Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 31

D2 BUSINESS Sunday, September 10, 2000 decatur, Illinois ON THE MOVE attorney with the firm of Moore, Susler, McNutt, Wrigley Root. He is a graduate of the University of I', i services at Decatur Memorial Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, Crossroads Cancer Center, Effingham, and Sarah Bush Lincoln Regional Cancer Center, Mattoon. DECATUR The city of Decatur has announced the following appointments: Steven J. Van Steenhuyse is the tions. He was previously a youth coordinator with Sangamon County Resources in Springfield.

McDannell Raymond L. McDannell is the new water production maintenance supervisor. He began work on Aug. 31 and was a maintenance mechanic for BridgestoneFirestone Inc. DECATUR Steven S.

Collins has become an associate Tolladay -i I A A PLUS FILING FEE Jill I SINGLE CH.7 3WN 1 II I PAYMENT PLANS 12 H0UR FILINGS David Riggert Syjjjgi South Dakota. He belongs to the Illinois State Bar and is a member of the public relations com- ISBA and the Decatur Bar Association. He belongs to the Kiwanis Club of Decatur and is a member of the Illinois Army National Guard. Name Brands All Remanufactured Free Delivery after mail-in rebate Up to 6 month warranty Dick Van Dyke Appliance World Decatur, Illinois ie leaves aze flalin ouv -p vices! for a free estimate! ii i I I I I WASHERS i DRYERS with coupon "Empires Sept. 45, 2000 I I I Dryers starting at with Coupon in 1: I iJ jv.

murun LUintr iung jr. ui. 'T aiB so aw Call today new planning manager for Decatur. Currently the Community Planning and Development Director in Platteville, Wis. Van Steenhuyse will begin work in the Economic and Urban Department on Oct.

2. He is a member of the American Institute of Fonza Certified Planners and the American Planning Association. Eric R. Fonza is the new neighborhood progams specialist. He began work on Sept.

6 and has experience with designing local programs. He has worked closely with educational and nonprofit organiza- BITS tology, Esthetics and Nails, was invited to perform at the Premier Beauty Show in Orlando on Aug. 20-21. DECATUR Carol Swartz Fritz, loan officer for National City Mortgage Services, has been named as top producer for FHAVA Mortgage Loans in Illinois for the second quarter 2000. She was also top producer for the Fritz first quarter.

MORRISONVILLE Dorothy A. Bullard has been awarded the 2000 Thomas Jefferson Award for 38 years of outstanding service to the National Weather Service in the Cooperative Weather Observe program. The award is the agency's most prestigious, and only 10 are being presented this year around the country. DECATUR Lucy Murphy, executive director of The Community Foundation of DecaturMacon County, has been named a member of the steering committee for a statewide civic engagement study to be conducted by Illinois Issues magazine, the Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Springfield and United Way of Illinois. The Woods Fund of Chicago, Caterpillar Inc.

and State Farm Insurance have provided funding for the Van Steenhuyse II -T 1 i A. C7 Trower Dianne Shaw was named regional bank officerNorth-town Banking Center. She has been with the bank since 1984. Carolyn Trower was named regional bank officerMain Banking Center. She has been with the bank since 1982.

DECATUR Dr. Renata C. Moore, radiation oncologist, has joined Cancer Care Specialists of Central Illinois, specializing in brachytherapy (gynecologic, prostate, high dose rate) and 3-D conformal radiotherapy treatment. She will begin seeing patients in St. Mary's Cancer Care Center on Sept.

13 and will also provide radiation oncology BIZ DECATUR Don Gower and James Davis have been inducted into the South Illinois District Circle of Honor program, which rec ognizes United Parcel Service drivers who have attained 25 years of driving. Gower has been with UPS 33 years and has been a driver for the past 26 years. He is a tractor-trailer driver with a route from Gower Davis Quincy. Davis began his career with UPS 28 years ago. His current assignment is as a shuttle driver between Decatur, Jacksonville and Quincy centers.

BLOOMINGTON Theresa Schmalshof, a grain producer from Adair, has been elected chairwoman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board for 2000-2001. Other officers include Roger Hubele, Enfield, vice chairman; Ken Hartman, Waterloo, secretary; Bryan Fogerson, Sidell, treasurer. Among new directors elected to the board were Tom Martin of Mount Pulaski and Paul Corzine of Assumption. DECATUR Tracy Nugent, a platform artist for the Whal Clipper Co. and instructor for Mr.

John's School of Cosme- "From Driveways to Highways" Asphalt Paving Seajmg Dependable Services Jp- ylvt I (jomfuxru Guaranteed Product In Decatur's Complete Asphalt 724 N. Mercer Decatur, IL 429-4444 www.dunnco.com Baird Brauer Huber Shaw since 1984. Bruce Brauer has been named assistant vice presidentman-ager of the Taylorville branch. Dawn Tolladay was named assistant vice president finance. She has been with the bank since 1999.

Rod Weeks was named assistant vice presidentcommercial lending. He has been with the bank since 1996. Janet Banks was named regional bank officer North-town Banking Center. She has been with the bank since 1975. Julie Huber has been named regional bank officercommercial lending.

She has been with the bank since 1987. don't even know, if this passes, whether we'll choose to carry the Firestone line." Larry Morgan, chairman and chief executive of Morgan Tire and Auto, the Clearwater company that owns 180 Olson Tire stores in Florida, was quick to defend Bridgestone Firestone. "Unless something different is brought to light, people selling the Firestone brand and who know about tires do not believe there's a product problem," Morgan said. "I don't believe there's a product problem. If adequate analysis were done, you would find that any tire, under similar circumstances, would fail." Morgan said sales of Firestone tires are down a little in August.

But in spite of Firestone's blemished reputation, Morgan said people are still buying its tires. "I've been out to a lot of our stores, and I'm asking people what they think of the Firestone brand," he said. "I would say a small percentage of the public is skeptical of the brand, but the larger percentage is not concerned. They understand how defects happen and why products are recalled. They're not concerned about the tires on their vehicles." Mike Maroone, president of AutoNation, the Fort Lauderdale auto retail group that sells more Fords than anyone in the country, said the company is not worried about the integrity of unrecalled Firestone tires.

Not, anyway, to the extent that it is removing them from new vehicles. But Maroone conceded that some auto buyers have asked AutoNation to take that extra step. "I would say there's certainly some resistance to the brand," he said. "If a customer is unduly concerned, we'll take the steps necessary to make the customer happy." So far, the tire quality question hasn't caused any auto manufacturers to sever relations with BridgestoneFirestone, but Ford officials are upset that the bad Firestone tires have put them in the public frying pan with their tire supplier. Meanwhile, the tire recall has cost Bridgestone Corp.

$350 million in lost profits, and the crisis has delivered a blow to its stock price. The stock has dropped 47 percent since concern about the safety of its Firestone tires surfaced at the start of August. Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C., said his organization was instrumental in the recall of the Firestone 500 tire in 1978. Firestone survived that, although at the cost of being bought by Bridgestone. Ditlow said he doesn't believe the Firestone brand will survive the current crisis.

"Everyone gets a second chance," Ditlow said, "but I didn't think we'd be seeing another Firestone 500 all over Mosely Goatley Weeks Banks DECATUR Union Planters Bank has announced the following personnel changes: Catherine Mosely has joined the bank as loan originator in the mortgage loan department. She has experience as a direct endorsement underwriter for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and has worked in the mortgage industry for 10 years. Jim Goatley has been named senior vice president administration. He has been with the bank since 1976.

Jan Baird has been named assistant vice presidentman-ager of the Clinton branch. She has been with the bank FIGHT Continued from D1 and sizes of Firestones. In the meantime, consumer groups are challenging the integrity of all 47 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires made by Firestone, not just the 6.5 million 15-inch models recalled. Two weeks ago, Safety.com and presidential candidate Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group called on Bridge-stoneFirestone to recall all of its 16-inch light-truck tires and Wilderness AT tires made at three other Firestone plants exonerated by the company. The Center for Auto Safety, a group formed by Nader and Consumers Union, has taken its case for a wider recall to court.

NHTSA is investigating the safety record of the ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires, including the 40.5 million not recalled. On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee, headed by John McCain, will conduct a hearing on the tires and their spotty record on Ford Explorers. BridgestoneFirestone maintains the tires not being recalled are fine. As it stands, the company is struggling to replace the 6.5 million tires it did recall. Consumers and state officials blasted the company for giving tire owners in some states quicker attention than in others.

Since then, it has authorized replacing Firestones with rival brands and has airlifted tires from Japan. But the sluggishness of BridgestoneFirestone's response to the crisis is resulting in customer attrition, some for life. Some former customers said the company's conduct is similar to its handling the 1978 recall, the biggest tire recall ever. Bill and Katie Hecht, of Hialeah, say they will switch brands permanently after the Firestone Affinity tires wear out on their 1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Bill Hecht said an Affinity mysteriously came apart when they were driving on Interstate 20 in Louisiana.

They were terrified, but not hurt. "One attempt to call Firestone had us on hold for 46 minutes, waiting for a representative that never answered our call," said Bill Hecht, a 79-year-old retiree of Miami Jackson High School. "We have written Bridgestone Firestone in Nashville, but our letter has not been answered. "We don't want any more Firestone tires," he said. Tire retailers didn't wait for the Firestone recall to pull the company's light-truck tires from their shelves.

Chris Hatfield, product manager for Tire Kingdom, a 148-store chain based in Riviera Beach, said the episode has hurt sales of Firestone passenger tires. "There's a segment of the population that is concerned about driving on Firestones in general," Hatfield said. "It's hurting the overall. We Business for over 40 years' Company for business professional web design e-commerce high-speed wireless internet services for home personal webpage 247 tech support local access 4 1 1 11 11 11 11.