BUSINESS MEMO

Tuesday

Jackson Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5 p.m., Commerce Bank at Jackson.

Aug. 17

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5 p.m., Show Me Center.

Aug. 18

Perry County meeting, American Legion, 6:30 p.m., Dean Kleckner, president of American Farm Bureau, to speak.

SBDC counseling session, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office, one-hour sessions, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 335-3312 for appointment.

Aug. 19

SBA/SBDC workshop on SBA loan programs, 1 W. St. Joseph St., Perryville, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Dean Kleckner, president of American Farm Bureau, to speak at noon luncheon at Midwest Grain and Barge, Southeast Missouri Regional Port.

Cape County meeting, Knights of Columbus Hall, Jackson, 6:30 p.m., Dean Kleckner to speak.

Aug. 26

New Sales Tax Exemption on Replacement Parts seminar, Drury Lodge, Cape Girardeau.

Aug. 27 and 28

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce BBQ Fest, Arena Park.

Newspapers purchased

Rust Communications Inc., headquartered in Cape Girardeau, has purchased two newspapers in Arkansas -- The Tri-City Tribune in Poinsett County and the Trumann Democrat of Trumann.

Rust Communications owns 10 Arkansas newspapers, including a daily at Blytheville, said Ron Kemp, who manages Rust's Arkansas newspapers, along with his wife, Nancy.

John Boxley, publisher and editor of the 1,590-circulation Tri-City Tribune, will remain with the paper, and Charles Nix, former owner of the 1,930-circulation Trumann Democrat, will stay on as general manager.

Rust Communications also owns newspapers in Indiana, Iowa and Missouri, including the Southeast Missourian at Cape Girardeau; Standard-Democrat at Sikeston; Daily Statesman at Dexter, Daily American Republic at Poplar Bluff; and Daily Dunklin Democrat in Kennett, dailies in Southeast Missouri..

Jackson chamber picnic

The Jackson Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Chamber Picnic Sept. 9 at Jackson City Park.

The picnic committee is planning activities and events for adults and children.

The Jackson Chamber's Business After Hours session will be held Tuesday, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at Commerce Bank, 2025 E. Jackson Blvd.

Construction up in state

Commercial construction is down, but increases in residential and nonbuilding categories have helped shove total construction up in Missouri for the first half of the year.

Statewide totals through June were reported at $3,336,952, up 3 percent from the $3,236,537 during the same 6-month span a year ago, according to the F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill, an authority on the construction market.

Nonresidential construction -- bridges, dams, sewage systems, utility and supply systems -- totaled more than $800 million for the year, up 35 percent from the $605 million of a year ago.

Residential construction for the first half of the year, is $1.5 billion, up 12 percent from the $1.34 billion of 1998, Commercial construction is down, 22 percent, dropping from the $1.2 billion of 1998, to almost $999 million this year.

Nonbuilding construction soared in June, from $86 million a year ago to more than $150 million in June. Meanwhile total construction for June was up 17 percent, with increases of $320 million to $194 million in commercial and $298 million to $277 million in residential.

Down in Cape Girardeau

A jump in second-quarter -- April, May, June -- permits in Cape Girardeau narrowed the construction gap between this year and last, but the half-year totals are still off the 1998 pace.

Totals through June show 194 permits in the amount of $17,588,241, down from the 261 permits in the amount of $21,252,732 during the same period a year ago.

Two-thirds of the construction activity came during the second quarter, with 120 permits, valued at $12.3 million.

Forty-one of the year's permits have been for single-family housing, in the amount of $5,744,465 and 15 permits for multi-family buildings (15 units), in the amount of $1.8 million.

Fueling the second-quarter statistics were a couple of million-dollar-plus projects and three projects in the $800,000 range, including two school projects, $1.6 million for Alma Schrader and $1 million at Clippard schools. Other notable permits were $890,000 for St. Francis Medical Center; $830,000 for a new Circuit City structure; and $800,000 Physicians Alliance building.

These totals do not include expansion construction at Procter & Gamble and BioKyowa.

Crystal colors

There's something new on the Reynolds plastic wrap scene -- crystal colors.

Reynolds has introduced its plastic wrap in a variety of colors -- green, blue, yellow, rose, violet.

Tax exemption seminar

A "New Sales Tax Exemption on Replacement Parts: Employer Filing Procedures" seminar will be held in Cape Girardeau later this month.

The special workshop, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Revenue and the Associated Industries of Missouri (AIM), will be held Aug. 26 at the Drury Lodge.

Department of Revenue representatives will attend the luncheon program to discuss the tax exemption and filing procedures.

Additional information is available by calling the AIM office at Jefferson City, 573-634-2246.

Safety program

The Carpenters District Council of Greater St. Louis, AFL-CIO, has conducted a job-site safety program in Cape Girardeau.

The council conducts the safety sessions periodically to discuss safety on the job. The latest session was held for construction workers at BioKyowa.

Vic Sunshine, a safety program instructor with Associated General Contractors of St. Louis, talked about safety equipment and showed videos on working in the heat. An A.C.G. safety van with special safety equipment was on display.

Good retail sales

Retail sales were better than expected in July, proving a third straight month of robust sales.

Big winners in July were the discount chains, as shoppers turned to stores like Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart for a wide selection and affordable prices.

Also faring well were specialty clothing chains, such as the Limited and Ann Taylor, and Federated Department Stores, which includes the Bloomingdale's and Macy's chains. Stores offering consumer electronics and jewelry chains also reported strong sales in July.

Even JCPenney, which has been struggling in recent months, reported surprising sales gains last month.