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Tim Prockish and Lance Miller - construction worker:

Scorching winds sifted through a near-finished building as two men baked in the afternoon sun, staking out what will be a parking lot.

There were no complaints from Tim Prockish, Lance Miller or anyone else working for Busboom and Rauh Construction at the Artful Parties and Events business expansion at 921 Shalimar.

"I'm just thankful right now that I do have a job," said Prockish, a job superintendent who has worked 16 years for the company.

On this Labor Day, a national holiday meant to honor workers, many in Salina might echo that sentiment. An economy some say has improved has yet to inject much long-term confidence.

The past several months have been difficult ones, Prockish said, thanks to a slow construction market driven by the recession.

"Last winter, we laid a lot of people off because we didn't have any work. Now, we're picking up a little momentum," said Prockish, 51. Some workers have been called back.

A pair of big school construction jobs for the Ell-Saline School District will keep Busboom and Rauh's workers busy at least through the summer of 2011.

"It's a very good feeling that I've got work for the foreseeable future," Prockish said. He's married with two grown children, one in college.

"We try to make the most of what we can for the moment, but there's always that fear of what's going to happen next," said Lance Miller, 29, a project foreman and son of Busboom and Rauh president, Robert Miller. Lance was reared in the construction business and has worked full time for five years.

"I wouldn't say we're overly swamped, so we don't have any light at the end of the tunnel," Prockish said.

Busboom and Rauh relies on big jobs to keep workers employed. Recent school consolidations and airplane maker Hawker Beechcraft's planned pullout of Salina by the end of February 2012 are not good signs, Lance Miller said.

From that bad news comes opportunity, such as the many buildings soon to be vacant in the Salina Airport Industrial Center.

"There is a bunch of space out here," Miller said. "You just don't know whether any company wants to move in. We don't know what we have coming up for this next month."

He is counting on a better economy when the Ell-Saline projects are complete.

"Honestly, I'm not as scared now," Miller said.

A number of unknowns -- November elections, war in Afghanistan, health care, college tuition and fuel prices, just to name a few -- continue to cause anxiety.

Here's what other workers had to say as their holiday approached:

Billie Jo Bell and Sissy Bowles - waitresses:

Billie Jo Bell, 42, and Sissy Bowles, 23, are waitresses at Bayard's Cafe, 2301 N. Ninth. Customer numbers are down at the cafe, they said, but a core group of loyal diners have kept the business afloat.

"This restaurant has a lot of regulars," Bowles said. "They know what they want to eat, where they want to sit."

For some, the cooks have their meals on the grill when they walk through the doors, Bell said.

"We start serving them when they get out of the car," she said.

But a down economy is evident in what customers order.

"They look for specials, and the deals," Bell said.

A normal tip two years ago was 20 percent of the bill, she said. Recently it has dropped to 10 to 15 percent. Waitresses are paid a modest hourly rate, and they count on tips for a good portion of their income. Bell, who has worked at Bayards for 13 years total, said $20 in tips is a given over a 6- to 8-hour shift, but she's made up to $150 in one shift.

"Nobody has enough money to go out and eat," Bowles said. She has been a waitress five years, one year at Bayard's.

"They're ordering smaller meals. Half the people who come in here ask about the specials," Bowles said.

For waitresses, there can be an upside to fewer customers.

"If helps you take better care of them. That helps your tips," she said.

Bell is the sister of restaurant co-owners Kevin and Lisa Bell. Billie Jo Bell said she isn't worried about losing her job, "because they need me. I help take care of things, I facilitate things, try to make things easier out here."

Bowles doesn't feel so safe in her employment.

"Waitresses are a dime a dozen. You can find one anywhere," she said.

Bell interrupted: "But not good waitresses," she said to her colleague, "and you are a good waitress."

She's confident that the restaurant with survive the down economy. There have been other setbacks, such as construction projects on Interstate Highway 70 and North Ninth street.

"There was a big drop. It hurt," Bell said. "It was just starting to come back when the recession hit."

She is gearing for a "rough winter" but expects to pay her bills.

Business may slow down more, she said, but there will always be restaurants.

"As long as you have good food, good prices and good service," Bell said, "I think you can squeak buy until times get better."

Tim Linenberger, painter:

Tim Linenberger, 51, of Salina, is a self-employed painter. His company, Tim Linenberger Painting and Decorating, is having a "decent year" but not without some anxiety during these down economic times.

"Two years ago in February, I was just about out of work. I was lying in bed on a Sunday night, thinking 'What am I going to do now?' The phone rang the next morning," Linenberger recalled.

Continuing a family tradition in painting, Linenberger built his business on new construction of higher-end homes.

But that work dropped off with the housing and banking crisis. So Linenberger shifted his focus.

"Church restoration work has kind of carried us the last three years," he said.

The call on that Monday morning in 2008 was from a Catholic monsignor in Tulsa, Okla.

"It's like 'Wow, my prayers have been answered,' " Linenberger said.

Jobs have surfaced throughout Kansas and Oklahoma.

"I looked at a job three weeks ago in Missouri. I feel confident we'll get it," Linenberger said.

He works alongside his one employee. The crew has been scaled back over the years.

Linenberger's family has been in this line of work for four generations. His late father, Dennis, was a painting contractor.

"Everybody you talk to, this recession has affected them," Linenberger said. "I think people are kind of nervous and are just sitting back to see if the economy will improve."

Cheryl Ingermanson - medical technologist:

Cheryl Ingermanson, 53, is medical technologist at Salina Regional Health Center. Medical care is in high demand, Ingermanson said, which is why she's not worried about her job going away.

"There are always going to be patients. People are always going to be sick," she said. "I feel very safe in my employment. I think the medical field is definitely where people should be looking."

A veteran of 30 years at Salina Regional Health Center, Ingermanson said she's "behind the scenes" in the hospital basement.

"When the physician orders lab work, we perform those tests. We give him the answers to the tests he orders. Usually, it's blood tests," she said.

In operation around the clock, the laboratory is "very, very busy," Ingermanson said.

The lab staffs three shifts and an outreach lab for other hospitals and clinics.

There is a challenge to using lab results to help diagnose diseases.

Medical technologists are wrought with "investigative curiosity," she said. "We're very curious, very analytical."

Her worries are for younger people who are graduating from high school or college.

"Not only are things really expensive for them, but I think jobs are hard to find," Ingermanson said.

If they do find jobs, there may not be any job security.

"I think about my kids and how they're going to make it. It's harder for them," she said.

Kevin Watts - business owner:

Kevin Watts, 40, the owner of Horsemen's Headquarters, 205 E. Pacific, said the future is loaded with "question marks.

Business is down this year, he said.

"We're not getting as many people spending money on new stuff and we're not seeing as many people repairing old stuff, either," Watts said.

The business is an equestrian western outfitter that deals in boots, shoes and tack repair, along with saddles, bridles and other products to outfit the horse.

"I've got a feeling that it might get better, but it's still pretty iffy out there," Watts said.

Sales fluctuate with the horse show, rodeo and county fair seasons, and consumer preferences have changed.

"It's getting to be a throwaway society," he said. "They're starting to build work boots with polyurethane soles that disintegrate when they go to the landfill."

Shoe repairmen are rare in these parts. A business owner for five years, Watts said he is the only cobbler in Salina.

He corners the market for people who need their shoes fixed, especially those with orthopedic problems.

"If things don't get better, they won't have the luxury of having their boots done in town, and they'll have to send them somewhere else," Watts said.

Gary Palmateer - plumber:

Gary Palmateer, 60, is vice president and part owner of Systems 4, 430 N. Santa Fe. After nearly 40 years in the business, he's seen his share of good times and bad.

"When we started, it was kind of slow, but we survived then," he said. "Even though things are kind of awkward right now, we'll work through it."

In a way, Palmateer said, customers are adopting some of the old ways as they deal with less cash and some uncertainty about where the economy is headed.

"People are a lot more conscious about where their money goes. They're kind of saving back more than in the past," he said. "The old-time customer has always been that way."

New construction is light right now, but service "usually stays pretty steady all year round," Palmateer said.

Systems 4 bids on jobs as a subcontractor, and Palmateer has noticed a higher demand for the best.

"People are looking at higher-efficiency and longer life expectancy and warranties," he said. "We're getting tax credits for higher-efficiency, and people are taking advantage of that when they can."

All facets of business are based on the economy, Palmateer said, including decisions to upgrade equipment. Systems 4 currently employs 26 workers.

"Other contractors I've talked to are the same way. They hate to invest in a lot of equipment or material at this time," he said. "The future's not as clear as it was a couple years ago."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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