Heard on the Street

TROPHY DUCKS

The Texas Louisiana Professional Baseball League honored the Ozark Mountain Ducks for high attendance and excellent facilities in the league's year-end awards. The Ducks became the first Texas Louisiana League team to surpass the 200,000 mark in attendance with a final regular season total of 202,375, an increase of 47,623 from the 154,752 mark set in the team's inaugural season, according to a league news release. Groundskeeper Brock Phipps was recognized for maintaining the Diamond of the Year at PriceCutter Park, an honor that recognizes the league's best playing facility.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

According to a recent survey by staffing service OfficeTeam, 48 percent of executives said their preferred method for receiving resumes is via e-mail, a substantial change from two years ago when only 4 percent favored this method. Delivery by mail came in second at 21 percent, the same as in the 1998 survey, and fax delivery was third at 11 percent, up from 8 percent in 1998. In the 1998 survey, the majority of respondents, 64 percent, indicated they had no preference for delivery method. In the new survey, only 19 percent did not have a preference.

OUT ON A LIMB

The city of Springfield's Public Works Department announced Oct. 30 the completion of a sample tree inventory to determine the health and future of Springfield's community forest, according to a city press release. The inventory was initiated through a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The inventory revealed a 38 percent reduction in the number of city street trees since 1961. This represents publicly owned trees in street right-of-ways, traffic medians and islands, but does not include the city parks. The inventory also indicated there is enough space to plant 125,000 more trees in the city. Since 1995, Public Works has planted approximately 880 trees as part of the city's Capital Improvement Program. The city concludes that the missing and maturing nature of city street trees identified in the inventory suggests that more trees need to be planted to provide a healthy and adequate community forest.

CASTAWAYS

The Castaway Animal Rescue Effort has a new information hot line at 875-6565. The CARE information line is a voice mail system. The hot line provides basic information about CARE and what it does, a mailbox directory for detailed information on specific topics, and information on the Spay Neuter Clinic of the Ozarks. CARE is a no-kill animal rescue shelter.

FULL DISCLOSURE

According to Lawyers Weekly Inc., a landmark decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals held that a woman who contracted herpes following a sexual relationship could sue her partner for damages because he knew he was infected but failed to warn her. "Missouri courts previously allowed a married person going through a divorce to sue for infection by (a sexually transmitted disease), but never an unmarried person," said Ken Jones, publisher of Lawyers Weekly, in a press release. "The appellate court here changes the law, and says any person, married or unmarried, has a duty to disclose contagious diseases before having sexual relations," Jones said. He added that, "although the court doesn't address the question, there is nothing in the opinion that would preclude a gay person from suing a partner for causing infection."