Versailles Leader-Statesman, March 3, 2016

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Showing Off The Latest Model Home Pg. 11

Blackout Skin Cancer With ‘Can the Tan’ Pg. 2

Hawthorn’s Good Shepherd Performance Pg. 14

the

Versailles leader-statesman

Thursday, March 3, 2016 Volume 131 Number 9 Versailles, MO

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Local artist shows photos from across the country

Scenic photography by local artist Stephanie Roberson will be on display this week at the Dimond Annex in Versailles. Roberson’s collection will be open 9 a.m. to noon weekdays and during performances of “Harvey,” starting 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 3-5 at the adjacent Royal Theatre. Roberson started shooting landscape photos in 2003 while driving from Missouri to North Carolina for her first duty station in the U.S. Coast Guard. “It was my first time driving outside of Missouri on my own,” she said. “I was 20 years old and excited for the unknown and sites to be seen.” She continued shooting pictures during 12 years in the Coast Guard as she traveled between duty stations from coast to coast. Eventually she started a studio, Stils Photography. “I have seen the panoramic sunsets of Kansas and the bright sunrises of California,” said Roberson. “I have wandered the sandy beaches of Virginia and have run across the barren salt flats of Utah. However, nothing is as beautiful, to me, than Missouri sky.” Roberson considers herself Members of the Ozark Prairie Master Gardeners prepare for spring planting Monday, Feb. 29 at the community a realistic photographer, using garden in Versailles. Dan Britton, left, drives the roto-tiller. Digging in the dirt are, from left, Sue Akin, Linda Dahl, her lens to “capture the beauMary Schroeder, and Carol Jones. (photo by Bryan E. Jones) ty in the rust, without fluff or

A sure sign of spring

Meetings

The Versailles Rural Fire Protection District meets 7 a.m. Thursday, March 3 at the Highway 52 and Route D station in Versailles. The Barnett City Council meets 6 p.m. Thursday, March 3 at city hall in Barnett. The Versailles City Council meets 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 at the city hall in Versailles. The Laurie City Council meets 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 at city hall in Laurie. The Gravois Mills Board of Trustees meets 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 at city hall in Gravois Mills. Mid-Mo Ambulance District meets 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 9 at the Tipton Base. Lake of the Ozarks West Chamber of Commerce meets 7:30 a.m. Thursday, March 10 at the chamber office in Sunrise Beach. The Morgan County Library Board meets 5:15 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at the Morgan County Library in Versailles. The Royal Arts Council meets 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at the Dimond Annex in Versailles.

Art photographer Stephanie Roberson created a photo collage framed by the street door of the former Court House Cafe in Versailles. Her work is currently on display at the Dimond Annex in Versailles. (photo by Bryan E. Jones)

fake.” “I like to think I am seeing the world through a different perspective,” she said. The exhibit is a small sample of Roberson’s work from across the U.S. She lives in Versailles with children Riley and Dakota and partner Will.

NWTF banquet March 11

The National Wild Turkey Federation Lake of the Ozarks Chapter is scheduled to host a hunting heritage event Friday, March 11 at the Missouri TriCounty Auction Co., on Highway 52 east of Versailles near Barnett. The event will celebrate the enjoyment of wildlife, wild places, and the hunting heritage. Through its “Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt” initiative, NWTF volunteers and partners hope, in the coming decade, to conserve or improve 4 million acres of

wildlife habitat, create 1.5 million hunters, and open access to 500,000 new acres for hunting and outdoor recreation. Doors open 6 p.m. The banquet starts 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $45 for individuals, $60 for couples, and $15 for “jakes” tickets. To order tickets, call Kurt Heisler at 573-378-0763, or Matt Smith at 573-378-3114. To learn more about Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt, visit www.nwtf.org.

FEMA money is available to individuals, households

Morgan County has qualified for individual assistance funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after severe storms and flooding hit many communities between Dec. 23, 2015 and Jan. 9. The FEMA funds are available for housing assistance, emergency home repairs and uninsured/under-insured property. Morgan County residents can apply for assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or registering online at disasterassistance.gov.

Items needed to properly process applications include: address with ZIP code, directions to the property, condition of damaged home, insurance information (if available), Social Security number, contact phone number, mailing address. Disaster assistance funds can be sent directly to a bank account. After successful registration, applicants will be issued a FEMA registration number for future reference when communicating with FEMA representatives.

Smoldering sawdust

Firefighters from Versailles, Moreau, Tipton, and Fortuna fire protection districts responded Sunday, Feb. 28 to a sawmill slag and sawdust fire outside Excelsior near the Moniteau County line. The pile was approximately a quarter-mile long and about 15 feet high. The cause of the fire is unknown as of press time. Firebreaks were bulldozed into the long pile and the burning section was allowed to burn itself out. Firefighters arrived on scene at approximately 12:30 p.m. and remained until approximately 8:30 p.m. It was reported between 75,000 and 100,000 gallons of water were used on the fire. (submitted photo)

Hazardous conditions help fuel multiple fires in Morgan County

End of the line

Brandon Oien of A&K Railroad Materials removes the last section of rail within city limits Tuesday, March 1 from the Rock Island Line in Versailles. Oien explained his company purchased the iron from the railroad as part of the abandonment and railbanking process. The metal will be sold to short-line railroad companies and reused. Meantime, the rail corridor may become part of the statewide rails-to-trails project, converting abandoned railways into a linear park for hiking, cycling, and other recreational uses. (photo by Bryan E. Jones)

by Janet Dabbs “We are entering the spring fire season,” Gravois Fire Protection District Fire Chief Ed Hancock warned. “Temperatures are up and humidity is down and with the high winds we have been experiencing it is hard to bring large fires under control.” GFPD firefighters were called to a natural cover fire 1:49 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22 to Forrest Drive in Gravois Mills. According to Hancock, structures were threatened, but not harmed. Approximately one acre was destroyed by fire, no one was injured in the fire. While en-route to this fire the district diverted a portion of their crew to a motor vehicle crash where a car hit a tree and caught fire. The victim was able to self-extricate and was transported to by ambulance to the hospital with injuries. The district was also called 1:24 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25 to a natural cover fire on Peter Pan Drive in Gravois Mills. The fire destroyed five acres. This fire

was ignited by sparks from the welder of a worker putting in fence corner posts. GFPD firefighters were also toned out 10:50 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28 to investigate a natural cover fire. The incident was a controlled burn, requiring no action. “I look for us to be busy until the spring rains and everything gets green,” Hancock said. “We are in the middle of fire season. We require citizens do not burn.” Even if there is no severe fire hazard warning, Hancock recommends not burning in high winds and low humidity. According to Hancock, if a person is negligent and knowing sets a fire, or allows a fire to burn unattended, and that fire damages someone’s property, or physically harms someone, they are liable. Rocky Mount FPD Rocky Mount Fire Protection Distric firefighters were toned out 1:35 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28 to Red Arrow and Red Road in Rocky Mount, in Morgan Coun-

ty. A man was burning trash when high winds picked up flames and set the woods on fire. According to RMFPD Fire Chief Kevin Hurtubise, the property owner was overcome by smoke as he was trying to put the fire out. Arriving firefighters had to administer first aid to the man before putting resources on the fire. Firefighters established fire lines with rakes and blowers and put the fire out in approximately 3.5 hours. One firefighter, stuck in the thick of the flames and smoke, was overcome with slight smoke inhalation and was treated and released at the scene. No structures burned. RMFPD responded with 11 firefighters and three apparatus. Lake Ozark Fire Protection District provided mutual aid with two firefighters and one apparatus. Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District Fire Chief Dennis Reilly had no fires to report for the past week Monday, Feb. 29.


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