Landscaping awards to to local businesses, developments

The winners of this year's city of Springfield Landscape Awards were presented with plaques during an Oct. 11 ceremony at City Hall, 830 Boonville Ave. The 2001 awards mark the ninth year the city has provided recognition for landscaping projects.

The winners are:

Category I: Improvement or Rehab-ilitation of an Existing Site Bolivar Antique Company, 427 S. Grant Ave.

Category II: Retail Establishment or General Winner Artworx Salon, 938 E. Walnut St.

Category III: Manufacturing or Office American National Property and Casualty Corporate Centre, 1949 E. Sunshine St.

Category IV: Residential Subdivision/ Neighborhood or Mixed Use Develop-ment Old Monterey Apartments, 3108 S. Jefferson Ave.

Category V: Residence Single Family Lenard Davenport, 1538 E. Walnut St.

Category VI: Public Properties Missouri Department of Transportation plantings at the intersection of Glenstone Avenue and Sunshine Street.

Category VII: Other Drury Uni-versity Student Housing, 1313-1329 N. Benton Ave.

Special Recognition Category: Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores and Sonic Drive-Ins, both chains.

The 2000 Landscape Awards marked the first year that a volunteer was recognized in the program. Richard Lawless last year received an award for his work in the gardens at the Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course, 1825 E. Norton.

This year, Lawless presented the volunteer award to Lucille Murphy and Deb Hoopingamer for the gardens they created at the Dickerson Park Zoo, 3043 N. Fort.

Bobbie Ream, a planning and zoning board member and chair of the land-scape awards committee, said the winners are "wonderful citizens, especially this year. Anything that's being done to make life more normal is good. The presentation gives the city an opportunity to say thanks for what these people and these businesses are doing. Their work deserves recognition."

This year's judges were Ron Carey and Anne Razer, city planners; Director of Planning and Development Fred May; Patrick Platter; Renee Tyson; Bob Balek, who works for the landscaping and grounds department at Southwest Mis-souri State University, and Ream.

The nominations came from property owners, property owners' associations, landscape nomination committee members and planning and zoning members.

The planning and zoning committee will begin taking nominations for 2002 sometime next spring.

Ream said the main requirement for all categories is that the site is in the city.

"If you're nominating a residence, the site has to be viewable from a public right of way," she said. "Also, the overall condition of a residential property must be appropriate. The purpose of the awards is to recognize businesses and industries for their efforts in landscaping and for making Springfield a better place to live. Landscaping adds to the environment."