On the Edges

Nixa

Veterinarian building new clinic

The first building project in the Nixa Commerce Center will be a new home for Gentle Care Animal Hospital, owned by Dr. Michael Opsomer. Construction began the beginning of February, with completion of the 5,400-square-foot building expected in late August, according to Opsomer. The building is located at 202 W. Aldersgate, east of the Wal-Mart Supercenter. The clinic is now located in 1,300 square feet at 238 Village Center St.

The new building will feature brick veneer, a canopy entrance and a glass breezeway, Opsomer said. Interior features include a mezzanine, a play area for children, separate waiting rooms for cats and dogs, three examination rooms, 17 indoor dog runs and separate "cat condominiums" with stairs and windows.

The clinic has three full-time and three part-time employees and two groomers. The increased space will allow the clinic to handle more cases and provide additional pet boarding services. Opsomer has practiced in Nixa since 1994.

The architect is Michael Sapp of Sapp Design Associates, Architects, PC. The contractor is Kenmar Construction Inc.

Ozark

CleanLink.Net starts filtered Internet access

A new filtered Internet service provider, CleanLink.Net, has been opened by Rick Robison, owner of PC Max in Ozark. Customers can get unlimited use Internet accounts for $20 per month with automatic blocking for Web sites that include pornography, hate and occult messages.

"There are lots of ways to keep people off bad sites. But server-based technology is faster and better," Robison said.

CleanLink.Net uses technology from a California company that maintains X-Stop and its patented software, Mud Crawler.

"About 1000 new bad sites area are added to the Internet a day. Mud Crawler crawls' every page looking for bad stuff and scores the site. If the site is bad enough, a human looks at and will put it on the bad-sites list, which is updated daily," Robison said.

He said the software is capable of reviewing millions of Web sites per hour. To promote the business, CleanLink.Net offers free Web postings to churches, and will design and host church sites for free, Robison said. He said the X-Stop technology is used in thousands of schools, and all of a school district's computers can be blocked quickly and reliably.

Rates for businesses and schools vary from the $20 monthly home price, depending on the number of computers and whether the organization has its own Internet program.

Robison's partner in the venture is Craig House. The company, located at 406 E. South St., has its own Web site

www.cleanlink.net.

Call 869-5265 for more information.

Hollister

Your Vacation Shoppe holds its opening

Your Vacation Shoppe, owned by Cindy Allcorn, held a grand opening Feb. 5 at its new Hollister location on Downing Street. The travel agency, formerly the Convention & Cruise Planning Center, had been located just north of Branson on Buchanan Road. Toni Cracraft, a comanager of the business, said the agency moved "to be more available to the community and to expand our services." Cracraft said the 18-month-old, full-service agency offers air travel, cruises, tours, cars, hotels and passport and visa information. Business hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.

Neosho

Chamber to welcome newcomers

The Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce has formed an Ambassador Club to greet new chamber members and new businesses. Group members include Dr. Roy Shaver, Dr. James Castleberry, Ken Mayer, Marilyn Evers, Chris Eoff, Cary Norman, Mike Chesnut, Barbara Wallace, Dan Putrah, Jason Trenary, Dottie LaDue, B.J. Hart, Jerry Cox, Carla Pekarek, Hazel Pennell, Mark Bridges, Greg Hardin, Jim Otey, Karen Puckett, Amy Jarrett, Linda Crosby, Karl Gaston, LaVern Beaver and Buzz Ball.

Scholastic makes women-friendly list

Scholastic Inc. has been recognized in Working Woman magazine as one of the top 25 companies for executive women. A Scholastic Inc. plant was established in Neosho in 1998.

To qualify for the annual list, companies must have at least two female directors and belong to the Fortune 1,000. Scholastic was ranked third out of 25 companies, up from sixth in 1998.

Scholastic, with corporate offices in New York, had a total of 1,192 employees at the time of the magazine's publication, 68 percent of whom were women. Of the work force at Scholastic, 69 percent of managers and 52 percent of officers are female, according to Working Woman magazine. Three women, or 21 percent, serve on the company's board of directors.