Atr

Former ATR Wire and Cable employees who have made claims against the now-closed company must vote by 4 p.m. today on the company's plan to sell its property and equipment. ATR cannot liquidate unless a majority of its interested parties, those it could owe money to, vote for the proposed plan. Meanwhile, a government organization that insures companies' pension plans, Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation, has reported that ATR's plan is underfunded by $9.5 million. The company disputes that amount, saying the shortages occurred before a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition was filed and should not be considered a priority.

The ATR Wire & Cable, Inc., building on the U.S. 127 by-pass has been sold. Danville Industrial Center, LLC, a Kentucky Limited Liability Company with an address in Newport, paid $1 million for the property, vacated when ATR closed last year. According to information on the Kentucky Secretary of State's Web site, Danville Industrial Center, LLC, was formed Dec. 16, 2003, in Newport and lists Michael W. Federle, Newport, as its registered agent. The sale was authorized by United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern Division of Kentucky, and the deed was filed in Boyle County Jan. 27. ATR's facility is listed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the court authorized the sale because the "debtor has demonstrated a sound business purpose justifying the sale of the real estate and the sale is in compliance with the debtor's confirmed plan of liquidation, as amended.

American Greetings plans to expand its Danville operations. In the fall, it will hire 16 employees, move the distribution section of one of its companies from North Carolina to Danville, and lease space in the former ATR building on U.S. 127. Boyle County Fiscal Court agreed Tuesday to give American Greetings $30,000 in tax breaks as an incentive for creating the jobs. The amount represents the 0.75 percent payroll tax that the county would have collected from the new employees' wages in a 10-year period.

Kenny McMullin, 61, of Moreland, died Friday, March 20 in Danville. A native of Danville, he was born Feb. 11, 1948, to Gladys McMullin Lawson of Liberty and the late Clarence McMullin. He worked at ATR and was a member of Moreland First Baptist Church. Survivors include one son, Kevin (Tanya) McMullin of Parksville; one daughter, Jennifer (Ronald) Reese of Louisville; one brother, Owen Todd Woodrum of Junction City; and two grandchildren, Haley and Jordan McMullin. Funeral services were March 23 at W. L. Pruitt Funeral Home in Moreland with Bros.

Donna J. Weiant, 54, of Berea, died Sunday, May 6 at her home.   Born Feb. 11, 1958, in Phillipsburg, N.J., Donna was a daughter of June McCarty Weiant and the late Donald Weiant. She had worked at ATR in Danville as a machine operator. Other survivors include a son, Neil (Rhonda) Silverthorn of Stanford; six sisters, Debbie Paul, Robin Lambert, Patty Bondendistel and Terri Weiant all of Junction City, Mary Ann May of Lancaster and Sandy Hacker of Harrodsburg; and four grandchildren.

There's nothing like the announcement of massive layoffs at a local factory - such as the one made this week by Panasonic - to bring home the impact of living in a global economy in which products flow freely back and forth across national borders. Perhaps, as Boyle Judge-Executive Tony Wilder said Tuesday, something needs to be done by the "national leadership" to protect American manufacturing workers from the loss of jobs to people in other countries, such as Mexico, where wages are much lower.

Dear Editor: While reviewing the budget for Boyle County, I hope the county magistrates and judge-executive will remember the easiest and most obvious way for a government to obtain the money for essential services: economic activity by the people it serves. The United States has become the richest nation in the history of the world based on this one simple idea of capitalism. What works on the national level will also work on the local level. The county government needs to eliminate non-essential services, in other words get out of the welfare business, and do what government was designed to do, encourage economic activity and provide protection for its citizens.

Dear Editor, I was appalled to read about Mr. Stigall and the Boyle County Industrial Foundation's interference with employees at Dana Corp. and their decision whether to join a union. I read their letter to the Dana employees, and was disgusted. The words in their letter came right out of the union buster's playbook. I have heard them before. Scare tactics, misinformation and outright lies. And for Mayor Hugh Coomer and Judge-Executive Tony Wilder to sign off on this nonsense is pathetic.

Joe Bell, 75, of Stanford, died Friday, Jan. 16 at his home. A native of Adair County, he was born March 7, 1933, to the late Hestand Taylor Bell and Edna May Simmons. He was a former employee of ATR in Danville, operated Bell's Barber Shop in Crab Orchard, was an Army veteran and a member of the Blue Lick Baptist Church. He was also preceded in death by a sister, Louise Woods. Survivors include his wife, Carol James Bell of Stanford; daughters, Tracy (David) Mudd of Lebanon, Debbie (Duane)

Danny Parker Walls, 55, of McKinney, died Sunday, Dec. 25 at his home. A native of Lincoln Co., he was born Jan. 6, 1950 to the late Rollie B. and Ruby Coontz Walls. He worked at ATR in Danville for 15 years and Brown and Williamson for 14 years and was a member of the Pentecostal faith. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Eddie Walls. Survivors include his wife, Peggy Brown Walls of McKinney; one daughter, Jessica Walls of McKinney; one brother, Dale Walls of McKinney; four sisters, Jean Preston and Ruth Ann Preston both of Danville and Marie Carpenter and Connie McCammon both of McKinney; one grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.

Donna J. Weiant, 54, of Berea, died Sunday, May 6 at her home.   Born Feb. 11, 1958, in Phillipsburg, N.J., Donna was a daughter of June McCarty Weiant and the late Donald Weiant. She had worked at ATR in Danville as a machine operator. Other survivors include a son, Neil (Rhonda) Silverthorn of Stanford; six sisters, Debbie Paul, Robin Lambert, Patty Bondendistel and Terri Weiant all of Junction City, Mary Ann May of Lancaster and Sandy Hacker of Harrodsburg; and four grandchildren.

In the spirit of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, Lassiter offers a cornucopia of the positive economic successes that are shaping Danville/Boyle County’s future growth. See Part I in last week’s paper for more. A review of the EDP’s recent blog posts at www.betterindanville.blogspot.com or Facebook posts at www.facebook.com/betterindanville suggest several other successes for which to be thankful.  On behalf of the City of Danville, the EDP recently presented the Pioneer Vocational/Industrial Services board of directors a check for $75,000 for which the EDP sought and secured state approval.

The owners of a Boyle County startup business getting in on the ground floor of the push for green energy say their operation will be one of a kind when the assembly line starts rolling next month. Alternative Energies Kentucky LLC, which already occupies the old ATR building, will start manufacturing solar panels soon after the line is installed Dec. 16. Company owner and founder Troy Lay of Harrodsburg said the company, which will assemble and install the panels, already has nine employees and will expand to about 25 total jobs to start.

Up until just a few years ago, Randy Southerland had spent most of his working life in a factory. It was steady work, and he got a good paycheck. But when the Hustonville area resident talks about the job he has had over the last five years as mechanic and maintenance man for the Housing Authority of Danville, he sounds like a man who had been in prison for more than three decades and is enjoying his freedom. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate having a job and I liked most of my supervisors and co-workers,” says Southerland, who worked for 20 years at the long-defunct ATR plant and a dozen years at two other Danville plants.

Roberta Trayner likes to say she grows, cans and cooks her own produce from A to Z. She means that literally and is referring to a combination of gardens and orchards that yield asparagus, zucchini and an entire alphabet of competition-ready food. When judging for perishable items at the Boyle County Fair begins this afternoon, Trayner will be well represented. A regular ribbon winner at the fair, this year Trayner will bring forth a bumper crop of 21 different offerings, her most entries ever.

Kenny McMullin, 61, of Moreland, died Friday, March 20 in Danville. A native of Danville, he was born Feb. 11, 1948, to Gladys McMullin Lawson of Liberty and the late Clarence McMullin. He worked at ATR and was a member of Moreland First Baptist Church. Survivors include one son, Kevin (Tanya) McMullin of Parksville; one daughter, Jennifer (Ronald) Reese of Louisville; one brother, Owen Todd Woodrum of Junction City; and two grandchildren, Haley and Jordan McMullin. Funeral services were March 23 at W. L. Pruitt Funeral Home in Moreland with Bros.

Joe Bell, 75, of Stanford, died Friday, Jan. 16 at his home. A native of Adair County, he was born March 7, 1933, to the late Hestand Taylor Bell and Edna May Simmons. He was a former employee of ATR in Danville, operated Bell's Barber Shop in Crab Orchard, was an Army veteran and a member of the Blue Lick Baptist Church. He was also preceded in death by a sister, Louise Woods. Survivors include his wife, Carol James Bell of Stanford; daughters, Tracy (David) Mudd of Lebanon, Debbie (Duane)

Dear Editor, I was appalled to read about Mr. Stigall and the Boyle County Industrial Foundation's interference with employees at Dana Corp. and their decision whether to join a union. I read their letter to the Dana employees, and was disgusted. The words in their letter came right out of the union buster's playbook. I have heard them before. Scare tactics, misinformation and outright lies. And for Mayor Hugh Coomer and Judge-Executive Tony Wilder to sign off on this nonsense is pathetic.

Danny Parker Walls, 55, of McKinney, died Sunday, Dec. 25 at his home. A native of Lincoln Co., he was born Jan. 6, 1950 to the late Rollie B. and Ruby Coontz Walls. He worked at ATR in Danville for 15 years and Brown and Williamson for 14 years and was a member of the Pentecostal faith. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Eddie Walls. Survivors include his wife, Peggy Brown Walls of McKinney; one daughter, Jessica Walls of McKinney; one brother, Dale Walls of McKinney; four sisters, Jean Preston and Ruth Ann Preston both of Danville and Marie Carpenter and Connie McCammon both of McKinney; one grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.

Johnetta Bastin, 58, of Halls Gap, died Saturday, Oct. 1 at the St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington. A native of Lincoln Co., she was born April 6, 1947 to the late Earl and Dollie Slone Bastin. She worked at ATR for 25 years and was a member of the Mt. Moriah Christian Church. Survivors include two sons, Scott Carpenter of McKinney and Danny Smith of Broughtontown; two brothers, Albert Bastin of Halls Gap and Dean Bastin of Burnside; three sisters, Louise Miracle and Jo Board both of Halls Gap and Tootsie Roberts of Liberty; four grandchildren, Brittany Carpenter, Alyssa Smith, Zebadiah Carpenter and Ansleigh Brown; and several nieces and nephews.