I&M expands neighbor program

More help is available to those who are struggling to pay their electric bills during the coronavirus pandemic.

Indiana Michigan Power announced this week that it is adding another $175,000 to its Neighbor to Neighbor program and temporarily expanding the guidelines to allow more customers to be eligible.

Customers who have past-due bills and fall under a specified income level — $65,000 per year for a family of four, for example — can qualify for the assistance.

“Hoosiers are experiencing unprecedented financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I&M is committed to helping our neighbors throughout these uncertain times,” said Toby Thomas, I&M President and Chief Operating Officer. “We also thank customers who generously donate to the Neighbor to Neighbor program to help their fellow Hoosiers.”

Jay County residents can apply by calling Interlocal Community Action Program at (765) 288-8732.



New number

The Commercial Review has a new phone number for reporting problems with delivery.

Customers who have not received a newspaper or are experiencing delivery issues can call (260) 251-9588 to speak with circulation manager Nacie Trent or leave a message.

Subscribers are reminded that carriers have until 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. Saturday mornings to have newspapers delivered.



New president

Jon Wells has been named president of Midmark.

Wells, who took his new position Tuesday, now reports directly to CEO John Bauman. He is also chief commercial officer for the company, which is based in Dayton, Ohio, and has offices in Versailles, Ohio.



Making changes

Walmart this week announced changes including a new operating model for its Supercenters and increased wages in some departments.

The company is turning to a flexible approach similar to what is used in its Sam’s Club stores in which small groups of employees will be cross-trained on a variety of skills. New leadership positions will include store lead (manager), coach (assistant manager) and team lead (department manager).

Wages for team lead roles will start between $18 to $21 per hour and can go up to $30. Minimums for hourly employees in the deli and bakery are increasing to $15.

The company estimates it is raising wages for about 165,000 employees at its U.S. stores.



Adding sites

CVS Health announced this week that it plans to add more than 2,000 new COVID-19 drive-thru test sites at its CVS Pharmacy locations.

The new sites will open in waves over the next few weeks. The expansion will bring CVS to a total of more than 4,000 testing sites by mid-October.

The self-swab tests are free to patients who meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria.

“Since opening our first test site in March, we’ve been able to quickly adapt to the changing landscape in order to make it easier for people in the communities we serve to access testing,” said Jon Roberts, CVS Health chief operating officer.



Walgreens launches

Walgreens has launched its Text and Protect Program designed to help businesses with COVID-19 strategies.

The program offers testing sites for employers as well as strategies for ongoing preventative care. The expansion will include increased testing capacity.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve been focused on providing a safe environment for our customers and team members, and we’re proud to bring our COVID-19 testing resources and expertise to businesses as part of our latest expansion,” said Walgreens senior vice president of pharmacy Rick Gates in a press release.

More information is available at Walgreens.com/testandprotect.



Grants awarded

Dollar General on Monday announced that it has awarded $4 million in literacy grants.

The grants went to educators at more than 800 schools, libraries and non-profit organizations to provide additional reading resources. The program was launched in 1993.

“This year, many teachers, libraries and literacy organizations are facing new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos in a press release. “Despite the unprecedented obstacles, we admire the tremendous efforts and commitments from educators as they work to provide students with the tools they need to develop their literacy skills. We hope these funds will help support their plans to advance learning and deliver quality instruction in our hometown communities.”



NextEra selling

NextEra Energy announced Wednesday that it will sell $2 billion of equity units to BofA Securities and Barclays.

The units will be issued at $50 each and include a contract to purchase common stock in the future. The transaction was expected to be complete Friday.

NextEra owns and operates Bluff Point Wind Energy Center in southern Jay County and northern Randolph County.



Ardagh partnering

Ardagh Group has partnered with SKYE Energy on development of its new cans with its slogan “Feel the Victory.”

The graphics team from Ardagh, which operates glass manufacturing plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, worked with SKYE on the red and orange logo.

“We worked very closely with Ardagh’s Graphics team to finalize specific elements of the updated SKYE Energy cans,” said SKYE general manager Alexis Stavrianos. “They made it easy to work through the challenges, meaning the end-to-end process was completed very fast, without any delay.”