Culver lost another one of our history resources last week with the passing of Pete Trone. I considered Pete a friend and the fact that I lost Pete and Bobbie Ruhnow both within a year really puts me at a loss for historical references. I used both as touchstones for what happened here as they both lived through a lot of Culver history as well as had enough interest in Culver to have researched a lot of what happened before their time. Much of this history was imparted at BZA meetings where they would tell homeowners the history of their properties interspersed with their ongoing argument regarding which of the two of them was actually “older than dirt”.
I had several conversations with Pete at Miller’s Merry Manor when I was researching the Extra Territorial Boundary issue. Even when his body was failing him, his mind was sharp and he was able to give me a lot of the history of why Culver’s zoning boundaries looked they way it did. If you had a conversation with Pete, you could always expect a reasoned response. When it was something regarding the town, whether in a public meeting or not, he left you feeling that he had the best interests of the community in mind. On those few occasions that we disagreed, we could have a spirited conversation and still part friends.
And that is noteworthy in the current political season. Bobbie and Pete were of opposite political parties and I was pleased to be on their political joke chain. I often got the best and most biting political satire from one of them directed at their own party. They could see the humor, poke fun, accept the ribbing and remain friends. Much of that seems to be lost this year. It seems that’s something we should all strive for.
Today would have been Pete’s 87th Birthday. Happy Birthday Pete! You’ll be missed!
We were pleased to be selected to be the contractor for the Viking Paper expansion project in Plymouth. There was a blurb on the expansion in Inside Indiana Business here, but somehow they failed to mention us! Shame on them!
It is proving to be an interesting project. The building is being designed to have train cars enter the building for unloading at a recessed loading dock. This is involving some interesting logistics including some esoteric clearance requirements provided by the railroad engineers. (The ones that design railroad tracks, not the ones that blow the whistles when the trains cross the highway…) Viking works with large rolls of paper stock, so being able to offload their materials inside the building and out of the weather is valuable to them.
Jerry Chavez and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) have been instrumental in helping us move this forward, both with the City of Plymouth and with the Railroad.
I had the opportunity to meet Lt. Governor Holcomb when he was in Culver to to get a personal preview of our bid for Stellar Communities on July 8th. He didn’t get the video and golf cart tour, but we walked the park and had one on one conversations about Culver and what Stellar would mean to the community. This was before the shake-up in the Governor’s race and his ascension to the Republican candidacy. I found him to be personable and the questions he asked to be insightful. I have met some politicians who are obviously just smiling and nodding while off in their own world. I felt that Holcomb was engaged and truly interested. I would fully expect to be able to ask him questions about that visit and have him remember the discussion. That’s not always the case when State officials blow in and out of town…
As my lurkers no doubt know, Easterday Construction has been a member of ABC, Associated Builders and Contractors, for decades and I have represented the Northwest Council (previously the Michiana Council) on the state board of directors for many years. I am pleased that ABC has stepped up to endorse Eric Holcomb for Governor of Indiana. (See the endorsement below). My impression is that he will do a fine job. Unlike the national election, I think this is a place where I have the opportunity to vote for a good candidate that will do a good job, rather than voting for the lessor of evils… That doesn’t happen often enough…
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Associated Builders and Contractors Endorses Eric Holcomb for Governor
Indianapolis, IN, 9/21/16– Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana/Kentucky (ABC) announced today that it has endorsed Eric Holcomb’s candidacy for Governor of Indiana.
John Roop, the 2016 ABC Board Chairman stated, “Indiana is moving in the right direction economically due to our strong Republican leadership in the Governor’s office. Eric Holcomb and Suzanne Crouch will continue this great leadership for the continued betterment of our state.”
“The goals and the values set forth by the Holcomb-Crouch ticket align perfectly with those of ABC, “ said J.R. Gaylor, President of ABC Indiana/Kentucky, “We share a belief in the freedoms that allow economic development and job growth, which, in Indiana, have far exceeded most other states during the last 16 years of Republican leadership. At ABC, we see no reason to change this positive trajectory.”
ABC Indiana/Kentucky is the leading voice of promoting free enterprise within the construction industry. ABC’s merit shop philosophy drives member services, political advocacy, and the need for all types of industry training and education.
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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Indiana/Kentucky represents commercial and industrial contractors, who believe in the merit shop philosophy. ABC Indiana/Kentucky and 69 other chapters around the country help members develop people, win work, and deliver that work safely, ethically, and profitably for the better of the communities in which ABC and its members work. Visit us at www.abcindianakentucky.org and www.abc.org