Wyoming Council, Residents Hear About County 911 System 
Representatives Of The Luzerne County Emergency Services Department Spoke To 
Council And About 10 Residents Wednesday Night About Luzerne County's 911 
System.

38 People Bid For Detective Job

Wednesday, February 05, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





AROUND TOWN &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 BANK OFFICIAL TO GIVE PEEK AT ECONOMY: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Richard M. Stein, vice president and associate economist with CoreStates &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Financial Corp., will provide a glimpse of the local, state and national
economy during the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry annual
economic outlookThe program will be at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 20 at Victoria Inns in
Pittston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There is no charge for the program, which is sponsored by CoreStates Bank. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Also during the breakfast, a local economic development update will be
provided by attorney Joseph Persico, chairman of the chamber board. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Reservations are due Feb. 13 to the chamber. The phone number is 823-2101.
The chamber address is P.O. Box 5340, Wilkes-Barre. The fax number is
822-5951. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 GRANGE REPORTS PROFIT HIKE: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grange National Bank, Laceyville, has announced an after-tax profit of $1.5
million for 1996, a 27 percent increase over 1995. The bank also experienced
strong asset growth with an increase of $12.4 million in total assets, a 13.5
percent increase from 1995. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Earnings per share of $4.23 and return on average assets of 1.52 percent
also set new records for the bank. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas A. McCullough, bank president and chief executive officer,
attributed the earnings to strong loan growth, a stable interest-rate
environment, low FDIC premiums and continued improvement in the bank's net
interest margin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McCullough also cited expansion into Luzerne County for strong loan and
deposit growth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 RYKOFF-SEXTON ANNOUNCES RESULTS: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rykoff-Sexton, Inc. of Wilkes-Barre has reported financial results for its
second fiscal quarter and six-month period ended Dec. 28, 1996. Because of the
company's merger on May 17, 1996, with US Foodservice, which was accounted for
as a purchase transaction, there are no directly comparable prior year
figures. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sales for the 13 weeks ended Dec. 28 were $882.4 million. Net income was
$3.9 million, equal to $.14 per share, based on 28.2 million weighted average
shares outstanding. Earnings per share is net of non-cash goodwill
amortization of approximately $.09 per share, which primarily resulted from
the US Foodservice merger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the 26-week period ended Dec. 28, sales were $1.79 billion. Net income
was $6.0 million, equal to $.21 per share, based on 28.1 million weighted
average shares outstanding. Earnings per share is net of non-cash goodwill
amortization of $.18 per share. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The company's results for the first six months continue to be slightly
ahead of management's previously announced earnings outlook. Management
believes, however, that the $.50 to $.60 earnings per share estimate for
fiscal 1997 remains appropriate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 NATIONAL &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MARTHA STEWART TAKES CHARGE: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Martha Stewart, whose recipe for 1990s family life has grown into a media
empire of cooking, gardening and entertaining "how-to," has taken control of
her namesake magazine and TV series. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The purchase Tuesday calls for Stewart to buy out most of founding partner
Time Inc.'s stake in Martha Stewart Living magazine, her syndicated TV show
and some book publishing operations. It stemmed from Stewart's desire for
greater autonomy and for the economic advantages of combining all the Martha
Stewart businesses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Neither side would disclose the price paid, though Time keeps a stake of
less than 20 percent in all of Stewart's ventures, now part of Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia LLC, of which Stewart is chairman. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 P&amp;G PROFITS UP IN QUARTER: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Procter &amp; Gamble profits rose 13 percent in the October-December quarter,
despite a scant increase in sales. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, the profit beat Wall Street's expectations and the company's stock
rose $2.75 per share to close at $110.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The company credited lower raw materials prices and simplification efforts
for the higher profit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Our priority remains to accelerate sales and unit volume growth," said
John Pepper, P&amp;G chairman. He said new production and new products would help
sales. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Profits in the second quarter of P&amp;G's fiscal year were $944 million, or
$1.35 a share, compared with $836 million, or $1.18 a share, a year ago. Sales
were $9.14 billion, compared with $9.09 billion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the first six months, net earnings were $1.92 billion, or $2.74 a
share, compared with $1.73 billion, or $2.45 a share, in 1995. Sales were down
negligibly at $18.04 billion, compared with $18.12 billion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Around Town 
Bank Official To Give Peek At Economy: 
Richard M. Stein, Vice President And Associate Economist With Corestates 
Financial Corp., Will Provide A Glimpse Of The Local, State And National 
Economy During The Wilkes-barre Chamber Of Business And Industry Annual 
Economic Outlook.

Around Town Bank Official To Give Peek At Economy: Richard M. Stein, Vice President And Associate Economist With Corestates Financial Corp., Will Provide A Glimpse Of The Local, State And National Economy During The Wilkes-barre Chamber Of Business And Industry Annual Economic Outlook.