Town & Country annual earnings      

[JAN. 29, 2004]  SPRINGFIELD -- Town & Country Bancorp, the parent holding company for Logan County Bank of Lincoln, announced record earnings for 2003 of $2.733 million, a 17 percent increase over last year's earnings of $2.335 million. This represents the third straight year of record earnings for the company.

On a per-share basis, earnings increased to $2.17 per share for 2003, from $1.84 per share the prior year. Earnings per share have been adjusted for the 20 percent stock dividend paid at the end of March 2003. Total assets of the company at the end of 2003 were $337 million, an 8 percent increase over the prior year.

The board of directors declared a 8-cent-per-share quarterly cash dividend payable on March 15 to stockholders of record March 1. Along with the effect of the 20 percent stock dividend, this represents a 37 percent increase in the cash dividend over the prior year.

Shares of common stock of Town & Country Bancorp Inc. are quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol TCBS. As of January 2004 the following market makers are registered to quote Town & Country Bancorp stock on the OTC Bulletin Board: Boenning & Scattergood Inc., Hill Thompson Madig & Co Inc., Howe Barnes Investments Inc., Monroe Securities Inc., E.E. Powell & Company Inc., Ryan Beck & Co., Schwab Capital Markets L.P., and Wedbush Morgan Securities.

Town & Country Bancorp Inc. is the parent holding company for Town & Country Bank of Springfield and Town & Country Bank of Buffalo and Mount Zion in addition to Logan County Bank.

[News release]

Life Sentence, No Parole

If we tried to invent the cruelest punishment for dogs, we probably couldn't come up with anything worse than "solitary confinement" on a chain or in a kennel.

Dogs are pack animals who crave the companionship of others.  Scratches behind the ears, games of fetch, or even just walks around the block mean the world to them.  Curling up at your feet while you watch TV is their idea of heaven.

Many dogs left to fend for themselves at the end of a chain fall prey to attacks by other animals or cruel people, and many others are injured or hanged or choke as a result of getting entangled or caught in their tether.

If you have a backyard dog, please, bring him or her inside.  They don't want much--just you.

A public service announcement from Lincoln Daily News and helpinganimals.com