Progress is Good

By Steve Rensberry, Editor

As word has it — thanks in part to a story by our friends over at the Breese Journal — an agreement has indeed been reached for the sale of all three remaining grocery stores that had once belonged to Schuette’s Markets, which filed for bankruptcy last year. I admit eating some humble pie after a reader came into the newspaper office last week to say that she had heard it was sold, to which I was more than just a bit skeptical. But she was right! And kudos to the Journal for learning of the sale through bankruptcy trustee Robert Eggmann. Although sold for $2.55 million, it’s still unclear exactly how soon another actual grocer will grasp the opportunity. The company Lechner & Lechner agreed to acquire the Troy and Breese locations for $2 million, while Ridge Investments purchased the Caryle location, according to the Journal.

In the age of the internet and instant news, there’s always a chance you may hear of something before we do — at least before next week’s issue rolls around — so please let us know if you hear anything, and we’ll let our readers know. This time I’ll try to be a little less skeptical!

Another topic I’ve been trying to get more information about is the current influenza season, particularly in our own area, which seems to be a rough one. Educators I’ve talked to at Triad have more or less been in agreement, but I’m still looking for some hard facts.  The latest influenza report from the CDC says that Week 5, ending February 2, showed an increase of 4.3 percent in the proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) — above the national baseline of 2.2 percent. “All 10 regions reported ILI at or above  their region-specific baseline level,” it said. The average rate of hospitalization was 20.1 per 100,000 population reported, with the highest rate of hospitalization being adults 65 years of age or older.