Running for political office can get ugly: Democrats pull knives during Atlantic City convention
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Here in Tennessee, the most highly publicized race is the neck-and-neck battle between Van Hilleary and Phil Bredesen for governor. The race, although extremely tight, has remained mostly amiable, mainly because the two candidates seem to be agreeing on more issues than debating them.
However, such good feelings haven’t been exhibited throughout the country. In a recent debate in Alabama (and you had to figure Alabama would make the list) secretary of state candidate Dave Thomas heatedly challenged his opponent, Dean Young, to a fist fight.
If you think that’s bad, high-ranking members of the Democratic Party pulled knives on each other during a recent convention in Atlantic City, N.J. The men apparently were in disagreement about the direction the party should take.
And a candidate for sheriff in Durango, Colorado was forced to drop out of the race when he reportedly shot a man to death. To add insult to injury the sheriff candidate, Robert Bouslaugh, was wearing a dress and leaving an adult bookstore at the time of the shooting.
So why did Bouslaugh open fire? The man he killed reportedly snatched his purse as he was leaving the bookstore. Naturally, Bouslaugh maintained he was working undercover on a top-secret assignment. Somehow, I don’t believe that explanation.
As for other odds and ends, some of you may recall last week’s column when I talked about all the bogus weight-loss ads out there. Right after that column hit the street, I wandered into the office Monday morning to discover an e-mail telling me about the amazing Extreme Power Plus pill.
The e-mail was sent to me by a concerned citizen who was “only looking out for my best interest.” The e-mail said: “Extreme Power Plus contains Lipotropic fat burners which are scientifically proven to increase metabolism and cause rapid weight loss.” As proof the pill works, the man had gone from 355 pounds to 210 in just six months.
As a spin-off to that story, I was reading the results of a 14-year study that indicated American pets are also having trouble with their waist lines. Thanks to the wonders of fast food and potato chips, dogs are no longer as thin as they once were and this is leading to a variety of health-related problems.
“Just as obesity in children and in adults is not something to be looked at casually, neither should obesity in pets,” said Dr. Gail K. Smith, a researcher and clinical studies chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
It’s not often you find a quote from a real doctor in Business Pulse. So with that, I will bring you this week’s report.
Antique furniture available in Newtown
What started as a successful yard sale has turned into a new business for Lewis and Opal Land. The couple has opened Newtown Furniture and Antiques in the building located directly across from Newtown Qwik-Pic.
“We had a yard sale here that really went over well,” said Opal. “We knew all about the traffic on this street. We’ve lived here our whole lives. This is a busy road.”
The overflow of yard sale visitors made the Lands think about opening a business there. They remember the three most important rules to a thriving business are location, location and location.
Since Lewis and Opal had been to their share of estate sales and acquired an abundance of antique furniture, they figured that would be a popular line to offer. And they do have some beautiful antique items, including a three-piece bedroom set that dates back to the 1800s.
“We’re trying to sell everything at real reasonable prices,” said Lewis, who spent 31 years working at Powermatic. “That way people will buy it and want to come back.”
In addition to beds, sofas, dressers and recliners, they also have used baby clothes and other baby items such as cribs and high chairs. Store hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Opal says they have had pretty brisk sales for their first month of business. She says now she is hoping for more consistency.
“Some days we will have a lot of people stop in and other days we won’t,” she said. “If we can get more people to realize we’re here, maybe business can get more steady.”
The phone number is 815-2010.
Is A.O. Smith leaving town?
Any time there is a layoff, especially a 74-person layoff, talk seems to immediately follow about a company closing its doors and leaving town. So it came as no surprise to find people talking about A.O. Smith shutting down after the company announced layoffs on Friday.
I don’t think it helped matters that the company also conducted a full-scale inventory on Friday and had employees pick up their paychecks in a different manner than usual.
All that taken into consideration, I don’t see A.O. Smith leaving town. I base that information on absolutely no known facts other than it’s what I think. And considering there’s no way to know otherwise, I have no choice but to go with my gut instinct.
You say, “Clark, why don’t you get off your rump and call the company and find out for us?” That’s because the company would never tell me a word. Remember the great dealings I had with Findlay?
Me to Findlay plant manager: “I hear you guys are going to shut down.”
Plant manager: “There is absolutely no truth whatsoever to that statement. It’s completely false.”
Two days later ? Findlay announces it is closing its plant in Warren County. But A.O. Smith is a financially solid company and I don’t believe there’s any cause for alarm.
New answering service just a phone call away
If you’re looking for someone to answer your phone calls seven days a week, 24 hours a day, then look no further than Call One, the new answering service in town.
Call One opened about two weeks ago and is already the answering service for about a dozen local companies. The service is great for doctors and other medical professionals who might need to be reached at any time. It could also be used for plumbers, heating and air employees, or just about any business which wants to have a live operator answer the phone 24 hours a day.
“We want to put the human touch back in the phone system,” said systems analyst Dennis Marlin, who spent about three months developing the computer software Call One uses. “Nowadays, people are getting so turned off by constant voice mail.”
Thanks to Dennis’ software, the system works almost effortlessly. If you were calling The Elephant Shop, for example, you would dial the phone number just as you always do. If you were calling after business hours, however, the call would be automatically transferred to a Call One operator.
The software then tells the operator what business the person is trying to call and what to say when answering the phone. “Hello, you have reached The Elephant Shop, your one-stop place to shop for elephant gear.” The caller can then leave a detailed message with the operator.
So far, Call One has already hired 10 employees and hopes to hire many more once business takes off.
“Nobody likes to talk to voice mail, especially the older generation,” said Kim Ray, one of the Call One owners. “For just $3 to $5 a day, you can have your own secretary for 365 days a year.”
The other three owners are Kim’s husband, Roger, Harry Young and Billy Campbell. The Call One phone number is 474-1225.
LuAnn now has her own salon
After 17 years as a co-owner at Designers Ltd., LuAnn Bottoms is now the proud owner of her own salon called LuAnn and Company. The salon just opened Tuesday next to Gregory’s Promotional Products on Mullican Street.
“When you reach a certain age, sometimes it’s time to do your own thing,” said LuAnn about her departure from Designers Ltd. “You’ve got your own ideas and plans about how you want things to be. This was the best business decision for me.”
LuAnn is joined in her shop by Joely Lance, Lynn Brewer and Stephanie Barnes. Since opening on Tuesday, LuAnn says the four have “had a ball” and want to alert their longtime customers about their new location. LuAnn said it’s common for people to stick with the same hairstylist once they find one they like.
“Sometimes they’ll let someone else cut their hair, sometimes they won’t,” said LuAnn.
The phone number at LuAnn’s is 507-3074.
That’s all folks
Since I’m not running for office, you can call me with your business news without worrying about a fist fight. The number is 473-2191 and the e-mail is [email protected].