Overheard

Ride the Ducks Collision on the Delaware
Ride the Ducks has reopened its Branson location after a fatal accident July 7 in Philadelphia shut down its nationwide operations.

Ride the Ducks is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment Co., which shares headquarters in Branson and Norcross, Ga. HFE, which also owns Silver Dollar City, shut down its Ride the Ducks operations July 8, the day after an accident on the Delaware River left two passengers dead. The tourist vessel was struck by a 250-foot empty sludge barge that was being pulled by a towing vessel, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.

The crew of the Ducks vessel, a master and a deckhand, reported to the NTSB that the vessel had experienced mechanical problems about 10 minutes before the collision. Hails to the towing vessel received no response, Ducks crewmembers told the NTSB, which is investigating.

HFE shut down operations to review maintenance procedures, but inspections confirmed the safety of the vessels, Ride the Ducks President Chris Herschend told the St. Louis Business Journal last week.

Blockbuster Battles Redbox
A plan announced this month by NCR Corp. will place its Blockbuster Express-branded DVD kiosks in nearly all 555 QuikTrip convenience stores, including the three Springfield locations.
The move is part of a plan to revive the one-time leader of the video-rental store chain that has fallen victim to Netflix, Redbox, and on-demand cable and satellite services. The kiosks will offer $1 per night DVD rentals through kiosk vendor NCR.

A Blockbuster bankruptcy filing has been speculated based on the company’s $900 million debt burden.

Earlier this year, several hundred stores closed nationwide, including a Springfield Blockbuster at 1839 E. Independence St. There are two Blockbuster stores still open in Springfield.

Changing Hospice
Community Hospices LLC, a hospice care provider with administrative offices at 2135 Eastgate and a care facility at 1465 E. Primrose St., is now known as Hospice Compassus. The company is announcing the change on a digital billboard in Springfield on Eastgate. According to Jeff Paden, Springfield general manager, the renaming took place in April 2009 and was part of the Nashville, Tenn., parent company’s name change to Hospice Compassus from CLP Healthcare Services Inc. CLP Healthcare acquired Community Hospices in 2006. The company has 47 locations in 15 states. Since 1979, Hospice Compassus affiliates have provided end-of-life care and grief support for patients and families in their communities.

Also in 1979, Community Hospice was established in 1979 as The Hospice of Southwest Missouri serving Greene, Christian, Dade, Dallas and Webster counties.

The organization became Community Hospices of America in 1994. Hospice Compassus offices are in Branson, Mountain Grove, Columbia, Joplin, Jefferson City and Monett.[[In-content Ad]]