Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 37

Decatur, Illinois, Sunday, July 7, 1985 Page D5 Plaint- keeps Decatur' 1 on ice cream map Text and photo By STEVE CAHALAN Hwald Rtvicw FarmBusiiwss Writer While some competitors have pulled out, officials at Decatur's Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. ice cream manufacturing plant say they continue increasing production and hope to increase their capacity this winter. The ice cream plant at 757 N. Morgan St. had 31 full-time employees and produced about 900,000 gallons of ice cream a year when Prairie Farms purchased it from Swift Co.

in 1977. The facility now has 65 full-time employees and will produce about 5 million gallons of ice cream this year, says sales representative Gary Weybright. That's up from about 4.6 million gallons last year. The plant is operating at capacity but should be able to produce 7 million gallons a year if an automatic hardening machine is installed during the winter. Officials of the Decatur plant hope that $500,000 to $750,000 expenditure will be budgeted by the Carlinville-based, farmer-owned cooperative.

"With the process we're in now, the product has to set for 36 to 48 hours (in a huge warehouse-type I freezer) to be frozen to the point I where we can ship it," Weybright i says. "Using a hardener, it would be in the hardener for eight hours and then we can ship it." That would increase the plant's capacity. The temperature in the current freezer is kept at 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, and fans provide an artificial wind of 7 mph to help speed up freezing. The planned automatic hardening machine would have an interior temperature of 80 to 90 degrees below, zero, estimates Larry King, Prairie Farms' general sales manager for ice cream. "A lot of the other companies have closed facilities in recent years while we've expanded," Weybright says.

"We hope (the closings are) because of our product. We make a good quality product and its popularity seems to be at an all-time high." Since last year's closing of an old Meadow Gold ice cream plant in Champaign, the Decatur ice cream plant has been the only one in Central Illinois, Weybright says. Prairie Farms also operates an ice cream plant in O' Fallon and is part owner of plants in Rockford and in Springfield, Mo. A Prairie Farms subsidiary, Ice Cream Specialties, owns ice cream novelty plants in Lafayette, and St. Louis.

The Decatur plant would have been closed by Swift Co. had Prairie Farms not purchased it. King says. "Swift was phasing out of the ice cream business," although at one time that company manufactured and sold ice cream throughout the nation. Swift opened the Decatur facility in 1918, but for many years it pro-duced butter and processed chickens.

Ice cream production began about 1950. Since Prairie Farms acquired the facility, it has invested $1.75 million in a new freezer building and other plant equipment. Cream and milk for the Decatur plant is supplied by a Prairie Farms facility in Peoria. It is mixed with various ingredients to manufacture many flavors of ice cream, sherbet and ice milk. The Decatur plant's products are shipped as far away as the Mississippi River to the west, Cincinnati, Ohio, Evansville, and Streator.

Its all you can eat be provided by the Ansar Clown Unit. Illinois Agriculture Director Larry Werries is expected to attend. "We think Decatur has been a good area for us to grow in," Weybright says. "We're trying to give a little something back to Decatur." He hopes 5,000 to 8,000 people will attend. This is the first year for the Decatur event.

Prairie Farms officials will decide afterward whether to make it an annual event. Farms sales representative Gary Weybright. Admission is $1 for those 7 and older and 50 cents for children 2 to 6 years old. the maximum charge will be $4 a family. There also will be entertainment, with square dancing from noon to 1 p.m., the Decatur Park Singers from 1 to 3 p.m., a media and politician ice cream-eating contest from 3 to 4 p.m., Decatur Municipal Band from 4 to 5 p.m.

and Decatur Chordsmen Barbershoppers from 5 to 6 p.m. Entertainment for children will For $1 or less, you'll be able to have all the ice cream cones you can eat at Decatur's Original Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social on July 14 in the Decatur Civic Center. The event from noon to 6 p.m. is being sponsored by the Decatur Jaycees and Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. to mark National Ice Cream Day.

July has been designated National Ice Cream Month. Prairie Farms is donating the ice cream and prizes, but all the proceeds will go to the Jaycees to support its projects, says Prairie Gary Weybright stands in the freezer where ice cream is stored. Between 150 and 200 people are expected to exchange refund forms, box tops, proof of purchase seals and related items Friday and Saturday in the Decatur Holiday Inn. The occasion is the fourth annual Area Re-funders Organization convention. The event, which is open to the public, will be 10 a.m.

to midnight Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $18 for Friday, $18 for Satur day or $25 for both days. Admission includes refreshments Friday night and a brunch Saturday.

The event was organized by Marilynne Rod-gers of Mount Zion, who founded the Area Re-funders Organization. The group had about 80 members until it disbanded in late 1983. Fifteen to 20 members occasionally get together to exchange refund items, Rodgers said. Other conventions and meetings scheduled for coming weeks, according to the Decatur Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, include: Job Training Coordinating Council, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, July 10-11, Holiday Inn Blue grass festival, July 12-14, Holiday Inn Illinois waterski championship, July 26-28, Holiday Inn National Little Star Pageant, July 26-28, Holiday Inn. Conventions in Decatur How to handle insurance claims By CHANGING TIMES The Kiplinger Magazine As a homeowner, you may have made sure you have the proper mix of homeowners insurance coverage to will provide sufficient payment in the event of a loss.

But, you might create problems for yourself if you don't know how to file a claim. In the event of a loss, start by notifying your agent or broker as soon as possible. If your losses are covered, he or she will probably arrange to have the adjuster inspect the damages and estimate the repair cost. Do not make any permanent repairs before the insurance adjuster arrives. The company can legally refuse to reimburse you for repairs made prior to inspection.

You don't necessarily have to defer to the insurance company if your claim is refused; The policy often leaves plenty of room for vary- Exclusive Honda Overhead Valve design. Vertical shaft design. Smaller and lighter than comparable 4-strokes. Lower fuel consumption Cast iron cylinder sleeve and chrome-top piston ring for durability. One of the complete Honda 2-11HP engine line.

HIT'S A. GXV120 i- overlook, such as wet insulation behind a wall. And, they may be better qualified than the layperson to negotiate the' settlement because they've dealt with insurance companies hundreds of times. Pamela Powers says Goodman's services were well worth the cost. "He did a complete written inventory of what had been damaged and included many things I wouldn't have thought of.

I hardly had any contact with the insurance company at all." But, public adjusters have detractors as well as fans. Insurance industry representatives argue that public adjusters needlessly duplicate the work of company investigators. THE DECISION to hire an outsider rests on how much you want to free yourself from the headaches of settling a claim and how much extra a professional can squeeze out of a settlement. If your damages are less than $10,000 or up to $15,000 and relatively clear-cut, you may be better off handling the job yourself. Before you hire your own adjuster, make sure he or she is licensed by the state or is a member of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.

And, ask the adjuster to provide references from several former clients. ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE, if damages from a fire, windstorm or other natural disaster are extensive, is to have a public adjuster represent you in filing your claim. Dr. James Powers and his wife, Pamela, had little idea of what a public adjuster did until their Washington, D.C., home caught fire. They spent the night after the fire in a hotel.

Upon their return the next day, they found a stranger in a business suit in their back yard. He was Harvey Goodman, who explained he was a public adjuster and wanted to represent the family in filing its insurance claim. "I thought it was a rather ghoulish occupation," Pamela Powers told Changing Times. "I was quite skeptical at first." As any practitioner of this rather obscure profession can tell you, her attitude is far from unusual. But, a public adjuster does virtually the same thing as the insurance adjuster in case of fire.

He or she works for the individual by completing a list of losses and reaching a settlement with the insurance company. The fee is about 10 percent of the claim. PUBLIC ADJUSTERS are worth their fee if they catch damage you or the insurance company might ing interpretations. FOR EXAMPLE, say your pipes freeze up after a nasty blizzard and you have to have someone thaw them. Some insurance company adjusters won't approve the expense on the grounds that unless there is physical damage to the pipes, that service is only a maintenance cost.

Others would consider it a peril covered under the policy. With some perseverance, a homeowner can get the benefit of the doubt because the insurance company may prefer to offer a compromise settlement rather than battle it out. Don't sign a final settlement agreement if you're dissatisfied with the terms. You can, however, accept partial payment to make necessary repairs, as long as the insurer formally acknowledges it is only a partial payment. If you can't negotiate a settlement, file a written complaint with the company.

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