2 • AUG. 5, 2022 bransonglobe.com
Branson mourns the loss of media icon Charlie Earls
Kids from the Howard and Clopton families were proud participants. (Photo by Cindy Thomas)
Keeter Center supports ‘I Pledge Project’ with ice cream for kids By CINDY THOMAS, Staff Writer The Keeter Center lobby on the College of the Ozarks campus was a busy place on Thursday afternoon, July 28. Many local and visiting children and their families took advantage of the opportunity to earn free ice cream for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Nettie Marie’s Homemade Ice Cream, located inside the Keeter Center, was a proud participant in the I Pledge Project, which rewards children age 12 and under across America for their patriotism by offering a free scoop of ice cream for correctly reciting the Pledge, along with the chance to
have their photo taken by a United States flag. The immensely popular project is now in its eleventh year, starting on July 1 each year and continuing throughout the month of July, designated as National Ice Cream Month. The Keeter Center’s participation dates kicked off on July 1 and 4, and continued on Thursday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m. for the remainder of the month. Several families took advantage of the project’s last day while visiting the Branson area, including a family vacationing from South Carolina and one from farther SEE I PLEDGE, PAGE 10
By K.D. MICHAELS, Staff Writer Branson has lost another iconic member of the community. Media legend Charles “Charlie” Earls recently passed away. Earls was known as a quintessential businessman and was the longtime owner of Branson radio stations KRZK and KOMC. Charlie Earls, a native of Missouri, developed his love for radio during his time serving our country, as an Air Force control tower operator in Japan. He also served as a local disc jockey on the Air Force Radio Station. His first radio job was at KLCN in Blytheville, Arkansas, in 1960. After marrying Scottie Jolliff and having a son, Charles Scott, Charlie decided to make his career in radio.
Earls moved his family to Waco, TX, where he was hired as a salesman and weekend newsman with KAWA, a 10,000 watt radio station. Six months later, he was promoted to station manager. Earls would later move to Illinois to establish a new FM radio station for the company that owned KAWA. The first station Earls purchased was KTHS in Berryville, AR. Later, he purchased KBOA and KTMO in Kennett, Missouri, and in coming years added stations in Farmington, West Plains and Branson, as well as Mountain Home and Yellville, Arkansas, and Iowa. Charlie Earls was an active member of the Missouri Broadcasters Association, where he served briefly as president. He
was honored with both the Distinguished Broadcasters Award and the Lifetime Member Award. In 2015, Earls retired from the business he loved, and sold his radio stations three years later. Earls is remembered fondly by those who worked for him. Said former employee of KRZK/ KOMC Radio Matt Duncan, “Charlie was just a great gentleman. He was the anti-corporate radio owner, showing respect and consideration in business and personally, every day. I was the production manager under him for about a decade, and I loved the experience. When a person as knowledgeable as he was about broadcasting defers to his man-
SEE CHARLIE EARLS, PAGE 17
Taney County Assessor to assess Hollister School district Submitted to Branson Globe The Taney County Assessor’s office will be assessing in the Hollister School district and on the Hwy. 76 Strip in Branson, from now thru the month of August. Appraisers will be wearing bright yellow vests that say “Taney County Assessor” on the back. Appraisers will also have a Taney county employee badge with their name and picture. Our vehicles feature the Taney County insignia on them and the license plates say “As-
sessor.” Please note: We have two Toyota RAV 4 Hybrids, and two older Ford pickup trucks. If there is a difference in pictures from what shows on our tablets, the appraisers will get out of their vehicle and measure your property. If there are no apparent changes to your parcel, they might not get out of the vehicle, but they will take pictures. Please be kind when you see the appraisers…remember that they are outside eight hours a day in these excessive tempera-
tures. Appraisers DO NOT enter your home, but will, on occasion, knock on your door to verify data. We are updating our database with email addresses and phone numbers (I am hoping to get a system to alert property owners ahead of time in the future.) Phone numbers and email addresses are not shared with anyone and are NOT subject to the Sunshine laws. We appreciate your cooperation during this process. Statute 137.130; …assessor shall have lawful right to enter into any lands…
