Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 4

A4 NATION SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2012 DECATUR, ILLINOIS www.herald-review.com Holiday shopping off to strong start SQf3V Chrl VJovj! Great urns zm i SONY BLU-RAY PLAYERS KDL32BX330 SONY KDL50EX645 SONY sales that typically would have occurred the next morning, he said. Today, the National Retail Federation will release its own closely watched Black Friday figures. "Overall it was a relatively good foundation for the start of the shopping season," Martin said. Online sales Friday jumped 20.7 percent over the same day last year, according to a study from IBM. That beat the growth of Web sales on Thanksgiving Day, which increased 17.4 percent from the 2011 holiday.

On Saturday, small businesses went for their share of the weekend spending spree with events becoming known as Small Business Saturday. Launched by American Express in 2010, it is a nationwide effort to support mom-and-pop shops on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. The hope is that shoppers weary of packed malls and snarled traffic will open their wallets at local stores, which rolled out pro- motions in the hopes of wooing customers. The event has high-profile supporters, including President Barack Obama, who took his two daughters to an independent bookstore in Arlington, on Saturday. In Highland Park, shoppers walking into Pop-Hop Books Print stepped on a mat that read "Welcome to Small Business Saturday." The shop, which stocked up on extra merchandise, handed out free tote bags to customers who spent $50 or more, said Betty Balcomb, a bookshop worker and mother of one of the owners.

Balcomb said although the bookstore was open for Black Friday, they didn't make a big deal out of it. "We didn't really promote it, because we didn't really want to be part of Black Friday," she said, adding there were no "fisticuffs" at the store, unlike some mass merchants that saw brawls break out as shoppers elbowed each other for bargains. Online sales up 20. 7 on Friday McClatchy-Tribune News Service LOS ANGELES Holiday shopping continued at a brisk pace Saturday as customers nationwide scoured big chain stores for more Black Friday weekend deals and discounts, made online purchases and turned some of their attention to neighborhood boutiques and other small businesses. Retailers reported strong sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and traditionally the kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

On Saturday, a preliminary report showed sales totaling $11.2 billion on Black Friday, slightly down from the $11.4 billion spent on the same day last year, said Bill Martin of research company Shopper-Trak. But the figures don't include Thanksgiving night sales. Retailers who opened on Thanksgiving night pulled rr. At the corner of Jasper Cantrell AND TELEVISION Decatui IL 42.3011 Fueled By Medicare? 1 1 Medicare Enrollment Event Macon Co. Health Dept.

1221 Condit III" ssoil li i III TV 3 ft. SI 4 Free One-on-One Medicare Counseling Find the DrugHealth Plan that is Best for You By Appointment Only To Schedule Your Appointment, I i yv A sv, ft Paid with financial assistance in whole or in part through a grant from the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, the Federal Medicare Agency. Associated Press A large portrait of Larry Hagman greets fans as they take a tour of Southfork Ranch, setting for the TV show in Parker, Texas. Fans pay respects to with visit to Southfork yStarti.ngPoint StXtO Uf.AlTH IXSVKASCt FMOCMAM cLn taut twmmt LOCAL HCL1 PO nOTLf VTTH MCtHCAU Dirty Dozen's Towns mauled by Rottweiler NEW ORLEANS (AP) Dirty Dozen Brass Band trumpeter Efrem Towns is recovering at home in New Orleans from a vicious attack by a Rottweiler at an Atlanta motel. He missed performances in Colorado and New Orleans after the attack Nov.

18 and doesn't know if he'll make the band's next scheduled gig on Dec. 28, The Times-Picayune reported. He and baritone sax player Roger Lewis said the dog surged from an open motel room door after Towns knocked on the door of Lewis' room. "I didn't know if it was a dog, wolverine, bear, mongoose or what. I just knew something had me," Towns said.

He said the dog's owner came out of the next room, and they were able to subdue it. At Atlanta's Grady Hospital, he received 30 stitches in his groin. Towns, who has health insurance through his wife, Trade, said he will be seeing a urologist this week. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band formed in 1977 and is credited with creating the contemporary, funk-infused brass band sound. It's been featured on albums with David Bowie, Elvis Costello and the Black Crowes.

Towns said he probably could practice while convalescing. "But I'm very uncomfortable right now," he said Friday evening. "I'm basically immobilized it's hard getting around. I'm kind of miserable." The experience hasn't soured Towns on dogs. He and his wife own three miniature schnauzers, a standard schnauzer and a mixed breed.

On Friday, his daughter's dachshund was visiting. "I'm a dog person," he said. "And even though I got bit, I hope they don't put that dog to sleep." 2 PARKER, Texas (AP) Tourists and locals flocked to Southfork Ranch on Saturday, bringing flowers in memory of Larry Hagman, who played the infamous J.R. Ewing on the TV show "Dallas." Hagman died in Dallas on Friday at age 81 due to complications from his battle with cancer. Southfork, a ranch north of Dallas, was known to millions of viewers as the Ewing family home.

Exterior shots of the house and pool were shown when the series aired from 1978 to 1991, although the show wasn't filmed there. The ranch has been open for tours since the mid-1980s, and now sees more than 100,000 visitors each year. Each room of the house has a theme for each character. On Saturday, J.R. Ewing's room had flowers and a card for tourists to sign.

"Today is about Larry Hagman and his family," said Janna Timm, a Southfork Ranch Hotel spokeswoman. "He was such a wonderful person, and we will really miss him." "Dallas" was recently revived on TNT this summer, and all of the scenes were filmed at Southfork or other places in the Dallas area. Hagman had revised his role as the scheming oilman who would even double-cross his own son. Linda Sproule of Peterborough, Ontario, had been traveling through the United States the past couple of weeks and heard about Hag-man's death Friday while in Dallas. She said she didn't know where Southfork was but wanted to come because she was a fan of the show.

"I remember on Friday nights we watched it, and J.R. was bigger than life in some ways," she said after taking the Southfork tour Saturday morning. "This ranch is beautiful. Being here is kind of emotional in a way." Barbara Quinones and her husband were in town for their daughter's soccer tournament and had already planned to visit Southfork when they heard news of Hagman's death. "We loved him because he was so ruthless," said Quinones, of Albuquerque, N.M.

"This is a sad day, but I'm glad we're here." Some of the show's stars, including Hagman, came to Southfork for the series' 25th anniversary. The Fort Worth-born actor also had visited several times before the show was revived. "He was definitely a gentleman, a class act," said Jim Gomes, vice president of resorts at Southfork Ranch Hotel. "He loved the fans as much as they loved him." "if ie lis 3 4 Kx3 i A -1 fcrS Bk. -aeia-i.

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