Children of Scott and Diana Williams of Massillon in photo with Christmas card for 2007. From left are Jeffrey, 7, Danielle, 5, Katrina, 4, and Nathan, 4.
They are grandchildren of John E. and Carolyn (Terakedis) Williams III and great-grandchildren of the late John E. and Betty (Liggett) Williams Jr.
True love is getting more expensive–up this year by 4 per cent to $78,100. That's the cost of purchasing the items in the Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas/"
Here's the AP story, but you really need to click on the headline for the fun report.
By DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH – While the origins of the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” may be a mystery, one thing is certain: It’s getting more costly to buy your true love all the items mentioned.
It would cost $78,100 to buy the 364 items, from a single partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming, repeatedly on each day as the song suggests, according to the annual PNC Christmas Price Index compiled by PNC Wealth Management. The cost is up 4 percent from $75,122 last year.
Buying each item in the song just once would cost $19,507, up 3.1 percent from last year’s $18,921. And shopping online would be costlier, with the total for the 364 items costing $128,886, up 2.5 percent from last year’s $125,767. You would spend $31,249 online for each item just once this year.
Though a humorous look, PNC said the index mirrors actual economic trends. PNC has been calculating the cost of Christmas since 1984.
Helping push the cost up this year is the minimum wage hike, which bumped the cost of eight maids a-milking from about $41 to nearly $47.
“They have not had an increase since 1997,” said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management. “The good news is, if you’re a maids a-milking, they will also see an increase in 2008 and 2009.”
Higher food costs pushed the six geese a-laying from $300 to $360. And reflecting higher gold prices, those five gold rings will cost $395, up 21.5 percent from last year’s $325.
“The cost of the gold rings in this year’s Christmas Price Index reflects the general trend of increasing commodity prices in the Consumer Price Index, including gold,” Dunigan said. “In addition, increased fears about inflation and the value of the dollar may have led investors to turn to gold as a safer place to invest their money.”
Not everything is more costly. The price of a partridge ($15), two turtle doves ($40) and three French hens ($45) remained the same, as did seven swans a-swimming, at $4,200, and nine ladies dancing, at $4,759.
Newcomerstown Mayor Jim Carr was defeated by Republican Steven B. Guy, who served as a councilman for 9 1/2 years since the 1980s. Democrat James A. Friel, son of the late Ora and Wilma Mae (Liggett) Friel came in second in the three-man race.
Here are the results with 100 per cent of the three precincts reporting:
Total Votes........................................913
JIM CARR.........................................149.....16.32%
JAMES A. FRIEL (Dem).................209.....22.89%
STEVEN BRUCE GUY (Rep).........555.....60.79%
Click on the headline to read the election story in the Times-Reporter
Jim Friel, son of the late Ora and Wilma (Liggett) Friel, is one of two candidates opposing Newcomerstown Mayor Jim Carr in his re-election bid Nov. 6.
The winner will serve a four-year term with an annual salary of $10,000. The salary had been $20,000 but was cut in half by a vote of council.
The candidates are independent Carr, Democrat James A. Friel and Republican Steven B. Guy.
At the end of his current term, Carr said he will be the longest serving mayor in village history with eight years. The previous mark was six, he said.
Comments from Carr dominated the story today in the Times-Reporter.
“I want to see things continue forward like they have been,” Carr said. “I hear it’s time for a change, but I’d like to say that under my administration, with good people around me, we’ve accomplished quite a lot. We’ve obtained over $2 million in grants.”
Friel said he is running because “I feel the departments in the village need guidance, and I feel they don’t have that right now. I want to see some changes in the village. There are some issues, such as flooding, our infrastructure, such as streets, water and sewer lines, that need to be improved. You always like to see more jobs, so I’d work the best I can to get jobs and businesses in here. I feel my experience makes me qualified for the job.”
He sees the issues as being infrastructure, jobs and coordinating the departments to work better together. He added the municipal building needs to be improved and made handicapped accessible or another one built.
As for working better together, he said one department needs to know what another is doing so that they can best coordinate use of equipment and making sure something, like a waterline replacement, is done before street paving goes on.
Friel said that while he was on council from January 1998 to December 2001, the village initiated renovations at the wastewater treatment plant renovation, attracted businesses to the community and implemented policy and procedure manuals for departments. While on the board of public affairs, he helped aid in completion of Phase II of the wastewater treatment plant renovation; initiated the County Rd. 15 lift station project and made manhole and sewer line improvements for Mulvane and State Sts.
Guy served as a councilman for about 9 1/2 years since the 1980s and filled in for about 45 days when a previous mayor had to go to China on business. He said he and his family are life residents of Newcomerstown and he is running because he is ‘concerned about the village.
Click on the headline to read the full story.
