Posted on July 21, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The newest retail store in the Knox Mall will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday. Tractor Supply Company occupies the former Alco space at the south end of the shopping center. The 20,412 square foot space includes the sales floor and support service areas.
Saturday’s grand opening event will feature giveaways, discounts and prize drawings. The grand opening sale actually starts tomorrow and continues through Sunday.
Tractor Supply’s interactive mobile fair experience will also be set up in the store’s parking lot this afternoon and all day tomorrow and Saturday. Activities include the pig lasso and high striker games, hog calling and chicken clucking, dancing, demonstrations, interactive photo opportunities and more.
The Knox store has 15 employees and is the 46th TSC location in Indiana. Regular operating hours for the Knox store are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
N.J.-S.P. Board Adopts Statutory Gangs Policy, Discusses Bullying
Posted on July 21, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation now has a state-mandated criminal gangs and criminal gang activity policy on the books following action Tuesday night by the school board. Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin says the final draft was a collaborative effort between area administrators, including N.J.-S.P. Interim Superintendent Dr. Robert Boyd.
“This policy includes a statement prohibiting gang activity. It prohibits retaliation against those who report the activity. It defines criminal gang, and it talks about the procedures, reporting that to the principal,” Zupin said.
She also explained the difference between bullying and conflict.
“When two students are having conflict they both participate in poor choices, saying things and doing things that they shouldn’t be, and we need to resolve those conflicts. Bullying is one-sided, continual harassment that’s intended to hurt someone.”
Zupin says the schools deal with both issues.
“You can’t ignore conflict because it’s not bullying. However, how we approach it is different, and that’s because of state statutes saying that we must approach bullying in a different way. So reporting of bullying is reported, and we have to investigate in that way. And we do have to make sure that it is bullying and not conflict.”
Zupin says in order to ensure accurate reporting of bullying instances to the state, students who are bullied or their parents need to notify school officials of every instance. She also suggested the principals hold public seminars to discuss bullying after school starts.
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation now has a state-mandated criminal gangs and criminal gang activity policy on the books following action Tuesday night by the school board. Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin says the final draft was a collaborative effort between area administrators, including N.J.-S.P. Interim Superintendent Dr. Robert Boyd.
“This policy includes a statement prohibiting gang activity. It prohibits retaliation against those who report the activity. It defines criminal gang, and it talks about the procedures, reporting that to the principal,” Zupin said.
She also explained the difference between bullying and conflict.
“When two students are having conflict they both participate in poor choices, saying things and doing things that they shouldn’t be, and we need to resolve those conflicts. Bullying is one-sided, continual harassment that’s intended to hurt someone.”
Zupin says the schools deal with both issues.
“You can’t ignore conflict because it’s not bullying. However, how we approach it is different, and that’s because of state statutes saying that we must approach bullying in a different way. So reporting of bullying is reported, and we have to investigate in that way. And we do have to make sure that it is bullying and not conflict.”
Zupin says in order to ensure accurate reporting of bullying instances to the state, students who are bullied or their parents need to notify school officials of every instance. She also suggested the principals hold public seminars to discuss bullying after school starts.
Starke County Council Braces for Budget Hit
Posted on July 21, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The Starke County Council has set a timeline for adoption of the county’s 2017 budget. They’ve scheduled budget workshops on Aug. 22 at 8 a.m. The public hearing on the proposed budget will take place at their Sept. 19 meeting, with adoption on Oct. 17.
Before that process begins, Councilman Dave Pearman wants to keep everyone’s expectations in check.
“We really need to tell everybody that they need to try and cut their budget as much as they can, and we probably need to cut somewhere between $100 and $200,000,” he said Monday.
Auditor Kay Chaffins says budgets have already been turned in. Last year the council reviewed each budget and called individual department heads in to discuss potential cuts. Chaffins says that process worked well.
Pearman also cautioned his fellow council members to differentiate between wants and needs when looking at budgets. Meanwhile, Chaffins is meeting next week with officials from the state Department of Local Government Finance. She says the county will get money back from certified shares this year, but it has already been allocated.
North Judson Nears Decision on Railroad Operator
Posted on July 21, 2016
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Town of North Judson is expected to choose an operator for its short line railroad in the near future, possibly as soon as tonight. The town council will meet in executive session this evening to discuss the lease proposals with Town Attorney Rachel Arndt.
So far, the town has narrowed down the list of potential operators to two: Lake State Railway and NIWX. If council members are ready to make a decision, they may do so during a public meeting scheduled this evening at 7:15. If not, North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Alicia Collins says the council may hold off on a decision until another meeting.
It remains to be seen what impact the new lease will have on the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum. The museum has been forced to suspend its excursions beyond English Lake and into LaCrosse, due to the terms of a short-term extension of the town’s operating agreement with the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad. Town officials have been planning to include more protections for the museum’s excursions in the new lease.
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Town of North Judson is expected to choose an operator for its short line railroad in the near future, possibly as soon as tonight. The town council will meet in executive session this evening to discuss the lease proposals with Town Attorney Rachel Arndt.
So far, the town has narrowed down the list of potential operators to two: Lake State Railway and NIWX. If council members are ready to make a decision, they may do so during a public meeting scheduled this evening at 7:15. If not, North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Alicia Collins says the council may hold off on a decision until another meeting.
It remains to be seen what impact the new lease will have on the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum. The museum has been forced to suspend its excursions beyond English Lake and into LaCrosse, due to the terms of a short-term extension of the town’s operating agreement with the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad. Town officials have been planning to include more protections for the museum’s excursions in the new lease.
Starke County to Seek Grant Funds for Park Plan
Posted on July 21, 2016
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Starke County Park Board is moving ahead with efforts to complete a five-year plan for the county’s park facilities. Before the county is able to get most types of grant funding for park projects, it’s required to have a comprehensive plan in place.
To put a plan together, the Starke County Commissioners have suggested getting help from the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission. County Attorney Marty Lucas says KIRPC would help Starke County secure grant funding from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to help pay for the plan. “KIRPC writes the grant, and then if we get the grant, the next step would be to interview, actually, the planners who would write the plan,” he says. “And then you pick one and then go through that process.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Starke County Park Board voted to allow the County Commissioners to move ahead with enlisting the help of KIRPC.
But before the county can move ahead with the planning process, the park board first has to get a clearer idea of exactly what properties are under its control. To help with that effort, Lucas presented a preliminary list of about 17 properties that might potentially fall under the board’s jurisdiction.
It includes obvious ones, like the Bass Lake Beach and Campground and the Starke County Forest. However, it also includes other sites, such as land around Bass Lake and Koontz Lake that is not technically under private ownership.
Lucas also included a few park facilities that have traditionally been maintained by townships or by local residents that could also benefit from being included in the county’s park system. This includes various parks and open spaces in the San Pierre area. “So many of these originate as public dedications as part of plats from the late 19th century,” Lucas explained. “That’s kind of their common origin, and at that time it was very commonplace to include common areas in plats, but not anything more than just saying they’re common, public. They didn’t say who was going to manage them. They just said they were public.”
Also included on the list were a few locations, such as the Bass Lake and Koontz Lake dam access sites, that appear to be under state control, but may benefit from some cooperation with the county. Lucas says there are plenty of opportunities for partnerships with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, as well as some other groups, “Some of the examples are, obviously, the municipal park boards for Hamlet, North Judson, and Knox, and also some some of the things like Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, who don’t just have the railroad museum, but they also are the owner of the right of way of the North Judson-San Pierre Trail and also the rest of the trail, the undeveloped part that extends east from 35, actually all the way to Monterey, though some of that’s outside of Starke County.”
However, in many of these cases, the property’s ownership is unclear, and Lucas stresses that additional research needs to be done before plans are finalized.
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Starke County Park Board is moving ahead with efforts to complete a five-year plan for the county’s park facilities. Before the county is able to get most types of grant funding for park projects, it’s required to have a comprehensive plan in place.
To put a plan together, the Starke County Commissioners have suggested getting help from the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission. County Attorney Marty Lucas says KIRPC would help Starke County secure grant funding from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to help pay for the plan. “KIRPC writes the grant, and then if we get the grant, the next step would be to interview, actually, the planners who would write the plan,” he says. “And then you pick one and then go through that process.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Starke County Park Board voted to allow the County Commissioners to move ahead with enlisting the help of KIRPC.
But before the county can move ahead with the planning process, the park board first has to get a clearer idea of exactly what properties are under its control. To help with that effort, Lucas presented a preliminary list of about 17 properties that might potentially fall under the board’s jurisdiction.
It includes obvious ones, like the Bass Lake Beach and Campground and the Starke County Forest. However, it also includes other sites, such as land around Bass Lake and Koontz Lake that is not technically under private ownership.
Lucas also included a few park facilities that have traditionally been maintained by townships or by local residents that could also benefit from being included in the county’s park system. This includes various parks and open spaces in the San Pierre area. “So many of these originate as public dedications as part of plats from the late 19th century,” Lucas explained. “That’s kind of their common origin, and at that time it was very commonplace to include common areas in plats, but not anything more than just saying they’re common, public. They didn’t say who was going to manage them. They just said they were public.”
Also included on the list were a few locations, such as the Bass Lake and Koontz Lake dam access sites, that appear to be under state control, but may benefit from some cooperation with the county. Lucas says there are plenty of opportunities for partnerships with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, as well as some other groups, “Some of the examples are, obviously, the municipal park boards for Hamlet, North Judson, and Knox, and also some some of the things like Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, who don’t just have the railroad museum, but they also are the owner of the right of way of the North Judson-San Pierre Trail and also the rest of the trail, the undeveloped part that extends east from 35, actually all the way to Monterey, though some of that’s outside of Starke County.”
However, in many of these cases, the property’s ownership is unclear, and Lucas stresses that additional research needs to be done before plans are finalized.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
N.J.-S.P. Discusses Transfers, Announces Strategic Planning Process
Posted on July 20, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation lost a net of nine students to other corporations* during the 2015-16 school year, according to Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin.
“We had 18 coming in from other districts, and just another breakdown there 12 at the high school, two, four. And we had 27 going out. So we are minus nine,” she told the school board last night. “We don’t want to be minus. It’s not minus 30, it’s not minus 60, but it’s still minus, and so we need to figure out why are they doing that, what can we do for this to be even or plus.”
Zupin adds those numbers don’t include so-called “regular mobility kids” who move in and out of the district. They are students who either live in the district and choose to go elsewhere or who commute from another district each day.
She’s in the process of putting together a strategic planning group to help market North Judson-San Pierre, increase community morale and improve communications between the school corporation and the community.
Zupin wants the group to come up with additional objectives. For starters she wants them to explore marketing strategies, fundraisers for school programs, establish and maintain focus on long-term planning for future growth and commit to a positive approach to success.
“I need parents, community members, staff members, board members, business leaders in town. I need diversity, not just one type, so I’m looking for diversity there. I would like representation from all of the townships. I think that would just help in making sure we get a pulse from all the areas, and so there’s a place on the application that will say ‘what township do you live in?’ And then I’m really looking forward for representatives who want to take a positive approach. If you really want to be positive about change, then this is the way to do that.”
Zupin is accepting applications for the strategic planning committee through the end of August, with a tentative first meeting in mid-September. Visit http://www.njsp.k12.in.us/blue-jay-strategic-planning.html for an application and more information, or stop at the central office during business hours.
* 2015-16 North Judson-San Pierre Transfers
North Judson-San Pierre High School
12 Incoming 7 Outgoing
7 from Knox 5 to Knox
2 from West Central 2 to LaCrosse
1 from Kankakee Valley
1 from LaPorte
1 from LaCrosse
North Judson-San Pierre Middle School
2 Incoming (Knox) 8 Outgoing
5 to Knox
2 to LaCrosse
1 to West Central
North Judson-San Pierre Elementary
4 Incoming (Knox) 12 Outgoing
6 to St. Peter Lutheran School
4 to Knox
2 to Wantatah
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation lost a net of nine students to other corporations* during the 2015-16 school year, according to Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin.
“We had 18 coming in from other districts, and just another breakdown there 12 at the high school, two, four. And we had 27 going out. So we are minus nine,” she told the school board last night. “We don’t want to be minus. It’s not minus 30, it’s not minus 60, but it’s still minus, and so we need to figure out why are they doing that, what can we do for this to be even or plus.”
Zupin adds those numbers don’t include so-called “regular mobility kids” who move in and out of the district. They are students who either live in the district and choose to go elsewhere or who commute from another district each day.
She’s in the process of putting together a strategic planning group to help market North Judson-San Pierre, increase community morale and improve communications between the school corporation and the community.
Zupin wants the group to come up with additional objectives. For starters she wants them to explore marketing strategies, fundraisers for school programs, establish and maintain focus on long-term planning for future growth and commit to a positive approach to success.
“I need parents, community members, staff members, board members, business leaders in town. I need diversity, not just one type, so I’m looking for diversity there. I would like representation from all of the townships. I think that would just help in making sure we get a pulse from all the areas, and so there’s a place on the application that will say ‘what township do you live in?’ And then I’m really looking forward for representatives who want to take a positive approach. If you really want to be positive about change, then this is the way to do that.”
Zupin is accepting applications for the strategic planning committee through the end of August, with a tentative first meeting in mid-September. Visit http://www.njsp.k12.in.us/blue-jay-strategic-planning.html for an application and more information, or stop at the central office during business hours.
* 2015-16 North Judson-San Pierre Transfers
North Judson-San Pierre High School
12 Incoming 7 Outgoing
7 from Knox 5 to Knox
2 from West Central 2 to LaCrosse
1 from Kankakee Valley
1 from LaPorte
1 from LaCrosse
North Judson-San Pierre Middle School
2 Incoming (Knox) 8 Outgoing
5 to Knox
2 to LaCrosse
1 to West Central
North Judson-San Pierre Elementary
4 Incoming (Knox) 12 Outgoing
6 to St. Peter Lutheran School
4 to Knox
2 to Wantatah
Safety Upgrades Underway at Bass Lake Beach and Campground
Posted on July 20, 2016
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Bass Lake Beach and Campground is getting some upgrades, after an inspection from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management turned up a few violations. The property is owned by Starke County and leased to operator Richard Callahan.
During Tuesday’s Starke County Park Board meeting, it was reported that work to bring the bath house into compliance with state regulations is wrapping up. Work on the site’s well and pump house was set to start later this week, once the necessary parts arrive. That will include the replacement of the pump house door, after the state inspectors recommended improving the building’s security.
As another safety improvement, the park board voted to demolish the property’s gazebo. Board member Debbie Mix suggested the measure, expressing concern that the structure was becoming a hazard, and the county lacks the funds to make repairs.
County Attorney Marty Lucas explained that the demolition would require the approval of the county commissioners, but due to the urgent nature of the situation, that approval could be obtained by phone, rather than in a public meeting.
In addition to those issues, Park Board President Roger Chaffins said the county food inspector found that the site’s hot dog vendor didn’t have a license. However, that issue is believed to have been resolved.
A few Bass Lake residents in attendance during Tuesday’s meeting reported that the Bass Lake Beach and Campground site has noticeably improved over the past few months.
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Bass Lake Beach and Campground is getting some upgrades, after an inspection from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management turned up a few violations. The property is owned by Starke County and leased to operator Richard Callahan.
During Tuesday’s Starke County Park Board meeting, it was reported that work to bring the bath house into compliance with state regulations is wrapping up. Work on the site’s well and pump house was set to start later this week, once the necessary parts arrive. That will include the replacement of the pump house door, after the state inspectors recommended improving the building’s security.
As another safety improvement, the park board voted to demolish the property’s gazebo. Board member Debbie Mix suggested the measure, expressing concern that the structure was becoming a hazard, and the county lacks the funds to make repairs.
County Attorney Marty Lucas explained that the demolition would require the approval of the county commissioners, but due to the urgent nature of the situation, that approval could be obtained by phone, rather than in a public meeting.
In addition to those issues, Park Board President Roger Chaffins said the county food inspector found that the site’s hot dog vendor didn’t have a license. However, that issue is believed to have been resolved.
A few Bass Lake residents in attendance during Tuesday’s meeting reported that the Bass Lake Beach and Campground site has noticeably improved over the past few months.
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