St. Charles County Business Record, MO articles from March 2002

St. Charles County Business Record, MO archives from March 2002

Autotire at home in second O'Fallon location.
March 1, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey Whether a customer wants Michelin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal or Kelly tires, O'Fallon now has two Autotire Car Care Centers to serve its tire and other automotive needs. The new store, located at 6796 Highway N,...

Spectrum Eyeglass Repair moves to new St. Peters location.
March 1, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner St. Peters now has a more visible store for customers to get eyeglass repair services and eyeglass accessories. Spectrum Eyeglass Repair has moved to a new St. Peters location, which, company representatives say,...

Business leaders can fight crime, terror through responsiveness.
March 1, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon One of the few things that genuine idealists and true cynics have in common is a determined belief that acts of crime or terrorism could never happen to them. Last week the Police Executive Research Forum called on...

St. Charles County files charges against former director of Workforce Development.
March 4, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey In a press conference held Friday, County Executive Joe Ortwerth and prosecuting attorney for St. Charles County John P. Banas announced the county has filed felony charges against Marvin G. Freeman, former...

Speaker series focuses on challenges of growth.
March 4, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady Growth happens. That basically sums up the feelings of the three panel speakers gathered together on Feb. 21 at the St. Charles Community College to discuss the challenges facing small municipalities within St....

T.R. Hughes signs contracts for new development projects.
March 5, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner Although the economy has seen a slowdown in the past year, T.R. Hughes Commercial Division has seen a 30 percent growth rate from 2001 to 2002. The 30 percent growth rate has resulted from demand and reputation,...

Unemployment rates continue to rise.
March 5, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey A trend has been set across the country, in the state of Missouri and in St. Charles County. More and more Americans are filing for unemployment. The Missouri Department of Economic Development recently released...

Wentzville's new expo center is staying booked.
March 6, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey Whether it be 3,000 yapping pooches or a place for the bride and groom to have their first dance, the 40,000-square-foot expo center at the Mall at Wentzville Crossing is booking up fast. Vendors and exhibitors...

Biz community mourns loss of motivational speaker.
March 6, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady Carol Rogers-Sealey, president of Dale Carnegie Training-St. Louis, died in an automobile accident March 1. St. Charles County businesses remember her as an enthusiastic, positive, talented motivational speaker. Many...

St. Peters, Mo., to implement business retention program.
March 7, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady The economic development department for the city of St. Peters is working on implementing a Business Retention and Expansion Program to assist St. Peters businesses with their expansion or relocation plans and to...

Building on Clark Street in St. Charles changes ownership again.
March 7, 2002... Byline: Kathy Ioannou-Bouckaert Built in the early 1900s, the building located at 423 Clark St. in St. Charles has been an incubator for many successful businesses. Over the years, it has served as a haven for a title company, an insurance...

Commerce Bank offers some options for small businesses.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour Small-business owners looking for a simpler way to manage their corporate accounts can check out Commerce Bank's new options geared specifically to benefit small businesses. Commerce Bank recently announced Business...

Flag salute measure marks extent of patriotic fervor with Missouri Senate passage.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon "It never hurt us when we were kids. Maybe it helped," responded one parent concerning a bill in the Missouri legislature that would mandate public schools students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the...

Francis Howell School District emerges from debt.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner After a severe budget crisis in 1999, the Francis Howell School District is out of debt. District officials say the financial comeback was due to several key financial strategies spearheaded by district financial...

St. Charles Community College enrollment presents challenge in planning, strategies.
March 11, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner Since last spring, St. Charles Community College has seen a 17.6 percent increase of student credit hours and a 12.5 percent increase in the actual number of students. The increase in enrollment, which is expected to...

Job Fair 2002 promises good turnout.
March 11, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour Has the declining economy left you checking the want ads? Is your company looking for a few hardworking employees, and you simply don't have the time to go through the process of placing an ad, screening resumes and...

eFrame offers tech support to small businesses.
March 12, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey Small businesses can get by with the help of a friend, and that friend is eFrame Technology Solutions. By allowing eFrame to help manage information technology and technical support, small businesses can get back...

Countywide transportation update subject of chamber meeting.
March 12, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady Construction on St. Charles' roads seems endless, but as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Many roads in the county are torn up, and more are expected to be broken this year. But all this inconvenience...

Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board proposed.
March 13, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour For the first time ever, small businesses may soon have an outlet to voice their complaints, concerns and grievances on a statewide level. The National Federation of Independent Business recently announced its...

Developers respond to Cavendish Square petition drive.
March 13, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady The controversy over the Cavendish Square housing development rose to the next level of debate Saturday when the Citizens for Responsible Community turned in more than the required number of signatures to City Hall...

Proposed House bill will limit reimbursement of overtaxing.
March 14, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour Small businesses may need to keep a closer eye on how much they tax their merchandise because they may not be reimbursed for their miscalculations. House Bill 1202, which will limit the reimbursement of tax overpayment,...

Lake Saint Louis municipal center outgrown, outdated.
March 14, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey Lake Saint Louis' City Hall and police department's facilities are busting at the seams. The city is operating out of an office building but is ready to make a 30,000-square-foot change. Lake Saint Louis City...

St. Peters, O'Fallon use taxes on April ballot.
March 15, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady Out-of-state vendors may be required to collect local sales tax on purchases of more than $2,000 if a local use tax issue is passed by voters in St. Peters and O'Fallon this April. St. Peters is looking to...

SBC Communications employs women, minorities.
March 15, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour Diversity and opportunity are the keys to the success for any business, and SBC Communications Inc. prides itself on its continuing commitment to opportunity and diversity. SBC Communications, parent company of SBC...

Building permits decrease in February.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey February's residential building permit figures have been released by the St. Charles County Building Department. The figures show a decrease of 4 percent from January's numbers. In total, St. Charles County...

Travel agents in St. Charles still feeling fallout of terrorist attacks.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 affected all aspects of business, particularly the travel industry. Six months after the attacks, local travel agents say that they are still rebounding and that the attacks have...

Small Business Development Center offers seminar.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner The Small Business Development Center is offering a seminar this month about starting a new business in Missouri. The SBDC in St. Charles offers a host of services to people interested in starting a new business and...

St. Charles Youth In Need to hold awards ceremony.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady It's all about the kids, said Ed Watkins, owner of Winning Endeavors Consulting Inc. and this year's honoree for Youth In Need's 15th annual Celebration of Youth 2002. Watkins will be honored for his many...

President introduces small-business initiatives during visit.
March 20, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady President George W. Bush traveled to O'Fallon on Monday to introduce his small-business initiatives and to ask small-business owners about their concerns. In a roundtable discussion at Albers Manufacturing Co....

Global Vision Strategies CEO honored for excellence.
March 20, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey The St. Louis chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners will hold a banquet Wednesday evening to honor and thank distinguished women in the business community. Linda Jacobsen, president and CEO...

Cintas announces plans to buyout of Rus Uniforms.
March 21, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner Representatives of uniform supplier Cintas Corp. announced Monday that the company plans to buy Omni Services Inc., the holding company of Rus Uniforms, which has a location in O'Fallon. The Cintas buyout, which is...

State's banks show 10.5 percent rise in assets.
March 21, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey The Division of Finance for the Missouri Department of Economic Development recently release a comparative statement of the condition of state and national banks in Missouri. The figures represent changes in assets...

Purchasing mgr. index says MO economy recovering.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour In the past few months, the economy has slowly dipped into a territory the United States has not seen in several years. The territory is called recession. Unemployment has affected much of the country, and from...

Hospitality Services announces addition of new division.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner Hospitality Services Inc., an on-site dining services company in St. Charles, is adding a business and industry dining services division. Company owners say the expansion will serve the needs of an increasingly...

Missouri House Budget Committee restores $1.1 million to state tourism budget.
March 25, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady The House Budget Committee meeting last Monday night restored $1.147 million to the Missouri Division of Tourism's budget. Prior to the committee action, the division had been slated for a 30 percent budget cut --...

Missouri Nurses Association strives to educate, protect nurses.
March 25, 2002... Byline: Diane Plattner The Missouri Nurses Association, District 15, is scheduled to hold a dinner meeting this evening at 6 p.m. The meeting will include a speaker who will address the nurses' bill of rights and important legislative...

Hawk Ridge Industrial Park planned for St. Charles.
March 25, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour As the county continues to grow, businesses are heading further West in St. Charles County. Hawk Ridge Industrial Park, located in the high-tech corridor at Highway 40 and Lake Saint Louis Boulevard, will break ground in...

MetaStable announces new product in January, other initiatives.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady Within four years of starting a new business, MetaStable Instruments Inc. has a lot going for it. The company plans to introduce a finished laser product to the market in January, it is working on patenting two...

Senate amends controversial fuel efficiency bill.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Kathy Ioannou-Bouckaert Autoworkers may begin to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing that the controversial CAFE legislation was amended this month by the Senate. Back in February, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., proposed...

Webster University to open WingHaven campus.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey WingHaven, the $750 million planned community in O'Fallon, is the soon-to-be new home of a Webster University satellite campus. The university announced it will open a 10,000-square-foot campus on the third floor...

Unique holography portrait store opens on Main Street.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Amy Armour If you're window shopping on North Main Street in St. Charles, you may think your eyes are playing tricks on you. At the corner of Main and Monroe streets, you may think you see Missouri state Rep. Chuck Gross...

Local biz incubator bids farewell to graduates.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Kathleen Brady As the St. Charles County business incubator sent out its latest hatchlings, it welcomed in new eggs to nurture. Twice a year, the Economic Development Center of St. Charles County holds a graduation ceremony to...

Unemployment rates decline in February.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey The ongoing trend of increasing unemployment rates in the country, state and county was broken in February. The Missouri Department of Economic Development released figures for the month of February showing a...

Stillman Financial Services opens for business in St. Peters.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Lisa Martini Disasters like the attacks of Sept. 11 can shake the economy and leave businesses and individuals scrambling to recover from the fallout. But Steven Stillman, owner of a new St. Peters financial services business, says...

Employers doing more background checks since 9-11.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon As the job market tightens and the war on terrorism persists, employers and prospective employees can count on facing an increased occurrence of background checks and pre-employment screenings. In some instances this...

St. Charles County represented at trade show.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Colleen Dilthey St. Charles County was introduced to more than 45,000 attendees March 18-21 at a trade show in Chicago. David Leezer, director of business development for St. Charles County, traveled to Chicago last week to...