STRICTLY BUSINESS: CATCHING UP: INSURANCE ID CARD TAKES NEW MEANING

That insurance identification card your auto insurance company sends you has taken on new importance.

In accordance with a new state law that went into effect Jan. 1, Missouri vehicle owners must show their insurance ID card when they renew their license plates.

I was reminded of this when I appeared at the driver's license bureau minus the card.

A lot of people in line had to leave without their new license because they didn't have the card with them. I was fortunate, I had to make only a short trip to car to get the card.

It's also important for motorists to keep the ID card in their vehicles at all times. The law also allows police officers to issue citations to motorists unable to produce proof of insurance at an accident or when stopped for any reason.

That citation could man a two-point violation on your driving record.

Insurance identification cards are not new to Missouri vehicle owners. The state has required drivers to keep some proof of liability insurance in their car since 1987.

All auto insurance companies are required to furnish their customers with policy ID cards, which can be used as legal proof of coverage.

If you don't have an ID Card, it's a good idea to contact your insurance agency or company to receive one.

If an ID card is not available, the Missouri Department of Revenue will accept a copy of the policy, an insurance binder (temporary policy) or a payment receipt that shows the policy and vehicle information.

Missouri law requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance before being allowed to register or drive a car. The minimum liability insurance required by law is $25,000 for each personal injury in an accident, $50,000 for all people injured in one accident and $10,000 for damaged property of others.

Wow! New chips

Wow chips, those low-fat Ruffles and Lays varieties, are being produced at the new Frito-Lay Inc. plant that opened this year at Jonesboro, Ark.

Frito-Lay, which looked at sites in Southeast Missouri -- Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, Sikeston and Malden, West Tennessee and North Mississippi during an 18-month search -- selected Jonesboro in 1996. The plant is projected to have a $4 billion impact to the Jonesboro area during the next decade.

The plant, an $85 million, 400,000-square-foot facility, will eventually employ 700 people and produce a variety of Frito-Lay products.

The plant, in the 800-acre Craighead Technology Park at Jonesboro, is one of five in the United States making Wow products.

The new Wow chips contain the artificial fat substance Olestra, which was developed by Procter & Gamble Inc. in late 1995 and early 1996.

The zero-calorie artificial fat was approved by the Food and Drug Administration Jan. 25, 1996.

Reducing 'junk mail'

Want to reduce your "junk mail?"

Or, all those telephone "sales" calls?

Illinois State Rep. David D. Phelps, D-Eldorado, has some suggestions.

"It is surprisingly easy to reduce or eliminated both junk mail and sales calls," said Phelps. "There are some free services available to remove names from a variety of lists."

These include:

-- DMA, Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, N.Y., 11735-9008.

-- Equifax Options, 1-800-556-4711.

-- Trans Union: 1-800-680-7293.

-- Experian Credit Marketing "OPT-OUT," 1-800-353-0809.

According to the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, it may take up to three months before you notice a significant reduction in the amount of direct mail and phone calls you receive.

But if you make the contacts suggested above, you will be removed from a number of lists and will note a reduction.

Under federal and state law, said Phelps, these opt-out options will not remove your name from the mailings lists of religious and charitable organizations, professional and alumni associations and political candidates. These must be contacted separately. They, then, are bound by law to remove your name from their lists.

Paving the way

A construction contract has been awarded to replace a bridge on Route HH in Scott County, paving the way for an eventual Interstate 55 interchange north of Sikeston, which will lead to the new Sikeston Business and Technological Park.

The new industrial park will be home to the new Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream Co. facility, a $35 million, 200,000-square-foot plant, and Atlas Cold Storage Missouri, a 185,000-square-foot warehouse facility.

The bridge replacement contract, for replacing a bridge over St. John's Ditch, was awarded to Dumey Excavation of Benton for $540,306.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.