Veolia ES Solid Waste, Inc., the solid waste division of Veolia Environmental Services North America (VESNA), has announced the introduction of Indiana’s first fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) powered refuse trucks to its Evansville service area. A ceremony attended by Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, Veolia executives and members of the Evansville community was held y at the Veolia ES Solid Waste – Evansville location to celebrate the company’s new fleet and CNG fueling station.

Indiana-based manufacturer Autocar built the chassis for 20 of the trucks and Kenworth manufactured eight roll-off trucks for Veolia’s new fleet. All will service over 24,000 residential and commercial customers across Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, Posey, Spencer and Henderson counties in the greater Evansville area.

According to the company, customers will notice the new trucks run approximately 15 percent (8-10 decibels) quieter than trucks powered with diesel engines.

The Center for Human Resource Development at the University of Southern Indiana will offer “From Hobby to Business,” a series of three workshops aimed at those who would like to turn their hobby into a full- or part-time business.

Participants who enroll in the series will get a sense of how much money they could make, how to market and advertise their product or service, what kind of start up costs to expect, and how to analyze the market demand.

Each course will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. at USI. Registration is $75 per course, or $165 for the series.

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes located in Indiana as a result of drought and excessive heat  that occurred from July 1 through Oct. 18, 2011.

These loans are available in over three dozen counties across Indiana including: Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.