Heard On The Street

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FISH TO PRINT. Republic's own logo imbroglio was the subject of a story on the front page of The New York Times. NYT Reporter Laurie Goodstein spoke to Marilyn Shexsnayder (designer of the controversial logo), an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer and various Republicites for the lengthy story. Paula Howell, a member of the Support Republic Committee, said the group's defense of the icthus in question would center on research that shows the symbol predates its Christian connection and represents faith in general. By that same logic, swastikas would be fair game as a legitimate symbol with meaning that precedes its use by the Third Reich.

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS. Or at least it translates to more free time. KSMU News Director Dick Willingham retired June 30 after 11 years on the job. Willingham has been in broadcasting for about 40 years, 33 of them in Springfield, according to a news release from KSMU. An announcer for KWTO in the early '60s, Willingham joined KY-3 TV in 1965 and worked there for 16 years. He left KY-3 in 1981, and after a several year hiatus rejoined the industry as KSMU news director. Willingham said he'll miss broadcasting, but he plans to travel and get things done that he hasn't had time for in the past. And he may return to broadcasting in the future on a freelance basis.

STUCK ON SAFETY. The Safety Council of the Ozarks June 24 recognized the Springfield 3M Adhesives Division plant for reducing its OSHA-recordable incident rate. The plant cut its incident rate from 14.7 in 1991 to 0.37 in 1997, according to a release from the council. Geoff Butler, president of the safety council's board, made the presentation to Bob Ringgenberg, manager of the local plant and also a member of the council's board.

BRANCHED. Postal Federal Community Credit Union held a ground-breaking ceremony July 1 for its fourth Springfield location at 1770 W. Sunset St., at the corner of Kansas Expressway and Sunset. A release from the credit union said the new branch will be finished in early 1999. The contractor is KDA Inc., of Atlanta, Ga., and the architect is Summer Wise & Associates, also of Atlanta. The new building will be 6,500 square feet and have safe-deposit boxes, drive-through teller service, a drive-up ATM and a walk-up cash machine. "Membership has grown beyond the capacity of our three current Springfield locations," said Stever Pierson, president of Postal Federal. Plans for the new building include expansion to 12,000 square feet by

the year 2005. The credit union has assets of $58 million, according to the release.

PEAKING INTEREST. Those scorchin' days of summer are here, and as a result, City Utilities twice broke peak electric demand recently. CU peaked its electric demand at 4 p.m. June 29 with 636 megawatts of generation. That beat the previous record, set four days earlier, of 633 megawatts. The old record for CU was set July 24, 1997, when 631 megawatts of electricity was demanded of the utility's system at 5 p.m. on that date. Water peak records have yet to be broken, though demand was pushing toward it. This year's to-date record was set June 26 when 44.03 million gallons were pumped. The CU water record was set Aug. 29, 1995, when 45.86 million gallons were used. Empire District Electric Company issued a release June 25 recognizing the peak season with tips for consumers to save energy and money on their utility bills. Among the hints were a thermostat setting of 78 degrees, and around 80 degrees if you have ceiling fans. Empire said each degree below 78 requires 6 percent more energy. And, Empire said helpfully, reduce the number of times doors are opened, which will reduce the amount of hot air let insinde.

SLICE OF NICE. Good Samaritan Boys Ranch received word in June it was approved for $350,000 in 70 percent Neighborhood Assistance Program state tax credits. Many other local agencies were awarded the credits as well, most at the 50 percent level. Boys Ranch Director of Development Jim Silsby said the Brighton-based organization qualifies for the attractive 70-percent version because of its rural location. Silsby said Good Samaritan Boys Ranch will launch a $2 million capital campaign later this summer for campus renovations. Details of the campaign are still being worked out through surveys of its supporters. The NAP credits will be a cornerstone of the campaign. Silsby said the state tax credits are available to donors of cash, materials, supplies, equipment, real estate, stocks and bonds, and have a five-year carry-forward provision. For more information on the ranch, its plans or the tax credits, call Silsby at 376-2238.

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