Fair Value of Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

4. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of financial instruments at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:

	Fair
Description	Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
December 31, 2011
Long-term debt	$	4,080,000		-	$	4,080,000		-
Marketable securities (1)		185,000	$	185,000		-		-
December 31, 2010
Long-term debt	$	4,613,000		-	$	4,613,000
Marketable securities (1)		232,000		232,000		-		-
Derivatives (2)		11,693		-		11,693		-

(1) Representing assets of the Company's Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (trading securities).  Presented within Other Assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

(2) Representing recorded liability of Canadian forward currency contracts and is presented within   Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses in the consolidated balance sheets.  The fair values of    derivatives are determined either through quoted market prices in active markets for exchange   traded derivatives or through pricing from brokers who develop values based on inputs observable   in active markets such as interest rates and currency volatilities.

Fair value can be measured using valuation techniques such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow), and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost). Accounting standards utilize a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those three levels:

Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.

At December 31, the carrying amount and fair value of the Company’s financial instruments are approximately as follows:

	2011				2010
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Long-term debt	$	4,151,048	$	4,080,000	$	4,717,643	$	4,613,000
Marketable securities		185,000		185,000		232,000		232,000
Derivatives		-		-		11,693		11,693

The carrying value of other financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to their short maturities or variable-rate nature of the respective balances.