SARCOXIE, Mo. —
Sarcoxie officials are working with a lender for Mid-America Hardwoods and its sister company, Heritage Flooring, to do what they can to help keep the business afloat after recent layoffs.
Gary Turner, director of economic development for Sarcoxie, confirmed there have been layoffs at the plant south of town on Missouri Highway 37, but he said he isn’t sure how many workers are affected. He said some employees appear to still be working there.
“We have contacted one of the lenders to let them know if there is anything we can do,” Turner said Friday. “We hate to see it go away, and we want to try and do what we can from the city’s perspective.”
Calls to the company on Thursday and Friday were not returned.
Turner said the business opened in 1979 and at one point was a major employer in the area, with between 150 and 200 people working there. It also had a showroom at one time along the highway displaying the company’s flooring, molding and other hardwood products.
But there have been setbacks along the way, including the tragic death of the founder of the business, Terry Shepherd, in 2000, and a fire in 2007 that destroyed nearly a quarter-million board feet of lumber in a kiln building on Missouri Highway 60 between Granby and Monett.
Turner said the downturn in the housing market with the recent recession also has hurt business for the company, as it has for other related companies.
He said city officials will continue to work with the company, even though it is outside of the city, to try to preserve the jobs.
“We want this to come out as some sort of positive,” he said.
Mid-America Hardwoods also owns a plant in Mississippi, but no information was available on the status of that operation.
Local News
Sarcoxie officials work with lender to help company following layoffs
- Local News
-
-
Pittsburg crews work to repair storm damaged Schlanger Park
City crews using heavy equipment spent Thursday cleaning up Schlanger Park after a storm tracked through Monday night.
-
Cunningham Park vandalism bill estimated at $4,000
The city estimates that vandals caused about $4,000 worth of property damage in Cunningham Park, draining the swimming pool of 200,000 gallons of water and moving some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.
-
Content of book, students' access to it at issue in hearing for suspended teacher
A standing-room only crowd is present at the hearing this morning to decide the fate of suspended Joplin Middle School teacher Randy Turner, who has asked for the hearing before the board of education.
-
VIDEO: Restore Joplin designer stepping up to help Moore tornado victims
The designer of the Restore Joplin T-shirts who helped raise nearly a quarter-million dollars for Joplin in the wake of the 2011 tornado has put together a similar design to raise money for residents of Moore, Okla.
-
Southeast Kansas foundation accepts donations for Moore
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is accepting donations to assist the victims of the Moore, Okla., tornado.
-
Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
-
Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
-
Hired hand won’t face death penalty in Vernon County murder case
The state has agreed not to seek the death penalty against Jeremy L. Maples in the murder of Belinda J. Beisly, but prosecutors have yet to take the option off the table for the victim’s husband, Bob T. Beisly II.
-
Families in Moore, Joplin linked by disasters
Zach Woodcock knew the storms were going to be bad on May 22, 2011, so turning on the Weather Channel was a natural. What he saw filled him with fear. The Moore resident’s family lived in Joplin, Mo.
-
Carl Junction officials weigh cost of proposed skate park
The public facilities and planning committee of Carl Junction met Tuesday to discuss plans for a proposed skate park near the site of the old public works barn on Water Street. The committee reviewed a design from American Ramp Co. of Joplin to get what committee chairman Tim Smith said was a “rough idea of layout and cost” for the project.
- More Local News Headlines
-
