Category 04 22 99

Obituary late notices

By in04 22 99

Victor L. Knepper

TARKIO, Mo. — Victor Laurence Knepper, 88, Tarkio, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at the Fairfax, Mo., hospital.
Service: 10 a.m. Saturday, Tarkio Presbyterian Church. Burial: Tarkio Home Cemetery. Family visitation: 7 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Davis Funeral Chapel, Tarkio.

Thelma M. McMillen

GRANT CITY, Mo. — Thelma M. McMillen, 80, Grant City, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at a health-care center in Grant City.
Arrangements are pending at the Johnson Funeral Home, Albany, Mo.

Ralph E. Ottmann

OMAHA, Neb. — Ralph Emerson Ottmann, 82, Omaha, formerly of Rock Port, Mo., died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at his home.
Arrangements are pending at the Minter Funeral Chapel, Rock Port.

Obituaries, Part 2

By in04 22 99

Anthony Enderle

PLATTSBURG, Mo. — Anthony “Tony” Enderle, 67, Plattsburg, died Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at a Kansas City hospital.
Mr. Enderle owned the D-Tone Feed & Grain in Plattsburg and Maysville, Mo.
Born in Parkville, Mo., he lived in the Plattsburg area for 38 years.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church, Plattsburg; and Masonic Lodge No. 113, A.F.&A.M.;
Mr. Enderle was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Marjorie; three brothers, Joseph, Andrew and George; and two sisters, Josephine and Marjorie Windle.
Surviving: his wife, Ruth of the home; a son, Kelly, Plattsburg; three daughters, Toni J. Bentsen and Patti George, both of Plattsburg, and Roni S. White, Kansas City; three brothers, Carl, Trimble, Mo., Charles, Kansas City, and William, Wheatridge, Colo.; two sisters, Katherine Ballard and Alvina Riley, both of Kansas City; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Service: 11 a.m. Saturday, First Baptist Church, Plattsburg. Burial: Green Lawn Cemetery, Plattsburg. Family visitation: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Cox Funeral Home, Plattsburg.

Keith L. Evans

1916-1999

Keith L. Evans, 82, St. Joseph, died Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at his residence.
For 30 years, Mr. Evans was an over-the-road truck driver for Crouch Bros. until retiring in 1977. He also farmed for 12 years. After his retirement, he worked in the parts department of Clint Koone Charter.
Born in Hamlin, Kan., on Oct. 30, 1916, he resided in St. Joseph since 1945.
Mr. Evans was a member of the Ashland United Methodist Church; Brotherhood Lodge No. 269, A.F.&A.M.; Hugh de Payens Commandery No. 4, Knights Templar; Mitchell chapter No. 14, Royal Arch Masons; St. Joseph Council No. 9, Royal and Select Masters; Masonic High-Twelve Club No. 49 and St. Joseph chapter No. 198, Order of Eastern Star, of which he was a past worthy patron.
On Aug. 29, 1942, he married Clara M. Adair. She survives of the home.
Mr. Evans was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur H. and Alice C.
Additional survivors: a daughter, Cathy Goin, Sioux City, Iowa; two sons, Michael E., St. Joseph, and Marc K., Kansas City; a sister, Alice G. LaCourte, Anaheim, Calif.; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Service: 10:30 a.m. Friday, Meierhoffer Family Funeral Care, St. Joseph. Burial: Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Joseph. Family visitation: 6 to 8 tonight at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Ashland United Methodist Church or Hands of Hope Hospice, both of St. Joseph.

F. Delores Fisher

1927-1999

BURNSVILLE, Minn. — F. Delores (Bauer) Fisher, 72, Burnsville, formerly of St. Joseph, died Monday, April 19, 1999, at her home.
Mrs. Fisher was born in Stewartsville, Mo., on April 2, 1927, and lived in St. Joseph before moving to Burnsville in 1979.
She was a graduate of the Stewartsville high school and a homemaker. She was a member of the Mary Mother of the Church Catholic Church in Burnsville.
On April 9, 1945, she married Paul F. Fisher in St. Joseph. He survives of the home.
Mrs. Fisher was preceded in death by her parents, Garmon and Audrey Bauer.
Additional survivors: five sons, Francis, Rockford, Minn., Steve, Ozark, Mo., Chris, Burnsville, Bryan, St. Joseph, and Roger, Seattle; a daughter, Lisa Halvorson, Coon Rapids, Minn.; two brothers, Harry L. Bauer, Pueblo, Colo., and Larry W. Husker, Tucson, Ariz.; two sisters, Ila M. Kitzenberger, St. Joseph, and Velma Brisco, Pueblo; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Prayer service: 11 a.m. Saturday, Heaton, Bowman, Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel, St. Joseph. Burial: Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Joseph. Visitation: after 9 a.m. Friday at the chapel, where the family will receive friends from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and a rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Friday. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association or American Heart Association.

Aurelia G. Hampton

1914-1999

HOYT, Kan. — Aurelia G. (Gleeson) Hampton, 85, Hoyt, formerly of Horton, Kan., died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at a Topeka, Kan., hospital after a brief illness.
Mrs. Hampton was a presser for the Horton Garment Co. in Horton and later the plant in Atchison, Kan., until it was closed.
Born in Atchison on Jan. 27, 1914, she graduated from the Potter, Kan., high school.
On Nov. 27, 1934, she married Frank Hampton in St. Joseph. They made their home in Kansas City, Mo., until moving to Horton in 1945, where they were engaged in farming. In 1971, the couple moved to Lewis and Clark Village at Sugar Lake near Rushville, Mo., and to Mayetta, Kan., in 1976. He died in 1981. She moved to Hoyt after his death.
Mrs. Hampton was a member of the Assumption Catholic Church in Topeka and a former member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church of Atchison.
She also was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Margaret Gleeson; two sisters, Anna Hill and Mary Lee; and a brother, John Gleeson.
Surviving: a daughter, Lenora Schuetz, Hoyt; a son, Jim, Zephyrhills, Fla.; six grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian Burial: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, Atchison. Burial: Mount Calvary Cemetery, Atchison. Rosary: 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home, Atchison, where family visitation will follow until 9 p.m. Memorials of Mass intentions may be made in care of the funeral home.

Eugene R. Hughes

1919-1999

Eugene R. “Gene” Hughes, 79, St. Joseph, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at a St. Joseph hospital.
Mr. Hughes was a heavy equipment salesman in Southern California until retiring in 1983. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps as a field engineer from 1944 to 1946.
Born in St. Joseph on June 24, 1919, he moved in 1929 to Kansas City, where he was reared and received his education. He was a resident of St. Joseph since 1983.
Mr. Hughes was a member of the Ashland United Methodist Church, where he was active in the Wesleyan Sunday school class; St. Joseph Masonic Lodge No. 78, A.F.&A.M.; 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason; Moila Shrine Temple; Masonic High-Twelve Club No. 49 and Eastside Rotary Club, of which he was as a Paul Harris Fellow.
In 1943, he married Mary J. Woodfin in Wichita, Kan. She is deceased.
Then in 1979, he married Ruth S. Gnagy in Hawaii. They lived in Southern California until moving to St. Joseph. She survives of the home.
Mr. Hughes also was preceded in death by his parents, E.R. Sr. and Lillian.
Additional survivors: two daughters, Karen Blas, Westminster, Calif., and Sheryl Gurwell, Lakewood, Colo.; a brother, Robert E., St. Joseph; four grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Memorial service: 3 p.m. Friday, Ashland United Methodist Church. St. Joseph. The body has been cremated. Inurnment: at a later date in the Oxford, Neb., Cemetery. There will be no visitation. Arrangements: Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel, St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to the Ashland United Methodist Church or Shriners Childrens Hospital.

Claude C. Newton

1905-1999

DES MOINES, Iowa — Claude C. Newton, 93, Des Moines, formerly of St. Joseph, died Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at a Des Moines hospital after a brief illness.
Mr. Newton was employed in the maintenance department of the United States Postal Service in St. Joseph for 22 years until retiring in 1970. He served in the Army during World War II.
Born in Kearney, Mo., on Sept. 23, 1905, he spent most of his life in St. Joseph until moving to Des Moines 31/2 years ago.
He was a member of the Wyatt Park Baptist Church and Charity Lodge No. 331, A.F.&A.M.;, both of St. Joseph.
Mr. Newton was preceded in death by his wife, the former Eleanor A. Ooyman, in 1955; his parents, Edward and Anna B.; a brother, Paul E.; and a sister, Mildred E. Burchett.
Surviving: a son, Robert C., West Des Moines, Iowa; and two grandchildren.
Service: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Meierhoffer Family Funeral Care, St. Joseph, with Masonic rites by members of Charity Lodge No. 331, A.F.&A.M.;, St. Joseph. Burial: Mount Mora Cemetery, St. Joseph. Visitation: 4 to 7 p.m. today at the Westover Funeral Home, Des Moines, and family visitation: one hour before the service at the St. Joseph funeral home.

Charles P. Ozenberger

1907-1999

Charles P. Ozenberger, 92, St. Joseph, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at a St. Joseph health-care center.
Mr. Ozenberger was a self-employed dairyman, and then a laborer at Western Dairy and Beatrice Dairy. He also was a laborer at Swift and Co. for 17 years until retiring in 1967. He also owned and operated the Ozenberger Orchard and Ozenberger Nursery from 1952 to 1978.
Born in St. Joseph on March 12, 1907, he was a lifelong resident of St. Joseph.
Mr. Ozenberger was a member of the Frederick Boulevard Baptist Church and the former Woodbine Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher for both churches.
In September of 1944, he married Minnie G. Reital in St. Joseph. She died in March of 1999.
Mr. Ozenberger also was preceded in death by his parents, Peter F. and Bertha F.; a brother, Henry; a half brother, Elmer; a sister, Ruth Metting; and a half sister, Laura Adams.
Surviving: numerous nieces and nephews.
Service: 11 a.m. Friday, Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel, St. Joseph. Burial: Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Joseph. Visitation: after 3 p.m. today at the chapel, where the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 tonight. Memorials may be made to the Frederick Boulevard Baptist Church Building Chest, St. Joseph.

Kenneth L. Schwope

1914-1999

ATCHISON, Kan. — Kenneth L. Schwope, 84, Atchison, died Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at a hospital in Blue Springs, Mo.
Mr. Schwope farmed in the Troy and Wathena, Kan., areas. He also worked for Rockwell International in Atchison.
Born in Troy on June 6, 1914, he lived in Atchison for the past 19 years.
He attended the Troy high school and was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1935, he married Hazel E. Weber. They were divorced in 1955. Then on June 29, 1969, he married Betty Simpson. She survives of the home.
Mr. Schwope was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Luella; and a sister.
Additional survivors: two sons, Roger and Richard, both of Blue Springs; two sisters, Mildred Ramsire, Denver, and Geraldine Schwope, New York; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Service: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home, Atchison. Burial: Mount Olive Cemetery, Troy. Family visitation: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Atchison.

Obituaries, Part

By in04 22 99

Robert W. Beaufort

1925-1999

Robert W. Beaufort, 73, St. Joseph, died Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at his home.
Mr. Beaufort was a locomotive engineer for the Burlington-Northern Railroad for 39 years until retiring in 1984. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps and received a Purple Heart.
Born in St. Joseph on Dec. 14, 1925, he was a lifelong resident of St. Joseph. He was a graduate of Christian Brothers High School.
Mr. Beaufort was a member of the Wyatt Park Baptist Church, Christian Brothers High School Alumni, St. Joseph Stamp Club and Burlington-Northern Railroad Retirees. He was a former member of the Pony Express American Legion Post No. 359.
On Sept. 24, 1951, he married Fairy O. Emory. She died in 1997.
Mr. Beaufort also was preceded in death by his parents, Henry J. and Elizabeth; and a brother, Harry Beauford.
Surviving: a son, Galen P., Kansas City; a daughter, Becky A. Allen, St. Joseph; a sister, Dorothy Kelly, Atlanta; two grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and three stepgreat-grandchildren.
Service: 1 p.m. Friday, Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel, St. Joseph. Burial: Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Joseph, with military rites by members of the Pony Express American legion Post No. 359, St. Joseph. Visitation: after 9 a.m. today at the chapel, where the family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 tonight. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association or American Lung Association.

Ivan H. Bieck

1915-1999

FALLS CITY, Neb. — Ivan H. Bieck, 83, Falls City, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at the Falls City hospital.
Mr. Bieck was a maintenance manager for Ketter Manor in Falls City for the past 15 years. He served on the Falls City Police Department from 1951 until retiring in 1979, and held the position of chief.
In his early years, he worked at a theater in Hastings, Neb., and was a projectionist for the Oil City Theater and Rivoli Theater, both of Falls City. Later he worked for Triangle Electric of Falls City.
Born near Harvard, Neb., on July 27, 1915, Mr. Bieck was a graduate of the high school there. He served in the Army from 1942 to 1945, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge.
Mr. Bieck was a member of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, American Legion Post and Veterans of Wars Post, all of Falls City, and Nebraska Police Officers Association.
On Oct. 6, 1946, he married Helen R. Fritz of Falls City. She survives of the home.
Mr. Bieck was preceded in death by his parents, Edmund G. and Clara M.; and two brothers, Kenneth and Wayne.
Additional survivors: a daughter, Chris Ridnour, Council Bluffs, Iowa; two brothers, Dale, Trumbull, Neb., and Frank, Harvard; and a sister, Lizzetta Dieken, Concord, Calif.
Service: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Falls City. Burial: Steele Cemetery, Falls City, with military rites by members of the Falls City Ceremonial Honor Guard. Family visitation: 7 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Clark Funeral Home, Falls City. Memorials may be made to the family.

Howard Boydston

1923-1999

GLADSTONE, Mo. — Howard Boydston, 76, Gladstone, formerly of Dearborn, Mo., died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at a health-care center in Gladstone.
Mr. Boydston was employed by the General Motors Fairfax Plant in Kansas City for 21 years until retiring. He worked for John Deere in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and the Kenworth Truck Co. of Kansas City. He also farmed with his three sons near Dearborn from 1960 to 1971.
Born on the family farm near Dearborn on Jan. 26, 1923, he graduated from the Edgerton, Mo., high school.
Mr. Boydston was a member of the United Methodist Churches, Edgerton and Dearborn; Masonic Lodge, Edgerton; and Moila Shrine Temple, St. Joseph.
On June 26, 1943, he married Allene Dunlap. They made their home on a farm in Buchanan County near Dearborn, and in 1947, they moved to Cedar Falls. In 1950, the couple returned to Dearborn and moved to Gladstone in 1998. She survives of the home.
Mr. Boydston was preceded in death by his parents, Norton P. and M. Anna; three brothers, M.C., Irvin and Owen; and a sister, Anna E. Palmer.
Additional survivors: three sons, Marion, Dearborn, Benjamin, Kansas City, and Earl, Smithville, Mo.; two brothers, Stanley, Agency, Mo., and Leonard, New Braunfels, Texas; three sisters, Adella Foxworthy and Martha Surls, both of Kansas City, and Mildred Lober, Dearborn; three grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; a great-grandchild; and six step great-grandchildren.
Service: 1 p.m. Saturday, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Edgerton. Burial: Dearborn Cemetery. Family visitation: 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Hixson-Klein Funeral Home, Edgerton.

Lorene A. Clayton

1914-1999

SAVANNAH, Mo. — Lorene Ann (Davis) Clayton, 85, Savannah, died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at a Savannah health-care center.
Mrs. Clayton was a bookkeeper for most of her life at the former Davis Brothers Paint and Wallpaper Co., and later with the Clayton & Co. Real Estate & Insurance, both in Pittsburg, Kan.
Born in Pittsburg on April 4, 1914, she lived all of her life there until moving to Savannah in 1992. She was a graduate of the Pittsburg high school and a member of the First Presbyterian Church at Pittsburg.
Mrs. Clayton was preceded in death by her husband, Frank W.; her parents, Denman H. and Anna Davis; two brothers, Roy and Roll W. Davis Sr.; and a sister, Velma L. Curran.
Surviving: five nephews, Donald E. Curran, Savannah, Roger L. Curran, Lake Isabella, Calif., Roy D. Davis, Pittsburg, Roll D. Davis Jr., Waterville, Maine, and Scott Davis, Sidney, Maine.
Graveside service and burial: 1 p.m. Friday, Mount Olive Cemetery, Pittsburg. There is no scheduled family visitation. Arrangements: Breit & Hawkins Funeral Home, Savannah. Memorials may be made to the Kendallwood Hospice, St. Joseph.

Dorothy M. Eichholz

1906-1999

Dorothy M. (Luttringer) Eichholz, 92, St. Joseph, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at a St. Joseph hospital.
Mrs. Eichholz, a homemaker, was born in St. Joseph on June 14, 1906, and was a lifelong resident of St. Joseph.
She was a graduate of the Convent of the Sacred Heart and St. Joseph Junior College. Mrs. Eichholz was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Social Club of Immaculate Conception Church, a former member of the Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, St. Ann’s Altar Society, Daughters of Isabella, Knights of Columbus Council No. 571 Auxiliary.
She was a president of the Midland Empire Council of Scouting, and was awarded the Catholic Action Award for Scouting by Bishop Sullivan; she received the St. Ann’s Award of the Kansas City and St. Joseph Diocese in 1962 for scouting and ended her career as a volunteer trainer.
In 1936, she married Bernard Eichholz. He died in 1992.
Mrs. Eichholz also was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Josephine Luttringer; and a brother, Valley Luttringer.
Surviving: three nephews, Robert Lorenz, Milwaukee, Thomas J. Lorenz, North Kansas City, Mo., and James Lorenz, Mission, Kan.; and two nieces, Joan M. Monaghan, Kansas City, and Dorothy L. Stock, Leavenworth, Kan.
Mass of Christian Burial: 9 a.m. Saturday, Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel, St. Joseph. Burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery, St. Joseph. Visitation: after noon Friday at the chapel, where the family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, a prayer service will be conducted at 4 p.m. Friday and a Daughters of Isabella and Knights of Columbus Council No. 571 rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Friday. Memorials may be made to the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and Bishop LeBlond High School.

NHS moves will save money

By in04 22 99
Neighborhood Housing Services is reorganizing its staff and programs as the result of the apparent loss of federal grants.
The agency was spurned last week in recommendations for distribution of Housing and Urban Development money, which is overseen by the city of St. Joseph.
At a NHS board meeting Wednesday night, director David Denman announced three staff cuts that will save the organization $69,000 in salaries.
Rehabilitation specialist Jeff Buckles resigned two weeks ago to take another job and will not be replaced. Assistant Director Jo Pendleton will retire next month, and Greg Butchart, a special initiative coordinator, has been laid off.
Mr. Denman said he and two VISTA volunteers will take on the additional responsibilities.
Neither Mr. Denman nor NHS board president Roger Knapp could estimate how much the loss of HUD grants will cost the agency. Much of NHS’ grant-related income came from fees associated with grant or loan administration.
“(We are) here for the long term despite recent events,” Mr. Denman wrote in a Wednesday letter to the City Council. “We will continue to seek solutions to neighborhood problems and help people with housing needs in the coming year. However, it will be a partnership without the city, and thus our effectiveness will be diminished.”It is impossible, we have found, to fight the climate of ill will and mistrust,” he wrote of the troubled relationship between himself and city staff in recent years.”We look forward to working with the city once more toward the goal of neighborhood revitalization “
Among the options the board is considering is selling off all the organization’s new, rehabilitated and unfinished housing stock to raise capital for programs.

Mother has 3 reasons to join March of Dimes’ WalkAmerica

By in04 22 99
COUNTRY CLUB VILLAGE, Mo. — The band of 3-year-olds playfully roam their back yard, bouncing from the miniature slide and swing set to the pool and patio.
As one member of the brood escapes to a neighbor’s yard, Mary Kay Thrasher describes the boundless energy of her triplets, Grant, Tyler and Carly.
“They’re just absolutely normal 3-year-olds,” said the Country Club Village mother as she chased after the renegade toddler. “They’re faster than lightning.”
Watching the children now, Mrs. Thrasher can hardly believe that their health and development were once at risk. The triplets were born eight weeks premature and underweight in 1996.
“There’s always that concern, when they’re born eight weeks early, of their lung development,” Mrs. Thrasher said.
After four weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit and the help of Surfactant, a drug developed through March of Dimes’ research, the triplets’ physical and mental growth have stayed on track, Mrs. Thrasher said. Surfactant aids the development of babies’ lungs.
“I feel like I should give back something because they are now so healthy,” Mrs. Thrasher said.
To show her gratitude, Mrs. Thrasher will walk Saturday in the 29th-annual March of Dimes’ WalkAmerica. The event’s aim is to raise money to support the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality, and help babies such as the Thrashers’, said Randi Banker, director of the March of Dimes’ St. Joseph division.
“These were babies that were born too small and too soon,” Ms. Banker said. “These babies’ lives were saved through money raised by our walkers.”
Mrs. Thrasher said she only now realizes the full extent of her appreciation.
“I would like for all babies to be born as healthy as mine have been,” she said.
WalkAmerica will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in Hyde Park. Registration is at 9 a.m.

Jump start

By in04 22 99
Discussion planned
on ranch purchase

EAGLEVILLE, Mo. — There will be a public meeting at 7:30 p.m. today at City Hall in Eagleville to discuss the Nature Conservancy of Missouri purchase of the Dunn Ranch.

The ranch, which is between Eagleville and Hatfield, includes about 1,200 acres of prairie that never has been plowed and is one of the more significant tallgrass prairie areas in the country.

The ranch is known for its large population of prairie chickens.

The purchase recently was completed after a $2.3 million fund-raising effort.

Correctional facilities
accepting old tires

In recognition of Earth Day, the Missouri Department of Corrections is inviting residents to drop off used tires at the nearest participating correctional institution from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.

No more than four light truck, passenger car or farm tractor tires per family will be accepted.

Institutions participating in the area are the Chillicothe Correctional Center, the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph and the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron.

For more information, call John Fougere at (573) 522-1118.

Gardeners festival
at YWCA Saturday

The annual YWCA gardeners festival will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Terrace Room at the YWCA, 304 N. Eighth St.

Annual and perennial plants will be available for purchase. Proceeds will support the YWCA Mom’s Time program.

Genealogical Society
celebrates anniversary

The Northwest Missouri Genealogical Society will celebrate its 20th anniversary tonight at 412 Felix St.

The festivities start at 6:30 p.m., when the public can survey the reading rooms and library.

Founded in 1979 with 32 members, the society has grown to a group of more than 750 members from across the United States.

Volunteers publish a society newsletter, maintain a Web site, and manage its historical collections with admission fees and member dues.

The historical collections have grown to include more than 500,000 government records from Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Clinton, DeKalb, Holt, Nodaway and Worth counties in Northwest Missouri, as well as Doniphan County in Kansas.

The genealogical research library encompasses more than 7,000 volumes of family histories and other genealogical information.

It’s your call

By in04 22 99

Want to share an idea or opinion? You can do so anonymously, but all remarks are subject to editing. Not all remarks may be published.

Not living in a democracy

I’m calling in response to the person calling the Kosovars a bunch of cowardly people. That is incorrect. The people of Kosovo cannot own guns. They do not have the American Constitution with the Second Amendment that says we have the right to bear arms. Their guns were all taken away from them while they were a Russian state and that right has never been given back. In the United States we have the right to bear arms, and I do think the law that was passed the other day was illegal. This way we are letting the bad guys be armed and the good guys are being harmed. I do not believe in the carnage that’s been happening in our schools. And if the principal or someone in that school had had a gun it could have been ended.

Solution to sensitive snoops

My sympathy to the caller confronted by the nosy person regarding his use of a cane. For years our family had endured a member who’s made it their business to literally know every move we’ve made. An unanswered call or a busy signal is always followed by where were you or who were you talking to or what did they want. And the caller can do what we finally did when we had enough of their endless prying. We just changed the subject or gave vague answers and the situation improved. He shouldn’t expect miracles, though, because some insensitive snoops now feel they have a right to personal information of others.

School’s out

In answer to “Issue not over yet” about the Savannah school system, you’re asking what we might vote yes on. You get rid of the administration from the top up and then we will think about voting yes for the school bond.

Save the trees

I have a concern regarding an article in Tuesday’s News-Press: “Students celebrate Earth Day.” Please reuse the grocery bags. Our trees are our precious commodity and we can be so careless. After all, it is Earth Day.

Glove up

I’d like to know when the restaurants of St. Joe are going to require their workers to wear plastic gloves before they handle the food. And I was wondering what restaurants would commit to doing this.

Quagmire getting deeper

I’d just like to say that Clinton has finally found a way to leave a legacy besides a sex scandal for all Americans to live with for the rest of our lives and that would be to deal with Russian and Serbian terrorism in the United States. Think about it, the Serbs are fighting that they have been fighting for over 500 years. Do you think they are ever going to forget about us bombing and never stop attacking us within our own boundaries and anywhere they can in the world? The quagmire is getting deeper.

Lock the doors

This is in response to what happened in Colorado. Once again students have entered our schools and have killed our children. Let’s not wait to let it happen in St. Joe to start locking our doors to our schools to keep people out of the school without us knowing who is entering them. This has been a lot of concern to the people in St. Joe. You know our children apparently aren’t safe at school but yet you have them for eight hours a day. Please lock our doors like we lock our doors at home to keep intruders out. Lock the doors of the school to keep people out we don’t know who is entering and when they are entering.

Missing the ball

As an avid St. Louis Cardinal fan it was so disappointing to see the News-Press print that the ball games would be on TV, but they are never shown. This happened once last week and twice this week. What seems to be the problem?

Conflicting messages

I want to make a comment on the terrible hypocrisy I see on the news tonight. I just heard the president say we must reach out to our children and tell them to solve their problems without violence, yet over in Yugoslavia we are solving our problems with the worst kind of violence. What kind of a message does this send to our kids? Does it send a message to solve our problems with violence or without violence?

In the courts

By in04 22 99
Wal-Mart loses battle
for $76,000 tax refund

Wal-Mart Supercenter lost a 1997 property tax appeal on Monday. Because of the ruling, the Buchanan County Commission won’t have to pay the giant corporation more than $76,000.

Buchanan County Assessor Gary Stanton appealed to the Circuit Court a ruling by the Missouri Tax Commission that would have required Pat Rethemeyer, county collector, to refund the disputed amount to the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 4201 N. Belt Highway.

The company paid all of its $223,264 assessment, but failed to prove that it notified the county collector at the same time of the appeal.

Wal-Mart originally appealed the assessor’s 1997 property valuation of the local store, won a change in the assessment and the refund by order of the state tax commission.

Mr. Stanton believed the county shouldn’t have to pay a refund and appealed the decision back to the tax commission.

He lost a second time before taking the commission and Wal-Mart to Circuit Court.

Teen pleads guilty
to burglary charge

A St. Joseph teen-ager pleaded guilty Wednesday in Buchanan County Circuit Court to burglarizing a local business in February.

Jamie Sollars, 17, 2019 Francis St., pleaded guilty to a felony charge of second-degree burglary.

Mr. Sollars told the judge he and another man, Bryan Grooms, drove to the Belt Highway in the early morning on Feb. 20 to get a soda.

He said that on the way back to the house where Mr. Sollars was living at the time, they drove by a building and decided to break into it.

Mr. Sollars said he broke the glass on the front door of Install-It-All Electronics, 3613 Lafayette St., and unlocked the door so he and Mr. Grooms could enter.

He told Circuit Judge Randall Jackson he was in the business two weeks earlier with Mr. Grooms.

Mr. Sollars told the judge he took four compact disc stereos and three amplifiers. He said they then went to a residence on Lincoln Street, where Mr. Sollars was living.

Mr. Sollars said he was arrested on Feb. 23 by officers about half a block behind the home with the stolen merchandise in a bag.

Mr. Jackson rejected a plea agreement recommended by the state of a two-year prison sentence.

He set sentencing for 1:30 p.m. June 22.

Mr. Sollars could receive up to seven years in prison, up to a year in the county jail, up to a $5,000 fine, or a combination of both incarceration and a fine. He remains in jail on a $20,000 bond.

Mr. Grooms’ next court date is a docket call set for 8:30 a.m. May 24 in Circuit Judge Patrick Robb’s courtroom.

He remains free on a $10,000 bond.

Woman gets 8 years
for delivering drugs

A St. Joseph woman was sentenced to prison Wednesday on a drug charge.

Brenda Hargrave, 28, 510 Shady Lane, pleaded guilty in March to a felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance.

In a plea petition filed with the court, Ms. Hargrave admitted delivering methamphetamine to a confidential informant on June 23.

Circuit Judge Patrick Robb sentenced Ms. Hargrave to serve eight years in the Department of Corrections.

In our area

By in04 22 99
ANDREW COUNTY, Mo.

Scholarship applications are available to Andrew County residents for the Natalie Thompson-Clizer Memorial Scholarship.

Applications may be obtained through the Andrew County Extension Center, Andrew County Courthouse, from high school counselors or from the financial aid department at Missouri Western State College. Applications will be evaluated on basis of need, completeness, clarity, student potential and appropriateness.

The deadline for applications is Monday, April 26. Selection will be made in early May.

ATCHISON, Kan.

The Benedictine College Community Orchestra will present a concertat 4 p.m. Sunday, April 25, at the O’Malley McAlister Auditorium at Benedictine College, 1020 N. Second St. in Atchison. A free-will donation will be taken, and a wine and cheese reception to honor the concert master will be held following the performance.

MARYVILLE, Mo.

The Northwest Missouri Regional Development Corp. will meet at 7 p.m. today at the office, 114 W. Third St. in Maryville. For more information, call the office at (357) 921-2198.

MOUND CITY, Mo.

Spring mushroom picking season will continue through May 20 at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge. No permits are required to enter designated areas for mushroom picking.

A map is available at refuge headquarters that denotes designated areas for mushroom picking. The refuge is on Missouri Highway 159 near Mound City. For more information, call the refuge at (357) 306-6528.

Freeze Frame: 31 Romeo

By in04 22 99

Jason Rodriguez sometimes leads a very busy life — both during the week and on weekends.

He is not only a full-time student at Missouri Western State College, but he works part time at the Food 4 Less on North 36th street and is a member of the 135th Signal Battalion, Missouri Army National Guard.

“(It’s the) best part-time job you can have,” Mr. Rodriguez says of working in the Guard, mimicking its ads. “In all actuality, it is.”

Adding that Guard duty is only one weekend a month, he says, “You feel a part of something, and it gives you more of a purpose.”

Mr. Rodriguez, who holds the rank of specialist, has been a member of the battalion for more than five years and has traveled with the unit to summer camps in Wisconsin, Kansas, Colorado and Missouri. He also is scheduled to go to summer camp with the unit when it goes to Central America next year.

The mission of the signal battalion is to supply communications with higher headquarters units within the 35th Infantry Division, located in the central United States. His job is as multi-channel transmission systems operator/maintainer — or to use the Army’s job classification, 31R or 31 Romeo.

Mr. Rodriguez’s specific unit is called Detachment 1 and is stationed out of the Mayes Memorial Armory in St. Joseph on Woodbine Road, with the rest of Company B stationed in Nebraska. Last weekend, the entire unit got together in St. Joseph for a Field Training Exercise, with units setting up radio relays at locations around the immediate area.

His job in the detachment has given him the opportunity to attend MWSC, where he goes to school under a State Sponsored National Guard educational program to pursue a degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice.

Mr. Rodriguez says he has made a lot of friends in the battalion and enjoys being in the signal unit at St. Joseph, where, he says, “You have one goal, and it makes you feel good to meet that goal.”