On the Street

An emergency plan that originated in England is making its way to Missouri. Gov. Matt Blunt is encouraging Missourians to store emergency contact information in their cell phones as part of a worldwide initiative.

The In-Case-of-Emergency plan gives emergency first responders a way to contact a family member or close friend if a victim is unable to provide his or her own information.

Blunt is asking citizens to enter emergency contact information into their cell phones and label it “ICE.”

Fair success

Nearly 227,000 people attended the 2005 Ozark Empire Fair, exceeding the fair’s 10-year average of 224,000. This year’s attendance is below the record 238,815 recorded last year, partly due to hot, muggy weather during the 10-day event that ended Aug. 7, said Pat Lloyd, fair manager. Completion of the fair marks Lloyd’s first year as Ozark Empire Fair general manager and turns attention to next year, the 70th anniversary of the fair.

OTC’s new ground

Ozarks Technical Community College officials broke ground Aug. 4 for the first phase of the school’s south campus in Ozark. Walton Construction won the bid for the 60,000-square-foot facility that will accommodate 2,000 students. The $12.9 million phase is expected to be complete in 2007.

The 78-acre campus property, which OTC bought in October 2000, fronts Highway 14, 1.5 miles west of Highway 65.

City University

The city of Springfield is accepting applications for a few remaining slots for the City University Municipal Government Academy’s fall session, beginning Sept. 8.

The free, 10-week course is designed to help participants become more familiar with the structure and functions of city government through informative presentations on various city departments and civic facility tours. Fall classes are held weekly through Nov. 8. The city also is accepting applications for the spring session. For more information, contact Brenda Jackson at (417) 864-1037 or go online at www.springfieldmogov.org/egov/academy.html.

Slice of Nice

A nationwide children’s book program is celebrating 10 years of distributing books, now totaling 3.1 million. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides registered children a new book each month until they reach the age of 5.

The reading program is available to pre-school children in participating communities including Branson, through Parton’s Dixie Stampede. The program reaches 503 communities in 40 states and distributes 166,000 books each month. For more information about Imagination Library, call (865) 428-9606.

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