50 years ago

Aug. 6, 1975

— $299,810 HUD GRANTS TO SEVEN PROJECTS IN COUNTY

Barry County is scheduled to receive $299,810 in federal Housing and Urban Development grants, under application from the county court and community organizations involved. County Clerk Howard Bounous said the grants, classed as community development block grants. Communities included in the funding are Cassville, Monett, Purdy, Exeter, and Wheaton. Individually, the projects include: South Barry County Neighborhood Facility, $76,000, for construction of a senior citizen meeting facility and South Barry County Ambulance District storage garage near the South Barry County Hospital. Lester Purdom, a director of the SBC ambulance district, is the sponsoring official listed. North Barry County Neighborhood Facility, $82,000, same purpose as the above, with no location secured James Ogle, director of NBC ambulance district, sponsoring official listed. Purdy City Park, $25,810, to the city of Purdy, Bill Hemphill, mayor. For acquiring land and installing facilities. Purdy Senior Citizen, $20,000 for construction of senior citizen recreation center, City of Purdy named as sponsor. Exeter, $73,000, for installation of a new well and pump to serve the community. W. R. Mattingly, Jr., mayor of Exeter listed as Wheaton sewer project, $11,500, extension of sewer lines to replace septic tanks in an area of town. City of Wheaton, mayor Boone McQueen listed as sponsor. Wheaton streets project, $11,500, resurface of approximately 18 blocks of streets inside the Wheaton city limits. Presiding Judge Nolan McNeill said the HUD grants would not require matching grants from local funds. The court started development of the program last March. Bounous said a meeting was scheduled next Tuesday in Purdy at which communities involved will receive further information and requirements on the program. By court action, George Ulmer of Cassville has been retained as engineer to file required Environmental Impact statements regarding the projects. Involved city officials will apparently learn in the coming session what planning and initial work will be required in accepting the grants. Bounous said he was quite certain these were the first full-county programs approved by the federal agency in this area. Requests for funds from the communities resulted in a call by the court shortly after the first of the year. Congressman Gene Taylor, in a late announcement had this to say about the projects, “I am pleased to have been able to work closely with the Barry County Court In obtaining this grant. I know the funds will be wisely spent and will be of considerable benefit to residents communities involved.

— 100TH BIRTHDAY HONORED MRS. S. J. JAQUES

A centennial birthday celebration for Mrs. Souvenia Jane Jaques of Cassville was Saturday at the Rainbow Dinner House. More than 100 relatives and friends attended the event. One of the highlights of the occasion was the presentation of a money tree, accompanied by an unusual birthday card in the form of a personalized embroidered family tree picture, created by a great-granddaughter. Following dinner, a three-tiered cake, topped by the numerals “100”, was served. All of Mrs. Jaques’ seven children were present. They are: Mrs. Adah Turner, Mrs. Florence Lamun, Mrs. Bessie Rowan, Mrs. Lucile McClure, Mrs. Nadine Sherwood, Roy Jaques and Carl Jaques. Mrs. Jaques has 14 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. A five generation group was among the pictures taken at the celebration. Mrs. Jaques has been a life-long resident of Barry County. She was born in Maryland and moved to Monett, known then as Plymouth as a small child. She and her husband, Daniel Jaques, resided at McMurty Spring farm on Highway 37 south of Cassville for a number of years, moving then to the location on Old Exeter Road where she presently lives. She is the oldest registered voter in the county and has never missed voting.

40 years ago

Aug. 7, 1985

— DOG DAYS OF AUGUST ARE UPON US…. WITH GOOD RAIN

It used-to-be the arrival of August signaled the stop of swimming in Flat Creek because Dog Days had arrived and many parents considered the condition of water not to their liking for youngsters to be swimming there-in. Today it’s quite different, with swimming pools abounding and Table Rock Lake so close by, there is ample opportunity to swim without venturing into Flat Creek, especially in the upper areas where the stream doesn’t run excessively this time of the season. Dog Days, the term people usually use for a period of hot muggy weather that typifies August, has its roots buried in ancient Egyptian astronomy. This year the arrival of August, Sunday and Monday to be more exact, produced some outstanding rainfall for the area, that was needed after scorching temperatures covered the area since late June. Rainfall Sunday and early Monday morning dropped from three to 5½ inches of rainfall. Weekend showers were accompanied by heavy periods of lightning and thunder. A number of outages were reported throughout the area, “in a scattered nature,” said one Barry Electric Cooperative crew member.

—CENTURY FARM PROGRAM RESUMED IN MISSOURI

A new “Century Farm” program may interest area long-term farm owners, according to Joe Jenkins, chairman of the Greene County University of Missouri Extension Council. The state-wide program recognizes farm owners whose families have held the same farmland for 100 years or more, Jenkins said. Roger Mitchell, dean of the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri-Columbia, appointed a committee to organize and sponsor the new program. The new program is a continuation of the “Centennial Farm” program carried out during the bicentennial when 2,850 Missouri farm owners were recognized. Interest in the program has continued since 1976, Jenkins said. Numerous additional Missouri farm owners over the state have asked about having their farms recognized, including owners whose farms have qualified since 1976, those who were not aware of the 1976 program and those who live in the nine counties that did not take part in the bicentennial farm program. Three guidelines are used in the new program to determine whether farm owners qualify, Jenkins said. The farm must have been owned by the same family for 100 years or more as of July 4, 1986. The family must consist of direct descendants, son or daughter, grandson or grand-daughter, and if the farm is a family corporation partnership, one of the principal stockholders must be a direct descendant. Also, the present farm must consist of at least 40 acres and must produce income to the overall farm operation, County extension councils in Missouri’s 114 counties have been asked to be the local sponsoring groups, Jenkins said. Any farm owner who can meet the guidelines is eligible to be named a Century Farm owner. Applications are available at the Greene County Extension Center at 833 Boonville. A $10 fee with the application covers program costs which include a farm sign and recognition certificate. Jenkins said applications will be collected through December and certificates awarded in 1986.

30 years ago

Aug. 2, 1995

— EVERYDAY HEROES

There are 1,400 children in Barry County who have heard Dana Kammerlohr’s “stay drug-free” message. She works hard to make sure that area young people know they have choices. Dana has served as the Barry County Sheriff Department’s D.A.R.E. officer since March 1993. In that position, Dana visits area elementary schools and teaches the D.A.R.E. curriculum. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is a drug abuse prevention program for elementary students, developed by the Los Angeles Police Department and Les Angelos Unified School District. “I have a strong interest in kids and helping them make right decisions,” Dana said. “Working with the sheriff’s department, I realize that there are kids being raised in drug environments. If they’re raised in that environment, then it’s not wrong to them. I wanted them to be able to make decisions for themselves. During the school year, Dana spends 40 hours a week working with children. She works with students at Exeter, Shell Knob, Purdy, Southwest, Wheaton and Cassville school districts. She targets the sixth grade, visiting the classes once a week for 17 weeks. Each session lasts about an hour, and 17 different lessons are taught. Weekly lesson topics include: practices for personal safety; drug use and mis-use; consequences; resisting pressures to use drugs; resistance techniques ways to say “no”; building self-esteem; assertiveness: a response style; managing stress without taking drugs; media influences on drug abuse; decision making and risk taking; alternatives to drug use; role modeling; forming a support system; resisting gang pressures; D.A.R.E. summary; taking a stand; and graduation. Dana does not lecture the students but involves them through lively discussion and role playing. She also brings along her D.A.R.E. dog, Codette, a golden retriever who is a favorite among the children. In addition to her work with sixth graders, Dana also presents short talks on basic safety to students in kindergarten through fourth grade for a four-to six-week period. By the time students reach the sixth grade, they already know and love “Officer Judy Randall, elementary principal at Southwest Elementary School, said that Dana’s efforts are working. “Dana does such a good job,” Randall said. “She shows the kids she cares. She goes to their basketball games and eats lunch with them. The kids flock to her. She’s making an impact on them. The program is helping.”

According to Dana, the long-term goals for D.A.R.E. are four-fold. They include:

• A reduction in the supply of controlled substances as a result of reduced demand.

• More positive identification with police officers.

• Improved decision making in all life situations.

• An overall reduction in criminality.

The program also emphasizes that fighting drug abuse takes education, law enforcement, and communities and families who care. “After teaching D.A.R.E., I know I can’t reach all the kids but if I reach just one it’s worth it,” Dana said. “D.A.R.E, is one piece of a puzzle that’s going to help the future of young people. I’m not going to conquer the world but I want to make it better.” Dana’s program is supported by a $10,800 federal grant and a $3,200 match from Barry County.

— VANDALISM INCREASING AT CASSVILLE POST OFFICE; POSTMASTER MAY BE FORCED TO LOCK LOBBY AFTER HOURS

Vandalism in the lobby of the Cassville Post Office has become an everyday occurrence, according to Postmaster John Walters. The first act of vandalism, in an creasing string of incidents, occurred a month and a half ago. In response, Walters sent a note to all post office box customers this week warning them that he may be forced to close the lobby after normal business hours if the vandalism continues. He is asking residents to be on the look-out for the vandals. Walters said he thinks the perpetrators are teenagers. He also links that the teens are less concerned about getting caught because there are now two entrances into the post office. Walters said he may lock one set doors to see if that would cut down on the vandalism. Walters said he hopes that the new location of the police Department across the street from the post office will also deter vandals. Police are increasing surveillance of the building, according to Chief of Police Jay Reyes. “We think it’s kids,” Reyes said. “The bad thing about it is that when the vandals are identified, they will be charged with a federal offense. There’s no way around it.” Those arrested could face a $2,000 fine and at least two years imprisonment. “We need everyone’s help,” Walters said. “Somebody has had to have seen these kids. We really don’t want to close the lobby but we will have to before things get out of hand.”

— SOUTH BARRY COUNTY HOSPITAL HAS SERVED AREA FOR 49 YEARS

The core of the existing South Barry County Hospital facility was built in 1946 by Dr. and Mrs. G. A. Purves. The couple operated the hospital for five years, then sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Homer Summerville in 1951. The Summervilles also operated the facility for five years under the name of Cassville Community Hospital. It closed on March 15, 1956. It was reopened briefly on an emergency basis by the city of Cassville but voters turned down a bond issue to purchase the hospital. In 1957, the hospital was purchased by Dr. Vance Cridling and Dr. Arch Blair. It was eventually renamed Cassville Osteopathic Hospital. Cassville’s hospital faced closure once again in the mid-1960s. In response, citizens voted to form the South Barry County Hospital District. With passage of a small tax levy and no money down, the district purchased the hospital and named it South Barry County Memorial Hospital. Since that time, the local hospital has undergone a $1 million remodeling project in 1982 and now has begun a $1.4 million expansion. The expansion will add 22,775 square-feet to the current hospital, including a 10,420-square-foot basement. The project will add a new and expanded emergency room, clinic area and new area for radiology, cardiac rehabilitation and physical therapy. South Barry County Hospital will also gain a new entrance and lobby on Main Street. Hospital history for this article. was found in “The First One Hundred and Fifty Years In Cassville” by Emory Melton.