The Buzz of Northwest Georgia
-Retail roundtable: What area merchants see this shopping season -Monday's Buzz: Latest on Berry Crossing and Berry College
-11,500 jobs for region thanks to VW plant? What's in it for us?
-Peaks & Valleys: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
WeatherCenter / brought to you by Roman Court
-We're under a freeze warning until 8 this morning and again from 1 to 9 a.m. Tuesday. A freeze watch is in effect Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. The reason: lows in the upper 20s this morning and Tuesday morning, low 20s Wednesday. Today's high: 54 degrees under mostly sunny skies.
-Week ahead looks cold> Click WeatherCenter
Football playoffs
-Rome High travels to Sandy Creek while Pepperell is off to Callaway for round two of the high school playoffs. See John McClellan's picks for all the games.
-The Shorter Hawks begin their first playoff season vs the University of the Cumberlands at noon Saturday in Williamsburg, Ky.
-For more, please see The Football Report/ Brought to you by Printworks
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable / brought to you by Riverside Toyota
-Will any team step up to win the ACC title this season? Tech's still in the hunt. Click Arey
The Football Report/ Brought to you by Printworks
>John McClellan looks at round two of the high school playoffs and what he sees happening this Friday night. The local teams still in the hunt:
-Rome at Sandy Creek
-Cartersville at Gainesville
-Calhoun hosts Westminster
-Pepperell at Callaway
>Click The Football Report
Shorter vs. U of the Cumberlands in playoffs Saturday
-The Shorter Hawks play the University of the Cumberlands at noon Saturday in Williamsburg, Ky.
-Listen for coverage from 95.7 FM The Ridge with a Web cast as well.
-16 teams are in the NAIA playoffs with round two set for Nov. 29 and round three Dec. 6.
-The championship will be at Barron Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20, beginning at noon. Click Championship.
>For more on Shorter, click Hawks
>Check the NAIA pairs> NAIA
Downtown Headlines
-What's ahead in downtown Rome this week> Downtown Headlines
Latest images from Berry Crossing
As prep work continues on the site of Berry Crossing (U.S. 27 and the Bypass), developers are seeking tenants in addition to anchors CVS and Wachovia. A new ad on Loopnet includes the above images showing the design of the center across from Berry College and Oak Hill . Look for a March opening. MetroGroup is behind the project.> MetroGroup.
And speaking of Berry, the boom continues: The latest edition of Berry College's Campus Carrier contains drawings and details about an expansion of the Krannert Center (student center) that should be done by the start of classes in fall 2009. That's in addition to the two new dorms rising behind Hermann Hall. Click Carrier
11,500 jobs tied to Chattanooga's new VW plant; what's in it for us? That's what a story in Sunday's Chattanooga Times Free Press indicates. The figure includes 2,000 assembly workers as the plant comes online two years from now as well as nearly 9,500 spinoff jobs including parts suppliers, support, etc. Northwest Georgia, including Floyd County, continues to showcase sites for some of those potential spinoff suppliers. The potential quick investment for the "punch buggy" plant has the economic development folks almost... punch drunk.
Even more shopping options in 2010? You'll find a sample of the Christmas season sales and trends watch below, courtesy of Natalie Simms. There could be a new player to consider next Christmas from Prime Retail, owner of Mount Berry Square and Prime Outlets in Calhoun. There are plans to open another outlet center in Holly Springs (Cherokeee County). In May, the company announced plans for a 450,000-square-foot outlet center. An estimated $120 million project, it would include 120 stores and employ as many as 2,000 people> Outlets
Roundtable/Christmas shopping in a tough economy
By Natalie Simms
This is a different Christmas shopping season thanks to the economy. Mounting unemployment, the credit crunch and overall uncertainty have some consumers skittish. We talked to four Northwest Georgia retailers about plans to get shoppers to their stores or retail centers. Several are trying some new tactics while another has gone back to an old favorite: Layaway. Here's what they have to say:
How are you preparing for holiday sales?
>Natasha Burroughs, Mount Berry Square: "The lights are up, decorations in place and Santa is (here). We are really doing some fun things to get everyone energized."
>Elaine Abercrombie, Greene's Jewelers, Broad Street: "We are preparing for our big sale the weekend after Thanksgiving. We have also made special purchase arrangements with our vendors for lower pricing on certain items. We are also doing some additional advertising in magazines and radio spots for more promotion than in the past."
>Amy Shropshire, Rush Home, Main Street, Cartersville: "We are having a holiday open house on Nov. 20, as well as offering different sales and mark-downs in the store."
>Janet Paulson, Prime Outlets at Calhoun: "We are having our first-ever Midnight Madness sale at midnight on Thanksgiving. There will be special sales from midnight until 8 a.m. on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). We are also having a 'Pajama Jam' with the first 300 customers shopping in their PJs at midnight receiving a free pair of Jockey PJs."
>Mike Barger, Super Kmart, Rome: "I was really worried with Halloween but the 
sales came through that last week and things flew off the counter. So I think we will do OK. I am still hiring seasonal employees. We will also have lots of sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday."
How do you think the economy will affect sales?
>Burroughs, Mount Berry: "It will affect it in some ways. But we are the mall of the community and with gas prices the way they've been, we hope people will stay home to shop."
>Abercrombie, Greene's Jewelers: "We are really trying to be optimistic because our sales have been up all year, about 10 percent for the year. And we've been in business for 60 years so we think our reputation will get us through."
>Shropshire, Rush Home: "Our sales are definitely down and have been all year, so it's having an effect. And I don't foresee things turning around until maybe 2010. Hopefully, we'll see it flourish back."
>Paulson, Prime Outlets: "Well, gas prices are coming down which is good. We still 
see a strong season, much better than our full-price counterparts. We are the place for the bargain-conscious fashionista. We think the economy will actually bring more customers to us for bargains."
>Mike Barger, Super Kmart: "I know it (economy) is tight and it will be touch and go with sales. We already see it having an effect on other businesses that are out of business or filed for chapter (bankruptcy)."
What adjustments have you made to keep sales going?
> 
Burroughs, Mount Berry Square: "Right now. we have a cotton promotion going on. For customers who spend at least $100 in purchases of items made of cotton, or at least 50 percent blend of cotton, they will get a $10 gift card to the mall."
>Abercrombie, Greene's Jewelers: "We just continue to run our business as a Christian business with honesty, integrity and good service. We offer free engraving, free cleaning, free gift wrap, personal delivery and personal shopping."
>Shropshire, Rush Home: "We have started doing a newsletter to our customers to let them know about new things at the store and upcoming sales."
>Paulson, Prime Outlets: "Other than our midnight madness sale, we have lots of coupons available on our Web site- www.primeoutlets.com. We also have several new stores, Little Tractor Co., The $5 Book Store and Ann Taylor, so our merchant line-up is great."
>Barger, Super Kmart: "We continue to offer layaway. We are one of the only major retailers in the area offering layaway. And our partner, Sears, is also offering layaway this year. It has been very good for us and good for our customers. And because of its success, sales in our toy department are way up. It is good for our customers and we see a lot more people using it this year than last year. They would rather use layaway than put it on a credit card."
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
Peak to Shorter University: The folks on The Hill continue to sit on one of the 
community's ongoing good news stories. The latest: the bid to switch to university status by June 2010. The addition of football, the new school of nursing, on-campus development and other factors continue to help Shorter --and Rome-- grow.
Valley to the Tour de Georgia: This race has changed sponsors and organizers 
and focus and direction more times than Bobby Petrino has had coaching gigs. Now comes word that organizers, including Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, are giving the race a one-year sabbatical because of money issues. We doubt it will be back in 2010. In just a few years, the Tour became a premiere cycling event around the world. Now it is all but gone. We have bad taste in our mouths because of Rome's non-involvement in the last race following five excellent tour stops from 2003 to 2007. That said, we'd still rather see the race go on even if it remains restricted to Northeast Georgia.
Valley to the Georgia House's Republican Caucus: With a glorified "I'm sorry" from Glenn Richardson, almost all was forgiven by a majority of House members last week as they returned Richardson to his throne for two more years. Among the yes votes: Rome's Katie Dempsey. If Richardson's past antics didn't sway their vote, what will? Consider the House vote the first "event" in the 2010 election.
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