Deadline is Monday for chamber event

Monday is the deadline to make reservations for the Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s annual community awards banquet.

The event is set for March 19 at the Jay County Event Center. The gathering begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the award presentations.

Here’s a list of the finalists:

Lifetime Achievement — Cindy Denney, Millie Ellis and Carol Smith

Citizen of the Year — Vicki Daniels, Janet Bantz, Drew Houck and Ron Laux

Business of the Year — Valentine Feed and Supply, Deer Park Boutique and Fuqua Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

Industry of the Year — Jay County REMC, FCC and Pennville Custom Cabinetry

Not for Profit of the Year — Jay County Humane Society, Meridian Health Services and Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition

Young Professional of the Year — Dr. Joseph Vormohr, Kyle Love, Tracy Carpenter and Kayla Darby

Dunkirk Community Commitment — Darrin and Eleathia Harding, Logan Nelson and Jack Robbins

Innovator of the Year — Donald Cooke II, Sculpt Fitness and Pennville Custom Cabinetry

Small Community Commitment — Mark Leavell, Brian Adair and Bert Quakenbush

To make a reservation, phone (260) 726-4481 or email [email protected].



Store closing

Art Van Furniture announced this week that it is closing all its stores, including its location in Muncie at a strip mall on Wheeling Avenue. Liquidation sales are scheduled to begin shortly.



In alignment

Three Tyson Foods, Inc. sustainability programs have been recognized for alignment to the U.S. Beef Industry Sustainability Framework.

The U.S. Beef Industry Sustainability Framework is an industry-adopted resource that outlines key areas of sustainability and opportunities for improvement across the beef value chain.

Tyson is the parent company of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland.



Another buy

Yum Brands Inc., parent of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, has made another acquisition, Louisville Business First reported this week.

Yum has acquired Heartstyles, a company offering a “world-class leadership development program.”



Two closing

Two Walmart Supercenters are closing next month.

One is in Wadesboro, North Carolina. The other is in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

In the case of the North Carolina store, the nearest Walmart is 35 miles away.

The Michigan store, however, is one of three in a 17-mile radius.

Both are set to close April because of poor sales performance.



Mixed bag

Dollar Tree Inc., parent company of Family Dollar, posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings this week.

But same-store sales figures were disappointing, rising only four tenths of a percent.

Adjusted earnings for the three months ending on Feb. 1 were $1.79 per share, down 7.25% from the same period last year.

Family Dollar sales slipped 3.5% to $2.798 billion.



Settled

CenturyLink has settled an Arizona lawsuit that accused the company of "deceptive and unfair advertising and billing practices.”

The company apparently failed to apply up to $1.9 million in discounts to Arizona customers between 2013 and 2016 after charging customers more than the prices it advertised.

It will refund $1.9 million directly to Arizona consumers who did not receive a promised “Closer Discount.”



Acquired

Family LifeCare of Berne has been acquired by Visiting Nurse of Fort Wayne.

The acquisition was completed March 1.

Both have been nonprofit providers of home health, palliative, hospice and grief support services.

The combined organization will now serve nearly 2,000 hospice patients annually and reach individuals in Jay, Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, Noble, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties.