Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce

Weekly Update    April 11, 2003

“Here’s to our troops coming home safely and soon.”

CONGRESSMAN TO ADDRESS CHAMBER: Bob Ney, Ross County’s newest congressman, will be the featured guest at the Governmental Affairs Committee luncheon on Friday, April 25 at Horizon Technology Center. Ney, a Republican from St. Clairsville, holds several key positions in Congress and will update us on the top issues on the federal level. The luncheon is 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. and the cost is $20. Registration is required. Click here to register: Ney Luncheon Registration.

HERRNSTEIN, PPG AND YSK TOP HONORS: Those three firms were honored along with more than 20 others at the annual awards luncheon of the Ross County Safety Council Thursday at the Horizon Technology Center. All three completed at least 500,000 work hours without a lost-time accident. James Conrad, the CEO/Administrator for the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, was the guest speaker at the event in which 47 attended. Phyllis Van, chairperson of the council steering committee, also announced the council, which is a managed program of the chamber, is changing its name to the Ohio Valley Safety Council to reflect the addition of Jackson, Highland and Fayette counties in addition to Ross and Pike counties. So, if you have friends with companies in those counties, please invite them to become a part of the council.

BUDGET PERSPECTIVE: As you hear and read reports of our legislators wrestling with the state budget for the next two years starting July 1, keep this in mind, courtesy of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce: The budget for the current biennium which ends June 30 totals $44 billion. Gov. Taft asked for a new budget totaling $49 billion, or an 11.4% increase in spending. The governor’s own budget analysts predict that, by doing nothing with the present tax structure, the natural growth would yield about $46 billion in revenue, or a 4.5% increase. So, the cuts being discussed are not necessarily on spending on current programs, but most are on the rate of growth in state spending. If you’d like to give your views on the state budget issues and the various and myriad proposals to increase taxes, get in touch with Rep. John Schlichter at John.Schlichter@ohr.state.oh.us and Sen. John Carey at jcarey@maild.sen.state.oh.us. And, if you’d like to keep up with the Ohio Chamber’s coverage of the issues, check out Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

MORE NEW BUSINESSES ON THE WAY: Joining Buffalo Wild Wings in the Zane Plaza area late this summer will be Cici’s Pizza, a sit-down, take-out restaurant that got started in 1985 in Texas. It has 410 buffet-style shops in 20 states and this is one of the first in Ohio. Also in the works is a Tim Horton’s at Bridge Street and Pawnee Road. Ground is to be broken Monday for the Dakota Steakhouse off Western Avenue in Sunrush.

OHIO EMPLOYER COUNCIL: For those planning to attend the council’s Thursday luncheon which will feature Tina Krueger of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, you may register by e-mailing Tammy Eallonardo at tammy45690@yahoo.com. The lunch is 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dock at Water and the cost is $10, payable at the door.

NET INCREASES BBB BUSINESS: Half of all Better Business Bureau reliability reports are issued over the web and two-thirds of the complaints the bureau handles are filed online now, according to a bureau press release. The bureau nationwide handled 41.5 million “instances of service” in 2002 vs. 21.4 million in 2001. Last year was the first complete year consumers had access to www.bbb.org which provides users with the capability to search for business reliability reports from every BBB in the United States.

IT’S BAB TIME: Petland’s corporate world headquarters is the site for Wednesday’s Business After Business. Parking will be available on Hickory Street and guests are asked to use the Riverside Street entrance. A Dog Bed Gift Pak will be the raffle item to benefit the chamber’s Pathfinders program while other door prizes will include free fish, dog food, a mini bow front tank and a gift certificate. The event is 5-7 p.m. and we ask that you register online at BAB registration

INTEREST ON CHECKING: The U.S. House of Representatives for the third time has approved legislation which would end the Depression-era prohibition on the payment of interest on business checking accounts at banks and thrift institutions, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which supports the bill. It’s still unclear when – or even if – the Senate will act on the measure.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: The centrifuge demonstration facility project at Piketon is ahead of schedule in terms of become licensed, according to Robert Van Namen, vice president of marketing and sales for the United States Enrichment Corporation. The facility which would use the centrifuge method of enriching uranium is expected to be online by 2005. The full text of Van Namen’s speech is available at www.usec.com.

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH THIS TOWN: Want to help make sure our Scioto River stays clean? A team is inviting volunteers to join them Saturday, April 26 at 10 a.m. in the parking lot to the right in Yoctangee Park Annex. The event is sponsored by several agencies.

BE A MEMBER OF HISTORY: If you want to stay abreast of what’s happening with the local history scene and support those efforts, a membership in the Ross County Historical Society is the best bet. Individual memberships are $20 per year, family $30 and business memberships $100. You’ll get the quarterly newsletter, a 10% discount in the museum store and free admission for you and your guests. Inquire at info@rosscountyhistoricl.org or call 772-1936. With the new Heritage Center about to open, now would be a good time to join.

This newsletter goes weekly to more than 350 chamber members and their employees for whom we have e-mail addresses. If you have an item you’d like to include, e-mail Executive Director Marvin Jones at mjones@chillicotheohio.com. If you or your company is a chamber member and this was forwarded to you and you would like to be included in the original mailing, reply to this e-mail. If you’d like to be omitted from this mailing, reply and ask to unsubscribe. To stay abreast of chamber activities, make sure to visit www.chillicotheohio.com frequently.