Hypes and Gripes

Life-saving equipment, hockey hysteria, bad drivers and more.

• Hypes to Christian County for investing in a Reverse 911 system, which has the ability to call land line phones in any specific area to warn residents about lost children, energy shortages and storms. The system possibly saved lives during the January 7 tornado outbreak. Emergency Management guru Phil Amtower deserves kudos for the system, which Greene County managers told the News-Leader they have been wanting for some time. We say buy it.

• Hypes to the Missouri State Ice Bears for becoming something of a phenomenon, bringing wild-crazy crowds and a real sense of excitement to Jordan Valley ice Park. We hope next year the hoopla begins at the start of the season—there are a lot of games in the fall that deserve sellouts, too. One thing is undeniable: Missouri State hockey is by far the most exciting game on campus right now.

• Hypes to CoxHealth for its program which allows you to e-mail a patient from its website, coxhealth.com, with hospital staff delivering the message to the patient’s room.

• Gripes to New Jersey drivers. We seemed to have imported them by the hundreds on that icy morning last week.

• Hypes to American Airlines. Ever notice how it used to take nearly as long as the flights in from Chicago or Dallas to get your bags at the Springfield airport?
Not any more.

• Hypes to the The Coffee Ethic. Your décor is the closest to Frank Gehry Springfield will ever get. And you’re making sustainability your byword. These things are inspiring.