While walking through a carnival with my wife last summer, I noticed a great number of game booths set up for fun and entertainment. The game that caught my interest the most was the dunk tank.

It had the biggest crowd gathered in front of it yelling and screaming for some guy to throw a ball at a little red metal bulls-eye target.

John G. Karrat, who founded Karrat Bros. Wholesale Fruit & Produce in the 1930s, died Dec. 18. He was 95.

Born in Utica, NY, in 1909, Mr. Karrat began his career in the produce industry with a small truck and a small route, peddling produce at the age of 21.

In the mid-1930s, he and his brother, Nayef, started Karrat Bros. As owner and buyer for the company, he spent much time on the old Washington Street Market in New York buying produce for his company in Utica.

PHILADELPHIA " John Vena Inc. announced the addition of a new warehouse operations manager to oversee its recently purchased facility on Galloway Street. Joseph Aquilino has extensive experience in all aspects of produce operations management.

?Joe will develop this operation from the ground up," said John Vena, president of John Vena Inc. "We are confident that Joe has the expertise to pilot our new enterprise in the right direction."

Agricola Tarriba in Culiacan, Sinaloa, the Mexican sister company of Farmers Best International in Nogales, AZ, was recently named Exporter of the Year by Mexican President Vincente Fox.

General Director Ivan Tarriba Haza accepted the award on behalf of Agricola Tarriba.

A 46.6 percent tariff imposed by the Mexican government on Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples from Washington will be lifted in late February, ending nearly 18 months of penalization against Northwest exporters for selling at prices below market.

According to Jim Archer, manager of Northwest Fruit Exporters in Yakima, WA, negotiators made public the announcement on Monday, Jan. 3 that the tariff, imposed in August 2002, was to be lifted.

A series of storms during the last week of December and the first week of January dumped abnormally high amounts of rainfall across Southern California and into Arizona, disrupting planting and harvesting operations in several strawberry- and vegetable-growing districts.

The widespread storm systems drenched most of California and brought much-needed snow-pack to the Sierra Mountains, which will help fill reservoirs used for irrigation.