Chainsaw and 7-Eleven don?t mix
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OK, so that?s a bit of a stretch, but remember I?m easily amused. You have to keep in mind one of my top five goals is to one day appear on TV with my face digitally blurred (but without the whole going to jail part).
Taking over the world is by no means an new idea. Since the beginning of time there?s always been someone with world-domination aspirations. However, I think Regions Bank will need a little more than no-fee checking to accomplish that goal.
Speaking of the world, let?s travel halfway across the globe to the continent of Africa where superstars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have gone into seclusion in the country of Namibia. The couple has gone there in desperate search for some privacy while Jolie gives birth to their first child.
But even in the tiny African village, the two are drawing massive attention. In fact the country recently conducted an informal radio survey on whether to declare the day Jolie gives birth a national holiday. That?s right, a national holiday. As of late last week, the voting was still deadlocked with one radio DJ calling it an even 50-50 split.
This is the perfect example of stardom coming with a price. Brad and Angelina travel to a remote country seeking peace and quiet, and the birth of their child becomes the topic of a national holiday. Sure I?d like to see myself on the big screen, but I wouldn?t like every aspect of my life in a constant spotlight either.
As for odd, strange and curious criminal behavior, I thought you?d never ask. For today?s story, we travel all the way to Tokyo, Japan where a 70-year-old man got himself in trouble inside a 7-Eleven.
According to 7-Eleven clerks, the man came to the store every day to read magazines. He would never buy a magazine, he would just stand there for hours at a time reading magazines off the rack.
After tolerating this for a couple weeks, the manager finally had enough and told the man to leave. As you might expect, here?s where the story gets weird.
The 70-year-old returned a short time later with a chainsaw, cranked it up in the store, and shouted at the manager, ?I?ll cut you to pieces.? He then laid down the chainsaw, picked up another magazine and began reading. In case you?re wondering, he was still reading when police arrived to arrest him.
After reading this report, I?m totally amazed by one thing. I never knew they had 7-Elevens in Japan.
Regions Bank buys AmSouth
Southern banking giants Regions Bank and AmSouth announced a $9.8 billion deal Thursday that will see the two financial institutions merge into one mega bank.
When the smoke clears, the Regions Bank name will remain and AmSouth will be gone. The deal will give Regions Bank over 2,000 branches in 16 states and it will be one of the top 10 banks in the United States.
Local bank managers embrace the deal with optimism and say they?re looking forward to providing even better services to their customers.
?Overall, I think this will have a positive impact,? said local Regions Bank president Kelly Gassaway, who has been on the job since February. ?By reducing our overhead, it?s a way to more cost-effectively serve our customers. And when we do that we can offer things like better rates on CDs and so on.?
Local AmSouth branch manager Michael Griffith echoed those comments.
?It?s an opportunity to take things that both banks do well, combine them, and offer even better banking services,? said Michael. ?If you?re an AmSouth customer, it will give you more locations where you can bank in town. And for AmSouth, we?ll pick up a lot of places where we didn?t have banks before and that can come in handy when you?re traveling around the country.?
Being a faithful AmSouth customer, I like the deal on one hand. But on the other hand, I don?t like some of the wording that corporate officials attached to their announcement.
In order to bring you more cost-effective banking, it was announced a number of branches would be closed and as many as 3,600 jobs would be cut. Of particular interest to McMinnville, bank officials said they would especially be looking at closing branches within a mile of each other.
Regions finance chief Bryan Jordan said about 150 branches could close because of the merger, and officials said as many as 10 percent of the 36,618 employees of the combined banks could lose their jobs. Regions and AmSouth have 230 branches within a mile of each other, Jordan said.
Since I?m in the business of speculating, to me that means three Regions Banks within a quarter mile of each other on Main Street will not last. And here?s a wild suggestion. What if the monstrous Regions branch on Court Square is the one that?s closed.
It may sound crazy, but remember the top floors of that building are virtually empty. And with Main Street revitalization, that?s some prime real estate that could fetch a pretty good price.
The AmSouth branch is a pretty sizable building itself and has a second floor that is also largely unused. With a huge conference room upstairs, the AmSouth building has more than enough space to be a Regions Bank headquarters for McMinnville. It?s just a thought.
As for the actual Regions Bank and AmSouth merger, it?s estimated to take around 18 months before the process is finalized. Customers won?t notice any changes for months, the branch managers say, and it will probably be the second half of next year before signs and such are changed.
Lost in all this merger talk is the fact the longtime Regions Bank location at Three Star Mall closed for good Friday. From what I hear, after the bank closed at noon, it was cleared out in a mad dash that took about two hours.
Henry Colwell makes his own jerky
When it comes to beef jerky, pork jerky, deer jerky, or just about any type of jerky, Henry Colwell is an expert. For seven years he?s been making his own jerky at his home in the Green Hill community.
What started as a hobby has blossomed into a pretty good little business. Henry sells his jerky in five nearby towns and has seven stores in Warren County that carry his mouth-watering treats.
?I just started out making it for friends with a borrowed dehydrator,? said Henry, whose business is called Barron?s Creek Jerky. ?Now I?m up to eight dehydrators and we make 25 to 30 pounds a week.?
Because he handles meat, Henry is under the constant scrutiny of the USDA. An inspector out of Celina makes regular trips to his shop which is located next to his home. The business is spotless and as well lit as a tanning bed.
?When you?re dealing with the USDA, your process is subject to change at any time,? said Henry.
From start to finish, the process takes about 48 hours. Henry spends several hours a week slicing up meat. After that he soaks it in a special marinade for 18 to 24 hours. From there it?s to the dehydrators and then to the packaging.
Asked how he perfected his recipe, Henry said it all came down to trial and error.
?We had some fat dogs for awhile,? said Henry. ?And a lot of people I work with are good guinea pigs. Jerky is not hard to produce, but it is time consuming.?
Henry?s only help comes from his mother, Joeneal Colwell. She said her son has loved jerky as long as she can remember.
?When he was a boy, he?d always want those Slim Jims,? said Joeneal. ?I guess that?s why he got into this. I don?t know how I did.?
Henry was nice enough to give me about a dozen packs of his jerky and the folks here at the office devoured it like a pack of wild wolves.
If you?d like to try Barron?s Creek Jerky, it can be purchased at the following Warren County locations: Morrison Shell, Country Club Market, Westwood BP, Raceway Market, Gribble?s Landing, Eastside Market and Locke?s Green Hill Market. If you?d like to call Henry to order directly, his number is 934-5759 (JRKY).
Jon Boy offers smoking air brush work
If you like flames, Jon Boy Goodman is the man to see. Jon Boy is an airbrush artist that can put flames on anything. And yes, that includes the kitchen sink and the refrigerator.
?I?ll paint anything from ball helmets to tractor trailers,? said Jon Boy, whose business is aptly named Flames By Jon Boy. ?I do a lot of mailboxes and trash cans and lately appliances have been popular. I?ve painted some refrigerators, filing cabinets and desks.?
Jon Boy can do all types of paint and body work at his shop on South Chancery Street. As you?re heading out of town, he?s located on the right just before the old Woodcarver building. Just look for the mailbox with flames.
He?s been painting for 14 years and can do insurance jobs or complete custom paint jobs. But there?s no hiding what he likes best.
?Flames is what I love to do,? he said. This has become extremely popular for motorcycles. ?We?ll go from mild to wild. Our motto is let us put color in your life.?
Jon Boy currently has a fair amount of work backed up, which is a good problem to have. It sure beats sitting around twiddling your thumbs. He said turnaround time for most work right now is a week to two weeks.
As far as showcase items, Jon Boy has a Screamin? Eagle Harley that has taken first place for best paint at two bike shows. He says the paint job took around 48 hours and features seven layers of flames.
Jon Boy can be reached at two different phone numbers: 815-8700 or 212-7871. He also has a Web site: www.flamesbyjonboy.com.
Since it wouldn?t do them justice to put pictures of Jon Boy?s work on this black and white page, I?ve included two colors photos on the next page.
Unemployment rate back to single digits
After two months in double digits, Warren County?s unemployment rate is headed in the right direction. In the latest figures released by the state, the county?s unemployment rate is now 9.9 percent.
That?s not exactly reason to cheer, but it?s certainly reassuring to have that unemployment rate going down instead of up. In fact, the report released Thursday revealed unemployment has decreased in 63 counties.
Statewide, the unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. Williamson County is once again tops in Tennessee with 3.2 percent unemployment. Clay County continues to bring up the rear with 12.1 percent unemployment.
That?s all folks
Remember to think positive Business Pulse thoughts and keep those tips coming. The phone number is 473-2191.
If I?m not here, just leave a message. I?ll probably be out of the office thinking of ways to take over the world.