Spots will feature cases studies from victims of drunk drivers. Two specific incidents deal with fatalities for the ‘other people’; those who are run into by the drunk drivers. More painful to consider is the way drunk driving didn’t seem to be taken seriously. Drivers were arrested for DUI and released to go out on the roads again until someone died.

Perhaps a new decade will bring some difference on the roads. The PSA announcements come along with greater effort on the part of law enforcement and organizations such as MADD. Sobriety checkpoints are being conducted more frequently in Missouri. Early in December, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon expressed interest in strengthening Missouri’s DUI laws. According to data provided by Aaron Sacks in press releases regarding the move to promote sobriety for the holidays, increased enforcement of laws on the books and public awareness have led to lower accident and fatality numbers.

I applaud my friends at KOLR10/KSFX. I do not personally know Sachs, but have to respect the stand of his commercials and his goal of funding the closed captioning services.

The team of Sachs and KOLR10/KSFX was announced with online press releases at PRWeb and EIN Presswire. The announcement is also a part of the blog on the Aaron Sachs Associates, PC website. The broadcast option of making a social statement about the hazards of driving drunk is excellent and surely reaches an acceptable portion of the population. But, making the statement online with press releases and blog posts takes the stand against drunk driving to a much expanded level.

Thanks, KOLR10/KSFX and Aaron Sachs for your stand and your efforts. There will be more living people in Missouri who will be able to enjoy more of 2010 because of your efforts.

Sponsors for country music out of the South Central Missouri airways have all put themselves OVER the top to add gifts and prizes to the loot in the Big Country Hiney Hauler at Houston, Missouri.

Listeners can call in to get their names added to the drawing, while folks in Mountain Grove, MO can also enter at participating Grove businesses.

The team at Big Country 99.3.FM doesn’t let the shorter days with light deprivation or the cold weather get to them. They are always ‘cookin’ some nifty idea for their listeners.

You can get your morning rolling with the special talk-show, Romine’s Party Line. I’ve listened to other Party-Line programs before, but they didn’t have the spice of Ricky V and the Rock Star adding to the mix of the callers. Folks can call in with opinion, information and announcements and count on the on-air team to carry their end of the conversation. Often, they carry the caller’s end too! Tune in and try it.

Shelly and I have been ‘talking’ over at Beauty Matters, the website and blog about BEAUTY, especially for Baby Boomer Women.  Shelly has a guest post over at Beauty Matters about the organic cosmetics and her experience using them entitled Shelly Hambrick Brings Neal’s Yard Remedies.

I’m more pleased to see local women using their ambition and wisdom in choosing products to offer their customers locally and online.  Check out the products at Shelly’s webpage and read more at the Beauty Matters blog.

At KoMoStones.com, Debbie Ohland has some unique chokers and pendants, plus handmade beaded jewelry. Debbie is offering her jewelry from her base location in the Ozarks of Missouri. The handmade beaded pieces are created by her parents in Florida.

The pendants are beautiful glass pieces that can be interchanged between chokers. They also have possibilities as suncatchers or tree ornaments. How neat is that? To have a place to store your beautiful pendant — in the window — instead of tucked away out of sight in a box? You get multiple chances to enjoy it.

At the website, KoMoStones.com, you can learn more about the jewelry and the story behind the name, KoMo.

Sue Fuge, broker at United Country Ridgeway Real Estate credits a great deal of the success for Ridgeway to partner Devon Campbell ‘s expertise as a successful farmer knowledgeable in what grasses and hay grow best in the area and how to get the most from them. Additionally, he has contacts for equipment, supplies and services that farmers new to the area are going to need. These skills have permitted Ridgeway to offer extra ongoing service to customers that helps keep the neighbor connection going long after closing.

In recent conversation, Sue commented that the early vision for service at Ridgeway had happened and that it continues to happen even in what analysts call a tough market. Service added farming knowledge and expertise build loyalty in clients and customers alike, that connection has made a successful year for United Country Real Estate regardless of the market.

Real estate is affected incredibly by the availability of technology — less expensive phone service, Internet communication, websites and more. The stresses of the market seem high today, but there is always some sort of market issue to deal with.

Sue observed that today’s real estate customer is expectant and savvy, wanting in-depth information right at their fingertips. Technology makes that possible and it is healthier for the industry to be able to avoid issues and misunderstandings through better communication and resources for information.

Additionally, the paperwork for different aspects of representation; will the agent be the seller’s agent or the buyer’s agent have added complications to the real estate industry. I agree with Sue that real estate professionals in all parts of the country don’t represent threats to the representation of the people who have a property to sell or to those who want to buy a property. Professional brokers and agents don’t sell property, they bring property and people together. The property ‘sings’ to the customer and does the deal. Professionals just have to offer good connection service and good neighborly treatment and stay out of the way.

According to the vision for the future, no amount of paperwork or spooky economics will hinder the agents and brokers at United Country Ridgeway Real Estate (http://www.ridgewayrealestate.com/) from offering continually improving service to the real estate market in the Ozarks. Sue commented, “Our goal for the future is to continue to assist our sellers in marketing their homes, farms and ranches while helping our customers find the right property to fit their needs.  We will continue to strengthen our advertizing base and cover more area’s to find more people with an  interest in coming to enjoy life in our beautiful Ozarks area.”

Ozarks Mystique congratulates the neighbors at Ridgeway for their business success and wants them to stay in the Mansfield, Missouri business community for many more years.

When absenteeism due to illness hits a certain percentage, the learning momentum is seriously interrupted.  Meanwhile kids and teachers who are close to being too sick to be out there are not performing at their peak.

Yesterday, with 106 kids out of school was the tipping point for Mansfield schools.  The rooms were quiet for Thursday and Friday in addition to the weekend while staff made extra effort to clean surfaces that could harbor flu germs.  There is some evidence that these germs don’t last long in a dry environment.  If they can be kept away from contact with kids till the germs expire of environment or age, then the flu can experience a well-deserved kick in the butt from the kids in the Ozarks.

Other parts of the country are experiencing weather conditions that could break the bonds of the winter illnesses by enforcing snowed-in-solitude.   The Ozarks aren’t getting snow these few days, but RAIN and now, this afternoon alluvial mists are creeping across the pastures and woodlots…okay it’s fog.  I need coffee.

Mansfield can be proud to have a steady business thrive in the economic soup of the community for thirty years. In conversation with Sue Fuge, broker at Ridgeway this week, we visited the real estate environment in the 1970s and 1980s. “There was a real estate boom for properties with water frontage. People wanted live and water and seclusion, pretty much the same as other parts of the country. Farmers came then as they do today because the property prices were lower. “

Sue went on to observe that property prices and lower real estate taxes have attracted the retirement market steadily since the doors at Ridgeway opened thirty years ago. “The eighties were good in Missouri.” she added.

Sue and Devon Campbell started Ridgeway Real Estate thirty years ago and have been building since. Sue worked with another brokerage for about a year; that brokerage is no longer in business. Several years ago, they decided to add the nationwide franchise United Country to their services. That let them offer national options to their listings while contacting people all over who would be interested in a home in the beautiful Ozarks.

I have some experience with real estate and know that I thrived on the adrenalin of the ‘deal’, chaos of keeping offers juggled, and loved the administrative side of getting all the paperwork in order. I asked Sue what had motivated her to get into and she candidly answered, ” I was looking for a way to make a living and raise my two children.” She continued that she found she really loved working with the people and meeting the challenge of finding just the right property for each customer. “It is very interesting to talk with people from other areas and learn about their ways of gardening, farming and other culture aspects from all over the United States of America.”

Sue told me more about her perception of the successful aspects of Ridgeway Real Estate’s business history and about the vision for their future in the real estate business.

The new post, The Babe Boomer Youth To Do List is a summary of the topics which are featured in the e-book.  The e-book will be discussed in detail in future posts which will contain parts of the e-book.  The -ebook, Baby Boomer Guide will also be available as a whole for a very reasonable price.

The past posts about Big Country in view of the recent anniversary have described the Fast and Furious SPRINT of beginning the process of building relationship, reliability and reach of the broadcasts. The ten year vision for this media center of the Ozarks reveals the steady stride of a finely tuned marathon runner for the next seven years. The Big Country Nation mentioned in earlier posts will begin the positive heart to heart and hand to hand ‘combat’ of telling a friend about Big Country 99.3 FM who then tells more friends. A nation of friends connected by the air waves of FM radio in the Ozarks.

Big Country 99.3 FM has made a declaration to GROW — grow their online companies and to grow partnerships with like-minded business owners who see the future with a sense of pride that makes all reach higher and higher.

Congratulations on the THIRD year anniversary, Big Country 99.3. You’ve done a great job and I have every bit of confidence that you will meet that declaration in the next seven years.

Appropriate to Mansfield’s location at Crossroads of the Ozarks, one of the new businesses is CROSSROADS, a gift shop that is amazing for a small town. I don’t know that the geography of Mansfield was the inspiration for their name CROSSROADS, but I like the poetry of thinking about it! I like their ‘sand’ at setting up new businesses in Mansfield. Their ‘look’ could easily begin attracting clients from other communities which is a great compliment to Mansfield and the rest of the community.

The other new business is a beauty shop: Top of the Line Salon which opened recently.

The three businesses: Sho-Me Real Estate, Crossroads and Top of the Line Salon will host a business after hours through the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce on November 3, 2009 (TUESDAY) from 5-6 pm at their West Commercial Street location. The event is open to the public as well as Chamber members.