Suit filed over Createc sale

A Fortville woman, who was a co-owner of Createc Corp., is suing her mother and brother over alleged wrongdoings in the recent sale of the company.
Deborah Ecksten, Fortville, filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County against her mother, Linda Lewis, and her brother, Alan Lewis, as well as two nonfamily board members of Createc Corp.
The lawsuit alleges that Ecksten was kept in the dark about the sale of Createc to a competitor until one day before it closed in order to keep her from exercising her right to purchase her mother’s company shares at one-quarter of the final sale price. This act, she claims, cheated her out of an extra $10 million in the $61 million deal.
Ecksten, who received $1.47 million from the sale, contends her proceeds could have topped $10 million if she’d been able to buy her mother’s shares before the sale closed.
Under a previous agreement, the lawsuit contends, Ecksten and her brother, Alan Lewis, had the right to buy their parents shares in the company at a set price per share.
Linda Lewis earned $15 million from the sale, while Alan Lewis, who previously acquired his father’s shares in the company, earned more than $12 million.
Createc had offices in Indianapolis and a production site in Portland, which is now the home of Sonoco.

Low unemployment
Mercer County, Ohio, had an unemployment rate of 3.9 percent in December, allowing the county to complete 2012 with the state’s lowest unemployment rate for each month.
The county’s unemployment rate was unchanged from November, according to figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ben Salazar, ODJFS Workforce Investment told the Celina (Ohio) Daily Standard that employment in Mercer County remains stable.

JRDS receives accreditation
CARF International (previously the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) recently announced that Jay Randoph Developmental Services Inc. has been accredited for a period of three years for its community integration, community employment services, organizational employment services, supported living and respite services programs.
JRDS, a nonprofit with offices in Portland and Winchester, was awarded this three-year accreditation for the seventh consecutive time. The accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization conforms to CARF standards.
CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body that works to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through an accreditation process that focuses on enhancing the lives of the people served.

Old National
earnings
Old National Bancorp, the holding company of Old National Bank, recently reported its 2012 annual earnings of $91.7 million or 95 cents per share. This is a 27 percent from the company’s reported annual earnings of $72.5 million in 2011.
The Evansville based company, which has a branch at 910 N. Meridian St., Portland, also reported fourth-quarter earnings of $23 million or 23 cents per share, a 4 percent increase form the $22.2 million earnings posted for the fourth quarter of 2011.

State of county, city
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce will host the State of the City of Dunkirk and the State of the County at its Feb. 13 Networking Breakfast.
Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson will present the state of the city and Jay County Commissioners President Milo Miller will present the state of the county.
The program will be held at 7:30 a.m. at the Dunkirk Elks Lodge, 1026 S. Main St. The cost of the breakfast will be $5. Reservations should be made by Friday.

Suspended
POET Biorefining’s Macon, Missouri, plant will temporarily suspend plant operations effective Feb. 1 due primarily to a lack of available local corn, the company announced. All of the plant’s 44 team
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 members will remain employed at their current hours.
Many will assist in installation of the approximately $14.5 million in upgrades to the plant that will occur during the down time. The plant will also continue to purchase corn for future use as it is available. There is currently no timeline for resuming production.
POET Biorefining-Macon, which started operation in 2000, is located in one of the worst-hit areas of last season’s drought, leaving it unable to source corn locally or bring corn in from other areas at a competitive price.
“Macon has been a very successful plant within the POET network,” POET CEO Jeff Lautt said in a prepared statement.

Quarterly report
Allegheny Technologies Inc., parent company of Portland Forge, reported fourth quarter 2012 sales of $1.10 billion and net income of $10.5 million, or $0.10 per share, which includes a special charge of $8.8 million, or $0.08 per share.
Fourth quarter 2012 net income excluding the special charge was $19.3 million, or $0.18 per share. The fourth quarter 2012 special charge reflects asset write-downs in the Engineered Products segment associated with consolidating casting facilities, the company said in a press release.
In the fourth quarter 2011, ATI reported net income of $31.7 million, or $0.29 per share, on sales of $1.25 billion
For the full year 2012, net income was $158.4 million, or $1.43 per share, on sales of $5.03 billion. Net income for the full year 2012 excluding the fourth quarter special charge was $167.2 million, or $1.51 per share.
For the full year 2011, net income was $214.3 million, or $1.97 per share, on sales of $5.18 billion.

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