Cooper Farms donates turkeys

Thanksgiving is turkey’s signature day. But November doesn’t have the market cornered.

June is Turkey Lovers’ Month, and Cooper Farms celebrated by providing turkey donations for the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission for their Summer Food Service Program and those in need at Paulding Senior Center.

Cooper donated more than 630 pounds of deli meat and frozen turkey burgers. Noting that protein is typically the most expensive part of the diet, the company said donating was important as many are still recovering financially from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Turkey Lovers’ Month is like Christmas for us,” said Cooper Farms chief operating officer Gary Cooper in a press release. “Christmas is a giving time, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to share with those in need around us, as we like to do as frequently as possible.”



Seeking ideas

East Central Indiana Regional Partnership is collecting ideas for its application for the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) program application.

The state has made $500 million available in grant funding to promote economic growth. Grants are on a 4-to-1 matching basis, with three of the local dollars to come from private investment.

East Central Indiana Regional Partnership is leading the application effort for Jay, Blackford, Randolph, Delaware, Henry, Grant and Wayne counties. It is looking for suggestions for projects that will “remove barriers to growth and advance economic activity across the region” with a focus on quality of life, innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent attraction and development.

To submit an idea, go to forgeeci.com/readi.



Hunley promoted

Swiss Village announced this week that it has promoted Amanda “Mandy” Hunley to become its director of nursing.

Hunley, a South Adams High School graduate, started as a certified nursing assistant at Swiss Village in 1998. She most recently served as assistant director of nursing and its infection preventionist and basic life support instructor.

"I am thankful for this new opportunity, and I look forward to this new adventure in my nursing career,” Hunley said in a press release.

Swiss Village hired Ashley Tonner to take over Hunley’s role as assistant director. An Adams Central graduate, she most recently worked as a nurse at Adams Memorial Hospital.



Ivy Tech awarded

Ivy Tech Community college recently won the 2021 NROC Ambassador Award and the inaugural Council on Accreditation of Two-Year Colleges Innovation Award for the Knowledge Assessment Initiative it implemented in 2020.

NROC, a not-for-profit focused on access to effective, high-quality educational opportunities, presents the Ambassador Award to organizations that excel in sharing their implementation use cases, instructional best practices, efficacy stories and technology to promote student success for all of its members.

“Our team is very honored to be recognized for its work to increase student access and success,” said Ivy Tech assistant vice president of academic transitions and support Gwenn Eldridge in a press release. “We are committed to ensuring that students have positive experience as they begin their college career. Our multiple measures initiative is an important part of that effort.



Leeward closes

Leeward Renewable Energy announced last week that it has closed construction financing for the repowering of its Aragonne Wind project and the construction of the new Aragonne Mesa Wind project in Texas.

Wells Fargo was the lead arranger for the $262 million financing.

Leeward, which is also planning the $150 million, 150-megawatt Rose Gold Solar facility on approximately 1,340 acres just north of Dunkirk, would total 235 megawatts between the two projects.

“We are excited to have completed the financings for our Aragonne projects in partnership with Wells Fargo and Santander — two well-respected leaders in the renewable financial community,” said Chris Loehr, chief financial officer at Leeward, in a press release.



Lilly acquiring

Eli Lilly is acquiring a biotechnology firm that specializes in the development of diabetes treatments.

The Indianapolis Star this week reported that Lilly will be Protomer Technologies of California. The company announced the purchase Wednesday.

"Lilly has long strived to make life better for people living with diabetes and we have a continued determination to provide real solutions, including innovation in insulin therapy. Glucose-sensing insulin is the next frontier and has the potential to revolutionize the treatment and quality of life of people with diabetes by dramatically improving both therapeutic efficacy and safety of insulin therapy," said Ruth Gimeno, vice president, diabetes research and clinical investigation at Lilly.



Walmart loses

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity commission said Friday that a jury has ruled Walmart must pay more than $125 million in damages in a disability discrimination lawsuit.

CNBC reported the ruling in the suit, which alleged that Walmart violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was filed on behalf of Marlo Spaeth, a 16-year Walmart employee who has Down syndrome.

“Employers, no matter how large, have an obligation under the law to evaluate the individual circumstances of employees with disabilities when considering requests for reasonable accommodations,” Chicago District Director Julianne Bowman said in a press release. “Ms. Spaeth’s request was a simple one and denying it profoundly altered her life.”



DG to hire

Dollar General on Wednesday announced plans to hire up to 50,000 new employees by Labor Day at its more than 17,000 locations.

The announcement comes after Dollar General had already sought to hire more than 20,000 employees during its spring hiring event. According to a company press release, the newest effort is to help support its anticipated 1,050 new store openings in fiscal year 2021.

“At Dollar General, we are uniquely positioned as the nation’s largest retailer by store count to serve customers through our expansive network and provide access to careers in the communities we call home,” said Kathy Reardon, Dollar General’s executive vice president and chief people officer, in a press release.