Roses
• To the Logansport City Council on its decision to allocate $100,000 toward an endowment to fund a pair of scholarships to Ivy Tech Community College. The endowment reflects the city’s commitment toward raising the education level of local residents, something economic development experts say is important in attracting new jobs to the community. The scholarships would target two groups of students — those just shy of completing their degrees and those seeking a degree after obtaining a GED. Perhaps appropriately, the money for the endowment came from a fund supported by the rent Ivy Tech has paid for the classrooms and offices it currently occupies in a city-owned shopping center. In the coming weeks, the college will move to a new campus near 18th and Main streets.
• To the contractors who have kept that new Ivy Tech campus on schedule to open in time for spring semester. Crews had to overcome some challenging weather and an explosion that damaged a portion of the facility, but Ivy Tech officials are confident they’ll be able to begin holding classes in the new building in January. “All of the major stuff is done,” Kevin Bostic, vice chancellor and dean of the campus, said during a recent tour. “Right now, we are doing a lot of flooring and doors, furniture and some tile work.” The new campus is much needed. Enrollment for the current semester is the highest ever at 1,200 students, and officials are projecting those numbers will continue to rise in the first few years after the campus opens.
• To everyone involved in setting up project allowing students at the Century Career Center to renovate the former Greensfelder Building in downtown Logansport. The project is a good deal for everyone involved. It helps the city in its efforts to redevelop the downtown. It helps the building’s owner, the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, in its efforts to save a historic building, and it helps the students to gain practical experience they can take with them into their working lives.
• To the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation and others involved in organizing the MidWest Indiana Economic Development effort. Officials are hoping the new effort will build on the regional ties developing along the Hoosier Heartland Corridor. By pooling their resources, counties along the corridor will be better able to sell themselves to expanding businesses. And in today’s economy, one county’s success will be a success for every county in the region.
Thorns
• To the Ohio man who dressed up as a Breathalyzer test for Halloween and then found himself blowing into one after police reportedly spotted him driving the wrong way without headlights on a one-way street. Oxford police say they stopped 20-year-old James P. Miller on Halloween night and found beer in his front seat and in the trunk. Police said Miller blew 0.158 percent on a Breathalyzer test, nearly twice the legal limit. Miller now faces a court date, where he’ll soon find out drinking and driving is no laughing matter.
