Cassville

Wheeler taking soccer power to Crowder
Cassville senior Ashton Wheeler may have just set a school record in long jump, but his passion for sports is taking him another direction after graduation. A three-sport athlete in soccer, football and track and field, Wheeler signed for the former on April 1, deciding to play soccer at Crowder College in Neosho.

Willing and Ray-ble
Cassville senior soccer player Jackson Ray drew a line in the sand as he entered his final year of high school last fall — no college without soccer. On April 19, Ray committed to both for this fall, signing to play soccer at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly.

Through the Years, May 1
50 YEARS AGO: FASCO’S PROPOSED CASSVILLE PLANT — This is the design drawing of the electric motor manufacturing plant FASCO Industries Inc., of Rochester, N. 1. proposes to build in Cassville. Company plans are to begin immediately after a two-proposition bond program passes here on May 21. The 150,000-square-foot steel and masonry structure would be located on approximately 45 acres purchased by the investments of local businesses in the amount of $50,000. Employment the first year is projected at 400 persons with a three-year growth to over 500 persons. Bond issues pending include a $250,000 water and sewer expansion program for the city of Cassville under a general obligation bond and a $3 million industrial revenue bond for plant construction and equipment. Neither will affect local tax levies. The large manufacturing complex will present this basic view from the Sales Barn Road just south of Cassville.
Sales tax income drops in April
April sales tax revenues to Barry County dipped for the third time in four months. With the biggest drop since December 2024 impacting more than half the municipal recipients, the sales tax disbursement reflected a general return to pre-pandemic normalcy instead of steady growth.
News briefs, May 1
Cheryl Williams, branch supervisor at the Cassville Branch Library, is retiring. A celebration of Williams’ service to the library will be held on May 31 from noon to 5:30 p.m.

Forsyth death ruled a suicide
Eleven months after his body was found in Beaver Lake in Arkansas, a ruling has been made in the death of Dr. John Forsyth, former Mercy Cassville emergency room physician.

Justin Boot buildings Sold
Nearly four years after closing its doors in 2020, Justin Boot factory in Cassville is now under new ownership. Paul Sidio, a Spokane businessman, worked with local Auctioneer Donnie Stumpff to purchase the pair of buildings on County Farm Road from Justin Boot and Berkshire Hathaway, closing the deal on April 12.

Leaping into history
Preparing for his second long jump at the Cassville Relays on April 16, Wildcat senior Ashton Wheeler had a feeling he might could make history. His personal record at 6.3 meters, Wheeler leaped into the Cassville history books with a jump of 6.71 meters, surpassing Devin Linenbrink, who held the record with a 2010 jump of 6.58 meters.

Drake Thomas: Weathering the storm — The unpredictability of child behavior
It seems that spring has sprung here in the Ozarks! Daffodils and dogwoods are in full bloom, the grass and trees have returned to their lively green selves, and a buzz down any road out of city limits will likely show you new spring calves and lambs at their mothers’ sides. As warm and enjoyable as the weather has been, as a born and bred Missourian, I know that the sweet spring weather can quickly turn sour.

4 qualify for Speech and Debate nationals
Four Cassville High School (CHS) Speech and Debate students have earned their spot at the National Speech and Debate Tournament, set for June 16-21 in Des Moines. During the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) district qualifying tournament, the following students placed first or second out of 25 competing school districts.