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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
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Cash, check or credit card?
Do you know how much local merchants are paying? By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
As the holiday shopping season kicks-off, many will be urged to keep their dollars local and shop the businesses in their hometowns/counties. While some will do so, there is one more thing shoppers can do to help local businesses even fur-
ther. That is to choose paying with cash over their credit or debit cards for their purchases. For many small businesses, the cost of accepting credit cards and other forms of electronic payment is one of their highest operating costs. This is due to all the credit card processing and swipe fees many small businesses are
challenged with each day. Every time a business owner swipes a credit or debit card for a purchase, their business is charged an interchange fee to the bank that issued the debit or credit card, as well as network fees to the credit card company. Those fees can add up quickly.
Credit cards Page 4
BCR photo/Goldie Rapp
Lori Rumbold (left), owner of Princeton’s Optimal Health, along with employee Sheryl Woodbury (center) assist Sue Bernabei of Dalzell with her purchases.
Smith: Students making progress By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
BCR photo/ Joann Bowman
Shoppers were out in force in Princeton on Saturday during the city’s annual Christmas Open House, which began Friday evening and continued through Sunday. Area merchants are hoping local shoppers will continue to make their purchases at home and participate in Small Business Saturday, which is set for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. See more Christmas Open House photos on Page 2.
Shopping ‘small’ yields big rewards Small Business Saturday is Nov. 26 By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
It started seven years ago. Launched by American Express in 2010, shopping “small” on the Saturday after Thanksgiving has turned into a big deal. And in those seven short years, it’s nearly as implanted in the holiday shopping experience as the well-known Black Friday extravaganza. Small Business Saturday asks shoppers to patronize its local mom-and-pop stores, restaurants and other independently-owned establishments, operated in one’s hometown
or immediate area. While the well-known Black Friday sale, which now often begins on Thanksgiving Day rather than the Friday after Thanksgiving, is focused primarily on the big box stores, their pre-holiday promotions/hype and the chaos involved in the entire experience, Small Business Saturday is meant to be a pleasurable experience in one’s own backyard – so to speak, and offers shopper a more leisurely experience in the quaint hometown stores just up the street or down the road. It also is a God-send to local merchants who constantly battle for holiday shoppers’ dollars in a highly-competitive environment.
“(Small Business Saturday) is important,” said Jyl Morse, owner of Hoffman’s Patterns of the Past in Princeton. “It makes people think more about shopping their local stores. A lot of people may not think about it, but (shopping locally) helps the city they live in. All those tax dollars are beneficial. “Plus there’s a lot of selection — a lot of neat things in this town,” Morse said. “Also, it’s a fun time to see your neighbors and your friends as they shop Small Business Saturday too,” Initially American Express put Small Business Saturday on the calendar to feature the local businesses that were often overlooked in
Small Business Page 4
Year 170 No. 140 One Section - 24 Pages
(815) 915-8748 © Bureau County Republican
PRINCETON — Princeton Elementary School District is taking the results of the Illinois Report Card with a grain of salt. While Superintendent Tim Smith said he wishes the test scores in the district were better, at the same time he’s not upset about the scores when considering a couple factors. The first being students are still transitioning into Common Core standards, which can be difficult when taking a state standardized test. Also, the tests given to students have not been the same test each time it’s given, making it difficult to accurately track student progress. Another factor is that not all students in the district are taking the test, due to parents opting their students out of test taking. Smith said this is a decision the district doesn’t recommend to parents but will honor their choice. “All that has an impact on your test scores, and it’s hard to measure that,” Smith said. “Student performance is a big deal, but you really have to be on the inside
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Economical lab services and diagnostic testing, including digital x-rays, are also offered on-site. These services are available to anyone, regardless of your doctor’s practice or hospital affiliation.
aboutsmh.org | 1916 North Main Street, Princeton