Chamber calendar

Thursday, May 8: Ross County Safety Council, Behavior Based Safety, Chillicothe Country Club, 11:30 a.m. Luncheon Registration

Wednesday, May 21: Business After Business, Nourse Family of Dealerships, North Bridge Street, 5-7 p.m., BAB registration

Friday, June 6: Annual Golf Outing, Jaycee Golf Course; 9 a.m., Registration

Chamber-related links

Economic Development
www.edaso.org

Downtown Chillicothe
www.downtownchillicothe.com

Chillicothe YPN
www.chillicotheypn.com

Visitors Bureau
www.visitchillicotheohio.com

Chamber event photos
www.chillicothe-chamber.smugmug.com

Click above to go to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce site for small business

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Copyright 2008

Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce
45 E. Main St.
Chillicothe, OH 45601
740-702-2722

Bridge Street traffic fix

getting closer to reality

By Marvin Jones

President and CEO

The years-long effort by the city administration to remove one of the three traffic signals in an eighth-mile stretch on North Bridge Street took a major step forward this week. City Council was expected to approve legislation in a special meeting tonight (Thursday) that makes it possible.

Agreements with the four involved property owners have been reached that will allow North Plaza Boulevard to be re-routed between Roosters and the BP station, aligning with the off-ramp from U.S. 35. That will eliminate the middle signal and leave the signals at the ramp and Marietta Road, providing some relief to what is maybe the most consistently congested traffic area in Ross County. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, that area ranked second in 2006 in the amount of traffic passing by each day at 42,970 vehicles. Only the U.S. 23-35-50 stretch at East Main Street was higher at 43,970.

Englefield Oil plans to eliminate one fueling island and build a larger structure for a convenient store further north and west while Ponderosa Steak House gets a larger parking lot.

The next major hurdle in completing the project is acquiring funding from ODOT via federal dollars set aside to address congested arteries.

Chillicothe operations help increase Glatfelter’s earnings

Improvements in local operations helped Glatfelter report a nearly 500 percent increase in net income in the first three months of this year compared to last year. Net sales increased 8.7 percent and the sale of timberland also provided the dramatic increase which is expected to level off in the next three months, according to company officials. President and CEO George Glatfelter II said, “We are intensifying our process improvement and cost reduction initiatives across the company and are making targeted investments at several facilities to increase productivity and output.”

USEC results in line with company expectations

The timing of sales to owners of nuclear power plants is one reason USEC’s net income in the first quarter was $4.4 million against $39.3 million a year ago. A majority of reactors served by USEC are refueled on an 18-to-24-month cycle and a large numbers of customers refueled in 2007, according to company officials. Net income and cash flow predicted for 2008 remain in line with previous estimates. Capital expenditures related to the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon were $110.3 million in the first quarter, compared to $7.3 million a year ago.

Local restaurants to see a change in parents

Wendy’s and Max & Erma’s will have new parent companies after a merger and buyout were announced this week. Wendy’s is merging with Triarc, the owner of Arby’s, while Max & Erma’s is being purchased by G&T Acquisition in a private deal. The local restaurants are all owned by franchisees.

Local foreclosures spike in the first quarter

The number of homeowners facing foreclosure in Ross County jumped by 41 percent in the first three months this year. According to figures from the website of Ross County Clerk of Courts Ty Hinton, 107 filings were recorded January through March this year, compared to 76 in 2007. In all of 2007, there were 399 filings and 405 in 2006.

Welcome to the newest members of the chamber:

• Your Bottled Water, 413 Hillside Ave., Waverly, by Michael Blum, custom labeled bottled water for special occasions and companies, 740-656-4144, www.yourbottledh2o.com.

Commercial building permits issued recently by the Chillicothe and Ross County Building Departments:

• Sherryl Grubb, 278 Yoctangee Parkway, roof replacement, value not given.
• Free Holiness Mission Church, 882 Monroe Ave., structure supports, $5,950.
• Horizon Chillicothe Telephone, 68 E. Main St., electrical, $100,000.
• RLMF (McDonald’s), Main Street and Chillicothe Mall restaurants, alterations, $35,000.

Vendor licenses issued by the Ross County Auditor:

• Southern Ohio Automotive and Customs, 15264 Pleasant Valley Road, by Jennifer Kuhn.

Seminars, workshops, etc.:

• Wednesday and Thursday, May 7-8: “Crucial Conversations” program presented by Horizon Telcom and OU-C; to register: www.chillicothe.ohiou.edu/forms/crucialcon.htm
• Thursday, May 15: Seminar for minority and female business entrepreneurs, 8-4, Verne Riffe Center for the Arts in Portsmouth; for information: karthur@shawnee.edu.