News

Applications for medical marijuana dispensary licenses have been sent out and are now pending approval, and in Cassville, Dr. Lisa Roark applied for a dispensary license, and Holistic Missouri applied for a cultivation license, as well as an infused product manufacturing license...

The Cassville Annual Chili Cook-Off is coming this year, however, it is going to be a bit different from years before. Rachael Selby Freeman, Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce director, said it is scheduled for Oct. 26, and the theme this year is, “Let’s go to the Movies.”...

A former teacher and now full-time farmer, Shell Knob resident Scott Cupps, 34, is hoping to replace Scott Fitzpatrick, former Representative appointed State Treasurer, and he is putting a focus on logic and facts prior to the election. Cupps was born and raised in Shell Knob and handles the cattle side of his family farm operation. He said that and his work as a teacher has prepared him for a career in politics...

Lisa Kalp, Democratic candidate in the State House Special Election on Nov. 5, had to go no further than her own home for a reason to run for the position left open by former State Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, who was appointed State Treasurer. Living in the area since February 2005, Kalp, 55, of Butterfield, spends most of her time working on her farm and with her two special needs children, ages 23 and 24, and it was her children that spurred her to run for office...

Under somewhat extraordinary circumstances, sales tax revenues to Barry County cities and governments in September trended higher than a year ago, leaving more than half of the recipients gaining ground with the close of the third quarter of 2019. The unusual circumstances stem from the Missouri Department of Revenue disbursing not one — but two — extra payments to all recipients. ...

After 10 years of teaching, with two years of that at Southwest, second-grade teacher Melissa Horn has managed to bring parents into the classroom and their childrens’ education by keeping them constantly updated and informed on what is happening in the classroom...

The city of Washburn has decided to host a Harvest Festival and Tractor Parade on Oct. 19, starting a 9 a.m., to honor and recognize the farmers in the community. Cheryl Floyd, Washburn Chamber treasurer, said a couple of years ago, Washburn threw a hootenanny, and from there, they developed the event into a festival...

After lunch on Saturday during the annual Lives Under Construction Open House, the boys put on a show for the crowd.

With most people three to four generations away from living on the farm, Kyle Whittaker and the University of Missouri Extension challenged students during Field Day at the Southwest Research Center to understand product labeling. An agriculture business specialist based in Marshfield. Whittaker asserted that the entire agriculture industry loses when people do not know what they are buying...

To better explain the dynamics of dairy farming to high school students visiting the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center, Teresa Fry, co-owner of Ozark Mountain Creamery in Mountain Grove, and Tiffanie Stumpff, left, brought samples of milk and milk products to share...

Many visitors to Field Day at the Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon enjoy deer hunting, but know little about the standards for assessing deer.

For the past 12 years, the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon has had a prairie which scientists watch to learn more about native plants.

There’s still much to learn about growing grasses in southwest Missouri.

Roaring river Health and Rehab will host its annual Trail of Treats event at the facility from 3:30-5:30 p.m. The facility is asking for candy donations. Anyone able to help may drop off candy at the facility, located at 812 Old Exeter Road in Cassville, any time between now and Oct. 31...

What is the one moment that changes a life forever? The loss of a loved one? The birth of a new life? Is there even just one answer? Life is made of a million moments, and some immediately take hold of a person while others take their time to build into a life-altering crash course on what a person will have to live with forever...

When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, aside from the medical treatments and prognosis, a plethora of questions and concerns fill their minds. “What happens now?” “What happens to my family while I am sick?” “How will I pay my bills?” One area resource, the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks in Springfield, can provide some of the answers...

The color pink has, since the early 1980s, represented the women and men who fight to beat breast cancer. More specifically, pink ribbons offer support to victims of breast cancer and awareness to the disease. Locally, one family has spent the last decade bringing breast cancer into the spotlight and reaching out to those facing diagnoses with support, both monetarily and emotionally...

One woman’s life changed significantly on a late September day in 2018, as Lori Dodson answered a phone call, and the next thing she knew, she was sitting in the grass in her back yard. “I was crying,” she said. “I had felt a pain in my left breast and called the doctor. ...

The Exeter school district is lighting its way to a better future by replacing lights throughout campus with LED lights. Ernest Raney, Exeter superintendent, said the biggest benefit to making the switch is to keep the district’s energy usage down. “This is something we have been working on over the last three years,” he said. ...

Students in the Cassville Homecoming Parade waved from a bus to friends witnessing the event.

Edgar Schreiner II skims the top of the sorghum cooking during Frontier Days on Sunday.

Part of the research at the University of Missouri’s Southwest Center focuses on integrated pest management.

To illustrate soil conservation at the Southwest Missouri Research Center’s Field Day near Mt. Vernon, Ally Carter, a district specialist with the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation District, used a sprinkling can to pour “rain” onto a plastic subdivision to illustrate stormwater run-off...

FFA students visiting the University of Missouri’s Field Day at the Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon received a primer from Reagan Bluel, right, dairy specialist with the Extension Service, from Monett, on the rumen in cows.

The 30th Annual Jenkins Fire Department Fish Fry will be held Satruday. The schedule includes: 4:30-6 p.m., music; 5-7 p.m., food served; 6 p.m., auction. The Fish Fry is at Station No. 1, located just west of the junctions of Highways 39 and 248, south of Aurora. ...

A Cassville man was injured Monday in a wreck at 10 p.m. on Farm Road 2140, five miles northeast of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Skylan Fare, 32, of Cassville, was driving a 2001 Harley Davidson ILS motorcycle westbound when his vehicle ran off the roadway and struck a fence...

Three people were injured Sunday in a wreck at 1 a.m. on Farm Road 2275, five miles east of Seligman. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Chanceler Black, 19, of Seligman, was driving a 1993 Jeep Wrangler northbound when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree...

A Cassville man was injured in a wreck at 8:30 p.m Sunday at Highway 112 and Farm Road 2218, five miles south of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Travis Meyer, 37, of Cassville, was driving a 2010 Harley Davidson motorcycle northbound when his vehicle drove off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree...

A Texarkana, Texas, man was injured Saturday in a wreck at 11:18 a.m. on Highway 76, five miles north of Shell Knob. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Kip Rodriguez, 52, of Texarkana, Texas, was driving a 2019 Harley Davidson eastbound when his vehicle skidded off the right side of the roadway, struck a sign and overturned...

Two people were injured and one was arrested Friday in a wreck at 11 p.m. on Farm Road 2165, two miles northwest of Exeter. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Tammy Stewart, 23, of Exeter, was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Colorado westbound when her vehicle ran off the left side of the roadway and struck a fence and a tree...

A Wheaton woman was injured in an accident at 1:40 p.m. Sunday on private property in the city of Wheaton. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Venessa Nelson, 28, of Wheaton, attempted to stop a Honda Mini Buggy, being driven by a 5-year-old boy, and was dragged by the vehicle...

The Cassville Democrat won a total of 29 awards, including 12 first place, en route to earning its fifth straight Gold Cup, the Missouri Press Association announced Saturday. Staff awards dominated the first place wins with four, in Best Headline Writing; Best Coverage of Rural Life or Agriculture; Best News or Feature Special Section, for the Shell Knob tab; and Community Service, for the Democrat’s breast cancer issue and donation to the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks...

Seniors Alexis Mann and Bowen Preddy were named 2019 Homecoming Queen and King Friday prior to the football game against East Newton. More photos from the crowning may be found at: https://www.cassville-democrat.com/gallery/35681.

Counterfeit bills have been found at times in Barry County for a number of years, however, officers in the city of Washburn are seeing a new method of counterfeiting. Lt. Randy Kalbaugh, road patrol deputy with the Barry County Sheriff’s Office and city of Washburn officer, said although there have been counterfeit bills in the county, most of them have pink Chinese writing on them...

For the second consecutive month, Cassville resident Nadean Davis addressed the City Council about the issue of loose dogs and animal control, this month proposing a possible solution. Davis started by addressing the cause for her request to be on the agenda, that her daughter, Kristie Preddy, was mauled by two dogs on Main Street just over a month ago...

The Southwest school district is teaming up for the second year with the community and businesses to raise funds and supplies to offer Fitting Our Future to students. Fitting Our Future is a program that aims to give a new pair of socks and shoes to every student in preschool through fourth grades at Southwest...

The city of Seligman has decided to take steps toward a cleaner town, and it has sent out a number of notices to residents about dangerous buildings. Brian Nichols, Seligman city clerk, said there is a need to work on properties in town. “There is a definite need to address the buildings, and we are trying to do that,” he said. “At the time of September’s City Council meeting, there were seven notifications sent out for properties, two of which we had not, at that point, heard from the owners.”...

Seligman realtor Donna Birmingham addressed the Seligman City Council recently, asking aldermen to look into the ordinances for farm animals in city limits. Currently, the ordinance states that no property may have farm animals within city limits. Brian Nichols, Seligman city clerk, said that is with the exception of farms that already had cows and that have a continuation of cows...

Lonnie Matthews, of Neosho, traveled to Roaring River Saturday for Veterans Free Fishing Day.

A large number of vehicles were set up for viewing at the Car Show and Craft Fair in Eagle Rock Saturday, held at the Community Center.

Friends and family gathered at the Judicial Center on Friday to wish a happy retirement to Marty Stearns, court clerk.

Friends and classmates of Tonya Bailey held a breakfast on Saturday to raise money for her family. Bailey died on Sept. 1 from brain cancer.

Farming innovations shared during Field Day at the Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon included a presentation by Renew Biomass, which grow Miscanthus on 2,500 acres in southwest Missouri, including north of Aurora.

Each year, Field Day at the Southwest Research Center offers details on the advantages of growing crops in a high tunnel.

Measuring the transfer of food to energy can seem nebulous without a formula.

Farming often involves construction, or at least being handy with basic skills.

The Jenkins Bridge Restoration Foundation is sponsoring a professional photography session at Jenkins Bridge on Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. Individuals, families, friends can have a photo made at the bridge with the photo packages starting at $20. Heather Archibeque, from HNA Photography in Crane, will be the photographer. ...

Two people were injured Sunday in a wreck at 3:45 p.m. on Highway 86, two miles north of Eagle Rock. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Lucio Moreno, 19, of Cassville, was driving a 2000 Honda Civic westbound when his vehicle traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a rock and a tree...

A vehicle crashed into Cassville High School at about 9:20 p.m. on Sept. 11, leaving a hole in the building before catching fire in the grass across the circle drive. One female, a juvenile, was transported by ambulance from the scene to Mercy Cassville Hospital with moderate injuries. Firefighters arrived within minutes and put out the smoking vehicle, a 2009 Pontiac G6, which was traveling on Highway Y into the city of Cassville before going off the left side of the roadway and down the hill, hitting the building...

The Cassville school district has implemented a new program — Jobs for American Graduates (JAG) — to its curriculum, which aims to allow for a more in-depth focus on post-high school education preparedness. Nathan Fortner, Cassville JAG teacher and wrestling coach, said he has been attending conferences throughout the summer to gather information for the program...