Year in Review

Sunday, December 26, 2004

The past year has been filled with joy and tears, change and comforting traditions that have endured through many years. Through it all, the people of Vernon County reached out to one another -- to grieve together, to celebrate together, to honor the past and to dream of the future. Here, as the year comes to a close, we take a moment to look back at some of the events and people that shaped our community. In this edition are some of 2004's most vivid moments.

Economic development makes great strides

Nevada Herald

For 30 years Nevada has been hoping to lure some new company to locate a plant here with little success. That changed in 2004 when several years of work by City Manager Craig Hubler and Economic Development Director Sam Foursha came to fruition on Jan. 17, with a mass ribbon cutting at the Community Center for six new companies in conjunction with a job fair that attracted 1,600 people.

"I don't think I've ever been to a six-company ribbon cutting," U.S. Senator Kit Bond said before he and Ken Loomer, Precision Aero Services president, cut the ribbon.

"This is like a double hat trick with these companies bringing new jobs into the state," Bond said. The focus on attracting small, but growing companies will provide for growth into the future, Bond told the crowd. The good economic development news did not stop with the January ribbon cutting. It continued with the opening of Sutherland's in the old Wal-Mart building on May 16.

"This should keep the people in Nevada," store manager Chic Wallace said. "Now that we're here, why should they go to Kansas City, Joplin or Springfield," he said.

In late October, Orscheln opened a new store in the Consumers building on east Austin Boulevard. The latest company to announce plans to open a facility in Nevada is a company whose owners have decided to come out of retirement to re-open B & R Furniture around Jan. 1. Ray and Betty Bennight operated the company for a number of years before they sold the company to Prairie Hill Furniture in 1998. Prairie Hill went out of business this past year and auctioned off all their equipment in July, much of which Ray Bennight bought. B&R plans to manufacture budget bedroom furniture that they market through distributors to mom and pop furniture stores. There is more good news on the horizon as the city looks toward 2005.

All six of the companies that participated in the January ribbon cutting are in operation or ready to start full-scale operations.

Neighborlink is expanding its operation to provide high-speed wireless Internet access to rural parts of Vernon County and into other areas with further developments in the works. They have started hiring people to make that expansion possible. InSite Services is operating with two shifts and the company that they are providing Internet tech support for launching their own satellite last spring to provide satellite Internet access to rural electric customers nationwide.

InSite Services is doing great, Sam Foursha said. The company currently has 60 employees and plans to be up to 125 as quickly as they can. Because of the training required for each new employee they can only add six new workers every two weeks.

They have some good customers and are ready to grow, Foursha said.

Precision Aero Services has most of their equipment installed and are ready to start to do business full scale around the first of the year, Foursha said.

The company's etch tank line is ready to go and that will bring in considerable business, since it is one of the largest in the country. Foursha said that they will be able to do a lot of etch line work for the Boeing plant in Wichita.

"Next year will be big for Precision," Foursha said.

Thorco has about 50 employees and is in operation. They continue to do pretty well, Foursha said.

They are currently in operation 24-hours per day, seven days per week.

"They're a good company," Foursha said.

X-Treme Products is working on new products to market. Foursha said that they have a prototype of a collapsible shell for a pick-up bed and are marketing it aggressively. Green Forest Engineered Products has two production lines that are fully operational and they are marketing their line of composite wood products. They are ready to go when they have customers for their product. Several other companies have indicated a strong interest in locating in Nevada, including a company interested in locating a commercial aircraft service facility at the Nevada Municipal Airport and a second company that repairs large printing presses has expressed an interest in locating here.

There are also several companies interested in the spec building in the Nevada Industrial Park.

According to a press release from the city , as of November there have been 165 new manufacturing jobs and 150 new retail jobs created in Nevada in 2004 and they expect an additional 250 manufacturing jobs to be added in 2005.

Because of additional companies and jobs that are anticipated the city has raised its estimate of new jobs from 1,000 to about 1,300 over the next five years.

According to the city Nevada currently has 300 retail businesses with annual sales of $120 million.

A model from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicates that 1,000 new manufacturing jobs will over a five-year period increase retail sales in the Nevada area by $22 million, which is an annual increase of $4.3 million. It will also generate 640 new non-manufacturing jobs and create the opportunity for 70 new retail businesses.

The increased retail activity due to the new Supercenter that opened in 2003, Sutherlands and Orscheln, has increased Nevada's sales tax revenues by about 10 percent over the last year.

"The dramatic, but steady pace of new manufacturing jobs is expected to result in a steady 3.6 percent growth in retail sales through 2007," Hubler said in November.

January: Citizen audit petition drive succeeds; senior center nears completion

Nevada Herald

January was a busy month as new facilities opened, old programs closed down. A man was charged with a killing and a program started to make testifying easier for children. The presiding commissioner resigned and was replaced with one of a different party. Nevada and Vernon County saw many changes in 2004, and the month of January started it all off.

The Nevada branch of the Children's Center opened its doors so that children who were victims or witnesses to crimes would not have to make a long trip to Joplin to be interviewed, sometimes several times.

Local civic groups, businesses and individuals contributed funds to help make the center a reality.

Jennifer Thomas, juvenile officer, said she was excited to be getting the Center open. "It is pretty exciting to go from no walls, to walls, to carpet, to, oh my gosh, we are having interviews," said Thomas.

Mark Hood, 32, Nevada, was charged with murdering Terry Robinson, 38, Rich Hill, and assaulting Dale Wingard, 49, Rich Hill during an incident Oct. 4, 2003. Hood was originally sought as a witness to the incident but was later arrested after deputies learned more details of the case.

Hood claimed to not remember parts of the evening but said he and his girlfriend went to a house belonging to a friend of hers. He claimed Robinson started hitting him but that he didn't remember shooting either Robinson or Wingard. Hood was convicted in November of all four charges and received a sentence of two days in the county jail for involuntary manslaughter in the first degree to be served consecutively with the two days he was sentenced to for the assault in the first degree. He was sentenced to three years for each of the two armed criminal action charges, to be served concurrently.

The city of Nevada learned that an audit drive was successful in getting 472 verified signatures and that a state audit of the city would be performed during the year.

The direct cost of the audit was estimated to be approximately $20,000 but the associated cost of personnel and resources could total an additional $40,000.

City Manager Craig Hubler said that what is important to remember about an audit, even one from the state auditor, is that it is not like a grand jury inquest.

If there is some sort of problem the ultimate decision to make changes lies with the city council. "Perhaps this will be an opportunity for us to improve what we are doing,' said Hubler.

The Nevada Area Economic Development Commission officially came to an end in January when the city council voted to disband the organization that had been created in October 1984.

"Its primary purpose was to do what Sam (Foursha) is doing, chasing industry," Don Russell, one of the original NAEDC board members, said.

"Most economic development is currently being done by paid city staff," Nevada City Manager Craig Hubler, said. That left NAEDC without a mission.

During its 19-year history NAEDC succeeded in bringing Acorn Televillages to Nevada as well as in being the driving force behind the construction of the shell building, which is owned by the Nevada Business League, a for-profit spin-off corporation.

Although still unsold, the building, which was constructed using private money, has brought numerous inquires from companies interested in a location for a new plant.

When the shell building was constructed in the economic boom of the mid-1990s that was considered to be the appropriate way to attract new industries to an area. Today most companies are not interested in buying a building and still needing to spend an additional $1 million or more to make the building useable.

"The Televillage didn't happen, but the TeleCenter did. That brought that part of town to life," Mary Ireland, a long-time NAEDC board member, said.

NAEDC also was one of the core agencies that worked together to bring a TeleCenter to Nevada that provided the first publicly available high speed Internet access, as well as video conferencing and distance learning so Nevada area residents could pursue college degrees without leaving town.

Ireland told the board that she thinks that NAEDC has outlived its usefulness.

"Bringing it into the city has been good," Ireland said. "Let's do economic development in the 21st century in new and positive ways. I think it's a positive and exciting time for Nevada. We're not getting rid of the talent -- just using it in another way."

Vernon County Presiding Commissioner Charles Johnson, a Republican, stepped down to take advantage of a career opportunity with a local financial services company and was replaced with Senior Judge David Darnold, a Democrat.

Tom and Virginia Pyle along with other prominent local Democrats and city and county officials were on hand to watch Tammi Beach swear Darnold in.

After taking the oath of office Darnold spoke a few words.

"I suppose I should say something about my background, that always seems appropriate at these times. I have a degree in business management and thought that was the direction my life would take, so I do have some experience in this area. I've worked with both non-profit and for-profit companies, although to be honest some of the for-profit companies didn't make any profits to speak of." Darnold said.

"I think I was one of the last to know I'd been appointed. I knew that there was a possibility that I would be but I didn't find out until late Monday. I had a very busy three days and someone came into the office Monday with a printout of an e-mail and said someone named Russ Warren said I'd been appointed and would I give him a call to discuss it. I have to apologize because I just didn't get to it."

After the ceremony Darnold took congratulations from several of the people gathered to welcome him.

Darnold said Nevada was his hometown and he heard that many good things were happening in Nevada and was glad of a chance to be part of it. "I've lived in Nevada just about all my life. I like projects and challenges and I thought this might be an interesting challenge. I think I see some good things coming for the area."

New lights at the crosswalk west of College Street on Austin were constructed in January to help ease concerns about the safety of pedestrians.

Planning for the project had been on-going for a year between MoDOT and Cottey.

Richard Walter, MoDOT district engineer, said the safety improvements make the flashing lights more visible. "The modifications take them off the ground and put them out over the lanes. That should make the crosswalk much more noticeable to drivers."

Helen Washburn, former Cottey president, said the changes are safety improvements. "I hope these improvements will help drivers realize that they need to slow down and stop for students in the crosswalk."

David Bishop, a member of the Concerned Citizens of Southwest Nevada said that as far as he was concerned he thought the change in the type of light at the crosswalk was a good idea.

"I'm 100 percent in favor of the improvements. This looks like it will improve the safety of all pedestrians," Bishop said.

Washburn noted that the changes being made were not all that she desired.

"We've spent a lot of time looking at different ways to make the crosswalk safer. While this wasn't our first choice for improving the crosswalk, it seems the only option open to us at the present time. My primary concern is the safety of Cottey students."

January saw a celebration of the Drug Court program that Circuit Judge James Bickel, 28th District, helped put into place two years ago, when two participants graduated from the program in April and one graduated in August.

When Drug Court, a diversionary program that gives first-time offenders facing court action on drug-related crimes, first started in July 2001 the goal was set to have the first graduation by 2003.

According to Bickel, the local program is modeled after the first nationwide program that seemed to be successful in rehabilitating those involved with drug-related criminal activity. And it appears that the community believes in it as well.

There has been "tremendous support from the community," said Bickel.

From medical professionals reducing rates for participants screenings and evaluations, to help with housing and employment as well. Employers know that Drug Court participants will be closely supervised.

The program was not without its problems, though.

For example, there are not enough jobs for all the participants.

Some participants drop out of the program, and others are kicked out for failing to keep their end of the bargain.

"When we invest so much time and emotion in trying to help these people, and they're not successful it's a big disappointment," Bickel said.

But the future looks good. Goals for the next year are to expand the program, to bring more participants into the system. Organizers would like to realize a residential facility where participants could find housing for three to four months.

Still benefiting from grants and fees paid by participants another goal for the program is to engage more actively in fund-raising.

A number of participants will be eligible for graduation in May or June of 2004, and it is Bickel's hope to get them all through the program without incident.

"We are pleased with the progress of the program, and pleased with the success of the participants," Bickel said.

He also hopes that the public can see that the program is improving the safety of the community.

February: Leap year brings harsh weather, new beginnings to Nevada; Neal Center finished

Nevada Herald

February in Vernon County was a month of extremes -- from heavy winter snows causing car wrecks and school closings at the beginning of the month, to golfers enjoying an extra day of free golf and the mild weather on Feb. 29.

Also, many long term business and other ventures came to an end, or nearly came to an end, while still other facilities were just getting started.

A major blow was taken by area health professionals, law enforcement officers, and government officials when the state announced that the Southwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center in El Dorado Springs would be closed in June. Concerned parties said that the closing of the facility would mean costs to the area far more serious than just lost jobs. Vernon County Administrator Virginia Habjan said that clients who would use the facility would be, "scattered to the four winds," and many would likely end up in county jails rather than treatment facilities. Police would also have been required to transport those under court-ordered supervision to state run facilities, hundreds of miles away.

In March, Governor Bob Holden announced that through the efforts of state senators and representatives, local officials and other concerned parties, the facility would be kept open and not closed as scheduled.

Also on Thursday, Feb. 5, Nevada High School graduate and long-time Branson entertainer Cliff Wagner died while driving his Jeep Wagoneer in Branson -- officials said they believed that Wagner died of a heart attack, stroke, or some other medical malady and did not die because of the accident. Wagoner was a supporter of the Community Council on the Performing Arts in Nevada and frequently returned to help with events and fund-raising.

On that same day, Nevadan's were facing a winter storm that brought as much as six-inches of snow to areas of southwest Missouri and caused many automobile accidents in Vernon County.

In mid-February, interviews began for Nevada's new police chief -- interviews that netted our current police chief, Christine Keim.

Other positive changes were also taking place for the area economy -- Precision Aero began operation at their facility on East Highland street in Nevada in February and on the 13th, Ken Loomer, president, displayed the first two aircraft components that his facility was re-manufacturing.

On Feb. 18, Northern Vernon County residents awoke to the sounds of a plane crashing down in the Four Rivers Conservation Area.

The early morning fog obscured the view for Mark White, who lived near the crash site, "It sounded like a plane trying to gain altitude," he said in an interview for the Daily Mail. At approximately 5:30 a.m., a Piper 180 -- a small, four seat aircraft -- flown by Mike Diebolt, 33, of LaHarpe, Kan., crashed into a pond levee then flipped over, coming to a stop within view of the Vernon-Bates county line. Diebolt and passenger Anita Lumley, 53, of Humbolt, Kan., both died in the crash.

Local business T.M. Deal Lumber closed its doors forever in February as the family-run business that existed in Nevada since it took over Community Lumber in 1986 sold out to the Nevada Discount Lumber Company.

Owners J.C. and Barbara Jean Wiseman said that it was time they cut back on hours. J.C., who had worked frequent 60-hour weeks for more than 50 years, said that it was time for a change. "I'm really looking forward to weekends off," he said.

The controversial Mel Gibson film, "The Passion of the Christ," opened in Nevada on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25. Century 6 movie theater reported that 650 tickets had been sold in advance -- mostly to church groups.

Later in the month, the Nevada Rotary Club named Kathi Wysong, Nevada/ Vernon County Area Chamber of Commerce director, as Citizen of the Year. Wysong was recognized by the organization for her dedication to civic-duty and community responsibility. "She does so much more than her job description ... she's an inspiration to us all," said former chamber president Tim Moore.

On Feb. 29, Nevada celebrated a new beginning for area seniors as the Nevada Senior Center hosted a, "sneak preview," of the newly completed Neal Center -- a facility that has been well used by area seniors and houses a variety of programs for older Nevadans.

While February was a month in which Vernon Countians faced fierce weather, an unusual plane crash, losses of influential businesses and notable citizens, the month ended on an upstroke with the recognition of an influential leader and the opening of a new venue for Vernon County residents.

March: Audit begins; terrorists strike train in Madrid, Spain, during Cottey tour

Nevada Herald

March was a soggy month, with heavy rains causing severe flooding throughout the county.

Top news from the month included the announcement that the city audit would begin the second week of March. The city council was informed that the audit would cost about $24,000 and would span several months.

On March 2, about 170 people were treated to a sneak peak of the new Senior Center.

And on March 6, Congressman Ike Skelton came to town to dedicate the flagpole donated by A-Plus Metals for the center.

March 6 was a landmark day for Nevada couple Wallace and Jerri Jones when they won $10,000 playing Keno at J.T. Maloney's.

"When I looked at the numbers I wasn't sure I was seeing right so I had my husband look. I mean -- we never win anything," said Jerri.

The plans of 119 Cottey students who were visiting Madrid, Spain were disrupted when Basque separatists detonated 10 bombs at three Madrid train stations during the height of the morning rush hour.

It was quickly determined that no students were injured in the attacks.

"It's a terrible thing. It's like 9/11 Spanish style. We're OK though. The hotel is downtown and the stations where the bombs were are on the outskirts," reported student July Bryant.

Almost 200 were killed and at least 600 injured in the attacks which took place before Spain's general elections.

Students eventually continued their itinerary with a few minor exceptions.

On March 16, Christine Keim was sworn in as Nevada chief of police.

Bringing 26 years of law enforcement experience, she was at the time only the fifth woman to hold such a position in the state.

She officially started work on March 30, City manager Craig Hubler quipping that they didn't want her starting work on April 1.

The Cottey College Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Advisory Committee announced on March 23 the appointment of Judy Robinson Rogers Ph.D. Her term as the 11th president of Cottey College was to begin on July 1.

Rogers replaced Dr. Helen Washburn who retired after 18 years as Cottey's president.

"It is with sincere pleasure that I welcome Judy Robinson Rogers as the eleventh President of Cottey College," said Dr. Washburn.

The second annual Nevada High School Male Handsome Pageant was held on March 26.

The Male Handsome Pageant is a fund-raising event that benefits the Nevada High School Renaissance Program. Nineteen contestants were judged in three categories; formal wear, talent, and clubwear/sportswear.

Acts for the talent category ranged from breakdancing, to a comedic mock ventriloquist, to singing, to foreign language recitations, to story telling.

Junior Cole Headrick, representing the Spanish Club, was chosen as Mr. NHS. Senior Thomas Pitts, representing football, was first runner-up and senior Jordan Leininger, representing the National Honor Society, was second runner-up. Leininger was also voted Mr. Congeniality by the rest of the contestants.

"This is a cool way to keep kids involved and off the streets, because they love stuff like this," said sponsor Debby Bogart.

Masked bandits brandishing rifles robbed Emery's Truck Plaza in Deerfield on March 28. Two men entered the store ordering employees and customers to lay on the floor. They took money from the cash register and beer from the cooler and left. A Vernon County Sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle and pursued it to a point west of Stotesbury where it was abandoned. The men, identified as Bill Winter and John Taylor both of Fort Scott, Kan., were later arrested near Stotesbury.

The money, one rifle, clothing and beer were recovered.

April: More local guardsmen activated

Nevada Herald

In April, National Guard troops were again activated in support of the war in Iraq. The soldiers are members of Nevada-based Company A of the 735th Support Battalion. As of April 27, the 20 supply and maintenance soldiers were notified and are preparing for a June 1 deployment to report to Fort Dix, N.J., by June 4. The orders were for 18 months. More such deployments were to come in months to follow. The group that left at the end of April returned for a short time in October, then shipped out again, as another group was deployed to Fort Riley, Kan., in November.

April showers followed a wet March, and farmers welcomed the steady, regular rains of Spring 2004.

As springtime heralds new beginnings, there were some firsts that came about during that month.

After many months of raising funds, the efforts of several groups and organizations working together came to fruition in the form of a new Children's Center, which opened in January, finally made it official with a ribbon-cutting on April 21. The community was generous with the center and funds were raised to make it possible to provide the forensic interview and medical exams to suspected child sexual abuse victims in a local setting, avoiding a long drive to Joplin.

For the first time, the city of Nevada enacted an ordinance regulating how groups or individuals can solicit donations along city streets.The Nevada City Council gave final approval to the measure on April 20. The only locations permitted under this ordinance are the intersections at Osage and Austin boulevards and Washington and Cherry streets.

The ordinance also requires that organizations must carry $1 million in insurance and must request permission to solicit 60 days in advance.

This restriction stems from a religious organization from Oklahoma that has frequently used the intersection at Austin and Ash to solicit money from drivers stopped at the traffic signal.

The individuals would run in and out of the street impeding traffic and creating a traffic hazard at what is the busiest intersection in town.

On April 6, Nevada elected a new city council member, Jim Rayburn to serve his first term. Cottey College celebrated the arrival of its new president, Judy Rogers, who held her first Nevada press conference on April 16. Rogers had taken over the post vacated by Dr. Helen Washburn, and was at work in earnest by mid-April.

The first DARE graduation under a new program from the Vernon County Sheriff's Office with Dan Miller as school resource officer took place April 16, in Bronaugh.

The people of Vernon County took time out for fun in April as well. There was a mid-month gun show at the Elks Lodge, plenty of Easter egg hunts, and learning became fun for everyone as a 4-H embryology project conducted each year featuring hatching eggs was completed.

May: two teachers honored, Beshore steps down

Nevada Herald

May saw not one, but two teachers get teacher of the year awards from two separate Wal-Mart divisions, Tyson Beshore step down as head baseball coach, the resignation of the city clerk and in the wider world America learned Nicholas Berg was beheaded by terrorists in Iraq.

Berg was in Iraq looking for work with a company he had previously worked for but was told there was no position for him. He was detained for a time by Iraqi police but was released April 6 and spoke to his parents three days later. A video of his beheading was posted on a Web site linked to al-Qaida. In the video his captors said the beheading was in retaliation for the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers.

Robin Fisher stepped down as city clerk. Fisher announced her resignation at the April 20 city council session and worked her last day May 14.

The Nevada R-5 Board of Education voted at their May 12 meeting to put a proposal before the voters of the district to increase the school levy 39 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Superintendent Ted Davis pointed out that the foundation formula was dependent on money raised locally.

"The school foundation formula is levy driven -- for every dollar collected locally, we receive just under $2 from the state," Davis said.

The schools with higher levies get more state money, which leaves less money to be divided by the districts with lower levies. Davis pointed out that several districts around the state had passed increases recently and more were on the ballot.

"The 80 school districts that were successful with levy elections last month (April 2004) meant that we lost an estimated $3,000 to $4,000," he said. "Because they were successful it takes more money out of the hopper -- the general revenues for school funding."

The levy increase was defeated in the Aug. 3 election but the board has said they would seek the increase again because, without it, programs would have to be cut drastically since the district budget was showing an expected shortfall of approximately $1.3 million for the 2004-'05 school year.

It was not all bad news for the district as two teachers, Chris Chrisenberry of Bryan Elementary and Tricia Brandt of Truman Elementary were honored by Wal-Mart for their work educating Nevada's students. Chrisenberry was honored by the local SuperCenter and Brandt was honored by the Harrisonville Distribution Center.

Both teachers received a certificate of recognition and a special Teacher of the Year Wal-Mart vest. Their schools each received a $1,000 check to be used for school projects.

Chrisenberry was surprised after school with the news of her award while Brandt traveled to Harrisonville to receive hers. Truman Elementary principal Patty Hallam escorted Brandt to the distribution center.

Both Brandt and Chrisenberry are eligible to participate at the state level, which could be worth $10,000 to the winner's school and enter that teacher in the national competition. The teacher who wins at the national level would garner their school an additional $25,000 for a total of $36,000 to the school.

Tyson Beshore pulled on his uniform, laced up his cleats, adjusted his red, sweat-stained Nevada Tigers cap and boarded the team bus for the Tigers district contest with the McDonald County Mustangs and his final game as the Nevada High School head baseball coach.

The Mustangs, who the Tigers beat last year in the district championship game, turned the tables on the Tigers this year by beating them 6-1 and eliminating the Tigers from the district tournament.

Although the Tigers were not able to equal last year's district championship and, like everyone, he would have liked to leave with a winning record, Beshore said that this had been a good year.

"It was a lot of fun," Beshore said of his four years as the Tigers' head coach and two years as an assistant. "I already miss hanging out with the fellows at the park. The kids made it worthwhile. It was always the highpoint of the day. It's an experience that I'll never forget."

June: pool opens, Bushwhacker Days kick off

Nevada Herald

June in Vernon County was all about a good time -- the newly remodeled Walton Park Pool held it's grand opening, festivities got under-way at Bushwhacker Days and various other events were taking place in the area.

The rain kept the crowd small, but dozens of die-hard swimmers and supporters of the pool were at Walton Park Pool on Saturday, June 12, for the ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly remodeled facility. After the morning ribbon cutting, attendees donned their swim suits and dove in for a free swim in the morning. The new pool boasted many new amenities -- a waterside, zero-depth entry pool, play equipment for children and other features. During the day, children were treated to a fishing event, and everyone was invited to a no-charge swimming session from 7 to 10 p.m. The events wrapped up with a fireworks display at 10 p.m.

Also during the month, the 22nd annual Great Race made a stop in Fort Scott for a lunch hosted by the Scottish Rite Temple. During the day, local car enthusiast were able to show off their vehicles and those who came to the festivities were able to see the antique and classic cars making the two-week long trek across the nation.

On Wednesday, June 16, Bushwhacker Days began with the opening of a carnival at the corner of Walnut and Washington. On Friday and Saturday, official Bushwhacker Days festivities began with vendors, traditional carnival games, a rock-climbing wall, quilt show, living history demonstrations and various other activities.

The main attraction at this year's Bushwhacker Days was a concert by RCA recording artist Andy Griggs. Hundreds of people came out to listen to Griggs perform songs such as his country hit, "She Thinks She Needs Me."

Also a part of the event was a hot-air balloon launch which was postponed until Saturday evening. The event wrapped up with a parade on the theme, "A Tribute to Our American Heroes."

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