July 21 — The Monett Times Midweek

GOOD OLD DAYS PAGE 2 | GO GUIDE PAGE 4 | DEAR ABBY/COMICS PAGE 8 | CLASSIFIEDS PAGE 10

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Thursday, July 21, 2016 V olume 3, I ssue 29

Serving Barry and Lawrence County, Mo., since 1899

GOOD FOR MORE THAN JUST WINE Young entrepreneurs team up to form new

Purdy business serving up elderberries - Page 3

The Monett Times Midweek

Page 2 • Thursday, July 21, 2016

BACK IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS EIGHTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1936 • A new baby chick hatchery will open on Aug. 5 at 702 Broadway by R.L. Manuel and Charles Dixon of Clinton. The business will be known as Monett Hatchery.

• Col. Charles Lindbergh exploded a verbal bomb on July 24 before Nazi aviation officials in Berlin decrying Europe’s growing threats of war from the air. Air progress “has abolished defense” and made a new conception of security necessary, Lindbergh said. “It is our responsibility to make sure that we do not destroy the very things we wish to protect.”

SEVENTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1946 • Burl Roller, a clerk at the post office, has purchased a five-acre tract just east of Sunset Drive and on the north side of West Cleveland Ave. Roller plans to subdivide the area into eight or 10 large lots with approximately 100-foot frontage for each lot.

• Members of the Happy Anglers, Floaters and Hikers Club, whose fish fry recently fizzled out when Raymond “Doc” Davis failed to deliver the goods, will be even happier to know that they can obtain pointers on how to fish through a special course offered by the Rinky Dink Club at $10 a lesson. A routine expedition of the Rinky Dinks returned with two flatheads, one bass, five channel catfish, one goggle-eye and four drums.

SIXTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1956 • A group of 72 left Monett by bus for Kansas City as a climax to the

second annual Monett Kiwanis Club’s baseball excursion to see the Athletics play. Many members of the Monett Little League and Little Bigger League were in the group.

• The role of the Ground Observer Corps in the defensive set-up to protect the U.S. from an alien-serial attack was described by John W. Hunt to the BPW Chapter.

Hunt told how the GOC cooperates with the U.S. Air Force with 72 filter centers located at strategic positions throughout the country, with the area district center in Joplin.

FIFTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1966 • Complete remodeling of the science department at Monett High School, supervised by instructor Bill Jones, is one of the major improvements for the coming school year, which begins in four weeks. Partitions in the science department have been removed, leaving a large L-shaped room for laboratory, work area and lectures.

• Fifty-nine future Peace Corpsmen bound for Thailand, 10 language instructors and more than a score of other workers and teachers arrived at Roaring River State Park on July 30 for six days of camping in a village atmosphere. They will stay at Camp Smokey to become accustomed to living in small communities.

FORTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1976 • Final approval has been received for the $288,000 loan through the Farmers Home Administration to the Monett Housing Authority to build 24

Children and ice cream just naturally go together. On July 24, 1956, scores of youngsters attended the annual Monett Lions Club Family Night at the Monett City Park. Entertainment consisted mainly of contests for the kiddies immediately following the Dutch supper in which some 200 persons were served. Seated on a bench eating their dessert, hardly paying any attention to the photographer, from left, were: Richard Monroe, Billie Lou Mitchell, Gwen Weston, Susan Baum, Christie Nichols and Jane Ann Randall. File photo/The Monett Times units for senior citizens.

Additional donations of $5,500 were also raised.

• On July 28 paving began on six blocks of Broadway, from Third to Seventh streets. Crews worked in advance cleaning storm sewers, which involved removing all pavement over metal plates covering the channels that are approximately two feet wide and a foot deep.

THIRTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1986 • Monett welcomed the 24th American Field Service foreign exchange student, Haruko Itotagawa from Japan, only the second AFS student from the Orient to stay in Monett. She is residing with the Kenneth Jones family.

• Leonard McGee, vocational agriculture instructor for Purdy R-2

Schools, was awarded the Teacher of Teachers Award by the National Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association in ceremonies in Columbia.

McGee has been teaching for 11 years in Purdy.

TWENTY YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 1996 • Work crews finishing the commons room at the new Monett High School have sealed the room in plastic before spraying the ceiling purple while working from an elevated platform.

• With a capacity crowd in vocal opposition packing the city council chambers on July 27, the Monett Zoning and Planning Commission voted to recommend a new subdivision proposed off Highway 60, west of the Municipal Golf Course. Most of the criticism came from res-

idents of the Plymouth Hills subdivision, immediately to the south of the proposed addition. They did not want their neighborhood connected by an extension of their northernmost street.

TEN YEARS AGO JULY 24-30, 2006 • Twenty-eight months of work to upgrade the Monett wastewater treatment plant for the first time since 1992 has been completed. David Sims, the plant’s chief operator, said crews are working out some fine-tuning bugs. Overall operations

continue very well, seen by the clarity of the treated effluent being discharged into Clear Creek.

• Citing confusion over the legal description of boundaries, Barry County Judge Carr Woods ruled after a hearing on July 28 that the election to form the Purdy Rural Fire District would go forward on Aug. 8, but that the decision would not be binding. The Monett Rural Fire Association opposed the vote over infringement of “historical boundaries.”

ON THE COVER: Unripened elderberries, along with the leaves, twigs, branches, seeds, and roots of the plant, can contain a cyanide-inducing glycoside, which can cause a toxic buildup of cyanide in the body. Owners of Innovative Natural Solutions, a Purdy company formed in 2015, cultivate the plants and sell the ripened fruit to wineries and other specialty markets that utilize the fruit for its edible and medicinal properties. Melonie Roberts/reporter@ monett-times.com

The Monett Times Midweek

Thursday, July 21, 2016 • Page 3

Elderberries: Good for more than just wine

Young entrepreneurs team up to form new Purdy business

BY MELONIE ROBERTS

T

reporter@monett-times.com

wo young Purdy entrepreneurs are taking what most farmers consider a nuisance plant and turning it into a business.

Devon Bennett, a 2012 PHS graduate, had just graduated high school when he read an article about elderberries and their potential as the new hot crop.

Intrigued, he started researching the topic through the University of Missouri’s Southwest Missouri Research Center in Mt. Vernon.

“Andy Thomas, at MU, is considered to be the face of elderberries,” Bennett said. “I talked to him for six to eight months before I decided to do it.

I thought about it as a way to pay for college.”

Bennett started planting his first seven-acre plot on May 1, 2013.

“It was snowing outside,” he said.

“Somehow, it survived.”

Bennett had rented property from a former grape grower who was going out of business.

“It was the perfect set-up,” Bennett said. “Elderberries do well in a vineyard setting with irrigation. I planted the first seven acres by hand, using just a pick. That’s about 7,000 plants set about four feet apart. It took about three and a half weeks.”

The following year, Bennett doubled his acreage, using six acres on his dad’s farm.

“I planted those by hand, too,” he said. “I pulled my first crop and sold everything I produced in 2014.”

In the spring of 2015, Brittany Mareth got involved. Through the Genesis Project in Purdy, the duo formed Innovative Natural Solutions and started to expand rapidly, adding equipment, three greenhouses, a semi tractor and trailer to haul their harvested crop, and adding irrigation in every field where it was lacking.

Mareth was pursuing a degree in elementary education when she felt the

Brittany Mareth, of Purdy, looks over a field of elderberry plants that are just beginning to put on fruit buds and ripen. Mareth and Devon Bennett, also of Purdy, have teamed up to form Innovative Natural Solutions, of which elderberries are the core portion of the business. Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com lure of the elderberry dream.

“I actually came onboard when I was a senior in college because he talked so much about elderberries,” Mareth said. “I had eight acres and planted elderberries for this project.”

“We also started looking at contract growers,” Bennett said. “Presently, we have 55 acres under some form of contract or control, and an additional 30 acres with other farmers.”

Currently, INS has the largest elderberry production farm(s) in the United States.

“A lot of farmers consider it a weed,” Bennett said. “They pull it from hedge rows and fence rows because they consider it a nuisance.”

A native American plant, Missouri is considered the epicenter of elder-

berry production, largely due to the characteristics of the soil and the environmental conditions that promote production.

Bennett said propagation is not difficult: just take a cutting containing two nodes, one for the root system and one for leaf and berry production, and plant it with rooting hormone. The plants typically thrive in a warm environment that has an average amount of rainfall.

“There is really very little environmental control,” he said. “I was an active FFA member and took a plant science class, so I have some background in that area. Also, my grandparents have always been hugely into landscaping, and I was always been involved in planting and propagation

every summer at their house.”

They also use herbicides for pest management and inspect their crops daily for signs of fungus or disease.

Although some entities promote producers to plant their crop on three acres or less, Bennett is thinking outside the box.

“It takes just as much equipment and personnel to harvest a mid-size or large farmer’s crop as it does a smaller plot,” Bennett said. “The larger plots are more cost-effective.”

With a very short growing season, from April to September, the actual harvest, from mid-July to mid-August, can be intensely busy for the fledgling company and its owners.

“You have to have one person for CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

The Monett Times Midweek

A LOOK AT AREA EVENTS THIS WEEK

BY MURRAY BISHOFF

ROGERS, Ark.: At the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, 5079 W. Northgate Rd., Shinedown, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry and Whiskey Myers perform at 6:30 p.m. on July 26.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.: At George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson, performing this week are Fitz and the Tantrums plus Zella Day on Thursday; the Bel Aires, Septembers End and Boom Kinetic on Friday; and Backwoods Band Battle on July 28.

Singer songwriter Jack Williams performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the community room at the Fayetteville Library, 401 W. Mountain St. JOPLIN: At the Downstream Casino, west of Joplin, performing this week are Orphan Annie with dance rock on Friday and Saturday, plus a tribute concert to Stevie Ray Vaughan at 8 p.m. on July 28.

TULSA, Okla.: Boy George and the original lineup from Culture Club performing at 8 p.m. on July 28 at the Hard Rock Casino in Catoosa.

At the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver, Modest Mouse and Brand New perform on Thursday. Dodgebrawl is offered Saturday.

Shinedown, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry and Whiskey Myers perform at 6:30 p.m. on July 27.

At Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main, performing this week are the Time Jumpers on Thursday; Fitz and the Tantrums plus Zella Day on Friday; and Aaron Lewis and Travis Marvin on Saturday.

Phillip Phillips and Matt Nathanson perform at 7:30 p.m. on July 26 at the Brady Theater, 105 W. Brady.

KANSAS CITY: Duran Duran performs at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Starlight Theater in Swope Park.

At the Sprint Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Drake and Future perform at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Hillsong United performs at 7 p.m. July 27.

Halsey and Oh Wonder perform at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Midland Theater, 1228 Main.

Boy George and Culture Club perform at 7:30 p.m. on July 27 at the Kauffman Center, 1601 Broadway.

The Kansas City Conservatory of Music presents concerts of chamber music in its weekly Summerfest, with music by Biber,

Chambers, Alpher and Bruch at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry.

At Crossroads at Grinders, 147 E. 18th St., Dr. Dog performs at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Bro Safari plays at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Indigo Girls play at 8 p.m. on July 27.

At the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, Rockgarden and the Astronauts perform at 9 p.m. on Friday. The John D. Hale Band and the Cole Porter Band play on Saturday.

COLUMBIA: Alarm Will Sound performs at 7:30 p.m. on July 28 at the Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth St. ST. LOUIS: At the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett and A Thousand Horses perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Shinedown, Halestorm, We Came As Romans and Shaman’s Harvest perform at 6:30 p.m. on July 26. The Goo Goo Dolls play at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Sixty-nine different bands play in Vans Warped Tour at 11 a.m. on July 27. Rascal Flatts, Kelsea Ballerini and Chris Lane play at 7:30 p.m. on July 28.

Coldplay, Alessia Cara and Foxes will play at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Scotttrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave. Ray LaMontagne performs at 7 p.m. on July 27 at the Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market.

At the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., song stylist Marilyn Maye performs at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Tony Desare performs at 8 p.m. on Friday.

At the Pageant, 6161 Delmar, Glass Animals and Lewis Del Mar perform on Friday. M83 and Sofi Tukker perform on July 25. Klan ‘N’ JC perform on July 26.

AREA THEATRE

AREA MUSIC

GO GUIDE

Page 4 • Thursday, July 21, 2016

SPRINGFIELD: Springfield Little Theater, 311 E. Walnut, presents “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Paul Osborn’s play “Morning’s At Seven” has shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at the Springfield Contemporary Theater, Pershing and South Robberson Avenue.

William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” will be presented by Actors Theatre of Missouri at 7 p.m. on Thursday through July 30 at the Springfield Art Museum outdoor

amphitheater, 1111 E. Brookside Dr. OZARK: Ron Boutwell’s play “The Praying Man” runs through Aug. 27 at the Stained Glass Theatre, 1996 Evangel.

SPRINGDALE, Ark.: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma” is presented at Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main, in Springdale, Ark. at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

GALENA, Kan.: Cherokee County Arts Association presents “Monty Python’s Spamalot” at 7:30 p.m. July 28 through next weekend at the Performing Arts Center, 702 W. Seventh St. TULSA, Okla.: At the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 S. Second St., “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at the John H. Williams Theater.

“Disney’s Mulan Jr.” is presented at 7 p.m.

July 27 and 28 with more shows through next weekend at the Tulsa Community College Van Trease Performing Arts Center, 10300 E. 81st St. PITTSBURG, Kan.: The musical “Gypsy” opens at 7:30 p.m. on July 28 with more shows through next weekend at the Memorial Auditorium, 210 W. Fourth St. KANSAS CITY: The new musical “If/ Then” is presented at 8 p.m. July 26 through next weekend at the Starlight Theater in Swope Park.

The new musical “Big Fish” is presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday at the Kauffman Center.

“Madagascar: A Musical Adventure,” a stage version of the animated film, runs through Aug. 6 at the Coterie Theatre at Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd.

“The Dawning of Aquarius,” a revue of music from the 1960s and 1970s, opens Friday and runs through Aug. 7 at the Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St. “Mary Poppins” is presented at 7:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at the White Theatre at the J, 5801 W. 115th St. in Overland Park, with more weekend shows through July 23.

ARROW ROCK: The Lyceum Theater presents “Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile” at 7:30 p.m. July 23-30.

COLUMBIA: A stage version of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and 2 p.m.

Sunday at the Rhynsburger Theater on the University of Missouri campus.

The Warehouse Theatre presents “Chicago” at 7 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7 p.m.

Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at 104 Willis Ave. ST. LOUIS: The Muny presents Abba’s “Mama Mia!” Thursday through July 28 with shows at 8:15 p.m. in the amphitheater

The Monett Times Midweek

Thursday, July 21, 2016 • Page 5

SPECIAL EVENTS AURORA: The Rocking A Saddle Club Rodeo will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Saddle Club Rodeo Arena on Business Highway 60.

SPRINGFIELD: The Ozark Empire Fair in Springfield opens on July 28 and runs through Aug. 6. Live entertainment from the grandstand the first night includes .38 Special and Meghan Linsey.

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark.: Cruiser Nights will resume with a gathering from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on July 26, starting at Harmon Park, 532 Spring St. PEA RIDGE, Ark.: The sixth annual Race for Sight Lawnmower Races will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Patterson Farms, 8377 Lee Town Rd. JOPLIN: The Xtreme Force Live show is presented at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Joplin Convention and Trade Center, 3535 Hammons Blvd.

TULSA, Okla.: At Expo Square 4145 E. 21st St.. the Green Country RV and Boat Show runs Friday through Sunday in the Expo Hall. The World Wide Paint Horse Congress opens July 27 and runs through next weekend at the Livestock Complex.

Rodeos this week include the Championship Rodeo on Sunday in Slick, southwest of Tulsa, the ACRA/ IPRA Western Days Rodeo on Sunday in Bristow, southwest of Tulsa

PICK

AREA FESTIVALS

in Forest Park.

Stages St. Louis presents “The Drowsy Chaperone” at 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, and 8 p.m. July 26-28, with more shows through Aug. 14 at the Robert Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Rd. in Kirkwood.

ROGERS, Ark.: The 2016 Rogers Cycling Festival runs Friday through Sunday, offering eight races, beginning at 214 S. Arkansas St. downtown. A bike rodeo starts events at 4 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday, Race for the Spike starts at 7:30 a.m., Wheel Suck Team trail and the Hot and Hilly MTB Relay starts at 9:30 a.m. The Walnut Valley Road Race begins at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

KANSAS CITY: The Kansas City International Theatre Festival runs through Saturday. Shows include ARCOS Dance presenting “The Warriors: A Love Story,” Slater Penney and Jaron Hollander in “The Submarine Story,” the English comedy “Escape from the Plant of the Day That Time Forgot,” all at the Theatre at MCC-Penn Valley, Southwest Trafficway and 31st Street; and John Fitzgerald Jay’s “Hamlet (The Notes),” Nuala McKeever’s one-woman show “In The Window,” all at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, 3614 Main St. The KC Fringe Festival, celebrating performance art between pop appeal and the avant garde, opens Thursday and runs through July 31 at Fringe 411 and Union Station near Crown Center.

July 21 has the opening night party at the Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. Plays include Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Cheryl Weaver in “Performing Annie Oakley: Shooting is a Gentle Thing,” Sam Wright as “Crazy Horse: A Dream of Thunder,” Marilyn Lynch in Denny Day’s one-woman play “The River’s Trembling Edge,” Charles Pulliam in William Luce’s Barrymore,” and Megan Greenlee in “Shadows: The Life of Anne Boleyn.”

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THREE

MURRAY’S TOP PICKS FOR THE WEEK

1

If you’d like to relive the 1980s, see rock giants Kiss perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the J.Q. Hammons Arena. Kiss mastered arena rock theatricality before the concept was even recognized as stagecraft. Even older fans with hearing issues won’t have a problem reliving their glory days with this show.

For spectacular theater, enjoy the touring production of “42nd Street” that includes a big company of tap dancers, is offered at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p..m.

Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Chapman Music Hall at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 S. Second St. After playing at both the Muny in St. Louis and the Starlight Theater in KC, this is the show of the summer to see.

3

2

The Rebel’s Bluff Troupe in Mt. Vernon presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical “Oklahoma” at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the MARC, 822 W. Mt. Vernon Blvd. There are more professional productions, but with Monettans in the cast and the irresistible music of Richard Rodgers, this show is a hit every time. Seating is open so get there early.

Murray Bishoff is a veteran theatergoer, traveling weekends to many of the venues within driving distance, from Tulsa to St. Louis. From dance recitals to operas, he’s been there and shares his recommendations.

The Monett Times Midweek

Page 6 • Thursday, July 21, 2016

Elderberries: Bennett says currently not enough product to meet demand

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

each two acres to pick,” Bennett said. “And there is no harvester. Each plant has to be hand picked. The berries don’t ripen consistently at the same rate. I see, in the next two years or so, the development of a robotic, laser guided, mechanical harvester.”

So far, the partners have had little trouble in selling their crops.

“We sell primarily out of state,” Bennett said. “We do sell to two Missouri wineries. Right now, we are focusing on value-added product. We have a co-packer that dehydrates, juices and packages whole berries for our customers. We are in the negotiation stage to become partners with two other companies at this point. One is for a finished consumable product, and the other is an industrial ingredient manufacturer.”

“Our primary goal is getting Purdy back to a business operating town,” Mareth said. “It’s cool to visit with these companies and talk to people from all around the world, letting them know that we are from a little town called Purdy.”

“We want to put Purdy on the map,” Bennett said. “We want to build a portfolio in the fruit and vegetable market.”

That dream isn’t so farfetched.

“Elderberries are a

commodity in Europe,” Bennett said. “They’ve been around for centuries, like corn, soybeans and wheat. Elderberries in the United States is a niche product, so we’re competing with the European elderberry, sambucus nigra.

“The American elderberry, sambucus canadensis, is known for its benefits over the European variety, mostly health-related. Right now, there is not enough product to meet demand. We are trying to expand the business, while becoming more efficient in our growing practices, to be competitive with the European market, while at the same time not making it so big that it gets rid of the niche market.

We have to strategically grow the operation, but at the same time, protect ourselves as a company.”

Bennett said they plan to diversify their operation by planting crops in other states.

“In this area, if straightline wind came through, it could wipe out an entire crop,” he said. “Different regions of the U.S. produce different qualities of fruit to be used in different applications.

For example, we want to expand into the southern region for juice production and the into northern region for medicinal and food coloring properties.”

The partners are also

renovating the old MFA building in Purdy to be used as a local packing facility, giving the the ability to dehydrate or juice the berries to meet customer demands. They also retain a manageable inventory of fruit in the event a farmer pulls out of a contract or environmental issues such as drought, storms or a hard winter, impact crop production.

For both partners, the learning curve has been significant.

“I don’t think I envisioned it growing like it has,” Bennett said. “I think this could be a very big company someday — maybe 10 years down the road. This is a very sustainable crop source for this region.”

So, what essentially started as a “Plan B” for both Bennett and Mareth has grown into a full-time business supporting a modest staff that includes a crop manager and seasonal pickers.

“My family owns an insurance marketing company,” Bennett said.

“That is my security. I had originally planned to work there until this business started growing so quickly. I’ve had to devote all of my time to developing this opportunity.”

“I can always fall back on elementary education as a career,” Mareth said.

“Right now, this is my full time job.”

But that’s not all these

These nearly ripe elderberries will take about another three days before being ready to harvest. What most farmers consider a weed to be eliminated from fence rows, a company from Purdy, Innovative Natural Solutions, has opted to cultivate and produce to help fill a void in a niche market. Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com young entrepreneurs plan for their future business growth.

“We hope to help improve the southwest Missouri economy by adding a crop known to be centered in Missouri,” Bennett said. “We’re also seeking out other natural food markets, such as fruits from Central America, and trying to find a way to put elderberries into their businesses and their products into ours.

“The whole point of INS is taking innovative ideas and coming up with solutions. But elderberries will remain our core business.”

Elect

Rodney

HUGHES

For Barry County Public Administrator My goal is commitment.

I commit to serve the people of Barry County.

Monett Times offers Gift Certificates for Our Subscription 1 month • 3 months 6 months • 1 year

• Lifelong resident of Barry County • 40 year commitment to FASCO (most of which was involved in Customer Service) • Wheaton High School Graduate • Crowder College Graduate I would appreciate your support and your vote on August 2nd Paid for by Committee to elect Rodney Hughes for Public Administrator Leonard Witt, Treasurer

The Monett Times Midweek

Business partners Brittany Mareth and Devon Bennett, of Purdy, have formed Innovative Natural Solutions, a business to cultivate and sell fruit from elderberry bushes. The duo actually started growing the plants as a “Plan B” to their chosen career fields, but the company has grown so quickly and exponentially they have both dedicated their full-time career paths to growing the business and fulfilling the needs of a niche market.

nniversary

Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com

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Thursday, July 21, 2016 • Page 7

A total remodel of the former MFA building in Purdy will net Innovative Natural Solutions, a Purdy-based company cultivating elderberry plants as its core business, the ability to dehydrate or juice the berries to meet customer demands. Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com The flowering head of the elderberry plant, closely resembling a larger version of Queen Anne’s Lace, eventually forms fruit buds, which will ripen during the peak of the summer months, July and August. Seasonal employees with Innovative Natural Solutions, in Purdy, will harvest the juicy purple berries from July through August.

Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com

The Monett Times Midweek

Page 8 • Thursday, July 21, 2016

Husband wants long-lost sister to remain that way

D

EAR ABBY: My husband and his sister had a rough childhood in foster care.

Long story short, they lost contact for 10 years — until now. She found us on Facebook and was desperate to know if she had found her brother or not. My husband ignored her. He isn’t sure he ever wants to rebuild a relationship with her.

I know that’s his decision to make, and if he doesn’t want her in his life, that’s fine. But I couldn’t live with myself if I ignored her, too. I just wanted her to know she could stop looking and wondering if her brother is still alive.

So I told her. She was grateful to have some closure and know that he is doing well, and she reassured me that she wouldn’t contact him again unless he reaches out to her. Even if they never talk again, I think she deserved to know she had found him.

Now I feel guilty for going behind his back and meddling in things that aren’t my business.

But I can’t imagine spending my whole life searching for a family member, when someone could have been honest with me and given me peace of mind. Did I make a terrible mistake, and should I come clean to my husband about what I did? — FEELING GUILTY IN GEORGIA

JEANNE PHILLIPS DEAR ABBY DEAR FEELING GUILTY: You failed to mention the reason for your husband’s ambivalence about re-establishing a relationship with his sister. Now that she has found you on Facebook, she can follow his whole life, unless you block her. Whether you made a terrible mistake remains to be seen. If the sister contacts your husband again, you will have to tell him what you did. He may have wanted to protect his privacy.

As long as she doesn’t, I think you should keep your mouth shut.

DEAR ABBY: My 18-year-old daughter has just finished school.

She now wants to take a gap year and work to save enough to travel overseas. The problem is, she’s so eager to get away from home that she wants to move to another city to work.

I have advised her that staying home and working will allow her to save more to travel, and she would have to pay for her food, accommodation and transportation, and would have little left

over to save to travel.

She got upset with me and could not understand why I wouldn’t want to pay her rent or support her. Am I being unreasonable saying that she should pay her own way if she moves out of the home? — MOM IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA DEAR MOM: If anyone thinks that an attitude of entitlement is strictly a problem in the United States, your letter should banish that notion. What you told your daughter makes perfect sense. If she wants independence, she should be prepared to accept the responsibility for living that way.

I would, however, encourage you to continue the dialogue with her so you can understand why she feels the need to

live apart from you, on the chance that a compromise might be possible. I’m sure it would be enlightening.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

The Monett Times Midweek

Thursday, July 21, 2016 • Page 9

PEANUTS BY CHARLES M. SCHULZ

MUTTS

GARFIELD

BY PATRICK McDONELL

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The Monett Times Midweek

Page 10 • Thursday, July 21, 2016

1. Special Notices IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Please check your ad the first day of publication. If it contains an error, report it to The Monett Times Classified Department. Errors will be corrected and credit will be issued for the first day of publications only. The Monett Times shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from the publication (whether published correctly or not) or omission of an advertisement.

8. Business Services MOBILE POWER washing: house siding, paint stripping. Call if it needs cleaned. Insured 21 yrs.

Welding + handyman services also. 417-236-4993.

9. Services Offered CURBOW APPLIANCE Repair.

All makes & models. Reliable, responsive, reasonable. Mon-Fri 8-5. 417-236-0700.

DOSS APPLIANCE Repair Service: Service all major brands, prompt, experienced service, affordable rates. Call anytime 417-235-6314.

FOR ALL of your heating, air conditioning and sheet metal work, call Monett Sheet Metal, 235-7116.

SIDING & TRIM, Replacement Windows, guttering, entry, storm & garage doors. Over 30 yrs. experience, local references provided.

Ken R Mitchell 417-838-2976 Free estimates.

16. Help Wanted

16. Help Wanted

16. Help Wanted

16. Help Wanted

Reyco Granning is back in high gear and hiring!

Fax: 417.466.1001 or, Reyco Granning, LLC, a respected manufacturer of heavy duty suspensions, has Mail: Reyco Granning, LLC ATTN: Human Resources immediate openings for 2nd shift Welders, 1205 Industrial Park Drive and 2nd shift Shipping. Descriptions Mt. Vernon, MO 65712 and requirements for these and other Reyco Granning LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment opportunities can be viewed at qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, www.reycogranning.com.

To apply, please submit a resume and/or completed application via one of the following: Email: dgourley@reycogranning.com or,

The Ozarks Methodist Manor is currently hiring

FT Cook with supervisory skills FT Medication Aide Level 1 for Residential

Care Facility (will train the right person)

PT Medication Aide Level 1 for Residential

Care Facility weekends 2nd & 3rd shifts (will train the right person)

FT LPN We offer a rich benefit package: • Health/Dental/Vision/Life • 4% 401k match • Lower premiums • Floor coverage is above average • Paid vacation & sick • Average 10 year employee tenure • Competitive wages • Family, Home-like environment • Happy employees • 90 years in business Come & join our team!

CNC MACHINIST Clark Industries is seeking a CNC Machinist. Experience a must and set up capable a plus. Full time position with benefits. Apply in person at 816 Callan Street in Monett or Call 417-235-7182.

16. Help Wanted

Candidates may fax resumes to (417) 258-2240 or apply in person at The Ozarks Methodist Manor 205 S. College, Marionville, MO 65705 EOE/Drug Free Workplace

protected veteran status or disability status. Reyco Granning LLC recognizes ACT National Career Readiness Certificates.

Reyco Granning LLC is committed to recruiting, hiring and promoting veterans and people with disabilities. If you need accommodation or assistance in using our website, please call (417) 466-2178 and request to speak to a human resource representative.

The Arc of the Ozarks is Growing!!!

Would you like to provide support to individuals with disabilities in directing their own lives as valued members of the community?

Come Join Our Team!!

We are hiring for our entry level position: Direct Support Staff Shifts: Evenings, Overnights, Weekends, Monett, Mt. Vernon area. Wage starts at $9.15/hr.

Must have HS Diploma/GED, be a licensed and insured driver able to obtain the Class E license, and at least 18 years or older.

Apply Online/In Person at: The Arc of the Ozarks 1010 Old Airport Rd Monett 417-354-0071 thearcoftheozarks.org

For breaking news 24-7-365, visit us at www.monett-times.com

16. Help Wanted DRIVER: ENTRY Level, 1 month exp., NO CDL, Free Training! $60,000/1st Year. Excellent Benefits including paid vacation. Paid Daily! Home Weekly! Solo: Wet 6-day runs.

800-769-3993 www.trailiner.com DRIVERS: 2-3 day runs to IL/IN/OH or 6-day runs to CA/AZ. Excellent Pay, Benefits, Paid Vacation & Bonuses! Same Day Pay! 2015-2017 Freightliner Cascadia. www.trailiner.com 800-763-3993.

DRIVERS: TEAMS 140,000+, $5000 sign-on bonus, 4-month pay-out, HOME WEEKLY, Coast to Coast. Excellent Benefits, including paid Vacation. Paid Daily!

2015-2017 Freightliner Cascadia.

800-769-3993 or www.trailiner.com DRIVERS: TEAMS. CA to OH, preloaded trailers, Home Weekends! Excellent Benefits including Paid Vacation. 2015-2017 Freightliners. 800-769-3993 www.trailiner.com LAWRENCE COUNTY Manor is now hiring for CNA day shift and night shift. Excellent benefits, holidays, vacation, sick pay, sign on bonus. Apply in person 915 Carl Allen St. Mt. Vernon or online at www.lcmanor.com. This establishment is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

LAWRENCE COUNTY Manor is now hiring for CMT. Excellent benefits, holidays, vacation, sick pay. Apply in person 915 Carl Allen St. Mt. Vernon or online at www.lcmanor.com. This establishment is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

LAWRENCE COUNTY Manor is now hiring for RN supervisor day shift. Excellent benefits, holidays, vacation, sick pay, sign on bonus.

Apply in person 915 Carl Allen St. Mt. Vernon or online at www.lcmanor.com. This establishment is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

MONETT CHAMBER seeks FT executive assistant. Attention to detail and customer service. Email resume to jeff@monett-mo.com.

The Monett Times Midweek

16. Help Wanted

Thursday, July 21, 2016 • Page 11

16. Help Wanted

WinTech cusTomer service PosiTion WinTech Customer Service Position WinTech is seeking a qualified person for a customer service position in Monett, Missouri. This customer service position provides estimates and sales order entry for products manufactured by WinTech. Daily communications with customers via phone, e-mail and fax is required.

The candidate should be a self-starter, ambitious, eager to learn and have strong communication skills to work with internal customers. Will work in an office environment, but is expected to be highly familiar with all production operations. 401k, company retirement plan, health insurance, and vacation. Pay is negotiable.

Apply to WinTech, PO Box 480, Monett, MO 65708 Attention Human Resources or email: mary@wintechinc.com.

16. Help Wanted Cassville Health Care & Rehab

NOW HIRING Fulltime Dishwasher, CNA’s, PT & CMT. Competitive Wages Vacations/benefits available Call or come by 1300 Country Farm Road, Cassville

SEAL SMART is seeking highly energetic people to work in our Phone Room as Appointment Setters. Day and Evening shifts available. Fun working environment, no cold calling! Great pay with weekly bonus opportunities.

Apply in person at 407 13th Street Monett.

THE PIERCE City RVI School District is seeking applicants for the position of part-time evening custodian. Interested persons should apply at the Pierce City RVI School District superintendents office at 300 N. Myrtle St. or call 417-476-2555 for more information.

25. Real Estate For Sale FOR SALE: 5 acres outside of Pierce City. For more information call 417-241-4148.

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.

We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

29. Houses for Rent

22. Autos Wanted

2 BEDROOM, 1 bath, W/D hookups, fence yard, AC. $450 rent, $300 deposit. 235-8152.

FOR SALE: 2011 GMW/R2 scooter w/538 mils. $1,200 or best offer. 417-229-0317.

I HAVE very nice rental homes, varied number of bedrooms, the city of Monett. Call Max Easley at 417-235-6871 or 417-693-1024.

POULTRY HOUSE Removal: We buy chicken and turkey houses.

Pay before removing and remove all deconstruction debris. Professional local crews. Serving since 1992. Cedar Creek Contractors, LLC 785-217-3379.

43. Produce

417-847-3386

BLACKBERRIES FOR Sale. $13 a gal. U-pick, 18 we pick.

476-2436.

29a. Duplexes For Rent

PEACHES- RED Haven Freestone’s ready now! White Lady peaches just starting. Blueberriesu-pick as low as 2.00/lb. Open Wednesday & Saturday at 8, Thursday & Friday at 10. Take 60 East, right on Z to FR 1130. G’s Orchard. 669-4583.

CUTE 1 BR, stove, frig, water, c/heat, air, newer carpet. $295.00.

Sarcoxie. 236-5737.

30. Apartments for Rent

APARTMENTS FOR LEASE IN MONETT PART-TIME SECRETARY for Crowder College-Cassville Campus. Afternoons on Monday through Thursday, 20 hours a week @$9.59/hour.

See www.crowder.edu/employment<http://www.crowder.edu/employment> for details. EOE.

41. Farm Products

Monett Apts 1 BR starting at $350 2 BR starting at $450 ONLY $99.00 deposit!

Call

417-224-2127

52. Real Estate Wanted POULTRY HOUSE Removal: We buy chicken and turkey houses.

Pay before removing and remove all deconstruction debris. Professional local crews. Serving since 1992. Cedar Creek Contractors, LLC 785-217-3379.

55. Storage

31. Rooms for Rent J & T ECONO Rooms to Rent.

Weekly low rates - No pets. Cable TV, refrigerator, microwave.

417-489-6000

FRIEZE’S STORAGE- 10 Sizes plus outside storage. Gated at night. Phone 417-235-7325 or 417-393-9662.

33. Miscellaneous for Sale

WHY PAY More, Rent from US & Store. S & G Storage. 417235-1914 or 417-235-9289.

TAURA FARMS raising grass fed beef from our farm to your table.

Call Rosemary at 417-466-8551.

Call 235-3135 to subscribe to The Monett Times

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CROSSLAND STOR-ALL. Across East of Wal-Mart. 10 buildings, 7 sizes. 235-3766.

BOOTHS #24 at Find It Again are 1/2 price until August 1st. Bargains! Gone!!

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57. Public Sales STORAGE UNITS auction to be held, Monday, July 25 at 2 p.m. to dispose of property being sold to satisfy a landlord’s lien for Maria Barrientos, Barbara Plowick, Liz Hilton, Linda Sojak & Janeicka Hays. M&G Mini Storage, 1420 E Cleveland, Monett, MO. 417-882-6000 or 417-295-4145.

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The Monett Times Midweek

Page 12 • Thursday, July 21, 2016

DIVIDED AMERICA: Bridging the gap between police, policed

BY ADAM GELLER AP National Writer

NEW YORK — On an unusually cool night for summer, Mike Perry and his crew thread the sidewalks running through Staten Island’s Stapleton Houses, tracked by police cameras bolted to the apartment blocks and positioned atop poles.

Perry’s group, five black men and one Latino, all acknowledge past crimes or prison time. Perry, himself, used to deal drugs around another low-income housing complex, two miles away. Now, though, their Cure Violence team works to defuse arguments that can lead to shootings. Their goals are not so different from those of the police.

While Perry gives cops their due, he keeps his distance. Two years ago, within walking distance of this spot, a black man named Eric Garner died in a confrontation with police officers. Garner was suspected of selling loose cigarettes; an officer wrestled him to the ground by his neck. His last words — “I can’t breathe” — were captured on cellphone video that rocketed across the internet.

“I know those officers did not mean to kill Eric,” says Perry, a 37-year-old father of two who knew Garner.

But, “you need to look an officer in the eye who doesn’t understand and go, ‘Brother, I want to get home, too.’

They’re defending these communities that they don’t know.”

As Americans struggle with the deaths of black men in encounters with police across the country, and now the killing of five Dallas officers, Perry and his fellow Staten Islanders have the dubious distinction of being a step ahead. Since Garner’s death in July 2014, they have confronted a measure of the anger and pain the nation now shares.

A nationwide poll last summer by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs found that 81 percent of black Americans said police are too quick to use deadly force, compared with 33 percent of whites. But the voices of Staten Islanders speak to attitudes and experiences that are often more complicated than poll numbers.

About 3,000 police officers live there, many in the heavily white neighborhoods on the southern two-thirds of the Island. In those neighborhoods, protests that followed Garner’s death in July 2014 were met with “God Bless the

NYPD” yard signs and pro-police rallies.

The tensions intensified after a grand jury decided not to indict the officer for Garner’s death. Two weeks later, a man claiming vengeance killed two officers in Brooklyn.

On an island of 475,000 that is 75 percent white and mostly suburban, the North Shore’s comparatively dense neighborhoods are home to nearly all of the borough’s African-Americans.

Leroy Downs, 41, has lived on Staten Island since he was 5 and works as a drug treatment counselor. But tonight he talks about, just maybe, becoming a cop, though as a black man he has been stopped repeatedly by police — without cause, he says.

Downs testified against the NYPD when a legal advocacy group sued and won a 2013 ruling that sweeping stopand-frisks violate the constitutional rights of minority New Yorkers.

He sees little change in the relationship between cops and minorities despite the verdict. But he hasn’t given up hoping.

“I can’t imagine the world without police,” he says. “It’d be anarchy.”

The city says it has made some progress. Last year, it began assigning pairs of officers to specific neighborhoods, rather than having them rush from call to call across precincts. They are mandated to spend a third of their shift “off-radio,” talking with residents to forge relationships.

Jessi D’Ambrosio, 32, and Mary Gillespie, 28, are the new “neighborhood coordinating officers” for the six-building Richmond Terrace project where Garner once lived. When the two officers, both white and longtime Staten Islanders, walk through the grounds, residents readily return their greetings.

“They’re such homeboy, homegirl,” tenants association president Eunice Love says of the two officers. “They know how to get along with people and relate and we love that.”

D’Ambrosio measures progress in everyday experience. When one resident called to report a teen wanted for breaking into nearby houses, he took it as a sign of trust.

“It’s small steps,” he says. “You know you can’t just wake up tomorrow and think the world is going to change. But

they seem, still, to have accepted us.”

Gwen Carr, Eric Garner’s mother, wants more. She stands in the small park across the street from the spot where he fell and cringes as a man who appears to be homeless sprawls across a bench, asleep though it’s not yet 1 p.m. And a young woman — “Alcohol Gives You Wings,” tattooed down her left arm — sits on the edge of a dry fountain, trying to sell used shoes.

“How much good did they do?” Carr says of police. “Where are they when you need them?”

If her son’s death means something, Carr says, officials can clean up this block where regulars say drinking and drugs have increased since Garner’s death. She wants New York to turn the park into a playground, reserved for children and guardians.

Doug Brinson, who sells T-shirts from sidewalk tables, rails against police for Garner’s death. But fighting and drinking on this block makes clear the need for police, he said.

“You’ve got to coexist with the guys on the beat. You’ve got to,” he says. “It’s only fair.”