BUSINESS MEMO

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions in three areas this month.

The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available May 24, 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 (314)-335-3312 for appointment.

He will conduct sessions at the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce May 23, from 9 to 11 a.m. Appointments are available by calling (314)-471-2498. He will hold sessions at the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning office in Perryville May 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are available by calling (314)-547-8357.

Sessions will be held May 18 at the Malden Chamber of Commerce office, from 9 to 11 a.m. Appointments are available by calling (314)-276-4519.

The Small Business Development Center represents a "Partnership for Economic Development" between Southeast Missouri State University, the U.S. Small Business Administration, local financial institutions, area utility companies and Southeast Missouri municipalities. The goal of the center is to stimulate diversity and growth in small-business by assisting new and existing businesses to become more productive and more profitable.

CARBONDALE, Ill. - More than $700 was raised for the Gateway Youth Care program during a recent VIP party celebrating the opening of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar at 1125 E. Main, Carbondale.

Gateway Youth Care is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for teens in Illinois.

The new restaurant which opened in Carbondale last month is the fifth Applebee's for DeStock Inc., headquartered in Cape Girardeau. DeStock operates Applebee's in Cape Girardeau, Paducah, Ky., Owensboro, Ky., and Terre Haute, Ind.

Dennis Stockard, owner of DeStock Inc., Dan Chandler, director of operations for DeStock, and the Applebee's management team sponsored the VIP party. The Gateway funds were raised by donations of 50 cents per beverage during the party.

Applebee's International Inc., headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., develops, franchises and operates more than 500 restaurants in 43 states.

Janie Davie, customer service representative of the First National Bank at Sikeston, recently attended a Missouri Banker Association conference.

Topics at the meeting included educational programming via satellite, motivational techniques, interstate banking and fair lending practices.

Coming up:

May 9 -- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce one-day membership blitz, 7:30 a.m. kickoff breakfast, Drury Lodge; 4 p.m. wrap-up.

May 16 -- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce "Business After Hours," 5 to 6:30 p.m., Show Me Center.

May 18 -- Rural Issues Public Forum, Sikeston Ramada Inn, 7 p.m.

Spartech Corp. has declared a special dividend of 3 cents a share, payable May 31, to common shareholders of record May 15. Spartech directors also reconfirmed their intent to start a regular quarterly cash dividend, also likely in the amount of 3 cents a share, in June.

Spartech, headquartered in St. Louis, is an intermediate processor of thermoplastics which develops and converts resins into semifinished products for a wide spectrum of manufacturing customers.

The company has 14 facilities nationwide, including two at Cape Girardeau -- Spartech Plastics, 2500 Spartech Drive, and Spartech Compounding on Nash Road.

The Fastenal Co., a national distributor of threaded metal products and related construction supplies, reported an increase in net sales during the first quarter.

The company, which has a branch at 2228 Bloomfield Road in Cape Girardeau, had sales of $51 million, up from the $33.9 sales during the same period in 1994. Earnings per share were 16 cents for the first quarter, compared to 9 cents a year ago. Net earnings were $6.1 million compared to $3.4 million in 1994.

Fastenal opened 22 new outlets during the quarter, bringing the total of stores to 346 throughout the United States and Canada.

A Rural Issues Public Forum will be held at the Ramada Inn in Sikeston May 18.

Among topics to be discussed during the 7 p.m. forum will be rural housing, telecommunications infrastructure and wages.

The forum will be sponsored by the Executive Committee of the Missouri Rural Opportunities Council, the Bootheel Planning Commission, the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission and the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning & Economic Development Commission.

The forum is free, and participants will have an opportunity to comment.

Additional information is available by contacting MoROC, (314)-751-1238.

ConAgra Inc. of Omaha, Neb., has agreed to buy Chicago-based Quaker Oats Co.'s Van Camp's canned beans and Wolf Brand chili businesses for an undisclosed sum.

Annual sales of the two businesses are $180 million.

ConAgra, a diversified food company, said it intends to operate the businesses as part of Hunt Foods Co., an independent operating company of ConAgra's Hunt-Wesson Inc. The acquisition requires regulatory approval.