Permits top $580,000

Three homes valued at or near $100,000 topped the list of building permits issued in June by the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department.

In all, the department issued 27 permits for projects with a total value of $582,750.

Topping the list in terms of value was a home with garage and basement for George McGinnis, 2327 West 300 North, Portland, valued at $105,000. Also building homes at or near the $100,000 range were William Fairchild, 113 Maple Lane, Portland, home with garage, $100,000; and Nancy Leever, 108 Jack Imel Ave., Portland, home/garage, $93,000.

Also applying for a building permit for a home in June was Dewain Hirschy, 4545 North 150 West, Portland, home/garage, $76,000.

Other projects issued permits in June by the department included:

Shawn and Shelly Bee, 6878 West 800 South, Redkey, garage, $4,500; Eric Betts, 404 W. Race St., fence, $200; Mark and Tammy Davis, 6031 North 750 West, Pennville, porch, $6,800; Robert and Carol Dirksen, 1624 East 500 North, Bryant, grain bin, $20,000; Bradley Forthofer, 3890 East 400 South, Portland, pond, $2,000; Levi A.R. Graber, 4799 North 350 West, Portland, barn addition, $5,000.

Handy Andy #2207, 325 N. Meridian St., Portland, shed, $25,000; Ben and Norma Hedges, 2021 West 75 South, garage, $11,000; Shirley Herrin, 119 Floral Avenue, Portland, porch, $5,000; June Ireland, 503 W. North St., Portland, fence, $1,000; and Robert King, 144 West 200 North, Portland, pool, $29,000.

Also, Gerald LeMaster, 1937 West 500 South, Portland, shelter, $2,000; Kimberly Locke, 7290 West 300 South, Dunkirk, pond, $6,500; Crystal Masters, 804 West Seventh St., Portland, garage, $15,000; Chad and Kim McFarland, 327 E. Votaw St., Portland, garage, $30,000; Damien and Susan McIntire, 1065 East 100 South, Portland, deck, $850; Steven J. and Mary J. Muhlenkamp, 5843 East 400 North, Portland, confined feeding, $6,000; Michael and Virginia Myers, 5187 South Como Road, Portland, pool and fence, $500; Larry and Karen Petro, 1215 Miller Ave., Portland, fence, $1,200; Michael and Sarah Rines, 2304 East 50 North, Portland, barn, $16,000; Jack and Ruth Stephenson, 601 Blaine Pike, Portland, porch, $4,700; Michael and Amy Stoner, 126 Boundary Pike, Portland, garage addition, carport, $4,500; Donald and Janet Wagner, 826 West 300 North, Portland, roof change, breezeway, $7,000; and Dion Winn, 1104 East Koch Drive, Portland, pool, deck, $5,000.

NEW ASSOCIATE

Rural Portland resident Greg Hemmelgarn has been named as a sales associate at Porter Takats Realty of Portland.

Hemmelgarn is a 1993 graduate of Jay County High School. He graduated from Ball State University in 1998 with a degree in elementary education. He has taught at the elementary level at several Jay County schools and will be a sixth grade teacher this coming school year at East Jay Middle School.

Porter Takats Realty is located at 226 N. Meridian St., Portland.

For more information, call (260) 726-8414.

OPENING

Community Connections, a not-for-profit providing vocational assessment, training, habilitation and employment services to those with disabilities, is opening an office in Randolph County.

The group, which is a subsidiary of the Mental Health Association of Indiana, will be located at the Randolph County Family Opportunity Center, 325 S. Oak St., Suite L-108, Winchester.

An open house of the new location will be held Friday, July 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Employers seeking more information about the program may contact Judy Woods at (765) 584-7990.

TOP 50

Several area companies — including holding companies for three area banks — rank among the largest 50 Indiana companies, according to the June issue of “Indiana Business” magazine.

In terms of total revenue, health insurer Anthem Inc. was the largest Indiana corporationin 2003, followed by pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Co. and engine maker Cummins Inc.

The top company with a local presence was Marsh Inc., which owns and operates LoBill Foods in Portland, along with Village Pantry locations. The company was 11th on the “Indiana Business” list with revenue of about $1.66 billion in 2003.

Other companies on the list include Old National Bancorp (Old National Bank), 24th; CTS Corp., an Elkhart-based company with a factory in Berne, 29th; Franklin Electric, Bluffton, 33rd; First Merchants Corp. (First National Bank), 40th; and MainSource Financial Group (MainSource Bank), 48th.

NEW SYSTEM

A new automated method of dispensing prescription medications will be introduced at Bluffton Regional Medical Center in Bluffton.

Beginning Tuesday, July 6, medication dispensed at nursing stations will be obtained from Pyxis MedStations.

“Bluffton Regional has a very low occurence of medication errors, but we want to continue to achieve high levels of accuracy by using the best technology available,” BRMC head pharmacist Mike Ankenbruck said in a press release.

The automated machines, which are activated by fingerprint identification, dispense only one medication at a time. The units will be leased at a cost of $380,000 over a five-year period.

APPOINTED

First Bank of Berne has announced the appointment of rural Berne resident Lisa Girod to its board of directors

Girod is a graduate of Adams Central High School and received her bachelor of science in accounting from Ball State University in 1992. She has been employed as a CPA with Honegger, Ringger and Co, Inc. for the past 11 and a half years.

Girod is a member of AICPA, Indiana CPA Society, Family Centered Services Board of Directors and past member of United Way Board of Directors. She is also a member of Monroe United Brethren Church.

Girod was born and raised in the Berne community. She and her husband Kevin, along with children Brandi, Brady and Bryan live in rural Berne. Kevin is involved in dairy and grain farming.[[In-content Ad]]