By Jp mcBride

JmcBride@itemonline.com

Apparently, Americans areworking longer hours than peo-ple in most other wealthy coun-tries.

According to a 2013 studydone by the Organization forEconomic Cooperation andDevelopment, Americans workon average 41 hours a week andput in 1,800 hours of work peryear, which is the fourth most ofany country behind Mexico,

Korea and Chile. Also, 30 per-cent of Americans work 45hours or more a week.

The average workweek inBritain is 38 hours. It’s 37 hoursin Germany and 36 in France.

Daniel S. Hamermesh, aneconomics professor at RoyalHolloway, University ofLondon, who is also the SueKillam Professor in the

Foundation of Economics at theUniversity of Texas in Austin,penned an opinion piece thatwas published in Sunday’s edi-tion of the Houston Chronicle.Hamermesh believes thatAmericans should be workingfewer hours and enjoying thefruits of their labor more, but onLabor Day, people in Huntsvillesaid working more than 40

hours is necessary because ofthe country’s economic stand-ing.

“I think we are in a situationwhere people have to worklonger hours for less pay tomake ends meet,” said ScottKaukonen, a professor in theEnglish department at SamHouston State University. “Thedivide between people with

higher incomes and people whoearn lower incomes is signifi-cant in this country. Many peo-ple see less of the benefits oftheir workload. Lots of peoplehave to work hours that areincovenient for their families.”

Paul McGee Jr., who works inmarketing for Silverleaf Resortsin Conroe, added, “I think work-ing 40 hours is not enough. A lotof people work 50 to 60 hours,or at least a lot of people that I

By winston spencer Jr.wspencer@itemonline.com

A Huntsville man was killedand his wife was injured earlySunday morning when a truckcame crashing through theirbedroom while both were sleep-ing in their home on FM 1696 inthe northwestern portion ofWalker County.

Patrick Nelson, 60, was killed

when 37-year-old John Ashleydrove his 1982 Chevrolet pick-up through the side of theNelson’s home, according to theinvestigating officer.

Patrick Nelson sustained fatalhead injuries as a result of thecrash. Teresita Nelson, 46, wastreated by local EMS and trans-ported to Huntsville MemorialHospital.

“Our preliminary investiga-

tion showed that Ashley wastraveling north on FM 2550when he approached the inter-section of FM 1696 at an unsafespeed,” said Trooper FloydGarner of the Texas Departmentof Public Safety. “He then pro-ceeded to drive off the road andinto the bedroom of the Nelsonresidence, knocking both into

Time to get back to work,everybody. The weather today inWalker County won’t be bad, witha high temper-ature in thelow 90s and achance of rainand/or storms.

Visit us online: www.itemonline.com 50 centsTuesday, september 2 , 2014

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Weather......................... 2a

best bets....................... 3a

opinion.......................... 4a

sports.............................7a

Classified........................9a

IndexHigh: 92 low: 76

Weather

Learning todance

Christy Waites, left, helps a student work on her arm positioning during aballet class at studio C dance academy on Friday afternoon.

PHoTos by JosHua yaTes/THe HunTsville iTem

dance instructor Christy Waites, above in the center, leads a group ofgirls through a series of stretches during a ballet class at studio C danceacademy on Friday afternoon. Waites has been offering this class forfree to local girls in an effort to build strong social skills and etiquettewhile learning the fundamentals of ballet. For more information, emailWaites at christy.studioc@gmail.com

(and lots of other fun stuff)

Drunk driver crashes throughhome, kills man in his sleeprepeat offender charged with intoxicated manslaughter and assault

Tom Waddill/THe HunTsville iTem

Patrick nelson and his wife Teresita nelson were asleep early sunday morn-ing when a truck plowed through the wall of their bedroom at the intersectionof Fm 1696 and Fm 2550 in the northwest portion of Walker County. Patricknelson was killed; Teresita nelson was hospitalized with a few broken bones.The driver of the truck, John ashley, was charged with intoxicated manslaugh-ter with a vehicle and intoxicated assault with a vehicle. See crash, page 2A

Working fewer than 40 hours a week sounds nice, but ...Folks in Huntsville say they spend 50 or more hours a week at work,sacrificing quality time at home so they can pay bills, put food on table

See work, page 5A

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