Region briefs 11/8/07

Southeast Missourians advance in CMT contest

Three young adults from the region have advanced to the next round of competition in Country Music Television's Music City Madness 2 contest. Dustin and Brandon Finch, originally of Fredericktown, Mo., and Casie Janet, of Cape Girardeau, were selected by fan votes as the field narrowed from 64 to 32 contestants who submitted videos featuring original songs. First prize in the contest is an all-expense paid trip to CMT's Nashville, Tenn., studio to record an episode of "Unplugged at Studio 330" and a chance to perform for A&R executives from Sony/BMG Nashville. Janet, 22, recorded the song "Don't Tell Me Good-bye," with the group The Bloom, formerly Transparent, for the contest. A senior nursing major at Murray State University in Murray, Ky., Janet performs weekends at a show in Grand Rivers, Ky., in a two hour Branson-style show called "Variety! Music, Memories, and More." The Finch brothers, 23, performed the song they wrote called "Lifetime." Eight months ago, they moved to Nashville to pursue their dreams of songwriting, said Dustin Finch. Results of the the next round of voting will be announced after Nov. 12.

McCaskill's staff holding meeting in Jackson

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., will send members of her staff to Jackson next week for a public meeting that is part of her regular "Kitchen Table Talks" program for hearing the concerns and opinions of residents. Staff members will document constituent problems and help them obtain resources necessary to receive federal assistance. Staff members will also take comments on pending legislation, McCaskill said in a prepared statement. The Jackson session will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Jackson Public Library, 100 N. Missouri St.

Scott City businesses offer shopping spree

The Scott City Chamber of Commerce, along with Scott City businesses Miller Drywall, Regions Bank and Interior Plus will sponsor a $1,000 shopping spree event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Thirteen Scott City businesses will participate: Dollar General Store; Casey's General Store; Paradise Flowers and Gifts; The Three Gayles; Something Old, Something New; Plaza Tire Service; Rams Car Wash; Scott County Chiropractic; Burger King; Winds of Change; Pizza Pro; Medicap Pharmacy and D&D Motorsports. Each business will have special punch cards available. Customers must visit 10 businesses and have their cards punched to participate in a drawing for a $1,000 shopping spree at Scott City businesses. One card will be drawn at random following the end of the day at 4 p.m. Customers are not required to make purchases at the stores in order to have cards punched. The winner will be drawn at Paradise Flowers. Chaunda Mason with the Chamber of Commerce said the event is designed to emphasize the shopping opportunities in Scott City. For more information, call Mason at Paradise Flowers at 573-264-2117.

Scott County officials to discuss salaries

The Scott County Salary Commission will meet at 9 a.m. today in the county commission room at the Scott County Courthouse. The commission is made up of county elected officials and decides whether to make any adjustments to the salaries of the county's elected officials. Cape Girardeau County's commission met Monday and agreed to provide a 3.5 percent raise for county elected officials as long as the average raises approved in each year's county budget for county employees are at least 3.5 percent. Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said the commission's meeting with definitely be influenced by the prospect of lean budget years on the horizon, as a half-cent sales tax is set to expire next year.

Businesses affected by drought eligible for aid

Businesses in 18 Missouri counties suffering financially from the effects of this year's drought are now eligible for low-interest disaster loans from the Small Business Administration. The loans, up to $1.5 million, may be used to meet obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the drought not occurred, the SBA announced. The loans carry an interest rate of 4 percent for a maximum term of 30 years and are restricted to businesses without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact. The loans became available following last week's U.S. Department of Agriculture drought disaster declaration. Among the Missouri counties included in loan assistance program are Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry and Scott in Southeast Missouri. The assistance program is also available in most counties of Southeast Missouri from Jefferson County in the north the Arkansas state line.

-- From staff reports