Southwest Missouri News

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DED releases unemployment data|ret||ret||tab|

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has released unemployment figures for the months of January and February 2001.|ret||ret||tab|

In Stone County, the unemployment rate was 21.4 percent in January, remaining the same as the percentage rate in January 2000. The February rate was 22.2 percent, up from 20.8 percent in February 2000.|ret||ret||tab|

Taney County's unemployment rate for January was 18.2 percent, down from 19.5 percent in January 2000. The rate in February was 18 percent, also down from 18.5 percent in February 2000.|ret||ret||tab|

The state of Missouri's unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in both the months of January and February, up from 3.7 percent, the figure for both the months of January and February 2000. |ret||ret||tab|

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Attorney general halts travel sales|ret||ret||tab|

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon obtained a temporary restraining order April 5 in Greene to stop two Springfield businesses from using misrepresentations to sell vacation packages to Branson. According to Nixon, more than 150 consumers, including many from out of state, filed complaints with his office against Bobby Jean Rantz and two businesses, Branson Star II and Star Reservations. Nixon said the defendants allegedly violated the law by: |ret||ret||tab|

Selling vacation packages to consumers and then failing to provide them with packages; |ret||ret||tab|

Falsely telling consumers they would be given refunds and misrepresenting what the consumers had to do to obtain the refunds; |ret||ret||tab|

Billing consumers for service the consumers did not purchase, and |ret||ret||tab|

Misrepresenting that they were licensed and bonded by the Missouri Attorney General's Office. Nixon also will seek preliminary and permanent injunctions against the defendants during a hearing scheduled for April 27.|ret||ret||tab|

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Joplin |ret||ret||tab|

YIN opens spa on Main Street|ret||ret||tab|

A new spa has opened in Joplin.|ret||ret||tab|

YIN, located above the Cutting Edge at 523 Main St., offers esthetic services, massage, exercise classes, meditation training and hypnotherapy.|ret||ret||tab|

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Strikes postpone All-Star event|ret||ret||tab|

Pending show business strikes have resulted in the postponement of the April 21 All-Star Roundup, an annual fund-raiser at Missouri Southern State College. The Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild are threatening to strike. |ret||ret||tab|

Ron Richard, co-chairman of the MSSC event, said that because the threat of strikes has affected the work schedules of many of the celebrities who committed to attend the event, their ability to do so was in doubt. |ret||ret||tab|

"It is our goal to create the best possible event for the community," Richard said. "If we cannot provide our guests the celebrities that we promise, we would rather reschedule." |ret||ret||tab|

All-Star Roundup benefits the ecolonomics certificate program and the Dennis Weaver Institute of Ecolonomics. Coined by Weaver, ecolonomics is "the study and promotion of the sustainable, healthy and just future." Its goal is prosperity without pollution. |ret||ret||tab|

Weaver is a 1943 graduate of Joplin Junior College, the predecessor of Missouri Southern. Besides Weaver, those who had agreed to be part of the event were Linda Gray, who was Sue Ellen Ewing on "Dallas"; Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years"; and her sister, Crystal McKellar, who was Becky Slater on the same show.|ret||ret||tab|

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Monett |ret||ret||tab|

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Jack Henry introduces 4sight|ret||ret||tab|

At its Spring National User Group meeting in Nashville, Tenn., Jack Henry & Associates Inc. announced the release of a new "item imaging" product called 4sight. |ret||ret||tab|

4sight features technology breakthroughs based on the industry's three-tier architecture. 4sight separates the business application logic from the database and moves the database to a more powerful data base server environment. |ret||ret||tab|

Furthermore, 4sight moves the business logic from the client tier to a middle-tier application server, relieving the client tier from major processing duties, allowing them to run with smaller less expensive personal computers. |ret||ret||tab|

According to the company, automated item imaging allows banks to offer better customer service while improving their productivity, the quality of their product, and at the same time realizing processing cost savings and new revenue opportunities.|ret||ret||tab|

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Neosho|ret||ret||tab|

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Newton County honors Sunbeam|ret||ret||tab|

While it continues to rebuild after filing for bankruptcy protection, one area community is recognizing Sunbeam for its contributions as a top employer. The Newton County Commission April 6 passed a resolution honoring Sunbeam Outdoor Cooking as one of the premier employers in Newton County and proclaimed the day to be "Sunbeam Outdoor Cooking Day." |ret||ret||tab|

The commission presented a letter of support to Sunbeam representative Hoobie Daniels, who accepted the letter on behalf of the staff and employees of Sunbeam. |ret||ret||tab|

"We intend to show our appreciation to the fine companies in Newton County," said Jerry Carter, Newton County presiding commissioner. "Sunbeam, employing 1,000 people, makes products that are distributed all over the country, which is very important to a county this size."|ret||ret||tab|

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Nevada |ret||ret||tab|

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Honeywell closes, 150 out of work|ret||ret||tab|

Honeywell International will close its Nevada plant later this year, putting 150 people out of work. The plant makes oil and air filters for the automobile industry and has been in Nevada for more than 25 years. Honeywell officials said in a prepared statement that the plant was selected for closing "due to its small size and limitations for expansion, current capacity utilization and its low degree of automation compared to other Honeywell filter manufacturing sites." |ret||ret||tab|

The fate of the plant and its $5 million to $6 million payroll has been in question for some time. Last summer, Honeywell said it was considering closing the plant, which it acquired after its 1999 merger with AlliedSignal. Honeywell said it would move the air filter production to Monterrey, Mexico, and the fuel filter production to a plant in Canada.|ret||ret||tab|

But after meeting with Nevada employees and other members of the community, Honeywell tabled any plans to close the plant. Then it said it would divest the plant, which was part of its Automotive Consumer Products Group. |ret||ret||tab|

That plan was then put on hold after General Electric Co. announced plans to buy Honeywell in October. That was followed by reports earlier this year that GE would cut between 30,000 and 50,000 of Honeywell's 120,000 jobs after the merger was completed. A timetable for the closing of the Nevada plant has not yet been determined. |ret||ret||tab|

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