CENTER LOOKING TO PROSPECTIVE EMBLOYEES

That's Lowe's, not Lowell's.

Lowe's Companies Inc., which is looking to a late February opening in Cape Girardeau, will soon be talking to prospective employees.

"We've already had inquiries," said Jim Lunn, who will be manager of the local store. "Among questions being posed is one asking if we're going to remain open this time."

Some job applicants, it appears, are confusing the names of Lowe's and Lowell's.

Lowe's is one of the nation's largest home center retailers and operates more than 300 stores in 20 states, located primarily in the south Atlantic and south central regions of the country.

Lowell's, which closed in Cape Girardeau last year, was a retailer of jewelry, household items and toys. The store was situated at the intersection of Bloomfield Road and Kingshighway. The firm was founded at Bloomington, Ill., in 1963.

"We've been around almost half a century," said Lunn. "Lowe's is a Fortune 500 company, one of the nation's top 50 retailers, and has been recognized as one of the `Top 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.'"

Lowe's started operations in 1946 and has been a publicly held company since 1961. The firm employs more than 20,000 nationally. Lowe's employees own 24 percent of the company's approximately 73 million shares of outstanding common stock, through participation in Lowe's Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

"We're proud to become a part of the Cape Girardeau community," said Lunn. "Most of the store's employees will be local residents, including many of the store's management personnel."

Individuals interested in applying for employment should watch for the company's employment advertising, which will appear in Sunday's Southeast Missourian.

"A Lowe's store of this size typically employs more than 150 people," said Lunn. "We'll need sales associates with retail experience for each of our many departments."

Full and part-time positions are also available for customer-oriented tradespeople -- plumbers, painters, carpenters, electricians -- who want to share their expertise with customers, noted Lunn. "We will also need cashiers and customer sales associates as well as associates in delivery and receiving."

The new, 124,000-square-foot facility is being constructed on a site southeast of Cape Girardeau's Wal-Mart Supercenter, west of Interstate 55.

"We hope to open in late February 1994," said Lunn. "The store is a retail operation in a warehouse design. We offer huge assortments of home improvement products at competitive prices. We also offer comprehensive services, both to the `do-it-yourselfer' and the professional builder."

The store will contain a dozen departments, which include a full lawn and garden/nursery department, building materials/lumber, and completely stocked departments in electrical, plumbing, hardware, tools and paint.

The facility will also include a large home decor department featuring electronics, appliances, flooring and a full kitchen design department with kitchens on display.

Plasco Stripping has opened at 2528 Boutin Drive.

Plasco provides a new process for stripping paint off automobiles and other surfaces.

"The process is similar to sandblasting," said Sonny Chamberlain, owner of the new business. "It employs pneumatically-conveyed particles to remove the unwanted surface from a given substance."

The new Plastic Media Blasting (PMB) utilizes plastic particles, rather than silica sand or other hard abrasives.

"The plastic media is harder than paint and other coatings, but softer than the underlying surface," said Chamberlain. "The PMB process, therefore, can be used on almost all surface coatings, such as acrylic lacquer, carbon build-up, enamel and other coatings."

The process also offers some big advantages for area body shops, noted Chamberlain.

"The day or two days previously needed to remove the paint from an entire automobile has been narrowed to a few hours," he said. "We can take the paint off a complete car within two to three hours. This means auto body shops can process a higher volume of cars in less time."

Altenthal's Sporting Goods has moved to the Plaza Galleria, 2001 Independence in Cape Girardeau.

"We've increased our space and are expanding our inventory," said Brad Altenthal, who founded the business in June of 1992 at 1901 Independence.

The retail business provides soccer, baseball, softball and hockey equipment and apparel.

"We can also provide uniforms," said Altenthal.

The business is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Sprigg Street Medical Center, which for the past year has served almost 3,000 people who previously had limited or no access to medical care, has closed.

"It's with real regret that we make this announcement," said Dr. William O.L. Seabaugh, a long-time physician who founded and managed the facility at 24 N. Sprigg following his retirement from active practice. "We've been open just over a year. We feel that the clinic is needed, but we don't have funds to keep it going."

Dr. Sandra Grummert, who opened a private medical practice in April at the rear of 24 N. Sprigg, will continue to maintain her offices there.

The closing of the Sprigg Street Medical Center will not affect the operation of Dr. Grummert's practice.

UPDATES:

Construction is continuing on the new, five-story Drury Inn, located near the intersection of Interstate 55 and Route K.

The new motel, owned and operated by Drury Inns Inc., is scheduled for a spring opening.

Work is also continuing on an Italian restaurant, which is being constructed near the intersection of Independence and Kingshighway.

The new Salvation Army building is beginning to take shape at the corner of Sprigg and Good Hope.

Players International Riverboat Casino will open a new casino at Lake Charles, La., early next month. The new operation is scheduled to open Thursday, Dec. 2. Players currently operates a riverboat casino at Metropolis, Ill.

The new China Palace Chinese restaurant is now open at 1731 Broadway. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and features a drive-through facility. Owners of the new business are Xuesong Zhang, a research instructor at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and his wife, Ying Yu.

ELSEWHERE:

Two Poplar Bluff manufacturers have received honors, a roller rink has opened at Sikeston and a theater has reopened at East Prairie.

The Poplar Bluff Briggs & Stratton plant has achieved a special ISO 9000 rating, which will allow the plant unrestricted access to international markets, including the European Community; and Gate Rubber Co. has received a quality supplier award.

"About 35 percent of the products from the Poplar Bluff Briggs & Stratton plant are exported to Europe," said Briggs & Stratton quality assurance officer Steve Doyle, who explained that the ISO 9000 rating is presented to facilities, not companies. "Briggs & Stratton plants at Milwaukee, Wis., and Murray, Ky., have not received the recognition. Eventually all companies engaged in European commerce will have to attain the special rating."

Gates Rubber received its quality supplier award recently from J.I. Case, a 150-year-old company which builds tractors, combines, field loaders and other farm and construction equipment. Case uses curved rubber and silicone hoses manufactured by the Poplar Bluff Gates plant.

Brown's Rock-n-Roller Rink opened recently in Sikeston.

The Browns -- Bert and Donna and sons Scott, Shawn and Jimmy -- operate the new family business.

The Browns were previously from Bradford, Tenn.

"Movies And More" has opened at 11 W. Main in East Prairie. The 250-seat theater, formerly the Delmo Theater, is open Friday through Sunday.

Leo Martin and Sue Bennett are owners of the new business.

Illinois Liquor Mart has opened near Dahlgren, Ill. The business is a familiar one in Southern Illinois, with 14 locations, including Cairo, Anna-Jonesboro, and Murphysboro.

CLOSINGS:

Ben's, a clothing store at Sikeston, announced recently that it will close after a quarter century of business. Ben's, 806 S. Kingshighway, will have sales hours of 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily.

Hess's has closed at Kentucky Oaks Mall. The Paducah store is closing as part of a cutback intended to trim the retailer to 30 stores. The company is also closing a store at Clarksville, Tenn.