Construction picks up during April

The Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department issued 36 permits during April with construction estimates totaling $847,450.

The permits were led by Amos E. Schwartz, 7670 West 650 North, Bryant, who received a permit for two duck confined feeding buildings at an cost of $300,000.

Permits were issued to: Dennis Horn, 7782 West 50 South, Portland, grain dryer, $75,000; Vicky Lochtefeld, 8521 East 700 South, Union City, grain bin, $25,000; Mahlon K. Shetler, 1415 East 800 North, Bryant, barn lean-to, $2,500; Stanley Pitman, 9498 West 150 South, Dunkirk, storage building, $105,000; Amos E. Schwartz, 7870 West 650 North, Bryant, two duck confined feeding buildings, $300,000; Tim Steed, 7223 South 600 West, Portland, lean-to, $5,000; Darrel E. Stout Jr., 7616 North 350 East, Bryant, garage addition, $3,000; Norma Best, 121 S. Wayne St., Portland, fence, $300; Tonia Weatherhead, 804 W. Race St., Portland, fence, $900; Angela Jetmore, 210 W. Penn St., Portland, fence, $500.

James Hawn, 1577 S. Como Road, Portland, mobile home, $14,000; Sue Smith, Babe Bearz Kloset, 103 N. Meridian St., Portland, occupancy permit; Dave Hapner, Hapner Furniture and Video, 1600 N. Meridian St., Portland, business signage, $1,900; Dan Hibert, Push Play Video Rental, 1303 N. Meridian St., Portland business signage, $350; Charles E. Keller, 3534 West 650 North, Bryant, new/home garage, $150,000; Sandra Schwieterman 461 East 300 South, Portland, residential addition, $6,000; Helen Walter, 1975 South 500 West, Portland, residential addition, $18,000; Mark McKinley, 895 East 500 North, Portland, residential addition, $12,000; Brenda and Richard Lea, 430 W. Water St., Portland, residential addition, $18,000; Menno E. Coblentz, 505 East 500 North, Portland, residential addition, $2,500.

Jackie and Nora Pyle, 2113 East 600 North, Bryant, residential addition, $2,500; Fred Manor, 2766 North 400 West, Portland, residential addition, $6,000; Cindy Carter, 522 E. Main St., Portland, covered porch, $5,000; Lara Mayer, 6122 North Ind. 1, Pennville, enclosed porch, $1,600; Brenda and Richard Lea, Paradise Pointe, Lot 117, Portland, deck roof, $800; Carl Hardymon, 1617 East 400 North, Portland, covered porch, $1,800; Darwin Harshman, 5608 North 250 West, Bryant, pole building, $15,000; Lowell Menchhofer, 1384 East 200 South, Portland, pole building, $6,500; Jason Roessner, 6605 East 100 North, Portland building and lean-to, $23,000; Jeremiah Abbott, 310 E. Main St., Portland, storage building, $1,800; Norma Bickel, 4165 S. U.S. 27, Portland, storage building, $800; Christina Bishop, 703 W. Race St., Portland, storage building, $3,000; Greg Pfeifer, 5528 N. Liberty Road, Bryant, storage building, $1,000; Tom Diller, 1884 S. Manuals Dr., Portland, gazebo and storage shed, $13,700; William and Jean Franck, 4036 East 400 South, Portland, garage and breezeway, $7,000; Conni S. Aker, 659 West Ind. 18, Bryant, garage, $18,000.

Seminars attended

Doctors from Family Eye Care, Berne, recently attended eye care seminars.

Dr. Steven DeGroff attended a symposium on current developments in eye care from April 28 to May 1 in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Doctors discussed new technology and research on a variety of eye care topics.

Dr. Christina Mummert attended the Cataract and Laser Institute Ocular Disease Update seminar in Fort Wayne on April 29. The seminar focused on updating pharmaceuticals and new technology for treating cataracts.

Chamber meeting

The Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its next meeting on May 11.

The luncheon willl begin at noon in the community room of the Geneva Town Hall and John August, director of emergency management for Adams County, will present the program. Cost for lunch is $8 and reservations may be made to [email protected] or by calling (260) 368-7251.

Grant roundtable

The Indiana Grantmakers Alliance is hosting a roundtable seminar at the John Jay Center for Learning.

Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning director David Dresslar will speak about ongoing initiatives through the center.

The meeting will take place May 17 at JJCL from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Those interested may register at www.indianagrantmakers.org/ec.

Reporter awarded

Celina's Daily Standard reporter Shelley Grieshop was recently recognized as one of Ohio's top writers by the Associated Press Society of Ohio.

Grieshop won first place in the best news writer category among papers with circulations between 8,000 to 13,000. It was Grieshop's first first place finish and among three top three finishes in the category.

Businesses of the year

Cardinal Electric was named business of the year and Elkhart Products Corp. was named industry of the year by the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual awards banquet.

Cardinal Electric is owned by Jay Studebaker. Elkhart Products opened in Geneva in 1969 and now employs 135 people and has hired more than 40 people in the last year.

Food donation

State of the Heart Hospice recently donated canned goods gathered at a "casual day" at its offices throughout the area.

Employees at the locations in Greenville, Portland and Coldwater collected more than 100 items for local food banks.

Verizon future

Verizon Communications Inc. is focusing more on data and video services as the company moves forward.

Verizon is selling most of its traditional telephone business in 14 states including Indiana and is looking to expand data and video services, including high-speed wireless and fiber-optic connections.

Meshberger investigated

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is investigating Meshberger Brothers Stone Corp. for potential violations during the building of a new asphalt plant in Daleville.

Meshberger allegedly filed for a permit from IDEM without notifying affected adjacent property owners. An IDEM official also stated that the company began building the plant before obtaining that permit.

The company, which is based in Bluffton and operates locations in both Portland and Ridgeville, could face a maximum penalty of $25,000 per day for building without a permit.

The asphalt plant, which will be located at Ind. 67 and county road 600 West in Delaware County, has drawn public resistance from residents who are concerned about decreasing property values due to the plant.

Certified

Several employees of Kaup Pharmacy Inc. received certifications for pharmacy technician positions.

Janice Forthofer, Jennifer Francis, Amy Hart, Tanya Hart, Casey Jones, Judy Post and Angie Will all received designations as Certified Pharmacy Technician from the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians.

Suit filed

Rapkin Group LLC. has filed a lawsuit against former Eye Center Group officers over an alleged loss of more than $1.2 million in investments.

The suit against Marshall Roch, Lynette Watkins, Frank Winconek and Stephanie Carrick, former Eye Center officers, alleges that recklessness on the company's behalf cost Rapkin $1,218,390 in money invested in the group.

Former Eye Center CEO Winconek is also facing theft charges after more than $100,000 turned up missing.[[In-content Ad]]