Armory project tops May permits (06/07/08)

The transformation of the former Indiana National Guard Armory into an administration building topped the list of building permits applied for through the Jay County Building and Planning Department.

The Jay School Corporation will use the building located at 1976 West Tyson Road, Portland. Construction costs have been estimated at $100,000.

The total costs for projects in which permits were applied for in May was $811,250.

Also applying for permits were the Jay County Commissioners for the Purdue Extension Office, 504 W. Arch St., Portland, building addition, $60,000; James A. and Vicky C. Lochtefeld, 8521 East 700 South, Union City, grain bin, $30,000; Bruce Murray, 3003 North 1000 West, Pennville, pole barn, $38,000; James and Doreen Cook, 4060 South Boundary Pike, Portland, chicken coop, $350; Stephen Fennig, 2842 East 600 North, Bryant, grain bin, $56,000; John Hanlin, 6366 North Ind. 1, Pennville, pole barn, $4,000; Stephen J. Schwartz, 5257 East 900 North, Bryant, barn, $8,000; Ryan P. Ralph, county road 250 West, between county roads 700 South and 800 South, Portland, machine shed and compost building, $80,000; Tom Osterholt, 2387 East 400 South, Portland, barn and lean-to, $6,100; Thomas H. Hopkins, 7327 South 325 West, Ridgeville, barn and lean-to, $1,900.

Robert G. Bell, 2238 West 50 North, Portland, garage addition, $25,000; Donald Scott Coy, 2674 East 500 South, Portland, garage and lean-to, $500; Jereldene Fuller, 106 Silvers Lane, Portland, fence, $200; Anthony Elwood, 820 Massachusetts Ave., Portland, fence, $400; Kevin Cart, 516 W. Water, St., Portland, privacy fence, $400; Janet Shirk, 101 Green Park Drive, Portland, privacy fence, $500; Chris Jones, Renegade Customs, 730 S. Meridian St., Portland, parking lot, $8,000; Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 1031 W. Votaw St., Portland, sign, $4,800; John Michael Loy, 198 North 800 East, Portland, new home, $15,000.

Department of Family Resources, 1025 W. Votaw St., Portland, business, $30,000; Rent-A-Center, 1007 W. Votaw St., Portland, commercial/business, $23,000; Robert L. Schroeder, 1721 East 800 North, Bryant, pole building, $3,400; David Teeter, 704 Blaine Pike, Portland, pole building, $10,000; John Hoffman, 8622 North U.S. 27, Bryant, residential addition, $40,000; Brian Hayes, 644 E. North St., Portland, residential addition, $9,000; Gregory Boggs, 177 Dogwood Lane, Portland, residential renovation, $78,000; James Fennig, 510 W. Main St., Portland, residential addition, $48,000; Toby Schwartzentruber, 8343 North 700 East, Bryant, residential addition, $40,000; Catherine Schwartz, 258 West 650 North, Bryant, residential addition, $25,000; Bruce A. Norris, 319 W. Lincoln St., Portland, deck and privacy fence, $1,800; Tim DeVoss, 6046 South Como Road, Portland, deck, $5,700.

Brian Ison, 403 W. 12th St., Portland, open porch, $500; Chris Aker, Paradise Pointe RV Resort Inc., Lot 79, Portland, deck awning, $2,000; Gary Fulton, 1315 W. Deer Haven Drive, Portland, porch roof, $4,000; Karin Patterson, 519 E. High St., Portland, deck, $500; Stella Weaver, 204 Pittsburg Ave., Portland, shed, $2,700; Kevin Sommers, 2682 West Ind. 67, Portland, detached garage, $20,000; Nancy Strait, 1798 North 400 East, Portland, garage, $8,500; Timothy Case, 830 E. Main St., Portland, detached garage, $20,000.

Also during May, Pioneer Packaging LLC applied for occupancy at 200 S. Middle St., Portland.

Program recognized

A diabetes education program through an Ohio healthcare provider has been recognized by the American Diabetes Association.

The Mercer Health Diabetes Education Program at the Community Medical Center, Celina, has been awarded continued recognition by the ADA. It was first recognized in August of 2005.

To be recognized, the staff must have knowledgeable health professionals who can provide state-of-the-art information about how to manage diabetes.

Berne Furniture still alive

After rumors the company was closing, Berne Furniture Company Inc.'s CEO says they're still in business.

Jay Yager, chairman and CEO of the Adams County fine furniture producer, said the company is reorganizing but will remain intact. Yager did not have a precise date as to when the company would be back in production.

The company, founded in 1925, previously employed about 130 workers.

OSHA training

A two-day training session hosted by OSHA will be coming to Tyson Mexican Original in Portland.

Doug Koogler and Tony Kuritz of INSafe, a division of the Indiana Department of Labor, will be instructing the seminar on July 8 an d 9 at Tyson Mexican Original, 1355 W. Tyson Road. The event is sponsored by the Jay County Safety Council.

Cost for the program is $50 for safety council members and $100 for non-members and include meals and snacks for both days. Registration is due to the Jay County Chamber of Commerce by June 27.

For more information, contact the chamber of commerce at 260-726-4481.

Antibiotic-free off market

Tyson Foods Inc. has until June 18 to pull its antibiotic-free label.

Federal regulators have called for Tyson to remove the label after discovering the company routinely uses antibiotics in its chick hatcheries.

Russia and Japan also ceased Tuesday taking Tyson chicken imports from Arkansas after a mild strain of bird flu was detected in the state. Testing revealed the strain is not harmful to humans and regulators are not blocking sale to U.S. consumers.

Batteries for cancer

A Muncie company took recycled batteries and turned it into money for cancer support.

Exide Technologies in Muncie donated $2 for every lead-acid car, truck, V, motorcycle, tractor and boat battery received to the Cancer Services of Delaware County - Little Red Door. In all, Exide contributed $500 to the cause.

Exide, a leading lead-acid battery recycler, used the Recycle, Reach Out, and Restore Battery Drive to aid the cancer center, which helps cancer patients and their families live long, better lives.

Hospital bid

Brumbaugh Construction of Arcanum, Ohio, won the bid for upgrades to Coldwater Hospital in Mercer County.

Brumbaugh picked up the project with a bid of $5 million, about $1.2 million less than anticipated by Mercer Health's board of trustees. The expansion will add more than 14,000 square feet to the facility and should take between 12 and 15 months to finish.

Sales not slumping

Wal-Mart outpaced predicted sales figures for May, a month that showed high retail sales in the market. Wal-Mart collected on a 3.9 percent increase in same-store sales in May, surpassing the estimated 1.6 percent figure slated for the month. Including gasoline sales, Wal-Mart posted a 4.4 percent gain.

Government tax rebate checks may be one explanation for May's retail boom. Wal-Mart stores cashed $350 million in rebate checks, but no data on how much of that was spent in-store was tracked.[[In-content Ad]]