Permits top $4 million

County residents obtained 14 building permits for more than $4 million in new construction in September. At the top of the list is a $3.2 million project at POET Biorefining for two 30,000-gallon storage tanks at 1542 S. 200 West, Portland.
Also receiving permits were Dave Schrock, 1610 E. Division Road, Portland, pole building, $22,700; Adam Bost, 5453 W. 650 South, Portland, pole bar, $50,000; Gerald Bulmahn, 4666 W. 650 North, Bryant, roof over dryer system, $15,000; Rodgers Farms LLC, 11160 W. 300 South, Dunkirk, pole barn, $30,000; and Scott Coy, 2339 E. 500 South, Portland, pole building and lean-to, $25,000.
Also receiving permits were Rodney Muhlenkamp, for two turkey confined feeding buildings on county road 450 East between county roads 700 North and 800 North in Bryant, $400,000; Kurt Boeckman, 2794 W. 500 South, Portland, pond, $8,000; Mark DeHoff, 799 S. Como Road, Portland, new home, $195,000; Philip Corwin, 297 N. 850 West, Portland, garage and breezeway, $25,000; Tim Irwin, 321 W. Walnut St., Portland, deck, $1,500; Chad Schlichter 7678 W. 650 North, Bryant, storage building, $15,000; Fred Mann, 2416 W. 200 North, Portland, garage, $15,000; and Dan Jones 8894 N. 550 East, Bryant, garage, $7,000.

Taste of Jay County
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce will present the Taste of Jay County on Sunday, Oct. 14 from 4-7 p.m. at the Jay Community Center.
The event will include a number of local food establishments. There will also be an art exhibition.
Ticket price for the event is $15. Tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce offices, 118 S. Meridian St., Portland; The Flower Nook, 111 E. Main St., Portland; MainStreet Market, 218 W. Lincoln Street, Portland; and the office of Rose Morgan, CPA, 202 S. Main St., Dunkirk.

LifeStream
leaving Grant Co.
LifeStream’s The New InterUrban service recently announced that it will be discontinuing its transportation services in Grant County.
The rural transportation offered by the service will end effective Nov. 1, agency officials announced on Wednesday. The service is being discontinued in Grand County due to funding cuts from state and federal sources as well as lack of support from the Grant County Community.
“We have looked at the financials for some time and tried to make things work, but when the Grant County Council chose this summer to again not support rural transportation for their residents we found we could no longer subsidize the program at the expense of other counties participating in the program,” said LifeStream president and CEO Ken Adkins about the decision.
LifeStream will continue to operate its The New InterUrbarn transportation services in Jay County, as well as in Blackford, Randolph, Henry, Madison, and Delaware counties.

CFS helping
Community and Family Services Inc. started accepting calls on Wednesday for appointments for the upcoming Energy Assistance Program that begins on Nov. 5. The program helps income-eligible households with a one-time credit on heat and electric utility bills. The program is scheduled to run through May 17 or until funds are depleted.
To be eligible a one-member household must have an income of less than $16,755. For each additional member of the household, add $5,940 to the total limit.
For additional information or to schedule an appointment, contact the Community and Family Services office at (260) 726-9318.

Dropping channels
Comcast’s Xfinity cable TV service will no longer carry two Indianapolis-based stations.
As of Oct. 24, WISH-CBS (Channel 8) and WNDY-MyNetwork (Channel 10) on the Limited Basic plan will no longer be available.
Programming for these channels will still be available on Fort Wayne area affiliates. CBS programming will still be offered on WANE-CBS (Channel 17) and MyNetwork programming will still be offered on WISE-MyNetwork (Channel 113) on the Limited Basic plan.
Tyson responds
Tyson Foods Inc., which operates the Mexican Original plant in Portland, recently issued a statement in response to a notice the company received from the Humane Society of the United States that the society is nominating HSUS president and CEO Wayne Pacelle as a candidate for election to Tyson Foods’ board of directors.
“We’re not surprised Wayne Pacelle wants to sit on our board,” the statement says. “We’re handling the nomination according to the law and our company’s by-laws. We’re committed to humane animal treatment and expect the same from the independent family farmers who supply us with chickens, hogs and cattle.”

Annie’s acquires
Annie’s, 306 E. Parr Road, Berne, the craft and nostalgia media division of Berne’s family-owned DRG, recently acquired Country Sampler from Emmis Communications.
Country Sampler, the Illinois-based publisher of “Country Sampler” and “Smart Retailer” magazines, had been owned by Emmis since 1999.
“We are very excited that Country Sampler is joining the Annie’s family of products,” said David McKee, Annie’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. “These magazines are n ideal fit alongside our craft and nostalgia titles and products.”

ECI Event
E. Roy Budd, president and CEO of Energize-ECI Inc, recently announced the regional economic development partnership participated in a business recruitment sales trip to Dallas, Texas.
Local area economic development leaders, including Bill Bradley, executive director of Jay County Development Corporation, participated in the Sept. 23-25 event.

Saint-Gobain sets terms
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, the parent company of Saint-Gobain North America, which has a plant in Dunkirk, recently set the terms of a 17-year bond issue for an amount of 250 million pounds with an annual coupon of 4.625 percent.
The bond issue has been changed into euros, resulting in a financing cost in euros over the 17 years of 4.31 percent.
Due to this bond issue, Saint-Gobain is refinancing in advance future debt maturities. By issuing in pounds, Saint-Gobain, whose long-term senior debt is rated BBB by Standard & Poor’s, was able to achieve a diversification of its bond investor’s base and a longer maturity compared to the euro market.

New fuel worries
A new gasoline blend, which contains 15 percent ethanol and is known as E15, is causing concern for some gas station owners who don’t have the necessary equipment for storing the fuel.
The fuel is not widely available, but ethanol lobbyists are hoping to change that in the near future. The fuel is currently only sold at eight fuel stations in Kansas and Iowa, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. The group also says regulators in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Illinois have cleared the fuel for sale there.
The Environmental Protection Agency has only approved the fuel for cars with a model year later than 2001 and gas stations selling the fuel may have to set minimum limits on the amount of fuel customers buy to make sure the E15 fuel doesn’t blend harmfully with the regular fuel.
Most gasoline sold in the U.S. has about 10 percent ethanol content.

Holiday hiring
Meijer Inc. recently announced it is planning to hire 12,000 new employees in preparation of the holiday season.
Staffing needs vary from store to store, but the company has said all Meijer stores will have jobs available. Candidates are asked to complete an application online or at employment kiosks located in Meijer stores.
The Michigan-based company has stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Ban lifted
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh recently lifted a ban on sales of Samsung Electronics Corp.’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer.
Koh, who had previously ruled to ban U.S. sales of the tablet while Samsung was involved in a patent trial with Apple Inc. over technology used in smart phones and tablet computers, lifted the ban on Monday. The South Korean technology company is now allowed to start selling the product in U.S. stores.[[In-content Ad]]