Business briefs

New winery opens near Farmington

FARMINGTON, Mo. — On Oct. 17, Lisa and David Ikemeier opened Sand Creek Vineyard on Sand Creek Road between Highway 32 and Route F just outside Farmington. It is located down the road from Twin Oaks Vineyard and Winery, along the Route du Vin Wine Trail.

The winery offers samples and bottles of wine, as well as draft beer, cigars and Oberle meat and cheese. Two large patios provide outdoor seating, and sandwiches and meals will be available during special events. There will be live music, and the couple is also building a fire pit.

The winery is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. They are closed on Tuesdays. They are available for private parties. For more information, call (573) 756-9999 or visit www.sandcreekvineyardandwinery.com.

Photography studio opens in Cape

Elaine Rohde Photography, a home studio based out of a Cape Girardeau apartment, is now open for business. The studio, owned by Elaine Rohde, offers sessions for babies, children, families, high school seniors, weddings, pets and more. Rohde describes her style as nontraditional and focusing on the use of natural light.

Hours are by appointment only. Call (573) 979-9608 or www.elainerohde.com.

Southern Missouri Bank branches out

MATTHEWS, Mo. — Southern Missouri Bank recently celebrated the grand opening of its 10th branch at 100 Main in Matthews, Mo., with an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony.

Employees present included vice president Michele Knickman; teller Heather Colbert; Community Bank president Terry Williams; customer service manager Tera Kelley; customer service representative Renee Nelson; and loan coordinator Kara Brown. Also present were board members Sam Schalk and Ronnie Black and members of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Bank hours are 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays. The branch can reached by calling the Sikeston office at (573) 471-1901.

Miner consignment store holds ribbon cutting

MINER, Mo. — Used 2 Be Mine, a consignment store which sells furniture, home decor and other items, recently held its grand opening ribbon cutting at the 201 State Highway AA location in Miner. The store is owned by Debbie Vaught.

The store has been open since July 2007, and the hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Those who bring in items for sale receive 50 percent of the proceeds. For more information, call Vaught at (573) 380-5193.

Blinds store holds ribbon cutting

DEXTER, Mo. — "The Blind Guy" recently held a grand opening ribbon cutting with the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. The company, based in Dexter, offers interior and exterior plantation shutters and custom blinds. Estimates are free and installation is included, according to owner Tim Alsup. For more information or for a consultation, call Alsup at (573) 624-0748.

New online pet business opens

Stacy Busch has opened an online business called Busch Pet Products & Care. The website at www.buschpetproducts.com offers a variety of items for cats and dogs, including bowls, blankets, collars and leashes.

The online business, launched Oct. 24, is an extension of Busch's pet sitting business of several years. For more information, e-mail customerservice@buschpetproducts.com or call (573) 335-4076 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

New bakery opens in Ste. Genevieve

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — Misty's Sweet Tooth, a new bakery in Ste. Genevieve, has opened at 545 Rozier St. in the old Portrait Gallery building. The owner is Misty Fahnestock. She previously made cakes and cookies in her home.

Misty's Sweet Tooth offers a variety of doughnuts as well as apple fritters, long johns, cookies and pies. Customers can order items for takeout or eat inside the bakery. Misty's will also take special orders for pies and cakes and sell homemade pie crust. Fahnestock hopes to eventually add crumb cake, coffee cake, and breads to the menu.

The business is open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from 5:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

West Park Mall lands new tenant

Justice Just for Girls opened in Cape Girardeau's West Park Mall on Nov. 18. The store offers exclusive fashions and accessories for girls ages 7 to 14. Spokesperson Barbara Kennedy is looking to hire 10 or 11 part-time sales associates at the location. The store will be open during normal mall hours, which are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday.

Cape holds two ribbon cuttings Nov. 10

Two new Cape Girardeau businesses, Cotner K Electric and Southeast Missouri Food Bank, held ribbon cuttings Nov. 10.

Cotner K Electric moved May 30 to 779 Enterprise Drive after two brothers split their ownership of Cotner Electric, Inc., which still operates at 2049 Southern Expressway. Keith Cotner owns Cotner K Electric and Ron Cotner owns Cotner Electric Inc. Open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Cotner K Electric specializes in commercial and residential electrical work.

To increase its ability to serve the community, the food bank moved in early March from its original location in Sikeston, Mo., to 920 Nash Road in Scott City. The move increased its space from 10,000 to 25,000 square feet. The food bank also recently changed its name from the Bootheel Food Bank to the Southeast Missouri Food Bank.

Scrap metal and iron plant opens in Sikeston

SIKESTON, Mo. — Cash's Scrap Metal and Iron, located at 526 S. Frisco in Sikeston, recently held its grand opening ribbon cutting with the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. Plant manager is Steve DePriest.

The plant's hours are 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday. It accepts scrap metal and iron, excluding car batteries and car bodies. The company is headquartered in St. Louis. For more information call (573) 481-0200 or visit www.cashmet.com.

Electric Rayz tanning salon opens in Sikeston

SIKESTON, Mo. — Electric Rayz recently held its grand opening ribbon cutting with the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. Co-owners are Keith Daum and his wife Jeanetta Daum.

The couple took over the store in September and have since hired a new staff, installed new bulbs and replaced all the acrylic. The salon offers monthly specials and is also honoring any minutes bought under the previous owners.

Electric Rayz is located at 1513 E. Malone and the phone number is (573) 472-0250. Fall hours are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Consignment shop opens in Benton

BENTON, Mo. — Times 2, a consignment shop, recently opened in Benton and is accepting consignment items for sale.

Items must be clean and in good condition. Staff members price and sell items and proceeds are split 50/50. The selection includes clothes and shoes for the entire family, purses, toys, housewares, movies, games and more.

Times 2 is located just off Interstate 55 on Highway 77 in Benton, across from Reeves Boomland. Store hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information call (573) 427-0171.

YHC-TV opens in Dexter

DEXTER, Mo. — YHC-TV Channel 21 opened its doors recently at the old "Metro" building in downtown Dexter. A ribbon cutting was held recently with the Chamber of Commerce and YHC employees.

Feed and pet store opens in Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Gray Bluff Feed & Pet, located at 3636 Highway 67 North, recently held a ribbon cutting in conjunction with the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the store's opening. Dustin Wiseman is manager, Don Aufdenberg is general manager, and Sheena Gray is assistant manager.

Disaster assistance for small businesses

Small, non-farm businesses in 40 Arkansas counties and neighboring areas in Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas may now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"These disaster loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike that occurred ... from Sept. 13, 2008 through Sept. 14, 2008," said Alfred E. Judd, director of SBA's Disaster Field Operation Center-West.

Qualifying Missouri counties include Butler, Dunklin, Oregon, Pemiscot, Ripley and Taney. Small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred. Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance and should contact the Farm Services Agency about the U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance available.

For information and application forms, call (800) 659-2955, e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

The deadline is June 22, 2009.

Bott Radio expands to Southeast Missouri

Four new radio stations hit the airwaves in Southeast Missouri on Nov. 1. Listeners can now hear 24-hour Bible teaching, Christian news and information on Bott Radio Network from Oran at 90.5 FM, in Cape Girardeau at 103.3 FM, in Scott City at 92.1 FM and in Sikeston at 99.7 FM. Executive vice president is Rich Bott.

In addition to Southeast Missouri, the network has 37 radio stations statewide. A further expansion into Poplar Bluff, Mo., is planned for 2009. Founded in 1962, Bott Radio Network currently broadcasts its format on 80 radio stations, reaching into 14 states with a combined coverage area of 40 million people. Broadcasts are also heard nationwide over the SkyAngel IPTV Channel 202, and worldwide online at www.bottradionetwork.com.

Zalma day care gets highest accreditation

ZALMA, Mo. — Simmers Daycare in Zalma was awarded Missouri Accreditation, the highest achievement for a child-care provider. Jacqueline Simmers was on hand to accept the award during a recent ceremony.

Publication honors Prudential Bridgeport

Roger Skinner of Prudential Bridgeport Inc. Realtors announced that Prudential Real Estate has been ranked highest for Seller satisfaction in J.D. Powers & Associates 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study. Prudential Bridgeport was started by the present owners, Skinner and David Dormeyer, 30 years ago and became a Prudential affiliate in 1993.

Jackson funeral home has permission for crematorium

McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson has been granted permission to build a crematorium. The new facility, which needs an air pollution permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, would be the only funeral-home operated crematorium in Cape Girardeau County. The board granted McCombs a special-use permit for the crematorium.

The new facility would be built about 100 feet behind McCombs' existing funeral home at 640 W. Independence St., owner Bruce Dockins told the board. The permit process with the state is just beginning, he added. He could not apply until he had been granted permission to build the cremation center by the aldermen, he said. If a permit is granted, Dockins said he expects to have construction completed sometime late next year.

Missourians to see increase in unemployment benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the unemployment rate reaches a 15-year high, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill applauded the passage of a bill in the United States Senate Nov. 21 to increase unemployment benefits. Over the past year, the U.S. economy has lost 1.2 million jobs, almost half in the last three months alone. States are facing budget shortfalls, and many families are struggling to meet basic needs.

The bill will grant unemployment benefits for an additional seven weeks for those who lost their jobs and already exhausted their benefits. For states that have been hit particularly hard by the economic slowdown and have unemployment rates higher than 6 percent, including Missouri with 6.4 percent unemployment, the bill provides an additional 13 weeks in benefits. Thus Missourians will qualify for an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits.

The House of Representatives already passed a version of the bill so the legislation will now go to the President for his signature or veto.

Storage systems business opens in Cape

On Sept. 23, Mark Rademaker opened Aardvark Storage Systems at 2958 Boutin Drive, which features 135 climate-controlled and nonclimate-controlled units complete with electronic door alarms, 42 parking spaces for RVs and a self-service kiosk for customers to rent a space without the owner being present. Each unit has an alarm system.

Call Aardvark Storage Systems at (573) 335-9988 or visit aardvarkstoragesystems.com.

Austin's of Alto Pass closes

After more than 23 years in business, the antique shop Austin's of Alto Pass, located in the old grade school in Alto Pass, Ill., has closed its doors. Owner Jan Austin plans to retire. The store held an open house sale in mid-November, and will remain open by appointment only through the end of 2008.

Home services contracted for veterans

SIKESTON, Mo. — A Plus Inc. Home Services has been contracted by Veteran's Home Care of Missouri to provide in-home services to veterans and surviving spouses.

A Plus provides in-home personal care, homemaker services respite, advanced personal care and skilled nursing. Vicki Curtis, owner, has 27 years of in-home nursing experience and has been in business since 1995. A Plus Inc. Home Services can also help veterans with obtaining this assistance.

Sikeston rental store has new location

SIKESTON, Mo. — Rent One recently held a grand opening ribbon cutting at its new location, 941 E. Malone. The move more than tripled the showroom area, said Charlie Lutes, store manager. The store offers rentals and purchases of appliances, furniture, electronics and home accents. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is (573) 471-5558.

Rapco/Horizon Manufacturing plant closes in Advance

ADVANCE, Mo. — A Nov. 3 letter to Advance Mayor James Hanes announced the closure of the Rapco/Horizon Manufacturing facility, which employed 87 management and hourly employees. Rapco/Horizon, also known as VTG Electronics, will close its operations on or about Jan. 3, 2009. The business operated in its present location since December 1994.

According to Dale Williams, president of the company, "The closure is dependent upon the completion of all activities at the facility and the consolidation of operations in another facility. Accordingly, while we believe that most, if not all, of the employees will lose their employment by the date of the shutdown, a small number of employees may be asked to continue working for a short period of time beyond this date."