Change to daylight savings time impacts local businesses

Computers have not defeated man just yet.

Every organization reliant on a computer system is addressing the daylight-savings time change in one way or another, but all should be under control.

In 2005 Congress passed a measure to begin daylight-savings time three weeks early this year in an attempt to save on energy consumption, with the extra hour of daylight beginning in March instead of April.

Local businesses such as banks and hospitals have made special preparations for the change.

"It's been a little bit of a pain for us. We've put in a certain amount of hours fixing it," said Jay McQuire, director of information systems at the Southeast Missouri Hospital. "It's not up there with what we had to do for Y2K."

"It's not that big of a deal for us really," said Retta Penrod, branch manager of the First State Community Bank in Cape Girardeau. "We had to make some special considerations but we're more so happy to just have the extra hour of daylight."

For more details, check back at www.semissourian.com or read Saturday's Southeast Missourian.