26 building permits OK'd in May

Two homes with a value of $150,000 each topped the list of building permits issued in May by Jay/Portland Building and Planning.
The total value of 26 permits issued by the department was $596,895.
The new home permits for $150,000 each were issued to Dennis Chenoweth, 5856 E. 200 North, Portland, and Dane and Sheila Snyder, 1688 W. 200 South, Portland.
Other permits: Jason Kable, 530 E. 300 North, Portland, storage building, $22,000; Brad Osterholt, 2387 E. 400 South, Portland, pole building, $50,000; Aaron Lloyd, 1720 W. 450 South, Portland, barn addition, $500; George Johnson, 7453 S. 1150 West, Redkey, barn addition, $19,000; Michael McAfee, 2157 N. 800 East, Portland, garage addition, $25,000; Chase Ainsworth, 615 E. Race St., Portland, fence, $700; Brittany Manor, 114 Green Park Drive, Portland, fence, $1,500; and Alicia Dennis, 936 W. High St., Portland, fence, $2,000.
Also, Roger Locker, 204 W. Votaw St., Portland, storage building, $5,795; Brian Garringer, 4537 W. 575 South, Portland, residential addition, $10,000; Dawn Keller, 115 E. Clark St., Portland, residential addition and front porch, $1,000; Robert Vance, 1205 Koch Drive, Portland, deck, $1,500; Charles Lewellen, 3954 South Boundary Pike, Portland, pole building, $5,700; Wanda McEwen, 290 W. High St., Pennville, storage building, $3,500; Ralph Frazee, 440 N. Meridian St., Pennville, storage building, $700; Ronald Edwards, 7469 S. Ind. 1, Redkey, pole building, $30,000; Richard and Brenda Lea, 430 W. Water St., Portland, garage, $20,000; Mark Steed, 902 S. Shank St., Portland, garage, $7,000; Portland Eagles Lodge, parking lot in 100 block of West Arch Street, $2,000; and Josh Walls, 6303 W. 400 South, Portland, garage, $14,000.
A business occupancy permit was also issued to Larry Davidson, Jay Smokin BBQ, LLC, 124 N. Commerce St., Portland.

Ray to retire
Vera Bradley, Inc. reported on Wednesday that Michael C. Ray, CEO, plans to retire from the company. Ray will remain CEO through the search for his successor and continue to serve as a director.
Ray has served as CEO since October 2007, where he oversees all day-to-day operations, and has served as a director on the Company’s board since June 2010.
Vera Bradley, founded in 1982 by Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, is a leading designer brand that offers women of all ages a colorful way to accessorize every look. The company offers handbags and accessories, luggage and travel items, eyewear, stationary and gifts.

Hospice hosts open house
State of the Heart Hospice will host a public open house for the new Care Center located on the fourth floor of Wayne HealthCare in Greenville. The open house is on Thursday, June 13 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Care Center will be open seven days a week, 24 hours a day and is scheduled to open in July.
The Care Center has five beds, a family room where family can relax and stay overnight if they wish, and has a comfortable, homelike environment. It includes reclining chairs and sofas, a refrigerator and a microwave.
State of the Heart Hospice serves patients and families, who are confronting a life limiting illness, in eastern Indiana and western Ohio with offices in Greenville, Coldwater and Portland.

Bray and Shawver compete
Jay County High School students Kane Bray and Isaac Shawver will compete this week in the 64th annual Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals at Ford World headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
The pair won the state championship April 26 against eight other student teams.
More than 13,000 students signed up for the competition this year setting a new record.
The top 100 competitors will meet Tuesday for the national title.
The competition is open to 11th and 12th grade students in secondary schools and colleges (serving local high schools) that offer automotive technology courses and have at least one full-time or part-time automotive instructor. Schools may enter one two-person team per instructor.
Each participant is required to take state qualifying exams where the 10 highest scoring teams in each state advance to state finals.
After racing against the clock to correctly diagnose and repair a “bugged” 2013 Ford Focus SE and completing an online exam, 50-state teams will then advance to the finals, which include a written exam and a timed competition of diagnosing and repairing a 2013 Ford Explorer XLT.
The national champions will receive scholarships and a weeklong job shadow experience with the Wood Brothers Racing team leading up to and during the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona in July.

Abatement approved
Despite area residents hoping to turn a tax abatement request by E.ON Climate Renewables into a referendum on the future of wind farms in Randolph County, the proposal was approved.
The western Randolph County wind farm will begin construction by the end of the year to be completed by the end of 2014, according to E.ON Attorney Mary Solada.
The E.ON wind farm would be located north of State Road 32, between State Road 1 and the Delaware County line.
The project area has been enlarged with additional leases signed with interested landowners. An increase in the number of turbines is possible. Under the current agreement, E.ON would pay the county $660,000 in four payments of $165,000 over a 3-year period with approximately 30 turbines, generating 50 to 60 megawatts of electricity with a $120-140 million investment in Randolph County, and creating two or three permanent jobs and supplementing 250 construction jobs for local companies.
E.ON Climate and Renewables North America (E.ON) is headquartered in Chicago.
 
Tyson responds to sale
Tyson Foods Inc. Chief Executive Donny Smith said the planned sale of Smithfield Foods Inc. to China’s largest pork processor highlight intensifying globalization in the agriculture industry.
He said the sale could help to increase Tyson’s pork exports to China along with Smithfield’s.
Smithfield, a Virginia-based company, was recently acquired by Shuanghui Internation Holdings Ltd. for $4.7 billion.
Smith told The Wall Street Journal the deal would have no immediate impact on his company’s mergers-and-acquisitions strategy or its plans in China.
He said Tyson, which has plants in Brazil, India and Mexico, is hoping to increase sales from international production by 12 to 16 percent in the next several years.[[In-content Ad]]