Retailers

Many companies will be closed Friday, but for retailers it can be the busiest day of the year. Black Friday, the name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving, is just as much an anticipated day for retailers as it is for shoppers. Most retailers will open earlier and close later, but some have devised other ways to draw customers, too. Kmart on the Danville bypass will get a jump start by holding an early special today on a Nintendo Wii package. "The whole set is $249, and we're not accepting any rain checks," said Rhonda Clark.

One out of every four customers at area stores that offer lottery games regularly buy tickets, according to a random survey of more than two dozen retailers in Boyle, Casey, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer counties. And the ticket sales they generate - more than $62 million worth in all five area counties over the last six fiscal years - have produced more than $3 million in commissions for the 65 area Kentucky Lottery Corp. retailers. In addition, the retailers get money from the corporation for selling winning tickets and for meeting or exceeding ticket sales quotas.

It is very small and rectangular. It shows no pictures, makes no sounds and it can't talk to you and you can't talk to it. Unless someone puts it in a big box with a huge bow on it, it will barely be noticed among the large boxes containing new computers, video game systems, dolls and sweaters. But local retailers say they expect it to be one of the hottest items to be sold this Christmas. It is the gift card. "Gift cards are now one of the most popular Christmas gifts going at Wal-Mart, and they are popular with both customers and retailers," said Kenny Walton, who was interviewed just prior to leaving his position as manager of Danville's Wal-Mart SuperCenter.

While holiday sales were on the decline this year nationwide, retailers in Winchester are reporting mixed results from what is usually the most important shopping season. Some locally owned stores chalked up better-than-expected revenues while others saw slow sales that mirrored national trends as the economy remains in recession. But all seemed to agree that consumer habits have changed to meet the tougher economic conditions. "In Kentucky, I don't think we've gotten hit as hard as everywhere else yet," said Elijah Herald, CEO and president of Best Value Stores on Lexington Avenue.

After the daunting task of storm cleanup, home-owners and landscape managers need to turn their focus toward replacing trees and shrubs lost or damaged in the ice storm. The best thing you can do is think local when choosing where to go and what to buy. Kentucky has more than 1,200 nurseries and retailers selling hundreds of types of trees, shrubs, groundcovers and perennials. With 120 counties of resources, plant buyers can just about be guaranteed to find a way to buy locally without having to drive very far. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture sponsors the Kentucky Proud program, which allows individuals to locate local retail garden centers that market Kentucky-grown trees and shrubs to homeowners.

Dear Editor: The Advocate seems to have either missed or ignored one of the biggest stories with a very local interest, to be transpiring in the current session of the legislature. The story here is the attempt by Lawrenceburg's package retailers to amend the farm winery law to prohibit package beer sales. According to the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, only one farm winery in the entire commonwealth even holds such a license. That winery is Danville's own winery run owned by Andre and Linda Brousseau.

The Clark County Health Department will begin using a newly upgraded web-based system to issue benefits for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program beginning June 22. The web-based system uses information gathered at WIC participant visits to issue electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to be used for WIC purchases.   Under the current system, WIC participants are issued multiple paper food instruments to purchase WIC approved items in authorized stores. All items listed on a food instrument must be purchased at one time or the benefits are lost.

On Tuesday, I stopped at a convenient store to get gas and lottery tickets, something I have done frequently. As I pulled out my debit card to pay for my gas and lottery, the clerk informs me I have to pay for the lottery separate with cash.  The clerk tells me that it has always been that way. I have stopped there many of times, and I have always paid with debit because I don't carry cash. The clerk adds that the lottery requires them to only accept cash.  This is not true.

CRAB ORCHARD - A group of people have come together in an effort "to make Crab Orchard a little better place," said Lonnie Pruitt. Pruitt is one of several business people and citizens who formed the Crab Orchard Community Development Board last year and now members are taking action. With a trend of small Kentucky towns falling by the wayside, Mayor Bill Dyehouse said the board is working to rehabilitate downtown Crab Orchard to keep that from happening. They want to focus on projects that will benefit the city.

Dear Editor: The Advocate-Messenger should be commended for its recent series chronicling the impact of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation on the Commonwealth. We appreciate any effort which can help educate readers as to what we've accomplished during nearly 16 years of operation. While there were numerous points made over the course of the four-part series which gave readers an overview of how the Kentucky Lottery has affected our state, there were several issues we feel bear further explanation.

Lincoln residents in the Waynesburg and McKinney communities seemed more relieved than anything else last week after hearing about plans to reduce hours at their local post offices. "You brought good news," McKinney resident Tommie Gooch told USPS Manager of Operations Thomas Adkins Wednesday afternoon. "We were afraid we were going to close. " Adkins spent about half an hour in McKinney Wednesday and a little more than an hour in Waynesburg Friday explaining the United States Post Office's plan to scale back hours at more than 33,000 13,000 small post offices.

Post office officials are hearing this week from members of the Waynesburg and McKinney communities about plans to scale back the number of hours their rural post offices are open for business. The United States Postal Service announced in May plans to reduce hours of operation for retail windows at about 13,000 small post offices, including 421 post offices in Kentucky. The Waynesburg post office's retail window would be open six hours a day, and McKinney's would be open two hours a day under the plan.

On Tuesday, I stopped at a convenient store to get gas and lottery tickets, something I have done frequently. As I pulled out my debit card to pay for my gas and lottery, the clerk informs me I have to pay for the lottery separate with cash.  The clerk tells me that it has always been that way. I have stopped there many of times, and I have always paid with debit because I don't carry cash. The clerk adds that the lottery requires them to only accept cash.  This is not true.

Gander Mountain Company, a nationwide outdoor lifestyle retailer, is eyeing property in Jessamine County that may provide as many as 75-85 jobs if a new store is built. There has been no official announcement by the company, but Gander Mountain Company has a purchase agreement for a parcel of land that sits between Hobby Lobby and the vacant area expanding to Lancer Drive in the Brannon Crossing shopping area. The privately owned company, headquartered in Minneapolis, is a strong contender among outdoor sporting-goods stores in the United States, averaging more than 5,500 employees and revenue topping $1 billion a year, a representative from within the company has confirmed.  There are currently two Kentucky locations, one in Paducah and one in Bowling Green.

Apple held a media event March 7 in San Francisco to announce the release of the newest additions to its iPad and Apple TV lines as well as news of an update to their iOS software. Its third generation iPad is called simply the new iPad. Among the new features of the HD iPad are Retina Display, a quad-core A5X processor, and a 5MP iSight camera. Prices for the new iPad remain the same as the iPad 2 at $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model and $699 for the 64GB model.

The latest Marketbasket Survey, conducted by the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation in December 2011, indicates that average retail food prices in supermarkets across the state have decreased by 1 percent during this last quarter. According to the survey, the total cost of 40 basic grocery items was $115.90. This reflects a decrease of $1.16, or 1 percent, from the same list of items reported in the previous quarter. While the Marketbasket Survey now reports two consecutive quarters with decreasing prices to close out the year, the fourth quarter total for 2011 is still $6.69, or 6.1 percent, higher than the same reporting period in 2010, and $10.62, or 10.1 percent, higher than the third quarter of 2009.

The Clark County Health Department will begin using a newly upgraded web-based system to issue benefits for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program beginning June 22. The web-based system uses information gathered at WIC participant visits to issue electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to be used for WIC purchases.   Under the current system, WIC participants are issued multiple paper food instruments to purchase WIC approved items in authorized stores. All items listed on a food instrument must be purchased at one time or the benefits are lost.

While the economy slowed down the progress of Brannon Crossings, things are starting to bounce back and more businesses are making a home for themselves in the 800,000-square-foot shopping center. Developed by Bellerive Development Company five years ago, the plaza has more than 50 retailers, restaurants and specialty shops that make up its commercial empire. Developer Jim Hughes of Bellerive Development did not return several calls or respond to an e-mail for comment.   Most recently, several new businesses have opened or are set to soon open, including Joy Food, Revman Graphics, State Farm, Vaqueros Mexican Restaurant and Dance Sport.

Ashley Roach has spent much of the last several years preparing to be an elementary school teacher. The 26-year-old Danville resident is well on her way to obtaining a master's degree in elementary education from Eastern Kentucky University, and she has done well in pursuit of her master's. She recently was inducted into the Golden Key International Honor Society largely because she ranks in the top 15 percent of her class. "I guess you would call me a nerd," Roach says with a laugh.

The "Store Closing" banners hanging from the facade of FYE music and movies store indicate that the number of businesses in Ridgefield Center will soon be three. Store employees deferred questions about when FYE will close and why the decision was made to corporate communications for Trans World Entertainment, which owns FYE. However, calls to company representatives were not returned Wednesday afternoon. FYE becomes the latest in a series of closings in the shopping center along the Danville bypass, which soon will have only Tractor Supply Co., Colorama and Riccashades salon left.