Heard on the Street

HEARD ON THE HERD. It's springtime in the Ozarks, and the Missouri Bison Association is celebrating with a sale of more than 300 bison at the Joplin Regional Stockyard. April 8 is the date of the sale, but for those with large tracts of land, the association is holding a seminar, the Bison Advantage, at 7 p.m. March 24 to educate potential bison farmers about raising America's original red meat. Bison meat has yet to appear on grocery store shelves and may not anytime soon, according to the association, but it is considered a gourmet or specialty meat. Bison were near extinction at the beginning of the 20th century but now number about 300,000 around the world. Curious city slickers are welcome at the sale, as well. Organizers invite folks in the area to get acquainted with the wonderful, wild and remarkable bison.

IRISH EYES ARE SMILIN' on the organizers of this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade. Despite big orange-and-white barrels surrounding a portion of the parade's normal route, the Celtic show will go on. The parade, which begins at 2 p.m. March 18, will carefully bypass the construction on the Jordan Valley Park streetscape project on Boonville, beginning as usual at Benton and Commercial, marching west on Commercial, down Boonville to Water, then proceeding west to Campbell, south to College (Park Central West), moving through the square, past the Gillioz on Park Central East and disbanding west of the Discovery Center. After the parade, there will be a free concert at the Gillioz, beginning at about 3:30, or whenever the parade ends. Artist Robert E. Smith is the parade's grand marshal, and he will also be signing copies of the parade T-shirts and posters featuring his original design.

CHURCH ON THE MOVE. James River Assembly has sold its building at 5500 S. Southwood Road in anticipation of moving to its new location, farther south with frontage on Highway 65. First Evangelical Free Church has purchased the older James River Assembly building in order to move its congregation there, said Anissa Lay, executive assistant at First Evangelical. First Evangelical Free Church of Springfield currently meets in the gymnasium of Springfield Catholic High School, Lay said, and has been looking for a permanent facility for some time. The church is part of the Evangelical Free Churches of America, a more than 100-year-old denomination, and has been in the Ozarks for about seven years. The church has 500 members, Lay said, though the James River Assembly building holds nearly 2,000.

eASY MONEY. eScout.com has raised enough money to separate itself from its parent company, Kansas City-based UMB Financial Corporation. UMB will initially retain a majority interest in the newly formed company.

The $25 million eScout has raised so far comes from investments made by several venture capital investors, including Mayfield Fund, Oak Hill Venture Partners, Tarrant Venture Partners LP, A.G. Edwards Capital and Nexstar Financial. The company focuses on providing e-commerce solutions to independent businesses, establishing community banks as the center of commerce in the Internet economy.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN. A ground-breaking ceremony for the next phase of the Norton Road Improvement Project will be held at 11:30 a.m. March 14 in the parking lot of the Berean Baptist Church, 507 E. Norton Road. This project is another in a series of improvements on Norton Road funded by the quarter-cent capital improvements sales tax, according to a release from the Springfield Public Works Department. Norton Road as been improved from the new Lowe's store on the west side of Highway 13 to Maranatha Village. The new project will extend the improvements to the east side of Summit, leaving the section from Summit to National to be done as funding becomes available. The scheduled improvements include 1,900 feet of three-lane street; an underground storm drainage system; new curb and gutter; sidewalks and driveways; and a new intersection at Norton and Summit.

The contract for this project was awarded to Hartman and Company Inc., and the estimated completion date is June 16, 2000.

SLICE OF NICE. A benefit buddy bass tournament will be held April 1 to support Developmental Center of the Ozarks. The tournament will be held at the Port of Kimberling Marina on Table Rock Lake in Kimberling City. One winner will receive a 2000 Tracker boat with motor and trailer. Registration begins at 5 a.m. April 1 at the Highway 13 boat dock. DCO is a private, nonprofit organization serving more than 350 infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities.

All proceeds from this event benefit the organization. For more information, call 887-9628.