Herald & Review Business Journal: January 2013

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601 E. William St.

Decatur, IL 62523

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

PRESORTED

STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDSpringfield, IL

Permit #500

Friday, Jan. 4Decatur Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill

Banquet Facility.Decatur Black Chamber of Commerce First Fri-

day Luncheon, noon, Main Street Church TeaRoom, 2000 N. Main St.

Monday, Jan. 7Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar &

Grill, 101 S. Main St.Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club. Mount Zion Village Board, 5:15 p.m., Village

Hall, 1400 Mount Zion Parkway.Decatur City Council, 5:30 p.m., council

chambers, Decatur Civic Center.Forsyth Village Board, 6:30 p.m., Village

Hall, 301 South U.S. 51.

Tuesday, Jan. 8Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by

Hilton, 333 W. Marion Ave., Forsyth.BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m.,

Crestview Christian Church, 4415 N. WaterSt.

Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scov-ill Banquet Facility.

Prairieland Kiwanis, 9:30 a.m., Decatur CivicCenter.

Decatur Building Construction Trades Council,10 a.m., IBEW Local 146 Hall, 3390 N. Wood-ford St.

Decatur Area Society for Human Resource Man-agement, 11 a.m., Doherty’s Pub and Pins,242 E. William St.

Central Illinois Ad Club, 11:30 a.m., DecaturClub.

Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club.Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club.Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club.Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview

Township shed.

Wednesday, Jan. 9Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Break-

fast, 7 a.m., Decatur Club, 158 W. PrairieAve.

Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m.,Scovill Banquet Facility.

Mount Zion Chamber of Commerce Luncheon,11:30 a.m., LOCATION

Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill BanquetFacility.

Decatur Real Estate Investors Association,6:30 p.m., Perkins Family Restaurant, 2999N. Monroe St.

Thursday, Jan. 10Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet

Facility.

GFWC Decatur Woman’s Club, 10 a.m. Call

877-7008 for location information.

Mature Resource Network, 11:30 a.m.,

Decatur Club.

Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon,

Decatur Club.

Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of

Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St.

Decatur Area Women’s Network (DAWN), 5:30

p.m., location varies.Lincolnland AMBUCS, 6:30 p.m., Easter

Seals’ Building.


Banquet Facility.


Grill.Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.


Hilton.BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m.,

Crestview Christian Church.Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scov-

ill Banquet Facility.Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club.Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club.Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview

Township shed.

Wednesday, Jan. 16Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m.,

Scovill Banquet Facility.Christian Women’s Network, noon, Decatur

Club. Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet

Facility.


Facility.Decatur Area Women’s Connection, 11:30

a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility.Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon,

Decatur Club.Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of

Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St.Decatur AMBUCS, 6 p.m., Decatur Club.


Banquet Facility.Noon Women’s Network, 11:45 a.m., Decatur

Club.


Grill.Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.Mount Zion Village Board, 5:15 p.m., Village

Hall. Decatur City Council, 5:30 p.m., council

chambers, Decatur Civic Center. Women’s Progressive Club, 6 p.m., Greater

Northside Baptist Church.Forsyth Village Board, 6:30 p.m., Village

Hall.




ill Banquet Facility.

Decatur Building Construction Trades Council,10 a.m., IBEW Local 146 Hall.

Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club.Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club.Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club.Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview

Township shed.


Scovill Banquet Facility.

Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet

Facility.


Facility.Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon,




Banquet Facility.American Business Women’s Association

(Monarch), noon, location varies.


Grill.

Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.




ill Banquet Facility. Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club.Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club.Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview

Township shed.


Scovill Banquet Facility.

Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet

Facility.


Facility.Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon,



Friday, Feb. 1Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet

Facility.Decatur Black Chamber of Commerce First Fri-

day Luncheon, noon, Main Street Church TeaRoom, 2000 N. Main St.

Monday, Feb. 4Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar &

Grill.

Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.Mount Zion Village Board, 5:15 p.m., Village

Hall. Decatur City Council, 5:30 p.m., council

chambers.Women’s Progressive Club, 6 p.m., Greater

Northside Baptist Church.Forsyth Village Board, 6:30 p.m., Village

Hall.

Tuesday, Feb. 5Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by



ill Banquet Facility. Prairieland Kiwanis, 9:30 a.m., Decatur Civic

Center.Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club.Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club.Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club.Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview

Township shed.

Wednesday, Feb. 6Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Break-

fast, 7 a.m., Decatur Club. Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m.,

Scovill Banquet Facility.Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet

Facility.

Thursday, Feb. 7Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet

Facility.American Business Women’s Association

(Amacita), 11:30 a.m., location varies.Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon,

Decatur Club.Human Service Agency Consortium (HSAC),

noon, Central Christian Church, 650 W.William St.

Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights ofColumbus Hall, 520 E. North St.

Metro Decatur Home Builder’s Association, 6p.m., Beach House.

Lincolnland AMBUCS, 6:30 p.m., EasterSeals’ Building.

To submit items for Your Calendar, contact ScottPerry at 421-7976, at [email protected],or click the “Submit an Event” link at www.thebusiness-journal.com

22 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS JJOOUURRNNAALL JJaannuuaarryy 22001133 www.thebusiness-journal.com

Crossword answersRobbies Word of the Day Cross-

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Across3. Oneiric 7. Gerryman-

der 10. Vilipend 11. Philomath 12. Intestate

Down1. Gravamen 2. Refurbish 4. Rarefied 5. Cognate 6. Balletomane 8. Niveous 9. Quiddity

YOUR CALENDAR

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BUSINESS JOURNAL

601 E. William St. Decatur, IL 62523217.421.7976217.421.7965 (fax)

VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

PUBLISHER:Todd Nelson

EDITOR:Scott Perry

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The Business Journal of MidCentral Illinois is printed monthly and is a publication of Lee Enterprises Inc.

Information published is the responsibil-ity of the author and does not reflect theopinions of The Business Journal of Mid-Central Illinois. To submit articles, mailtypewritten and 500 words or less to:The Business Journal, 601 E. William St.,Decatur, IL 62523. Articles will not bereturned. Any editorial content or adver-tising published is the property of LeeEnterprises Inc., DBA The Business Jour-nal of MidCentral Illinois.

Copyright 2013Herald & ReviewAll rights reserved for entire content.

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BUSINESSJOURNAL

OF MIDCENTRAL ILLINOIS

January2013Contents

Here’s to your healthWe kick off the new year with an expanded

Your Health section that examines a variety of

health-related issues, including stress,

sick days and resolutions.

5WHAT’S HAPPENINGMacon County

town leaders

reflect on 2012

22BYE BYE BUCKDollar bill may be

thing of the past

Resolutions and I are casual friends. We talk multiple times

a year, setting a date to get my life in order when it comes to

things like health, finances and fun.

We have to talk several times because it usually takes just a day

or two before our latest plan is busted (I can’t live without pop,

really), requiring another start date to be set.

Part of this year’s resolution attempt was inspired by something I

read in, of all places, AARP The Magazine. (For the record, I’m

only 46.)

The headline said it all. “Whatever scares you, do it. Now.”

It went on to say, “Escaping your comfort zone can make you

happier, smarter, more confident, more grateful and more satisfied

with life.”

I made a couple practice runs leading up to this year’s resolu-

tion attempt. I spent a Saturday helping a friend put siding on a

garage, attended my first meeting as a member of my church

council, and, with help, diagnosed a starter problem with my boat

and did the repair myself.

I’m convinced I can do a lot of things. My problem is I need

someone who can assure me that I’m doing the right thing the

right way. Without this guidance, which used to come from my

dad, I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about it.

So long comfort zone. It’s been nice knowing you.

Biz Bites . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Business Clips . . . . . . 19

Fred Spannaus . . . . . 20

Free Time calendar . . 21

Health calendar . . . . 14

Liz Reyer . . . . . . . . . . 17

Office Coach . . . . . . . 17

Professional profile . . 12

SCORE counselor . . . 20

Wendy Gauntt . . . . . . 16

StandingFeatures

FROM THE EDITOR

Scott Perry, editor

Business Journal of Midcentral Illinois


YOUR COMMUNITY

Drought emphasizes dependence on lakeOfficials seekingother sources

By ALLISON PETTYBusiness Journal Writer

DECATUR — When drought dug itsgnarled fingers into Central Illinois thisyear, nobody escaped without a scratch.

Farmers saw their crops wither anddie. Boaters lost half their summer onLake Decatur. Faced with an increasinglychoked water source, the city institutedthe most stringent water restrictions inits history. As a result, car washes anddetailing facilities were forced to seekalternate water sources or shut down.

People could not water their lawns.The city turned brown.

The situation emphasized the commu-nity’s dependence on Lake Decatur andthe shortcomings that make suchreliance problematic. Decatur’s largestemployers require millions of gallons ofwater per day for their processes. Mean-while, city and Decatur Park Districtleaders have pledged millions of dollarstoward developing the Nelson Park lake-front into a hub for recreation and thesubsequent economic activity.

None of this would be possible withoutwater, a reality that became clear thissummer and fall. City officials pledgenot to take the lesson for granted.

“What we need to take a look at is howwe manage the entire water asset: thelake, the water supply, the water distri-bution, the water treatment system. It’sprobably one of the most importantassets that we have,” City Manager RyanMcCrady said. “So we’re still committedto finding that water.”

Lake Decatur was full June 6. Scorch-ing temperatures and lack of rain, cou-pled with the city’s high water demands,drained it to a low point of 610.71 feetabove sea level by Oct. 13. At that point,the lake was 3.79 feet below normal sum-mer lake levels and was 54 percent full,said Director of Water ManagementKeith Alexander.

While the city maintains severalsources of supplemental water, those sup-plies started at a disadvantage becauseof dry conditions the previous year. Oneof the water sources, a former sand andgravel pit, was tapped so extensively in2011 that it was only a third full when thecity began pumping it again July 31.

Other water sources include an elec-tric well near Cisco and a system ofeight wells in DeWitt County, severalmiles north of Argenta. The city beganpumping both Aug. 6. But the supple-mental water sources are expensive tooperate, and they do not supply even halfof the water that residents and largeindustry use each day.

The lake was nearly three feet belownormal summer levels and was losing2/3 of an inch per day when the citymoved to the stage two water restrictions

Aug. 9. “We have the lake; we’ve been dredg-

ing the lake. We also have some supple-mental water supplies,” Alexander said.“But when those supplemental watersupplies were stressed, because they hadto be used twice in two years, those incombination with the lake did not pro-vide enough water to meet our customerdemands and that’s why we’re lookingfor additional water.”

Officials rapidly sought other alterna-tives. The Decatur City Council votedAug. 20 to spend up to $1.4 million on atemporary plastic pipeline that wouldconnect the city’s raw water pump sta-tion with another supplemental watersource. Though the above-ground pipelinewas built this fall, officials have not yetidentified whether it would attach to asurface water or groundwater source.

McCrady said the pipeline could beburied in case the city needs to use it inthe future. “Right now, we’re leaving itwhere it is because we’re not convincedwe’re out of the drought yet,” he said. “Ifwe decide to bury that, while we’re inthe process of burying it, it’s not veryuseable. So we want to keep it in a use-able state until we know for sure wherethe drought is going and where the watersupply issue is going.”

The council also voted Oct. 15 to spend$1.6 million drilling four temporary wellsthat were expected to bring in 1.4 millionto 2 million gallons of emergency water

per day. Officials hoped that the sitescould be developed into permanent wellsif they proved effective.

However, the results of test drillingand information from the Illinois Envi-ronmental Protection Agency havealtered that plan, officials said. Somesites that were thought to be ideal turnedout to offer less water than officials hadhoped for.

As a result, the city’s contractor, Black& Veatch Construction Inc., has drilled17 test bores around the city in search ofthe best places to drill temporary, andeventually permanent, wells. Alexandersaid the company would return with areport early this year, giving the citymore information from which to pro-ceed.

Dredging is also high on the city’sagenda. The process of removing sedi-ment from the lake’s bottom would ulti-mately allow it to hold more water, but itis a costly and complicated endeavor.McCrady recently told the city councilhe hoped to move forward with dredgingthe lake’s Basin 1 in the second half of2013.

Alexander said that dredging projectwould remove about 2,156 acre feet ofsediment from the lake. That is 3.4square miles of ground with a foot ofmaterial on top.

The sediment would be stored in a 523-acre site in Oakley Township, where thebyproduct of previous dredging projects

has been held. Alexander said the citywould need to build new berms aroundthe site to hold the additional sediment.

Though they were hard-won lessons,city officials did gain insight from the2012 drought. Alexander said one revela-tion was how cooperative customerscould be.

“We had upwards of 15 percent reduc-tion in total water use by our customersduring the height of the drought,” hesaid.

“Another thing we learned is that wecannot rely solely on Lake Decatur intimes of moderate to severe drought. Itsimply does not hold enough water.”

A water rate increase is also likely inthe cards for residents this year.McCrady said the city provides veryinexpensive water compared to the costin surrounding communities, but thatlow cost does not cover investments thatneed to be made in the city’s water sys-tem. The city council is likely to hear areport about what those improvementsmight be within the first quarter of theyear.

“Although cheap water is nice whenyou write the check to pay the bill, youhave to have sufficient resources tomake the capital investments to keep theasset where it needs to be. Otherwiseyou’re doing a disservice to your com-munity,” McCrady said. “... We don’twant to go through what we wentthrough this year again.”

H&R file photoFaced with the possibility that A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. could be forced to move its operation because of the lack of water, city leaders cametogether in 1918 to lay the groundwork for what would become Lake Decatur. More than 90 years later, the water needs of the communityand the maintenance of Lake Decatur continue to be a topic of discussion.


EEddiittoorr''ss nnoottee:: Time Machine tags along with thisyear's Macon County highlights feature, offering a mixof vintage photos to compliment the annual look at thepast year's happenings in local towns. All Macon Countytowns were invited to submit their highlights.

ArgentaThe village of Argenta went through a huge transfor-

mation in the past year. The replacement of street signs has begun and will

continue for the next couple years as motor fuel taxmoney allows. Sidewalks in the most need of repairhave been replaced and more will be done as moneyallows. Our sewer system is up and running, somestreets were widened where possible and all of the firehydrants have been replaced.

Rambos Pub and Grubb is open and offers drink spe-cials, a light menu and video poker machines for yourentertainment. Fishers Auto Repair is available for allof your automotive needs.

Friends of Argenta is in its third year of monthlycommunity events which included everything frombreakfasts to family safety day and a chili cookoff. Thenot-for-profit group gave more than $4,000 back to thecommunity last year, including e-readers to the Argen-ta-Oreana schools.

A clothing room is housed inside the Basket CaseCatering in the old grade school building and has likenew clothing and accessories for less than a cup ofStarbucks coffee.

Come check out the village of Argenta. We are asmall village with a big heart.

This will be my last year as mayor for the village andI would like to thank the many people who have helpedalong the way.

— Deena Bowman, mayor

HarristownAll of the street signs in Harristown have been

replaced. It was done early in the year as a result of amandate from the Illinois Department of Transporta-tion that specified standards for street signs and regu-latory signs. Many of the street signs that wereremoved from our streets were sold to residents as sou-venirs or to help identify their home address. Regulato-ry signs cannot legally be sold to or owned by privatecitizens, so they were sold as scrap along with theremaining street signs.

The board of trustees awarded a contract to BurdickPlumbing and Heating to drill a new well to replacewell No. 1 at a cost of just under $100,000. Five bids

were received ranging from $100,000 to $142,000. WellNo. 1 was removed and sealed. Well No. 3 was drilledand pump tested at more than 200 gallons per minutefor 8 hours. It was completed and in production in lateJuly.

All of the streets in Harristown were resurfaced lastsummer by oiling and rocking. We have done thisevery second year for quite some time resulting in ourstreets being in excellent condition. Crushed whiterock was used this year instead of pea gravel in aneffort to reduce the bleed through of oil. Some believethe angular shape of the white rock helps it to stick tothe road surface better than the round pea gravel. Forthe most part, it seems to be successful. AlliedAsphalt and Lane Trucking won the contracts this

year for oiling and rocking our streets at a cost of$94,000.

The sewer pump station at 4900 W. Main St. wasrebuilt in September. Petersburg Plumbing and Heat-ing won the bid at a price of $122,000. This is part ofthe upgrade plan for our 35-year-old sewer system.The other two pump stations were rebuilt in 2010 and2011 at an average cost of just more than $100,000each.

It was necessary to increase building permit feesthis fall to cover the cost of inspections. This only hap-pens every few years but a small increase in the com-pensation of our building inspectors required us toplay catch up. Building codes are necessary to ensurethat safe and standard building methods are used. It isour goal to produce only enough revenue from permitfees to cover the cost of administering the buildingcode.

— Gordon Schrishuhn, mayor

Long CreekThe village of Long Creek is a wonderful place to live

and we want to promote that as much as possible.Thank you for the opportunity to let area residentsknow what is being planned for the upcoming year, andgive them a glimpse into what projects we completedthis year.

Anyone who has taken a trip down U.S. 36 East in thepast several months has noticed new businesses in ourarea. Midwest Diesel Trucks has constructed a newbuilding. Connie’s Greenhouse will have a location herein the spring, and Miller Products Unlimited has locat-ed in the village.

Just take a drive out our way to see the progress weare making. Long Creek offers auto body repair, beau-ty salons, day spas, entertainment, food, auction, con-crete supplier, Casey’s General Store, asphalt installa-tion repair, industrial cleanup and outdoor landscap-ing supplies. Long Creek offers something for every-one.

During the past summer, the village of Long Creekwas able to complete a large scale drainage projectaffecting a large area of the village. It posed an incon-venience to many residents but it will alleviate floodingcaused by heavy rains. We are currently in the processof getting bids to complete Long Creek Road from Fire-house Road to U.S. 36. This will provide residentsanother option to travel to subdivisions and businessesin village.

We are proud to be able to let the community knowhow much we value our small town heritage but want to

Macon County towns’ annual report

CCOONNTTIINNUUEEDD OONN PPAAGGEE 66

Blue Mound: A view of Main Street. Date unknown. Harristown: A view of the Harristown Depot in use in 1910.Forsyth: An aerial view from the southeast shows construc-tion of the Hickory Point Mall in 1978.

File photosMacon: The Legion Hall in 1936.

be considered by anyone thinking about making a moveto this side of town. Anyone interested in more informa-tion about the village of Long Creek can reach the Vil-lage Hall at 864-5263.

— Cheryl A. Smith, village president

Macon It has been encouraging to hear people talking about

the changing look of Macon as they drive through andaround town. These changes are positive and for theadvancement of the community as a whole.

In late October, we finally switched over to our newwater tower as construction was completed. This wasa very smooth transition. The new tower, with itsadditional capacity, was needed badly. This projectnot only changed our skyline with its construction,but the removal of the old tower is difficult to get usedto.

The Meridian High School building project is alsochanging the look of our community. Anticipation isgrowing to see the finished project. This complex willbe impressive and we hope it will be a draw for youngfamilies to build homes and start their families here inMacon.

During the past year, we have been trying to improvethe conditions of our parks. We have been working onequipment rehabilitation, removal of old equipment,removal of hazards and updating old equipment.

We feel that the overall improvements that we havebeen making to our city will entice more families tomove here. A few more homes were built in Hogan Hillswith plans for more this spring. A couple more duplex-es were constructed on the south edge of town. Plansare in the works for another subdivision.

Even with the past two summers showing us

drought conditions, we continue to work on andimprove the drainage for the city of Macon. Anothertile project has been completed with more drainageditch work having been completed. Other water distri-bution infrastructure projects have been completed,resulting in higher efficiencies being noted and a con-siderable reduction made to unaccounted for waterloss. These are all positives that we plan to build on in2013.

This past year has been very successful and we lookforward to a great 2013.

— Ed Aukamp, city administrator

OreanaThis has been an exciting year for the village of Ore-

ana. In early December, the village began purchasing

water from the village of Forsyth as construction of awater main from Forsyth to Oreana comes to a close.The purchase of water from Forsyth has been longawaited, as residents had complained of poor tasting,discolored water for many years. While our water hasalways been safe to drink, the water purchased fromForsyth is a major improvement. The purchase ofwater from Forsyth has and will continue to make Ore-ana a more desirable place to live.

Oreana also has seen improvements to the villagepark. A new illuminated marquee sign has beeninstalled. In addition to the sign, a landscaping projectwas undertaken to enhance the visual appeal of thepark.

As a new year begins, Oreana is well positioned forthe future. With our recently completed sanitary sewersystem, our improved water quality and a great com-munity, we are sure to have another great year.

— Aaron Keathey, village clerk

WarrensburgAs I reflect on what our small town has accomplished

this past year, I get an overwhelming sense of pride andgratification. This community has come together tomake all of the fundraisers and community events anabsolute success.

Working with my board members and employees, weall strive to keep this village clean and presentable.Each board member has their assigned areas, but weall work together and continue to get things done yearafter year.

Here are some of the highlights from 2012.In January, we bought and installed a new grinder

pump for the south lift station. We also selected ourwinner of the annual Christmas lighting contest.

In March, we obtained new computer and securitysoftware for the police department.

In April, our citywide clean-up day and communityrummage sales were held.

In May, the Cenex store reopened.In July, we adopted new computer software for the

monthly water bills.In August, the village obtained a Hum V from the

military, at no cost, for use as an emergency vehicle.The annual Bike Night run was held.

In October, the village was approved for a $1.4 milliongrant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture toreplace its outdated water plant which was built in 1965.The 3rd annual Lawn Mower Poker run to benefit thelocal Lions Club and another successful Halloweenparade were held.

In December, the Joyce Fisher Memorial fundraiser,held at Da Burg Bar-n-Grill, collected $5,500 for theLions Club and hospice.

— Stephen W. Mills, mayor


Long Creek: The Long Creek Pioneers. Date unknown.

Oreana: People watch as corrugated boxes flow from thedie cutter during a 1985 open house at Decatur ContainerCorp., which is now Greif Inc.

Niantic: Workers outside a mine in 1908.

Continued from page 5

Warrensburg: A view of the Ritchie Block. Date unknown.

Argenta: Lions Club/cheese factory building in 1932. File photosMount Zion: The Village Plaza Shopping Center in 1971.

Now openAn uncertain future for the building

that houses Cafe Brio in Springfieldprompted its owner to sell the businessthere and bring its name and menu toDecatur.

The restaurant, which boasts a menuwith a Mediterranean/Southwesternflair, opened at 2880 N. Oakland Ave.

Owner Mark Meng sees a lot of poten-tial in the location, which is best remem-bered for being home to the Arch Loungebefore becoming a temporary stop forbusinesses that moved elsewhere or sim-ply faded away. But realizing that poten-tial began with a major renovation of thebuilding’s interior.

“The people who come here will besurprised,” he said, adding the city need-ed another family dining option in thenorthwest part of town.

“We use a lot of spices and chilis, andeverything is homemade,” said chef JohnBecker, who followed Meng from Spring-field.

The menu includes variations onchicken, steaks, pork chops, tacos, burg-ers, salmon, soups, salads, award-win-ning margaritas and more.

The restaurant is open daily for din-ner, with plans to begin offering a lunchmenu in February. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m.Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10p.m. Friday and Saturday. Outdoor din-ing, with music on the weekends, will beoffered beginning in the spring. Call 875-2746.

n n n

Bella Vein Medical Spa has expanded itsservices to Decatur.

Bella Vein, which already has officesin Charleston and Champaign, providesthe most advanced vein procedures, allspa services and comprehensive nonsur-gical cosmetic and medical services.Bella Vein also offers rejuvenating cus-tomized facial treatments, chemicalpeels, microdermabrasion and a varietyof laser services.

Bella Vein Medical Spa is at 345 E.Ash Ave., Suite A. Appointments can bemade by calling 615-0838. Visitwww.bellavein.com.

n n n

Four area travel agents have com-bined their expertise to launch a newagency headquartered in White Heath.

Brenda Blacker of White Heath,Jeanette Burkart of Decatur, Nora Kilbyof Monticello and Patti Price of Milminecombined their knowledge in a variety ofareas to form Fun For All Vacations. Benefitsof the agents coming together includeincreased availability of group trips, spe-cials and sales.

“We have separate areas of expertiseand have different areas we specializein,” Blacker said. “We can all do all ofit, but now we can refer people to theirspecialties. We can help each otherout.”

Blacker specializes in Caribbean andromance-style vacations, Burkart andPrice are the experts in Europe andriver cruises, and Kilby works primarilywith family vacations and romance.

Call Blacker at 377-2363, Burkart at

412-5846, Kilby at 621-2920 or Price at620-4223. Visit www.funforallvacations.com.

n n n

Book World has opened in Hickory PointMall. It is the fifth Illinois location forthe Appleton, Wis.-based chain.

“The company is moving into a num-ber of old Waldenbooks retail locationsin malls, and they believe a communitythe size of Decatur should definitely beable to support one,” said Lori Williams,the store’s general manager.

The Forsyth location is large enoughthat it also will host products from sis-ter-store chains Gift World and Calen-dar World. As for the rest of its bookstock, Williams said specific sectionswould set it apart from the previousbusiness.

n n n

You can’t be in two places at once, butnow a new Decatur firm is offering to bethere for you.

Central Illinois Home Watch provides homemonitoring services for homeownersaway on vacation, flown south for thewinter or for any other extended absencethat might leave their home vulnerable.

The business is owned and run bySwartz Properties owner Cathy Coulterand Swartz general manager Chris Tut-tle. They say they have 50 years of com-bined property management experiencebetween them and launched Home Watchto meet a need often expressed by prop-erty owners.

“I thought, ‘Home Watch, why don’twe do that?’ ” said Coulter. “That shouldbe something we do.”

The base price of the service is $45 perhour, and empty homes might typicallybe inspected once or twice a month.Inspections are inside and out, and anyproblems — signs of a break-in, a leak-ing pipe — are brought to owners’ atten-tion immediately.

Central Illinois Home Watch operatesover the Decatur-Springfield-Blooming-ton area, and other locations are avail-able by arrangement. Call 877-8704 or goto www.cihomewatch.com

New ownerThe building at the corner of Prairie

Avenue and Water Street in downtownDecatur has a new name to reflect itsnew owner.

Hickory Point Bank & Trustannounced it has purchased the 71,795square foot DemirCo Place Building, 225N. Water St., from DemirCo Properties.

The building, which is the site of thebank’s flagship location, will now beknown as the Hickory Point Bank Building.

“We are always looking at partner-ships and opportunities to invest whereour customers live and work,” saidAnthony G. Nestler, bank president andchief executive officer. “As we preparefor growth, we believe this investmentunderscores our confidence in the Bank,the health and vitality of the Decatureconomy and the future of downtownDecatur.”

No significant changes in the buildingtenants are anticipated, the bank said in

a news release.

n n n

Plans to expand Millikin University’scampus and find a new home for its rap-idly growing Exercise Science and SportDepartment have taken a big step for-ward.

Millikin closed in November on theWest Towne Square building at Wood Streetand Oakland Avenue, buying it from theRomano and Demirjian families ofDecatur for $3 million, a fraction of whatit would have cost for the new construc-tion once considered.

Dave Brandon, interim vice presidentfor alumni and development, said theuniversity is still in need of funds toremodel West Towne Square and buystate-of-the-art equipment before Exer-cise Science and Sport Department pro-grams can move there from GriswoldPhysical Education Center and otherscattered sites around campus.

Millikin’s Pipe Dreams student-runtheater company and Student Program-ming and Entertainment Center willremain in West Towne Square.

Other tenants, including St. Mary’sHospital’s employee service center, den-tist Dr. Patricia Norton and HickoryPoint Bank & Trust Co.’s stock transferservices office, won’t have to move untiladditional funds are raised and the need-ed renovations can begin.

Benny Ballazhi, owner of the formerTuscany Steak and Pasta House in thesouth part of West Towne Square, wentahead and shut down his restaurant afterthe pending sale of West Towne Squarewas announced last year.

ClosedAfter nearly 14 months in business,

Secret Recipes Inc. in Mount Zion hasclosed.

“Unfortunately, it’s true,” said co-owner Travis Schutte, citing lack of busi-ness as part of the problem. “Bills werejust piling up.”

Schutte and co-owner Dave Linnopened the restaurant in a shoppingplaza off Illinois 121 last October.

“We gave people a job for a year andpaid taxes for a year, but the restaurantjust never took hold,” Schutte said. “Wetried.”

In addition to having a storefront inMount Zion, Secret Recipes was also theofficial caterer of the Mount Zion Con-vention Center. Village AdministratorJulie Miller and village attorney EdFlynn said they already have anothercaterer in mind to cover upcoming wed-dings and convention center events.

“We have also been reaching out tocustomers who have contracted with theconvention center to make sure theyknow our facility will be ready for theirevents with great catering options avail-able,” Flynn said.

Misc.An agreement has been reached for

First Illinois Corporation to acquire theremaining common equity interest ofHickory Point Bank from Archer Daniels

Midland Co.First Illinois is the locally owned bank

holding company which has had the con-trolling interest in the bank since 2011.Bank President Anthony Nestler said thedeal maintains 100 percent local owner-ship of the common stock of the busi-ness. ADM will remain a key customer ofthe bank and maintain a nonvotinginvestment in it.

The deal is not expected to impactbank services or employment, as Nestlersaid management considers it to contin-ue with business as usual.

CorrectionVibhav Corp. is the owner of Jabroni’s.

Its ownership and the title of the personwho provided the information wereincorrect in December’s Biz Bites col-umn. The Business Journal receivedincorrect information.

Biz Bites highlight businesses that are opening,closing, expanding … you get the picture. If youhave information for our Biz Bites column, contactTony Reid at [email protected], Chris Lus-vardi at [email protected], TheresaChurchill at [email protected] or callthem at 421-6979.


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You have a variety of choices when it comes to choosing a checking account,

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• Are there monthly service charges or balance requirements? Some

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• How many checks can I write and do I get a debit/ATM card? If you write

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for. Debit/ATM cards make purchases easy and the convenience of owning

one may be important to you, especially if you travel.

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account balances, transfer money, and even pay your bills direct online.

Having this feature is convenient, and most often times, free.

Other features of checking accounts may include a free box of checks,

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CHECKING ACCOUNTSWhat should I look for when choosing achecking account?

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Why should I get colorectal cancer screening?

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancerdeath and the third leading cause of all newly diagnosedcancers in the U.S. With early detection, colon cancerdeaths can be significantly reduced. Colorectal cancerscreening is recommended for all people over age 50 andcolonoscopy is considered the “gold standard” screeningmethod. It allows your doctor to not only look forcancers and pre-cancerous polyps, but remove or biopsythem during the test without any added discomfort orpreparation. Removal of pre-cancerous polyps alsoserves to prevent cancers from occurring in the firstplace. Colonoscopy can also help to monitor, detect anddiagnose other colon problems such as: diverticulosis,diverticulitis, constipation, diarrhea, Crohn’s disease andulcerative colitis, among others. For more informationabout colon health and colon cancer screening, pleasecontact your primary care provider.

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Focus on exercise,nutrition, yourself

By JAMIE LOBERBusiness Journal Writer

When it comes to making your NewYear’s resolutions for 2013, think holisti-cally and try to encompass all areas ofyour health.

“From evidence and studies, we knowthat you should have a healthy mind, ahealthy body and a healthy heart,” saidDr. Anuradha Kolluru, cardiologist withIllinois Heart Specialists at DecaturMemorial Hospital.

In 10 simple steps, you can achievejust that.

Focus on nutrition. “First and foremost,you should have a healthy diet whichmeans a balanced diet that includesmicronutrients and plants,” said Kolluru.Some people need low calories while oth-ers need higher. The DASH diet is recom-mended. “It is the approach for systemichypertension and involves low salt, hav-ing more servings of fruits and vegeta-bles, cutting down on red meat and hav-ing lean meat instead, avoiding too muchsugars and having more fiber and lowfat,” Kolluru said.

Get moving. “Take some time off fromyour busy schedule to walk at least fivetimes a week for half an hour,” Kollurusaid. When you find a physical activitythat you enjoy, it is more likely that youwill keep it as part of your daily regi-men. The Centers for Disease Controland Prevention point out that while 20- to30-minute sessions are ideal for healthand mood, you can still reap substantial

benefit from exercising in 10 minutespurts as well. If you have not beenactive in awhile, be sure to check withyour doctor first and build up your fre-quency and intensity gradually.

Sleep well. Have a set time to go to bedand wake up. “Turn off your phones andtelevision, do not snack before sleep anddim the lights, listen to soothing musicand just go to bed,” Kolluru said. If youget enough rest, it is easier to be moreactive the next day. If you are havingtrouble sleeping, talk to your doctorabout it and make sure that you do nothave an underlying health problem suchas thyroid disorder or depression. Sleepclinics are always available to help aswell.

Have healthy relationships. “Sometimesyour body is totally fine but because ofsome emotional trauma, your heart canbe affected and that is called psychoso-cial syndrome,” Kolluru said. Be opento sharing new experiences with goodpeople and try to expose yourself tonature, music and the arts as much aspossible. If you are dealing with trou-bles, join a support group where youwill find others who can empathize withyou and show you that it is possible tocope well.

Manage stress. Mental Health Americasuggests that if you have suffered anupsetting event that you write about it inorder to feel better and help you file theproblem away. They also recommendmeditation such as deep breathing,mindfulness meditation, visualization orrepeating a mantra. If you feel over-whelmed, do not be afraid to talk to atrusted friend or counselor for adviceand seek emotional support.

Be proactive in your health care. Everyone

should get an annual physical and knowtheir numbers. “Most important is theblood pressure routine screening becauseuncontrolled blood pressure leads tomyocardial infarction and stroke,” Kollu-ru said. Also be sure to see the dentistand other specialists such as the gyne-cologist as needed.

Stay away from unhealthy substances. “Stayaway from smoking, do not do drugsand decrease your alcohol consumptionto two drinks for men and one forwomen because it is good for your

heart,” Kolluru said. Make time for yourself. “Take time off

and have a planned vacation and some-thing to look forward to like a socialgathering or family get-togetherbecause the interactive things can curemental disorders and depression,” Kol-luru said.

Be safe. “Accidents in young adults arethe number one killer so wear a seatbelt and do not talk on the phone whenyou drive,” Kolluru said. Nobody shouldbe driving under the influence of alco-hol and people should avoid dangeroussubstances by getting rid of unhealthyself-talk and instead thinking ofachievements that disprove your insecu-rity.

Stay positive. Mental Health Americarecommends looking at tough times asan opportunity to learn, grow or improveyour situation and to focus on your goals,values and beliefs such as what bringsyou hope, joy and comfort, what youcare most about and how you can makea difference in the world. When you con-sider your mental, physical, spiritual andemotional well-being as you set your res-olutions, you are likely to succeed in allareas of your life.


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YOUR HEALTH

Make healthy New Year’s resolutions

Avoid ineffective workoutsMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

Almost any exercise is good exercise.That said, some people waste time onroutines that aren’t best for reachingtheir goals, trainers say. Here are gener-al tips from Shaun Knight, a certifiedathletic trainer in Virginia Beach, Va.:

Think about variety, not just time. Keepingyour body guessing is the best way totorch calories. “If you ride an exercisebike at the same level for an hour, it maynot be beneficial, especially given thetime you’re putting in,” Knight said.“Your body will get used to it and startto think it’s easy.”

Add different elements. Instead of runningat a steady pace for an hour, you mightrun for 20 minutes, bike for 20 minutesand run stairs for another 20. Forstrength-training, you could rotatebetween push-ups, squats and rowingmachines.

Switch up intensity. Increase your speedor resistance for short bursts of time.Even if you’re just walking on a tread-

mill, you can make the incline steeper. Focus on more than one muscle group. Your

abdominal muscles won’t look greatfrom crunches alone — you need a full-body aerobic workout, too. You alsowon’t effectively tone your legs just byusing sit-down resistance equipment;instead, try a standing “cable column”machine that requires balance andworks muscles from different angles.

Schedule time with a trainer. Even if youcan afford just one session, you can learncorrect form for favorite exercises to pre-vent wasted energy and injury.

Understand your goals. If you want to loseweight, exercises that isolate one musclegroup such as biceps curls or calf liftswon’t be much help. But if you’re tryingto tone your arms or calves, those curlsand lifts are important.

Shorten breaks. Resist the urge to restfor more than a minute or two betweenmachines during circuit training. Andcut socializing by putting on headphonesuntil your workout is done.

‘Take some time off from your busy schedule to walk

at least five times a week for half an hour.’

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Actual illnessaccounts for most

By DIANE STAFFORDMcClatchy-Tribune News Service Writer

The annual sick season is upon us.The first signs of fall each year inau-

gurate the cold and flu season, alongwith higher absence rates at work andschool.

But studies and surveys make it clearthat illness gets two-thirds of the blamefor “sick” days. One-third of the reasonsare all over the map.

Take the employee who couldn’t cometo work because of a toe stuck in afaucet. Or the employee who was upsetafter watching “The Hunger Games”movie. Or the one whose hair turnedorange in a home dye job.

All three were real-life examplesshared in a recent CareerBuilder surveyin which human resource managers wereasked for unusual absence excusesthey’d heard.

The excuses may be funny, but busi-ness managers and productivity expertsaren’t laughing.

American workers take about 2.8 mil-

lion work days of unplanned absences ayear, not counting planned vacationdays, holidays or personal days. And thatcosts billions of dollars in lost productiv-ity.

A 2010 Mercer/Marsh report on thefinancial effect of employee absencessaid the cost of unplanned time offamounted to 5.8 percent of total payrollcosts.

As a percentage, that’s not a big fig-ure. But, the report noted, “the totalcosts for planned absences, such asvacations and holidays, average anequivalent of 26 percent of base payroll.”

In other words, one-fourth of employ-ers’ payroll expenses cover work timewhen employees aren’t at work.

That helps explain why some employ-ers check up on workers who call in sick.According to a Harris Interactive surveytaken in August and September, nearlyone-third of employers who respondedsaid they usually called the employee athome later in the day or required a doc-tor’s note to verify that the person wasat home or was truly sick.

About one in five of the employers sur-veyed said they’d asked other employeesto call “a suspected faker,” and about onein seven said they’d gone so far as todrive by a suspected faker’s home.

The psychological jury is out, though,as to whether faked sick days are com-pletely bad. “Mental health days” getcredence from counselors who see thetoll of stressful workplaces.

According to Sean Sullivan, a co-founder of the Institute for Health andProductivity, there’s a “presenteeism”problem when workers come to work butaren’t fully functioning because of physi-cal, emotional or other time-drainingdistractions.

Organizations aren’t getting value outof workers who show up but aren’t reallyworking. So in those cases, it may notmake much difference if an employeecalls in sick or shows up.

Workplaces with excessive unplannedabsences may need to reassess their cor-porate culture.

Connie Russell, a Kansas City leader-ship coach and counselor, said managers“need to make sure that employeesunderstand how their work contributes tothe overall good and that their contribu-tions are valued.”

When that communication is missing,workers are more likely to not know, ornot care, that it costs their organizationswhen they don’t show up.

“I’m also hearing that people areexperiencing burnout, that it’s hard towork in environments of hyper change,”Russell said, noting another reason whyotherwise good workers might takeunplanned days off.

The new CareerBuilder survey foundthat next to being sick, the most com-mon reason workers call in sick isbecause they “don’t feel like going towork.” One-third of the respondentsadmitted that reason.

Nearly one-third said they called insick simply because they “felt like theyneeded to relax.” Other excuses includedcatching up on sleep or running errands.

All of those reasons are likely to beused more frequently as the year windsdown. December ranks as the most pop-ular month to call in sick.


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Recognitions,new ER amongaccomplishments

By ANNIE GETSINGERBusiness Journal Writer

Looking back on the past calendaryear, the CEOs of the Decatur hospitalssaid there have been many achievementsto celebrate. And there’s a lot to look for-ward to, too.

Ken Smithmier, Decatur MemorialHospital’s president and CEO citedDMH’s recognition as a Top 50 Cardio-vascular Hospital by Thomson Reutersamong the accomplishments of the pastyear. This was the second year in a rowthe hospital received the honor, whichanalyzed hospitals nationwide on variousmeasures related to their cardiac careservices, he said.

“Twice in a row (is) even betterbecause you really feel that you’re on atrend,” Smithmier said.

The hospital also became accreditedby the Joint Commission, a body thataccredits health care institutions, in sev-eral different areas.

“We became accredited for orthope-dics, for chronic lung disease, for heartattacks and for strokes,” Smithmier said.

He said there have been other changesbehind the scenes that will help the hos-pital from an operating standpoint. Thispast year, DMH established what’s calleda captive insurance company, whichallows the hospital to start its own liabili-ty insurance company to cover the insti-tution and its employed physicians.

“It’s just for Decatur Memorial and itsemployed physicians,” Smithmier said.

The company, which became opera-tional in the past calendar year, is head-quartered in Phoenix, Ariz., and will helpthe hospital save on insurance costs.

Smithmier said that all hospitals havebeen paying attention to the AffordableCare Act and looking ahead to thechanges that health care reform willbring over the coming years.

“We’re all watching our pennies,” hesaid.

The hospital employs fewer people nowthan it did last year, and Smithmier saidthat’s a trend he expects to see continu-ing as the reform is implemented. Somevacant positions have gone unfilled, andother jobs have been combined, he said.

“Everybody who understands it knows,that hospitals primarily and doctors aregoing to get paid less,” Smithmier said.

He said physician recruiting effortshaven’t been as much of a focus as theyhad been in previous years.

The hospital made a major investmenton a new piece of equipment that isalready having an impact on the hospi-tal’s services and will likely expand theinstitution’s capabilities in the next yearor so.

The new equipment, a cyclotron, is aparticle accelerator the hospital alreadyhas begun using to create its own nuclearisotopes for use in imaging tests. Thecyclotron already has passed its first U.S.Food and Drug Administration inspec-tion, and the hospital is waiting for a sec-ond-stage license to come from the state.At that point, Smithmier said, DMH canbegin selling the isotopes to other users.

The decision to purchase the devicecame after an isotope used in cardiacPET imaging tests was taken off themarket in 2010. Another isotope is avail-able, but its half-life is so short that itmust be created close to the patientshaving the test.

Out of a desire to create the isotope atthe hospital and ensure a lower-cost, reli-able supply, DMH investigated the tech-nology, Smithmier said. Now they areable to offer cardiac PET scans again.

The venture has added a few jobs andwill likely add some more. The hospitalis looking to consult with other institu-tions in the area that might like to dosomething similar.

“It’s evolved like peeling an onion,”Smithmier said.

The equipment also will help usher ina new era of personalized medicine andresearch, he added.

A team of Millikin University MBAstudents has volunteered to take parts ofthe cyclotron venture on as their project,which the community will see more of inthe coming year.

“They’ll get to kind of learn a newindustry,” said Smithmier.

“This has just been a substantivegrowth year for St. Mary’s,” said KevinKast, St. Mary’s Hospital president andCEO.

Kast said in the past year, the hospitalhas added 33 physicians to its medicalstaff, making for a 15 percent to 16 per-cent increase in the active staff — goodfor the hospital and community, he said.

“From a community standpoint, whatthat means is these people are cominginto the community, they’re buyinghomes in the community, their kids aregoing to our schools in the community,”he said.

One new program at St. Mary’s is ahospitalist physician program, whichincludes six doctors whose focus is tocare for people while they are hospital-ized. Kast said he expects to hire twomore hospitalists within the next four orfive months.

“None of these folks were here lastyear,” he said.

Having hospitalists on staff improveshealth outcomes, decreases costs andreduces patients’ length of stay, Kastsaid.

“(The program) was an importantaddition to make principally because wewere beginning to see more and morepatients attracted to the specialists thatwe have here at St. Mary’s,” Kast said.“And so they were being seen by the spe-cialists, but their primary care physicianmight be in Jacksonville or in Pana or inShelbyville.”

Overall, the hospital’s staff has grownby about 70 employees.

In early 2012, St. Mary’s opened itsnew emergency department, lobby andlaboratory — parts of a three-phase, $31million project.

“January of this year we’ll be in oursecond year in this all-new facility,” Kastsaid, adding that the results of the con-struction project have been favorable.

In the past year, St. Mary’s alsoreceived the distinction of being a U.S.News and World Report Best RegionalHospital, being recognized by the publi-cation “for performing at the level ofnationally ranked U.S. News Best Hospi-tals in one adult specialty.”

Surveys also are reflecting a highdegree of patient satisfaction, Kast said.

In the past year, St. Mary’s has expand-ed its trauma capabilities and neuro-science and cardiac services, Kast said.

The hospital recently completed con-struction on Prairie Cardiovascular Con-sultants offices and a new cardiaccatheterization lab. Last calendar year,the hospital did about 100 cardiaccatheterizations, Kast said. Now, St.Mary’s is doing about 125 a month. Alsonew to the hospital is an interventionalcardiology program, he said.

Another area that has seen anincrease in patient volume has been theemergency department, which is con-nected to the radiology department andthe hospital’s new lab.

“We’ve seen about a 30 percentincrease in our ED. We’re handling that,maintaining the pledge that we have,”Kast said, adding that the hospitalpledges to see patients within 30 secondsand begin active care within 30 minutes.

Kast said the hospital is expecting con-tinued growth and will work on accom-modating the increase in the comingyear. One area in which Kast said heexpects the community will see a lot ofgrowth in the hospital’s operating roomcapacity.

“The demand is there, and I think it’sgoing to continue to be there,” he said.

Kast also said that state financialwoes and the uncertainties of health carereform have necessitated careful evalua-tion of hospitals’ spending. In theseuncertain times, being part of a systemhas been a great benefit to his hospital,he said. “At this point, our income isexceeding our expense.”

Kast said St. Mary’s plans to continueto expand its community presence withadditional offsite locations in communi-ties outside of Decatur.

He said the hospital will approach itsgrowth and look to the future whileemphasizing its values of respect, com-petence, care and joy.


Hospitals celebrate many achievements

Business Journal photos/Jim BowlingTrauma nurse specialist Laurie Durbin works at a mobile workstation in the new St. Mary'sHospital emergency room.

Nuclear pharmacist Eric Lester demon-strates the preparation of PET pharmaceuti-cals in the Center for Advanced MolecularMedicine at Decatur Memorial Hospital.


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ScreeningsBone density screening, 9-11 a.m. Wednes-

day, Jan. 2, Women’s Health and Breast Cen-ter, 302 W. Hay St., Suite 117A. Screening tocheck your risk for osteoporosis. To register,call 876-4377.

Cholesterol screening, 7-10 a.m. Thursday,Jan. 3, DMH Wellness Center, 241 WeaverRoad, Forsyth. Cost is $20. To register, call876-4377.

Support groupsHelping Hands Bereavement for Children, 3:30

p.m. each Thursday in the ComplementaryMedicine Art Room 409, Cancer Care Centerof Decatur, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register,call 876-4735.

Stroke Support Group, 6–7 p.m. Wednesday,Jan. 2, St. Mary’s Hospital Advanced Reha-bilitation Center Dining Room, 7th Floor. Forinformation, call 464-5872.

Facing Cancer Together, 1:30 p.m. Wednes-day, Jan. 9, Cancer Care Center of DecaturComplementary Education Classrooms, 210W. McKinley Ave. To register, call 876-4750.

Pink Link breast cancer support group, 6p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10. To register, call 876-4377.

Breastfeeding support group, 10:30–11:30a.m. Monday, Jan. 14 and 28, Baby TALK,500 E. Lake Shore Dr. To register, call FloFolami at 464-2334.

A New Season young widowed group, 6 p.m.Thursday, Jan. 17. For information, call DawnFollowell at 864-2799.

Diabetes support group, 11 a.m. to noon

Thursday, Jan. 24, DMH Wellness Center, 241

W. Weaver Road, Forsyth. Call 876-4249.

SHARE support group, 7 p.m. Monday, Jan.14, St. Mary’s Hospital, Room G24. Supportgroup for those who have experienced thedeath of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or

early infancy. For more information, call 464-2045.

Renewal bereavement support group, 6:30-8

p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, Cancer Care Center of

Decatur Complementary Education Class-

rooms, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register, call

876-6784.

Widowed support group, 6 p.m. Thursday,

Jan. 24. Monthly dinner gathering. For loca-

tion or to register, call 428-7733.

Us TOO prostate cancer support group, 4:30-6

p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, Decatur Memorial

Hospital. To register, call 876-4750.

ClassesArt therapy for cancer patients and families, 8

a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Com-plementary Medicine Art Room 409, CancerCare Center of Decatur, 210 W. McKinley Ave.Clay, paint watercolor, acrylic draw, printmake, collage, weave and more. For informa-tion, call 876-4700.

Grocery store tour, noon to 1 p.m. Wednes-day, Jan. 9. A registered dietitian will guideshoppers through the various sections of thegrocery store. Cost is $10. To register, call876-4249.

Freedom from Smoking, a 7-week course.

The DMH Wellness Center, 241 Weaver

Road, Forsyth, is hosting two sessions. The

first is at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, beginning

Jan. 7. The second is noon Tuesdays, begin-

ning Jan. 15. To register, call 876-4249. St.

Mary’s Hospital is hosting one beginning Jan.

15. To register, call 464-5872.

Cardiopulmonary education session, 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 11, and 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18,

DMH Cardiac Rehabilitation Department. For

information, call 876-2496.

Infant CPR Class, 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14,

DMH Classrooms. To register, call 876-3400.

Safe Sitter class, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday,

Jan. 5. This program teaches 11- to 13-year-

olds how to handle emergencies and provide

safe child care. Cost is $30. To register, call

876-3100.

Look Good, Feel Better, 6-8 p.m. Monday,Jan. 14, Cancer Care Center of Decatur, Can-cer Care Specialists of Decatur Classrooms,210 W. McKinley Ave. A program that teachesbeauty techniques to female cancer patientsin active treatment to help them combat theappearance-related side effects of cancertreatment. To register call, 876-6600.

Intuitive Eating, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday,Jan. 7. Rediscover the pleasures of eatingand rebuild your body image. Learn the prin-ciples of intuitive eating and help free yourselffrom chronic dieting forever. For information,call 876-4249.

Pre-Diabetes program, 10 a.m. Tuesdays,beginning Jan. 8, at the DMH Wellness Cen-ter, 241 Weaver Road, Forsyth. A six-weekprogram teaches you the necessary lifestylechanges to help you prevent diabetes. To reg-ister, call 876-4249.

Eat Right to Help the Fight, 1-2 p.m. Monday,Jan. 14 and 28, Cancer Care Center ofDecatur Education Classrooms, 210 W.McKinley Ave. Nutrition class for cancerpatients. To register, call 876-4750.

Managing Compulsive Eating, a six-weekcourse that is held at 5 p.m. Wednesdaysbeginning Jan 16, at the DMH Wellness Cen-ter, 241 W. Weaver Road, Forsyth. To register,call 876-4249.

Real Dads Rock, 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan.24, DMH Cafe 1 and Cafe 2. Program teach-es new fathers how to handle, feed, burp,change, clean and respond to their baby’sneeds. To register, call 422-6294.

MoreRed Cross Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 2, Assisi Conference Room,St. Mary’s Hospital.

Community Health Lecture Series, 6 p.m.Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the Decatur PublicLibrary. Family practitioner Dr. Joan Covaultwill discuss women’s health issues. For moreinformation, call 464-5125.


Community health calendar Laughuntil it

feels goodBy JEFF STRICKLER

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

You’ve heard of the “runner’shigh.” Get ready for the “laugher’shigh.”

A study at Oxford University foundthat laughing causes the body torelease the same endorphins as exer-cising, resulting in the feelings ofeuphoria mixed with serenity thatmany endurance athletes report expe-riencing.

This doesn’t come as a surprise tothe practitioners of Laughter Yoga, anexercise routine that combines laugh-ing with breathing exercises, said Min-neapolis teacher Jody Ross.

“It’s nice to have Oxford confirmsomething we’ve been seeing anecdo-tally,” said the founder of the LindenHills Free Laughter Club(www.laughtercenter.com), which,with 420 members, is the largest of itskind in the country. “When peopleleave our weekly Monday night class-es, we can see it in their faces.There’s a sense of elation yet relax-ation.”

There’s one caveat: The laughscan’t just be what the researcherscalled “polite titters.” To get the maxi-mum effect, you need full-fledgedbelly laughs that give the diaphragm aworkout.

Ross and the researchers also agreethat the endorphins released by laugh-ing can help offset pain. In fact, Rossinitially got involved with LaughterYoga in hopes that it would help man-age her chronic pain from fibromyal-gia.

Endorphins “are the body’s naturalmorphine,” she said. “And I’ve heardthat it’s much more powerful than reg-ular morphine.”

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Save Lives

Lose weight and improve sleepStudy: Less belly fatincreases sleep quality

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Drop a few pounds and it will lead toa good night’s sleep, new Johns Hopkinsresearch has found.

As the body loses fat, particularlybelly fat, people are able to sleep better,Hopkins doctors found when following77 people over six months.

The improvement in sleep qualitywas experienced by those who lostweight through diet, as well as those

who combined a healthy diet with exer-cise.

Study participants had type 2 dia-betes or pre-diabetes and were all over-weight or obese. They were randomlyassigned to one of two groups — onefocused on diet, the other exercise anddiet.

Both groups lost about 15 pounds onaverage and 15 percent of belly fat.

Good sleep is important for goodoverall health, including both physicaland mental, the Hopkins scientistssaid.

The study was funded by the NationalHeart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Take steps to beless reactive

By HEIDI STEVENSMcClatchy-Tribune News Service Writer

Facing down a man-eating lion is notthe same as facing down an Excelspreadsheet, but try explaining that toyour body’s stress receptors.

And good luck getting their attentionabove the din of your stalled com-muter train, looming presentation atwork, 14 unanswered LinkedInrequests and blink, blink, blinkingBlackBerry.

“Our bodies have not adapted to theculture we’re living in now,” said BrianLuke Seaward, author of “ManagingStress: Principles and Strategies forHealth and Well-Being.” “Our responseto every threat, whether it’s a saber-toothed tiger or a divorce or anapproaching deadline, is fight orflight.”

“We see an increase in our heart rate,blood pressure, breathing rate, basicallyall the metabolic activities that get youto survive and run for the hills,” Sea-ward said.

It’s an incredibly efficient system.Except that it’s slowly killing us.

How’s that for irony? “Once the lion is gone, your stress

response subsides” said MassachusettsInstitute of Technology instructor TheaSinger, author of “Stress Less: The NewScience That Shows Women How toRejuvenate the Body and the Mind.”“So much of what stresses us now,though, is perceived stress. And whenyou constantly perceive yourself asstressed, your stress hormones neverget turned off and you bathe yourself ina toxic substance.”

This toxic substance is made up most-ly of epinephrine, norepinephrine andcortisol, hormones produced by theadrenal cortex in response to stress.This is fantastic when you need to jumpout of the path of a careening vehicle.Not so fantastic when a Twitter black-out sends you into apoplexy.

Which raises the question: Can wereset our body’s response to stress?

“Absolutely, unequivocally yes,” saidJ. David Forbes, director of NashvilleIntegrated Medicine.

And we should. “Stress drives all kinds of biochemi-

cal changes in our bodies,” Forbessaid. “It instantaneously increases ourheart rate and blood pressure, makesour guts not function well and createsdamage to our blood vessels andorgans.”

Since we’re unlikely to avoid stres-sors altogether, “stress-proofing” yourbrain is a wise approach to our 24-hourbrand of anxiety, Singer said.

“There are things you can do so youwill be less reactive to a stressor whenone hits,” she said. “It’s really impor-tant to be proactive.”

Break a sweat Exercise, widely touted as a healthy

outlet after stress hits, also protects thebody from flying unnecessarily into cri-sis mode at the first sign of trouble.

“Exercise is a good stressor,” Singersaid. “It gives your neurons a tiny littleassault and they thicken in response, sothey can better withstand a biggerassault.”

So hitting the treadmill will makelife’s unexpected traffic jams less tax-ing on your brain and organs.

It also trains your brain to relax, saidSeaward.

“When athletes engage in exercisethey have a parasympatheticrebound,” he said. “When they stop,their bodies say, ‘It’s time for relax-ation’ and they kick in a chemicalcalled acetylcholine, also known as arelaxation hormone. If you look at ourculture, we’re not exercising regularly.We’re training ourselves for stress, butwe’re not training ourselves for relax-ation.”

Offline friending “Scientific studies have shown that

those who have greater social supportare less reactive to stressors thanthose who have less support,” saidSinger. “When we experience emotion-al pleasure, our reward circuitry kicksin. When we experience emotionalpain, a different part of the brainkicks in. In those who exhibit moresocial support, the part of the brainthat experiences pain is less reactiveduring stress” than in those with lesssupport.

And the benefits apply whetheryou’re giving or receiving social sup-port, Singer said. “Studies looking atvolunteering and our ability to with-stand stressors found that it’s a two-waystreet.”

Call a pal. Join a book club. Get theesome support, ideally, before you needit.

Skip Ben & Jerry’s Stress-eating makes us feel tem-

porarily better, but over time, it wearsdown our ability to keep anxiety atbay.

“When we reach for the fatty, salty,sweet stuff, it does momentarily have atranquilizing effect,” Singer said. “Itkicks off a pleasure center, the sameway drugs of abuse do. But once thatwears off, the cycle starts over and wecrave the same food to kick off the cen-ter again. This actually raises ourstress levels and increases our cortisollevels.”

A stalk of celery is not necessarilyyour answer, however.

“I recommend to people, ‘Think ofsomething else that brings you satisfac-tion that will also kick off that rewardcenter, but that won’t get you into that

whole cycle again,’ ” Singer said. “Car-rots are not necessarily pleasurable. Dosomething you enjoy: Take a mindfulwalk, read a book, jump rope.”

Meditate “We’ve seen a lot of research on neu-

roplasticity that shows people who med-itate can begin to change not just thephysiology of the brain, but the struc-ture of the brain,” said Seaward. “Thebrain waves are very different fromsomeone who meditates than someonewho doesn’t.”

That’s because meditation (alsoknown as mindfulness-based stressreduction) actually creates new neuralpathways between the brain’s right andleft hemispheres, he said, which offerscoherence between our brain’s analyti-cal, time-conscious, logical left side andthe intuitive, accepting, creative rightside.

Seaward cites a recent study in thejournal Psychiatry Research that usedmagnetic resonance to analyze thebrains of participants in an eight-weekmeditation program.

The study concludes: “Participation in Mindfulness-Based

Stress Reduction is associated withchanges in gray matter concentrationin brain regions involved in learningand memory processes, emotion regula-tion, self-referential processing and per-spective taking.”

Compassion meditation, a techniqueaimed at creating more empathy andacceptance of others, is particularlyhelpful in warding off stress, Singersaid.

“The goal is to alter your perceptionsof situations outside of yourself,” shesaid. “It’s not about wearing rose-col-ored glasses, but finding ways to count-er negativity.”

Notice something good that happenedto you today and tell someone about it.Do something nice for another person.Volunteer your time.

“People say, ‘Oh, this is so touchy-feely,’ but there is scientific evidence toback it up,” Singer said. “I’m as skepti-cal as the next guy. But when you lookat the science behind it, it’s reallyinspiring.”

Indeed, researchers at the Universityof Wisconsin at Madison using function-al magnetic resonance imaging, orMRI, found that compassion meditationaffected the brain regions that makepeople more empathetic to other peo-ples’ mental states, according to a 2008Science Daily report.

“Even taking five minutes a day to sitin quiet ambience will help,” said Sea-ward. “Our culture is in sensory over-load and that creates a training effectfor our brains to release an avalancheof stress hormones.

“It all comes down to balance,” hesaid. “Psychological, physiological,emotional balance. Our culture has a lotto do with that. But so do we.”


Be proactive in coping with stress Americansmaking fewerdoctor visits

By BLYTHE BERNHARDLee News Service Writer

Americans aren’t going to the doctoras often, but that doesn’t mean they’regetting healthier.

The average adult makes about fourvisits a year to a doctor, nurse or othermedical provider, down from five visitsin 2001, according to a report by the U.S.Census Bureau.

“On the face of it you’d say we’re goingin the right direction,” said ThomasMcAuliffe, health policy analyst with theMissouri Foundation for Health. “Thenyou start thinking of the economy.”

People who are uninsured generallyavoid medical care as long as possible.Just 12 percent of uninsured Americansreceived routine check-ups in 2010,according to the report, which did notbreak down the data by state.

Some findings from the report con-firm commonly held beliefs — womenare more likely than men to visit thedoctor and the number of medical visitsand hospital stays increases with age.

The report also uncovered some less-er-known statistics. Hispanics make thefewest trips to the doctor of any ethnicgroup. And more than half of the popu-lation did not take any prescriptiondrugs in the last year.

The slowing in medical care usagecould also be an indication of employerscutting back on their contributions toinsurance coverage. And workers arekeeping more money in health savingsaccounts instead of using it for co-pays.

“More and more Americans are put-ting off care until it’s urgent,” McAuliffesaid.

In a few years, there could be a rushon hospitals and doctors’ offices when allthe provisions of health care reform kickin, including the requirement that mostpeople have health insurance by 2014.

That could be trouble for insurers andproviders if people show up with healthproblems that have gone unchecked,McAuliffe said.

“What if you have all the precursors ofa chronic condition or heart disease andyou put it off for a year or two andyou’ve blown past the manageablestage?” McAuliffe said. “Our systemmay be taxed for the time being.”

Despite the downturn in medical serv-ices, Americans still consider them-selves in either “excellent” or “verygood” health. Only 2 percent considerthemselves in poor health, according tothe report.

Other findings from the report:n About 59 percent of people surveyed

had seen a dentist in the past year, com-pared to 73 percent who had seen a med-ical provider.

n Hospital stays are rare — 92 percentof people had not spent the night in atleast a year.

n More than one in three Americanstake prescription drugs regularly.


TECHTALK

Improve your company’s cyber-securityBetween hackers and government reg-

ulators, security concerns should be atthe top of your mind for any businessowner. Hackers can cause all manner ofgrief, and government fines can be steepif you are subject to any regulatoryrequirements (HIPAA, PCI, SOX,FISMA, FINRA, etc.). Even if you don’thave regulatory concerns, it could stillbe a public relations nightmare if sensi-tive customer information is released, orconfidential employee information suchas Social Security numbers.

Password policiesFirst of all, make

sure nothing onyour network hasdefault passwords.It is surprisinglycommon to findnetwork gear orsoftware applica-tions with adminis-trator accountsthat still have theoriginal vendor-supplied defaultpassword. This isan easy way foroutsiders to accessyour systems.

You can set password policies on yourserver to manage Windows networkaccess. Require complex passwords thatare difficult to guess. Force staff tochange passwords regularly (quarterly,at minimum). Windows will promptusers to make these changes so that oncethe policy is created, you know it willhappen.

Never share passwords among teammembers. Everyone should have theirown user ID and password to any sys-tems they access.

Change passwords immediately in theevent of a termination. It’s also a goodidea to review user access from time totime, to catch anyone you might havemissed.

Software patchingNearly everyone knows it’s important

to keep Microsoft Windows up-to-datewith the latest patches. This includesPCs and servers. Despite that, few com-panies are fully patched. Many compa-nies set up automated patching andassume it’s fine, but patching statusneeds to be checked frequently to ensureeveryone is current. Sometimes patchesfail, or users refuse to reboot, whichcauses patching to fall behind. Any timethis happens, it creates vulnerability onyour network.

Microsoft isn’t the only company whoprovides patching. Nearly any softwareproduct you use will release updatesfrom time to time, and in many casesthese have to be installed manually. Takean inventory of your software, and then

have someone review each application tofind the latest version and patches. Itmay take some time to get everythingcurrent, but your systems should runbetter and be more secure once this iscomplete.

Malware managementMalware is a serious problem. There

are any number of tiny programs outthere that are just waiting for an oppor-tunity to infiltrate your systems. No sin-gle strategy will prevent this. You needa combination. Make sure you have apowerful spam filter than also checksfor virus attachments. Keep currentantivirus software installed everywhere,and confirm it’s active and up-to-dateon a regular basis. Consider malwareprotection software as an additionallayer of security. Invest in a business-class firewall with an annual securitysubscription, and discuss turning on atleast basic Internet content filtering tokeep staff from visiting high-risk web-sites.

Software access controlWhen installing complex new software

applications, such as financial andaccounting software, customer relation-ship management (CRM), manufactur-ing or distribution packages, or the like,there is a tendency to rush through allthe configuration steps so you can startusing it right away. A common shortcutis to give users far more access thanthey need. The policy should be to pro-vide everyone exactly what they need,and no more. If you have allowed broad-er access than you should, it’s a safe betthat someone will abuse this at somepoint.

Mobile device security Any device that leaves the office

should be password-protected andencrypted if possible. This includestablets (iPads and Droids), smartphones, laptops and even USB keys con-taining company data.

Set up secure remote access, such as aVPN (Virtual Private Network) or Ter-minal Server, so that allowing computersand other devices to connect to companyresources is safe. Use SSL (Secure Sock-ets Layer) certificates to encrypt remoteaccess to email.

If you have staff who connect to com-pany email or files on their own devices,implement a BYOD (Bring Your OwnDevice) Policy that gives you permissionto secure the device and perform aremote data wipe in the event of theft orloss.

Physical security Servers should always be in a locked

room, or at least a locked rack. Networkgear should also be secured. You mayalso need to do a security sweep fromtime to time to look for “rogue” wirelessaccess points that your staff plug inwithout permission. On most small-busi-ness networks, it’s fairly easy to plug inyour own wireless hotspot, and if it’s notcompany-controlled, this could allow out-siders full access to your network.

Security trainingOne of the very best preventative

measures is to train your staff. Set a pol-icy on how they handle on-premise visi-tors who they don’t know. Give themguidance on how to handle phishingemails and unsafe email attachments.Create an acceptable use policy for com-pany resources such as email and Inter-net, to let employees know their bound-aries. Train them on social engineeringtactics commonly used by hackers toobtain passwords and gain access toyour company resources.

Data recoveryIn the event of an issue, a sound data

recovery strategy will be critical. Havingmultiple backups and redundancies willgive you the ability to go back in timeand retrieve any lost data or evaluateunexpected changes. Without this, youcould be down for an extended period oftime or even be faced with complete lossof critical business data.

If something happensNo matter how many precautions you

take, something could still happen. Atthat point, it’s all about how yourespond. Obviously the more precau-tions you already have in place, the bet-ter a position you will be in if somethinghappens, because it shows that you takesecurity seriously. Most PR consultantswill advise that you be open and honest,take proactive measures to prevent asimilar incident from occurring in thefuture, and find ways to make restitu-tion for anyone damaged by the inci-dent.

Wendy Gauntt is president of CIO Services LLC, atechnology consulting company that specializes insmall business solutions. Visit her website atwww.cioservicesllc.com for more information,ideas and free resources.

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Q: Things seemed to be going prettywell at work, and then we had a few lay-offs. It’s really shaken me up, and I’mtrying to settle down again. What do yousuggest?

A: Accept your feelings, but do a reali-ty check to helpyou move forward.

Layoffs aredeeply unsettlingfor all affected, andit’s not surprisingthat you’re feelingstress from it. Ifyou’re having trou-ble coming toterms with thechanges in yourworkplace, youmay need to spendsome time working

through your emotions. Set aside sometime to really focus on your feelings.Find a comfortable place, and take somedeep breaths to get centered.

Identify the feelings you’re experienc-

ing, setting aside any sense of what youshould or shouldn’t be feeling. Let’s gothrough some likely options. Anger iscommon, as is fear. Guilt, too, is notunusual for survivors of a layoff.

For each of the emotions you’re feel-ing, dig a little deeper to understandthem. If you’re angry, what is causingyour anger? Whom do you blame for thelayoffs?

If you’re fearful, notice if you’re afraidyou might be next, or if, perhaps, it’sconcern over an additional workload thatyou may receive now that some of yourcolleagues are gone.

As an antidote to taking this personal-ly, focus on understanding the businessreasons for the layoff.

They may be purely financial — thechosen route to cut costs. Or they maybe more strategic in terms of havingpeople with the right skills in the rightnumbers.

If information hasn’t been shared,seek it out so that you can feel steadier.

Having understood your emotions, it’s

important to take action to release them.Getting them out in words in a safe waycan be a great help. Try writing themout in a journal or in a letter that younever send. If you’re not a writer, talkthem out into a tape recorder. You alsocan find a friend or family member tovent to, but be careful not to burn theperson out. Other creative outlets, suchas drawing or music, also can providerelief.

Consider lessons for the future. If youdetermine that people were let gobecause their skill sets were obsolete,assess your own so that your risk doesn’tincrease. Accept opportunities forgrowth, and be a go-to person. Manageyour attitude so that you’re a positive

force for the work environment.When you start to feel anxious or

angry, take some deep breaths and do areality check. Is something bad happen-ing at that moment?

If so, plan a reasoned response. Butit’s more likely that you’re reacting tothe past or anticipating the future, nei-ther of which is helpful.

All that said, I’m concerned that yourangst over the layoffs is somewhat pro-longed. If you find you can’t get over it,and are perhaps drifting into depression,don’t hesitate to talk to a professional.These issues can be just too much to fig-ure out on your own.

Focus on resolving your emotions andmoving forward so that the past doesn’thold you back.

Liz Reyer is a credentialed coach with more than20 years of business experience. Her company,Reyer Coaching & Consulting, offers services fororganizations of all sizes. Submit questions orcomments about this column at www.deliver-change.com/coachscorner or email her [email protected].


YOUR CAREER

Company layoffs take toll on remaining workers

Q: One of my co-workers, “Andrea,”was recently promoted to a higher-levelposition. I applied for the same job, butwas never even interviewed, despite thefact that I have more experience and mywork is more complex. My boss says

Andrea has thenecessary qualifi-cations, but I haveinvestigated andfound that this isnot true.

I also havelearned that mymanager secretlyhelped Andrea pre-pare for the inter-view. But when Irequested a recom-mendation, shenever followed

through. Now I’m concerned that shemay be belittling me to other managersin the company.

I find myself spending a lot of timemonitoring my manager’s behavior andtrying to keep other people in the groupon my side. I would really like to move toanother department, because all thisnegativity is exhausting. Do you haveany advice?

A: Saying that you need to “keep peo-ple on your side” makes it sound asthough you are engaged in some sort ofbattle with your boss. If she perceivesyou as adversarial, that may explain herreluctance to recommend you for a high-er-level job. Promotions are seldomgiven to employees who are considereddifficult, even if they are well-qualified.

Since managers always have their owngrapevine, your boss’s negative percep-

tion might also affect your ability totransfer within the company. Just asemployees gossip about bosses, bossesalso talk about employees. Without“belittling” you, your manager could stillshare the opinion that you are somewhatchallenging to manage.

The bottom line is that, even if you dis-like your manager, you will neverthelessbenefit from having her support. Soinstead of wasting energy investigatingyour colleagues and fretting about lostopportunities, you would be wise to focuson building a better relationship withher. In the long run, employees who go towar with the boss usually lose, simplybecause managers have more power.

Q: I manage the administrative officein a high school. One of our secretaries,“Cheryl,” has a habit of openly talkingabout her personal problems and familyissues with teachers, students and par-ents. I have mentioned that she is shar-ing too much information, but Cherylsees nothing wrong with this. What is theproper etiquette in this situation?

A: This is not an etiquette issue. It’s amanagement issue. As the personresponsible for establishing office stan-dards, you have an obligation to keepemployees from engaging in unsuitablebehavior.

For example: “Cheryl, friendliness iscertainly one of your strengths, but thereis a difference between being friendlyand being unprofessional. Discussingyour personal problems with studentsand parents is completely inappropriate,so I need for you to stop doing this. Ifyou’re not sure where to draw the line, Iwill be glad to clarify what’s acceptable.”

Whether Cheryl agrees with this rulereally doesn’t matter. Once you haveexplained your expectations, she simplyneeds to abide by them.

Q: I recently completed a lengthy inter-view process for a general manager posi-tion. The first two interviews were withthe owners of the company, followed byindividual meetings with several mid-level managers. Next, I had a groupinterview with nine front-line supervi-sors.

Unfortunately, I just learned that I willnot be getting the job. I am extremelydisappointed and would like to know howI might have improved my interview per-formance. Since I established good rap-port with some of the interviewers,would it be appropriate to email themand request some feedback?

A: Qualified applicants can be elimi-nated for many reasons unrelated totheir interview skills. Nevertheless,assessing your own performance isalways a good idea. Asking interviewersfor feedback should be fine, as long asyou make your request positive, profes-sional and brief.

For example: “I enjoyed meeting youduring my interviews for the generalmanager position. Although I was notselected, I hope that I might be consid-ered for other openings in the future. For

that reason, I am interested in any feed-back you might have on how I could be astronger candidate.”

If you receive a reply, be sure toexpress your appreciation. But if not,just let it go, because a second emailmight make you seem pushy.

Q: After I helped a friend get a job inmy office, she immediately began tryingto exclude me from any project whichinvolved our manager. Now that sheseems to have his undivided attention, hehas started giving her assignmentswhich should not be part of her job.

This situation has hurt me so muchthat I have trouble focusing on my workand have even considered resigning.When I talked to the manager about it,he accused me of having a personalproblem with this woman. How should Ihandle this?

A: If you are honest with yourself, Ibelieve you will realize that your boss iscorrect. Your vision is so clouded by jeal-ousy and resentment that you can’t seethings clearly. In reality, your managerhas every right to assign work towhomever he chooses, and your col-league has every right to take on addi-tional responsibilities.

If you are wise, you will get your emo-tions under control, find a way to getalong with your co-worker, and look forways to shine in your own job. The onlyway to change this situation is to firstchange yourself.

Marie G. McIntyre is a workplace coach and theauthor of “Secrets to Winning at Office Politics.”Send in questions and get free coaching tips atwww.yourofficecoach.com, or follow her on Twit-ter @officecoach.

Build a better relationship with your manager

Liz Reyer

Weekly tipsGet weekly career tips from Liz Reyer at

www.thebusiness-journal.com.

Marie McIntyreOffice Coach

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Coach. Get weekly column updates atwww.thebusiness-journal.com.

Some weighingcost of penalties

By JOYCE M. ROSENBERGAP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Rose Wang looks ather staff of 70 employees and wonders ifshe’ll have to lay off some of them tocomply with the health care law.

The owner of Binary Group Inc., aninformation technology firm based inAlexandria, Va., is one of many small-business owners who will be required toprovide health insurance for her staffersunder a provision of the law that goesinto effect Jan. 1, 2014. Wang alreadyprovides insurance, but she has strug-gled with premiums that have soared asmuch as 60 percent annually, so sherequires employees to contribute to theircoverage. She’s worried because shedoesn’t know how much she’ll have topay under the Affordable Care Act.

Wang’s worry is a gut-wrenchingdilemma that many small-business own-ers are concerned that they may face.Now that President Barack Obama haswon re-election, the health care over-haul, which presidential candidate MittRomney promised to dismantle, ismarching forward. Companies mustdecide before the start of 2014 whatthey’ll do to comply with the law. Rightnow, no one knows how much the insur-ance will cost, and owners aren’t sure ifthey’d be better off not buying it andpaying a government a penalty of $2,000per worker. Some owners are eventhreatening to defy the law. The big chal-lenge for most small businesses is thatthey just don’t have enough informationto make concrete plans.

If Wang can’t afford the insurance, shesaid that some of her staffers may haveto go.

“I would have to say, ‘look, guys,you’re family to me in many respects,but this family also depends on havingthe kind of cash flow available to keepthe lights on and keep employing most ofyou,’ ” Wang said. “It would have to comedown to that.”

Not providing insurance and payingthe penalty is another alternative.“That’s what we’re going to decide by2014, if the math is so obvious it’s cheap-er for us to do the $2,000 per head,” shesaid.

The health care law generally requiresthat companies with 50 or more full-timeworkers provide health insurance fortheir staffers. If they don’t provide anyinsurance, they’ll have to pay the $2,000penalty for each worker on their payroll.If they buy insurance, but it doesn’t meetthe government’s tests for affordablecoverage, they’ll have to pay $3,000 foreach worker whose coverage isn’tdeemed affordable. If that seems confus-ing, that’s just the beginning. There’s alabyrinth of other details that includeplans that can be “grandfathered” in and

a maze of other fine points that small-business owners are trying to decipher.

In some industries, owners are consid-ering cutting employees’ hours to under30 a week, which would take those work-ers out of the jurisdiction of the law.Restaurant owners are looking at thatoption after Darden Restaurants Inc.said in October it was going to trychanging the mix of full-time and part-time workers at its restaurants includingRed Lobster and Olive Garden. Whenfull-timers leave, Darden will considerreplacing them with part-timers,spokesman Rich Jeffers said.

Hurricane Grill & Wings, a restaurantfranchise with five company-ownedrestaurants, is also thinking of loweringthe number of hours that its servers andother hourly employees work. Thatwould exempt them from having to becovered under the law. President MartinO’Dowd said the company would have tomonitor the quality of its service andfood to be sure there’s no impact on cus-tomers if workers are unhappy with theirshorter work week. But he’s not antici-pating any problems.

Hurricane CEO John Metz recentlysaid the company was consideringadding a 5 percent surcharge to cus-tomers’ bills starting in 2014 to cover thecosts of health care for full-time work-ers. But since the plan was reported inthe news media, and generated negativecomments on some websites, O’Dowdnow said that it was “hypothetical.”

“That is not in our plans,” he said. Even though some key details of the

health care overhaul haven’t beenworked out, such as how much insuranceoffered through the exchanges will cost,there is already a lot of information tosort through. Figuring out the details iskeeping human resources consultantsand benefits brokers busy.

“It is like a sleeping giant work up,”said Pamela Ross, owner of New York-based Atlantic Human Resources Advi-sors. “They are very much paying atten-tion because so many regulations kick infor 2014.”

There are so many unknowns aboutthe law that Campus Cooks is hiring anemployee to determine what the compa-ny’s options are and how much they’llcost. The provider of dining services forfraternity and sorority houses in theMidwest, Florida and Texas, has 125employees.

“I don’t know what’s in the law,” saidBill Reeder, president of the Glenview,Ill.-based company. “I’m really hiringsomeone whose job, in part, for the nextsix months is to figure out this thing.”

Reeder said he can’t afford to offerinsurance now and that’s something heregrets. And he said he might have topay the penalty if it turns out to becheaper than providing coverage.

He said he knows this much: “I’m notapproaching this by cutting hours orraising prices.”

Whether Reeder pays the penalty orbuys coverage, Campus Cooks will have

to come up with money to cover theexpense. “We have to look at our busi-ness and see how to run it more effi-ciently. We have to renegotiate our foodcosts, cut office expenses, streamline ourtechnology,” Reeder said.

Some small-business owners, whoalready provide insurance, are looking atthe law and weighing paying penaltiesagainst continuing to provide insurancethat is more expensive. One risk thoughis that dropping coverage may send amessage to employees that the ownerdoesn’t care about them. That could leadsome workers to quit.

“They’re looking at that and saying,

‘well, if I stop providing benefits for mypeople, am I going to lose good people tomy competitors who may not be takingthe same approach?” Ross said.

Ken Wisnefski considered paying thepenalty, but said he has decided againstit. His company, online marketing firm,WebiMax, based in Mount Laurel, N.J.,has nearly 100 employees, and alreadyprovides health insurance.

“Not offering health care is not neces-sarily the best way of attracting talent,”he said.

Companies that won’t be bound by thenew law, but that do provide insurancewill be looking to see if they can savemoney through the exchanges.

Matt Helbig provides insurance to the10 full-time employees at Big River Run-ning Co., his chain of three running andwalking shoe stores in the St. Louis area.He’s waiting to see the cost of insuranceon the exchanges before deciding what todo.

Some small-business owners are think-ing about paying the penalty becausethey genuinely believe they won’t be ableto afford to buy insurance, said AllenNassif, president of Northern Benefits,an insurance brokerage serving smallbusinesses in New England.


YOUR BUSINESS

Business owners face health care dilemma‘That’s what we’re going to

decide by 2014, if the math is soobvious it’s cheaper for us to

do the $2,000 per head.’RROOSSEE WWAANNGG,,

BBIINNAARRYY GGRROOUUPP IINNCC.. OOWWNNEERR


BUSINESS CLIPS

New staff membersTracy Preston has joined

the Diane Sullivan StateFarm Agency as alicensed insurance produc-er.

Whitney Patient Prosser hasjoined The Hair Nest asan estheti-cian/skin

care therapist and MaryKay consultant.

Karalee Misner has beennamed business develop-ment manager for Land ofLincoln Credit Union.

AchievementsDr. Drew Sullivan of North-

gate Pet Clinic has beencertified in small animalultrasound through theUniversity of Illinois Col-lege of Veterinary Medi-cine.

Billingsley Service Center &Towing has received the American Tow-man ACE Award for achievement in

service performance.

The Advanced Rehabilitation Center at St.Mary’s Hospital has been accredited byCARF International for itsinpatient adult rehabilita-tion program.

Dr. Darren Love, PsyD, ofPsychology Specialistshas completed his resi-dency and is nowlicensed to practice psy-chology.

PromotionsDeborah Born has been

promoted to office manag-er for Illini Supply.

AnnouncementsMatt Sekosky was elected chairman of

the Easter Seals Central IllinoisDecatur Board of Directors during thegroup’s annual meeting. Other officersare Bart Rose, treasurer, and Jeannette Zer-fowski, secretary. New board membersare Rob Comerford, Katie Mears, LeShelle Smal-ley and Kathy York.

The group also honored the followingbusinesses, groups and individuals. Out-standing Retail Volunteers, Best Buy; Out-standing Company Donor, Star Silkscreen;Outstanding Service Club, Noon Sertoma;Support of Easter Seals Bowl-a-thon, Wal-greens; Softball champions, Wood Printing;Outstanding Media Sponsor for EasterSeals Day Celebration, CEFCU; Outstand-ing Health Donor Organization, St. Mary’sHospital; and Superior Chairperson, DougMcCarthy.

Jeanelle Norman has been elected presi-dent of the Decatur branch of theNational Association for the Advance-ment of Colored People. Other officerselected to two-year terms are DeborahFord, vice president; Minnie Topps, secre-tary; and Jillian Norman, treasurer.

Business Clips are abbreviated versions of paidBusiness Achievements which appear on Mondaysin the Herald & Review. For more informationabout Business Achievements, go to www.herald-review.com/app/secure/businessach/

Submitted photoSitting: Gary Birschbach, KellyAnn Thompson, Christina Baker, Joshua Dunmire and FeliciaJoyce. Standing: Kevin Horath, Andrew Birschbach, Richard Kaczynski, Joshua Dubbelde,Jennifer McMillin, Patrick Bode, Meredith Johnson-Palmer, Howard Martin, Starla Street,Jack Adwell and Rebecca Damptz.

The Decatur Leadership Instituteadded the following individuals to is listof graduates: Jack Adwell and MeredithJohnson-Palmer of Richland CommunityCollege; Christina Baker of Hickory PointBank & Trust; Andrew and Gary Birschbachof G&L Food Inc. (McDonald’s); PatrickBode and Joshua Dubbelde of Samuels-Miller Law Firm; Rebecca Damptz ofDecatur Public Library; Joshua Dunmire of

J.L. Hubbard Insurance & Bonds; KevinHorath of Decatur Memorial Hospital;Felicia Joyce of Caterpillar Inc.; RichardKaczynski of Brechnitz Group of RaymondJames; Howard Martin of Busey Bank; Jen-nifer McMillin of The Community Founda-tion of Macon County/Education Coali-tion; Starla Street of Millikin Universityand KellyAnn Thompson of Ronald McDon-ald House Charities of Central Illinois.

DLI graduates another class

Preston

Misner

Born

Sullivan

Love

BUSINESS JOURNALRReeaaddeerr PPrrooffiillee::

n 66% have household income of $80,000 or more.

n 32% are age 55 or older.

Did you know?Five corporate surprises

1. Intel —builds $5 billion fabricationplant every 5 years

2. Atari — sold rights to Pac-Man(“too simple”)

3. Manicurist training in Alabama —requires 700 hours

4. Staples — No. 2 online merchant(Amazon No. 1)

5. McDonald’s — U.S.’s biggest sell-er of apples

Good developmentsHow long they took to build1. Build Twitter prototype — 2 weeks2. Build space shuttle Discovery — 4

years3. Build Zamboni — 10 years4. Build Edsel — 9 years (sold for 3)5. Build 1st commercial computer —

5 years

Source: World Features Syndicate

Last month, we talked about Buster,our pal who has been homeless and look-ing for work.

This month, we’re going to leaveBuster alone for a bit. Not that I’m tiredof him, but I want you to think aboutsomething else. I want you to consider

being Buster’sboss.

Imagine thatyou’re the one whomakes hiring deci-sions for a localestablishment.Heck, as long asthis is all made up,let’s be more spe-cific. Imagineyou’re the managerof an economyhotel here inDecatur. A niceplace, moderately

priced, it’s a good bargain for travelers.Many of your guests are in town tem-porarily on work crews. You give them afair deal.

So, there you sit behind your desk inyour little office on a slow Tuesday

morning, sipping coffee, thumbingthrough the paper, and from time to timesurfing the Web or playing a game ofFree Cell.

Now, imagine two scenarios.

SCENARIO #1:In walks a guy, asks if you have a

minute. You can’t really lie, feet on thedesk and all. So you ask, “What can I dofor you?”

“I need a favor,” he says. “You hiring?”You admit that you are looking for agroundskeeper. This is night work. Itrequires someone to clean the parkinglot and grounds, pick up trash in thegame room and keep a hot pot of coffeefor late arrivals and returning guests.

“Great,” he says. “I’ve got a client whoreally needs a job like that. He’s had afew bad breaks, and you could really dous a favor if you hired him. So, can youtake him on?”

SCENARIO #2:In walks another guy, who has made

an appointment in advance. He intro-duces himself as a job developer.

He asks about the challenges of my

job, especially with hiring and keepinggood help. And he listens to my answers,as I tell him that I go through half adozen groundskeepers every year. Heasks about the job.

Then he says this: “Our organizationhas a training program with a proventrack record. When a candidate makes itthrough our program, it means that heor she has developed basic work habits,that they know how to act on the job, andthey know how to communicate. In fact,the average placement in jobs like yoursretains the job for at least 24 months.And we have couple people that havestayed for years.

“So, when can I talk to you about acouple of our graduates, to see if theymight be able to help you?”

WHICH ONE?Who are you more likely to invite back

for a second visit? You saw the differ-ence, right. Guy No. 1 wants you to solvehis problem. Guy No. 2 wants to solveyour problem.

I’ve talked to both of these guys, ortheir many clones, in the past fewmonths. Some of them beg employers for

favors, and their programs generallyhave poor results.

Others offer to help employers, andthey have developed solid track recordsof success. Their outcomes are oftenincredible. The Cara Program in Chica-go, for example, consistently providesemployers with people who have lowturnover rates and high productivity. Infact, some employers have learned thatthey get better people by hiring the for-merly homeless through Cara than theydo by hiring on their own.

The secret? Cara looks at it from theemployers’ point of view.

Fred W. Spannaus, principal of Spannaus Con-sulting, is a senior professional in humanresources. He loves feedback to his columns. Fredcan be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at 425-2635.


The right point of view matters

Fred SpannausHuman Resources

ASK THE SCORE COUNSELOR

Q: What are some common small-busi-ness tax mistakes I should avoid?

A: Angie Mohr, professional account-ant and business writer says: “It can beeasy to forget about Uncle Sam whenyou’re in the midst of day-to-day opera-tions, but making tax mistakes can becostly for your small business.” Angiehas written for the SBDC’s Weekly Con-nection and also has written six bookson business management. She says, tohelp you prevent hearing the knock ofthe IRS at your door, here are five com-mon tax-centric mistakes to ensure youavoid.

1. Failing to send 1099s. As a smallbusiness, the IRS requires you to issueinformation forms to certain individualsand partnerships that you have paidthroughout the year. You must fill outand remit 1099-MISC slips to the IRSand the payee for cumulative annualpayments more than $600 for services,rents, awards and prizes, and certainother payments. Before issuing 1099-MISCs, you will be required to have pay-ees fill out a W-9 form, which you keepon file. A W-9 provides you with thepayee’s Social Security or taxpayeridentification number. The 1099s mustbe sent out to payees by Jan. 31 of thesubsequent year and to the IRS by Feb.28 (for paper filers) or March 31 (forelectronic filers). Penalties for not fil-ing on time range from $30 to $250 foreach 1099-MISC you’re required to send.

2. Mixing business and personalexpenses. Many new small-business own-ers operate out of their personal bankaccounts and make purchases that areused for business and personal purposes.The IRS is particularly interested inensuring that only business-related

expenses are being deducted for tax pur-poses, and not doing so can get you intohot water. Open a separate bank accountfor your business to keep monies apart.Keep detailed records of business pur-chases and of any business use of person-al assets, such as a car or a home office.

3. Losing track of receipts. Whenyou’re running around wearing all thehats for your business, it’s easy to stuffpurchase receipts into your wallet orpants pocket, never to be seen again.However, you can’t deduct what youdon’t document, and you could end uppaying more taxes on your businessincome than you need to.

4. Getting behind on payroll and sales-tax remittances. Cash-strapped businessowners often have to juggle theirfinances to make sure the bills get paid.This can create a huge temptation to usemoney collected from sales tax and pay-roll to temporarily support operations,which can lead to filing returns late andowing funds to the IRS. The governmenttreats these funds very seriously andconsiders them to be held in trust. Theyshould be deposited in a separate bankaccount and remitted on time to avoidpenalties and interest. Collecting taxes

and not remitting them also can, inextreme circumstances, lead to criminalcharges.

5. Not reporting barter transactions.In most cases, if you, for example, helpyour neighbor clean her gutters and she,in turn, baby-sits your kids, no taxabletransaction has occurred. However, ifyou run a home-improvement business, itlikely has “barter transactions” (goodsor services provided in exchange forother goods and services). These mustbe treated as taxable business incomewhen they relate to the business you arein. They are valued at the cost of what isbeing received. In the above example,the gutter cleaning would be assessed atthe value of the baby-sitting receivedand added to your revenue figures onyour tax return.

Paying attention to your business’s taxsituation can save you the grief of anaudit and, potentially, a significantamount of money. If you’re unsure abouthow to handle a transaction, talk withyour accountant to get it handled theright way.

— Carol Harding, SCORE counselor

Meet a SCORE counselor Marcia Phillips has

been a SCORE Ambas-sador for almost 3years. She has previ-ously held manage-ment positions in well-known corporations,owned a Decaturrestaurant for 13 years,and revamped thegrille and catering operations at Rich-land Community College.

Got a question?To learn more about business taxes, for

one-on-one, face-to-face business coun-seling, or to submit a question for the “Askthe SCORE Counselor” column, contactSCORE Chapter 296, Millikin University,1184 W. Main St., Decatur, IL 62522 or call424-6296.

Phillips

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n 48% share their copy of The Business

Journal with others.

n 23% are 35 to 44 years old

The ArtsAnne Lloyd Gallery: Young Artists Show-

case. Annual juried exhibit hosted byGallery 510 Arts Guild featuring the art-work by Decatur area students ingrades 5 to 8. Call 423-3189. www.decaturarts.org

Gallery 510: Handmade jewelry by Bar-bara Hodges. Meet the artist receptionfrom 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. Call422-1509.

Decatur Airport: Landscapes by CarolKessler.

Decatur Public Library: A variety of piecesby Diana Manning.

Erlanson Gallery, Richland Community Col-lege: “The Art of Science 2.0: Imagesfrom the Institute of Genomic Biology,”from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22. There will be areception from noon to 1 p.m. Wednes-day, Feb. 6

Perkinson Art Gallery, Kirkland Fine Arts Cen-ter: Millikin Faculty Biennial Exhibition.

Music“Hooray for Hollywood!” The Greater

Decatur Chorale Winter Concert, Jan. 11-13,

Decatur Civic Center Theater. Cost is$12. All seats are reserved. Call 422-5911.

Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra pres-ents it annual Young Artists Concert,7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Kirkland FineArts Center. For tickets, call 424-6318.

Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience,7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, KirklandFine Arts Center. For tickets, call 424-6318.

Charity eventsUCP Miller Lite Barstool Open to benefit

United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln,Saturday, Jan. 19. This annual event fea-tures a game of miniature golf with theholes located in various bars and restau-rants throughout Decatur. For moreinformation, call 428-5033.

Central Illinois Regional Chili & Salsa Cook-Off, Saturday, Jan. 19, at Hickory PointMall. This event, sponsored by theForsyth Sunrise Rotary Club, will fea-

ture an International Chili Societyregional cookoff. Proceeds benefit localcharities. For more information, call433-9068.

Festival of Church Choirs to benefit BigBrothers/Big Sisters of Macon County, 2p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, at Tabernacle Bap-tist Church. The event will feature 12area churches, as well as an ensemblechildren’s choir. For information, call428-4240.

For the kidsChildren’s Museum of Illinois: Family Sci-

ence Sunday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13.Collaborate and Create Clay Workshop,10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 19. Pre-registra-tion required. Family Free Night, 5:30p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31. Call 423-5437.

The Rock Springs Nature Center hosts a longlist of mini camps, family adventuresand classes during the month. So many,in fact, that there are too many to list.Go to www.maconcountyconservation.

org and click on the Programs andActivities tab for a complete listing.

On StageTheatre 7 presents “Leaving Iowa,” Jan.

18-20 and 25-27, Shilling Auditorium,Richland Community College. For tick-ets, call 422-3866. www.theatre7.net.

The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion, 7:30 p.m.Friday, Feb. 22, Kirkland Fine Arts Cen-ter. For tickets, call 424-6318.

Misc.Decatur Bridal Expo, 5-9 p.m. Friday, Jan.

4, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, atthe Decatur Conference Center andHotel. Fashion show both days. For moreinformation, call 428-3481.

Got an item you’d like listed in the Your Free Timecalendar? Send the information to Scott Perry [email protected] or 601 E. William St.,Decatur, IL 62523.


FeaturedBusiness:

101MAIN PLACE BAR & GRILL 101 S. Main St., DecaturAccommodates: up to 100 people Contact: Tiffany Jess101 Club & Atrium, business/social functions 422-4700Full food & beverage service available

DECATUR CLUB 158 W. Prairie Ave., DecaturAccommodates: 300 people Contact: Jeff IngleBanquets & Weddings 429-4200

DECATUR CONFERENCE CENTER & HOTEL 4191 U.S. 36 WestAccommodates: 2,000 people Contact: 420-871155,000 sq. ft. functional space, food service available

DOHERTY’S PUB & PINS 242 E. William St., DecaturAccommodates: up to 80 seating - 150 capacity Contact: 428-5612Full food & beverage service available

HICKORY POINT BANQUET FACILITY 727 Weaver Rd., DecaturAccommodates: 225 w/additional seating on veranda Contact: Judy SheetsAward-winning cuisine 421-6657

MT. ZION LIONS CENTER 1595 W. Main St., Mt. ZionAccommodates: up to 300 people Contact: Sharon SpinnerChoose your own caterer, bring your own food 864-3100Ask about our “value-added service” mtzionlionsclub.com

SCOVILL BANQUET FACILITY 3909 W. Main St., DecaturAccommodates: up to 225 people Contact: Kevin BrewerAward-winning cuisine 421-7470

MT. ZION CONVENTION CENTER 1410 Mt. Zion Pkwy, Mt. ZionAccommodates: 1,100 people Contact: 864-5424

The Decatur Area has a wide range of facilities for your nextbusiness meeting, workshop, convention, party or other special

event. To advertise your facility, call 217-421-6920.

YOUR FREE TIME

Calendar of eventsFor a complete list of events, go to www.herald-review.com/go/


n 72% read The Business Journal monthly.

n 17% are 34 and under.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American con-sumers have shown about as muchappetite for the $1 coin as kids do theirspinach. They may not know what’s bestfor them either. Congressional auditorssay doing away with dollar bills entirelyand replacing them with dollar coinscould save taxpayers some $4.4 billionover the next 30 years.

Vending machine operators have longchampioned the use of $1 coins becausethey don’t jam the machines, cuttingdown on repair costs and lost sales. Butmost people don’t seem to like carryingthem. In the past five years, the U.S.Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presiden-tial $1 coins. Most are stored by the Fed-eral Reserve, and production was sus-pended about a year ago.

The latest projection from the Govern-ment Accountability Office on the poten-tial savings from switching to dollarcoins entirely comes as lawmakers beginexploring new ways for the governmentto save money by changing the moneyitself.

The Mint is preparing a report forCongress showing how changes in themetal content of coins could save money.

The last time the government mademajor metallurgical changes in U.S.

coins was nearly 50 years ago when Con-gress directed the Mint to remove silverfrom dimes and quarters and to reduceits content in half dollar coins. Now, Con-gress is looking at new changes inresponse to rising prices for copper andnickel.

At a House subcommittee hearing lastmonth, the focus was on two approaches:

n Moving to less expensive combina-tions of metals such as steel, aluminumand zinc.

n Gradually taking dollar bills out theeconomy and replacing them with coins.

The office’s Lorelei St. James told theHouse Financial Services panel it wouldtake several years for the benefits ofswitching from paper bills to dollar coinsto catch up with the cost of making thechange. Equipment would have to bebought or overhauled and more coinswould have to be produced upfront toreplace bills as they are taken out of cir-culation.

But over the years, the savings wouldbegin to accrue, she said, largelybecause a $1 coin could stay in circula-tion for 30 years while paper bills have tobe replaced every four or five years onaverage.

“We continue to believe that replacing

the note with a coin is likely to provide afinancial benefit to the government,” saidSt. James, who added that such a changewould work only if the note was com-pletely eliminated and the public educat-ed about the benefits of the switch.

Even the $1 coin’s most ardent support-ers recognize that they haven’t been pop-ular. Philip Diehl, former director of theMint, said there was a huge demand forthe Sacagawea dollar coin when produc-tion began in 2001, but as time wore on,people stayed with what they knew best.

“We’ve never bitten the bullet toremove the $1 bill as every other West-ern economy has done,” Diehl said. “Ifyou did, it would have the same successthe Canadians have had.”

Beverly Lepine, chief operating officerof the Royal Canadian Mint, said hercountry loves its “Loonie,” the nicknamefor the $1 coin that includes an image ofa loon on the back. The switch went overso well that the country also went to a $2coin called the “Toonie.”

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., affirmedthat Canadians have embraced their dol-lar coins. “I don’t know anyone whowould go back to the $1 and $2 bills,” hesaid.

That sentiment was not shared by

some of his fellow subcommittee mem-bers when it comes to the U.S. version.

Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., said men don’tlike carrying a bunch of coins around intheir pocket or in their suits. And Rep.Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said the $1coins have proved too hard to distinguishfrom quarters.

“If the people don’t want it and theydon’t want to use it,” she said, “why inthe world are we even talking aboutchanging it?”

“It’s really a matter of just gettingused to it,” said Diehl, the former Mintdirector.

Several lawmakers were moreintrigued with the idea of using differentmetal combinations in producing coins.

Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, said apenny costs more than 2 cents to makeand a nickel costs more than 11 cents tomake. Moving to multiplated steel forcoins would save the government nearly$200 million a year, he said.

The Mint’s report, which is due inmid-December, will detail the results ofnearly 18 months of work exploring avariety of new metal compositions andevaluating test coins for attributes ashardness, resistance to wear, availabilityof raw materials and costs.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Younger Amer-icans in their late 30s are now the groupmost likely to doubt they will be finan-cially secure after retirement, a majorshift from three years ago when babyboomers nearing retirement ageexpressed the greatest worry.

The survey findings by the PewResearch Center reflect the impact of aweak economic recovery beginning in2009 that has shown stock market gainswhile housing values remain decimated.

As a whole, retirement worries roseacross all age groups, roughly 38 percentof U.S. adults say they are “not too” or“not at all” confident that they will havesufficiently sized financial nest eggs,according to the independent researchgroup. That’s up from 25 percent in 2009.

But the concerns are increasing thegreatest among younger adults approach-ing middle age, whose equity in theirhomes represents most of their net worth.About 49 percent of those ages 35-44 saidthey had little or no confidence that theywill have enough money for retirement,more than double the 20 percent share inthat age group who said so in 2009.

Baby boomers born between 1946 and1964 also reported having more retire-ment anxieties than before, but now to alesser degree compared to their youngercounterparts. About 43 percent of Ameri-

cans ages 45-54 expressed little or notrust in their retirement security, upfrom 33 percent in 2009. Among Ameri-cans ages 55-64, the share expressing lit-tle or no confidence was 39 percent, upfrom 26 percent.

Broken down by smaller groups, thePew analysis found that retirement wor-ries peaked among adults in their late30s; a majority, or 53 percent, of Ameri-cans ages 36 to 40 lacked confidence thatthey will have large enough nest eggs.Just three years ago, it was babyboomers ages 51 to 55 who had the mostanxiety over whether their income andassets would be sufficient.

Richard Morin, a senior editor at Pewwho co-authored the report, said theshift in attitudes was somewhat surpris-ing.

“I think most people would expectthose on the cusp of retirement — ages55 to 64 — would be the most concernedabout financing their retirement, (so)the finding that the peak is now occur-ring among adults roughly 20 yearsyounger is notable,” he said. “Moreover,the wealth data showing those approach-ing or in early middle age had lost themost in the past decade suggests thattheir concerns are not misplaced.”

Morin said that it is hard to predictwhether 30-somethings will continue to

express the most retirement worries inthe years to come, but said it was a “realpossibility” given that housing valuesaren’t expected to fully recover anytimesoon.

An Associated Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll in late 2011 also found that con-cerns about retirement were increasingacross all age groups, a reflection of thecontinuing hard economic times.

According to the Pew report, the infla-tion-adjusted net worth of Americansages 35 to 44 fell roughly 56 percent from2001 to 2010, the sharpest decline for anyage group and more than double the 22percent rate of decline for boomers ages55 to 64. Net worth, also referred to aswealth, is the sum of all assets such as ahouse, car, stocks and 401(k)s, minus thesum of all debts including mortgage,credit card debt, car and tuition loans.

In dollars, the median wealth of Amer-icans ages 35 to 44 fell by $56,029 to$43,698 over the past decade. In contrast,those ages 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 lost about$50,000. The median wealth of those 65and older over the past decade increasedslightly — the only age group to experi-ence a gain.

The 35 to 44 age group has been hit thehardest in terms of wealth because theywere the ones most likely to have pur-chased a home at bubble prices during

the housing boom, only to see valuesshrivel in the housing bust. This youngerto middle-aged group also largely stayedout of the stock market from 2001 to 2010and as a result missed out on the stockrun-up that began in 2009, according toPew’s analysis of Federal Reserve data.

The S&P 500 index peaked above 1,500in October 2007 but then fell to a closinglow of 676.53 in March 2009. It has risensignificantly since then, closing above1,200 in December 2010 and is now backabove 1,400.

Broken down by education and income,adults holding a high school diploma orless were less likely to express confi-dence in their retirement finances thancollege graduates, 53 percent vs. 71 per-cent. Those with family incomes of lessthan $50,000 also were less confidentcompared to those making $100,000 ormore, 51 percent vs. 79 percent.

The Pew study is based on interviewswith 2,508 adults by cellphone or landlinefrom July 16 to 26, as well as an analysisof the Survey of Consumer Finances,which is sponsored by the FederalReserve. The Pew poll has a margin oferror of plus or minus 2.8 percentagepoints, larger for subgroups. The AP-LifeGoesStrong.com poll was conductedOct. 5-12, 2011, by Knowledge Networksof Palo Alto, Calif.


Retirement worries up among young adults

Stop in, call 217.875.2301, or go online to learn more.

��

Try to save 8 times your incomeMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

How much should you save for retire-ment?

Think eight. As in eight years of your final yearly

salary before you say goodbye to yourjob and head off for retirement.

That’s according to Fidelity Invest-ments, the nation’s largest holder ofemployer-based 401(k) retirementaccounts.

If you make $50,000 in your last year ofworking, you should have $400,000 saved,Fidelity financial planners say. If youmake less, then you won’t need as much.But if you make more, you should havemore money stashed away to ensure acomfortable retirement.

“While every individual’s situation willdiffer greatly based on desired lifestylein retirement, the average worker mayreplace 85 percent of his pre-retirementincome by saving at least eight times hisending salary,” according to a Fidelitystatement.

The timetable has people working andsaving until 67 and living until 92.

Boca Raton, Fla., financial plannerMari Adam said the Fidelity retirementsavings goal is doable. “I like this way ofmeasuring,” she said. “It’s easy tounderstand.”

In fact, in an earlier newsletter toclients, she offered a timetable in whicha potential retiree accumulated as muchas 10 to 12 times their annual salary bythe time of retirement.

The Fidelity recommendation “cutssome slack to workers,” Adam added.

“Everyone is so tired about hearing thatthey are not doing enough. People aresaying they can’t save more.”

Some people may, in fact, not need tosave as much as eight times their salary,said Deerfield Beach, Fla., financialadviser Chris Nichols. Those with pen-sions may only need a fraction of that,he said. Even people without pensionscan opt to work longer, he said. That waythey will get larger Social Securitychecks, meaning they don’t need to saveas much, Nichols added.

Another factor is people living simplyand not needing as much income inretirement, Adam and Nichols said.

Today’s baby boomers, however, “havemore stuff,” and more of them want lux-uries such as cable television than earli-er generations did, Adam said.

One way to cut expenses in retirementis to pay off a mortgage, typically thelargest living expenses, said Blair C.Shein, a financial planner who is on theboard of the nonprofit Financial PlanningAssociation of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Some people may actually be betteroff paying down debt, such as creditcard expenses, than saving, he added.Once savers get their credit card bal-ance paid off, an average of about $4,700,according to the Credit Karma website,then they can start using the money forretirement savings, Shein said.

He recommends saving on a regularbasis to ensure a nest egg. Havingmoney automatically withdrawn from apaycheck to place in retirement savings,such as a 401(k), helps people save with-out thinking about it, Shein said.


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Herald & Review Business Journal: January 2013

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