The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Carthage, Jasper County

Related Photos

Discussion

July 18, 2009

More than 600 attend annual Mudstock

By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Children in Carthage on Saturday were treated to some good, clean, dirty fun at the sixth annual Mudstock event in Myers Park.

Event volunteers dug trenches and created muddy hills as water spray from a Carthage Fire Department ladder truck ensured that the children would have plenty of mud.

John Miller, of Carthage, brought his 12-year-old daughter Michaela and 6-year-old son John to the event for the first time.

As for mud, his son said: “It feels gooey.”

A muddy Michaela said the event was “fun.”

After registering at the free event and getting socks and shoes taped to prevent a loose shoe, the children began on a rope swing that deposited them into a muddy pit.

Then up and down they went over muddy hills into more water-filled pits before washing some of the mud off in large troughs.

Firefighters estimated they were spraying about 1,000 gallons of water a minute during the three-hour event.

Bottled water was available for drinking, and there were no limits on the number of times children could play on the obstacle course.

Carthage Police Chief Greg Dagnan said Carthage police started the event to provide area children with a fun activity and to give back to the community.

The Alliance of Southwest Missouri became a sponsor last year along with the police department and several other community organizations.

“Their main goal in Carthage is to preserve the families then offer help with drug or alcohol abuse,” Dagnan said.

The event this year was expected to top 600 children.

“It just gets bigger and bigger every year,” Dagnan said.

Angie Smith, of Carthage, brought her two children to the event.

Smith was joining her children on the muddy obstacle course.

“It’s just a great way to spend time together,” she said. “How often do you get to play in the mud?”

Text Only
Carthage, Jasper County
  • Jim-Spradling-obit.jpg Carthage attorney, reformer of revenue department, dies

    James R. Spradling, a Carthage attorney who was noted for his reform of the Missouri Department of Revenue in the 1970s, died at 5:50 a.m. Monday at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital.

    August 9, 2010 1 Photo

  • Bondswoman charged with false imprisonment

    A bail bondswoman from Carthage is facing a charge of false imprisonment for allegedly attempting to put a man in jail without a judge’s order, then taking him home and handcuffing him to the banister of a staircase until a friend of the man paid her his bond money.

    January 4, 2012

  • Man’s last statement to be given to defendant

    A judge ruled Monday that the Jasper County prosecutor must provide attorneys for Darren J. Winans with a videotaped statement co-defendant Matthew D. Laurin made about the Sheldon murders shortly before killing himself.

    August 23, 2010

  • Carthage proposes 1.6-cent rise in city property tax

    A drop in the assessed value of Carthage real estate will translate to an increase of about 1.6 cents in the city’s proposed property tax rate.

    August 9, 2010

  • Open house to celebrate projects at courthouse

    Projects completed last year at the Jasper County Courthouse will be celebrated in ceremonies Thursday in the courthouse lobby.
    County officials will join representatives of local chambers of commerce and others for a ribbon-cutting and open house to mark the opening of a Route 66 display in the lobby and a new “peace star” atop the building.

    May 9, 2010

  • Newton County Jail State budget cuts reduce county funds

    County officials are bracing for more state budget cuts to translate into a loss of county revenues.
    In an effort to balance Missouri’s budget, the state earlier this year cut the amount it reimburses county assessors for work to determine property values. The budget approved by lawmakers for fiscal 2011 calls for cutting the amount the state reimburses counties to house prisoners bound for state lockup.

    May 9, 2010 1 Photo

  • Jo Ellis: County home to rare yellowwood tree

    In late spring, drifts as white as snow fill the gutters and curbs on the east side of the Jasper County Courthouse. It isn’t snow, of course; it’s the fallen petals of the yellowwood tree that grows squarely in front of the door to the Jasper County Extension office.

    May 9, 2010

  • Jasper County Commission gets building project update

    Plans to close out one building project and start another were reviewed by the Jasper County Commission last week.
    Darieus Adams, Western District associate commissioner, met Thursday with officials of the firm who designed a $292,400 project to upgrade the lighting and make other changes to make four county-owned buildings more energy efficient.

    May 8, 2010

  • Two men running for associate judge in 39th Circuit take case to court

    Two men running for associate judge in Missouri’s 39th Circuit began battling it out in a Jasper County courtroom this week.
    Jasper County Circuit Judge Gayle Crane heard arguments Wednesday concerning the disclosure of documents sought by Robert “Bobby” George, Aurora, the current Lawrence County prosecutor.

    May 7, 2010

  • Carthage tiger Unveiling ceremony celebrates CHS tiger

    Kandy Frazier, Carthage High School principal, summed it up once the new addition to the CHS campus was unveiled Thursday.
    The bronze tiger sculpture created by Carthage artist and sculptor Bob Tommey, she said, is the kind of work that would be found at a big university.

    May 6, 2010 1 Photo