50 years ago

April 28, 1976

— Ronald Evans New Head Of R-4 Schools

An educator who will complete his course work on a doctorate in education this week, Ronald C. Evans, 53, of Boonville has been named superintendent of the Cassville R-4 schools. Evans selection came after a process of elimination by the board of education that screened 26 applicants and conducted six personal interviews. The employment of Evans was announced during a press conference Saturday morning by Charles Thompson, board of education president. The other five members of the board attended the session after formally hiring the new school head here in a meeting Friday night. Evans will replace James E. Ford on June 30. Ford resigned this year after 10 years at the helm of the Cassville schools. He has not announced future plans. Cassville’s superintendent-elect comes to this system after completing 22 years in administrative work. His salary will be $21,400, including in-state travel allowance. Evans spent four years in the Bonne Terre system and 15 years in the Bismarck schools. He holds a bachelor and master’s degree from Central Missouri State University at Warrensburg. His doctorate study is at the University of Missouri. The Evans family includes eight children, two at home. Coming here with Mr. and Mrs. Evans will be Ricky, 11 and Mike 5. At the announcement conference, Evans said he would be working close with the board of education in the process of selecting important replacements in the system for next year. He had high praise in his investigation of the Cassville community. “Very careful thinking and planning in developing the Cassville campus is obvious,” he said. Thompson said Evans and Ford would be working together in an orientation process during the time between now and June 30, the official change of command date for the superintendency.

— Ag Group Honors Cupps With Awards

Donald E. Cupps, Shell Knob received two awards recently at the annual Alpha Zeta awards dinner at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he is a sophomore in agricultural economics. Cupps received the $400 Sam B. Shirky centennial scholarship in agriculture and the $100 Longwell leadership award. Alpha Zeta is a College of Agriculture honorary service organization. The Shirky scholarship, named for the former associate dean of the UMC College of Agriculture, recognizes outstanding academic performance. The Longwell leadership award goes each year to an outstanding sophomore in the College and is named for John Longwell, dean emeritus. The 1973 Longwell award went to David E. Cupps, older brother of Donald. David Cupps was recently accepted into the UMC College of Veterinary Medicine and will begin his studies there next fall. He is presently a UMC graduate student. Both are sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Cupps.

40 years ago

April 30, 1986

— County Lowest Rating In Southwest Unemployment

As she does most of the time, Barry County posted the lowest unemployment statistics in southwest Missouri for the month of March. Statistics released this week by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations placed the county’s unemployment figure at 5.1 percent. That was down considerably from the March, 1985 figure of seven percent or the February, 1986 rating of 6.4 percent. Adjoining county figures, all above Barry County, included: Newton 5.3, Lawrence 5.9, McDonald 6.4 and Stone 15.9. Hubert Sanders of the Monett office of Division of Employment Security said the figures represent “a growth in the tourist end of the employment picture, especially in the south part of Barry County.” He continued, “Manufacturing is not really that steady in the county, with some fluctuations that aren’t necessarily related to seasonal.” Sanders said the county figures had an 11,988 labor force as of last month. In March, 1986, the number of employed persons stood at 11,374. That leaves 614 persons unemployed out of the total labor force in the county. The county office director said current unemployment lows were among the lowest experienced in the last two years. In the period of May-September, 1985, the rate ranged between 5.6 and 5.1. For October-November the same year, the rate was 4.9 to 6.9. Sanders said additional statistics for the county had not become available through the state office’s computer. Barry County compared most favorably to the state average of 6.1 for the month of March. A year ago, for the same report period, Missouri’s unemployment was on the rise at 7.1 percent. President of the Chamber of Commerce of Cassville said the number of employed persons in this area was a continuation of the outstanding performance by local manufacturers and all segments of the economy that hire people to work. “The talent and attitude of our work forces continues as one of our most important assets,” he concluded. “The situation will improve in coming weeks as the area gets further into the tourist season,” Kammerlohr said. Statistics compiled by the Missouri Division of Employment Security show that there was a civilian labor force of 2.46 million in Missouri during March, and more than 2.31 million of these potential workers were employed. Both statistics represent an all-time high for March. According to state figures the rate’s decline was uniform throughout the state. Rates in metropolitan areas ranged from 3.3 percent at Columbia to 7.8 percent at St. Joseph. Barton County featured the lowest rate among non-metropolitan counties with 3.5 percent.

— First Day Wal-Mart Sign-up At 250 Persons

Wal-Mart Inc. got a good turnout of prospective employees in a labor sign-up in Cassville, Tuesday. The first day of the application session attracted 250 persons, says Tim Watkins, who will be manager of the Cassville store. Expected to open in early July, the store which is under construction at the west edge of Cassville will employ some 80 persons during peak seasons. The sign-up will continue through Thursday to 6:00 p.m. Watkins said the number of persons making the initial sign-up should not discourage anyone who might be waiting until the last day. “Anyone wishing to sign a job application with Wal-Mart is certainly encouraged to do so,” he said. Watkins, who has been managing a store in Frankfort, Kentucky, has purchased a home here. His family will soon take possession of the former Murl Washburn property in Wildwood Estates. Two assistant managers for the store have also been named, and were taking part in the employment sign-up. Included are Scott Kelly, now at Berryville, Arkansas; and Harold Brock, now at Pryor, Oklahoma, and formerly in the appliance and electronics business in Cassville.

— Buxton Wheaton’s New School Superintendent

The Wheaton R-III board of education has employed Sheldon Buxton as superintendent of schools beginning July 1. Buxton is currently employed as an elementary principal in the East Newton school system. He has also been an elementary principal in the Wheaton and Purdy school systems. Buxton has received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Missouri Southern State College, a master’s degree in educational administration from Southwest Missouri State University and an educational specialist degree in educational administration from Pittsburg State University. Buxton, his wife Diane, and daughter live in Fairview. He replaces Charles Cudney, who will head the Pierce City schools next year. Mr. and Mrs. Cudney, who reside in Cassville, will be leaving here. He is formerly elementary principal here and she is a faculty member.

30 years ago

April 24, 1996

— Fire sweeps through 1,500 acres in Exeter

A weekend fire, spurred on by strong winds, burned off close to 1,500 acres of timber in an area west of Exeter. The blaze kept area firefighters and Missouri Conservation Department personnel busy for three days. Exeter Fire Chief David Newman said the fire began Thursday night in a 30-to-40 acre spot between Thomas and Star Hollows. Exeter, Washburn and Seligman fire crews worked to control the blaze. Firefighters were called back to the scene at 9 a.m. Friday after the fire re-ignited. Firemen worked until 7 p.m. to contain the flames, which managed to spread over 400 acres. Newman said Cassville and Wheaton firefighters were called in on mutual aid to assist Exeter, Washburn, Seligman and conservation department crews. The fire reared its head for a third time on Saturday and again on Sunday. Heavy thunderstorms Sunday night doused it completely. Newman said he estimates the fire devoured approximately 1,500 acres. Those fighting the fire said it kept heading east and spanned a mile wide. They used rakes, bulldozers and sheer manpower to keep the fire contained and away from structures. Newman and Jerry Ennis, an Exeter fire investigator, said the cause of the blaze was currently under investigation by local authorities. They estimated that a total of over 75 firefighters were called in to help fight the fire.

— Ball associations make their pitch to Cassville city council

Cassville City aldermen were called in to mediate Monday night. Representatives from the Girls Softball Association and Cassville Little League attended the council meeting and pitched their views about how playing time on the city’s three developed fields should be divided. Although the council invoked the five-minute rule, discussion continued for almost an hour. The controversy seemed to stem from the fact that there are not enough developed fields in the city to satisfy the needs of both the girls softball and Little League organizations. The first speaker up to bat was Brandy Lancaster, a Cassville High School junior who will be playing her last season of softball this summer. She voiced her displeasure with not being allowed equal access to all city fields. Lancaster said she has never been allowed to play on what people refer to as field #1. She added that she did not understand why it was called the “Little League field.” “I don’t think it’s fair that boys and girls are not treated equally,” Lancaster said. “I know last summer when the fields flooded, I was out three days in a row picking grass out of fence links. We put in a lot of work, and I don’t see anyone calling that our field.” John Hendricks, who spoke on behalf of the Little League organization, said he believed everyone in the room was fighting for the same thing. “Let’s go out and build some ballfields,” Hendricks said. “If you want us (Little League) out there, ask us. Take our money. We have plenty.” Hendricks also reminded the council that they refused an $8,000 offer from Little League last year to get the new ballfields started. “It’s a sad day that we’re down here again,” said Greg Yockey, a Little League supporter. “We’ve been promised and promised these fields. It’s boiled down to softball vs. Little League and that’s not what it’s about.” Reece Lancaster and Danny Buchanan, president and vice president of the Girls Softball Association, said they had been involved in both boys’ and girls’ organizations and could see disparities in the use of city fields. “We all have to realize we have field shortages,” Lancaster said. “But until there’s more fields we’re going to have share.” He said he was asking the city to designate the fields on Monday and Thursday nights for girls softball games. He proposed that Little League use the fields the remaining two nights and on Saturdays. Lancaster also said 20 percent of the Monday and Thursday night field time could be designated to the boys if needed. Hendricks added that traveling teams, like the girls softball teams, should come second to Cassville teams. Yockey said that Little League had to adhere to strict rules, which regulate game length and field specifications and in turn limit the teams’ flexibility. When asked how the scheduling was done last year, Lancaster said Little League reserved the fields in January, and then the girls softball association had to go through Little League to reserve game time. City Clerk Vickie McCune added that one full-time employee spent the summer scheduling games. Following the lengthy discussion, city council members voted to go into closed session. After about 45 minutes, they reconvened the public meeting. Alderman Rick Linebarger made a motion that City Administrator Greg Beavers be appointed to meet with the presidents of all organizations who use the city’s ballfields. He said Beavers would then allocate the fields into proportionate blocks of time. Each organization would then do their own scheduling within the blocks. Any disputes would be resolved by Beavers. The council voted unanimously to accept Linebarger’s motion. In further action, council members agreed to finish up fields #4 and #5 at the new city park and to construct at least one additional T-ball field. They approved a $1,600 purchase order for backstops and a $4,400 purchase order for infield dirt. Mayor Dennis Fischer also reminded those in attendance that the National Guard would be constructing five additional fields at the new park in the next year. According to those present Monday night, Little League has 26 teams, including six major league teams, eight minor league teams, six coach-pitch teams and six T-ball teams. Softball has a total of 17 teams. Babe Ruth and the Cassville High School baseball team also use city fields.