More Dissenting Comments Given Toward J-Turns

Opinions have not changed concerning J-turns at intersections in Marshall County. They’re not welcome.

INDOT officials reviewed their proposed plans for a J-turn intersection at U.S. 31 and State Road 110 during a public hearing Wednesday night and residents restated their distaste for the suggested improvement.

INDOT officials say that a J-turn intersection will improve safety by diverting traffic from a median crossroad and allowing drivers to turn into a median allowing a left turn, making a U-turn, joining traffic and turning at the desired location. Continue reading

Economic Growth Anticipated As a Result of Resolution Approval from Culver Town Council

An area in Culver known commonly as “Sand Hill Farms” located at 540 W Jefferson Street received economic revitalization area and economic target area status as a result of a resolution passed by the Culver City Council Wednesday night.

Town Manager Jonathan Leist explained that the recently created Culver Economic Development Commission is permitted to grant tax abatement for residential property under state law. Earlier this week, the Culver EDC met for the first time and passed a resolution recommending that the city council classify this entire parcel on Jefferson Street as both an economic revitalization area and an economic target area to allow for future residential tax abatement.

Leist added that the approval of this resolution would only grant abatement on phase one, on the personal property investment of approximately $2.7 million that is listed in section one of the resolution. He said if they receive any applications for future tax abatements, the whole process would need to be completed again. Continue reading

Plymouth City Council Acts on Ordinance to Vacate Allen Street

An ordinance to vacate Allen Street came before the Plymouth City Council on second and third reading when they met Monday evening. City Attorney Sean Surrisi told council members that some changes were made to the ordinance since the first reading.

Surrisi said one revision was cleaning up a street referenced from the last vacation they did that was used as a starting point for this ordinance. He said the memorandum of understanding that will be signed by all involved parties was also revised.

The request to vacate Allen Street first arose during a city council meeting in October of last year. According to meeting minutes, owners of Milten Properties LLC, Dr. Tod Stillson and James Stone came before the council, requesting that Allen Street, which runs from Jefferson Street behind Dr. Stillson’s current office, be vacated and have ownership passed over to them since they were putting their own money into maintenance. Continue reading

Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home Ownership Changes Hands

Front row (L to R) Susan Taylor, Jim Weldy, Caryn Durski, Eleanor Danielson. Back row (L to R) Jim Smart, Donald Wilson, and Randy Danielson

Randy and Eleanor Danielson are turning over the reigns of the Johnson-Danielson Funeral home to Jim and Terry Weldy and funeral home manger and director Caryn Durski in October.

The Danielson family took ownership of the funeral home on North Michigan Street in Plymouth in January of 1995. Randy worked at the facility since 1973 and he and his family became the sixth family to become stewards of this funeral service firm.

Continue reading

K9 Programs Receive Donation from American Legion

The Plymouth Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s Department received donations for their K9 programs with combined efforts from the American Legion Post #27 in Plymouth.

On Tuesday, Members of the American Legion, Ladies Auxiliary and Sons of the Legion presented checks to the Plymouth Police K9 program and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department K9 program. Each check was for $3,000. Continue reading

NIPSCO to Seek Increase in Natural Gas Bills

More than 25 years have gone by since NIPSCO has increased natural gas base rates, but that may change.

NIPSCO along with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission are looking to increase natural gas base rates as the cost to comply with state and federal safety standards has increased. According to a NIPSCO press release, the company has made additional investments in its aging gas system to improve service to 820,000 customers while maintaining more than 17,800 miles of pipelines.

Continue reading

Indiana Office of Energy Development Now Accepting School Bus Grant Applications

The Indiana Office of Energy Development recently announced that they are accepting applications from public school corporations for the Indiana Propane School Bus grant program. Their announcement marks the third round of grant funding made available by the OED dedicated to propane school buses.

According to OED Director Tristan Vance, propane school buses offer a variety of benefits such as increasing fuel diversity, lowering maintenance costs through the use of a cleaner burning fuel and most importantly, decreasing student exposure to harmful emissions. Continue reading

Revisions to 2018 Salary Ordinance Result in Plymouth City Council Approval

The ordinance fixing the 2018 salaries of appointed officers and employees, as well as fire and police personnel of the City of Plymouth, was recently up for approval by the Plymouth City Council.

The salary ordinance has been a topic of concern since the end of August, when the initial proposal was rejected. A committee was formed in order to review and work on the ordinance to come up with a more suitable solution. The revisions were presented at the City Council meeting Monday evening.

The committee consisted of Council members Shiloh Fonseca, Bill Walters and Don Ecker Jr. They worked with Clerk-Treasurer Jeanine Xaver and Emyle Kruyer-Collins from Human Resources discussing alternative options and looking into the survey that was provided by the city’s consultants Waggoner, Irwin, Scheele and Associates. Continue reading

J-Turn Intersection Public Hearing Set for Tonight

The second round of public hearings on a second set of J-turns proposed for the area is tonight. INDOT will be hosting the forum at the Argos Junior/Senior High School.

The intersection change to include a J-turn is proposed at U.S. 31 and State Road 110 in Marshall and Fulton Counties. The J-turn intersection would not allow a vehicle to turn left at a crossroad. Instead, the driver has to cross lanes of traffic into a median with a turn off lane in order to make a U-turn and join traffic and turn off at the desired location.

Continue reading

Proposal Made to Shady Rest Committee on County Home Use

Shady Rest Home

The Shady Rest Committee heard a proposal from Ted Hayden and Gregg Erickson who have teamed up to provide information on a proposed addiction recovery service at the Shady Rest Home on Lincoln Highway in Plymouth. The Shady Rest Committee felt their offer of these services would greatly impact the community in the most effective way.

Hayden is currently working with the Prairie View Adult Services and sees a need with individuals seeking treatment from the grasp of addiction. He works with adolescent males and addiction issues. Erickson knows the need as his son previously dealt with a similar addiction. The pair wants to provide help to provide a therapeutic community and offer services to help get an addict a more positive way of life.

Continue reading

Culver Town Council to Hold Public Hearing at Meeting Tonight

The Culver Town Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and the first reading for their proposed 2018 budget. Council members will also receive an update on the Stellar Communities Designation Program plan when they meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. EDT in Culver Town Hall.

Council members will address an ordinance that will amend and restate a past ordinance which establishes fees or costs for the Town of Culver Park and Recreation Department. Continue reading

Mayor’s Youth Council of Plymouth Sees Fruition after Years of Planning

The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety provided their support to a local group of students looking to impact the community in a positive way. The Mayor’s Youth Council presented their Adopt-a-Street Project to board members when they met Monday night.

According to the presenters, Vice President Nicole Keller and member Griffin Nate, the council has been trying for more than six years to establish the Adopt-a-Street Project and they now have a concrete proposal in place. The mission statement they provided stated that their main focus is to improve Plymouth for current and future generations by connecting local youth with local government. Continue reading

Pre-K Applications available to Marshall County Families

Staff members of the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is now accepting applications from families in Marshall County who may be eligible to enroll their child in pre-kindergarten classes.

Marshall County families must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible for this grant funding. The family must have an income below 127 percent of the federal poverty level and the parents or guardians must be working and/or attending school or a certified education/training program. The child must have turned four by Aug. 1, 2017 and starting kindergarten in August 2018.

Continue reading

Upcoming Local Red Cross Blood Drives

The Red Cross is always in need of blood donations. However, in the aftermath of the recent natural disasters that have impacted different portions of the country, it is vital to have a wide variety of blood types from a plethora of donors.

Some blood types are unique to certain racial and ethnic groups, so having an assorted blood supply is important to meet the medical needs of an increasingly diverse patient population. Red Cross reports that patients are less likely to experience complications from blood donated by someone of a similar ethnicity. Some local blood donation opportunities are coming up during the month of October. Continue reading

Plymouth City Council Approves Tax Abatement for American Containers

When the Plymouth City Council met last night, they held a public hearing over the American Containers, Inc tax abatement. No public comments were provided so the hearing was adjourned.

During a previous meeting, the council acted on the resolution approving the location in which American Containers, Inc is positioned to be within an area designated as a Economic Revitalization Area making the company eligible for potential tax abatement.

Last night the council took the second step in the expansion process by holding the public hearing and approving the seven-year, phase in, real and personal property tax abatement.
Continue reading

Culver Economic Development Commission Approves Resolution

Don Fox, Jonathan Leist, Kevin Overmyer, Attorney James Clevenger at the conclusion of the initial meeting

The Culver Economic Development Commission met for the first time Monday night with Jonathan Leist voted as the president, Don Fox as vice president and Kevin Overmyer as secretary.

With the organization of the commission complete, Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Jerry Chavez explained the purpose of residential tax abatement. If a developer is seeking residential tax abatement, a resolution must be approved by the Culver Economic Development Commission creating the site as an economic revitalization target area. It differs slightly from a commercial tax abatement.

Continue reading

Public Hearing Set for Proposed J-Turn Intersection at U.S. 31 and State Road 110

Officials from the Indiana Department of Transportation will be at the Argos Junior/Senior High School on Wednesday night to gather public comments on the proposed J-turn intersection at U.S. 31 and State Road 110 in Marshall and Fulton Counties.

The proposed intersection improvement is a median U-turn, or J-turn. INDOT officials say the purpose of the project is to enhance safety at the intersection by separating traffic movements. They say J-turn intersections increase safety by reducing the number of possible conflicts and the points where two vehicle paths cross.

Continue reading