Xenia Ohio Citizen Journal

Mom — She’s there to support us, sacrifice for us, give us unconditional love and a big hug - no matter how bad we are!!! The Xenia Merchants and Midtown Merchants Associations join the Greene Co. Dailies in hosting a Hometown Mother’s Day to show our MOMS how much they mean to us on May 8, 9, and 10th. Sidewalk sales will be held by the merchants Thursday through Saturday (weather permitting).

Take your family for a walk on Friday (9th) in the morning. The City of Xenia is hosting an Historical and Architectural guided walking tour starting at 11 AM, starting at the Greene Co. Courthouse at the corner of Main and Detroit. Friday evening is “Fathers night.” Many stores will remain open late offering gift cards, discounts, or free wrapping. Personal shoppers will be available to help you choose the right gift.

The Xenia Gazette is offering a contest for children to “draw the face of your Mom.” One winner will receive a $50.00 voucher to be used at any participating merchant. Entry forms are available in the newspaper or at participating merchants. See newspaper for details.

Moms! Tired of receiving a toaster rather than something you really wanted? Use a “wish list” available at local merchants to share your choices with your family. The form should be picked up and completed by May 6th so that you will have time to give it to your loved ones.

The Xenia Merchants will be hosting several events on Sat., May 10th. Live music will be performed in front of various stores and restaurants. Xenia Shoe and Leather is offering sales and free foot rubs by Ohio Academy of Holistic Health students. Express Yourself Coffeehouse and Gallery will host a Mother’s High Tea from 2 to 4 PM. Reservations are recommended. Blue Jacket Books will discount cook books, craft and gardening books by 25%. Oasis Cafe’ will be offering Moms a taste of homemade candies and live music to dine by. The Flower Stop will have extended hours all week prior to Mother’s day and will have a special table set up for children to make their Mom a card. Country Joe’s will offer a 30% discount on Mother’s Day gifts and all pictures and hosting a gourmet and cheese tasting event on Sat from 11 to 2 PM. CJ’s Boutique will have Just Jewelry on sale and free back rubs by Holistic Academy students available from 11 to 4 PM on Sat. Curves will be offering a Mother’s Day special: a 3-month gift certificate (from Dad or child) can be purchased for $99.00. A Savings of over $50! The Second Act Thrift Store will have a wide selection of children’s clothing on display at bargain prices. This is only a small list of events happening at various stores.

A bake sale will be located in front of the Xenia Gazette building with the proceeds to be used to support merchants’ events such as Hometown Christmas in December. All items are being donated by the merchants.

There are many more merchants offering specials in their stores and many local restaurants will be having coupons for meals or specials for the day. There are even some surprise happenings. Come and see! Bring the family to town for a walk or a bike ride on Saturday. Make your Mom feel special and enjoy the day in Xenia, save on gas and support your local merchants.

The Ohio School Boards Association announced today its endorsement of Leader Alert, a health and safety alerting product, for the more than 700 Ohio public school districts that comprise its membership.

Leader Alert, the creation of Leader Technologies of Columbus, Ohio, makes it possible for a school to quickly and simultaneously alert thousands of parents and staff by telephone, texting, and email in case of emergencies ranging from lurking predators to snow days.

According to OSBA Deputy Executive Director Rob Delane: “Unfortunate events happening across the country have made the need to send out emergency update alerts almost a necessity. Schools need an easy and effective way to notify parents and staff members about incidents that may arise during the school year.”

Delane noted that OSBA study and testing pinpointed three key reasons for their choice of Leader Alert. “One, it was easy to use. Two, schools can use it with their current technologies, and three, it can effectively notify large numbers of individuals almost simultaneously.”

Delane stressed the benefits that the endorsement provides for member schools. “School boards count on OSBA to do the appropriate research before lending its name to a particular product or service. OSBA’s research indicates that Leader Alert is superior to other alerting systems and cost effective for school districts.”

As Delane pointed out: “The OSBA is very selective about its endorsements and will not endorse a product or service unless it meets certain criteria.” He called Leader Alert “reliable and effective,” adding “we also see a significant benefit for use in our disaster planning efforts.”

Leader’s alerting and audio conferencing services were used extensively by the Louisiana Governor’s Office in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, after many of the state’s other communications systems had failed. Leader Alert has diverse applications ranging from terrorist attack simulations to early storm warnings to boat owners, and it is currently in use as a health and safety alerting tool on school and college campuses across the United States.

Gasoline prices could spike at $4 per gallon before summer, a top fuel market analyst says. And that may just be the beginning of super-higher prices.

If the price of oil goes above $130 per barrel, “it puts the $4 gallon apocalyptic national average squarely in the cross hairs as less of a rogue price and more of a routine number,” said Tom Kloza, senior analyst with the New Jersey-based Oil Price Information Service.

After weeks of predicting that national average prices would peak in the $3.75 range, Kloza on Wednesday conceded the $4 possibility after the benchmark price of crude oil set a record, $123.53 per barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A year ago, oil was $61.47 per barrel, Kloza noted, meaning its price has more than doubled.

The OPIS/AAA average price in Greater Cleveland and Akron Wednesday was $3.56 to $3.59. The national average price was $3.62. Connecticut was at $3.88; California and Alaska were more than $3.90.

The jump in crude prices Wednesday occurred despite the weekly U.S. Department of Energy report showing an increase both in gasoline and oil stockpiles.

To see the whole story written by John Funk, go to The Plain Dealer Business Blog.

Barco’s quarterly financial report shows growth in sales and gross profits for the first quarter in 2008 while orders, net profit, and per share earnings were down slightly. Highlights of first quarter operations in 2008 are as follows:

• The order book at the end of March 2008 amounted to $504.2 million compared to $523 million the previous year. Order intake totaled $308.2 million, down 10.3% compared to the same period in 2007 but up 6.4% versus 4Q07.

• Sales amounted to $257.5 million, an increase of 5.9%. At constant currencies growth was 14%.

• Gross profit rose by 3.1% to $98.5 million from $95.6 million the previous year.

• Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) remained flat at $10.1. The EBIT margin was 3.9% compared to 4.2% in 1Q07. Currency evolution cost Barco $5.7 million in EBIT. At constant currencies EBIT would have grown 57%.

• Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was $32.3 million, a margin of 12.6%. In 1Q07 EBITDA was $39.3million, a margin of 12.1%.

• Net income was $10.3 million, down 12.8% from $11.7 million in 1Q07.

• Net earnings per share were $0.85 compared to $0.96 for the same period the previous year.

The simulation market had a higher order intake but lower sales in 1Q08. The presentation market saw a decline in order intake but a good growth in sales. The avionics market had a very good growth in order intake and in sales. Total orders totaled $149 million.

EBIT margin was (8.2%), down from (2.5%) in 1Q07, as the gross profit was unable to offset major investments in product development for the simulation and avionics markets.

The above figures were converted from euros to current dollars.

Source: Barco Corporate Press Release, April 23,2008.

Xenia Area Merchants and participants in the upcoming Hometown Mother’s Day weekend festivities will be meeting at 8:00 AM at Express Yourself Coffeehouse, 78 E. Main St. in beautiful downtown Xenia. Stop in for some fresh coffee (latte or cappuccino) and conversation.

Xenia Mural Society planning meeting will be held on Thursday May 1 at 6:30 PM. The meeting will again be at the Xenia Chamber offices, 334 W. Market Street. All interested parties are encouraged to attend.

A study of the cost of government was recently published by the City of Fairborn. The total cost of government included real estate taxes, income taxes, school district taxes, plus water and sewer services. The study compared the cost of government in 24 cities and villages in both Montgomery and Greene Counties. Each place was ranked from highest to lowest according to total costs.

The study used current tax rates as well as the water and sewer costs from a 2007 Water & Sewer Rate Survey prepared by Oakwood. Comparisons were based on a home valued at $144,896 for real estate taxes and $57,959 Earned Income for city income taxes. School District Taxable Income was
based on $53,609 with one personal, one spouse, and one dependent exemption.

The chart below represents only the study findings for places in Greene County. (more…)