Heard on the Street

MULE, FISH, OTHER. The Springfield Area Arts Council is considering a public art project modeled on the successful "Cows on Parade" program held in Chicago last year. The Chicago art cows were a public exhibition featuring life-size artificial cows transformed into works of art by local artists, according to the Springfield Area Arts Council's newsletter. The exhibition brought more than a million visitors to Chicago with an economic impact estimated at $200 million. The newsletter also asks SAAC members to vote for the kind of representative Missouri animal they would prefer for such an exhibit (mule, fish or other), state whether they would be willing to have such a work displayed at their businesses, and state if they would consider sponsoring an image through their businesses or organizations.

KC: MASTERPIECE. A fond farewell to the belly-dancing journalist who formerly occupied the corner desk in the SBJ newsroom. You will be missed, and as you take on your newest endeavor, we will continue to try to adjust to the fact that you really do watch professional wrestling, though it's highly unlikely that we'll ever understand why.

FREE ENTERPRISE. The Drury University Students in Free Enterprise team will be competing for top honors May 21-23 in Kansas City during the Hallmark Cards Students in Free Enterprise International Exposition and Career Opportunity Fair. According to a release from SIFE, the Drury team will compete against more than 150 teams from around the world, including Albania, Brazil, Canada and Ukraine. Each team competing has already won a regional title in competition in various parts of the world. Drury's SIFE team was named champion of the Atlanta SIFE Exposition held April 10. Teams will present 25-minute multimedia summaries of the educational outreach projects that they developed and implemented throughout the year, to be judged by a panel of more than 350 of the nation's top business and community leaders.

IF I HAD A HAMMER ... Roy Blunt, Missouri 7th District Congressman, will June 10 lead a group of hammer-wielding volunteers in raising the walls of a new, three-bedroom home in Habitat for Humanity's McAl Subdivision in west Springfield, according to a release from Blunt's office. Blunt raised $40,000 in tax-deductible donations for the house that will be home for Tracy Frankland and her three daughters, Tessa, 19, Mary, 13, and Elizabeth, 8. Frankland is a disabled Army veteran and 1998 Drury University graduate with a degree in business administration. Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, "I thought I had lost my American dream, but Habitat for Humanity has given it back to me," she said. The home will be the first in the subdivision to be completely wheelchair accessible something that Frankland does not need now, but might in the future.

DISCOVER BU$INESS. Aida Alvarez, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, unveiled April 27 a Web site designed to help girls and young women discover their entrepreneurial talents and become technology savvy at an early age. The site, available at www.sba.gov, introduces visitors to the world of business through a series of interactive modules and was developed by the founder of www.eviva.net, a Web site created for Latina women. The SBA has also linked its home page to Kid$Inve$t, a Web site created by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and brought to Missouri schools by Secretary of State Bekki Cook.

ARTSBEST. Scott Hepper, artist and owner of Springfield Coffee Company, 215 W. Olive, was the winner of the Artsfest 2000 on Walnut Street Grand Prize, sponsored by C. Warren Bates Jr. and Associates. The award included a sign, displayed in Hepper's booth during the two-day street festival, as well as a $500 prize. Hepper was selected for the honor from a field of more than 170 artists.

FROM DUET TO TRIO. Signature Bank will break ground at 10 a.m. May 23 for its third bank in Springfield. Located on Kingsley, near the intersection of Kansas Expressway and Republic Road, the building will become Signature's new headquarters. The 10,000-square-foot facility is designed by The Wischmeyer Architects. The general contractor for the project is Eoff & Associates. David Kunze, president and chief executive officer of Signature Bank, said the total cost of the project is $2.8 million. The new bank is slated for completion before March 1, 2001.

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