Southwest Missouri News

Joplin

Stein Mart set to close doors

Stein Mart will soon close its store on Range Line Road.

The store is scheduled to close June 27, and approximately 50 employees will be affected. The company leases the 38,000-square-foot building.

A cross between a traditional department store and a discount store, Stein Mart sells women's, men's and children's clothing, as well as bed and bath lines and other products

Based in Jacksonville, Fla., most of the company's 258 stores are concentrated in the southeast part of the United States.

Manufacturer to cut 150 jobs

A Joplin manufacturer is cutting jobs as the result of losing a key contract.

Able Manufacturing & Assembly LLC, formerly Able Boy Corp., was recently notified that Honda will end current production with Able Manufac-turing in late April. Able began making the body parts for Honda personal watercraft units in August 2001.

Loss of the contract means that 150 jobs will be eliminated. Total employment at the company will drop to around 350 people when the work for Honda is completed.

Able Manufacturing at one time primarily produced fiberglass sleepers for long-haul truck drivers and other products for the trucking industry. Six years ago the company expanded and began making all of the decks and hulls for Kawasaki's personal watercraft. That contract and the company's other business remain unaffected.

State to provide training

The state has activated its Rapid Response Team to help workers who will be out of work when the two Albertson's Grocery Stores in Joplin change ownership.

About 137 employees will be affected by the change; however, many are expected to be hired by the new owner, Ramey/Price Cutter.

The stores are scheduled to reopen under the Ramey/Price Cutter name.

The Rapid Response team is comprised of representatives from the De-partment of Economic Development's Division of Workforce Development and the Southwest Workforce Development Board. The team responds to the needs of workers who have lost their jobs by providing special training and re-employment services.

The Rapid Response Team and the local Missouri Career Center will provide immediate services to workers needing assistance, including assessment and testing, career counseling, resume writing, interviewing skills, job search methods, on-the-job training and tuition assistance for vocational training or education. These services are free to the workers.

St. John's to add MRI machine

St. John's Regional Medical Center recently received approval for the first hospital-based, high-performance Mag-netic Resonance Imaging machine in Joplin.

On March 27, the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee unanimously approved the project.

"The fixed MRI unit will replace the mobile MRI that is currently shared by area hospitals," said Mark Tozzio, senior vice president of marketing and business development.

The MRI is an essential diagnostic imaging tool that produces detailed images of the human body without the use of X-rays. These images are created using a large magnet, radio waves and a computer system to process the data. Procedures using MRI are painless and involve no ionizing radiation.

"We will have state-of-the-art equipment that creates crisp, precise images that are an indispensable diagnostic tool for physicians in planning the medical treatment of their patients," said Tozzio. "It will complement existing equipment in the radiology department."

Monett

Jack Henry wins top award

Jack Henry & Associates, a leading provider of integrated computer systems and services for banks and financial institutions, has won the "Golden Bull'' Award.

Given annually by the Inve$tWare Corporation, the award is bestowed upon the publicly-traded company that scores highest on an index that evaluates detailed financial information from more than 9,000 companies and rewards growth and consistency.

Jack Henry, which has its corporate headquarters in Monett, outperformed Hot Topic Inc. and FactSet Research Systems during a 12-month period ending December 2001.

The companies were among those whose performance met or surpassed strict investment criteria and earned them inclusion on the "Roster of Quality Companies,'' Inve$tWare's monthly ranking of the 20 most consistent growth performers.

Evaluation was based on the key factors that determine long-term investment potential, including revenue and earnings growth, pretax profit margins and return on equity.

During 2001, Jack Henry & Associates earned 10 gold medals and two silvers in the monthly "Roster of Quality Com-panies" rankings.

Branson

Wastewater facility wins award

The Cooper Creek Wastewater Treat-ment Plant has received the Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Year Award from the Missouri Water Environmental Asso-ciation.

The award was given in recognition of outstanding operation and performance for a small facility in the treatment of wastewater. The plant, which was completed in 1997, treats wastewater from the west end of Highway 76 and all of the customers in Fall Creek. An average of 1.5 million gallons per day flow through the facility. The facility is outfitted with state-of-the-art phosphorus-re-moval equipment.

Northwest adds summer flights

Northwest Airlines will offer additional seasonal flights to the Spring-field/Branson Regional Airport from its three hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Memphis.

Weekend service on the Detroit-Springfield route will begin May 25. A fourth nonstop flight between Memphis and Springfield will begin on June 7. Saturday-only service for flights to and from Minneapolis/St. Paul will begin June 29.

All of the additional flights will be operated by Northwest Airlink partner Express Airlines I with the 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet.

Branson Fest attracts 40,000 fans

The 10th annual Branson Fest, held April 3-7 at the Welk Resort Center, attracted an estimated 40,000 fans this year. Ten thousand tickets were sold to the indoor shows with an estimated 30,000 visitors using the outdoor tents.

The festival kicked off Branson's spring season with music, entertainment, and local arts and culture.

Proceeds from Branson Fest support two charities the National Tourism Foundation's Yellow Ribbon Scholarship Fund and the Mountain Country Habitat for Humanity. Donations to both organizations were in excess of $10,000.

"Branson Fest is an important part of kicking off the spring season in Bran-son," said John Richardson, chairman of the Branson Fest committee and director of marketing for the Dixie Stampede Dinner and Show. "As a committee we were committed to finding ways to enhance the festival, including some new activities in the Taste of Branson Food Tent and additional emphasis on the Sunday show. According to the crowd's response and participation, both were a success."