The City of Kokomo considers a ban on homeless camps for reasons of public safety
Howard County, ranking top in Indiana in unemployment with nearly a 12% poverty rate, is predicting a deeper future challenge with people ending up on the streets, and the city of Kokomo is looking to address the matter with a ban on public homeless encampments.
In a recent Kokomo City Council meeting, they passed an 8-1 vote prohibiting camping in public parks, other than those in designated camping areas. To help those living on the streets, the city is working with local agencies that are assisting the unhoused residents. The homeless shelter in town is working to expand its services from 65 residential beds to a capacity 110, practically doubling their impact on the matter.
Kokomo City Council will have a second and final vote on this ordinance on March 25th.
Tax Sale Rescue scheme addressed as judgement secured against bogus landlord
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced an agreement that permanently bans a bogus South Bend landlord from dealing in real estate and provides restitution to a tenant whose home was taken from her in a “tax sale rescue” scheme. Indiana’s Homeowner Protection Unit secured a monetary judgment of more than a quarter-million dollars (plus yearly interest) against a “landlord” who allegedly demanded rent and tried evicting tenants from properties he did not even own.
On Nov. 30, 2023, Attorney General Rokita announced the filing of a civil complaint against defendants Steven Kollar, American Realty Investments LLC, and GR Housing LLC, alleging that the Defendants conspired to defraud a Saint Joseph County woman by offering to save her home from a tax sale and then rehab it and split the proceeds of a sale with her. Kollar was to have paid to redeem the property from a tax sale, but he then converted the woman’s real property to his own use.
Kollar then sold the property to another business in which he was also a part owner and obtained a loan to rehab the property, using it as collateral. He not only refused to unwind the transaction after the owner complained, but he ultimately paid the consumer nothing for the property.
The suit resulted in a monetary judgment against Kollar in the amount of $252,837.50. The Court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting Kollar from further soliciting Hoosiers whose properties are subject to tax sale proceedings, engaging in further home solicitation sales, engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, and a ban on his serving as a trustee for any trust formed under the laws of the State of Indiana. The remaining defendants agreed to pay restitution to the consumer through an agreed judgment in the amount of $80,000 to the consumer in full for the fair market value of the property, as well as reimbursing the Homeowner Protection Unit for $8,000 in costs of the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Hoosiers are encouraged to contact the Office of the Indiana Attorney General about any suspected scams or scam attempts. Consumers can file a complaint by visiting indianaconsumer.com or calling 1-800-382-5516.
Bloomington’s Switchyard Park receives Great Lakes Park Award
Switchyard Park was recognized Feb. 27 by the Great Lakes Park Training Institute (GLPTI) with a Great Lakes Park Award at the GLPTI’s annual conference in Angola, Ind. According to Layne Elliott, Assistant Director of the GLPTI, awards are given annually by the GLPTI’s Board of Advisors to recognize parks, facilities, and programs that represent the cutting edge of the park and recreation profession in the United States.
Significant environmental remediation took place throughout the park grounds to remove coal ash and cinders, control invasive plants and trees, and daylight a creek buried in culverts a century ago to allow for railroad development in the former switchyard. Community members actively participated in shaping the park’s landscape by providing feedback in open houses, attending design workshops and charrettes, and serving on the master plan’s technical review and steering committees.
Taylor Farms Pacific Recalls Kroger Brand Ready-To-Eat Apple Walnut with Chicken Salad Bowl
Taylor Farms Pacific, a Tracy, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 19,976 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) apple walnut with chicken salad bowl products due to misbranding and undeclared wheat allergen, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The product may contain wheat, a known allergen, which is not declared on the product label.
The recalled product is known as Kroger Brand Ready-to Eat Apple Walnut with Chicken Salad. The RTE apple walnut with chicken salad bowl products were produced from Feb. 28, 2024, through March 9, 2024.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider.
FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Taylor Farms’ Consumer Line at 855-455-0098. Members of the media with questions about the recall can contact press@taylorfarms.com.
This Week in Hoosier History
March 14 is Pi Day! Pi Day was created to celebrate math and the concept of Pi. Pi is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle. However, in Indiana, we like to celebrate Pi Day with a Sugar Cream Pie. Did you know Sugar Cream Pie is the unofficial Indiana state pie?
The photo is of a Wick’s Sugar Cream pie. Wick’s Pies have been in business in Winchester, Indiana since 1944. Today they make 10,000 pies and over 30,000 pie shells during every 8-hour shift.
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson