[email protected] RESS PAGE 3 Jobs Report...
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Ruben Semmler Ruben Semmler, 94, at Tripp Good Samaritan Home passed away on January 8, 2014. Ruben was born near Corsica, SD on October 12, 1919. He was the 9th of 12 children born to Fred- erick and Christina (Smearer) Semmler. He married Cather- ine Baer of Ipswich, SD, on January 3, 1944. The couple settled in the Tripp/Parkston area where they farmed. Ruben was seriously injured and nearly died in a tractor accident in 1970. He recov- ered and continued farming until lingering complications from the accident forced him to retire in 1979. The couple then moved to Heritage Square Apartments in Park- ston. Catherine died in 2003 and Ruben remained in Park- ston until he moved into the Good Samaritan Home at Tripp in late 2011. The couple raised three children: Veronica Granger, a retired nurse in Longmont CO; Maryann Eklund who along with her husband, Rus- sell, own a general contract- ing and real estate business in Great Falls MT; and Leo Semmler, a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant who along with his wife, Bunny, raise quarter horses near Watertown SD. Ruben has four grandchildren: Julie (Daegal Tsang) Eklund, Dou- glas (Dani) Eklund, Danielle (Brent) Honsbruch, and Michelle Semmler. He also has two great-grandchildren: Saskia Tsang and Zachary Tsang. Ruben served in the Army from 1941 until 1943, including 18 months in Aus- tralia during the Japanese at- tacks on Darwin. Ruben took pride in being a good farmer who diligently cared for his crops and livestock. He was good with his hands and could build and repair al- most anything. He also enjoyed riding spirited horses. Upon retirement, Ruben excelled at several hobbies including playing pool, macramé, rattlesnake hunting, and counted cross stitch. Ruben completed more than 240 counted cross stitch projects in a 17-year period despite the fact he was color blind. Recently he was asked what he was most proud of in his life. He said, “My three kids and what they’ve accomplished.” Friends and family will re- member Ruben for his great sense of humor. He was al- ways telling a joke or humor- ous story from his childhood, and was never above instigating a good practical joke. Ruben was preceded in death by all eleven of his brothers and sisters, which, by the way, was one of his goals. A memorial service will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Parkston at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan- uary 20th. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Ruben’s name to Farm Res- cue at http://www.farmres- cue.org or 1-701-252-2017. They are a non-profit organi- zation that assists family farmers, who have suffered an injury or illness, with planting or harvesting their crops. Yankton Press & Dakotan January 11, 2014 James ‘Chubby’ Orton James “Chubby” Orton, 82, of Gayville died Thurs- day, Jan. 9, 2014, in Sun City West, Ariz. Arrangements are pend- ing with the Wintz & Ray Fu- neral Home and Cremation Service, Yankton. Marilyn Jurrens Marilyn K. Jurrens, 60, of Yankton died very unexpect- edly on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014. Memorial services are at 2 p.m. Jan. 18 at Calvary Bap- tist Church, Yankton, with the Rev. Jon Cooke officiating. Visitations begin at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, at the Opsahl- Kostel Funeral Home and Cre- matory, Yankton, with a 7 p.m. Prayer service, video tribute and memory sharing. Visita- tions will resume one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday, Jan. 18. Saturday, 1.11.14 ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net NEWSROOM: [email protected] PRESS DAKOTAN PAGE 3 the world New Documents Released In NJ Scandal TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Newly released documents show officials scrambled to control the publicity damage in the days after lane closings near the George Washington Bridge caused huge traffic jams that now appear to have been po- litically orchestrated by officials in Gov. Chris Christie’s administration. In emails days after the closings, the Christie-appointed chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jer- sey, David Sampson, suggested that the director of the Port Authority leaked an internal memo on the matter to a reporter. Sampson called it “very unfortunate for NY/NJ rela- tions” because the director is an appointee of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. On Thursday, Christie apologized for the closings, fired a top aide who was implicated in the scandal and cut ties with a top political adviser. Target: Leak Larger Than Disclosed NEW YORK (AP) — Fallout from Target’s pre-Christmas security breach is likely to affect the company’s sales and profits well into the new year. The company disclosed on Friday that the massive data theft was significantly more extensive and affected millions more shoppers than the company reported in December. As a result of the breach, millions of Target customers have become vulnerable to identity theft, experts say. The nation’s second largest discounter said hackers stole personal information — including names, phone num- bers as well as email and mailing addresses — from as many as 70 million customers as part of a data breach it discovered last month. Target announced on Dec. 19 that some 40 million credit and debit card accounts had been affected by a data breach that happened between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 — just as the holiday shopping season was getting into gear. As part of that announcement, the company said customers’ names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates, debit-card PINs and the embedded code on the mag- netic strip on the back of cards had been stolen. According to new information gleaned from its investi- gation with the Secret Service and the Department of Jus- tice, Target said Friday that criminals also took non-credit card related data for some 70 million shoppers who could have made purchases at Target stores outside the late Nov. to mid-Dec. timeframe. 500 Reported Killed In Syria This Week BEIRUT (AP) — With nearly 500 people reported killed in a week of rebel infighting, many Syrians barricaded themselves in their homes Friday, while others emerged from mosques an- grily accusing an al-Qaida-linked group of hijacking their revo- lution. The rebel-on-rebel clashes have overshadowed the battle against President Bashar Assad and underscore the perils for civilians caught in the crossfire of two parallel wars. The violence, which pits fighters from a variety of Islamic groups and mainstream factions against the feared al-Qaida- linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have spread across four provinces in opposition-held parts of northern Syria. The infighting is helping Assad, whose forces have clawed back some of the ground lost to the rebels in recent months as they bombard the north and other opposition regions with warplanes, heavy artillery and crude explosive-filled barrels dropped over rebel neighborhoods. “The revolution has been derailed,” said Abdullah Hasan, a self-described secular activist in the northern town of Maskaneh, where fighters from the al-Qaida-linked group swept in last month. “None of the groups fighting in Syria rep- resent me now,” he said, adding that he was nonetheless hope- ful that the infighting would help purge extremists from the ranks of the rebels. Fed. Recognition Granted For Marriages SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Obama administration ex- tended federal recognition to the marriages of more than 1,000 same-sex couples in Utah that took place before the Supreme Court put those unions in the state on hold. The action will enable the government to extend eligibil- ity for federal benefits to these couples. That means gay and lesbian couples can file federal taxes jointly, get Social Security benefits for spouses and request legal immigration status for partners. Attorney General Eric Holder said the families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their benefits while courts decide the issue of same-sex marriage in Utah. The decision came days after Utah officials said they would not recognize the marriages. The office of Gov. Gary Herbert told state agencies this week to put a freeze on proceeding with any new benefits for the newly married gay and lesbian couples until the courts sort out the matter. In a statement Friday afternoon, Herbert’s office issued a statement that said Holder’s announcement was unsur- prising, but state officers should comply with federal law if they’re providing federal services. Northern Lights Public Open House 1.13.14 For more information, please call 605-668-8000. Tours, hors d’oevres, refreshments and giveaways will be provided. Monday, Jan.13, 2014 4 - 7 p.m. 5 01 Summit • Yankton, SD If no two people are the same... A funeral service should reflect the taste and preferences of the person who dies. We will help you add your own personal touch. Why should their funerals be? W INTZ & R AY FUNERAL HOME and Cremation Service, Inc. 605-665-3644 W INTZ FUNERAL HOME INC. Hartington, Coleridge, Crofton 402-254-6547 www.wintzrayfuneralhome.com Semmler OBITUARIES BY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — The weakest month of hiring in three years ended 2013 on a sluggish note and raised ques- tions about whether the U.S. job market can sustain its re- cent strong gains. Employers added a scant 74,000 jobs in December after averaging 214,000 in the previ- ous four months. Economists cautioned that cold weather likely played a role in the sharp slowdown. Many ana- lysts said they would need to see more data before they could tell whether the job market had lost momentum. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemploy- ment rate fell from 7 percent in November to 6.7 percent, its lowest level since October 2008. But the drop occurred mostly because many Ameri- cans stopped looking for jobs. Once people without jobs stop looking for one, the govern- ment no longer counts them as unemployed. The proportion of people either working or looking for work fell to 62.8 percent, matching a nearly 36-year low. Last month’s expiration of ex- tended unemployment bene- fits for 1.3 million long-term unemployed could accelerate that trend if many of them stop looking for work. Benefi- ciaries had been required to look for work to receive unem- ployment checks. The stock market fell in early trading. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 26 points in mid-afternoon trading. And the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.88 percent from 2.97 late Thursday — a drop that is normally a sign of a slowing economy. It’s unclear whether the sharp hiring slowdown might lead the Federal Reserve to re- think its plan to slow its stimu- lus efforts. The Fed decided last month to pare its monthly bond purchases, which have been designed to lower inter- est rates to spur borrowing and spending. “I don’t think the Fed is going to be panicked by this,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. Naroff suggested that the 6.7 percent unemployment rate — a drop of more than a full percentage point since 2013 began — will eventually lead many employers to raise wages. “It doesn’t change what they’re thinking,” Naroff said of the Fed. Many economists said it would be premature to con- clude from Friday’s report that the economy is weakening. “We stop short of making larger observations based on this number,” said Dan Green- haus, chief global strategist at brokerage firm BTIG. “The economy, based on any num- ber of other indicators, has been picking up steam of late which makes today’s num- ber..curious.” Unusually cold weather might have slowed hiring in December. Construction com- panies, which are heavily de- pendent on weather conditions, cut 16,000 jobs, the biggest drop in 20 months. Michael Hanson, an econo- mist at Bank of America Mer- rill Lynch, estimated that the cold weather lowered hiring by about 75,000 jobs. It would still be a weak re- port even if those jobs were added back in, Hanson said. But he cautioned against read- ing too much into a single month’s jobs report. “It’s a warning sign that things maybe weren’t as strong as we thought,” Hanson said. But “it’s really hard to make an inference from one number.” Other economists were also skeptical. Mark Vitner of Wells Fargo noted that several industries reported unusually steep job losses. Accounting and bookkeeping services, for example, lost 24,700 jobs, the most in nearly 11 years. And performing arts and spectator sports cut 11,600, the most in 2 1/2 years. The movie industry shed 13,700 jobs. Economists said those un- usually large losses are likely a statistical quirk that’s unlikely to be repeated. Chemical Spill Brings W.Va. Capital To Standstill BY JONATHAN MATTISE AND BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A chemi- cal spill left the water for 300,000 people in and around West Virginia’s capital city stained blue-green and smelling like licorice, with officials saying Friday it was unclear when it might be safe again for even mundane activities like showers and laundry. Federal authorities began investigat- ing how the foaming agent escaped a chemical plant and seeped into the Elk River. Just how much of the chemical leaked into the river was not yet known. Officials are working with the com- pany that makes the chemical to deter- mine how much can be in the water without it posing harm to residents, said West Virginia American Water president Jeff McIntyre. “We don’t know that the water’s not safe. But I can’t say that it is safe,” McIn- tyre said Friday. For now, there is no way to treat the tainted water aside from flushing the system until it’s in low enough concentrations to be safe, a process that could take days. Officials and experts said the chemi- cal, even in its most concentrated form, isn’t deadly. However, people across nine counties were told not to so much as wash their clothes in water affected, as the compound can cause symptoms ranging from skin irritation and rashes to vomiting and diarrhea. No more than six people have been brought into emergency rooms with symptoms that may stem from the chem- ical, and none were in serious or critical condition, said State Department of Health & Human Resources Secretary Karen L. Bowling. The company where the leak oc- curred, Freedom Industries, discovered Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. that the chemical was leaking from the bottom of a storage tank, said its presi- dent Gary Southern. Southern said the company worked all day and through the night to remove the chemical from the site and take it elsewhere. Vacuum trucks were used to remove the chemi- cal from the ground at the site. “We have the mitigated the risk, we believe, in terms of further material leav- ing this facility,” he said. Southern said he didn’t think the chemical posed a public danger. He also said the company didn’t know how much leaked. The spill brought West Virginia’s most populous city and nearby areas to a vir- tual standstill, closing schools and offices and even forcing the Legislature to cancel its business for the day. Officials focused on getting water to people who needed it, particularly the elderly and disabled. “If you are low on bottled water, don’t panic because help is on the way,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said at a news confer- ence Friday afternoon. The governor said there was no shortage of bottled water, and that officials were working to get water to those who need it. At least one charity was collecting donations of bot- tled water, baby wipes, plastic utensils and other items for people unable to use tap water. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also planned to deliver more than a million liters of water from nearby Maryland. Several companies were send- ing bottled water and other supplies, in- cluding Pepsi and the Coca-Cola Co., Tomblin said. However, it appeared that some level of panic already had set in to some de- gree. At the Kroger grocery store in the shadow of a DuPont plant along the Kanawha River, people scrambled in the aisles to find bottled water, only to learn the store had been out since early Friday. Robert Stiver was unable to find water at that store after trying at least a dozen others in the area and worried about how he’d make sure his cats had drinkable water. The water at his home had a blue tint and smelled like licorice, he said. “I’m lucky. I can get out and look for water. But what about the elderly? They can’t get out. They need someone to help them,” he said. That’s what 59-year-old Dan Scott was doing: Taking care of his 81-year-old mother, Bonnie Wireman, and others in the area. “She takes everything to heart. She forgot a few times and stuck her hand in the kitchen sink. When she realized what she did, she took out alcohol and washed her hands. Scrubbed them. She was really scared,” he said. Inside Kroger, there were signs that the chemical spills had affected business. Anything that used water — from the deli counter to the produce section — was ei- ther closed or had a limited supply. Outside the restrooms, a handmade sign told the story: Because of a chemical spill in the Elk River, the store was advis- ing people not to use the water fountain. The bathroom sinks were wrapped in plastic. Freedom Industries was ordered to stop storing chemicals in areas where they could flow into the retention pond that failed in Thursday’s leak, said state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Tom Aluise. The tank that leaked holds at least 40,000 gallons, Aluise said, though offi- cials believe no more than 5,000 gallons leaked from the tank. Some of that was contained before escaping into the river, he said. The company was already cited for causing air pollution stemming from the odor first reported Thursday, Aluise said. Jobs Report Sees Mixed Results
Transcript of [email protected] RESS PAGE 3 Jobs Report...
Ruben Semmler Ruben Semmler, 94, at
Tripp Good Samaritan Homepassed away on January 8,2014.
Ruben wasborn nearCorsica, SDon October12, 1919. Hewas the 9th of12 childrenborn to Fred-erick andChristina(Smearer)Semmler. He married Cather-ine Baer of Ipswich, SD, onJanuary 3, 1944. The couplesettled in the Tripp/Parkstonarea where they farmed.Ruben was seriously injuredand nearly died in a tractoraccident in 1970. He recov-ered and continued farminguntil lingering complicationsfrom the accident forced himto retire in 1979. The couplethen moved to HeritageSquare Apartments in Park-ston. Catherine died in 2003and Ruben remained in Park-ston until he moved into the
Good Samaritan Home atTripp in late 2011.
The couple raised threechildren: Veronica Granger, aretired nurse in LongmontCO; Maryann Eklund whoalong with her husband, Rus-sell, own a general contract-ing and real estate businessin Great Falls MT; and LeoSemmler, a retired Air ForceChief Master Sergeant whoalong with his wife, Bunny,raise quarter horses nearWatertown SD. Ruben hasfour grandchildren: Julie(Daegal Tsang) Eklund, Dou-glas (Dani) Eklund, Danielle(Brent) Honsbruch, andMichelle Semmler. He alsohas two great-grandchildren:Saskia Tsang and ZacharyTsang.
Ruben served in theArmy from 1941 until 1943,including 18 months in Aus-tralia during the Japanese at-tacks on Darwin. Ruben tookpride in being a good farmerwho diligently cared for hiscrops and livestock. He wasgood with his hands andcould build and repair al-most anything. He also
enjoyed riding spiritedhorses. Upon retirement,Ruben excelled at severalhobbies including playingpool, macramé, rattlesnakehunting, and counted crossstitch. Ruben completedmore than 240 counted crossstitch projects in a 17-yearperiod despite the fact hewas color blind. Recently hewas asked what he was mostproud of in his life. He said,“My three kids and whatthey’ve accomplished.”Friends and family will re-member Ruben for his greatsense of humor. He was al-ways telling a joke or humor-ous story from his
childhood, and was neverabove instigating a goodpractical joke.
Ruben was preceded indeath by all eleven of hisbrothers and sisters, which,by the way, was one of hisgoals.
A memorial service willbe held at Sacred HeartCatholic Church in Parkstonat 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan-uary 20th. In lieu of flowers,please make donations inRuben’s name to Farm Res-cue at http://www.farmres-cue.org or 1-701-252-2017.They are a non-profit organi-zation that assists familyfarmers, who have suffered
an injury or illness, withplanting or harvesting theircrops.
Yankton Press & Dakotan
January 11, 2014
James ‘Chubby’Orton
James “Chubby” Orton,82, of Gayville died Thurs-day, Jan. 9, 2014, in Sun CityWest, Ariz.
Arrangements are pend-ing with the Wintz & Ray Fu-neral Home and CremationService, Yankton.
Marilyn JurrensMarilyn K. Jurrens, 60, of
Yankton died very unexpect-edly on Thursday, Jan. 9,2014.
Memorial services are at2 p.m. Jan. 18 at Calvary Bap-tist Church, Yankton, withthe Rev. Jon Cookeofficiating.
Visitations begin at 5 p.m.Friday, Jan. 17, at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Cre-matory, Yankton, with a 7 p.m.Prayer service, video tributeand memory sharing. Visita-tions will resume one hourprior to the service at thechurch on Saturday, Jan. 18.
Saturday, 1.11.14ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net
NEWSROOM: [email protected] PRESS DAKOTAN P A G E 3
the world
New Documents Released In NJ ScandalTRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Newly released documents show
officials scrambled to control the publicity damage in thedays after lane closings near the George Washington Bridgecaused huge traffic jams that now appear to have been po-litically orchestrated by officials in Gov. Chris Christie’sadministration.
In emails days after the closings, the Christie-appointedchairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jer-sey, David Sampson, suggested that the director of the PortAuthority leaked an internal memo on the matter to areporter.
Sampson called it “very unfortunate for NY/NJ rela-tions” because the director is an appointee of New YorkGov. Andrew Cuomo.
On Thursday, Christie apologized for the closings, fireda top aide who was implicated in the scandal and cut tieswith a top political adviser.
Target: Leak Larger Than DisclosedNEW YORK (AP) — Fallout from Target’s pre-Christmas
security breach is likely to affect the company’s sales andprofits well into the new year.
The company disclosed on Friday that the massive datatheft was significantly more extensive and affected millionsmore shoppers than the company reported in December.As a result of the breach, millions of Target customers havebecome vulnerable to identity theft, experts say.
The nation’s second largest discounter said hackersstole personal information — including names, phone num-bers as well as email and mailing addresses — from asmany as 70 million customers as part of a data breach itdiscovered last month.
Target announced on Dec. 19 that some 40 million creditand debit card accounts had been affected by a databreach that happened between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 — justas the holiday shopping season was getting into gear. Aspart of that announcement, the company said customers’names, credit and debit card numbers, card expirationdates, debit-card PINs and the embedded code on the mag-netic strip on the back of cards had been stolen.
According to new information gleaned from its investi-gation with the Secret Service and the Department of Jus-tice, Target said Friday that criminals also took non-creditcard related data for some 70 million shoppers who couldhave made purchases at Target stores outside the late Nov.to mid-Dec. timeframe.
500 Reported Killed In Syria This WeekBEIRUT (AP) — With nearly 500 people reported killed in a
week of rebel infighting, many Syrians barricaded themselvesin their homes Friday, while others emerged from mosques an-grily accusing an al-Qaida-linked group of hijacking their revo-lution.
The rebel-on-rebel clashes have overshadowed the battleagainst President Bashar Assad and underscore the perils forcivilians caught in the crossfire of two parallel wars.
The violence, which pits fighters from a variety of Islamicgroups and mainstream factions against the feared al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have spread acrossfour provinces in opposition-held parts of northern Syria.
The infighting is helping Assad, whose forces have clawedback some of the ground lost to the rebels in recent months asthey bombard the north and other opposition regions withwarplanes, heavy artillery and crude explosive-filled barrelsdropped over rebel neighborhoods.
“The revolution has been derailed,” said Abdullah Hasan, aself-described secular activist in the northern town ofMaskaneh, where fighters from the al-Qaida-linked groupswept in last month. “None of the groups fighting in Syria rep-resent me now,” he said, adding that he was nonetheless hope-ful that the infighting would help purge extremists from theranks of the rebels.
Fed. Recognition Granted For MarriagesSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Obama administration ex-
tended federal recognition to the marriages of more than1,000 same-sex couples in Utah that took place before theSupreme Court put those unions in the state on hold.
The action will enable the government to extend eligibil-ity for federal benefits to these couples. That means gayand lesbian couples can file federal taxes jointly, get SocialSecurity benefits for spouses and request legal immigrationstatus for partners.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the families shouldnot be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their benefitswhile courts decide the issue of same-sex marriage in Utah.
The decision came days after Utah officials said theywould not recognize the marriages. The office of Gov. GaryHerbert told state agencies this week to put a freeze onproceeding with any new benefits for the newly marriedgay and lesbian couples until the courts sort out thematter.
In a statement Friday afternoon, Herbert’s office issueda statement that said Holder’s announcement was unsur-prising, but state officers should comply with federal law ifthey’re providing federal services.
Northern LightsPublic Open House
1.13.14
For more information, please call 605-668-8000.
Tours, hors d’oevres, refreshments and giveaways will be
provided.
Monday, Jan.13, 20144 - 7 p.m.
501 Summit • Yankton, SD
If no two people are the same...
A funeral service should reflect the taste and preferences of the person who dies. We will help you add your own personal touch.
Why should their funerals be?
W INTZ & R AY FUNERAL HOME and Cremation Service, Inc. 605-665-3644
W INTZ FUNERAL HOME INC.
Hartington, Coleridge, Crofton 402-254-6547 www.wintzrayfuneralhome.com
Semmler
O B I T UA R I E S
BY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABERAP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON — Theweakest month of hiring inthree years ended 2013 on asluggish note and raised ques-tions about whether the U.S.job market can sustain its re-cent strong gains.
Employers added a scant74,000 jobs in December afteraveraging 214,000 in the previ-ous four months. Economistscautioned that cold weatherlikely played a role in thesharp slowdown. Many ana-lysts said they would need tosee more data before theycould tell whether the jobmarket had lost momentum.
The Labor Departmentsaid Friday that the unemploy-ment rate fell from 7 percentin November to 6.7 percent, itslowest level since October2008. But the drop occurredmostly because many Ameri-cans stopped looking for jobs.Once people without jobs stoplooking for one, the govern-ment no longer counts themas unemployed.
The proportion of peopleeither working or looking forwork fell to 62.8 percent,matching a nearly 36-year low.Last month’s expiration of ex-tended unemployment bene-fits for 1.3 million long-termunemployed could acceleratethat trend if many of themstop looking for work. Benefi-ciaries had been required tolook for work to receive unem-ployment checks.
The stock market fell inearly trading. The Dow Jones
industrial average was down26 points in mid-afternoontrading. And the yield on the10-year Treasury note fell to2.88 percent from 2.97 lateThursday — a drop that isnormally a sign of a slowingeconomy.
It’s unclear whether thesharp hiring slowdown mightlead the Federal Reserve to re-think its plan to slow its stimu-lus efforts. The Fed decidedlast month to pare its monthlybond purchases, which havebeen designed to lower inter-est rates to spur borrowingand spending.
“I don’t think the Fed isgoing to be panicked by this,”
said Joel Naroff, president ofNaroff Economic Advisors.
Naroff suggested that the6.7 percent unemploymentrate — a drop of more than afull percentage point since2013 began — will eventuallylead many employers to raisewages.
“It doesn’t change whatthey’re thinking,” Naroff saidof the Fed.
Many economists said itwould be premature to con-clude from Friday’s report thatthe economy is weakening.
“We stop short of makinglarger observations based onthis number,” said Dan Green-haus, chief global strategist at
brokerage firm BTIG. “Theeconomy, based on any num-ber of other indicators, hasbeen picking up steam of latewhich makes today’s num-ber..curious.”
Unusually cold weathermight have slowed hiring inDecember. Construction com-panies, which are heavily de-pendent on weatherconditions, cut 16,000 jobs,the biggest drop in 20 months.
Michael Hanson, an econo-mist at Bank of America Mer-rill Lynch, estimated that thecold weather lowered hiringby about 75,000 jobs.
It would still be a weak re-port even if those jobs wereadded back in, Hanson said.But he cautioned against read-ing too much into a singlemonth’s jobs report.
“It’s a warning sign thatthings maybe weren’t asstrong as we thought,” Hansonsaid. But “it’s really hard tomake an inference from onenumber.”
Other economists werealso skeptical. Mark Vitner ofWells Fargo noted that severalindustries reported unusuallysteep job losses. Accountingand bookkeeping services, forexample, lost 24,700 jobs, themost in nearly 11 years.
And performing arts andspectator sports cut 11,600,the most in 2 1/2 years. Themovie industry shed 13,700jobs.
Economists said those un-usually large losses are likely astatistical quirk that’s unlikelyto be repeated.
Chemical Spill Brings W.Va. Capital To StandstillBY JONATHAN MATTISE AND BRENDAN FARRINGTONAssociated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A chemi-cal spill left the water for 300,000 peoplein and around West Virginia’s capital citystained blue-green and smelling likelicorice, with officials saying Friday itwas unclear when it might be safe againfor even mundane activities like showersand laundry.
Federal authorities began investigat-ing how the foaming agent escaped achemical plant and seeped into the ElkRiver. Just how much of the chemicalleaked into the river was not yet known.
Officials are working with the com-pany that makes the chemical to deter-mine how much can be in the waterwithout it posing harm to residents, saidWest Virginia American Water presidentJeff McIntyre.
“We don’t know that the water’s notsafe. But I can’t say that it is safe,” McIn-tyre said Friday. For now, there is no wayto treat the tainted water aside fromflushing the system until it’s in lowenough concentrations to be safe, aprocess that could take days.
Officials and experts said the chemi-cal, even in its most concentrated form,isn’t deadly. However, people acrossnine counties were told not to so muchas wash their clothes in water affected,as the compound can cause symptomsranging from skin irritation and rashes tovomiting and diarrhea.
No more than six people have beenbrought into emergency rooms withsymptoms that may stem from the chem-ical, and none were in serious or criticalcondition, said State Department ofHealth & Human Resources SecretaryKaren L. Bowling.
The company where the leak oc-curred, Freedom Industries, discovered
Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m.that the chemical was leaking from thebottom of a storage tank, said its presi-dent Gary Southern. Southern said thecompany worked all day and throughthe night to remove the chemical fromthe site and take it elsewhere. Vacuumtrucks were used to remove the chemi-cal from the ground at the site.
“We have the mitigated the risk, webelieve, in terms of further material leav-ing this facility,” he said.
Southern said he didn’t think thechemical posed a public danger. He alsosaid the company didn’t know howmuch leaked.
The spill brought West Virginia’s mostpopulous city and nearby areas to a vir-tual standstill, closing schools and officesand even forcing the Legislature to cancelits business for the day. Officials focusedon getting water to people who needed it,particularly the elderly and disabled.
“If you are low on bottled water, don’tpanic because help is on the way,” Gov.Earl Ray Tomblin said at a news confer-ence Friday afternoon. The governor saidthere was no shortage of bottled water,and that officials were working to getwater to those who need it. At least onecharity was collecting donations of bot-tled water, baby wipes, plastic utensilsand other items for people unable to usetap water.
The Federal Emergency ManagementAgency also planned to deliver more thana million liters of water from nearbyMaryland. Several companies were send-ing bottled water and other supplies, in-cluding Pepsi and the Coca-Cola Co.,Tomblin said.
However, it appeared that some levelof panic already had set in to some de-gree. At the Kroger grocery store in theshadow of a DuPont plant along theKanawha River, people scrambled in theaisles to find bottled water, only to learnthe store had been out since early Friday.
Robert Stiver was unable to find waterat that store after trying at least a dozenothers in the area and worried about howhe’d make sure his cats had drinkablewater. The water at his home had a bluetint and smelled like licorice, he said.
“I’m lucky. I can get out and look forwater. But what about the elderly? Theycan’t get out. They need someone to helpthem,” he said.
That’s what 59-year-old Dan Scott wasdoing: Taking care of his 81-year-oldmother, Bonnie Wireman, and others inthe area.
“She takes everything to heart. Sheforgot a few times and stuck her hand inthe kitchen sink. When she realized whatshe did, she took out alcohol and washedher hands. Scrubbed them. She was reallyscared,” he said.
Inside Kroger, there were signs thatthe chemical spills had affected business.Anything that used water — from the delicounter to the produce section — was ei-ther closed or had a limited supply.
Outside the restrooms, a handmadesign told the story: Because of a chemicalspill in the Elk River, the store was advis-ing people not to use the water fountain.The bathroom sinks were wrapped inplastic.
Freedom Industries was ordered tostop storing chemicals in areas wherethey could flow into the retention pondthat failed in Thursday’s leak, said stateDepartment of Environmental Protectionspokesman Tom Aluise.
The tank that leaked holds at least40,000 gallons, Aluise said, though offi-cials believe no more than 5,000 gallonsleaked from the tank. Some of that wascontained before escaping into the river,he said.
The company was already cited forcausing air pollution stemming from theodor first reported Thursday, Aluisesaid.
Jobs Report Sees Mixed Results
