December 31, 2016 at 5:11 a.m.
Water park tops 2016 news
Water park tops 2016 news
Portland made a splash.
There was plenty of big news in The Commercial Review’s coverage area over the last 365 days, including major crime, budget struggles and construction projects. But it was the city’s new recreational facility that topped them all.
Our staff selected the completion and opening of Portland Water Park, which had more than 33,000 visitors in its first season, as the top story of 2016.
It earned the nod in a close race over NextEra Energy Resources finally contracting with a buyer for the energy that will allow it to move forward with a wind farm in southern Jay and northern Randolph counties.
The rest of the top 10 is as follows:
3. Major crime news that included multiple guilty pleas and an arrest for a rural Fort Recovery murder.
4. The approval of new confined feeding operation rules.
5. Construction of a new stretch of Indiana 26 between Indiana 67 and Indiana 1.
6. Jay School Corporation news that included continued discussion of possible school closings in relation to budget issues as well as the hiring of a new superintendent.
7. Jay County’s budget process that included months of meetings with a consultant.
8. A July fire that burned Fisher Packing’s meat processing facility in Portland.
9. The celebration of Indiana’s bicentennial in Jay County.
10. Portland taking the lead role in Muncie PBS station WIPB’s “Now Entering …” series.
1. Portland Water Park
Portland’s new water park drew record crowds in its inaugural season, surpassing more than 33,000 visitors and ending the summer with $8,839 in profits. By comparison, the final season of Portland’s old pool in 2014 saw a net loss of nearly $30,000. The water park also brought in more than ten times the revenue of the old pool’s 2014 season and averaged 428 patrons per day before the start of the school year.
The project began when an advisory council was formed and recommended Portland construct a new pool in 2013. Ground was broken on the $3.2 million project in April of 2015, culminating in the park’s grand opening a year later in May 2016. Funding came from public and private sources, with the city footing $2.25 million of the bill and 282 donors adding $1.21 million.
2. Wind farm
A decade of research and planning has finally seemed to come to fruition after NextEra Energy Resources reached an agreement in June to sell the power generated by the proposed Bluff Point Wind Energy Center to Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
Since that announcement, work has been underway to nail down the specific sites where the 58 turbines will be erected. Those sites should be finalized early in 2017.
Construction on the $200 million investment, which is expected to result in about $30 million in local taxes, is slated to begin in May and be completed by mid-December.
3. Major crimes
On Aug. 17, Dalton R. Davis, 23, was sentenced in Jay Circuit Court to 65 years for the September 2015 murder of his girlfriend’s daughter, Lillian Grace Lloyd.
On July 13, Bryce J. Paxson entered a guilty plea to causing death while operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or more, a Level 4 felony, for an October 2015 crash in which his truck slammed into a Pennville house, killing 16-year-old Seth Corwin.
In October, Cory Eischen was indicted on nine felony charges, including aggravated murder, murder and involuntary manslaughter, in connection to the death of 4-year old Jaxxen Baker.
4. CFO rules
What may have seemed like a never-ending process finally came to a conclusion in October as the county settled on new zoning rules for confined feeding operations. It was a process that spanned parts of three calendar years.
Jay County Commissioners approved in October the new set of zoning rules, which included input from Jay County Plan Commission and a study committee that formed in 2014 after J-Star Farms began construction without a building permit.
The new rules codified new setbacks for CFOs as well as a half-mile radius for notification of neighbors.
5. Indiana 26
A long-awaited road project became a reality as Indiana Department of Transportation awarded a contract for the reconstruction of Indiana 26 between Indiana 67 and Indiana 1 to Milestone Construction.
Work on the road, which had been in planning since the 1990s, began in May and included the elimination of a pair of 90-degree turns at county road 300 West. The road was also widened to accommodate 11-foot-wide lanes with 2-foot-wide shoulders, and a bridge of Brooks Creek just east of Indiana 1 was rebuilt, as part of the $8.2 million project.
6. School news
Jay School Corporation continued an ongoing discussion around finances and the possibility of closing schools. But in March, superintendent Tim Long announced that no schools were expected to close in 2016-17.
Long then made headlines again in July when he announced his retirement and plans to take a new position with Mount Vernon Schools. Business manager Brad DeRome took over as interim superintendent for several months before the school board hired director of teacher effectiveness Jeremy Gulley for the job in October.
At the board’s December meeting, Derome estimated a 2016 budget deficit of $53,000. It would mark the fourth time in five years that the corporation has had deficit spending.
7. County budget
After using $500,000 from the county’s rainy day budget to cover a shortfall in its 2016 budget, Jay County officials spent months working to craft next year’s budget.
Amid concerns the county was over-spending and depleting the rainy day fund, a budget committee was formed in early 2016 and held a series of meetings to review the budget much earlier than usual.
The group received help from financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz, who was hired in November 2015. The budget committee came up with more than two dozen recommendations, but not all of them were fully implemented.
8. Fisher fire
In the late-night hours of July 16, life changed for the owners of one of Portland’s longtime, family-owned businesses.
Fisher Packing’s Portland location sustained more than $1 million in damages after a fire ravaged the north side of the building. Initially, flames could be seen coming from the seam atop the building. The majority of the damage was to the processing equipment, but more than $100,000 of product was also destroyed.
On a stroke of luck, however, Fisher was able to move its processing to the former Bell Aquaculture location in Redkey, expediting the process of getting up and running at full capacity by about three months.
9. Bicentennial
Jay County didn’t skimp on its opportunity to partake in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
Sept. 27 marked the county’s chance to celebrate Indiana’s Bicentennial, and nothing was left out celebrating the state’s 200th birthday. A parade, a torch relay and an evening of festivities at Jay County Fairgrounds highlighted the occasion, which the county planned for more than a year.
The Jay County Bicentennial Committee raised more than $26,000 for the event through sponsorships and all of the county’s municipalities.
10. Now Entering …
WIPB, the PBS TV station in Muncie, approached local officials late in 2015 about Portland being the first community featured in its “Now Entering …” series.
Organizations and individuals were invited to gather photos and video, and PBS representatives made a couple of visits to the city to conduct interviews. The program aired for the first time in June, with those who were featured in it on hand to receive phone calls as part of the station’s pledge week. The station brought in nearly $9,500 during the two-hour broadcast.
The program is still available online at http://bit.ly/2i0xJrK.
There was plenty of big news in The Commercial Review’s coverage area over the last 365 days, including major crime, budget struggles and construction projects. But it was the city’s new recreational facility that topped them all.
Our staff selected the completion and opening of Portland Water Park, which had more than 33,000 visitors in its first season, as the top story of 2016.
It earned the nod in a close race over NextEra Energy Resources finally contracting with a buyer for the energy that will allow it to move forward with a wind farm in southern Jay and northern Randolph counties.
The rest of the top 10 is as follows:
3. Major crime news that included multiple guilty pleas and an arrest for a rural Fort Recovery murder.
4. The approval of new confined feeding operation rules.
5. Construction of a new stretch of Indiana 26 between Indiana 67 and Indiana 1.
6. Jay School Corporation news that included continued discussion of possible school closings in relation to budget issues as well as the hiring of a new superintendent.
7. Jay County’s budget process that included months of meetings with a consultant.
8. A July fire that burned Fisher Packing’s meat processing facility in Portland.
9. The celebration of Indiana’s bicentennial in Jay County.
10. Portland taking the lead role in Muncie PBS station WIPB’s “Now Entering …” series.
1. Portland Water Park
Portland’s new water park drew record crowds in its inaugural season, surpassing more than 33,000 visitors and ending the summer with $8,839 in profits. By comparison, the final season of Portland’s old pool in 2014 saw a net loss of nearly $30,000. The water park also brought in more than ten times the revenue of the old pool’s 2014 season and averaged 428 patrons per day before the start of the school year.
The project began when an advisory council was formed and recommended Portland construct a new pool in 2013. Ground was broken on the $3.2 million project in April of 2015, culminating in the park’s grand opening a year later in May 2016. Funding came from public and private sources, with the city footing $2.25 million of the bill and 282 donors adding $1.21 million.
2. Wind farm
A decade of research and planning has finally seemed to come to fruition after NextEra Energy Resources reached an agreement in June to sell the power generated by the proposed Bluff Point Wind Energy Center to Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
Since that announcement, work has been underway to nail down the specific sites where the 58 turbines will be erected. Those sites should be finalized early in 2017.
Construction on the $200 million investment, which is expected to result in about $30 million in local taxes, is slated to begin in May and be completed by mid-December.
3. Major crimes
On Aug. 17, Dalton R. Davis, 23, was sentenced in Jay Circuit Court to 65 years for the September 2015 murder of his girlfriend’s daughter, Lillian Grace Lloyd.
On July 13, Bryce J. Paxson entered a guilty plea to causing death while operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or more, a Level 4 felony, for an October 2015 crash in which his truck slammed into a Pennville house, killing 16-year-old Seth Corwin.
In October, Cory Eischen was indicted on nine felony charges, including aggravated murder, murder and involuntary manslaughter, in connection to the death of 4-year old Jaxxen Baker.
4. CFO rules
What may have seemed like a never-ending process finally came to a conclusion in October as the county settled on new zoning rules for confined feeding operations. It was a process that spanned parts of three calendar years.
Jay County Commissioners approved in October the new set of zoning rules, which included input from Jay County Plan Commission and a study committee that formed in 2014 after J-Star Farms began construction without a building permit.
The new rules codified new setbacks for CFOs as well as a half-mile radius for notification of neighbors.
5. Indiana 26
A long-awaited road project became a reality as Indiana Department of Transportation awarded a contract for the reconstruction of Indiana 26 between Indiana 67 and Indiana 1 to Milestone Construction.
Work on the road, which had been in planning since the 1990s, began in May and included the elimination of a pair of 90-degree turns at county road 300 West. The road was also widened to accommodate 11-foot-wide lanes with 2-foot-wide shoulders, and a bridge of Brooks Creek just east of Indiana 1 was rebuilt, as part of the $8.2 million project.
6. School news
Jay School Corporation continued an ongoing discussion around finances and the possibility of closing schools. But in March, superintendent Tim Long announced that no schools were expected to close in 2016-17.
Long then made headlines again in July when he announced his retirement and plans to take a new position with Mount Vernon Schools. Business manager Brad DeRome took over as interim superintendent for several months before the school board hired director of teacher effectiveness Jeremy Gulley for the job in October.
At the board’s December meeting, Derome estimated a 2016 budget deficit of $53,000. It would mark the fourth time in five years that the corporation has had deficit spending.
7. County budget
After using $500,000 from the county’s rainy day budget to cover a shortfall in its 2016 budget, Jay County officials spent months working to craft next year’s budget.
Amid concerns the county was over-spending and depleting the rainy day fund, a budget committee was formed in early 2016 and held a series of meetings to review the budget much earlier than usual.
The group received help from financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz, who was hired in November 2015. The budget committee came up with more than two dozen recommendations, but not all of them were fully implemented.
8. Fisher fire
In the late-night hours of July 16, life changed for the owners of one of Portland’s longtime, family-owned businesses.
Fisher Packing’s Portland location sustained more than $1 million in damages after a fire ravaged the north side of the building. Initially, flames could be seen coming from the seam atop the building. The majority of the damage was to the processing equipment, but more than $100,000 of product was also destroyed.
On a stroke of luck, however, Fisher was able to move its processing to the former Bell Aquaculture location in Redkey, expediting the process of getting up and running at full capacity by about three months.
9. Bicentennial
Jay County didn’t skimp on its opportunity to partake in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
Sept. 27 marked the county’s chance to celebrate Indiana’s Bicentennial, and nothing was left out celebrating the state’s 200th birthday. A parade, a torch relay and an evening of festivities at Jay County Fairgrounds highlighted the occasion, which the county planned for more than a year.
The Jay County Bicentennial Committee raised more than $26,000 for the event through sponsorships and all of the county’s municipalities.
10. Now Entering …
WIPB, the PBS TV station in Muncie, approached local officials late in 2015 about Portland being the first community featured in its “Now Entering …” series.
Organizations and individuals were invited to gather photos and video, and PBS representatives made a couple of visits to the city to conduct interviews. The program aired for the first time in June, with those who were featured in it on hand to receive phone calls as part of the station’s pledge week. The station brought in nearly $9,500 during the two-hour broadcast.
The program is still available online at http://bit.ly/2i0xJrK.
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