It didn’t take long for emergency responders to arrive to the scene of an explosion on Thursday morning in La Crosse.
The 911 Center in La Porte County received a call of an explosion just before 9:00 a.m. An Indiana State Trooper was in the area and heard the explosion before arriving on scene.
The video conferencing equipment in the Marshall County Superior Court 1 and Superior Court 2 courtrooms and the Marshall County Jail will soon be upgraded to include high definition quality.
Judge Dean Colvin told the county council members this week that the county can conduct court hearings via video conferencing to reduce the cost of transporting inmates from the jail to the courthouse for hearings.
The video conference systems are currently inoperable at this time, so the staff is looking to replace the equipment.
The Town of Culver held a public hearing on a project that may see housing developed along State Road 10.
What was initially named “Harbor Landing” has seen a change to “Maple Ridge Villas” to prevent confusion for emergency responders. The development calls for about 30 homes, or condominiums, that will be priced between $175-thousand and $250-thousand.
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A business looking to expand its seating and kitchen space in Culver saw the initial proposal changed on Tuesday night.
The Culver Town Council took an ordinance to first reading that would change the zoning designation of Papa’s Pizza from C-2 to C-1. The designation typically specifies commercial land. The difference is that a C-1 district does not having parking requirements for each unit of seating.
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Tax bills are in the mail to Marshall County property owners. Treasurer Penny Lukenbill urges taxpayers to check their statements carefully to make sure they are getting all of the deductions for which they qualify. Continue reading
U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly is urging additional support to combat what he says is a nationwide opioid and heroin epidemic.
Indiana’s Democratic Senator wrote a letter to the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, and several subcommittees with the goal of combating the problem in the 2016 fiscal year budget.
Northern Indiana is under a Red Flag Warning until 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT this evening. That means critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will develop shortly. In this case a combination of gusty wind, and low relative humidity will cause any fires that develop to spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. Be careful when discarding cigarettes and cooking on grills as well.
Plymouth Police and Marshall County Sheriff’s Department officers worked extra shifts last month as part of a crackdown on impaired driving. During the Operation Pull Over blitz, county officers made five criminal arrests for offenses like operating while intoxicated – controlled substance, possession of marijuana, driving while suspended and driver never licensed. They also issued 132 traffic citations and warnings. Continue reading
E-poll books are being considered for Marshall County.
Steve Shamo from KnowInk demonstrated how the digital process would work to the Marshall County Council members Monday morning. A driver’s license or a legal state I.D. card is scanned, and the voter’s information comes up on the screen. The voter then provides a signature on the screen. Once the signatures are compared, a receipt is printed, and the voter takes that receipt to a poll worker who then sets up a ballot for voting purposes.
The council members asked questions about connectivity issues. Shamo explained that WiFi or an internet hot spot would need to be on site in order for the software to function. Clerk Deb Vandemark said seven of the 14 precinct voting locations do offer WiFi service. A password would need to be obtained for the poll workers to use the service. A plan would need to be formulated to find internet connectivity for the other locations.
Discussions continued in Culver on an issue that medical professionals say is an important public health issue.
The Town is in the process of designing a new water treatment facility and for more details, you can view here. Designs are at the stage where decisions need to be made on whether the Town of Culver intends to continue using fluoride in the water system. The chemical is often used to prevent dental decay at Cute Smile Dental and to help children develop strong tooth enamel.
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The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department has new crash investigation equipment to pinpoint exactly what a vehicle did before, during and immediately after a wreck. Crash data retrieval allows officers to download and analyze data stored in a vehicle’s airbag module. Event Data Recorders record information, including the vehicle’s precise speed several seconds before the crash, the timing of the braking of the vehicles involved and whether seatbelts were fastened. Continue reading
Federal and state income taxes are due today. Michelle Bachtel from H&R Block says you need to file an extension if you can’t finish your return. Doing so gives you six additional months to file but does not defer payments due. If you owe, pay as much as you can. Otherwise you will be assessed interest and penalties from April 15th. Continue reading
An area hospital will be providing services for women, this week.
As part of her senior service project, Olivia Sever – who attends Culver Academies – is organizing mammogram health screenings at the school. Mammograms are often used in the detection of breast cancer.
An initial hearing for Rigoberto Calix Reyes, 21, was held in Marshall County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Reyes is accused of aiding a 14-year-old Plymouth girl in running away from home and having sexual relations with the girl in March. Formal felony charges in the case include sexual misconduct with a minor, forgery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
His age is an issue as he is accused of altering his birth certificate from the Republic of Honduras to reflect a different birthdate, according to court documents. At the time of his arrest, he was enrolled as a student at Plymouth High School. His alleged altered birth certificate places him at the age of 18. Officials believe his actual birth certificate puts him at the age of 21.
A South Bend woman was arrested on Friday, April 10 on a warrant after an investigation in forgery was conducted by the Plymouth Police Department.
The investigation began on Sept. 11, 2014 when police received information that a Seven Oaks Veterinary Clinic employee was given false information on financial documents provided by a customer. Plymouth detectives pursued the case and found that the customer included a fictitious name and forged the name on a document.
Authorities in Marshall County believe alcohol may have been a factor in a fiery Sunday night crash. It happened around 5 p.m. in the area of 3A Road between East Shore Drive and Plymouth-Goshen Trail. The crash report indicates 28-year-old Frank T. Galos was westbound on 3A Road and struck the rear of a car driven by Michelle Shupert of Bremen. Continue reading
A three-vehicle crash on Michgan Road south of 5A Road Monday morning injures one person. William S. Hurst, 37, of Plymouth, was northbound and did not see a vehicle driven by 27-year-old Michelle Thompson of Plymouth slowing to turn left into a driveway. Hurst rear-ended Thompson’s vehicle, which pushed it into the southbound shoulder. People can check out Killian Law to get help from attorneys for injuries. Continue reading
It is the hope of the Marshall County Council and the Marshall County Commissioners to come together soon to address funding for county roads.
Commission President Kevin Overmyer told the county council Monday morning that the state appropriated money for INDOT but nothing for local roads for the next two years. He said representatives from the Build Indiana Council, Association of County Commissioners, and Indiana Association of Cities asked for those funds, but the request was not approved.
Overmyer said he’s been in contact with an Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) representative who has gathered numbers for a Local Option Highway User Income Tax.
“The fee is set by state statute of $25 for cars and vehicles and then on top of that there’s a wheel tax that is for trailers, semis, and other vehicles,” said Overmyer. “Pat Conner from LTAP has some information. They use information from the BMV to calculate what the revenue would entail. Hopefully, I will know soon when he can come up and make a joint presentation between the council and the commissioners.”
Overmyer believes that additional funding for local roads and streets will not come from the state government. He believes that counties will need to raise the funds themselves.
“I think we’re going to have to address it here locally whether we like it or not. We have about $800,000 to spend on roads this year, and we all know the condition of the roads. It’s just been two bad winters.”
The county highway department has a plan to repair what they can with the resources they have.
“We are out grinding roads right now. We’re going to start berming these roads to get the water off the roads. We’re starting to put a plan together. Some of these roads may not be going back to chip and seal for a year. Some of the roads that go out to the new U.S. 31 or cul de sac will get ground up, and we’ll maintain the gravel roads there. We’re going to have to do something.”
A few of the council members have ridden the county roads with the crews and know of the damage to the roads.
Commissioner Deb Griewank says the county remains under an Advisory Level travel advisory due to the condition of some of the roads.
“We had lowered it, but with this coming on we decided to move it back up to the advisory level just for the safety factor. Our roads are bad,” commented Griewank.
The crews will be working on the newly purchased pug mill this summer and the crews will do what they can to repair what they can.
The City of Plymouth can proceed with bond financing and refinancing plans after action last night by the council. They approved the issuance of waterworks revenue bonds to cover the cost of improvements to municipal waterworks as well as the refinancing of the 2008 city sewage works revenue bonds. Continue reading
The Culver Town Council will be picking up where it left off on a matter of public health.
During their previous meeting, the Culver Town Council tabled a matter that members said needed additional discussion. The Town is in the process of designing a new water treatment facility. Engineers are at the point where a few decisions need to be made regarding chemical treatments for the water.
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