Archive for January 2015
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General Info
Umuganda Corydon: Morning of Community Service (Saturday, January 31st)
From Main Street Corydon:
If you love Corydon and would like to participate in its beautification, please join us on the last Saturday of the month.
January 31: First Umuganda Corydon
9:00 am: kick off at Kent Java
Noon: Wrap up celebration at Yo Mama's Pizza
We are concentrating our efforts on Chestnut Street this month.
We are asking each building owner to wash the inside and outside of their store windows, starting at 9:00 am on Saturday, January 31. We will then hang a high-quality poster in storefronts that are either empty or without window displays.
Each poster will have a positive message about Downtown Corydon, and will reflect that Corydon is a place of welcome, excellence and energy.
Background:
Last year, a friend visited Rwanda and when he returned, the thing he talked about the most was "Umuganda." It is the last Saturday of the month. A day dedicated to working together to benefit the community. Basically, it goes like this: the whole village gathers at 9:00 am and works for three hours on a project agreed to the month before. Then, at noon, everyone comes together to discuss and to decide what the project should be the next month.
Recently a friend asked me, "What is Main Street Corydon all about?" and I talked about our mission to make Corydon a place of welcome, excellence and energy. He said, "I will do whatever you need," and he gave me this example, "My landscaping at my house is beautiful because it reflects my family. But, Corydon reflects me too ... and right now the reflection is not what it should be."
From that discussion, the idea of a day of community service was birthed. Like the original Umuganda, it will be the last Saturday of each month, 9:00 am to noon.
What we need:
Citizens who are willing to come together as a community, to serve.
A wish list from the downtown building owners and business.
Examples of projects:
Putting up posters in empty store fronts, power washing the sidewalks, landscaping (there are small green spaces in Corydon where we can help), cleaning benches and turning them around to be conversational, picking up trash, painting and sprucing up storefronts, washing windows.
Please let us know if you have any ideas for beautification projects, mainstreetcorydon@gmail.com
Despite Challenges, Region Poised For Growth
"Renewed global demand for U.S. products should help rev the engines in the manufacturing-rich Midwest."
Energy & Code Seminar
ENERGY
& CODE SEMINAR
DECEMBER
6, 2014
BY: Mark Shireman
As of April 2015 the manufacturers
of hot water heaters will have to change to higher efficiency water heaters.
If
you want energy star you’ll need a heat pump water heater. Heat pump water heaters:
a.)
Need a 10’x10’ space so there is enough “air”
around them to work.
b.)
They are 240% efficient.
c.)
They get heat out of the air surrounding them
d.)
They are noisy
e.)
Need to be in a room with room temperature above
50° for maximum efficiency.
f.)
Can use about 2/3 less electricity than standard
electric water heater.
Other water heater notes:
1.)
Most lime build up comes from water heater water
being too hot.
2.)
Most efficient set up is 2 water heaters in tandem. Second water heater acts more like a storage
tank.
3.)
120°
water will not burn your hands unless you hold them under for 5 minutes.
4.)
160°
water burns you instantly.
Circulation
pumps to help keep hot water instant:
However:
a.)
Makes your hot water heater running full
time. Runs up your utility bill
b.)
Circulation pump has water in the loop, all the
time and is an energy drain.
c.)
More efficient is a heat pump water heater in tandem
with a standard water heater.
d.)
To relieve pressure in your plumbing systems use
expansion tanks.
HVAC notes:
1.)
New building codes make buildings much tighter
2.)
This challenges humidity and ventilation
3.)
A closed up building with the HVAC turned off
will fill with humidity unless properly ventilated.
4.)
Owners of buildings must be more trained to
operate HVAC in these new code times.
5.)
Insulation traps air. This “trapped” air is the insulation.
6.)
At the point where cold air hits hot air the
“dew” point is overwhelmed and this causes moisture.
7.)
In a building 78° with 40% humidity feels the same as 72° with 60% humidity. Humidity levels in a building have a great
effect on human comfort.
8.)
The new tubular type window blinds can come in
single double or triple thickness. They
can have a positive effect on increasing the “R” valve of the window.
9.)
New code says “U” factor on a window must be
0.35 “U” is the inverse of “R”.
Fresh Air:
a.)
Fresh air requirements are greatly affected by
how the occupants use the space. Doors
opened a lot? Exhaust fans running a
lot?
b.)
Some experts believe that the ideal humidity in
a building should be held close to 40%.
c.)
Energy Recovery Ventilators (E.R.V.). These units can help push fresh air all over
the building thru the existing ductwork.
They should be programmed so they operate only when needed and not constantly. You can add a manual override to bypass the
program should you get into a situation where you need more fresh air. Use motorized dampers to keep the ERV from
trying to overwhelm your normal HVAC system.
d.)
Humans want HVAC comfort. What is the price of comfort?
Passive Solar:
If
you use this then separate your glass wall from the rest of the building. You have to figure out how to keep the solar
gain from overwhelming the normal parts of your building.
Other HVAC things
1.)
Most humans are comfortable at 70 to 72 degrees
in the air.
2.)
If the fixed objects in the room, furniture,
desk tops, etc. are allowed to cool down, then they are hard to get heated back
up. Keep this in mind if you drop your
thermostat way down over night.
3.)
Radiant floor heat is tricky. The surface of human skin is about 84°. Your floor would have to be higher than 84° for a human to think
they are “warm”.
Lighting Notes
a.)
Recessed “can” lights lose a lot of heat via the
penetrations they make in your ceilings.
b.)
LED light can last up to 11 years.
c.)
CFL lights usually last 10,000 hours.
d.)
The “K” on lighting specs is “Kelvin”.
e.)
In CFL lights the K factor is something like
this:
a.
2700 K has a yellow cast to it
b.
3500 K has a more white cast to it
c.
4700 K has a more blue cast to it
f f.)
LED lights sometimes look funny, but work
well. Manufacturers of LED lights are
working around the clock to fill the need.
Surge
Protection
1.)
Power surge can come from many places. Lighting, static electricity, cable TV lines,
and lots of places. Lighting can hit the
ground, surge your electric products and you will not see any signs of lightning
on the exteriors.
2.)
Modern appliances and equipment with miniature
circuity cannot absorb a “surge” like old time appliances and equipment.
3.)
You cannot protect a whole building with a
single source surge protection system.
4.)
Insurance companies report that lightning
protection does not protect a building any better than a building with no
lightning protection.
5.)
Remember, you can get killed from a 120 volt
shock from a small appliance or tool.
Other items
a.)
Overhead electric lines will never transition
completely to underground. The cost is
so very expensive and underground wires will probably have to be replaced every
40 years.
b.)
Experts say the US has a 100 year natural gas
supply. This is based upon usage today. If the EPA forces all the coal fired electric
plants to convert to natural gas, then this 100 year supply will disappear
rapidly.
c.)
Windmills need 9 mile per hour wind to make them
operate.
d.)
Experts say we have a 300 year supply of coal.
Corydon wins spot in State's Hometown Collaboration Initiative
Corydon has won a spot in the State's Hometown Collaboration Initiative!
This State of Indiana program will give Corydon $100,000 in free consulting from Purdue, Ball State and state community development experts over the next year. The town will also get $5,000 match to go towards a project.
Please see the attached YouTube video from Indiana Lt. Gov Sue Ellspermann congratulating Corydon.
As part of the program, 15 Harrison County leaders have volunteered their time and energy to work together with Ball State, Purdue and state experts in the next year to work on "Entrepreneurial Placemaking."
The goal is to develop, attract and retain talented citizens by improving local quality of life. The hope is this effort will lead to rising incomes and economic development.
While blessed with a rich history and strong local finances, Corydon is below the State and National averages for income and educational attainment. By working together we hope to change that.
The grant was put together by Lisa Long, Harrison County Chamber executive director, Jeff Shireman of Shireman Construction, and Catherine Turcotte, executive director of Main Street Corydon.
All 15 committee members wrote individual letters of support and hosted State and University officials last month. The $5,000 grant match was split by the chamber and the Harrison County Community Foundation.
For more info on the program: http://www.in.gov/ocra/2732.htm
This State of Indiana program will give Corydon $100,000 in free consulting from Purdue, Ball State and state community development experts over the next year. The town will also get $5,000 match to go towards a project.
Please see the attached YouTube video from Indiana Lt. Gov Sue Ellspermann congratulating Corydon.
As part of the program, 15 Harrison County leaders have volunteered their time and energy to work together with Ball State, Purdue and state experts in the next year to work on "Entrepreneurial Placemaking."
The goal is to develop, attract and retain talented citizens by improving local quality of life. The hope is this effort will lead to rising incomes and economic development.
While blessed with a rich history and strong local finances, Corydon is below the State and National averages for income and educational attainment. By working together we hope to change that.
The grant was put together by Lisa Long, Harrison County Chamber executive director, Jeff Shireman of Shireman Construction, and Catherine Turcotte, executive director of Main Street Corydon.
All 15 committee members wrote individual letters of support and hosted State and University officials last month. The $5,000 grant match was split by the chamber and the Harrison County Community Foundation.
For more info on the program: http://www.in.gov/ocra/2732.htm
Year after federal lawsuit, Vigo County Jail overcrowding problem persists
"The census reports look good, but we need to find out about the overcrowded units and recreation time for the inmates," Falk
Click HERE to read the full article
Click HERE to read the full article
