November 2005
Governor Names Bill Kirchoff to Regional Transportation Authority
Kirchoff's appointment is as one of two At-Large Members to the Authority, appointed by the Governor. "My goals right now are to understand the regional transportation needs so I can help create a plan to meet those needs. I want to do a good job of representing the area as we go forward."
At a recent meeting the group heard a presentation by Cambridge Systematics, Inc., about doing a strategic plan. "We're not here to just build a light rail or bus transit system," Kirchoff said. "It's to truly take a broad view of the regional public transportation needs, and then create a plan that will meet those. We'll consider such things as how to get people from their homes to their doctors or to a hospital for tests. It's not just getting people to and from work."
Kirchoff said the Cambridge presentation included a look at solutions that have been used in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and San Diego. "The group has been examining what other areas of the country have done and what we can learn from their successes and their failures."
Kirchoff added that he sees CIRTA as being a truly regional group that will come up with a solution for the whole area. Representatives on the Authority are from Marion, Hamilton, Hancock, Johnson, Morgan, Madison, Boone, and Hendricks counties, with Shelby County expected to join soon. (Hendricks' representative is Larry Hesson.)
"I'm excited to be a member of this team," said Kirchoff. "At this point in time we're just starting into the planning stages to see what the regional needs are. So far I've been encouraged to see that there is not a predetermined solution we're being driven toward."
Municipal Building Employees Sponsor Food Drive
Dates of Food Drive: December 1-23, 2005
Town employees located at the Plainfield Municipal Building are organizing a food drive for the holiday season. Everything collected goes toward the Plainfield Community Support Center. The food drive will run from December 1 through 23.
Decorated drop-off boxes will be located at:
  • Plainfield Guilford Township Public Library
  • Plainfield Recreation and Aquatic Center
  • Plainfield Municipal Building
Recommended donations:
  • Non-perishable food items
  • Personal hygiene items
  • Paper products (like toilet paper, paper towels)
The Municipal Building employees thank you in advance for your generosity.
Plainfield Plus to Light Sharing Tree December 4
Civic group Plainfield Plus will stage the annual lighting of its Sharing Tree on Sunday, December 4, at 5:00 p.m. The event, which was formerly staged at Friendship Gardens, will be held this year at Central Elementary, where the Sharing Tree will be a huge Norway Spruce planted in the 1930s.
"The effort to move the event to Central Elementary was spearheaded by Frank Davis," said Judy Jackson, president of Plainfield Plus. "We wanted to make this truly a community tree, and the new location along Main Street is a very noticeable location."
The Sharing Tree is a fundraising event held each year by Plainfield Plus. This year the donations will divided into two parts, half to the Christian Support Center and the other half to the Plainfield Police Chaplin fund, which uses them for crises.
"We will be accepting funds during the tree lighting ceremony," said Jackson. "They can also be mailed to Plainfield Plus." The address for Plainfield Plus is PO Box 54, Plainfield, IN 46168.
Jackson said the Sharing Tree is a real community effort this year. "The Lincoln Foundation was very generous in providing money for the lights," she said. "Trent Electric was a wonderful help with the lighting design and providing their electrical expertise. Elite Signs, which has the tallest bucket truck in town, put the lights up for us."
Jackson noted that the Friends Church was also cooperating with the Sharing Tree lighting and would be staging their living Nativity scene on December 4 from 4 to 6 p.m. The church will have another showing on the night previous to the lighting, December 3, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Grand Openings
Plainfield had the grandest of grand openings during the last part of October and into November, with four major events taking place. From top: Thomas J. Hartmann, Vice President, Rolls-Royce, announced that a team of nearly 150 engineers and other staff members working on the F136 engine for the Department of Defense will lease about half the office space in the former Galyan's corporate headquarters building along Perry Road. Second, Josh Cotton, Store Manager, welcomes guests and shoppers to the grand opening of the Wal-Mart Supercenter, the latest incarnation of Wal-Mart in Plainfield. The store will employ over 700 people, including 300 new hires. Third, (from left) Premier Properties President and CEO David Zoba, Town Council President Robin Brandgard, and Premier Properties founder Chris White cut the ribbon to open Metropolis, Plainfield's new upscale, open-air, life-style mall. Bottom, employees and guests join theater manager Phillip Frost (third from left) as the ribbon is cut opening Rave Motion Pictures, the new 18-screen movie theater in Plainfield's Metropolis mall.