The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1480050
Toyota worker 'turned' businessman: Local starts Write Turn By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Toyota worker Jonathan Harper of Princeton started Write Turn LLC out of a shed at his home quietly, four years ago, when he would make and give away pens. Now the busi- ness has taken off to the point it's hard to balance as they near the Christmas season. The roots were planted, Harper said, when his friend Chris Mar vel's father heard Harper wanted to tr y turning after he saw it done at a wood crafters fair in St. Louis. He showed up with a lathe for Harper's birthday. "From there ever ything pieced in," Harper said. He still uses that lathe, but the tiny shed he renovated and insulated behind his Princeton home is now crowded with two drill presses, a dust col- lector, and a small chop saw he uses for the work. He and his father built the benches for his work. His business has also grown beyond pens, though it's called Write Turn. His most popular items have been hand turned crochet hooks. He made the first for a friend of his girlfriend Lindsay Hill, then that friend showed someone else, who ordered one and posted it to an inter- national craft forum, which was the move that actually put him into a serious business. "It was a Thursday. I re- member Thursday night I just got off work and my phone blew up. Person after person asking, 'can I get one?' 'can I get one?' That year started it all," he said. Over time, he's shipped the crochet handles as far away as Ireland and the United King- dom. The business has grown to the point that occasionally, when Toyota is in overtime, he is busy enough to want to turn away orders. At those times Hill, as his girlfriend, will not only help with customer ser vice and ad- ministration of their Facebook page, but she'll be out in the shed, running a drill press. "The biggest challenge was setting up a small busi- ness. We made $10,000 one year," and while that sounds like a good problem to have, it meant becoming a limited liability company and doing quarterly taxes. "It can be hard to manage both jobs," he said. LOCAL A-4 Tuesday, September 27, 2022 South Gibson Star-Times Jonathan Harper, a Toyota employee and small businessman, works in his back- yard shop. AARP seeks volunteers AARP Foundation has kicked off volunteer recruit- ment for its Tax-Aide pro- gram, the nation's largest volunteer-based tax prepa- ration ser vice. Volunteers are needed as tax prepar- ers, whom the program will train in coordination with the IRS, as well as people who can provide technical and communications assistance, interpreters, and program leaders. Volunteers come from a variety of industries and range from retirees to university students. All levels and types of experience are welcome. Tax-Aide offers free in-per- son and online tax prepara- tion and assistance nation- wide to taxpayers with low to moderate income. Because of the complexity of the U.S. tax code, many taxpayers overpay their taxes or turn to paid tax ser vices they cannot afford. Some may forgo filing their taxes and miss out on the credits and deductions they've earned because they are unable to pay for assistance. Tax-Aide volunteers can help by pro- viding necessar y ser vices in communities where there is the greatest need. During the 2021 tax year, AARP Volunteers in Van- derburgh, Gibson and War- rick Counties were able to process over 1600 federal returns and 1630 State re- turns. The majority of the clients were single and over the age of 60. $1,508,000 was returned to the tax payers as overpayments or cred- its. Many people had to be turned away for the lack of volunteers. Ft. Branch moves forward with sewer improvement project By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com In an ef for t to get of f an early warning sewer ban that could inhibit new con- struction, For t Branch is moving for ward with a $2.5 million sewer project's first phase. In a Fort Branch Town Council meeting Wednes- day, engineer Eric Smith told council members he was firstly concerned about seal- ing some of the infiltration in the system so that the town could determine the right size of expansion. Smith said engineers iden- tified many collection issues when they performed smoke testing, and by closing off those places, they could see how much more is needed. The sewer system is affect- ed less by the daily ups and downs than by wet weather inflow, he said. It's the wet weather peaks that contrib- ute to the numbers that have caused the early warning sewer ban. "Obviously the goal is to tr y to shave down those peaks during wet weather," Smith said. "We found some pretty severe issues; we know there's going to be an impact." The town has requested money from the county's TIF/redevelopment board. Those economic develop- ment funds would be used well in Fort Branch because it would allow Fort Branch to support further industr y, whereas currently they may not be able to handle new businesses that want to come in along the US-41 corridor and use Fort Branch's water and sewer. Even if the county does commit TIF funds, Smith told the council it would be a few years before the funds were available and they'd need a bond to get started. Clerk treasurer Stacy Elp- ers asked if he was suggest- ing they move for ward even if TIF funds are not approved. "I think at some point you need to move for ward with the work regardless," Smith said. The TIF board meets in October and he added the work won't be too far in by that October meeting. They plan at that time to present the costs to the board and explain how much more wa- ter customers will pay if the county does not step in to help fund the project. "Ultimately the town's going to need to do this to determine how much of an expansion they need," Smith said. "I think we allow them to get started. We don't really have a choice," said Council President Sandy Birch. "We have to move for- ward," agreed Councilman Scotty DeLong before the unanimous vote. Fort Branch getting sidewalk updates By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Main, Polk and Oak street sidewalks are among those listed in an estimate for replacement or repair by Titan Construction at the Fort Branch Town Council Wednesday. "It looks like these might be in order of 'badness'," said Councilman Scotty DeLong. "Main Street is pretty rough" said Council President Sandy Birch. She added the street depart- ment needed to communicate with homeowners about the repairs, especially those who had trees in the area. Sidewalks break with tree roots under them, and pour- ing them that way can cause the result to not be ADA com- pliant, which is now required by the state. "Anything you do has to be ADA compliant...anyone who does any work for us has to do that," said Clerk Treasurer Stacy Elpers. The council approved start- ing on those properties that don't involve trees or retain- ing walls, adding that if they didn't approve the work and get started the weather would prevent the work from being done this year. The cost is $33,218. Jonathan Harper works on a lathe to create pens, crochet hooks and more. A variety of hand- made pens are headed to a store for sale. The biggest challenge was setting up a small business. 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