MEMO

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

Counselor Gil Degenhardt will be available Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The counseling sessions, which last about an hour, are free. Call 335-3312 for an appointment.

He will conduct sessions at the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce Aug. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon. Appointments are available by calling 471-2498.

Degenhardt will hold sessions at the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission office in Perryville Aug. 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are available by calling 547-8357.

Sessions will be held at Malden Aug. 18, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Malden Chamber of Commerce office. Appointments are available by calling 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. Goal of the center is to stimulate diversity and growth in small businesses by assisting new and existing businesses to become more productive and profitable.

Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport flight boardings continue to increase.

July boardings were 604, up from the previous high of 563 in June. Boardings topped the 500 mark in April, at 510, and increased to 521 in May. Airline enplanements at the airport for the first half of this year are up 24 percent over the first half of 1993.

Trans World Express has three flights daily -- Mondays through Fridays -- from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis.

Construction is moving at a healthy pace in Missouri.

F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill, an authority on the construction market, reported total construction for the first half of 1994 at $2.8 billion, up 17 percent over the $2.4 billion during the same period in 1993.

Nonresidential construction, which includes commercial, manufacturing and other buildings not designed for shelter, was reported at $994,267,000, up 1 percent over the $980,466,000 during the same period of 1993.

Residential construction for the year through June is up 18 percent, at $1,288,890,000 in 1994, compared to $1,087,757,000 during the same period in 1993.

Nonbuilding construction, which includes streets, highways, bridges, river and harbor developments, airports and a few other projects, was reported at $520,657,000 for the year, up 57 percent over the $332,005,000 for the same period a year ago.

Nonresidential construction in the state in May was reported at $211,473,000, up 36 percent from 1993 June totals of $155,569,000. Residential construction for May was $240,305,000, up 5 percent from the $228,798,000 in May 1993; and nonbuilding construction was up 60 percent, from $78,941,000 in June 1993, to $126,920,000 in June 1994. Total June construction was $577,920,000, 25 percent over the $463,308,000 in June 1993.

Mercantile Bancorporaton Inc., headquartered at St. Louis, has declared a quarterly dividend of 28 cents per share of common stock, payable Oct. 3 to shareholders of record Sept. 10.

Moorman's Feed will host an open house Saturday at its warehouse near Interstate 55 and Highway 61, on County Road 307. The event, to be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will introduce new products and equipment.

On hand to answer questions will be specialists in several areas: James Neel, beef; Magdalena Kurz, dairy; Gary McKibben and Mike Hooper, swine; and Richard Klusmeyer, horses.

Swine seedstock companies also will send representatives.

A back-to-school fashion show will be held at Kmart, 11 S. Kingshighway, Saturday. Lois Culver of Kmart's Good News Committee said the fashion show will start at 11:30 a.m.

My Daddy's Cheesecake isn't just for dessert anymore.

Tom Harte, head chef at the gourmet bakery, 111 N. Main, has developed a line of appetizer cheesecakes to complement the firm's award-winning dessert cheesecakes.

The new flavors include sun-dried tomato-herb cheesecake, jalapeno cheesecake and spinach cheesecake.

The new cheesecakes are a unique way to start a meal, said Lauchette Low, My Daddy's manager. "They are a novel twist on cheese and crackers."