awareness campaign

CANONSBURG - VITAC, the nation's leading provider of closed captioning, on Thursday launched a national awareness campaign called "CaptionsON," to heighten awareness of the benefits that closed captions offer to more than 50 million Americans. The Southpointe-based company said that number represents a group larger than the number of uninsured Americans, or Hispanic/Latino voters, or those on Social Security over the age of 65.

The company said captions are not only an essential service to over 31 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing, but are a powerful tool to enhance language, reading and comprehension skills in the young, the old and those learning English as a second language. Captions are a free service to viewers and are available to nearly all households in the United States.

VITAC, a division of a Merrill Communications, provides closed captioning for broadcast networks, cable TV, home video/ DVD, teleconferences and Internet programs worldwide.

Community Bank sees

1Q profit decline

Community Bank said Thursday its profit for the first quarter of 2008 was $755,960, compared to $828,157 for the fourth quarter of 2007 and $969,311 for the first quarter of 2007. The Carmichaels-based bank said the latest results translated into a return on equity of 9.04 percent and a return on assets of .80 percent for the first quarter.

"The modest decline in our profit is due to rapidly falling interest rates, a weakening economy, and greater loan loss provisions," said Pat McCune, president and chief executive officer. "These factors are affecting the banking industry in general. The bank will be well positioned for future growth when the economic picture stabilizes."

ICI notes growth

in retirement assets

NEW YORK - The retirement assets of Americans grew 7 percent to $17.6 trillion last year, with the strongest growth coming from worker contributions to 401(k) accounts and other company-sponsored plans and to Individual Retirement Accounts.

The Investment Company Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association, said Americans held $4.5 trillion in defined contribution plans like 401(k)s at year's end and $4.7 trillion in IRAs. The balance was $8.4 trillion in traditional pension plans, government employee plans and annuities, the ICI said.

In 2006, retirement assets grew 11 percent to $16.5 trillion. Of the total, $4.1 trillion was in defined contribution plans and $4.2 trillion in IRAs.

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