Builder Ron Bartsch has thrown down his hammer. The owner of Sussex Construction is giving $100 to the Helena Education Foundation for every lot he sells or home he builds, and he's challenging other area builders to do the same.

"If our industry builds about 400 homes per year in the Helena area, we have a good opportunity to raise some serious money for this organization," he said. "We believe in our community, we're builders, we should be helping to build our community."

Bartsch took his idea to the board of the Helena Building Industry Association, and others were quick to join.

HEF, which is always looking for synergies with local businesses, loves the idea.

"(Ron) is being a leader in not just what he wants to do, but also in recognizing the importance of the builder/development community," said HEF board member Aidan Myhre. "Obviously they have a big impact on our education system, so I think it's an example of a visionary builder trying to reach out to others and saying, 'This is important.'"

Thanks Abe: To the list of those of us who will grouse at our desks tomorrow while most of this government town enjoys Presidents Day off you can add the folks at Wells Fargo.

Randy Riley, a consumer market manager with the bank in Helena, said that last year Wells Fargo was open on two of the four traditional "bank holidays" -- Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day -- and this year will be open on all four.

"As banking expands, people are requiring more flexibility for banking hours, and we're really trying to accommodate that," Riley said.

So much for bankers' hours -- the age-old euphemism for short working days. Back when so much accounting was done by hand, banks closed by mid-afternoon so employees could spend the last couple hours balancing the books.

These days, with many back-office functions now completely automated, not to mention consumer demand for increased hours, banks tend to stay open until 5 p.m. (or later at many drive-thru windows), the traditional end of the business day.

"I come from a family of bankers, and we've certainly shared the stories of the change in 'bankers' hours,' " Riley said.

Spirits in the Night: When we're out for a night on the town, what do Montanans like to drink?

Black Velvet Canadian whiskey is the favorite, according to data provided by Shauna Helfert at the Department of Revenue. Since all hard alcohol sold in Montana passes through the department's warehouse, the state can keep close track of what's being sold in taverns and liquor stores.

The 42,631 cases of Black Velvet sold in Montana in 2007 accounted for more than 7 percent of all liquor sales. Rounding out the top five: Nikolai Vodka, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Seagram Crown Royal and Black Jack Daniel's.

E-mail your Open for Business ideas to john.harrington@helenair.com