Heard on the Street

OZARK OLYMPIC TORCHBEARERS

First it was Carol Cruise, City Utilities' director of transit services, who was named as an Olympic torchbearer, and now it's Alvin Rohrs, president and chief executive officer of Students in Free Enterprise. Rohrs, of Bolivar, and Cruise, of Marshfield, are two of 11,500 torchbearers who were chosen to carry the Olympic flame, which was lighted in Olympia, Greece, to St. Lake City where the 2002 Winter Olympics begin Feb. 8. Rohrs and Cruise, who were selected from among 210,000 nominees for the honor, will each carry the torch two-tenths of a mile Jan. 8 or 9 in the St. Louis area. The torch landed Dec. 4 in Atlanta, Ga., where it last rested on American soil, and then began its 13,500-mile journey through 46 states, including, for the first time, Alaska.

AND THAT'S NO BULL

Some might forget that southwest Missouri is known for its outstanding beef production, but Crystal Mathews, an 18-year-old University of Missouri freshman from Carthage, never forgets it. In fact, Mathews, the newly crowned Beef Queen, owns 35 head of cattle herself. She received her title at the mid-December annual meeting of the Missouri Cattleman's Convention. Mathews grew up on a beef-producing family farm, an experience which helped her reap the reward of a $1,000 scholarship, as well as the chance to be a spokesperson on a subject in which she is well-versed. "I'm so thankful for the values and character that were instilled in me," Mathews said. She also serves at the 2002 National Beef Ambas-sador and is a state Future Farmers of America officer.

LITERACY COUNCIL HOURS EXPAND

Mick Denniston, new executive director of the Ozarks Literacy Council, has expanded the council's regular business hours to 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, effective immediately. "We want to establish clear and concise times when potential learners, volunteers or donors can reach us, either by phone or just dropping in for a visit," said Denniston. The office is at 410 South Ave. "Teaching can happen on a flexible and varied schedule, but our office will be open with set hours that the public can count on. If a caller gets the message machine, it's going to be because we are all helping folks on other phone lines, not because no one is here!," Denniston said. He added that the new year will be one of significant expansion for the 30-year-old literacy organization.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

At the Discovery Center, that is. Its next traveling exhibit, "Visions of the Universe," will explore the boundaries between art and science. The exhibit, which runs Jan. 25-March 24, includes a spectacular, or should we say, "stellar," collection of paintings and photographs of planets, constellations and space wonders. The new exhibit includes 18 original astronomical paintings by Joe Tucciarone, including images of massive galaxies and newborn stars. Tucciarone's paintings have appeared in National Geographic, among other publications. Other images will be provided from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Anglo-Australian Observatory. Public visiting hours are from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

SLICE OF NICE

A local advertising and marketing agency and some of its nationally known clients forked over 40,000 pounds of food for the Kids' Cafe, a program of the Ozarks Food Har-vest, in mid-December. Noble & Associates made its giant stainless steel fork at Ches-terfield Village the rallying point of the food drive. Tyson Foods Inc., a long-time Noble client, donated more than 33,500 pounds of chicken patties to the cause. Hickory Farms, another client, brought 132 pounds of hams, cheese, crackers and mustard. Noble's employees, through interoffice challenges, brought in another 4,500 pounds of food. In ex-change for nonperishable packaged or canned food items, children and parents had a chance to photograph their visit with Santa Claus. Kids' Cafe is an after-school program that serves nearly 900 meals a day, five days a week in 10 locations ac-ross the Ozarks, to children who might otherwise go home to an empty plate.