If you're interested in coins and other collectibles, there's a new store in town.

Longtime coin collector Joshua Garlock, a Pentecostal minister, recently opened J.D.'s Coins & Collectibles at 1402 E. St. Patrick St. The store's grand opening is Wednesday.

"I really feel like I've got the best prices in town," he said. "And that's why I started."

Garlock, a transplant from Missouri, has collected coins since he was 12 and been in the business for the last 10 years.

Besides coins, his shop offers gold and silver bullion, stamps, comic books and even some antiques. One rarity that isn't for sale: an early set of "large cents." The early copper pennies were first minted in the 1700s and are a bit smaller than a half-dollar.

Garlock does his best to keep the place neat and tidy, and visit with shoppers.

"I think the fact that I'm doing that, they appreciate it," he said.

J.D.'s Coins & Collectibles is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hours still leave him enough time to write that week's sermon, he says. To contact Garlock, call 593-2797.

Service inventories home for fire, theft

Collecting all the coins in the world won't do any good if they're stolen and you can't prove you owned them. That's where Judy Deyo Ritter can help. She recently bought Black Hills Home Inventory from a friend.

With her help, you can prove you did indeed own those Spanish doubloons.

"What we do is categorize and document people's belongings," she said. People are seldom prepared for the worst. I think it's really important to have everything documented somewhere."

Deyo Ritter catalogs each room in a house, taking photos that go on a CD and DVD. Another service she offers is annual updates of your home's contents. She will even keep the documentation in a safe place, because after all, that can be stolen, too.

"In one case, a gentleman's safe got stolen, and he had his inventory in there," she said. "But I had a copy."

Deyo Ritter, who owns and operates the business, is licensed, bonded and insured. The information she records and catalogs is kept strictly confidential, she added. To get in touch with her, call 355-6995 or 863-0014.

Custer sawmill nearing first cut

A man's dream is nearing reality in Custer. Rick Wilson has worked with lumber or sawmills since he was 15. Now a dream of nine years is nearing reality; his own sawmill will roar to life within a month.

Wilson's Midwest Recovery Inc. is unique among sawmills. Wilson and his workers will buy piles of lumber left over from logging operations in the Black Hills National Forest. They'll then cut the 5-foot pieces of lumber into pieces for constructing pallets.

"I don't think anybody else, besides a few post dealers, are thinking of using this source for anything else besides grinding it up for some reason," he said.

Wilson estimates there are 3,100 piles - known as top piles - in the national forest. He may take about 200 a year, leaving plenty for other purposes. Ethanol could be one such purpose. South Dakota's U.S. senators recently held a hearing in Rapid City to discuss use of forest waste to produce ethanol.

Wilson said he sent a letter to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., telling him his thoughts on the issue.

"To me, they're kind of short-sighted. They're kind of waiting for the fuel bill to go through Congress," he said. "They're relying on that for the incentives to get established."

In the meantime, Wilson put his business plan together and got financing and investors for his project. He plans to hire three workers soon, but that work force could grow to 20 down the road, he said. Now, he's looking for some good contractors. There's work to be done. You can reach Wilson and Midwest Recovery Inc. at 673-5460.

Subway open in Pine Ridge

Pine Ridge has a new restaurant. Bob Ecoffey and his wife, Darlene Nichols-Ecoffey, just opened a Subway franchise, and Ecoffey says things are going well.

"We're doing excellent business," he said.

Ecoffey is also the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent for the Pine Ridge Agency.

Talking Business appears Mondays in the Black Hill Business Journal. To submit an item or ask a question, call 394-8421 or send an e-mail to Jeremy Fugleberg, jeremy.fugleberg@rapidcityjournal.com.