By: John Carlson— It might sound absurd, but as Memorial Day approaches, I find myself thinking about my late father’s T-shirt drawer. Beats me how I ever discovered this, but that simple drawer slid from its simple chest was a source of fascination for me as a kid, so every now and then I’d sneak a look inside. What did it hold? T-shirts, mostly, all laundered and neatly folded by my Mom. My Dad wore them five, six and sometime…
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By: Juli Metzger— Muncie, IN– United Way of Delaware, Henry and Randolph Counties is pleased to announce that it has received a $1.1 million COVID-19 Economic Relief Initiative Grant. The grant was made possible through a partnership between Lilly Endowment, Inc. and Indiana United Ways, the state professional association of which United Way of Delaware, Henry and Randolph County is a member. These funds will be used to invest in long-term economic recovery and resiliency efforts by supporting human and…
By: Delaware County Economic Development— DELAWARE COUNTY, IN—Delaware County and the State of Indiana are proud to welcome INOX Market North America (IMNA) a subsidiary company of INOX Market Service (INOX) an Italian based stainless steel slitting and forming company. The company plans to locate its new North American headquarters in Delaware County. IMNA will invest over $15 million in machinery and construction of a new 139,800 square foot facility. INOX is a world leader in the cutting and forming…
By: Jackson Eflin, Second Harvest Food Bank— Muncie, IN—The sky makes overtures of rain and a line of cars wraps around Heritage Apostolic Tabernacle’s parking lot, out onto Wabash Street and down the road. Chandra Parks, of Muncie Southside Neighborhood Association, and other volunteers are packing bags of carrots, potatoes, canned beef, cheese, orange juice, and cleaning supplies into bags. They’re staying just ahead of Chandra, who along with her mother are checking in with the families as they load…
By: Angela Selvey— Albany, IN—Alaska Heating and Cooling has been in business since 1992. We came together as a family and invited some friends over, threw some possible names in a hat and drew out “ALASKA”. That’s how we got our name. Our first day of operation, with our new phone number, we received a call from Mr. Corder and we have been rolling ever since. We are a small family business. However, we are very strong in knowledge and commitment to customer service. Our…
By: Kallie Sulanke— Muncie, IN—Congratulations to the following graduates – Callie Berry, a senior at Wes-Del High School, is a recipient of the 2020 Jon Hunter Memorial Scholarship. Berry plans to study elementary education at Ball State University. She is the daughter of the late Ryan Berry and Kris Berry. Emma Davis, a senior at Burris Laboratoty School, is the recipient of the eKeeper Systems Unparalleled Excellence Scholarship and the Lathrop P. Johnson Scholarship. Davis plans to attend Purdue University to study computer science and Spanish….
By: John Carlson— Recently I was heartened to learn of the arrival in the U.S.A. of gigantic murder hornets, because God knows, we don’t have enough crap to worry about already. Just kidding, of course. We’ve got plenty. Everybody knows we’re facing the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented joblessness, increasing hunger and growing unrest in our streets. So now we get murderous hornets the size of buzzards threatening to tear people limb-from-limb, too? Great! That was my first reaction to the hype…
By: Hank Milius, President/CEO, Meridian Health Services— Muncie, IN—I heard a quote over the weekend which I believe is relevant for the COVID-19 challenge: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” —Winston Churchill As this crisis unfolded, we were stunned by the negative outcomes. Today I’m focusing on the progress taking place. In Indiana as of this writing, 42% of all ICU beds and 81% of the ventilators around are available….
By: Kallie Sulanke— Muncie, IN—The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. awarded $11,000 to six non-profit organizations to support emergency response efforts to the COVID-19 crisis. Community Foundation staff continue to connect with and listen to the plans, challenges, and needs of a variety of vital community organizations across Delaware County. Decisions for this fourth round of response funding were made to come along side these vital community organizations with identified immediate needs related to the Coronavirus Pandemic….
By: Muncie Non-Profit Organizations— Muncie, IN—On Friday, May 1, 2020, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the first step of easing economic and health restrictions on businesses and individuals that were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many of you, the agencies in this article are eager to return to a normal state of operations and are relieved that the plan is a step-by-step process that will only move forward if we move cautiously. Over the past several weeks, Delaware…