One man`s mission of 50 years tied to historical events - B5z

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God Bless America
Friday, September 30, 2011
www.excelsiorspringsstandard.com
Students show enthusiasm for Spirit Week
School district
receives
full accreditation
District earns bonus point for
science, government performance
By Kristin Rulon
Staff Writer
Celebrities tromped the halls of Excelsior Springs High School
Wednesday during the school’s Spirit Week in celebration
of Homecoming. Mugging for the local paparazzi are Taylor
Swift (Megan Baird), Justin Bieber (Hunter Houseworth),
Captain America (Braxxtin Todd), Danielle Laundy as Alvin the
Chipmunk, Billy Bob Thornton as “Bad Santa” (Sagan Hicks),
Miley Cyrus (Ashley King) and Lindsay Lohan in colorful jail
attire (Jordan Petree) were among the many “celebrities” who
made an appearance. Homecoming kicks off today with a
parade at 3 p.m., and the Homecoming game begins at 7 p.m. at
Tiger Stadium. Coronation of the King, Queen and Princesses
will take place during halftime. (Photos by Kristin Rulon)
Lewis Elementary also participated in Spirit Week, with their
own specially-themed days. Many students brought unique
and colorful hats to wear on Wednesday’s Hat Day. From left
are students Elijah Thomas, Creth Jeffers, Sage Stevenson
and Sara Smith with teacher Jennifer Snapp.
The Excelsior Springs School District scored 13 out
of 14 points, earning full accreditation, as announced
in the final Annual Performance Report (APR) released
by Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Preliminary reports released in August painted a
different picture, but the school district’s data was not
up-to-date, said Cheryl Hogan, assistant superintendent
of curriculum and instruction.
But the school district updated their data and the
score was “much better than the preliminary report,”
Hogan said.
Once preliminary reports are released, school districts
have a two to three week window to appeal.
The final report, released earlier this month, showed
that the school district scored 12 of 14 points with an
additional bonus point awarded for the schools’ performance in science and social studies.
“We are much higher than the state in science and
government,” Hogan said.
Six of the 14 points available are for performance in
communication arts and mathematics, which are measured by the Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP.
The school district earned all six performance
points.
These points are indicators that a school district is
scoring at or above the mean score for the state in these
subject areas, she added.
DISTRICT Page 3
One man’s mission of 50 years tied to historical events
Murrell Thomas’ steadfast dedication to a long ago battle, early pioneers, has preserved a bit of Orrick history
By Liz Johnson
Staff Writer
Along with the delightful assignment
of writing the history columns, has come
the unexpected benefit of a number of locals who have come forward to provide
me with a huge amount of information,
photos and historical accounts relating
to this area.
At a recent chamber luncheon, I had
the pleasure of meeting Frank Bollinger,
whose name rang a bell with me as the
man who originally owned everyone’s
favorite ice cream spot, the Dari-B.
A life-long resident of Excelsior
Springs, Frank offered to take me
around and show me the “back” areas
of Excelsior Springs – where the Battle
of Albany took place (now Orrick) as
well as the Battle of Fredericksburg. A
The Excelsior Springs Standard 75¢
few days ago, Frank gave me a call to
see if I was ready for an adventure and
off we went.
After a most beautiful drive down
through Lake Doniphan, we meandered
throughout the roads in that area – taking
in some beautiful foliage on the hillsides
– not quite changed to fall colors, but
well on their way.
Soon, we were on O Highway and
reached the turn-off toward the home
of Murrell Thomas of Orrick. Murrell’s
home sits on a small bluff overlooking
the Orrick bottoms – now filled with
golden soybean fields. It’s a beautiful
view and would be no matter the time
of year.
Halfway up the drive to Murrell’s
house is the little glen where the monument to the Battle of Albany stands,
easily visible from the gravel driveway.
We pulled over and walked up the small
embankment where the monument is
perched, a small etching of the confederate flag appointed toward the top.
Standing on the spot where Bloody
Bill Anderson most likely met his end
147 years ago was unsettling. It is now
so peaceful, with a large banking of
trees to the rear sloping down to a deep
hollow. It’s difficult to imagine the
bloodshed that took place on this spot so
long ago, where one of the most horrific
fiends (his own words) that ever fought
in the Civil War, was ambushed and
killed, putting an end to Bloody Bill’s
reign of terror.
Turning around from the spot where
the monument sits, I spied a small
LOCAL HISTORIANS Page 5
Confederate guerrilla Capt. William T. “Bloody Bill” Anderson was ambushed
and killed by Union forces on Oct. 27, 1864, during the Battle of Old Albany,
now part of Orrick. Murrell Thomas, right, bought the property on which
the battle is believed to have been fought, but didn’t know of its historical
significance. After learning about the battle, he gave permission to
Richmond historian John Crouch to erect a monument on his land. (Photo
by David Knopf/Richmond News)