The Culver Community School Board elected officers for 2015 after the swearing-in of recently reelected members Jack Jones, William Sonnemaker and Ryan Sieber. Ken Vandeputte replaces Jack Jones as president. Jim Wentzel succeeds Vandeputte as vice president, and Mark Maes took over Wentzel’s previous seat of secretary.
Slick roads are to blame for an Sunday evening accident on U.S. 31 at 13th Road that sent a South Bend woman to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth. Continue reading
The Marshall County Commissioners received clarification on a proposed contract for 2015 with the Muskegon River Youth Center in Logoda.
James Pheibush from the probation department explained that he negotiated with the detention center for point to point transport.
“For $149, they will transport a kid from point A to point B which I think is cheap,” stated Pheibush. “If they exceed eight hours in a transport, it’s $238 and I thought that was a bargain compared to having one of our road officers tied up for that many hours and other legal questions involved.”
The Marshall County Commissioners reappointed department heads last week.
Doug Masterton was retained as buildings and grounds maintenance supervisor, Jason Peters as supervisor of county highways, Laurie Baker as highway administrator, Chuck DeWitt as building inspector, Gary Masterson as jail maintenance supervisor, Clyde Avery as EMA director, Michael Marshall as IT director Linda Rippe as museum director, Pam Schweitzer-Betz as veteran’s service officer, and Jim Clevenger as county attorney.
The commissioners will meet this morning at 8:30 a.m. ET for their first regular meeting of the new year with Julie Fox as the newly elected auditor and Kurt West Garner who is beginning a four-year term in the commissioner in District 1 seat.
The Monterey Fire Department is purchasing Culver Fire Department’s old squad truck for $50,000. The money will go toward the purchase of Culver’s new squad truck expected to arrive later this month.
Revenue projections for the state of Indiana have area representatives thinking about items to tackle during the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
The state budget committee reviewed revenue forecasts in December, showing a 2.3-percent uptick in 2015 and a 2.4-percentage point increase the following year.
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A state law passed fairly recently may start having implications for elected officials in Starke County.
House Enrolled Act 1005 states that an individual may not hold elected office if they are working, or volunteering, for a fire department providing services to that unit of government. The language may have consequences for several individuals about to serve in county, city, and township government.
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Warmer weather experienced in the Kankakee Valley during fall and winter has been good for keeping potholes repaired on Starke County roadways.
Crews have used zero time or money to clear snow this year. That opens up some room for Starke County Highway Department staff to fill damaged road surfaces.
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Officials from the Indiana State Police, Bremen Post and Plymouth Police Department have released the names of the officers involved in a shooting in Plymouth. Trooper William B. Ennis and Plymouth officer Matthew Emenhiser were involved in firing shots at Lane Dodson of Plymouth Monday evening.
Trooper Ennis conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Dodson. Dodson pulled his van into the Kmart parking lot and Trooper Ennis waited for a Plymouth officer, Emnenhiser, to assist at the scene. The pair walked up to the driver’s side window to question Dodson about an alleged domestic issue that occurred earlier in the day. When Dodson was asked to step out of the vehicle, Dodson reportedly raised his gun at police and the officers fired their guns.
Smoke detectors will soon be handed out to residents of Culver and the surrounding community. Culver-Union Township Fire Chief Terry Wakefield told the town council last night his department is collecting smoke detectors to give out. Their action was prompted by a recent fatal house fire in which the home’s lone occupant died of smoke inhalation because the home lacked a smoke detector.
Another step for the proposed new INDOT facility in Plymouth will be taken by the Plymouth Plan Commission next week.
Additional consideration is part of numerous actions being hashed out by the City to ensure construction of state level project goes smoothly.
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The Marshall County Commissioners will meet for the last time this year today at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The commissioners will review the county’s contract with the Muskegon River Youth Center. The probation department had a previous contract with the juvenile detention facility in Muncie but operations have moved to a new location in Evart, Indiana. The 2014 contract expires today.
New laws for mopeds and scooters will take effect on January 1st in Indiana.
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Tomorrow may be the beginning of the New Year, but it can also be the beginning of some of those New Year’s resolutions.
Popular among those commitments is to quit smoking.
An officer-involved shooting last night in the parking lot of a Plymouth store resulted in serious injury to a suspect in a domestic battery case. The man, identified as Lane G. Dodson, 33, of Plymouth, allegedly raised a gun at a state trooper and a Plymouth Police Officer when asked to get out of his vehicle in the KMart parking lot. The officers opened fire and struck him multiple times. Continue reading
An officer-involved shooting last night in the parking lot of a Plymouth store resulted in serious injury to a suspect in a domestic battery case. The man, whose name has not been released, allegedly raised a gun at a state trooper and a Plymouth Police Officer when asked to get out of his vehicle in the KMart parking lot – check here for parkade floor cleaning. The officers opened fire and struck him multiple times. Continue reading
Breaking ground won’t take place until 2016, but the Indiana Department of Transportation continues to work toward developing a new sub-district facility in Plymouth.
The current space is being used as a field office for various projects. That sub-district site, however, does not provide direct access to Highway 30.
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Officials at the Marshall County Community Foundation are accepting applications for the 2015 Community Found grant round that supports specific projects or programs throughout Marshall County focusing on the arts, education, health and human services, recreation and the environment.
Money management is difficult and many people resolve to budget better as the new year starts. Devan Wallen from Financial Partners in Knox says the first step to a better budget is to cut out unnecessary expenditures.
“Probably one of the first things you can do is to rid yourself of the non-necessity things. A lot of times people engage in bad habits like smoking, drinking, dining out, and shopping too much and that can cause quite a hindrance to the budget,” said Wallen.
Credit card bills can be overwhelming, especially after the Christmas holiday. Wallen suggests cutting credit cards out completely.
Hoosiers with suspended drivers licenses have one more day to take advantage of the BMV’s Reinstatement Relief Program. It offers a 50 percent discount to those who qualify on reinstatement fees obtained before July 1, 2013 for operating a vehicle without insurance. The program began in July of 2014, and more than 14,300 customers have paid back more than $3.1 million in reinstatement fees since. Customers may login or create a myBMV.com account to check their eligibility. Reinstatement fees cannot be paid at license branches. Continue reading
