criminal justice, such as the relocation of the prosecutor’s office from the basement of the old jail. Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff has also committed $10,000 from his pretrial diversion fund to the project. He says an additional $15,000 may be available for the project if it can be used solely for expenditures that relate to child support enforcement and collection.
N.J.-S.P. Officials Elaborate on School Funding
The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation will have to borrow money in order to meet financial obligations over the next six months. Business manager Guy Richie says they managed to close the 2015 budget year in the black by continuing to scale back on expenses and relying heavily on their cash balance.
He notes their enrollment dropped by 61 at the September count, which cost the corporation another $600,000. Richie says in addition to borrowing money, N.J.-S.P. will have to take a hard look at staffing levels.
Superintendent Lynn Johnson says no official reductions in force have been made since the general fund referendum failed. However, she notes teachers and support staff who leave are not being replaced unless it is absolutely necessary. For instance, she says an aid who is assigned to a special education child will be replaced while a general aid likely would not.
School Board President Pat Goin says they’re currently evaluating staffing needs as opportunities to do so arise.
“Did we go through and say ‘you’ve lost your job?’ No we didn’t, but we certainly haven’t replaced particular positions. We’ve tried to consolidate our services and probably do a little bit of rescheduling to absorb the extra,” Goin said.
Tuesday’s meeting was Johnson’s last as superintendent. She’s retiring at the end of the month. The board hired Dr. Robert Boyd on an interim basis. He’s regarded as an expert in school finances. Richie says meetings between Boyd and other shareholders will be scheduled soon after the first of the year.
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