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Martin Midstream ups dividend
It’s hard to find investments paying more than 9 percent these days. But Kilgore-based Martin Midstream Partners is doing that for holders of its investment units.
In fact, on Tuesday, Martin Midstream announced it was raising its quarterly cash distribution by 2 cents to 74 cents per unit for the quarter ended June 30. That would put the annual distribution at $2.96 per unit representing a return of 9.66 percent.
The August distribution reflects a 12.1 percent increase in the quarterly distribution when compared to a year ago and also reflects an increase of almost 3 percent over the previous quarter’s distribution.
The distribution is payable on August 14, to common and subordinated unit holders of record as of the close of business on August 1, 2008. The August distribution is based on the current operating performance of, and the current general economic, industry and market conditions impacting Martin Midstream.
Midstream Partners is a publicly traded limited partnership with a diverse set of operations focused primarily in the United States Gulf Coast region. The Partnership’s primary business lines include: terminal and storage services for petroleum products and by-products; natural gas gathering and processing and NGL distribution services; marine transportation services for petroleum products and by-products; and sulfur and sulfur-based products processing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution.
Additional information concerning Martin Midstream is available on its Web site at http://www.martinmidstream.com.
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Boren introduces natural gas for cars incentive
Former Longview resident, U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, on Tuesday co-introduced legislation he hopes will increase the use of natural gas vehicles in the United States over the next 10 years.
Boren, D-Muskogee, Okla., serving the 2nd Congressional District of Oklahoma, joined Democratic Caucus Chairman, U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Chicago, Ill., in introducing legislation to provide incentives to consumers to purchase natural gas vehicles, for automakers to manufacture natural gas vehicles in America and service stations to install the infrastructure necessary to fuel natural gas vehicles.
Boren grew up in Longview and is a 1992 graduate of Trinity School of Texas. He is the son of the late Janna L. Robbins and stepson of John Clinton Robbins, who still lives in Longview. He is the son of David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma, former governor and U.S. senator from Oklahoma.
“By fully utilizing our nation’s vast natural gas resources, we have a real opportunity to make a positive and sweeping impact on our energy and economic future,” Boren said. “Coming from a producing state, I believe this legislation will spur economic growth and job creation.”
By providing an array of incentives, the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions, or NAT GAS Act, establishes a framework for achieving the goal of increasing the percentage of natural gas vehicles on the road to 10 percent of all vehicles by 2018, he said.
“Most importantly, it will increase the nation’s energy independence while providing hard-working Americans with a cheaper, cleaner alternative to the rising cost of gasoline,” Boren said. There are also provisions that greatly encourage market development so that current and future natural gas vehicle owners have more locations that serve their vehicles.
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Centris receives industry certification
Centris Information Services, a Longview-based provider of call center services, advanced automated call handling applications, on-demand interpreter services and broadcast messaging, has announced it has received its Payment Card Industry Compliance certificate.
“Receiving this certificate ensures our customers, merchants and cardholders our data is protected according to the industry’s highest standards,” Dale Augustyn, director of information technology for Centris, said Tuesday.
In 2004, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was created in a joint effort by major credit card companies; American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover, with each one of the credit card companies having its separate standard detail. In 2005 regulations were standardized and implemented.
David Hayes, Centris vice president of finance, said while the company had many of the security standards already in place, going through the self assessment process reinforced the importance of data protection to the company and its customers.
“We take this as a starting point and expect to make continued improvements as time goes on,” Hayes said. “Constant vigilance and continuous improvement is very important to our data security initiatives.”
Centris Information Services is a leading provider of high quality multilingual outsourced contact center services. The company is headquartered in the U.S. with operations in Longview and Monterrey, Mexico. Centris helps companies improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue by creating positive customer experiences that combine high-touch with high-tech, Hayes said.
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Halliburton reports record revenues
Halliburton Co. revenue rose to a record $4.48 billion from $3.73 billion a year ago, the company reported Tuesday.
Halliburton has regional operations serving Northeast Texas and Northwest Louisiana based in Kilgore where more than 500 workers are based.
Halliburton Co. said Tuesday its second-quarter profit fell about 67 percent from a year ago, when the company recorded a nearly $1 billion gain from the separation of former subsidiary KBR Inc., but the oilfield services provider announced record revenues, according to an Associated Press report.
Income from continuing operations met Wall Street forecasts, and the company said it continued to expand its business globally.
Halliburton, which has corporate offices in Houston and Dubai, said earnings for the April-June period were $507 million, or 55 cents a share. That compares with year-ago profit of $1.53 billion, or $1.62 a share, which included a $933 million gain from the KBR separation.
Income from continuing operations totaled $623 million, or 68 cents a share, in the latest quarter — in line with expectations of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Those forecasts typically exclude one-time items.
“I’m very pleased with our results for the second quarter as we continue to show healthy expansion of our business on a worldwide basis,” said Halliburton chairman and chief executive Dave Lesar, who moved his office to Dubai last year to be closer to important markets in the Middle East and Asia.
The strategy appears to be paying off.
Halliburton said revenue outside North America grew 26 percent year-over-year, exceeding its 20 percent growth target. In particular, Eastern Hemisphere revenue rose 23 percent, led by increased business in Norway, Saudi Arabia, Angola and Oman.
North American sales rose 7 percent from a year ago, despite a seasonal slowdown in Canada. In the United States, inflated costs for fuel and materials were a drag on results, the company said.
Last week, Halliburton’s larger competitor, Schlumberger Ltd., said its second-quarter profit jumped nearly 13 percent because of an active world market for oil and natural gas, as producers scramble to take advantage of high commodity prices.
A busy oilfield bodes well for outfits such as Schlumberger and Halliburton, which provide technology, equipment and other services to help oil and gas companies find and tap new sources of fossil fuels.
Indeed, the company said operating income at its drilling and evaluation arm rose 38 percent to $480 million in the most-recent quarter, the beneficiary of increased drilling worldwide.
Looking ahead, Lesar predicted no let up in activity as many North American customers expand their drilling and well-completion budgets.
“This strengthens last quarter’s expectation that the next leg up in this extended cycle is near, and we anticipate the strategies we’ve employed will allow us to continue performing at a high level,” he said.
For the first six months of the year, Halliburton said its net income amounted to $1.09 billion, or $1.20 a share, down from $2.08 billion, or $2.12 a share, in the first half of 2007. Revenue rose to $8.5 billion from $7.2 billion.
Halliburton, once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, split from KBR, the military contractor and engineering company, in April 2007. Halliburton has said the separation allows it to focus solely on its oilfield services work.
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East Texas Starbucks on company closing list
Java junkies across the state will soon have fewer options for fulfilling their caffeine cravings. Starbucks has announced the closing of about 600 of its coffee houses nationwide, and 57 of those are in Texas.
Included on the list are Mount Pleasant and Paris locations. Not on the list are Longview Starbucks.
Dallas and Houston will have the most store closings - nine and eight, respectively.
Elsewhere, four stores will be closed in both Arlington and Plano; three in Fort Worth; two in Austin, Corpus Christi, Frisco and Rosenberg; and one in Brownsville, Brownwood, Desoto, Duncanville, El Paso, Farmers Branch, Garland, Humble, Kingsville, Laredo, Mesquite, Mount Pleasant, Paris, Plainview, Red Oak, Rockport, San Antonio, Victoria, Waco, White Settlement and Wichita Falls.
Closings will begin this month and continue through the first half of next year.
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Quickbooks class starts Tuesday
The Kilgore College Small Business Development Center will host a hands-on QuickBooks course for small business owners and managers on Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning Tuesday.
Quickbooks for Small Business Owners and Managers will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. July 22, 24, 29 and 31 at Kilgore College-Longview Computer Lab 305 located at 300 South High St.
The instructor will be technology consultant Bill Russell. The fee for each course is $129. Fee includes all lesson materials and hands-on computer lab instruction.
For registration and more information on this and other center training programs, call the SBDC at (903) 757-5857 or (800) 338-7232. To register over the phone by credit card the college at (903) 753-2642. Course schedules are available online at www.kilgore.edu/sbdc.
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Rogers Pope Jr. elected to national trade group
Rogers Pope Jr., president and chief operations officer for Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust, has been elected to the board of directors of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization says it serves as the “nation’s voice for community banking.” Pope’s duties with ICBA will include serving as a liaison between independent community bankers in a Texas district and the group’s staff and leadership in Washington.
“I am honored to be elected to this position,” Pope said in a prepared statement. “It gives me a chance to work for community banks all across the country.”
The organization represents about 5,000 member community banks.
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Barron’s bullish on Trinity Industries
Shares of Trinity Industries took an upward bounce in Monday morning trading after a Sunday report in Barron’s predicting Trinity shared could rise as high as $48 in coming months.
Trinity has a major presence in the Longview area with more than 1,400 employees at local rail car manufacturing sites. The Barron’s report leaned heavily on Trinity’s entry into the wind energy field as a basis for being so bullish on the company’s stock.
Trinity shares were up 45 cents at $35.75 in mid-Monday morning trading. That is up about 1.3 percent from Friday’s close of $35.30. Company stock has traded between $21.91 and $47.10 over the past year.
Trinity’s wind-energy backlog ballooned 128 percent to nearly $1.6 billion in the first quarter, and as its backlog expands, so will its valuation, Barron’s said in its July 21 edition.
Besides Trinity also makes railcars and barges, and softening rail demand has lowered the company’s shares 27 percent over the past year, but that cyclical business is being increasingly offset by demand for wind power.
At $35, Trinity’s shares trade at 10.8 times 2008 earnings, cheaper than other machinery stocks that trade at 12.1 times earnings, according to Barron’s.
“We believe investors should focus on Trinity’s diversification and wind-energy catalysts,” wrote KeyBanc analyst Steve Barger, who has a $48 price target on the stock.
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Gregg County getting new bank in Kilgore
BankTexas officials have announced they received permission fro the Office of the Controller of the Currency to open what they are calling a “bank store” location at 4405 Texas 42 North in Kilgore.
Troy Robinson, president and CEO of the Quitman-based BankTexas, said the location will offer all of the services of a traditional bank but in a new format that emphasizes customer service.
“We believe that Kilgore is a natural place to open a bank store,” Robinson said in a prepared statement. “Kilgore is a growing and lively community and we think we’ll fit in well.”
Tammy Ritter has been named manager of the Kilgore BankTexas location. Robinson said the bank will be located in a new mixed use commercial development featuring a convenience store, gasoline station and restaurant.
Construction has started and is expected to be completed in August. BankTexas, the former First National Bank of Quitman, has operations in Holly Lake Ranch, Mineola, Tyler and Quitman with new sites set to open this year in Kilgore and Lindale,
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Analysts: Shreveport GM not likely to be closed
Industry analysts on Friday said General Motors Corp. is likely to close more factories as it cuts 300,000 trucks and sport utility vehicles out of its production schedule by the end of next year.
They did not expect the Shreveport truck plant producing the Colorado, Canyon and H3 Hummer models to be among those likely to be closed. Longview’s Dana truck frame production production plant in Longview Business Park uses a large part of its production capacity on frames shipped to the Shreveport GM plant.
GM has already announced the closure of four truck and SUV factories. Most vulnerable in the next round of cuts are some of the plants that make predominantly truck parts, but another assembly plant closure is possible:
ASSEMBLY PLANTS: Analysts say the Pontiac, Mich., pickup truck plant is most vulnerable because it’s only running on one shift now, and that’s not efficient. Remaining pickup plants in Flint, Mich.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Shreveport, La., likely would be spared. After the four closures, Arlington, Texas, would be the lone U.S. SUV plant.
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION PLANTS: Nearly all make both car and truck components. But the Romulus, Mich., engine; Parma, Ohio, transmission; Defiance, Ohio, casting; and Willow Run and Ypsilanti, Mich., transmission factories make mostly truck parts.
PARTS STAMPING PLANTS: GM has seven stand-alone stamping plants, excluding one in Pittsburgh that is slated to close. All make parts for full-size SUVs and trucks, as well as cars.
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Rushing Machine Shop celebrates milestone
White Oak’s Rushing Machine Shop along with owner and founder Leon Rushing celebrated 30 years of serving East Texas on Friday.
The machine shop yard took on a festive atmosphere with inflatables for children, vendors offering freebies and plenty of barbecue served up to a crowd Rushing estimated at about 300.
Rushing Machine is a production shop focused on producing wellhead equipment of the energy industry. Rushing, 67, said he has about 45 employees now after starting out as a one-man operation in 1978.
He plans to ease out of the business and turn things over to Brian Johnson in coming months.
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16,600 jobs added to Longview economy since 2000
The Longview area economy got more good news Friday with figures released from the Texas Workforce Commission indicating the area has added 16,600 jobs since 2000.
The June unemployment rate for the Longview area dropped to 4.2 percent - the lowest this decade for the month of June while the number of people at work reached a record high of 104,300, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
So far this decade, the Longview Metropolitian Statistical Area of Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties, has added 16,600. The number of people employed has jumped from 87,700 in June 2000 to 104,300 last month, according to Texas Workforce Commission.
The Longview MSA also did considerably better than the state and nation on the unemployment front in June. Texas posted a 4.8 percent unemployment rate while at the national level unemployment stood at 5.7 percent.
The agency reported the Longview MSA has added 3,100 jobs in the past year, going from an employment level of 101,200 in June 2007 to June’s 104,300.
Longview MSA Employment Trends
Month/Year Employment
June 2000 87,747
June 2001 88,970
June 2002 89,023
June 2003 90,558
June 2004 95,402
June 2005 97,942
June 2006 98,582
June 2007 101,240
June 2008 104,300
Source: Texas Workforce Commission; figures are for non-farm employment levels.
Longview MSA June Unemployment rates
Year Rate
2000 5.6%
2001 5.7%
2002 7.5%
2003 7.8%
2004 6.2%
2005 5.2%
2006 5.1%
2007 4.4%
2008 4.2%
Source: Texas Workforce Commission
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New LaQuinta gets new neighbor
Site work going on directly west of the new LaQuinta Inn and Suites on Hawkins Parkway is for a new location for BancorpSouth.
RLM is the general contractor for the structure going up at 904 Hawkins Parkway. Troy Moore, president of the H.G. Moseley Parkway branch of BancorpSouth, said the new branch will look a whole lot like the existing one in size and appearance.
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GM rally should be good news for Longview’s Dana
Shares of U.S. automakers soared Wednesday as investors took comfort in GM’s announcement that it was slashing its work force and production and suspending its dividend in an effort to stay afloat in an increasingly difficult market.
That should be good news for the long run for the Longview Dana truck frame plant and its 540 workers. The plant produces frames going to GM’s Shreveport assembly plant.
Shares of GM surged $1.56, or 15.9 percent, to $11.40 in afternoon trading. Ford shares gained 76 cents, or 16.3 percent, to $5.41.
Dana shares jumped 7.5 percent Wednesday, closing at $6.56, up from Tuesday’ close of $6.16.
GM announced it was cutting white-collar job costs in the U.S. and Canada by more than 20 percent, shedding thousands more factory jobs by cutting truck production even further, and suspending its $1 per share annual dividend for the first time in 86 years.
The moves come during a desperate time for GM as it struggles with a weak economy, record-high gas prices and an unprecedented shift in demand away from its traditionally popular trucks and sport utility vehicles.
GM shares have lost nearly two-thirds of their value since the start of the year and have declined more than 75 percent from a 52-week high of $43.20 in October.
GM said it hopes the latest cuts save $15 billion through 2009. It said if its latest predictions hold true, it should have enough cash to sustain itself at least through 2010.
Immediately after Tuesday’s news, GM shares plunged to $8.81, their lowest level since June 23, 1954, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago. The price is adjusted for splits and other changes. But the shares rebounded later in the day and closed at $9.84, up nearly 5 percent.
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Wall Street responds favorably to Pilgrim’s cuts
The Wall Street crowd evidently viewed favorably Tuesday’s announcement by Pittsburg-headquartered Pilgrim’s Pride it was taking more steps to cut costs.
Pilgrim’s Pride stock jumped 7 percent in trading Wednesday and closed at $15.59. That was up by $1.02 per share from Tuesday’s close and represents the first time the company’s stock edged above the $15 a share mark in nearly a month.
Pilgrim’s stock was riding a rapid downward trajectory since May 28 when it closed at $26.85. Shares bottomed out at $11.25 on July 8 and have been inching mainly upward since then.
The company, hard hit by record high prices for chicken feed, announced production cuts of 5 percent in June. On Tuesday, Pilgrim’s announced it was cutting its work force at an El Dorado plant by 600 jobs and closing an El Paso distribution center where another 34 people worked.
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American Airilnes parent loses $1.45 billion in quarter
The parent of American Airlines swung to a big loss in the second quarter as high fuel prices swamped an increase in revenue and led the nation’s largest carrier to write down the value of its jets, according to wire reports Wednesday.
Still, the results reported Wednesday were not as bad as Wall Street had feared.
AMR Corp. said that for the three months ending June 30, it lost $1.45 billion, or $5.77 per share, compared to a profit of $317 million, or $1.08 per share, a year ago.
American is the parent company of American Eagle, which provides service to East Texas Regional Airport and Tyler Pounds Field. American Eagle earlier announced curtailment of East Texas flights beginning in September.
When flights to and from East Texas Regional are reduced from three daily to two on Sept. 3, American Eagle is scheduled to begin jet service with 50-seat Embraer EMB-145 regional jets. Local arrivals are due at 10:25 a.m. and 4:25 p.m. with local departures scheduled at 10:50 a.m. and 4:50 p.m., officials said.
Excluding special charges to write down the value of its fleet, AMR said it would have lost $284 million, or $1.13 per share.
Analysts, who typically exclude charges from their forecasts, expected AMR to lose $1.40 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
Revenue rose 5.1 percent, to $6.18 billion. Analysts expected $6.14 billion.
Fuel costs spiked 47.4 percent, to $2.42 billion — an increase of about $780 million from a year ago.
A gallon of jet fuel went from $2.09 a year ago to $3.19, and would have been even higher if the company hadn’t bought some of its fuel in advance at lower prices. AMR expects to pay $3.81 per gallon in the third quarter.
Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey called the second-quarter results disappointing, but he said the Fort Worth-based company was taking steps to manage through a tough stretch.
AMR, which also owns the American Eagle airline, is cutting about 6,800 jobs and reducing its U.S. flying sharply to bring down costs while raising fares and special fees to boost revenue. Analysts, however, expect the company to keep losing money at least through 2010.
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Exco partners sought for East Texas drilling
Exco Resources - the company that finalized its purchase of Kilgore’s Geo-Vest of Texas on Tuesday for $252 million - on Wednesday announced that it has engaged Goldman, Sachs & Co. to explore possible joint venture opportunities with various interested parties to enhance exploitation and development of its East Texas/North Louisiana and Appalachia operating areas.
Exco’s natural gas reserves in East Texas/North Louisiana include more than 2.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcfe) of proved, probable and possible reserves, of which 1.1 Tcfe is proved. Exco’s East Texas/North Louisiana interests also include 292,000 net acres, 255 million cubic feet per day of net production and more than 3,000 undrilled Cotton Valley, Hosston and other conventional locations.
EXCO’s acreage includes more than 115,000 net acres which are prospects for drilling in the Bossier/Haynesville shale. Based on 80-acre spacing, this shale acreage could contain over 1,400 drilling locations with substantial unbooked reserve potential.
Exco’s proved, probable and possible reserves in Appalachia exceed 1.1 Tcfe of reserves of which 0.6 Tcfe is proved. Exco’s Appalachia region includes 1.1 million net acres, 60 million cubic feet per day of shallow production, over 8,100 shallow drilling locations and nearly 400,000 net acres of Marcellus shale potential of which 117,000 net acres are also prospective for the Huron shale.
The company said based on 80-acre spacing, the shale acreage could contain 6,400 drilling locations with substantial unbooked potential.
Exco also has substantial midstream assets in East Texas/North Louisiana which currently gather and transport in excess of 500 Mmcf/d of natural gas.
The possible joint venture transactions could include a sale of up to 50 percent of Exco’s reserves, production, acreage and other interests in either or both areas, with a joint development program to be conducted with the potential partner or partners.
A separate joint venture is contemplated for the East Texas/North Louisiana midstream assets. Exco anticipates using cash proceeds from any such transaction to reduce debt, help fund the exploitation and development of its shale potential and for other general corporate purposes, officials said.
Exco said there is no assurance that this joint venture process will result in Exco changing its current business plan, pursuing a particular joint venture or other transaction or completing any such transaction.
Exco officials said they do not expect to update the market with any further information on the joint venture process unless and until its board of directors has approved a specific transaction or otherwise deems disclosure appropriate.
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Hayneville shale wells drilled in Panola, Rusk counties
Goodrich Petroleum announced on Wednesday it has recently drilled and logged two additional vertical Haynesville Shale wells on its 100 percent-owned acreage in the Minden field of Rusk and Panola Counties.
The Billy Sealey No.7, which is located in the eastern portion of the Minden field, encountered approximately 165 feet of Haynesville Shale and the T. Swiley No.5, located in the northwestern portion of the Minden field, has been drilled to total depth and encountered excellent gas shows over an approximate 170 feet interval of the Haynesville Shale with complete open-hole logs expected soon.
As previously announced, the company currently plans to begin horizontal drilling for the Haynesville Shale on its East Texas acreage position in the fourth quarter of this year.
Goodrich has continued to increase its net ownership of Haynesville Shale rights in East Texas and currently estimates approximately 38,500 net acres for the Haynesville Shale in the Minden and Beckville field areas in Panola and Rusk Counties.
Goodrich Petroleum Corp also announced on Wednesday the closing of its previously announced joint venture to develop the Haynesville Shale in Northwest Louisiana with Chesapeake Energy in Caddo and DeSoto Parishes, La.
The company sold approximately 10,200 net acres and retains a 50 percent working interest in the acreage for the Haynesville Shale and 100 percent of its rights through the base of the Cotton Valley sand section.
Upon closing, Goodrich received approximately $173 million. With the completion of this transaction the company has a total of approximately 22,000 net acres in north Louisiana which are believed to be prospective for the Haynesville formation.
The recently added net acreage increases the company’s total net exposure in the Haynesville Shale play in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas, excluding the company’s acreage in the Angelina River Trend, to approximately 60,500 net acres.
Gil Goodrich, Goodrich’s vice chairman and chief executive officer said company officials are confident the transaction will create substantial value for Goodrich Petroleum and its shareholders.
“We look forward to initiating our joint development activities and expect to spud our initial joint horizontal well in the next 30-60 days,” Goodrich said. “The two additional wells we have recently drilled in the Minden field of East Texas provide important incremental data points for the Haynesville Shale in the Minden field and we believe further substantiates the reserve potential for the Haynesville on our 100 percent owned East Texas acreage.”
Goodrich said the approximately $365 million the company received from the Chesapeake transaction and the equity offering have dramatically strengthened its balance sheet and positioned us to further expand our development activities in the second half of this year and into 2009.
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LeTourneau Technologies inks $90 million contract
Houston-based Rowan Companies, Inc. announced Wednesday morning that its wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary, LeTourneau Technologies, Inc., has entered into a $90 million contract to provide major components for nine new 1500 horsepower land drilling rigs.
The contract is with Nomac Drilling, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation, and is valued at approximately $90 million. LeTourneau Technologies is based in Longview.
Each of the rigs will feature AC drive technology and incorporate key LeTourneau Technologies drilling equipment, including the mud pumps and drawworks. Delivery of the components is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2008 and be completed by mid 2009.
Rowan Companies, Inc. is a major provider of international and domestic offshore contract drilling services. The company’s manufacturing division, LeTourneau Technologies, produces equipment for the drilling, mining and timber industries.
The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the common stock trading symbol of RDC.
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Litter survey set Thursday and Friday
Longview’s third annual litter index will be conducted by Keep Longview Beautiful volunteers on Thursday and Friday.
As a Keep America Beautiful city, a litter index of the community is required once a year. The survey tool is provided by KAB and has been used in over 560 affiliate cities nationwide.
“The litter index is our chance to re-assess the presence of litter in our community,” said KLB President Dwayne Archer. “That information is immensely helpful when determining the types of community improvement programs needed to address current conditions and achieve long-term sustainable results.’
To determine what sites to survey, a map of Longview was divided into six equal sections, and 10 locations per section were randomly selected for measurement. The locations include a mix of residential, commercial, industrial and rural areas. The volunteers will be re-scoring the exact locations used in the last two litter indexes.
Keep Longview Beautiful has been a non-profit organization since 1979, with a mission is to engage the Longview community to take greater responsibility for improving their environment.
For more information please visit www.keeplongviewbeautiful.com.
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News sends Pilgrim’s stock upward
News Tuesday from Pilgrim’s Pride that it is cutting 634 employees and consolidating some operations sent the company’s stock up about 4.4 percent.
Pilgrim’s stock closed at $14.57 Tuesday, up 62 cents from Monday’s close of $13.95. The company has been hard hit by record high feed prices and lost more than than $100 million in the first quarter.
Latest comments
I think these statistics are great.
Does anyone know why Moodys and S@P have downgraded the credit rating of LONGVIEW TEX WATER WORKS & SEWER SYSTEM REF Revenue Bonds on the the 4th and 5th of June of this year. CUSIP: 543291DT2
... read the full comment by mm | Comment on 16,600 jobs added to Longview economy since 2000 Read 16,600 jobs added to Longview economy since 2000
Nice good blog!
... read the full comment by Sharon | Comment on Longview taxable sales post big jump Read Longview taxable sales post big jump
I still like my slogan for Longview - “More than just a Pretty Place”
Your dedication is a beautiful thing, KLB. Thank you, CH
... read the full comment by Longview Citizen | Comment on Keep Longview Beautiful recognized Read Keep Longview Beautiful recognized
Some of the increase could have come from an increase in new store openings such as the large retail boxes in NE Longview. People simply checking out new locations can cause a surge in purchases.
... read the full comment by Potpourri Emporium | Comment on Longview retail sales set record Read Longview retail sales set record