Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510230028
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TRENTON, N.J. - The maker of Flintstones Vitamins has decided to reunite Barney and Betty.
Twenty-five years after the children's supplement based on ``The Flintstones'' cartoon series was introduced, Bayer Corp. is adding a Betty Rubble vitamin to the chewable crew from Bedrock.
But to make room for Betty, the company decided it had to lose one of the other Flintstones vitamins - Fred, Wilma, Barney, Dino, Pebbles, Bam-Bam or the Flintmobile. ``We decided to bag the car. Hopefully people won't be too angry,'' said Karen Lazan, product manager for the vitamins.
Betty's inexplicable absence started gaining attention last year after the movie version of ``The Flintstones'' came out. Then the Oregon-based Betty Club - 150 women named Betty - started circulated petitions urging vitamin status, and three musicians from Atlanta formed a band called ``Betty's Not A Vitamin.''
Lazan said she didn't know why Betty wasn't a vitamin, but ``there was some fear the tablet would keep breaking,'' she said. ``After all, Betty's waist is pretty thin.''
To remedy that, the vitamin's designers will depict Betty with her hands on her hips.
-Associated Press
Hill-Rom cleared of obstructing justice
INDIANAPOLIS - After spending million of dollars defending itself against two Justice Department probes, the nation's leading supplier of hospital beds has been cleared of any wrongdoing, it said Friday.
The government on Thursday told Hill-Rom Co., a division of Hillenbrand Industries Inc., that it had closed its criminal obstruction-of-justice investigation against the company. Its antitrust investigation into Hill-Rom was dropped in June. Hillenbrand is parent of Medeco Security Locks Inc. in Salem.
- Associated Press
Bankruptcies
Four bankruptcies with business affiliations have been filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Western Virginia in Roanoke. Two of them are personal bankruptcies that the court listed as businesses because they have commercial connections and could be of interest to business creditors and customers.
Owens Sales & Service Inc. of Vansant, Va., filed for protection from creditors during reorganization. Curt Owens, president of the heating and air conditioning contractor, reported assets of $59,601 and liabilities of $145,211.
Roger L. Curry Jr. and Ester H. Curry of Blacksburg filed for liquidation listing assets of $52,579 and liabilities of $75,352. Curry identified himself as a self-employed floor specialist.
Farmer Construction Inc. of Wytheville is seeking liquidation, reporting assets of $109,000 and liabilities of $229,596. In a separate filing, the president, David A. Farmer, and Kay K. Farmer filed for liquidation, listing assets of $169,547 and liabilities of $308,753.
- Staff report
by CNB