Overheard

A bill requiring a 10 percent ethanol blend in Missouri gasoline by 2008 passed the General Assembly this session, setting in motion an aggressive plan to increase production of the alternative fuel. The governor’s office predicts the standard will require about 350 million gallons of blended fuel per year to meet demand. About 115 million gallons of that will be produced by the state’s three ethanol plants in Macon, Malta Bend and Craig. A fourth plant is under construction in Laddonia, and others are in the planning stages, including a 200-acre plant in Joplin. The state has committed $5.3 million toward ethanol production in its fiscal year 2006 budget. Supporters of the ethanol standard say it could improve the environment and infuse dollars into the economy through increased corn production. Opponents, including gasoline retailers, worry the cost of altering stations to carry the fuel blend could spell higher prices at the pump.

Embezzlement in Joplin

The former director of the Joplin Boys and Girls Club pleaded guilty May 12 to embezzling $443,143 from the organization during a six-year period. Robert A. Clay, 52, of Joplin, is charged with wire fraud and money laundering between August 1998 and March 2004, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Missouri. Clay served as executive director of the club from the late 1980s to Nov. 20, 2003, and oversaw the organization’s general operating bank account. According to court documents, Clay opened a money market account at the First State Bank of Joplin on Nov. 14, 1997, in order to receive a $20,000 federal grant. The grant was to be used to establish a Boys and Girls Club in Miami, Okla., and after the grant was distributed, the account was to be closed. Clay kept the account open without the knowledge of the club’s board of directors, Internal Revenue Service investigators say, and he later transferred account funds to a personal account. Clay could be sentenced to up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, fined up to $500,000 and forced to pay restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

Hot City

Springfield’s steady job growth has caught the attention of Inc. magazine, which ranked the city No. 25 on its 2006 list of hottest mid-size cities for entrepreneurs. The May issue of the magazine ranks 94 cities based on one-year and five-year growth rates. Springfield had a one-year job growth rate of 2 percent and a five-year rate of 7.2 percent. The No. 1-ranked mid-size city was Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., which had a five-year job growth rate of 25.2 percent. The mid-size cities category includes metropolitan areas with employment bases between 150,000 and 450,000. As of March, Springfield had a work force of 217,608. Of all 393 cities surveyed, regardless of size, Springfield ranked No. 113. Joplin ranked No. 159 on the list of small cities and No. 269 overall, and Columbia ranked No. 70 among small cities and No. 108 overall.

Slice of Nice

McDonald’s and Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks are partnering for the Eat Good Feel Good campaign. From May 23 through June 19, more than 50 McDonald’s in the Ozarks will donate to BCFO 50 cents for every premium salad sold. The restaurant franchisees and BCFO want to promote nutritious food choices to decrease one’s risk of developing breast cancer.