Easy come easy go, mostly go. any of our leaders see this one coming? Do we have any plans for this empty building?How about a future public commuter system?Somewhere we could meet get on a bus and ride out of town to find a job. The economic directer can drive and then try and talk an owner to relocate back here! we all save gas.we can sing a long our merry way cume by ya my friend cume by yaaa.....99 bottles of beer on the wall 99 bottles of beer take one down and pass it around 98 bot.... or forget that and go straight to the wellfar orfice yee-haw

WE MIGHT AS WELL KISS ELWOOD GOODBYE WE ARE DONE!WHATS LEFT NOT MUCH THERE ARE A FEW LEFT BUT NOT BIG ENOUGH TO KEEP ELWOOD ALIVE WHY WOULD OUR HIGHER POWERS LET THIS HAPPEN UNREAL GOODBYE TO EVERYONE IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU ALL

ENOUGH SAID WITH THE SUBJECT!

for everyones information they are closing all of their plants in north america, not just elwood. We are victims of Bush's economy.

Most of our problems are caused from the federal level.

Al Jordan

free trade agreement totally screwed the usa. so many jobs being outsourced to other countries.... if you want to buy an american made car anymore its toyota or honda because at least they are made in the USA.... ford and Gm and all the other car companies want us to spend our money on their cars, but they dont care that they took so many of our jobs and gave them to mexico and india... i say tax the hell out of american companies that want to move american companies to other countries for cheaper labor and shotty products, i find it ironic that ford comercials are now saying they are NOW as good as honda or toyota... the reason why honda and toyota is doing so well is because they ARE AMERICAN MADE.... i mean come on Anderson looks like a ghost town with all the empty factories.... somethings gotta give.... has anyone noticed how many houses are setting empty here?or for sale? we had been buying a house on contract for 8 years, and because the owner is going through hardship, they are having to let things go back, which our house was as asset that will be devided between the creditors.... we got a lawyer, but couldnt afford to have a lawyer and keep the house,,, so now we are living in an apt....
folks, we gotta wake up because things are only going to get worse as long as its business as usual in washington.....

The easy days have left us years ago and if we haven't; we must adjust to the situation.

a.) Going back to school "a career change", one that would allow you to support your families and stay in Elwood "traveling within 60 miles."
b.) The head of the family goes where the work is and the family stays in Elwood. "I work out of state and come home on weekends."
c.) Adjust your budget now for higher property taxes.
d.) If you own and rent your property, are you ready for property tax increases that you would have to pass on to the renter.
e.) If you rent; are you ready for higher monthly payments.
f.) If you rent from a home owner; have them put you on the Deed through a Quitclaim Deed so you get a Homestead Exception which lowers the tax you pay.

Just a few ideas!

Ed Spearman

We are more a victim of Clinton and the Democrats passage of NAFTA than we are the Bush economy. Yea Bill!!!

Well, one of Plastech's major customers was Chrysler. Car sales are slow and yes Chrysler did finally outsource the interior plastic on their cars. A business fails or succeeds based on the product it sells. Plastech had too many of it's eggs in one basket.
It is a sad loss for the community. But, you make do with what you have. In the short term that means working out of town or possibly opening a business of your own that is not dependent on the local economy.
I try to look at the cup being half full rather than half empty. Eventually another company will look at that facility and find a use for it. To attract a new employer Elwood needs to get it's budget in order and work with what tax base there is...the city can't borrow itself out of debt. Try to work towards a solution and not become part of the problem.

Rex's 2 cents

This is one of the most sensible replies I have ever read on this web site. Are you sure you posted to the right one? It seems that most posts don't care about sense only blame.

That is what I have been trying to say all along what does the city have to do with this buisness going out they have given them there tax abatements there is nothing more for them to do. Now is when it is up to bill savage to do his job and fill the space and get these people back to work, He sure has his work cut out for him the way that the ecomomy is. They built that big Chrysler plant in Tipton and I heard they do not know if they are even going to open it, so see it is just not Elwood it is everywhere, But everyone is right now is when the city needs to step up and start negotiating with some people to get these buildings filled. I pray for everyone that hve lost there jobs, I do not have much but if I lost my job I would lose what I did have. There have been so many suicides here in town just in the last couple of weeks, Those people felt that they could not deal with the problems , People have to remember that they are at there lowest and it can not get in lower so things have to get better , I would rather lose my house and my car and everything that I worked for then to lose my life, you think that you can not take care of your family now, who is going to take care of them when your gone. Everyone from state plating, plastech and every other factory in this town I am praying for you , I pray everyday that I have a job to come to and I think how lucky I am but it can be taken away from me and I could get my pink today.

Nora Henson
Proud Elwood City Emplyee

Dear Nora,

This is a time for prayer for the town of Elwood. I have watched this community for decades. I still have an attachment to this community and was very much involved with it for many years. I was a well known businessman in the community. I feel for the town. I knew what was happening to Plastech long before there were any announcements. We live in a world economy. There are ever increasing pressures upon our economy as China and India emerge as world players. It is changing everything.
But, what we are is not our jobs or vocation. What we are is how we relate to our fellowman in our dealings. This is even more true when we are in times of crisis. We need to reach out to others in prayer. We need to make sure that those people who are now not employed have access to counseling to find jobs. This forum does help people to vent...they need to vent. Also if you know of a neighbor who has lost his or job...make sure they have groceries, give to the local food bank, contact your local pastor if there is none and get one started.
A wonderful thing happened in this town in the winter of 1978. I saw this town pull together to help one another. Neighbors delivered groceries to shut-ins. People checked on each other and kept each other safe and warm. I saw long time competitors in the grocery business call each other and trade goods. They traded eggs for bread and milk for meat. They kept their customers supplied. The churches, United Way, Salvation Army and others networked together to keep the town going for those two weeks that very cold winter when everything was shut down. We were all survivors that "Winter of 78".
Now is such a time to bring all those resources into play. There is always hope if there is a plan. There are loving people still in this town. I still know of some. Elwood you are not forgotten...you are still in my prayers.

Rex's 2 cents

We need you to return to Elwood and open another IGA we miss you and all the years you and your family provided a good place to work, with great service( that may only have been cause I use to work for you) just joking on that one. Hope all is well good post

I am afraid those days are well behind me. We lost Tom in 1996. Dave and I are old men now. This generation of Rexroat's are not up to the task. The town definitly needs a grocery store. I was mulling over in my mind who was left in the way of wholesalers. The distribution channel I knew has been devasted in the last two decades. The Sun financial people who now own Marsh are just getting their feet wet so to speak. They are putting the money back in the stores which had not been done in some time. The stores in Indianapolis are much improved.
The only way a grocery store could survive in Elwood is just to offer an old hanging beef program and the best produce. You could not even try to compete in dry goods. IGA retailers now get their groceries out of Kentucky. The transportation costs would eat up any profits to be had in dry goods for an IGA retailer. There were over 380 of us back in my day, now there are only 34 operations left. The other problem is there is not much available in retail space that can be had for a grocery operation. The only location that I know of that is a possible is where the old Hook's building is...and that is a Wagman building. He is difficult to deal with...I know ...lol! I still have some old friends who are IGA retailers...but they are struggling.
You can't put a grocery store out by General Dollar or where Marsh is now in the old Carter center because of the obvious non-compete clauses in the leases. The Carters got out of the grocery business because of the reasons I cited above. The distribution channels were destroyed mainly by Walmart when it comes to dry goods. Also Walmart gets the best price zone on all direct deliver merchandise ie bread, milk,and beverages.
It is not impossible...it is just you can't expect a store like an IGA to come back to the community and expect them to compete with the out of town guy...ie Walmart. Walmart won that battle a long time ago...I was a casualty of it.
Another idea might be a Co-Op which is run on a non-profit basis where members go in on "buy-ins" of certain types of merchandise in bulk. This is a more viable idea. Elwood is still a community of 10,000 people with about 2500 families. You would not need a retail "store" per se but just a warehouse. This would be an old pallet drop operation with no fixtures. It would not be pretty. There would have to be freezers and a butcher shop to break down primals. Oh boy now you got me going again....lol!
Right now I am an insurance executive doing group benefits for corporations. I have not worked the "retail" side of my brain in some years.
Anyway there is hope for this community but you all have to learn to work together and stop the blame game. It hurts me to see this going on. I know so many of you...some of you when you were kids buying candy at the old downtown store.
The Plastech thing is done. It is time for a plan. The local unemployment office has facilities for getting on monster.com and carreerbuilder for those without computers that have been displaced. Carpools need to be set up for those ppl getting jobs out of town to offset the gas prices. Churches need to get involved with seeing if people are getting fed and set up food banks.
You can all build for a better tomorrow.

Rex's2cents

Please read the latest news. The plants are not all closing. Some are being bought by JCI, some are being auctioned off on 06/16. What happens after that is anyone's guess.

Hi my name is Andrea and I plan on buying a house in Elwood. My husband is in Iraq and some of his fellow soldiers live in Elwood and I think that is why he wants to move there. Some of the e-mails above state that Elwood is going down What does this mean>? everyone I have talked to tells me this area is nice qiute and freindly and thats what we are looking for to raise our 4 children. We live in Indianapolis right now. And the city just well our neighbor hood is just full of theifs and people who just dont care. I need to know is this a community or a neighborhood who has just given up and are taking their familys else were. Please give me an input about the town of Elwood. I care about were I live and always the people around me and my family.

I have to say I'm quite happy here. The crime rate is low, most of the people I meet here are very nice and the town is not near as bad as some of the posts on here would like you to believe. For a small town we have all the newer, modern buildings being built over the last few years. I would have to say that the only people that don't like Elwood are the people that were raised here! I would say if your looking for a nice, small town to raise the kids in then this would be a good choice. I guess that's my two cents worth :)

Al Jordan

i love the small town of Elwood... i think it is a great place to raise a family.... i have 2 sons that are grown and on their own and we have 4 kids still at home... . they love this town and have lots of friends..... tonya

I for one love the small town life, and Elwood does offer that. I have lived here all my life and have lots of family here. However, if I were in your shoes and thinking of moving my family somewhere, I would want people to honest and upfront with me. I am not one to sugarcoat anything so I will tell you that our town is...well how do you put it..."BROKE", 2 of our 4 schools are still on academic probation, there are quite a few vacant houses and we have had several factories close in the last couple months. Yes, half of these posts you read on this site are full of it. Our police department DOES NOT "harass" people and our city government is NOT full of crooks! It is a nice quite place, low crime rate, you can pretty much go out safely at any hour of the night, but we do have our share of problems just like several other towns. Basically, it is what you make of it!

I lived in Elwood all my life and loved it. I moved away 4years ago and am glad I did. IT was the right decision for me. Now I have all the advantages of employment and all kinds of shopping within a couple of minutes. Also the police do not know me or my kids. We have not had any problems what so ever. Like it or not the police will mess with you and WERE ARROGANT.It may be different now I don't know for sure.But I do know The factories are shutting down and there is not many jobs left,There used to be good jobs Ex-Cello Continental can to name a couple.The downtown was full of local bus. When I was a little you could not ride your bike downtown because of all the people shopping, not any more. Depending on what you want I suggest renting for a while before you invest. Most of my friends will sell their homes in a second if they could.Go and look around no shortage of homes for sale. Ever see a golf cource not able to sell homes on site? Everywhere else they sell very fast.I know I have connections in that business. Use your head don't buy unless you are sure you wany to stay, it may be what you want.

in my opinion elwood is a nice place to live..yeah you cant leave your bikes out side or they will get stolen, or smokes in your truck lol..but hey you can get a bike chain and quit smokin, or take it all inside. My husband has lived in indianapolis and missouri, he still works in Indy but he doesnt want to live anywhere else but here.He moved all his kids here 2 yrs. ago when we got married and he has 4 kids. 2 in high school, 1 in middle school and 1 in grade school.The kids like the school and are doing better then anywhere they have ever been.My husband doesnt care for the long drive or the gas cost, but he enjoys the other beifits, like sitting out side on the porch, working in the yard or home improvements when we have the money..some neighbors are wonderful but you have a few who are always in trouble with the law..if you are seeking a quite place..this be it ..if you want drama..this be it too..just have to choose the right friends for that..i myself have been here for 21 yrs. hehehe boy could i tell you some stories lol

girl that is because you are trouble!!! lol just kidding..... we just moved from the south side to the north side.... very quite here... the bike thing yeah, my son got his stolen not long ago.... but it is mostly kids that take them ride them arround for awhile then ditch them. the city has a barn full of abandon bikes they get all the time... tip on that, write down the serial number off the bike that way you can go to the barn and see if its there.... otherwise it gets auctioned off. i think they have a bike auction once a year or something like that.....hey i got an really good idea... remember when they use to have spring clean up and people would put stuff they didnt want anymore on the curb for the day? thats a great way to recycle..... this town should do that again,,,, with some rules though.... no trash....you know what i mean, broken or tore up stuff thats beyond repair..... could be cool and do something for our environment and help folks out at the same time. its an idea.... tonya

I belong to a couple of groups called freecycle.com check it out. I belong to Carmel, Noblesville and Andersons. Not sure if Elwood has a group started or not but it's a site where you can list things you no longer want but don't want them to go in a landfill. I have seen everything fom cars to coupons listed all for free! I check them out when I'm bored and am allways amazed at the items listed that I have already went and bought. Carmel has great stuff sometimes I've seen hot tubs pool tables patio furniture everything you can think of. carmelfreecycle.com or just freecycle.com for the list of towns nationwide thought I saw Elwood listed but not sure. Good luck, being green is now cool! When I was young it wasn't , that was a looong time ago.

I learned everything i know from you..lol

yeah elwood has a freecycle, but no one uses it..... thats to bad.... also craigslist.org has alot if stuff...... tonya

auuuwww now you know you were always the good one.... i was the trouble maker,lol.... anyway enjoy your evening!! hugs tonya