VIDEO: 85 MPH Speed Limit in Texas

At 85 mph, fastest highway in the US opens

State Road 130, a 40-mile stretch of road in Texas between Austin and San Antonio, allows drivers to push their cars, vans and trucks to 85 miles an hour. NBC’s Janet Shamlian reports.

Click HERE to view video.

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Chaffee gets $9 million in USDA loans for water, sewer projects

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The city of Chaffee will be improving its aging water and sewer-system infrastructure through low-interest loans funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Rural Development.

The loans, together worth $9 million, will be used to replace existing water mains in the Chaffee water district and for building an up-to-date water treatment facility. The cash also will go toward repairing and treating the city's sewer collection lines and improving the lift station.

Chaffee city administrator Lee Horton said the projects couldn't have come at a better time.

"The water lines we use now haven't been replaced in over 30 years," Horton said. "The water-treatment plant isn't modern by any means. It was built in 1978, and the filtering system it houses is around 30 years old. The sewer lines also have been in need of repair. It's time for something more efficient."

Horton added that plans for the city's water system total $6.2 million from the USDA, with another $2.8 million coming for the sewer lines and lift station. The water system money was awarded last year, while the announcement on the sewer loan was made last month.

"The money we'll receive for the sewers is in addition to what we received in 2011 for the water-system project," he said. "The water project has a head start, but if we're able to get plans for the sewers drawn and have funding in place, we'll want to work concurrently on both projects if we can."

Horton couldn't say for sure when Chaffee would receive the money for the sewer project, but he expects it to be coming soon.

"We've been discussing sewer funding with rural development since June, and we know we've been approved for funding" he said. "The money is on its way."

Schultz Surveying and Engineering of Poplar Bluff, Mo., is in charge of engineering for both projects. Chief engineer Tim Southards said he is wrapping up construction plans for the water system but designs for the sewers and lift station are in the conceptual-design stage.

"The water-system project is the primary focus," Southard said. "But once we're comfortable with what we put together for the sewers and lift station, we'll commit to them accordingly. Plans for either the water or sewer systems have to be approved by rural development and the Department of Natural Resources, and so far there haven't been any red flags. I'm hopeful they and DNR will give their final approval to the water plans by December."

Phyllis Minner, area specialist in Stoddard County's USDA service center, shared Southards' optimism for December approval.

"That sounds about right to me," Minner said. "You can never say for sure, but I think getting approval for the plans by then is possible."

A groundbreaking for the water-system project is anticipated for the spring of 2013. Once started, it is estimated to be completed within 18 months.

Original story: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1906606.html 

Sunrise Beach seeks citizen input on sewer; refinancing bonds for Hwy 5 widening

The Sunrise Beach Board of Trustees wants to hear from its constituents about their sewage.

The board has scheduled three public hearings to give the citizens of Sunrise Beach an opportunity to voice their opinion and ask questions regarding a pending Sunrise Beach Phase 1 Sewer Project. The three consecutive hearings are scheduled for 6 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19 at the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District No. 1 Administration Building. They will cover the following three topics:

• The establishment of a user-charge wastewater system in the village.
• The establishment of an ordinance regulating the use of public and private sewers and drains and providing penalties for violations thereof.
• The environmental impact of and the need for a sewer system in the village. Schultz Surveying & Engineering will present an environmental impact report on the Phase 1 Sewer Project.

The Phase 1 Sewer Project will consist of an extended air sewer treatment facility, with a forced main that will run along Highway 5 from the Hurricane Deck Bridge north to Lake Road 5-39. The estimated cost of the Phase 1 sewer project is $2.2 million.

Engineers report

At the board’s Oct. 11 meeting, Jim Fisher, Lake Manager for Schultz Surveying & Engineering and Village Phase 1 Sewer Project Engineer, reported his firm is working hard to get the sewer project rolling. Fisher said he will have the specifications and tentative plans for the Phase 1 treatment plant by the November board meeting. He also announced Kerry Metscher as the head right-of-way manager. Metscher will work to get the necessary easements for the Phase 1 sewer project. Fisher and Trustee Charlie Bott are collaborating on two sewer ordinances to be presented at the public hearing.

Bond refinancing
In other business, Charlie Zitnik with D.A. Davidson & Co. attended the Thursday meeting to discuss bond refinancing. The board cleared Zitnik to draw up the necessary paperwork for the refinancing of the 2003 Certificate of Participation (COPS), along with paperwork for the financing of the Phase 2 Highway 5 widening project. The Phase 2 widening project will turn a section of Highway 5 into three lanes, from Lake Road 5-36 north to Lake Road 5-32, at a cost of approximately $600,000. The project is slated by the Missouri Department of Transportation to begin in 2013.

Zitnik reported the city is currently paying 5.34 percent interest on $50,000 payments annually. With the refinancing, Zitnik projects the interest could be lowered to 3.8 percent, over a twenty year period. “The savings are astronomical,” Zitnik said.

Board approvals
The board approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District. The city will forgive 10,000 gallons of water usage each month for training purposes. The district will pay the regular business water user rate for anything over 10,000 gallons.

The board also approved the low bid of $1,045 from Bartley Pump to seal and plug the village well.

The village issued a merchant license to the Pexco Company, LLC, and Impressions. The board also issued a liquor license to the Woods Super Market.

A media event is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, during which the United States Department of Agriculture will present loan funds in the amount of $104,000 to the village for the purchase of City Hall. The village is purchasing the building and less than an acre of land immediately surrounding the building from Village Attorney Greg Williams.

The board changed the November meeting date to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13 as the regular meeting fall on a holiday.

Original story: http://m.lakeexpo.com/mobile/news/lake_news/article_395c2e4a-170b-11e2-ac8f-001a4bcf887a.html

MACADOODLES MAKES ITS MARK ON BRANSON

Macadoodles Grand Opening

Branson is now home to one of the most premiere specialty shops in the southern mid-west.  Macadoodles Fine Wine, Beer, and Spirits opened up one of their highly acclaimed shops in Branson in August of 2012.  Schultz Surveying & Engineering was selected to do the site development plan, construction staking and surveying for this project which will be another business added downtown by the Branson Landing.  SSE Owner Stan Schultz said, “I am very proud of Brad Allbritton and our Branson team.  Developing a site plan that accounted for the small space and traffic patterns down by the landing was a huge challenge.  I didn’t know if it could be done but by working with the developer, city planners and the contractor they pulled it off!”

Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley helping
 Macadoodles Owners cut the ribbon!

Brad Allbritton has been running the Branson office since 2010 and has been involved in numerous commercial and public projects in the region.  He added, “It was a simple but tricky project.  Working with a limited amount of space so close to the creek made it a challenge to design a plan that met their building size requirements and still have adequate room for parking, but the City of Branson was very helpful and the folks at Macadoodles were a pleasure to work for.” 

SSE's Brad Allbritton with
Branson Alderwoman Cris Bohinc

Schultz Engineering sent Chief Surveyor, Wendell Beard, to head up the beginning stages of the project and up until its completion in August 2012.  Wendell said, “This project was a lot of hard work, but it was a lot of fun, too.  Brad did a great job on the design and we worked well with the rest of the team to do the surveying and construction staking.  It’s always nice to be a part of bringing another business to our area.” 

Superior customer service is one of Macadoodles top priorities and their President, Roger Gildehaus said, “Our promise is providing the friendliest service guaranteed!  If you’re not 100% satisfied, we’ll double your money back.” 

They do that by meeting the following goals:

• Clean and friendly shopping experiences for the whole family
• Customer service beyond expectations
•  Make you feel appreciated and that you are an important person to us
•  A variety of products, many that can only be found at Macadoodles
• Competitive pricing
• Always in stock on the products you want
• The extra amenities that make the store a complete and outstanding shopping experience
• Strive everyday to develop your loyalty

You can visit Macadoodles online at www.Branson.Macadoodles.com or visit their new location in Branson located at 438 Branson Landing Boulevard.  

HUNDREDS GATHER AT SSE HEADQUARTERS FOR 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CAJUN SHRIMP BOIL

Huge crowd at the Poplar Bluff boil

Things were hot and spicy at the Poplar Bluff office with Schultz Surveying & Engineering hosting a Cajun Shrimp Boil Thursday night. Over 300 business and community leaders from the region attended the festivities.

Owner Stan Schultz said, “Business continues to grow in our Southeast Missouri offices. Just 15 years ago we started off in a one-room building down the road, and now we are giving back to the folks who have been with us and supported our efforts all of these years. We love working in rural Missouri and to have so many community leaders show up and help us celebrate another great year of business was exciting.”

The festivities started at 5:00 pm with several people already waiting for the first batch of shrimp to finish cooking. “The SSE folks sure know how to cook Cajun style. They put on a great party with some outstanding food,” added State Representative Steve Cookson

Here's the City of Hayti crew waiting
on their cajun style shrimp!

While the slow economy has negatively affected many Missouri businesses, SSE was just recognized as one of the fastest growing companies by Inc. 500|5000. Marketing Director Rodney Jetton says they are bucking that trend, “Because our company listens to the needs and concerns of community leaders, we don’t try to tell them what to do. Our engineers know the rules and are used to working with USDA and DNR officials. They are experts at finding funding and designing projects that meet the community’s needs at the lowest possible price. Our projects consistently meet the short and long range government requirements while saving taxpayers money.”

Folks in line getting
their food.  Looks good!

Schultz took a few moments to introduce two of the new engineers at SSE. David Stinson and Tim Southards recently left the Missouri Department of Nature Resources and joined SSE. Schultz recognized them and mentioned how helpful their backgrounds will be to the communities needing help with water and sewer systems in Southeast Missouri.

The night’s activities also included several door nice prizes including a Remington 870 shotgun, a bionic fishing pole and an Apple iPad. Judy Davis from the Ripley County Water District # 1 won the iPad, while Sandra Bates from Eagle Wings Construction walked away with the fishing pole and Kim Hill from Contech took home the shotgun. SSE Engineer Tim Southards commented, “Seeing folks enjoy the food, and having fun made the whole party a success! 2012 is shaping up to be our biggest year ever and getting to say thanks to all our customers and visiting with our elected officials was very enjoyable.”

To view our 2012 Cajun Shrimp Boil photo albums, please CLICK HERE.

OVER 500 HELP SSE CELEBRATE THEIR 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH HUGE CAJUN SHRIMP BOIL

Cheri Westervelt of Sunrise Beach took home the shotgun

 LAKE OZARK, MISSOURI - Things were hot and spicy at the Lake Ozark area Fairgrounds with Schultz Surveying &Engineering hosting a Cajun Shrimp Boil Tuesday night.  Over 500 business and community leaders from the region attended the festivities.

Owner Stan Schultz said, “Business is continuing to grow in our mid-Missouri offices and the SNG gas line as well as the Sunrise Beach projects are major milestones for us at the lake.  We love working in rural Missouri and to have so many community leaders show up and help us celebrate another great year of business was exciting.”

The festivities started at 5:00 pm with several people already waiting for the first batch of shrimp to finish cooking.  “The SSE folks sure know how to cook Cajun style.  They put on a great party with some outstanding food,” added Brian Mesile

While the slow economy has negatively affected many Missouri businesses, SSE was just recognized as one of the fastest growing companies by Inc. 500|5000.  Marketing Director Rodney Jetton says they are bucking that trend, “Because our company listens to the needs and concerns of community leaders, we don’t try to tell them what to do.  Our engineers know the rules and are used to working with USDA and DNR officials.  They are experts at finding funding and designing projects that meet the community’s needs at the lowest possible price. Our projects consistently meet the short and long range government requirements while saving taxpayers money.”

The night’s activities also included several door nice prizes including a Remington 870 shotgun, a bionic fishing pole and an Android Tablet.  Cindy Campbell of Sunrise Beach won the tablet while Brandon Bowers of Lake Ozark walked away with the fishing pole and Cheri Westervelt of Sunrise Beach took home the shotgun.  SSE Engineer Jim Fisher commented, “Seeing folks enjoy the food, and having fun made the whole party a success!  2012 is shaping up to be our biggest year ever and getting to say thanks to all our customers and visiting with our elected officials was very enjoyable.”

Cindy Campbell of Sunrise Beach won the tablet

COME OUT TO OUR NEXT CAJUN BOIL 

WHEN - THURSDAY OCTOBER 4TH 

TIME - 5:00PM 

WHERE- 4800 West Blvd. POPLAR BLUFF, MO