Stories from Monday, July 2, 2001

Rebecka Hollis has been appointed small business client manager for Bank of America in the Cape Girardeau market. Hollis, who joined Bank of America in 1997 as a credit products associate in commercial growth, will be responsible for the delivery of products and services to small business bank customers...

Scott Raines has joined the Southeast Missourian as circulation distribution manager. Raines will work with contractors for home delivery service. Raines previously worked as food and beverage manager at the Show Me Center 13 years. Raines, of Jackson, Mo., is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University...

Cape Girardeau physician Dr. Anthony Zoffuto has been named medical director for Pyramid Group, Missouri's largest in-home service provider. Gerald Jones, president and CEO of Pyramid, which has corporate offices located in Cape Girardeau, said Zoffuto would be representing Pyramid in various capacities...

A procurement conference, designed to offer insight into securing government contracts, will be held in Robert A. Dempster Hall on Southeast Missouri State University campus Aug. 8. Eighth District U. S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson and U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond are sponsoring the one-day event in cooperation with the university's Small Business Development Center, the Small Business Administration, the Missouri Small Business Development Centers and Missouri Procurement Assistance Centers.. ...

Lonnie Lusk, CPA, certified accounting applications specialist with Schott & Van de Ven, recently attended a continuing education course that focused on business accounting. Limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, partnerships, S corporations and C corporations were discussed...

Scott Givens, assistant manager of Southeast Missouri Hospital's Main Street Fitness Center in Jackson, Mo., has received certified athletic trainer credentials. The certification involved a written test, a written simulation test and a practical exam...

Beth McFarland, controller-process Operations at Monterey Mushrooms Inc., Bonne Terre, has been elected chairperson of the Workforce Investment Board of Southeast Missouri (WIB). McFarland was elected during recent meeting of the WIB Board of Directors in Cape Girardeau. She replaces Ben Bradshaw of Malden, who completed a three-year term as chairman...

Jana Jateff, a sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics, has earned the use of a Mary Kay Cadillac, the most coveted incentive awarded by the company. Jateff, who has been with Mary Kay since 1982 and a sales director since 1984, recently took delivery of her new Cadillac...

Cape Girardeau Project Impact, a grant-funded program that originated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will be discussed at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee, to be held at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Show Me Center...

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions at Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and Perryville. The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available July 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The counseling sessions (about one hour) are free. Call 335-3312 for appointment...

Southern Illinois is one of the newest markets for Fred's Stores of Tennessee, headquartered in Memphis. Fred's, which operates 337 stores and 200 pharmacies in 11 states, opened a 14,000 square foot facility at Chester, Ill., recently, and has announced plans for construction of a 16,000-square-foot store, to be constructed at McLeansboro, Ill...

When you think wine, you may have visions of France, Italy or California's Napa Valley. Today, though, a growing number of those knowledgeable about wine are discovering that some of the local labels are among the best and most-reasonably priced. I had an opportunity to taste some of the local labels last week when the Tri State Advertising and Marketing Professionals held its monthly meeting at the River Ridge Winery, two miles north of Commerce, Mo., near the Mississippi River...

Great Clips for Hair reached a milestone recently when it hit and passed the 1,500-mark in the number of salons. Salon openings in Albuquerque, N.M., and Columbus, Ohio, put the count at 1,500 and 1,501 respectively. Great Clips, which has an operation in Cape Girardeau, is headquartered in Minneapolis and is the nation's largest franchisers in the $50 billion hair care industry. Established in 1982, Great Clips has been franchising since 1983 and is one of the 20 fastest-growing franchises...

Walgreen Co.'s third-quarter profits were up 10 percent and would have been higher but for heavy investment in expansion, which will peak this year after four years of rapid growth. About 475 Walgreens will be opened in 2001 an average of one every 18 hours...

Missouri's top employer has announced plans to locate a distribution facility in Moberly, Mo. Choosing Missouri for the third time in less than year, retail giant Wal-Mart will make a multi-million dollar investment and create hundreds of jobs for this mid-Missouri community...

The auction business is enjoying probably its greatest prosperity ever. The reason is simple, according to the National Auctioneers Association in Overland Park, Kan. Americans know that auctions are a good way to sell whatever they want to sell. "When you have 100 to 200 people out there bidding, you're going to wind up with a pretty true value for the item," said Tom Jones, who has been auctioning around Southeast Missouri for more than 40 years...

The parking lot was full. Seconds before the clock struck 3 p.m., people emerged from their vehicles. Many headed for the Sweitzer Farms truck. Word had spread quickly that the Cobden, Ill., vegetable farmer had sweet corn, the only one of 17 vendors last week who did. People waited in line to fill their plastic shopping bags with four to eight ears of corn at a quarter an ear...

Joe Burton is suffering from sticker shock, having seen the assessed valuation of his Cape Girardeau home soar by 17.3 percent. But Cape Girardeau County Assessor Jerry Reynolds said he hiked the assessment to reflect the market value of the property as required under state-mandated reassessment...

Ground will be broken in September to begin construction of a cabin similar to the one Cape Girardeau founder Don Louis Lorimier and his family occupied in 1803 when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark stopped here on their way to explore the West. The Red House is to be built on city land northeast of Old St. Vincent's Church. The 100-by-50-foot site on the east side of Aquamsi Street halfway between Old St. Vincent's Church and Temple B'Nai Israel has been marked off with pink stakes and paint...

COMMERCE, Mo. -- In the shady glade next to the River Ridge Winery, folk singer Jennifer Noble sang Nanci Griffith's tune "Dance a Little Closer with Me" while couples and families at tables sipped vintages and chatted. Some ate BLTs and chocolate-covered strawberries from the winery cafe. ...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Country and western star Travis Tritt will perform Tuesday at the Black River Coliseum. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 & $30. Tritt's newest CD is titled "Down The Road I Go." The debut single was "Best of Intentions," which stayed at No. 1 for four weeks. The follow-up single, "It's a Great Day to be Alive," made it to No. 2...

Monday, July 2, at 7 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Public hearings n A public hearing to consider vacating the city's interest in a 4-foot utility pole easement located under 1721 Crestwood Drive in Oak Hills subdivision. n A public hearing regarding the request of Paul E. Statler Trust and the Rebel Group, LLC, to rezone the southwest corner of the intersection of Silver Springs Road and Shawnee Parkway from R-1, single family residential, to C-2, general commercial...

7:30 p.m. Monday, July 2 City Hall Public Hearing n Hearing to consider the request for voluntary annexation of property owned by the Cape Special Road District. Action Items Power and Light Committee n Consider a resolution determining the intent of the City of Jackson to reimburse itself for certain capital expenditures...

VALMEYER, Ill. --The Craftsman Union Capahas pounded out three home runs and 10 hits as they routed the host squad 12-2 Sunday afternoon during the Valmeyer (Ill.) Classic. The 15-7 Capahas, who had dropped their tourney opener Saturday, will play at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the consolation final of the eight-team event...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Walter R. Aufdenberg, 81, of Jackson, Missouri, was called to his eternal home on Saturday, June 30, 2001. Mr. Aufdenberg was born Dec. 31, 1919, the son of the late Louis W. and Hulda Werner Aufdenberg. He married Ruth A. Allen on Sept. 13, 1947...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- John David Gibbs, 41, of Gillette, Wyo., died Sunday, July 1, 2001. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

DEXTER, Mo. -- Letha J. Edwards, 90, a former resident of Dexter, died Saturday, June 30, 2001, at her home in Eldorado Springs, Mo. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the Rainey Funeral Home in Dexter.

ST. MARY, Mo. -- C. Byron Oster, 86, of St. Mary, died Sunday, July 1, 2001, at his home. He was born July 19, 1914, in St. Mary, son of Charles and Isabella McNew Oster. He and Leretta M. Winkler were married Oct. 10, 1942. She died March 30, 1989...

ST. LOUIS -- Bobby Jack Crawford, 68, formerly of Chaffee, Mo., died Saturday, June 30, 2001, at DeGreef Hospice in St. Louis. He was born Nov. 12, 1932, in Chaffee, son of John and Bertha Smith Crawford. He and Suda J. Dalton were married, and she survives...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Edna A. Stueve, 74, of Perryville, died Saturday, June 30, 2001, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born June 25, 1927, daughter of Fred and Olga Hoffman Schultz. She and August Stueve were married Aug. 15, 1946. He died Nov. 7, 1975. She was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville...

ANNA, Ill. -- Dovie Lacy, 93, of Anna died Saturday, June 30, 2001, at St. James Hospital in Pontiac, Ill. She was born Jan. 9, 1908, at Anna, daughter of Robert and Sarah Poe Williams. She and William Ambrose Lacy were married Oct. 10, 1926. He died Nov. 13, 1973...

POLITICIANS PRAISE and promise your right to choose. Killing a child which is to be born will be paid for by you when you meet your maker. Your politician can't help you. You can't blame it on your party's platform. Saying abortion and homosexuality is your right by your political party doesn't make it right. They aren't the ones who will judge you. Who will believe so many accept this and reject God's laws?...

A new congregation in Fruitland, Mo., soon will have a church building in which to worship thanks to a group of 120 volunteers who came to town to get the building started and others who will arrive periodically to finish it up. The Fruitland Community Church off U.S. 61 just north of the Highway 177 intersection is well on its way toward completion after the group of volunteers took vacation time to come to Fruitland to work on the 13,000-square-foot building...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- As a banker raised in Southeast Missouri, I am pleased and grateful to be able to share my thoughts on agriculture. My whole life has been directly related to agriculture: as a child growing up on a farm, as a young man working as an FDIC bank regulators in Mississippi examining over 100 rural banks, as a banker with 12 years' experience in agriculture lending, as a part-time farmer and as a father teaching my small sons about farming. ...

Although the Fourth of July is still two days away, Cape Girardeans and residents of surrounding Missouri communities already have become accustomed to the sound of exploding fireworks. That's because state law allows the sale and setting off of fireworks beginning June 20 and thereafter through July 4. And once the fireworks stands open, youngsters can't wait to stock up on their favorites and start setting them off...