Latest news with #Elkhart
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
McCAUGHEY: Democrats waging war on small-town values and property values
Aerial view of historic downtown Goshen, Indiana, showcasing a bustling main street lined with red brick buildings, the distinctive Elkhart County Courthouse, and the charm of small-town America during autumn. Photo by Nicholas Klein / Getty Images Across the U.S., Democrats are waging war to crush a lifestyle they abhor. Call it small-town America: Single-family neighbourhoods, quiet streets, town centres stamped with their historic character and almost no signs of the vagrancy and homeless encampments that plague cities. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Democrats want you to have none of this. If you've worked for years to save up for a home in one of these havens, forget about it. The Democratic Party is using brute legal force to remake towns using a cookie-cutter formula that forces each to have the same proportion of houses and apartments, the same mix of low-, middle- and upper-income residents and the same reliance on public transit, all controlled by state politicians. Any town that resists gets shamed as 'segregated', though this isn't about race, and 'snobby.' On May 31, the Connecticut legislature passed H.B. 5002, which should be called the Destroy Connecticut Towns Act. It's headed to Gov. Ned Lamont's desk for a signature. The new law dictates how many low-income and moderate-income apartments each Connecticut town must provide and mandates that towns also foot the bill for the schools, parks, public transportation and other services low-income residents will need. Local taxes will soar. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bill explicitly says its purpose is to ensure 'economic diversity' in each town. This is about social engineering, not remedying housing shortages. Democrat Bob Duff, the state senate majority leader, says 'it's extremely important … that we don't segregate people based on a ZIP code.' Everyone, regardless of income, should have the opportunity to choose to live in any town. The bill mandates that the wealthiest towns, mostly in lower Fairfield County, provide most of the new housing, even though that raises the cost. Land costs less in other towns and lower-income people, who this bill is supposed to serve, are more likely to find bus transportation and affordable stores in these other towns as well. Connecticut lawmakers are nixing local rules. Ordinances that protect the appearance of a town have to be overruled. The bill states that multifamily buildings of up to 24 units will no longer have to provide off-street parking. Envision cars lining every residential street. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Towns will also be forced to welcome vagrants who want to sleep in parks and public lots. The bill outlaws 'hostile architecture,' meaning park benches with armrests and divided seating, or stone walls with spikes on top that deter sleeping in the rough. Instead, the bill launches a program of mobile showers and mobile laundry services on trucks to serve the homeless wherever they choose. Picture the mobile showers pulling up to Greenwich Common Park on the town's main street, or Waveny Park in New Canaan. How can kids walk around town with their pals if there are homeless encampments? Judge Glock, director of research at the Manhattan Institute think tank, points out that the homeless amount to 1% of the population in Los Angeles but commit 25% of the homicides. Inviting the homeless means inviting crime and drugs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Californicating the small towns of Connecticut by encouraging public camping and vagrancy 'is frightening,' says Glock. New York Democrats are also taking aim at small-town living. A bill sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal would outlaw local towns from setting minimum lot sizes over one-eighth of an acre near the town centre and a half acre everywhere else. Postage stamp sizes. Riverhead, New York, town supervisor Tim Hubbard is vowing to sue. 'We're trying to keep our community as rural as it can be … We don't think the state should be zoning our town.' Hoylman-Sigal chooses to live on the west side of Manhattan, but who is he to impose a population-dense lifestyle on small-town New Yorkers? Similarly, in New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Tim Murphy is pushing lawmakers to override local ordinances and impose the same kinds of 'reforms' as those in the Connecticut bill. In all these states and across the country, small-town Americans need to fight back. There is no constitutional right to live in a wealthy town with single-family homes and leafy, quiet streets. It's something you earn. Once you've purchased a home, you have the right to protect its value. It's time to put blue-state politicians on notice that their battle to destroy our suburbs and small towns will be resisted at the voting booth and in court. Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State Olympics NHL Toronto & GTA Editorial Cartoons Ontario
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
THOR Industries Announces Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results
CONTINUED EXECUTION OF KEY STRATEGIES LEADS TO STRONG QUARTER AS INITIATIVES BEGIN TO SHOW EFFECTS (1) See reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to most directly comparable GAAP financial measures included at the end of this release Key Takeaways from Fiscal 2025 Third Quarter ELKHART, Ind., June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- THOR Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2025 third quarter, ended April 30, 2025. 'Our third quarter results exceeded our expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The successful execution of key strategic initiatives, in particular placing further emphasis on driving down our cost profile, led to improved margins in an environment where we saw modest year-over-year top-line improvement. THOR's operating model, particularly within North America, is designed to ramp upward and downward in an incredibly efficient manner, and our performance in the fiscal third quarter exhibited the strength and flexibility of this operating model. We are incredibly proud of our hard-working team members as they continue to execute to plan in the face of numerous challenging market conditions as we navigate through this prolonged industry downturn together. Our third quarter performance exemplifies what makes THOR the market leader. History has proven THOR's ability to weather difficult macroeconomic circumstances and to come back stronger when market conditions improve. While the current level of uncertainty is unprecedented, and we believe the next two fiscal quarters will be challenging for the RV industry as a whole, we are very pleased that our efforts are starting to move the needle,' stated Bob Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer of THOR Industries. Third Quarter Financial Results Consolidated net sales were $2.89 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to $2.80 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, an increase of 3.3%. Consolidated gross profit margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 was 15.3%, an increase of 20 basis points over the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Net income attributable to THOR Industries, Inc. and diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 were $135.2 million and $2.53, respectively, compared to $114.5 million and $2.13, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2024. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 were $233.0 million and $254.8 million, respectively, compared to $232.3 million and $236.1 million, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2024. See the reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures included at the end of this release. THOR's consolidated results were primarily driven by the results of its individual reportable segments as noted below. Segment Results North American Towable RVs North American Motorized RVs European RVs Management Commentary 'While our fiscal third quarter results exceeded expectations, our overall fiscal year is unfolding in a manner that is very consistent with our original projections. We foresaw and foretold a very challenging environment in the first half of our fiscal year and, during that time, we prudently managed our operations to align with the expected difficult market conditions. Key strategic initiatives have driven important recent wins for our brands, and we are confident that we are well-positioned to return to share gains over the longer term. Our financial guidance assumed a stronger second half of our fiscal year, and our fiscal third quarter performance reflects the value of our strategies in the currently difficult market. THOR's focus on aligning production with retail sales and working with our valued independent dealer partners to ensure rational inventory levels for a suppressed retail marketplace positioned us well for the moment when retail surged, even moderately. Our fiscal third quarter results benefited from the continued execution of our strategies, and the management and production teams at our operating companies performed incredibly well, driving strong performance in our third quarter. In the fiscal third quarter, our consolidated gross margin improved to 15.3% compared 15.1% in the prior-year period. Our North American Towable segment, in particular, generated meaningful improvement on a year-over-year basis, posting a 200 basis point improvement in gross profit margin over the third quarter of fiscal 2024. As we anticipated and messaged at the beginning of our fiscal year, our North American Motorized and European segments have both seen year-over-year declines in gross margin but still achieved resilient results considering the challenging environments facing those segments. While our consolidated margin this quarter was unfavorably impacted by actions we took to deepen our partnerships with key dealers, strategically, deepening these key relationships is vital to our long-term market position and these decisions favorably position THOR for the future as we look ahead,' said Todd Woelfer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. 'As we discussed at the end of our fiscal second quarter, significant restructuring steps at THOR were forthcoming. The strategic restructuring of Heartland to operate under Jayco's outstanding management team creates significant opportunities for both brands going forward. This realignment, along with other key initiatives, will further optimize our enterprise structure and drive meaningful savings as the Company works to reduce its cost footprint. Both prior to and throughout the fiscal year thus far, we have transparently communicated our strategies and have remained vigilantly focused on executing those strategies despite the noise in both the macro and micro environments. Our teams' dedication to the execution of those plans is exemplified in our successful third-quarter results,' said Woelfer. 'As a result of our strong quarter, on April 30, 2025, we had liquidity of approximately $1.49 billion, including approximately $508.3 million of cash on hand and approximately $985.0 million available under our asset-based revolving credit facility. In addition to the solid foundation provided by our total liquidity position and overall strong balance sheet, during the third quarter, we generated cash from operations of approximately $257.7 million, bringing our fiscal year-to-date total to $319.2 million. Despite our lower year-to-date net income, through the third fiscal quarter of 2025 we have improved our cash flow from operating activities by over $100 million on a year-over-year basis by executing on our proven operating model and significantly reducing our working capital,' noted Colleen Zuhl, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. 'True to our historical commitment of taking a measured and conservative approach to cash management and capital allocation, especially during challenging economic periods, through the third quarter of fiscal 2025, we have made selective capital expenditures of approximately $85.1 million with a priority on time-sensitive investments in our facilities and machinery. Through the first three quarters of fiscal 2025, we have also reduced our total indebtedness by approximately $139.2 million and returned capital to our shareholders primarily through the payment of $79.8 million in quarterly dividends. Subsequent to the end of our third fiscal quarter, we further reduced our indebtedness with a $55.0 million payment against the principal balance of our USD term loan. While we were unable to repurchase shares during our fiscal third quarter due to trading restrictions, THOR remains well positioned to take advantage of the currently suppressed securities market with our strong cash position. Management's view remains that there are few other capital allocation options that offer such significant return to our shareholders,' added Zuhl. Outlook 'Last quarter, THOR expressed the belief that RVIA's prior expectation of calendar 2025 industry wholesale unit shipments exceeding 350,000 was aggressive. Recently, RVIA lowered their expectations to a most likely scenario of approximately 337,000 units, which is more in line with THOR's long-held view for the calendar year. We expect the fourth quarter of our fiscal 2025 and the first quarter of our fiscal 2026 to be challenging. The current economic uncertainty has led to downward pressure on consumer confidence and has negatively impacted retail pull-through. We believe that upon the resolution of this uncertainty, we will see improved consumer confidence and the return of a strong retail environment. In the meantime, we will continue to execute the strategies necessary to maximize our performance in the given market conditions. Our focus will remain on controlling what we can control and prudently managing the Company through the macroeconomic challenges. As we do so, THOR will continue to demonstrate that it is well-equipped to emerge from the current downturn stronger and more resilient,' concluded Martin. Fiscal 2025 Guidance 'THOR's strong fiscal third quarter results strengthened the alignment of our year-to-date performance with our full-year financial guidance. Despite the strong quarter, margin pressures persist as we continue to manage through softer retail and wholesale demand in our North American Motorized and European segments and implement strategic actions to strengthen our relationships with our independent dealers. Taking into consideration results to date and our expectations for our North American and European operations for the final fiscal quarter, the Company has reaffirmed its revised financial guidance for fiscal 2025,' commented Woelfer. 'While we are maintaining our revised full-year guidance, we recognize that potential swings from uncertainties in the macro environment could be significant. Due to recent developments in trade policies, and considering the remaining duration of our fiscal year, THOR believes that its performance is still slated to fall solidly within its previously announced guidance, assuming no new material shifts within the macro or global trade environment. We will continue to provide transparent viewpoints of our performance and market conditions to enable investors and analysts to appreciate the current operating environment and our performance within that environment. The addition of Seth Woolf to our team better enables us to ensure that we are communicating THOR's performance and value proposition in a transparent and effective manner,' concluded Woelfer. For fiscal 2025, the Company's full-year financial guidance includes: Supplemental Earnings Release Materials THOR Industries has provided a comprehensive question and answer document, as well as a PowerPoint presentation, relating to its quarterly results and other topics. To view these materials, go to About THOR Industries, Inc. THOR Industries is the sole owner of operating subsidiaries which, combined, represent the world's largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles. For more information on the Company and its products, please go to Forward-Looking Statements This release includes certain statements that are 'forward-looking' statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are made based on management's current expectations and beliefs regarding future and anticipated developments and their effects upon THOR, and inherently involve uncertainties and risks. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance. We cannot assure you that actual results will not differ materially from our expectations. Factors which could cause materially different results include, among others: the impact of inflation on the cost of our products as well as on general consumer demand; the effect of raw material and commodity price fluctuations, including the impact of tariffs, and/or raw material, commodity or chassis supply constraints; the impact of war, military conflict, terrorism and/or cyber-attacks, including state-sponsored or ransom attacks; the impact of sudden or significant adverse changes in the cost and/or availability of energy or fuel, including those caused by geopolitical events, on our costs of operation, on raw material prices, on our suppliers, on our independent dealers or on retail customers; the dependence on a small group of suppliers for certain components used in production, including chassis; interest rates and interest rate fluctuations and their potential impact on the general economy and, specifically, on our independent dealers and consumers and our profitability; the ability to ramp production up or down quickly in response to rapid changes in demand or market share while also managing associated costs, including labor-related costs and production capacity costs; the level and magnitude of warranty and recall claims incurred; the ability of our suppliers to financially support any defects in their products; the financial health of our independent dealers and their ability to successfully manage through various economic conditions; legislative, regulatory and tax law and/or policy developments including their potential impact on our independent dealers, retail customers or on our suppliers; the costs of compliance with governmental regulation; the impact of an adverse outcome or conclusion related to current or future litigation or regulatory audits or investigations; public perception of and the costs related to environmental, social and governance matters; legal and compliance issues including those that may arise in conjunction with recently completed transactions; the level of consumer confidence and the level of discretionary consumer spending; the impact of exchange rate fluctuations; restrictive lending practices which could negatively impact our independent dealers and/or retail consumers; management changes; the success of new and existing products and services; the ability to maintain strong brands and develop innovative products that meet consumer demands; changes in consumer preferences; the risks associated with acquisitions, including: the pace and successful closing of an acquisition, the integration and financial impact thereof, the level of achievement of anticipated operating synergies from acquisitions, the potential for unknown or understated liabilities related to acquisitions, the potential loss of existing customers of acquisitions and our ability to retain key management personnel of acquired companies; a shortage of necessary personnel for production and increasing labor costs and related employee benefits to attract and retain production personnel in times of high demand; the loss or reduction of sales to key independent dealers, and stocking level decisions of our independent dealers; disruption of the delivery of units to independent dealers or the disruption of delivery of raw materials, including chassis, to our facilities; increasing costs for freight and transportation; the ability to protect our information technology systems from data breaches, cyber-attacks and/or network disruptions; asset impairment charges; competition; the impact of losses under repurchase agreements; the impact of the strength of the U.S. dollar on international demand for products priced in U.S. dollars; general economic, market, public health and political conditions in the various countries in which our products are produced and/or sold; the impact of changing emissions and other related climate change regulations in the various jurisdictions in which our products are produced, used and/or sold; changes to our investment and capital allocation strategies or other facets of our strategic plan; and changes in market liquidity conditions, credit ratings and other factors that may impact our access to future funding and the cost of debt. These and other risks and uncertainties are discussed more fully in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2025 and in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2024. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this release or to reflect any change in our expectations after the date hereof or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based, except as required by law. Non-GAAP Reconciliations The following table reconciles net income to consolidated EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA: EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP performance measures included to illustrate and improve comparability of the Company's results from period to period, particularly in periods with unusual or one-time items. EBITDA is defined as net income before net interest expense, income tax provision and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA adjusted for certain unusual items and other one-time items. The Company considers these non-GAAP measures in evaluating and managing the Company's operations and believes that discussion of results adjusted for these items is meaningful to investors because it provides a useful analysis of ongoing underlying operating trends. The adjusted measures are not in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, GAAP measures, and they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. THOR Investor Relations Contact: Seth Woolf Head of Corporate Development & Investor Relations [email protected] (574) 294-7718
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hundreds of sixth-graders tour career center
ELKHART — Hundreds of sixth-graders visited the Elkhart Area Career Center last week to see what career opportunities might await them. The tours gave 760 sixth-graders the chance to visit the career center and see two programs of their choice. They received demonstrations from the juniors and seniors who regularly attend, using laboratory equipment such as robotic arms in the Robotics and Engineering Technology space that can manipulate objects of different shapes and colors. Career center students also explained their programs and answered questions about what it's like to attend, according to Brenda Metcalfe, career coordinator. She said the aim of the tours was to help educate younger students about what advanced manufacturing looks like and what opportunities are available. 'Every sixth-grader came through our program this week,' she said. 'We don't have that opportunity a lot, where you see our students sort of working with other students. ... They do a great job giving younger students a firsthand look at the opportunities available at the EACC.' She said the career center hosts a variety of student tours throughout the year, including welcoming 846 eighth-graders and 120 10th-grade students from both Elkhart Community Schools and other sending school districts. The center also reaches out to the community in several ways, including the Adventures in Career Exploration summer camp at Tolson Center starting next week. 'Beyond tours, several EACC programs participate in career-based outreach for younger students across Elkhart County,' Metcalfe added. 'For example, our EMT students took part in the recent CareerQuest event for seventh-graders, while our Vet Careers and Drone Technology/Precision Ag students participated in Ag Day at the fairgrounds for fifth-graders. We also offer summer opportunities. EACC hosts an engineering and design-focused camp for rising eighth- and ninth-graders, and we're partnering with the Tolson Center for their career camps this summer.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Weston Park celebrates new playground
ELKHART — Weston Park Neighborhood is marking a new chapter in its history with the celebration of a new playground. The park had a playground for 30 years before the new one was put in, said Jamison Czarnecki, superintendent of the parks and recreation department. It has been a long time coming, he said. 'This one's a pretty fun one because I've seen this neighborhood evolve over the last few weeks,' Czarnecki said to a large crowd of people at the celebration Thursday. 'I've come by here and we see some kids every now and then and we see some people hanging out, but the last few weeks you guys have showed up in numbers. Every day there's more than 10 kids on this playground.' A park is only as good as the people who are using it, Czarnecki said. The parks and recreation department saved $330,000 by using a gametime grant, he said. Located at the corner of Cedar and North Michigan streets, the park was the former site of Weston School. The celebration included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, tree planting, free Kona Ice and hot dogs for the first 100 attendees. It's part of a larger city-wide effort to upgrade half a dozen parks across the city. This neighborhood is one of the most dense in the city, Mayor Rod Roberson said. Having strong parks close to home is important for the growth, stability and relationship between neighbors and the city, he said. 'We want to continue to build relationships in our parks because that's how I grew up,' Roberson said. 'I grew up with parks being in my back yard and my front yard and making sure the friends I had in my neighborhood were my friends because of the things we did inside of our parks. This was a park we had a plan for during our Aspire plan.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Elkhart students sign letters of intent
ELKHART — Elkhart High School seniors looking to study education in college signed letters of intent on Thursday to potentially work at the school system after college. Eighteen students in the morning and 20 students in the afternoon signed letters of intent at the Little Theater in Elkhart High School. It was the second year the school has done the letter of intent signing. 'I believe that is the greatest gift we can receive at Elkhart is people who want to give back,' Elkhart Superintendent Larry Huff said. The teacher shortage issue has to be fixed from the inside, Huff said. The number of students who signed letters of intent doubled from last year, he said. Cali Shook, an Elkhart High School senior who signed a letter of intent, said she felt relieved knowing that she had a potential job after she finishes college. 'Elkhart is an amazing school system and community,' Shook said. 'I have definitely built so many relationships with my teachers, fellow peers, and people who I have absolutely taught and students I have helped with in the classroom.' The need for teachers is huge, said Brandon Eakins, director of the Elkhart Area Career Center. As of Thursday, the Indiana Department of Education's job board listed over 1,900 available teaching positions statewide. Former students who become teachers know what a student goes through, Eakins said. 'When you are raised in a community and you go through the educational system, you know what it looks like here; I think you can help students navigate some of the situations they encounter in that K-12 journey,' Eakins said. Eakins said he was woefully unprepared when he stepped into the classroom for the first time 25 years ago. Incoming teachers who have a stable network of teachers they know and can rely on helps a lot, he said. Elkhart Senior Sophia Hernandez-Rojas also signed a letter of intent. She said she is a first generation student coming from a family of immigrants. When she first went to school, she did not have anyone to help her learn English, Hernandez-Rojas said. 'I just want to be that person for those students that are struggling, just to be there for them and support them no matter what's going on in their life,' Hernandez-Rojas said. 'I just want to be there for them because school is a safe space and everybody should be welcome and will be welcomed.'
