The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 158, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 5, 1985 Page: 20 of 39
thirty nine pages : ill. ; page 18 x 11 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Sculptures serve a purpose
Texan an ice carving expert
MIDLAND (AP) - Sculpture
has traditionally been one of the
most durable, permanent art
forms, but some sculptors’ soar-
ing. eagles, graceful swans and
proud dragons tupp into mere
puddles of water within hours.
“Almost any ice carving will
last five to six hours,” said
Robert Vervynch, executive
chef of Mission Country Qlub.
Ice carvings are often used as
chillji but grandiose center-
pieces adorning banquet tables
for parties.
“Pressure is what kills the
ice,” he said. '*
Not all ice sculptures use the
same techniques.
“Everybody does it a little dif-
ferently,” said Bill Chambers,
executive chef of the Petroleum
Club of Midland. “I base out on a
chainsaw. Then I do the actual
sculpting with a chisel. I use a
little pocket saw to finish with.”
Jean Pierre Thevenaz of the
Master’s Club does his ice carv*
»ings entirely by hand, but not
because he’s an artistic ascetic.
i--------- ucv-auac uc a an ax uthhj aaccuc.
While primarily decorative* He used d chainsaw, be said, un-
ice sculptures originally had a til “I burned it out.
very utilitarian purpose.
“Ice carving was founded in
the late 1800s by Auguste Escof-
fier for the purpose of preserv-,
ing ice cream bombes, which are
best presented when placed upon
an ice base,” according to Ver-
vynch.
Vervynch still sometimes
ftather'than replace-the saw,
he now simply uses handtools.
While McDonald carves a sim-
ple sculpture in a half an hour
and Chambers tfsaid it doesn’t
take him more .than an hour to
carve a sculpture, The’venaz
said, “It takes me an hour and 20
minutes or so” doing it all by
PERFORMING THE first-grade spring play- at
Travis Elementary, Little Red Riding Hood, are,
from left, Nathan Hagen, Rodney Beaubouef
(wolf), Chris Cannon, Sholands Holmes, Hollie
Knox and Monica Wingate. They are students in
Betty Kirkland’s class.
(Sun staff photo by Angie Bracey)
Annual report hard to read
Selective reading* can he informative
Bv CHANGING 1MMES
i riWBi
lot like eating liver you know
Ibok pretty, such as-small ice
boats to keep shrimp cool.
Vervynch and his staff
members carve at least 40 ice
sculptures a month, he said.
-One of Mission Country Club’s
ice carvers, Mike McDonald,
recently won third place in the
ice carvingffccategory at ‘the
Texas Chef. Association’s
Culinary Salon statewide com-
petition in Dallas.
Like most Midland ice
carvers, McDonald uses an ice
pick to scratch a rough outline'of
his sculpture on one face of a
large, ice block., The standard
her cost for goods block-ef-tee-weighs 300 pounds
L i T'v: _ • J _ i- i U/iinn i/iflr- n*.A - — ~ t —i—me t r •
makes! ice carvings intended as hand,
much to ke|p food chilled as to The chefs say they learned the
~ They -have taught four people
in sij months at Mission Country
Club to carve ice. “We just give
them the ice and let them make
mistakes. It, takes lots, lots of
practice,’’.said Vervynch.
Chambers, who {ias been an
executive chef for 35 years, said,
“I picked it up from the ice
carvers I worked with. They
didn’t have schools to go to
then.”
He first practiced by carving
bars of soap, he said, before
seriously tackling the ice. “Once
you get’’ the fundamentals of
them, you can do them by eye.”
“I just learned to do it by
myself,” said Thavanez, “I saw
someone else do it and I thought,’
.That's not too"tough.’
. “I made my mistakes,” he
conceded:
Brad Evers and Jeff Zimmer- -
man of the Plaza Club are also
• both self-taught. “We just learn-
ed by doing it,” Evers said.
The chefs said the ephemera)
nature of carefully-crafted ice
esoteric art in a variety of ways.
Vervynch said he was taught
by an'Austrian chef; McDonald carvings doesn’t bother them
learned it. from attending a “It’s the same thing with
-culinary school in New-York. food,’-’ said Tliavanez.
a healthy company, while a ending inventory value. LIFO
1/2 PRICE
CUSTOM DRAPERIES
youprobhbly should do it but-you debtS‘? Divide "oasfr.-plus ■ "ae— When ^prices. are1 relatively Then he fires up a small chain
don t necessai llv welcome the counts receivable (liquid assets) : stable, the Choice between'the saw and starts carefully — hut
nnnortiinitv - , , __________, ,• , ‘ ♦ —n ____ ' ,,
Our special collection of custom drapery fabrics includes
rich antique satins, delicate sheers ahd colorful prints. . •
Save 35% on matching top treatments
Prices include lining, labor apd installation
Our decorating consultant will visit you in your home
opportunity. _
Still, annual reports are one of
the best ways to find out about
the workings of a company, and
you don’t have to be a whiz to
find out what you need to know
as an investor. Here's what
Changing Times suggests you
look at:
—Audifqrls opinjon. A twb-
paragraph Opinion usually in-
f oper"
ments follow generally-accepted
—IS It
research and develop-
accounting principles; it doesn’t , '* placing enough empha-
hecessarily mean the company
is in good financial shape,
An opinion longer than two technology drugs and cfiem.
paragraphs - usually-......indicates.:........jeajs
Divide R and D By sales. Not
by total current liabilities. If the .two methods won’t affect earn-
ratiQ is J to l (1.0) or higher, the ings substantially. ..
------ ■- ■ *-•-•■- • Pay particular attention if a
company . suddenly switches
from one inventory method to
another. This must be disclosed
in the annual-report.
During inflation, going from
LIFO to FIFO cafi result in a
substantial earnings increase;
but because the inventory would
have to be replaced at higher
current costs, the profit would be-
largely illusory. A
A* switch from FIFO, to LIFO
company is liquid. The higher
the ratio,-the greater the liquidi-
ty- ' ' . ■; ■
Ms the company profitable?
To get the profit margin, divide
net profit by sales-. That in-
dicates the profit earned for
each dollar of sales and reflects.
sis on
merit,? Thai s essential for " COuld indicate a company is pro-
growth in fields such as high-
noisily — lobbing ofHchunks of
ice until he has transformed the
block into a rough statue.
Asked how he knows where to
cut and how deeply, McDonald
gave a classic sculptor’s reply:
“I just eliminate what doesn’t
belong there.”
He also adds’ most of his detail-
ing with delicate applications of
the chainsaw to the ice.
McDonald prefers using the
chainsaw to handtools because it
is faster arid the powersaw’s
all companies report research
figures. Usually, those that do
will' spend 3-10 percent of sales
pn research.
Ms there a good balance of
debt to equity? Divide long-term
debt by shareholders’ equity
plus long-term debt. Long-term
debt generally shouldn’t exceed
the value of outstanding stock.
Check your numbers against
L'.vv
that further investigation is
needed and serious problems
may exist.
—Management's letter to
shareholders. This should con-
tain specific information about
Company strategy, such as how
— much investors can expect to
• „ receive, in dividends’ or how
•much stock -is*outstanding in
' relation to debt.. It shouldn’t
feature platitudes lauding the
- . ^hairriian’saccompl-ishments. . , , ...
industry averages, which you
If possible, go back and check can find in Dun &' Bradstreet’s
previous annual reports to see “industry Norms and KewBusi-
how accurate their predictions riess Ratios,” at many’lrbraP§s.
tended to be. . Companies are flexible in
-Management discussion and choice^ and interpretation of ac-
analysis. and notes to the finan- counting rules,
ciil statements Look for ppten- Methods used to account for
tial problems, such as signifi- depreciation and cdst of goods
cant litigation, cost overruns on sold say a lot about how con-
major contracts, large pension ’ servative a company, is in its
. liabilities or tlje inability; to otr-: overall financial statements......-—
" tain bank financing. The- IIlST^celerated cost- re-
—Statement,of changes In ti-
ggt ?"* depreciable assets, and the an-
, inmcing .and investment active ■ M .____.
ties over the past sevfcrtii years “J orded during the earlv years
SWSSHtt ComPaniea usjng this
gments^arLgs and stoeK
F eciation expense.
Generally, an annual increase More realistic straight-line
of at least 10 percent in earnings depreciation spreads deprecia-
per share suggests healthy expenses equally over the
growth., ’ • life of the asset and, at longer gj
Chepk the company’s dividend 1 ''perlbti.'w tt\f&iesuihatin’gl! an as- ’*!
•payout policy — tfie percentage set’s useful—life under the
of earnings per share that goes . stpaight-ljpp,,.method cab givd'
toward paying dividends. If the appearance of higher profits
should be about 40-50 percent by decreasing the company’s ex-
depending on the type of con}- penses.
Either way, be on guard if ac-
cumulated depreciation exceeds
50 percent of a company’s fixed
assets. That may mean that
equipment will need to be
replaced soon, perhaps at a
substantial cost.
fast-movin^blade is able to cut
mto ice without his having to
fitable and wishes to reduce its bear down and risk shattering
tax bill by lowering earnings. the carving.
7TT7T77* TTTTTTTTTT.TT7
K
GROUP
w
CABLE
GROUP *
w
CABLE
pany. In a small, growing firm
the percentage may be lower
than that; a utility would pro-
bably have a higher payout rate.
Companies often obscure or
downplay sensitive Or negative
matters with legalese. If you see
something you think is sig- Another key area is inventory
nifitant, call your broker or fi- accounting, or how a company
nancial adviser, or the corpo- determines the cost of goods
•r1'.......
With a procedure calVed'nrtYof "ri out M inventory fouealit ”
dffalysis. yqu can answer some the most recent prices. Those re-
Group W. Cable
Lowers It’s Prices!!
Not Just More Choice,
Your Choice!
Now You Can Add or Change £
Any Optional Pay Service (s) *
For Only ^ f
That Covers The Addition of or *
• HBO • Showtime
• Cinema* • The Movie Channel *
• The Disney Channel • Galavision
• Home Sports Entertainment • Supercable
• Home Theater Network
1/2 price
Kirsch custom 1" aluminum
mini blinds blend with any
setting. In many colors.
1/2 price
Kirsch custom polyester
pleated shades insulate
year rouhd. Many colors.
L
key questions by, comparing
various financial, statement fig-
ures.
- —Is the company solvent? Di-
vide total current assets by total*
current liabilities. Normally, a^
ratio of 2 to.l (2.0) is considered
good. A ratio that gradually gets
higher over the years is a sign of
maining in stock are valued at
the older price.
With the “first in, first out”
system (FIFO), earlier cost fig-
ures are applied to items re-
moved from inventory.
When prices are rising, FIFO
results in a lower cost for goods
sold and thus & higher profit and
Just Bring Your Converter Into Group W. *
Coble at 5623 Barkaloo Rd. & We Will*
Add or Change Any Of The Optional Pay^
T.V. Services For The Low Price Of
**$.00. *
*
Not Just More Choice, Your Choice +
* Now You Can Change Your Entertainment*
Mixture When You Want!! J
Offer does not-apply to basic service. $5.00 charge is for the change and does not Jg
cover the normal monthly service charges for each service. .
★★★★★★★★
Save $6 sq yd
Sale 17.99 sq yd. Overture custom solid saxony carpeting
installed over Omalon" foundation. Nylon treated with
Scotchgard" satin protection, 24 colors. Reg. $24 sq yd
Savings quoted are off regular prices
Montgomery Ward .
Saturday, May, 18, 1985
We welcome Montgorr
Visa and MasterCard.
r*5=ii! We welcome Montgomery Ward,
Greater Houston area residents call 713-932-2642
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Brown, Leon. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 158, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 5, 1985, newspaper, May 5, 1985; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1075188/m1/20/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.