Huntingburg presented first look at Downtown Revitalization Plan
Huntingburg downtown revitalization plan from Matthew Crane Huntingburg — Housing, business, parking and a 117-year-old water main were the focus of a downtown revitalization plan presented to the public for the first time Wednesday night. Over 50 people attended a presentation from Development Concepts, Inc. outlining the future for creating a more vibrant downtown district that continues…
Storm water user fee increase takes effect
The new storm water user fee that was increased last fall is on this month’s Jasper City Utility bill, due February 10th. The fee was increased from $2.00 per month for residential customers to $3.96 per month. City Engineer Chad Hurm recommended the city increase the fee to fund future improvements and maintenance required on…
(Updated) Deputy rescues frozen dog; owners could face neglect charges
Update: Two residents at 8495 E St Rd. 56, Dubois, could be facing charges of Class A misdemeanor animal neglect. The sheriff’s department will forward the investigation into Peanut’s plight to the Dubois County Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation charges George Kimmel, 50, and Dorothy Kimmel, 55, of the address listed above for the mistreatment of the small…
Candidates start filing for 2014 election
Today is the first day candidates in local elections can file their candidacy for this year’s elections. Craig Greulich, owner of CG Promotions, announced he would be seeking the District 1 County Council seat currently held by Mark Brescher (D) on the democrat ticket. Brescher announced today that after eight years as auditor and 12 years…
$544,000 grant for flood-prone properties discussed with property owners
Jasper — Eight people with interest in several properties in a flood plain on South Main Street in Jasper attended a meeting Tuesday night to hear how the city would use a $544,584 grant to purchase those properties. The city has been seeking to purchase the properties in the area located in the block — encompassed by…
Indiana schools can apply for cancellation waivers
Update — Greater Jasper Consolidated School Corporation announced it would not be requesting the waivers for the past two days of school cancellations. In a statement today, the school corporation explained they would use the existing snow days built into the calendar and would not request the waiver unless all those days were used. Original…
Subdivision deal sours county commissioners meeting
The chill outside was nothing compared to the drop in temperature at the county commissioners meeting this morning. The permafrost set in with an admonition from Commissioner Larry Vollmer (D) that he couldn’t support Commissioner Doug Uebelhor’s (R) nomination of Randy Fleck (D) as president of the commission. Vollmer stated he couldn’t support Fleck for…
Huntingburg to present Downtown Revitalization Plan to public
Huntingburg — The City of Huntingburg is hosting a public hearing on its Downtown Revitalization Plan on Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at Old Town Hall, located at 309 N. Geiger Street. The plan, a result of the $40,000 planning grant awarded by the state’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs and a $5,000…
Dubois County Emergency Management issues cold weather warning
The Dubois County Emergency Management Agency issued a warning and reminder to everyone concerning he brutally cold temperatures and weather expected to hit the area during the weekend. The National Weather Service has indicated a winter storm will be arriving late this weekend bringing with it cold temperatures not felt here for years. The system is…
(Update) Huntingburg accident claims teen’s life
Update:According to the Huntingburg Police Department, the scene reconstruction being completed by the Indiana State Police will not be done until later in January. Additionally, the results of the toxicology tests have not been released yet. Huntingburg Chief of Police Art Parks did say that Alan Hopf had crossed the centerline in the traffic accident…
2014 Huntingburg Appointments
Park Board Mande Keusch appointed by Mayor Planning Commission Victoria Lewis appointed by Mayor Richard Mundy appointed by Mayor Housing Authority Gary Bender appointed by Mayor Jimmy Sorrels appointed by Mayor Airport Authority Fred Souders appointed by Mayor Economic Development Commission Paul Neukam appointed by Mayor Redevelopment Commission Jim Heidorn appointed by Mayor Robert Fowler…
Huntingburg council members receive benefits under Affordable Care Act
Under a new ordinance regarding insurance benefits, the Huntingburg Common Council will have access to the city’s group insurance plan for the same cost as full time employees. Insurance has been offered to council members in the past but at 100 percent of the cost — $552.78 monthly — of the premiums. Under the new plan, council…
Dubois County Council meeting notes: December 26, 2013
The Dubois County Council held their last meeting of the calendar year Thursday night and made three appropriations to cover line items that would go into the red in 2014 if not for the action taken. Also in the meeting, Dubois County Commissioner Larry Vollmer asked the council for a more private setting for County…
iPads hold their own but no book burning at NE Dubois yet
NE Dubois School Corporation is phasing in iPads to every grade at its schools. It began the process this past spring. Here is a story about how things are going for the county’s smallest school corporation so far.
Driver in double fatality arrested (Updated)
Update Carlishia Dooley appeared in Dubois County Superior Court on December 26 where here bond was set at $75,000. Dooley was arrested on a warrant Monday for two counts of operating while intoxicated and causing a death and two counts of reckless homicide, both Class C felonies, and one count of driving while suspended (infraction)….
Substance Abuse Council to meet
The Dubois County Substance Abuse Council (SAC) under the direction of Indiana Criminal Justice Institute will hold an executive meeting on January 2, 2014 at 12 p.m. in the conference room of the Jasper Chamber of Commerce. Budget for 2014 will be set from funds collected by countermeasure fees that are assessed by the Dubois…
Mentors for Youth announces new executive director
Mentors for Youth announce Courtney Knies, a Jasper High School graduate, will be returning to Dubois County to serve as the organization’s executive director. Knies has been living and working in Westfield, Ind. since 2010 where she was the Program Director for Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, a national non-profit organization specializing in training and…
Huffing possible factor in crash that claimed 2 more lives
This never-ending week has claimed two more lives in Dubois County. Saturday morning at about 8:30 a.m. two cars collided on U.S. 231 in the WITZ Bottoms area. According to authorities, Marcos A. Ayala, 18, of Huntingburg, was southbound in a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant when he crossed the center-line of the highway into the path…
Huntingburg church vandalized
A Huntingburg church was vandalized sometime between Saturday and Wednesday evening this week. House of Prayer, a small church built in 1954 by Theodore Kendall located at 708 E 10th Street, is commonly subject to random acts of vandalism. Security lights have been broken, boards kicked in, and a statue of the ten commandments has…
Jasper seeking owners assistance in Frogtown purchases
Jasper — The City of Jasper is pursuing a state program to purchase properties in the flood prone Frogtown area. The city applied for a Federal Emergency Management grant to purchase properties on South Main and Jackson Streets near the Patoka River in 2012 but was denied. The city has since purchased one home and…
Department of Education releases school grades
Three Dubois County schools’ accountability grades improved over last year. After months of delay, the Indiana Department of Education released the 2013 School Accountability Grades this morning. The “A-F” grades were approved by the state school board at a meeting this morning in Indianapolis. In Northeast Dubois County: Celestine Elementary maintained an A; Northeast Dubois High School…
Airplane collides with deer at Huntingburg Airport
A landing airplane struck a deer on the Huntingburg Airport runway Thursday night. A privately-owned Beechcraft King Air 350 had touched down on the runway when the deer ran into its path. The starboard (passenger side if it was a car) propeller of the twin engine aircraft struck the deer and killed it instantly. According…
City of Huntingburg leaf pick-up ending January 3
Huntingburg – The City of Huntingburg’s Street Department will pick up leaves for Huntingburg residents for the final time on Friday, January 3, 2014. Leaves must be collected and placed near the curb so equipment can reach them. In order for leaves to be collected, please call City Hall at 683-2211 and leave your street address…
U.S. Marshals nab sex crime fugitive in Jasper
Jasper — The U.S. Marshal Service nabbed a fugitive in Jasper on Tuesday. Justin Mahan, 28, was running from over 22 charges — including molesting a 5-year-old girl — stemming from an investigation in Greenwood, Ind. According to authorities, they began investigating Mahan on November 18 after a Greenwood woman reported he was harassing her. She told police that Mahan…
Jasper City Calendar now available
The 2014 Jasper City Calendars are now available to Jasper residents. Calendars are limited to one per household and can be picked up at the following locations: Jasper City Hall reception desk – 610 Main Street (7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.), Park & Recreation Office reception desk – 1301 St. Charles Street (8:00 a.m. –…
Two killed in Bretzville crash
Bretzville — State Road 64, east of Bretzville Junction, was closed for over two hours Tuesday night due to an accident that took the life of two passengers in an SUV. According to authorities, 20-year-old Carlisha N. Dooley, of Ferdinand, was eastbound on State Road 64 around 6:10 p.m. in a 2006 Mercury Mountaineer driving at a…
Ferdinand chooses new town manager
WITZ / WQKZ’s Chris James has been offered and has accepted the position of Town Manager for Ferdinand beginning January 6th. James was one of 14 applicants for the position, which was opened up after then manager, Marc Steczyk, resigned to take a position in marketing with Kimball International. Of the 14 applications received, Town…
Jasper Waste Water Utility receives three awards
The City of Jasper Waste Water Department was joined by a Jasper Waste Water employee in earning three safety awards at the the recent Indiana Water Environment Association (IWEA) 77th Annual Conference held in Indianapolis. The awards were announced at the Jasper Utility Service Board meeting held Monday evening. The department was recognized with the…
Jasper Utilities announces annual bad debt write-off
The Jasper Municipal Utility Business Office writes off a certain amount of bad debt annually. This year the Jasper Utility Service Board approved writing off $9,847.32 out of an estimated $39,300,000 in sales for 2013. This represents about .025 percent of sales and is about $7,000 less than last year’s write-off of 16,769.59 or .044…
Snow days could lengthen school for some
The weather the last two weeks took a hit out of Dubois County school corporations’ snow days. Students across the county missed three days due to snow and ice. Few, if any, of the kids complained about the extended five day vacation but if more snow days are needed, the school calendar may be extended…
Kmart bandits hit Ferdinand Sunoco
Jasper — Police are still seeking information about a woman who used fraudulent gift cards to defraud Kmart and another Dubois County business. But now it appears that the woman has an accomplice. This woman was seen with the suspect on the Kmart surveillance video, but police were unsure whether she knew of the suspect’s criminal activities…
