50 years ago

May 5, 1976

— Report Session At Chamber Board Meeting

One of the best turnouts of directors and visitors at the Chamber of Commerce board session Tuesday produced a good platform for discussion of various project reports, according to Joe Preddy, president. The session was held at JoNan’s Smokehouse on the Roaring River Road, under the Chamber’s policy of rotating meeting places between member restaurants. Following routine reports by Bill Ward, secretary, reports were received as follows: Dedication plans for Sunday, June 20 at the new municipal airport were covered by Max Fields, aviation chairman and Mayor Bill LeCompte. Combined efforts of the two agencies will formulate a program. Merchant and tourism reports on Mother’s Day activities included a special weekend in local businesses and registration for free plants. At Roaring River State Park, trophies will be presented to ladies achieving top fish at the park Saturday and Sunday. Bob LeMon, co-chairman of the Bicentennial committee, reported that the Barry County Courthouse will be decorated with a bunting drape during this Monday and fireplugs in Cassville are scheduled for a red, white and blue painting. Chamber directors also re-opened for discussion an intersection problem in Cassville in the south part of town. The directors discussed complaints of congested traffic with city officials and among themselves. Preddy said the problem will be reviewed at a later date. The Chamber last year encouraged a Highway Department survey and design of possible changes that were scrapped following business objections from business interests in the area. Members attending: Joe Preddy, Dale Rowland, Evan Hutchens, Max Cooper, Wayne Tomblin, Carl Borresen, Steve Burch, Elvin Kime, Max Fields, Tom Cardin, Truman Baker, Bill Edmondson, Leon Sanders, Marvin Glatz, Bob LeMon, Bill LeCompte, George Ulmer, R.G. Fisher, Charles Thompson, Willard Burton, Virginia and Bill Ward. Guests attending were Wendy Thompson and Kathy Watley of the Busy Bee 4-H Club.

— Frost Smacks Gardens And Crops Throughout County

Temperatures that dipped to lows of 24 degrees on Monday and back down to 28 degrees Tuesday have produced a grower’s nightmare for Barry County gardeners and fruit growers. Some vegetables were destroyed by the low temperatures and the already damaged peach crop was not helped by the situation. Apples, progressed far enough with unseasonable warm weather, were not further damaged according to reports. Field crops were in the same position, as growers were eyeing fescue and wheat to determine the full impact of the late season frost. Among the more senior observers there were memories of the thunder on February 5, that according to most Ozarks will produce a frost on a near date in May. “It did it this year and the gardens virtually fell over,” voiced one veteran gardener and fruit grower. Richard Prewitt, area agronomy specialist with the University of Missouri extension service, said most offices in the 10 county area were adopting a “wait a few days to see if wheat heads develop to know for sure the actual damage.” Prewitt added the same waiting game might be necessary in other crops. Corn and beans in gardens were apparently the hardest hit by the dipping temperatures. Some simply plowed them under Tuesday morning after inspection trips. Another fruit crop important to countians were the grapes. Wayne Tomblin, one grower, said smudge-pots used to add warmth to the vineyards apparently staved off any killing damage. Most grapes in this area are under contract to Welch. Up-and-down temperatures also played havoc with tomato growers who had earlier suffered damage and in some cases replanted, only to have the second effort go down the drain this week. Overall, experts and beginners alike were scratching their heads in attempts to determine what Mother Nature had against them this year. Pre-season warmth throughout the early spring and freezes into the last of April have wrecked many plans. One of the most looked-forward-to crops of the area, strawberries, were apparently among those that escaped serious frost damage. Many plants observed in the area kept hundreds of blooms through Tuesday afternoon without showing signs of being burned. Kenneth Brown and Pat Bryant, ardent neighbor-competitor gardeners, observed it didn’t matter much about covering rows during the two mornings of low temperatures. “Some areas that were covered appeared to have more damage than those left open,” they observed. A cash crop in the county that could be drastically reduced is the “black gold” variety, or walnuts. Down Flat Creek, one observer said it appeared the leaves on walnut trees were killed by the unseasonable cold. Another plight of gardeners and farmers alike is the influx of starlings in this area. One Cassville gardener lamented the fact that the birds or nature seemed determined to cause him as much trouble as possible. Through all this there seems to be a lesson, “don’t fool with Mother Nature, it doesn’t pay.” To this we might add, it’s pretty certain the Ozarkeeze that produced the saying, “thunder in February, frost in May,” can and does work.

40 years ago

May 7, 1986

— George’s Proposes Building $10 Million Poultry Plant

George’s, Inc., an Arkansas based poultry company, announced Tuesday it is “considering expanding its operation into Missouri by building a processing plant just outside of Cassville, Missouri. The plant would be capable of operating two shifts per day, and when so doing, would employ approximately 400 persons,” said Gary George, president. Cost of construction is in excess of $10 million to build and equip the plant. Location would be near the intersection of Highway 37 and Route W in the Butterfield community. George’s, of Springdale, Arkansas, has been in business since the 1920’s, has options on land owned by Mr. and Mrs. Odis Holder and Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie Yarnall. Cassville mayor Rolland Meador and Cherry Warren, chairman of the Barry County Industrial Development Authority, assisted with the location process, which includes 120 acres from the Yarnalls and 244 acres from the Holders. Meador was in Washington, D.C. the first of this week with officials from the firm, making applications for approximately $800,000 in Housing and Urban Development Action Grant funds that would be loaned through the city of Cassville. In this connection, the County IDA will issue Industrial Revenue Bonds for additional funds “up to $15 million,” according to board member notices mailed this week by authority attorney Joe R. Ellis. Both the IDA and Cassville city council will be in session May 21 to consider the project, conduct required public hearings and conclude the transaction. Warren and Meador had previously stated the George’s firm has made their own financial arrangements on the project. In the process since George’s first contacted Cassville city and Industrial Development Corporation officials in January, the project has been reviewed by a number of authorities including the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Scheduled for production, the new plant when completed in 1988, will have a two-line process, capable of handling 100 birds per minute, or 6,000 per hour. George’s, who presently operate a mill and processing plant in Springdale, said additional economic factors would come to Missouri and Barry County with their project. This is the first project outside the Springdale, Arkansas area for the company, a major factor in the poultry industry of Northwest Arkansas. In addition to the processing plant and associated facilities, George’s will also be contracting with local farmers to raise chickens to be processed in the plant on a contract basis. George’s estimates that up to 230 family farmers may be involved in raising chickens and related breeder operations for the Cassville plant. Making the initial announcement of the company plans, George said officials of both the city of Cassville, the IDC and the county IDA had been extremely helpful in their location selection process. He said as plans develop in the future, additional announcements would be released. The George’s firm, a wholly owned family corporation, is the second Arkansas firm to move heavily into this area for poultry industry purposes. Five years ago Hudson, Inc. built a $3 million mill development also in the Butterfield area. In fact, the Hudson property is approximately one-quarter mile across country east of the George’s location. Hudson has in later years developed extensive turkey growout areas in the county. Both company and contract houses are spotted around the countryside. George’s initial announcement leans heavily on the possibility of chicken growing potential for individuals and firms in the area.

30 years ago

May 1, 1996

— High velocity winds whipped through Barry County Sunday

Barry County residents were awakened early Sunday morning by high winds and severe thunderstorms that caused widespread yet scattered damage throughout the area. Trailers were overturned, trees were downed, barns were toppled and shingles were ripped from rooftops. Based on reports from emergency workers and eyewitnesses, damage was spotty. More extensive damage reports have surfaced from Exeter, Ridgeley and other areas south of Cassville. Wheelerville, Clever and Billings were also hit hard by the storms. One of the largest casualties caused by Sunday’s foul weather was the destruction of a bridge over Flat Creek at Stubblefield Crossing. The steel bridge was demolished when winds blew a large oak tree onto the bridge, knocking it down into the creek. Presiding Commissioner Cherry Warren said the bridge will have to be completely replaced, a task that will not be initiated for at least a year. Replacing the bridge will be costly, Warren added. He estimates that it will cost the county a minimum of $300,000 to replace the bridge. If the county is declared a disaster area, the new bridge could be paid for through FEMA funds. Warren said that scenario is “unlikely.” He said McDonald Road District did not have the money to pay for a new bridge. It would also be hard for the county to cover the cost through its emergency road and bridge fund, Warren said. Many who monitored the storm Sunday morning said it did not appear to be a tornado. John Starchman, Cassville resident, said he has been through several tornadoes, and Sunday’s storm was something different. “I listened to the roar for about 20 minutes before the tornado warning sounded,” Starchman said. “I never heard wind sound quite like it did Sunday.” He estimated that the winds rose to the 90-mile-an-hour range at different times during the storm. A survey of area insurance agencies revealed that approximately 180 claims have been filed since Sunday. The majority of claims were for minor damage inflicted on roofs, outbuildings, fences and mobile homes. There were reports of at least six barns in the area that were destroyed, and several mobile homes that were overturned or lifted off their foundations. Seven people were treated at South Barry County Hospital in Cassville Sunday morning for minor to moderate injuries suffered when mobile homes on Bittersweet Lane overturned. No other injuries were reported. Power outages related to the storm were reported in Exeter, Wheaton, Jenkins and scattered areas in rural Cassville. Barry Electric crews worked from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sunday, repairing downed lines and restoring service to about 1,800 customers who were without electricity. Charlie Jackson, assistant director of the Barry County Emergency Management Agency, said there were never any confirmed sightings of funnel clouds. He said the storm hit the area quickly without warning. Jackson added that the fast moving storm appeared to have caused scattered damage. The only definite path he could determine the storm took was from Ridgeley through Exeter and then to the Bittersweet Lane area south of Cassville. “A lot of times in these situations you have very strong winds in a small area,” Jackson said. “Damage can be caused by sharp downbursts of wind.” According to Jackson, local police officers, firefighters, HAM radio operators and the Red Cross reacted quickly to the severe weather. “Everyone did a fantastic job.”

— Teacher of the year awarded to Henningson

Becky Henningson was named Teacher of the Year by the Cassville Community Teachers Association at its 1996 banquet April 25. Henningson was presented the prestigious award by Sue Crain, the 1995 recipient. Charla Bruton, elementary art teacher, was given the Young Educator’s Award by Principal Martha Dunnam. Wayne Betts, Verlee Roark, Larry Quinalty and Ronnie Rose were inducted into the Quarter-Century Club, which was established this year to honor those teachers who have taught at Cassville for 25 years or more. CCTA President Becky Henningson presented the Friend of Education award to the Cassville Democrat, Barry County Advertiser and retiring Senator Emory Melton for their dedication to Cassville students and their education. John Sullivan, board president awarded Rachael Sheats with the annual board scholarship for continuing education. Also recognized for outstanding service were secretaries Edna Meryl Painter, Pat Allison and Carolyn Bowen. School nurse Joana Smithson was given a special award and a standing ovation for 31 years of service.