By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

STELLA, Mo. — In the words of Chuck Dalbom, “Things are happening in Stella.”

Dalbom, who spearheaded the creation of Veterans’ Memorial Park in Stella and has helped organize events such as the village’s “Stellabration,” is talking about what has already happened and what will happen.

A few weeks ago, Stella saw the opening of a rebuilt Lentz-Carter Mercantile Store. Dalbom and his wife are co-owners of the store, which has been rebuilt on the same site to the exact dimensions of the original building from the 1890s.

“The whole front is original,” Dalbom said of the facade, which was preserved and restored.

The structure now houses a restaurant on its first floor, while its second floor contains a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that the Dalboms plan to rent out.

Originally envisioned as a soup and sandwich-style cafe, Dalbom said the restaurant offers “just about anything” thanks to its operators, Sabrina Sherwood and Lillian Miller.

“Whatever you want, they fix,” Dalbom said of the restaurant, which offers Mexican and Italian food, as well as prime rib or chicken, depending on the day.

“The restaurant sometimes is clear full,” he said.

The building next to the Lentz-Carter structure also has been remodeled, into a dance studio run by Sherwood.

Meanwhile, Stella residents are looking ahead to construction of a new, 1,500-square-foot tornado shelter that will double as a community building.

Earlier this month, the Newton County Commission awarded a $218,000 contract for the construction of a shelter to Branco Enterprises Inc., of Neosho. The bulk of the funding for the structure is to come from a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, with the balance coming from a donation by Stella residents Bob and Mona Hart.

The county, along with the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council, submitted the grant application on the town’s behalf earlier this year.

Jerry Carter, presiding county commissioner, said last week that the county anticipates work on the new building will start soon and should only take a few months to complete.