Recession to recovery: State help by largess from Uncle Sam

WASHINGTON – The recession walloped Joe Lemire as it did thousands of Hoosiers: At age 55, he was laid off from Hendrickson Truck Suspensions in Kendallville in 2008.

With the help of a federal grant, he’s studying at Ivy Tech with plans to enter the respiratory therapist training program, an abrupt career shift for someone who was a mechanic or machinist his entire adult life.

But Lemire is optimistic that with the lifeline tossed out by Uncle Sam, he’ll complete a degree and find a job even as his 60th birthday looms.