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Furniture company closing leaves customers fuming

June 23, 2006 By

An Iowa-based furniture company quietly closed its corporate office in Davenport and another store in Waterloo last week, leaving customers fuming over undelivered furniture.

The Iowa Attorney General’ office is issuing subpoenas to the owners of Evans Furniture in an effort to find out what happened and how the company plans to appease the angry customers. Several who made payments on furniture haven’t received the merchandise, nor have they been offered a refund and company officials aren’t talking.

Phone calls to the Waterloo store have gone unanswered for several days, and the corporate number in Davenport has been disconnected. The attorney general’s office plans to serve the subpoenas to company owner Jack Evans and his daughter Angela Evans to talk to investigators. They’re being ordered to produce sales and inventory lists since the first of the year.

Customers who purchased merchandise from Evans Furniture with a credit or debit card is being advised by the attorney general’s office to dispute the charges through the card issuer. Those who paid cash could be out of luck, but they should contact the attorney general’s consumer protection division.

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts

Dubuque County man’s shooting death ruled accidental

June 23, 2006 By

A death at a Dubuque County shooting range has been ruled and accident. Fifty-six-year-old Roger Dryer of Asbury was last seen alive by an employee of the Izaak Walton Club in Peosta at about 10 A.M. Wednesday.

Just over an hour later, and employee discovered Dryer’s body at the shooting range. A preliminary autopsy by the State Medical Examiner has determined that Dryer died from a self-inflicted, accidental gunshot wound.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Truckers find wide swings in diesel prices

June 23, 2006 By

Truckers have been finding more widely varying prices for diesel fuel than other motorists who burn unleaded gasoline in their vehicles. A state survey found the average price for diesel in Iowa was two-dollars-and-90 cents a gallon on June 15th.

Tami Foster, an energy data analyst for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says diesel prices have been “a little bit more volatile” over the past four weeks. The statewide average price for diesel fuel in Iowa was about two cents higher per gallon in mid-June compared to the middle of May.

Ethanol demand nationwide is on the increase because an oil-based fuel additive called M-T-B-E has been banned in coastal states and Foster says the ethanol supply appears to be keeping up with demand now. That means the price of ethanol-blended fuel should be stable, according to Foster.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of ethanol running about the same price as regular unleaded. Typically it runs one- to four-cents a gallon less and in recent weeks it’s been running about the same if not a little bit higher. However that is typically at stations which do not have a contract in place and so the recent jump that is being seen across the country is affecting those retailers here in Iowa as well and that cost is being passed along to the consumer,” Foster says.

“What we’re suggesting is that consumers kind of shop around and look for other stations in the area that should be offering ethanol, again, at one- to four-cents less than regular unleaded.” As for other fuels, the prices of natural gas, propane and heating oil don’t appear to be fluctuating according to Foster. The price of number two heating oil has increased just one penny from mid-May to mid-June.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Girls and Boys Town moves from Glenwood to Council Bluffs

June 23, 2006 By

The Iowa office of Girls and Boys Town has completed a move from Glenwood to Council Bluffs. Spokeswoman Katina Gordon says the Iowa office opened fifteen years ago. She says in addition to this one “across the river” from the original Boys Town in Omaha, there are 19 programs in fifteen states, helping a record 46-thousand kids nationwide last year.

Gordon adds, “At least 117 families and 245 children were in Iowa.” The original Father Flanagans Boys Home today works with state and local agencies to help troubled families. At the Iowa locations, services include family preservation, foster family services, and visitation for families ordered to have supervised visits.

Gordon says another thing that’s unique is the setting for the family-based services they offer. It’s — home. “We believe in the strength of families …and teaching families how to work together in their own home family environment.” Gordon says the counseling teams often work with more than one issue. She cites a client family that recently got counseling for violence issues as well as problems like mold in their house.

The Girls and Boys Town team helped the family find new housing, childcare while the parents worked, and got the battling parents into domestic-violence counseling. The move to Council Bluffs puts the Iowa office closer to the center of its service area in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, and closer to other agencies they often work with, as well as being at the junction of two Interstate Highways and easier to travel to.

Related web sites:
Girls & Boys Town info

Filed Under: Human Interest

It’s "Take Your Dog to Work Day"

June 23, 2006 By

Many people brought their four-legged friends to the office with them on this “Take Your Dog to Work Day.” The executive director of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Tom Colvin, says it’s a great idea. He says it’s an opportunity for companies to do something that boosts the moral of the their staff and employees.

Colvin says he’s heard of a lot of companies in the Hawkeye State that’re bringing in the canines. Colvin says it’s something that has swept the entire nation and has gained popularity across Iowa as well. Colvin says the dogs bring a new atmosphere to the workplace.

Colvin says he’s been to businesses that have done this and he says the entire day is lighthearted and there’s good morale among the employees. Colvin says pets are an important part of people’s lives. Colvin says it’s well documented that pets reduce blood pressure levels and reduce stress. Colvin says the dogs enjoy the special day too with the extra attention they get from company employees.

Filed Under: Human Interest Tagged With:

Lightning can kill and injure

June 23, 2006 By

The Centers for Disease Control reports over half a century find figures between 60 and more than 90 people a year killed by lightning, with the number steadily lessening with the passage of time. Still, another 300 are injured in lightning strikes.

This year there have already been fatalities in the U.S., and Angela Oder with the National Weather Service says the tips for avoiding it are your only hope — because we still can’t tell exactly when and where lightning will strike. “There’s always studies going on about how lightning works,” she says, and still there isn’t the technology to predict exactly where or when.

The Iowa Department of Public Health says from 2000 to 2004 only two people in Iowa were killed by lightning strikes. Still, for every person killed by lightning, five others are injured according to the Weather Service, which has sponsored this Lightning awareness Week.

Filed Under: Weather

Cundiff hopes to catch on with the Packers

June 23, 2006 By

Former Drake kicker Billy Cundiff hopes to earn a spot with the Green Bay Packers for the upcoming. The Harlan native is battling Dave Rayner for the job after his four year stint in Dallas ended in an injury plagued 2005.

Cundiff tore a quad muscle in pre-season and after missing more than two months came back to kick in six games for the Cowboys before he was let go. While the injury occurred at the worst possible time Cundiff says it taught him to appreciate every day he spend in the NFL. He says it helped him put his personal life and athletic career in perspective, as he says it was the first time since third grade he hadn’t played football. Cundiff says having to watch football on TV drove him crazy.

Cundiff says he has been kicking the ball well in workouts and would love to get a chance to latch on with the Packers. He says it’s a great organization from top to bottom and he says he likes the city.

Cundiff says Green Bay has a college type atmosphere and after practice in the off-season will draw a large crowd. Cundiff says people will take an extended lunch period to come and watch practice. Cundiff says the fans want to talk and a lot of times don’t even ask for autographs. Cundiff is in Des Moines to host his annual camp for kickers and punters which begins today at Drake.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:
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