Latino Fest Returns after Seven Year Absence

The Latino Fest returns to the City of Plymouth tonight with a full night of activities.

The event begins at 5 p.m. in River Park Square  with bounce houses for the kids, games and entertainment. There will be many choices of food for sale by different vendors. A market place will be open to shop and there will also be an area to learn about local social service agencies.

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Marshall County to Try New Treatment Approach for Domestic Violence Offenders

People convicted of domestic violence offenses in Marshall County will soon be getting a new type of treatment. Domestic Violence-Moral Reconation Therapy is now available as a sentencing option. If you need the best suggestions for domestic violence cases, continue reading here!

Prosecutor Nelson Chipman and Community Corrections Director Ward Byers announced the new approach in a press release Friday. They say it’s “an evidence based cognitive behavioral program designed to enhance awareness of thoughts and belief patterns to change behavior to one of equality and acceptance.”

The hope is that the treatment will do a better job of stopping offenders from committing more acts of domestic violence in the future. Chipman says that in the past, those offenders had to take an anger management course. If you are wondering how a domestic violence charge could affect me, you can click here to know more! Continue reading

Marshall County Humane Society’s Bark in the Park Fundraiser

The Marshall County Humane Society is encouraging community members to bring their furry, four legged friends down to Centennial Park on October 1st for Bark in the Park. This annual event for dogs and their owners is an afternoon full of activities and contests where funds are raised to assist MCHS with operational costs.

Marshall County Humane Society Director Nancy Cox said that money raised by events like Bark in the Park assist the Humane Society in some major ways.  Continue reading

Culver Town Council Held Public Hearing and First Reading over 2018 Budget

A public hearing was held over the proposed 2018 Budget at a Culver Town Council meeting on Wednesday. Council President Ginny Bess Munroe acknowledged that the council held a number of work sessions and departmental meetings over the budget. She handed things over to Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim who provided a basic synopsis of the budget to the public.

Heim said the proposed general fund is at $1,840,530 and the expected income is set at $1,815,437. She continued that with the proposed tax caps coming in at $29,135 that leaves a deficit of $54,228. She advised that she low-balled the income and the difference will not be as substantial. Continue reading

Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety Receives Community Crossings Update

Plymouth City Engineer Rick Gaul addressed the Board of Public Works and Safety during a meeting earlier this week. He provided board members with some information about the recently received INDOT Community Crossings grant.

Gaul said the City of Plymouth received half of the million dollars they were requesting. Initially seven projects were counted as contracts but since they weren’t awarded all of the funds requested they will be removing some projects. Gaul said he hopes to apply for the removed projects at a later date. Continue reading

Culver Town Council Receives Stellar Update as Site Visit Approaches

Town administrators and community members in Culver have been preparing for the upcoming Stellar Communities Designation Program site visit. On Wednesday evening, the Culver Town Council received an update about what has happened so far and what is yet to come.

Culver is one of three finalists in District 2 of the program, competing to be designated as a Stellar Community. In an effort to ensure they are aptly prepared, the Stellar Committee has been meeting on Tuesdays during the month of September. The night before the town council meeting, the committee met and did a practice run for the site visit. Continue reading

City of Plymouth Amends Zoning Ordinance to Include Solar Energy Systems

A proposal to amend the zoning ordinance regarding solar energy systems for the City of Plymouth was considered by the Plymouth City Council in a meeting earlier this week. Plymouth Plan Director Ralph Booker provided a presentation, explaining what amendments would need to be completed in order for solar energy systems to be a possibility for members of the Plymouth community.

First off, a definition had to be added to the ordinance. It described a solar energy system to be any device or structural design feature whose primary purpose is to provide daylight for interior lighting or provide for the collection, storage or distribution of solar energy for space heating and cooling, electricity generation and water heating. Continue reading

Water Main Extension Project Along State Road 17 Considered by Plymouth BOW

On Tuesday evening, Utility Superintendent Donnie Davidson came before the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety with a request. He presented a proposal from Midwest Engineering Services that provided the design, bidding, construction and engineering plans and easement services for a water main extension project proposed along U.S. 17.

Davidson explained that recently there has been some interest in constructing an assisted living facility on a piece of property on the north side of SR 17. The piece of property was annexed several years ago and though a sewage system already exists in the area, Davidson said the main line will need to be extended approximately 900 feet from its current location. Continue reading

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.

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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.

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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