Business briefs

__VINTAGE MARKETPLACE OPENS IN JACKSON__

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting April 3 for Vintage Marketplace Shabby Chic, a new shop at 129 S. High St. in Jackson. Gina D. Keith owns the business.

__INDUSTRIAL PARK QUALIFIES AS AT&T CERTIFIED FIBER PARK__

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perryville Industrial Park now qualifies as an AT&T Certified FiberPark, after AT&T placed fiber optic cable in the park for businesses and industries. The certification will help market the available space to companies wishing to relocate to the Perryville area, according to a news release from AT&T. A ribbon cutting was held April 17 with John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri.

__GAMING GROUNDS ADDS CAPE GIRARDEAU LOCATION__

Gaming Grounds, 709 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, opened April 1. This is the second location of the video game retail store and gaming hangout, its first being in Jackson.

__BUG ZERO PURCHASES CHAFFEE BUSINESS__

Bug Zero, 2128 William St., Suite 108, in Cape Girardeau, purchased Right-Way Pest Control, based in Chaffee, Mo., on March 19. Right-Way was operated until February by the late Hubert Burton.

__RENAISSANCE BEAUTY ACADEMY CUTS RIBBON__

Renaissance Beauty Academy, 268 S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting on April 10. The academy will train cosmetology students in a variety of salon professional services.

__SADI OPENS SECOND CAPE GIRARDEAU LOCATION__

SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, 755 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, celebrated the opening of its second Cape Girardeau location with a ribbon cutting on April 10.

__BAGBY INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS CHANGES NAME__

DEXTER, Mo. -- Bagby Investment Consultants changed its name to Bagby Wealth Management. According to a news release, the change better reflects the company's offerings and approach to serving the financial needs of clients.

__UNITED ACCESS OPENS IN CAPE GIRARDEAU__

United Access, 753 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting on April 10. United Access is a provider of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, driving systems, mobility seats, handicap lifts and other vehicle modifications.

__AT&T TO HIRE NEW EMPLOYEES NATIONWIDE__

AT&T announced it will hire more than 3,000 retail sales and sales management employees nationwide in the next several months to meet increased customer demand in its retail business. The company is seeking about 240 employees in Missouri, including about 130 retail employees. There are more than 10 retail positions open in Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Farmington, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff.

__REGIONAL COUNSELING MARKS 20 YEARS OF SERVICE__

Regional Counseling and Employee Assistance Services, 5303 Old Cape Road in Jackson, celebrated 20 years of service in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area.

__NEWSPAPER WINS BIG IN NATIONAL JOURNALISM CONTEST__

The Southeast Missourian won four first-place awards in the national Local Media Association contest. The newspaper was awarded the following: First place -- Best continuing coverage for coverage of Clay Waller, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of his wife, Jacque Waller; First place -- Best breaking news for "Waller gets 20"; First place -- Best front page; and First place -- Best niche product for Flourish, a magazine for Southeast Missouri women. The Southeast Missourian also received third place in best election coverage for its 8th Congressional District reporting.

__CHILD CONCERN CENTER CUTS RIBBON__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting April 11 for the Child Concern Center Inc., 601 Poplar St.

__BIG RIVER LAUNCHES NEW TOWER IN MILLERSVILLE__

Big River Broadband launched another tower in Cape Girardeau County on April 14. The tower is in Millersville and will deliver high-speed Internet service to the area. Big River is committed to building 58 towers in seven counties of Southeast Missouri; this one is the 37th. In addition to Cape Girardeau County, the intended service areas include parts of Washington, St. Francois, Bollinger, Madison, Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties.

__THREE RIVERS HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING, OPEN HOUSE FOR KENNETT CENTER__

KENNETT, Mo. -- Three Rivers College held a ribbon cutting and open house April 24 for the new location of its Center at Kennett, 1002 Great West Drive. The facility replaces the 10,000-square-foot space that previously housed the Center at Kennett, adding 7,000 square feet, according to a news release from the college. The space includes three master classrooms, a dedicated ITV classroom, two full computer labs and two state-of-the-art science labs. It also added a dedicated nursing classroom and skills lab, which has enabled the consolidation of its practical nursing programs previously held at outside facilities in Kennett and Hayti, Mo. The college is expanding its LPN-to-RN Bridge programs to include one housed at the Kennett facility.

__JAC ROOFING JOINS P.B. CHAMBER__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for JAC Roofing and Construction, 1111 West Pine St., which has joined the chamber membership.

__UNIVERSITY SHUTS DOWN STUDENT-RUN RADIO STATION__

Southeast Missouri State University pulled the plug on its student-run FM radio station 103.7 KDMC, otherwise known as Rage FM. The shutdown comes as the school is devoting more resources to preparing students for careers in multimedia journalism. The Department of Mass Media and Southeast's NPR-affiliate station 90.9 KRCU have established an internship program to be implemented this fall to give students a broader skill set, said Dr. Bruce Mims, faculty adviser to Rage FM. Students will continue to use the Rage FM facilities to create multimedia news content for KRCU, Southeast's student newspaper the Arrow, and some Rage FM programs that will continue to air online. The Department of Mass Media curriculum committee decided in 2010 that more multimedia newsgathering experience was necessary if graduates were to remain competitive in the job market. "We made the decision that the department would go from five options to four, and that journalism and radio would become the multimedia journalism option," said Dr. Karie Hollerbach, chairwoman of the Department of Mass Media. She explained that since the radio courses were phased out in 2012, the student radio station is no longer essential to the program. Paperwork is being filed with the FCC to stop broadcasting, though the university will retain the rights to the FM signal, Hollerbach said.

__UNIVERSITY THEATER PROGRAM ACCREDITED__

Southeast Missouri State University was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre, according to a news release from Southeast. The accreditation process examines a variety of program aspects from mission to content and quality of curriculum to student and alumni success in the field, recruitment, retention and diversity. It includes having the appropriate number of qualified faculty, appropriate number of staff, production and academic budgets that meet the national standard, and marketing and library holdings that meet certain criteria.

__FAIR-TRADE SHOP OPENS IN DOWNTOWN CAPE__

Lattitudes, 137 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting April 21. The retail establishment sells fair-trade goods.

__DONUT COMPANY OPENS IN DESLOGE__

DESLOGE, Mo. -- The Desloge Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting April 1 for The Donut Company, 1136 N. Desloge Drive, Suite A3 in Desloge. Rebecca Akins owns the new business.

__PIZZA HUT MOVES TO NORTH KINGSHIGHWAY__

Pizza Hut, 1015 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, celebrated the opening of its new location with a ribbon cutting April 22.

__FIRST MIDWEST BANK HOLDS GROUNDBREAKING__

First Midwest Bank held a groundbreaking April 25 for its new, permanent location at 1820 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

__BAGGER DAVE'S CLOSES__

Bagger Dave's Legendary Burger Tavern, 2102 William St. in Cape Girardeau, has closed.

__BLUFF FALLS SOLD, ADDITIONS PLANNED__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- United Parks announced the purchase of the former Bluff Falls Water Park. The park will reopen under new management and the name Hydro Adventures. United Parks will make other improvements throughout the year, including the addition of a new water slide named Twisted Six, opening July 4 weekend, a Triple Threat Basketball attraction, new go-carts, renovations to the mini-golf course and batting cages, and Halloween events in the fall. John Shanrock will be general manager of Hydro Adventures.

__DOLLAR GENERAL OPENS IN HARVIELL__

HARVIELL, Mo. -- Dollar General is now open at 5505 Highway 158 in Harviell.

__P.B. CHAMBER HOLDS RIBBON CUTTINGS__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Essential Trained Care Private Paid Services. The business, owned by Sandy Tolliver, offers nonmedical services, personal care, cleaning, transportation and other services. The chamber also held a ribbon cutting for the Poplar Bluff Regional Giving Circle, which has joined the chamber. The organization is made up of local individuals and groups who give monetary grants to not-for-profit organizations in the area.

__NEARLY PERFECT SHOES CELEBRATES 25 YEARS__

Nearly Perfect Shoes celebrated its 25th anniversary March 14. The family-owned business was founded by Alan and Jeannine Kaufman in 1989 and has locations in Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Dexter and Poplar Bluff, Mo.

__BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU TO OPEN CAPE OFFICE__

The Better Business Bureau will open a Cape Girardeau office this fall, according to an email from the BBB's office in St. Louis.

__BEGGS OPEN PIONEER MANUFACTURED HOMES__

Pioneer Manufactured Homes, at Highway 74 and Silver Springs Road in Cape Girardeau, opened in February by owners Bill and Diana Beggs. The couple also owns Pioneer Orchard, Pioneer Court and Pioneer Development.

__BOOTHEEL HARLEY-DAVIDSON HAS NEW OWNERS__

Bootheel Harley-Davidson, 2100 E. Outer Road North in Scott City, was bought by Lawless Harley-Davidson in January. The new owner/manager of the business is Brian Brockel.

__PIZZA HUT CUTS RIBBON FOR NEW LOCATION__

Pizza Hut/Wing Street, 1015 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting April 29.

__BE DAZZLED OPENS IN DEXTER__

DEXTER, Mo. -- The Dexter Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting to mark the grand opening of Be Dazzled, 221 N. Walnut St. The store sells women's clothing and accessories and also houses a tanning service. Amy Schatz owns the business.

__MALDEN LIBRARY BREAKS GROUND__

MALDEN, Mo. -- A groundbreaking was held April 18 for the Malden Branch of the Dunklin County Library, the Delta News Citizen reported. The new building at 1203 Stokelan Drive has an estimated completion date in winter 2015. The 10,000-square-foot L-shaped brick building will have an open concept design including a children's section, periodicals, comfortable chairs, a circulation desk, main book collection and 12 computers. The library's current location on Madison Street was built in 1965 and has outgrown the space, according to the library board.

__UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION PURCHASES BROADWAY BUILDING__

The Southeast Missouri University Foundation purchased the building at 1034 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, previously Dino's Pizza. Asbestos abatement will take place in the building over the next few weeks, and demolition of the building will begin the week of May 19. The property then will be seeded and become green space.

__BLOOMFIELD CHAMBER PRESENTS AWARDS__

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards banquet April 24, the Dexter Daily Statesman reported. Awards went to Sue Tippen, Lifetime Achievement Award; Stan Durham, Man of the Year; Penny Shatz, Woman of the Year; First Commercial Bank, Business of the Year; Terrie Rose, Educator of the Year; Roy and Rachel Ward, Farm Family of the Year; and Bloomfield High School Beta Club, Organization of the Year.

__MYATT'S EMPORIUM CUTS RIBBON__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Myatt's Drapery, Emporium and Storage, 3544 N. Westwood Blvd.

__CASTOR RIVER PARK HONORED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce chose Castor River Park, owned by Kyle McDowell, as its veteran business of the first quarter.

__SIKESTON CHAMBER PRESENTS AWARDS__

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston Regional Chamber of Commerce presented awards at its annual banquet April 25, the Sikeston Standard Democrat reported. Awards went to Charles Ancell, Lifetime Achievement Award; Teresa Bye, Citizen of the Year; Orgill Inc., Business of the Year; Sweetgum Gallery and Frame Shop, Small Business of the Year; Historic Downtown Sikeston, Civic Group of the Year; Diane Eberhard, Volunteer of the Year; Taylor Allen, Chamber Volunteer of the Year; Cal Crader, Sikeston Jaycees Distinguished Service Award; Michelle Gilmer, Educator of the Year; and Justin Wooten, Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

__BOLLINGER COUNTY CHAMBER ADDS MEMBER__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Bollinger County chamber of Commerce added Patton Junction Services Inc. as a new member in April. The convenience store, deli and gas station, owned by Paul Tlapek and Scott Smith, is at the junction of Highways 72 and 51 in Patton, Mo.

__ANGELS & MORE RELOCATES__

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Angels & More moved to 919 S. Kingshighway in Sikeston.

__TAILWINDS HOBBY CENTER MOVES__

Tailwinds R/C Hobby Center moved one door to 21 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau, making room for additional products and services.