Watch for upcoming Valentine’s Day events here!
SENIOR CENTER HOSTS VALENTINE PARTY
The Paris Senior Citizen’s Center will host a Valentine’s Party on Friday, Feb. 14, at the Senior Center. The evening will feature dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The band for the evening is North Ely Band, a bluegrass and country band. The band starts at 6. Dinner will feature “Surf & Turf.” Bring your valentines.
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The oldest continuous newspaper in Monroe County, Since 1867
Thursday, February 13, 2014
(USPS 359-260) Vol. 147, Number 7 Paris, MO 65275 • 10 Pages • 1 Section • 75 cents
Paris R-II crowns Courtwarming Royalty
COWBOY CHURCH VALENTINE DINNER
Just As I Am Cowboy Church is sponsoring a Community Valentine Lasagna Dinner and Dance on Friday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m., at the Paris Community Center. Old Fashioned Pie Auction with all proceeds benefiting Paris First Baptist Church Clothes Closet and Food Pantry. Come and enjoy a family oriented good time! No charge!
13TH ANNUAL MADISON SWEETHEART BANQUET
The 13th Annual Madison Sweetheart Banquet will be held on Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Madison Area Community Center. The theme this year is Viva Las Vegas. Doors open at 4 p.m., and a buffet meal consisting of chicken, baked potatoes, vegetable, salad, dessert, hot rolls and drinks will be served at 5 p.m. The entertainment for this year’s banquet will be brought by Mario Manzini, an Elvis impersonator and magician. Purchase tickets at the Madison Area Community Center, the Madison Christian Church, and the Holliday Christian Church. This event is sponsored by the Madison Christian Church and the Madison Area Community Betterment Association.
MONROE COUNTY AG NIGHT FEB. 17
Monroe County Ag Night is organized by the Monroe County Young Farmers, Monroe County Farm Bureau and Paris FFA and sponsored by local businesses and organizations. The night’s events will include a free Brisket Meal at 6 p.m., and presentations at 6:45 p.m., on MO Right to Farm by Missouri Farm Bureau and two 7 p.m. breakout sessions including Mike Fuller (Consolidated Electric) and Jay O’Bannon (Block Grain Belt Express). Join them to learn about issues affecting you and the community!
PARIS RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
Paris Red Cross Blood Drive will be Thursday, February 27, 1-6 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 106 N. Main, Paris. A blood donor’s card or driver’s license or two forms of identification are required at check-in. Give blood and help save lives!
LIONS DISTRIBUTE 2014 CALENDARS
The Madison Lion’s have distributed the 2014 Community calendars. If you ordered one and did not receive, or would like to have one we do have extra ones for sale. Please Contact Richard Milhollin 573-473-0593 or George Clark, Jr. 660-833-8383
2014 Paris R-II Courtwarming Court...
Crowned during the 2014 Paris R-II Courtwarming festivities were the 2014 Court including King Bryce Ensor, Queen Josey Ball, Princess Heaven Day and Prince Matthew Unterbrink. Left to right: First row - Attendants - Flower Girl Caroline Youse, Crown Bearer Cason Smothers and Flower Girl Aubrey Youse. Second row - 2013 Queen Payton Gruber, 2014 Queen Josey Ball, 2014 King Bryce Ensor, 2014 Princess Heaven Day and 2014 Prince Matthew Unterbrink. APPEAL PHOTO
Local resident topic of coast to coast news Former Monroe County Appeal editor and local entrepreneur and business owner Chuck Herron heard the loud thud, then another and another. It sounded like someone was dropping big snowballs on the roof of his home. The house is more than 100 years old and creaks, Herron said, but he had “never heard anything like that before.” As his neighbors in tiny Paris, huddled around televisions Sunday for the Super Bowl, many were startled by similar strange noises. Some even saw flashes of light and called 911. Scientists say the community experienced a rare natural phenomenon known as a “frost quake,” which happens when moisture in the ground suddenly freezes and expands. If conditions are just right, the soil or bedrock breaks like a brittle frozen pipe, generating mysterious noises that range from an earthquake-like rumble to sharp cracking sounds sometimes mistaken for falling trees. This winter has been ripe for frost quakes, known technically as cryoseism. Temperatures have been frigid, but occasional warm-ups have allowed for thawing. And the temperature swings have sometimes been abrupt. That was the case last weekend in Missouri, where temperatures in the 40s on Saturday gave way to single-digit readings by Sunday night. In Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Mo., 100 miles north of St. Louis, police and emergency dispatches received several calls within about two hours. Facebook feeds were filled with worries. Some people compared the noise to a sonic boom that rattles windows, said Michael Hall, executive director of the 911 center that covers the Hannibal area.
Others described it as sounding like “somebody banging on their house.” Missouri isn’t alone. Frost quakes were reported last month in Canada and in several other states - Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin. In DeKalb, Ill., Lisa Kammes and her family were getting ready for bed earlier this winter when the loud popping noises began. “The louder ones sounded like somebody was throwing snowballs at the house,” Kammes said.
Neighbors heard noises too, and several contacted police. “It wasn’t the regular noise you hear when your house is creaking, blowing in the wind or ice is breaking,” Kammes said. The light flashes reported by some people are believed to come from electrical changes that occur when the freezing compresses rocks. Robert Herrmann of the Saint Louis
u See Frost on page 3A
Mariah Barr gets ready to ride down the hill behind Paris City Hall on Saturday, Feb. 8. Mariah and her brother Mason enjoyed many runs down the snow covered hill. APPEAL PHOTO