1999 BUSY FOR BUSINESS COMMUNITY

4. While the business may be new, the face will be distinctly familiar to anyone who has maintained any type of water craft in the Jackson area. George Dickerson has opened George's Marine at 1005 S. Hope (Hwy 25 South). Dickerson, though, had fixed boat motors and done other marine-related repair work, for 20 years at B & B Marine in Jackson.

6. The renewal of a liquor license in Cape Girardeau is generally a matter of routine. It is a formality the city and the alcohol retailer or bar owner must go through each year. Most of the time the renewal process goes through without any problems or questions, but that isn't always the case. Last year, Chances Sports Bar, 823 S. Kingshighway, couldn't get a liquor license from the city because there were problems at the bar when it was Peppy's Sports Bar. The former manager, David Armour, bought the bar and renamed it Chances. City officials weren't convinced Armour would solve the problems of assaults in the bar. So Armour went to the state to get a resort license to sell alcohol. Under the law, if a place sells at least $75,000 in sales and at least $50,000 of that is non-alcoholic, the bar can qualify for the resort license. The state recently revoked Chances' resort license, and there will be an appeal hearing Thursday.

6. You need only to follow your nose downtown to find the Port Cape Girardeau, the city's premier rib restaurant for a quarter century. The restaurant, in a historic three-level, 163-year-old building at Water and Themis streets, is regionally known for its hickory-smoked barbecue ribs and pond-raised boneless catfish filets. The menu includes a variety of sandwiches, salads and other side orders. Dennis "Doc" Cain, the restaurant's owner since 1988, says the secrets to great ribs are: "A quality cut of meat, the right rub with a blend of seasonings, a lot of smoke, slow cooking and a superb sauce or two." The secret to maintaining a high-quality restaurant for 25 years, Cain says, is appealing menus and new service options.

6. NAPA-Sappington Auto Parts, 4536 E. Jackson Blvd., Jackson, recently held its grand opening for its new NAPA affiliation. Gary Sappington is owner of the business.

9. Circuit Judge John Grimm won't issue an injunction that would have allowed a Cape Girardeau bar to continue selling alcohol while it appeals to the Division of Liquor Control for a new liquor license. Grimm rejects the petition for a preliminary injunction in a one-page ruling following a court hearing yesterday on Chances Sports Bar owner Doug Armour's petition for an injunction. Grimm rules that he had no authority under state law to issue an injunction when there hasn't been any final administrative decision by Liquor Control.

9. A former employee of Riggs Wholesale Company in Sikeston is suspected of setting fire to the business as part of a scheme to defraud the company. Donna J. Wages, 43, of Sikeston appears in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau on charges of arson and using fire to commit a felony. A federal grand jury issued the two-count indictment Thursday charging her with arson and use of fire to commit a felony. If found guilty on both counts, Wages faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

12. The Furniture Garden has opened at 18 N. Sprigg in Cape Girardeau. The new furniture store is an expansion of a business operated by Wally Rexroad over the past dozen years. Bill Lamberson is an associate in the business.

12. Certified public accountants Melvin H. Schmidt and Susan K. Frey have formed an accounting partnership, Schmidt & Frey LLC, 1930 Independence in Cape Girardeau.

18. Larry Davis and Beverly Hill are new owners of Cross Creek Antique Mall, 422 Old Cape Road, in Jackson. The antique mall originally opened in September of 1997.

26. Riverbirch Antique Gallery has reopened in a new 30,000-square-foot space at the former Riverbirch Mall. The Gallery, which includes more than 40 dealers, has been operating in another section of the mall since a fire damaged the mall more than a year ago. The new location features all new decor, built-in glass showcases and security system. Brenda and Larry DeWitt are owners of the gallery.

26. In 1909, Barrett Cotner owned one of Henry Ford's Model T cars which were suddenly the rage of the automotive world. So he opened the doors to Auto Tire & Parts on Spanish Street because he couldn't find parts for his car. The Cape Girardeau business is observing its 90th year in business. Auto Tire & Parts is now headquartered at 212 S. Kingshighway, and includes locations in 24 Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois communities, where the company provides employment to more than 125 workers.

29. A half-dozen giant storage tanks have been set in place at the BioKyowa Inc. L-lysine plant in Nash Road Industrial Park. The tanks each about 50 feet long, 21 feet in diameter and weighing more than 150,000 pounds were moved through the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority by Girardeau Stevedores to trucks that hauled them to BioKyowa as part of the company's $35 million expansion of its agriculture feed-supplement plant. Construction also is continuing on BioKyowa's $50 million Kyowa Foods plant. Expansion of the L-lysine plant and construction of the Kyowa Food plant were announced in 1998. They represent a total investment of $85 million and 100 new jobs.

31. The Downtown Merchants Association has launched a fund-raising project to help fund Southeast Missouri State University's proposed River Campus. The association is selling hand-engraved, three-dimensional flag prints designed by downtown artist Don Greenwood that read "Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Home of Rush Limbaugh." The 11-by-14-inch matted print, made with five hand-engraved dyes, creates a three-dimensional effect with gold-embossed lettering.

30. Banking was more fun before the era of computerization, says William L. Bowers. "People were people, not numbers." Bowers, a veteran banker who puts in his final day at Union Planters Bank, is guest of honor during a retirement party held at Cafe Cape earlier in the day. Bowers, who retired with 52 years of banking service, and a number of other retired bankers who had worked in the industry more than 40 years talk about a bygone era in banking circles during the get-together.