Good Press

Using coupons is not a new concept, but there are some modern ways to make sure you get the best deals. I'm still learning how to do this. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal MORGANTOWN — Shalane Koon sticks to a $40 a week grocery budget and for six months last year lived off a stockpile of products she bought with coupons. Stormy Matlick paid $1 for six body washes that will last her husband and son three months. Koon and Matlick, both of Morgantown, will tell you their money-saving reality differs greatly from what you might see on TLC’s show, “Extreme Couponing.” The cable program and the rising cost of goods are spurring consumers to use more coupons. ABC News reported that coupon use has increased 30 percent since 2008, when the country plunged into an economic crisis. In 2010, shoppers saved $3.7 billion using coupons. “My husband and I DVR ‘Extreme Couponing’ on TLC every week,” Koon said. “I love to see what people get for next to nothing. Pennies on the dollar, reall...

Photo courtesy of C.J. Maggie's American Grill I discovered C.J. Maggie's American Grill when I was a freshman at W.Va. Wesleyan College in 1995. I loved the Easy Elmer (a ham sandwich) and the Bagwan's Grilled Vegetables sandwich, things that are no longer on the menu. Still on the menu are the 40 Miles of Bad Road Nachoes that my friends and I would share and still have leftovers. Here is a story I had the pleasure of writing this spring when The State Journal named C.J. Maggie's one of its 55 Good Things in West Virginia. CJ Rylands photo courtesy of the Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival C.J. and Jeannie Rylands founded the restaurant chain. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal BUCKHANNON — Restaurateurs C.J. and Jeannie Rylands have the recipe for downtown revitalization. The business model they use when scouting locations for new C.J. Maggie’s American Grill franchises has gotten them named one of the 55 Good Things in West Virginia. “The business plan that wo...