Business Notebook: Month dedicated to workforce development; weight limit on Chester bridge; donation to Folds of Honor

September has been declared Workforce Development Month by Gov. Mike Parson.

In a statement issued last week, Parson said several higher education and job training programs in the state will be promoted during the month.

"Missouri is finding ways to expand, modernize, sustain apprenticeships and work-based learning, enhance regional workforce development and ensure we are building the labor force that businesses need to make Missouri the best place to live and work in America," Parson said in a statement issued by the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development.

During the month, the department will host virtual job fairs, launch the state's new Missouri Apprentice Connect portal, host the annual Chief Local Elected Officials Summit, and will reopen the remaining Missouri Job Centers that have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Missouri is also partnering with CompTIA, one of the world's largest not-for-profit trade organizations, to begin free information technology training and certifications for workers who have been displaced by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

In addition, a previously announced partnership with Coursera, another free training program, has extended its enrollment deadline from Sept. 30 to Oct. 31.

More information is available at www.jobs.mo.gov/return-strong.

Bridge limits restrict heavy truck traffic

Deterioration discovered during recent inspections have led the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to restrict heavy loads on the Mississippi River bridge between Perry County and Chester, Illinois.

New weight limit signage is being installed this week listing a maximum vehicle weight limit of 25 tons (50,000 pounds). In making the weight limit announcement last week, MoDOT said a standard semi-truck weighs approximately 40 tons (80,000 pounds), which means most commercial truck traffic — including those carrying grain, grain co-products and livestock — will not be allowed to cross the bridge until repairs are made.

In the meantime, heavy vehicles traveling between Missouri and Illinois will be required to cross the Mississippi using the Interstate 255 bridge in St. Louis County or the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in Cape Girardeau.

According to MoDOT, plans for bridge repairs are underway and a timeline for the work is being developed. Once repairs are complete, the bridge's vehicle weight limit will be increased to 40 tons.

Schnucks making gift to charitable foundation

Schnuck Markets Inc. announced last week its customers, vendors and the company have pledged a gift of $850,000 to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation, a not-for-profit that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military service members killed or injured in the line of duty.

The contribution was generated through a campaign that ran July 1 through Aug. 11 at all 112 Schnucks locations in four states, including the company's Cape Girardeau store, which allowed customers to "round up" their purchases to the nearest dollar.

Schnucks customers donated $808,000 during the campaign, while contributions by Schnucks, its teammates and others brought the total gift to $850,000.

This was the third year Schnucks as partnered with Folds of Honor. Over those years, the grocery chain's campaigns have raised $3.2 million, which has helped fund 620 scholarships.

Gearheads moving to new Jackson location

Gearheads, an automotive repair business at 2961 Highway 25 on the south side of Jackson, will move to a more central location in the community later this month.

The business, which will mark its 10th anniversary in April, is relocating to 415 S. Hope St., a location formerly occupied by Strickert's Service Station and next door to the NAPA Auto Parts store at 403 S. Hope St.

Tentative opening date at the new location is Sept. 21.

Codefi announces digital 'upskilling' initiative

Codefi, in partnership with the Center on Rural Innovation and Udacity, is offering free four-week courses and scholarships for "nanodegrees" to residents of several counties in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky in the areas of digital marketing fundamentals, business analysis fundamentals and front-end developer fundamentals.

The courses are part of the partnership's "Future is Digital" challenge, an initiative dedicated to tech upskilling to help ensure residents of rural communities are equipped to participate in the 21st century digital economy.

"From 2010 through 2016, digital jobs had the fastest wage growth rate and the second-fastest job growth average, but only 5% of tech workers live in rural America," according to a Codefi news release.

A free 40-hour foundational course will begin Sept. 22 and participants will have until Nov. 2 to complete it. After which, scholarships will be awarded for nanodegree coursework that will begin in mid-November and run through February.

People in the following counties are eligible to participate in the coursework:

• Missouri — Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott and Stoddard
• Illinois — Alexander, Massac, Pulaski and Union
• Kentucky — Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall and McCracken

More information is available online at www.codefiworks.com/futureisdigital.

VA offering suicide prevention training

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — A free suicide awareness and prevention training program, sponsored by the John J. Pershing VA medical Center, will be offered via telephone next week for caregivers of military veterans.

The one-hour SAVE training program is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

"SAVE summarizes the steps needed to take an active role in suicide prevention," said Vicki Burns, a VA social worker and caregiver support coordinator. The acronym, she said, is short for "S"igns of suicidal thinking, "A"sk questions, "V"alidate the person's experience and "E"ncourage treatment/and "E"xpedite help.

The training is open to any veteran caregiver. Dial-in information will be provided upon registration. Registration is open through Saturday by contacting Burns at (573) 778-4476.

Shawnee College to name new president

ULLIN, Ill. — The board of trustees at Shawnee Community College will name the college's next president during its meeting today.

The board's meeting and presidential announcement will take place at 5:30 p.m. and will be viewable by the public online through the Zoom meeting platform. The meeting link is www.shawneecc-edu.zoom.us/j/119290368.

Kathleen Curphy has served as interim president of the college since July 2019 following a change of assignment involving Shawnee's previous president, Peggy Bradford, who spent the past year working toward bolstering community and legislative partnerships for the college. She completed her contractual obligation with Shawnee in June.

Shawnee Community College has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,400.

Awards & Recognitions

The Missouri Association for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing (MAHPRM) has recognized SoutheastHEALTH's marketing department with 12 awards in the association's annual Show Me Excellence marketing awards competition.

MAHPRM's Show Me Excellence program recognizes outstanding advertising, marketing and public relations projects produced by hospitals and health care systems throughout the state.

Three of Southeast's projects received first-place recognitions — a partnership with Universal Health Services to bring a behavioral health care facility to Cape Girardeau, the annual SoutheastHEALTH Cancer Gala invitation and Southeast Cancer Center's Celebration of Life event honoring cancer survivors and their families.

Four projects received second-place honors — a direct mail campaign for a sleep apnea seminar, the hospital's 2020 photo calendar, Southeast's "Back in the Game of Life" radio ad and a web-based initiative to increase seminar attendance rates.

Five Southeast marketing projects received third-place recognitions — Healthier Look Magazine's heart edition, a feature story profiling heart patient Sheila LeGrand, a direct mail campaign for HealthPoint Fitness, SoutheastHEALTH's partnership with Southeast Missouri State University's athletics program, and the hospital's Patient Experience Extravaganza.

People on the Move

Four nurse practitioners have joined medical practices and programs affiliated with Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Nicholas Ervin

Nicholas Ervin is a new member of the Saint Francis palliative care program, Amos Macharia is a new staff member with Cape Cardiology Group on the Saint Francis Medical Center campus in Cape Girardeau, Emily Rhodes-Griffith has joined the Saint Francis hospitalist department and Caitlin Roe is a new staff member at Saint Francis Health Center-Dexter.

Amos Macharia

Ervin is a graduate of the SoutheastHEALTH College of Nursing and Health Sciences where he received an Associate Degree in nursing in 2013. He completed a bachelor's degree in 2015 at Southeast Missouri State University before earning a master's degree in nursing at Maryville University in St. Louis in 2018. He is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Emily Rhodes-Griffith

Macharia earned his Master of Science in nursing, specializing in adult gerontology, at Walden University in Columbia, Maryland, in 2019. He is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Caitlin Roe

Rhodes-Griffith is board certified as an adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She attended Southeast Missouri State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2014. She went on to earn a Master of Science in nursing in 2019 at Saint Louis University.

Roe received her bachelor's degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 2013 and a master's degree in nursing, with an emphasis in family practice, in 2018 from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. She is board certified by the National Council of State Board of Nursing and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Chamber Notes

The September Business After Hours gathering of Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce members is scheduled for 5 p.m. today at Century 21 Ashland Realty, 3125 E. Jackson Blvd. Masks will be required and attendees are asked to practice social distancing.

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The Jackson chamber is also accepting reservations for its September membership breakfast, set for 7:30 a.m. Sept. 18 at the Jackson Civic Center. Seating will be limited in order to accommodate social-distancing requirements, face masks will also be necessary, and member organizations will be limited to no more than two attendees. Reservations can be made through the chamber's website.

Commercial building permit

The City of Cape Girardeau's Inspection Services Office issued a commercial building permit last week for an addition and interior renovation to the state office building at 3463 Armstrong Drive in Cape Girardeau. DSW Development is the project contractor. According to the permit, the project has an estimated construction cost of $670,000.

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