Obituary - James “Jim” Harvey Garnett

Funeral services for Jim Garnett will be 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) in Butler, Missouri. Visitation will be prior to services from 1-2 p.m. at Schowengerdt Chapel. 

Burial in Oak Hill Cemetery, Butler. Contributions to American Legion, Butler Public Library or family. Online condolences, www.schowengerdtchapel.com.

James “Jim” Harvey Garnett, age 67 of Butler, Missouri died Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at St. Joseph Health Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He was born July 2, 1952 to Norris Dean and Anna Irene Blizzard Garnett in Butler.

Jim is survived by his son, Kevin Garnett and wife Barbara of Winchester, Illinois; one daughter, Penny Jean Rowlett and husband Ralph of Windsor, Missouri; stepson, Fred Moore of Milo, Missouri; stepdaughter, Mindy Miller of Nevada, Missouri; special friend, Linda Cain of Belton, Missouri; three brothers, Donald Garnett and wife Janet of Amsterdam, Missouri, David Garnett and wife Rita of Stella, Missouri and Alan Garnett and wife Summer of Richmond, Virginia; sister, Gwendolyn Tarvin of Butler, Missouri; stepmother, Elizabeth Garnett of Hays, Kansas; stepbrother, Randy Barton of Idabelle, Oklahoma; stepsister, Sandy Bangle and husband Dan of Hays, Kansas; 15 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife Kathy; and brother-in-law, David Tarvin

New Sex Offender Registered In Eldorado Springs

On 3/3/2020 Cedar County Sheriff McCrary arrested Greg Farlinger for failing to register as a sex offender. 

He has been charged in Cedar County with failing to register and is currently out on $2500 bond. 

He is now a registered sex offender (level 3) in Cedar county. The address on his registration is 301 Thompson in Eldorado Springs.

Annual Irish celebration coming to Appleton City

Appleton City area news is courtesy of the Industrial Development Committee

The St. Clair County Clerk's Office is in dire need of Election Poll Workers for the upcoming elections. These poll workers will serve either as a Republican or Democrat, or they have those that are willing to serve on either party as we are not registered by party in the state of Missouri.  There is a training session held prior to the elections that will be required.  This is a paid position and mileage is reimbursed as well.  If you are willing to help, please contact the County Clerk's Office at 417-646-2315. 

The Bates County Extension Council is hosting their 2^nd annual Trivia Night Saturday, March 7, at the Adrian Optimist Building. Robert Perryman's Kicken' Chicken fundraiser will serve 5:00 - 6:45 p.m. The cost is $10 per plate. Trivia Night begins at 7:00 p.m. The cost is $100 per team of up to 10 members. To donate an item to the silent auction, or sponsor the concession stand or sponsor a round of questions, contact the Bates County Extension office at 660-679-4167. The Extension Council is raising funds to help pay for the 4-H Youth Program Associate position in Bates County.

The Knights of Columbus will have their monthly pancake and sausage breakfast at the Knight’s Hall in Montrose on Sunday, March 8 from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Treat your family to a hot breakfast you don’t have to cook or clean up.  A free will donation will be greatly appreciated

Everyone is invited to Revival Services March 8 – 11 at the AC Church of God (Holiness) 401 East 1^st St., The Evangelist will be Brent Bland. Special music will be presented by Brent and Jennifer Bland. Sunday services will be 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday - Wednesday 7:00 p.m.

The next Cattlemen’s meeting will be 7:00 p.m. March 10 at Landmark Restaurant, Lowry City, MO.  The speaker is Raysha Tate, University Extension, on Fence Laws. The sponsor is St. Clair County State Bank.

Fish "Fry-Day" Dinners at Immaculate Conception Church in Montrose are 5:00 - 7:30 March 13 and 27 in St. Mary’s School Hall.  They will serve the “best fried fish around”, Suzy Q's, green beans, cole slaw, cornbread, cookie and a beverage.  Adults eat for $10, children (under age 10) for $5. 

The 10^th annual Wee Bit O'Parade will be Tuesday, March 17, at 1:00 p.m.  Anyone can participate in this family-friendly event! Simply be at Forest Park at 12:45 for the stroll down Main Street to welcome spring and celebrate the Irish in all of us.

Enjoy an Irish baked potato lunch on March 17 before the St. Patrick's Day parade. A large baked potato with your choice of toppings plus drink and cake will be served at the Depot from 11:00 to 1:00.  A donation of $7.00 will be used for maintenance of Appleton City Landmarks properties; the depot, old library, Moore School, Clark House and Museum.  Come and enjoy the day. Eat in or carry outs available.

The A.C. Spring City Wide Garage Sale dates will be April 3 - 4. Permits are $5 and can be purchased at City Hall from March 16 - 31. Permits to set up in the A.C. Park are $25 for the pole shelter, $15 for the stage, $10 for lawn permits which covers both days. They are also available at City Hall and are sold on a first come, first served basis. Maps will be available at Food Fair, Powell's True Value & Casey's beginning Thursday afternoon. House of Joy Ministry will be at the City Park Saturday from 3:00-5:00 to pick up donations. For questions, please call Dianne Foster at 476-2390.

Brian “Super B” Knight t-shirts are being sold as a scholarship fundraiser sponsored by the Ellett Memorial Hospital.  Shirts will have big emblem on the back and a small outline emblem on left chest.  Colors are: red, midnight and charcoal.  Sizes run from youth XS 4/6, Small 6/8, Medium 8/10, Large 2/14, and X Large 16/20.  Adult sizes small - IV large.  Cost is $20 with check made out to EMH Foundation. Call 660-476-2111 for info.

Zion Lutheran School would like to thank all the businesses and individuals who made their Chili Supper and Auction a success. The School wants them to know they could not have done it without their generosity.

Ellett Memorial Hospital Appleton City offers outpatient specialist services for March 2020. Call 660-476-2111 for appointments: Mar 5 – OB/GYN-Dr. Kallberg, Mar 6 – Ophthalmology-Dr. Soni, Mar 11 – Upper GI, Colonoscopy-Dr. Vardakis, Mar 12– Podiatry-Dr. Dowell, Mar 13 – Orthopedics-Dr. Gray, Mar 23 - Rheumatology–Dr. Latinis, Mar 25 – Orthopedics-Dr. Gray.

Once again DbarJ Quilts Etc will be sponsoring the Elva Gwinn Huffman Essay Contest for non-profit groups. Any non-profit group can write an

essay about their group, their good works, how they would use the quilt to help them raise money for their cause. Due date for the essays is March 31, 2020. The quilt will be given out April 2. For more information, call 660-598-2222, M,W,TH,F 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Tuesday 12:00-5:00 p.m.

On Thursday March 5 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., ACHS will host a Facebook Live virtual town hall meeting to discuss the 4-day school week proposal. The administrative team will be available to answer any questions and address any concerns you may have. All you need to do is access the Appleton City High School Facebook page. The meeting can be viewed any time after the forum on the Facebook page.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Mar 6      Early Dismissal at Hudson R-IX at 12:35 p.m.

Mar 7      Bates County Extension Council 2nd annual Trivia Night 5:00 p.m. at the Adrian Optimist Building

Mar 8      Daylight Savings Time begins set clocks forward 1 hour

Mar 8      Knights of Columbus pancake and sausage breakfast 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. at the Knight’s Hall in Montrose

Mar 8-11    Revival Services at the AC Church of God (Holiness)

Mar 10    Primary election day

Solid plan in place to extend taxi service

Condolences to the family of Jim Garnett

From the Butler city council meeting last night

A brief moment of silence in honor of Jim Garnett was held prior to the beginning the session. Likewise, throughout the evening condolences were offered by council members and attendees as well.

Guest Kermit Kauffman appeared before the council to move forward on renewing the contract between the city and the fair board regarding use of the fairground property, which the city owns. Kauffman also noted that construction of the new facilities at the fairgrounds should begin next week, starting with laying the groundwork for power and water connections.

Alvin Griffin also appeared before the council with a plea to extend the city's operation of the taxi service (which was set to expire on March 1st) for two months as Griffin and others are in the process of setting up an stand alone company that will take over operation of the service. During his presentation is was noted that the company will be fully independent, operating as a 501C3, not for profit and fully insured. Plans include keeping dispatch and general operations at the senior center with the car to be donated (or purchased for a nominal amount) from the city. Long term plans for the taxi service may include the purchase of a wheelchair capable van and some other necessary items. At present the daily average  of the senior taxi is around 35 trips a day, making the need for the service more than ever. The council voted unanimously to extend the service for 60 days to give time for Griffin and his team to finalize plans and paperwork.

The council approved Morris Internet LLC to move forward on putting antennas on the downtown water tower in order to provide a wireless internet option for those in Butler. Also approved was the sale of the spec building at 900 Enterprise road to LFP LLC. LFP will be growing medical marijuana and plans to employ 12 to 15 people.

Also discussed was a 75/25 USDA grant that is available. In round numbers, the city could get just over $500,000.00 but would only have to kick in around $127,000.000 which could be used for new equipment such as a fire truck and police cars. The money to cover the city's portion would come from the capital improvement fund and the fire department sales tax. More discussions on this are coming soon.

Electric City Downtown is also looking at a grant for improvement around the square. It's a process of baby steps that begin with artist's renderings of what certain buildings could look like with a little makeover...these renderings will be done around the end of this month and will be available for public viewing on April 1st. Exact time and more details are forthcoming.

At least two more meetings will be required before passage of the upcoming budget. There are a lot of questions, and literally every expense is being looked at very closely.

The Butler City Wide garage sales are set for May 2nd. The city wide clean up will be held for those north of Fort Scott street May 4th through 8th. It will be May 11th through 15th for those south of Fort Scott.

Hopefully you can schedule that front end alignment soon- pothole repair is ongoing and is expected to be done in short order. 

Fire Chief Bennett reported that Butler's participation in the statewide tornado drill went off without a hitch. All city sirens are in good working order.

Trent Diehl said cleanup along the Butler strip is continuing, either a stump grinder will be purchased or someone will be contracted to do it, whichever is cheaper.

Remember the Butler City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm at city hall.

Miami R-1 FFA News

Congratulations to Miami R-1 Senior FFA Members, Charles Johnson and Konnor Tidman, on being awarded the Missouri State FFA Degree. Each will receive the award at the State FFA convention in Columbia on April 24th.

Congratulations

Congratulations to these Butler Bear Cross Country Athletes for earning academic All-State: Zeke Martin, Korry Davis, Jakaila Rolph, and Richard Walker.

Clinton High School hires new Conditioning and Strength Coordinator

In an effort to continue to put student athletes in the best competitive position as possible, CHS has hired Chuck Speer as a Strength and Conditioning Coordinator starting with the 2020-2021 school year. 

Mr. Speer will oversee the strength and conditioning of all student-athletes during the school day, after-school, and off-season workouts for all Cardinal athletics and activities.

Coach Chuck Speer will be coming to Clinton by way of Brookland, Arkansas where he has spent the last five seasons as Head Football Coach and Assistant Athletic Director. In his experiences in education, Speer has also coached Soccer and Track in addition to teaching Physical Education and Health.

Speer has been around competitive athletics his whole life. He was a standout athlete at Junction City High School, then competed at the collegiate level for both Independence Community College and Baker University in Kansas. It was his final stop at Kansas State University, as a Student Strength Coach, where he realized the importance of training athletes to prepare them for competition.

Coach Speer’s time at K-State immersed him in training with Olympic-style lifting for all sports. He also witnessed the transformation of college athletes, as well as coaches like Bill Snyder who made it a priority. Speer would earn a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Kansas State, and then spent six years in the fitness industry in Kansas City before entering into education.

He will bring 15 years of teaching and coaching experience to the District’s student-athletes. In addition to serving year-round as a Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, Speer will teach Strength and Conditioning classes at CHS and serve as an Assistant Football Coach. The goal is for Speer to coordinate with every head coach and sponsor to determine the ways they can utilize and plan strength and conditioning into their year-round programming for athletes.

Strength and conditioning at the high school level helps develop student-athletes and their bodies with many benefits to both the athlete and their teams. A year-round strength and conditioning program for athletes can help prevent injuries, improve long-term athletic development, increase performance, boost confidence and boost the overall health of athletes. All CHS athletes are encouraged to be active in strength and conditioning year-round.

This past year, CHS also committed to helping improve the mental performance of athletes through the Competitive Mindset Program for all activities. Hiring Speer as Strength and Conditioning Coordinator will mesh along side this to put all CHS programs in a more competitive position as the District merges into the Missouri River Valley Conference next year.

Jason Abner, Clinton School District Activities Director, said, “We are more than excited about this opportunity for our students. The commitment of our District to put someone with Speer’s experience in charge of the strength and conditioning of our student-athletes is great. We believe Speer can help all programs take their next steps towards being even more competitive, both physically and mentally”

Mr. Speer said, “I am excited to start working with the athletes in Clinton. I am going to do everything I can to help them perform better in competition and prevent injury.”

Chuck Speer and his wife, Kim, have two sons, Lukas and Logan. Speer, his wife who is a nurse, and son Logan, who will be a Junior at CHS, will be relocating to Clinton this summer.

Please welcome Coach Speer!

Obituary - Elsie Mae (Davison) McNeley

Elsie Mae McNeley, 97, Nevada, MO passed away on Monday, March 2, 2020 at her home in Nevada where she resided with her grandson Myles. Elsie was born May 15, 1922 in Long Lane, MO to Milton Warren and Goldie Anne (Richardson) Davison. She was united in marriage to Charles Arthur “Buzz” McNeley on June 13, 1948 in Long Lane and he preceded her in death on March 4, 1996.

Elsie grew up on a farm in Long Lane and graduated from Buffalo High School Class of 1939. Following high school, she attended Southwest Baptist University and received a teaching certificate in 1941. She then attended Oklahoma Baptist University. After college she taught at the Flag Pond School (a one room schoolhouse near Long Lane), in Conway, MO, and in Boonville, MO where she met her future husband. Following her marriage to Buzz, they resided in Everett, WA for 18 years before coming to Nevada in 1966. In Nevada, Elsie was primarily a homemaker, and in later years taught at the State School, and volunteered at the Moss House for several years. Elsie was a member of the First Baptist Church where she enjoyed teaching Sunday School. She especially loved being with her family and was an avid fan of her children and grandchildren’s many sport activities.

Survivors include two sons, David McNeley (Kim), Kansas City, MO, and John McNeley (Jodie), Nevada; six grandchildren, Grant McNeley (fiancé Chelsey), Houston, TX, Carlin McNeley, Kansas City, MO, Morgan Sanderson (Cole), Nevada, Myles McNeley, Nevada, Logan McNeley, Nevada, and Lane McNeley, Nevada; three sisters, Ina Marshall, Phoenix, AZ, Marjorie Hardtke, Rolla, MO, Darlene Short, Overland Park, KS; two brothers Marvin Davison (Betty), Nevada, Norman Davison (Benita), Fayetteville, AR; a sister-in-law, Sylvia Davison; numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Quintella Douglas, and Willa Dean Bates, and one brother, Donald Davison.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at the First Baptist Church in Nevada with Pastor Kevin Daugherty officiating. The family will receive friends from 6-8:00 p.m. on Friday evening, March 6, at the church. Interment will be held at the National Cemetery in Fort Scott on Monday, March 9, at 10:00 a.m.

Memorials are suggested in her memory to the Nevada R-5 Foundation Scholarship Fund c/o Ferry Funeral Home.