Twenty-three people have been selected to participate in USI’s Connect with Southern Indiana Program.

The annual regional leadership program was established through a grant from the Lilly Endowment in 2006 and is currently sponsored by USI’s Center for Human Resource Development.

The intent of the program is to boost Indiana’s retention of intellectual capital by helping participants strengthen their skills and opportunities for involvement in community and regional projects, meet business and civic leaders, and gain greater awareness of community and regional needs.

The 2012 class includes:

• Dubois County – Jessica Beck, sales and marketing manager, Dubois County Visitors Center; Brad Brown, supervisor, Plant 8, OFS Brands; Brian Dale, people department representative, Jasper Engines and Transmissions; Jill Jahn Schenetzki, production planner, Leed Selling Tools; Arnold Tempel, facilities project manager, Kimball International
• Perry County - Patrick Rich, State Farm Insurance, agent
• Posey County - Hans Schmitz, extension educator, Purdue Extension
• Spencer County - Sabrina Harpenau, student worker, News Information Services, University of Southern Indiana; WG Bud Schaaf, city letter carrier, US Postal Service
• Vanderburgh County - Anu Asthana, financial adviser, New York Life; Jerry Clark, president and CEO, Evacus Technologies, LLC; Jessica DeLorenzo, director of student services, Vincennes University, Jasper campus; John Foster, executive director, Wesselman Nature Society; Carey Franks, assistant to the provost, University of Southern Indiana; Kacheyta McClellan, assistant director, Multicultural Center, University of Southern Indiana; Ashley Murray, auctions-events manager and event fundraising, WNIN; Sara Rhoades, senior gallery associate, New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art; Andy Robling, financial advisor, German American Investments
• Warrick County - Lori Blackford, sales and customer service, WineStyles; Candy Cooper, community relations coordinator, Boston’s Restaurant; Richard Martin, president/registered patent lawyer, Martin and Martin, Attorneys at Law; Carol Schaefer, executive director, Historic Newburgh, Inc.; Matt Zoccola, economic development analyst.

Program participants will attend 10 full-day sessions over a six-month period and will develop a collaborative project that will be presented at the end of the program.
Topics for this year’s class include community overviews, critical thinking, personality profiles, opportunity identification, project management, public skills, presentation planning and government relations. USI faculty and staff and southern Indiana community leaders will facilitate each program.

Connect with Southern Indiana is open to Indiana residents living in Perry, Spencer, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Pike, Posey, Vanderburgh or Warrick counties who would like to improve the quality of life in their communities.
Applications to participate in the 2013 Connect with Southern Indiana class will be available this summer at www.usi.edu/extserv/outreach/connect.asp.

The Indiana Horticulture Congress is holding a workshop for farmers who want to start or grow an agritourism operation. The event next month will include sessions on legal issues, marketing and budgeting.

The workshop is part of the annual Indiana Horticulture Congress and Trade Show, a three-day event featuring exhibits and presentations on current agriculture topics. Attendees have the option to register for only the workshop by selecting one-day registration on the website.

In addition to Purdue Extension, the Horticulture Congress is sponsored by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana Cooperative Development Center and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.

For more information about the full conference, visit http://www.inhortcongress.org.

Bandon and Bristow exchanges in Perry County will benefit from the loan.

During the week of Nov. 12-18, the Perry County Community Foundation will join more than 700 community foundations across America for Community Foundation Week. For more than 20 years, the effort has raised awareness about the increasingly important role of these philanthropic organizations in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address persistent civic and economic challenges.

During the week, Perry County Community Foundation encourages everyone to celebrate National Philanthropy day, Nov. 15, by giving thanks and paying it forward.

Source: Perry County Community Foundation

Tell City students host Veterans Day events

Tell City Junior-Senior High School are hosting various Veterans Day events at the school.
The day kicked off at 8 a.m. at the school’s library with memorabilia on display for viewing.
At 8:15 a.m. there was a plaque ceremony in the auxiliary gym, followed by a free breakfast for veterans in the cafeteria.

Cannelton Celebrates Veterans

Cannelton city schools are celebrating Veterans Day beginning at 1 p.m. Friday. All veterans and the public are invited to attend. Special seats are available for all veterans.

The guest speaker this year will be the Perry County Museum curator, Lena Joyal. Students from preschool to 12th grade will have presentations for the public to enjoy.
 For more information contact Margie Weatherholt at 547-4126.

In light of recent gasoline price hikes, the Internal Revenue Service has increased the optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business and other purposes. For the remainder of 2011, the rate will increase from 51 cents to 55.5 cents per mile for all business miles driven between July 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2011. The new six-month rate for deductible medical or moving expenses will increase to 23.5 cents a mile, up from 19 cents for the first six months of 2011. The rate for providing services for charitable organizations is set by statute, not the IRS, and remains at 14 cents a mile.

ATTC Manufacturing will add four differential-case production lines and hire at least eight more people if county council members continue the approval process. In a regular meeting, the council gave their preliminary OK to a tax abatement that would help the company move manufacturing equipment here from Japan.

To complete the granting of the abatement, a public notice must be published and the public must be given opportunity to comment on it, the lawyer explained. That public hearing will occur at the council’s Oct. 27 meeting, which will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the county courthouse.

The abatement would relieve the company of 100 percent of the property taxes on the equipment the first year and 10 percent less each of the following nine years.

The council’s final approval would come as the adoption of a confirmatory resolution after the hearing, attorney Tyler noted. He continued t say that the company and its workers pay not only real-estate and personal-property taxes, but county-option and local-option income taxes.

“A lot of money comes into this community,” he said.

“This is a win-win for both ATTC and the county,” Councilman Chet Mathena said.