Cape West 14 Cine to host event for children with disabilities

In a few weeks, Cape West 14 Cine will offer disabled children and their parents a chance to view a film in a setting quite unlike the normal theater.

Scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 13, the first ever Sensory Sensitive Saturdays will allow patrons to view the movie "Madagascar 2" in a setting adjusted for autistic and other disabled movie-goers with moderately dimmed lighting, no previews, lowered volume and comfortable temperature level. Guests will also be able to bring in food for children on a special diet. Children and parents may move around, sing and dance during the film if they wish.

Mike Sciortino of Ethan and Friends for Autism said that if this trial run is successful, he wouldn't rule out future Sensory Sensitive Saturdays.

"Some parents want to see how this experiment works," Sciortino said. "Some of the children may run around a lot and that's OK. If this goes over well we may do this more often."

Organizers prefer those interested in attending to e-mail them at hopperl@missouri.edu or james.sciortino@yahoo.com, though walk-ups will be welcome.

* Gospeland Christian Outlet moving back to mall: More than six years after moving out of West Park Mall, Gospeland Christian Outlet, 245 Broadview St., is planning a move back to its former home near J.C. Penney.

Some merchandise has already been moved inside the store. Gospeland Christian Outlet will fill the vacant spot formerly held by Kitchen Collection, one of the mall's Christmas seasonal stores that closed Dec. 31.

* Smoothie King coming to Cape: A franchise specializing in smoothies will soon open a store in Cape Girardeau.

Smoothie King is expected to open at 97 N. Kingshighway by spring.

Smoothie King serves just about every flavor and combination imaginable, or so it seems. Entrepreneur magazine ranked Smoothie King No. 1 in the juice bar category for the past 17 years.

* Final days of business for 3 R's Plus Supplies: By the end of the week Cape Girardeau will bid farewell to a supply store that has served thousands of teachers in the area since it opened in 1989. 3 R's Plus Supplies, 837 N. Kingshighway, plans to shut its doors permanently this weekend.

Owner Judy Borgfield said closing a store that has had so many customers over the years was a difficult but necessary decision. Borgfield said some interested parties wanted to purchase the business but were unable to secure loans.

She cited decreased revenue and approaching retirement her reasons for closing the business.

"People are just hesitant to spend money," Borgfield said. "They're not sure what's going to happen and are holding onto it.

"I've reached the age of retirement and my body is starting to tell me I can't do this like I used to," she said. "It's hard to give up a business that I've invested my time and money [in] for so many years."

* Jackson florist closes: Sweetheart Florist, 119 S. High St. in Jackson, has closed. While I wasn't able to find out the exact reason behind the closure, a message on the shop's telephone answering machine confirmed it is closed.

* Local bank acquires Jefferson County banks: First State Community Bank, which has branches in Cape Girardeau, Perryville, Mo., and Sikeston, Mo., has entered an agreement to purchase two Jefferson County banks. The Truman Bank branches are in Shady Valley, Mo., and Imperial, Mo.

The acquisition is expected to be complete by March, giving First State Community Bank $1 billion in assets.

* Medi-Spa opens in Cape: Sikeston, Mo.-based Skin Medics Medi-Spa has opened an office in Cape Girardeau, reported Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place Ltd., who handled the real estate transaction. The business at 1353 N. Mount Auburn Road, Suite C, offers medical supervised spa services such as Botox, chemical peels, acne treatment, photofacial and laser hair removal.

Formerly operating out of Belladona Salon Spa and Boutique at 201 S. Mount Auburn Road for a few months last year, the business outgrew its space. You can reach the spa, which is by appointment only for now, at 866-471-5476. Its website is skinmedicsmedispa.com.

* Co-founder of Lee-Rowan Co dies: E. Desmond Lee, co-founder of a company that eventually became Newell Rubbermaid, recently passed away. Lee, who died at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St Louis after complications from a stroke, was 92.

Under his leadership the plant that produced wire products had 25 employees in Jackson in 1963 and grew to 1,300 before the company was sold to Newell in 1993, according to his obituary. The company later changed its name to Newell Rubbermaid.

In addition to his time as a businessman, Lee was involved in a number of community organizations. His beneficiaries included Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, St. Louis Science Center and St. Louis Zoo.

* Saint Francis plans surgical suite: Saint Francis Medical Center plans to open a new hybrid endovascular neurosurgical suite by 2011. There are two typical methods of dealing with brain lesions or aneurysms. The first is the traditional approach where the patient is taken to surgery and the cranium is opened, allowing the surgeon to directly access the area of the brain where the injury, aneurysm or tumor is present. The second method, sometimes used before an open procedure, is to approach the brain through a blood vessel.

In the new suite, Dr. Louis P. Caragine Jr., a fellowship-trained vascular and endovascular neurosurgeon, can perform both the open and endovascular procedures without moving the patient. The room will also provide the enhanced imaging necessary to perform advanced diagnostics and interventions on these complex cases.

"A hybrid endovascular suite offers both endovascular equipment and traditional open surgery equipment in one room, providing the most efficient and safest environment for a patient's surgical care," Caragine said.

"It is safer for the patient because it provides all the resources of an operating room, should we need to convert the procedure to an open case."

Southeast Missourian business reporter Brian Blackwell may be contacted at 388.3628 or bblackwell@semissourian.com.<I>