Following an announcement made July 1, in which Starbucks stated it had made "a decision to close approximately 600 underperforming company-operated stores in the U.S. market," Starbuck's released a list of specific stores on Thursday that it is planning to close.  On that list is the company-operated Starbucks located at 3081 Phoenix Center Drive in the Phoenix Center II development in Washington, Missouri.  That store opened in late 2007.

 

The Washington store is one of 17 Missouri Starbucks slated to be closed.  "The majority of the store closures are scheduled to occur during the remainder of fiscal 2008 and the first half of fiscal 2009," the company said in it's July 1st release.  The release continued, "The timing of the closures is dependent on finalizing third-party agreements, and is therefore subject to change."

 

Starbucks noted that the closure list is subject to change and that actual store closures may differ from the published list as a result of risks related to finalization of third party agreements, expected costs savings and other benefits associated with specific store closures.

 

Jay & Leslie's Laughing Matters performance group visited the Washington, Missouri Public Library on Tuesday at 7pm as part of the Summer Reading Program.  The Laughing Matters group, which is based out of Mission, Kansas, was in the area as part of a tour of the St. Louis area.  The performance was held in the council chambers of City Hall.

 

The group's acts included juggling, mime, magic and comedy while relating activities to reading and spelling.  Several of the acts involved volunteers from the audience.  Around thirty children showed up for the event, which lasted an hour.  Video highlights of the performance can be viewed below.

 

Leslie and Jay Cady have been full-time professional entertainers since 1980 and have performed over 5,000 times in 32 states and 7 countries.  You can visit the Jay & Leslie's Laughing Matters website at: http://leslieandjay.com

 

 

Pictures from the event can be seen by clicking the "Read more" link below.

In a June 14th, 2008 letter to Washington, Missouri School Board members, Dr. Huddleston, Superintendent of Schools for the District, tendered his resignation.  The resignation is effective July 31st, 2008.  Dr. Huddleston has been with the School District of Washington since March, 2005.

 

Among successes mentioned by Dr. Huddleston over the past three years were the implementation of quarterly assessments and the district's efforts to keep teacher salaries competitive.

 

The School Board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, July 17th, at which time further details may be finalized regarding the search for potential candidates for the position.  Current School Board members include: Rick Rehmeier (President), Brian Sumner (Vice President), Jennifer Triplett (Secretary), Diane Brunworth, Scott Byrne, Linda Patterson and Brenda Kleinheider.