Area's foreclosure rate ahead of nation

July’s foreclosure rate in the Shoals was nearly one-third of the national rate, based on data compiled by CoreLogic.

The company, which monitors housing market activity nationwide, lists the area’s foreclosure rate for the month at .83 percent. In comparison, Alabama’s foreclosure rate in July was 1.44 percent, with the national rate listed at 3.25 percent.

In all three categories, the numbers showed an improvement from the same month in 2011.

In the Shoals, the foreclosure rate was .88 percent in July 2011. The national rate a year earlier was 3.46 percent.

Positive news also was reported in the area of mortgage payments that were at least 90 days delinquent. July’s delinquency rate in the Shoals was 3.09 percent, continuing a five-month trend where the rate has been hovering around 3 percent. In July 2011, the 90-day delinquency rate was 3.32 percent in the Colbert-Lauderdale area, based on CoreLogic’s data.

In Alabama, 5.45 percent of house mortgages were at least 90 days late, compared to 6.71 percent nationally.

In January 2010, the area’s delinquency rate was 4.44 percent, which is the highest mark within the past 30 months.

Returnable Coca-Cola bottle has final run

It’s the end of an era for Coca-Cola lovers, as the last 6.5-ounce returnable, glass bottle rolls off the production line.

A small Coke bottler in Minnesota said it’s stopping production of the bottles, which customers could return to get back a 20-cent deposit. The company in Winona, Minn., had been refilling the returnable bottles since 1932 but said it no longer makes business sense to continue doing so.

LeRoy Telstad, the bottler’s general manager, said the last run for refilling the bottles was last week.

The Coca-Cola Co., based in Atlanta, notes that its 8-ounce glass bottles are still widely available across the country. Those recyclable bottles are nearly identical to the smaller 6.5-ounce bottles.

They have less glass but hold more cola.

Waffle House going smoke free Monday

The Waffle House restaurant in Tuscumbia will become a smoke-free facility beginning Monday morning, officials said.

The restaurant is joining the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Shoals program. The program encourages residents to support smoke-free workplaces.

Campaign literature states that a person working a typical shift in a smoke-filled workplace breathes the equivalent of up to two packs of cigarettes. Organizers add that more than 7,000 Alabamians die each year as a result of tobacco use, and another 1,000 people die from exposure to second-hand smoke.

Waffle House’s Florence restaurant has been smoke-free for several years.