Erie Times-News (Erie, PA) articles from May 2001

Erie Times-News (Erie, PA) archives from May 2001

Erie County, Pa., Unemployment Rate Dips Slightly, Still Exceeds State Average.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 1--Erie County's unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 percent in February to 6.1 percent in March--a fact that is tempered by grim announcements last week by two of the county's most prominent manufacturers. ...

Erie, Pa., Families Find Peace of Mind in Pre-Planning for Funerals.
May 3, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 3--She was past 90 and a series of strokes had taken their toll. Ann Flick's grandmother was dying and there wasn't much anyone could do about it. But Flick and her mother decided they would prepare for the...

Erie Times-News, Pa., Business Briefs Column.
May 6, 2001... May 6--BPI-ERIE WINS 2000 PLANT OF THE YEAR AWARD: BPI-Erie, a local subsidiary of Dana Corp., won overall plant of the year honors for 2000 in a competition among 35 companies within the $1.3 billion brake and chassis division of its parent...

Erie Times-News, Pa., People on the Move Column.
May 6, 2001... May 6--GREGG MOZDY HAS BEEN APPOINTED director of sales and marketing at EAG Electronics in Fairview. Mozdy, an Erie native, has more than 15 years of experience in the electronics industry -- chiefly with Trinity Technologies, Lattice...

Erie, Pa., Forge Company Repairs Driveshaft of Navy Destroyer.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 6--After a series of inspections, welding and other repair work, some of the Erie-built propulsion shafts that once powered the USS Cole will soon be ready for service. Erie Forge and Steel, which built the 11...

Poll Shows Many Expect Erie County, Pa., Economy to Worsen.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 8--Ask a panel of economists where Erie County's economy is heading in the next six months and you'll get a range of answers. Ask that same question to a statistical sample of county voters and you'll get a...

Erie, Pa., Employees of Parts Maker See Helicopter Handiwork.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Jim Carroll May 8--Traffic on West 12th Street slowed to a crawl for a few minutes Monday as drivers watched a Cobra attack helicopter make a low pass over the highway, circle Lord Corp. twice and then come down amid a swirl of...

Welch Foods Sells North East, Pa., Power Plant.
May 10, 2001... Byline: Jack Grazier May 10--Welch Foods Inc. in North East has sold its 80-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant, the company announced. "We acquired it on a short-term basis about two years ago," said Jim Callahan, a Welch spokesman...

Erie Times-News, Pa., People on the Move Column.
May 11, 2001... May 11--ALBERT F. DUVAL, the retired president and CEO of Hammermill Paper Co., is expected to receive Penn State Erie's Behrend Medallion Thursday during a dinner in the college's new Athletics and Recreation Center. The medallion is the...

General Electric Plant Struggles with Gull Problem.
May 11, 2001... Byline: John Bartlett May 11--Federal agents are stalking the areas around GE Transportation Systems' plant in Lawrence Park, methodically removing and destroying the nests and eggs of gulls. It may be the most unusual work going on at the...

Executive Discusses His First Year at Helm of Pittsburgh-Based Banking Company.
May 13, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 13--James E. Rohr just wanted to keep it out of the dirt. Rohr, whose company is paying $30 million over the next 20 years to put its name on the new Pittsburgh Pirates baseball park, stood 60 feet away from...

Warren, Ohio-Based Gas Station Company May Buy Erie-Based Firm.
May 13, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 13--United Refining Co. of Warren won't confirm published reports that the company plans to buy the Erie-based Country Fair convenience store chain. At the same time, the company isn't backing away from the idea...

Years Later, Erie, Pa.-Area Farmers Don't Regret Shift to Exotic Livestock.
May 13, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 13--Trish Skelton remembers what farming was like back when her husband, Terry, was milking cows for a living. "Before, my husband worked 15 hours a day and came in dirty and grouchy," she said. Exhaustion...

Warren, Pa., Convenience Store Chain Buys Erie, Pa.-Based Rival.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 16--Country Fair Inc., a homegrown convenience store chain that came to dominate the local landscape with its familiar red barn-style stores, is being sold to United Refining Co. of Warren. Founded in the...

Erie, Pa.-Area Business Owners, Legislators to Address Tool Industry Woes.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 16--The region's tool-and-die shops, their financial health threatened by competing lower-priced operations overseas, are lobbying legislators for help. More than 100 representatives from Erie tool-and-die...

Erie Times-News, Pa., People on the Move Column.
May 18, 2001... May 18--MEADVILLE RESIDENT Steve Kohler will end his tenure as the director of the Governor's Action Team in Gov. Tom Ridge's administration, effective June 4. Kohler has accepted a position with C.B. Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh as senior...

Ohio Utility Commission to Make Decision on Approval of Merger.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 18--The acrimonious battle over rates for GPU Inc. electricity customers will end this Thursday, when the state Public Utility Commission is expected to make its decision regarding GPU's proposed merger with...

Erie, Pa., Lawyer Helps People Gain Reimbursement for `Lemon' Cars.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 18--Barbara McGarvey, a Venango County kennel owner, had high hopes when she bought her 1996 Land Rover. She and her late husband had been happy with a similar model. Besides, she was paying a premium price for...

Erie, Pa., Area Awaits Decision by FYDA Freightliner to Build Dealership.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Jim Carroll May 18--Plans are reported to be moving forward for construction of a new 58,000-square-foot building to house the FYDA Freightliner dealership along Interstate 90 at Exit 9 on along Interstate 90 at the Station Road...

Erie, Pa.-Area Tool Makers Hurt by Competition from Chinese Manufacturers.
May 19, 2001... Byline: Jim Carroll May 19--The region's tool-and-die makers were told Friday that they are in a fight for their economic lives. But many of the 150 owners of tooling shops, mold shops, and others gathered at the Ambassador Banquet and...

Erie, Pa.-Based Rent-to-Own Company to Make Announcement about Finances.
May 21, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 21--Rent-Way Inc. will update its recent performance on Thursday, breaking a two-month silence regarding the company's financial condition in light of an investigation into internal accounting errors. The...

Energy Industry Experts Say Pennsylvania May See Lower Prices Soon.
May 22, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 22--Despite months of record high natural gas prices and word of rolling blackouts in California, energy industry officials see cause for optimism in Pennsylvania. Natural gas prices may not return to 1999's low...

Erie, Pa., Dealers Find Questions, Few Answers on Firestone Tire Recall.
May 23, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 23--David Knapp is happy that the hysteria surrounding the safety of Firestone tires has subsided. Although the Ford Motor Co. met with federal officials Tuesday to discuss plans to recall another 13 million...

Kitchen-Themed Incubator to Cook Up Women-Owned Businesses in Pennsylvania.
May 23, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 23--Cheryl Tobin has hope -- a concept that seemed distant as recently as one year ago. Tobin, a mother of three and a career homemaker, had fallen into substance abuse following the death of her husband two...

Kitchen-Themed Incubator to Cook Up Women-Owned Businesses in Erie, Pa., Area.
May 24, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 24--Cheryl Tobin has hope -- a concept that seemed distant as recently as one year ago. Tobin, a mother of three and a career homemaker, had fallen into substance abuse following the death of her husband two...

Financial Woes Continue for Erie, Pa.-Based Rental Purchase Company.
May 24, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 24--Rent-Way Inc.'s accounting troubles continue to worsen. The company announced Thursday morning that it expects to adjust its earnings by about $127 million as a result of a series of accounting errors made...

Erie County, Pa., Technical Institute Gets New Name.
May 24, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 24--CAMTech, or more specifically the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Technology, will become the moniker for the institution currently known as the Northwest Pennsylvania Technical Institute. NPTI,...

Erie Times-News, Pa., People on the Move Column.
May 25, 2001... May 25--KATE BRENNAN-MILES NAMED DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AT PEEK'N PEAK: Kate Brennan-Miles has been named director of marketing at Peek'n Peak Resort and Conference Center. A Chicago native, Brennan-Miles earned her undergraduate degree at...

Western New York, Northwest Pennsylvania Rail Officials to Discuss Link.
May 25, 2001... Byline: John Bartlett May 25--Linking a regional Meadville-to-Corry rail line with a line in western New York will be taken up at a meeting Tuesday between officials of the Northwest Pennsylvania Rail Authority and representatives of the...

Accounting Problems of Erie, Pa.-Based Rental Firm Date Back to 1998.
May 25, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 25--Rent-Way Inc. has again expanded the scope of its accounting investigation, announcing Thursday that it expects to reduce its earnings by $127 million -- $52 million to $62 million more than its most recent...

U.S. Representative Proposes Trade Legislation to Aid Tool, Steel Industries.
May 25, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 25--Complaints of unfair trade have become all-too-familiar territory for U.S. Rep. Phil English. In recent months he's gone to bat over trade issues on behalf of Erie Coke and is now faced with a rising tide of...

Country Star May Sue Erie, Pa., Sheriff If Civil Suit Continues.
May 26, 2001... Byline: Jay Rey May 26--Tim McGraw's trial may be over, but the country music star and the Erie County Sheriff's Department appear to be headed for another showdown in court. McGraw's lawyers Thursday threatened a civil lawsuit against...

Crawford County, Pa., Amusement Park Begins 109th Year.
May 27, 2001... Byline: Jim Martin May 27--CONNEAUT LAKE, Pa.--The sounds of summer returned to Conneaut Lake Park on Saturday. In most respects, opening day at the Crawford County amusement park was like many of the 108 opening days before it. But...

New Tenant Sought for Business Space in Erie, Pa.
May 30, 2001... Byline: John Guerriero May 30--The Erie Parking Authority is seeking a new tenant for the space vacated April 30 by the 1000 French restaurant and coffeehouse, and the former tenant is looking for a buyer for the business and the...

Erie, Pa.'s Jobless Rate Drops, Suggesting Steady Economy Steady.
May 30, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 30--Erie County's unemployment rate continues to defy predictions, dipping by 1 percent in April as a seasonal surge in construction and service jobs swelled the region's work force. The county's 5 percent...

Erie, Pa., Couple Takes on Utility Over High-Voltage Lines.
May 30, 2001... Byline: Peter Panepento May 30--Brenda and Rodney Denning had modest goals when they bought their $70,000, two-story house on Devoe Avenue in 1999. After years of renting and waiting, the Dennings wanted to own a home. They wanted...