NEWS RIEFS

Boise Cascade has remodeled and remerchandised its Building Materials Center in Waxahachie, Tx. . . Scolly's, Winter Haven, Fl., is building new stores in Delray Beach and Lake Wales, Fl. Centrol TrueValue Hardware, Miami Beach, Fl., is offering merchandise over a videotex shopping service. GBS Lumber, Mauldin, S.C., has added 8,000 sq. ft. to its office

Lennox Industries /nc'., Bossier City, La., plans a $5.9 million ex- pansion Keller Induslries, Miami, Fl., has merged with a group of private investors including Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd. . . . WR. Bonsul Co., Charlotte, N.C., which has purchased Portland Enterprises, will enter the home center mkt. with Sure Products. .

Leslie Locke, Atlanta, Ga., has been acquired by five members of its management team and Bass Enterprbes, Fort Worth, Tx. Stonewall Corp.,a subsidiary of Pipin Industries, has merged with PMP Corp. to manufacture Stonewall which will be distributed by Met-L-Wood Corp., another Pipin subsidiary .

GAF Corp. is challenging the 5-year, multi-million $ employment contract given to former chairman Jesse Werner just prior to his retirement at age 65 . . Building products operations of TempleInland, Inc., the co. created in a spinoff of forest operations by Time Inc. (see Oct. '83, p. 23), earned $35.2 million in '83 compared to $4.6 million in '82 .

Oklahoma Brick Corp., Oklahoma City, Ok., has been ac- quired by Niro Atomiler, Inc. of Maryland Syenergt Methodsis building a new manufacturing and warehouse facility in Langhorn (Dallas), Tx. Polarb Industries Inc.has formed Polaris Home Systems Inc. and acquired the Consumer Products Div. of Graco Inc. including Roto Flo airless paint sprayers . .

W.H. Culp Luntber Co., New London, N.C., is building a multi- million$sawmill .Jordan Lumber & Supply Co., Mount Gilead, N.C., is completing a $2.4 million renovation . Federal Paper Board Co., Anson County, N.C., is delaying construction of a new sawmill although it has purchased equipment for the $22 millionproject...

Anthony Forest Products Co., Plain Dealing, Ld., is reopening a plant which has been closed for more than 4 years . . . Heap Lumber Sa/es, St. Louis, Mo., has moved its Tx. sales office from Houston to Dallas Port Bane Lumber Industries of Port Barre, La., has opened a Vicksburg, Ms., DC and pallet plant

Curt Bean Lumber Co., Amity, Ar., has bought the GeorgiaPacific sawmill at Glenwood, Ar., no price revealed for the 225,000 bf per 8 hr. shift capacity plant George Sale Lumber Co., North Wilkesboro, N.C., Johnston Lumber Co. and J.J. Sizemore & Sons, Graham, N.C., are taking part in a marketing test of yellow poplar with North Carolina State U.

A leveraged buyout by senior management (not including Al & Dick Slaughter) of Slaughter Brothers, /nc., Dallas, Tx., is in l4tilliams Lumber Co. of N.C,, Inc. is a new firm in Rocky Mount, N.C., formed by John & Deborah Haggerty and J.J. Haggerty Jr. . . Roy G. Martin Lumber Co., Alexandria, La., will have a new sawmill in LeMoyen, La., on stream late this year.

Snavely Forest Products, Pittsburgh, Pa., has opened a wholesale lumber and plywood distribution yard in Dallas, Tx. . . .

Chandler Corp. has opened a reload facility in Dallas, Tx. . . the parent corp. Canfor (Canadian Forest Products) is operating a new reload center in Richmond, Va.

Riverport Lumber and Tie Co., is looking at property in Riverport, Ky., for building a wood treating plant Houston Chemical/Woodtech, Houston, Tx., has completed a yard expansion in San Antonio, Tx., adding a 90,000 bf dry kiln Culpeper Wood Preservers, Culpeper, Va., has opened a wood treating plant in Hackleburg,Al....

Wholesale Wood Producfs, Dothan, Al., has opened a new distribution yard in Pelham, Al. . Abernathy Lumber Co., Charlotte, N.C., suffered $150,000 in damages in a recent fire .

Swain Building Materials is now the common trade name for a group of companies operating in Ms., La. and Tx. (see p. 42 for details) . . . The Southern Forest Councilhas been reactivated . . Southern Pine Bulletin is now being published by Steve Cornfield in Marlboro,N.Y....

Housing starts for Jan. (latest figs.) jumped l59o to the highest level since 1978, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,915,000 units . . . Southern starts fell 6.890 after being the only region to hold steady against bad weather in Dec. . . building permits increased 14.40/o from the previous mo. .