Obituary - Jeanette Marie Woodall

Jeanette Marie Woodall, 80, Harrisonville, MO, passed peacefully on October 9, 2025 at St. Joseph hospital after fighting kidney disease. Jeanette was born 5/15/1945 to Albert and Henrietta Jilek in Butler, MO. She was the youngest of 5 and to this day she was still best friends with her older sister Judy Lacy.

Marrying her high school sweetheart, Robert Woodall in 1964 and they were together for 61 years. In that time, they had 3 children while living Archie, MO. After retirement they enjoyed traveling, spending time with friends and family, winning at the slot machines and living at the lake.

Leaving behind her husband, Robert Woodall, her daughter, Robin Sutton, husband John, and sons Matthew Woodall, wife Alexita and Timothy Woodall, wife LeAnn.

She also leaves behind 4 grandchildren, Jessica Sutton, Alexzandr Woodall, Heather Woodall and Chad Woodall. She was blessed with 16 great grandchildren and a very large extended family.

Jeanette was preceded in death by brother Pete Jilek and parents Albert(Bud) and Henrietta Jilek of Butler, MO.

Cremation with a private family service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation and sent in care of Dickey Funeral Home, P.O. Box 432, Harrisonville, Missouri 64701.

Obituary - Jo Agnes Thomas

Graveside memorial service for Jo Agnes Thomas of Adrian, Missouri will be 2 p.m. Friday, October 17, 2025 at Bethel Cemetery, Ballard, Missouri. All are welcome.  No visitation.  Arrangements under the direction of Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) in Butler, Missouri. Contributions to the American Heart Association.  Online condolences www.schowengerdtchapel.com. 

Directions to the Bethel Cemetery:  From Passaic, Missouri go East on D Hwy to BB Hwy.  Turn North on BB for one mile, then west on the gravel road.  The cemetery is on the north side of the road, approximately 1/2 mile. 

Jo Agnes Thomas, age 82 of Adrian, Missouri died Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kansas.  She was born March 28, 1943 to James Edward Stevens Sr. and Dorothy Elizabeth Goodin Stevens in Butler, Missouri.

Jo is survived by one son, Philip Thomas and wife Cindy of Independence, Missouri; three grandchildren, Jessica Stutts and fiancé Charles, Kelsey Thomas and Amelia Widner and husband Daniel; one great-granddaughter, Aurora Thomas; three sisters, Coleta Stevens and Virginia Flint of Butler, Missouri and Mary Terry of Edwards, Missouri; one brother, Melvin Stevens of Pomme de Terre, Missouri;  and many nephews and nieces.  Jo was preceded in death by her parents; one brother, James Stevens Jr.; one sister, Alice Jestis; one niece, Megan Miller; and one great-niece, Kingsley Ramsey.    

State Farm Athlete of the Week

 

This week we traveled to Miami High School to award Wayde Cameron with our State Farm and C&S Graphics athlete of the week. Wayde is a sophomore on the Miami FFA Trap Team, and was nominated by his Head Coach Shannon Crawford. Coach Crawford stated “this is only Wayde’s second year on the FFA Trap Team. Last year with his scores, he was occasionally an alternate on a team of 5. He never complained and just worked harder. Wayde is always supportive of his teammates, and you never hear him talking unkindly to anyone. After last season ended, Wayde kept practicing and working to be better. It paid off, and this year his scores are noticeably improved. Wayde has gone from sometimes being and alternate to now ranked 6th out of 70 students.” When we asked Wayde when he started to learn how to shoot trap he stated, “I’ve been hunting my whole life, but started shooting trap probably when I was 8 years old. My Dad and my Grandpa taught me. He said he loves to hunt and his favorite is coon, deer and turkey.” We asked what motivated Wayde as a member of the team and he said “Miami hasn’t received a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place plaque for a long time and he would like to help earn one for his school.” We asked what it takes to be successful in this sport and he stated, “it takes a lot of practice to continue to improve.” It was such a pleasure to meet Wayde and we wish him and his team the best of luck the remainder of their season.

Pictured left to right: Kellie Davidson, State Farm; Wayde Cameron, son of Ben and Lisa Cameron; Cody Morris, C&S Graphics

Rich Hill schools say cancelling girls basketball season is temporary

The following is an open letter to patrons from the Rich Hill school district regarding a very difficult decision:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our school board made the difficult decision this week to cancel the 2025–2026 High School Girls Basketball season due to low player participation.

This decision affects only the high school girls team. We will still have a high school boys team this season, and likely a full JV boys team as well.

We expect this to be a one-year change, as several current 8th graders plan to play next year as freshmen. Our goal is to bring the high school girls program back for the 2026–2027 season.

We understand this is disappointing news and apologize for any inconvenience it may cause. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Athletic Director, Damon Green or the High School Principal, John Gilbert.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of our student-athletes.

Lily's House Volunteer Spotlight: Melinda Elmer

Melinda has been volunteering her time with the women at Lily’s House since 2022. Twice a month she leads cooking classes at the shelter. This spring they began serving a monthly senior luncheon at Houston Plaza, so she added a cooking prep class in addition to the two regular classes. She also helps serving the lunch at Houston Plaza with the women who prepared it.

Melinda says her favorite part of working with the women is, “watching them grow from a timid ‘new gal’ to the beautiful creation God always intended for them to be. Sometimes people tell me I'm a blessing to them - but in reality, they are a blessing to me. I have infinite respect for each of them because of their bravery and determination to complete the phases of Lily's House.”

Melinda has gotten to help some of the moms bake and decorate birthday cakes for their children. “This doesn't seem like a big deal to most of us - but oftentimes these moms have never had the opportunity to do this. They choose the cake flavor and design, and I take my cake decorating items in. Over a couple of days we bake and make scratch frosting. I start them out and then they take over, learning how to make [frosting] shell borders, transfer pictures to the cake and write a message. I truly enjoy being a part of this ‘milestone’ with them, and seeing the joy in their eyes knowing they did this themselves for their child's birthday.”

One of the great things she’s seen accomplished at Lily’s House is the raised vegetable beds. Since she is a gardener herself, she appreciates that the ladies work in their own garden. “They prepare the beds in the spring, plant the seeds and starts, maintain by watering and weeding, then harvest their bounty. The last couple summers, I have taught the girls how to process their own tomatoes into jarred salsa for their pantry. They feel accomplished eating what they worked so hard for.”

Melinda is humbled to be able to spend time with the ladies at Lily’s House. “When I think I have a heavy task ahead of me, I think of the stories some of them have shared with me about their pasts, which puts my ‘problems’ into perspective. Like I said, I am the one who is blessed by them. I have also been better able to tell more people about the wonderful work of Lily's House, and how the girls' lives and the lives of their children are changed because of this ministry.”

We are so blessed to have Melinda volunteer her time to pour herself into the women at Lily’s House. Thank you for all you do!

Week 7 football scores

Scores to be added as they become available 

Liberal 34
Appleton City 70

Adrian 35
California 0

Midway 20
Cole Camp 21

Drexel 82
Greenfield 40

Clinton 20
Harrisonville 13

Richmond 20
Holden 41

Archie 75
Jasper 14

Monett 24
Lamar 27

Cassville 27
Nevada 20

Lockwood 63
New Heights Christian 8

Odessa 26
Pleasant Hill 21

Osceola 46
Rich Hill 14

El Dorado Springs 27
Sherwood 13

Windsor 59
Versailles 6

Butler 0
Warsaw 48

Mild Winter ahead? We'll see...

 

As of late there have been many reports of all orange wooly bear caterpillars spotted around the area prompting the question, "What does it mean?" According to folklore, the more orange a caterpillar has, the more mild Winter will be and of course, all orange means super mild? 

Eh, we'll see. Our brief research which included predictions from the Old Farmer's Almanac, Accuweather and a few others show that the central USA will see an 'average' Winter with the most active storms to appear at the beginning and very end of the season.

Staff photo

Adrian Historical Society receives special gifts

During the most recent meeting of the Adrian Historical Society, Sheriff Chad Anderson presented books covering the history of the Bates County Sheriff's department to the Historical Society and the Adrian library which will serve as an invaluable resource for both.

You can follow the Adrian Historical Society on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064606305592 to learn more.