Features

With the help of family and friends, 70-plus-year-old Shell Knob resident Judy Reynolds is helping to preserve and promote general aviation.

David and Jessica Wheeler did not wait until after retirement to move to Shell Knob from the Wichita area. Instead, they packed up their belongings and children and moved to the lake community two years ago after a joking comment by David turned into a serious business opportunity for the couple.

A number of new businesses opened their doors in 2022, and others changed hands, some more than once.

The most exciting tourism news of 2022 was celebrated in September, when the KISS Rebreathers Dive Team was honored for making Roaring River Spring the deepest explored spring cave in the United States.

The Cassville area is well-known for its agriculture, and along with the successes of the FFA program last year, some regional ag leaders changed, and reports of wastewater residual use on county farms became an ongoing discussion.

A busy year in the education realm saw the Cassville school district begin a new program and float a bond issue for a performing arts center, Wheaton break ground on a tornado shelter, Crowder Cassville change its director, and more.

It could be called the year of retirements. Two county leaders and one community leader hung up their hats last year.

Beyond that, the Barry County E9-1-1 Center was awarded for its excellence and a local organization continued working with Dress a Girl Around the World.

The year in health news focused largely on the mental side, with a new sensory room helping students at Cassville schools, life Change celebrating a year of its ministry and the Arc of the Ozarks acquiring TheraCare.

The KISS Rebreathers dive team has already made history at Roaring River State Park by diving 472 feet into the spring cave, and during their journeys into the abyss, they may have returned with a new type of crustacean.