Archive - Feb 2013 - News Article
February 7th
COLUMBIA CITY — Whitley County Council approved a tax abatement for a potential business expansion Tuesday.
80/20, of Columbia City, was awarded the tax abatement for a potential building project. The abatement will apply for real estate ($5.5 million) and personal property ($1.3 million) and will span 10 years, if the company goes forward with the project.
By approving the tax abatement, 80/20 will receive certain tax breaks that would make the expansion more feasible for the company.
COLUMBIA CITY — A Columbia City man is hoping to turn a hobby into something much more.
Jeremiah Geiger was a participant for years in the Whitley County 4-H Fair. He is still involved, but now on a different side.
“That was my passion, showing hogs at fair,” he said. “I showed hogs for 10 years.”
Currently, Geiger raises animals and sells them to students wishing to participate in the fair. The operation is small so far, but is not without its struggles.
“Nothing went right this fall,” Geiger said. “I couldn’t get (my animals) bred.”
COLUMBIA CITY — Crooked Lake’s nature preserve has recently added two additional tracts of land.
Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commission voted Jan. 15 to bring in the 69.5 acres, named the Crooked Lake Addition Nature Preserve, to the original Crooked Lake Nature Preserve. The area now has a total of 215 acres.
The two parcels of land were added with assistance from the Indiana Heritage Trust and the Crooked Lake Property Owners’ Association.
Here are the headlines in Thursday's issue:
80/20 considers expansion, 25 new jobs
Crooked Lake preserve adds land
4-H: From hobby to career
Man found guilty in Fort Wayne ambulance attack
February 6th
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate approved a proposal authored by Ind. Sen. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City) to protect Hoosiers’ right to vote by secret ballot.
Senate Joint Resolution 2 would amend the Constitution of the State of Indiana to permanently protect the right to use secret ballots in elections, including union authorization elections. The Ind. Senate passed the resolution by a vote of 33-16, moving it to the Ind. House of Representatives for further consideration.
WASHINGTON — Saturday mail delivery will soon be suspended, according to the Postal Service.
Cutting back to a five-day delivery schedule is estimated to save the Postal Service $2 billion annually.
With online technology and the growing use of internet driven communication, the agency has been struggling financially.
The move accentuates one of the agency’s strong points — package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010, officials said, while the delivery of letters and other mail has declined with the increasing use of email and other Internet use.
COLUMBIA CITY — A vehicle from an alleged abduction case in Fort Wayne was found south of Columbia City Tuesday morning.
The car, a black Chrysler, was pulled from Blue River at approximately 11 a.m. after employees at Heavy Truck Equipment and Repair, south of Columbia City on Ind. 9, discovered the vehicle in the river.
Police found the vehicle to be linked to an alleged crime in Fort Wayne, which may have been a hoax.
A garage was destroyed by fire Tuesday afternoon. Several fire departments were dispatched to 5845 E. Schrader Rd. at approximately 1:30 p.m. after a neighbor spotted the blaze while checking the mail. According to another neighbor, Eileen Nesbitt, firemen saved the nearby home and had the blaze put out quickly. Nesbitt said only the garage and contents inside such as a truck, ATV and boat were destroyed. The property is owned by Dave and Audra Moore.
COLUMBIA CITY — Whitley County Consolidated Schools Board of Trustees heard an update on the sewer plan at the high school.
According to Business Manager Tony Zickgraf, a bid date will be worked out in late March or early April. With projected costs under $350,000, a common construction wage scale will not have to be used, according to a new state law for bids after Dec. 31, 2012.
Zickgraf said this should benefit the district and encourage competition and more companies to bid.
The U.S. Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays in order to cut expenses.
However, packages will continue to be delivered six days a week under a plan aimed at saving about $2 billion, the financially struggling agency says.
In an announcement scheduled for later Wednesday, the service is expected to say the Saturday mail cutback would begin in August.
