Community News

Meet Pistol, a very special Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

In the fall of 1621, Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag Indian tribe, heard musket shots. He sent 90 of his warriors to investigate. He feared that a warring tribe had attacked the pilgrims, who he had promised to protect. There was no danger. The governor of the new colony had given his men permission to hunt fowl, so that a day of Thanksgiving might be observed...

The Cassville FFA Chapter is planning its annual food drive this holiday season, and the group is asking for the help and support from the community. In this time of hardships, basic luxuries that some take for granted are not accessible for many local families. Now more than ever, the need for food in the community is prevalent and real...

• Joe Daryl Andrus, Mt. Vernon, second degree burglary, fel. C, probation revoked, seven years with the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC); resisting/interfering with an arrest for a felony, fel. D, probation revoked, four years with the DOC. • Joe D. ...

Students were recognized recently for showing self-discipline, to celebrate Red Ribbon week and say no to drugs.

• Trevor Lynn Sparkman, Lindale, Texas, take/possess over daily limit/possession limit of trout, misd. A, $110.50 and court costs. • Tyler L. Spreeman, Cassville, seat belt violation, infr. $10. • Jaden Austin Steele, Eagle Rock, driving while license is revoked/suspended, misd. D. $80.50...

Nominations are being accepted for the January 2021 public election of Barry County’s University of Missouri Extension Council, according to Council Chairman Marcia Moreland. Council members are elected or appointed to two-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. Nominees must be at least 18 and must reside in Barry County...

Meet Ash, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

I still believe in old-fashioned, week-long, fall church revivals. I was driving to Council Grove, Kan., to preach one. I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the scenic route through the Flint Hills. It was a gorgeous day, and the hills were still green and covered with cattle. ...

Six employees of Able 2 Products Company in Cassville were recognized for milestone employment anniversaries at a company-wide meeting on Nov. 10.

Meet GeeGee, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

SKITS board members Don Herbert and actor Cliff Przbyl, along with Table Rock Community Foundation members Judy Reynolds and Nita Jane Ayres, attended the recent Table Rock Community Foundation grant recipient luncheon at Silver Dollar City. The annual event celebrates the work and endeavors of philanthropic organizations, such as The Table Rock Community Lake Foundation, which has made a huge impact by virtue of their continued support to non-profit organizations in Stone County and southeast Barry County,. ...

  First Baptist Church in Cassville and New Site Baptist Church and in Monett are not waiting until Thanksgiving Day to express gratitude. Instead, they are giving back by lovingly packing gifts of joy for children around the world living in extreme poverty or affected by war, disease and natural disaster. Operation Christmas Child — a project of Samaritan’s Purse — is the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind...

• Gerald Clayborn Ritchie, Monett, financial responsibility violation, misd. D, $80.50 and court costs; seat belt violation, $10. • Wayne Dudley Rogers, Exeter, speeding, misd. B, $200 and court costs. • Shayler Dane-Joseph Route, Rocky Comfort, DWI, misd. B; no valid driver’s license, misd. D, $380.50 and court costs...

The 22nd annual Check Out Hunger campaign begins Nov. 1 with more than 60 local grocers partnering with Ozarks Food Harvest to help provide meals for families during the holiday season. The campaign continues through Dec. 31. Check Out Hunger allows customers to add a $1, $3 or $5 tax-free donation to their grocery bill when checking out at local retailers. ...

Meet Patricia Star, and lots of other adorable kittens, the Haven of the Ozarks Pets of the Week.

Some Americans are disappointed by the outcome of this week’s 2020 election — others are elated. We all know that in any contest there will be a loser and a winner. The question you may be asking is, "What do I do now?” Whether your candidate won or lost, the Bible indicates an appropriate response.    ...

• Cameron Michael Hunter, Exeter, endangering welfare of a child, misd. A, $250; possession of marijuana/synthetic cannabinoid, misd. D, $100; unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, misd. D, $100. • Kala M. Jones, Exeter, second degree endangering welfare of a child, misd. A, $250; possession of marijuana/synthetic cannabinoid, misd. D, $100; unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, misd. D, $100...

Meet Bohemian, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today has announced Oct. 30, as the deadline to submit applications for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program – Plus (WHIP+) for 2018 and 2019 losses. USDA did not originally specify a deadline when the program was announced...

Meet Svetlana, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

I suppose that every political election comes with a little mudslinging. We might even consider a little mudslinging as normal. But, what we are experiencing this election cycle reminds me of my trips through the monkey house at Wichita’s Riverside Park when I was a boy. The agitated monkeys were slinging more than mud through the bars...

Jesus is in the miracle working business. He delights in taking those things that are not what they should be and miraculously changing them for the better. For example, on one occasion, there wasn’t enough wine for all the wedding guests. Jesus took water and turned it into wine. It was the best wine anyone had ever tasted! ...

Meet Sour Patch, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

• Elvis H. Alarcon, Springdale, Ark., DWI, misd. B, failure to drive on right half of roadway, misd. C, suspended imposition of sentence (SIS), $250 and two years unsupervised probation. • Shelley Kellai Antle, Marionville, speeding, misd. C, $70.50...

Growing up in the big city of Dallas, Dr. Mitchel Norton knew he wanted to practice medicine in a small town. Add to that his love for fly fishing, and it may be no surprise he chose Cassville as the perfect place to settle down. “I wanted to really get to know my patients and be able to take care of them in the clinic and hospital,” Norton said. ...

Meet Tanya Ray and her siblings, the Haven of the Ozarks Pets of the Week.

It seems as though every form of immorality has witnessed an unprecedented explosion. Adultery, divorce, premarital sex, co-habitation, rape, incest, homosexuality, child molestation, suicide, abortion, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, etc. have risen at alarming rates. Uninhibited immorality is affecting America’s children.  ...

“I think something must be wrong with me.” That was the self-assessment of a dear Christian friend. Her discouragement, like mine, stems from the many deceptive lies of our oldest enemy, Satan. The perilous times we are living in may have caused you, too, to doubt your faith.   ...

Meet Shooting Star, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

Meet Ferrari, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week. This gorgeous 2-1/2-year-old girl has been shuffled around quite a bit in her short life.

I know many old stories. I don't like to tell old stories, so I do it judiciously.   There must be a good reason for me to tell a joke that my readers may have already heard. With that in mind, forgive me if you have heard this story before. The new minister in town went to visit a rural family, and much to his surprise, discovered that the man of the house acted like the family pet. He was horrified when the wife set a bowl of dog food in front of her husband...

Electronics Technician 1st Class Matthew Dallis, of Exeter, a member of the shipboard COVID-19 Rapid Response Team, sprays disinfectant on stores pallets on the flight deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42).

Meet Butterscotch, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the week.

The rapture might be just around the corner. Perhaps now, more than ever before, Christians are contemplating what Jesus called, “the signs of the times” (Matthew 16.3). For the uninformed, the rapture is when the dead in Christ will be resurrected and living Christians will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air. What will it be like on earth after all faithful believers are removed from planet earth?...

Roaring River State Park invites the public to attend a Fall Wild Edibles Workshop Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. The workshop will include three programs highlighting identification, foraging techniques and preparation of wild foods found in Missouri. Participants can sign up for one program or all three. All programs are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required and can be done by calling the nature center at 417-847-3742. ...

Sea breeze at their backs; gritty texture of a non-skid flight deck gripping the soles of their shoes; sweat pouring into brightly colored physical-training uniforms. Sailors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) are putting in miles and miles of work as they run from sunrise to sunset, each pushing beyond personal barriers to complete Germantown Runs the World (GRTW), a running event set to spice up exercise aboard the warship...

 An Exeter native and 2019 Exeter High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided-missile cruiser, USS Antietam. Petty Officer 3rd Class Parker Fuller is a Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Electrical) aboard the forward-deployed Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam operating out of Yokosuka, Japan. Antietam is one of three cruisers forward-deployed to Yokosuka...

Most people have read or heard the folk poem “Footprints in the Sand.” I have seen the poem hanging on the wall in a number of homes. I have read it aloud, by request, a good number of times, at funerals. “Footprints in the Sand” tells of a woman who dreamed that she saw the struggles of her life depicted in a walk beside the sea with God. ...

Meet Toby A, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding farmers and ranchers that the deadline to apply for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is Friday. This program provides direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19...

The Health Department divides food service code violations into two categories; Priority and Core items. Priority items are more likely than other violations to contribute to food contamination, or illness and/or injury. Core items although important to the overall hygiene of the establishment, do not necessarily present an immediate threat to food contamination or illness and/or injury...

Each year, when the fall school semester starts, I remember. "Class, I need to run an errand. I will be out of the room for several minutes. While I am gone, I expect you to behave yourselves. You can work on your reading assignment for tomorrow." With that announcement, our new fifth-grade teacher left the classroom. Such trust! Such innocence! I shot from my desk and peeked down the hall after her. I watched as she disappeared around the corner at the far end of the hall. It was party time!...

Meet Yosemite Sam, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week

In these trouble times, many are searching for answers. In Ruth Guenzler’s new book, “103+ Whispers from God’s Heart…to Mine,” some might just find those answers. Guenzler grew up in Cassville and now makes her home in Villa Ridge with her husband, John. She believes growing up in this small town in the Ozarks and attending one of the last one-room country schools gives her, as she quotes, “a tilted view of life.”...

Meet Chairman Meow, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

It is nice to know if someone thinks you did your job well. The vocal exchange went something like this: “That was a very good sermon this morning, pastor,” she said. “Thank you, ma’am, all credit goes to God, though.” “Do you think you will ever publish that sermon? I think it ought to be published. I would like to read it again myself and send a copy of it to my sister.”...

Captain John M. Enderle, commanding officer of Troop D, Springfield, has announced the following promotions, effective Aug. 1. Corporal Clinton S. Mason was promoted to the rank of sergeant and designated as the zone supervisor of Zone 13, serving Newton and McDonald counties. ...

Meet Maggy Sue, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

Heat stress in dry cows today affects dairy herds decades later.   Offspring of heat-stressed cows show health problems in future generations, said Reagan Bluel, University of Missouri Extension dairy field specialist. Bluel highlights research from Jimena Laporta at the University of Florida in the third edition of Dairy Science Digest, a podcast for dairy producers. See https://extension2.missouri.edu/programs/dairy-extension...