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Volume 104 • Number 63 • Wednesday, April 2, 2014 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO •
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Entrepreneur finds allure in fish lures By STEVE HARTMAN Staff writer
Brett Ware is one of the busiest people in Maryville. As an entrepreneur he is in-
volved in developing four local businesses, and he also holds down a full-time position as an engineering manager with Johnson Controls in St. Joseph. Oh, and then there’s his most
Really on to something
important job of being Dad to three children. But Ware’s latest venture, Tightline Lures, may keep him even busier in the coming months.
STEVE HARTMAN/DAILY FORUM
Maryville entrepreneur Brett Ware, owner of Tightline Lures, works on a computer-generated lure design from his office. Ware’s lures reflect UV light, which only fish can see, and are believed by some to be revolutionizing the industry.
Ware, a Maryville High School graduate, attended Northwest Missouri State University for two years before graduating from the University of Missouri-Rolla with a degree in mechanical engineering. While working in the corporate world, he earned a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University. “I love to design and engineer,” Ware said, “but I could see early on in the business world that marketing skills were key, so that was the focus of my master’s education.” Ware’s passion for outdoor activities like hunting and fishing led him to his first entrepreneurial endeavor when he began Ambush Lures in 1996. The Ambush line uses vibration to attract fish. “Ambush went well until the Chinese came in and flooded the market with low-quality product,” Ware said. While Ware was developing Ultimate Hunter (which features a line of remote-control decoys) in 2001, Bubba’s BBQ in 2005 and teaching at Northwest Missouri State University, he continued to think about the fishing lure business. “I knew Berkley had created a huge lure business based on scent,” Ware said, “and several companies, including Ambush, had worked with vibration. So I
began thinking about other ways fish could be attracted, and I decided to study fish vision. When I began my research, I quickly realized there was no prior research to look at. “So I spent three years doing Ph.D.-type research on the vision of fish and what they see, and I learned some very interesting facts.” Ware learned that fish see colors at the lowest end of the color spectrum. These colors are so low on the spectrum that humans cannot see them with the naked eye. “It’s like humans and deer,” Ware said. “Orange is one of the brightest colors we can see, but deer can’t see it. Underwater, we’re the deer vision-wise, because fish can see colors we can’t.” Light outside the vision spectrum for humans is lumped into a category called ultraviolet (UV). Ware said from the surface of the water to a depth of six feet, 80 percent of the light in water is UV light. From the six-foot depth level down to 35 feet, 100 percent of the light is UV light. Below 35 feet, there is no light under water. UV light also travels in a narrower stream than regular light. “All of the fishing lures on the market absorb this UV light,” See ENTREPRENEUR Page 6
Local man dies in head-on crash By TONY BROWN News editor
A Maryville man was killed late Monday in a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, the accident occurred just before midnight on Route U in Nodaway County seven miles south of Maryville. The report stated that Randy L. Cronk, 49, Maryville, was eastbound on the twolane blacktop in a 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck when he lost control of the wheel, overcorrected, and crossed the center line into the path of a westbound 2004 International conventional semi driven by Kelly E. Wilmes, 54, of Conception Junction. The rig was reportedly hauling an empty anhydrous ammonia tank. The pickup truck came to rest on its wheels on the
south side of the roadway. Wilmes’ truck careened off the north side of the pavement, tipping over onto its passenger side. Cronk, who was not wearing a seat belt, was evacuated by helicopter and pronounced dead at 2 a.m. at Heartland Regional Medical Center. Wilmes, who was properly restrained in the cab, suffered minor injuries and taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Maryville. Cronk’s next of kin has been notified, the patrol report stated. Both vehicles were totaled and towed from the scene. Patrol Cpl. S.E. Pritzel worked the accident in concert with patrol officers from the Troop A Crash Team. They were assisted by the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office and Maryville fire and rescue personnel.
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Fatal collision
This International highway tractor was destroyed late Monday in a two-vehicle wreck that claimed the life of Randy L. Cronk of Maryville. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that Cronk’s pickup truck veered into the oncoming westbound lane of Route U, which led to a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler reportedly hauling an empty anhydrous ammonia tank.
Maryville listed in safest-town ranking By TONY BROWN News editor
Movoto, an online real
estate brokerage company based in San Mateo, Calif., has ranked Maryville as one of the ten safest communi-
ties in Missouri among cities with populations of at least 10,000. According to Movoto
OFFICE NUMBER
660-562-2424
spokesman Chad Stiffney, the rankings were based on crime statistics compiled by the FBI for 2012.
INSIDE
Record....................... 2 Opinion..................... 4 Entertainment.......... 5
Maryville was listed eighth for safety behind seven St. Louis suburbs: Town and Country, Ballwin, Ches-
Sports.................... 7, 8 News.................. 3,6,12 Classifieds......... 10, 11
terfield, Webster Groves, O’Fallon, Creve Coeur and Manchester. See SAFEST Page 3
OUTSIDE
Today High: 48° Low: 41°