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FAST LANE - February
2002
STATE
International Horse Breeders Show
Confidence in State
 After
a devastating season last year due to Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome,
Kentucky’s horse industry has gotten some good news. Statistics
show that international Thoroughbred breeders are again sending their
mares to the Bluegrass state in healthy numbers.
The Kentucky Department
of Agriculture reports that following required quarantine and testing
of imported horses, preliminary data shows approximately 205 overseas
Thoroughbred mares were received in the state in 2001. This compares
to 248 mares received in 2000.
“We believe
these preliminary numbers show that our major overseas trading partners
have confidence in Kentucky’s equine industry,” said Rusty
Ford, equine programs manager for the KDA. “Another encouraging
statistic is that 156 of these 205 mares were imported during the last
quarter of 2001, and that represents a 35 percent increase in number
of mares imported during the same time in 2000.”
Preliminary data
also shows three overseas Thoroughbred stallions were received in Kentucky
in 2001. This compares to two overseas Thoroughbred stallions in 2000.
Another optimistic
sign for Kentucky is the addition of 20 Thoroughbred stallions standing
at stud for the very first time this year. In addition, three Thoroughbred
stallions that stood in other states during 2001 are now in the Bluegrass.
Non-Thoroughbred
mares imported into Kentucky from overseas for 2001 total 139. This
compares to 196 for the previous year. Non-Thoroughbred overseas stallions
total 23 for 2001, and 28 for 2000.
“We’re
very appreciative of the comfort level the international equine community
is showing by bringing nearly the same number of horses to Kentucky
for the 2002 breeding season,” said David Switzer of the Kentucky
Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
Switzer said he
believes the confidence being shown by breeders has a lot to do with
the vigilance of Kentucky’s horse farm managers, and the efforts
of the University of Kentucky and its role in implementing an MRLS monitoring
program and making prevention recommendations.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Kentucky Tourism Development Council
Honors Distillery
 The
Buffalo Trace Distillery is the 2001 recipient of the Kentucky Corporate
Partner in Tourism Award.
The award is presented
annually by the Kentucky Tourism Development Council in recognition
of a corporate partner that has made an outstanding contribution to
the work of an agency within the Tourism Cabinet.
In March 2001, Buffalo
Trace sponsored a presentation by the Kentucky Department of Travel
at the Travel South Showcase in New Orleans. The distillery also made
a $25,000 donation to the Salato Wildlife Education Center in June.
The donation will aid the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife
in its ongoing efforts to interpret the importance of the buffalo in
the development of central Kentucky.
Buffalo Trace is
a family-owned operation that dates back to 1787 and was recently named
to the National Historic Register. The distillery is part of the Sazerac
family of companies, which also has operations in New Orleans, Louisiana;
Franklin County, Kentucky; and Loomis, California.
STATE
Governor's Award Recognizes Excellence
It seems that the
Dana Corporation must be doing something right.
For the third consecutive
year, Dana – one of the world’s largest automobile parts suppliers
– has earned the Governor’s Gold Quality Award for its commitment
to excellence and world-class quality standards.
The 2001 award was
given to Dana’s Spicer Driveshaft Assembly plant of Louisville,
Dana’s Perfect Circle engine components operation in Franklin,
Kentucky, and the Baptist Regional Medical Center of Corbin.
Created by Governor
Paul Patton in 1997, the quality awards model the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award,
a countrywide recognition program established by Congress in 1987 to
enhance competitiveness, promote quality awareness and recognize companies
who blend these qualities in superior performance.
Dana, based in Toledo,
Ohio, has now had five facilities earn top honors in the five years
that the Quality Award has been presented. Dana’s Victor Reinz
sealing systems facility in Danville won the inaugural award in 1997,
and its Structural Solutions facilities in Hopkinsville and Elizabethtown
received the award in 1999 and 2000, respectively.
Organizations applying
for the award must document significant achievement in seven areas including:
leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information
analysis, human resource development, management and business results.
Each applicant receives
a feedback report outlining strengths and opportunities for improvement.
STATE
Kentucky Tobacco Farmers Receive
$109 Million in Settlement Monies
STATE
Gov. Patton Extends Power Plant
Moratorium, Outlines Energy Plan
Governor Paul Patton
has extended Kentucky’s moratorium on power plant permits, effective
through July 16. The original order went into effect last June. At that
time, Patton also directed the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Natural
Resources to study the effects of power plants on Kentucky’s electricity
generation and transmission system and the potential environmental implications
of these additional power producers.
The PSC found that
Kentucky has adequate generation for the foreseeable future and that
the majority of the proposed new generation could be accommodated by
the existing infrastructure. It was also determined that while there
are potential environmental impacts from the proposed power plants,
the effects could be mitigated through the environmental permitting
process.
In December, subcommittees
of the Kentucky Energy Policy Advisory Board recommended that the governor
extend the moratorium, establish location requirements for power generators
and transmission lines located in the state, and auction five percent
of the nitrogen oxide allowances set aside for new electric generators.
In addition to extending
the moratorium, Patton announced plans to file a comprehensive electricity
package for consideration by the 2002 General Assembly.
Potential legislative
changes would address power plants wishing to locate in the Commonwealth,
as well as require regulatory approval for interconnections to the state’s
electricity grid and the transfer of utility assets. The governor’s
energy proposal also calls for priority treatment of electricity service
to utility ratepayers in the state.
The proposal also
includes a provision that would require priority treatment of electricity
generated and transmitted for in-state use. If it becomes law, a utility
would have to curtail or terminate service to out-of-state customers
before curtailing or terminating service to Kentucky ratepayers.
LIBERTY
Kentucky, West Virginia Groups
Merge to Form Furniture Company
The Kentucky Department
of Agriculture’s foray into matchmaking has led to the pairing
of southern Kentucky timber producers and a West Virginia furniture
manufacturer.
The two have merged
to form Casey Furniture Manufacturing, LLC, which will be housed in
the former OshKosh facility in Liberty.
The plant will make
is own unique design of ready-to-assemble furniture and case goods such
as entertainment centers and armoires. The products will be available
in a variety of woods and finishes and will be marketed nationally.
The facility will also handle some specialty contract work.
The new operation
is scheduled to employ 50 people by the end of 2002 and will ultimately
employ more than 100 at full production.
LOUISVILLE
Ford to Cut 230 Louisville Jobs
But 10,000 Remain Employed at Plant
 Some
230 jobs will be cut from Louisville’s Ford plant, the latest casualty
of the automaker’s efforts to cut costs in a soft economy.
Ford’s Louisville
plant, which produces Ford Explorers and F-Series trucks, employs approximately
10,000. The company expects the employee reduction to come through attrition.
For other communities,
however, the news was more grim. The company plans to close five of
its plants and will eliminate the production of four vehicles: the Escort,
Cougar, Villager and Continental.
DANVILLE
K&B Toys Closes Curtain on
Danville Distribution Facility
KB Toys has announced
that it is closing its Danville distribution center. The decision comes
as a result of KB’s recent acquisition of eToys, which included
a 440,000-square-foot state-of-the-art warehouse in Blairs, Va. The
Blairs facility will now handle distribution responsibilities.
Though the Danville
building had recently been expanded to 300,000 square feet, it is the
smallest facility KB owns; company officials say it is simply “not
a good fit to transition back to a store warehouse.”
The Danville distribution center opened in 1985 and at its peak employed
some 350 people. As of May 2000, however, there were only 40 employees.
STATE
Kentucky Still in the Running to
Land Hyundai's First U.S. Plant
 Kentucky
is still a contender to land Hyundai Motor Company’s first U.S.
assembly plant. The South Korean company has completed its initial evaluation
for potential sites, narrowing the list to locations in Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi and Ohio.
Hyundai is looking
at land in Hardin County, just south of Louisville.
The company has
emphasized that each site remains under active consideration. All locations,
say company officials, will provide a quality work force and necessary
support structure.
The next step in
the evaluation process is a thorough analysis of the logistics of launching
and operating a plant at each of the potential sites.
Though Hyundai operates
a number of distribution plants throughout the U.S., the proposed $1
billion plant would be its first assembly plant in this country. Approximately
2,000 new jobs will be created as a result.
The company’s
U.S. division, Hyundai Motor America, is headquartered in Fountain Valley,
California.
CORBIN
Company Restructuring Seals Fate
of American Greetings' Corbin Plant
American Greetings
has announced plans to shut down its Corbin plant, which has produced
party goods, greeting cards and gift wrap since 1969.
The closure is part
of a corporate restructuring program that began last year. The lines
that have been handled by the Corbin plant will now be taken over by
the American Greetings facility in Ripley, Tennessee.
Approximately 25
percent of Corbin’s 200 employees are expected to be released by
March 1. The remainder will be let go between March and September, when
the plant will officially close.
The Corbin plant
employed as approximately 1,000 people at its peak.
As part of the restructuring,
American Greetings has also closed its 250,000-square-foot Carlton Cards
facility in Shelbyville, which handled the distribution of gifts, books
and toys. The shutdown has left 70 people without work.
The company is also
closing a production line at its Bardstown factory, eliminating another
70 jobs.
BOWLING GREEN
Houchens Expands with Purchase
of Revlett Enterprises' Stores
Houchens Industries,
a Bowling Green-based grocery chain, has bought two IGA supermarkets
from Revlett Enterprises, a small grocery company headquartered in Calhoun,
Kentucky. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Citing increasing
pressure from large supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart, Revlett is
selling its IGA stores in Calhoun and Livermore. Revlett will continue
to operate its Sam’s Fast Fuel Markets in Calhoun, Livermore and
Sacramento.
Houchens, which
has developed a grocery niche with small stores averaging less than
20,000 square feet, will continue to operate the stores as IGA supermarkets.
Houchens operates
approximately 40 stores in Kentucky and Tennessee and also has more
than 160 Save-A-Lot stores (licensed from SuperValu) in 11 states. The
company also owns more than 40 Jr. Foods convenience stores and 20 Tobacco
Shoppe cigarette outlets, operating primarily in Kentucky and Tennessee.
LOUISVILLE
Tricon to Feature Back Yard Burgers
in New Multi-Brand Fast Food Units
 Louisville-based
Tricon Global Restaurants, which operates the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco
Bell fast-food chains, has entered into a new development agreement
with Back Yard Burgers, a Memphis chain that specializes in char-broiled
sandwiches.
Under the terms
of the development agreement, Tricon can now use the Back Yard Burgers
trademark in the U.S. as part of multi-brand units with Taco Bell, Pizza
Hut and KFC.
The first 10 outlets
are expected to be constructed and opened by 2003. The agreement also
allows Tricon the option to co-brand up to 500 additional restaurants
if the development schedule for the initial 10 outlets is met.
Back Yard Burgers
currently has 104 units in 17 states throughout the South and Midwest.
Tricon is the world’s
largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with over
30,000 restaurants in over 100 countries and territories. The company’s
total worldwide system sales were over $22 billion in 2000.
LOUISVILLE
Thornton Oil Completes Acquisition
of Burwell Oil Service of Illinois
 Louisville-based
Thornton Oil Service has purchased Burwell Oil Service, a leading Illinois
private brand retailer. Details of the purchase were not announced.
Burwell Oil was
founded in 1958 as a Phillips Branded Marketer. They expanded into the
convenience store business in the 1980s and grew into one of Illinois’
leading private brand retailer, marketing under the name GB Oil. The
company operates 21 convenience stores, one travel plaza and nine car
washes.
With the acquisition
of Burwell, Thornton’s will operate 158 gasoline/convenience stores
and one travel plaza. Thornton’s distributes its petroleum products
through their wholly-owned Thornton Transportation Company and also
operates a river bulk terminal in Louisville.
LEXINGTON
Construction to Begin this Spring
on Biomedical Research Center
 Construction
is scheduled to begin this spring for a new biomedical/biological sciences
research building on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
The185,000-square-foot
building will provide state-of-the-art space for research in the fields
of neurosciences that will involve the development of a Neurosciences
Institute (including the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center
and sensory biology), genetics and genomics, and vaccine development
and host resistance.
The $67.2 million
project is being funded with $39 million in state funding, with the
remainder being provided by the University.
“This new facility
reflects the University’s commitment to promote human and economic
development through the extension and application of knowledge and to
continue to develop distinguished researchers,” said University
of Kentucky President Lee Todd. “Research in this facility will
greatly contribute to important scientific advances as well as to regional
economic development.”
LOUISVILLE
Conde Nast Traveler Selects Seelbach Hotel
for Gold List
STATE
Timber Industry Shifting Focus, Kentucky Logs Record
Harvest
 A
Kentucky Environment Quality Commissions 2000-2001 report indicates
that the state saw a record number for timber harvesting during 1999,
the latest year for which statistics are available.
The report shows
that more than 1.1 billion board feet were harvested during that year
– a record figure that is more than twice that seen during the
mid-‘70s.
Those numbers, combined
with other statistics from the U.S. Forest Service, suggest that that
the timber industry is shifting its focus to Southern forests from the
Pacific Northwest, which has long been a primary source of timber.
That trend is raising
some red flags among environmentalists, who are concerned about protecting
the South’s forested acreage. Though Kentucky enacted a Forest
Conservation Act in July 2000, many environmentalists claim that the
law is not strict enough.
PIKEVILLE
Lack of Skilled Labor Leads to Shutdown of Furniture
Factory
The L.J. Miller
furniture factory in Pikeville has closed after less than a year, leaving
some 60 people without work. The company specialized in the production
of office furniture.
When a program to
train workers through Mayo Technical College, the company was forced
to spend most of its working capital on training, according to Jim Cover,
the company’s president. Cost overruns and construction delays
contributed to the problem.
State funding and
tax credit incentives convinced Cover to move his business efforts from
Montana to Eastern Kentucky last year. Included in that funding was
$2.7 million in Local Government Economic Development money from coal
severance tax revenues that was used to construct a production facility
at Mossy Bottom Industrial Park.
LEXINGTON
Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour One of Nation's Top
Tourism Events
 Woodsongs
Old-Time Radio Hour, a weekly music show taped in Lexington, has been
selected as one of the nation’s Top 20 tourism events by the Southeast
Tourism Society.
The Southeast Tourism
Society consists of more than 450 representatives from state travel
agencies, convention and visitors bureaus, hotels, and advertising agencies.
Created and hosted
by folksinger Michael Johnathon, the live audience music show is broadcast
on more than 215 radio stations in 14 countries and is the world’s
first multi-camera weekly series to broadcast on the Internet. The show
also airs on several cable TV outlets.
The show is taped
each Monday at the historic Kentucky Theatre in downtown Lexington and
has built an estimated weekly audience of more than 400,000 listeners.
LOUISVILLE
Norton Healthcare to Team with U of L for New Cancer
Hospital
The University of
Louisville School of Medicine/James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Norton
Healthcare have announced plans to develop an oncology network that
will include a new state-of-the art cancer hospital.
Among the goals
of the new partnership is to achieve designation as a comprehensive
cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, with basic and clinical
research components linked to a regional clinical cancer network. In
addition to elevating the level of care for cancer patients, it is hoped
that the endeavor will also attract prospective researchers and physicians
to the area.
The university and
Norton will share governance responsibilities for the hospital.
Business Briefs
BOWLING GREEN
- Western Kentucky
University’s STARBASE (Students Training for Achievement in Research
Based on Analytical Space-Science Experiences) program has achieved
another milestone with the launch of an ozonesonde balloon into the
stratosphere. The balloon, similar to those launched by the National
Weather Service, is carrying an array of instruments that will obtain
data on the ozone, which remains an important topic in the scientific
community. STARBASE is a program designed to involve high school and
college students in space science research, including involvement
in space-based astrophysical missions. As part of STARBASE, Western
will develop suborbital space missions to build on the scientific
expertise gained through its robotic telescope network and to establish
partnerships that provide engineering expertise.
CASEY COUNTY
- Renovation
work is now underway to convert a house near the Casey County Hospital
into an out-patient treatment facility. When complete, the facility
will be used for treatment of anxiety and depression for the elderly.
An opening date has not yet been determined.
CORBIN
- Two Louisville
businessmen have formed a partnership with plans to build a small
harness track in the Corbin area. Tim McCall and David Holloway are
applying to the Kentucky Racing Commission for the last available
license in the state to operate such a track. The two reportedly have
an option to purchase 100 acres near Interstate 75 and are willing
to invest up to $10 million in the project.
COVINGTON
- Omnicare,
Inc., a Covington-based pharmacy management company, has announced
plans to buy American Pharmaceutical Services Inc. from Mariner Post-Acute
Network. The purchase involves $97 million in cash and up to $18 million
in deferred payments based on APS’ future performance.
DANVILLE
- Voters in
Danville have approved making it legal for Old Crow Inn Bed and Breakfast
to sell wine in the otherwise dry community. The vote, which passed
by a margin of 152-87, does not allow for the sale of any other type
of alcoholic beverage and does not involve any other businesses in
the precinct. Still, the issue could provide a boost to the economy:
As a licensed farm winery, Old Crow is allowed to produce wine from
fruit either grown on the farm or purchased from other farms. Some
two dozen area farmers have already expressed an interest in pursuing
such ventures, particularly in light of recent losses for area tobacco
farms.
FLORENCE
- Xanodyne Pharmacal
Inc., which specializes in oncology, hematology and pain-management
drugs, has purchased Drug Enhancement Co. of America, a privately-held
pharmaceutical product development company. The acquisition provides
Xanodyne with access to a pipeline of exciting new pharmaceutical
and medical device products, said Xanodyane CEO Roger Griggs.
GREENVILLE
- Ohio County-based
Commonwealth Community Bank has expanded its boundaries, opening a
new location in Muhlenberg County. The bank will be the first in the
county to offer Saturday banking hours.
HARRODSBURG
- Harrodsburg
First, an organization dedicated to the revitalization of the community’s
central business district, has applied for a $650,000 grant from the
state to restore an historic mansion to serve as a welcome center.
Once renovated, Diamond Point could also serve as offices for organizations
such as Harrodsburg First, the Chamber of Commerce and the county
tourist commission.
HANSON
- Kentucky’s
third nursing home for veterans is slated to open next month in Hanson,
just north of Madisonville. The Western Kentucky Veterans Center,
built at a cost of $14.2 million, will feature two 45-bed wings for
general admission and another 30-bed wing for residents requiring
specialized care. The 86,000-square-foot facility is expected to employ
a staff of approximately 155 and will include a day-care center for
employee’s children. The state’s other veterans’ centers
are located in Wilmore and Hazard.
HOPKINSVILLE
- Toyoda Gosei
Co. has announced plans to build a 175,000-square-foot plant in Hopkinsville,
which will manufacture automotive sealings systems. The new plant
is expected to create approximately 150 new jobs. The Hopkinsville
facility will be the second Kentucky plant for the company, which
also operates a facility in Lebanon that employs some 400 people and
produces plastic and rubber auto parts.
JAMESTOWN
- The Burdette
Motor Company, a long-time Chevrolet-Pontiac-GMC-Nissan dealership,
has been purchased by the Don Franklin family, owners of Don Franklin
Ford-Mercury in Columbia.
LEXINGTON
- University
of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino still has many ties to
Lexington from his days as head coach at the University of Kentucky.
Now there’s yet another: Pitino will be the principal dealer
of the new Lexus Store of Lexington. Pitino and former UK basketball
star Jamal Mashburn are among a group that purchased 70 percent of
Toyota on Nicholasville and The Lexus Store of Lexington in 2000.
LIVINGSTON COUNTY
- The Drake
Creek Golf Course has been sold at public auction to Mc & H Inc.
for $1.7 million, the result of a foreclosure order. Drake Creek,
which opened in 1999, is a private 18-hole course that includes approximately
100 real estate lots on 110 acres surrounding the course and along
the Ohio River.
LOGAN COUNTY
- Auburn Mills,
a flour and corn milling operation that is one of Logan County’s
oldest businesses, is being sold to Hopkinsville Milling. Auburn Mills
was established in 1876 and has 27 employees. Details of the business
transaction have not been disclosed.
LOUISVILLE
- Louisville-based
Kindred Healthcare has announced the opening a second hospital in
Las Vegas along with plans to operate another hospital in Scottsdale,
Arizona. The 92-bed Flamingo Campus in Las Vegas, Kindred’s 57th
hospital, features a specialized intensive care unit, three isolation
rooms, two operating suites and a 3,500-square-foot rehabilitation
center. The Scottsdale hospital will offer 50 beds and is scheduled
to open by the middle of the year.
- Spencerian
College has been granted final approval by the Accrediting Council
for Independent Colleges and Schools to offer an Associate of Applied
Science Radiologic Technology program. The program, which will prepare
graduates to work in the field of radiology as a Radiologic Technologist,
began classes in January.
- Construction
is underway on a new office and industrial complex on Blankenbaker
Parkway that will feature 108,000 square feet of leasable space. Kronos
Connect, a call center currently located in downtown Louisville, will
occupy half of the new space, which will allow the company to increase
its existing 100-member staff to nearly 300. The 550-acre Blankenbaker
Crossings corporate office park is already home to companies such
as Papa John’s, Sears and Anthem. The new project is being handled
by Phoenix-based Daedalus Real Estate Advisors, LLC.
- The Air Traffic
Control Tower at Louisville International Airport has been named as
the Federal Aviation Administration’s National Air Traffic Facility
for the Southeast Region for 2000. Competing facilities were rated
on factors such as operational efficiency, customer service, communications,
employee development, external relations, resource management, human
relations, professionalism and employee moral.
- PACE Airlines
is now offering charter services out of Louisville International Airport.
The airline, which is a division of Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation, is
offering five weekly charters with direct service to Cancun and connecting
service to Aruba, Punta Cana and Costa Rica. Service to Montego Bay,
Jamaica is being added this month.
- Beef O’Brady’s
is one of Louisville’s newest restaurant concepts, specializing
in chicken wings, burgers, and hot sandwiches. The Florida chain opened
its first Louisville location on Blankenbaker Parkway in December
and plans to open another store this month on Bardstown Road. Rich
Cleaves, who was with Outback Steakhouse Inc. for 11 years, is the
Louisville franchisee.
- Aptamera Inc.,
a start-up biotechnology company that specializes in the research
and development of early-screening tools for cancer, has received
$300,000 in venture capital funding from a group of investors that
includes Prosperitas Investment Partners and Anchorage Angels. Three
other unnamed private equity investors have also committed funds to
the company. Aptamera CEO Terry Minton has said that the company is
“moving aggressively” on an early-screening test for lung
cancer. Aptamera is also reporting encouraging results in its development
of treatment to suppress the proliferation of cancer cells in cancers
such as prostate, lung, breast, cervical, malignant melanoma, leukemia
and lymphoma.
- Collins Auto
Group is in the processing of renovating its Bardstown Road facility
in order to expand its Nissan dealership. The project is expected
to be complete by summer, at which time the company hopes to add approximately
20 more employees to its existing staff of 22.
- The Louisville
venture capital firms of Chrysalis Ventures and Prosperitas Investment
Partners, LP are part of a group of investors providing $3.1 million
in venture capital funding to AfterBOT, Inc., an Atlanta Web services
provider. AfterBOT is utilizing patent-pending technology to deliver
digital receipts and post-sales services to retailers, consumers and
manufacturers.
- Thoroughbred
Interests, Inc. has been approved for trading on NASD OTC Bulletin
Board. Thoroughbred Interests specializes in acquiring undervalued
thoroughbreds and reselling them either as yearlings, two-year-olds
in training or as racing prospects. The stock will trade under the
symbol “TBIN.”
- PriceWeber,
a Louisville marketing communications firms, has been named as the
advertising agency of record for Brown-Forman’s Canadian Mist
account. The $7 million account will encompass print and out-of-home
advertising and trade marketing.
- PrivAero,
which provides maintenance, upholstery, avionics and management services
at Louisville International Airport, is now offering passenger charter
services. The first charter aircraft to be based with PrivAero is
a Merlin II, a cabin class aircraft with seating for six that is well-suited
for flights within 300-400 miles of Louisville.
- Republic Bank
is the new official sponsor of Louisville’s annual Pegasus Parade,
a long-time tradition that is part of the Kentucky Derby Festival.
Republic is replacing Bank One, which has sponsored the parade for
the past several years. Bank One officials cited the poor economy
as the reason the bank has had to cut back on its corporate sponsorships.
- Churchill
Downs Inc. has named Red7e as its corporate advertising agency of
record.
- Sanford Rose
Associates, an international executive search firm, has opened a new
office in Louisville that will specialize in recruiting mid- and upper-level
management positions in the chemical, petrochemical, adhesive, ink
and plastics industries.
- Kasle Steel
Corporation, a Michigan company that is a supplier of steel to Ford
Motor Co., is planning to build a processing facility in the Louisville
area that will create approximately 75 new jobs this year and possibly
more in the future. Kasle is considering a number of different sites,
including one in Louisville’s West End and another across the
river in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Once operational, the plant will
process, flatten and test rolled steel for use at Ford’s Kentucky
Truck Plant and the Louisville Assembly Plant.
MAYSVILLE
- A program
designed to boost entrepreneurial efforts is being launched this month
in Maysville. Sponsored by Maysville-Mason County Area Chamber of
Commerce, Small Business Development Center, Cooperative Extension
Service, KCTCS – Maysville Community College, Buffalo Trace Area
Development District and Limestone Economic Development, Inc., the
program is aimed at teaching participants about opportunity identification,
business and financial planning, organization, marketing and management.
The 14-week course will also cover e-commerce and how it can benefit
business, how to understand and get financial plans in order, how
and where to obtain funding, and how to write a detailed business
plan.
MURRAY
- After a lengthy
process to appease neighborhood concerns and obtain a rezoning, Hopkinsville
Federal Bank is proceeding with plans to relocate its Murray branch
from Main Street to property at the corner of Sharpe and 12th streets.
The bank expects to move into the new facility by the third quarter
of the year.
NEWPORT
- The city of
Newport is in the beginning stages of planning for a riverfront park
to be situated in front of the Newport Aquarium and Newport on the
Levee. Among the features being considered are riverfront walkways
that would allow boats as large as steamboats to dock; plaza areas
to accommodate riverfront festivals; and stage areas.
- The City of
Newport and its insurance carrier, Kentucky Municipal Risk Management
Association, are being sued by Union Light, Heat & Power Co. for
$3.5 million. The suit revolves around a water main break in October
2000 that flooded ULH&P’s natural gas distribution system,
leaving more than 3,500 Newport gas customers without service. Newport
officials, who maintain that they are not at fault for the break,
said they had hoped to settle the issue out of court.
NICHOLASVILLE
- Computrex
Inc., a freight-payment and audit operation, has been forced into
Chapter 7 bankruptcy by clients who claim the company owes approximately
$25 million in freight payments to carriers. The privately-held company
has been in operation since 1973 and employed as many as 120 people
at its peak.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
- The Transit
Authority of Northern Kentucky has added a new bus route that will
run between Northern Kentucky University and the Newport/Covington
riverfront and Mainstrasse Village area. In addition to bringing in
additional revenue, the bus service will also help link area businesses
with potential employees. A federal job access grant funded half of
the Transit Authority’s $140,000 start-up costs associated with
the new route.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
- Senator Katie
Stine and Boone County Building Inspector Jim Key have been named
as The Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky’s 2001
Officials of the Year. Stine was selected for her efforts at stopping
expensive changes in the state’s workers compensation program.
Key was honored for his initiatives in developing a joint task force
to review proposed changes in the state’s new residential building
code.
PADUCAH
 Union
Planters Bank has donated its main banking building on Kentucky Avenue
for use by the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Paducah
Economic Development Council, allowing the two organizations to be
housed under one roof. Chamber officials are hopeful that other community
organizations such as Paducah Main Street and the Convention &
Visitors Bureau will eventually be housed there as well.- In response
to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the U.S. Department of Energy
has doubled its annual expenditures on security for the Paducah uranium
enrichment plant. The government had originally planned to spend $2.4
million for fiscal 2002, but has upped that to $4.8 million, much
of which will be spent to cover increased labor costs resulting from
the heightened security. The Paducah plant, which employs approximately
1,500 people, is the nation’s only remaining uranium enrichment
facility.
PAINTSVILLE
- Citizens National
Corporation (CNC), the parent company of Citizens National Bank, has
formed a joint venture with Neace Lukens Agency of Louisville to offer
insurance to CNC’s consumer and commercial clients. Neace Lukens,
the state’s largest independent insurance agency, represents
more than 100 major insurance companies across the U.S.
PERRYVILLE
- Both the city
of Danville and the Lake Village Water Association (which serves portions
of Boyle and Mercer counties) have expressed interest in acquiring
Perryville’s water and sewer departments. With increased regulations
and higher costs, the state is urging smaller utilities to consider
mergers. Perryville currently has approximately 900 utility customers.
PIKEVILLE
- Community
Trust Bancorp, Inc. has completed is acquisition of the Citizens National
Bank & Trust Company of Hazard. The acquisition increases Community
Trust’s assets by $136 million.
RACELAND
- CSX Transportation
Inc. has furloughed more than two-thirds of the workers at its Raceland
car shops for two months. Company officials said the move was necessary
due to the fact that CSX currently has a backlog of some 14,000 serviceable
cars, a result of both the economic downtown and improvements in efficiency.
However, CSX has guaranteed furloughed employees that they will be
called back at the end of two months, if not sooner.
SOMERSET
- The Somerset-Pulaski
Industrial Development Foundation has launched a search for a new
executive director. The position became vacant when former executive
director Todd Denham resigned in order to accept a job as vice president
of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce.
STANFORD
- Ephraim McDowell
Health of Danville has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the
assets of the Fort Logan Hospital and Extended Care Facility, which
serves Lincoln and surrounding counties with 24-hour emergency services,
outpatient surgery, special care and obstetrics. The acquisition will
allow Fort Logan to make needed capital investments and provide additional
managerial expertise.
VERSAILLES
- A downturn
in demand for its fluorescent lamps has resulted in the layoff of
54 hourly production employees at the Osram Sylvania plant in Versailles.
The plant manufactures T-12 fluorescent lamps, which have been used
in offices and other commercial buildings for decades. “The T-12
market slowdown was more rapid than anyone expected,” said Plant
Manager Peter Lawler. “Regretfully, we must cut production to
help reduce inventory to levels the market can realistically support.”
WINCHESTER
- Peoples Exchange
Bank has purchased the former Heilig-Meyers building and approximately
.6 of an acre along Winchester’s Main Street for $335,000. The
property features three buildings, one of which will be extensively
renovated for use as the bank’s main office. The remaining two
buildings will be razed to allow for sufficient parking. Bank officials
say they expect to nearly double the size of the current 13-member
staff once the new offices are complete.
- A drop in
orders for contract furniture combined with a dramatic increase in
competition from Asia and Canada has resulted in the layoff of 20
McCammish Manufacturing employees. The move leaves the Winchester
plant with only 20 employees. The company’s manufacturing will
now be concentrated at the firm’s Adair County plant. Some production,
accounting and engineering will remain in Winchester, as will the
company’s architectural millwork division, Caseworks.
- A group of
local men have joined forces to form the Winchester Center for Biblical
Studies, now operating out of the newly-renovated College Park Library.
Area pastors and Christian educators are teaching the classes and
represent a wide variety of denominations. Winchester served as home
to Kentucky Wesleyan College from 1889 to 1951 and was also the site
of Southeastern Christian College, which closed in the late 1970s.
WURTLAND
- Vesuvius USA
has opened a new manufacturing facility at the River Port in Wurtland,
where it will manufacture basic monolithic refractories used to control,
protect, and monitor liquid steel in the continuous casting process.
Vesuvius USA, a division of the Britain-based Cookson Group plc, is
one of the world’s largest refractory businesses. The Wurtland
plant will employ approximately 25 people.
STATE
- Kentucky homeowners
can expect to see their insurance rates rise by up to six percent
this year, according to the Kentucky Department of Insurance. The
increase is the result of a combination of factors, including an increase
in catastrophic claims. A number of Kentucky communities have been
hard-hit by tornadoes and flooding in the last couple of years. The
average annual Kentucky homeowners premium in 1998 (which is the most
recent composite data available) was $372, compared to the national
average of $481.
- The Ohio River
Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) has received a $500,000
grant from the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation to establish
a “floating classroom” that will help schoolchildren and
civic organizations learn more about environmental issues as they
relate to rivers. The classroom will feature information about the
river ecosystem, food webs, habitat loss and animal identification
as well as history of the Ohio River Basin. The vessel will ply the
waters of the Ohio River, traveling through Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia,
Illinois and Indiana and is expected to be operational by 2003.
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