Stories from Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon vetoed or froze more than $1.1 billion in spending for the upcoming budget. Among the funds frozen, are monies used to support public libraries. In her report to the Dexter Board of Aldermen on Monday night, Pam Trammell informed the Board that REAL funds and library aide, as of right now, will not be spent...

Area residents streamed into their polling places Tuesday morning for the primary election. Poll workers readied the table at the Dexter Public Library as voters made their way in to cast their votes for the most recent state issues.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An initiative proposing a new teacher evaluation system will go before Missouri voters in November, after the state's top election official confirmed Tuesday that it had received enough petition signatures. The measure would limit tenure protections for public school staff and require that employment decisions such as promotions, salaries and layoffs be based largely on student performance data...

After providing military honors for hundreds of veteran funerals, the Stoddard County Veteran's Honor Guard is finding itself in need of some assistance. That assistance is coming from the Stoddard County Honor Guard Citizen's Support Committee. According to Jerry Elder, of Bloomfield, the primary difficulty is a financial one...

Farm Tour features diversity

History of Evans Pottery As presented to the Stoddard County Historical Society by Kathy Mooney Skelton By Karen Peters, secretary Missouri's first known pottery business was begun in Stoddard County by the Jacob Semmimon family between 1850 and 1858. ...

The last two years have been busy ones for Advance senior Taylor Olin. This active high school student has been traveling to state and national FCCLA conferences. "You need to calm down your activities this year," advises Taylor's mother, Misty Olin...

The Advance 5th Grade Volleyball team traveled to Columbia for the Show-Me Games on July 26, 2014. The tournament, which was held at the Hearnes Center, consisted of round robin pools to seed a single-elimination tournament. Advance was seeded third...

With her sweet voice and bubbly personality, one would never guess that Advance resident Misha Ford suffers from anxiety disorder. "With anxiety disorder, you're always thinking you can't do it. You have to constantly fight with yourself and prove that you can do it," Ford says...

Area churches and volunteers came out in force on Saturday, July 2, 2014 to help children and their parents prepare for the upcoming school year...

Varsity volleyball schedules have been released for all SCAA schools for the 2014 season. The 2014 SCAA volleyball tournament will be hosted by Bloomfield October 6-10. Dexter, which won the SCAA Tournament last year, opens its season August 25 when it hosts Farmington. Bernie, which placed second in the SCAA Tournament last season, opens its season August 26 when it hosts Sikeston...