Southwest Missouri News

|tab|

Branson|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on||bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Voters to decide annexation|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

Branson voters will decide on Nov. 7 whether to annex into the city seven parcels of land totaling almost 295 acres. According to Jerry Adams, communications director for the city of Branson, these properties are either adjacent to the city limits or surrounded by the city limits with most at the western city limits along Shepherd of the Hills Expressway and W. Mo. Hwy. 76. |ret||ret||tab|

Originally, there were 15 parcels that the city planned to involuntarily annex through the election process, but eight landowners decided to voluntarily annex. Adams said the city is currently under negotiations with the owner of the Branson USA property for voluntary annexation. |ret||ret||tab|

Don Stephens, the city's planning and development director, said in a news release, "We're providing sewer, city streets, street maintenance and emergency services to these areas, and we have made numerous attempts to gain the cooperation of these property owners in getting the parcels voluntarily annexed into the city. It seems a fair request that they begin to pay their share of taxes."|ret||ret||tab|

Maps of the properties proposed for annexation will be available at city polling locations on Election Day to assist voters. A simple majority is required for approving the annexations.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|City honored for disaster planning|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

Branson became Missouri's newest disaster-resistant community Oct. 23 when it officially was recognized by Jerry B. Uhlmann, director of the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. The city also won SEMA's nomination for the nationwide Project Impact Program and will be recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at a mid-November ceremony held in Washington, D.C.|ret||ret||tab|

FEMA's "Project Impact: Building a Resistant Community" is a national initiative that aims to change the way America deals with disasters by encouraging interested community stakeholders to come together to assist the community's vulnerabilities to hazards and to plan activities and strategies that limit or prevent damage before disasters occur. Branson is now among eight Missouri cities chosen for the systems they have developed and put into place to become Missouri Disaster Resistant Communities.|ret||ret||tab|

The city's next step will be to form a steering committee that will develop an "All-Hazard Mitigation Plan." By participating in Project Impact, Branson also may become eligible for future grant funding to help cover the costs of some of the mitigation activities that are identified in the planning process.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Hotel brings more suites to town|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

Carroll Myer, president of Myer Hotels, announced Oct. 9 that a new Comfort Inn & Suites will be built in Branson Meadows on the northwest side of Branson. According to Myer, this is the first hotel to be built in the Branson Meadows development, a project of Marvin and Ivy Motley, and marks some of the first new hotel construction for the city since the mid '90s. The new hotel will not increase the room count from its record high in Branson since several hotels have been demolished or converted to other uses since 1993 according to information provided by Myer.|ret||ret||tab|

Chris Myer, vice president of marketing, said the new hotel will set on one of the highest points in the Branson area and "will have a million dollar view." He said the hotel will have a mountain lodge atmosphere and theme.|ret||ret||tab|

The new hotel will be a four-story, 101-room inn with amenities including an indoor pool, sundeck, spa, sauna, game room, exercise room, gift shop, ticket service and fee deluxe continental breakfast. The hotel will have a variety of room types including king rooms, queen rooms and at least 28 oversized suites. Gail Myer, vice president of operations, said that extended-stay hotels and suite hotels have experienced incredible growth and demand over the last several years. In a news release, he said, "Branson is very limited in its inventory of suite properties. We hope to add a new dimension to the lodging industry of Branson."|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Joplin|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Shelter wins grant funding|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

The Lafayette House, a shelter for abused women, will receive a federal grant of $96,500 to spearhead a design of a new family intervention program.|ret||ret||tab|

The goal of the program is to better coordinate a dozen state and local agencies that work to prevent child abuse and neglect and substance abuse.|ret||ret||tab|

First-year grant money will be used to sort through 25 models designed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and create one to fit circumstances in the Joplin area.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Chamber VP leaves for Oklahoma|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

The vice president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce has resigned to take a chamber position in Edmond, Okla.|ret||ret||tab|

Tracey Osborne, who has been with the Joplin chamber since October 1991, is leaving to become president of the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce. She will also oversee the Edmond Convention and Visitors Bureau.|ret||ret||tab|

Before taking the Joplin chamber job, Osborne was director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau for two years. Before that, she was director of the Carthage Chamber of Commerce.|ret||ret||tab|

Osborne will begin her new job Dec. 11.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Funding approaches halfway point|ret||ret||tab|

The United Way of Southwest Missouri has raised 52 percent of its campaign goal, with community volunteers and business leaders having raised $484,370, with a campaign goal of $940,000.|ret||ret||tab|

Funds from the campaign will benefit 18 agencies and 52 programs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2001.|ret||ret||tab|

This year's campaign kick-off was Sept. 20, and active solicitation will end Nov. 15.|ret||ret||tab|

Sources of fund raising have been divided into the following divisions: attorneys, education, government, medical, national firms, real estate, finance and insurance, small businesses, special gifts from retirees, and industrial.|ret||ret||tab|

There are more than 600 volunteers working for the 2000 campaign, including the campaign cabinet representing the nine fund-raising divisions, 75 regiment leaders who call the larger companies, and 500 people who are raising money within their workplaces.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

Lamar|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Apartments go to nonprofit|ret||ret||tab|

With underwriting by the Missouri Housing Development Commission, a Lamar apartment complex is set to be transferred to not-for-profit status. |ret||ret||tab|

MHDC is underwriting the issuance of $280,500 in federal tax credits to fund transference of the 50-unit Prairie Plains Apartments from the for-profit Midland Properties to non-profit National Equity Fund Properties Inc., Chicago.|ret||ret||tab|

Tax credits provide equity to housing development organizations to help maintain the property. The transfer will not force any current occupants from the apartments, and eligibility for the apartments will not change. All of the units are set aside for people making 50 percent of the median income in Barton County, which is $37,400.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

Monett|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|JHA reports record profits|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. has reported record revenue, earnings and earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2001, which ended Sept. 30.|ret||ret||tab|

Revenue from software licensing and installation hit $23.5 million, compared with $11.5 million a year ago. That is a jump of 104 percent.|ret||ret||tab|

Hardware sales also more than doubled, from $11.14 million one year earlier to $23 million this last quarter.|ret||ret||tab|

Maintenance, support and services revenues, which are generated from in-house maintenance, service bureau processing and automated teller machine switch processing, increased 49 percent to $30.4 million. That compares with $20.4 million during the comparable period one year earlier.|ret||ret||tab|

Overall, total revenue for the company in the first quarter came to $77 million, compared with $8.2 million and 20 cents.|ret||ret||tab|

"Demand for technology solutions, particularly for our Internet banking products, continues to grow, providing a strong contrast to the Y2K calm we saw last year at this time," Michael E. Henry, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a news release.|ret||ret||tab|

According to the company, the prior period's numbers have been restated to reflect a 2-for-1-split effective March 2, 2000, and Jack Henry's acquisition of Sys-Tech Inc. in June. |ret||ret||tab|

The company also acquired Symitar Systems and Open Systems Group last year.|ret||ret||tab|

Jack Henry & Associates provides integrated computer systems and ATM networking products for banks and credit unions.[[In-content Ad]]