Stories from Wednesday, April 27, 2016

It took the Barry Electric Cooperative's 70th annual meeting to shake loose some memories and lessons learned while surveying for future line construction before my 18th birthday. In 1946, when I was just about to enter my senior year in high school, a job opportunity came up. ...

The Cassville Senior Center will host a Mother's Day Lunch on May 6 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The meal requires a contribution of $3.50 for those over 60, and $6 for anyone else. For more information, people may contact the center at 471-847-4510. The Cassville Police Department is again participating in the D.E.A. ...

Officials at Exeter High School have announced the Students of the Quarter for the 2015-16 academic year.

This week's pet of the week at the Haven of the Ozarks is Caper.

Exeter school district officials have named Character Kids for the month of April, choosing students who demonstrated the trait of endurance.

David Cupps, Cassville veterinarian, recorded a hole in one on the par 3, 115-yard, No. 11 hole at the Cassville Country Club.

Kids' Fishing Day at Roaring River Fish Hatchery and State Park near Cassville will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. on May 14. For additional information, people may call 417-847-2430.

In an effort to get children moving and keep the mind and body active, the Cassville YMCA, on Saturday from 9-11 a.m., will host the 25th annual YMCA's Healthy Kids Day, the organization's national initiative to improve health and well-being of children and their families...

The Cassville Women's Golf League opened the season on Thursday. The game for the day was "Throw 1 hole out on the front/1 hole out on the back". First place was won by Lynn Blanke with 77. Second place was earned by Janie Watson with a 78 and Deb York took third with 79...

Coaches often tell their players to be ready when the time comes. Joshua Hughes, Purdy baseball skipper, is no different. The Eagles travel to Southwest today (Wednesday) to face a Trojan squad that, like Purdy, is also undefeated in conference play...

The Cassville boys and girls track teams are moving full speed ahead into the Big 8 Conference meet on May 5. The two squads are encouraged by a second-place boys finish and a fourth-place girls finish at their home meet. "Overall, I was pleased with our team's performance at our home meet," said Clay Weldy, Cassville coach. ...

It weighs 1.3 pounds and is 102.4 inches long, and for Cassville sophomore Josi Rose, it is has provided a new experience for her athletic career. Rose is Cassville's first-ever female javelin thrower. The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) introduced the javelin as a competition on a trial basis last year. This season, the contest is officially sanctioned as an event and is becoming increasingly popular...

"The Bold, The Young and The Murdered" SKITS character Jake Strong, played by Morris Nyborg, tries to convince the rest of his fellow soap opera cast members the seriousness of the fact that their director, Oli, played by Deb Lay, has been murdered, but the stage manager, character Kaitlin, played by Faith Johnston, right, stays focused on the script and insists that the play finish that night, so that they can all keep their jobs...

Producer Roe Strickland visits with customers at the Eagle Rock Farmers' Market Tuesday morning.

Hailey Foster, left, and Dylan Bodendieck dance at Southwest High School's prom, held Saturday night in the school gym.

Andrea Humphrey, left, and Robbie Ortega dance together at Purdy's prom, held Saturday at the Crowder College Cassville Community Building.

Sherry Johnson, president of the GFWC Silver Leaf Benefit Club of Cassville, gives Wyatt Hester, Southwest Little Theatre director, a check for $500 to support the school's drama club.

For the second consecutive year, the Purdy school district plans to run its own summer school program, offering classes May 25 through June 22. According to Mindi Gates, associate superintendent in charge of the program, students from kindergarten through sixth grade can sign up until May 6. Daily sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offer free daily breakfast at 7:30 a.m., as well as lunch. Bus routes will run the same as last year...

Players, coaches and spectators alike will notice a new feature in the Cassville Middle and High School gyms during sporting events next season -- new scoreboards. Cassville Activities Director Doug Martin was tasked with the job of replacing the scoreboards, which were over 20 years old...

The Cassville school district recently signed a five-year agreement with Coca-Cola, which along with providing beverages to players, students and spectators, may add up to an additional savings of about $4,000 each year in concession revenue. The district has not had a concession contract for at least 15 years, said Richard Asbill, superintendent, and the benefit to signing one is that it will help save the district on product costs, consumption and additional quirks, like coolers...

The cost of health care is a concern to every American, and with that comes the process how to obtain insurance and navigate Obamacare, also known as The Affordable Care Act (ACA). A total of 71 Barry County employees have 100 percent of their health insurance covered by the county, but Cherry Warren, presiding county commissioner, is concerned that health care costs might increase phenomenally in the foreseeable future...

A Washburn man has been arrested on multiple felony charges stemming from two incidents in the past two months. Herman Tilford, 52, of Washburn, is charged with tampering with a motor vehicle, property damage and second-degree domestic assault. According to a probable cause statement filed by Terry Meek, with the Barry County Sheriff's Office, Tilford was found covered in blood and crawling around a property on E. ...

An Exeter man is being held in the Barry County jail after allegedly forging a check for $42,050 and exploiting a disabled person. Johnny Berry, 59, of Exeter, is being held on a combination of two bonds, totaling $35,000, on charges of forgery and financial exploitation of a disabled person, as well as theft...

A public works employee recently discovered a water leak where a two-inch pipe broke at a joint, which the city estimates could have resulted in a potential seven million gallon water loss. The city was able to repair the leak within just two days after finding it...

MoDOT has scheduled a project to begin resurfacing portions of Highway 248 and Highway 76 near Cassville the week of April 25. The department will also be adding shoulders to portions of each route. "Neither one of those highways had two-foot shoulders, and this also was a good time to put those in," said David Mitchell, senior communications specialist for the department in the southwest district...

Barry-Lawrence Regional Library System has been awarded six Library Services and Technology Act grants, all totaling $30,108. According to Director Gina Milburn, the library system will receive $14,992 for the 2016 Summer Library Program. The grant funds will be used to provide a summer reading program for all ages, using the theme, "On Your Mark, Get Set...READ!" The reading program will be available in-house, as well as online through the library's webpage, www2.youseemore.com/blrl, from May 30 through July 31.. ...

Two Cassville High School sophomores died Friday afternoon in a wreck on Highway 248, two miles west of Wheelerville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Lawrence Dickson, 16, of Cassville, was driving a 2001 Ford F150 eastbound on Highway 248 at 4:13 p.m. when his vehicle ran off the roadway and overturned...

A line of heavy storms moved through the Barry County area Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, causing some damage in the local area. David Compton, Barry County Emergency Management director, said he and Deputy Director Russ Nichols called out storm spotters at about midnight Tuesday, just as the line of storms crossed from Oklahoma and Kansas into Missouri...

The Rotary Club of Cassville will be hosting the Cassville Bull Blast in conjunction with the L.J. Jenkins Bull Riding Tour on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bill Hailey Arena. Jenkins, a Professional Bull Riders Association (PBR) champion bull rider, will be at Country Dodge in Cassville from noon to 1 p.m. the day of the event to meet fans and sign autographs...