Legals

An editorial column from the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation

By Leslie Holloway

So you’re registered to vote. You’ve heard a lot about different ways to vote in the November election. If you haven’t decided whether to cast your ballot in person or not, don’t wait too long, and take time to review the rules.

This year all voters can opt to use mail-in ballots. Legislation authorizing mail-in ballots was enacted this year to accommodate voting under pandemic conditions. Any registered voter can vote by mail-in ballot. Mailin ballots can be requested in person or by mail. Voters have until 5 p.m. on October 21 to request a mail-in ballot by mail from their local election authority. For example, in Cole County that would be the County Clerk’s office.

But here’s where planning ahead is crucial: mail-in ballots can only be turned in by mail, and before mailing, the envelope must be notarized. These ballots must be received by the local election authority by 7 p.m. on November 3.

Absentee voting is an option only for qualified voters. This year eligibility criteria for absentee voting include voters who have either contracted COVID-19 or are considered “at-risk” based on certain factors. Absentee ballots can be requested from your local election authority by mail until 5 p.m. on October 21 and in person until November 2.

In some cases, absentee ballots, like mail-in ballots, must be notarized. A list of notaries who have volunteered their services free of charge is posted on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website.

Absentee ballots can be turned in either by mail or in person. The deadline for turning in absentee ballots in person is 5 p.m. on November 2. Absentee ballots turned in by mail must be received by the local election authority by 7 p.m. on November 3. Specific voter information is posted at the

Missouri Secretary of

State’s Go Vote Missouri website at sos. mo.gov. Missouri Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft is encouraging voters casting absentee or mail-in ballots to mail ballots at least two weeks before the November 3 election. That means ballots should be in the mail by October 20. On the front end, local election authorities must start mailing requested ballots to voters by September 22.

Your vote is important. Make it count. Please plan ahead.

Backroads of So. Greenfield By Carmen Hargis Baker

Birthdays: September 3rd-Mark Gillen, Levi Cutler 7, Sabrina Lewis 18, Roy Beeson 22, Leland Kerr 42, Shane Hembree 49, Jeanie Dinges the big 80 and Virginia Shorter 87; 4th-Brantley White 8, Levi Dunn 31, Karen Roby 46, Frank East 55, Margaret Taylor 57, Karen Davis 57, Tracy Lasater 59 and Jon Dicus 59; 5th-Carla Shepard, River Jones 5, Sophia Wilmoth 8, Makayla Williams 8, Ava Holland 8, Maddox Shorter 12, Katie Hickey 25, Sarah Holland 31, Chris Daniel 58 and Jim Rosenbaum 72; 6th-Tess Friend, Evan Jones 26, Mary Mason 36, Chuck Crouch 52 and Bob Jackson 77; 7th-Chuck Daniel, Jeremiah Hartman 6, Aubrey Davis 19 and Deanna Whaley the big 60; 8th-Sue Freeze, Jennifer Schmidt 45, Brian Marshall 58 and David Yocom 61; 9th-Troy Hudspeth, Candy Hall, Johnny Spain 10, Parker Truman 10 and Ben Blankenburg 56. Wishing you all a wonderful birthday!

Anniversaries: September 3rd-Colt and Martinique Hawkins 4 years, BJ and Sheila Ruark 9 years, Kevan and Crickett Marshall 26 years; 4th-Shane and Amanda Baker 21 years and Clarence and Laura Mabee 66 years; 6th-Joe and Zinetta Killingsworth 62 years; 7th-Jarad and Laura Johnson 7 years and Clayton and Jessica Douty 1 year; 8th-Bob and Janett Blakemore 57 years; 9thJohn and Jessica Sipes 2 years. Wishing you many more happy years together.

In memory: Virgil Hargis 9-3-1989, Mark Watson 9-41983, John D Wilkinson 9-42017, Jerry Wilson 9-4-2018, Ruby Hurd 9-5-2016, Bruce Bell 9-5-2019, Josh Trask 9-5-2019, Olivia Diefenderfer 9-6-2015, Betty Hickey 9-6-2013, Greg Taylor 9-62017, Stevie Deckard 9-62018, Ruth Williams 9-72008, Bob Jerome 9-7-2019, Zayden Broillier 9-8-2012, Darrell Hall 9-8-2019, Ruby Martin 9-8-2014, Severin Poirot 9-8-2017, Harold Gray 9-8-2019, Joyce Sherwood 9-9-2014 and Lavern Hickey 9-9-2019. Gone but never forgotten.

I want to wish everyone a safe and fun filled Labor Day weekend coming up. Drive careful and always watch out for the other guy.

Also keep watching for the little ones going to and from school. Don’t forget to yield to the school buses and watch for them stopping.

Rick spent all last week in Tulsa for his four-day scans. They got the results back on Thursday and said everything was stable. He was sure glad to get home on Thursday evening.

Last Tuesday, Bodhi and I spent the day with Grandma Patsy. He loves going to her house and getting to run around.

One of Mallory Heiskell’s twins, Griffin, broke his little pinkie last week. He was at the sitter when one of the other kids shut his hand up in the door. I don’t know who was more upset, Mommy or Griffin. Big brother, Leighton, put a splint on his pinkie so Griffin wouldn’t be alone. That is so sweet of big brother.

The Miller Christian Center is getting ready for their seasonal turn over so if you are wanting any summer clothes now is the time. They are having bag sales all this week.

Saturday, Mom and I headed out on the 100-mile yard sales. We were in Mt. Vernon when the storm hit and that was the end of all the sales. I felt so sorry for those people set up on the parking lots. Canopies were blowing everywhere. Mom and I had a good time and went through the drive-thru at McDonald’s for a late breakfast.

When I got home, there were limbs down everywhere and some nice big trees, too. I know Rick spent Sunday afternoon cleaning up our yard.

Friday was Tassy White’s mother-in-law’s 75th birthday and they were to go to Kansas City for her party but Tassy was too sick to go. She has had a rough past week and will be going to Kansas City this week for an MRI if she is up for it.

Jeanie Dinges was surprised with an 80th birthday party over the weekend. Everyone had a great time celebrating with her. Lots of pictures were taken of the princess of the day!

Steve and Angie Shepard hosted a family gathering at their home Sunday after church.

Guerin Brown spent a week in St. Louis with his grandparents, Pat and Liz, a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. He is looking forward to his next visit.

I’m happy to report little Cicely Gray finally got to come home from the Kansas City Hospital. We are praying the next several months of treatment don’t make her sick. Continue to keep Gabe and Jill and their children in your prayers as they battle this cancer.

Congratulations to the Lady Wildcats on second place win in the Verona Volleyball Tournament over the weekend. They played a good Miller team for first place. Congratulations to the Miller girls on winning the championship game! My insurance finally approved for my MRI on September 8th. It can’t get here soon enough. My sciatic nerve doesn’t let up for a minute and I am so ready for it to end.

Everyone have a great week and enjoy that one extra day off of work!

Cattlemen’s Tour Planned

The Southwest Missouri Cattlemen’s Association will hold its annual fall tour on Sept. 12. This year’s event will be in the Halltown vicinity of eastern Lawrence County.

The tour begins at 1:30 p.m. at Blue Silo Beef one mile south of I-44 on Highway O at Halltown. The hosts will be Kassi and Ian Glassman. They own 330 acres and run a Simmental-based cow herd of just over 100 head. They attended a grazing school and are utilizing the management-intensive grazing practices from the school.

The second stop is north of Halltown to visit Nathan and Taylor Isakson’s fall-calving, low-input operation.

The last stop is just south a couple of miles to Jerry and Judy Crownover’s. Their 90cow herd calves in the late winter-spring is mostly Red Angus purchased from the Show-Me-Select bred heifer sale. He breeds them to Beefmaster bulls and one Shorthorn bull.

This year’s tour showcases smaller operations, with each of the three being cost-conscious. Area cow-calf producers should find many items useful to them whether they have the average, one-bull cow herd or a much larger operation.

The tour is jointly sponsored by the Cattlemen and University of Missouri Extension. Due to COVID-19, social distancing will be practiced as much as possible and face masks are encouraged. Should the tour need to be canceled, sufficient notice will be given. You may also contact the MU Extension center in Mount Vernon at 317-466-3102 for details.

My Turn By Bob Jackson

I feel that tacos, chips and a Margarita are more important than a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.

Before you disrespect some of us old folks, you might want to do a background check. We still know how to do what we used to do.

Bad decisions make good stories.

I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kinda tired.

Bad manners from a cattleman going up to a couple eating fish in a restaurant and asking, “What part of a cow THAT come from?”

Only wear clean farm hats to weddings, funerals and graduations.

The David Haubein family David, Tanya and their daughter, Ann and husband Brady Owen were featured in a one-page article in the September edition of The Missouri Conservation Magazine. The Haubeins are fifth generation land owners of 4,600 acres near Lockwood, Missouri, and were cited for their conservation work on the land.

Congrats to area youth for winning at Ozark Empire Fair. This includes Miles Owen and Ann Neeley of South Greenfield; Rhett McMillian, Ryleigh Morris, Kenleigh Bolin, Kylie Noble, and Zach Hayter of Walnut Grove; Bobby Bruffey, Everton; Faith Calvin, Golden City; and Dalten Steele, Miller.

ONLY US THAT GREW UP IN THE 1950s

WILL REMEMBER THESE

Fender skirts on cars, ducktail haircuts, seam in the back of a pair of hose, sock hops, double root beer floats, Lucky Strike cigarettes, taps on heels of shoes, Sadie Hawkins dances, “Only The Shadow Knows”, knickers, knock-knock jokes, asking dad for keys to car. Can you think of more?

SCHOOL QUALITY

CAN ATTRACT PEOPLE TO MOVE TO

RURAL AREAS

A study done by USDA and a university found that quality schools in rural areas like where we live will attract new people to move. Top items in a quality school are good test scores in reading and math and a low the dropout rate in the school system. New residents can work from home, enjoy outdoor recreation and face less crime. School administrators and teachers are the key to quality schools. Local elected school board members hire administrators and set school policy. Improvement to quality schools begins locally, not from Jefferson City or Washington, DC.