Guitar a hard item to shoplift
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Now I know you?re thinking I?m a Christmas Scrooge, but that?s not the case at all. I like to think of it more as properly setting your priorities. Always remember Business Pulse comes first, and family is second. When you put it that way, there?s no problem.
In keeping with a holiday theme, there are always good and bad sides to Christmas. For example, the good side is we all get lots of cool stuff. The bad side is it takes till Memorial Day to pay it all off.
In bringing you the bad news first, I give a big thumbs down to the British city of Kingston Upon Hull, which prohibited its trash collectors from wearing their traditional Santa hats this year. The townsfolk had grown accustomed to the sight of seeing the Santa hats flying in the wind as the trash collectors held on to the back of garbage trucks.
But for reasons we will probably never know, city council members ruled the hats ?do not create a professional impression? and forbid trash collectors from wearing them. Bah-humbug.
But there are a great many reasons to be thankful this holiday season and police officers are no exception.
In DeQueen, Ark., police officers can be thankful they were gift wrapped an easy arrest when Morgan Conaster walked into a music store with shoplifting on his mind. The problem was that Conaster, 29, tried to steal a guitar.
The music store manager called police when Conaster tried to leave the store with the guitar stuffed inside his clothes. For his next trick, Conaster will try to steal an elephant from the zoo.
A police officer in Shreveport, La., received a similar Christmas gift when he stumbled upon the easiest arrest of his life. Derek Pierson is the suspected criminal, caught trying to rob a convenience store.
Pierson, 21, ran into trouble when he somehow failed to notice there was a police officer ? in full uniform ? waiting in line at the store he was trying to rob. To make matters worse, the officer was L.J. Scott, one of the few members of the city?s armed robbery task force.
And motorist Noel Methot can count her holiday blessings that she wasn?t seriously injured when she drove off a bridge near downtown Orlando, Fla., and landed in a pond.
Methot, 24, reportedly missed several signs warning that the road was ending and drove through a barrier before her car went airborne in Blues Brothers fashion and soared about 30 feet. Authorities wondered if Methot had suffered some sort of medical condition until it was revealed that she was involved in a heated cellphone argument with her boyfriend.
Raceway Market
reopens to new name
Raceway Market is once again open for business, only it?s no longer Raceway Market ? it?s Super Gas. In case you?re wondering, there are no super-human qualities to the gas sold there. Super Gas is merely a catchy name.
New owner Ricky Patel, who also owns Country Club Market, has done an extensive remodeling job that has given the store new luster. Among the many changes, the store has new gas pumps, which pump really fast I might add.
?A lot of people are happy we?re back,? said manager Jay Patel. ?It looks a lot better. People who come in are going to be surprised.?
Jay was quick to tout the many breakfast and lunch items on the menu. There are all sorts of biscuits and burgers, and he says the Squawkers brand chicken is a real hit.
Jay also says more improvements are coming. He plans to knock a hole in the side of the building that faces Charley?s BBQ and install a drive-thru window.
Ask Ashley billboards
create a stir
A more fitting name to the Ask Ashley billboards that are suddenly all around town would be Ask James. I say that because many, many people have asked me about the signs since they began appearing about a week ago.
The mystery was created by the fact the billboard contains a picture of a young lady with only two words, ?Ask Ashley.? People wanted to know if Ashley had done something wrong. People wanted to know if it was some sort of marriage proposal. Why didn?t the sign have more information they asked?
Fortunately, you can count on your friendly neighborhood Business Pulse man to find the answer. The billboards are simply a promotion for Lamar Advertising because Ashley is a new ad rep there.
When I called Lamar Advertising, I was told the mysterious message will be coming down soon. It will be replaced by a sign with more information I was informed. The mystery is solved.
Dwall Drywall
approaches 15 years
Chalk up Ronnie Simmons as one of the business success stories in Warren County. As his company, Dwall Drywall Supply, approaches its 15-year anniversary, Ronnie is proud to say business is doing well.
?It started out just me and a flatbed truck,? said Ronnie, who now has 10 employees at his business on Red Road.
Dwall Drywall has sold 6.5 million square feet of drywall this year, a total of roughly 135,000 sheets. When you consider it takes 150 to 180 sheets to do a normal-sized home, it?s easy to see Ronnie and his crew have been busy.
?We cover all the surrounding counties, probably about a 75-mile radius,? said Ronnie. ?We have to do that because there?s not always a lot of new construction around here. On an average day, we?ll stock four to five houses.?
In addition to McMinnville, Dwall Drywall serves cities such as Cookeville, Crossville, Manchester, Tullahoma, Shelbyville and Sparta.
Owning two drywall boom trucks is what separates Dwall Drywall from other retail outlets that sell sheetrock. The boom trucks can lift a bundle of 34 sheets up five stories tall. That?s a heavy task considering each sheet weighs 82 pounds.
While there?s not a huge demand for five-story buildings around these parts, the arm also extends horizontally as well as vertically. That enables workers to place bundles of drywall inside buildings under construction.
?It will be in the house ready to hang when we get done with it,? said Ronnie. ?We don?t pull up and leave a stack in the yard. This truck enables us to do what nobody else can do.?
Ronnie goes by the philosophy that no job is too big or too small. In addition to homes, he supplied the drywall for two apartment complexes last year. He also has three tractor trailer trucks to deliver drywall all over the eastern United States.
Dwall Drywall carries a large inventory in nearly 20,000 square feet of warehouse space. There is also a retail store that carries drywall-related supplies.
Despite being in the same location on 916 Red Road for nine years and being in business for 15, Ronnie says some people are still surprised to find out about his company.
?I have walk-in customers who tell me all the time, ?I didn?t even know you were here,?? said Ronnie.
The phone number is 473-9965 and the Web site is www.dwalldrywallsupply.com.
USA Gym unveils
weight loss program
If you?re thinking of reasons to lose weight as the new year approaches, USA Gym and the Standard are about to up the ante.
In an effort to get local residents to have a greater appreciation for good health, the two businesses are offering a chance at cold cash for people who lose at least five pounds over a three-month period. There?s an opportunity for $2,500 to be given away.
?This program is for everybody. We don?t care if you workout here or not,? said USA Gym owner Leland Northcutt. ?We want to get people in McMinnville in better shape and more aware of their bodies for obvious health reasons.?
Added Standard publisher Patricia Zechman, ?It?s easy to see why health care costs are soaring in this country. People are becoming more and more inactive and that?s leading to a variety of health problems that are expensive to treat.?
The program is called McMinnville Meltdown and it runs from Jan. 8 to April 15. Weigh-ins will be held in two-week intervals and people who lose an initial five pounds will have their name entered in the drawing. After the first five pounds, participants can earn more entries for each additional three pounds they lose.
A person who loses 14 pounds, for example, will have their name entered in the drawing four times.
Any USA Gym member who has his or her name drawn will receive $500. Any non-USA Gym member who has his or her name drawn will get $250. With five drawings, the giveaway could reach $2,500.
In conjunction with McMinnville Meltdown, USA Gym is offering for the first time a three-month, $99 membership. However, joining the gym is by no means a requirement to participate in the program.
Dr. Bradford
gets local office
After trying unsuccessfully to locate a radiation clinic for cancer patients in McMinnville, Dr. Bill Bradford has resorted to plan B.
While it?s not a clinic, Dr. Bradford has opened a local office here at 1550 Sparta Street, suite 6. That?s across from River Park Hospital. The phone number is 507-1200.
Dr. Bradford?s treatment clinic was denied its certificate of need by the state but such a certificate is not required to simply open an office here so that is what he did. He is now accepting local appointments.
That?s all folks
Be sure to have yourself a merry little Christmas tomorrow. And after you shake off the job of unwrapping gifts and spending time with family, give me a call with business tips at 473-2191.