1999 BUSY FOR BUSINESS COMMUNITY

1. CHAFFEE Columbia Sportswear Co. is planning to close its Chaffee plant next spring. Representatives from the company's headquarters in Portland, Ore., say the closure is a move to reduce costs and enhance operating efficiency. It will enable the company to focus on other areas, including product design and marketing. The factory in Chaffee is the only manufacturing operation Columbia owns and represents a small percent of total production.

6. Ronald McDonald has been kidnapped, and owner Jerry Davis is waiting by the phone. The life-size fiberglass Ronald McDonald statue was stolen from his park bench outside the McDonald's at 3419 William. "I'm heartbroken," says Davis. "I'm sitting around waiting for the ransom call."

6. Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co. is the second two-time winner of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Commitment of Excellence award. P&G, the chamber's third Industry of the Year recipient in 1990, receives the Industry of the Year trophy again. Approximately 750 people attend the chamber's Industrial Appreciation Dinner at the Show Me Center.

7. Donut Drive-In, 1617 Independence, is closed by the Cape Girardeau County Health Department for several hours. Responding to a complaint, department inspectors find that a sewer had backed up at Donut Drive-In, and they order the business closed until the problem is resolved and the area disinfected. Sanitizing is completed the same day.

11. Hefner's Furniture and Appliance, headquartered at Poplar Bluff, will open a warehouse outlet store in Farmington this month. Joe Joiner, who has been with Hefner's four years, will be general manager. The new store will be at 4850 Highway 67 N. in Farmington.

18. JACKSON 130 Jackson Blvd. Rick Smith is general manager of the local office.

21. Missouri Goodwill Industries has returned to Cape Girardeau. A crowd of more than 250 is on hand for the grand-opening of Goodwill's full-line retail operation at 250 Silver Springs Road. The new, 9,500-square-foot store is packed with merchandise for the opening. On hand for the gala extravaganza are Cape Girardeau mayor Al Spradling III, chamber of commerce officials, and representatives of Missouri Goodwill Industries, including Neil Brown, Goodwill Divisional Director, and Sheila Kilgore public relations director for Goodwill. Also on hand is Elvis Presley impersonator Terry Spurgin, St. Louis, who mixes with the crowd throughout the morning.

25. Schott Electrical Distributors Inc., 1109 N. Kingshighway, is observing its 40th anniversary in Cape Girardeau. The company was founded in 1959, by William B. Schott and his children Dorothy Schott Holland, Harold Schott and Robert Schott. Schott Electric started by selling electrical item, cooling products, lighting and appliances. In 1975, Schott Electrical Distributors became distributor for the Allen Bradley line of automation and industrial controls. The company started focusing on industrial and commercial business. In 1982, Robert Schott became sole owner of the company. In 1998, Schott Electrical became Schott Electric Supply, a division of SMC Electric Supply, headquartered in Springfield, which purchased the local company.