Laid-off Kessler workers can get aid

Laid-off Kessler workers can get aid

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, announced Wednesday that more than 50 displaced workers at Kessler Marketing Group Inc. are eligible to apply for worker-adjustment assistance.

“The loss of a job can be a devastating experience,” Brown said. “Ohioans who work hard and play by the rules should not be left to struggle when they lose their job through no fault of their own.”

Kessler Marketing Group Inc. is a subsidiary of Boardman Molded Products Inc. Workers whose jobs were shifted to Mexico and engaged in employment related to the production of custom injection-molded parts qualify for assistance.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program is a federal program that provides aid to workers who lose their jobs or whose work hours and wages are reduced as a result of increased imports. The program extends benefits including training for employment in another job or career, income support, job-search allowances and relocation allowances.

Dodge Caravan popular with thieves

COLUMBUS

An insurance-industry group says a very specific Chrysler minivan is Ohio’s most frequently stolen vehicle for the third year in a row.

Once again, the 2000 model Dodge Caravan tops the annual report from the Ohio Insurance Institute. Second on the state list released Tuesday is the 1994 Honda Accord, the vehicle most reported stolen nationwide during 2010. The No. 3 vehicle in Ohio last year was the 1994 Chevrolet full-size pickup truck.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau says certain older models of cars and trucks are hot with thieves because of the value of their parts.

The Ohio group estimates that more than 21,000 vehicles were stolen in the state last year, based on preliminary FBI data that auto thefts were down 7.2 percent nationwide.

Cedar Fair reports jump in attendance

SANDUSKY

The nation’s third-largest amusement-park chain says attendance is up so far this summer.

Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. says attendance jumped 5 percent during July compared with last year. The company says visitors are spending more this summer and filling more rooms at the parks’ hotels.

Cedar Fair operates 18 amusement and water parks primarily in the Midwest and South and in California.

Its biggest parks include Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio and Knott’s Berry Farm near Los Angeles.

Cedar Fair Chief Executive Richard Kinzel says the parks are appealing to families that are looking for fun close to home.

Staff/wire reports