Southwest Missouri News

Branson

Myer changes to Comfort

Myer Hotels will change the Rodeway Inn to Comfort Inn West in 2002, according to a company press release. With the name change will come numerous im-provements to the hotel, among them ex-terior enhancements, conversion of several guest rooms into two-room suites, the addition of an elevator, 25-inch televisions in each room and new furnishings for the deluxe continental breakfast room.

Myer Hotels acquired the Rodeway Inn, a 95-room, three-diamond hotel at the corner of Highway 76 and Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, in 1998.

"This will make the third phase of improvements to the Rodeway Inn," said Chris Myer, vice president of marketing for Myer Hotels. The first phase of renovation began in the summer of 1998 when Rodeway Inn was first purchased. Those improvements included new carpeting, bedspreads, draperies, coffee makers and floor lamps, as well as an electronic lock system and enhanced ex-terior lighting.

The second phase of renovation took place less than a year later with the completion of a new indoor pool, spa and sundeck overlooking Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. The lobby was ex-panded to include a two-story vaulted ceiling and a sitting area with a fireplace, and a new canopy was added with additional registration parking.

Jasper County

DED supplies infrastructure grant

The Missouri Department of Econ-omic Development has approved a $150,000 industrial infrastructure grant for Jasper County. The county will use these funds to build a rail spur to facilitate the expansion of Jasper Products.

The grant was made through the state's Community Development Block Grant Program, and as a result of this expansion, Jasper Products will make a multimillion investment and create 25 new jobs within two years. The company currently employs about 79 individuals.

The city, state and Kansas City South-ern Railway are working in partnership to make these infrastructure improvements.

The funds will be used to construct a rail spur that will serve Jasper Products, as well as potential future tenants of the Joplin Southern Industrial Park.

Jasper Products manufacturers soy-based beverages and foods. Due to the rapid growth of the yogurt-based beverage market, the company needs to ex-pand.

Joplin

Empire Electric adds new units

Empire District Electric Company will add two natural gas-fired aero peaking units at the existing center near Sarcoxie. The units are each rated at approximately 50 megawatts.

The units will be designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Power Systems and are a derivative of Pratt & Whitney's JT8D aircraft engine, a popular jet engine in commercial aviation.

The new units will take advantage of the technology developed in more than half a billion JT8D flight hours to produce power with very low emissions when fueled by natural gas.

"Our service territory continues to outpace the national average in growth," said Brad Beecher, president of energy supply. "During the past five years our growth has been about 1.7 percent per year. We project a 1.6 percent per year growth rate for the next several years. These units will provide us with the ability to meet this demand in a timely efficient, and economical manner."

Delivery of the first unit is set for October 2002 it is expected to be operational by April 2003. The second unit is expected to be delivered in October 2003 and operational in April 2004.

Sears gives grant to United Way

The Sears store at Northpark Mall is providing a $2,951 grant to the United Way of Southwest Missouri.

Nationwide Sears and its employees have contributed $44 million in money and merchandise to community groups.

MSSC adds $12 credit surcharge

At a Dec. 10 meeting, the Missouri Southern State College Board of Regents voted unanimously to approve a $12 per credit hour surcharge for the upcoming spring and summer semesters.

The surcharge addresses cuts by the state of Missouri in funding for colleges and universities. Surcharge funds will go to pay for supplies, salaries and generally meet the expenses of the college.

Monett

JHA results up below estimates

Computer services firm Jack Henry & Associates Inc., has reported that revenue and profits for its second quarter of fiscal 2002 are expected to be above year-ago results, but moderately lower than current street estimates.

"Barring any unusual activity in the next few weeks, our forecasts show fiscal second quarter results will come in a few cents per share below expectations," Terry W. Thompson, president of Jack Henry & Associates, said in a prepared statement. "The ongoing economy ap-pears to have some of our customers in a wait and see' mode in terms of capital spending projects."

The company said it will earn between 14 cents and 15 cents per share in the second quarter of fiscal 2002, which ends Dec. 31.

Analysts had on average expected the company to earn between 17 cents and 19 cents per share, with a mean of 18 cents.

Nevada

Cooperative opens pecan store

A new Nevada store is promoting one of the state's most popular products pecans.

Northern Pecan Store is operated by a cooperative of seven pecan growers in the Vernon County area. The only pecans sold are those grown in the area that growers say have a higher oil content than pecans from other areas.

The store sells cracked nuts in shells and nutmeats. Amish bulk foods and spices are among other items sold at the store.