Stories from Wednesday, July 8, 2015

I love history. If I see a historical marker on the side of the road, on a town square or on the side of a building, I have to stop and read what it says. I have developed a great appreciation for things that happened before my arrival on this Earth, and I always excelled in my history classes in school...

All sports fans have places they hold as their holy grails, a place or event they want to visit and cross off their bucket lists. For Purdy resident and golf enthusiast Randy Henderson, that place was the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. "I've always enjoyed golf," Henderson said. "Whether it is playing a round or talking about the sport, I've always enjoyed the game. As an enthusiast, The Masters is the tournament that I've always wanted to attend."...

The The Cassville High School Volleyball team and coaches will be putting on a youth fundamental camp for grades three through six on July 17, from 8-10 a.m in the high school gym. Coaches will be teaching fundamental skills such as setting, passing, hitting, serving, and team drills...

According to Lance Parnell, Cassville football coach, the Wildcats' annual trip to Liberty is an experience unlike any other. The players leave July 20 and return on July 23. Once there, the Wildcat players spend four days on the campus of William Jewell College, and it is nothing but team building and football drills...

The coaching carousel at Cassville High School continued to turn this week with the district announcing Jade Samborski as its new baseball coach. Samborski was hired for the position after Danny Powers resigned. Powers accepted the position of head baseball coach at Neosho High School less than two months after being named the new Wildcats skipper, when Kyle Wood left to take a position at Monett...

The Barry County Collector's Office, headed by Collector Janice Varner, is preparing for the annual Barry County Real Estate Delinquent Tax Sale. Missouri law requires land with three years of delinquent taxes be sold on the fourth Monday in August of each year, falling on Aug. ...

Noqah Elisi, right, and Gene Glasscock take time off from traveling by wagon to rest in a grove of shade trees Saturday.

Sisters Kayleigh Harling, left, 9, and Allison Harling, 8, of Seligman, were among the first to enjoy Seligman's new splash pad, which was completed just in time for the city's annual 4th of July Fest.

Cameron Thornton, 12, of Seligman, eagerly waits for a grilled hamburger, served up by Misty Smallwood and Alan Nichols, at Seligman's annual 4th of July Fest Saturday.

About 100 children ages preschool through sixth grade sang songs for the crowd gather at Purdy's Fourth of July event Friday.

A Cassville woman was injured in a wreck Monday at 12:30 a.m. on Farm Road 1057, three miles southwest of Exeter. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Roger Balch, 21, of Cassville, was driving a 1998 Buick Park Avenue northbound when his vehicle lost control on a curve and struck a utility pole...

Two Exeter residents and one Washburn resident suffered injuries at 4:45 p.m. Saturday in a three-vehicle wreck on Highway 76, one-tenth of a mile west of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Dennis Wood, 23, of Washburn, was driving a 2006 Honda Civic eastbound and stopped to make a left turn, when his vehicle was struck from behind by a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus, being driven by Olive Curran, 67, of Exeter. ...

An Exeter man and a Cassville woman suffered moderate injuries in a wreck at 1:20 p.m. Thursday on Highway 37, one-tenth of a mile north of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Matthew Broshar, 25, of Exeter, was driving a 1994 Ford Aspire westbound when his vehicle pulled into the path of a 2011 Ford Escape, being driven by Emily Cole, 20, of Cassville...

Three fire departments combined forces to stop a fire in a residence at the corner of Caldonia and Highway C in Purdy on Sunday. According to Fire Chief Nick Mercer, firefighters were dispatched at 8:58 a.m. on Sunday due to smoke coming from the one-story residence. Shortly after their arrival, flames broke through the front window...

An Eagle Rock man died Sunday in a motorcycle wreck at 7:01 p.m. on Interstate 49, north of Highway 7. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Mitchell Neimann, 58, of Eagle Rock, was driving a 2008 Honda Goldwing northbound on Interstate 49 in Cass County when his vehicle traveled off the left side of the roadway. Neimann overcorrected and returned to the roadway, but overturned and was ejected, coming to rest on the highway...

St. John's Lutheran Church will host its annual Stone's Prairie picnic July 17. The church dates back to 1884 and has been hosting the event, which is open to the public, for over 60 years. Food, including hamburgers, hotdogs, brats, sauerkraut and drinks, will be served. There will be Bluegrass music, and entertainer Eddie Valen will perform. There will be games, including bingo with prizes and traditional games for children, and animal-drawn rides...

Cassville-area residents, business owners and public officials took to social media Tuesday morning in response to flooding in the area.

Despite a tornado warning lasting 35 minutes, only trees and power lines were damaged in Washburn and Seligman Thursday evening. According to the National Weather Service, at 4:20 p.m., video on social media and several reports showed a well-defined funnel cloud three miles east of Wheaton...

The Adult Education and Literacy program at Crowder College offers free classes to help individuals obtain high school equivalency degrees and offers assistance with college preparation. In the past, the education credential received has been referred to as the general equivalency/education diploma, or GED, but the name changed to high school equivalency test, or HSE, which is provided by HiSET...

School may be out for summer for the students, but for staff, projects around the Cassville school district campus are just beginning. Now that the students are gone, Dusty Reid, director of facilities and operations for the district, has a long to-do list, which includes work on floors, painting, preventative maintenance and special projects...

Last fall, the city of Seligman began plans to improve its 34-year-old irrigation system used in its lagoon, which stores the city's sewage and waste water. Brian Nichols, Seligman city clerk, said the city needed a more efficient way of discharging waste water from the lagoon...

After 20 years of serving the community, Purdy Fire Chief Mike Redshaw hung his helmet for the last time, as he has resigned from the post after 20 years with the organization. In the letter, Redshaw cited increasing time demands from family and his profession, as well as an impending relocation as reasons for his departure. He emphasized there was no negative reasons for the departure...

State Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, was successful in passing a bill that modifies the duration of unemployment compensation, the method to pay federal advances and raises the fund trigger causing contribution rate reductions. The bill, HB 150, would also tie unemployment benefits to the state's average rate of unemployment...

The paint was still drying, but spirits were high Wednesday as the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob and Mercy Therapy Center celebrated a combined grand opening for the senior center's addition and the Mercy Therapy Center, a project several years in the making...

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the Barry County Sheriff's Office had to rescue eight people from high water, as flooding in and around the city of Cassville became dangerous. According to Mick Epperly, Barry County sheriff, two people were rescued from the Ozark Area Community Action Corporation Neighborhood Center on Highway 248...

Those who haven't experienced a flock of grandchildren visiting for about a week just haven't lived a full life. We were honored last week by having six great-grandchildren and five adults arrive in Chinquapin Woods almost in one fell swoop. They came from Creve Coir, Md.; Colorado Springs, Colo., and Overland Park, Kan., using their vacation and Navy leave time to enjoy the Barry County Ozarks. ...

Cleanup efforts are now underway in Cassville and at Roaring River State Park after flash floods on Tuesday struck about 30 businesses in the city and left portions of the city parks damaged. Flat Creek, considered to be in flood stage at 7 feet, crested at 19.84 feet in Jenkins at 1 p.m. ...