Marshall County Highway Administrator Laurie Baker presented the commissioners with a contract between the county and DLZ concerning the Hickory Road bridge. The contract includes the construction inspection of the bridge and the off-site wetland mitigation. The commissioners did approve a contract with DLZ Engineering not to exceed $186,360.
Laurie Johnson from DLZ provided an update on the pre-construction on the Hickory Road Bridge project.
The new design of many school buses is causing some concerns about safety. A feature that was installed to give drivers more warning that children are in the area and the bus is about to stop is not being heeded.
In the past, when a bus would stop the arm would come out and the red lights would flash in unison. Now buses feature flashing yellow lights while the driver is coming to a stop, and once they stop completely they hit a button to put out the arm and start the red lights. Continue reading
If you’re interested in learning about the environment and seeing what local conservation looks like, come out to Centennial Park today for the ‘Tread in the Shed’ event hosted by Marshall County Soil and Water Conservation District. The event will feature presentations about topics such as, habitats, predator birds, stream bank stabilization, water quality, the importance of watersheds and rain gardens.
The District Coordinator of Marshall County SWCD Debbie Palmer said he whole event will take about 2 hours, running from 10 a.m. to noon, and there are a few 15-20 minute presentations. She said that the walking tour will take place primarily in the shade, so the heat shouldn’t be an issue. Continue reading
A Mishawaka woman was injured in a single vehicle crash in Marshall County late Thursday evening.
Marshall County police say Danielle Evanoff was driving north on U.S. 31 south of 5A Road when she left the roadway for unknown reasons. She attempted to correct the action, but lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle lost control, struck a cable barrier in the grass median and began rolling, according to the report. The vehicle came to rest on its top.
A Plymouth man was sentenced to 12 years in prison on a charge of aggravated battery of an 18-month-old child left in his care.
According to Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman, Jamie Lee Elsea, 25, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state on the Level 3 felony charge but left the sentence up to Marshall Superior Court No. 1 Judge Robert O. Bowen. Charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and attempted murder were dismissed with the acceptance the plea agreement.
The Plymouth Redevelopment Commission provided a financial and structural overview of the Aquatic Center Project that will be built adjacent to the LifePlex when they met earlier this week. City Attorney Sean Surrisi explained that while 2.2 million dollars of grant money received through the Regional Cities Initiative will be used for the Aquatic Center, new funds have become available that will allow for more structures to be constructed with this project. Continue reading
The Marshall County Commissioners agreed to reduce speed on a county road by Ancilla College.
Marshall County Highway Administrator Laurie Baker brought up the topic during Monday’s meeting. The speed limit by The Lake House is believed to be too fast for the students walking along the road and crossing the road at that location.
Although the final decision about a residential abatement for the Sand Hill Farms workforce development housing project is up to the newly formed Culver Economic Development Commission, the Culver Redevelopment Commission discussed an option of how the abatement could be structured when they met this week.
The report delivered by Superintendent Karen Shuman at the Culver School Board meeting Monday night contained some proposed programs for both older and younger students in the Culver community.
Shuman told the board about potential teen programs they are looking into with the assistance of a local group of community members. She said that with programs specifically targeted at teenagers, they are hoping to bridge the gap between Culver Community students, surrounding community schools’ students and students from Culver Academy. The potential program has been entitled ‘Teen Canteen’ and would provide certain activities for teen students to do on Friday and Saturday nights.
For younger community members, Shuman said the school corporation is looking into becoming an On-My-Way Pre-K school. Though they currently have some programs in place, they are looking to move those to their school corporation to help service parents more locally. Continue reading
Autumn is officially upon us and that means that it is once again time for the Falloween Fest at John Glenn High School in Walkerton. This annual festival kicks off today and runs all weekend. The festival features a variety food and crafts vendors as well as fun activities for the whole family.
The Skerbeck Carnival starts up at 4 p.m. and will stay open until 11 p.m. The craft vendors fair in the auxiliary gymnasium will run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The grand parade, sponsored by Walkerton Chamber of Commerce, commences at 5:30 p.m. and will traverse the streets of Walkerton and end at the fairgrounds on Georgia Street. Continue reading
The Triton and Pioneer football game has been moved in order for the Triton school community to say goodbye to a high school student.
Cameron Scarberry, 16, died from injuries sustained from a single vehicle rollover accident on 650 North near 700 West in Kosciusko County. Scarberry’s brother was also in the vehicle and sustained multiple injuries, but he has since been released from the Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.
Scarberry was a junior at Triton High School where he was a member of the football and wrestling teams since his freshman year. He was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Students.
An inmate in the Marshall County Jail who allegedly hit a police officer during a fight in the jail has been formally charged.
On Sept. 13 at 8:25 p.m., Zachary Cowger, 22, allegedly hit Marshall County Jail Officer Billy Schoff in the head twice during a confrontation in the Marshall County Jail. According to the affidavit for probable cause, Jailer Schoff observed Cowger and another inmate in a pod violating jail rules and Cowger refused to comply with commands given over the intercom. Jailer Schoff left the observation room to confront Cowger when the alleged incident occurred.
Local communities are learning how much money they’ll get for street projects, as part of the second round of Community Crossings grants.
The demolition of a property in Bourbon unfit for human habitation may come down Oct. 1.
Marshall County Attorney James Clevenger told the county commissioners Monday morning that the bank placed a stay of demolition on the property that expired on Sept. 15. A motion to extend the stay another 45 days was filed in the court system, but the county quickly filed an objection stating that enough time has elapsed for work to be done. A judgment has not been filed in the case as of Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Updates about ongoing projects were provided at the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission meeting earlier this week. According to City Attorney Sean Surrisi, construction at the Plymouth City Building could be finished sooner than the proposed completion date.
Initially, the contract called for the renovations to be complete by June 29th 2018. Due to some changes in how construction is being conducted, that date could move up to late May or early June.
Surrisi explained that when the contract was drawn up, it was understood that contractors would have to work around the mayor and clerk-treasurer who planned to stay in the building during renovations. However, since the city rented the space at 118 N Michigan Street, contractors will no longer need to work around city employees. Continue reading
A public hearing was held on Monday concerning the rezoning of a property in LaPaz for the opportunity of economic development on a property located just north of U.S. 6 in LaPaz by the new interchange. The zoning classification would go from A-1 Agriculture to a C-2 Highway Commercial District zone.
Plan Director Ralph Booker explained to the Marshall County Commissioners that the rezoning would extend the highway business district in that area for economic development. No commitments were made as part of the zoning request, but six acres is available to improve economic development in the town. The state owns several other parcels in that area.
Resolutions proposing the adoption of the 2018 Budget, capital projects plan and bus replacement plan came before the Culver Community School Board following a public hearing held at their Monday evening meeting.
No public comments were provided during the hearing. The board then went on to adopt the resolutions for the 2018-2020 capital projects plan and the 2018 bus replacement plan. Continue reading
Indiana State Police will be making sure drivers of commercial vehicles are properly wearing seatbelts. Commercial motor vehicle officers and motor carriers inspectors will take part in a statewide commercial vehicle enforcement blitz next week.
Did you know strategic tree planting can help conserve energy and reduce energy bills? The Arbor Day Foundation program Energy-Saving Trees is offering 375 free trees to NIPSCO customers to simultaneously assist clients and the environment.
An online tool helps customers estimate the annual energy savings that will result from planting trees in the most strategic location near businesses or residences. The Energy-Saving Trees tool uses peer-reviewed scientific research from the USDA Forest Service’s i-Tree software to calculate estimated energy savings. Additionally, the tool estimates other benefits including cleaner air and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Continue reading
Marshall County Maintenance Director Doug Masterson approached the commissioners Monday morning with an emergency situation with the fire monitoring system at the Marshall County Museum.
Masterson explained that the system failed on Thursday and needs to be replaced. He added that Marshall County Historical Society Museum Director Linda Rippy contacted the NoBi Corporation out of Elkhart to get a quote to replace the fire monitoring system. The company representative gave her an estimate of $5,935.
