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Quick Takes

NAMED PRINCIPAL:

Jarred T. Zapolnik, a 1999 graduate of Steubenville High School, has been hired as principal at Massillon Intermediate School.

Zapolnik was the campus principal at Alliance Middle School in Alliance, where he served for two years.

“Jarred is an experienced principal and educator who has demonstrated strong leadership skills in his previous school districts,” said Richard Goodright, Massillon City Schools superintendent. “What made him stand out above the other applicants for the position was his passion for creating an inviting atmosphere for students and staff, while also concentrating on student performance. That combination is critical.”

Zapolnik began his career as a social studies teacher at East Canton High School, where he was named Rookie Teacher of the Year in 2005. He taught there for five years before moving into school administration in the Canton City School district.

Zapolnik earned his secondary education degree in adolescent young adult education in integrated social studies from Walsh University and his master’s degree in education administration and leadership from the University of Akron. He is completing his superintendent licensure work at Ashland University.

“I have heard good things about Massillon City Schools, and I can’t wait to become a part of this innovative team,” said Zapolnik. “Education is scrutinized like no other venue in our community. Massillon is undaunted, choosing to embrace those challenges and improve continuously in that environment. I am thrilled to join them.”

MINIMUM IKEA: Ikea’s U.S. division is raising the minimum wage for thousands of its retail workers, pegging it to the cost of living in each location, instead of its competition.

The roughly 17 percent average raise is the Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture chain’s biggest in 10 years in the U.S.

The pay increase will take effect Jan. 1. It will translate to an average wage of $10.76 an hour, a $1.59 increase from the previous $9.17.

About half of Ikea’s 11,000 hourly store workers will get a raise. How much will vary based on the cost of living in each store location.

Ikea, which has cultivated a reputation for fair treatment of its workers, evaluates its benefits plans every year and had always adjusted wages based on its competition.

From staff and wire reports

Quick Takes

SUCCESSFUL EVENT: Modern Woodmen of America members of Richmond helped to raise money for the Edison FFA Boosters during the group’s classic tractor and car show.

The event, held May 17, raised $2,000. That total includes $1,000 matched by Modern Woodmen through the organization’s matching fund program. The money will be used for supplies and projects.

“The community truly came together to support a local need,” said Tim Conrad, local Modern Woodmen chapter activities coordinator. “This support is what it’s all about.”

JOINS MEDICAL TEAM:

C.H.A.N.G.E. Inc. has welcomed Dr. Robert H. Edwards to the Family Medical Care and Women’s Health team at its Wintersville location. Edwards received his medical degree in obstetrics and gynecology from Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine. He completed further medical training at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and performed his residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland.

Edwards is now practicing out of the 200 Luray Drive, Wintersville, location during regular office hours, Monday and Wednesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For information or to schedule an appointment, call (304) 748-2828 or visit www.changeinc.org.

LEADS REGISTRARS: Terri Richardson, a 1970 graduate of Toronto High School, is the new president of the National Cancer Registrars Association.

She was installed May 18 during the NCRA’s annual educational conference in Nashville, Tenn.

The daughter of Thelma Sines of Toronto and the late Walker Sines, Richardson has a long career in cancer registry management and serves as the manager of cancer data services at DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur, Ga. She has been an active member of the NCRA for 17 years, having served in a varirty of leadership positions including treasurer and junior treasurer and as a director of advocacy and technical practice.

Richardson has been active at the state level, serving as the secretary and education chair for the Georgia Tumor Registrars Association.

She holds a bachelor’s of science degree in health science with an emphasis on health information management from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Richardson plans to focus her year as president on pursuing a classification code with the Department of Labor for medical registries and finding new ways to promote the use of cancer registry data.

The NCRA is a nonprofit organization that represents more than 5,000 cancer registry professionals. Cancer registrars collect a complete history, diagnosis treatment and health status for every cancer patient in the United States. The information is used to advance treatments and research as well as prevention and screening programs.

QUICK TAKES

HIRED: Eastern Gateway Community College has hired Joanna Flanigan as executive finance director.

Flanigan, a resident of New Cumberland, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wheeling Jesuit University and a master of business administration degree from Florida Southern College. She is a certified public accountant.

Prior to joining the college, she was a physicians accountant for Weirton Medical Center Physician Practices Inc. and financial controller for Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort.

Her professional memberships include American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Government Finance Officers Association and Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She received the Forest H. Kirkpatrick Award for High Achievements in Economics.

HONORED: The Holiday Inn-Weirton located at 350 Three Springs Drive has received the 2014 Certificate of Excellence Award from TripAdvisor.com.

The award is given to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Establishments awarded the certificate represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website.

TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine that takes into account reviews and ratings. Businesses must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, volume and recency of reviews. Additional criteria includes a business’ tenure and popularity ranking on the site.

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at the Holiday Inn-Weirton and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” said JoAnn Babela, the hotel’s general manager. “There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence.”

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional hospitality businesses for consistent excellence,” said Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award gives top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers. From Australia to Zimbabwe, we want to applaud exceptional hospitality businesses for offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience.”

NEW INITIATIVE: Each year, the overall health of the Ohio Valley is declining. Last year, with No. 1 being the healthiest, West Virginia ranked 46th in the nation for health and Ohio ranked 40th.

According to County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2014 report, Jefferson County ranked among the worst at 80th in the state. Harrison County ranked 71st out of Ohio’s 88 counties. In West Virginia, Hancock County ranked 15th out of the state’s 55 counties, and Brooke ranked 22nd.

In response, Trinity Health System has launched a new initiative to engage people to adopt healthy habits – and have fun at the same time. The “Trinity Health Zone” is a free program for all upper Ohio Valley communities, businesses and educational institutions with one simple goal: To promote wellness and encourage healthy behaviors.

On Monday at 11 a.m., representatives of Trinity Health Zone’s team will hold a news conference to discuss details of the community health initiative and answer questions. The news conference will be held at Em-Media Inc., 2728 Sunset Blvd., Steubenville.

Information about this unique initiative will be provided at the news conference and Trinity Health Zone team members will be available for interviews at that time.

Quick Takes

ANNOUNCED: Acuity Healthcare LP officials announced the company’s transition to an employee-owned company via the implementation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

An ESOP is a special kind of benefit plan, in which employees are rewarded for their service and receive ownership through the granting of shares of stock. Acuity Healthcare is a long-term acute care hospital provider and the first employee-owned LTACH company. Currently, it is the only 100 percent employee-owned hospital company in the country.

“We are honored to set a new standard, which will ultimately change the way the health care industry recognizes its employees,” said AcuityHealthcare CEO, Ed Cooper. The driving force behind the decision to sell the company to our employees was the desire to establish a plan to preserve the company legacy, its culture, and most importantly our commitment to employees.

“We believe the ESOP fits within our company’s culture of giving back to our communities and recognizing our staff for their commitment to excellence in patient care,” Cooper added. “We have always taken a very progressive approach to the business of health care. We started AcuityHealthcare in 2001 without outside investors, growing instead through the hard work of our employees, physicians and support of our community.”

AcuityHealthcare LP was founded in 2001, with headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. Acuity currently owns and manages 12 LTACHs, including the site in Steubenville at Trinity Medical Center East, as well as Belmont Community Hospital in Bellaire, and soon at Wheeling Hospital and Weirton Medical Center. To learn about Acuity Healthcare, visit www.acuityhealthcare.net.

WTC LOWERS RENT: The owners of the World Trade Center’s signature skyscraper are slashing office rents nearly 10 percent because they can’t find enough tenants.

The Wall Street Journal reports that 1 World Trade Center is 55 percent leased. It says no private office tenant has signed a lease in almost three years.

The owners are cutting asking rents to $69 a square foot for larger tenants on the building’s middle floors. Developer Douglas Durst tells the newspaper that’s down from $75 a square foot.

Durst bought a stake in the 1,776-foot tower from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2011.

Major tenants in the building include magazine publisher Conde Nast and the government’s General Services Administration.

The skyscraper, the nation’s tallest building, is scheduled to open later this year.

TYSON MAKES OFFER: The largest U.S. meat producer Tyson Foods made a $6.2 billion offer for Hillshire Brands, becoming the fourth party in what was already a three-way acquisition drama.

The struggle for the sausage and lunchmeat maker is driven by the high profitability of packaged, processed products like Jimmy Dean sausage in a time of volatile meat prices. Tyson said Hillshire’s brands were complimentary to its own and a combination would provide a “significant lift’ to its prepared foods’ segment margins.

Tyson’s offer comes two days after poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride made a $5.58 billion bid for Hillshire, which also makes Ball Park hot dogs. And both offers come on the heels of Hillshire Brands plan announced earlier this month to acquire Pinnacle Foods, which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Wish-Bone salad dressing, for $4.23 billion.

Tyson said its offer was better than Hillshire’s proposed acquisition of Pinnacle and would make a more profitable company and a “clear leader” in the retail sale of prepared foods.

Tyson and other meat producers are facing changing consumer tastes and volatile meat prices. In its most recent second-quarter, Tyson’s net income more than doubled, benefiting from strong demand for chicken and higher prices for beef and pork.

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