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The Weekender Saturday, September 28, 2013
Businesses can shop the SHOP By SUSAN LYNN susan@iolaregister.com
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series regarding the Affordable Care Act. Beginning Tuesday small business owners can see if purchasing insurance through the state’s insurance program is a better deal than buying it through a private company. The Small Business Health Options Programs provide side-by-side comparisons of plans, benefits, costs and quality between one’s current plans and those available on the Marketplace. Small businesses are defined as those with 50 or fewer full-time employees. Enrollment in the Exchanges qualifies employers to receive rebates up to 50 percent of premium costs beginWeisgrau ning in 2014. For businesses with fewer than 25 employees, tax credits of up to 35 percent will also be made available to help pay for a company’s share of premiums for those enrolled in the group plans. To qualify, a business must pay at least 50 percent of the premiums for his employees and wages must be $50,000 and below. This benefit has been available ever since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, and thus can be applied retroactively if businesses have not taken advantage of it thus far. The higher tax credits are available only to businesses that participate in the Exchanges. Businesses with 25-50 employees aren’t eligible for the additional tax credits.
In quite a pickle Garver stumbles on new enterprise with sport on rise
Employees will be able to shop for the insurance plan that best suits their needs on the Marketplace. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and Coventry are the only two insurance companies parSee SHOP | Page A7
By STEVEN SCHWARTZ steven@iolaregister.com
Steve Garver must have uttered the word “unbelievable” four or five times during an interview with The Register Wednesday afternoon. The thing that had him so flabbergasted? An on-the-rise sport halfway between tennis and ping-pong called pickleball — and it has turned out to be Garver’s most substantial business venture yet. Through a series of events out of left-field, he has begun manufacturing his own pickleball paddles and distributing them across the United States. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could make pickleball paddles,” Garver said while sitting in his office on East Street. His business ventures have taken many forms — computer sales, screen printing, decals, stickers and trophies. While he still carries some of those products in his store, they have taken a backseat to his newest company, Pickle Paddle. “It’s crazy, I’ve been selling thousands of these things,” he said. See PICKLEBALL | Page A7
At top, Larry Wilson returns a serve at the pickleball courts, while Joe Goley waits his turn in the background. Above, Steve Garver shows off one of the many pickleball paddles he has made in his shop on East Street. He distributes them across the country. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Direct from Paris: Chaplin historian By KAYLA BANZET kayla@iolaregister.com
The memory lives on Fans gathered at the Buster Keaton Museum in Piqua Friday morning to tour the area where the silent screen star was born in 1895. This weekend marks the 21st Annual Buster Keaton Celebration. Attendees from across the country will gather at the event through this evening. All events are free to the public. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Quote of the day Vol. 115, No.236
The Buster Keaton Celebration draws in fans from all over the world. This year Kate Guyonvarch, Chaplin office director, is traveling from Paris to speak at the event. Guyonvarch grew up in England but has lived in Paris for nearly 30 years. “I started working for the Chaplin office more than 30 years ago as a bilingual secretary,” she said. “I was not a Chaplin fan but have become one over the years. My boss retired in the early 1990s and I have been managing director of the office ever since.” She also manages use of the Charlie Chaplin image and rights for merchandising purposes on behalf of Bubbles Inc., S.A. Some Keaton and Chaplin fans say you have to choose one over the other to have a favorite silent screen star. Guy-
“People who say, ‘Let the chips fall where they may,’usually figure they will not be hit by a chip.” — Bernard Williams 75 Cents
onvarch doesn’t agree. “I decided to attend the festival because they very kindly invited me and I think it is a good opportunity to show that one can like both Keaton and Chaplin,” Guyonvarch said. “Many people say that is not possible, you have to be in one camp or the other but this invitation is proof that that is not the case.” She will present at 1:20 p.m today at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. The presentation is titled, “Limelight: The Chaplin Archives.” Limelight was released in 1952 and features both Keaton and Chaplin. It is a comedy-drama film written, directed by and starring Chaplin “I will be showing some photographs and quoting from some texts that we have found in the archives that possibly never have been seen before,” Guyonvarch said. All activities are free and open to the public.
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