Wanda English Burnett, Editor

While the décor of the new addition to the Friendship State Bank in Friendship has earth tone hues, the dominate color at the facility is green. Not necessarily the color of money ‘green’, but the ultimate translation is that and much more. It is about the environmental footprint the bank will leave on the community it serves.

Marketing and Trending Director Chris Meyer explains. “It actually started with me at home,” he told the Osgood Journal as he explained that when he realized the amount of garbage that his family alone was generating, he knew something had to be done. What was two garbage cans a week has become about three quarters of one can.

“I thought ‘if we can do it at home, we can do it at the bank.’” Having seen the landfills, Meyer said one day when at the Versailles branch he saw the magnitude of the cans, bottles and paper garbage that facility alone was generating and knew something had to be done. The simplistic approach of lining a garbage can with plastic and asking the employees to throw in their cans and bottles worked. They also began saving their paper in small boxes underneath desks.

Meyer began by taking the recyclables home with him from that branch and simply taking it to the recycle center when he took his items from home. “The recycle facility at Osgood is great,” he noted, adding, “you don’t even have to separate the items.”

Then it grew. When the remodeling/addition was being done at the Friendship facility, which is the main office for the Friendship State Bank, he teamed up with Nan Lemon, who was designing the interior for the new offices. She, too, is a great proponent of saving the environment, and together they made changes that would help employees with the recycling effort.

All paper is shredded and recycled. Boxes can be found underneath desks to recycle paper. Now in the beautiful spacious lunch room, you will find silverware, mugs, glasses, and plates. No paper products are provided for eating. The nearly 40 employees don’t mind. “They wash their own dishes, and it works out good,” Meyer noted. He said he hasn’t seen dirty dishes piled up. Even when employees bring trays of prepared foods - microwavable - if the recycle triangle is on them, they fold them flat and put them in the recycle bin. “Recycling has a ripple effect,” Meyer noted, saying the idea is catching on.

Meyer noted that each of the other branches will be following suit soon to make the entire business one that recycles. They have branches in Dillsboro, Rising Sun, Vevay, and Cross Plains, with a future branch coming to Batesville.

The bank continues to conserve Mother Earth and when the courier makes his rounds, he takes the recyclables on the route. This uses less gas, therefore emitting less pollution in the air. The Friendship facility is not hauling away nearly as much garbage as before. Matter of fact, it’s about half.
“Recycling reduces oil consumption,” noted Meyer, “and when it’s so easy to do, why not?” He is definitely passionate about the concept and says if everyone would just do their small part it would make such a difference. If they don’t, the statistics are staggering. For every person, four pounds of garbage is generated per day. Take that times a year, times the people we have in the United States and the outcome is bleak.

More ways to conserve energy and make a difference are:
• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
• Take shorter showers.
• Reuse sheets and towels when staying in hotels.
• Whenever possible, buy local. This not only helps the local economy, but saves you gas money in travel, and pollution emissions.
• Never buy anything made from an endangered animal or plant.

There are many more tips to follow and even if you want to travel “green” for your next vacation you can check out www.greentravelhub.com.

The Ripley County Recycling & Re-Use Center is located on US 421 just south of Osgood. Hours for the recycling center are Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until noon.

What sort of things do you discuss with the governor if you’re not talking politics? Well, the Blacks learned that the governor enjoys a good game of golf and riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He was interested in the town in which he was lodging for the evening. Economic development was discussed, along with the restoration of the Damm Theatre, which is always a point of interest. Matter of fact, the Blacks invited Steve Gloyd, board member of the Gilmore and Golda Reynolds Foundation, to their home, where they talked about the local economic development, and how the foundation has benefited the town.

Neighbor and relative of the family, Ann Black, was invited over to meet the governor. Mike said he wished he could have invited more people, and noted, “You do feel like you leave people out, but this needed to be low key.”

The governor only stayed the night, and right on schedule, the next day, he was picked up at 8:15 a.m. The security and staff entourage that travels with the governor also stayed in Osgood for the night, at the Victorian Garden Bed and Breakfast.

Saying he admires the governor for his willingness to make difficult decisions that aren’t always popular, Mike said he feels Daniels has a “genuine appreciation for public safety.” Of course he noted, that’s near and dear to him in his line of work.

Karen said the governor was an “easy” houseguest, even making his own bed!

Her initial concerns included one that most women would wonder, do I need to cook? The answer was no, but Karen said she was prepared to do so. As it was, the governor came late, left after just a piece of fruit and some juice, with the Blacks saying, “He made us comfortable.”

Mike noted that the arrangements were made through Detective Vance Patton, who is also employed through the Versailles Post for the Indiana State Police. Patton had been assigned to the governor’s security detail for about two and a half years. When the governor’s staff called Vance for a suggestion, he thought of the Blacks.

How many people can say the governor of their state has spent the night with them? Well, 89 others, according to Karen, who said she asked Daniels how often he has done this. But no one in Osgood has had the honor before.

Governor Mitch Daniels traveled from Osgood last Thursday morning to Versailles, where he made a stop at McDonalds to shake hands and answer a few questions with constituents. He was in between attending a Lincoln Day Dinner in Dearborn County and an appearance at Hanover.

WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT BOTTOM PHOTO/ABOVE PHOTO SUBMITTED Pictured are Marketing & Trending Director Chris Meyer, left, and Jenny Darnold, manager of branch administration and human resources, showing how easy it is to recycle. On the left, there's a trash bin for clean recyclables. On the right employees of the Friendship State Bank can throw their clean paper and cardboard. The box on top holds paper.