The News

Following an investigation by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon County Sheriff’s Office, Sharp County Sheriff’s Office and the Thayer Police Department, five subjects were arrested. Two stolen ATVs, one stolen vehicle, a large amount of stolen property and narcotics were recovered...

A record number of people attended this year’s Farm Trade Show presented by Oregon County Soil and Water Conservation District. This year there were more than 600 that attended the fifth year of the event. “Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We had several people say that this was the best year so far,” said Sarah Stubbs, District Specialist IV with the Oregon County Soil and Water Conservation District...

This year’s Punkin Run had great a turnout and bike entries have more than doubled since the first year. On Saturday, Sept. 9 participants gathered at the Piney Creek Park outside of Alton for the scholarship fundraiser. There were approximately 60 bikes and trikes that rode in the event and 71 people registered for the Dice Run. The first year, there were 25 riders that participated...

The topic of the latest Oregon County Historical Society meeting involved their latest publication, Oregon County History Train Wrecks and Plane Crashes. The meeting began with Don Shehorn presenting a presentation in honor of Goldina Hansen, a member of the organization that passed away...

Honoring our loved ones that have served in the military is a heartfelt jester for those who have chosen to serve their country and as a contribution to keep the nation alive. Mammoth Spring VFW Post 55 is working to honor those who have served by building a memorial wall in the city park in Mammoth Spring. Located next to city hall, the wall will be an ongoing project...

On Tuesday, Aug. 29 at approx. 6 a.m., the Oregon County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a man had attacked his mother and her paramour with a knife on Park Avenue in Koshkonong. Melina Morgan, of Koshkonong, stated that her son, 24-year-old Nathan Morgan, crept into her bedroom while she and Ronald Kelley, of Mammoth Spring, were sleeping and attacked them with a knife. ...

On Thursday, Aug. 31 at around 2 p.m., officers from the Oregon County Sheriff’s Office, along with South Central Drug Task and Alton Police Department, served a search warrant at the Peebles residence on Oregon County road 111. Robert Peebles, 53, of Alton, was arrested for trafficking in methamphetamine. Officers seized a significant amount of methamphetamine and cash...

On Monday, Aug. 28, Sargent Rich Matteson was traveling in his marked patrol vehicle and observed a motorcycle that stopped and turned around at a high speed and ran a stop sign. The officer pursued the vehicle that was headed south on E Highway at a high speed. ...

Koshkonong City Clerk Rachel McDonald was attacked inside city hall on Friday, Aug. 18. As of press time on the original story, the assailant had yet to be arrested. An investigation was being conducted by the Oregon County Sheriff's Office. Everett Leroy Lundry, 62, of Thayer, Mo., was arrested at his residence on Wednesday, Aug. ...

Excitement spread throughout the country and the region for the opportunity to view a rare solar eclipse when the moon passed between the Earth and the sun causing an event that had not occurred in the contiguous United States since 1979. In this region, the range of totality was approximately 96 percent...

Friday, Aug. 18 at 2:20 p.m. Koshkonong City Clerk, Rachel McDonald, was attacked by a male individual. Two days after being attacked, McDonald stated she felt like she had been in a car wreck because of the pain she was in from the attack. “Everything hurts,” said McDonald of the shocking situation...

Mammoth Spring City Council held their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Aug. 7. During the meeting, they addressed new and old business as well as suspending an ordinance. The meeting began with roll call and the reading of the minutes from the July meeting in addition to the review of the waste/water treatment audit. After a correction was made to the minutes concerning a fire department grant, the July minutes were approved...

If you are looking for a way to be of service to your community during a time of need, the American Red Cross is holding an open house to present information for those interested. The open house will be Thursday, Aug. 31 from 10 a.m. to noon in the basement of the Oregon County Courthouse...

Many local residents, and those who frequently travel on US Highway 63, have noticed the road construction in Mammoth Spring near the intersection of Hwy. 9. The end result has been something talked about for years, and will become a reality by the end of next summer...

The city of Thayer is seeking to clean-up the town and this involves residences being cleaned up as well as abandoned houses. During the most recent Thayer council meeting, this topic was covered as well as new and old business. The city council discussed a process for tackling the problem of getting the city cleaned up as it poses as a possible hazard to the citizens of the city and hinders property value. ...

On Aug. 8, the Mammoth Spring Police Department, 16th Drug Task Force of, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Arkansas DCC arrested Aaron Burrow, 37, of Batesville Ark. at a residence on Odessa Street in Mammoth Spring. Burrow was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, more than two grams but less than 10 grams...

School is back in session for many area schools. During the summer months, school districts often take advantage of the empty campus to make upgrades, improvements or changes. This was definitely the case for the Couch R-I School District was busy making needed improvements to the campus...

As area schools are getting back into a routine, Alton R-IV educator, Melinda Langston, is setting a new routine. Langston has taught at Alton for 20 years, the whole 20 years she has been in education. Her first nine years were spent as a sixth grade teacher and the next 11 years as the Alton Elementary Library Media Specialist. Along with those positions, she serves as the district’s professional development chairperson, a position she has held for 11 years...

The Art Village is working to bring a place to the area where local artists can hone and express their talents. They are presenting art classes each week with at live model. One week a local modern dancer from Thayer High School. Previously, Fred Asbury and Patty Simon were working on remodeling and setting up the art gallery. ...

Thayer High School R-I School District has been recognized nationally as one of the best high schools by the U.S. News and World Report. “It is remarkable that we received this designation. It was amazing we got it because there is one category they tally in that we were not even eligible for because we do not offer enough AP classes. We only offer one on campus and the others are online. We just have one teacher that is certified to teach AP,” said Superintendent Tonya Woods...

History will once again be made Aug. 21 when a solar eclipse will take place and be visible in totality within a band across the United States. According to NASA, all people in the contiguous U.S. and North America will be able to see the eclipse if not in full than at least in part...

Trevor Jenkins, a member of the Thayer High School Golf team gets amazing opportunity to compete in the Land Down Under, representing the state of Missouri on the Central Conference Golf Team. On the last day of June, Jenkins packed his bags and headed to Australia where he would represent Team USA in the Down Under Sports Golf Tournaments. For Jenkins, the chance to compete in Australia was an amazing experience, one that he will remember forever!...

Continuing into his fifth consecutive year of farm tours, Congressman Jason Smith kicked off this year’s farm tour in Oregon County by visiting the Trickling Springs Creamery on Thursday, Aug. 3. Smith has dedicated the month of August to focus on farms located in southeast and southcentral Missouri. ...

This past Saturday, Aug. 5, residents and visitors to Thayer had the opportunity to help raise money for research for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, when firefighters stood at intersections in Thayer with boots to collect money for this organization...

With the arrival of the new school year, for some families comes the worry of being able to provide for their children with the supplies that are needed for the upcoming academic year. Efforts are made area wide to help these families and to help the students start the school year feeling confident they have what they need to start off the year...

Thayer Fun and Friends Senior Center partnered with Senior Age to host an evening event for area seniors. This event with the theme of Midsummer Night was held Thursday, July 20. Seniors who attended paid the lunchroom price, which is $3.50 for ages 60 and older and $6 for ages 59 and under, for a six-ounce ribeye steak dinner that included a baked potato, antiqua vegetables, salad, and chocolate enclaire dessert garnished with strawberries with lavender punch. ...

Recently, I realized how easy it is for someone to be a victim of phishing or a scam, when I checked my bank balance and money was missing from my account. I called the bank with my concerns and found out that money was on hold from my account due to an attempt to purchase an item through the Apple website. This is especially alarming as I do not have any Apple products nor had I inquired about purchasing any. Luckily, I was able to have this issue corrected quickly...

Driving through the city of Koshkonong it is evident the streets are in dire need of repair, as there are numerous potholes and cracks in the pavement. However, Koshkonong will soon see a great improvement as the much-anticipated street improvement project will begin...

Crystal Poulette of Thayer has been arrested for the possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child. On Wednesday, July 5, after a search warrant was served by Sergeant Luke Martin at the residence of Jesse Gardner and Crystal Poulette, drug paraphernalia, along with what appeared to be controlled substances were found...

Cynthia D. Willman, 40, of Thayer, was charged with a Class A Felony of murder in the second degree, unclassified felony of armed criminal action, Class D Felony of endangering the welfare of a child and Class E Felony of unlawful use of a weapon in the Circuit Court of Oregon County on Monday, July 12...

Koshkonong City Council met for their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, July 20 where they reviewed year of the end financials and approved a budget for the fiscal year. In addition, the city adopted an ordinance for municipal court as well as pursuing security for the city...

The city of Mammoth Spring is now fully operating on the new waste water treatment plant that was installed within the last year. The new system now allows for the whole system to be controlled on a digital panel. Workers have the ability to control the blowers, diffusers, sludge pumps and decanter with the touch of a button...

Well folks, has it been hot enough for you this past week? If you haven’t melted yet then your doing pretty good. Even though Mother Nature is trying to run us out of the state, she hasn’t been too successful with the members of the Thayer-Mammoth Spring Saddle Club...

The 61st annual International Country Gospel Music Convention and Awards will be held at the West Plains Civic Center. The three-day event will be held Thursday, July 27, Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29. It is the ninth year the event has been held in West Plains...

It is almost that time of year again as summer break winds down and it’s time to prepare for the new school year to begin. For some students and their families this may be a stressful time because some do not have the necessary funds needed for all the items and supplies that are needed to enable students to focus on learning...

Shawn Edward Aul, 32, of Alton was arrested for domestic assault on Sunday, July 9. Alton Police Officer Randy Vater responded to a domestic call. When he arrived, Deputy Dustin Kirkpatrick was already at the scene. According to the police report, the woman was attacked by her son after a conflict about money. Aul allegedly cut his mother and then asked if she was going to call the cops, which she replied that she was going to...

Mammoth Spring State Park welcomed visitors at the train depot museum to their presentation about birds of prey that are found in the area on Saturday, July 15. Matt Cantola with Missouri State Parks and park ranger for Grand Gulf State Park presented information on this topic. He began the presentation by asking what makes birds different from other animals...

When it comes to investing and finances, there may be many questions that some of us have. To help those who were interested, Trena Spears from Modern Woodmen held a financial presentation at the Fun and Friends Senior Citizen Center on Thursday, June 22...

The Oregon County Historical Society held their regular monthly meeting Friday, July 14. During this meeting they discussed upcoming endeavors for the organization and honored the contributions of a Thayer resident, Gene Blankenship, to the community’s history preservation...

In efforts to help get information out to those affected by the flood that occurred late spring public information officers from SBA, Cynthia Cowell and Dawn M. Hockett, visited Areawide Media to discuss finances that are available to flood victims...

To celebrate the birth of our nation the traditional activities were held throughout the community. Monday, July 3 the city of Alton held their annual fireworks show. Many people showed up to event to visit and enjoy many of the activities and vendor booths. Some of the activities for children to enjoy were bounce houses, pony rides and games. Also featured was the “D’Rango Band” from Springfield...

On June 28, Thayer Police Chief Daryl Childers was made aware of a possible squatter at a house on Chestnut Street. After investigating the residence, Childers discovered evidence of the residence being used such as clothes and bedding. After further investigation of the house, Childers discovered evidence of the residence being broken into...

Thayer Fun and Friends Senior Center participated in National Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Thursday, June 15 to help bring more awareness to a topic that is often overlooked. “According to the Missouri Department of Health of Senior Services, there are more than 40,000 cases of elder abuse in Missouri. Last year, 1.3 million seniors lived in our state, so it is a quite a bit,” said Heather Roberts Manager of Fun and Friends Senior Center...

Thayer City Council held a special called meeting on Tuesday, June 27 to adopt that annual budget for the year. The meeting began with the swearing in of Clay Risner for the alderman to the north ward to fill the unexpired term of Alderman Earl D. “Buddy” Rogers...

“Take what you need, give what you can. Above all else be blessed.” This is the motto of the blessing box. Efforts to help provide for those in the community that may be in need are being made with two new blessing boxes that have gone up in Oregon County. One is located outside the Alton Library and the other near the Community Center in Myrtle...

The Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery held their first Kids Fishing Day on Saturday, June 24, where throughout the day, children were taught many important elements of fishing. The event was a one day event held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and was open to children from ages 10 to 15...

In response to the recent article about Missouri flood survivors, FEMA Media Relations Manager Scott Sanders contacted The South Missourian News to respond to the recent article about assistance for area survivors of the flood that occurred in Missouri from April 28 to May 11...

With the disaster declaration made by President Trump, one would think that victims of the historical flood of May 30 would soon be receiving financial assistance to help them get their lives back on track, to help them have some kind of relief to the devastation they had to endure. However, everyone in Thomasville and others in Oregon County who lost their houses to flood waters, have been denied assistance...

The city of Koshkonong held a special called meeting on Monday, June 26. After approving the agenda to be addressed, the council reviewed the resignation of Alderwoman Rebecca Hunt from the council. Mayor George Hunt stated that a lot of the progress that has been made for the city was because of the efforts of Alderwoman Hunt. He stated that a lot of the miracles that have taken place have been made possible through her efforts...

Oregon County Ambulance District held a grand opening on Saturday, June 24 of their new facility in Thayer. As of Saturday, the paramedic crew will be occupying the new facility, which is approximately 6,800 square feet. All the operations through the facility will be transferred within the next two weeks and the ambulance station in Alton will still be used, but all of the headquarter operations and training will be in the new facility, stated Ken McKenzie, Oregon County Ambulance Director...