Local News

HOSTING A FESTIVAL THIS SUMMER?  THE LAW HAS CHANGED!

The Hamilton County Health Department has numerous public events annually which involve food for human consumption. In order to effectively accommodate the financial and human resources required for permitting and inspecting the increasing number of events, the Health Department is implementing a program to register these events. Organizers of food events have an inherent responsibility to the public to provide a safe and healthy event. The Health Department also has similar responsibilities and needs information in order to provide the proper resources to support a safe and healthy event in your community.

Below is a link to the Event Organizer Registration Application for organizers of events serving food in Hamilton County. There is no charge for the registration. The event organizer should submit a site map of the event area detailing vendor locations, toilet, and hand washing facilities, drinking water access for food vendors, and trash receptacles for vendors and patrons. Once you submit your registration application, you will receive a confirmation of registration within five business days. This registration allows HCHD staff to ensure that food vendors are made aware of local health codes prior to the event.

Please confirm that the food vendors you invite to participate in your event have obtained a permit from the Health Department, if necessary. Each individual food vendor is required to obtain a separate temporary food service license when operating outside their licensed facility. Non-permitted temporary food vendors will not be allowed at the event and will be informed to cease operations. The Indiana State Board of Accounts discourages, and department policy prohibits, collection of funds at temporary events due to safety, security, and accountability issues.

The vendors may apply for their licenses Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but they must obtain their licenses two weeks before the event begins. There is a fee for the temporary license and a list of guidelines the vendors must follow as part of licensure. Licenses for temporary events must be paid in cash, check, certified check, or money order only. Only vendors meeting the definition of a retail food establishment will be issued a temporary food establishment license.

All temporary food vendors must have a certified food handler. Please confirm that the food vendors you invite to participate in your event meet these standards. Vendors who are in need of training can contact Hoosier Hospitality Consulting (a Sheridan Chamber of Commerce Member) at (317) 650-1126, or at www.hoosierhospitalityconsulting.com.  The next class locally will be offered in Westfield on June 5th.

There are also new guidelines from the Indiana State Fire Marshall regarding tent set-up for events. Contact the State Fire Marshall for details at (317) 232-2222.

Access to drinking water from an approved source for the duration of the event must be provided to vendors. Organizers should contact the local water authority to obtain more specific informatoin. Wastewater must be disposed of into a sanitary disposal system. Additional food safety requirements can be found on the Health department website.

The event organizer registration application can be faxed to the Hamilton County Health Department at (317) 776-8506. If you have further questions regarding the registration process call the health department at (317) 776-8500 and ask to speak to an inspector or visit our website at www.hamiltoncounty.in.gov

Event Organizer Letter & Application
Annual Temporary Food Establishment Permit Application
Temporary Food Establishment Permit Application

 ———————————————————————————–

SHERIDAN ROTARY CLUB ANNOUNCES MOTORCOACH TOURS

The Sheridan Rotary Club is sponsoring three separate motorcoach tours this Summer.  These tours offer an excellent opportunity to enjoy adventure, fun, food, and friendship! Destinations include:

• Mystery Location – a day of excitement, and adventure!
  Departing Sheridan on May 30th (Day Trip)

• Branson, MO – Six Shows in Four Days
  Departing Sheridan on July 31st

• The Newport Syndicate Hall in Newport, KY
  Departing Sheridan on October 3rd (Day Trip)

Click on each of the tours above to view the Event Calendar, or click HERE to view the Motorcoach Tour Flyer! Don’t miss out on these terrific tours.  Print out the flyer and register today.

———————————————————————————–

TALENT IS SET FOR SHERIDAN BLUEGRASS FEVER 2012 ON JULY 13-14

SHERIDAN, IND. – Eight bands, two days of foot kicking and plenty of nodding heads to follow the banjo plucking…that’s all stuffed into a non-stop schedule for Sheridan BlueGrass Fever coming together on the hillside on July 13-14, 2012, in Sheridan Veterans Park.

According to Robin Morris, who recruited the bands for the Sheridan BlueGrass Fever Planning Committee, “The variety of musicians will give audiences a package of sounds they look for in popular, quality festivals around Indiana.  Randy Parsons and I assembled rising stars, emerging talents and broad musical  appeal to respond to what those attending bluegrass events say they like to see.   And we’re excited.”

Fri., July 13 – Admission:  $5 (Seniors 60+ $4 ea., children under 12 free)
6 p.m. – Jeremy Morris and the Harvest Road Band
7 p.m. – Hickory Hollow Bluegrass Band
8:30 p.m. – Circle City Bluegrass Band

Saturday activities begin with music workshops at 10 a.m., free with the price of admission.  Instructors will be available to teach beginner, intermediate and advanced banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar.
At noon, a jam session will follow led by Thorntown Bluegrass Jammers and amateur musicians are welcome to join them under the gazebo.

Sat., July 14 – Admission:  $10 (Children under 12 free)
10:00 a.m. – Music Workshops
12:00 p.m. – Jam Session, Thorntown Bluegrass Jammers
2:00 p.m. – Olivia Smiley & Main Street
3:00 p.m. – Branded Bluegrass
4:00 p.m. – Blue Mafia
5:00 p.m. – ABL GRY
6:00 p.m. – Jeremy Morris & the Harvest Road Band
7:00 p.m. – Branded Bluegrass
8:00 p.m. – Blue Mafia
9:00 p.m. – Olivia Smiley & Main Street

IU North Hospital will continue to serve as a lead sponsor with an expanding role in Sheridan BlueGrass Fever and are joined by The Times and CURRENT as media sponsors.  Sponsorships are now available for other levels and those interested in information should call Brenda Bush, (317) 758-5845.

Food and merchandise vendors will be managed by Regan Kercheval and information is available by contacting her at (317) 508-8708 or by e-mail:  4shiningcity@gmail.com.

Sheridan BlueGrass Fever is a regional music festival produced by the Sheridan Historical Society and in conjunction with support from the Town of Sheridan and the Central Indiana Bluegrass Association.

Serving on the Sheridan BlueGrass Fever 2012 planning committee are:  Brenda Bush, chairman; Linda Sutton, director, operations; Robin Morris; Brian Morris; Randy Parsons; Regan Kercheval; Phil Kercheval; Ron Stone; Betty Lee Cooper; David Cooper; David Ogle; Connie Pearson; Philip Pearson; Bob Seymour; Becky Cola.

———————————————————————————–

SAVE THE DATE! SPICEWOOD GARDEN APARTMENTS PHASE II OPEN HOUSE & CHAMBER AFTER HOURS

HAND will be partnering with the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce to host a joint Open House and Business After Hours Celebration.   The Open House will showcase the completion of Phase II of Spicewood Garden Apartments in Sheridan.  Spicewood Garden Apartments is an affordable senior community that will now offer a total of 52 patio style two-bedroom apartment homes.  Spicewood Garden Apartments will also feature a new community building complete with exercise room, activity room and outdoor garden area as well as the new location for the leasing office.  HAND is grateful to be able to provide quality apartment homes to seniors throughout Hamilton County and we are excited to share this new addition with the Sheridan community! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend!!

———————————————————————————–

SHERIDAN FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH WELCOMES RUSS TAFF IN CONCERT – FEATURING KARL HINKLE ON JUNE 24TH  

Many of you know Russ Taff from performances at the Gaither Homecoming Tours.   He was also a member of the Gaither Vocal Band for a few years.  His music has won him not only a wide audience and critical acclaim, but a total of five Grammy awards and nine Gospel Music Association Dove awards.

Karl Hinkle is a former member of The Wright Brothers that enjoyed a successful career performing coast to coast including appearances on several television shows.  He had a recording contract with Warner Brothers and singles in the Top 40.  During this time, he came face to face with Jesus, and God has turned his desire to sing into the ministry he now has for the Lord.

Tickets for the Russ Taff Concert with Karl Hinkle went on sale on Friday, April 20 for $15.00 each.  There will be two performances on June 24th; one at 2:00 p.m. and another at 7:00 p.m.  Seating is general admission.  There are only 300 tickets available for each performance so get your tickets now!

Tickets can be picked up at First United Methodist Church, 207 East Second Street, Sheridan, IN 46069 or click HERE to go to the church website for an order form. For additional information, please check the web site or call the church office at 317-758-4195.

———————————————————————————–

AT&T INVESTS MORE THAN $1 BILLION IN INDIANA FROM 2009 TO 2011 TO IMPROVE LOCAL NETWORKS –Investment focuses on improving mobile broadband coverage. –Indiana is a leader in telecommunications policy

AT&T invested more than $1 BILLION in its Indiana wireless and wire-line networks from 2009 to 2011 with a focus on improving the company’s mobile broadband coverage and overall performance. This is good news from both an economic development and quality of life standpoint for Indiana. During 2011 alone, AT&T made nearly 1,250 wireless network upgrades in Indiana.   AT&T: 

• Activated 20 new cell sites or towers
• Deployed faster fiber-optic connections to more than 350 cell sites.  Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds
• Added capacity or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites (like adding lanes to a highway) with the addition of nearly 650 layers or carriers
• Upgraded nearly 225 cell sites to provide fast mobile broadband speeds. 

For information about AT&T?s mobile coverage here in Indiana or anywhere else in the United States, visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer.   Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure coverage quality from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark. Over the last six years, we have seen a unique experiment taking place in Indiana to see if innovative policy decisions will benefit all Hoosiers.  Indiana has become the most progressive state in the US for telecommunications policy.  The result has been unprecedented telecommunications investment and deployment of cutting edge services. View the At&t press release document HERE.

———————————————————————————– 

FREE COMMUNITY “SHRED” DAY

The Farmers Bank and the Sheridan Chamber of  Commerce are hosting a FREE Community “Shred” Day on Saturday, May 12th.  The event will take place in The Farmers Bank parking lot from 9am-Noon. Members of the community can watch while their sensitive documents are destroyed so as to ensure that personal information will not get into the wrong hands.  Once shredded, the paper will be recycled, and residents will have peace of mind knowing that their personal information has been protected.

———————————————————————————–

ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC COMING SOON!

It may not seem like it now…but the Fifth Annual Golf Classic is coming up fast.  July 11th will be here in no time, so you need to sign up today.  And if you’re not a golfer, you can still participate. Multiple sponsorships are available for almost any budget.  Click HEREto view the brochure, print it, and sign up today!

———————————————————————————–

SHERIDAN CHURCH OF GOD SPONSORS COMMUNITY DINNERS

Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in.” –NIV

Sheridan Church of God is offering weekly community dinners to the public. The purpose of the community dinners is not simply to nourish the community’s bodies, but also to address their spiritual thirst and hunger as well.  The church offers prayers of support to those who request it, as well as words of encouragement to those who feel defeated by life. Church members feel that this ministry has only begun to scratch the surface of need in the community, as there are so many hurting people that are in need of food, friendship and love. In fact, many people that attend the dinners arrive around 6 o’clock, and then sit around and fellowship with each other after they are done eating. Dinner service ends at 8 o’clock, but people sometimes stay to well after that.  Fellowship is very important to the well being of the individual. People are social creatures by nature, and need to have a sense of community as well as a sense of belonging.

The church began the dinners on the first Tuesday of November with the hope of feeding 25-50 people. They planned on having the dinners on the first and third Tuesday of each month, but quickly realized that a weekly dinner was an urgent need in the community. As each week passed, word got around and the number of people coming to the dinners kept growing. Currently the Church of God serves about 80 people for dinner on any given Tuesday, and on one occasion served as many as 116. The church has never run out of food despite the large turnouts, and church members feel that the Lord has provided. The church has a faithful core group of volunteers that selflessly give of the time and effort to make these community dinners a success each week. However, there is always a need for financial assistance to provide food and supplies for the dinners. If you would like to donate time, money, or food to the Sheridan Community Dinners, please contact Ron Basler at 765-481-8512.

———————————————————————————–

CONTINUING EDUCATION CLASSES NOW BEING PILOTED

Continuing Education Classes are now being piloted to assess the opportunity for you to enjoy learning and evaluate the potential of creating a Sheridan Small Business Learning Center… Imagine affordable classes close to home…or close enough for our neighboring towns! If response is good, we’ll add other classes: Publisher, Mail Merge lessons, QuickBooks, Business Planning, Strategic Planning, General Accounting. The first class to be offered with be Basic Microsoft Word. The class will take place on April 23rd, 2012 from 6pm-8pm in room 101 of Sheridan High School.  Contact Sharon Brimberry at 317-758-4431 or sbrimberry@sheridan.k12.in.us or Sheridan High School at 317-758-4431 for more information. Your input is appreciated. Call: 317-758-4431 to discuss your interests! Only when we learn do we grow…and we can grow together! This program sponsored by:  Sheridan Chamber of Commerce, Town of Sheridan, Sheridan Community Schools, Small Business Development Center, Sheridan Public Library, and Small Business Development

———————————————————————————–

AT&T POLL SHOWS INCREASED USE OF WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY BY SMALL BUSINESS IN INDIANAPOLIS AREA

A new AT&T Small Business Tech Poll has found the use of tablets, Facebook, Twitter and mobile apps are increasingly important to Indianapolis small businesses.  Indianapolis area businesses ranked 4th in the annual wireless quotient ranking.  Small businesses are increasingly using tablet computers, 4G enabled devices and GPS navigation mobile apps for their operations. Indianapolis climbed five spots in the most recent poll.  Click HEREto review a fact sheet on the survey that you are welcome to share, reproduce and use as you deem appropriate. The results of this poll help reinforce the view that central Indiana is a technology-savvy place in which to conduct business.

———————————————————————————–

WIDOW ON MEMORIAL GIFTS: “Amazement. Surprise. Gratitude.” 

Elaine Cannon of Sheridan, Indiana, recently lost her husband Mike to cancer. While creating the obituary, her brother suggested that memorial contributions could be made to Legacy Fund to bolster the family’s charitable fund benefiting Sheridan High School. Dozens of gifts have been made in honor of Mike, a former financial officer at St. Vincent’s Hospital. “Mike would have enjoyed these gifts,” Elaine shared. “He would have been touched by people’s generosity. He struggled in school at an early age and worked hard to earn his business degree at IU and become a Certified Public Accountant. He wanted others to succeed and enjoyed helping people financially with school.” Elaine added, “Flowers are beautiful, but scholarships keep growing.” Thanks to all those who gave. For information on making a gift in honor of Mike Cannon or to another fund to honor a loved one, contact Mark Robbins at (317) 843-2479 x302 or at markr@cicf.org. Mark will also be the Guest Speaker at the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce Member Luncheon on August 23rd, 2012.

———————————————————————————–

SHERIDAN KIWANIS UPDATE

Sheridan Fun Loving Kiwanis members Sharon Wilson, Tracy Barker, Phil Waggoner, and Marti Hunsucker attended the Kiwanis Indiana District 2012 Mid-Year Conference.  The conference entitled, Building Service Legacy, was held at the Fountains Banquet & Conference Center in Carmel February 17 and 18.  Members learned about increasing membership and service to communities, the Eliminate (Maternal Neonatal Tetanus) Project and the District Riley Project- Path to a Cure.  The Sheridan Club was recognized for contributing over $4000 to Riley Children Hospital in the last two years. Pictured are Sheridan Fun Loving Kiwanis Members Sharon Wilson and Tracy Barker (left) and Phil Waggoner, and Marti Hunsucker (right) along with Michael Pyfferoen, (center) Kiwanis Indiana District Governor. The Sheridan Fun Loving Kiwanis meets every Friday morning at 7 am in the Community Room of the Sheridan Public Library. The library is located at 103 West First Street in beautiful uptown Sheridan, just on the country side of Hamilton County, Indiana. If you are interested in further information about Kiwanis or would like to attend a meeting, please contact any Kiwanis member or call Derek Arrowood at 317-758-4172.

———————————————————————————–

SUPER BOWL EXCITEMENT AT THE INDIANAPOLIS EXECUTIVE AIRPORT

Super Bowl XLVI is now over but it’s hard to believe there was a more exciting time at Indianapolis Executive Airport and Montgomery Aviation in recent memory. What began with two years of extensive planning culminated in our busiest weekend ever. We had 59 airplanes parked on the ramp.  That included everything from a Piper Malibu to a Gulfstream V.  And that’s not all. From Friday Feb 3rd through Monday Feb 6th, we serviced an additional 85 drop-and-go operations – totaling approximately 285 operations during that same period. As Montgomery Aviation president Dan Montgomery noted, “We are proud to have greeted so many visitors to our community many of whom told us they would be back.” Dan added, “We started planning for this two years ago. Because of that it all went off without a hitch with our regular staff and more than a hundred volunteers working tirelessly through the entire weekend. Without that community and team effort the success of Super Bowl weekend at Indy Exec would not have been possible.”  Click on a photo to go to our website and see more pictures and news. Ray Rice Director of Marketing Montgomery Aviation, Inc. “We’ve Got You Covered!”

———————————————————————————–

WI-FI CONNECTIONS TRIPLE

Have you ever wondered why your son or daughter rarely returns your call, but he or she will respond right away to a text?   Well, AT&T, which operates the largest Wi-Fi network in the U.S., reports that traffic through its Wi-Fi network tripled in 2011 with about 1.2 billion Wi-Fi connections being made during the year. Almost 487 million of those connections came in the fourth quarter alone, a major jump over the roughly 302 million Wi-Fi connections through AT&T in the final quarter of 2010.  Wi-Fi uploads from mobile devices on the AT&T network jumped a whopping 550 percent on a monthly basis throughout last year with almost 3 million connections made each day. The AT&T Wi-Fi Network consists of 30,000 hotspots, growing about 60 percent between 2008 and 2011.  AT&T also provides access to 190,000 other Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the world. AT&T is a member of the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce