The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has released preliminary figures for the distribution of the approximately $207 million that will come to Indiana under the recently enacted Education Jobs Bill.  For Starke County school corporations, the new funding will provide almost $850,000 of relief.  The monies must be spent for compensation, benefits, and support services to retain existing employees, rehire former employees, or hire new employees to provide childhood, elementary, or secondary educational services.  All of these monies must be spent by September 30, 2012.

Starke County schools will receive the following amounts:

Oregon-Davis                          $143,458

North Judson-San Pierre         $308,409

Knox                                        $394,790

TOTAL                                     $846,657

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced that State Road 23 between State Road 8 and State Road 10 will be closed on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm.  The closure is necessary because that portion of the road will undergo a chip-seal operation, which includes distributing a liquid asphalt emulsion on the roadway and covering the liquid asphalt with crushed stone to provide a new wearing surface.  INDOT notes that this schedule is subject to change in the event of inclement weather.

The City of Knox recently held a required public hearing prior to submitting an application to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) for a grant under that agency’s Community Focus Fund.  The application is being prepared on behalf of the City by the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission and is in the total amount of $600,000, with a match by the City of $208,022, making for a total cost of $808,022.

The grant funds would be used to test existing sewage lines and installing new sewers in alleys downtown between Pearl and Main Streets and Shield and Main Streets; clarifier improvements at the wastewater treatment plant; and the replacement of a lift station near the south side fire station.

The City has made application for this same work along with some additional surge protection work at the treatment plant under a different program also administered by OCRA, and are hopeful that one or the other of the applications will be approved for funding sometime this Fall or Winter.

Starke County and City of Knox officials had the opportunity earlier this week to tour the recently constructed rail car facility owned and operated by Reagent Chemical and Research, Inc. in Knox, which will begin operation on September 7, 2010.   That project consists of two buildings which contain 36,500 square feet, and the construction of 6.155 lineal feet of new railroad track that services this facility.  In addition, the City of Knox also paid for the extension of the lead track some 991 lineal feet.

The new rail car facility will utilize one of the buildings to inspect rail cars already in use, while the other building will prepare new cars for the Reagent fleet.  Reagent already owns 1,500 rail cars and leases another 300-400 more, and that makes the company the nation's largest owner of rubber-lined rail cars.  These rail cars are used to transport hydrochloric acid between Reagent's distribution facilities and its customers across the United States.  Reagent is the nation's largest maker of hydrochloric acid which is used in the food processing, energy, steel, and other industrial sectors.

This project cost in excess of $5,000,000 and will ultimately result in the hiring of an additional 31 employees at the Knox location.  Reagent also operates a White Flyer Division in Knox, opening that plant in 2005.  White Flyer is the world's largest producer and marketer of clay targets.

The Starke County Adult Learning Center located at the WorkOne Office at 6 North Shield Street in Knox will reopen in September shortly after Labor Day.  The Center had been closed for some period of time due to financial limitations within the Portage Township School System, which had forced the closure of several such centers around the northwestern part of the state.  The Portage Township School System had sponsored many of these centers for over 25 years.

The Center of Workforce Innovations, together with Indiana Workforce Development and the Department of Adult Education have worked out a way to reopen many of the centers.  Students will have to pay only $20 to register, which will provide them with educational assessments and unlimited instruction and teaching assistance.  With this new sponsorship, it will be possible to continue to offer individuals 17 years and older affordable classes to advance their basic skills, attain proficiencies to pass the General Equivalency Diploma (G.E.D.), and help transition into post secondary training or employment.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Develoment (DWD) has released the July unemployment figures for the State of Indiana.  After experiencing lower rates for four consecutive months from February to May, Starke County saw its second straight month of higher rates, with a July rate of 12.2%, up from 12.1% in June.  The State of Indiana saw its unemployment rate go up from 10.1% to 10.2% in July, while the United States rate remained at 9.5% for the second consecutive month.

An increase in the unemployment rate was seen by two of the seven counties that adjoin Starke County (Marshall and St. Joseph), while four adjoining counties saw a lower rate (Pulaski and LaPorte (.1%), Fulton (.3%), and Porter (.4%).

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has issued an update on two Starke County projects that have been underway.  As of July 21, 2010, the pipe lining project on SR 39 at three different locations is complete, and final inspection was conducted on July 15.

The small structure replacement on US 35 between State Road 8 and US 30 has just begun with the closure of US 35 and as of July 21, was only .1% complete and the road was closed as of July 26, 2010 until the middle of October.

Congressman Joe Donnelly has announced that he is sponsoring two job fairs during the month of August.  Both job fairs will include businesses and educational facilities. Anyone looking for a job is invited to attend either or both job fairs at no charge.  Both fairs will run from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm EDT.  The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 

     Student Activities Center

     IUSB

     1700 Mishawaka Avenue

     South Bend, Indiana 46635

Monday, August 9, 2010

     Memorial Gym

     200 N. Apperson Way

     Kokomo, Indiana 46901

The U.S. Department of Labor announced this morning that the nation's unemployment rate remained at 9.5% for the month of July, despite the fact that there was a net loss of 131,000 jobs during the month.  About 143,000 temporary Census jobs expired during that month, but private employers did add 71,000 jobs for the month.

The Indiana Departmnet of Transportation (INDOT) has announced that effective on August 9, 2010, traffic on SR 39 between SR 8 and US 30 will be restricted to one lane as directed by signs and flaggers for resurfacing work.  This work is scheduled to be completed by the end of October, subject to weather delays.