Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9410170039
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Telephone customers in southern Botetourt County say they are willing to pay higher monthly rates to have Salem included in their local calling area. But the State Corporation Commission will wait to hear from Salem residents before giving its OK to the plan.
The commission's staff reported Friday that Botetourt County customers approved the proposal by 46 votes. The SCC said 2,642 residents responded to its survey of whether they would rather continue paying long-distance toll charges for calls to Salem or an additional $3.50 on their monthly telephone bills.
An SCC spokeswoman said a cost study will be done to determine the plan's effect on the bills of Salem telephone customers.
-Staff report
Sara Lee to buy food-service firm
Sara Lee Corp. will buy total ownership of Consolidated Foodservice Cos. Limited Partnership under an agreement announced Friday. The shares will be acquired from L.M. Sandler & Sons Inc. of Virginia Beach.
Jeffrey Smith, spokesman for Sara Lee in Chicago, said the deal is designed to expand the networking capability of Sara Lee's PYA/Monarch Inc. subsidiary, a wholesale food service supplier with operations in Salem. He said the change in ownership is not expected to have an impact on the Roanoke Valley operation.
Monarch and Sandler, also a restaurant and institutional food service supplier, formed Consolidated Foodservice in 1989. Monarch, the minority shareholder, plans to take over complete interest in that operation through its parent, Sara Lee.
The transaction is expected to close by May. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Monarch is the fifth-largest food service company in the nation and the largest in the Southeast, Smith said.
-Staff report
Bankruptcies
Two bankruptcies with business affiliations have been filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Western Virginia at Roanoke. Both are personal bankruptcies that the court listed as businesses because they have commercial connections and could be of interest to business creditors and customers.
Joseph Provenzano of Roanoke filed for liquidation, with assets of $1,800 and liabilities of $294,025. Provenzano said he owns shares of Villa Sorrento II Inc., a restaurant that he described as insolvent. He said his wife operated the business, but she is not a party in the bankruptcy.
Richard David Anderson and Tamara Jane Russell Anderson of Jonesville in Lee County also filed for liquidation, listing assets of $4,489 and liabilities of $54,865. Richard Anderson operates a landscaping and lawn maintenance business.
-Staff report
Briefly ...
Ford Motor Co. said Friday it is recalling 87,000 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, Mercury Cougar XR7 and Merkur XR4ti cars from model years 1986-89 to replace catalytic converters that may not meet federal emissions standards.
People are using credit cards at a record clip this year, racking up debt faster than in any other year since the late 1980s, says RAM Research Corp. of Frederick, Md. So far, credit card debt is piling up about 20 percent faster than in 1993. The average credit card balance also is up to $1,505, or 3.3 percent higher than a year ago.
Earnings ...
Reynolds Metals Co. of Richmond, with recycling operations in Roanoke, reported third-quarter net income of $62 million, or 86 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $28 million, or 47 cents, a year earlier. Revenue was $1.61 billion, up from $1.34 billion in the 1993 quarter.
For the first nine months, Reynolds' net income was $53 million, compared with an $84 million loss in the 1993 period. Per-share earnings were 45 cents, compared with a loss of $1.40.
by CNB