Linked from www.TobyToons.com

Culver Garden Court has the first Knox Box in Culver.  (Wikipedia description here.)  A Knox Box is a small safe that is installed at the front door of a building.  It will contain a master key to the facility.  In case of a 911 call, whether a fire, medical emergency or other, the emergency service personnel arriving at the site will be able to access the key using a key to the Knox Box.

Now that the program has been initiated in Culver, I would anticipate that other Culver facilities will want to install them as well.  While the boxes are somewhat expensive, they are generally less expensive than the cost of the door replacement due to the the fire department taking an axe to the door.  It is also a life safety issue.  Opening the door with a key is the most efficient way to get to a life in jeopardy on the other side.  In my opinion the Culver Schools, the Culver Library and the Culver Town Hall should all have Knox Boxes.  In the spirit of the one installed at Culver Garden Court, the Culver Cove, Beachside Condos and Beach View Condos should consider them as well.  Knox Boxes can also be installed on private homes.

I believe the next step for Culver should be to develop a policy regarding Knox Boxes.  There’s a lot of responsibility involved in their use.  All the Knox Boxes in a community have a master key.  A chain of custody for these keys should be established.  A policy should be adopted on how to handle them.  (Some communities have controlled access safes in each emergency vehicle to establish accountability and a chain of custody for anyone that accesses the key.)  Depending on the type of policy developed, Culver may want to apply for a grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) to implement a program. (Thanks for the suggestion B3!)

I would also like to see a standard set for the location of the boxes.  The Knox Box company has a recommendation, but it should be established.  It does no good for the box and key to be there if emergency services have to search for it.  A second step forward here would be a program that initiates emergency plans for the buildings with Knox Boxes.  An emergency services walk-thru for each of these buildings, similar to what we have planned tonight, would help them if they ever had to enter that building in an actual emergency.

I plan to follow up tonight’s meeting with a discussion at the Town Council to get them thinking about implementing this policy.  I believe doing this by ordinance would be appropriate, but that would be up to the council to make that determination.

My involvement in MCEDC serves multiple personal and business goals:

1. It is a way to give back to our community.  It is truly a need that was neglected before MCEDC’s inception.
2. It is a way for me to know what the trends are in Marshall County as well as our region.  This helps me give direction to Easterday Construction.
3. It is a way to influence the direction of Marshall County.  MCEDC has been a force in drawing our communities together and finding common goals that move our county forward.  I am proud to have been a part of this.

Regarding other board member updates, Roger Umbaugh was reappointed by Marshall County as their representative.  Don Mahoney was reappointed by Argos as their representative and accepted another term as Treasurer.  Bill Davis, Bremen’s representative, accepted another term as Vice Chairman.

I’m looking forward to another year of making a difference.  As always, suggestions are welcome.

You can go to the xkcd web page here where this comic appears for links to learn more.

Brian Bosma at RTW Signing

…when as many as a half of the companies looking to create jobs in the U.S. take non-RTW states off the table, removing this barrier to opportunity is absolutely key to the economic future of our state.  Governor Daniels’ has informed me that his phone is already ringing off the hook with employers wanting to know more about Indiana and the opportunity to expand here. I have personally heard from representatives of Michigan and Illinois companies considering relocating to Indiana, and have even had personal conversations with manufacturing representatives from as far away as Germany and Italy that have renewed interest in Indiana in light of the adoption of this pro-job pro-freedom policy.  It is certainly a victory for all Hoosiers that courageous legislators were willing to put it all on the line for our state’s future success, even in the face of shouts and intimidation. Please extend your thanks to all of the members of the House and Senate who worked together to advance this critical policy…

Taken from an email from Brian Bosma.  (View entire email here.)

I have no doubt that this was the right thing to do, both as an employee freedom of choice issue and as an Indiana Economic Development issue.  Maybe Indiana can be the first State in our Midwest region to begin to stem the tide of manufacturing jobs moving to the South.

See my previous post on why I supported Right To Work here.

Heard at the January 24th Culver Town Council Meeting where Tony was requesting that Culver become the first Come Alive Outside community in the United States.  Tony Sellers is owner of Sellers Services, Inc.    He has taken on Come Alive Outside to promote getting children outside and active.

We need to turn Indiana Red!

Right to Work legislation seems to be successfully working its way through the legislature this year.  A much better showing for our State than last year when the Democrat Caucus vacationed in Illinois rather than addressing the issue.

This is important legislation for all Hoosiers.  From my position on the the MCEDC board I have heard that this issue is one of the few deterrents to business location or relocation in Indiana.  This has been promoted by IDEC.  This was also listed as a problem by one of our site selector consultants.  There are many case histories such as the story of Oklahoma here which tell of how state’s economic fortunes have improved after passage of Right to Work legislation.

With Speaker Bosma supporting it (you can sign a petition here) and Governor Daniels promising to sign it, there is a lot of muscle behind the current push.  It would be a boon to Indiana’s economic development position.

Aside from that, I believe that it is a freedom issue.  I worked in a closed shop factory for 30 days one summer.  It was an eye-opening experience.  I had no interest in joining the union.  In fact I was generally in trouble with the union steward.  The floor manager, who was not union, learned that if he needed some task completed quickly (if it was in my skill set) I would do it.  That was unacceptable to the union members.  I was taking someone else’s job!  I had worked several summers at Easterday Construction before taking that job.  I was taught there that I should do something even if it was wrong.  Easterday Superintendents always told the labor that if you finish a task and don’t know what else to do, pick up a broom and sweep the floor.  Boy, did that ever start a flap when I did that during one of the union’s unscheduled breaks!  That basically got me “blackballed” and I was told that I would not be accepted after my 30 day probation period.  Why would I want to join the union when I didn’t agree with their policies and they didn’t agree with my work ethic?  Why did they have the right to keep me from that job?  If they would have allowed me to remain, why would I want to contribute to their causes with which I didn’t agree?  I should have had the freedom to work there, but I didn’t.

If you want to express your opinion on this, use the link above to vote on Brian Bosma’s page.  This week there is a poll on the Pilot News website.  Currently it is running more than 60% in favor.  There is also information at Halt the Assault website here.  And there is also information on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce website here.  Join me in contacting our legislators to make this Law in Indiana!  I’ve already contacted mine.  If you don’t know who yours is, I’ll help you find them!

Dimmable Nightlight shown as part of a duplex

Cooper Wiring Devices has an option for a built-in nightlight.  The nightlight can be stand alone or installed as the top half of a duplex or switch installation.  It is part of their Patrol series which you can read more about here.  Along with the standard nightlight applications, this can be installed in stairways, basements or garage areas which are notoriously dark when the main lights are off.  In standard living areas they feature a light-level sensor that turns off the nightlight when there is available daylight or other sufficient ambient light.   For convenience they have three preset light levels.

PLYMOUTH (Dec. 29, 2011) – Mayor Mark Senter and executives from Hoosier Racing Tire today announced a major new investment in Hoosier’s Plymouth production plant, which is expected to create a combined 20 new jobs in the near term.

Hoosier Racing Tire, Corp. will invest $8 million to construct and equip a new 37,000 sq ft expansion to their rubber mixing plant on site, integrating operations that have previously been outsourced to an Ohio based firm. 

Founded by Bob and Joyce Newton in 1957, Hoosier manufactures a sophisticated range of performance tires and is today the largest manufacturer of racing tires in the world.  The company’s corporate headquarters and distribution facility is located in nearby Lakeville, IN and the company’s manufacturing facility is in Plymouth.  Hoosier has steadily added staff and currently has over 400 employees, with the majority of these based in Plymouth.

“This is a major expansion for our company, and it speaks to our confidence in Hoosier Tire’s continued growth and viability in this area,” said John DeSalle, Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing.  “Last year was good to us, and this is a timely investment.  Financing of the project was sourced from our long time partners at 1st Source Bank.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Hoosier Racing Tire up to $140,000 in conditional Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits based on projected job creation.

The City of Plymouth will consider a tax abatement petition for real and personal property on January 11^th.  At the filing of the petition on December 28^th, DeSalle was commended by Mayor Senter and Plymouth Council members.  

“Hoosier Tire is important to our community in many ways,” said Mayor Senter.  “They are leaders in the field of racing because of an uncompromising commitment to excellence in their products and pure enjoyment of competition — both in the business world and on the track.  Plymouth is pleased to partner with them in this project, and hopefully on many ventures to come.”

“We have seen that companies like Hoosier Racing Tire are able to grow in Marshall County with decisive plans to outreach competition,” said Jennifer Laurent, Executive Director of Marshall County Economic Development Corporation.  “We welcome the expansion of the business and job creation, and also recognize a positive trend in local companies continuing to reinvest here as they weigh our assets against other locations.”

“NIPSCO’s Economic Development team was also a partner in making the project possible,” Laurent noted to Council members.  An existing electrical substation was required to be relocated by the building expansion plans, and NIPSCO participated in the cost and coordination of the move as well as necessary service upgrades.

Hoosier Racing Tire and Hoosier Tire & Rubber, historically two separate companies, will officially merge as one company to be known as Hoosier Racing Tire as of January 1, 2012.