Greenfield DQ gets new GM
J.D. Restaurants, Inc., operator of Dairy Queens in Greenfield and other locations across the state, has appointed Kelly Smith as general manager of its Greenfield DQ Grill & Chill.
Smith is a Greenfield native who still lives in the area. Since 2012, she was general manager of J.D. Restaurants’ Dairy Queen in Shelbyville, where she built a strong staff and grew sales, according a press release from the company. She has also worked at the Greenfield DQ when Shelbyville’s was closed during the winter.
Smith replaces Debora Karnes, who was recently promoted to district manager overseeing operations for DQs in Greenfield and several other locations.
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Dealership names salesman of the year
Inskeep Ford in Greenfield has named Alan King as its Salesman of the Year for 2018.
The Connersville native has worked at Inskeep Ford since March 2012.
King said he enjoys the people he works with and the customers. He’s a part of multiple local organizations and has had roles in over 30 community and church theater productions.
S&L announces new Rushville location
Union Savings and Loan Association, which has served the Greenfield area since 1997, is expanding to Rushville.
The new USLA branch is planned for the intersection of State Road 3 and U.S. 52 on the south side of Rushville. Construction will begin in the spring, and the branch is planned to open later in 2019.
“We hope the new bank also provides convenience to those in the southern part of Hancock County, as well as those who travel along U.S. 52," said USLA Greenfield Manager Jonathan Hunt in a press release.
USLA was founded in Connersville in 1892 and is still independently owned and operated.
The new Rushville bank will help USLA serve customers across Fayette, Rush and Hancock counties, according to the press release.
Farm loan delinquencies highest in nine years
The nation’s farmers are struggling to pay back loans after years of low crop prices and a backlash from foreign buyers over President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with a key government program showing the highest default rate in at least nine years.
According to a recent story in the Indianapolis Business Journal, many agricultural loans come due around Jan. 1, in part to give producers enough time to sell crops and livestock and to give them more flexibility in timing interest payments for tax filing purposes.
While the federal government shutdown delayed reporting, January figures show an overall rise in delinquencies for those producers with direct loans from the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency.
Nationwide, 19.4 percent of FSA direct loans were delinquent in January, compared to 16.5 percent for the same month a year ago, said David Schemm, executive director of the Farm Service Agency in Kansas. During the past nine years, the agency’s January delinquency rate hit a high of 18.8 percent in 2011 and fell to a low of 16.1 percent when crop prices were significantly better in 2015.
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