Business Notebook: Country Mart stores changing hands; CARSTAR set to open

Harps Food Stores Inc. has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire 20 grocery stores in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas owned by Town and Country Grocers of Fredericktown, Missouri, including Country Mart stores in Jackson and Marble Hill, Missouri.

According to a news release issued last week by Harps Foods, which is headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the change in ownership is tentatively set to take place this summer.

The news release went on to say the transaction is subject to "ordinary due diligence including approval from the Town and Country shareholders."

"We have to vote on it because we are employee-owned," Jackson Country Mart manager Kevin Groves told the Missourian. That vote must be completed by the end of this week.

Groves said it isn't clear at this point whether the ownership change will affect operations at the Jackson Country Mart. The store has 85 full- and part-time employees.

CARSTAR Auto Body, 450 Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau, will open in the near future.Photo courtesy of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate

"Opportunities like this are rare," Harps Food president and CEO Kim Eskew said in the company's news release. "We are extremely excited about adding these stores to our Harps family. They will make a great addition to our company as we strive to continue to grow."

In addition to the Country Mart stores in Jackson and Marble Hill, the proposed acquisition will involve Town and Country Grocers' stores in the following Missouri communities -- Bernie, Bonne Terre, Clarkton, Dexter, Doniphan, Farmington, Fredericktown, Kennett, Malden, Park Hills, Potosi, Thayer and West Plains. Other Town and Country grocery stores involved in the ownership transition are in the following Arkansas towns: Harrison, Highland, Newark, Piggott and Pocahontas.

Harps is a 100% employee-owned company operating 92 stores in four states: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. It is the largest employee-owned company in Arkansas and was founded by Harvard and Floy Harp in Springdale in 1930.

CARSTAR Auto Body opening this month

A new auto body repair business is scheduled to open in the near future in Cape Girardeau.

Mike Skelton

CARSTAR Auto Body will occupy a 16,000-square-foot building at 450 Siemers Drive, which was formerly the location of Bluff City Beer's Cape Girardeau warehouse.

The business is owned by Bruce and LaDona Russom who currently operate two other CARSTAR franchises in Dyersburg and Rutherford, Tennessee.

CARSTAR is the largest network of independently owned collision repair facilities in the United States, offering auto body repair, paintless dent repair and storm damage repair with 24/7 accident assistance.

Tom Kelsey of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate handled the lease transaction for the building.

Program offers grants for STEM education

Linda Hurt

Missouri farmers have until April 1 to nominate rural public schools to receive $15,000 grants to enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education through the 2020 Grow Rural Education program, sponsored by the Bayer Fund.

To nominate a school district or for more information about the grant program, eligible farmers can visit www.AmericasFarmers.com and complete a nomination form.

Nominated schools will be notified and will be encouraged to submit grant applications describing their STEM projects by April 15. A panel of math and science teachers will then review applications and select finalists, after which the grant program's advisory council, consisting of about 30 agricultural leaders from across the country, will select the winning school districts.

Since its inception in 2011, the Grow Rural Education program has awarded more than $18 million in grants to approximately 1,000 schools nationwide. In Missouri, more than $1,185,000 has been awarded to local public schools through the program.

SFMC seeks patient care associates

Brent Thomaswick

Saint Francis Healthcare System, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, is offering a paid educational opportunity for those interested in a clinical career in health care.

Applications are being accepted through April 3 to enroll in a four-week class offered through the Cape Girardeau Career & Technology Center starting May 18. The classroom training will be followed by 100 hours of clinical education at Saint Francis Medical Center. Employment by Saint Francis is contingent on successful completion of the classroom and clinical training.

Patient care associates are responsible for performing direct and indirect patient care duties as delegated by appropriately licensed nursing personnel.

To apply for the four-week training and subsequent clinical education, visit www.careers.sfmc.net and click on the "current openings" tab to view the "Patient Care Associate -- Paid Education Opportunity" listing.

For more information, contact the Saint Francis human resources office, (573) 331-5152.

Dominic Bays

People on the Move

Mike Skelton has been named local sales manager for KFVS12 and the Heartland's CW (WQWQ-TV), according to an announcement from KFVS12 general sales manager Greg Carter.

Before joining the television stations, Skelton was an account executive with Spectrum Reach, where he earned numerous honors, including the Spectrum Reach Elite Award for Spectrum's Midwest region.

Prior to Spectrum, Skelton was sales manager at Coad Chevrolet and general manager at Cape Girardeau Honda and Auffenberg Hyundai.

As local sales manager, Skelton will oversee all local revenue-generating efforts for KFVS12 and the Heartland's CW, along with the station's various multi-cast channels.

Originally from Scott City, Skelton studied business and marketing at Murray State University and Southeast Missouri State University.

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Audiologist Linda Hurt has joined Cape ENT Group, an ear, nose and throat medical practice at 150 S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau.

Hurt received her medical education from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences in Mesa, Arizona, and a Master of Science in audiology from Southeast Missouri State University in 1983. She is board certified through the American Academy of Audiology.

Cape ENT Group is affiliated with Saint Francis Healthcare System and serves patients throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.

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Bent Creek Golf Club in Jackson recently added two key employees to its staff, including a new PGA professional and course superintendent.

Brent Thomaswick was named to the position of PGA head professional at the course earlier this winter. Originally from Pittsburgh, Thomaswick is PGA certified in golf operations and player development. A PGA professional for 10 years, he has worked as head professional at Sandpiper Bay in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, and in 2018, was named Golf Professional of the Year in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

He is a graduate of Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, and the Golf Academy of America.

Dominic Bays was recently named Bent Creek course superintendent.

Bays studied agricultural business and horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University and spent three years as assistant superintendent at Fox Haven Country Club in Sikeston, Missouri, before joining Bent Creek.

Chamber notes

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's March Business After Hours gathering is set for 5 until 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Cape Girardeau Country Club, 250 Country Club Drive in Cape Girardeau.

Business After Hours networking events are free for chamber members and their guests.

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The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's March Business Breakfast is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Jackson Civic Center, 381 E. Deerwood Drive in Jackson.

Jackson chamber business breakfasts are free for Jackson chamber members and their guests.

Business license applications

Alec Eudy of Jackson has submitted a business license application with the City of Cape Girardeau to open AB Cabinets LLC at 705 William St. The business, which opened last month, according to the application, builds and markets kitchen cabinets and is co-owned by Brandon Wright of Chaffee, Missouri.

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