May and December are typically our busiest months of the year at the newspaper, but July is giving the other two a run for their money this year.

The Fourth went off without much of a hitch. Last week leading up to the USA’s 250th birthday, 25 banners were presented to veterans or their family members, a project by the Irwin-Easley American Legion Post No. 118 to recognize our local members of the military in Cassville. The banners were promptly put up on light poles around the courthouse square, and credit to the Post for their efforts and the city of Cassville public works crews who hung them — they look fantastic.

Friday was the Terry Family Fireworks event in Purdy, an event we have made a habit of attending because of family that lives in the city. The Terrys always put on a great Fourth of July event, and this year was no different. The band was excellent, and the fireworks were spectacular.

Saturday brought Wheaton’s July 4 celebration, with The Black Moods headlining the entertainment. There’s always something special about Josh Kennedy returning to his hometown to play, and the hundreds of folks who attended the show were not disappointed.

From Wheaton, I made my way down south to Shell Knob for the annual Fire & Thunder fireworks show. As usual, it was stunning, especially this year with a line of storms providing an electric backdrop and literal thunder alongside the booms of the pyrotechnics.

From the lookout point on Highway YY, the fireworks, storms and boats on the lake provided a visual treat unique to Barry County.

The fun does not stop this week. On Thursday, the Democrat is hosting the Barry County Candidates Forum, with all four candidates, two for prosecutor and two for presiding commissioner, agreeing to attend.

We will have nine questions for each race, alternating between races every three questions.

The questions, which the candidates do not see beforehand, cover a range of topics from finances to leadership, drug crimes to rehabilitation, transparency to accountability, and landowner rights to charging decisions.

The event should last about 90 minutes, and we’re planning to live stream for those who are unable to attend. We are looking forward to, once again, providing a forum voters can use to make their decisions in the Republican Primary Election next month.

When the Forum is done, my attention will turn heavily to next week, when I head to Wales for the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors annual convention. Having attended two World Cup games in Kansas City at the end of June and taken in the pageantry of our semiquincentennial, I’m beyond excited to broaden my horizons with my first trip across the pond.

The convention is being held in Cardiff, with trips to Cardiff Castle and Cardiff Bay on tap, as well as multiple informative discussion sessions and the editorial critiques, which year after year have proved humbling and always make our 8-time Gold Cup-winning publication even stronger.

The conference culminates with the annual gala, where a dozen people will be awarded for excellence in editorial writing, an exercise that leaves no shortage of inspiration.

The only sad part of the trip is my flight back will be during the World Cup final, which I will hate to miss. At least I don’t have to miss the U.S. playing for the cup, and that’s about all I have to say about our team’s exit from the competition.

Once back on home soil, I hope to get some semblance of rest, but with the election and return to the school on the horizon, we’ll see how that goes.

We hope to see you Thursday at the Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. for our Forum, and I’m excited to share what I picked up in Cardiff in a couple weeks!

Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He is a three-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or [email protected].