Business and Agriculture

In watching the economic meltdown which began Oct. 9, 2007, on Wall Street and reached a fever pitch in September 2008 with Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, one must ask where was “the cop on the beat?” (The government) These large investment bankers and other Wall Street CEOs have acted with arrogance and disdain for the people they would claim they cared the most about: “the stockholder,” “the little guy,” “the common man,” “the employees,” or “the children.”

On Oct. 1, the Bureau Valley FFA departed from the high school to Indianapolis for the National FFA Convention. Bureau Valley took 12 students — Ryan Haney, Josh Knobloch, Seth Ross, Richard Brummel, Tyler Kennedy, Bobby Miller, Donna McCune, Brittany McCune, Tanner Schoff, Brad Sanden, Sam Lowers and Kody Thomas. The students arrived late Tuesday night and awoke early Wednesday morning for seven students to present the tractor restoration skit to the Chevron Delo judges.

SPRING VALLEY – Sandra Reese, SVP, of Millennium Trust Co. of Oak Brook will be discussing self-directed investing in alternative assets such as real estate with members of the Illinois Valley Real Estate Investors Association at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Spring Valley Community Building.

PRINCETON — Steve Coven, owner of Portrait Designs in Princeton, supports the country’s servicemen and servicewomen by giving them an 8 by 10 photograph for free.

Where has this year gone? November is upon us, and before you know it, 2010 will be here. I suppose time seems to be flying because many needed city projects are either in-process or are scheduled to begin early next year.

The Bureau County Health Department makes routine and unannounced visits each month to various food service establishments in Bureau and Putnam counties to inspect the operation.

To celebrate Halloween, “The Wizard of Oz” was the theme for residents and staff at Liberty Village in Princeton. The Oz theme was carried out throughout the entire facility — the activity room was the tornado; poppies bloomed in the library; Emerald City was found in the Garden Court, etc. Residents enjoyed following the yellow brick road to the party. Pictured are staff members Penny Lusietto as a lollipop kid, Mandi Hanson as Dorothy, Bernice Schuetz as Glenda, resident Cheryl Krase as the scarecrow, staff members Julie Swanson as the wicked witch, Mandy Huber as a lollipop kid.

PRINCETON — In appreciation of the outstanding efforts of area teachers and school personnel, ServiceMaster Restoration by Hudson will be hosting its annual School Appreciation Evening from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at Wise Guys Bar & Grill, 2205 N, Main St., Princeton.

PRINCETON — Boxing Day Books, an independent publisher in Princeton, has been honored in two categories of the National Best Books 2009 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

PERU — A Business Breakfast Seminar, sponsored by the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development (IVAC) Business Breakfast Seminar Committee, will be held at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Mario’s Maples Supper Club in Peru. The topic of the seminar will be “State of the Counties.”

SPRINGFIELD — Anyone with a computer can now see and hear the history of Illinois agriculture told by the people who lived it. During a news conference Nov. 3, the Illinois State Museum launched the Audio-Video Barn Web site at http://avbarn.museum.state.il.us, which features 300 hours of interviews with more than 130 people involved with agriculture in Illinois over the past 129 years. The Web site is the culmination of a two-year Oral History of Illinois Agriculture project led by the Illinois State Museum and Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Producers, who are anxious to harvest crops, were again frustrated by weather and field conditions. Abundant rainfall throughout the week again halted most field activities. The continued delays have led to record setting slow harvests in Illinois. Since 1940, this is the third slowest corn harvest on record at 19 percent and the slowest since 1967 when only 10 percent of harvest was complete on Nov. 1. Soybean harvest is the second slowest on record at 35 percent, the lowest since 1941 when 21 percent was harvested at this time.

While waiting for crops and fields to dry this fall, farmers’ moods have been a bit foul. It has been a long fall already and harvest has hardly started. As one looks over 30 percent corn, white mold-infested soybeans and swampy conditions, the catchy advertising jingles of seed and chemical companies seem a bit offensive! The promises of technology can meet a cruel fate in the world of agriculture when Mother Nature sets the rules. Big “M” (Monsanto) stands out as the model, and sometimes the whipping boy, for advancing (or should I say forcing!) seed technology on farmers. Farmers for years have been at the mercy of agri-business in adopting and paying for new technologies.

SPRINGFIELD — Scherrie V. Giamanco, state executive director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Illinois, has announced that starting on Oct. 5 the USDA began issuing $111,894,485 in Conservation Reserve Program payments to eligible producers in Illinois. More than $ 1.7 billion in CRP payments are being made on 31 million acres across the country.

Farmers were able to get into the fields for harvest the early part of the week. Soybean harvest in particular made noteworthy progress before midweek rains. Some farmers have reported standing water in the fields, forcing them to work around those areas when they are able to harvest.

PRINCETON — A former Princeton High School graduate has opened her own photography studio in town.

David Ward, CEO of North Central Bank in Hennepin, has announced the bank has received a five-star superior rating from BauerFinancial. A five-star rating for financial strength and stability is the highest rating attainable from bank rating firm and is based on the overall financial condition of the bank.

WYANET —“‘Recession Wednesday’” at the Coffee Depot is a great idea,” said Ralph Anderson of Wyanet. “I spend most mornings here for coffee, but since Nancy started this Wednesday evening special, you will no doubt see me and my wife here with a variety of friends, enjoying good conversation along with a great dinner, all at a reasonable price.”