1-21-15 Lamar Democrat

Emery receives Champion of Freedom awardJEFFERSON CITY-The Mis-

souri Alliance for Freedom, a nonpartisan and nonprofit or-ganization that encourages a free market, personal liberty, and limited government, has honored State Senator Ed Em-ery with its Champion of Free-dom award. The presentation was made, January 13, in the State Capitol.

The Missouri Alliance for Freedom scores votes on leg-islation in five key areas, prop-erty rights, individual liberty, limited government, free mar-ket, and personal responsibil-ity. The scoring was based on legislation that came before the 2014 session of the General As-sembly. Those legislators who had a 90 percent or greater voting record in support of the five key areas were honored. Emery voted in favor of such bills as one that placed restric-tions on license plate reader cameras as an infringement on individual liberty, favored a bill that prohibited school districts from discriminating against students because of their reli-

gious beliefs, favored a bill that strengthened the right to keep and bear arms, and favored a bill that would bar the State Board of Education from im-plementing the Common Core State Standards. He opposed raising the state debt ceiling to raise money to repair old state buildings and opposed putting before voters an amendment to increase the sales tax to fund the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). The proposed amendment was put on the ballot, August 5, 2014, and was soundly defeated.

In accepting the award, Em-ery said, “It is humbling to be recognized by the Missouri Alliance for Freedom as a ‘Champion of Freedom.’ Their passion for defending and ex-panding individual liberty and economic freedom for all Mis-sourians is consistent with my own vision for state govern-ment.”

Emery has served eight years in the House of Representa-tives, and is currently in his first term in the State Senate.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 2 SECTIONS, 12 PAGESServing Lamar, Golden City, Lockwood, Jasper, Sheldon, Mindenmines and Liberal for 145 years. Incorporating The Daily Democrat, Golden City Herald & Lockwood Luminary.

Grandparents Don't Forget To Stop By Or Send In Your Form And Photo Of Your Grandchildren For The Valentine Special!

INDEXSECTION A

Correspondent .......................... 2Home Improvement ................. 3Friends & Family ...................... 4School ......................................... 5Sports ......................................... 6

SECTION BArea News ................................. 2Records ...................................... 3Records/Miscellaneous ............ 4Legals/Classifieds ...................... 5Area News ................................. 6

By LT. JOHN DAVISLamar Police Department

If you were awakened on De-cember 20, around 7 a.m., to all kinds of sirens sounding along

Highway 160, and wondered what was happening, I am here to tell you. What you heard was a large group of police officers from the City of Lamar, Barton County Sheriff ’s Office, Cedar

County Sheriff ’s Office, Green-field Police Department, Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Joplin PD, giving a group of 104 kids a police escort to

the Lamar Walmart Super Cen-ter for the Eighth Annual La-mar Police Department Shop With A Cop program.

Another scam, this

one via telephone

LAMAR-Be vigilant. Don’t be gullible There are numer-ous scams going around, all of which are attempting to separate innocent people from their money. The latest appeared in this area, Janu-ary 13, in the form of a tele-phone message from the IRS. The caller (a female voice) informed the recipient of the call (in a stern voice) that a law suit had been brought against him/her, and this call was the “final notice.” There was no further identification. The recipient of the call was not home at the time, so the caller left a telephone num-ber (on voice mail) that the recipient should call.

Always remember, the Internal Revenue Service does not identify itself as the “IRS,” and never (repeat, NEVER) uses a telephone. If that agency wants to contact someone, it will use the Unit-ed States mail.

Persons targeted by a scam should contact the Lamar Police Department or Bar-ton County Sheriff ’s De-partment. Both departments have been alerted about the above scam.

Always, be vigilant.

Lamar council work session addressesauditor’s recommendations

By RICHARD COOPERDemocrat staff writer

LAMAR-The Lamar City Council spent two hours in a work session, January 12, to craft a written bid policy, which

the city had already been fol-lowing in compliance with state guidelines. However, Marshall Decker of Decker and DeGood CPAs told the council on No-vember 17, 2014, that following guidelines is not good enough.

The policy should be in writ-ing.

The mayor and council exam-ined, line by line, a nine-page procurement policy that had been prepared by City Clerk Traci Cox, and was based on

the policies of Carl Junction and Aurora.

The council determined that any purchase exceeding $7,500 must go through a competitive bidding process with the award of the purchase requiring council approval. Preference will be given to local bidders if they are within five percent of the lowest bid and maintain an office within the city. If there is no bidder within the city but a bidder who maintains an office within Barton County and is within five percent of the low-est bid, the same preference shall apply.

Numerous times during ex-amination of the nine-page procurement policy, Mayor Keith Divine or City Adminis-trator Lynn Calton remarked, “We already do this.” Therefore, there is little change involved. It is a matter of putting current procedures into written form.

Also discussed during the meeting was adoption of a fraud policy, something that is a more recent development. A

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Brand

An interesting read, Skelton autobiographyBy RICHARD COOPERDemocrat staff writer

Ike Skelton served in the U.S. House of Representatives as Fourth District Congressman for 34 years. Not until 2001 was Barton County included in his district. Since Barton County is heavily Republican, it was unlikely Skelton, a Democrat, could carry a majority of the vote here. However, when vot-ers found him to be moderately conservative and a strong sup-porter of national defense, he managed to reduce Republican majorities somewhat. He made many friends in Barton County and visited as frequently as his schedule would allow. On one occasion, he slipped into La-

mar completely unannounced to visit the National Guard ar-mory. As he described the visit, “I just wanted to thank them for their devotion to duty.” Not a single local Democratic party official was present to greet him. I learned of his coming through a tip from a National Guard official. He said his goal was to visit every National Guard armory in the Fourth District and deliver the same message of gratitude.

Skelton was defeated for re-election in 2010 by Vicky Hartzler, who was even more conservative and appealed to voters in the rural Fourth Dis-trict. Never an issue to be dis-cussed, but possibly a factor in the election was age. Ike was

almost 80. In the years after he left of-

fice, Skelton began writing his autobiography, Achieve the Honorable: A Missouri Congressman’s Journey from Warm Springs to Washing-ton. It includes a closer look at his personal life and ex-pands on his public life. Just two weeks after publication of the autobiography, Skelton died of pneumonia at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington on October 28, 2013. Those who admired his dogged sup-port of a strong military and his devotion to spending hol-idays abroad with the troops should enjoy the memoir. It may be ordered at area book stores or Amazon.com.

Tips for homeowners on their first renovation

projectsHome renovations are typi-

cally exciting, as homeown-ers get to see the visions of their dream homes come to

Ryan Johnson, left, of the Missouri Alliance for Freedom, presented the Champion of Freedom award to State Senator Ed Emery, January 13, in Jefferson City.

see RENOVATION, page 3A

Cross off projectson your list with the help of the businesses

on page 3A!

HomeImprovement

Time!

see SHOP, page 2A

see AUDITOR, page 4A

2A • Wednesday, January 21, 2015 www.lamardemocrat.com Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO

The program started off at the First Baptist Church in Lamar, where the kids and officers were fed a breakfast by Mela-nie Smith and her family and friends. This year we received assistance from a Sunday school class head-ed by Steve Gilkey from the Lamar First Christian Church, in the serving of the food to the kids and offi-cers.

Then the kids were loaded on to the Oak-ton Method-ist Church buses, driven by Harvey Fry and Gary Co-lin, and given the escort to the Lamar Walmart, where they met Santa, who was delivered in style by Fireman Ken Reinert Sr. of the Lamar Fire Department on Old Engine 38 from the La-mar Fire Department. A big thank you to Fireman Reinert and Chief Rawl-ings for making this pos-sible.

Once inside the store the kids were paired with their officers and a shop-ping they went. Most of the kids, ages five through 12, were given a $100 gift card to spend on them-selves. Those children in the family, not in that age group and below the age of 16, were given a $50 gift card. There were a lot of smiles on the kids and even bigger smiles on the officer’s faces.

The program is de-signed to take children shopping for Christmas and allow them to be-come better acquainted with police officers and know that they can trust us in times of need. The kids and officers also had their photo taken with Santa and given a picture to remember the day by the Walmart Photo Lab. Some of the kids bought presents for their parents or other loved ones and were in need of Christ-mas gift wrapping. This year, once again, a large group from the First Bap-tist Church of Lamar vol-unteered and supplied the entire gift wrapping ma-terial to help the children wrap the gifts they wished to. Since we were able to raise enough money once again this year, through

the generous donations from the people of Bar-ton County, we were able to give each family, all 44 of them, a food basket as well. This included every-thing they would need to make a well-rounded meal for their family, in-cluding sugar cookies.

As I have said over the

last eight years, this pro-gram cannot exist with-out the help of a lot of other people. We were out in full force on the night of Thanksgiving at the lo-cal Walmart Store, doing our annual Hat Block. For those that braved the cold to help raise money, I thank you. We raised a little over $2200 in a little under five hours. That is a new record and once again the best way to prove that Barton County and those visiting really do care about the kids.

As our main way of fun-draising I send out letters to almost every business located in Barton County. I do miss some and for that I apologize. I also place an add in the Lamar Democrat announcing our fundraising efforts. Each year for the last four years we have raised a little over $11,000 for the program. This year we did a little better and raised a little over $13,000. Now most people would say wow, that is a lot of mon-ey, and I agree. What I find most difficult to be-lieve is the time period it takes to raise this money. Some people think I start in August, others say in October. In all real-ity we raise this money in a months time; yes, in about 30 days we raised a little over $13,000 again this year. We could not do this without the more than generous support of our wonderful com-munity. The support that we receive from the com-munity is something I brag about constantly

when I talk to other offi-cers from other agencies. Also, when I talk to peo-ple who ask about mov-ing to Lamar or coming to work here at the police department, it is some-thing I always mention to make them know that if they choose to live and or work in Barton Coun-

ty, they have made a wise choice. The entire county community is a very giving community and I would like you all to know it is very much appreci-ated.

Each year I try to thank each and ev-ery person

who donates to this pro-gram, because without their generosity we would not have some of the re-lationships that we have today with the youth of Lamar, Liberal, Golden City, Lockwood and Jas-per. Yes, you understood me correctly. We not only take children from the Lamar area, but we also include every school district in Barton Coun-ty, as well as Lockwood and Jasper schools. The reason we include Lock-wood and Jasper is due to some of the donations coming from those com-munities when their citi-zens come to Lamar and shop and donate, when we are collecting money on Black Friday in front of the Walmart Store.

We also collect funds for those communities through organizations such as the Lamar Elks Lodge. The Elks Lodge is one of our highest contributors every year by donating $2000. The other organization that goes above and beyond is the Lamar Walmart Su-per Center, managed by Kristi Mein. Not only do we receive a $2000 grant from them, but they also assist us in every way to be able to hold the event at their store. We basi-cally take over their entire store for about four hours that morning. They bring extra people in and rear-range their store to ac-commodate us. If you’re doing the math along with me, you will see that those two groups’ dona-tions account for almost

one-third of what we raised this year. We also receive donations from other groups, businesses and individuals through-out our fundraising pe-riod in the month of No-vember.

I know that some people really do not care if they see their names in print and actually some have expressed they would like to remain anonymous, but I like to say thank you every year to those who help make this very spe-cial program a success, so I will end this article by showing their names. Please forgive me if I omit anyone. Also, please forgive me if I post your name and you had wished to remain anonymous.

These donators are in no particular order, La-mar Family Ministries Center, Kent and Deb-bie Harris, Fraternal Or-der of Eagles, National TV, Fast Eddie Hot Rod, Lamar Elks Lodge No. 2800, Phi Kappa Rho, Lamar Bank and Trust, Philip Solum - Solum Co LLC, Zachary and Linda Heller, Lynn Calton, First Christian Church, Harel Lawrence, Lamar Lions Club, Bruce and Denise Clements, John and Su-san Kelsey, Lamar Chi-ropractic Center, Richard Scott Law Office, Brittany Blanchard, Mya Castle, Rylee Castle, Jeffries Plumbing, Schnelle SM Inc, Tom Shields, Critters and Pals Animal Clinic, Dog Obedience Train-ing School, Casey’s Gen-eral Store, Donna Arnold, Hooked on Travel, Route 66 Motorcycle SC, Tony Carpenter, Lamar Rotary Club, David and Rhonda Toler, Higgins Pallets, MFA Oil, C-MAC Auto Repair LLC.

Also, Beachner Seed Company, Central Bio-media Inc, Earlene Raw-lings, Neil Simons, Steve Gilkey, Polston Construc-tion, CDJ Enterprise, Inc DBA Dairy Queen, Gerry Miller Used Cars, Ritchey Refrigeration, Isenhower Lumber Company, LLC, Ash Grove Aggregates Inc, El Charco LLC, Redneck Outdoor Prod-ucts, Cooky Café LLC, Walmart store No. 338 Kristy Mein, Lamar Trav-el Plaza, Lamar Truck and Tire, Col. Merle Fau-bion, Memory Gardens of Lamar, Daniel Funeral Home, Ivan and Donna

Long, Darrel and Sue Morrison, Kenneth and Jan Rice, Sallie and Brent Willhite, Andrew and Katie Rohan, Lamar Li-cense Office, Alan Fisher, Dave Stout - KTS Com-puters, and the hundreds of shoppers at the Black Friday sale at the Lamar Walmart Super Center on Thanksgiving evening.

I would also like to thank those who assist every year in helping the kids and officers check out after they have shopped: Earlene Rawlings, Sandra Phipps, Linda Zaerr, Lisa Buzzard, Deana Baker, Coby Fullerton, Ryle Ful-lerton, Crystal Zaerr and Sarah Davis. I would like to thank Ken Reinert Sr. and his wife Starri for handing out the food bas-kets each year and Jeremy and Nikki Brand for not only starting this pro-gram but their continued support and assistance. I also would like to thank Terri Baldwin for helping me get the kids and offi-cers together and hand-ing out the gift cards to go shopping, and last but most certainly not least, Traci Cox for maintain-ing all the records of do-nations and every other little thing she does each year to help make this possible.

I would like to extend a big thank you to all of

the officers of the po-lice department for their help and support for the program, as well as the deputies from the Bar-ton County Sheriff ’s Of-fice. Also those officers, deputies, troopers from Jasper County, Joplin Po-lice Department, Cedar County Sheriff ’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Liberal Police De-partment and Greenfield Police Department. Each and every one of the of-ficers from these agen-cies donated their time to come and help us make lasting relationships with the 104 children we took shopping.

CORRESPONDENT

Postal Customer: Seventy-five Cents (tax included)Serving Lamar, Golden City, Lockwood, Jasper, Sheldon, Mindenmines and Liberal for 144 years.

Incorporating the Golden City Herald and Lockwood Luminary

(USPS 142680) Volume 114, Issue 3 Published Weekly on Wednesday.

DEADLINE FOR PLACING ADVERTISING: MONDAY 10 A.M.Lewis County Press, LLC

DBA Lamar DemocratP.O. Box 12 • 100 East 11th Street, Lamar, Missouri 64759

Phone: 417-682-5529 • Fax: [email protected] • www.lamardemocrat.com

Editor - Melody MetzgerSales - Melissa LittleSports Writer - Chris MorrowAd Design/Composition - Heather GerthsStaff Writer - Richard CooperCorrespondents - Darlene Sheridan, Gail Leaming, Louise Ott and Maxine MorinDade County Reporter - Carolyn HeadPublisher - Lewis County Press LLC

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF BARTON COUNTYTITLE of this newspaper transfers to the reader when each issue of the newspaper leaves the newspaper office at 100 East 11th Street, Lamar. ERRORS should be reported immediately as the LAMAR DEMOCRAT can be responsible for only the first incorrect insertion in advertisements. The DEMOCRAT cannot be liable for errors in advertisement to a greater extent than the cost of space occupied by the item in the advertisement. PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR: The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of the advertisement. The publisher’s liability for the other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. INDEMNIFICATION: The advertiser and/or advertising agency agrees to defend and indemnify the publisher against any and all liability, loss or expense arising from claims of libel, unfair competition, unfair trade practices, infringement of trademarks, copyrights, trade names, patents or propietary rights or violation of rights of privacy, resulting from the publication of the advertiser’s advertisement. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LAMAR DEMOCRAT, P.O. Box 12, Lamar, Missouri 64759.

Periodical Postage Paid at Lamar, Missouri 64759SUBSCRIPTION RATES (includes tax)

Barton County Residents: 1 Year (Includes Online) .................................................$40.00

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“When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know

whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not

guilty’.”

SheldonBy DARLENE

SHERIDAN

The cool weather is keeping many people inside. But as people say, it is winter. They say we are looking forward to

some warmer weather for this next weekend.

The Sheldon Jolly Senior Citizens will not be meeting in January, due to member’s illness and the cold weather.

Thirty-four trees have been planted in the park from donations from the Donaldson Trust and

local donations. There are many more that need to be removed and replaced. If you would be interested in purchasing a tree in memory of family members or for your family please contact Gene Leininger at 884-2605 or city hall 884-2621. Donations can be made

to Sheldon Revitalization Association, a not for profit organization, at PO Box 83. Signs will be placed in the park with donors identified.

The Sheldon Boys Basketball Teams were involved in the Golden City Tournament last week, while the girls

played in the Appleton City Tourney.

The food pantry for Sheldon and Bronaugh residents was held January 20, at the Sheldon City Park.

A fundraiser will be held on January 25, to assist Jim Elderton with medical expenses. Contact Lena

Jett at 884-5111 for more information.

The January Community Betterment Meeting will be held January 27, at the Donaldson Building at 7 p.m. If you are interested in the future of Sheldon please come out and give your opinion.

LAMAR COUNTRY

CLUB LADIES ASSOCIATION

Rosalee Potter was the hostess for Bridge on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The win-ners were Betty Gilkey, first and Rosalee Potter, second.

The hostess scheduled for January 20 is Marga-ret Wattenbarger, with

the hostess on January 27 to be Betty Weston.

CLUB NOTE

Shop, continued from page 1A

"...without their generosity we would not have some

of the relationships that we have today with the youth of Lamar, Liberal, Golden City,

Lockwood and Jasper."

Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO www.lamardemocrat.com Wednesday, January 21, 2015 • 3A

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Renovation, continued from page 1A

light right before their very eyes. Turning an outdated bathroom into a modern oasis or an empty basement into the ultimate man cave strengthens the sense of attachment homeowners have with their homes.

But few home renova-tion projects go from start to finish without ex-periencing a few bumps in the road along the way.

Such bumps can be diffi-cult to handle for home-owners working on their first renovation projects, but there are many ways for novices to navigate the sometimes murky waters of home improve-ment projects and come out relatively unscathed on the other end, where a newly renovated home awaits.

• Plan well and know

what to expect. When working with contrac-tors, get all agreements in writing and spell out exactly what you desire in a home renovation. Photo references can help guide contractors and ar-chitects. Ask for the full picture of what can be expected with the work, from demolition to the punch list. Knowing what lies ahead can keep you grounded throughout the project.

• Discuss work each day and set payment sched-ules. Make payments contingent on work com-pleted. This can help keep contractors on schedule. Paying for all work up-front leaves homeown-ers at a disadvantage, as it does not provide in-centive for workers to be timely and efficient. Check in with workers to

get daily progress reports. • Have reasonable ex-

pectations. A renovation project may exceed its budget and take longer than initially expected. Understanding that these potential setbacks might be part of the process will make it easier to handle them when the foreman speaks to you about any issues that arise.

• Accept the mess. Con-struction work is messy. There’s no way to main-tain a pristine house when contractors are entering and exiting all day. Dust is bound to be generated, and tools can fill up rooms. A home in disarray can be stressful, but continue to visual-ize the end result and the mess won’t bother you so much.

• Establish a contingen-cy plan. Bathrooms and kitchen renovations are typically the most disrup-tive home improvement projects. Going without a kitchen can make it dif-ficult to enjoy meals at home, while a bathroom remodel may require you to navigate water shut-offs. If your project is scheduled to take several months, establish a con-tingency plan to deal with the consequences of your renovation project. Speak with family members about using some of their home amenities, and pre-pare and freeze meals in advance so you can reheat them later on when you don’t have access to your stove.

• Plan your escape. Sometimes the constant work and mess of con-struction is too much to bear. Afford yourself time away by visiting relatives or staying at a hotel. Even a single night away can provide the relief you need.

A home that is under-going a remodel can be a less than comfortable environment. But home-owners who have never before lived through a renovation project can take several steps to make the process go as smooth-ly as possible.


FAMILY & FRIENDSMETZGER’S MUTTERINGS

Letter to editorDear Editor:During the last week

in 2014, Jeb Bush began divesting himself of his investment affiliations, undoubtedly in prepa-ration for entering the presidential race of 2016. Although he has publicly stated that these invest-ments are of no conse-quence should he run for president, such invest-ments, many of which are off-shore and are virtual-ly tax exempt, may prove to be a mill wheel around his neck - even more so than Romney expe-rienced in 2012. This is noted especially because some of these invest-ments are in cooperation with Chinese business in-terests.

Jeb must also overcome the perception of the dis-mal record of his father and his brother, which to considerable extent has saddled the Bush name with an aura of incom-petence. Finally, and per-haps foremost, is that Jeb is a moderate and if he stays his present course, which will undoubt-edly draw a considerable

number of independent voters and even some Democrats, he will, in all likelihood, alienate that far right conservative el-ement of the Republican party. The question arises as to whether he can be elected without them.

It seems foregone that Hillary Clinton will rep-resent Democrats in the 2016 election. The Beng-hazi incident, which has been officially settled, will undoubtedly be res-urrected by Republicans as best they can - but most of the steam has already gone out of it. However, some part of the far right continues to struggle to make it relevant. Clinton's age, 69 if she assumes office, may be a legitimate con-cern, although it would be equal to that of Rea-gan when he took office and who heretofore has been the oldest president to begin his first term. The specter of alzheimers which overtook Reagan while he was still in the oval office, along with the incompetence aspect as-sociated with aging, may

indeed spill over into the public’s consideration of Clinton.

Leon Faubion,co-editor

themuddy creekjournal.comAlbuquerque, NM

Dear Editor:There is a very inter-

esting article in Mother Earth News, issue of December 2014/Janu-ary 2015 by Christopher Leonard, former national agribusiness reporter for the A.P. The article, “The Death of Small Towns” describes the “high cost of factory farmed meat” and is a very appropriate article considering the recent amendment to the Constitution of Missouri under the guise of Right to Farm.

The takeover of Ameri-can foods by Tyson,

Hormell, Swift, Corgill, Smithfield Foods, etc. is very interesting. All one has to do is take a good look at towns such as Waldron, Ark. to see the results.

This article should, at the very least, make those who voted on the Con-stitutional amendment wonder if they did what was right for their county and country! Time will tell! While Waldron goes down the tube Tyson banks $778 million in pure profit in 2013 alone!

Think about it! Beef is next! Was I right to vote the way I did? Who put up the money in sup-port of the amendment? Didn't we already have the right to farm? What was in the fine print? What will change?

Bill Head,Greenfield

Jim and Alene (Quade) Scott of Golden City will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on January 28. Jim and Alene met at Judy's Cafe in Jasper and were married in Columbus, Kan. on January 28, 1955. Alene worked at Carthage Water and Electric and Jim worked at 4-State Supply at the time of their marriage. They later pursued their dream of farming and eventually settled south of Golden City, where they farmed and operated a 200 cow dairy farm with the help of four sons, Rusty and his wife Jean, Springfield and Dan and his wife Lorrie, Max and his wife Michaela and Bill and his wife Charlotte, all of Golden City. Jim and Alene now enjoy retirement and following 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. They plan to celebrate with family on January 31 with a meal, followed by a lot of stories about family, farming and all the ballgames they have been to. Cards would be appreciated and can be sent to them at P.O. Box 359, Golden City, MO 64748.

Scotts to celebrate 60th anniversary

By MELODY METZGERLamar Democrat

After being asked by son Jud, I'm now offi-

cially on call as to when Meghan goes into labor. Needless to say, for some odd reason her family plans to be with her, so

guess who that leaves to watch Landon! Of course that's quite a hardship and Jud really had to twist my arm several times to get me to agree to it (not!) We're all won-dering how Landon is going to adapt to the new baby. Right now he is ex-tremely excited and when asked where Cooper is, he points to Meghan's belly. In his two-year-old speech, he refers to the new baby as “Cuckoo”, which is his way of saying Cooper. Not sure what his parents think of this, but I find it quite endear-ing. Of course nine-year-old Kobyn still insists that Landon and Cuckoo aren't his brothers and no matter of reasoning with him helps. I even tried to tell him that as the older brother he would be able to boss them around and tell them what to do, but

that didn't phase him. It's really strange what goes on in children's minds.

My January has been full of birthdays, and not sure if Baby Cuckoo will be a January baby as well, or if he will be stubborn and go into February. Jud is busy at work with basketball season and the upcoming baseball/softball season, so he's just trying to make hay while the sun shines. He did promise Meghan that he would take a week off after Cooper is born, as I'm sure she will need all the help she can get. Only having one child myself, I can't even begin to imagine how people juggle more. Just having one was a full time job in itself and I even had my mom close by to help.

Jud gets Kobyn every other weekend now and having to travel solo so

much for his work, Jud enjoys me going with him to pick up and take home Ko and truth be told, I enjoy it too. Not too sure if I enjoy his driving in the big city, and each and every time we go up and back I find my mortality slipping away, but the time I get to spend alone with Jud is priceless. Seems we all get so caught up in their own lives that we don't take time to just visit and catch up with each oth-er's lives.

Kobyn finally learned how to blow bubbles several weeks ago and is quite proud of himself for doing so. Unfortu-nately he likes to pop the bubbles, making a loud noise. While returning him home last Sunday Kobyn happened to pop one, causing Jud to in-form Ko that in doing so,

he was driving Jud crazy. Being me, I couldn't help but look at Jud, then at Kobyn, and proceed to drum on the dashboard with my hands. I don't know how many years Jud drove Gary and my-self crazy by drumming on anything and every-thing he could. Of course Jud caught on, smiled real big and said, “Yea, I know I did things to drive you crazy too, but now I'm the parent so I get to have the say so!” Needless to say, Kobyn stopped pop-ping his gum.

It's a good thing I like boys, as Kobyn informed me that he doesn't like girls, is never getting married, nor having kids, but if he did it would be sons! Think maybe the good Lord up above may have something entirely different in mind. Guess time will tell.....

Auditor, continued from page 1A

sample of the fraud policy adopted by Ozark, Mis-souri was presented to the council for evaluation. The policy appears below, and only the name of the city has been changed.

“The city of Lamar is committed to protect-ing its revenue, property, information and other assets from any attempt, either by members of the

public, contractors, ven-dors, agents or its own employees, to gain by deceit, financial or other benefits at the expense of city tax payers. City officials and employees must, at all times, com-ply with all applicable laws and regulations. The city will not condone the activities of officials or employees who achieve

results through violation of the law or unethical business dealings. The city does not permit any activity that fails to stand the closest possible public scrutiny.”

These policies will be discussed at future meet-ings of the council and eventually put into ordi-nance form for council approval.

NRCS announces sign-up deadline for Water Quality Initiative in Missouri

COLUMBIA-The US-DA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that landowners have until February 20 to request assistance through an ini-tiative to improve water quality in three Missouri watersheds.

State Conservationist J.R. Flores said that NRCS will be providing financial and technical assistance to help farmers, ranchers and forestland owners in the three watersheds in-stall conservation practic-es that manage nutrients, pathogens and sediments. Funding comes through

the agency’s National Wa-ter Quality Initiative.

The watersheds include Lower Little Medicine (Grundy and Sullivan counties in northern Mis-souri), Upper Trouble-some (Knox and Lewis counties in northeastern Missouri) and Opossum Creek-North Fork Spring River (Jasper and Barton counties in southwestern Missouri).

Eligible producers will receive assistance for nu-trient management, cover crops, conservation crop-ping systems, filter strips, terraces and in some cases, edge-of-field water

quality monitoring.“This initiative provides

an opportunity for farm-ers in the project areas to do even more to improve the quality of their lo-cal water sources,” Flores said. “It’s also a good opportunity for farm-ers to try a conservation practice that maybe they haven’t tried before, like cover crops.”

Flores said NRCS will work with landowners with approved applica-tions to determine how alternative conservation systems they are consid-ering will impact water quality improvement.

Additionally, state wa-ter quality agencies and other partners will do in-stream and watershed-level monitoring to track water quality improve-ments in the project wa-tersheds.

NRCS accepts applica-tions for financial assis-tance on a continuous basis, but applications for funding consideration during this fiscal year must be received by Feb-ruary 20.

For more information about NRCS’ programs, initiatives and services in Missouri, visit www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov.

Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO www.lamardemocrat.com Wednesday, January 21, 2015 • 5A

SCHOOL

Elly Haun, daughter of Rod and Kenda Haun, is the sixth grade Student of the Week at Lamar Middle School. Elly likes to play softball and basketball. She likes going camping in the summer and likes to watch the Lamar Tigers.

JD Bishop, son of Kent and Kristen Bishop, is the seventh grade Lamar Middle School Student of the Week. JD plays football, basketball and baseball. Basketball is his favorite and he would play year round if he could. In his spare time JD likes to hang out with his friends.

Kinley Nance, daughter of Timothy and Amber Nance, is the eighth grade Student of the Week at Lamar Middle School. Softball and basketball are Kinley's two favorite sports. She loves going to church and youth group because it brings her close to God. Kinley loves spending time with her family.

STAR Students of the week

STAR Students at Lamar East Primary for the week of January 19 are, third row, left to right, Bella Reese, Memphis Bronson, Trey Pittsenbarger, Justice Baker; second row, Mariah Clark, Keila Najarro, Karson Parker, Eleese Ortega, Kian Rogers; first row, Kailee Dotson, Jake Clark, Abigayle Mattox, Zackery Wheeler.

Congratulations to Jasper Elementary staff of the month. Pictured are, left to right, Janese Kellenberger, Janel Kellenberger and Annastasia Morris.

Congratulations to the Jasper Elementary School Eagles of the Month for December. These Eagles were chosen because they consistently display the character traits of respect, responsibility and safety. Way to go, Eagles! Pictured are, front row, left to right, Bella Taffner, Miranda Neher, Leon Cawyer, Hunter Virtue, LeLand Harris, Steven Wilkins, Emily Crane and Juan Rivera; back row, left to right, Brett Leman, Cameron Crooks, Andrew Leman, Aleena McCarthy and Austin Taylor. Not pictured is Karlan Zaerr.

Jasper Elementary students of the month

Jasper Elementary staff of the month

Jasper Junior High releases secondquarter honor roll

JASPER-The second quarter honor roll has been released by Jasper Junior High School.

A Honor Roll

EIGHTH GRADE- Hadley Atnip, Brittany Ball, Christopher Barker, Caleb Brown, William Chaffin, Bailey Danner, Katelyn Dockery, Kelly Dockery, Kaylee Jo Fly-nn, Laura Huber, Kier-stin Johnston, Salvador Loyola, Aden Sisseck, Bri-anna Willet.

SEVENTH GRADE- Annika Anzjon, Levi Braker, Wyatt Braker, Hallie Corle, Alyssa Dun-field, Madelyn Gastel, Kristy Holliday, Jared Rinkenberger, Kathryn Smith, Nickolas Stark.

B Honor RollEIGHTH GRADE-

Jonathan Kohley, Mason

Lillard, Nancy Medrano, Blaine Mikell, Maddison Perry, Kolby Rutledge, Destiny Stewart, Krystal Swearingin, Leeah Walker.

SEVENTH GRADE- Erin Atnip, Jesse Chavez, Jr., Nicholas Colley, Colton Crews, Kayne Mc-Neely, Paten Neher, Syd-ney Webb, Alora Wilkie.

Jasper High School releases second quarter honor roll

JASPER-The second quarter honor roll has been released by Jasper High School.

A Honor RollSENIORS- Larissa At-

nip, Haley Bennett, Bailey Bettes, Kenedey Chaligoj, Chet Corle, Rebecca Dar-row, Katlyn Fonger, Addi-son Gastel, Austin Gloodt, Chandra Howard, Maris-sa Leivan, Ashley Porter. Monica Steeves, Kamryn Stump, Matt Stump, An-nie Wright.

JUNIORS- Adam An-drews, Nicolas Adkins, Anne-Marie Anibal, Brianna Cawyer, Shel-by Dockery, McKensey Dumm, Kortlin Garvin, Shelbie Gill, Leslie Gri-jalva, Blake Jeffries, Eliz-abeth Maneval, Keylee McCutcheon, Jenna Rec-tor, Regan Smith.

SOPHOMORES- Alex Beier, Levi Brown, Keegan Chorum, Rylee Ervin, Grace Gazaway, Hayden Howard, Alina Krolivets, Joshua Los-inger, Mason Olinger, Drew Pennington, Emily Peterson, Byron Stevens, Dorothea Wenderoth.

FRESHMEN- Kait-lyn Adams, Blake Bet-tes, Terra Bowman, Tyler Brawley, Josiah Brink-hoff, Avery Brouillard, Rachel Crazybear, Rea-gan Dumm, Seth Jensen, Erica Rinkenberger, Gar-

denia Rivera.B Honor Roll

SENIORS- Curtis An-drews, Jared Ball, Re-becca Carney, Jonathan Davis, Kyle Ghumm, Layne Gossett, Sabrina Kannmore, Robert Mc-Neely, Jonathan Nally, Michaela Schlicht-ing, Isaac Spry, Talon Stump.

JUNIORS- Parker Athey, Harold Bechtle, Braiden Davis, Audra Etcheson, Kori Harp-er, Taelor Hildebrand, Dayton Maneval, Jacob Martin, Ashley Mc-Carthy, Elizabeth Me-drano, Isaac Oliphant, Matthew Potter, Lexie Royster, Morgan Win-chester.

SOPHOMORES- Birgit Anzjon, Joey Baker, Nathan Bechtle, Jonathan Brinkhoff, Nicholas Chartier, Jef-fery Fisher, Stephen Grimmett, Ryan Har-shaw, Ian Henderson, Daylan Leivan, Ken-neth Moua, Hailey Reynolds, Hector Ri-vera, TK Roeber, Joy Waldbuesser, Christine Zimmerling

FRESHMEN- Isis Castro, Andrew Corle, Stevie Galiani, Olivia Maneval, McGuire Rice, Tad Sisseck, Lo-gan Winchester, Sophia Xiong.


SPORTS

Eight reasons boomers and older adults should try BCSC

Below are eight rea-sons that boomers and older adults should try the Barton County Strength Club (BCSC):

1. You can start at zero. A lot of people get intimidated because they think this is going to be so difficult that they won't be able to do it. But that's the ex-treme. The gym is very welcoming, very non-judgmental and very accepting. They want you to just come as you are. Owner Jeremy “Jay” Augusta hears a lot of people, especially woman say, “Oh, I have to get in shape first. I can't just walk into the gym looking this way or that way”, and that's the furthest thing from the truth. Come as you are and let the method of BCSC do its wonders on you.

2. You'll skyrocket your metabolism. As one ages they natu-rally lose muscle mass, which causes their metabolism to slow, which means one could start building a spare tire by the time they reach their 30s. When individuals do weight-bearing exer-cises they start revving up their metabolism and it keeps burning for many hours after their workout. Also, the more muscle one gains, the more calories they'll burn throughout the day, even when they're not active.

3. You'll tone all over (but don't have to get bulky). Women have a misconception that they will bulk up do-ing this much strength training, but it really isn't the case unless they're working for that type of look. Keep in

mind, one pound of fat takes up so much more space than one pound of muscle. There's quite a volume difference. So even though muscle weighs more, what do you want all over your body? Something that's bulky, like body fat, or something that's lean, like muscle?

4. You can start slow. Unless you have a back-ground in Olympic lift-ing or power lifting you can, and need, to start easy. For learning barbell lifts BCSC's gym has PVC pipe individuals can use until they get comfort-able with the form. Then, they can gradually work up to a level of weight that they're comfortable with, whether that's a 12-pound trainer bar or even just light weights.

5. It'll give a boost to your social life. The social aspect of BCSC is really fantastic, especially for women. When you sweat together, go through a tough workout together... it just does something to bond the group. BCSC has a unique community spirit that's second to none. It's a good place to make friends and they of-ten do things to help give back to the community.

6. You'll become a bet-ter parent. BCSC teaches members about good nu-trition, too, so they are able to take those new

skills back to the family. Kids really learn by ex-ample, and they'll follow an adult's lead. If they grow up watching parents eat unhealthy food, that is the example they will fol-low. If they see them eat-ing nutritious food, that is the example they will follow.

7. It keeps joints happy. As one ages it becomes really important to use all of joints regularly and BCSC is a great way to do it. Joints were meant to open and close and with-out regular movement they get stiff and achy. At that point individuals be-come trapped in a vicious cycle: The less they move, the worse they get. And the worse they get, the less they want to move.

8. You'll reduce your risk of injury. The func-tional movements used in BCSC training really make members stronger for life. That's what they strive for each and every day at the gym. Which means one will be less likely to throw their back out when they reach down to pick up the laun-dry basket or hoist that suitcase into the overhead compartment on their next flight.

BCSC's goal isn't to turn everyone in to an athlete. They strive to improve quality of life, while add-ing years to that life and it is working out fantastic.

All Sports Benefit Auction scheduled at LHS

The Lamar R-1 School District will host an All Sports Benefit Auction on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the high school gymnasium. They are hoping to exceed last year's attendance of 400 people, raising $5,000! The school would love to surpass last year's numbers, so as an added benefit the Lamar Booster Club will be serving dinner of brisket, pulled pork and all the trimmings at $10 a plate, with a portion of the proceeds going towards Lamar High School activities. The dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

Lamar's varsity sports have achieved success at the state playoff and state championship level. They are attempting to offset the costs associated with this winning tradition, using the proceeds from the benefit auction. At the same time they are improving facilities and supplies for all the athletic teams, in order to continue this tradition of successful student athletes.

The All Sports Benefit Auction will be a combination silent/live auction, with the silent auction to be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the live auction to follow at 7:30 p.m. Donations have been received from professional and semi-professional sports teams and the school district is in need of more items to auction. They will accept anything that anyone would like to donate. For example, donating of services from oil changes to manicures, to lawn care. Gift baskets, gift cards, store items, etc., would also be greatly appreci-ated.

Lamar High School Assistant Principal/Activities Director Dale Patton said, “We sincerely appreciate and understand how much community sup-port our school receives. We would not be able to have successful programs without each and everyone of you and your continued support”.

Be sure to come to the Lamar High School gym on Saturday, Feb. 21, to enjoy a dinner and auction, while helping to support Lamar High School activities.

All are invited to attend this very worthwhile benefit auction in support of the Lamar Tigers.Chris Morrow/Lamar Democrat

Lamar's Lakin Hardman looks for a teammate to pass the ball to during the Tigers 54-41 loss to East Newton last week. The Tigers had won four in a row coming into the contest.

Tigers, Lady Tigers fallto St. Mary's

After winning four straight the Lamar Tigers dropped a pair of contests last week, including a 37-29 loss to St. Mary's Col-gan in Friday night's an-nual homecoming game.

The Tigers got off to a slow start, trailing 12-3 after one period of play. They trailed 19-12 at the half of what was shaping up to be a defensive strug-gle. They would finish the contest shooting 29 per-cent from the floor. They

were 1-of-9 from behind the arc, with Tripp Tucker connecting on their only three point field goal. He finished the contest with a team high 13 points. Fellow senior Trenton Mooney led the team with a dozen rebounds.

The loss came on the heels of a Big 8 Confer-ence defeat on the road against the East New-ton Patriots on Tuesday. Again the Tigers fell be-hind early, trailing by

three at the end of the first period and by 10 at the half. Joel Braden's team battled back in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the halftime deficit against the then undefeated Patriots. The Tigers stand at 9-5 head-ing into the week of the January 19.

The Lady Tigers fought valiantly in Friday night's loss to St. Mary's, but still dropped the contest 55-39.

Chris Morrow/Lamar DemocratBetween the boys and girls games with St. Mary's Colgan Friday night, the Lamar Tigers held their annual homecoming coronation. Johnny Brooks and Jerica Stahl were crowned king and queen.

Tigers fall to East Newton

Lamar basketball royalty crowned

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 • SECTION B

Butner named chief operations officer of Lewis County Press, LLC

LAGRANGE-Lewis County Press, LLC, named Kevin But-ner its chief operations officer. Butner will lead the growing group of community papers.

Butner joins Lewis County Press from C&R Supermarkets (“C&R”) in Macon, where he supervised several stores and wrote ad material for the last three years. Before C&R, But-ner and his wife, Mary, owned and operated Butner’s Country Mart for over nine years. A na-tive of Macon, Butner has lived there all his life.

“I love rural Missouri, the quality of life and all the ben-efits it has to offer,” said Butner. “The rural newspapers are im-portant to our small towns. I’m excited to be a part of the team that keeps this important, they are as important as our utili-ties.”

Butner will work directly with each paper’s editor and publisher to help them achieve their editorial and revenue goals. Also, he will be instru-mental in folding in additional papers. Lewis County Press has grown from one newspaper to its current portfolio of nine publications during the past four years and actively seeks additional acquisitions.

Payne Schoen, a Lewis Coun-ty Press co-owner and its for-mer chief operating officer, will advance to become business manager of Schmiedeskamp, Robertson, Neu & Mitchell LLP, the premier law firm in Quincy, Ill. “Having gotten to know Kevin over the past year and a half, I am delighted that Lewis County Press will be left in his capable hands,” Schoen said. “Kevin very much un-derstands the importance and need of newspapers to build community among residents of these small towns.”

Lewis County Press’s mission is to strengthen communities by delivering proprietary local news and editorial supported by advertising and subscrip-tions. It is the parent of the DeWitt Era-Enterprise, Arkan-sas County, Ark; The Lamar Democrat, Barton County; The Vedette and The Lake Stockton Shopper, Dade County; The Messenger of Juneau County, Ju-neau County, Wisc.; the Press-News Journal, Lewis County; the Home Press, Macon Coun-ty; the Monroe County Appeal, Monroe County and the Ralls County Herald-Enterprise, Ralls County. Its headquarters is in LaGrange.

Nathan’s Place is once again excited to host the Alpha Pro-gram. The Alpha Program con-sists of 13 interactive sessions is which students explore the meaning of life, revealing that a relationship with Jesus Christ can be as meaningful as it was when He was here on earth. Each week participants will look at topics relevant and im-portant such as: Who is Jesus? Why did He die? How can we have faith? Why and how do I

pray?The program is sponsored

by Oakton United Methodist Church and taught by Peg Mill-er. The new class will begin on January 27, at Nathan’s Place in Lamar, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., for teens grades six and up. The class will take place ev-ery Tuesday for 13 weeks and is free of charge.

For more information please contact Jerod at 417-682-6002 or [email protected].

Lamar CB reviews feasibilityof sign project

By MELODY METZGERLamar Democrat

Lamar Community Better-ment (CB) met for its first meeting of the year on Wednes-day, Jan. 14, at the Wolf Center.

Following the reading of last month's minutes, along with the treasurer's report, CB Pres-ident Ron Hager reported on the process of the “Welcome to Lamar” sign project. Hager went over the Missouri Depart-ment of Transportation (Mo-DOT) requirements that would have to be followed in order to erect the sign. There are several requirements pertaining to the sign, including one that states that “the monument shall not contain advertising or sponsor-ship”. A drawing by Lowell Da-vis, who will design the monu-ment, was passed around to those attending.

The project is in the works to be erected on the right of way by McDonald's; thus the need to have MoDOT involved. It was mentioned that the sign would have to be maintenance free and that lights that would

display the sign would have to be buried, which is already in the proposed plan.

Hager stated that the Christ-mas lighting contest went very well and that no complaints had been received. He thanked the Lamar Democrat for their front page coverage of the win-ners.

The need for a title for this year's project book was ques-tioned and those attending were asked to try to come up with one. This will be brought up at the next meeting of the CB.

Hager stated that the building next to the old Gilkey building, as well as the other demolished buildings, was structurally in danger. This would be the building south of Fast Eddie's showroom. The company in charge of the demolition, Vile-la, offered to take the building down at a cost, but at the time it was decided by Brian Brewer at Fast Eddie's not to do so. Hag-er stated that this particular building is probably in worse shape than the Gilkey build-ing, which was brought down.

A letter had been received from an attorney regarding the condition of the building at 904 Broadway. It was also reported that so far half of the connecting building had been cut free from the body shop.

Under new business, Hager invited all to attend the Bar-ton County Winterfest, to be held January 17. A $500 grant was submitted by Elaine Da-vis. If granted, the fund will go towards the Lamar sign project. Someone must be present at the Winterfest to be awarded the grant and Hager said that he and his wife Vicki would be attend-ing.

Hager stated that he would be applying for a METAP Grant for T.A.T.S., in the amount of $5,000. He needed authorization as to whether he should enter into an agree-ment and it was unanimously decided that he do so.

Amanda Martin reported on the progress of the Tulip

Alpha Program to be hosted by Nathan’s Place

Clara Buck, Alpha Course participant, received a new Bible from Peg Miller at the conclusion of last year’s Alpha Course.

Lamar schools recovering from illness induced absenteeism


LAMAR-With one excep-tion, attendance at all four buildings of the Lamar R-I School District has improved following the Christmas/New Year break. Only at the high school has absenteeism in-creased, from 92+ percent at-tendance in December to 87+ percent in January. The middle school, West Elementary, and East Primary had attendance percentages in the middle 90s in January. Superintendent Dr. Zach Harris acknowledged that a few of the absences may have been because of early departure or late return from family vacations, but most ab-sences were because of illness.

The monthly meeting of the R-I Board of Education com-menced with a power point presentation from the pre-school program housed at the East Primary. Twenty children are enrolled in the morning

session and 20 in the after-noon session. The district’s preschool has operated for several years through a state grant, and Harris noted that the amount of funding has been decreasing. He said he is hopeful preschool funding will eventually be brought into the state foundation formula.

During building reports on activities over the last month, it was noted that the middle school has further upgraded its building security, the high school will present a band con-cert on January 29, and 10 new iPads are to be purchased for the East Primary.

The board accepted the res-ignation of Candi Carroll, who is retiring after 34 years of teaching, the last 17 in the Lamar school system, teaching elementary health and physi-cal education in the elementa-ry grades. The resignation will become effective at the end of the 2014-15 school year.

Approval was given to two

more names to be added to the substitute teacher list.

During the monthly video report from the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA), it was noted that legislation passed by the Missouri General Assem-bly during the 2014 session would have established a voucher program to allow some students to attend private schools at public ex-pense. The bill was vetoed by Governor Jay Nixon. The MSBA report indicated an-other voucher program is expected to be introduced in the current session.

In closed session, the board voted unanimously to extend contracts for Super-intendent Zach Harris and Executive Director Piper Stewart.

The next regular meeting of the R-I Board of Educa-tion will be at 7 p.m., Febru-ary 19, in the Lamar Middle School library.

Affordable health screenings comingto Lamar

LAMAR-Residents living in and around the Lamar area can learn about their risk for cardiovascular disease, osteo-porosis, diabetes and other chronic, serious conditions with affordable screenings by Life Line Screening. Cor-nerstone Baptist Church will host this community event on Monday, Feb. 23. The site is located at 800 Jefferson St. in Lamar. Richard Til-ler of Clarksdale attended a Life Line Screening and said, "If I would not have had the screening done, I probably would not have known I had an aneurysm".

Screenings can check for: The level of plaque buildup in

your arteries, related to risk for heart disease, stroke and overall vascular health; HDL and LDL Cholesterol levels; Diabetes risk; Bone density as a risk for possible osteoporosis and Kidney and thyroid func-tion, and more.

Screenings are affordable, convenient and accessible for wheelchairs and those with trouble walking. Free parking is also available.

Packages start at $149, but consultants will work with you to create a package that is right for you based on your age and risk factors. Call 1-877-237-1287 or visit their website at www.lifelinescreening.com. Pre-registration is required.

Dates of local public hearings on Empire District application changed

JEFFERSON CITY-The Em-pire District Electric Company filed an application with the Missouri Public Service Com-mission on August 29, 2014, to increase electric revenues by approximately $24.3 million. A schedule of local public hear-ings was released. The commis-sion has now changed the dates of the hearings due to a sched-uling conflict. The revised dates are below.

February 19 - Joplin, in Plaster

Hall building, Cornell Auditori-um, on the campus of Missouri Southern State University, 3950 East Newman Road. A commis-sion staff member will conduct an information session with a period of questions and answers to follow. The hearing begins at noon. The taking of sworn testi-mony will follow.

A second hearing will be held on the same date, February 19, and at the same location. It will commence at 6 p.m. for the con-

venience of those who are not able to attend the noon meet-ing. The same procedure as in the first hearing will apply.

The Empire District Elec-tric Company serves ap-proximately 149,300 electric customers in 16 Missouri counties, including the com-munities of Golden City, Jas-per, and Stockton. Lockwood purchases electricity whole-sale from the utility for its municipal system.

see PROJECT, page 2B

Lamar Heights adopts surplus budget for 2015


LAMAR HEIGHTS-The La-mar Heights Board of Alder-men adopted a budget for the 2015 calendar year containing income of $106,000 and ex-penses of $10,200. Among the expenses is $5,000 to go to the Barton County Community De-velopment Corporation (CDC). However, the $5,000 has restric-tions on how it is to be spent. The allocation specifically limits the expenditure to “hard assets,” tangible items such as office fur-niture or equipment. Also, the board must approve the pur-chase of such hard assets in ad-vance before the purchase can

be made. In the 2014 budget, $5,000 was also allocated to the CDC, but only $760 was actu-ally spent.

Alderman Bob Noel called attention to the fact he has his-torically been opposed to any Lamar Heights’ funds going to the CDC, feeling it does not bring any positive results. May-or Jerry Marti responded that he felt Lamar Heights should at least keep its hand in the lo-cal economic picture by mildly supporting the CDC.

The board discussed a dilapi-dated house located in the first ward, and complaints have been received about it. Marti said a letter will be sent to the owner asking that the house and prop-

erty be cleaned up.The board agreed to place

an issue on the April ballot that would remove the re-sponsibility of placing Lamar Heights on the ballot if only one person had filed for each office to be filled. If approved, the policy would become ef-fective in the following mu-nicipal election.

It was reported that incum-bent Debbie Little has filed for re-election to Lamar Heights’ second ward. Due to illness, Little did not attend the Janu-ary 15 meeting of the board.

Next meeting of the board will be at 5:45 p.m., April 9, in the offices of Vicki Pugh, CPA.

2B • Wednesday, January 21, 2015 www.lamardemocrat.com Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO

Garden, a proposed shelter for battered women to be located in Barton County. Mar-tin had reported that she had applied for a grant through the Bar-ton County Commu-nity Fund, but did not have all the paperwork in order so it was dis-qualified. Hager told her that if she was to get the correct paper-work in order, as well as obtaining a board of directors, that Commu-nity Betterment would allow her to go under their 501(C)3. Martin stated that she would be attending a class through Economic Se-curity Corporation, with the hope of ob-taining a grant on that end. She also stated that she had aided 15 indi-viduals over the holi-days, which prompted Hager to agree that there was definitely a need for this endeavor. With a board, the proj-ect would be headed in the right direction, cre-ating a reason for more people to donate to the cause.

In member reports, Jerod Morey reported that AOK was continu-ing to apply for grants and were maintaining a positive outlook. He said that Debbie Little would be working with the Volunteens on an Excellence Program, as well as other individu-als wishing to speak and interact with the kids. Morey also re-ported that AOK was still accepting dona-tions, which would be matched. He reported that “Dining to Donate”, a planned monthly lun-cheon, would be held for the first time on January 21, at Nathan's Place. This is planned for the third Wednes-day of every month. These meals will be available for dine in or carry out.

Morey went on to say that there were several children in the AOK program that were in need of a coat. While several have been do-nated, there is still a need and anyone wish-ing to donate a coat may do so. Also men-

tioned was an Alpha Program, which is a 13 week interactive session where students explore the meaning of life. The program is taught by Peg Miller and is sponsored by Oakton United Meth-odist Church. The new class will begin January 27, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., at AOK's administrative offices, for teens grades six and up. The class is free of charge and anyone interested should contact Morey at 417-682-6002 or [email protected].

Melody Metzger with the Lamar Democrat re-ported that work had begun on the yearly Prog-ress edition, as well as valentines being taken for the paper that will run February 11. Plans are in the works for making that edition of the paper a regional, with papers go-ing to every household in Barton County, as well as Lockwood.

Lydia Kaume, nutrition/health specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, reported that she had accepted a posi-tion with the university extension in Kansas City. She will begin her new position in February and will be greatly missed by those in Barton County.

Barb McDaniel with the 10th Street Commu-nity Farmers' Market said there would be a vendor meeting on January 26. She was not sure of the

status on the curtains to be hung on the sides at Moore Pavilion. The ten-tative start date for this year's market has been set for March 21.

Elaine Davis reported that her 4-H youth had been awarded the BOAC grant and that work would begin soon on their projects.

Betty Kuhn reported on behalf of the Plaza The-atre, stating that the Plaza was holding its own, and that Taken 3 was now showing, with Ameri-can Sniper and Into the Woods to be playing soon.

Hager gave the report on T.A.T.S., at the ab-sence of Ginnie Keatts, stating that the average senior donation was .45 cents a ride, with just at 5,000 miles being driven last month. He stated that the T.A.T.S. vehicles are always in need of repair and are being taken care of. Hager made mention that not only the cars, but everything inside and in-cluded on the car, must be made in America. He said that a navy bean feed fun-draiser was scheduled for sometime in February, as well as T.A.T.S. serving barbecue at the business expo, also to be held in February.

The meeting adjourned to meet again at 12 noon on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at the Wolf Center. All are invited and encouraged to attend.

Is the Keystone XL Pipeline feasible?By LEON FAUBION

Co-Editorthemuddycreekjournal.com

There has been consid-erable debate both in the U.S. Congress and with-out about the advisability of constructing a pipe-line from Canada down across the United States to refineries at Neder-

land, Texas. It is identi-fied as the Keystone XL Pipeline and is intended to transport oil rich sand which has been liquefied and which most agree is highly toxic. This issue is to again be taken up in Congress in the next few days. The company which is expected to construct the pipeline is

TransCanada Corpora-tion, a Canadian com-pany as its name implies, but its subsidiary in the U.S. which is scheduled to oversee the construc-tion is Enbridge Energy Company. The history of TransCanada as it has al-ready been operating in

AREA NEWS

Are we having a severe winter?


LAMAR-It all depends on how you define “se-vere” winter. If you com-pare our temperatures between December 21, 2014 (the first official day of winter) and Janu-ary 14, 2015, to a similar 25-day period in May, June, or July, this winter has been horrendous. Of course, such a com-parison makes no sense. Using a comparison of

historical figures over the same 25-day period (Let’s call it “apples to apples.”) produces a rather boring result. It would be hard for us to be any closer to the long term average. Our mean temperature for the first 25 days of official winter which we have been experiencing since December 21, 2014 comes to 30.0 degrees. The long term average mean for the same period is exactly the same, 30.0. If you carry the math

out one more place, you will come up with 30.07 degrees for this winter, hardly worth bothering.

So, we are right on track with the average temperatures over the last 67 years. Who can predict what lies ahead for the rest of this 2014-15 winter? Your hazard is as good as anybody else’s.

Why did we halt the comparison on January 14? Simply because that was the date this article was written.

2014 slightly below average in temperature, but dry


LAMAR-The year just passed was dry; the pre-cipitation figures from the National Weather Service prove it. How-ever, it could have been much worse if the mois-ture deficiency had been accompanied with sear-ing heat. Fortunately, two of the three months associated with hot weather experienced below average tempera-tures, with July produc-ing remarkable summer resort conditions. July’s temperatures averaged almost five degrees be-low long term figures. Right before it, June was fairly wet with over seven inches of rain and slightly below average tempera-

tures. That set the stage for minimizing the ef-fects of the dry months that were to follow. Dur-ing the last five months of 2014, only October was to produce above average rainfall with 5.20 inches measured. With the two driest months of the year now upon us, abundant spring rains are going to be badly needed.

For all of 2014, total precipitation came to 27.82 inches, a deficien-cy of 16.16 inches, or 37 percent. Fourteen inches of snow or a snow/sleet mix fell during the year. January produced three inches, February 4.5 inches, March 2.5 inches of a snow/sleet mix, and two inches in each of No-vember and December. The annual average is

11.7 inches.Looking at some more

weather figures coming from 2014, we find a year without triple digit heat. August came closest with 99 degrees on consecu-tive dates of 23-27. Other warm weather months’ highest temperatures were May, 91; June, 90; July, 97; and September, 94. The coldest tempera-ture during the year was in January with a minus 8 degrees on the 7th. Other frigid temperatures in-cluded February, 1 de-gree above zero; March, an uncharacteristic zero; November 5; and De-cember, 12. The mean temperature for the entire year was 55.01 degrees, which was just over half a degree cooler than the long term average.

Project, continued from page 1BBeing in the shelter of GodBy JACK SLADE

Cornerstone Baptist Church

Being sheltered under the protection of God; what a statement, but true.

Have you ever been faced with the need to extend forgiveness, but you didn't really want to? Has the wound been so deep and the grief so painful it felt as though holding the grudge was actually a healing balm, rather than the poison it is?

Forgiving can be diffi-cult for some.

Forgiving is the most difficult of God's com-

mands for all of His children and even more challenging than offering up a prayer and waiting for an answer. Forgive-ness is as much about us

as it is about the one who has offended us. Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount to forgive,

(Matthew 6:12) to for-give as we are offended (Luke 17:3-4), and that we should forgive those in our churches who sin (2 Corinthians 2:7). So,

continuing to for-give is the norm of the Christian life (Ephesians 4:32).

In a recent Sunday school lesson study, Bible Studies for Life, Philip Nation, writer, addressed this difficult part of our Christian faith when we face the need to forgive, "Forgiveness is a gift that's often

hard to give. Why? Because it cost so much, see SHELTER, page 6B

see PIPELINE, page 4B

“Forgiveness means you walk away from the

judge’s bench and stand united with the guilty party.”

Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO www.lamardemocrat.com Wednesday, January 21, 2015 • 3B

RECORDSBRIEFS

All briefs are also posted on the calender at www.lamardemocrat.com.

BARTON COUNTY FEDERATED REPUBLICAN Women & Men Associates will meet Monday, Jan. 26, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Denny’s in Lamar.UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI EXTENSION in-vites the community to a farewell open house for Lydia Kaume, nutrition/health specialist, on Mon-day, Feb. 2, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Wolf Center in Lamar. Lydia will be taking a position with Univer-sity of Missouri Extension in Kansas City. Please stop by for refreshments and give Lydia your best wishes as she begins to serve the nutritional health issues in the urban region.WEIGHT WATCHERS IS NOW IN LAMAR, with meetings to be held ever Monday night at the north entrance of the old bowling alley. Weigh-in starts at 5 p.m., with the meeting to begin at 5:30 p.m.THE RETIRED EDUCATORS OF THE BARTON County Area will meet Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the La-mar First Christian Church. Stormy Cuba, senior citizen’s center director, will be the guest speaker. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m., with the busi-ness meeting to begin at 9 a.m. Remember to bring non-perishable items for Nathan’s Place.VFW POST 3691 AND LADIES AUXILIARY will meet Monday, Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m., in the basement of Lamar Memorial Hall. A potluck supper will be held before the meeting at 6:30 p.m. All veterans are wel-come.BARTON COUNTY MU EXTENSION will hold Private Pesticide Applicator’s training on Saturday, Feb. 7, 9 a.m., at the Barton County Extension of-fice. Cost for the pesticide manual is $15. This train-ing is for producers of agricultural commodities, 18 years or older, wishing to renew or receive their pri-vate pesticide applicator’s license in order to buy and apply restricted use chemicals on their own land. Li-cense holders need to renew their license every five years. To register call the Barton County Extension office at 417-682-3579.RICHLAND TOWNSHIP BOARD WILL meet Thursday, Jan. 22, 10 a.m., at 694 SE 40th Lane.DINING TO DONATE, A MONTHLY EVENT to support AOK, will be held Wednesday, Jan. 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Nathan’s Place, 1005 Gulf St., Lamar. A January menu of vegetable soup, tomato bisque soup, cornbread, crackers and dessert, tea, lemon-ade or water, at a cost of $6, will be available for dine in or carryout.DADE COUNTY EXTENSION WILL HOLD the I Heart MU Extension Run on Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 a.m., at the American Legion Hall in Lockwood. The cost for the 5k is $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race. The one mile is $15 in advance or $20 the day of the race. Contact 417-637-2112 or [email protected] for a registration form.A FREE MOVIE MATINEE WILL BE SHOWN at the Mary K. Finley Library on Monday, Feb. 2, 1 p.m. The movie will be a mystery/thriller directed by Al-fred Hitchcock. Call the library at 417-682-5355 for movie title and details. Anyone over 18 is invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE FARM BILL deci-sion aid contact Barton County Extension at 417-682-3579 to set an appointment at the Barton or Dade County Extension offices or enter information at https://decisionaid.afpc.tamu.edu/.

DEATHS & PAID MEMORIALS

Warranty Deed, filed December 31, 2014. Aaron G. Palma and Al-exandra I. Palma of Bar-ton County, Missouri to Eric L. Moser of Barton County, Missouri: All of lots 3 and 4 in block 1 of Wolf 's Addition to Ian-tha, Barton County, Mis-souri.

General Warranty Deed, filed December 31, 2014. James V. Nich-ols and Mary Jo Nichols to JM Building, LLC: An undivided ½ interest in a tract commencing at the southwest corner of lot 1 in block 2 of the Original Town of Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, and running thence east 80 feet, thence north 60 feet, thence west 80 feet, thence south 60 feet to

the place of beginning.General Warranty

Deed, filed January 8, 2015. Margie Marie Swearingen and Davis Swearingen to Norman Dean Unruh: The west half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quar-ter of section 31, town-ship 31, range 30, Barton County, Missouri.

General Warranty Deed, filed January 9, 2014. Wayne Ray Ding-man and Shirley Ann Dingman to W.S. Ding-man Farms, LLC: Tract I: A tract in the north-east quarter of section 7, township 32, range 32, Barton County, Mis-souri. Tract II: 25 ½ acres off the south end of 60 across off the east side

of the northeast quarter of section 6, township 30, range 32, and the north half of southeast quarter of section 31, township 31, range 32, except that part hereto-fore conveyed for high-way. Tract III: South half of southeast quarter of section 31, township 31, range 32, and 34 ½ acres off the north end of 60 acres off of the east side of northeast quarter of section 6, township 30, range 32, except that part heretofore conveyed for highway. Tract IV: All of the east half of north-west quarter and west half of northeast quar-ter of section 8, town-ship 31, range 32. Tract V: All of the southwest quarter of section 21, township 32, range 33, except that part hereto-fore conveyed for high-way. Tract VI: The west half of northwest quar-ter of section 17, town-ship 31, range 32, ex-

cept that part heretofore conveyed for highway. Tract VII: The northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of section 18, township 31, range 32, except that part heretofore conveyed for highway. Tract VIII: The southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 25, township 31, range 33, Barton County, Missouri.

General Warranty Deed, filed January 12, 2015. Charles L. Russell and Renee L. Russell to Jimmie L. Kinney and Karen S. Kinney: All of lot 8 in Poplar Estates, a duly platted addition in the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 26, township 32, range 31, Barton County, Missouri.

Warranty Deed, filed January 12, 2015. Cyn-thia Ann Orr, successor trustee under the re-statement of the Irene A. Finley Revocable Trust

of Knox County, Tennes-see to Robert A. Orr and Cynthia A. Orr, co-trust-ees of the Orr Trust No. 1, an undivided half in-terest, and Sherry Finley individually an undivid-ed half interest, to hold as tenants in common of Barton County, Missouri: 22 feet off the entire west side of lot 8 in block 2 of Hicks Addition to the Town of Golden City, Missouri, and running thence south 180 feet to the southwest corner of said lot 8, thence west 3 feet, thence north 180 feet, thence east 3 feet to the place of beginning, being a part of the north-east quarter of northwest quarter of section 35, township 31, range 29, except 2 tracts in said lot 8 in block 2, all in Barton County, Missouri.

General Warranty Deed, filed January 13, 2015. Chester Keith Selvey by his attorney-in-fact, Harry E. Skinner, to Kenneth Rogers: All of the south half of the southwest quarter, and the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 6, township 33, range 29, Barton County, Missouri.

General Warranty Deed, filed January 13, 2015. Chester Keith Selvey by his attorney-in-fact, Harry E. Skin-ner, to John C. Spyksma, Trustee for the John C. Spyksma Revocable Trust: The southeast quarter of section 6, township 33, range 32, except 2 ½ acres in the northeast corner thereof.

PROPERTY TRANSFERS

TOM LEELAMAR-A graveside

service was held at 2 p.m. Monday at Morehead Cemetery for Tom Lee, 65, Lamar, who died early Thursday morning, Jan. 15, 2015, at Brookhaven Health and Rehabilita-tion Center in Spring-field, where he had been a resident for the past nine months. Jarod Lamb offi-ciated.

Arrangements were un-der the direction of Dan-iel Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made to his fam-ily, in care of the funeral home.

Condolences may be shared at www.danielfu-

neralhome.net.Survivors include two

sons, Kevin Lee and wife Misty, Lamar and Eric Linsteadt and wife Nico, Liberal; two daughters, Kerrie Hendrix and hus-band David, Springfield and Kim Hudson, Lib-eral; a brother, Carrol Lee and wife Barb, Lamar; 12 grandchildren, Hanna, Devin and Austin Hen-drix, Dakota, Colton and Maddie Linsteadt, Johna-thon, Kyleigh and Daw-son Lee, Kyly Gunter and husband Jared, Haily Wil-liams and husband Brian and Cambrin Hudson and wife Sarah and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Bonnie Baggs Lee.

Mr. Lee was born Sept. 23, 1949, in Lamar, to Floyd and Helen (Shaw) Lee. A lifelong Barton County resident, he grew up on the family farm east of Lamar, graduated from Lamar High School in 1969 and served in the National Guard at Camp Clark. In addition to farming, he worked in the water department for the City of Lamar for more than 25 years.

Always active in his community, he served as a Boy Scout leader for many years. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and was a charter member of Barton Coun-ty Eagles and Lamar Elks Lodge. An avid outdoors-man, he greatly enjoyed hunting and fishing.

LINDA G. MIXPECULIAR-Services

were held Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Har-risonville, for Linda G. Mix, 71, Peculiar, who died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, at her home. Burial was in Sharon Cemetery in Drexel.

Memorial contributions may be made to PKD Foundation (Kidney), P.O. Box 871847, Kansas City, MO 64187-1847.

Online condolences

may be made at www.at-kinsonfuneralhome.com.

Survivors include three daughters, Becky Helmke, Wellsville, Kan., Barbara Thompson, Lee’s Summit and Novella Nash, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; two sisters, Arietta Mallory, Louisburg, Kan. and Lau-rel Herbinger, Lamar; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband and a brother.

Mrs. Mix was born March 2, 1943, in Liberty, to Charles Adrian and Iva Catherine (Newell) Hum-phreys. She grew up in the Lamar area and was a 1961 Lamar High School graduate.

She had been an insur-ance adjuster for Govern-ment Employees Health Association (GEHA) be-fore her retirement. She and her husband, Ed Mix Sr., traveled all around the country in their RV, visiting all the states but Florida. After the death of her husband in 2002, she moved to Peculiar. She was a member of the Ev-erett Community Church in Archie.

DEIDRE MOONEY

PITTSBURG, Kan.-Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Dan-iel Funeral Home in La-mar, Mo., for Deidre S. Mooney, 67, Pittsburg, who died late Saturday evening, Jan. 17, 2015, at Medicalodge in Fronte-nac, where she had been a resident for two days.

Visitation will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. this evening (Wednesday) at

the funeral home.Memorial contributions

may be made to the Bar-ton County Senior Cen-ter, in care of the funeral home.

Condolences may be shared at www.danielfu-neralhome.net.

Survivors include her husband, Robert Mooney, of the home; two sons, David Mooney and wife Mary, Carl Junction, Mo. and Jason Mooney, Pitts-burg; her mother-in-law, Lois Mooney, Lamar, Mo.; a brother, Jim Foulk and wife Helen, Bro-naugh, Mo.; a sister-in-law, Marianne Page and husband Kyle, Liberal, Mo.; four grandchildren, Eddie Mooney, Andrew Mooney and wife Nata-sha, Zachary Mooney and wife Kendall and Shelby Mooney and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Barbara Morris and her father-in-law, Neil Mooney.

Mrs. Mooney was born Oct. 4, 1947, at her fam-ily home near Arcadia, to Hank and Viola (Har-ris) Foulk. She was part of the last graduating class of Arcadia High School in 1965 and was a mem-ber of Arcadia Christian Church. In addition to being a devoted wife, mother and homemaker, she had worked as a de-partment manager at Walmart in Nevada, Mo. and as a secretary for Western Insurance Com-pany in Fort Scott. She was then a ward clerk for Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott until retiring in 1990. She was a talented seamstress, a great cook and enjoyed playing Bin-go. She had been a mem-ber of Eastern Star.

She married Robert Mooney on April 8, 1966, at Arcadia.

EVELYN MEIERLAMAR-Arrangements

are pending with Daniel Funeral Home for Ev-elyn F. Meier, 94, Lamar,

who died early Monday morning, Jan. 19, 2015, at Barton County Memorial Hospital.

The complete obituary and service information is available at www.dan-ielfuneralhome.net.

BARTON COUNTY SENIOR CENTER

LUNCH MENUJanuary 26-30

MONDAY- Sausage patties and gravy, oven hashbrowns, orange juice, biscuit, mixed fruit, coffee/tea/milk.

TUESDAY- Chili with beans and shred-ded cheese, coleslaw, tomato juice, crackers, cinnamon roll, coffee/tea/milk.

WEDNESDAY- Chicken strips with gravy, mashed pota-toes, sliced carrots, wheat roll, cake with fruit, coffee/tea/milk.

THURSDAY- Potato soup, chef salad, toma-to juice, crackers, apple crisp, coffee/tea/milk.

FRIDAY- Baked chicken, parslied po-tatoes, buttered peas, wheat roll, apricots, coffee/tea/milk.

MENU


the U.S. has been largely suppressed.

A massive oil spill oc-curred in an oil sand transmission line owned by TransCanada Cor-poration in Michigan in 2010. Although not as-sociated with the Key-stone XL Pipeline project the 30-inch line running between Sarnia, Ontario, and Griffith, Ind. burst near Marshall, Mich., in July, 2010 and spewed more than 800,000 gal-lons of highly contami-nated oil rich sludge (the same that is expected to flow through the Key-stone pipeline) into a Ka-lamazoo River tributary, then into Kalamazoo River where it eventu-ally seeped into Morrow Lake. Lake Morrow is a key recreational facility for the area. Thirty-five miles of the river system as well as part of Lake Morrow have now been cleaned such that they are again marginally us-able. Federal authorities state it required Trans-Canada 10 days to initial-ly respond. Now, more than four years after the incident, TransCanada

continues to remove contaminated debris, but the contamination continues to spread with new submerged depos-its found almost weekly in the various water-ways. Much of the more diffuse contamination consists of minute sus-pended particles which cannot be removed. TransCanada was reluc-tant to extend any ad-ditional support after an initial, limited cleanup effort saying, at the time, they were reviewing the U.S. Government’s request for additional work - during which time cleanup came to a halt. Attempts at settling the issue are described as acquiring overtones of an international treaty negotiation. So far En-bridge Energy Company, Trans-Canada’s subsid-iary in the U.S., has spent more than $1.21 billion on the cleanup and still counting, making it the costliest inland oil clean-up project in U.S. history. EPA’s characterization of TransCanada’s overall response to the Kalama-zoo spill is that “it paints

a damning picture of incompetence and er-rors from the pipeline’s owner and operator.” It is suspected that if Trans-Canada had not been expecting such lucra-tive returns from the XL Keystone Project they would have abandoned the kalamazoo cleanup long ago.

There is concern among environmentalists about the eventual outcome of the Keystone XL project, more so given Trans-Canada’s response to the Kalamazoo spill. If after they have depleted the Canadian oil sand beds or indeed, more likely, have come under finan-cial duress from compet-ing energy companies - what then? This latter is indeed of much concern, especially since refining the oil sand is consid-erably more expensive than refining other oils. The recent world wide projections for oil pro-duction undoubtedly must already be an issue with them. Now finan-cially drained after dis-tributing the company’s remaining assets to com-

pany officials as bonuses, as such companies are prone to do before they liquidate, the company may simply walk away. Legally they can do so and being a foreign com-pany doing business in the U.S. may make it eas-ier for them. The cost to the federal government and taxpayers for even-tual environmental clean up of this project, if it can be afforded at all, will be somewhat equivalent, in actual dollars, to the cost the U.S. incurred for WWII.

A bit disconcerting, too, for some is that Sen-ator Roy Blunt, who is now with the Republican majority in the U.S. Con-gress, has since 2009 re-ceived somewhere near $400,000 in campaign contributions from the oil industry and its com-mercial supporters who are promoting the pipe-line project. Blunt is, predictably, also promot-ing the project. Vicky Hartzler, fairly recently elected Republican U. S. Representative from the 4th District, supports the measure as well. Her

critics say she has denied receiving any money from the oil industry; however, mandated gov-ernment records show $36,850 from that indus-try and its supporters (as of February, 2014) has been contributed to her. Senator Claire McCaskill was originally also in fa-vor of the pipeline based on the projected num-ber of jobs it would pro-vide, but on finding that TransCanada had delib-erately misled the public regarding that number and that indeed it would not only be less but far

less than promised, she withdrew her support. She has received no fi-nancial aid from the oil industry and in many respects is viewed as an enemy by that industry.

RECORDS/MISCELLANEOUS

* Officers responded December 13 to the re-port of an assault that had taken place in the 800 block of Truman St. Contact was made with all the parties in-volved and statements were taken. As a result of the information given to the officers an arrest was made. Arrested on a charge of assault was Christy April Larrabee, 43, Lamar. Larrabee was transported to the Bar-ton County Jail where she was processed, post-ed a bond and was re-leased to await a pending court date.

* An abandoned bike was found December 14 in the 1200 block of

E. 19th St. The bike is a Roadmaster and can be claimed on its identifica-tion at the police station.

* Officers were dis-patched December 14 to a residence located in the 900 block of Jackson St. A domestic assault was reported to have oc-curred. After the initial investigation an arrest was made. Arrested on an assault charge was Charles Fitzchew Smith, 43, Lamar. Smith was in-carcerated in the Barton County Jail to await for-mal charges.

* A theft from a parked motor vehicle was re-ported on December 15. Stolen from an unse-cured vehicle was an I-

pod. Value of the missing I-pod was set at $100 by the victim.

* During a routine traf-fic stop on December 15, an arrest was made. Arrested on a warrant issued out of the Bar-ton County Court on a charge of failure to ap-pear on an MIP charge was Zachery Charles Harris, 19 Lamar. Harris was taken to the Barton County Jail and turned over to the jail staff.

* A theft of medication was reported to have oc-curred December 15 in the 1900 block of Lex-ington St. This is still an open case.

* A rear end accident was investigated Decem-

ber 18 at the intersection of 12th and Gulf St. There were no injuries at the time of this report. After taking statements from those involved it was de-termined that both vehi-cles were traveling in the same direction. One had stopped and the other failed to before striking the first vehicle.

LAMAR POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT

State V James Clinton Hunt, written guilty plea.

State V Dominic R Bar-rett, written guilty plea.

Stansill V Moore-Few Care Center, consent judgment.

Midland Funding LLC V Kerri Taylor, default judgment.

Barton County Memo-rial Hospital V Wilber Bishop, default judg-ment.

Barton County Memo-rial Hospital V Michael Crockett, default judg-ment.

Janet Ellingwood V David Ellingwood Jr., consent judgment.

Pipeline, continued from page 2B

Need to Advertise?CONTACT

Melissa Little417-682-5529 ext. 62

[email protected]

COURT MISCELLANEOUS

Thanks for reading the

Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO www.lamardemocrat.com Wednesday, January 21, 2015 • 5B

Special Notices

Alcoholics Anony-

mous meets every Sunday, 5 p.m., in the basement of Lamar Memorial Hall, 1104 Broadway. All meetings

are nonsmoking.

Narcotics Anony-mous Meetings - Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., 1104 Broad-

way, Memorial Hall Basement.

Employment

Drivers, Solo, 3 or 6 day runs, $44cents per mi, Free Health Ins. Same Day Pay. 800-769-3993

for Details, on line app www.trailiner.com.

Drivers: Teams Spring-field, Mo to California and return, 4 day runs, new trucks, same day pay, www.trailiner.com 800-769-3993.

Drivers, 60,000+, CDL-A, $2500 sign on, 1 month exp., Same Day Pay! Free Health Ins, No CDL? We have Free train-ing! Www.t r a i l i n e r.com 800-769-3993.

D r i v e r s : Home Week-ly! Paid Health Ins, Va c at i on , Holidays &

More. Truck w/Fridge & Microwave. CDL-A w/2yrs recent experi-ence. Standard Trans-portation Services 1-888-992-4038 ext 133.

Drivers: Class A CDL Home Weekly with Transland: Pay Increase! Paid Driver Benefits! 866-374-8487.

Pets & Supplies

Free Puppies to good homes. 417-214-3078.

"Publisher's notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it il-legal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination be-cause of race, color, re-ligion, sex, handicap, familial status, or na-

tional origin, or inten-tion to make any such preference limitation, or discrimination. We will not knowingly ac-cept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby in-formed that all dwell-ings advertised are available on an equal op-portunity basis".

Mobile Homes for Rent

Are You Ready To Move? We have 2 bed-room trailers and hous-es ready to rent. Two rental references a must. 682-2636.

Apartments for Rent

Vacancy - Scottsdale Apartments - Senior Citizens Housing. Call 682-3589. Mo. TDD 1-800-735-2966. Equal Opportunity Hous-ing. Handicapped units available. Located at 17th and Lexington.

2 Bedroom, 1 Bath apartment for rent. $395 month/$250 deposit. 601 E. 19th St., South-ern Meadows Apts., 417-777-1440.

1 Bedroom Apartment nicely furnished or un-furnished. Pool, rec room and laundry. Free cable/HBO, water and trash. Short leases avail-able. $200 security de-posit. No pets! In Ne-vada. Starting at $365. 417-667-2633.

Sheldon Apartments - Nice 1 bedroom apart-ments, furnished or un-furnished. All utilities paid. Starting at $370 per month. Call 417-667-2633.

1 Bedroom, 1 Bath apartment for rent. $325 month/$250 deposit. 601 E. 19th St., South-ern Meadows Apts., 417-777-1440.

Homes For Rent

House For Rent – Call 682-5728 for informa-tion.

Homes For Sale

Home For Sale – In La-mar. 3 Bedroom, 2 bath. CH/CA. Deck and pa-tio. 80/155 lot. $34,000. 417-682-3528, 417-262-0342.

LEGALS/CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS

IN THE CIRCUITCOURT OF BARTON COUNTY, MISSOURI

AT LAMARIn Re the Marriage of: Mi-chael Shon Anderson, SSN: xxx-xx-4025, Petitioner, vs. Jeannie Mae Anderson, SSN: Unknown, Respon-dent.

NOTICE UPON ORDER FOR SERVICE BY

PUBLICATIONThe State of Missouri to

Respondent Jeannie Mae Anderson, address un-known,

You are hereby notified that an action has been commenced against you in the Circuit Court for the County of Barton, Missouri at Lamar, the object and general nature of which is a dissolution of your marriage to Petitioner and which af-fects the following described property: All personal prop-

erty of Petitioner and/or Re-spondent currently located within the State of Missouri.

The name of the Petitioner to said action stated above in the caption hereof and the name and address of attor-ney for Petitioner is Michael Smalley, 420 South Pearl, Ste 1, Joplin, Missouri, 64801.

You are further notified that, unless you file an an-swer or other pleading or shall otherwise appear and

defend against the aforesaid petition within 45 days after the 7th day of January, 2015, judgment by default will be rendered against you.

Witness my hand and the seal of the Circuit Court this 30th day of December, 2014.

s-Janet B. MaupinCircuit ClerkKaren Hines

Deputy Clerk1-7,14,21,28-4tc

Lamar R-I School District offers for public sealed bid sale a 1996 Chevy G30 Sport Van. Opening of the sealed bids will be 1/28/2015 @ 9:00. Sealed bids may be mailed or delivered to the Superintendent’s Office lo-cated at 202 W. 7th, Lamar, MO 64759. Minimum bid $500. The vehicle is sold as is with no warranties or guar-

antees given or implied. The purchaser will be respon-sible for all cost incurred for the removal of the vehicle from the sale site. The ve-hicle must be removed no later than 3:00pm 2/4/2015. Please contact Mathew Coy at 417-682-5102 to make an appointment to view.

1-14,21-2tc

LEGALS


AREA NEWS

Getting ready for calving season MT. VERNON-Cow

calf producers in the Ozarks are thinking about the approach-ing calving season. University of Missouri Extension livestock specialists believe 60 to 65 percent of this areas calves are born from January through April.

"The number born each month varies, but February and early-March probably has the most activity," said Eldon Cole, livestock specialist with Univer-sity of Missouri Exten-sion. "That means this is a good time to work on some key manage-ment practices."

Cole says there are several management practices that need to be considered dur-ing calving season. Although preparation varies from farm to farm, here are some ba-sics to consider.

"Sort cows as much as possible into ap-propriate management groups," said Cole. "At least separate the fall calvers, even late sum-mer calves, from those due after January 1."

It is also a good idea to sort mature cows away from first-calf heifers. Young females need closer attention and usually better quality feed to calve in a body condition score (BCS) of 6.

"First-calf heifers can be fed late in the day, just ahead of dark and they're more likely to calve in the daylight hours. This should please you and your veterinarian," said Cole.

Daylight-born calves actually have a greater chance of survival, as the weather is a bit warmer than in the middle of the night.

It is also a good idea to select the most natu-rally protected pasture from north winds as a calving pasture. If the favored calving pas-ture doesn't have pro-tection, big bales of hay (and cedar trees) may be considered as a windbreak.

"Now is also a good time to plan what you'll do for those severely chilled calves. Perhaps consider a calf warming box," said Cole.

If scours have been a persistent problem re-cently, a scour vaccine for the expectant cows and especially the heif-ers may be in order six to nine weeks before the first females are due. The first year, a booster three to six weeks prior to calv-ing, is required.

It is a good practice to feed springers adequate-ly before calving and in early lactation. "Short-ing them on protein and energy results in weaker calves, reduced milk production and slower return to estrus without benefit of reduced calv-ing problems," said Cole.

It is also a good idea to begin feeding a high

magnesium (10 percent) supplement a few weeks prior to calving. "Base your decision on past problems you have had with winter grass tetany. Keep the high mag sup-plement out until warm weather arrives, mid-April in the Ozarks," said Cole.

It is also a good idea to treat the herd for lice if not done recently.

"As the calving season begins, do your best to keep the age spread nar-row between newborns and their older siblings by moving to cleaner pas-tures," said Cole.

If scours do occur, de-velop a routine of feed-ing, treating and check-ing for calving that involves not transporting diseases from sick calves to healthy ones. Diseases can be carried on clothes, boots, gloves, etc.

Also note that feed-ing large hay packages in rings or feeders should be evaluated, as they may become a trouble-spot for mud, manure, trampling of small calves. Cole says unrolling bales may be a better practice for sanita-tion, plus newborns love to lie on the hay.

"I realize all of these tips may not be attainable, but do the very best you can. Remember, that baby calf you get started off on the right foot could be worth $1300 to $1500 in the fall of 2015," said Cole.

For more information contact any of the MU Extension livestock spe-cialists in southwest Mis-souri: Eldon Cole in Mt. Vernon, (417) 466-3102, Andy McCorkill in Dal-las County at (417) 345-7551 or Dr. Patrick Davis in Cedar County at (417) 276-3313.

Private Pesticide Applicator Training scheduled in Barton County

“Private Pesticide Ap-plicator Training” will be held in Lamar on Satur-day, Feb. 7, at 9 a.m. The training will be held at the Wolf Center located at 801 E 12th.

Missouri law requires all purchasers and users of “Restricted-Use” pesti-cides to attend one train-ing session to be certified for a private applicators license. This training is also open to producers of agricultural commodi-ties who have not been certified or have let their license expire.

At the current time, private applicators recer-tify on a five-year cycle. This training program will allow individuals to recertify or receive initial training to be licensed to

purchase or use restrict-ed use pesticides. Pest identification, applica-tion methods and other pertinent information to use pesticides safely will be covered in this train-ing program.

Jill Scheidt, agronomy specialist, University of Missouri Extension, says pesticide applica-tors should be looking at their licenses for the expiration date to see if they need to re-certify or attend a training session if it has expired.

A $15 manual is re-quired for the training. For class registration or more information con-tact the Barton County Extension Center at (417) 682-3579 by Fri-day, Feb. 6.

Stolen cows among calls made by Barton County Sheriff 's Dept.

The Barton County Sheriff ’s Department took a complaint on Saturday, Jan. 3, that a farm on Northwest 90th Road had items missing. A person who watches over the farm advised that he had noticed buildings on the property with the doors open, as well as vehicles on the prop-erty having doors open and it appeared as if the vehicles had been rummaged through. The investigation is ongoing. Two people of interest, who reside in Joplin, will be ques-tioned in the theft and trespass case.

Another report was taken on Saturday, Jan. 3, of 22 Black Angus cows being stolen from a farm approximately three miles southeast of Lamar. Seventeen of the 22 were calves. The victim in the case believes the animals were stolen some time between December 26, 2014 and January 3. The investigation continues.

A deputy from the sheriff ’s office observed a vehicle driven by Tyler R. Wheeler, 22, on Mon-day, Jan. 5. A traffic stop was conducted on the ve-hicle, due to the subject not having a valid drivers license. At the conclu-sion of the investigation

a summons was issued to Wheeler for the above of-fense.

A sheriff 's deputy ob-served Aaron L. Leivan, 38, Lamar, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at a home in Ian-tha. The deputy knew Leivan to have outstand-ing warrants for his ar-rest. Deputy Joey Bron-son and Deputy Bradley Keithly respond to the area and approached the house from two differ-ent directions. When they arrived at the resi-dence they observed Leivan fleeing from the residence on foot. A foot chase began and Deputy Keithly chased Leivan to the Baptist Church

in Iantha, where he was able to get Leivan to the ground. Leivan contin-ued to resist and try to get away while Deputy Keithly was in the pro-cess of attempting to handcuff him. Deputy Bronson arrived on scene a few short mo-ments later and used a x26 taser to gain com-pliance from Leivan and he was then handcuffed. Leivan was transported back to the sheriff ’s of-fice on a felony proba-tion and parole warrant. Reports will be sent to the prosecuting attorney for consideration of filing felony charges for resist-ing arrest.

Accident reportAccording to the Mis-

souri State Highway Patrol, a one vehicle ac-cident occurred at 6:35 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, on U.S. 160, five miles east of Lamar. The report stated that a westbound 2004 Ford Taurus being driven by Amanda L. Morris,

18, Greenfield, ran off the roadway and struck a house. According to the report Morris was wear-ing her safety device and received minor injuries. She was transported to Barton County Memo-rial Hospital by private vehicle.

Shelter, continued from page 2B

the person doing the forgiving essentially forks over the whole payment; the main cost is letting go of the hurt and giving up the offense that was committed. Forgiveness means you walk away from the judge's bench and stand united with the guilty party.

Forgiveness involves surrender.

Forgiveness is not saying we were really offended. Forgiveness is not saying the other person really didn't do anything wrong. Forgiveness is not saying, "It didn't really mater." Forgiveness is willfully surrendering the punishment for the offense to God, who judges all things rightly. It is an admission that our offenses toward God are worse than another person's offenses toward us. The Bible ties our needs to forgive with our having been forgiven by God. In another words, the basis of our forgiving those who sin against us is that God has forgiven our offenses toward Him. Much of what we do is not intent but neglect, unknown to us, and yet goes on for many years without ever being resolved. The focus is not on the harm, but forgiveness by God, and

then deliverance.God’s forgiveness

shelters us.The forgiveness of God

is a shelter for our lives. The psalmist wrote these words of great hope and encouragement, "Then I acknowledge my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' and you took away the guilt of my sin. You are my hiding place; You protected me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance" (Ps 32:5, 7). (HCSB). Friends, we gain nothing when we run from God after sinning, even when the other person has offended you. Best and only hope is to run toward God and seek His forgiveness. He alone provides shelter in forgiveness. He alone can cleanse and restore us. He alone can protect us from the vileness and destructive side effects of bitterness and nursing a grudge. Seeking God's forgiveness brings us before Him in reconciliation and restoration. Fellowship is restored instead of broken. Fellowship replaces loneliness, assurance replaces doubt and guilt is washed away in the glorious love of God.

1-21-15 Lamar Democrat

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