Connection October 2022

YOU’RE INVITED TO VISIT THE FUTURE.

THE NEW MONETT LIBRARY is the FLAGSHIP facility that will lead the way into the Future of the entire Library District. Starting November 14th, you can see this fantastic new library branch.

THIS LIBRARY INCORPORATES FRESH IDEAS with spaces tailored to modern programs and better ways of serving our community. Drive-through services, inspiration kitchen, and an innovative Children’s Library space are only a few examples of the unique features of this incredible building.

IN THE FUTURE, we will strive to bring the same excellence embodied in this new facility to every branch of the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library.

STARTING NOVEMBER 14TH,

Monday - Saturday, from 8:30 to 5:30.Located at 2200 Park St. on the corner of Park St. and Old Airport Rd. You can also visit the project online at blrlibrary.com/new-monett-library or scan the QR code below.

blrlibrary.com/new-monett-library

Things That Go Bump in the Night...

Well folks it is October. The month of Halloween, spooks, goblins, haunted houses, lots of candy and a night of trick or treating.

I believe that all of us could probably sit around a campfire and tell a ghost story or two and whether the group that is listening to the story so intently believes or not, well, that is totally up to those gazing at the storyteller.

Personally, I have been told ghost stories all my life and I will say that they fascinate me even though I will not reveal if I always believed them or not.

There are all sorts of ghost stories centered around my grandparents’ house. Most of these were relayed to me by my cousin and of course she was the oldest in that generation of the family and I was the youngest, so I was a prime audience.

Those that are familiar with the book “The House of Seven Gables” know that it was a romance Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Na thaniel Hawthorne. Many of us in my generation read this in school along with “The Scarlet Letter”. To me they were both very dark novels, but to get to the bottom line, my grandparents’ home had seven gables and my cousin loved to point that out and other stories that were created to be told sitting upstairs on a sweltering summer night with the windows open. You see when you have a large home like that and are in town, with the windows open upstairs, footsteps from other locations will sound like they are coming down the hall behind you. Oh yes, she would have me sitting on the edge of my seat anytime she could. They were stories invented to scare me and she was successful. Were they real? Who knows. Part of me says no they were made up just for my benefit but then again …

Now let me treat you with a story. I was approximately 15 or 16-years-old and went to Florida where my sis ter and her husband were living to spend the summer and spend time with my nieces. I was sleeping in the

den that had a fold out couch for a bed. No problem, I was a big girl now and I could sleep in a strange place alone without fear. Right?

Well, it was probably the third night and I was laying on my bed in the den, and I began hearing a noise, a pound ing that reminded me of the sound of a heartbeat, pound pound, pound pound. I thought at first it was the neighbors but the longer I layed there the louder and closer it got. I did not want to seem like a baby, but there did come a time that I felt like my sister and her husband needed to be aware of this in case it was going to explode or something. I never really thought it was a ghost, really, well maybe.

I went to my sister’s room and told them what was go ing on. Her husband said this was ridiculous and he was going in there to sleep. I curled up next to my sister after he exited. Approximately 30 minutes later, he returned and said that he was no longer staying in there. He said it sounded like it was coming through the ceiling!

My sister said she needed to check on the children, who slept in the same room together across the hall from the parent’s room. As she entered her doorway to enter their room, the hangers that were hanging on the chil dren’s doorknob to their room began twirling on the knob in circles. The children never woke up, but we never slept.

The following morning, coffee was made, and my sis ter’s husband went out the back door to sit and drink his coffee. Around the back door was red paint surrounding it and in the back yard my sister’s purse was dumped and scattered all over the yard. Nothing was missing.

So, is this a true story or just one for your entertain ment?

I hope you all have an awesome October and a safe and fun Halloween!!

Lisa Craft

Regional Advertising Director, Connection Magazine

Lisa Craft is Regional Advertising Director of Connection Magazine, The Monett Times and Cassville Democrat. She can be reached at lcraft@cherryroad.com

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Connection is a publication of the Cassville Democrat, The Monett Times and CherryRoad Media.

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SIPC

Ozark tourism has had a definite ebb and flow through the past few years of pan demic quarantine, social distancing and vaccination status. With the majority of the COVID pandemic in the record books, Eureka Springs tourism is on the uptick and ready for the business of hospitality. Read more on page 9.

OCTOBER 2022

The famous Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl returns to the downtown at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

9 | EUREKA SPRINGS REOPENS

This bustling, prime tourist destination of the Ozarks is bringing out the red carpet and cele brating reopening post pandemic

12 | TURPENTINE CREEK

Opportunities to observe and connect with the wild abound at the refuge. Wild excitement awaits for patrons pouring in.

18 | THE CRESCENT HOTEL

Local authors divluge the secrets of the ‘Castle in the Air’ in their latest book to be published Fall 2023.

27 |

TALES FROM MY MUMMY

Former Monettan publishes goulish children’s book, schedules local book signings through October

28 | FORTUNE TELLER

Schyrlet Cameron tells the tale of her great-grandmother Wilson, a reputed psychic, and her way of foreseeing the future

33 | DOCTORS OF MONETT

Dr. Beau Bounous and Dr. Jason Obermann join forces to serve the Monett community

37 | A BREAST CANCER SURVIOR

Kristee Hinson of Lebanon, Mo., prevails against health obstacles to encourage strength in others battling cancer

41 |

SERIAL STORY: KEEPING SECRETS Part three by Annie Lisenby Smith

Photo courtesy of Edward C. Robinson III

Eureka Springs Reopens

Tourist destination weathers pandemic, gains patrons

When looking for a fun ac tivity, Eureka Springs, Ar kansas, quickly comes to mind as an area destina tion. According to the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce, as many as 1 million people annually visit the north west Arkansas community which holds around 2,500 residents.

The COVID pandemic hit that community especially hard.

“When it first hit in March of 2020, we were very concerned, as most peo ple were, because our economy is 95 percent tourism,” said Mike Fields, ex ecutive director of the Eureka Springs Chamber. “If the shutdowns lasted too long, all of our businesses would be out of business.”

Story by Murray Bishoff

Basin Spring Park at the heart of downtown Eureka Springs is a hub of activity for the the city year round.

Around 1,000 identifiable public ac tivities, from rallies and parades to Pride Weekends and music events, make up the menu of entertainment in Eureka Springs. Fields noted that the natu ral attraction of the Ozark mountains brings with it a wide range of outdoor activities, from hiking and fishing to boating and even walking the streets of the picturesque community. Those of ferings provided options other tourist towns did not have as fall-back options.

“Early on we began to promote through social media all of the outdoor options available in our tourist town for travelers who were ready to get out,” Fields said. “All of our businesses were tak ing every precaution needed to keep peo ple safe. We began to look at some of the traditional events that we would normally have, which were not possible because of restrictions, and tried to determine if there was another way to do them.”

The Christmas parade in 2020, for example, held in the first week of De cember, would have involved crowds and much close contact downtown, which the mayor and city council would

not allow at the time. The chamber and organizers came up with a stationary Christmas parade. People put up floats on their property, stores turned on their lights, the chamber distributed a map with a route, and a drive-by event took place, instead of canceling everything.

“We began to see really strong tour ism come back at the end of 2020,” Fields recalled. “In 2021, attendance for lodging and tourism actually exceeded 2019. We were the benefactor of people looking for safe alternatives to a cruise or the beach. We let everyone know we were open for business.”

Much of the tourism crowd visiting Eureka Springs comes from a 300-to400-mile range, from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Arkan sas. Fields lives in downtown Eureka Springs, and personally got to see and meet many of the returning visitors.

“We had more first-timers from farther away than what we had ex perienced previously, especially with schools shut down and people work ing remotely,” he said. “We had more weekday visitors when before we had a

predominantly weekend crowd.

“In 2022, most people have gone back to doing things like they were previously. We’re recognizing what we learned through this, and applying and adapting what we can to combine what we used to do to make things even bet ter in the future.”

Fields extended most of the credit for toughing through the hard time to the Eureka Springs businesses.

“We’ve got a ton of small business owners who are creative and agile,” he said. “They survived and thrived during difficult times.”

A visit now to Eureka Springs will again find diversity and a bustle with in the community. Activities extend across town, taking advantage of the scenic locale, the spacious parks and the myriad of shopping opportunities geared to serve walk-in traffic. The city’s winding roadways require a slow er pace, enough time to take in the sights, spy unusual stores and inviting eateries. Fields said the welcome sign is out, for Eureka Springs is indeed again open for business. n

Snowball Harley Thunder&

The administration of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge continually looks for ways to improve the recreation opportunities for all the big cats and amazing creatures that call the refuge home.

Tsavo BamBam

Chuff

Real Wild, Real Close, Real Fun

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Lions, tigers and bears...you know the rest.

In the world of people, these big beautiful animals don’t fit in and often become victims in the cub petting industry, where babies are passed around and handled by hundreds of people. Once the babies become in jured, or too big, they may become a liability.

Take the case of Don Jackson, who pulled into a motel in Little Rock, Ar kansas, in 1992, where he found a lion cub chained to a cinder block outside. Jackson traded motorcycles and stuff

with the owner and managed to take the cub back home. He and his wife Cheryl soon found others contacting them from within the exotic animal business, seeking alternatives for their one-time “pets.” Then a woman drove up in a trailer in, hauling 42 lions and tigers, seeking help.

Jackson, having no more room for a such a menagerie, subsequently found ed the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Ref uge and Foundation, a 501(c)3 not-forprofit organization, taking out a lease to purchase 459 acres south of Eureka Springs, Ark.

Story by Murray Bishoff

ConnectionMO.com/TurpentineCreek | Connection Magazine | 13 For more details:

Thus a permanent home opened, a safe haven for any big cat in trouble. The foundation actively works with federal authorities regulating how exotic animals are kept and treated. Animals rescued from facilities such as the notorious Tiger King in Okla homa come to Turpentine Creek for their forever homes. No animals are bought, sold, bred or loaned to other facilities.

Today Turpentine Creek hosts 84 different animals, including bobcats, cougars, Bengal and Siberian tigers. The foundation does not seek to repli cate zoo conditions, but move closer to natural spaces with tall grass. Animals have their own spacious enclosures, many on hillsides, living in pairs from past associations or family groups.

Some who prefer less contact, or who grow testy with a sibling, can live more separately, sharing a more open space every other day. Smaller cats, such as Lexi, an African Serval, which has the leaping ability to pull birds out of the air, live in spaces covered with fenc ing. Cats eager to stretch and dash live next to an enclosed runway where they can take a daily zoomie run if needed.

Some live on Rescue Ridge, a more open, flatter area that better serves older animals or cats that have been declawed and develop arthritis.

Staff do not handle the animals, re specting their space and wild nature.

Dinner is provided on a platter and placed inside the enclosures. As a vid eo playing near the entrance explains, “[the animals] are predators, not pets.”

Being around people has leavened the atmosphere for the animals, taking away the competition fear, but staff nonetheless remain very respectful, only entering enclosures in pairs and double checking every lock. Each en closure has a concrete “night house,” where the animals can go for rest or repose, away from prying eyes.

According to Turpentine Creek spokesperson Cheryl King, all the ani mals have names. Staff share their sto ries for visitors. She spoke greeted one tiger, who “chuffed” a friendly response, as the biggest cats don’t purr. Bam Bam, a grizzly bear, one of three bears at the facility, enjoys entertaining and often puts on a show playing in his water area.

Staff provide toys for the animals, like large balls, or even boxes they can demolish. King said smell stimulation is a special treat for cats. Turpentine Creek accepts donations of spices and leftover perfume, especially the cats’ favorites, Opium and Obsession. The public can “order” a big box for a cat and receive a video or a special visit to see the cat shred the gift.

Many animals at the facility came with issues, King said. Bam Bam, for example, had been fed dog food while younger. Lacking needed nutrition at the critical age, he grew to only the size of an adult female. Robbie, a privately owned tiger, arrived very overweight – around 700 pounds instead of 500 –from the wrong diet. He received extra exercise in his hilly enclosure and in time came down to a normal size.

Staff introduced a 15-year-old male lion to a six-year-old female, only to find she wanted to play all the time, and he really preferred resting. Staff decided to limit their time together. Also, the fe male went on birth control. Male lions, King explained, need their testosterone to keep their mane, otherwise their hair falls out and they become quite discour aged and depressed.

One of the facility’s big success sto ries came from Priscilla, a momma tiger who arrived pregnant from the Tiger King. When born, the three cubs could not walk properly. Their feet turned in ward, a condition known as clubfoot, resulting in the babies dragging them selves along. No known treatment for animals addresses this, so the facility’s vet, Dr. Kellyn Sweeney, studied hu man therapy and developed a new strat egy. For months, despite great protests by the cubs, staff gave the babies warm water therapy to loosen the ligaments, vigorous massaging and then leg splints. After the critical period, keeping the option of euthanasia open if it failed, all three could walk and are living normal lives with their mother at Turpentine Creek.

Spyke

“That’s what we’re all about,” King said.

White tigers, a rarity in the wild, ac counting for 1 in 10,000 natural births, make up a large number of Turpentine Creek residents. Tigers generally hunt deer, which are color blind, seeing or ange as green. White tigers have no camouflage, and have been bred in cap tivity for their looks. Likewise, Turpen tine Creek has a number of ligers and tigons, crossbred artificially between lions and tigers, something that would never happen in the wild, but happens

all too often in the exotic animal trade. Turpentine Creek relies on public support. Individual sponsors and cor porate support, especially from Tyson Foods, which helps provide protein for the Big Cats, help the foun dation run the facility. Tour hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Visitors receive a map and a tram ride around the grounds to see many of the animals in their more natural settings. There is no public feeding time. King said many of the animals are more active around opening time.

Guests also have the option of three different overnight facilities, from a tent or a tree house for those who like camp ing, to a lodge with space for families. A small RV park is also available. De tails are at the reserve’s website: www. turpentinecreek.org.

Initially the reserve had to contract veterinary services from a nearby town. Veterinarian Dr. Kellyn Sweeney, origi nally one of the interns serving at Tur pentine Creek, finished vet school and returned to open an in-house veterinary hospital.

Cheryl King, Turpentine Creek spokesperson

Turpentine Creek hosts 84 different animals, including bobcats, cougars, lions, Bengal and Siberian tigers.

According to King, the vision of Tur pentine Creek, which is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, is public education. Staff encourage visi tors to promote federal legislation, now pending in the U.S. Senate, that would ban private ownership of exotic animals, something still allowed in five states. Public support also enables the reserve to care for its animals over a lifetime, as well as help in rescues when they occur.

Preserving such animals can still chal lenge the best staff. King reported the Lincoln, Nebraska, zoo lost all its snow leopards to COVID during the pandem ic. One of the enclosures at Turpentine Creek has plastic shields around it to retard spread of the virus. Staff includes seven biologists/zoologists, and up to 18 college and university graduates serving as interns.

Turpentine Creek publishes a quarter ly magazine, “Big Cat Chronicles,” with feature stories on the animals, notes from Curator Emily McCormack and news on new efforts. The facility also has an indoor museum and gift shop for more education and memento shopping.

Visitors should plan on spending at least two hours at Turpentine Creek, vis iting the enclosures on a guided walking tour and taking the tram tour, which runs about 50 minutes, leaving on the hour. Tickets are $32 for adults, $20 for teens, $15 for senior citizens and chil dren 4 to 12, free to children under 3. A personal behind-the-scenes carnivore caravan tour is also available for $250 per person. Reservations and advance book ings are encouraged. Animal adoption and sponsorships are also available.

“Help us, help them,” is a slogan on the signs seen as visitors leave. It’s a promise and a pledge taken seriously at Turpentine Creek, like the commitment to giving a memorable experience. Eye contact with a cat much bigger than you guarantees that.

As Dorothy said, “Oh my.” n

WHITLEY

This picture is of the Crescent Hotel when it was first built in 1886.

Ghosts

Live Here

Inspired by true events

This photo is of Theodora, a cancer patient of Dr. Baker’s, whose ghost is said to roam the halls of the Crescent Hotel.

PhotocourtesyoftheEureka Springs HistoricalMuseum

Schyrlet Cameron found an old sign at the Crescent Hotel that shows the building’s history as a cancer hospital.

Schyrlet Cameron and Kathy Brown are the co-authors of numerous books, including one in the works called Ghosts Live Here.

For more details:

CC Brown is at it again.

After publishing the Ghosts of Perry House in 2021, a new book is in the works with hopes of publishing in fall of 2023.

CC Brown is a pseudonym for two sisters, Schyrlet Cameron and Kathy Brown. The duo grew up in the Ozarks and have been interested in the super natural all their lives.

A town that started because of the power of its healing waters slowly turned into one of the most haunted towns in America. Drawing people from all over

the world, Eureka Springs, Ark. has Victorian homes, a historic downtown district, and multiple hotels with mag nificent yet grim histories.

Eureka Springs was built on natural springs that surround the city, and with a population of nearly 2,000, it draws more than 750,000 visitors annually.

Ghosts Live Here is a supernatural thriller that takes place in the haunted halls of the Crescent Hotel.

Ghosts Live Here follows Nicole and her two friends who check into the his toric 1886 Crescent Hotel ahead of the weeklong “Fall Festival” celebration.

Story by Jordan Troutman

Instagram: author_ccbrown

“Rumors that the hotel is haunted prompt the three to take a late-night ghost tour, a journey of the hotel’s colorful past as the ‘Baker Cancer Hos pital,’ and a visit to the most thrilling paranormal site in Eureka Springs, the Crescent Hotel Morgue,” Schyrlet said. “Determined to discover an explanation for the unexplainable, an investigation into the hotel’s dark history spells trou ble for the three amateur ghost hunters. The trio soon become entangled in a mystery filled with ghost, hauntings, and terrifying secrets.”

The Crescent Hotel has quite a his tory filled with interesting and unique moments, specifically those stories from when it was Doctor Baker’s Can cer Hospital, which is what the book is largely focused on.

“In 1937, Norman Baker purchased the Crescent Hotel and remodeled it into the Baker Cancer Clinic,” Schyr let said. “This was during the Great Depression, and the people of Eureka Springs saw Dr. Baker as a savior for bringing much needed jobs to the town. “During his running of the Crescent, Baker remodeled much of the hotel, painting the inside lavender, his favorite color. He wore lavender suits, the shirts orchid, and the ties purple. Even his car was purple.”

Norman Baker made millions in to day’s dollars from his patients claiming to have a cure for cancer.

“He referred to the Crescent as the ‘Castle in the Air,’ broadcasting over the radio that he could cure cancer without carving patients up,” she said. “The very expensive cure consisted of injections of a mix of common substances including corn silk, watermelon seeds, clover, wa ter, and carbolic acid.

“His method of gaining patients led to his undoing. In 1940, he was jailed for mail fraud. Ironically, he died in 1958 from cancer.”

Schyrlet and Kathy have made many trips to the Crescent Hotel for research

on their new book, and they have ex perienced some hauntings of their own within the walls of this magnificent property.

“Room 218 is where Michael, an Irish stonemason who fell to his death when building the hotel, is known to hang out,” she said. “He pulled the shower curtain back when we stayed in the room and playfully touched our backs.”

Schyrlet said Theodora, a cancer pa tient of Dr. Baker’s, is known to be seen fumbling for her keys outside Room 419 and tidying up for guests when they leave the room.

“We left a hand full of coins on the coffee table and went to dinner,” she said. “When we returned, the coins were all neatly stacked in a row in the correct denominations.”

Another known ghost is Breckie, a 4-year-old child of Richard & Mary Breckenridge Thompson, who died in the hotel due to complications from ap pendicitis.

“He has been seen throughout the hotel often bouncing a ball,” Schyr let said. “On a late-night investigation on our own, Kathy and I heard a ball bouncing in the hall on the third floor. Kathy had what felt like a small child’s hand grab her hand.

“This was interesting because Kathy’s son passed away when he was young.”

Schyrlet said Dr. John Freemont Ellis, the hotel’s in-house doctor circa the late 19th century, is most often seen or his cherry pipe tobacco is smelled near his office, which is now room 212.

“We have smelled the pipe tobacco on several occasions, once on a ghost tour,” she said. “Morris, the famed ho tel cat, was known as the Hotel General Manager for 21 years, and later buried on the hotel property, is regularly seen and heard.

“This ghost cat is a pest. He has rubbed up against my ankles on more than one occasion.”

This is a photo of Dr. Norman Baker for when he ran for Governor of Iowa in 1932.

Schyrlet was a teacher for 34 years, and she has co-authored more than 50 teacher resource books. Kathy has been the owner and operator of Hickory Kids Day Care for 15 years.

Schyrlet and Kathy began writing together in 2011 and have co-authored three fiction books and six cookbooks.

Supernatural thrillers by CC Brown include Ghosts of Perry House, Black Widow Society, and Wolf Stone.

“No one believes in ghosts, but every one is afraid of them,” Schyrlet said. n

Ghosts of Perry House is the latest published work of CC Brown.

by Pam Wormington

Moo-ving Mountains

Iwas looking forward to a weekend of God and girls at a Grounded Faith conference in Springfield, followed by a week of camping at the Pines in Arkan sas. I planned the work and was working the plan to accomplish all the things that needed to be done before I left town, when I heard the back door open and the dreaded “We’ve got a prob lem!” Of course, I didn’t know what the problem was but knew I was a part of ‘we’ and about to be enlightened.

“We” have a 600-pound steer in the northeast corner of the farm with pneumonia. “We” need to get him closer to the house, aka corral. Without thinking, I grabbed some jeans and rubber boots and out the door I hustled.

I was then informed that the rancher had no plan as to how we were going to accomplish this task.

The steer was too fast to catch, too big to rope and well we couldn’t just tell him “Go to the house!” That’s when I wanted to say, “when you figure it out, let me know… I’ve got things to do” but the divine duct tape was on my mouth and so when he paused, I suggested we go access the situation and make a plan. I am all about plans whether it be A, B or even D sometimes Z.

We get to the paddock where the cattle are happily grazing and quickly spot the big boy and his momma and immediately act upon no plan, opening gates and herding them toward the corral.

I might add that when cattle are intensive grazed getting them to travel to a previous paddock is virtually impossible. Kind of like eating a good salad one day and then being given the left overs the next day and expecting en thusiastic eating. The unplanned plan was working.

Open a gate, momma and baby walk through. Three paddocks later, they are losing their “en thusiasm” and began to balk. If you have ever tried to run in rubber boots through a recently grazed pasture, you know that things can get a little slippery. For some reason sliding down a hill on recycled “grass and water” can cause every muscle but the bladder to tighten. Momma and baby were scared to come any closer to me and my screeching and headed to the next paddock.

It was at this point that I wished I had my new “sign-on bonus” gift from my boss.

I’m not exactly sure what it’s called but I refer to it as the cattle paddle. It looks good on the porch but not

very effective there. So, the jour ney continues, as I walk with my two-blue electric fence post and my arms outstretched trying to be large and in charge as the boss follows along on the four-wheeler.

The divine duct tape is wearing thin as I am instructed to not rush the steer because he has pneumonia and we don’t want him to breathe heavily. All I can think about is I need to leave town shortly and I am not even packed, showered or re motely ready. I began to pray for all those things that I am supposed to be at his moment with the excep tion of ‘on time’.

I guess you would say I prayer walked our farm along with a little cardio and resistance training, I began to think I was using my time for a little more than ranch work. Once in the corral, my man gave me the go ahead to take the day off and he’d finish up. I had to laugh as he sighed, “that went way better than I ever thought it would.”

I walked off the job with the follow ing resignation: “I serve a God that not only can move mountains, he can move cows too” and then show up at a Women’s conference.

I am just so in awe of Him every day! n

Moving Mountains and Moving Cows

Meagan Ruffing is a parenting journalist and Mental Health Counselor. You can find her sitting on her patio sipping coffee this fall.

by Meagan Ruffing

Pumpkin Spice & All Things

Nice

October is one of my favorite months of the year. I think it’s the crispness of the air that does it for me. I think it’s the dew on the grass and the sound of buses heading to school. I think it’s the early morning fog, rushed moments, and weight ed down backpacks.

I think it’s the season of fall. I think it’s heading to work and going home. But most of all, I think it’s the Pumpkin Spice coffee I get to drink every morning on my way to see cli ents and at 2pm when I need a pick-me-up. I think October is one of the most special months of the year.

I hope this month brings you as much joy as it does to me and my kids. See how many of these things you can do on this list and come up with some of your own. Winter will be here before you know it so enjoy the season of life you’re in now. n

Because this month is so fun to me, I try to make it special for my kids, too.

Here’s how:

1. I buy fun things for my girls’ lunch boxes like Halloween-themed cupcake liners. I cut up fruit to put inside of them and they fit perfect ly. I also wrap their sandwiches in witch hat printed parchment paper and close it up with a cute sticker.

2. I decorate the house in fall-themed décor because it’s aesthetically pleasing but I also know that my kids love it because it feels like home. I usually hang some or ange-colored garland over the fire place and place candy-corn shaped blocks on the mantle.

3. I always make my kids watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” when it comes on the television this time of year. I remember watching it when I was a kid and it has become a tradition that we all look forward to. I make popcorn mixed with orange and black M&Ms and we make a big pallet in the living room to cozy up on.

4. The kids and I head to the children’s resale store to look for costumes. I love doing it this way because you never know what you’re going to find and you can’t beat the prices. If we absolutely have to, we’ll go to a big-box store but the kids are apt to have the same costume as the trick-or-treater in front of them so we prefer to try and find something that’s one-of-a-kind.

5. I love buying those cute little treat bags for Halloween and putting multiple pieces of candy inside. I re member trick-or-treating as a little kid and loving the houses that had these types of treats.

6. There’s nothing quite as deli cious-smelling as mulled cider. Making this on the stovetop makes your whole house smell like fall and it tastes good, too!

7. S’mores by our fire pit is the perfect way to either cap off a long day or kick-off the weekend. My son and I take turns on who can get the fire going while the girls set up our chairs and lay out the graham crack ers, marshmallows, and chocolate. I love eating them but my favorite part is when the four of us are sitting there in the dark just talking about random things.

8. Playing in leaf piles is a great way to get each other laughing. There’s something about the red, yellow, and orange leaves that make me feel like everything is right in the world. It never fails that one of us will bring a leaf home because it’s the biggest, most beautiful one we’ve ever seen.

9. If I’m in the baking mood, I’ll make my Grandma Shirley’s apple pie. Her secret tip to every pie crust is a small bottle of water in the fridge with the words “pie water” written in Sharpie. This is the water you use and only this water.

10. Who doesn’t love a good casserole? I know I do! This the perfect way to send the message to your kids that, “This is home.” I like to try new recipes and even come up with my own. My favorite part is knowing that dinner is already made and all I have to do when I get home from work is pop it in the oven. I can do this while I change into my lounge clothes. Once the kids and I are cleaned up and ready to eat, dinner is ready.

Collect fall traditions to celebrate the season

Presley Jackson is the 8-month-old daughter of Chase and Kelsey Jackson of Hollister.

Congrats

Email your child’s photo to: lcraft@cherryroad.com

Photos should be sent in the original JPG format at the highest resolution possible. Remember to include your child’s name, parent’s name, age, city and your contact information. The contest is open to children ages 10 and younger. The photos submitted will be used for the sole purpose of this contest.

Book signings

WHO: Author Amannda Maphies

WHAT: To sign copies of her book, “Tales from My Mummy”

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 7, at the First Friday Artwalk, BookMarx Bookstore, 325 E. Walnut St., Springfield; Saturday, Oct. 15, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ABC Books in Springfield, 2109 N. Glenstone Ave # J, Springfield; and Saturday, October 22, 2022, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Always Buying Books, 5357 N Main St. Rd. in Joplin

Former Monettan Authors First Book

Amannda Maphies to release Tales from My Mummy

Aformer Monettan has authored her first book, “Tales from My Mummy,” and will be attend ing a series of book-signing opportunities in Springfield and Joplin this month.

Like many who were quarantined during the COVID 19 pandemic, Ma phies found herself seeking to fill the hours of her day with something pro ductive.

“I started doing a lot of writing during Covid when I was working from home,” she said. “I sent in many articles for publication and was surprised when they were accepted. I thought, ‘Wow, this is something I can really do, so I want to do it...and do it big!’

“I entered a writing contest at Her View From Home, a parenting blog I contribute to on a regular basis,” she said. “My pieces were not chosen for the book of motherhood anthologies, but it sparked an idea. This was around the fall of 2021, and I thought, ‘I love fall, I love Halloween, I love spooky stories. Surely, I am not the only mother to love these things.’ So, I reached out to my writing group as well as some personal friends on Facebook to see if they might want to contribute to the story already

Story by Melonie Roberts

being written in my mind. The respons es were very positive and before I knew it, I had an outline, several contributing authors, and a myriad of stories and poems I could not wait to put into a book format.”

“Tales from My Mummy” is an “anthology of all things Autumn,” Maphies said. “There are spooky Halloween sto ries, chilling tales and legends of the Ozarks, funny jokes, and even two sto ries written by my own two sons, Liam, 12, and Waylan, almost 10. There is definitely a story for everyone in this book. Readers can consume it a bit at a time or devour it in one setting like a vampire hungry for her evening snack.”

Inspired by one of her childhood mystery series, “Nancy Drew,” and oth ers such as “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” Maphies said she loves nothing more than to settle in with a good mys tery on a chilly fall evening with a cup of warm coffee close at hand.

“I wanted to compile many of the accounts of haunted houses, travel to spooky Ozarks venues, and funny Hal loween antics with my children,” she said. “Writing a book seemed the best way to go about it.”

She started compiling stories for the anthology in September 2021, taking nearly 12 months to compile informa tion for the book.

“The book is scheduled to be re leased on Amazon Kindle beginning Sept. 19,” she said. “My book-signings will be in October, which is plenty of time to get the book in the hands of those that love this mysterious time of year as much as I do.”

Maphies is already pondering ideas and themes for her next book. n

The story of the little fib:

“Once, after a visit to Grandma Wilson, Kathy and I were talking about grandma reading us stories from the Bible. My mom overheard our conversation, chuckled, and told us that grandma could not read or write. She was telling us the stories from memory. We could not believe it because she would follow along with her finger in the Bible and would turn the pages.”

The story of true love:

“When my mom was a young girl and thought she was in love, she begged Grandma to read the tea leaves for her. So Grandma sat my mom at the kitchen table, made the tea, and read the leaves. Grandma told my mom she would meet a man who had returned from the war —

Worlds War II had just ended. They would marry and move far, far away across a great mountain to live in a beautiful valley below. It wasn’t long before my father returned from the Pacific, where he served in the navy during the war. They met at church, married, moved to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and traveled over the Rocky Mountains.”

The story of the reading that broke a family:

“My mother’s brother, Clinton Conrad, enlisted in the army during World War II and was shipped to Europe. My grand ma Conrad, concerned for his safety, went to her mother — great-grandma Wilson for a reading. [She foretold that] Clinton would be shot and buried in a foreign country, but he would rise again. Of course, this was not the news her daughter hoped to hear. The family was upset and angry over the reading. Later, my grandma Conrad got the news from the military that Clinton had been killed. Right or wrong, my relatives blamed his death on my great-grandma Wilson. At some point, the family was no tified that the military was wrong; Clinton was alive. Clinton had been captured by the Germans in Poland along with other soldiers. The soldiers were lined up and shot. Each soldier fell backward into a mass grave dug by the Germans. Clinton sur vived the gunshot and eventually was able to dig his way out of the grave. He went on to marry a Polish woman, returned to the United States, and served in the army until he retired. Grandma Wilson stopped reading tea leaves for a long time, but people kept begging her for readings, and eventually, she began readings again. Many in the family never forgave her for the bad news and stopped visiting her.”

Schyrlet Cameron shared photos from her family in the mid 1900s. This is her great grandma Wilson, a known forntune teller, surrounded by her family.

The stories of knowing when death was coming:

“Grandma Wilson told us she knew when someone close to her would pass away. She would be awakened during the night by the sound of a wooden stick being drug along the side of the house. It would start on one side and continue around the entire house before the sound stopped. She would not know who it was, but she knew someone would soon pass.”

“Grandma Wilson told us that sometimes if a family member was going to pass away, she would get a warning. She would be awakened in the night by the figure of the person, headless, standing at the foot of her bed. One night she was awakened by the figure of a headless man dressed in black standing at the foot of her bed. She recognized it as her husband, and soon after, he passed away.”

My Great-Grandma the Psychic

Many great-grandmothers are remembered for their cookie recipes, the life lessons passed down through the years, or the resemblance to the next generation. However when you remember your ancestors, it is a special little connection between them and you. Some great-grandmothers are re membered by people outside their im mediate family, and some are remem bered for their skills and talents.

Schyrlet Cameron remembers her great-grandma Wilson — the fortune teller.

Schyrlet said her great- grandma Wilson told fortunes by reading tea leaves, and she had many visitors.

Schyrlet and her sister Kathy were often present during these “visits” from ages 4 to 9.

“She didn’t advertise her special ability, but neighbors and family often stopped by for what she called a visit,” Schyrlet said. “Many times, as young girls, Kathy and I were directed to sit quietly and play with our dolls when company came calling.

“Guests were ushered to the kitchen table, and cups and saucers were taken from the pantry. Grandma spooned a teaspoon of dark loose tea leaves into each cup, and then hot water from the kettle, heating on the wood stove, was poured over the leaves, filling each cup.

Story by Jordan Troutman

Sipping the brew, conversation centered on the weather, crops, and family.”

Great-Grandma Wilson would drink her tea and study the person who came for their visit.

“When just a sip or two of liquid was left in their cup, she would place a clean cotton dishtowel on the saucer and flip the cup over to allow the excess liquid and tea leaves to drain onto the towel,” Schyrlet remembered. “Next, she slowly and carefully inverted the cup and re turned it to the saucer. Turning to her visitor, she would caution, ‘The future is not fixed. Choices you make in the present can change everything.’ Then, peering into the cup, she let the tea leaves tell their story.”

Schyrlet and Kathy were born to Dale and Bernice (Conrad) Flood.

“My great-grandma, Wilson’s daugh ter, married a Conrad,” Schrylet said. “The Wilsons, Conrads, and Floods lived near the James River near Hoo ten Town Bridge. The Conrads live on the side near the community of Possum Trot, not far from Hurley. The Floods live on the side nearest Highlandville.

“My parents married and moved to Oregon, where Kathy and I were born. When I was 3 or so, we moved back to Missouri and lived in Springfield near my Grandma Wilson’s home.”

Schyrlet remembers her childhood home with no indoor plumbing and

a metal wash tub with a scrub board where her mother did their laundry.

Schyrlet said there is little known of her great-grandma Wilson’s life before this time.

“We do not know her maiden name, but her first name was Kizzy,’ she said. “We never knew my great-grandpa Wil son because he passed before we were born. We know she was probably born around 1870, and she passed some time in the 1960s.”

The girls would visit their great-grandma Wilson at her three room white home.

“The living room had a dresser, her bed, a wood stove, a couch, and a wood en rocker that no one was allowed to sit in except grandma,” Schyrlet said. “She had no electricity or indoor plumb ing. The kitchen had a white pie safe, a white wooden table, and a wood cooking stove. At the back of the house, she had a small garden and a chicken pen. Grandma was always neatly dressed, and her gray hair streaked with white was combed and styled in a bun at the back of her head.”

How does one tell a fortune from tea leaves?

“Grandma told us she studied the wet leaves in the cup,” Schyrlet said. “The shape of the wet leaves, color,

‘The future is not fixed. Choices you make in the present can change everything.’

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arrangement of the clusters on the sides and bottom of the cup helped her to answer questions, offer advice, and even forecast the future.”

The sisters said their great grandma Wilson was a very religious person.

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“She had a Bible and knew the sto ries by heart,” Schyrlet said. “She once said her father told her to use her gift for good and never for financial gain. She used the tea reading to help peo ple. Grandma never taught us how to read tea leaves because she felt it was not something you could teach another; it was a gift you were born with. Some in the family felt it was a curse, not a gift.”

The first step in reading tea leaves was for great-grandma Wilson to grab a white teacup.

“The color was important because white allowed her to see the leaves and patterns more clearly,” Schyrlet said. “Next, she spooned loose black tea leaves directly into the cup and poured the hot water. When the tea was right for drinking, she invited her guest to begin sipping it as they concentrated on the question they wanted to be an swered.”

When ready to read the tea leaves, great-grandma Wilson would instruct her guest to hold the cup in one hand and swirl the cup several times.

“Next, the cup was turned over on a white cloth. The cup rested on the cloth for a few minutes, then the cup was ro tated several times and placed upright on the table. The tea leaves would be stuck to the cup. Grandma would look into the cup, and story time began.”

When the sisters would visit their great-grandma Wilson, she would sit in her rocker, and the girls would sit crosslegged on the floor facing her.

“It was our favorite time,” Schyrlet said. “That is when we heard some of the most amazing stories.”

Stories that will now be shared with the public for the first time. n

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Gut Health Top Priority

Overconsumption of sugars and sweeteners is associat ed with an increase in the cases of disorders such as can cer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The relationship between sugar and these disorders has been assumed to be partly via the gut microbiome.

The microbiome is composed of the totality of microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi present in the gastrointes tinal tract. The inference is that increased intake of sugars and sweeteners has changed the pools of carbohydrates accessible by the microbiome, forming unique environments in the gut filled with growing microbes, some of which are bacterium.

The increased prevalence of these disorders is becoming a serious public health issue that is more severe compared to infectious diseases transmissible from person to person, resulting in a greater number of deaths. In both children and adults, the World Health Orga nization strictly endorses lowering the intake of added sugars and sweeteners to below 10 percent of the total energy consumption and proposes a further decrease to less than 5 percent.

Several studies have focused on the harmful impacts of western dietary patterns on well-being and the intestine. While intake of

dietary fat coming from fatty foods and fried foods is well evaluat ed, the precise effect of sugars and sweeteners is not properly accounted for, even though re fined sugars and sweeteners total up to 40 percent of daily caloric consumption within developed nations.

Excessive intake of sugars and sweeteners is related to numerous organ and tissue dysfunctions.

Both sugar and sweetener con sumption and high blood pressure disturb the intestinal barrier, hence raising the permeability of the gut resulting in intense gut microbiota dysbiosis (reduction in microbial diversity), which in turn leads to disturbance in the immunity of the mucosal that facilitates the suscep tibility of infections.

One way to improve the health of our gut is by reducing the con sumption of sugars and sweeteners

and increasing probiotics and pre biotics in our diet, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, nuts, and seeds.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that generally improve and restore the gut flora or good bacteria. Probiotics can be found in yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea drink), fermented soy, and fermented vegetables.

Prebiotics are compounds in food that induce the growth of beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Some examples of prebi otics are legumes, bananas, berries, tomatoes, artichokes, onions, garlic, broccoli, asparagus, and flax seeds.

Salads can be made into a fiberrich prebiotic boost by adding blueberries, cranberries, cashews, and edamame. Add some Greek yogurt-based dressing to get those probiotics in and enjoy this salad with kale, lettuce, or spinach. n

Gut microbiota affected by modern dietary sugars and sweeteners

Melida V. Pardo is a Cox College dietetic intern who is fully committed to help others achieve better health through nutrition. She is interested in the role of food and nutrition in promoting wellness and preventive care.

function. After July 16, 2022, both number s will

“The launch of the 988 crisis line will establish a more streamlined and effective resource for Missourians in behavioral health crisis,” Gover nor Par son said. We know that when individuals are experiencing crisis the sooner we can connect them to suppor t and provide assistance the better.

The 988 line will be the fir st step to engage individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. There are seven crisis center s in Missouri responsible for answering 988 contacts for the state. The trained crisis specialists at each center will listen, wor k to under stand how the individual’s problems are affecting them, provide suppor t, and connect them to resources.

On July 16, 2022, the newly designated 9-8-8, three-digit number, will route individuals to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, where compassionate, accessible care and suppor t are available 24/7 for anyone experiencing a mental health, suicide, or substance use crisis. The 988 line is confidential and free for all. The Lifeline number, 1-800-273-8255, will continue to function. After July 16, 2022, both numbers will connect individuals to the same ser vices.

“The launch of the 988 crisis line will establish a more streamlined and effective resource for Missourians in behavioral health crisis,” Gover nor Par son said. We know that when individuals are experiencing crisis the sooner we can connect them to suppor t and provide assistance the better.

If you or someone you know needs suppor call or text 988 or contact

The Clar k Center 417-235-6610

Resiliency Co mmunity Re

While 988 is a national initiative, it is up to each state to ensure crisis ser vices are available to anyone, anywhere, and anytime. After near ly two year s of planning and preparation, Missouri’s 988 center s are prepared and ready to answer the projected 253,000 contacts (calls, texts, and chats) expected in the fir st year of the 988 implementation.

Need to talk or get immediate help in a crisis? Help is available. If you or a loved one needs assistance, please reach out by calling or texting 988, or chatting at https://988lifeline.org .

The 988 line will be the first step to engage individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. There are seven crisis centers in Missouri responsible for answering 988 contacts for the state. The trained crisis specialists at each center will listen, wor k to understand how the individual’s problems are affecting them, provide suppor t, and connect them to resources.

While 988 is a national initiative, it is up to each state to ensure crisis ser vices are available to anyone, anywhere, and anytime. After near ly two years of planning and preparation, Missouri’s 988 centers are prepared and ready to answer the projected 253,000 contacts (calls, texts, and chats) expected in the first year of the 988 implementation.

Need to talk or get immediate help in a crisis? Help is available. If you or a loved one needs assistance, please reach out by calling or texting 988, or chatting at https://988lifeline.org

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The Boys Are Back in Town

Monett. Home. It’s where many of us grew up, at tended school, and made friends. And it’s a home many of us left to pursue higher educa tion or exciting new careers.

For two local Monett High grads, it’s the home they wanted to return to. It’s the home they wanted to serve. It’s the home they are now caring for.

Beau Bounous and Jason Obermann graduated from Monett High School in 2010 and in 2022, they returned as Dr. Beau Bounous and Dr. Jason Ober mann.

This dynamic duo, though not prac ticing medicine together, are no strang ers to a different kind of practice.

“The first time I met Beau was in football,” Jason said. “Sixth Grade. Mighty Mites.”

The two would go on to make the All State First Team as linemen in their junior year in 2008 and again in their senior year.

Story by Mike Gervais

“We would take on oppo nents on the field, and now we’re coming back to take on pathology,” Ober mann said. “I was right guard and he was right tackle, and we were pretty good friends in high school, we would go out to explore the local creeks to gether. But we went our separate ways for undergrad. Beau went on to play college ball. I didn’t.”

But the old friend’s paths were sure to cross again, as they both return to Monett to serve as community doc tors, Jason as a psychiatrist at the Clark Center and Beau as a family medicine doctor at Cox Monett Hospital.

“I thought I was going to stay in town and be a farmer up until my se nior year,” Obermann said.

Bounous said he was in the same boat. “I thought I was going to be a farmer too,” he said. “I always wanted

to do something in science and to help people, so that’s what I did.”

Bounous said back in high school, he and Obermann didn’t know they would both one day head off to medi cal school, so it was a big surprise when they reconnected at medical school.

After graduation, Obermann head ed off to Missouri State University and Bounous was off to Missouri South ern, where he continued his football career.

When it came time for medical school, Obermann found himself at the Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Technology. A year lat er, Bounous joined him at the campus.

“Beau actually stayed with me in Kirksville when he went to interview there,” Obermann said.

Dr. Beau Bounous

Dr. Jason Obermann

In his senior year at Monett High School, Obermann was voted one of the kindest students on campus.

With Obermann already one year in at Kirksville, the duo only shared a cam pus for a year before Obermann headed off to complete his residency.

“We were pretty close for that year we were in med school,” Bounous said.

Little did they know they were also both hoping to eventually make their way back home and serve the commu nity that helped raise them.

“Monett was always my hope,” Obermann said. “My parents and my wife’s family live here. It was always my hope to come back, but not all small towns have openings for psychiatrists.”

“Coming out of my residency, I thought about going to several different places,” Bounous said. “But in the end, I really wanted to come home. I hope to start a family, and I want to live in a place that has those small-town morals and values. And I want to give back to my community.

It’s been a long road for both doc tors, and both are thrilled to be home. While the busy schedule of a physician makes it difficult to carve out person al time, Bounous said he expects he’ll be adding a professional relationship with Obermann to their longstanding friendship.

“Family medicine goes along with psychiatrists,” Bounous said. “I’m sure we are going to be relying on him in the future.”

Bounous said the last time he saw Obermann in person was approximate ly two years ago, when Obermann got married in Verona.

But with both doctors working in Monett, he said he is hoping they will be able to get together soon to catch up, outside of the office.

“Monett High School did an awe some job for us,” Obermann said. “They set me up for success, and I am so excited to be back.”

“I am so thankful,” Bounous added. “Jason is one of my good friends, and now we’re both here, serving the com munity.” n

In his senior year at Monett High School, Bounous was voted most likely to become president.

As linemen on the Monett Cubs football team, Obermann and Bounous worked together to take people down. Today, as local physicians, they are work ing to keep people safe, happy and healthy.

Dr. Jason Obermann, 2022

Breast Cancer: Survivor’s Story

Cancer affects millions of people around the globe every year. In October, special focus is put on breast cancer awareness, an ill ness that affects both women and men. For women, it is estimated that one in eight will develop breast cancer in their lives. On average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States.

For the month of October, the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks and the National Breast Cancer Foundation encourage everyone to screen and seek out education on early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

An important part of education comes from sharing experiences of liv ing with breast cancer. Kristee Hinson of Lebanon, Mo., encourages women to follow medical advice on screening for breast cancer after her experience learning she had breast cancer at the age of 43.

Hinson, a native of Stockton, Mo., was going about her regular life keep ing up with her four sons when she dis covered a lump. “It felt large. I waited about two weeks before even mention ing it to anyone,” Hinson said. “I began to notice it got larger and I could easily

Story by Annie Lisenby Smith

see it. My nipple also began to invert. I had always remembered for years my gynecologist telling me to watch for that.”

A challenge for women is that they might be reluctant to discuss the spe cifics of signs of breast cancer beyond a lump. The Mayo Clinic adds these additional signs or symptoms of breast cancer: (1) change in size, shape, or appearance of a breast; (2) changes to the skin over the breast, such as dim pling; (3) peeling, scaling, crusting, or flaking of the pigmented area of skin

surrounding the nipple or breast skin; (4) nipple inversion; or (5) redness or pitting of the skin over the breast, like the skin of an orange.

As is recommended by cancer orga nizations and doctors, Hinson made an appointment with her doctor to discuss the discovered lump. “She sent me for a mammogram, I hadn’t yet had one.

Then they did an ultrasound,” Hin son said. “The doctor called me back in for an MRI. Then I had a biopsy. My official diagnosis was Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Stage 2b.”

ConnectionMO.com | Connection Magazine | 37 A year after beginning her breast cancer journey, Hinson is a survivor and healthy.

Celebrating completing two rounds of chemo, her halfway point in chemo treatments to battle breast cancer.

“As soon as I found the lump, I immediately knew I had cancer. I just knew deep down.”

The diagnosis was a surprise to Hin son. Her maternal grandmother was the only family member she knew of who’d had breast cancer, and that was when the grandmother was in her sixties.

The next step in the diagnostic process was identifying the type of cancer. There are many different kinds of can cers found in breast tissue. Hinson’s prognosis was good. “My oncologist told me that if I was going to get breast cancer, this is the one to get. She told me from the beginning that this was curable with a very low chance for recurrence. I didn’t have the genetic markers for the BRCA gene. My cancer was hormone receptor positive,” Hinson said.

Armed with this information, Hin son and her medical team began their fight. “I had a mastectomy on July 1, 2021. My port was placed a few weeks later,” Hinson said. “I had four rounds of chemotherapy each three weeks apart. Then I had 25 radiation treat ments five days a week.”

For the five weeks of her treatment, Hinson was fortunate to have groups of friends and family help care for her and her boys. Anyone who has been through cancer treatments or has cared for a loved one going through the pro cess knows that it truly is a battle that can’t be overcome without help. “I had people bring meals, groceries, clean my house, and send cards and letters of en couragement,” Hinson said. “I had a whole group of ladies clean my house for me on my very first chemo treat ment.”

Hinson shared her immense grati tude for the gift cards to restaurants and

grocery stores and gift baskets filled with things to get her through treatment. She was surrounded by kindness in friends sharing snacks, books, chap stick, and cozy socks. “I had flowers delivered. I had friends take turns driving me to my daily radiation treatments,” Hinson said.

Having the support team was important to Hinson because the treatments were exhausting. “Chemo treatments would wipe me out for about a week and a half. I would finally start to get some energy back and it would be time to go for another one. I lost weight, lost my appetite. My mouth had sores and ev erything tasted awful. All I could do was rest.”

As she went through her treatments, Hinson marked the milestones. “About two and a half weeks after my first che

mo treatment my hair began falling out,” Hinson said remembering a turning point for many cancer patients. “That day I sat on the edge of my bed and kept running my hands through my hair and it came out by the handful. I knew that I had to shave it because I couldn’t handle losing it slowly. I had someone come to my house to shave it off. I sat outside on my deck. We bagged it up and threw it away. That was that.”

While overcoming the physical de mands of chemo and radiation treat ments can be overwhelming, the emo tional cost must also be acknowledged. “I was scared from day one,” Hinson said. “That’s why I put off calling the doctor immediately. I wanted to ignore it. Once it became official, the fear be came reality.”

“You think that it could never happen to you and then it does. I was worried about the scar. I still am,” Hinson said. “I opted for a reconstruction. Stage one of the reconstruction happened at the time of mastectomy. It’s definitely not perfect and I am very self-conscious about it. While I’m not currently married, that does cause me embarrassment and anx iety, especially for my future relation ships.”

More than a year after her diagnosis, Hinson is on the way to winning her cancer battle. “I just recently had my port removed. All of my labs are good. They won’t say cancer free officially un til some more time has passed,” Hinson said. “I still see my oncologist every three months for checkups. It will be less as more time goes by. Because my cancer is hormone receptor positive, I will take medication for the next seven to 10 years to lesson my chances of recurrence.”

After her experiences, Hinson en courages others going through cancer treatments not to be afraid to ask for help and accept it when offered. “It was such a blessing to have so many people care for my family. I couldn’t have made it without everyone. Don’t worry about what you can’t do during treatment, you have to take care of your body. You are fighting something that is trying to kill you. So, you can’t worry about wheth er your house is clean. Your job is to trust your medical team and to follow their care instructions. It’s so important to find a good support system: family, friends, church family, counselor.”

Finding these resources in our area is made easier by the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks (BCFO). Based in Springfield, the BCFO works to help Ozarkians battle breast cancer in many ways. They provide education on breast cancer detection and access to free mammograms. For those battling

breast cancer, they provide additional information, support groups, financial assistance, and more. If you or some one you know could benefit from these resources, the BCFO can be contacted at 417-862-3838, or information about the organization can be found on their website at www.bcfo.org.

Having been through this journey and joining the more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, Hinson looks back and is thank ful to have made it through the surgeries and treatments. “There were some excruciating days. But to be on this side of cancer is truly a blessing,” Hinson said. “I highly encourage everyone to get your mammogram. They aren’t scary. They ar en’t that painful. It’s so important. Also, self breast exams. If something doesn’t look or feel right, call your doctor. That’s what they are there for.” n

Hinson enjoyed a summer trip this year to the Gulf Shores, Alabama with her boys, (left to right) Micah, Noah, Eli, and Jonah.

‘Don’t worry about what you can’t do during treatment.. It’s so important to find a good support system: family, friends, church family, counselor.’

Previously in Keeping Secrets, 15-year-old Paige’s mom, Alice, abruptly returned to her life. Paige learns that Alice is a spy, that her dad has been kidnapped, and that really, really bad people are chasing them. After obtaining a secure phone from Paige’s classmate, Brayden, Alice learns that her boss at the CIA has turned and is the one holding Paige’s dad.

Keeping Secrets

part three

By Annie Lisenby-Smith

“Let’s get a burger,” Alice says. “Is Late Night BBQ still open? They have the best fries.”

“You’ve just discovered that your boss is working for an international crime lord and we still haven’t found Dad, and you want to stop for burgers?” Paige questions her eyes wide in the passing street lights.

“I’m hungry,” Alice replies. “And I can’t think straight when I’m hungry. You must be hungry too. It’s after 11:00.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry,” Paige says. “But do you think this is a good idea? Shouldn’t we just stay low?”

“Good point, sweetheart,” Alice glances at Paige with a proud smile. “But we need a place where there will be lots of people, a place where we can eat, and a place where someone can meet up with us.”

“Someone meet up with us?” Paige asks.

“A good someone, Paige,” Alice says. “He’s on our side and can help us connect with my boss. So, is Late Night BBQ still open or not?”

“It’s open until midnight,” Paige melts back into the seat of the car. This has officially become the craziest night of her life. Her mom’s a secret agent who has been double crossed, and her dad has been kidnapped in the middle of it all. “What about Dad? Do you think he’s okay?”

“Knowing Piper, he’s perfectly fine. Maybe a little uncom fortable is all,” Alice says signaling to turn onto Main Street toward Late Night BBQ.

“Is that your way of saying that he’s being tortured?” Paige grimaces at the thought. Her dad is a second-grade teacher, used to managing a group of seven-year-olds. He wouldn’t stand a chance with any kind of torture that didn’t include nose picking and throwing rocks on the playground.

“He’s not being tortured,” Alice says firmly. “Piper would never do that. Not to someone close to me. She is, or was, my friend.”

“Piper? Doesn’t sound like the name of a back-stabbing double agent.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Alice says pulling the car into the busy parking lot at Late Night BBQ. “Piper Glenn seems sweet, but she’s a pit bull on the inside. She’ll fight with everything she has for what she wants. What she used to want was to put bad guys in prison. I’m not sure what she wants now.”

Paige doesn’t know if it’s because she’s hardly eaten in twelve hours or if it’s because of the adrenaline rush from rac ing through town to escape the bad guys, but a cheeseburg er dripping with BBQ sauce has never tasted better. Paige licks her fingers and dips a fry in the BBQ sauce pooled on her flimsy paper plate. She’s making a mess, but that’s what you do at Late Night BBQ, sitting at the well-worn outdoor picnic tables. The only seating is outdoors. Even in winter, people risk frost bite to eat their burgers fresh from the grill.

Next to her, Alice carefully bites into her burger dripping globs of melted cheese, a slice of pickle falling onto her plate. When her new phone from Brayden chimes, she wipes her hands on a thin paper napkin and unlocks the phone. She sends off a quick reply and lifts her burger to her mouth again.

“Was that about Dad?” Paige asks taking a long swig of root beer.

“A friend is joining us,” Alice replies popping a crispy French fry into her mouth.

“Is this seat taken?” A thin man with thinning gray hair asks holding a tray with a salad and a clear plastic cup of wa ter. Paige looks at him quizzically, she didn’t even know Late Night BBQ offered salads. Seriously, why would someone want a bowl of lettuce when they could fill themselves with the best burgers ever created?

“It’s for you,” Alice nods at the empty space on the bench next to her. Paige knows Alice is attempting nonchalance, try ing not to garner any attention. It’s not too difficult, nearly every picnic table is full, and a line at the kitchen window is winding toward the parking lot.

“Good choice,” the man says smiling around him.

“Tom, this is my daughter, Paige,” Alice says. “Paige, this is Tom Kentala. Everyone calls him Tech Guy Tom.”

“Everyone? Like everyone at the CIA?” Paige jabs. “Should I call you Tech Guy Tom too?”

To Paige’s surprise and humiliation, Tom laughs. It’s a full belly laugh. He’s obviously the kind of guy who wears every emotion openly.

“I like her,” Tom waves his plastic fork at Paige. “She has spunk, just like her mom.”

Paige huffs and shoves her last bite of burger in her mouth.

“Well, that spunk has gotten me in some trouble tonight,” Alice says with a frown.

“I know,” Tom smiles. “It’s all over the coms. Piper is about to flip her lid about you going rogue. She says you’ve sid ed with Sebastian Miranda and kidnapped your daughter to help you run a load of fentanyl. Good thing she stepped in and saved your husband before you dragged him into the new family business.” Sarcasm weighs as heavy in Tom’s meaning as the burger does in Paige’s stomach.

“But it wasn’t Mom,” Paige jumps in. “She was trying to save Dad. She’s keeping me from Piper. Isn’t Piper the one who’s working with this Miranda guy?”

“Sometimes, the story people believe is the one told by those in highest ranks,” Alice drops her head into her hands.

“Your mom’s right,” Tom says dabbing a drop of salad

dressing on his chin. “Piper’s behind all this. Alice is trying to save you and your dad and to stop Piper. But that’s not what most of the operatives in the area believe. Luckily for you two, I can see the truth from a mile away.”

“How?” Alice asks. “What do you know?”

Tom shrugs and takes another bite of salad, chewing with a smile. “As soon as I heard the first comm about you, Alice, I did the rational thing and hacked your email. It was obvious from the start that you were clean. After hacking a few more, and not finding anything that made sense of these shenani gans, I hacked into Piper’s secret email and found everything I needed to know that she was dirty.”

“Piper has a secret email?” Paige asks, leaning forward.

“All the higher ups do,” Tom says. “They think we don’t know, but we always do. Tech guys are like modern wizards, you know?”

“You’re the Dumbledore of the CIA?” Paige asks with a smirk.

“Dumbledore? I like that,” Tom nods. “No more Tech Guy Tom. I’m going to demand everyone call me Dumble dore now.”

“What do you suggest we do now, Dumbledore?” Alice asks, her voice ringing with annoyance.

“What you do is above my paygrade,” Toms replies. “How you contact Piper, that’s what I can help you with.”

“Can you tell where she’s keeping Dad?” Paige asks, her heartbeat picking up pace.

“Um,” Tom groans. “It doesn’t work like that. I can work a little magic, get an idea of her location, but we don’t know if she’s got your dad with her.”

“How is this guy supposed to help us, Mom? You said he would, but he doesn’t know anything.”

“Paige, settle down,” Alice shakes her head.

“No,” Paige stands, her feet crunching the gravel covering the eating area. “I will not settle down, Mom. Dad is still missing. We know who has him. We need to go and get him back. Isn’t that what you spies are supposed to do?”

Eyes dart in Paige’s direction as she yells the word “spies.” After a quick glance and evaluation of the situation, Tom breaks into a belly laugh. It’s a full on, knee slapping, snorting laugh that makes the other diners return to their own food and their own con versations.

“Oh, Paige,” Tom wipes his eyes to complete the effect be fore lowering his voice and leaning across the table. “You need to watch what you say. You and Alice and your dad are in real danger. Piper could be close by. She could be surveilling us right this minute. You need to keep it together and stop yell ing ‘fire’ into crowds.” The hardness in his eyes sobers Paige in a heartbeat.

“We have to find my dad,” Paige whispers.

“We will,” Tom replies, resting his hand on her shoulder. “Trust me. We’ll find him.”

“How?” Paige hits Tom with a stare.

Tom smiles and shakes his head. “You are so like your mom.”

“She’s right, Tom,” Alice says. “How?”

“I have a few ideas and some gear in my trunk,” Tom winks and stands. He throws away the remains of his salad before ambling to a white SUV parked in a dark corner of the parking lot next to the dumpster. Alice nods in Tom’s direc tion, and Paige gets the message. They clean up and walk as casually as possible to meet Tom who’s digging through black boxes in his trunk.

He pulls out a laptop covered in concert stickers and flips it open. Using the trunk space as his desk, Tom’s fingers fly across the keyboard.

Paige cocks her head watching him work. “What are you—”

“Shh,” Tom orders, stopping Paige’s words with a quick wave of his hand. He pounds away, switching through screen after screen until he comes to a quick stop.

“Pizza,” he declares.

“Pizza?” Alice and Paige ask in unison.

Tom’s smile fills his whole face and he nods. “Pizza. I am Dumbledore.” He turns the laptop to face Alice and Paige. “I looked up the work schedules, but the ones from before Piper changed them today and found out who was working with her. She’d never use her own phone, but there’s one thicknecked agent that wouldn’t think twice about ordering pizza delivery from the app on his phone.”

“Kevin,” Alice whispers.

“Yep,” Tom gives a quick nod of triumph and points to a blinking dot on his screen. “Fresh, hot pizza should be deliv ered to this location in fifteen minutes or it’s free.”

“So, if we intercept the pizza, we can sneak in incognito,” Alice thinks out loud.

“Um, am I the only one who sees the problem with this?” Paige asks looking between the two very adept and welltrained CIA agents. “Wouldn’t they recognize us?”

“Us? Yes,” Tom says to Paige. “You? No.”

“No way,” Alice interjects. “She can’t do this. She can’t.”

“Look, it’s easy,” Tom shrugs and puts down the laptop. “Have her drive my car. We’ll be in the trunk ready to jump out and do our thing.”

“But I don’t have a driver’s license,” Paige bites her lip.

“It’s not that hard,” Tom says. “I’ll get you in place. All you’ll have to do is keep the wheel straight and tap on the gas pedal a little.”

“Do we have time to practice?” Paige asks knowing the answer. A few minutes later, she’s panicking watching Tom drive and listening to his instructions as Alice follows the GPS tracking and navigates them to Paige’s dad. And before she knows it, Paige is sitting in the driver’s seat with the engine rumbling. The pizza guy happily took Tom’s $200, tip abandoned the pizza, and went on his way.

“Pizza?” Alice and Paige ask in unison.

Tom’s smile fills his whole face and he nods.

“Pizza. I am Dumbledore.”

Lance Mettlach

“Just breathe,” Alice says from where she’s hunkered behind Paige, a char coal-gray blanket pulled over her.

Paige breathes in and taps the gas pedal. The SUV lurches forward making Paige squeal. She slams on the breaks, rocking everyone in the SUV forward and forcing a groan from Tom in the trunk.

“Easier. More gentle, like when you’re playing the piano,” Alice says. “Tap gen tly. Adagio, Paige. You can do this.”

Flexing her fingers, Paige rests her foot on the gas pedal and presses it gently. The SUV creeps down the abandoned street in the industrial district of town. Nothing surrounds them but abandoned buildings and piles of garbage on the sidewalks. Paige thinks about her dad, his light blue eyes and sandy brown hair that has recently begun to thin. The silly way he still makes happy face pancakes for her. The way he always pulls her into a hug before leaving for school.

She’s so focused on focusing that Paige nearly misses the man in black who steps out from the shadows directly in front of the SUV. Paige screams in surprise and slams on the breaks. The car rocks for ward in protest, its frame groaning.

Her heart racing, Paige attempts a friendly smile. She was supposed to be just a pizza delivery driver after all. Her smile disappears the instant the man in black lifts a revolver and points it directly at Paige.

“Mom?” Paige gasps. Alice’s head pops up next to Paige’s shoulder.

“You were right, Roberto,” a wom an’s voice comes from the doorway of an abandoned building next to where the SUV has stopped. “I knew Alice would fall for the pizza delivery. She’s always thought she was a real agent, but she’s just an accountant after all.”

Lifting herself up in the seat, Alice opens the car door and steps onto the dirty street. Alice’s words drip heavy with disdain when she says, “Hello, Piper.” n

by Christa Stout

Volunteer to benefit people and pet populous

It seems lately I only write about bad news, and it makes me sad. Unfortunately this month is no exception, on one hand we have shelters that are overflowing with dogs and cats available for adoption and on the other hand a rescue getting start ed that could help this situation but is not getting enough assis tance to do so.

I did a follow up visit with Triple H Farm Rescue. You may recall that Wende started a 501c3 res cue with her own funds and prop erty on a small scale, by providing flea preventive and low cost spay and neuter information as well as training tips. She also had a food pantry for dogs and cats that allowed pet owners to keep dogs during hard times, rather than having the pets turned over to a shelter.

However, it has been a tough year for Wende since she was the one and only person working at the shelter, and volunteers have been almost non-existent. Despite this, she has been able to accommodate more than 80 dogs on their way to new homes or rescue in parts of the coun try that are able to take dogs. Wende is currently working with a rescue located in Michigan who still has capacity to take some pets and when successful, ar

ranging transport from Missouri to Michigan.

But that’s not all, she has im proved her location with fences that will eventually allow her to let dogs run outside and taking down some trees that needed to be removed, and generally mak ing improvements that will allow her to have them onsite. All of this despite her own disabilities.

Her hands are swollen from pounding fence posts into the ground. When asked how she ac complishes all of this despite her disabilities, she simply says “I just have to learn to do things differ ently”. But she does admit these days that “rescue life is hard”.

She has had to stop both the food bank and the flea preventive because she is only one person and it takes time away from the rescues. She currently has three dogs, two beagles and a great pyrenees on a waiting list for transport to points North.

In addition she has 2 puppies (Faith and Sir Charles), who, unbeknownst to her, had parvo and coccidia when they arrived at her rescue. There were 3 puppies, but one succumbed to parvo. She feels lucky and happy that she was able to save two out of three. But the cost in human time, vet bills and medicine is high.

Visit their Facebook page

FAITH

SIR CHARLES

ConnectionMO.com/RescuedMyFavoriteBreed | Connection Magazine | 45 Donate to Triple H Farm Rescue:

Take a look at some of these pets available:

Recently, a cute little terrier was brought to her when she was found wandering around Washburn. When I was with Wende, she said she didn’t dare give her some basic treatments because she was afraid the poor girl might be pregnant. She says Shirley (named after LaVerne and Shirley) is a sweet dog who cries a lot because she wants human company.

Shirley has a vet appointment and that will determine any future treatments. If she is pregnant, she will stay at Triple H until the pups are old enough to be adopted also.

The one thing that is extremely hard for Wende, is to turn peo ple down when she is at capaci ty and they want to bring a dog to her, whether it is one some one found as a stray or whether it is one that needs to be rehomed, especially if the animal needs a new home due to death or health issues by the owner. Wende covers most of Southern Barry County, from Shell Knob to Washburn and beyond.

When asked what Wende needs most, she says foster parents and volunteers. With a few hours help a week from each, she would be able to do so much more, maybe resume the food pantry and get a little breather for herself.

She also needs small dog col lars as well as leashes, and of course, monetary donations to help pay for vet bills, food and medicine, is always appreciated. So, if you can, please help Wende and the dog and cat population. Consider volunteer ing or fostering and donate, if you can. Remember, a healthy pet population will improve humans’ health! n

Email your pet’s photo to: lcraft@cherryroad.com

If you think your furry or feath ered friend is the cutest in the area, let us know! We invite you to share a photo of your pet to be featured in Connection’s Cutest Pet contest. Photos should be sent in the original JPG format at the highest resolution possible. Remember to include your pet’s name, city of residence and your contact information.

Cookie the beagle, dressed up like a Blue Heeler at 6 months, is the fur baby of Catherine Hukill of Aurora.

A reception honoring retiring Monett Patrol Sgt. Kermit Howell was held Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Monett Park Casino.

1. Missouri State Highway Patrol Austin Royster, retiring Monett Patrol Sgt. Kermit Howell, Sgt. Dennis Camp and Det. Brian Brown

2. Monett Police Chief George Daoud and retiring Monett Patrol Sgt. Kermit Howell

3. Monett Det. Scott Landreth and retiring Monett Patrol Sgt. Kermit Howell

4. Retired Monett Police Lt. Greg Brandsma, retiring Monett Patrol Sgt. Kermit Howell and Purdy Police Chief Jackie Lowe

5. Jerrod Jarvis, left, Youth Specialist at Missouri Division of Youth Ser vices, and Brian Landreth, Stone County Sheriff’s Office

6. Barry County Sheriff Danny Boyd and Monett Sgt. Dennis Camp

7. Pierce City Police Chief Mike Abramovitz and Lawrence County Jailer Doug Bounous

1. Lora

3. Joe

5.

The annual Monett Repurposed Faire was held Saturday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Aug. 28 at the Jerry D. Hall Memorial Pavilion at the Glen and Sharon Garrett Downtown Park, on Front Street in Monett. Visitors had the opportunity to enjoy food, music and shop ping from local vendors for the two-day event.

A Mother’s Journey Keepsake

Jewelry

Aire Serv

Aurora Motor and Machine

Barry County Farm Bureau

Barry Lawrence Regional Library

Bernie’s Floral

Vintage Garden

Bruner Pharmacy......................

Cassville Dispensary

Clark Center, The

Coldwell Banker

CoxHealth

CS Bank

Diet Center 11

Doug’s Pro Lube

Edward Jones

Exeter Corn Maze 11

Factory Direct Mattress

First State Bank

2

36

Fohn Funeral Home 36

Four Seasons Real Estate

Freedom Bank

21

16

Friendly Tire 11

Ken’s Collision Center 30

Lackey Body Works

Lil Boom Town

My Best Friends

Ordinary

Ozark Methodist

Peppers and Co.

Protech

QC

Roaring

Masri

Rusty Gate

Spears, Jared,

Trogdon Marshall

Turpentine Creek

VisionHealth Eye Center

Whitley Pharmacy

“Labor omnia vincit.” (Latin) / “Steady work overcame all things.”

- A Trip To The Moon by George Melies, circa 1902

PARTING SHOT

Photo by Pete Rauch

Full Moon Rising over Sandia Peak

Get the Right Care, Right Now.

When you need care, it’s not always easy to know where to go. Primary care, urgent care, a virtual visit? What’s best for your symptoms? Your schedule? Our Care Finder tool at coxhealth.com can help. Search for your symptoms or view common conditions, and we’ll point you to the care that’s right for you.