The discovery of natural gas led to expansive glass production in East Central Indiana in the late 1800s. The industry lives on today.
Read all about it in the new BizVoice.
From Gas to Glass
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Tag Archives: delaware county
Hancock, Delaware Counties Honored by Wellness Council as Healthy Communities
The Wellness Council of Indiana (WCI) recently honored two Indiana communities as Indiana Healthy Community Initiative designees. The designations are the first for the WCI program, which began earlier this year.
Hancock County and Muncie-Delaware County were awarded the title at the 2016 Indiana Health and Wellness Summit September 21-22 in downtown Indianapolis. The annual summit is the largest gathering of wellness professionals in Indiana, and was presented in partnership with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Wellness Council of Indiana, the Indiana State Department of Health, INShape Indiana and the American Diabetes Association.
To be considered an Indiana Healthy Community, communities must apply to the WCI and meet eight key components, including working with various community leaders, getting citizens involved, analyzing political atmospheres and ensuring environments are best for making healthy choices. Part of the requirements include having a certain number of businesses certified as AchieveWELL companies, a WCI designation for individual organizations (see AchieveWELL information and list below).
Additionally, community leaders identify short-term and long-term strategies to ensure a healthy community for all citizens. WCI representatives assist communities in providing best practices for achieving community goals.
“The premise of the Indiana Healthy Community Initiative is to drive economic growth and development for communities, so that when companies want to relocate or start in Indiana, they’re looking at communities where health is a priority,” WCI Executive Director Chuck Gillespie says.
“And in these areas – like in Delaware and Hancock counties – what companies will find are healthier employees and families, lower insurance costs and a productive workforce.”
Six other counties – Putnam, Howard, Dubois, Kosciusko, Monroe and Hendricks – are all in various stages of involvement with the Indiana Healthy Community Initiative.
Locations interested in becoming Indiana Healthy Communities can visit the WCI web site (Healthy Communities tab) for more information and to apply.
The Wellness Council of Indiana is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
Why Consolidation is Right for Muncie/Delaware County
James Gooden, a Muncie native and consultant for GEA Architects, penned a thoughtful column for the The Star Press contending the time has come for Muncie and Delaware County to merge into a single unit of local government. The Indiana Chamber has been working to reduce government duplication statewide for years now, and we’re happy to see this getting more press.
Why should we merge Muncie and Delaware County into a single unit of local government?
It should be done because the current form is archaic and it is not in sync with present or future lifestyles and employment trends. Along with having high value for education, quality health and wellness facilities, and lifestyle opportunities, communities with effective and creative government are attractive as places to work and live: All are appealing traits to potential investors.
It bears recognizing that effort to bring new investment to ECI in no way diminishes the importance of the significant roll that current manufacturing, agriculture, retail and service sectors play in our economy. All are poised for growth. While, now, only about 1 percent of the county’s workforce is engaged in farming the land, the diverse business of agriculture stands out because it has been a mainstay since the pioneer days of the 19th century, but the industry has changed with the times — local government has not.
Town and country are today a homogenized community. Yet, we still operate local government in a horse-and-buggy fashion and that prompts a couple of pertinent examples. Recently, the rebuilt West Jackson Street bridge, opened to traffic after a long closure. In a related Star Press article, County commissioner Todd Donati pointed out that all bridges (except those carrying state highways) are constructed and maintained by the county. Conversely, the streets (except those carrying state highways) leading to and away from the bridges in Muncie are constructed and maintained by the city. How absurd is that (?)
Making the (Regional) Connection
It’s time to tune into GLE! Not “Glee,” the pop culture phenomenon about a high school show choir. I’m referring to GLE, which stands for Get Linked Expo, a regional event bringing together business leaders from six Central Indiana counties: Delaware, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Madison and Marion.
GLE is all about one thing: connections. It will promote networking among participants (more than 1,000 people are expected to attend) and vendors (over 100 will showcase their products and services). Industries represented include technology, business services and economic development.
The Indiana Chamber is among Hoosier organizations partnering on the event. Individuals can attend for free by registering in advance. GLE will take place on November 4 at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino in Anderson from 3-7 p.m., followed by an after-hours mixer.
Take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to – and learn from – fellow Indiana businesses.
Federal Loan Proposal Would Cost Hoosiers
With all the attention on health care reform, cap and trade, and other widespread federal issues, little notice has apparently been given to a proposal that would directly eliminate Indiana jobs.
President Obama announced earlier this year the intention to do away with private origination of student loans, turning the job over completely to the U.S. Department of Education. Based on past experiences in various areas, do we really want the government running this program?
I don’t claim to know a great deal about the process (it has been 25 years since I exited Ball State and began paying back a fortunately small amount). I expect to learn a lot more in the coming months as the parent of a high school senior who, despite excellent grades and likely scholarships, will be entering the borrowing world in some phase.
What I do know is that Sallie Mae employs 2,300 Hoosiers, with the company reporting a $148 million payroll in 2008. In addition to the Fishers operation, there is a fairly new facility in Delaware County. Throw in related non-company jobs and the impact grows.
It’s all (or should be) about students and supporting their abilities to complete their higher education. The administration proposal would seemingly minimize options and be an obstacle toward that ultimate goal. And there are those Hoosier jobs.
Winds of Change?
If you haven’t heard anything about wind energy in Indiana over the past year or so, then you haven’t been listening (or you’ve been too caught up in the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" saga, which is totally understandable).
But our friends at Inside INdiana Business offered an interesting article today in which an expert from Purdue University suggested the possibility exists that wind energy might even be more profitable than corn, at least for some Hoosier farmers.
A Purdue University Extension renewable energy specialist believes the wind industry is becoming a once in a generation opportunity for the Indiana agriculture community. Chad Martin will guide a session during this month’s WIndiana conference in Indianapolis. He says the base lease payment for farmers to put a turbine on their property has increased over the past few years to the $3,000 to $5,000 range per year per megawatt of production. Some are getting up to $10,000 a year per turbine.
Also, feel free to read my piece in the July/August BizVoice magazine, which features the latest goings on with wind energy in Indiana.
On a related note, Brevini Wind USA and VAT-Group USA will hold prospective windpower Supplier Conferences on July 23 in Muncie. To learn more or to be considered, check out work-one.org (see Brevini’s info here and VAT-Group info here).