Carthage, Jasper County
Jo Ellis: KIds Fishing Day event to lure anglers
CARTHAGE, Mo. — I’m watching the extended weather forecasts with both optimism and apprehension, hoping that the eighth annual Kids Fishing Day on Saturday will get an all-clear report.
So far, so good. It’s supposed to be sunny with just a few clouds, an almost-perfect 86 degrees and no rain.
On Kids Fishing Day last year, Kellogg Lake Park was inundated. Somehow, parents found dry places to park around the lake and brought more than 500 kids who would not be denied the chance to cast a line.
The year before that, we were blessed with a beautiful fishing day, but that evening a raging Spring River flooded the park, washing away a colorful “school” of wooden fish and “Big Bart,” a whale of a big bass effigy constructed by a Carthage Senior High School art class.
And the year before that, a little episode of straight-line winds nearly blew us into the lake and destroyed several Missouri Department of Conservation tents. This is the time of year for surprises from Mother Nature.
As a member of the Kellogg Lake Nature Center and Preserve, which each year assists the Department of Conservation and many volunteers in supervising Kids Fishing Day, I can promise we are ready for come what may.
The lake was closed as of midnight Sunday to allow for restocking and acclimation of the fish to their surroundings. It will remain closed until the opening bell at 8 a.m. Saturday. Local fishermen may fish this week from the sloughs and Spring River.
Conservation education stations, set up by the state department, will provide information on fish, amphibians, reptiles and forests. The MAKO fly-casting group will be instructing the kids on fly-fishing and will hold a contest for the longest cast.
Trish Burgi, another Kellogg Lake board member, is providing a new attraction this year. Burgi, who has done face-painting professionally for several years, is offering the opportunity free to any of the kids attending the event. So if they fail to land a fish, they can still go home with one — or a turtle, a crab (for the fussy ones) or even a ferocious sea monster — on their face.
Jim Crocker, another board member, will give wagon rides for the kids and adults. He will be exploring the park’s flora and fauna while relating the interesting history of the park and of historic Route 66, which runs between the lake and Spring River.
Jim also has been collecting prizes, including 20 rod and reel combos, 10 shirts and 10 hats, all donated by Bass Pro Shops. Wal-Mart and its vendors, in addition to fishing gear, are contributing hot dogs, drinks and snacks that will be served at 11 a.m. Blue Bunny will again provide cool desserts.
To catch a fish, you need bait. Gloria’s Bait Shop has covered that problem by donating boxes of worms to be distributed at bait stations around the lake. Should you want to get an edge on the fish, I found a fishing tip online at kansasangler.com.
Using a 4-inch square cut from a nylon stocking, center a meat-stock cube, tie all four corners together in a knot, and tie the little package with a length of strong line to the eye of your lure. The supposition is that as long as the meat cube is dissolving behind your lure, it leaves a trail much as a wounded fish would. No guarantees!
Of course, Kids Fishing Day would not be possible without the help of our volunteers, Kevin Badgley and the staff from the Department of Conservation, and the generous annual support of the Helen Boylan Foundation. The event has grown to become the third largest in the state.
Kids 15 and under are eligible to attend Kids Fishing Day. It is suggested that they provide bobbers, sinkers and hooks in addition to their rods or poles.
Safety is of paramount concern to all involved, so keep your kids hydrated. Watch out for flying hooks, and don’t forget the bug spray, sunglasses or hats, and sunscreen lotion. Hey, it’s supposed to be sunny.
- Carthage, Jasper County
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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. -
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. -
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.
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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. -
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. -
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. -
Carthage sheltered workshop employees protest manager
Workers at Innovative Industries in Carthage ended a walkout Tuesday after protesting the hiring of a new general manager to oversee the sheltered workshop.
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Carthage hot rod bound for Australia
Don and Rosemary Going’s 79-year-old Chevy pickup has enough life left in it for one more journey. It will be a doozy of a trip, though. The 1931 truck, modified as a hot rod, will begin this week traveling halfway around the world, to the land Down Under.
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Historic homes offer challenges, but most owners have no regrets
When Marty Ann and Ron Petersen Jr. still lived in Ron’s boyhood home, they would walk through the historic neighborhoods for which Carthage is famous.
“We kept saying, ‘One day, we’re going to live in one of these big houses,’” Marty Ann recalled. -
Unveiling ceremony to bring sculpture to Carthage High
When it is unveiled Thursday at its Carthage High School home, it will be the end of a long journey for the Carthage tiger crafted by artist and sculptor Bob Tommey.
Tommey envisioned the sculpture and built support for it at football games, Maple Leaf parades and other events. - More Carthage, Jasper County Headlines
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