City proposes raising municipal fees

Transcription

City proposes raising municipal fees
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Community
MAY 30 – JUNE 12, 2012
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Fees for DWI civil penalties, animal impoundment and accessing criminal records are among the 138 charges that could go up starting July 1 if approved by
city leaders. Officials say the fees are needed in order to recover costs.
City proposes raising municipal fees
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Permit fee hikes for food establishments also recommended
By Matthew Kent
Springfield residents could see
an increase of more than 100
fees for municipal services
beginning July 1 in a move that
city officials say is necessary in
order to recoup expenses.
Finance
Director
Mary
Mannix-Decker said a total of
186 charges were evaluated as
part of a fee study conducted by
the city. In a recent report to the
Finance and Administration
Committee, Mannix-Decker recommended establishing 11 new
fees, lowering 22 charges and
keeping 15 at their current level.
The remaining 138 fees have
all been recommended for an
increase, according to the study,
which is based on fiscal year
2011 activity.
The study evaluated fees for
building development services,
zoning and subdivision case
reviews, environmental services
and the police department,
licensing fees, and several ordinance violation charges, such as
animal impoundment and tree
or weed abatement.
DWI civil penalties — an ordinance violation charge — would
increase by $5 to $113, while a
see INCREASES, 4
............................................
Voters will decide on
changes to City Charter
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Initiative petition
signature requirements
could increase
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Health........................16
Home & Garden ....14
By Matthew Kent
Outdoors ................17
Puzzles ..................20
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Look for our
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Wed. June 13
Photo courtesy of Dan Nash
The Ozarks region provides excellent and varied hiking
opportunities. Read more on hiking in the Outdoors
section, page 17.
Voters will decide the
fate of a number of proposed changes to the City
Charter in August after the
Springfield City Council
approved placing the
measure on the ballot.
Among the changes to
the City Charter that are
subject
to
approval
include two that directly
involve the city’s initiative
petition process: increasing the number of signatures required for an initiative petition and setting
a one-year deadline for
gathering signatures. A
third change, if approved,
would eliminate February
primaries for city posi-
tions. Instead, voters
would decide among a
field of candidates during
a municipal election held
in April.
Another change would
boost required signatures
for an initiative petition to
move forward. Under the
current law, signatures are
required from 10 percent
of voters in the last general election, but the proposed change would mandate signatures from 7
percent of registered voters in the city. The final
change would require signatures within a one-year
timeframe after the city
clerk gives the petition
back to petitioners. The
document would be first
be reviewed by the
finance department for a
fiscal note and the law
department, which would
be responsible for checking the legality of the petition, according to City
Manager Greg Burris.
City officials have
received several initiative
petitions from different
groups, including two that
directly involve the city’s
smoking ban that was
passed last year. Earlier
this year, Live Free
Springfield
submitted
2,178 on an initiative petition in an effort to repeal
the ban. Springfield voters
will decide the matter
June 5.
In addition, a separate
issue from the Ozarks
Minutemen involved a
measure requiring all
businesses in Springfield
to implement the federal
E-Verify system to check
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LOCAL NEWS
Springfield-Branson airport mock drill keeps team prepared
Construction at National
and Monroe underway
By James Hanson
The City of Springfield
recently announced plans
to install a traffic signal at
the intersection of
National Avenue and
Monroe Street to accommodate increased traffic
volumes near the
Missouri State University
campus, and to provide a
pedestrian crossing at
National Avenue. The
project is funded through
the 2010-2013 1/4-cent
Sales Tax – Traffic
Signal/Traffic Calming
Program. The work may
impact traffic lanes at
times, but through traffic
will continue on National
Avenue. Monroe Street
will be closed for short
periods at times throughout the project. The
installation is scheduled
for completion in
September. For more
information, contact
Jason Haynes, City of
Springfield, at 864-1167.
Public to get closer look at
latest diverging diamond
A plan to upgrade the
Kansas Expressway/
James River Freeway
interchange to a diverging diamond interchange
in 2013 will be the subject of a come-and-go
style public meeting
planned for May 31, from
5-7 p.m. at The Library
Center Meeting Room B,
4653 S. Campbell Ave.
Project displays and
descriptions are published on the
MoDOT/Southwest
District web site as part
of an online public meeting for those unable to
attend the meeting.
People will be able to ask
questions or submit comments. MoDOT, the city
of Springfield and Greene
County are partners on
the project, estimated to
cost $5 million. MoDOT
will pay half the cost and
Springfield and Greene
County together will pay
the other half. The online
meeting can be viewed
at modot.org/southwest.
Construction is expected
to begin in early 2013,
with completion by midyear. Pavement repairs
will also be made.
The Springfield-Branson
National Airport recently
brought more realism to
its tri-annual disaster drill,
where firefighters and
medical crews had to
work together to respond
to a mock plane crash.
Airport firefighters and
crews from both Willard
and
Springfield
fire
departments put out the
fire and then searched the
plane for survivors.
Several actors participated, portraying injured and
deceased passengers, and
ambulances from both
Cox and Mercy hospitals
arrived on the scene.
The two-hour drill is
required by the Federal
Aviation Administration
for airports to remain certified to provide commercial air service.
Kent Boyd, public information and marketing
manager for SpringfieldBranson National Airport
said that in the event of a
real disaster, communication and the ability to
work together are typically the greatest challenges.
“Disaster drills help work
these issues out,” he said.
Boyd said that if the airport was the site of a real air
crash,several public service
agencies would respond.
Besides the airport
police and fire departments and the Springfield
and Willard fire departments, crews from the
Republic fire department,
ambulance crews from
both hospitals, the Red
Cross, Greene County
Emergency Management
and others would respond.
“Since these agencies
Nine vie for vacant council seat
By Matthew Kent
Nine residents of Springfield
are seeking to fill the General A
seat on City Council that became
open after Bob Stephens took
over as mayor earlier this month.
The council will interview all
nine candidates sometime in
June, according to Stephens, who
stepped into the mayoral role
when Jim O’Neal resigned May 7.
Among the candidates who have
applied for the vacant seat
include:
• Mike Carroll, who currently
serves as controller of Andy’s Frozen
Custard. He earned his juris doctorate from the University of MissouriColumbia School of Law in 2000.
• Roberta Cuilty, who has four
children and three grandchildren.
Cuilty formerly worked as a personal care assistant in Springfield,
in addition to working as a cashier
and bus driver in Chandler,Ariz.
• Christopher Donegan, the
owner of Donegan Insurance and
Travel and current finance manager of Zerr Auto Sales, Inc. Donegan
also has worked at Peoples Bank
of the Ozarks as a loan officer, in
addition to Drury University,
where he worked as an accounts
receivable coordinator.
• Jan Fisk, the co-owner of J.
Howard Fisk Limousines, Inc.
since 1986. Fisk was born and
raised in Lebanon and attended
Missouri State University.
• Denice Forrest, who has
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rarely work
directly
together, it’s a
good idea to
get them together for disaster drills,”
Boyd said. “It
can
help
improve
teamwork
Photos courtesy of Springfield-Branson National Airport
and communication dur- A mock plane crash was part of the two-hour tri-annual disaster preparedness drill at the Springfield-Branson National Airport May 23.
ing a real disasHe said that the airport plane was inoperable,”
ter.”
He added that airport has only seen one minor Boyd said.“There was one
firefighters could spend incident in the past six injury ... a pilot suffered a
their entire career train- years, when airport fire- burn. The only commerair
crash
in
ing for an event that never fighters had to evacuate a cial
happens, unlike tradition- commercial airliner. An Springfield was on March
1955. American
American jet with a fire in 20,
al fire departments.
“Point being, since air the cockpit, was diverted Airlines #771 descended
plane crashes are rare, air- to Springfield for an emer- in a thunderstorm for
port firefighters have to gency landing during a landing in Springfield. It
crashed in a pasture two
practice long and hard, in bad thunderstorm.
“By this time the fire miles north of the airport.
conditions that are as realistic as possible,” Boyd said. was already out, but the The death toll was 12.”
Office hours 9:00-4:30 Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri
628 E. Commercial Springfield, MO
417-869-6550
www.happyear.com 1-800-525-7576
worked at Expedia as lodging operations lead agent since 2010.
Forrest has two bachelor’s degrees
from Missouri State University in
entertainment management and
human resources management and
is a former commissioner on the
Mayor’s Commission on Human
Rights and Community Relations.
• John Handin, a retired city
employee who has bachelor’s
degrees in sociology and earth
science, in addition to a master’s
degree in urban planning. He is a
former cartographer for the city
and has taught at MSU.
• Arthur Hodge, Sr., who is
retired from the U.S. Army and
currently works as a substitute
teacher for Springfield Public
Schools. He has also worked as a
police officer, in addition to serv-
ing as a school security officer for
SPS before retiring in 2008.
• Jeff Paul, who is selfemployed, and has been involved
with the American Red Cross for
15 years.
• William Scruggs II, the owner
of Engineered Resources LLC. He
earned his bachelor’s degree in
material science and engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Cambridge,Mass.,in
1992 and then obtained his master’s degree in manufacturing management from Ketting University in
Flint, Mich., in 1997. He has been a
Cub Scout leader with Pack 410 in
Springfield for three years and has
also coached youth sports.
The person selected to fill the seat
will serve out the rest of Stephens’
term,which expires in 2013.
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Group: City should remove criminal
history questions from applications
Increases: Council to
consider changes June 4
“Ban the box”
adopted in cities across
country, report says
13.5 percent increase is
planned for permit, plan
review and inspection
fees for preliminary and
final plat services within
the city’s planning and
development
department. In addition, city
officials are proposing to
hike taxi cab driver permit fees and renewals
from $30 to $37.
Meanwhile, new permit fees for four different classifications of
food establishments are
also being proposed.
Low-risk establishments
would see an increase
from $105 to $113,
while medium-risk locations would see an
increase from $176 to
$190. High-risk locations
that serve food would
see an increase from
$379 to $408, and temporary food permits
would increase from $45
to $55.
Karen Prescott, environmental health administrator
with
the
Springfield-Greene
■
By Matthew Kent
A city subcommittee
responsible for addressing
employment discrimination against felons has recommended the city of
Springfield amend its job
applications to no longer
require the disclosure of
criminal history.
In February, the Mayor’s
Commission on Human
Rights assigned the subcommittee the task of
examining the issue. A
report detailing its findings was presented during the commission’s May
16 meeting.
Known as “ban the box,”
the change to eliminate
questions about criminal
history has already been
adopted by Kalamazoo,
Mich., one of Springfield’s
benchmark cities, according to Betsy Sandbothe,
subcommittee member.
Sandbothe said the
unemployment rate for
supervised offenders in
Greene County stands at
40 percent, noting that
unemployed felons reoffend at a rate about 170
percent higher than
felons who are employed.
She added that Springfield
taxpayers are spending
about $36.3 million a year
to support families of
unemployed felons.
“We have to ask ourselves where do we want
to go at this point?”
Sandbothe said. “What
we’re asking of the city of
Springfield is to revise or
define the box.”
Vendors doing business
with the city should also
change their employment
applications, according to
the report, which noted
the subcommittee found
“clear evidence that discriminatory
actions
against offenders are routine and widespread.”
The 13-member commission, which investigates
alleged
discrimination
complaints, took no action
concerning the recommendations, but one commission member, Bill Hedrick,
said action needs to be
taken at the state level.
“There has to be something done at legislative
government if we want to
stop this,” he said. ”That’s
the way we’re going to
have the most long-term
impact on this.”
Charter: Residents to decide matter at Aug. 7 election
”
CONTINUED, from 1
on a worker’s legal status.
That law passed earlier
this year and was scheduled to go into effect in
June, but a federal judge
blocked the city from
enforcing the ordinance
after a lawsuit was filed
May 9 in U.S. District
Court for the Western
Division.
RESIDENT VOICES
CONCERN ON ISSUE
Earlier this month in
council
chambers,
Springfield resident Carl
Herd questioned the city’s
decision to move forward
with
the
proposed
changes, saying there is a
“perception in the community that this is rush,
rush, rush.” Herd is known
for his efforts in successfully seeking a state audit
of Springfield Public
Schools, which was done
by an initiative petition
under state
statutes.
“It is not
easy,” Herd
said, explaining the abiliHerd
ty to gather
signatures.“It is quite difficult.”
He also presented information to council members about the number of
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Will I
support it at
the ballot box?
That’s a good
question.
I probably will.
— City Councilman
Doug Burlison
signatures required in
other cities within the
state, alleging that it hadn’t been looked at.
Burris disputed the allegation made by Herd following the council meeting, saying that City
Attorney Dan Wichmer
based it off timelines used
in other cities, citing Lee’s
Summit as one example.
“We had gone out and
looked at other cities,”
Burris said.
If the changes are
approved by voters Aug. 7,
they would take effect
seven days after the election upon certification by
the council, according to
Burris. However, he said if
an initiative petition is
presented to the city
before August, the proposed changes “would not
apply to that particular
initiative.”
BURLISON
SUPPORTS
CHANGES
City Councilman Doug
Burlison said he is comfortable with the changes
with one exception
involving the number of
required signatures.
“I still think that’s too
high,” Burlison said. “I’d
like to see it in the ballpark of 5,000 based on
the population.”
However, he said he did
not raise the issue in
council chambers since
he believed the council
has “pretty much come to
a compromise on that …
and it doesn’t do any
good beating a dead
horse, if you will.”
Burlison also said he
tried to stay away from
what other cities were
doing concerning their
initiative petition process,
saying “they can be good
ideas, they
can be bad
ideas.”
He
added the
cities
that
Herd
presented during the counBurlison
cil meeting
were different than what
city management had
evaluated.
“Everybody’s got statistics,” he said.
He also noted that he
didn’t want to push the
council on the 7,000 signatures due to possible
risks of that number going
up. The decision on the
proposed changes are
now up to voters, according to Burlison, who said
he likely has his mind
made up.
“Will I support it at the
ballot box? That’s a good
question,” Burlison said. “I
probably will.”
Asked whether he
thought Springfield voters
would vote in favor of the
amendments, he replied:
“They probably will support it,” but cautioned that
he wasn’t going to make a
recommendation.
“They’re going to have
to make up their own
mind,” he said.
CONTINUED, from 1
County
Health
Department, said that
the annual fee study
allows officials to assess
factors such as travel
time and the overall cost
of performing inspections. However, she
noted that the permit
fees vary from year to
year.
“I think we’re fairly
low [compared to] other
cities
in
Missouri,”
Prescott
said.
“Sometimes it goes up or
sometimes it goes down
depending on the fee
study we do.”
Mannix-Decker said
the city is trying to pinpoint the
cost of providing services accurately
so
taxpayers
aren’t subsidizing
Mannix-Decker
them.
“We’re trying to recover costs,” she said.
The proposed change
in fees will go before
City Council June 4.
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Upfront
$310M city budget moving forward
By Matthew Kent
City Council members
are on their way to approving a $310 million budget
for the upcoming fiscal
year that begins July 1.
The overall proposed
budget — about 4.3 percent larger than the city’s
current one — includes
$72.7 million in the general fund with projected
revenue expected to be
3.5 percent.As part of the
city’s 2012-2013 budget,
officials plan to hire 16
new employees for the
city’s clean water division
of
the
Environmental Services
City: Bridge over Wilson’s Creek closed
A single-lane pony truss
Alternate route
bridge estimated to be over
100 years old over Wilson’s
The city recommends
Creek on Rountree Road
alternate routes to
has been closed due to
motorists who travel
deterioration and will need
Rountree Road to the
to be removed, city officials
city’s yard waste recysay.
cling center.
Kirk Juranus, assistant
Go west on
director of public works,
Sunshine/Highway
said during a semi-annual
413, south onto Farm
inspection with the Missouri
Road 115, east on
Department of
Farm Road 164 and
Transportation, engineers
follow the signs.
found that the steel parallel
Go west on James
to the roadway had deteriRiver Freeway to
orated. Juranus said the
Sunshine/Highway 413,
city would like to have the
east onto Sunshine/
aging bridge out by this
Highway 413 to Farm
summer, but was uncertain
Road 115, south onto
if it will be replaced.
Farm Road 115 to Farm
Juranus estimated the
Road 164, east onto
removal would cost
Farm Road 164 and fol$10,000-$20,000 and said
low the signs.
a new two-lane bridge
would cost around
Source: City of Springfield
$250,000. In 2011, the
Mustang bridge over
Kearney Street cost $24,000 to remove and a new $1 million bridge was put in its place that was funded through
the city’s one-eighth-cent transportation sales tax.
Juranus added that the city is evaluating whether to
hire a contractor to remove the bridge over Wilson’s
Creek or to perform the work with its own crew.
Public meeting in Strafford
to discuss turn-lane projects
A plan to build turn lanes at three intersections along
Route 744 and Route OO/Route 125 between Springfield
and Strafford will be outlined during a public meeting
June 4, in Strafford, according to the Missouri
Department of Transportation. People may come and go
between 4-6 p.m. at Strafford City Hall, 126 S. Washington
Ave. An online public meeting featuring the same project
information will be provided at modot.org/southwest.
Visitors will be able to view displays, ask questions of
MoDOT engineers and submit comments. The same displays can be viewed online and visitors can email their
comments and questions to MoDOT engineers.
Route 744 at Mustard Way in Springfield:
Build eastbound-to-northbound left-turn lane.
Build westbound-to-northbound right-turn lane.
Widen intersection slightly to improve turning radius.
Route 744 at Mulroy Road (Farm Road 199) between
Springfield and Strafford:
Build right-turn lane from westbound-to-northbound.
Build left-turn lanes on Route 744 at Mulroy Road (Farm
Road 199).
Lengthen right-turn lane from southbound-to-westbound.
Route OO/Route 125 at Washington Avenue/Olive
Street in Strafford:
Build left-turn lanes on RouteOO/Route 125 at
Washington Avenue/Olive Street.
Build right-turn lane from eastbound Route OO/Route
125 to southbound Olive Street.
Build curb and gutter and install storm sewer drains
along north side of Route OO/Route 125 between
Jefferson Street and a point west of Washington Avenue.
Construction is planned to begin in the spring of 2014
and the projects are expected to total $1.1 million.
Department that would
help with sewer maintenance
operations.
Improvements to the
city’s sewer system are
required as part of an
agreement with the
Missouri Department of
Natural Resources for an
early action program
expected to cost $50 million over the next seven
years, according to city
officials.
Also planned is a 1.5
percent across-the-board
salary increase for all full-
time employees, which
would be the first time in
four years for such an
increase. The budget also
calls for spending more
than $1.4 million to
replace 28 police cars,
computer network equipment, fire department
bomb suits, among other
capital needs.
Eighteen jobs will also
be
added
to
the
Springfield-Greene
County Parks Department,
funded through a 2006
parks sales tax at a cost of
May 30 - June 12, 2012
$650,000. The positions
will help with operations
at the Dan Kinney Family
Center and the Doling
Aquatics Center that are
expected to open later
this year, according to the
proposed budget.
Council
members
appeared to have no issues
with the proposed budget
during a May public hearing, but City Councilman
Doug Burlison requested
that $11,157 be moved
from the city’s contingency fund to the health
department to fund spaying/neutering for a 12month period.
|
5
City
Councilwoman
Cindy Rushefsky said it
was “absolutely critical”
for the city to maintain
the program.
“We’ve made wonderful
use of it,” she said.
That change was unanimously approved by the
council and leaves the
contingency fund with
$600,000, which poses no
issues for the city, according to City Manager Greg
Burris.
“We can live with that
amount,” Burris said.
The council will vote
on the budget at its June 4
meeting.
Upfront
6 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
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Woods in brief
Name: Laura Woods
Hometown: Originally
from Alton, Ill, she’s
lived in Springfield for
four years.
Family: Two sons, two
daughters, partner
Ron and his two sons
Profession: Legal secretary for Love, Hyde
and Overby and viola
player for the
Springfield Symphony
15 MINUTES
WITH…
Fazoli’s
local Mother
of the Year
on winning
Photo courtesy of Laura Woods
Laura Woods with her daughter Kate, who nominated her for
the award.
By April Labine-Katko
When Fazoli’s italian
restaurant asked the public to tell them about their
special moms, Springfield’s Laura Woods was
nominated by her daughter, Kate Huff, who wrote
a touching Facebook post
about her mother that led
to Woods winning the
Fazoli’s Mother of the Year
award. As a result, Woods
can tuck into a bowl of
free spaghetti once a
week for a year. Fazoli’s
honored one mother in
each participating market.
A busy working mom,
Woods is a legal secretary
and a viola player with the
Springfield Symphony. She
shares her life with her children from a previous marriage; Luke, Kate, Claire, her
partner Ron and their baby
Benjamin and Ron’s children Noah and Elijah.
Q: How did it feel to
be selected as Fazoli’s
Mother of the Year?
A: It was amazing.When
my daughter first told me
that she nominated me, I
wasn’t surprised that she
would so something like
that. She is a very compassionate, considerate and
thankful child. I was completely surprised that I
won. I didn’t know how
many winners there
would be. Then I found
out that I was the only one
in this area.That was amazing. It really touched me,
reading what she wrote.
We had a hard life for a
couple of years. Her dad
and I went through a
divorce. She’s been right
there by my side the
whole time and moving
on with me, emotionally
there with me. It means a
lot to me that she would
do that. I didn’t even
expect to win. Free food’s
great but just reading
what she wrote, that was
the best.When she got the
email saying that I had
won, she literally ran outside screaming,“Mommy...
mommy... mommy... you
won!” She was so excited.
Q: You have a very full
house. How do you keep
your energy up, especially when you were
working three jobs?
A: It was hard. I definitely attribute a lot of it to
Ron. He’s been just such a
big help. But it’s been really hard. It broke my heart.
The three kids spend
every other week with
me. It seems like, this past
season with the symphony, there were so many
weeks when they would
be with me and I would
have rehearsal every
night. I didn’t see them
very much. But we try to
sit down and have dinner
together as much as we
can. We always make a
point in doing that. You
know, not just running
through the drive-thru.We
sit down to a meal and
talk about our day as
much as we can, do things
outdoors, really just being
with
them
in
the
moments that I can.Taking
texts from them while I’m
at work, you know, “Hey
mom. How’s work going?”
Q: What is your advice
to new mothers?
A: I was 19 when I had
my first and it was hardgoing at first but I have
definitely grown and
learned a lot as I’ve gotten
older. Especially in the last
year, I have learned a lot
about letting my kids be
their own person, form
their own opinions, think
for themselves. You can
teach them how to think
for themselves but not
what to think.That means
a lot to them. It’s so important to let kids know that
it’s okay to be themselves.
Be positive. Be loving to
other people instead of
just telling them what to
do or telling them what to
think. That’s the biggest
thing that I’ve learned.
Q: Do you have a
secret weapon to get
them to behave?
A: Not really, because
they’re all so different. My
older son is really into
electronics and games. I
usually threaten to take
that away from him. My
younger daughter,I tell her
if she can go five days with
good behavior,we’ll bake a
cake together or something like that. She doesn’t
eat a lot of sweets during
the week, but at the end of
the week if she’s been
good, we’ll bake a cake.
They’re all so different.
Kate, she’ll tell you that
she doesn’t need discipline because she’s really
good, doesn’t get into trouble. I do have to get onto
her sometimes because
she tries to be the mom.
Q: After the year of
free food at Fazoli’s, do
you think you’ll be able
to look a plate of
spaghetti in the eye
again?
A: Oh my gosh. I don’t
know. I’ve only had one so
far. We went last week. I
took all the kids and I had
my first free meal. It was
delicious.I’m sure after one
year I’ll be ordering something else from the menu.
After 52, weeks who
knows?
| Community Free Press
Council OKs bonds for
sewer improvements
By Matthew Kent
The Springfield City
Council has approved an
ordinance authorizing
City Manager Greg Burris
to move forward with
$32 million in bonds for
work as part of an early
action plan with the
Missouri Department of
Natural Resources.
The council recently
approved an agreement
with the state agency for
$50 million worth of
improvements to the
city’s sewer system over
a seven-year period. The
agreement — an amended consent judgment —
was necessary in order
to comply with requirements under a 1995
agreement between the
city and DNR.That agreement called for about
$17 million in sewer
improvements, according to the city.
Approved by council
May 21, the bonds allow
work to proceed as part
of the early action program, paid by city residents through previously approved sewer rate
increases. Taking effect
in July, the sewer portion
of utility bills will
increase from $19.75 to
$25.27 a month.
The council also voted
unanimously on several
related matters, including
a plan to use $6.46 million to develop a longterm overflow control
plan that will be submitted to DNR by Dec. 31,
2013 and will be completed in several phases. The
third phase of the program runs through April
2, 2014, according to city
officials. In addition, council approved another part
of that early action plan
involving a $2.12 million
pilot inflow and infiltration program that is
expected to reduce the
amount of rainwater
entering the sewer system. The improvements
are predicted to save the
city between $7 and $10
for every $1 that is spent
keeping rainwater out of
the system.
In other business,
the council:
• Approved the appropriation of $4 million in
reserve funds through the
city’s one-eighth-cent transportation sales tax for road
projects in conjunction
with
the
Missouri
Department of Transportation and Greene County.
Those projects include
widening
Glenstone
Avenue from Battlefield
Road to James River
Freeway and another that
would bring a diverging
diamond interchange to
Kansas and James River
Freeway, similar to one at
Kansas and Interstate 44
completed three years ago.
• Approved the purchase of property at 827,
833,841,842,843,844 and
845 N. Boonville Ave. from
Greene
County
for
$975,000. Burris said the
properties are part of the
city’s governmental plaza
footprint and as part of the
agreement, city officials
will allow Greene County
Public Administrator David
Yancey to remain in his
office for $1 a year.
• Selected City Councilman Jeff Seifried as mayor
pro tem in a 6-2 vote.
Seifried will take over in
the absence of Mayor Bob
Stephens.Seifried filled the
Zone 1 councilman seat in
February after Nick Ibarra
resigned.
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Community Free Press
Upfront
| www.cfpmidweek.com
May 30 - June 12, 2012
|
7
Hill, Gold discuss the race for Greene County Treasurer
■
Both men cite financial experience as a strength for office
By James Hanson
Republicans Gregory Gold
and Justin Hill are vying to serve
as the next Greene County
treasurer.
In the August primary election voters must choose who
will square off against governor-appointed Democrat Bill
Compere in the November general election.
HILL
Justin Hill has a degree in
business management and
accounting and has been chief
deputy auditor for Greene
County for the last decade. He
also served as interim Greene
County treasurer from January
to March 2011.
He currently serves on the
Board of the Association of
Government Accountants, as
treasurer of the
Greene
County
Republican
Central Committee
and is a member of
Southeast
Bible
Chapel.
Hill
Hill said that he
is qualified to lead the department as the technology continues to change.
“You need someone who is
very strong in accounting and
in technology,” Hill said.
“Accounting has migrated in a
lot of ways. It is a different
industry as far as the tools that
you utilize. The principles are
the same but the tools we utilize are a lot different.The treasurer’s office needs someone
who knows how to utilize
those technological tools.”
Hill said that having served as
POLITICAL NOTES
Gov. Nixon sets Aug. 7 election on right to pray
Gov. Jay Nixon recently issued a proclamation setting the vote
on a constitutional right to pray for the Aug, 7 ballot. House
Joint Resolution No. 2, passed by the General Assembly in 2011,
proposes a constitutional amendment to Article I, Section 5, of
the Missouri Constitution, guaranteeing the right to pray.
E-mail local news and information to:
[email protected]
interim Greene County treasurer
also makes him a good candidate.
“While I was in there we
cracked down on some of the
security issues,”he said.“We also
streamlined some processes. I
converted that office to use the
new financial accounting software that the county uses.”
Hill said that the county
needs someone with skills in
reporting and financial analysis
for an efficient office that will
help elected officials do more
with less.
“They need someone who is
strong in reporting and is good
with forecasting,” he said.
“Someone who knows how to
do cash flow and understands
the financial information, but
can communicate to the nonfinancial person.”
Hill likes that Compere has
been making more of the county’s investments local.
“I think that is a good thing
they are doing well and I would
continue doing,” Hill said.
GOLD
Greg Gold has spent the last 14
years working as a sale representative with Pearson-Kelly Office
Products. He has 10 years of
experience
in
investing and experience in banking.
He also actively volunteers at Second
Baptist Church.
Gold said that his
background makes
Gold
him a suitable candidate for county treasurer.
“The treasurer’s office is the
investment office for the county,” he said.“I think that is one of
the things that I can bring to
the table.”
Gold said that the treasurer’s
office has had some issues in the
No Photo ID Amendment on the November Ballot
With the end of the legislative session, the Missouri
legislature failed to replace the language of a ballot
measure that would amend the state constitution to
require that voters present a government-issued photo
ID in order to vote. In March, Cole County Circuit Court
Judge Patricia S. Joyce ruled that the ballot language
originally drafted by the legislature was misleading and
invalidated the proposed ballot title. The measure would
have appeared on the November ballot. The Missouri
Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that a restrictive photo ID
past in the form of “some mismanagement of some monies.”
“I want to bring banking
type of security and banking
controls to that office to keep
the employees safe, as well as
keep the county’s money safe,”
Gold said.
Gold also wants to ensure the
county’s surplus funds are
invested in local banks.
“This is the citizens’ money,”
he said. “This is your money,
my money; it has to be safe and
secure first. We need to make
sure it stays here in the
Ozarks.”
He said investing locally
keeps the money in the county
and keeps people employed.
“It is safe, secure, conservative and local,” Gold said.
Gold said that the treasurer’s
office is currently working well,
but added, “There is always
room for improvement.”
voting law was unconstitutional and could impact as
many as 230,000 Missourians.
Missouri legislature fights Obamacare
On the last day of the Missouri legislative session the
Missouri House of Representatives passed SB 464. The act
prohibits the establishment, creation, or operation of a
state-based health insurance exchange, unless the
exchange is created by a legislative act, an initiative petition or referendum.
Upfront
8 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
SCHOOL NOTES
GHS student wins car
Glendale High School
graduate Gretchen Stein
recently won a 2012
Chevrolet Sonic LT donated by Reliable Chevrolet, a
reward for participating in
Project Graduation, a
drug- and alcohol-free celebration for graduates.
Stein’s name was drawn
from a pool of 25 semifinalists who were selected
from drawings at each of
the high school’s Project
Graduation events. As an
added bonus, Reliable also
gave free iPads to one
student from each high
school.
Photo courtesy Missouri Youth Soccer Association
The 2012 Missouri State Cup tournament is June 9-14 at
Springfield’s Lake Country Soccer Complex.
Thousands expected
for soccer tournament
By Amanda Hess
The 2012 Missouri State
Cup tournament is expected to bring up to 10,000
people to Springfield’s
Lake Country Soccer
Complex June 9-14.
The tournament showcases the best youth soccer teams in Missouri
every year. More than 175
of the best boys’ and girls’
teams ages 12 to 18 in the
state will compete in the
event. It is the first step to
the U.S. Youth National
Championship Series, a
nation-wide tournament
series that encompasses
more than 10,000 teams.
Each age group winner
of the Missouri State Cup
will advance to the
Region 2 Champions in
Saginaw, Mich., in June for
a chance to compete in
the U.S. Youth National
Championships in Rock
Hill, S.C., in July.
The tournament at Lake
Country Soccer Complex,
2334 E. Pythian St., is an
open event. Parking is $5
a day or $20 per car for
the entire tournament.
Parking passes can be purchased on-site with cash
or pre-purchased online
at www.mysa.org.
To purchase passes
online, the website suggests emailing Pam Sullivan
at [email protected] following the purchase.
Summer meal program
begins June 4
Although school is out for
the summer, students can
continue to receive nutritious
meals June 4-28 through the
summer Food Service
Program. Beginning June 4,
any child age 18 and under
may receive free breakfast
and lunch at eight
Springfield Public Schools
locations. Children do not
need to be enrolled in summer school to participate but
they must be accompanied
by an adult. Eligible disabled
adults age 21 and under may
also qualify to participate in
the program. For more information, call 523-0000.
Pipkin students providing
comfort to children in need
Students at Pipkin Middle
School participated in the
Linus Project, which gives
blankets to children who are
seriously ill, traumatized or
otherwise in need. Linus
Project is named for the
Peanuts comic strip character who was comforted by
his blanket. The project was
funded by a grant from the
Several Springfield schools to get repairs this summer
By James Hanson
Classes are out at Springfield Public
Schools and when some students return in
the fall, several buildings will either have
undergone or be in the process of receiving much needed upgrades.
The SPS Board of Education approved
several contracts at a recent meeting,
paving the way for repairs to many
schools within the district.
Weatherproofing Tech-nologies, Inc.
(Stiles Roofing) of Lebanon, was awarded two separate contracts; one in the
amount of $175,940 to replace 14,000
square feet of roof at Pleasant View
School, including the band room and
southeast classroom area.
The second contract for $419,317 will
pay to repair 41,000 square feet of roof
at Glendale High School.
Three expansion joints will be
installed in the roofing deck to alleviate
movement and stabilize the structural
plan.
An additional $509,788 will fund the
replacement of damaged masonry, reanchoring veneers, cleaning masonry
surfaces and re-pointing mortar joints at
Jarrett Middle School.
Mid-Continental
Restor-ation
Company, out of Fort Scott, Kan. was
awarded the contract for that project.
The board also approved contracts
with Hardwood Floors by Sanders, out of
Neosho in the amounts of $19,505 and
$14,4000, to sand and refinish the wood
gym floors at Parkview and Glendale
high schools.
Campbell Elementary School will have
its wood gym floors sanded and refinished by Jarrett Enterprises of Cabool, at
a cost of $3,950.
Pipkin Middle School will have a new
wood gym floor installed by Varsity
Contractors of Springfield, at a cost of
$63,105.
All projects, with the exception of
Campbell Elementary School, will be
funded through the major repair funds.
The Campbell Elementary School project
will be funded through insurance loss
funds.
SPS expects to have most of the projects
completed by the time school resumes.
Foundation for Springfield
Public Schools, aiding in the
purchase of fleece fabric
and allowing students to
reach their goal of making
100 blankets during the
school year. Ann Steinberg,
7th-grade communication
arts teacher, oversaw the
students as they worked.
The blankets will be distributed through Newborns in
Need at the St. Jude’s
branch of Mercy Hospital
and Isabel’s House.
Disney 5th-grader
receives award for essay
Carson Fink, a 5th-grade
student at Disney
Elementary School won
first place in Level I of the
2012 Letters About
Literature statewide essay
contest. He was presented
the award during a ceremony at the James Kirkpatrick
State Information Center in
Jefferson City. Rep. Charlie
Denison introduced Carson,
his family, and teacher
Nancy Rader on the House
floor, and presented Carson
with a certificate of recognition for his accomplishment.
GHS student and teacher
named as 2012 Bezos Scholars
Glendale High School junior Kayna Lantz and
teacher Justine Lines have
been selected as 2012
Bezos Scholars. The prestigious all-expense-paid
scholarship brings together
12 of the nation’s top public
high school juniors and 12
exceptional educators for a
www.cfpmidweek.com
week of exploration, dialogue and debate at the
acclaimed Aspen Ideas
Festival, June 26-July 2.
Scholars will connect with
visionaries from around the
globe—international leaders, thinkers, entrepreneurs
and creative artists—and
engage in lectures, presentations, debates and discussions that span a vast
| Community Free Press
range of critical topics. This
extraordinary leadership
development experience
begins at the Aspen Ideas
Festival and continues
throughout the following
school year as Scholars
return home with inspiration, tools and resources to
launch their own Local
Ideas Festivals.
Community Free Press
| www.cfpmidweek.com
Viewpoints
Upfront
May 30 - June 12, 2012
THINK
About It!
– Winston Churchill
FreePress
Local Voice
Breck Langsford,
President/Publisher
Amanda Langsford,
Associate Publisher
Photos and interviews by James Hanson
The city of Springfield is prepared to
give its full-time employees a 1.5 percent
raise across the board; the first across
the board raise in four years. Do you
agree or disagree with this and why?
EDITORIAL
James Hanson,
Reporter
Matthew Kent,
Reporter
April Labine-Katko
Copy Editor, Reporter
“I just moved back
here to the community but I would
think they do a
pretty good job. I
don’t think it would
be a big deal.”
–Michael Gibbs,
Springfield
CONTRIBUTORS
Kelsey Garman
Phil Morrissey
Bob Mace
Amanda Hess
DESIGN
Amanda Langsford
Lonnie Bolding,
Art Tech
ADVERTISING
Illustration by Phil Morrissey
Breck Langsford
Amanda Langsford
Greg Hansen
Marylee York, Manager
Charles Hunt, Courier
ADMINISTRATION
Donna Blackburn,
Senior Accountant
Muriel Lincoln,
Credit Manager
Dudley Brown,
IT Systems & Web
CONTACT
[email protected]
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[email protected]
[email protected]
B Publishing Group
3057 E. Cairo / Springfield, MO
65802
Mailing address: PO Box 2418
Springfield, MO 65801
Phone: (417) 447-2130
Fax: (417) 447-2140
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The Community Free Press is
published by B Publishing Group, Inc. in
Springfield, Mo. It is available free of charge,
limited to one copy per reader, from distributors
in the Springfield-metro area. Additional copies
may be obtained at the B Publishing Group
offices. CFP may be distributed only by the publisher’s authorized agents. No one may, without
permission from B Publishing Group, take more
than one copy of each issue. Postal delivery to
your home or business address is available via
Standard Mail. Call 417-447-2130 for information. Reproduction prohibited without publisher’s
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Vol. 10 Issue 11
The thoughts and
opinions of columnists in
the Viewpoints section do
not reflect those of the
Community Free Press.
If you wish to respond
to Viewpoints please
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9
“Courage is going from failure to failure
without losing enthusiasm.”
Community
CIRCULATION /
DISTRIBUTION
|
Chamber Pot
C
E-mail Bob Mace: [email protected].
ity leadership has been busy
funding was responsible for the
plugging the dyke after the
development of such major tourism
recent resignations from council of
flops as the Jordan Valley Park and
Councilman Nick Ibarra and Mayor
the Mediacom Ice Park.
Jim O’Neal. Jeff Seifried was selected
Edgewise: Had any of these worked
and appointed by council from
as prophesied by the chamber developamong applicants to fill the remainment partnership,our airport and highder of the Ibarra term. Seifried, by
ways would have choked as denizens
day, is manager of regional developof a grateful planet came to picnic and
ment for the city – Chamber of
figure skate Springfield.Instead,the city
Bob Mace
Commerce Business Development
is funding deficits related to those projCorporation partnership.
ects from its general fund.
THE EDGE
The Edge figures it might have
Burris’ dilemma of how to spend
been easier to cut out the middleman, quit the the freed up tax revenues started the day that
pretense, and simply send the keys to the city the not-for-profit museum announced it would
and its checkbook to a chamber staff that ill- no longer take the public funding, donating
conceals it non-elected omniscience over $1.3 million of previous tax receipts to the
everything municipal.
Community Foundation of the Ozarks. So
With the resignation of O’Neal, Mayor Pro there’s the city, the CFO and the museum
Tem Bob Stephens automatically assumed that involved. But, with no visible skin in the game,
office. The city charter required that council, Chamber of Commerce executive Jim
from among its midst, select a new pro tem. Anderson presided at that announcement offiThat body did so with all due speed and con- cially informing the citizens of the repurpossideration. Members with years of experience ing of tax proceeds.
were passed over inexplicably to name
Heaping praise on the long-struggling and
Seifried who had held his appointed council non-operational wildlife tourist attraction,
position for something less than three months. Anderson told city leaders the donation would
The Edge wishes nothing but good luck to be foundation earmarked for use by groups
Mr. Seifried personally, but would point out promoting conservation tourism and educathat his meteoric rise means that our pro tem tion. The Edge, insufferable cynic that he is,
hasn’t been elected by any constituency save “wonders” whether a foundation grant back to
fellow council members. Furthermore, Mr. the museum isn’t planned.
Seifried will now vote (perhaps even preside
Burris went on to write that some wanted to
over the meeting) when considering renewal use that tax money to take care of shortfalls in
of or modifications to the public/not-for-profit city operations. Tourism proponents (The
partnership contract that pays his salary.That’s Convention and Visitors Bureau is another
nice maneuvering for the council newbie and chamber-led partnership with the city), he
his overseers at the chamber.
wrote, want to fund tourism projects.The Edge
Fielding a minion at council meetings appar- tries to figure CVB logic of taxing tourists as a
ently comes as solace to City Manager Greg method of attracting more of them.Just because
Burris who sees important decisions on the it hasn’t worked doesn’t mean it won’t!
horizon. In a recent Springfield News-Leader
The Edge observes that all this too close for
editorial, he orbited about the “problem” of comfort interlocking municipal partnership
what to do with hotel-motel tax receipts no cooperation gives rise to just the kind of sublonger going to the (still closed) Wonders of stance one would expect to locate when takWildlife Museum. Burris reflected that such ing a good look into our local chamber pot!
“I do not agree with
it. I believe the
money should be
spread in other
areas that we are
struggling with
right now. If they
are going to give
them a raise, they
need to give them a
better raise than
that because that is kind of a slap in the
face. If they had budgeted correctly in the
first place then they would be able to give
annual raises based on merit.”
–Kristy Hutto, Springfield
“I’m fine with that. They actually work
hard and them being able to give a raise
after four years is
fine. It is nice to
know that they can
actually afford to
give them a raise. I
do have a problem
with certain members of City
Council, where
they don’t listen to
what the people
want and enact certain laws and things
like that.”
– Rick Bagwell, Springfield
“I think anybody that
works hard, then
they deserve it.”
–Joan Ott,
Springfield
“I would be fine
with it for now.
But they should
have a City Hall
meeting and set
some goals that
we have over the
next year; some
type of quality of
life for the City of
Springfield and if
we don’t meet it, then they can take
back 2 percent next year.”
– Curtis Vaughn, Springfield
“I think it is a small
raise and it would
be acceptable.
Now if it was a
huge raise, then I
would say no.”
–Zola Lutz,
Springfield
Upfront
10 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
www.cfpmidweek.com
| Community Free Press
Open letter to the Mayor Stephens and the City Council
In response the City Council
meeting, May 7, 2012. I want to follow up on the math pertaining to
council bill 2012-134. Let us begin
with two facts: a. 10 percent of
votes cast in the last general municipal election is approximately
2,100. b. 7 percent of registered
voters in Springfield is 7,000 (using
Mr. Burris’s number that there are
Carl Herd
approximately 100,000 registered
voters). As I pointed out the perGUEST COLUMN
centage must be of the same concepts/classification to be compared. A percent of
Actual Voters can not be directly compared to a percent of Registered Voters I.E. 10 percent of actual voters vs. 7 percent of registered voters. So consider comparing 2,100 actual voters to 7,000 actual voters. What
is the percentage increase? 4,900 increase divided by
2,100 is 2.33 or 233 percent increase. This percent
compares to the pay day loans. Another comparison
would be to increase your house payment or car payment by 2 and a third times or 233 percent. My stance
is perhaps some increase in the number of signatures
would better balance the petition process, but this proposal is extreme and really not realistic.
Should the petition process be consistent through-
out the city charter? Recall petitions require a percentage of signatures of voters in the last general municipal
election. This ordinance proposes 7 percent of registered voters. It would be easy to make all percentages
for petitions based on the same concepts and thereby
be consistent in the City Charter.
Closing Comments: Again, I implore you to fast forward to 2025,you are watching a city council meeting on
TV and the council is not representing the citizens and
also adversely affecting you and your family. The ONLY
recourse for you is the initiative process that you
changed when you were on council in 2012. Do you
think these changes are fair and reasonable. Changing
the City Charter should be taken seriously with a large
amount of citizens input. How much citizen input has
there really been? Three meetings of the City Council
Plans and Policies Committee is very limited input.
Please consider tabling all these proposed Charter
Changes, obtain much more public input, then place proposed changes on the next April ballot eliminating extra
election expenses.Some citizens perceive this hasty charter change as an attempt to squash citizen input.
Thus maybe these hasty Charter changes are in
essence a knee-jerk reaction to stop citizen input and
leave all decision making in the hands of City Council.
Sincerely,
Carl Herd, Springfield resident
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Letters
LOCAL NEWS, from 2
What you think is important
E-mail: [email protected].
A concerned citizens plea to voters
My fellow Missourians, after another legislative session ends at our state capitol, how in good conscience
can you allow the Republican party to continue controlling the House and Senate? As an Independent I am
disgusted at their efforts to abolish the historic
Affordable Care Act passed two years ago. As voters,
we must educate ourselves with facts instead of being
lied to with politically motivated rhetoric. According to
many organizations like HealthCare.gov, Missouri has
already received over $21.8 million in grants for affordable insurance exchanges. The Affordable Care Act is
already helping Missourians by providing new coverage
options for young adults, more affordable prescriptions
for seniors, covering preventive services with no
deductible or co-pay, providing better value of your premium dollars by requiring health insurance companies
to use at least 80 percent of your money to go towards
actual health care, requiring those companies to publicly justify rate increases, removing lifetime limits on
health benefits and stopping the discriminatory practice
of refusing heath care insurance to those with pre-existing conditions. The Affordable Care Act has also given
Missouri over $95.5 million to implement other programs to provide quality health care. Please see
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/mo.html for
more detailed facts. The already paid for Affordable
Care Act allows more access to heath care for the uninsured and it gives those that are insured more choices
for affordable, comprehensive health care insurance. As
we recognized Memorial Day, there are over 1.5 million
uninsured veterans that will be covered because of the
Affordable Care Act. So, ask yourself, why would we
want to deny each other access to health care? Then,
ask your legislators the same question and remind
them that this is an election year.
Richard G. Green, Ozark
Correction
In the May 16-29 issue, TelComm Credit Union was
misspelled in an article in the Business section. We
regret the error.
Correction Policy
Every attempt is made to ensure that all information in
the Community Free Press is factual. In the event of an
error we will publish any necessary corrections as soon as
we are informed of a mistake and can confirm the correct
information.
able June 1-29. Donations
are welcome for the purchase of school supplies
and backpacks for the
county. New backpacks
can be dropped off at the
OACAC Christian County
Neighborhood Center, 204
E. Elm St., Ozark. For more
information, call 581-7631
or visit oacac-caa.org.
Future of Transportation
topic for public meeting
The needs and challenges
facing Missouri’s transportation system will be explored
in a public forum in
Springfield June 1. The meeting is one in a statewide
series being conducted by
the Blue Ribbon Citizens
Committee on Missouri
Transportation Needs.
Several transportation stakeholders from southwest
Missouri will present testimony to the committee. The
public forum will be open to
other comments. The committee has previously held
public meetings in St. Louis
and St. Joseph and will conduct forums on June 29 in
Cape Girardeau, July 9 in
Columbia, July 23 in
Hannibal and August 6 in
Lee’s Summit. The forum is
scheduled for June 1, 1-3 p.m.
at the Springfield Area
Chamber of Commerce, 202
S. John Q. Hammons
Parkway.
Harmony House in need of
paper products, bath towels
The Harmony House has
been running at capacity,
sheltering close to 100 adult
and child survivors of
domestic violence each
night, and is in need of toilet
paper, paper towels and bath
towels. Harmony House is
seeking help from the local
community. For more information, call Andrea Smith,
donations coordinator at
837-7700 ext. 207.
SPD patrol sergeant honored
with a Patriot Award
Employer Support of the
Guard and Reserve, an
agency of the Department
of Defense, recently honored Patrol Sergeant
Andrew Barksdale of the
Springfield Police
Department, with a Patriot
Award in recognition of
extraordinary support of its
employees and family
members of those that
serve in the National Guard
and Reserve. Police officer
and sergeant with the
1107th TASMG, Dawn Davis,
nominated Barksdale. For
more information call 816337-8175 or visit esgr.mil.
Boonville Avenue work
continues through June 13
Boonville Avenue between
Court Street and Division
Street was closed on May 23
for utility work associated
with the streetscape project.
Motorists are advised to use
the marked detour via Court
Street, Robberson Avenue,
and Division Street. The
sidewalk will also be closed
along Boonville Avenue during construction. Boonville
Avenue should be open to
traffic by June 13, weather
permitting. The project will
include the construction of
sidewalks, lighting, water
and gas main renewals and
landscaping enhancements.
Bus routes will continue as
normal and will be unaffected by the closure. For more
information, call 864-1989.
»
cfpmidweek.com
Want More Local News?
Go to the Online news
section at the CFP
Web site for the most
current local news.
Community Free Press
| www.cfpmidweek.com
May 30 - June 12, 2012
Business
|
11
Calling
all artists!
New art co-op brings artists
together. » Page 12
e-mail [email protected]
FYI
Helping others explore life
JVIC celebrates five
years of growth
On June 1, the Jordan
Valley Innovation Center
will host a five-year celebration from 8:30-10:30
a.m. in the facility’s parking lot, featuring Sen. Roy
Blunt along with university and community leaders. Tours will be available
of the research facility,
Brick City and the Robert
W. Plaster Center for Free
Enterprise and Business
Development. Dr. Terry
Brewer, president and
founder of Brewer
Science, will also speak
during the ceremony.
Free parking is available
at JVIC, or lots 46 and 47.
Architecture firm honored
with five design awards
Dake Wells
Architecture was presented with four awards
for design excellence
from the American
Institute of Architects,
Springfield’s professional
jury. The Home Office of
Andy’s Frozen Custard
and a new practice gymnasium for Reeds Spring
R-IV School District each
received a Citation
Award, a phased renovation of Cheek Hall at
Missouri State University
received a Merit Award,
and the new Student
Recreation Center for
Missouri State UniversityWest Plains received an
Honor Award. In addition, a separate public
jury of Springfield community leaders presented the Glenwood
Residence with a Public
Recognition Award.
Restaurant franchisee
gets national recognition
Local franchisee company Hardee’s of
Southwest Missouri,
headed by Mike Shay,
was recently recognized
for its sales achievements and as
Franchisee of the Year.
Shay and Hardee’s of
Southwest Missouri
have won many awards
throughout the years
including Top Volume
Sales awards for multiple locations over multiple years, and Top
Marketer and Top
Comparative Sales
Increase awards for
multiple years.
Hardee’s of Southwest
Missouri also holds
daily, weekly, and
monthly sales records
for any Hardee’s store
opened.
see FYI, 13
Satori offers more
than 60 global
destination adventures
■
By James Hanson
D
o you imagine
yourself climbing
Mt. Everest or visiting Kathmandu, maybe
trekking through Peru,
Chile,
Ecuador
or
Argentina or braving it in
Antarctica or Iceland?
Satori Adventures and
Expeditions can help make
those dreams a reality.
The outdoor education
and adventure guide service got its start right here
in the Ozarks in late 2009.
Hiking enthusiast Dan
Nash had received several
requests from members
of his previous business,
Hiking the Ozarks, and
members of the Ozark
Mountain Trailblazers to
guide trips in South
America and other exotic
locations. (See more in
the Outdoors section)
“Last year I was pretty
busy,” Nash said.“I tried to
get on some more of the
trips where they needed
me to go. I was on four
continents last year.”
Nash said Satori is an
international
business,
employing not just locally,
but in Nepal,Iceland,Africa,
Canada, Peru and Pakistan.
The company specializes in remote wilderness
expeditions, treks and
adventures to some of the
most spectacular destinations in the world.
The guides and instructors are all professional
teachers who help individ-
uals with
approaching their
Photos courtesy of Satori Adventures and Expeditions
first mounTwo explorers look out over the countryside in Borneo from high above.
tain sum- Borneo is one of the many destinations adventurers can choose from at Satori
mit, glacier Adventures and Expeditions. Left: An adventurer scales Mt. Tocllaraju, in the
crossing or Cordillera Blanca (White Range) of the Andes Mountains of Peru.
remote
outpost. They are highly said.“I was teaching class- five clients from Canada,
trained in a variety of out- es here locally and taking Japan, Korea and Europe.
“We have clients from all
door disciplines and pro- people on trips when I
vide the utmost care for had people begin hiring over the world,” Nash said.
their clients. They are also me to take them on treks “I have a group of six ladies
Wilderness First-Aid and to harder places in the from Springfield doing a
Ozarks.Then I had people trek in Peru this summer.
CPR/AED certified.
Satori practices “Leave ask if I [would take] them It’s a really cool trek.”
Nash said some trips
No Trace Ethics,” which to South America or whermeans respecting and pre- ever and that is kind of are a short as five days,
serving the environment how it started. It just grew while others like an
Everest trip can last up to
when on an expedition.
from there.”
Nash said he has travToday, Satori transports 60 days. Costs range from
eled all over the world, customers from all over $1,000 up to $50,000,
climbing mountains and the world to over 60 depending on the trip.
“It’s really just whatever
backpacking.
places across the globe.
“Satori kind of came
Nash said he recently the customer wants to
about by accident,” he summited Mt. Everest with do,” Nash said.
Springfield family offers more than meals
By Amanda Hess
Springfield Family Restaurant prides itself
in being involved in the community and providing local foods from farmers in their meals
to customers.
Agim Zendeli, of the Zendeli family that
own Springfield Family Restaurant, said the
restaurant was officially named Springfield
Family Restaurant in March. The restaurant
provides fresh, local ingredients to customers.
“We are buying a lot of farm vegetables,
fruits and a few meat items,” Zendeli said.
“Almost all of my vegetables are farm fresh,
from tomatoes to cucumbers to onions and
peppers; they are all locally farmed.Whatever
I can get [from farmers’] I will.”
The menu provides new editions, including
Panini sandwiches for lunch and healthy
options for breakfast like the Farmer’s
Benedict and Fitness Omelette. The most
famous dish is their cinnamon French toast,
Zendeli said, which has a private label bread
that is specially made for their restaurant.
The specials change every day and offerone that would be directed more toward
men, like meatloaf, and one directed more
toward women, like a specialty salad. The
menu has options for breakfast, lunch and
dinner.
“It’s a family place,” Zendeli said.“We have
customers that come in twice a day, three
times a day, four times a week. It’s a routine
[for them]. Plus a lot of people from out of
town come in.We have great food with good
portions.”
Along with providing food made from local
farmers’ crops, Springfield Family Restaurant
also gives 10 percent of its sales every
Thursday to Care to Learn, a local program
that provides funding for underprivileged
children in the Ozarks.
Zendeli said the restaurant plans to help the
community in different ways as time goes on.
“I want to be involved in the community
doing whatever I can to help out in different
areas,” Zendeli said. “The Zendeli family has
been here for a long time and we love the
community, so we decided to give the restaurant the theme of Springfield. Eventually I
will have all the walls decorated with scenes
from Springfield.”
Most of the walls already have images of
places like the Gillioz Theatre and Hammons
Photos by Amanda Hess
The former Ziggie’s
on South Campbell is
now Springfield
Family Restaurant.
Field, reflecting
the
community
that Zendeli said
his family wants to
give back to.
The restaurant is
located at 2222 S.
Campbell Ave. and
open 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. For more information,
go to www.springfieldfamilyrestaurant.com
or call 883-0900.
Business
12 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
IN BUSINESS
| Community Free Press
by James Hanson
A taste of Italy at Mama T’s Italian Cuisine
Artists find a “home on the range”
at the Grass Buffalo
Artists of all ages, specializing in any medium, now have a place to share and sell their
wares with Grass Buffalo.
Christina Rea-Willard and Bryan Sanders
opened the art co-op in early May.
Willard said it is a place where artists can
collaborate, inspire each other, work and
play, feel free and feel the energy, all while
getting their name out there.
The co-op features pottery, photography,
jewelry, paintings, re-purposed furniture, candles and more, with work from artists ranging from eight to 71-years-old.
“We want people to know that this store is
for people of all ages and for any genre,” she
said.
Willard
Grass Buffalo
and Bryan
Photo by James Hanson
met when
Christina Rea-Willard (left) and Bryan Sanders, owners of the Grass Buffalo
■ Owners: Bryan Sanders
she phoArt Co-op have a little fun inside the store.
and Christina Rea-Willard
tographed
Opened: May 4, 2012
some of his art pieces.
Location: 431 S. Jefferson
Willard’s knowledge and passion for landscaping and photography and Bryan’s love
Ave., Suite 132
of painting, drawing and interior design led to a quick friendship.
Hours: Monday-Thursday,
“We hadn’t known each other a month,” Willard said. “We just bonded.”
9 a.m.-6 p.m.,FridaySanders added, “We just clicked and had a blast.”
Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
After a conversation over coffee at Big Momma’s, the two reached out to Matt Miller
Phone: 536-1167 or 350-7238
who came on board with the art co-op concept.
Website:
Willard and Sanders said that business has been phenomenal so far.
grassbuffaloco-op.com
“It has all been word of mouth,” Willard said. “People have been energized by the
whole thing.”
Gold and silver mining stocks can make you rich
I
www.cfpmidweek.com
don’t invest in
and its stock will
mining stocks
probably also
because of their
drop 50 percent,
volatility. At age
although
the
78 I need stabiliprice of gold
ty, not volatility.
only falls about
But if you are
17 percent.
younger
and
The secret of
have a longer
making money in
term investment
mining stocks is
horizon, owning Kelsey Garman to invest in them
precious metals
when they are at
FINANCIAL INSIGHTS
mining stocks
the bottom of
could be your path to the down cycle and selling
wealth. One investor in them at the top of the
gold and silver mining cycle.That’s true,of course,
stocks claims he has a veri- with any stock. But with
fied return of more than 40 mining stocks the cycle is
percent per year over the easier to follow if you
last 10 years.
understand the basics of
The volatility of gold the mining industry.
and silver mining stocks is
All mining stocks are not
related to the price of the equal. They are basically
metals
they
mine. divided into two cateHowever, the stock prices gories. Senior mining
are much more volatile stocks are the stocks of the
than the metals.
larger well established minHere’s why.
ing operations. Junior minSuppose a company can ing stocks are the smaller
produce gold for $1,000 an companies engaged more
ounce. That’s a fixed cost in exploration and develno matter what the price opment.
of gold is. If gold is $1,500
The junior stocks are
an ounce, the company’s more volatile and riskier,
profit is $500. If the price but potentially more profof gold rises to $2,000 an itable.They can be subject
ounce the company’s prof- to excessive hype, poor
it doubles to $1,000 an management and even
ounce. Its stock price will fraud, especially if they
probably also double, even are in the “penny stock”
though the price of gold is category. However, there
up only 33 percent.
are some very good junior
On the other hand, if stocks trading at huge disgold prices drop to counts to their real value
$1,250, the company’s and potential cash flow.
earnings are cut in half
If you want to invest in
gold and silver mining
stocks, the easiest way is
through Exchange Traded
Funds ETFs). For larger
gold mining companies
check out Market Vector’s
Gold Miners Fund (GDX).
For silver mining companies consider Global X
Silver Miners Fund (SIL).
If you want to invest in
junior mining ETFs, the
Market Vectors Junior
Gold Miners Fund (GDXJ)
invests in stocks in both
gold and silver mines.
If you prefer individual
stocks, Goldcorp (GG) is
probably the best place to
start. Goldcorp also produces silver, copper, lead
and zinc. It has recently
started paying a small
monthly dividend. For silver, I suggest Pan
American Silver (PAAS).
If you want to go for junior mining stocks, consider
Gold Resources Group
(GORO). This company
produced gold for $136 an
ounce in 2011, and
expects to lower costs to
less than $100 next year. It
pays out one-third of its
cash flow in monthly dividends, which are paid in
gold or silver coins if you
like. Check out the company website at www.goldresourcecorp.com.
Mag Silver (MVG) owns
some of the richest silver
deposits on the planet,
which gives it the potential to be one of the
world’s top silver producers in the future. For a full
report, go to www.magsilver.com.
Lovers of Italian food
Mama T’s
might want to tuck in
Italian Cuisine
a meal at the recently
opened Mama T’s
Opened: March 20, 2012
Italian Cuisine.
Location: 2129 W.
Manager Kari
Republic Road
Wilkerson said the
Hours: Mondayrestaurant features
Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
everything one would
Phone: 315-8730
expect at an Italian
Website:
restaurant, but with a
mamatsrestaurant.com
different feel and taste.
“Everything here is
hand-made and made
fresh daily,” she said.
Besides stuffed meatloaf, fettuccine, lasagna,
spaghetti, meatballs, pizza pies and hand-rolled,
fresh-baked breadsticks, there are also a few seafood
items on the menu.
Diners will find themselves transported to the ‘20s
and ‘30s with murals, photographs and decor giving
the restaurant an old gangster flair.
Wilkerson said business has gone very well.
“Everyone has been very gracious with his or her
comments,” she said. “Everything is done here in
house. They come for the quality of food and come
back for the family.”
E-mail local news and information to:
[email protected]
If you are inclined to
invest in gold and silver
mining stocks, now is a
good time to do it. Prices
have been declining for
the past year and are now
at, or near, the bottom of
the cycle.
Kelsey Garman is
a former financial
consultant. E-mail him
at [email protected].
Community Free Press
| www.cfpmidweek.com
Business
May 30 - June 12, 2012
|
13
Fishel Pools
■
Owners: Craig and
Ryan Fishel
Opened: 1972
Location: 1421 E.
Sunshine St.
Services: Retail store
for cleaning supplies,
pool chemicals, pool
accessories, swimming
toys, residential vinyl
and gunite pools,
commercial gunite
pools, weekly pool
service, opening/closing of pools, repairs,
renovations, water
testing and more.
Hours: Retail store
hours Monday-Friday,
9 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Phone: 886-6699
Website: fishelpools.com
LOCALLY
OWNED
Over four
decades
in pools
By James Hanson
Craig Fishel has been
building pools for over
four decades, perhaps a
natural transition for an
ex-lifeguard.
In 1976, he started
Fishel Pools out of his
garage. Today, it is one of
the largest pool companies in Springfield.
“We’ve been around by
far the longest of anyone
around,” Craig said.
Fishel Pools offers pool
accessories, chemicals,
swimming toys, water
treatments and more. But
Fishel’s true specialty is its
custom made residential
vinyl and gunite pools and
commercial gunite pools.
Fishel has built more
than 1,500 pools in
Greene County alone, but
they can be found all over
the region and as far away
as Nevada and Texas.
“There are lots of
opportunities but we kind
of look at our people and
the time away from home
[when we consider a
job],” he said.
Today, Fishel employs
nine full-time employees,
but has a workforce of 20
full and part-time employees from late spring
through early fall.
Craig said the business
isn’t as seasonal as it once
was.
“We have been working
continuously for the last
five or six years,” he said.
“It is now a year-round
business. It has taken
some time for me to get
FYI, from 11
Real Estate Co. named 44th
largest independent
Murney Associates,
Realtors was named the
44th largest independent
real estate company based
on closed transactions in
the United States. The
ranking was announced in
the REAL Trends 500
annual report, which ranks
the performance of residential real estate companies across the country
based on sales volume,
closed transactions, and
other criteria. Murney
Photo courtesy of Fishel Pools
Ryan Fishel (left) and his father Craig Fishel stand in front of
one of their most recent custom built pools.
used to that because I
kind of like that time off.”
Craig’s son, Ryan is coowner and slowly working towards taking over
the business.
“It’s a slow transition,
but every day he takes
more and more of it and
I’m running further and
further away,” Craig said.“I
love the design/build part
of it, but the day-to-day…”
“He also really likes to
go fishing,” Ryan added.
Still, Craig said it will be
several years before he is
totally out of the business.
And by all accounts,
Ryan’s toddler son will
also be involved in the
family business.
“He has a ways to go
before he takes over,”
Ryan joked.
Craig said that the
store’s water chemistry
lab has also served as an
asset to the business.
“It is all computerized,”
he said.“People can bring
a water sample in and we
can test it. It prints out
right there the step-by-
step of what to do to fix
your pool.”
He added that perfectly
clear water isn’t necessarily healthy.
“If your water is out of
balance, it can be pretty,
but it can also ruin your
pool,” Craig said. “If people want to ignore their
water chemistry, they
need to enjoy the beauty
because it is going to cost
them later.”
Craig said another thing
that separates Fishel from
the competition is his reputation for not wanting to
do “anything normal.”
“My big kick in life is the
‘wow’ factor,” he said. “We
just finished one in Ozark
and everybody that goes
into that backyard is like
‘wow’;they can’t believe it.”
Craig said residential
vinyl pools can usually be
completed
in
three
weeks, while gunite pools
can take four to six
months, depending on the
difficulty of the design,
layout and other factors.
Both men agreed that
ranked 102 in a survey of
America’s Top Power
Brokers based on closed
transactions. For more
information, call Twila
Hillme at 575-1205 or email [email protected].
regulatory compliance.
Old Missouri Bank Names
VP of Loan Operations
Bonnie Murdock has been
promoted to vice president
of loan operations at Old
Missouri Bank where she
has worked since
December 2011. Shehas 34
years of banking experience, including loan operations management and
Incredible Pizza makes
incredible wishes come true
Springfield’s Incredible
Pizza Company and Wish I
May are teaming up to serve
special birthday wishes to
underprivileged children in
the community. IPC has an
all-you-can-eat buffet, with
themed dining areas, private
party rooms for kid’s birthday parties and a fairgrounds
fun center. Wish I May is a
non-profit that provides
birthday celebrations to
underprivileged children by
anonymously donating to
Why pay more to eat healthy?
1952 E. Grand (East of Glenstone)
d2efoods.com 501-1054
their biggest challenge is
finding qualified help and
ensuring that customers
remain happy. But providing customer satisfaction
is what Fishel strives for,
and what they both feel
has made the company
successful.
“It is about being able
to make them happy, at
whatever costs,” Craig
said.
He added that as long as
it is reasonable then the
company will do it.
“The most important
thing for me is to go back
to any pool I’ve built and
seeing all of the people
thoroughly enjoying a
swimming pool,” he said.
Craig said that he is concerned with the lack of regulations in Springfield and
surrounding areas, when it
comes to pool building.
“You can go buy a contractors license, a pick-emup truck and a shovel, and
you are in business,” he said.
“There are no regulations
or requirements to have
certain knowledge to be a
pool builder ...Probably,the
message is, buyer beware.
Everybody says that,but we
have never been sued in 42
years. There is nothing I
can’t or won’t do to make it
right.”
parents and guardians everything from plates to cakes to
toys, gifts and goodies. IPC
will host and honor underprivileged children and help
families make birthday wishes come true, providing the
Wish I May organization with
12 Incredible Birthday Parties,
one per month for a year, to
local families in need. Wish I
May also partners with the
Boys & Girls Club to provide
birthday celebrations for the
children that they serve. For
more information call 410937-5647 or visit
IncrediblePizza.com/
Springfield.
A /C
Tune-Up
59
$
A/C PERFORMANCE TUNE-UP
99
Includes:
Check Compressor
Check Condenser
Check Evaporator
Clean Radiator Core
Check A/C & Heat System Controls
& Blower Operation
Clean Cabin Air filter Check System for Leaks
Check A/C Pressures & Refrigerant Levels Top Off
Refrigerant levels up to 1 lb R-134a
(if needed)
Inspect Drive Belts, Hoses & Radiator
Cooling Fans
(additional parts, repairs and labor not included)
1462 S Enterprise
(417) 881-2240
BOHANNONAUTOSERVICES.COM
14 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
www.cfpmidweek.com
Home & Garden
e-mail [email protected]
Fast
Fact:
If you water while it’s
relatively cool outside,
water can soak in before it
evaporates on the surface.
Fire pits, ceramic grills among backyard trends
called the Equinox Louvered
Roof system, which is estimated
at around $8,000.
The business primarily deals
with sunrooms, which range in
price. Sims recommends that
prospective buyers do some
research and determine how
they want to utilize their backyard space. The average sunroom, she said, runs around
$25,000, depending on the type
of product that is used such as
aluminum,
vinyl or brick.
“Everything’s
completely
customizable,”
Sims
said.
“There
are
things
[that
cost] significantly less.”
Prior to an
installation, a
designer will
do an in-home
consultation
Maschino’s sells furniture for patios and decks.
and
photo-
| Community Free Press
By Matthew Kent
I
f you’re looking to spruce
up your backyard with a
sunroom or fire pit, several
Springfield businesses may have
what you need.
At Four Seasons Sunrooms,
there are plenty of options to
choose from, according to
Ashley Sims, director of marketing. She said the company has
seen a spike in sales of a solarpowered adjustable patio cover
- Popular Mechanics,
www.popularmechanics.com
Where to shop
There are several businesses
in Springfield for homeowners seeking to improve their
backyard.
■
Four Seasons Sunrooms:
2862 S. Glenstone Ave., 8317666, Monday through Friday,
8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday,
noon-5 p.m., www.springfieldsunrooms.com
■
Maschino’s: 1715 S.
Campbell Ave., 869-1513,
Monday through Saturday,
9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.,
www.maschinos.com
■
Photos by Matthew Kent
Outdoor Home: 3107 E.
Chestnut Expressway, 8690174, Monday-Saturday, 10
a.m.-6 p.m., www.outdoorhome.com
Outdoor fire pits have proved popular with customers and can be used for
other purposes when not being used for fires.
graph the home. From that
point, it can take a few weeks
once the parts are ordered.
CHILLIN’
AND
GRILLIN’
But if a sunroom isn’t what
you had in mind, Maschino’s
offers a number of items for the
backyard, including furniture,
PAY FOR 3 MONTHS
GET 3 MONTHS
FREE!
Special offer for new customers only
Limit one coupon per household
417 869-9008
barbecue grills and more. Greg
Nutting, general manager, said
there are a number of popular
items the business sells, including outdoor fire pits. He said
one particular model can be
used for other purposes.
”When you’re not using it, it’s
a universal piece,” Nutting said.
Typically, the store sells fire
pits at around $3,300, but some
can be found for around
$1,200, he said.
Ceramic grills are another
popular item. Nutting said that
customers are surprised to learn
see GRILLS, 15
Automated
Waste
Services
Locally Owned and Operated in the Springfield Area. Since 1978
Community Free Press
| www.cfpmidweek.com
Home & Garden
Peach picking under way in Ozarks
Peach season has arrived early across the Ozarks, resulting in the fruit
making its way to the Farmers Market of the Ozarks, officials say.
“We experienced the warmest March on record this year,” said Market
Manager Lane McConnell. “A mild winter and early spring has put all
produce ahead of schedule and consumers will find many of their
favorite products earlier than normal at market.”
McConnell said that during a recent farm inspection to a local orchard,
she saw peaches that were ready for picking and others that were
about two weeks away, noting that weather will play a major role in how
this year’s peach crop produces. Roberson Orchards, of Omaha, Ark.,
has grown peaches for 35 years and offers nine different varieties to the
public. Scott Lambeth said this year’s crops “looks very good.”
Photo courtesy Farmers Market of the Ozarks
“As long as there is no significant damaging weather, we should pick
peaches into late August,” he said in a news release.
The peach season varies each year, but harvest typically takes place from June through August. Cling peaches are those
whose flesh clings to the pit are generally ripe in June, while semi-freestones usually ripen in late June. A third type of
peach, freestones, generally ripen in June and July.
For more information, visit www.loveyourfarmer.com. The Farmers Market of the Ozarks is open on Thursdays from
4-7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. year-round.
HOME & GARDEN HAPPENINGS
Organic gardening
club meets June 28
Extension official warns
of Japanese beetles
The Springfield Organic
Gardening Club will discuss
compost and mulch during
its June 28 meeting at the
Springfield-Greene County
Library Center.
Information will be provided by organic gardeners
on the various methods for
making compost and the
different types of mulch
used in the garden, according to a news release. The
meeting will take place
from 7-8:30 p.m. at the
library center, 4653 S.
Campbell Ave. For more
information, call Paul
Robertson, coordinator of
the club, at 882-9157 or email [email protected].
An official with the
University of Missouri
Extension in Greene
County is warning the public of adult Japanese beetles that are expected to
make an appearance in
southwest Missouri that
could potentially destroy
trees and shrubs.
Patrick Byers, horticulture
specialist, said the beetles
will bring an appetite.
“These insects can quickly defoliate over 300 different types of ornamental
landscape plants by eating
the tissue between the
veins of leaves and flowers,
a type of feeding call skeletonizing,” Byers said in a
space, but the free standing umbrella remains a
desirable item as well.
For “a little zip” out-ofdoors, Maschino’s sells
rugs and and glass art
pieces that are solar-pow-
news release.
Trees and shrubs that are
most attractive to adult
beetles, he said, include
Japanese and Norway
maple, birch and pin oak,
sycamore, plums, elm and
cherry trees, rose, willows,
lindens and Virginia creeper. They will also feed on a
wide variety of plant roots
of ornamentals and turfgrasses, according to
Byers.
“Roses, crepe myrtle,
grapes and the Japanese
maple seem to be this beetle’s favorite food. The
main concern in our area is
adult beetle damage to
broad-leaved plants,” he
said.
To spot the adult
Japanese beetles, there are
several things a person
should look for, according
ered and light up at night.
“I can’t believe how
many we sell,” Nutting
said. “At $50 each, it’s
amazing that people
come in and buy three or
four of those at one time.”
HAPPY FATHERS DAY
Ceramic grills can be used to
cook pizzas and cookies.
GRILLS, from 14
that the grills can be used
to bake cookies or pizza.
Every Saturday, Maschino’s
puts on demonstrations of
the grills.
“It’s a growing trend,”
he said. “More and more
people are getting into it.”
Nutting said he has
seen the effects of the
troubled economy over
the last four years. He
added that things are
looking up this year.
“People are willing to
invest and we’re happy to
hear that,” he said.
Tech-minded shoppers
will find a canopy umbrella that has an iPod docking
Relax Dad it’s from….
1715 S. Campbell
Springfield, Mo. 65807 869-1513
to Byers, who explained
they are a “brilliant, metallic green color, generally
oval, 3/8-inch long and
one-quarter of an inch
wide.” The wing covers are
copper-brown and the
abdomen has a row of five
tufts and white hairs on
each side, which are essential to it being identified.
Homeowners can take
control in several ways,
including picking them by
hand and destroying them
by dropping them into
soapy water, Byers said.
Other methods include
using traps, insecticide
spraying and natural protection, according to the
release.
For more information,
contact the extension by
calling 881-8909.
May 30 - June 12, 2012
DYNAMIC
OUTDOOR SERVICES
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16 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
www.cfpmidweek.com
| Community Free Press
Health & Wellness
Integrity Home Care now offering
hospice and palliative care
Medicaid services, private pay,
fter almost two years of physical therapy and Medicare
effort, Integrity Home Home Health.
Care
has
recently
Gayla Manary, R.N., CHPN and
received its license to bring executive director for Integrity
Hospice and Palliative Care into Hospice and Palliative Care, said
the fold.
the new program completed
Integrity Home Care began the company’s continuum of
almost 12 years ago, providing care.
pediatric
care,
in-home
“Now we care for pediatrics
all the way
through end
of life issues,”
she said.
Manary
said the new
program consists of a team
of caregivers,
volunteers,
bereavement
specialists,
physician
Chantal Drennen (left), a hospice volunteer and public
services,
relations representative at Integrity Hospice and
Palliative Care and Alvaro Acosta, volunteer coordinator
social servicBy James Hanson
A
for Integrity Hospice and Palliative Care.
HEALTH NOTES
Extension program
focuses on diabetes
The Stone County
University of Missouri
Extension will be offering a
four-class series for adults
with type 2 diabetes or
pre-diabetes. Hosted by
Christeena Haynes, nutrition and health education
specialist at the extension,
the program includes
recipe demonstrations,
hands-on activities and diabetes self-care with a
strong focus on nutrition.
The classes will be held on
Fridays, from 1-3 p.m.
beginning June 8 at the
Branson West City Hall.
The cost is $35 and registration is required by June
5. Call 357-6812 to register.
Free Alzheimer’s training
available for local caregivers
The local Home Instead
Senior Care office is offering a
unique approach to help families in Christian, Greene, Stone,
Taney and Webster counties
manage the challenges of
Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Free training for home
caregivers is now available
through online e-learning modules, available at
HelpForAlzheimersFamilies.co
m. The Alzheimer’s or Other
Dementias CARE: Changing
Aging through Research and
Education training program
consists of four classes:
Alzheimer’s Disease or Other
Dementias Overview, Capturing
Life’s Journey, Techniques to
Manage Behaviors and
Activities to Encourage
Engagement. Free guides
called “Helping Families Cope,”
es, a chaplain, music therapy
and other ancillary therapy.
“We are taking care of
patients at the end of life,” she
said. “We basically go into the
patient’s home and care for
them very holistically. One of
the great things about hospice
is that we are able to look at the
patient as a whole, as well as
the family, as a unit.”
She said Integrity wanted to
be able to continue to care for
its patients to the end.
“We have taken care of many
patients for many years,”Manary
said. “Prior to Integrity having
hospice, we would refer those
patients out to other hospice
agencies. Now, we have the ability to continue to care for them
here.”
Manary said the staff at
Integrity is “a tremendous team”
and that the program has
are also available. For more
information, call 227-9977 or
visit HelpforAlzheimers
Families.com.
Photos courtesy of Integrity Hospice and Palliative Care
Phylis Gammill (right), an Integrity Hospice patient visits with Elizabeth Page,
RN, BSN and director of operations for Integrity Hospice and Palliative Care.
received nothing but praise and
appreciation from patients.
She said one patient was able
to go from a matter of days to
live, to graduating off hospice
services after five months
because of her improvement.
“She no longer met the criteria for terminal end of life care,”
Manary said. “It’s not that she
isn’t going to pass; we haven’t
changed her disease, but what
we did was be able to help her
enjoy and have a much better
quality of life. And that is what
we are about.We want to make
sure that everybody’s final days
of only two in the state of
Missouri. Dispatchers
earned the accreditation by
closely adhering to the
Medical Priority Dispatch
System.
Mercy Emergency Services
among the best in the world CoxHealth to celebrate
They specialize in helping
cancer survivors at ball game
people who are on their
way to the emergency
room, and now medical
dispatchers at Mercy
Hospital Springfield can
say they’re among the best
in the world. The
International Academies of
Emergency Dispatch has
awarded Mercy Emergency
Medical Services with
accreditation as an
Emergency Medical
Dispatch Center of
Excellence. That makes
Mercy Hospital Springfield
one of only 163 such centers in the world, and one
Join CoxHealth’s Hulston
Cancer Center and the
Springfield Cardinals as
they honor area cancer survivors and their families at
[are] as they can be. If they
come on and we are able to
help and they go off of services,
then that is wonderful as well.”
Manary said Integrity is
always looking for volunteers,
as they play a large role in the
services provided in end-of-life
care.
For more information about
Integrity’s new Hospice and
Palliative Care program, call
889-9773
or
visit
integrityhc.com. To learn about
volunteer opportunities, call
Alvaro (Al) Acosta, volunteer
coordinator at 851-4300.
the third annual Cancer
Survivors Day celebration.
The event is open to cancer survivors, their friends
and family and will be held
June 3 at Hammons Field,
935 E. Trafficway St. Each
$10 ticket to the
Springfield Cardinals game
includes a t-shirt and food.
Gates open at 5 p.m. All
cancer survivors and their
loved ones will gather at
the PrimeTime Pavilion at
5:30 p.m. for a Survivor’s
Walk around the field, and
cancer survivors will throw
the first pitch of the game.
Tickets can be purchased
at the CoxHealth Hulston
Cancer Center, 3850 S.
National Ave., Ste. 120, or
by calling 269-5257.
Submit Events:
events@
cfpmidweek.com
Community Free Press
| www.cfpmidweek.com
Outdoors
Hiking opportunities
plentiful in the Ozarks
By James Hanson
W
ith
warmer
weather comes
plenty of opportunities for people to hit the
great outdoors. But, the
Ozark Mountain Trailblazers
prefer the fall, winter and
spring months for hiking.
OZARK MOUNTAIN
TRAILBLAZERS
Dan Nash, the group’s
organizer said they go on
hikes almost every weekend during those seasons.
He said that summer is
the worst time to hike
because of several factors,
such as the heat, less visibility due to vegetation on
the trees, poison ivy, ticks,
chiggers, snakes, less precipitation and drought-like
conditions that can dry up
creek beds and waterfalls
as well as less maintained
trails.
“You just can’t really get
to the best places,” Nash
said. “It is difficult to get
there in the summer. Fall
is usually the most popular time of the year for
hikers because the weather is cooler, the humidity
drops a little, the leaves
change colors and a lot of
other things that make
the fall ideal hiking conditions.”
Nash has spent more
than 20 years hiking and
backpacking, traveling all
over the world. But many
of his friends weren’t into
it and when he couldn’t
find a local group, he started
Ozark
Mountain
Trailblazers in 2006.
“I put an ad on Craigslist
and we started out with
about five or six people,”
Nash said. “Now we have
almost 600 members from
all over, but mostly southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas.”
Nash said members
range in age from 20 to 66.
There is no cost to join and
anyone who hikes 100
miles with them gets their
picture put on the website
and receives a patch.
Nash said that the group
goes on beginner, intermediate and difficult hikes.
He said beginner hikes
typically are a day hike
and not very strenuous.
“They are often on a
maintained trail and are
fully marked,” Nash said.
Intermediate hikes are a
few miles longer and
entail a full day of hiking
down into some canyons
and up some hills, but
nothing too strenuous.
Difficult hikes involve
climbing bigger moun-
May 30 - June 12, 2012
17
More information
To learn more about
Hiking the Ozarks or
the Ozark Mountain
Trailblazers visit:
■
hikingtheozarks.com
■ hikingtheozarks.com/
trailblazers
■
Or call Dan Nash at
844-5834.
tains and canyons and
often takes hikers off the
beaten path.
“You can get as difficult
as you want here in
Missouri and Arkansas,”
Nash said.
Nash said that seven to
10 people typically attend
the weekend hikes, but as
many as 30 have met up
for a weekend adventure.
Though hiking can be
done solo, Nash urges
people to get more experience before taking on
really difficult hikes by
themselves.
He said the Trailblazers
provide individuals an
opportunity to meet likeminded people, get some
experience and have fun.
“You just bring your
gear and we carpool
together,” Nash said.
He said he is surprised
by how large the group
has become.
“I just did it because I
thought it was fun and I
like to do it,” Nash said.“If
you want to get outdoors
and experience the outdoors, then hiking is a
good way to do it.You get
to see a lot of cool things.
I don’t think people recognize we are so close to
so many cool things. In an
hour and a half you can be
Photo courtesy of Dan Nash
A group of Ozark Mountain Trailblazers gathers after a day of hiking the Ozarks.
in some really cool stuff.”
Members of the group
have access to all of the
classes
Nash
offers
through his business
Hiking the Ozarks.
Exploring the Ozarks
Dan Nash, founder of the Ozark Mountain Trailblazers
and owner of Hiking the Ozarks said there are many
great hiking sites in the Ozarks and throughout
Northwest Arkansas. Some key places are:
■
HIKING
THE
OZARKS
The Ozark Mountain
Trailblazers group led
Nash to his first business
venture; Hiking
the
Ozarks, which conducts
year-round classes on hiking, survival skills, backpacking, and more and
guide services for hikes in
and around the region, as
well as some local events
throughout the year.
He said the business provides for five to six guided
hikes a year in the Ozarks
and that classes cost anywhere from $10 to $50.
Each October, participants in the class and
members of the Ozark
Mountain Trailblazers rendezvous in Jasper, Ark. for
a three-day weekend in
the outdoors.
“We have tons of free
gear that we give away in
MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour brings
first-ever competition to Branson
The world’s top professional wakeboarders will converge
on Moonshine Beach/Table Rock Lake in Branson on June 89, for the area’s first-ever professional wakeboard event. The
competition is the third stop on the 2012 MasterCraft Pro
Wakeboard Tour, the sport’s premiere circuit. Adding to all
of the high-flying water-sports action, MasterCraft will host
the sport’s best while towing them behind the official Pro
Tour boat, the recently debuted fourth-generation XStar,
which produces one of the largest wakes ever rode.
Thousands of spectators are expected to flock to the venue
to watch the sport’s top athletes leverage the XStar’s massive wake to their advantage, launching their riding to the
next level. Riders will compete in a series of elimination
rounds by performing rail tricks and aerial stunts with the
top-scoring athletes advancing in each round to determine
an event winner and accumulate points towards the coveted
MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour season title. Among the
top athletes are Phil Soven, the defending MasterCraft Pro
Wakeboard Tour champion, and last year’s runner-up Aussie
teen-phenom Harley Clifford. Also in the water during the
event are the highly competitive women’s pro division and
the junior pro men’s division, which will showcase a stack
field of the sport’s future stars. Following the final rounds of
action on Saturday, fans can stay for the jaw-dropping Sony
Big-Air Kicker Contest and the Double-Up Contest. The
events will feature top athletes performing exciting and
innovative new tricks that aren’t typically attempted in a traditional contest setting. In addition to all the action on the
|
Busiek State Forest (just south of Ozark)
Hercules Glade (near Chadwick and Forsyth)
■ Jasper, Ark.
■ Ponca, Ark.
■ Richland Creek Wilderness Area, Lurton, Ark. Nash’s personal favorite, he said it is “close to something one would find in Colorado” and “a wild,
rugged and beautiful place.”
■
Need to know
When hiking or backpacking, there are some key
things to remember:
■
Bring and drink plenty of water. Dehydration can
occur even in the winter months.
■ Bring food to keep your energy up.
■ Wear appropriate footwear. Improper footwear can
cause ankle sprains, the most common injury to hikers, according to Nash.
■ Get experience through classes or going on adventures in groups.
■ Bring a survival kit. On average, it takes rescue crews
24-36 hours to find someone who becomes lost on a
hike, according to Nash, so being prepared is important.
drawings and things,” Nash
said.“It’s a big weekend get
together with outdoorsy
people from all over.”
That trip costs $35 for
the entire weekend.
At the Hiking the
Ozarks website, visitors
can see photos of almost
50 trails, with highlights
and levels of difficulty.
OUTDOORS NOTES
Westport Pool’s new look helps kick off pool season
Photo courtesy of MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour
Harley Clifford, professional wakeboarder from Australia, will be
one of the many wakeboarders from across the globe competing
at Moonshine Beach/Table Rock Lake in Branson, June 8-9 in the
first-ever professional wakeboard event in southwest Missouri,
when the 2012 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour comes to town.
water; on land, fans will enjoy plenty of great food; autograph signings; chances to win freebies; product sampling,
and shopping at the most cutting-edge stores for water
sports equipment including boats, wakeboards, wakeskates,
sunglasses and the latest in wakeboarding and surfing fashions. At the Pro Tour’s entertainment stage, guests can
catch athlete interviews, color commentators and interactive
live music. For more information visit KingofWake.com.
The Springfield-Greene County Park Board recently
held a ribbon cutting at the Westport Pool on 3100 W.
Mt. Vernon St. to celebrate the opening of outdoor
pool season. The Park Board is pleased to announce a
nearly 50-percent increase in pool hours this year, with
at least three outdoor pools open each day of the
week, and every pool open six days a week.
Maintenance days formerly scheduled on Mondays
have been staggered throughout the week, and all
outdoor pools are open Thursday through Sunday.
Daily admission remains $2.25 for youths and seniors,
$2.75 for adults, the same price since 2009. Discount
coupon books and all-season pool passes are also
available. Also new this year, regular outdoor pool
admission prices apply to the indoor Chesterfield
Aquatics Center, 1-8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Splash ‘n Sizzle events return to Memorial Day,
Independence Day and Labor Day, plus weekend
evenings in July, with $1 admission, or free admission
with a canned food item donated to Ozarks Food
Harvest. Free swim days are also scheduled for select
Thursday mornings. For more information call 8642099 or visit parkboard.org/aquatics.
E-mail local news and information to:
[email protected]
18 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
www.cfpmidweek.com
A&E
IN BRIEF
Christian County Fair
Battle of the Bands
Wannabe rock stars
will have an opportunity to wow the crowd at
the Christian County
A&M Fair Grounds, July
5-7, 8-11 p.m. The deadline to enter is June 15.
There is a $25 entry fee
and a prize of $250.
The fairgrounds are
located in City Park,
Ozark. Rules and regulations can be found at
http://ccmofair.com/.
Step Up for
Down Syndrome
The 5th annual Step
Up for Down Syndrome
event is right around the
corner, raising money for
the Down Syndrome
Group of the Ozarks.
The June 2 event will
begin inside Mediacom
Ice Park at 2:30 p.m.
with pre-game activities
that include a bounce
house, Xbox, crafts and
face painting and follows with a Springfield
Cardinals game at
Hammons Field. A
parade will kick off at 5
p.m. from the
Mediacom ice rink
through Jordan Valley
Park before proceeding
to the game.
Last year, a total of 825
people were registered at
the event, which raised
about $50,000, but officials with the organization
are hoping to attract over
1,000 walkers this year.
For more information,
visit www.ozarksdsg.org
or call 885-9905.
Bike for a cause at the
Nixa Bike Ride June 2
Mercy Clinic-Nixa will
be sponsoring the 5th
annual Nixa Bike Ride
June 2, which will offer
a number of distances.
A 70-mile advanced
ride will depart at 7 a.m.
from the Mercy ClinicNixa, 940 W. Mt. Vernon,
with a 40-mile ride
departing an hour later.
Also available to the
public will be a 20-mile
beginner ride departing
at 8:30 a.m. and a 6-mile
family ride leaving the
clinic at 9 a.m. Along the
routes will be rest stops
with water, Port-a-Potties
and food with the ride
ending back at Mercy
Clinic-Nixa with lunch.
All riders ages 12 and
under can participate for
free, while other riders
pay $10 to $15. For more
information, visit
www.mercy.net/nixabike.
| Community Free Press
‘Untamed’ at Waverly
Local gallery hosting juried art
show » Page 20
e-mail [email protected]
T
ENT
HEATRE
50 years of a
beloved piece
of Springfield
By April Labine-Katko
W
hen somebody
decides
to
erect a massive
tent on a university campus, fill it with actors,
technicians and expectant people ready to be
entertained, it stands to
reason that theatre will
happen.
It’s been happening
that way for the past 50
years at Missouri State
University and according
to Managing Director,
Mark
Templeton,
rehearsals for this season
are already in progress.
“The rehearsals are an
intensive six-day-a-week
schedule, eight hours a
day, non-stop rehearsing
for about two and a half
weeks prior to the very
first performance,” he
said.
Templeton noted that
in recent years, Tent
changed from an academic to a professional theatre. He said that people
often misunderstand that
to mean that the students
no longer participate.
“Sometimes
people
think that we’ve gotten
rid of the students,” he
said. “We’ve actually
helped our students
because they get to work
side by side with professional performers and
they get to start building
their network of people
that will help them forge
ahead in their theatrical
career.”
Templeton said that
auditions began in late
February,
production
meetings in late April and
the talent showed up in
late May. The vinyl tent
where all the magic will
happen? That was put up
in early April, piece by
piece on its concrete slab.
“People would really be
surprised at the amount
of laborious time that it
takes to put the structure
Photo courtesy of Photographic Services
Tent Theatre’s 2011 production of the iconic musical, “Oklahoma!”
up,”Templeton said.“Most
times, that part of the puzzle takes the longest and
it’s the rehearsal process
that often takes the least
amount of time.”
Templeton said that
when all’s said and done,
there are usually about
”
People want
the tent to
remain the same
because that’s
the way it was
intended to be.
– Mark Templeton
400 people in the tent
during a production,
including around 350
patrons.
“Of course, it is the
largest company in tent
theatre history,” he said.
And Springfield patrons
wouldn’t have it any other
way. In the mid-60s, when
there were whispers
about moving the theatre
indoors,
the
public
showed overwhelming
support to keep things as
they were.
“People want the tent
to remain the same
because that’s the way it
was intended to be,”
Templeton said.
He added that the structure has become a landmark, a fond piece of history that artists have even
included in their murals
of the city.
“The institution and the
great quality of theatre
and of musical theatre
that has gone on in the
tent certainly is nostalgic
to audiences,” Templeton
said.
Still, when he dreams
big, Templeton, who has
been managing Tent for
the past 15 years, imagines a day when it will
become a more permanent architectural struc-
More information
■
For a full schedule
of events, show dates
and prices, visit
www.tenttheatre.com.
Tickets can also be
purchased at Missouri
State-TIX outlets at
JQH Arena and Craig
Hall, Monday-Friday,
10 a.m-5 p.m. and, as
of June 7, 10 a.m.-8
p.m. (Curtain) on
show days. Box office:
836-7678
ture, easier to manage. As
it stands, with wear and
tear, they generally have
to replace the tent every
seven or eight years.
“We don’t think it’s
going to be anytime in
the very near future, but
that’s where our minds
are at this point, he said.
With this year marking
their 50th anniversary,
Templeton
promises
something special. They
are celebrating with 50
events for patrons to
enjoy, including a special
alumni weekend. They
will open with “9 to 5:
The Musical, the first
company outside of the
New York area to put it
on.
“We have a huge complement of student performers and we have
some professionals from
new York City who are
joining the cast as well,”
he said.
Next, they will double
up with both the male
and female versions of
Neil Simon’s “The Odd
Couple,” and finish the
season
with
“42nd
Street.”
“We always like to end
our season with a huge
musical,” Templeton said.
“What we would call an
anchor show that puts all
the bells and whistles
and basically the kitchen
sink into the show and
go out with a bang.”
Community Free Press
A&E
| www.cfpmidweek.com
May 30 - June 12, 2012
|
19
Southern ‘ham’ will bust your gut
By April Labine-Katko
If Jeanne Robertson had
gone viral back when she
began her career 49 years
ago, she probably would
have taken time off with
some Tylenol Cold & Flu.
But, these days the former
Miss North Carolina is taking this viral thing in
stride.
“The little boy across
the street said, ‘Ms.
Robertson!
Ms.
Robertson! Momma said
you’re viral! Don’t come
out of the house! Stay in
the house,”Robertson said
with a laugh.
When the award-winning humorist and professional speaker started seeing the views skyrocket
on her Youtube video
clips, she had only a vague
sense of what she was in
for. She said that the
phone in her humble, little office started ringing
off the hook.
“What’s happened in
the last three years, it has
just exploded ... I was
home about three days a
month for 18 months,”
Robertson said. “When I
went viral, it just exploded.
With her hectic schedule, she and her husband who she lovingly refers to
as Left Brain - try to
arrange vacations around
speaking engagements,
taking time to enjoy the
cities where they find
themselves. If they are
lucky they can avoid a
grueling drive.
“[Left Brain] says, ‘You
rest and I’ll drive.’ But,
that’s not going to work.
Vice verse won’t work.
Neither one of us thinks
the other one can drive,”
Robertson said. “It turns
out that’s about what
everyone else is going
through too at our age.”
Anyone who’s seen the
southern sweetheart command an audience, wouldn’t be surprised that her
dance card is rapidly fill-
”
The little boy
across the
street said, ‘Ms.
Robertson! Ms.
Robertson!
Momma said
you’re viral! Don’t
come out of the
house! Stay in the
house.
–Jeanne Robertson
ing up. Robertson spins
charming and hilarious
tales based on her own
experiences in life, sharing them with audiences
as naturally as an exceptionally funny family
member would at the dinner table.
“I’m not a young comedian,” Robertson said.“I’m
not throwing out the
funny words, the bad
words. I’m just telling sto-
U NTAMED
ries that people can identify with.”
Robertson is proud that
people of all ages and
backgrounds will laugh at
her stories. She reminds
her audiences that the
goofy moments in life
unite us all.
“To me, that means we
all have a lot more in common than we have not in
common,” Robertson said.
She is careful to point
out
the
difference
between what she does,
as a humorist, and what a
stand-up comedian does.
“Comedians are hilarious and I enjoy going to
comedy clubs, but they
can upset some people,”
Robertson said. “They’re
just there to get the
majority of people to
laugh. I don’t want anyone upset.”
Robertson didn’t really
intend to make speaking
her game. It was actually
basketball - coaching and
teaching that she studied
in college. But, as part of
the routine of the Miss
America Pageant, she
faced the prospect of
numerous speeches. She
had to make a decision.
“You’re either going to
get up and be serious or
get up and be funny,” she
said. “I prefer funny, and
they laughed.”
That was when she
began writing her own
material. Even then, she
wasn’t one to repeat her-
A juried show featuring thirty-three artists in a variety of media.
Opening reception for the artists
Friday, June 1 from 5-7:30 p.m.
Best of Show Award - "3 Little Lizards in the Dead of
Night" by Jane Cox Chrisman, Theme Award - "Papa
Bear" by Sandra Strother, Juror's Choice Awards - "The
Hunt" by Deborah Wilson, "Higher Perspective" by
Deborah Wilson, "Cottontail" by Lois Reeves.
John Strickler will play jazz guitar at the opening reception.
This exhibit will continue through July 28th.
Good, clean fun
■ Laugh with Jeanne
on June 9, 7 p.m. at
Evangel Chapel, 1111 N.
Glenstone Ave.
Individual tickets are
$25 or $20 for a
group of 10 or more.
Purchases support
cancer screenings in
the community. The
event is hosted by
CoxHealth Auxiliary.
For more information
or to purchase tickets,
call 269-4169 or visit
Special Events at
www.coxhealthfoundation.com
■ To learn more about
Jeanne, watch her
video clips or purchase
one of her DVDs or
books, visit www.jeannerobertson.com
Photo courtesy of Jeanne Robertson
self, constantly searching
for fresh tales to tell.
“You would rather
develop fans that would
come and hear you, but
they’re not going to come
and hear you if you’re
doing the same show,”
Robertson said.
These days, she has no
Award-winning humorist Jeanne Robertson will crack up the
crowd at Evangel Chapel.
shortage of material. She
said that the miracle of
aging provides great inspiration, but in the very
beginning, she focused on
her story so far.
“First, I talked about
being a 6’2” contestant, a
basketball player in the
Miss America Pageant, and
that
was
funny,”
Robertson said. “You
know ... the tallest to ever
lose.”
A&E
20 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
COMMUNITY EVENTS
May 31-June 3, June 6-9: The
Skinny Improv presents the 6th
annual Springfield Shakespeare
Project Summer Festival. Enjoy
productions of “Hamlet” and
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are
Dead” at Jordan Valley Park, 7:309:30 p.m., free, 635 E. Trafficway St.,
831-5233, theskinnyimprov.com
May 30 - June 12, 2012
p.m. Friday, all day Saturday, 317
West Saddle Club Road, Fair Grove,
425-8052, lindsayaustinsmithmemorialrodeo.com
June 1: The Gillioz Theatre presents
An Evening with Primus, 325
Park Central East, 8 p.m., tickets
$39.50, 863-9491, gillioz.org
June 1: The Urban Districts
Alliance presents the First Friday
Art Walk at 22 participating venues
in downtown Springfield. Enjoy art,
food, music and more, 6-10 p.m.,
free, 157 Park Central Square, 8320754
June 1-16: The Springfield
Contemporary Theatre presents
“Deathtrap,” a Broadway comedythriller by Ira Levin, showtime at
7:30 p.m. on June 1-2, 14-16 and 2
p.m., June 3 and 10, tickets are $16
opening weekend, regular tickets are
$22 for adults and $18 for seniors
and students, 305 E. Walnut St., 4th
floor, 831-8001, springfieldcontemporarytheatre.org
June 1: The Urban Districts
Alliance presents the C-Street
Stroll on Historic Commercial
Street with art and music, 6:30-9
p.m., free, 831-6200
June 1-2: The Fair Grove Saddle
Club presents a memorial rodeo
to assist the Lindsay Austin
Smith Community Crisis Fund.
Event features a live auction, roping,
mutton bustin’, calf, steer and bull
riding, admission $10 for adults, $4
for children, 5 and under are free, 7
June 2: The First Unitarian
Universalist Church of Springfield
presents the 1st annual Mud Ball,
music, food, activities and fun in the
mud for all ages, noon-4 p.m., free,
2434 E. Battlefield St., 883-3922
June 2: Down Syndrome Group of
CR O SSWO R D
■
ACROSS
1 Tibetan priest
5 More than
enough
8 Ancient
Heb. month
12 Son of
Samuel
13 Television
channel
14 Before (Lat.)
15 Dissertation
17 Two-horse
chariot
18 A (Ger.)
19 Braid linen
tape
21 Male cat
22 Card game
23 Balto-Slav
25 Rain tree
28 Iron lung
31 Smile
32 Hours (abbr.)
33 Insect
34 Active
36 Nutlike drupe
37 Diagonal (abbr.)
38 River into the North
Sea
39 Health resort
41 Chronicles (abbr.)
43 Affirmative
46 Senior (Fr.)
48 Sloe (2 words)
50 Caliph
51 Pointed (pref.)
52 Aweto
53 Cella
54 Favorable vote
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
26 Adjective-forming
(suf.)
Down
27 Phil. island
1 Dead
28 Civil Rights
2 Shelter (Fr.)
Commission (abbr.)
3 Air
29 “Casablanca” char4 Amer. Automobile
acter
Assn. (abbr.)
30 As written in music
5 Arawakan language
32 Pike
6 City on the Irtysh
35 Son of (Scot.)
7 Eye of an insect
36 Look after
8 All points bulletin
38 Evil intent, in law
(abbr.)
39 Cross oneself
9 Fr. historical
40 SW US cotton
provinces
42 “Dream Girl” play10 Foe of Othello
wright
11 Ray
43 Fish sauce
16 Noun-forming (suf.)
44 Mongol tent
20 Always
45 Blood disease (suf.)
22 Haw. porch
47 Ger. spa
24 Clemenceau’s nick49 Indo-Chin. language
name
25 Signed (abbr.)
Here’s How It Works:
To solve a sudoku, the
numbers 1 through 9 must
fill each row, column and
box. Each number can
appear only once in each
row, column and box. You
can figure out the order in
which the numbers will
appear by using the
numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The
more numbers you name,
the easier it gets to solve
the puzzle!
See puzzle
answers on
page 22
| Community Free Press
CHECK IT OUT
the Ozarks presents Step up for
Down Syndrome fundraising
event, pre-game activities held
inside Mediacom Ice Park with a
bounce house, Xbox, crafts, face
painting and more and follows with a
Springfield Cardinals game, registration is $20 before May 31 or sign-up
online at ozarksdsg.org, all participants will receive a t-shirt and a ticket to the game, event begins at 2:30
p.m., 635 E. Trafficway St., 8859905
June 2: CoxHealth presents the
21st annual CoxHealth Medical
Mile and 5K run/walk, proceeds
from the race will benefit the
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
of CoxHealth CARE Mobile pediatric
clinic on wheels that offers basic
health services to children, pre-registration available at any CoxHealth
Fitness centers or online at
www.coxhealth.com/medmile. Event
begins at 7 a.m. rain or shine, participants can pick up packets in conference room A at The Meyer Center,
3545 S. National Ave. from 7 a.m.-7
p.m. June 1, for more information,
call 269-3282
June 2: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
trail trivia. Go hiking and answer
nature-related questions along the
way. Stop at the nature center anytime to pick up your booklet and
then return to check answers and
claim your prize, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.,
4601 S. Nature Center Way, no registration required, open to all ages,
888-4237
June 2: Wilson’s Creek National
Battlefield presents the Arts in the
Parks concert featuring the Ray
House Jamboree, 6424 West
Farm Road 182, Republic, 7 p.m.,
free, 732-2662, ext. 227,
nps.gov/wicr
55 Eight (pref.)
www.cfpmidweek.com
June 3: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
its Primitive Skills Series: Fire
and Flintstone. Join volunteer naturalist and primitive skills specialist
Don Brink who will demonstrate how
to start fires without matches and
butane. Participants can also try
starting a fire the primitive way, 1-3
p.m., 4601 S. Nature Center Way,
registration required, ages 12 and
up, 888-4237
June 4, 11: Hollywood Theaters
presents Free Family Movie
Monday. Check out “Rio” performing at College Station 14 in downtown Springfield, 10 a.m. (June 11
showing features “Hop), 415 W.
College St., open to all ages, 7993457, gohollywood.com
June 4: CoxHealth Trauma Services
presents the Safety Safari program, teaching children to stay safe
while enjoying summer, open to
children who have completed 2nd
through 5th grades. Topics will
include bike safety and bike helmet
fitting, electrical safety, CPR training,
first-aid training, fire safety and
more, cost is $35 ($25 for CoxHealth
employees), 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.,
Fountain Plaza room at Cox North,
1423 N. Jefferson Ave., register by
calling 269-0920 or by e-mailing
[email protected]
June 5: The Springfield-Greene
County Library Center presents the
transit of Venus star party on the
patio. Watch the last transit of Venus
between Earth and the sun to occur
in your lifetime through solar scopes
and stay after the sunset for tele-
see EVENTS, 21
Photo courtesy of James River Basin Partnership
Dam Jam on the Square
Marking 14 years of river rescue, crawdads and music, the Dam Jam is heading
downtown to hold its annual celebration in Park Central Square June 9. Volunteers
will begin with a river rescue at 8 a.m. According to a James Basin Partnership news
release, since its inception, the river rescue has removed over 50 tons of trash.
Following the clean-up, there will be an environmental festival on the square, featuring a crawdad boil, vendors selling food, beer and merchandise and live music from
Honky Suckle, Deep Fried Squirrel, The Shotgun Brothers Band, Uncle Fudd and Big
Damn Heroes. Crawdads will start being served around 4:30 p.m. and the bands will
play from 3-11 p.m.
Waverly House presents “Untamed” art
Springfield’s Waverly House will host a juried art
show that includes 33 artists from the region.
The show, called “Untamed,” will feature art
in a variety of media, according to Eunice
Wallar, gallery owner. She said there will also
be a number of 3-D pieces, jewelry and fused
glass. Three jurors, including an art professor
from Evangel University, will judge the show.
An opening reception is scheduled for June
1, 5-7:30 p.m., when the public can meet the
artists. Jazz guitarist, John Strickler will perform during the free reception.
The exhibit will continue through July 28.
Waverly House is located at 2031 S. Waverly
Ave. For more information, call 882-3445.
Photos courtesy Waverly House
“Herding Zebras and Dalmations,” by
Becky Dalton.
Submit Events:
events@
cfpmidweek.com
“Porcupine,” by
Penelope Trudeau
Community Free Press
A&E
| www.cfpmidweek.com
Beetle swarm heading to Springfield
Beetles of the four-wheel variety are preparing to invade
Springfield for the 18th Annual
JuneBug Jamboree. Sponsored
by the General Registry of
Ozarks Volkswagen Enthusiasts
(GROOVE), this year’s theme is
“It’s All About the Journey.”
Volkswagen fans can expect an
onslaught of Beetles, buses and
buggies, a VW car show, entertainment, vendors, a stereo
sound-off contest, an engine
sound-off contest, slow drags
and a variety of other car-centric
amusements. According to a
Photo courtesy of JuneBug Jamboree
news release, the car show will
be divided into 26 classes and
special awards will be handed over for things like the “GROOVE-iest” and the most
“Cosmetically Challenged” cars. The free event will be held at American Legion Post 639,
2660 S. Scenic Ave., June 8-9. Registration starts at 5 p.m. on Friday. For more info, visit
www.groovevws.com/jbj.html or call 417-844-6954.
EVENTS, from 20
scope viewing of the moon, stars
and other planets, 5-10 p.m., 4653
S. Campbell Ave., free, 882-0714,
thelibrary.org
June 5: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
fly fishing for bluegill. Learn
about basic fly-fishing techniques
while catching bluegill (catch-andrelease only) at Bass Pro Shops
Sportsman’s Park pond. Bring your
fishing license, drinking water and a
hat and meet at the pond where fishing equipment will be provided, 6-9
p.m., 2500 E. Kearney St., registration
required, ages 18 and up, 888-4237
June 8: The Gillioz Theatre presents
Grace Potter and the
Nocturnals, 325 Park Central East,
8 p.m., tickets $25-35, 863-9491,
gillioz.org
June 8-24: The Springfield Little
Theatre presents “Rent” that tells a
story of a group of impoverished
young artists and musicians striving
to survive and create while struggling with life and love, poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic, show
times vary, tickets are $25 for adults,
$22 for seniors 62 and up, students
and military, children 14 and under
are $15, 869-1334, springfieldlittletheatre.org
June 8-9: The General Registry of
Ozarks Volkswagen Enthusiasts
presents the 18th annual
JuneBug Jamboree featuring VW
Beetles, buses and more at the
American Legion Post 639, 11 a.m.3 p.m., features a VW car show,
entertainment and vendors, 2660 S.
Scenic Ave., free, 766-5154,
groovevws.com
June 9: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
Discover Nature Families:
Exploring Galloway Creek.
Parents, grandparents and adult
mentors are invited to bring youngsters and take a naturalist guided
journey into Galloway Creek to look
for fish, crawdads, snails and insect
nymphs, 10 a.m.-noon, 4601 S.
Nature Center Way, registration
required, ages 7 and up with an
adult, 888-4237
June 9: The Springfield-Greene
County Parks Department presents
Bark in the Park at Nathanael
Greene/Close Memorial Park. Bring
your canine and enjoy a guided walk
around Lake Drummond, then make
your way to the canine-vendor village for demonstrations and activities, cost is $10 per dog and
includes a t-shirt, pre-registration
strongly encouraged, 8 a.m., 2400 S.
Scenic Ave., 864-1049,
parkboard.org
June 9: The Breast Cancer
Foundation of the Ozarks presents
Cycle for Life 2012 benefiting the
BCFO. Ride begins at James River
Assembly, 6100 N. 19th St., in Ozark
(10-mile, 25-mile, 50-mile routes
available), $20 pre-registration, $25
day of event, 862-3838, bcfo.org
June 9: Fair Grove presents the
Fair Grove Autism Day to benefit
all educational activities and materials promoted by the Missouri Autism
Report. Enjoy local cuisine, wine
tasting, pony rides, a silent/live auction, music and a beer garden, historic downtown Fair Grove, 11:30
a.m.-10 p.m., free, 209-0103,
moautismreport.com
June 9: The Vision Clinic presents
the “Eye” Mazing event scavenger hunt to benefit the Good
Samaritan Boys Ranch and the Big
Brothers Big Sisters. Teams will
search for clues throughout
Springfield and compete to win
prizes, including a luxury suite at a
Springfield Cardinals game and special edition Oakley sunglasses, event
begins at the Vision Clinic location
on 3440 S. National Ave., where
teams will pick up packets and ends
at the Vision Clinic in downtown
Springfield at 213 W. Olive St., 3-7
p.m., 3440 S. National Ave., registration available at
myvisionclinic.com and drop off at
any Vision Clinic location or register
online at theeyemazingevent.eventzilla.net, 376-2238
June 9: The James River Basin
Partnership presents the River
Rescue Clean Up. The organization will be cleaning from the
Shelvin Rock Access to the confluence of the James and Finley rivers.
All registered participants will
receive a t-shirt, shuttling to and
from your vehicle and lunch provided by The Traveling Chef. Gloves
and trashbags will be provided. All
reserved canoes will have adult-size
life jackets and paddles (check in
from 8-9 a.m.) fee is $12, registration available at www.getmeregistered.com or contacting Melissa
Bettes at [email protected] or calling 836-4847. More
information on the event is available
at www.jamesriverbasin.com.
June 12: The Killuminati
Foundation presents a trivia night
fundraiser at the Patton Alley Pub.
All proceeds go to help the organization save dogs in Missouri through
their vet assistance program. Tickets
are $10 per person, 313 S. Patton
Ave., 830-1855
June 12: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
a tree pest clinic. If you think
your trees have disease or insect
problems, bring infected twigs at
least 12 inches long, branches or
leaves to urban foresters for identification and a solution to your tree
issues, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 4601 S.
Nature Center Way, no registration
required, 888-4237
June 12: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
the Conservation Teen Club:
Campout. Enjoy an overnight camp
at Bushwhacker Lake Conservation
Area, where fishing for bass, bluegill,
crappie and catfish will take place.
Fishing equipment and bait will be
provided or you may bring your own
(participants 16 and older must have
a valid fishing permit). Transportation,
food and drinks will be provided,
from 3 p.m. Tuesday until 1 p.m.
Wednesday, 4601 S. Nature Center
Way, registration and additional
equipment required, 888-4237
June 14-16: The Skinny Improv
presents “Hamlet vs. Zombies”
as part of the 2012 Springfield
Shakespeare Festival. Performances
will be June 14-16, 7:30 p.m. and
June 17, 2:30 p.m., at the Central
High School auditorium, 423 E.
Central St., tickets $10, 766-4952,
theskinnyimprov.com
June 15-16: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
Babes in the Woods Celebrates
Fathers. Fathers can celebrate their
special day with their children up to
age 2 on a guided natural stroll, 1011 a.m., 4601 S. Nature Center Way,
registration required, 888-4237
June 15: The Springfield
Conservation Nature Center presents
Little Acorns: Nature’s
Nightlights. Join volunteer naturalist Nancy Ryan as youngsters discover fireflies, 11-11:45 a.m. or 11:45 p.m., 4601 S. Nature Center
Way, registration required, 888-4237
June 15: Drury University presents
Josh Turner at the O’Reilly
Family Event Center featuring
special guests Matt Stell and the
Crashers, in addition to the Mark
Chapman Band. Doors open at 6:30
p.m. with concert beginning at 7:30
p.m., tickets $24-$45, 935 N.
Summit St., 873-6389,
drury.edu/oreilly/
June 16: Run for the Kids to
benefit the Foundation for
Springfield Public Schools. Event
includes a certified 8K, 5K and one-
May 30 - June 12, 2012
mile fun run, adult pre-registration is
$20 with child registration at $10
(race day registration is $25 and
begins at 7 a.m., race beginning at 8
a.m. at Panera Bread, 2924 E.
Sunshine St.), pre-registration and
packet pickup will take place from 46 p.m. June 15 at Panera Bread,
523-0144, supportsps.org
June 16: The Southwest Center for
Independent Living presents the
|
21
Southwest Missouri Day at the
Range. The free event is for individuals for disabilities to experience the
outdoors and includes fishing,
archery, outdoor skills training, building a bird feeder and visiting with
local outdoor experts, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Andy Dalton Shooting Range and
Outdoor Education Center, 4897 N.
Farm Road 61, Ash Grove, RSVP by
June 8, 886-1188 or 742-4361,
southwestmissouridayattherange.com
A&E
22 | May 30 - June 12, 2012
www.cfpmidweek.com
| Community Free Press
CHECK IT OUT
ShoFIGHT comes to O’Reilly Family Event Center
Fans of Mixed Martial Arts won’t want to miss ShoFIGHT
when it makes its professional debut at O’Reilly Family
Event Center June 16. According to a news release the
“top amateur MMA organization in the Midwest”
announced plans to delve into professional MMA, recruiting pro talent from within its ranks. The event will feature
former number three world-ranked welterweight, Karo
“the Heat” Parysian in a title fight, as well as world-class
veterans from UFC, PRIDE, Elite XC, Strikeforce, Bellator
and World Extreme Cagefighting. Founded in 2009,
ShoFIGHT has produced 20 events and 320 bouts with 11
active weight classes. Ticket prices range from $15 for
bleacher seats to $180 for ringside. The event beings at 7
p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the O’Reilly Family Event
Center box office, Drury University campus, 900 Summit
St., call 873-6389 or visit www.drurytickets.com.
Photo by Jason Wyatt
MMA fighters in the ring.
Sounds on the Square returns
Submit Events:
events@
cfpmidweek.com
Downtown Springfield will enjoy weekly free concerts again this summer after a year’s hiatus to spruce up Park Central Square. According to an Urban Districts Alliance news release,
the public will be treated to the sounds of some of the region’s top bands from June 1-Aug.
3. Music lovers are invited to bring lawn chairs
to the square or listen from a nearby cafe. The
concert series is sponsored by Systematic
Savings. “We felt this was a perfect opportunity to encourage the community to check out
the great music and businesses here in downtown,” said Systematic Savings President,
Michael Brady in the release. Performances are
scheduled from 7-9 p.m. The series line-up is:
Me Like Bees and Abandon Kansas (June 1),
Colin Elmore and the Franz Family (June 8),
Thirst N Howl (June 15), Offset Sunset (June
22), Mercer & Johnson (June 29), We Are
Voices (July 6), Sequel Dose (July 13), Truett
and the Traitors (July 20), Steve Smith and the
Sneakers (July 27) and Endless Summer (Aug.
3). For more information, visit www.itsalldowntown.com or call 831-6200.
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Community Free Press
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A&E
May 30 - June 12, 2012
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| Community Free Press