Endeavor News Numbers

33

The best hunting day of the firearms deer season historically has been the first day. Last year, 33 percent of the overall firearms kill (45 percent of antlered bucks) took place on the opener.

The second best day was the first Saturday, followed by the second Saturday. The fourth best day in terms of deer kill was the second day of the season (Tuesday after the opener). Put another way, deer season is hardly over after the first two days. Last year, only about 40 percent of all hunters who killed a deer in the firearms season got theirs on the first or second day. There's plenty of opportunity for those who stay with it.

1.7

While many industries are scaling down, the health care sector in the U.S. has added 1.7 million jobs over the past five years. At a recent meeting of the Northcentral Pa. Health Care Consortium, representatives from Potter, Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson and McKean counties explored options for educating our young people on the availability of these jobs and developing new workers for the health care industry.

Jobs are available for students of all academic backgrounds and abilities. Those with high school diplomas, vocational or two-year associate degrees can often find work in health care; only about 30 percent of available jobs require a traditional college degree. Health service industry employment accounts for about 15% of the national economy. An aging population will increase job opportunities at all levels. The leaders at the Northcentral seminar called for state-mandated career education in public schools.

1

America's eating habits are changing. The sandwich now ranks No. 1 among choices for dinner (it has always been No. 1 for lunch). It's followed by chicken, beef and Italian cui- sine. What criteria are used to decide what to have for dinner? First comes convenience (53%), followed by health (30%). We're consuming 25% more calories per day than we did a few years ago. We're also piling on the fat and the sugar. When we watch TV, we eat faster and eat more.

One of the biggest factors is the increased availability of junk food in settings where it was rarely found in past years -- gas stations (convenience stores) are the biggest culprit. The growing number of people dining outside of the home is also a major factor: 47% of the average American family's food budget is now spent in restaurants and convenience stores. The figure was less than 35% a decade ago.

7.25

With the Democrats gaining more power in Congress, many experts expect to see the minimum wage increase from the current $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.

Republicans will likely push for exceptions in the law to exempt small businesses from immediate compliance. Pennsylvania is joining the growing number of states that took matters into their own hands as Congress failed to act.

The state legislature passed a bill increasing the minimum wage to $6.25, effective Jan. 1, 2007. It rises to $7.15 on July 1. Small businesses operating with 10 or fewer employees only have to pay $5.65 per hour as of Jan. 1., $6.65 by July 1, 2007, and $7.15 by July 1, 2008.

640

The state prison built in Marienville in 2004 has met employment projections. The 640 jobs makes SCI-Forest the largest employer in Forest County. The prison holds about 2,000 inmates. Several years ago, Potter, Cameron and several other area counties were bidding for the maximum-security prison.