Fort awards announced

Fort Recovery Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of its annual awards, who will be recognized at the annual chamber banquet March 13.
Nick Dues was selected as Citizen of the Year. Dues has been active in the Fort Recovery Ambassador Club as well as being a member and officer of the Southwest Mercer Fire Department among other memberships.
The Hall of Fame recipients are Steve Franke and Jerry Kaup.
For the Home Beautification Awards, Al and Maggie Warnock will receive the Most Improved Property award, Matt and Mandy Wendel will receive the Most Improved Dwelling and the Best Community Improvement will go to the Cheesaman family for the Eagle Point Park.
Fort Recovery High School senior Andrea Sutter was selected for the Clarence and Ruth Rabe Memorial Scholarship and Fort Recovery American Legion Post No. 345 commander Mike Kahlig will accept the Mayor’s Service Award.

Plant opening
POET announced it will hold a grand opening ceremony for its new Cloverdale ethanol plant March 15.
The plant will be the 27th POET plant and will put Indiana above a 1 billion gallon production level.
The event will feature speakers including POET CEO Jeff Broin, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis.

Moving
Hardesty Moving and Storage, Muncie, is relocating its warehouse in the city.
The company will be moving from 3400 N. Commerce Dr. to 1111 E. Seymour St., allow the company to expand into a larger area. The new location will triple the company’s square footage and allow them to offer climate-controlled storage.

Retiring
Adams Health Network Executive Director Marvin L. Baird announced he will retire effective Aug. 31.
Baird took over the executive director position in 1989 as an interim role, but remained in it in a permanent capacity.
The health network board has hired a search committee to seek a replacement to be in place by May.

Wal-Mart losing
Wal-Mart, despite posting a 27 percent increase in net income in the fourth quarter, continued to lose domestic customers for the seventh straight quarter.
The world’s largest retailer saw a 1.8 percent decrease in revenue in its U.S. locations open at least one year, the seventh straight quarter in which the company lost domestic business. The prevalence and rise of dollar stores throughout the country have been a contributing factor in the decline.
The company, however, posted a net income of $6.06 billion in the quarter, up from $4.76 billion a year prior. That income was due to increased growth in the international market as well as cost-cutting measures.

Training course
The Law Offices of John H. Brooke, P.C. and the Indiana Fireworks Users Assocation, Inc. are sponsoring a Department of Transportation certified training seminar on hazardous materials.
The course will take place March 3 and 4 at the law office, 112 E. Gilbert St., Muncie. Cost for the seminar is $175.
The training course is for individuals and companies that handle, haul or deal with hazardous materials. The DOT certification will qualify an individual to train others.
The seminar fee may be sent to the law office. For more information, contact Steve Graves at (765) 287-1869.
New HR director
State of the Heart Hospice announced the hire of Amy Pelaston as the new human resources director for the organization.
Pelaston, of Greenville, Ohio, will join the Greenville office. She is certified in human resources and is working to obtain a business management degree. Prior to State of the Heart, she worked in human resources for MacAulay Brown, a military contractor in Dayton, Ohio.

Web site update
The City of Berne plans to upgrade its Web site.
The city council agreed to hire Nate Reusser of Reusser Design to rebuild the city’s Web site, which should be operational in two months. It will include about 20 pages of content.
The cost for the upgrade is $4,294.

Elkhart expansion
Elkhart Products Corporation, Geneva, is looking to build a $3.1 million expansion.
The expansion would allow the company to build a 1,000-ton farming press to make aluminum pistons. The new building would add 10,000 square feet to the current facility.
Company officials estimated 24 new employees would be added over the next 12 months. The current facility can support 155 employees.
The Geneva Town Council unanimously approved a tax abatement for Elkhart Products to proceed with the plan.

New director
Indiana INTERNnet announced that it has selected Janet Boston as the group’s new executive director.
Boston was most recently the director of marketing and director of regional services for the Arts Council of Indianapolis. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and an master’s degree from Butler University.
INTERNnet connects Hoosier students with in-state employers for internship opportunities.[[In-content Ad]]