Business

Timothy Walton has been known for putting his products to good use. This month, Walton, who is the owner of TopLine Shirt Company, has put together a "double your order" promotion to help raise breast cancer awareness. "It's for a great cause so we are happy to do this." Walton said.

Every customer that places an order of any size gets a free breast cancer shirt with every shirt ordered. "If you order one custom shirt, you get one free breast cancer shirt" says Walton. "If you order 100 shirts you will get 100 free shirts".

The shirts have a breast cancer pink design that features the words "hope, love, cure" and a paint brush styled pink ribbon.

The promotion will be valid for anyone that orders a quanitity of 1-100 shirts next week, October 18- October 22.

Walton is no stranger to donating shirts to raise awareness for a good cause. His most recent large contribution occured for Independence Day when he donated 300 shirts to Hometown Hugs that provides them to soldiers in Afghanistan.

When you walk into the Mark Lewis Agency office on East Main Street today, it's not hard to spot who the retiree is -- Jean Clarke's desk is festooned with balloons and flowers.

There's a day-long reception at the office to celebrate Clarke's retirement after 26 years with the insurance agency. There are refreshments available. Clarke -- who appeared to be actually working this morning during our visit -- wraps up her final day at 4 p.m.

An estimated 40 million small businesses and non-profits will face stiff penalties for failing to comply.  This massive increase in filing requirements breaches computerized accounting; 1099 paperwork requires hand-generated reporting.  Business offices will be forced to reprogram and overhaul their accounting procedures to comply.

A company that currently generates a dozen 1099s per year could file 600 reports when the system goes into effect in 2012.  Although big business will see little change under the new law, small businesses, particularly those that farm out tax preparation at $74 per hour will feel more pain at tax time.

The new regulation was under advisement during the Bush administration.  In preparation of the 2008 budget, discussions of a 'tax gap' - businesses not paying their fair share set the ball in motion.  Tom Henschke, president of the Pennsylvania-based SMC Business Councils, one of the first organizations to offer analysis of the 2010 health care amendment noted, “…two administrations can claim credit for this."

CPAs are recommending clients begin handing out W-9 forms in advance of the new law. W-9s document tax identification data for withholding purposes. Many small businesses are behind the curve in preparation for the change.  Although a tax gap surely exists- under-payment of $300 billion in federal taxes; penalizing small businesses, non-profits and local government with unreasonable cost and paperwork is onerous.  Honest business people shouldn’t be punished to enable the IRS to ferret out tax evaders. 

Congressman Scott Murphy who represents the Washington County region of New York authored H.R. 5982, the Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2010. His bill would have eliminated the 1099 reporting requirement for small businesses. H. R. 5982 would have also closed tax loopholes for corporations who ship jobs overseas. 5982 came to a vote in July, but failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to pass.  Those concerned with the impact of expanded 1099 filings on our communities should contact their member of Congress and refer to H. R. 5982.

Noblehurst Farms in Pavilion is one of several places in Upstate New York where hay wagon billboard banners will be displayed on farms to relay positive messages about agriculture.

Forty such billboards have been placed from Watertown to Canton, the Finger Lakes to Albany.

The banners say: NY Farmers Love the Land; NY Farmers Love Feeding Families; NY Farmers Love Caring for Animals; NY Farmers Love Family Tradition; and NY Farmers Love Strong Communities.

The New York Animal Agriculture Coalition developed the outreach program to reconnent and educate consumers about today's dairy farms and farm practices. It is funded by a grant from the United Soybean Board.

"As a farming community we are trying to keep the public aware that agriculture is important to not only us as farmers, but also to the people and economy of Upstate New York, said Rob Noble, co-owner of Noblehurst Farms.

"The billboard campaign is a small part we can do to raise awareness and tell people part of our story.”

According to a coalition survey, New Yorkers have a high level of trust in New York dairy farmers to produce a safe, healthy and abundant supply of food, Berry said.

However, with the rise of food safety scares and increasing social awareness, consumers are increasingly interested in how their food is produced. Fewer people know a farmer. They’ve lost the human connection to how our food is grown.

Visit the Coalition’s Web site at www.farmskeepnygreen.com for more information.

This information was provided by the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition.

Present Tense Books & Gifts, Batavia's premiere full-service bookstore, will be celebrating an important milestone on Saturday, Sept. 18. An anniversary party lasting from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. will celebrate five years of successful business.

Free and open to the public, the event will take place at the bookstore, which is at 101 Washington Ave. The festivities will include refreshments, prizes and a raffle, as well as the annual fall open house and holiday preview.

There will be discounts on all regular priced items on that day as well.

For more information, please call 815-7640 or e-mail info@presenttensebooks.com.

Here's a news release we received from the New York Farm Bureau.

The New York Farm Bureau today announced its fight-back campaign against a proposed ban on outdoor wood boilers appears to have forced the Department of Environmental Conservation to delay any action until next year.

The reported delay, although not formally announced, would allow thousands of rural New Yorkers to continue to heat their homes with wood through the winter.

“We are fighting a good fight so far, but it’s far from over,” said Dean Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau. “While a regulatory delay would get us through the winter, there are still bureaucrats in Albany determined to shut down our wood boilers. We must thwart them.”

The farm bureau has been rallying its 30,000 members to fight the proposed regulations and has been lobbying furiously in the halls of Albany.

If passed, the DEC regulations would force thousands of owners of outdoor wood boilers to: retrofit costly smokestacks to meet new DEC height requirements; limit the use of their units for almost half of the year; and ultimately prohibit the use of any outdoor wood boiler that does not meet new, strict DEC emissions requirements.

The proposed regulations will have significant financial implications for farm and rural homeowners that heat their houses, barns and greenhouses using wood boilers.

This summer, the New York State Senate voted unanimously in favor of legislation that would leave wood-boiler regulation to local zoning boards, not the DEC. That bill was sponsored and championed by Sen. Darrel Aubertine.

Farm bureau members spoke out at public information sessions/hearings around the state in June on the proposal. Farmers and rural residents also flooded the DEC with written comments against the proposed regulations.

“I hope that DEC has seen the light that these regulations will have severe financial impact to our farmers and rural New Yorkers,” Norton said.

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Batavia Business Improvement District are calling for exhibitors to participate at this year’s Small Business Workshop.

Titled “Standout in the Marketplace," it will take place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14.

Rick Segel, a nationally recognized marketing expert, will be the keynote speaker at this informative and entertaining workshop. Topics he will be discussing include:

• ways to differentiate and stand out in a big box community;
• creating an environment to gain lifetime customers;
• ways to get customers to notice and find you;
• and using traditional and new media in innovative ways.

Businesses are invited to set up a table-top display to this captive audience to show what they do and network with fellow attendees and exhibitors.

Cost is $40 per display table for BID and chamber members and $50 for non-members. This price includes lunch for one person. Set up will be between 7:30 to 8 a.m. and tear down after 1:30 pm.

The Workshop will take place in at the Generation Center located 15 Center St. in Batavia. 

If you are interested in attending the event as a participant, the cost is $15 per person for chamber and BID members and $20 for non-members.

To participate as an exhibitor or to make your reservations, please call Kelly J. Bermingham, director of Membership & Special Events at 343-7440, ext. 26. All applications are first-come-first-serve basis due to limited space, so don’t miss out.

A new dog-grooming shop is opening on Monday, Sept. 13. It is located at 60 Main St. in Oakfield (next to M&T Bank).

The groomers/owners are:

• Nina -- D.A.S. Pet Tails , phone 813-2757
• Mary - Pals With Tails, phone 356-5482

Please call for appointments.

Tompkins Insurance Agencies, Inc., and The Selective Group Foundation joined forces to support the positive efforts of RAP (Regional Action Phone, Inc.) in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties through a $1,000 grant.

“We strongly support and believe in the programs this organization provides for our neighbors and customers in our communities” said David Boyce, Tompkins Insurance president and CEO.

The grant represents a $500 donation from Tompkins Insurance Agencies, Inc., matched by a $500 grant from The Selective Group Foundation.

“The matching grant program allows us to partner with our agents to support the needs of the communities in which we serve and operate,” said Tony Albanese, Selective’s senior vice president, bonds, flood and agency development.

RAP is a private, nonprofit United Way agency started in 1986 with a crisis-hotline service. The agency’s services have grown to include crisis intervention, suicide prevention, referrals to support agencies, food pantry clearinghouse, education, outreach, and relay services to connect callers to agencies when immediate help is needed in times of crisis.

Tompkins Insurance Agencies, Inc. has 14 offices in western New York plus
six offices in central New York. As part of Tompkins Financial Corporation (trading as TMP on the NYSE Amex), the agency is affiliated with the Bank of Castile, Tompkins Trust Company and AM&M Financial Services.

It is an independent insurance agency offering coverage through more than 25
different companies for businesses and consumers. Further information is available by
visiting the agency’s website at www.tompkinsins.com.