Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly - Jan. 3, 2013

Business Weekly GREATER

FORT WAYNE

JANUARY 3-9, 2014

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LOCAL NEWS

Plan of attack Your resolutions don’t have to fail

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Despite being the fifth-largest university in the state, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne ranks 13th out of 15 in per-capita student funding.

FILE PHOTO

‘DON’ OF A NEW AGE? Calls grow to grant IPFW more autonomy

BY LINDA LIPP llipp@kpcmedia.com

Professor Mike Nusbaumer, who teaches sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, likes to compare IPFW to a teenager venturing out on his or her own for the first time.

The youngster is ready for the parents, in this case Indiana and Purdue universities, to “loosen the reins a little and let him make his own decisions,” said Nusbaumer, who is the IU speaker on the IPFW Faculty Senate. n

See IPFW on PAGE 21

General Assembly prepares to tackle business issues Personal property tax, gay marriage ban will be debated during the short session

BY JOEL ELLIOTT jelliott@kpcmedia.com

Banks

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A proposal by Gov. Mike Pence to eliminate the state’s business personal property tax likely will dominate parts of this legislative session, but several other items concerning the business and economic climate in Indiana also are expected to come forward

INSIDE

Vol. 10 Issue 1

when the General Assembly convenes Jan. 7.

While mayors of area municipalities have voiced their fears that the elimination of the business personal property tax would severely cut into their abilities to deliver basic services such as road maintenance, some state legislators say the plan has potential.

“I’m fully in favor of (eliminating the business personal property tax),” state Sen. Jim Banks, R-Co-

lumbia City, said. “We’ve heard some gnashing of teeth from local officials. I’m somewhat sympathetic to their concerns, but we have yet to see what this proposal will look like.”

Banks said he believes eliminating the tax will make for more favorable conditions with which to n

See SESSION on PAGE 22

Local news .................... 3-7

LOCAL NEWS

PERSONAL BUSINESS

BizView .............................. 8

DeKalb turns 50

Back on track

Hospital — which opened in 1962— kicks off a yearlong celebration

Consultant writes book on lean techniques

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Banking & Finance........ 10 Personal Business ... 11-12 Top List ............................ 17 BizLeads..................... 18-20

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GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n

January 3-9, 2014

January 3-9, 2014

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‘Big data’ revolution expected to yield results for farmers It’s among the topics at the annual Fort Wayne Farm Show n

BY DOUG LEDUC dleduc@kpcmedia.com

A national authority from northeast Indiana on agricultural data use and farmer intellectual-property issues will explain during the 2014 Fort Wayne Farm Show how “aginformatics” will reshape the industry.

The “Apps for Ag and Big Data Issues” seminar will take place at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 16, with Kevin Smith discussing agricultural app development for smartphones and tablets and Matt Bechdol discussing the “big data” revolution coming to agriculture.

It will be among the hot topics covered in educational presentations at the free show, which will run Jan. 14-16 at the

“What’s going on now is the beginnings of the next disruptive revolution in agriculture.”

Matt Bechdol GeoSilos

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Expo Center in Fort Wayne. Most of its education sessions will be presented by Purdue University’s Cooperative Extension Service and northeast Indiana soil and water conservation districts.

Smith is a Purdue communications consultant and editor who helped convert the university’s corn and soybean field guide into an iPad app.

Bechdol farms and is president and founder of GeoSilos, an Auburn-based consulting firm, which helps agricultural businesses and organizations work on “big data” projects. He started the company after working at NASA as a precision farming consultant, then for ERSI, a leading provider of geographic informations systems products and services.

Two days before his Fort Wayne Farm Show presentation, Bechdol is scheduled to speak to farmers across the country on the same “aginformatics” subject at the American Farm Bureau’s annual convention in San Antonio.

“What’s going on now is the beginn

See DATA on PAGE 7

First Defiance gets new execs First Defiance Financial Corp. is starting the new year with new leadership.

Donald Hileman became president and CEO effective Jan. 1, replacing William Small, who had announced earlier in 2013 that he planned to retire.

Kevin Thompson, who joined First Defiance in August in the role of executive vice president of finance, was elevated to executive vice president and chief financial officer. His appointment to the new position was approved by the First Defiance board on Dec. 23.

Small, who became CEO of the Defiance, Ohio-based bank holding company in 1999, remains as chairman.

YOU CAN’T

GO FURTHER WITHOUT A DEGREE Telling yourself it’s time for a change? Indiana Tech offers master’s degrees to help you reach the next level, including an MBA program with several concentrations to suit your goals. Online and classroom courses are available to help you build a schedule that fits your life. Get started at Indiana Tech today.

indianatech.edu/cps Call 800.288.1766 for graduate classes forming now.

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January 3-9, 2014

Convenience stores hone appeal to consumers Consumers n are paying more attention to loyalty cards and other opportunities for gasoline discounts at the nation’s convenience stores, according to a survey released by the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Reporter’s

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REAL ESTATE & RETAIL

Consumers also said they also saw more convenience Linda Lipp stores offering a wider variety of food options, from prepared foods to healthy options such as salads, nuts and fruits. Younger consumers were more likely to notice these improvements at convenience stores and also more likely to shop there, the survey found.

“Gas prices will always be top of mind with consumers but many are looking beyond the price and selecting where to stop based on what’s inside the store,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives.

STREBIG CONSTRUCTION Strebig Construction Inc. was awarded a contract by the Rogers Co. for the complete development of a new business park on Hillegas Road. Strebig is developing a water retention area along Hillegas road as well as bringing utilities across Hillegas to the west side of the road. Construction is under way and should be complete in the early spring of 2014.

CBRE/STURGES Carolyn Spake-Leeper and Karen Spake represented the tenant, James Medical, in the new lease of 4,800 square feet of office space in the Hollows Office Park, 7107 W. Jefferson Blvd.

Brad Sturges represented the landlord of Dupont Place Shopping Center in the

renewal of a lease of 2,542 square feet of retail space at 2890 E. Dupont Road. The

tenant is the Mutual Fund Store.

Brady Hayes represented the tenant, Edward Jones, in the new lease of 1,221 square feet of office space at 3711 Rupp Drive, Suite 102.

Bill Cupp represented the landlord, Ludwig Investments LLC, in the renewal of a lease with Penco Products Inc. for 40,000 square feet of industrial space at 6602 Investment Blvd.

Cupp represented the landlord, Harbor Investments LLC, in the renewal of a lease with Kautex Inc. for 45,000 square feet of industrial space at 1201 Stonebreaker Drive, Kendallville.

Alexander Genova represented the landlord of the Research Drive Industrial Park in the new lease of 10,500 square feet of industrial space at 2208 Research Drive. The tenant is Dark Star Marble and Granite.

SPERRY VAN NESS PARKE GROUP Diana Parent represented both the lessor, Meadowbrook Investments LLC, and the lessee, Cashland Financial Services Inc.,

in the renewal of a lease of office space at 3920 E. Market St., Suite 100, Logansport.

James Lohman represented both the lessor, Lake Avenue Medical Building Partnership, and the lessee, St. Joseph Medical Group LLC, in the renewal of a lease of office space at 3217 Lake Ave., Suite 1. Lohman represented the same lessor and the lessee, Lifelines Rehab Inc., the renewal of a lease of medical office space in Suite 5.

Neal Bowman represented both the lessor, CT Financial LLC, and the lessee, the Center for Brief Therapy, in the renewal of a lease of office space at 423 Airport North Office Park.

Cathy Gallmeyer represented the lessee, Essentials and Frosting LLC, in the lease of retail space at 5915 Covington Road, Suite B. Parent represented both the lessor, Wayne Partnership LLP, and the lessee, Headwaters Park Alliance, in the renewal of a lease of office space at 110 W. Berry

St., Suite 2012.

Mark Baringer represented the lessor, Valley Forge Investments Ltd., and Bowman represented the lessee, Metrology Services LLC, in the lease of flex space at

3020 Congressional Parkway., suites G and H.

ZACHER CO./CORFAC INTERNATIONAL Steven Zacher represented the tenant, Rescare Inc., in the lease of 5,371 square

feet of office space at 3711 Rupp Drive from Tippmann Properties Inc. John Adams represented both the tenant, Lisa M. Borton LLC, and the landlord, Harrison/Wayne LLC, doing business as CBD Management, in the lease of 445 square feet of office space at 203 W. Wayne St. Fletcher Moppert represented the tenant, All Weather Exteriors Inc., in the lease of 1,800 square feet of industrial space at 5710 Industrial Road from Dymer Co.

NAI HARDING DAHM John Caffray represented the tenant, CrossFit Fort Wayne, in the lease of 4,430

square feet of space at 829 Lawrence Drive, Suites 2 and 3.

Steve Chen represented the landlord, Karen Knepp, and Kiernan O’Rourke represented the tenants, Angela Abbott and Christine Brumbaugh, in the lease of 600 square feet of office space at 6115 Stoney Creek Blvd.

Dan Dickey represented both the landlord, Community Healthcare Associates Inc., and the tenant, Community Home Health Care, in the lease ofr 7,776 square feet of office space at 2700 S. Lafayette St. He also represented Community Care Pharmacy in the lease of 2,726 square feet of space at the same location.

If you have items for the real-estate and retail column, please contact Linda Lipp by e-mail at llipp@kpcmedia.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 307, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.

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Ivy Tech Northeast to offer competency-based classes Ivy Tech Community College Northeast plans to start

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offering competency-based classes this coming spring, which could enable individuals who have been teaching themselves information systems to complete coursework more quickly.

An announceDoug LeDuc ment on the classes offered through Ivy Tech Northeast’s Computer Information Systems program said they will allow students who have become familiar with the subject matter through work or life experience to proceed through them at an accelerated pace.

“Students in the program will have the benefit of working with a subject matter expert for each course. They will also have an assigned mentor who will help guide them through the educational process,” it said.

The announcement said the classes are ideal for motivated self-starters with some background in information systems who enjoy working on their own and are comfortable working online.

The program is the first one at Ivy Tech Northeast to offer competency-based classes. Individuals interested in enrolling in it will receive special consideration if they already have completed six credit hours of classes in the field.

TECHNOLOGY

STUDENT VENTURE LAB GROWS, GETS NEW WEBSITE The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center has launched a new website for its Student Venture Lab and welcomed three new student ventures to the six that already were operating there.

The lab is in the Innovation Center complex at the northeast corner of Stellhorn and Hobson roads. Its website, StudentVentureLab.com, has new tools to facilitate collaboration and help young entrepreneurs plan the development of their business and track its progress.

New ventures at the lab are involved in public restroom products, personalized golf equipment and online tools for teacher-student-administration collaboration.

Ventures in the lab exchange a small amount of equity in return for six months of space and services there and some startup funding. The services include one-on-one coaching from Mike Fritsch, the center’s entrepreneur-in-residence.

Depending on the performance of the ventures, they can be invited to stay for second and third development phases, each lasting six months. Over three phases, the investment in the student venture could amount to $11,500 in startup funding and office space and services valued at $9,000.

“We are very happy to be able to expand this wonderful program,” Fritsch said in a prepared statement. “The new website and new collaboration tools will really help expand the program.”

Any proceeds from the equity investments are reinvested in the lab, which also receives financial support from the Lincoln Financial Foundation, IAB Financial Bank, the Edward M. & Mary McCrea Wilson Foundation and other individual and corporate contributors.

“We invest in the entrepreneurial potential of young people who want to make their own cool jobs and companies of the future, Karl LaPan, president and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

“Now, students can apply on a rolling basis into our program. We encourage young people with ideas to apply. We are accepting spots now for new student ventures.”

FRONTIER WORKERS FULFILL HOPE HOUSE WISH LIST Hope House families visiting their sick kids at Fort Wayne-area hospitals have been getting some extra help from the local employees of Frontier Communications.

The Stamford, Conn.-based provider of broadband, phone and subscription television service employs 1,150 in the city, and they volunteered to fulfill a holiday wish list of household and comfort items for families staying at the nonprofit Mad Anthonys Children’s Hope House.

Parents and siblings can stay at the nondenominational Hope House respite center on the Lutheran Hospital campus at 7922 W. Jefferson Blvd. at a minimal cost while visiting hospitalized children in their families.

“Frontier employees are very pleased to support Children’s Hope House this holiday season,” Michael O’Keefe, a Frontier operations vice president, said in a prepared statement.

“Frontier employees are involved in the community year-round, and supporting children coping with serious illness during the holidays is especially rewarding,” he said.

“Anytime we organize an effort to support a great cause, Frontier employees rise to the challenge and do their best.”

CUSTOMERS RECYCLED, SAVED AT CELLULAR CONNECTION The Cellular Connection said more than 61,000 mobile devices were traded in last year though an ERV program.

The Cellular Connection (TCC) has operations in Fort Wayne and is the country’s largest Verizon Premium Wireless retailer.

ERV is a joint venture of eRecyclingCorps, a company specializing in incentivized mobile device trade-in programs; 2013 was the first year of program participation by the Cellular Connection.

“ERecyclingCorps is the vendor of choice for TCC because we value the importance of providing peace of mind to

our customers that their data will be responsibly wiped from their used devices,” Jay Sichting, Cellular Connection chief operating officer, said in a prepared statement.

“Our customers enjoy the economic incentive for trading in their used mobile phone and the flexibility to apply it towards the purchase of a new device, service or other products.”

Cellular Connection customers trading in phones through the program saved close to $2 million in the form of in-store credit they applied toward new wireless phone and accessory purchases.

If you have items for the technology column, please contact Doug LeDuc by e-mail at dleduc@kpcmedia.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 309, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.

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January 3-9, 2014

For resolutions to succeed, they need to be manageable

BY JOEL ELLIOTT jelliott@kpcmedia.com CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DeKalb Health in Auburn celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014.

Judge grants contraception injunction A U.S. n district court judge granted a preliminary injunction to the Diocese of

Reporter’s

not offering coverage.

NOTEBOOK DEKALB CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

Fort WayneSouth Bend

and other local Catholic organizations, preventing the federal government from enforcing a provision Barry Rochford of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires employers to provide insurance coverage for contraceptive services.

The preliminary injunction was granted Dec. 27 by Judge Jon DeGuilio in Fort Wayne. In addition to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, the injunction covers

HEALTH CARE

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Inc., Franciscan Alliance Inc., Specialized Physicians of Illinois LLC, the University of Saint Francis and Our Sunday Visitor Inc.

The diocese and the other organizations have sued the federal government, claiming Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate violates their religious freedom. Employers can be fined for

DeKalb Health was scheduled to kick off a yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary Jan. 2 in Auburn.

The former DeKalb Memorial Hospital opened Jan. 2, 1964, and was dubbed the “miracle of Indiana” because of the community support that made its construction possible. Since then, the health-care system, which was renamed DeKalb Heath in 2011, has grown to employ nearly 600 workers and has an estimated annual economic impact to the region of more than $39 million.

Since its opening, DeKalb Health has made more than $75 million in capital investments as it expanded its facilities and services. In 2013, patient visits totaled more than 91,000, and the hospital provided more than 350,000 inpatient and outpatient services, the health-care system said in an announcement.

DeKalb Health staff and patients were scheduled to take part in a small celebration Jan. 2, and other events to commemorate the hospital’s 50th anniversary will be held throughout the year.

If you have items for the health-care column, please contact Barry Rochford by email at brochford@kpcmedia.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 311, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.

The new year brings the busiest time for fitness centers and other places of self-improvement, but area consultants said much of the Davis resolve often wears off quickly.

There are, however, certain strategies for continuing these activities that seem to meet with higher levels of success.

Anne Davis sees a lot of resolutions come and go in her job as executive director for Spiece Fitness in Fort Wayne.

Her first recommendation is to train with a buddy or in a group.

“Our experience here, and in the fitness industry overall, is that people who work out with a group or with a trainer have a much higher success rate of sticking with the program, mostly because it’s fun … and also because they are accountable to other people.”

Davis said that those who start a program and set out specific goals for themselves seem to attain those goals more frequently than those who start with vague intentions.

But some aim to improve more than themselves; they would like to improve their business or workplace. Michelle Gladieux, president of Gladieux Consulting in Fort Wayne, does professional development and executive coaching, focusing on conflict management and negotiation in the workplace. She gave a few tips on sticking to resolutions: “Consider involving another person,” she said. “A coach, friend, collaborator, significant other, someone with whom you share your goal who will help hold you accountable.”

And maintain a healthy level of intensity, she said.

“It’s a tough balance, but strive to be both gentle with yourself and to challenge yourself,” Gladieux said. “We all need down time and days off; we are also much stronger and resilient than we know.”

Then she got more specific to the workplace.

• Figure out where you’ll expend new effort and choose direction of your behavior. For Gladieux Consulting leadership coaching clients, this might be, “I will be more available to my employees.”

• Choose the intensity of your actions, for example: “I’m willing to invest two

hours per week to build relationships with my staff.”

• Persist in the new behavior, for example: “I’ll set up and honor two hours of one-on-one meetings with my employees to see how Gladieux they’re doing every week for 52 weeks.”

• Eliminate some time wasters and procrastination to the greatest extent possible.

• Set aside 30-60 minutes to reflect on what you enjoy most or appreciate about Fritsch your life, work, health, finances, etc., then list what you’d most like to see change, Gladieux advised.

From there, choose one item you want to begin in 2014 and then answer the following question: “How does this mean I will have to change?”

Gladieux added: Think about how you’ll feel, what you’ll say, where you’ll be when you begin to enjoy the positive change in your life. Visualization can be a powerful motivator, and there’s no high quite like overcoming what used to be one of your weaknesses.

Another business coach, Michael Fritsch, the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center’s entrepreneur-in-residence, said one of the most important strategies to achieving long-term improvement goals is to break down the plan into small, measurable steps.

“For example, increase visibility through social media, create a new product line or hire a new salesperson,” Fritsch said.

Specific steps toward the goal of increasing visibility through social media could include taking a a social-media class, creating accounts in LinkedIn and Pinterest or writing a blog.

“An important part of any goal- or resolution-achieving plan is to monitor and measure your results,” Fritsch said.

“By holding yourself accountable, you greatly increase your chances of success.

Mark it on your calendar every week to check your status and write down your progress. You would be surprised at how much this helps you reach the finish line.”

January 3-9, 2014

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DATA: It has been underutilized by farmers Judge weighs strip-club injunction

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nings of the next disruptive revolution in agriculture,” he said. “We’re now entering this ‘aginformatics’ revolution where everything we do is going to be data driven.”

The revolution started with the development of farm equipment such as planters and sprayers capable of using satellite navigation to vary seeds and inputs on sections of a field, and yield monitors with satellite navigation to measure the results.

More production-related agricultural data has been collected as the types of sensors and uses for the data have multiplied and as the technology for collecting and using it has improved.

Most of the production-related data that have been collected on the farm have been used on the farm. But researchers have been developing new ways to analyze massive amounts of data and arrive at important findings they otherwise would have missed.

And agricultural researchers are discovering “as that data is collected on the field, it can be aggregated further and further,” Bechdol said.

“Ultimately, this is about turning data into decisions and data into dollars.”

Crop producers in the future, for example, might be able to benchmark themselves anonymously against other farmers growing the same crops under almost identical conditions to see how they are doing, he said.

“Data on the farm has been an underutilized asset,” Bechdol said. “With these new technologies that have come has come the realization on the producer’s part that this data is useful not just to me but to my partner and trusted advisers as well as people who may not like me as much.

“Data as a modern commodity … represents my farm’s intellectual property. It’s how I do my business; it’s my magic recipe,” he said. “When I share my data with you and you’re going to turn it into a product for me, the question is, who are you going to share it with, who has access to it and what are they going to do once they have access to it?

“It’s murky as to what that ownership and control issue is. And that has producers anxious,” Bechdol continued.

“With that comes some questions you need to be asking yourself and your partners. We’re just at the precipice of this revolution. The ‘aginformatics’ revolution is going to fundamentally change the way we go about measuring and monitoring and producing agricultural products.”

Smith said agricultural apps for smart-

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“If you are carrying a smartphone or a tablet around with you already, you have instant access to the information; instead of thumbing through pages of a print guide — which is great — you can click on a link and it’s right there.”

Kevin Smith Purdue University

phones and tablets are gaining popularity because more and more farmers are finding a mobile platform convenient and easy to use.

The platform “allows you to include more photos and other kinds of media that you can’t do in print,” he said. “If you are carrying a smartphone or a tablet around with you already, you have instant access to the information; instead of thumbing through pages of a print guide — which is great — you can click on a link and it’s right there.”

The iPad version of Purdue’s corn and soybean guide became available at Apple’s App Store in May for $12.99.

With about 1,700 copies of it downloaded so far, “we know that it’s doing alright,” Smith said.

“We’ve gotten questions about, ‘When is it coming our for iPhones and Android.’

It will be out for iPhones next year …

The conversion to an iPhone is pretty minimal,” he said. “Android is a little trickier … To do an Android version, we’d have to start over again, basically.”

The “Apps for Ag and Big Data Issues” seminar will be among more than a dozen educational presentations scheduled for this year’s Fort Wayne Farm Show on topics that will range from water rights and crop insurance changes to the 2014 weather outlook and farm-to-fork specialty marketing.

Outlook sessions will be presented at 10 a.m. on Jan. 14 by David Kohli, an Allendale market analyst, and Jon Cavanaugh, marketing director for Central States Enterprises, and on Jan. 16 by Mike Swanson, a work-force analyst with Wells Fargo Investments. Chris Hurt, a Purdue agricultural economist, will present an outlook session at 1 p.m. Jan. 15.

The annual farm show is among the coliseum’s largest events. Last year, about 390 exhibitors used 950 booths to provide information about agricultural goods and services. The show’s attendance has been as high as 40,000.

BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com

Both sides in the Showgirl strip-club lawsuit pitting Alva and Sandra Butler against the city of Angola are awaiting a decision from a federal judge on a proposed injunction that would allow an adult entertainment venue to open in Angola.

Findings of fact written by attorneys on both sides of the battle are before presiding federal Judge Robert Miller and awaiting his ruling.

Alva Butler is the founder of the Showgirl clubs in Fort Wayne and current owner of Showgirl III in that city. Since buying the former Slider’s Grill & Bar property in Angola in August 2012, he has tried to put a Showgirl club in the city. However, Angola has fought Butler and his company, BBL Inc., resulting in a suit filed in U.S. Federal District Court Northern Indiana that is being heard in South Bend.

Butler alleges his First and 14th Amendment rights have been violated by the city and its officials. The city maintains it properly exercised its powers to enact and enforce ordinances.

The Butlers contend the city prevented them from opening a strip club by changing laws and using an administrative ruling as a denial, saying the site was too close to a public gathering place, a bike trail that existed only on paper in 2012 and won’t be built until 2014 at the earliest.

The proposed injunction would prevent Angola from enforcing its sexually oriented business law against Butler and Showgirl. Butler filed suit against the city in March. He bought the former Slider’s property, 310 W. Wendell Jacob Ave., at auction in August 2012 and informed the city of his intentions through a letter from his attorney.

The injunction also would make null zoning changes, as applied to Butler, that effectively have prevented the former Slider’s site from being used for a sexually oriented business.

If Miller denies Butler’s request for an injunction, the case would continue to play out in court.

This story originally appeared in The Herald Republican, which is published by Business Weekly owner KPC Media Group Inc.

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BizView

thousholder@kpcmedia.com Publisher

Barry Rochford brochford@kpcmedia.com Editor

Linda Lipp llipp@kpcmedia.com Associate Editor/Reporter

Joel Elliott jelliott@kpcmedia.com Reporter

Doug LeDuc dleduc@kpcmedia.com Reporter

Claudia Johnson Marketing Manager

Mary Schmitz mschmitz@kpcmedia.com Creative Supervisor

Ashley LeTourneau aletourneau@kpcmedia.com Researcher

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William Hanley Kelly Bransteter

George O. Witwer Publisher Emeritus

Terry Housholder President, CEO

Terry Ward Chief Operating Officer

S. Rick Mitchell Chief Financial Officer

Lynette Donley Advertising Director

Kelly Lynch Digital Media Director

Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly is a publication of KPC Media Group Inc.

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January 3-9, 2014

By cutting taxes, do we hurt worker training?

Terry Housholder

cjohnson@kpcmedia.com

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State should do the math It’s a simple relationship. Local governments and school districts rely on taxes to provide services.

The math is equally simple: When revenue is reduced, services will be cut.

One idea that has gained favor recently is the elimination of Indiana’s personal property tax on businesses. It’s on Gov. Mike Pence’s list of priorities for the next legislative session, and many business groups, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Manufacturers Association — you can read about its stance on the next page — are lobbying hard to get rid of it.

The business personal property tax doesn’t include real estate, but it does pertain to most equipment and other items a business owns. In 2012, the tax generated more than $960 million in revenue across the state that was distributed to local governments and school districts, among other entities.

For cities, revenue from the tax, on average, funds 15 percent to 20 percent of their yearly budgets.

The argument for eliminating the tax is straightforward: It would make Indiana, which ranked 10th in the Tax Foundation’s 2014 Business Tax Climate Index, even more attractive to businesses, putting us on equal

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EDITORIAL

footing with other states that have gotten rid of similar taxes.

What’s less straightforward is how local governments and school districts would offset the loss of revenue; Angola Mayor Richard Hickman told Business Weekly for a Dec. 27 story that eliminating the tax would be “crippling” for his city. Other mayors across the state share his concern.

There are vague assertions that local governments and school districts could consolidate or wring efficiencies out of their operations to save money. There’s also talk that municipalities could raise local option income taxes to help make up for the revenue cut — a step Fort Wayne and some other cities already have taken to counter previous revenue reductions.

If Indiana can responsibly eliminate the business personal property tax without causing major harm to local governments’ abilities to protect residents and provide services or school districts’ efforts to education children, it should do so. It should not, however, throw cities’, counties’ and school districts’ budgets into chaos without first attempting to address the ramifications.

WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? Want to share your thoughts on something you’ve read? Business Weekly welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns. E-mail them to news@fwbusiness. com, fax them to (260) 426-2503 or mail them to Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808. Business Weekly reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length.

Strangely, there is little opposition to eliminating taxes on the equipment (personal property) of Indiana’s businesses. The question is how to replace the $1 billion in revenue lost by Indiana’s counties, cities, towns, school corporations and libraries. That’s significant money for police, fire and other public services.

Gov. Pence and his allies are scrambling to find a replacement for that lost revenue. Raise the state’s sales tax? No one favors that. Allow local governments to impose a sales tax? Never! That would be anarchy, chaotic competition among neighbors.

Thus far, the most favored idea allows commu- n nities to raise one of the local option income taxes. State politicians like this because local office holders will be blamed for the higher taxes.

However, back up just one step and reconsider this entire matter. The governor and his allies preach the benefits of lower taxes as an incentive for businesses to locate jobs in Indiana. At the same time, just about everyone agrees that Hoosier workers are ill-prepared for the demands of the modern workplace.

Who benefits from a better-prepared work force?

Mainly, it’s those companies installing new equipment that seek better-prepared workers. Thus, under the principle of beneficiary taxation, businesses should pay for the updating of the existing work force and the education of the future work force.

Morton J. What about a statewide personal property tax, with a single rate? Currently that rate varies from Marcus one jurisdiction to another. Additionally, the state, not the locality, assesses the value of that equipment.

Further, the billion dollars raised from the tax could be earmarked for vocational education at all levels, in all its many forms from accounting to zoology.

This means changing education, which everyone seems eager to do.

We have spent decades believing more education will bring monetary rewards to the individual. More education was once a route to becoming a more articulate, cultured and engaged citizen. Today, more education has become an investment from which there should be a monetary return.

If education is to supply the work force businesses want, then firms (or their associations) should be more involved in the preparation of the work force. Either businesses train workers directly or hire institutions to do that.

The link between firms and schools would have to be strengthened.

Businesses don’t want to get involved with education. They want workers with certain behavioral characteristics (showing up on time) and specific job skills. Today, however, the variety of jobs keeps changing.

Hence, employers want workers who can relearn rapidly or adapt to new demands quickly.

Modern equipment seems to drive the demand for better trained workers. The property tax on business equipment is well suited for financing the necessary supply of qualified workers.

This does not relieve the Legislature from finding other funds to sustain local services. It is, however, a move toward letting businesses pay for the education services they use. And won’t more firms bring jobs to Indiana if we have a better trained work force?

EYE ON THE PIE

MORTON J. MARCUS is an independent economist, writer and speaker formerly with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He can be reached at mortonjmarcus@yahoo.com.

January 3-9, 2014

n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly

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PAGE 9

Manufacturers would benefit from eliminating tax Gov. Pence is n right when he says “the time has come to phase out the business personal property tax” to “spur new investment and growth.”

A good step toward fulfilling the governor’s goal is to exempt production machinery and equipment from the personal property tax. Indiana’s economy is the most manufacturing dependent in the nation, yet our state penalizes investments in production machinery and equipment by taxing those investments.

It’s the old adage, if you want less of something, tax it.

Hoosier manufacturing is currently experiencing a revival, and it is critically important we keep the momentum moving forward. Indiana has added 60,000 manufacturing jobs since July 2009, second highest in the U.S. behind Michigan — a

PATRICK KIELY

state that is phasing out its personal property tax.

Much of the recent growth in manufacturing can be attributed to our state’s favorable tax and regulatory climate. Yet despite the advantageous business environment in Indiana, property tax policy remains an important issue for manufacturers.

The 2013 Indiana Manufacturing Survey, conducted by Katz Sapper & Miller and Indiana University Kelley School of Business, ranked property and corporate tax policy as the issues “most critical in terms of the cost and viability of manufacturing in Indiana.”

This continued interest in property-tax policy among Hoosier manufacturers is well-founded. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency found that while net taxes across all property types decreased 10.3 percent from 2007 to 2011 in Indiana, business real and personal property taxes increased 6.3 percent.

Additionally, the Tax Foundation compared property-tax treatment of residential property with commercial and industrial property throughout the U.S. The report found that “nationwide, state

and local governments collected 44 percent of property tax revenue from residential property and 56 percent from non-residential property (mostly commercial and industrial).”

In Indiana, the share of property taxes collected from residential property is only 29 percent and a whopping 71 percent from commercial and industrial property — an astonishingly lopsided property-tax burden on Hoosier businesses.

“Personal property” is a very broad term that includes billboards, office equipment, furniture, and racks and shelving.

Production machinery and equipment, however, is just one slice of the total personal property pie. It includes the tractor and combine used by farmers to grow food, and the lathe, drill press, and CNC machine used in the manufacturing of goods.

Annually taxing these assets is counterproductive because it is a tax on productivity.

In 2013, industrial and agricultural taxpayers paid $486.7 million in personal property taxes, which represents 7.76 percent of all real and personal property taxes paid to local governments. Any

budget shortfall that may result from exempting production machinery and equipment can be recouped through local government efficiencies and consolidations, and if necessary, the current local option income tax system.

In addition to being affordable, a personal property tax exemption for production machinery and equipment would primarily benefit farmers and small manufacturers.

Seventy-nine percent of Hoosier manufacturers employ 49 people or less, and 68 percent are pass-through entities, such as S corporations, sole proprietors and partnerships.

If we want to spur business investment, help farmers, improve the economic competitiveness of our communities, and attract new manufacturers to Indiana without significantly impairing the budgets of local governments, support Gov. Pence’s plan and start with exempting production machinery and equipment from the personal property tax.

PATRICK KIELY is president of the Indianapolis-based Indiana Manufacturers Association.

Banking & Finance n PAGE 10

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InFocus

n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n

January 3-9, 2014

Closing the chapter: 2013 lessons for investors Despite all the doom-and-gloom talk, stocks finished the year up 28 percent (AP) — Successful stock investors followed some simple advice this year: Don’t worry, be happy.

Next year, though, they will need to temper that rosy approach.

In 2013, investors who blocked out the scary headlines about a possible government default, budget cuts and concerns about when the Federal Reserve would begin to scale back its stimulus, did great.

The economy wasn’t robust, but it wasn’t weak, either. Earnings grew, even if companies achieved them by cutting costs rather than increasing sales. And the Fed gave the market a year-end bonus by keeping short-term borrowing costs near zero, even after dialing back its program to hold down longer-term rates.

Final tally: Stocks were up more than 28 percent.

The worrier’s ultimate refuge — cash, bonds, and gold — actually caused even more heartburn. Havens like bonds were down last year: The biggest category of bond funds by assets, intermediate-term bond funds, lost an average of 1.5 percent.

Gold had its first down year since 2000, having declined 27.7 percent.

Market strategists, on average, see more modest growth for stocks in 2014.

The S&P 500 could rise 5 percent to 7 percent. Bonds should continue to struggle as interest rates and expected to rise.

Here are the positives from 2013 and some tempering thoughts for 2014.

are now left with a quandary. Do they buy now, with stocks more expensive, or do they stay on the sidelines and risk being left further behind?

2014 PREDICTIONS Watch out for crowds: After being burned during the financial crisis, many investors have stayed away from this fiveyear bull market. Investors pulled $430 billion out of stock funds, according to data from Lipper, while putting nearly $1 trillion into bond funds since the market bottomed in March 2009.

Professional investors worry that the average Joe will now try to make up for lost time in 2014. If large numbers of individual investors jump, the demand could inflate prices beyond what earnings justify. That could lead to what Wall Street call a “melt-up,” which almost always leads to a “melt-down.”

What goes up must come down:

2013 HIGHLIGHTS Small caps were big: Here’s where the stock optimists really shone. The Russell 2000, an index that tracks smaller, riskier stocks, was up nearly 37 percent, more than the Dow and the S&P 500.

Stunning debuts: IPOs are risky and also for positive thinkers. And they surged this year. The number of initial public offerings rose to its highest since 2000.

When stock prices rise steadily and strongly, companies have incentive to roll out their stocks to the public. And inves-

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trader Richard Newman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Dec. 18.

tors want those new shares. The average IPO stock rose almost 35 percent last year, outperforming the S&P 500, according to data from Renaissance Capital. In total, companies sold $55 billion of stock in 2013, an increase of 29 percent from 2012.

No holding back: Another streak for bulls. The S&P 500 went 27 months without a downturn of 10 percent or more.

That compares with an average streak of 18 months between such declines, according to S&P Capital IQ. Investors who sat out the rally in stocks

Goldman Sachs analysts see a 67-percent chance that stocks will decline 10 percent or more in 2014, which is known as a stock market “correction.” The S&P 500 is up nearly 40 percent since the stock market’s last major downturn in October 2011 Still, Goldman analysts still expect stocks to end next year modestly higher.

Lower exposure: 2014 is not looking good for bond investors. With the Fed starting to pull back on its bond purchases in January, one of the biggest buyers of bonds for the last year will slowly slip out of the market. That could send bond prices lower.

Bond investors should tweak their portfolio to focus on shorter duration bonds, said Richard Madigan, chief investment officer for JPMorgan Private Bank.

He would normally tell investors to have bonds that mature in average of about five years. For 2014, Madigan is advising them aim for average duration of two to 2 1/2 years.

“Long duration bonds are much more a riskier asset than a safe asset next year,” Madigan said.

January 3-9, 2014

n

n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly

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PersonalBusiness

n

“Every business has problems, and I try to solve them by enabling the business to perform to the needs of the market” How would you describe Chautauqua?

I started Chautauqua as a consulting firm that provides business performance improvement. I’m the only full-time employee and I have a part-time marketing person and employ other freelance consultants as I require.

I’ve done a fair amount of leadership coaching and consulting with an oil refinement company in Canada, but for the most part my clients are industrial companies in need of specific assistance.

Most businesses eventually have difficulty adapting to changes in their market, which can cause them to fall behind and in some cases fail to serve their customer base the way they need to.

CAREER PATH

Name: Lowell Puls Age: 58 Company: Chautauqua Inc. Title: founder Location: Angola Founded: 2010 Wesbite: www.chau tauqua-inc.com Education: earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Northern Illinois University and a master’s of business administration from Loyola University Chicago; graduated from the Eaton Corp. executive development program Other: author of “KISS: Keep it Simple and Sustainable,” a new book designed to serve as a step-by-step guide for leaders who want to build simplicity into their management approach

What led to your consulting and writing about business performance improvement?

I put myself through college running machines on a factory floor. I have worked at every level, from running machines to floor supervision to plant management, and I was a global vice president of operations and a division general manager.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Business performance consultant Lowell Puls has written a book, “KISS: Keep it Simple and Sustainable.”

I’ve spent a lot of time making different products over 38 years, and nearly everyone in the country has used something I’ve helped manufacture. If you’ve ever done your own laundry or driven a car you’ve probably interfaced with something I’ve made.

I spent 14 years with Eaton, and in my last position with them I was responsible for global operations in their clutch division.

For the most part I’ve been a lean enterprise specialist. I don’t use the word expert because I’m not sure there is such a thing.

A book I wrote based on my experience, “KISS: Keep it Simple and Sustainable,” is about managing lean.

I started writing it sometime in 2010, around the time I started the consulting business, and finally got it printed this October.

The book was intended to be a blueprint for turning a business toward performance excellence. In essence, it walks readers through 10 chapters and hopefully is fairly simplified.

It guides them through the process of setting a vision for the organization, aligning their responsiveness as a leader to the needs n

See PULS on PAGE 12

PAGE 11

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January 3-9, 2014

PULS: Everyone has problems

Continued from PAGE 11

of the business and lining up the initiatives of the business to match with the needs of the organization and the needs of its market.

It outlines the process of energizing and engaging the organization, setting priorities, and working on the culture through messaging and through measurement. And it explains how to cement all of that in place with business level systems.

I approach each of my business engagements using the techniques that I’ve written about. Every business has problems, and I try to solve them by enabling the business to perform to the needs of the market. Not a lot of businesses are able to do that without making important changes.

What is ahead for Chautauqua?

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I think it’s too early to say that the book has had any impact on the consulting business. I’m still doing a lot of work with my current set of clients, but like everybody, I’m always hopeful to expand that.

Right now, I’m not planning a sequel to the book but I have a couple of ideas for other books related to leadership and lean enterprise and manufacturing strategy, which I consider myself to be pretty adept at.

What’s ahead at this point is I’m looking for some additional business in Canada from existing clients and will continue to grow the consulting side of the business. I’m also hoping to eventually buy my way into a manufacturing business. I envision this as a company that would expand into ownership and not just consult.

What do you like about your work?

I find the consulting work highly variable and the challenges are almost always a lot of fun. The client is usually in considerable hot water with a key customer and looking to correct that, and my track record with helping with that is extremely good.

The highest return on investment for my engagement has been 1,400 percent and the range for all engagements has been extremely high.

I usually am fairly adept at going in, helping them with their issue and turning that into cash that hits their bottom line pretty rapidly. Most of the times when I get engaged the investment will pay back within the quarter.

Have there been any moments at Chautauqua that stand out so far?

We had a client that had fallen dreadfully behind on work for a really key customer, and we basically laid out an improvement plan in five days. It took 25 days to rearrange their manufacturing and literally by Day 31 their manufacturing performance had improved 70 percent.

What have you learned from your work?

260.436.8525 www.galecki.com

Companies get in trouble for a lot of reasons and it’s not always their fault. They’re usually very hesitant to seek help because they think the help will be more than they can afford. But the corrective work that gets done affects their operations so much more than they realize that the return on investment usually comes very, very quickly.

Often, they don’t see their problems as the kind that can be solved by somebody from the outside, but surprisingly find there is a lot that can be done for them.

By Doug LeDuc. To suggest an idea for “Career Path,” email news@fwbusiness.com.

January 3-9, 2014

n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly

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Elkhart’s last shoerepair business closes (AP) — When they bought their shoe repair business in 1975, Glen and Shirley Jones were taking a risk.

They would be competing against six established shops in town, and they knew nothing about fixing shoes.

How things changed.

Thirty-eight years later, they had the only known shoe repair shop in Elkhart County. And by then, their customers swore by their work.

However, Jones’ Shoe Repair, 739 S. Main St., closed for good at the end of December. Glen, 78, and Shirley, 72, said they’re ready to retire.

“We’ve done this many years,” Shirley told The Elkhart Truth prior to the shop’s closing. “We would like to enjoy a few years of not having to get up and go to work, especially in the wintertime.”

They tried to retire in 2009, but as they were cleaning out the building after closing, their customers kept coming through the front door with work.

“People wouldn’t let us,” Shirley said.

“They said, ‘You’ve got to open up.’”

But the Joneses meant it this time. They quit. Really.

“We have made it definite that once we close at 3 o’clock Dec. 31, we’re locking that door, heading out the other, and we’re not taking in any more work,” Shirley said.

“I guess they’ll just have to find someplace else.”

Over the years, Glen and Shirley learned plenty about fixing shoes, but also about repairing purses, coats and anything else made of leather or cloth. Asked what she enjoyed about the work, Shirley said, “Trying to make something old and broken into something wearable and useful.”

“So many of them throw away a purse or something just because the zipper might be broke,” she said. “They don’t realize it’s easily fixed.”

But when asked to reflect on their years running the shop, she and Glen talk more about the people they’ve served.

“Our tried-and-true customers are about like family,” Shirley said. “Through thick and thin they come to see us.”

“We’ve got the best customers in the world, right here,” Glen added. “I will miss the customers. We are people persons, no question.”

As if on cue, customer Linda Weiss walked in and handed Glen her ticket stub, which helped the Joneses find her order among many in brown paper sacks on

n

“So many of them throw away a purse or something just because the zipper might be broke. They don’t realize it’s easily fixed.”

Shirley Jones Jones’ Shoe Repair

shelves behind the front counter.

Weiss paid $8 to pick up a dog harness and cloth bag that had been repaired.

“I’m going to miss you guys when you close,” she said.

“Hey, we’re going to miss our customers as much as they miss us,” Glen told her.

The Joneses referred customers to the closest shoe repair shop they know of, Violi Shoes, 118 E. Mishawaka Ave., Mishawaka.

That includes their orthopedic customers, who come with notes from their podiatrist detailing their specialized shoe needs. For example, a person with one leg shorter than the other needs a heel “buildup” on the shoe. In a metal box, Glen keeps a 3-inch-by-5-inch index card on each orthopedic customer, listing the size of heel that belongs on each shoe.

Brian Hall, Violi Shoes owner, said he is ready for the influx of customers. Hall, who also sells new shoes, said he expects to remain open for at least eight or nine more years. He said he is the only cobbler in Mishawaka, and there are two left in South Bend.

“There are very few shops around anymore,” Hall said. “Shoes are built so cheap nowadays, a lot of times it costs more to repair them than to buy them new, with everything made in China.”

Operating the business allowed the Joneses to buy their Dunlap home, raise three children, own other commercial buildings on their block, and take vacations over the years. Glen had hoped one of their two adult sons, both of whom are skilled cobblers, would take over the business, but they aren’t interested. One drives a truck, the other a forklift.

“They like that weekly paycheck,” Shirley said, “where they know what they’re getting every week. This is long hours. It’s dirty work. You never get wealthy because you never know how much work is going to come in and when they’re going to pick it up (and pay).”

“You have to enjoy your job or it’s no good,” Glen said. “I enjoy what I do.”

PAGE 13

County withholds SCEDC funding over open-door issue

BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com

Steuben County Commissioners have tabled making the county’s semiannual payment to the Steuben County Economic Development Corp. because the group holds its meetings in private.

Commissioners want SCEDC Executive Director Dave Koenig to be present at their Jan. 6 meeting to discuss the issue. Tentative payment has been approved, pending the Jan. 6 discussion. The county pays the SCEDC $130,488.

When founded in 2004, the SCEDC loosely followed provisions of the Indiana Open Door Law. In 2012, the SCEDC board changed its bylaws to take the meetings and its records private.

“I am the representative to the EDC and I have mentioned it several times that the public should be involved in economic development,” said Commissioner Loretta Smart. “I am not very well received with my opinion.”

Generally, it has been held in Indiana that EDCs that are nonprofit corporations

and contract to provide services to government do not have to follow provisions of the state’s sunshine laws. A recent opinion from the Indiana Public Access Counselor differed with what had been tested in court, but because it was just an opinion, it did not have the force of a court precedent.

In the case of Steuben County, the lion’s share of the operating revenue for the SCEDC comes from government; Steuben County and its city and towns. Of the money paid by government, just more than half comes from Steuben County, which is represented on the board by one commissioner and one council member.

There are representatives on the board from each city and town in the county, six from private industry and one at-large. The board numbers 16 people, nine of whom are from government.

Councilwoman Linda Hansen has also been vocal about the EDC’s meetings not being open to the public.

This story originally appeared in The Herald Republican, which is published by Business Weekly owner KPC Media Group Inc.

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PAGE 14

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January 3-9, 2014

Success in business — like life — often is a matter of timing It’s a new year, n and that means New Year’s resolutions.

Great intentions to do good things. But as with business, music, sports and many other things in life, timing is everything.

For instance, it’s probably not the best time of year to CONFESSIONS pledge to go to the OF AN gym five days a week when you’re in the ENTREPRENEUR dead of winter and it’s freezing outside when you wake up Barry LaBov in the morning and when you come home in the evening.

Your chances of succeeding in this particular resolution are less than they would be at a different time of year. It’s similar in business. A great sense of timing can be the difference in realizing success or never leaving the gate.

Timing can make or break new product introductions, win or lose you customers, earn or lose you money and a lot more. If a

product is launched at the perfect time, it’s successful and celebrated. Launch that same product at the wrong time and it’s a dud. A lot of that has to do with monitoring market conditions and finding the ideal balance between supply and demand. Launching a product when there’s a high demand makes it more likely to succeed. It’s no coincidence that new toys, electronics, movies and more are brought to market right around the holidays. Conversely, launching a product when demand is low or when a competitor just released a similar product makes it less likely to succeed.

The success or failure of marketing and advertising campaigns is also driven in large part by timing. What day of the week and time of day to send an email campaign, for example, is a key consideration. Or determining at what point in the ownership lifecycle you should send surveys. There are even certain days and times that are better for businesses to post on Facebook in order to get the most “likes” and shares. Now more than ever, timing is important considering the multitude of distractions that take our attention away. Get the timing wrong, and your marketing efforts are nothing but white noise.

Another facet of business that relies

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heavily on good timing is customer service.

Online companies that offer fast, convenient delivery have realized great success.

The same goes for companies that quickly address customer questions, comments and concerns. Time is a valuable commodity, and if you can show customers you respect their time, you strengthen your brand, product and services, and generate loyalty and good word of mouth.

Expediency in customer service also includes saving your customers time. For example, mail-order companies that include return shipping labels save customers time if they need to return products. While they may not have been fully satisfied with a product, saving them time and adding convenience to their day translates into a stronger likelihood they’ll shop with that company again.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs attribute their success at least in part to timing. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, said that he didn’t expect the success he’s realized with the company and credits the “incredible, planetary alignment” of luck and good timing. Steve Jobs once said, “Getting the right timing for the right action is not coincidence. It is an exact moment that is there to be taken. Something inside you already knows — all you have to do is listen and trust what you hear.”

The importance of timing extends to managing time during the workday. There are a number of time-management techniques from scheduling time in your day for inevitable interruptions to establishing your day’s goals first thing in the morning.

You can show colleagues and customers more respect for their time by setting and

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communicating clear goals prior to holding meetings with them.

Timing is also critical in hiring practices.

Hiring should never be rushed or be a kneejerk reaction when things get a little busy.

It’s been said to be successful you have to have the right people in the right roles, and it makes sense. Rushing the hiring process can lead you to hire the wrong people. And hiring before you carefully consider if you really need someone new can decrease a company’s efficiency level.

There are so many areas in business and in life where timing plays a crucial role. It can be the deciding factor between success or failure. Whether launching a new product, responding to a customer concern or making a New Year’s resolution, timing is one factor that’s always worthy of consideration.

My entrepreneurial confession: Timing isn’t an exact science. I’ll sometimes think something is going to happen immediately, but it doesn’t. Other things I expect to not be on the radar for years may appear way ahead of schedule, or sometimes, never at all. While not an exact science, timing is important to our success in business and life.

Fort Wayne-based North River Capital LLC’s movie production business, White Hat Entertainment, will premiere its second feature film, “Infinitely Polar Bear,” at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the company announced.

North River Capital, a private-equity firm, was formed in 2008 by Danny, Rick and Marty Rifkin and other former OmniSource Corp. employees after that company was sold to Steel Dynamics Inc. in 2007.

North River Capital’s White Hat Entertainment division was the majority investor for the 2012 film “Robot & Frank,” which also debuted at Sundance before being released domestically.

In the announcement, White Hat Enter-

tainment said “Infinitely Polar Bear” will be once of 16 movies competing in Sundance’s U.S. dramatic competition. The film festival will be held Jan. 16-26 in Park City, Utah.

“Infinitely Polar Bear” stars Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana and is written and directed by Maya Forbes, who co-wrote “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” and “Monsters vs. Aliens.” The feature marks Forbes’ directing debut.

According to the announcement, the film “tells the story of a manic-depressive mess of a father who tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility for their family. Their two, young spirited daughters don’t make the overwhelming task any easier.”

New York-based Park Pictures Features, which helped produce “Robot & Frank,” also helped produce “Infinitely Polar Bear.”

Other co-producers are Paper Street Films and Bad Robot.

January 3-9, 2014

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Resolve to be better The weeks n surrounding the new year provide the biggest opportunity of your career. And your New Year’s Eve plans got in the way of next year’s success. It amazes me how much prep time goes into “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” The week after the New Year will be a slow one at best.

Below are a few things to ponder, list, write about and maybe even take action on as you head into the unknown of next year.

Note: It’s unknown what will happen in the world, but your world is a lot more knowable, definable and actionable.

And rather than me telling you what to do, let me share with you what I intend to do and you can make your own plan from there.

I am going to continue to expand on my “four words” from last year. My words from last year (posted on my bathroom mirror) were “finish,” “write,” “shape” and “yes.”

My results?

• I finished “The 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling.”

• I wrote 1,000 words a week and documented hundreds of ideas.

• My shape is still plus 20 pounds, so that word will remain this year.

• I maintained my “yes!” attitude, but seeing the word every morning and evening in my bathroom mirror helped.

Those aren’t bad results, but still being 20 pounds overweight shows a flaw in my self-discipline. Not good.

This year’s words are divided into two categories: achievement and improvement.

On the achievement side: “adviser,” “digital,” “power” and “time.”

On the improvement side: “Instagram,” “blog,” “shape” and “best.”

I’ll define those eight words next week.

Hopefully they’ll inspire you to write and define your words for the year. Interestingly, you most likely mentally know what they are, but haven’t gone so far as to physically write them down.

The balance of this week and next will be spent by thinking about, doing,and documenting the following: • Making one plan to make a longtime dream a reality. For me, it’s traveling to the Great Wall of China.

• Solidify one big idea. My big idea

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for 2014 is the continuation and solidification of the Gitomer Certified Advisor Program. It will emerge in 2014 as the premier independent licensee program in the world.

• Intensify the improvement of your major strength. More and better writing for me.

• Celebrate life and plan a few celebrations. Several on the list; follow my Instagram, @jeffreygitomer, for continued details — and inspiration for you.

• Celebrate family and plan a few celebrations. August in Paris! Getting to know my family below the surface. Spend less time in idle chitchat and more time talking about life and intentions.

• List grateful acts of 2013. My brother’s continued hearing recovery. My health. My partner Jessica for her untiring dedication to the financial health of our business. My children, grandchildren and extended family. My dedicated staff of smart, real-world people.

• List cool things that happened.

Some of mine were: 50-year high school reunion, lifetime achievement award from Haddonfield High School, the fourth summer trip to Paris in four years, launch of GitomerVT.com, launch of my Gitomer Certified Advisor Program.

Action: Listing your cool things will make you happy and proud, and provide inspiration for this year’s cool things to be achieved.

• List intentions for 2014. What are you really gonna do? Beyond goals and resolutions, your intentions are the key to successful achievement outcomes.

• Read one book a month. Start with these two: “The One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan and “The Outliers”

by Malcolm Gladwell.

• Write 1,000 words a week. My weekly column enters its 22nd year. I’ve written and published more than a million words. (The average business book is 50,000 words.)

Action: Wake up and write.

• Think by yourself for 10 minutes a day. Make a hard appointment for yourself. Note: You can combine thinking and writing!

My list of things to do should keep you busy, productive and inspired to achieve more this year than you did last year. It’s not just a goal and it’s not just a resolution; it’s your intention, your drive, your work ethic and your consistency that will create genuine achievement.

Happy new year!

JEFFREY GITOMER, a syndicated columnist, can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.

PAGE 15

Business Weekly

LEGEND of LEADERSHIP AWARD Honoring Irene Walters Breakfast Thursday, February 27 7:30 AM Landmark Centre Join community leaders as they pay tribute to this legendary leader.

Master of Ceremonies: Ben Eisbart, Steel Dynamics Featuring remarks by: Marilyn Moran-Townsend, CVC Communications Larry Lee, Leepoxy Plastics Cheri Becker, Leadership Fort Wayne Mike Cahill, Tower Bank Sharon Eisbart, Sharon Eisbart Corporate Art Tickets $25 each • Table of eight $150 Visit fwbusiness.com or call 260.426.2640 ext. 313

PAGE 16

fwbusiness.com

GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n

January 3-9, 2014

A National CPA & Advisory Firm

experience tradition Unmatched client service isn’t just a slogan at BKD; it’s the backbone of our culture. Our 2,100 CPAs, advisors and dedicated support staff are bound by the five client service standards that define The BKD Experience. For 90 years, our clients have looked to us for integrity, expertise, professionalism, responsiveness and innovation. We also have strong ties to the Fort Wayne market; our firm has been located in Fort Wayne since 1960. We invite you to experience the enduring legacy of unmatched client service.

Fort Wayne // 260.460.4000

experience

n

Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly Top List

January 3-9, 2014

n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly

n

fwbusiness.com

PAGE 17

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n PAGE 18

fwbusiness.com

NEW BUSINESSES Spine Legacy Holdings LLC 200 W. Main St. Syracuse, IN 46567 Stepehen R. Snyder The Java Cottage LLC 511 W. Brooklynn St. Syracuse, IN 46457 David Mcilwain Clay Ridge Farm LLC 3875 S. 900 West Topeka, IN 46571 Lavern R. Miller Hawpatch Properties LLC 7525 W. 600 South Topeka, IN 46571 Galen W. Miller Number 1 Corvette Showcase LLC 205 W. Pine St. Topeka, IN 46571 Harold McNamara Woodlawn Medical Aid Inc. 4255 S. 900 West Topeka, IN 46571 Quinn Schrock Shree Balaji Inc. 7590 S. Warren Road Warren, IN 46792 Harjinder Kaur JM Hotels Inc. 7275 S. 75 East Warren, IN 46792 Mehul Zalavadia Mariners Lots LLC 1037 Mariners Drive Warsaw, IN 46582 Craig Snow Actppv Inc. 510 Acorn Drive Warsaw, IN 46582 Shari Carr 1055 Mariners LLC 1037 Mariners Drive Warsaw, IN 46582 Craig Snow 1037 Mariners LLC 1037 Mariners Drive Warsaw, IN 46582 Craig Snow Simeon’s Lawn Care LLC 540 W. Clearwater Drive Warsaw, IN 46582 Simeon Corrao Houlton Holdings LLC 201 W. Center St. Warsaw, IN 46580 Greg Houltin David Vasquez-Rodriguez LLC 2441 W. 250 South, Lot 31 Warsaw, IN 46580 David Vasquez-Rodriguez

READER’S GUIDE BizLeads is a collection of information gathered from northeast Indiana courthouses, state government offices and informational Web sites.

These listings are intended to help companies find new customers as well as stay on top of happenings with current customers, vendors and competitors.

New Businesses lists firms that were recently incorporated in the state of Indiana. Information is gathered from the Indiana Secretary of State.

Addresses listed may not be the actual address of the business.

Building Permits are issued by the Allen County Building Department during the specified period of time.

Real Estate is a list of agricultural, commercial, industrial, and residential real estate sales recorded by the state of Indiana.

Bankruptcies are from the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Indiana.

For complete data involving a particular filing please access the The PACER Service Center, the Federal Judiciary’s centralized registration, billing, and technical support center for electronic access to U.S. District, Bankruptcy, and Appellate court records. Its Web site URL is http://pacer. psc.uscourts.gov.

Patents include the following: Patent number, local inventor and assignee, brief description, filed date and approved date. Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Listings may vary due to information availability and space constraints.

Bussard Realty LLC 1501 E. Clark St. Warsaw, IN 46580 Brandon Bussard Taylor Investments LLC 121 N. Washington St. Warsaw, IN 46580 Patricia J. Taylor Championship Sports LLC 123 S. Hunters Ridge Warsaw, IN 46582 Gary L. Henschen Magdalena Pacheco Martinez LLC 340 E. Levi Lee Road, Lot 197 Warsaw, IN 46582 Magdalena Pacheco-Martinez Dog Bowls ny Cindy Koehring LLC 1700 Jenny Lane Warsaw, IN 46580 Cynthia L. Koehring Kokomo’s Collision Center LLC 1375 S. Zimmer Road Warsaw, IN 46580 Bridget Blackburn

Police Dog Center Ohio LLC 1854 E. Springfield Drive Warsaw, IN 46582 Allen Danko Pill Box Pharmacy Inc. 2306 Dubois Drive Warsaw, IN 46580 Gregory Winn Team 172-01 LLC 3000 N. Airport Road Warsaw, IN 46581 Jonathan Fussle 2283 N. Detroit St. LLC 2283 N. Detroit St. Warsaw, IN 46580 Arturo Garcia Gryphon Werks Inc. 403 W. Kincaide St. Warsaw, IN 46580 Kyra Linn We Inspire Support Empower Inc. 2522 W. Wildwood Trail Warsaw, IN 46580 Tammy Allen El Dorado Restaurant and Bar 3104 E. Wooster Road, #29 Warsaw, IN 46562 Jessica Cielo

BizLeads

n PAGES 18-20 GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n

Solutions CNS LLC 528 E. Winona Ave. Warsaw, IN 46580 Jesus Hernandez

Human Technologies Inc. 1613 Progress Drive Albion, IN 46701 Steve Wiltberger

AM Food and Fuel Inc. 6200 S. S.R. 116 Bluffton, IN 46714 Matthew J Yergler

All Things New Inc. 3587 E. 400 North Warsaw, IN 46582 William S. Fawley

Pokagon Trail Holdings LLC 319 Pokagon Trail Angola, IN 46703 Ken W. Wilson

Advanced Air Care LLC 303 E. Central Ave. Bluffton, IN 46714 Matthew G. Reinhard

Three Crowns Coffee LLC 114 S. Buffalo St. Warsaw, IN 46580 David Gustafson Ram Healthcare Group LLC 966 W. 400 North Warsaw, IN 46582 Nick A. Deeter Ramon D. Ortiz-Hernandez LLC 1404 Tippecanoe Drive, Apt. B1 Warsaw, IN 46580 Ramon D. Ortiz Hernandez Sisters of Bittersweet LLC 335 N. Wayne St. Waterloo, IN 46793 Shelley Parson Cass Transport LLC 2800 C.R. 33 Waterloo, IN 46793 Cassandra Fike Propane Autogas LLC 160 W. Van Vleek Waterloo, IN 46793 Mark Gibson IPI Auburn LLC 295 S. Commerce Drive Waterloo, IN 46793 Daniel M. Rifkin F&C Trucking LLC 1548 C.R. 27 Waterloo, IN 46793 Fred Coard IV

Bardom LLC 708 Mohawk Drive Angola, IN 46703 Weston Hankey Hillbilly Tire & Tool Co. 3395 C.R. 19 Auburn, IN 46706 Gayle Clark KS Design Inc. 404 Duryea Drive Auburn, IN 46706 Kurt Herman Musical Madness LLC 216 N. Division St. Auburn, IN 46706 Tyler Littlejohn Custom Manufacturing and Fabrication LLC 1905 S. Jacob St. Auburn, IN 46706 Pete Buhite McLaughlin Tax, Accounting & Management Advisory Services LLC 109 E. Fifth St., Suite C Auburn, IN 46706 Melissa Mclaughlin Elite Martial Arts-Beford LLC 1211 St. Andrews Place Auburn, IN 46706 Keith Schreffler A Perfect Home LLC 410 Lillian St. Avilla, IN 46710 Robert J. Lattimore

Refugio Sanchez Collazo LLC 3127 C.R. 14 Waterloo, IN 46793 Refugio S. Collazo

Race Real Estate LLC 407 Old Bog Road Avilla, IN 46710 Abigayle Lash

G&P Transport Inc. 489 C.R. 39 Waterloo, IN 46793 Gary Crist

Assurance Title Co. LLC 408 Old Bog Road Avilla, IN 46710 Abigayle Lash

Custom Cakes by Laurie LLC 2925 C.R. 27 Waterloo, IN 46793 Laurie Zink

Juan Castro-Quijano LLC 356 Clark St. Berne, IN 46711 Juan Castro-Quijano

Account Keepers LLC 2803 Widaman St. Winona Lake, IN 46590 Heather Hamman Inspire Electric LLC 4124 Hickory Ridge Drive Woodburn, IN 46797 David Kreilach

Spare Time Lanes LLC 1304 U.S. 27 N. Berne, IN 46711 Lance Sprunger Chelsea’s Cakes LLC 466 California St. Berne, IN 46711 Chelsea Taylor

Midstates Energy Solutions LLC 1085 B. N. Main St. Bluffton, IN 46714 Scott P. Johnson Stangland Heritage Office LLC 1127 N. Main St. Bluffton, IN 46714 Christopher L. Nusbaum Stangland Heritage Family Farm LLC 1127 N. Main St. Bluffton, IN 46714 Christopher L. Nusbaum

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS

REAL-ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

Granite Ridge Builders, Inc. 2118 Perry Trail $205,712

46704

ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP BOB BUESCHER HOMES

10923 Arcola Road From Judith J. Zelt and Steven P. Foor to Byron W. and Judith J. Zelt $32,500

7814 Baron Hill Court $240,300

46706

NEW HAVEN ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP

5962 Deer Hollow Road From Wedgewood Development Corp. to John D. and Carrie L. Bleeke $61,655

Delagrange Homes LLC 1523 Dunnagans Way $195,000

ALLEN COUNTY ABOITE TOWNSHIP Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 873 Beal Brook Pass $152,000

2000 Middlebury StreetElkhart LLC 1203 S. Division St. Bristol, IN 46507 Timothy Dugle

Bob Buescher Homes 14675 Sandstone Drive $270,000

M Two Construction Inc. 55714 C.R. 131 Bristol, IN 46507 Zane L. Martens

Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 9526 Sienna Springs Drive $408,575

T&M Construction 2828 O Day Road $245,000

MAUMEE TOWNSHIP

460 County Road 15-Elkhart LLC 1203 S. Division Bristol, IN 46507 Timothy Dugle

PERRY TOWNSHIP

Hagerman, Inc. 3411 Sherman Blvd. $272,711

17741 Tonkel Road From Allen County sheriff to Pennymac Loan Services LLC $55,000

9724 Miller Road From Emily N. Huhn to Erick T. and Katherine M. Adams $159,500

46725 LAKE TOWNSHIP

Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 4795 Legacy Cove $195,000

FORT WAYNE WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

19739 Red Mound Cove From Wedgewood Development Corp. to AF Hamed Construction $70,748

46723 CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIP

RBH Holdings LLC 55816 Willowbend Blvd.

Bristol, IN 46507 Regina Howard

COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS

Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc. 3830 Winter Raven Trail $115,185

FORT WAYNE PERRY TOWNSHIP

Micon Holdings LLC 806 S. Division St. Bristol, IN 46507 Michael C. Waumans Jr.

3603 County Road 6 East-Elkhart LLC 1203 S. Division St. Bremen, IN 46507 Timothy Dugle

January 3-9, 2014

Heller & Sons Inc. 11512 Tall Oak Run $235,000 Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 15304 Towne Park Run $152,000

ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP Bob Buescher Homes 7408 Alleghany Court $207,000

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

ALLEN COUNTY

T&M Construction 2217 Kroemer Road $245,000

Lafayette Township Granger Construction Co. 12200 Lafayette Center Road $1,000,000

Carriage Place Homes Inc. 3122 Buckners Crossing $202,000

5104 W. County Line Road North From Pretty Pines Partners LLC to National Oil & Gas Inc. $650,000 5724 W. County Line Road North From Peggy McEntire to Jason and Kathreen Price $9,000

46741 16306 Grabill Road From James and Mary M. Witmer to Lucas J. and Marie Witmer $90,800

46748 108 Twin Eagles Blvd. E. From Gary L. and Sarah K. Hegger to Samuel A. Till Jr. and Sue A. Till $342,500 2767 Stonecrop Cove From New Development Corp. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $27,900 15835 Classic Lake Drive From Heidi L. Tanner to Ross Sawyer $128,000

January 3-9, 2014

n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly

323 Twin Eagles Blvd.

From Kathleen A. Rhinehart to Mark K. and Sarah E. Music $180,000 1241 W. Shoaff Road From Beverly R. Moellering to Bobby L. Yarborough Jr. and Keisha R. Yarborough $142,000 16916 Kell Road From David L. Rodocker to Elizabeth Crook $6,500 15255 Towne Gardens Court From Lancia Homes Inc. to Klukas revocable trust $145,500

209 Lincoln Hwy E. From Linder Oil Co. Inc. to Dodane Properties I LLC $40,000

14509 Blue Heron Chase From White Loan Inc. to Aaron and Allison Sackett $94,000

2107 Landin Road From Jeffrey L. and Lynda D. Hess to Vaughan Development Inc. $70,000

46788

1117 Moeller Road From Allen County sheriff to U.S. Bank $72,250 10016 Winding Shores Drive From Lewis W. and Janice L. Stier to Vikki S. Bobay $135,000

15903 Ballantyne Trail From Timberlin Homes LLC to Chris Gasser $488,000

3316 Landin Meadows Run From K&H Realty Corp. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $33,520

15249 Bears Breech Run From Allen County sheriff to JPMorgan Chase Bank $106,250

162 N. West St. From Anna Tippman to Misty R. Hernandez $92,000

111 Tawney Eagle Court From William P. and Sylvia A. Stiegler to Albert H. and Sandra A. Potter $450,000

9216 Seiler Road From Pinestone Developers LLC to Land Ho of New Haven LLC $65,000

15397 Towne Park Run From New Development Corp. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $27,900

4108 Bridgewood Court From Mary M. Steenman to Kelly Story $134,900

46765 14826 Marsha Ave. From HUD to LC Will Realty Inc. $47,901 17516 Consta Verde Lane From Dennis A. and Pamela S. Ginder to Daniel P. and Sherry J. Kennedy $276,000 8625 Hollopeter Road From Albert V. and Jeanne M. Emilian to Andrew G. and Elizabeth A. Schipper $40,000 11402 Grabill Road From David K. and Joy A. Martin to Seth Gibson $140,000

46773 7301 Ternet Road From NFG LLC to CL&S Inc. $275,000

46774 1534 Tartan Lane From Christine G. Williams to Ty A. Wyss $84,000 125 Lincoln Highway E. From Linder Oil Co. Inc. to Dodane Properties 1 LLC $120,000

fwbusiness.com

4298 Timber Creek Parkway From Ji Won Kim to Nicholas C. Fisher $127,000 9615 Pinepark Pass From Ryan K. and Jamie C. Bowen to Kimberly J. Bodkin $100,000 1735 Douglas Lane From Monalisa M. and Philip M. Hartmann to Allison C. Trabel $64,000 594 Brandford Court From Jose R. Martinez to Carl E. and Beverly J. Bradley $40,000 110 Rose Ave. From Luginbill Wire Dieco.

Inc. to S and D Co. LLC $168,000

46777 17221 Morton Road From CKB Farms LLC to David E. and Janice R. Buuck $100,000

46783 12614 Aboite Road From Craig Lange to Keith Billman $71,000

17634 Lochner Road From the estate of Eleanor E. Miller to Geoffrey P. George $68,000 16922 Cuba Road From Devisees of Noah L. Delagrange to Neil and Rosemary Graber $653,500

46797 4316 Woodpark Court From Westcott LLC to Brady D. Gladieux $69,000

46802 1009 W. Jefferson Blvd.

From Henry Annie to Hartzell Realty Corp. $10,000 2525 Carlton Court From Tim Eylenberg and Jeffrey L Heagle to Jeffrey L. Heagle $12,000 203 E. Berry St., #1407 From AWB Holdings LLC to Stephanie Szegedl $219,450

46803 2701 Dwenger Ave. From AP Realty LLC to Riverfront Holdings LLC $61,200 2321 Bremer Road From IAB Financial Bank to Ottenweller Property Investment LLC $95,000 Sheridan Road From IAB Financial Bank to Ottenweller Property Investment LLC $95,000

46804 6327 Wilmarbee Drive From Richard J. Cashman to Ronald L. and Sandra K. Heilman $14,000

9317 Dawnsford Drive From Robin D. and Donald C. Lambert to David L. Augustine $94,900

7421 Glen Gelder Circle From Ronald L. and Sandra K. Heilman to Glen R. and Sarah A. Wille $120,000

10218 Lake Tahoe Court From Hollis L. and Doris W. Bush to Daniel T. Anker $130,000

2808 Covington Woods Blvd.

From Allen County sheriff to U.S. Bank $137,052

7711 Currie Hill Court From Allen County sheriff to Wells Fargo Bank $89,000 2707 Grenadier Court From Southwest Development at Covington Road 1 LLC to Charles and Martha R. Replane $31,900 7222 U.S. 24 West From Ridgewood Medical Park LLC to Long Term Care Investments IV LLC $925,000 6921 Oriole Circle From Ridgewood Medical Park LLC to Long Term Care Investments IV LLC $925,000 4113 Rosewood Drive From Ridgewood Medical Park LLC to Long Term Care Investments IV LLC $925,000

7903 Sky Breeze Court From Colonial Homes Inc. to Stanley A. Abramowski Jr. $47,900 1401 Wescott Drive From Zachary R. Brown and Bally L. Tom to Aaron J. and Jennifer Clark $205,000 9227 Thunder Hill Place From Kimberly S. Hartman to Brian and Annette R. McCrory $147,000 4622 Ridgelane Drive From Julie A. Smith to Gregory D. Dickinson $74,900 127 Silver Maple Cove From Carol A. Bower to Nicholas E. Anderson $144,900

7518 Aboite Center Road From Ridgewood Medical Park LLC to Long Term Care Investments IV LLC $925,000

2732 Old Orchard Road From Brian A. and Katherine R. Glasgow to Timothy P. and Cynthia E. Anderson $118,000

7504 Aboite Center Road From Ridgewood Medical Park LLC to Long Term Care Investments IV LLC $925,000

1917 Lake Front Drive From 3030 LLC to Buescher Construction Co. Inc. $54,055

5419 Primrose Drive From Jacob D. Wilcken to Sebastian O. Suthers $133,000

8924 Sandpiper Court From Jeffrey M. and Laura A. McDermott to Christopher E. and Klarisa L. Quackenbush $180,000

8432 Pember Brook Drive From Teresa K. Park to Joseph D. North $187,500

6327 Chase Creek Run From Mark A. and Dana C. Minnick to Christopher and Tamara S. Wells $429,000

6657 Quail Ridge Lane From Mary M. Zurney to David T. and Patricia A. Robison $112,500

9211 Indian Reserve Trail From Susan R. Klosterman to Michael E. and Brianna M. Howard $140,500 8210 Cardinal Court From Brian E. Sass to Mark S. and Karen S. Willcutts $254,900

5211 Chippewa Trail From Randall O. and Kelli L. Cook to Brian and Maggie Collentine $205,000

46805 9703 Berkshire Lane From Mary Ellen Hambrock revocable living trust to Joseph E. and Meghan Colley $122,900

6905 Oriole Circle From Ridgewood Medical Park LLC to Long Term Care Investments IV LLC $925,000

5152 Coventry Lane From Robert A. Conner to Mark A. and Donna S. H. Jones $120,000

9804 Tiffany Drive From Roy P. Terry to Sonya R. Howard $80,000

4511 Dicke Road From Allen County sheriff to Wells Fargo Bank $111,065

46804 1750 Wood Moor Drive From Gayle Ward to Joseph J. Mutton $270,000 8724 Dunmore Lane From Kathy J. Erschens and Alfred L. Fluharty to Jared D. and Lisa R. Haagen $145,000 1233 W. Jefferson Blvd.

From Stanley R. and Nolan R. Arnold to Thomas R. Cain $82,500 8730 Beacon Woods Place From Eric Arnold to Jason R. and Holly C. Cope $164,000

1534 St. Joe River Drive From Russell R. and Sharon S. Colegrove to Arthur and Nancy Getty $75,000 914 Pemberton Drive From Robert A. and Elizabeth A. Walchle to Robert and Christine Walchie $46,000 826 Lake Ave From Mona L. Sordelet to Derek R. and Katrina M. Nichols $36,000 1210 Rivermet Ave. From Allen County sheriff to J+K Simpson Prop LLC $42,601 1410 Oneida St. From Allen County sheriff to Freddie Mac $32,400

BANKRUPTCIES ADAMS COUNTY Gary E. Hurst 115 Straford Court Decatur, IN 46733 Assets: $78,470 Liabilities: $81,159

ALLEN COUNTY Thomas L. and Patricia A. Waldfogel 6538 Redbud Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Assets: $121,600 Liabilities: $126,601 Roxanna M. Love-Stone 5722 Alta Vista Court Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Assets: $4,150 Liabilities: $31,478 Rachel R. Koogler 15050 Carmel Lane, Apt. 202 Huntertown, IN 46748 Assets: $3,150 Liabilities: $10,320 Terry J. and Tameka L. McGraw 3215 Norma Court Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Assets: $7,090 Liabilities: $60,694 Andrew A. Simmons 1915 Versailles Village Place Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $107,275 Liabilities: $129,514

Jacob M. Lester 12327 Mossy Oak Run Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Assets: $127,480 Liabilities: $149,649 Larry D. and Kellie G. Dennis 1239 Huestis Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46807 Assets: $16,750 Liabilities: $14,113 Philip W. and Heather R. Barnes 905 Aurora Knoll Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Assets: $155,560 Liabilities: $226,847 Sylvester A. Harvey Jr. and Dorcas M. Harvey 8302 Chapel Bend Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Assets: $140,050 Liabilities: $182,505 Joshua B. Michaud 4325 ChatďŹ eld Court Fort Wayne, IN 46816 Assets: $7,941 Liabilities: $30,492 Dameta D. Turner 2707 Dexter Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46816 Assets: $81,090 Liabilities: $99,768 Ted E. Geisleman 1217 Rumsey Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $3,480 Liabilities: $112,887 William F. Johnson 0434 E. 200 South Albion, IN 46701 Assets: $67,560 Liabilities: $96,597 Jehna N. Garza 1525 Howell St. Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $11,383 Liabilities: $295,654 Melissa F. Simpson 2612 Landin Road New Haven, IN 46774 Assets: $3,440 Liabilities: $22,471 Rex L. Owenby Jr. 9252 Lake Road Otisville, MI 46483 Assets: $3,784 Liabilities: $49,842 Michelle T. Williams 1824 Fox Point Trail Ft Wayne, IN 46816 Assets: $294 Liabilities: $14,341 Scott B. Williams 2730 Kenwood Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Assets: $8,677 Liabilities: $126,768 Caryn G. Fowler 1602 Echo Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $109,176 Liabilities: $105,948

PAGE 19

Deanna L. Williams 9826 DuPont Lakes Apartment, Apt. 3B Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Assets: $130,200 Liabilities: $89,332 Brenda Maddock 1817 Babcock Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46819 Assets: $63,050 Liabilities: $85,594 Laelya F. LopesGoodman 2110 Ardmore Ave., Apt. 143 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Assets: $4,005 Liabilities: $18,554 Robert B. Arnold Sr. and Debra A. Arnold 10020 Lanewood Court Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Assets: $200,717 Liabilities: $507,634 Tocara N. Dunbar 3715 Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Assets: $1,625 Liabilities: $81,574 Keith J. Jimerson Sr. and Patricia A. Jimerson 710 Madison St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Assets: $20,792 Liabilities: $17,074 Lotoqua C. Webb 538 Baxter St. Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Assets: $15,701 Liabilities: $121,103 David S. Wiley P.O. Box 6101 Fort Wayne, IN 46896 Assets: $20,000 Liabilities: $20,232 Jack R. and Marjorie K. Thomas 9227 Mariners Ridge Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46819 Assets: $155,427 Liabilities: $91,906 Mikeion D. Ewing 973 Buchanan St. Fort Wayne, IN 46803 Assets: $14,325 Liabilities: $30,700 Mark E. Neubauer 6015 Deer Track Cove Auburn, IN 46706 Assets: $192,549 Liabilities: $214,137 Michael Karl 2517 Terrace Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $117,060 Liabilities: $116,232 Ronald T. and Wendy L. Ervin 5026 Charlotte Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $88,239 Liabilities: $246,833

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Lanika S. Beasley 2723 Lillie St. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Assets: $19,550 Liabilities: $40,990

WELLS COUNTY Mark S. Kuhn 610 Zuercher Ossian, IN 46777 Assets: $3,975 Liabilities: $27,966

DEKALB COUNTY Christine M. Meier 11313 N. 100 West Ossian, IN 46777 Assets: $6,755 Liabilities: $26,644

Gary L. and Karen M. Parke 601 E. Keyser St. Garrett, IN 46738 Assets: $152,900 Liabilities: $191,983

WHITLEY COUNTY Kenneth J. and Linda K. Schulthess P.O. Box 208 Ashley, IN 46705 Assets: $110,767 Liabilities: $146,036

Tamara M. Line 357 N. Line St. Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $177,050 Liabilities: $172,310 Rex A. Line 324 Bluebird Drive Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $186,600 Liabilities: $171,114

HUNTINGTON COUNTY Leigh A. Werling 805 Etna Ave., Apt. 3 Huntington, IN 46750 Assets: $3,143 Liabilities: $27,135

Jennifer J. Christman 205 N. Jefferson S. Whitley, IN 46787 Assets: $2,223 Liabilities: $62,752

LAGRANGE COUNTY Ronald A. Sechler 10730 W. 650 South Hudson, IN 46474 Assets: $153,450 Liabilities: $126,934

Vickie L. Beasley 850 Denzil Drive Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $23,450 Liabilities: $38,488

NOBLE COUNTY Phillip T. Campbell 10142 N. Jones Lake Road Rome City, IN 46784 Assets: $2,400 Liabilities: $6,475

Susan D. Puckett 2291 S. S.R. 9 Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $7,650 Liabilities: $31,191

William W. Engle 742 Dowling St. Kendallville, IN 46755 Assets: $24,150 Liabilities: $23,466

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January 3-9, 2014

BRIEFLY

D E K A LB C O U NT Y

METAL TECHNOLOGIES MAKES ACQUISITION Metal Technologies Inc. of Auburn announced it has acquired Key 3 Casting LLC, which owns and operates two aluminum-die and squeeze-casting facilities and a ductile iron foundry, The Star reported.

The transaction was completed Dec. 20.

The sale includes Jackson Die Casting LLC of Jackson, Tenn., Minneapolis Die Casting LLC of Minneapolis and Northern Foundry LLC of Hibbing, Minn. The combined operations have approximately $74 million in annual sales and 300 employees.

“The Key 3 acquisition is an integral part of MTI’s strategic plan to grow our metalcasting capabilities to serve our customers’ long-term needs,” Metal Technologies President Matthew Fetter said. “The Key 3 acquisition gives us die casting, squeeze casting, value-add services and small ductile-iron casting capability. In addition, the location in Jackson, Tenn., provides us with a platform to meet the growth of manufacturing in the South.”

Fetter added, “We definitely see a longterm trend in the marketplace to reduce casting weight by engineering smaller, lighter, iron components or by utilizing lighter materials such as aluminum. The Key 3 acquisition not only provides MTI with a world-class manufacturing footprint for meeting market demand, but provides us with an excellent technical and management team to execute our strategic plan. We are excited about the opportunities of welcoming the Key 3 team members into the MTI family.

“Northern Foundry is a natural addition to our already strong position in iron casting with a special niche in small, lightweight ductile iron castings,” he said.

The three former Intermet Corp. plants were acquired in 2009 by Key 3 Holdings LLC. Since then, the companies have focused on diversifying their customer base, enhancing engineering capabilities and capital investment to upgrade equipment and expand

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capacity.

“MTI is already a supplier to many of Key 3’s customers, so we have a strong relationship to build upon,” Fetter said. “Our major customers are very supportive of this acquisition, and we look forward to building upon our strong partnership through our expanded capabilities.”

Headquartered in Auburn, Metal Technologies operates iron foundries in Auburn and in Three Rivers and Ravenna, Mich. With the acquisition, MTI has estimated annual sales in excess of $440 million and employs more than 1,000 people. It provides metal castings throughout North America in the transportation, construction, compressor, small gasoline engine and other markets. The company was founded in 1997 by its chairman and chief executive officer, Rick James. It remains privately owned.

programs, which means Indiana is spending only a penny of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.

The report says tobacco companies spend $271.7 million a year to market their products in Indiana, which is 47 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The report also says Indiana’s cigarette tax of 99.5 cents per pack ranks 32nd in the nation and is below the national average of $1.53 per pack. Macy said that’s too bad, because cigarette taxes are particularly effective in discouraging young people from smoking.

“Young people are more price-sensitive than adults, because they typically have less disposable income to spend on cigarettes,” he said.

The Star is published by Business Weekly owner KPC Media Group Inc.

(AP) — Purdue University President Mitch Daniels is joining other university presidents in condemning a decision by the American Studies Association to endorse a boycott of Israeli universities.

Daniels told the Journal & Courier the boycott would be a clear violation of academic freedom. Daniels said he doesn’t believe Purdue has any institutional relationship with the association, but is checking to see whether any of its departments do.

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie has said the university plans to withdraw immediately as an ASA institutional member.

But at least seven Purdue professors have in the past favored a boycott of Israeli academic institutions by signing onto the United States Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

INDIANA

PROF: STATE SHOULD SPEND MORE ON ANTI-SMOKING (AP) — Indiana is not spending enough money on efforts to keep teenagers from starting to smoke or to help smokers quit the habit, an Indiana University professor said.

A recent report by a coalition of public health organizations shows Indiana is turning “a blind eye to what is an obvious problem in this state,” Jon Macy, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health-Bloomington at Indiana University, told The Herald-Times.

“Indiana has become a state where the tobacco companies test-market their new products because we don’t spend any money to counter that marketing,” Macy told the newspaper. “We’ve become a guinea-pig state.

Tobacco companies see our teens and young adults as easy targets, because we don’t spend money on prevention messages.”

The report, titled “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 15 Years Later,” assesses whether states have kept their promise to use a significant portion of their settlement funds — estimated total of $246 billion over the first 25 years — to fight tobacco use. The states also collect billions more each year from tobacco taxes.

The report shows Indiana ranks 31st in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.

Indiana spends $5.8 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 7.3 percent of the $78.8 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This year, Indiana will collect $536.9 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but spend just 1.1 percent of it on tobacco prevention

PURDUE’S DANIELS CONDEMNS GROUP OVER BOYCOTT MOVE

WIND FARM OWNER SUING DUKE ENERGY INDIANA (AP) — The owner of a northern Indiana wind farm is suing Duke Energy Indiana Inc., accusing the utility of breach of contract involving its deal to buy electricity from the farm.

Earl Park-based Benton County Wind Farm LLC filed its suit in federal court in Indianapolis. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims Duke Energy Indiana hasn’t honored its agreement.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reported the suit alleges that Duke Energy’s actions have resulted in the wind farm “frequently” being forced to curtail operations, causing sharp reductions in the farm’s electrical output and revenue.

A Duke Energy spokeswoman said the company is reviewing the lawsuit.

Orion Energy Group LLC began running the wind farm in 2008 as Indiana’s first commercial-scale operation, with 87 power-generating wind turbines.

January 3-9, 2014

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IPFW: Some would like to see a new classification for the university

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Although it has grown to be the fifthlargest university in the state, by enrollment, IPFW is in the same classification management-wise as the other, smaller regional IU and Purdue campuses scattered around Indiana. Everything it wants, from degrees to dormitories, has to go through Purdue, which has management responsibility for the Fort Wayne campus.

IPFW also lags most of the state’s institutions of higher education in terms of per-capita funding for students, consistently ranking about 13th of 15 state college campuses.

The lack of autonomy and money are beginning to chafe many in the community, a number of whom aren’t convinced Purdue truly has Fort Wayne’s best interests at heart.

“Purdue not only doesn’t have a very good idea of what we are in this region, they have been a little bureaucratic,” Nusbaumer said. “I think they see us as a threat to their growth.”

As it stands, for example, IPFW can’t go directly to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to get authority for new degree programs it wants to offer. It has to go through Purdue and its board of trustees, which decides when and if to press the request with the state.

“That it slows it down is a misnomer. It just practically solidifies. We’re not talking glacier, we’re talking granite,” said former legislator Win Moses.

“Is there a more efficient way to do that? Is there a way to streamline that for the business community?” said Katy Stafford-Cunningham, the interim vice president of government affairs for Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Both GFW and the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana have made greater autonomy and more equitable funding for IPFW a feature of their 2014 legislative agendas. The agenda items are drawn in fairly broad brush strokes, with few specifics, but that is by design, Stafford-Cunningham acknowledged.

“We don’t want to tell IPFW what to do.

IPFW knows what it needs,” she said. “We want to support them.”

Over the years, northeast Indiana legislators have been united in a bipartisan effort to win advances for the Fort Wayne campus, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year.

“It was a political Switzerland. Nobody really claimed credit for it. Everybody just said do it,” recalled Moses, a Democrat.

Their success was mixed at best. The campus did fairly well at getting funding for capital projects, such as an IU medical school and the Rhinehart Music Center,

and Moses gives a lot of the credit for that to former Chancellor Michael Wartell.

“He was so good, he gave us the confidence as legislators to send money to him. We knew it would be used wisely. It would come in under cost, under budget and there would be no problem. He was a good builder. He was a good manager of monies,” Moses said.

On the other hand, “fighting for graduate degrees was like giving up your firstborn,” Moses added.

“There was a sense that we were going to be nothing but a feeder school. They didn’t want any competition. Their goal was to get them to all come to West Lafayette.”

IPFW is unique in that the students and faculty members there are fairly evenly split between the two major universities, Nusbaumer noted. The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus, by comparison, offers just a few Purdue programs. Everything else — including the medical school and the law school — belongs to IU. And IUPUI, which is managed by IU, is considered a “metro” campus, which give its a little more clout than the regional campus classification under which IPFW operates.

Many in Fort Wayne would like to see an arrangement here, similar perhaps to the IUPUI model, that would create a new classification for IPFW — giving it more local control while still allowing students to earn diplomas with IU or Purdue degrees.

“I think the need to have better control over our future is very high, that we cannot go back to that old thinking, that status quo of ‘we’ll take what they pass along and hope for the best,’” Moses said.

“People underestimate how important the rise of IPFW has been to the growth of Fort Wayne, and those ideas have been internally generated. They did not come from Purdue. The rise of IPFW foretells either the rise or decline of Fort Wayne.”

Adding new graduate degrees programs would be a top priority.

“Indiana/Purdue is at the top of the food chain, and those companies that are cutting edge … need to have special master’s programs, doctorates, that are not available here. They have to be made available. They are essential for the 21st century,” Moses said.

“It’s a destination university as well a a hometown university. We should have the types of master’s programs and doctorate programs that allow us as a city to train and compete with the rest of the world. If you can’t bring in people who can get their master’s and doctorates here, you’re going to lose a lot of people that could move into town and take good jobs. It reduces us

to smaller, lesser jobs,” Moses continued.

State Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, has a greater level of independence for the Fort Wayne campus in mind. He would like to see it eventually become a separate Kruse state university with its own name and degreegranting authority.

“The biggest benefit would be the community ownership in northeast Indiana, our own funding, our own board of trustees,” Kruse said.

That Fort Wayne should have its own university is completely appropriate, Kruse believes.

“I think if you were to start over and create a new state university system, I think you would have a University of Fort Wayne,” he said.

There also is a precedent for independence, Kruse noted, in the story of the Evansville campus of Indiana State University, which split from ISU in 1985 to become the University of Southern Indiana.

Kruse is aware there would be some initial resistance to a separate university, but thinks that would be overcome as people got used to the idea.

“Making a case for independence, to me, would take about five years for full buy-in,” he said.

Governance issues aside, IPFW Chancellor Vicky Carwein would like to see Fort Wayne do better than 13th out of 15 in the amount of state dollars it gets for students.

“The biggest thing for us is we need a better funding model. We are really at the bottom of the barrel. If we could just get to the middle of the pack, just to get to the 50th percentile, that would mean $10 million more a year,” she said.

One of the reasons IPFW falls short is that its graduation rates — about 23 percent to 24 percent after six years — don’t rise to the levels the state wants to see. But that metric only counts full-time, first-time freshmen, not transfer students who started elsewhere or those who work and continue their education at a slower pace, Carwein noted.

Regional campuses such as IPFW, in many ways, are doing a better job of addressing the ongoing educational needs of the citizens of Indiana than the main university campuses, she said. The funding formula should recognize that.

“The nontraditional student has in many ways become more the traditional student,” Carwein said. “We are just going to have to figure out a way to do this differently than we have been doing for the last 50 years.”

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SESSION: Bill prohibits discrimination of veterans

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attract new businesses from out of state and also to grow local ones. Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, on the other hand, took a more measured approach.

“Allen County would be affected by millions of dollars,” Carbaugh said. I have concerns about the strain it would put on our schools and local governments, to just pull the rug out from under them. I don’t think that’s right. But I would have to see a bill before I can really comment.”

Carbaugh said some options regarding the business personal property tax include: 1) eliminating it entirely; 2) phasing it out over time; 3) allowing individual counties to decide whether to retain it; or 4) offsetting the resulting shortfall by introducing a new tax or raising a different, existing one.

The agenda won’t be set until the General Assembly’s short session begins Jan. 7, but legislators expect several other items business-related issues.

Carbaugh intends to present a bill to prohibit discrimination against U.S. military veterans who return and search for employment. He would do this by including military veterans onto existing legislation that currently protects women and minorities from workplace discrimination.

“I have a close friend that served in Iraq, and he’s experienced some discrimination,” Carbaugh said. “There has been evidence of discrimination against hiring them.”

Another business-related issue is a proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriages and civil unions.

Republicans are seeking to amend the state constitution to outlaw same-sex unions, which already are banned under an existing state statute. A bipartisan group called Freedom Indiana opposes the constitutional amendment, arguing that it would cast Indiana as a bigoted, uninviting place in which to work and live.

Business and political leaders wish to attract the best and the brightest to work in Indiana, and some of the best and the brightest happen to be gay, the group says.

“It’s a fairly complicated issue,” Carbaugh said. “It’s not just a numbers thing. There are some effects, but what gets played out a lot is emotionally and faithbased.

“The thing that we’ve been clear about on the Republican side is that it clearly is not a priority issue, it predates me. I inherited this thing basically. Our priority is the basics — what we should do regarding the business climate, reasonable taxes and maintaining good schools.”

Banks, who serves on the Senate’s Education Committee, said education would take priority this legislative session.

“We need to make it easier to access higher education, creating more opportunities for that,” Banks said. “And when it comes to K-12, the governor has a number of innovative ideas, paying better salaries to teachers. While on its face, this doesn’t seem like a business issue, but I would argue that it would play a role in putting Hoosiers back to work in our state.”

Q

BRIEFLY

E LK H A RT C O U NT Y

FLEXSTEEL SETTLES LAWSUIT FOR $6.25M (AP) — An Iowa furniture maker has agreed to pay $6.25 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged it polluted the water wells of nine homes in a northern Indiana neighborhood.

The Elkhart Truth reported Flexsteel Industries admitted no wrongdoing. The settlement was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The lawsuit, filed in March 2011, alleged that from 1983 through 2007, Dygert Seating and Flexsteel, which bought the company, polluted groundwater in Elkhart, with hazardous chemicals, including tricloroethylene, an industrial solvent known to cause cancer.

January 3-9, 2014

State enlists scrapyards to stop thieves (AP) — Indiana is enlisting the help of scrapyards to crack down on brazen metal thieves who’ve even darkened stretches of highways by stripping wiring from roadside lighting.

A measure passed by state lawmakers that took effect in July targets scrap vehicles, catalytic converters and air conditioner evaporator coils being brought to scrapyards in exchange for cash.

State Rep. Justin Moed, D-Indianapolis, said he filed the bill after hearing of growing numbers of thefts of catalytic converters and air conditioner units in his Indianapolis district, where there are more than 10 scrapyards.

“We looked at how do we increase some of the proof required for people who bring in these items, to make sure they came about them lawfully,” Moed said.

His measure requires someone who disposes of a vehicle for scrap metal to provide proper documentation and makes not doing so a misdemeanor. It also requires documentation for sales and purchases of air conditioning parts or a catalytic converter.

Police agencies across the nation have seen increased thefts of metals such as copper, bronze, brass and aluminum, according to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Indiana State Police and county highway departments in December launched an effort to stem growing incidences of thefts of wiring from highway lighting. Swaths of highway, including portions of northern Indiana’s Borman Expressway/Interstate 65 interchange, have been darkened by such thefts.

Among the scrapyards keeping watch for metal thieves is Metro Recycling in the northwest Indiana community of Griffith. Employees there monitor scrap metal deliveries nonstop on more than a half dozen computer screens, while still cameras capture photos of every load of scrap weighed.

Metro Recycling CEO Neil Samahon said the technology is part of the company’s effort to purge stolen scrap metal from its work stream and help law enforcement track such thefts.

“We’re always looking for ways to control it,” Samahon said. “We want to be part of the solution.”

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