What a GREAT day for Connersville...AKA CARBON MOTORS CHOOSES US!!!!

Whew. We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief...almost.

There are a few more hurdles to be overcome, but what a day Connersville celebrated today! We were all pretty sure what the announcement was going to be, but until it was official, we were all holding our breath.

William Santana Li, Chairman and CEO, of Carbon Motors Corporation,




said he had 3 questions for the crowd at Visteon today and the answers were all "Indiana".

The last question was, "Which state is going to be the police car captial of the world?" At that, the crowd ERUPTED!!! Finally, we had our definitive answer. WOW!





The company had to select a site before they can apply for federal aid. OK, now that is done. There are some legalities concerning the sale and environmental cleanup of the old Visteon plant which is in bankruptcy litigation. Governor Mitch Daniels was the only state or federal elected official there and he seems really committed to helping Carbon Motors get established in southeastern Indiana. Other officials who sent video congratulations were Sen. Lugar, Sen. Bayh, Rep. Pence, and Rep. Dan Burton (he stated he wasn't our Representative, but he was so happy for us and asked Carbon Motor officials to remember his unemployed constituents in Hancock and Shelby Counties when they hired. LOL). All the politicans said all the right things. Today I looked beyond the politics and just enjoyed the day.


Thank you, Tracy Brannon, for these pics of the event:






Here are some news links: {PAUSE PLAYLIST ON RIGHT FIRST}

WTHR TV Be sure to click on the videos. I don't know how long they will be available...

WISH TV Be sure to watch BOTH videos to get a real feel of the excitement at the announcement today!

Channel 8 said 2,000 people were in attendance. Fox news said 10,000. I have no idea which is closer to the real number.

FOX 59'S coverage

 


Check this out...we are even mentioned on the "FORBES" website!


Unlike our first lady, Michelle Obama who said she hadn't really been proud of her country until her husband was elected president, I have always been proud of my town...but never more so than today and the previous months that led up to today. KUDOS to Mayor Leonard Urban,





Brian Coates, EDC director




et al. THANK YOU!!!!

Here is a GREAT link I just found with lots of pics from the Indy Star:






God has truly blessed us. This whole situation has been SATURATED with prayer for months. There was even a "prayer walk" from Roberts Park to the Visteon building this morning at 8:30. The rain didn't hamper this GREAT day at all.

So now, we can FINALLY say "Thank you, Jesus, for bringing us Carbon Motors!"

Thanks to all my blogging buddies who offered prayer for us, also!!!

Wednesday's the day...AKA...the wait is over.

At least we THINK so!

If you remember this post,




you will remember that the future of Connersville may hinge on an automobile company. We expect Carbon Motors to make a BIG announcement Wednesday at 11:30. Connersville is hosting the "American Jobs Rally" at the old Visteon plant.

Read about the rally here:

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"If there is an announcement on Carbon Motors jobs, the governor will make it, said Bryan Coats, executive director of the Economic Development Group of Fayette County.

"We don't have the information (on a Carbon Motors decision)," Coats said. "We got a call in the last few days from the governor asking us to do (the rally)."

Governor Daniels and Carbon Motor executives will be in Connersville tomorrow. We have heard rumors that possibly Senators Lugar and/or Bayh may be in attendance. Maybe Mike Pence. It is all being kept pretty hush-hush.

The down side to all this can be seen here:

{As property owners, we do have to be concerned about those bonds. But Connersville had to do SOMETHING, I suppose...}

SO...
Just like the residents of West Point, Georgia who proudly display this sign in their town,



maybe Connersville will be able to thank God for blessing our community!

Stay tuned...

Ideas for Lauren and Mark? AKA Wedding entrance extraordinaire!

Think Lauren and Mark might be inspired by this???



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I guess this has been all over the news and the internet, but I hadn't seen it till yesterday. WOW! Different, to say the least! I have to admit, by the time the bride hit the aisle, I was getting tears in my eyes, but hey, I cry at ALL weddings...I don't know how I am gonna make it through my baby's!!!

Do you remember your first car?

Last Spring, a blogging buddy, Joni over at Old Centennial Farmhouse, posted about her first car.. At that time, I thought I would like to do the same, but I just never got around to it...until tonight.

As a teenager in high school, I was "forced" to drive the family car...an old State Police cruiser that I thought was just the most awful thing I had ever been subjected to. (Thankfully, I didn't see the 'need for speed', cause that car could flat out fly!)

In my first year of college, I didn't have a car. At the beginning of my sophomore year (1972), I started asking for a car. Now, being an only child back when the economy was booming, I usually got what I asked for. What made it even easier for me was the fact that my Grandfather sold cars on the side and he had access to auto auctions, which he attended almost weekly. Once I convinced my Mom and Dad that I really needed a car and they wouldn't have to transport me back and forth to Terre Haute, my Dad started going with Grandpa to look for the car of my dreams...a 1968 Cougar XR-7.

The reason I was fixated on that car was I had a HUGE crush on a boy (Danny Burns...still remember him FONDLY! ) who had a beautiful blue 1968 Cougar. I loved him...AND THAT CAR!!! I told my Dad to be on the lookout for a '68 Cougar...didn't matter what color. (THAT was big of me, huh?). He said he would.

Weeks went by with no luck. My Dad tried to talk me into some other car. I wasn't having it, I guess...nothing else would do. But as time went on with no luck, I guess I started wavering because one weekend I came home to find a 1968 Mustang sitting in our yard.







White. YUCK! And it was kinda "rough around the edges". Didn't look nearly as nice as the one shown here. But, I didn't throw an "only child" trantrum. I was like, "Oh yeah, that is nice. Thank you.", but my heart wasn't in it. (I would give my eye teeth to have that sucker now!!!!)


I will never forget what happened next. My younger cousin David was there and was grinning from ear to ear. My dad said, "I can see you don't really like it...maybe you will like what is in the garage better", and with that, he flung open the garage door to show me what was inside...A GLEAMING, SHINY, BEAUTIFUL GREEN 1968 MERCURY COUGAR XR-7!!!

(Double Click on any picture for a better view)




What I saw looked as good as the one in the first picture. My cousin and my Dad had it SPARKLING!



{Mona, if you are reading this (and I know you are because I just sent you the link) wasn't this the weekend you met the lovely and talented Harold Morton Oshrey, III...or "HAD" as he was so fondly referred to?}







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My COOOOOOOGAR (as she was fondly known) was even better looking. She had a chrome luggage rack on the back. And the control panel looked like an airplane interior with switches you flipped up and down...I can't remember what they were for, though. And those headlights that opened and closed were so cool. And the turnlights in the rear were intermittent from right to left (I think).












Man, I LOVED THAT CAR. What happened to it is too painful to relate. Let's just say I never got over it.

I couldn't get this picture to scan right. If you double click on it, you can see the front of my baby over on the right. (That's me...back in the day)


So how about you all? Let's hear about "your first car". It is fun strolling down memory lane and some of you won't have nearly so far to stroll to get there!

IT'S OFFICIAL! Lauren and Mark are engaged.

Mark officially "popped the question" to Lauren Saturday night during the fireworks finale up in Cleveland. She said yes! Here are some pictures his mother took during the event. No offical date has been set yet, other than fall of next year.

Jim and I couldn't be happier! Welcome to the family, Mark!

Lauren didn't expect a thing...














Her ring is beautiful. These pictures don't do it justice...(double click for better view)








Much, much more to follow...

Independence Day, 2009

***This is the very same post as on my other blog, but hey...a duplicate is better than nothing, right?***


Have been very preoccupied as of late, but couldn't let the 4th go by without a post. Found this video on "The Grouch at Right Truth"s blog...and stole it for my own.

ENJOY...AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

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God Bless!

Indiana better hope Carbon Motors doesn't hear about this...

...if the Senate passes the Cap and Trade Bill, it could be bad news for business!




If you remember from a previous post, Carbon Motors is considering building their factory here in Connersville. Apparently, executives from CM have been in Connersville off and on for the past three weeks. I can't find the link, but according to the Connersville News Examiner, our local officals are pretty sure the towns have been narrowed down from 5 to 2...with Connersville still in the running, along with a city in South Carolina. Bryan Coats, executive director of the Economic Development Group of Fayette County, stated he felt that the potential downfall of Gov. Mark Sanford due to the disclosure of his affair with a woman from Argentina might actually benefit our cause. (A HUGE holdup is that since Visteon declared bankruptcy, the building they wanted to use is in limbo right now.) But I sure hope they don't get wind of this...

"It's no coincidence that the liberals most invested in cap and trade -- Barbara Boxer, Henry Waxman, Ed Markey -- come from California or the Northeast.
Coal provides more than half of U.S. electricity, and 25 states get more than 50% of their electricity from conventional coal-fired generation. In Ohio, it totals 86%, according to the Energy Information Administration. Ratepayers in Indiana (94%), Missouri (85%), New Mexico (80%), Pennsylvania (56%), West Virginia (98%) and Wyoming (95%) are going to get soaked."



"...An economy-wide tax under the cover of saving the environment is the best political moneymaker since the income tax."


link also here



I know a lot of people will not agree with me on this one (oh well...what else is new? LOL) but I have said all along...so called, "global warming" is the PERFECT way to pass a GLOBAL TAX. Watch and see...



I don't care if Al Gore DID give the most amazing and articulate concession speech in the history of mankind in 2000 (which he did, by the way.) This is how I see him now...







We better hope the Senate defeats the Cap and Trade...which just got "iffier" now that SNL alum Al Franken is the newest Democratic Senator. That gives Democrats their filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.







I guess Al Franken as Stuart Smalley ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!"...remember?) isn't really a fair portrayal of this country's newest Senator, is it? Hey, it could have been this one. (WARNING...GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING!!! For real. Do not let your children/grandchildren see this picture!) Let's give the guy a fair chance...How about this one instead.






I normally would have posted this on my political blog, but felt like you all needed an update to Carbon Motors. The final decision is supposed to be made by July 10th. In the meantime, call your senators and tell them to vote AGAINST the Cap and Trade Bill. I don't know about you all, but we can't afford it!!!