Boonville

Candidates are vying for positions across eight school districts in Moniteau County for Tuesday’s General Municipal Election.

Although candidates are running unopposed for positions in city government, there are several contested seats within area school boards. Voters will decide on which candidates best suit the role for school board as well as vote on three ballot measures.

In the California R-1 School District, Jan Trachsel, Tony Haile, Brandy Brockes, David Cook and Landon Porter are competing for a director position.

In the Boonville R-1 School District, Dan Horst, Emily Shikles and Ryan Rapp are competing for a director position.

In the Cole County R-1 School District, Christina Wood, Adam Weber, Aaron Wyss and Ritchie Jenkins are competing for a director position.

In the Eldon R-I School District, Jerome “Jerry” Kaibel, Michael Holland and Lindsay Ahart are competing for a director position.

In the Morgan County R-2 School District, Dwayne Schad, Brad Chamberlain, Chad Courter, Jamie Dwight, Joshua Loganbill, Steve Nolawski and Cassie Wilhelm are competing for a director position.

In the Moniteau County R-5 School District, Amanda Bolinger and Sarah Bolinger are competing for a director position.

In the Tipton R-6 School District, Lora Dicus, Craig Wolf, Kelly Kohler, Kimberly Wolf and Amanda Pettigrew are competing for a director position.

In the Prairie Home R-V School District, Nathan Alpers, Christopher Klay Holliday, Dennis R. Toalson and Tammy Brandes are competing for a director position.

The first two ballot measures are related to county school districts and the improvement of their facilities and sports complexes.

According to the Moniteau County sample ballot, the Eldon R-1 School District’s “Proposition Mustangs” is asking voters if the district can borrow $5 million for equipping, furnishing, developing the site and constructing the building for eight classrooms belonging to the district’s Upper Elementary School and six classrooms belonging to the district’s South Elementary School. If passed, the district’s debt service levy will remain unchanged at $0.5754 per $100 assessed valuation.

The ballot also states Tipton R-6 School District is asking voters if it can issue obligation bonds to improve its outdoor sporting and activity complex. The measure states it would need to issue obligation bonds in the amount of $2,500,000 for “improving the playing field to an all-weather turf field; improving the track to a six land, competition-level track; improving access and improving buildings and security in the complex as the budget allows.” If passed, the district’s debt service levy will remain unchanged at 108 cents.

Voters must also make a decision on the county’s proposed marijuana sales tax. The final measure states, if elected, the county would be able to impose a 3 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana sold within the area. Two other propositions listed on the ballot include measures for Eldon and Tipton schools.

Those running unopposed on the ballot include California mayoral candidate Lanny Ash; California Ward 1 incumbent alderman candidate Steven Earl Hickman; Ward 1 incumbent alderwoman candidate Kimberly Robertson; California Ward 2 alderman candidate Mike Staton; California Ward 3 alderwoman candidate Resa Dudley; Tipton mayoral candidate Mark Hampton, Tipton East Ward alderman candidate Chris Allee and West Ward incumbent alderman candidate Robert Wolf.

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Anderson Valley Brewing Co. is the world’s first solar-powered brewery.

Anderson Valley Brewing Co. is in the upper echelon of environmentally conscious breweries. The Boonville, Calif.-based craft brewery — proudly staking its claim as the world’s first solar-powered brewery — has invested in a ton of renewable energy and resource-efficiency initiatives over the last three decades.

But to save this planet, we’ll need much more than Anderson Valley! And they know it. In celebration of Earth Day last week, AVBC put the focus on that communal effort and called out a few of the “thoughtful and innovative solutions” of its fellow breweries that have inspired them over the years. Maybe this roundup will help do the same for others.

Windmills at Anderson Valley.

Energy Use | Highland Brewing Co., Asheville N.C. | Electricity use is a significant factor in the overall environmental impact of the brewing process. Breweries that use renewable energy sources like solar panels to fuel production not only reduce their environmental impact but are also more energy independent. Anderson Valley, as mentioned, is the World’s First Solar Powered Brewery, but is by no means alone these days. A great example of another solar powered brewery with a strong sustainability drive is Highland Brewing. Located in a bucolic park setting, on sunny days Highland’s solar array can actually produce more energy than they use.

Gas Emissions | Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo.| Breweries use a lot of CO2. You may recall our award-winning CO2 Shortage Series covering the topic. For a long time, CO2 has been the industry’s gas of choice since it’s needed anyway for carbonation. As it turns out, most of a brewery’s CO2 usage – up to 80% – can be replaced with inert gasses like nitrogen – which is a non-greenhouse gas and is the most plentiful element in Earth’s atmosphere.

Anderson Valley has a nitrogen generator that allows the brewery to not only reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere but also cut down dramatically on CO2 delivery trucking. Nitrogen generators aren’t the only tactic, though. Breweries produce a lot of CO2 through fermentation and there are a number of systems now available to capture that CO2 for on-site reuse. Odell Brewing (also a solar powered brewery) installed a CO2 recapturing system in their brewery in Fort Collins, Colo., that they calculate will prevent 1.4 million pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere per year.

Water Use | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. | Water is the single most important ingredient in beer, and breweries need a lot of it for everything from washing down tanks and packaging lines to drinking and managing their goat herd. Anderson Valley Brewing Company has the unusual benefit of being able to run a completely self-contained water system — 100% of the brewery’s water is sourced, sustainably treated, and then returned to the property.

Other breweries are also running exceptional water systems and can include things like methane recapture as part of the treatment process that can be reused on site as fuel. Sierra Nevada Brewing has been doing amazing things with sustainability in general and has programs that touch on pretty much everything (also a solar powered brewery – managing a full 2.5 MW of solar power production) but some of the most interesting are their water conservation and treatment programs at both the CA and NC breweries.

Maui-Brewing has CO2 recovery as well as sustainable packaging.

Packaging | Maui Brewing Co., Kihei, HI | Beer is heavy and transporting beer from the brewery to far away retailers by truck can greatly increase the carbon footprint. Packaging plays a big part – using aluminum cans instead of glass can greatly reduce the weight in transportation. Cans are lighter, more portable, and endlessly recyclable. Using cans instead of glass reduces trucking by almost 60% and using cardboard wraps instead of plastic increases the overall recyclability of the package and obviously reduces plastic use.

Maui Brewing is an exceptional example of a sustainability focused brewery and in addition to its super impressive solar power system and CO2 capture technology, also recently ditched the plastic rings for cardboard wraps for all their products.

Waste | North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, Calif. | Responsible and sustainable brewing practices by definition require a robust and meaningful plan to manage the waste stream generated from making beer. Thankfully the craft beer community has been actively addressing this problem since its inception.

“Pretty much every brewery we know has an active recycling program in place and a means of keeping the spent grains and yeast from hitting a landfill,” the AVBC team notes. Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s brewing waste is repurposed to feed local cattle, and most breweries find a similar way to supplement livestock feed or even make dog biscuits out of it.

Some breweries take all this a step further, and a leader on this front is North Coast Brewing (also a solar powered brewery) who, is a certified B-Corp that continuously achieves Platinum certifications for Zero-Waste. North Coast has a super-cool partnership with a local intergenerational family farm, Fortunate Farms, who uses its spent grains for compost to grow organic heirloom vegetables and flowers.

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John Henry Parker is a name that often does not rise to the top during discussions of Missourians who made contributions to national defense.

This former soldier from the Show-Me State, however, began his professional life as a teacher and business owner before joining the military. He later studied law and then become a recognized expert on the application of machine guns in combat.

“The Illustrated History of Tipton, Missouri,” printed in 2008, explained Parker was born in Tipton on Sept. 19, 1866, moving with his “family to Clarksburg when he was a young boy …”

A young Parker trained as a printer’s devil while also working as a school teacher in Pettis County. In 1887, he became half-owner in a newspaper in Henry County called the “Calhoun Gleaner.” It was during this time frame he also chose to apply for an esteemed opportunity.

“Fifteen applicants from the Sixth Congressional District met at Sedalia a few days since, and underwent a competitive examination for the appointment of a cadet to the West Point Military Academy,” wrote the La Plata Home Press on Aug. 19, 1887. “John H. Parker, a school teacher from Green Ridge … was chosen, his grade being 8.35 in a total of 10.”

The following year, he entered the academy graduated in the class of 1892, scoring 49th in a class of 60 cadets. Following his graduation, he married Ida Burr of Sedalia. The new U.S. Army lieutenant was transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was later assigned to the 13th Infantry for special recruiting duty that carried him briefly back to Missouri.

Prior to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Parker demonstrated an academic inclination by studying law in his rare spare moments. He was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 1896 but never practiced law; instead, he began to explore the combat application of a specific type of military weapon.

“So Parker drew up and submitted to the War Department the first outline ever conceived of the correct tactical employment of the machine gun in warfare,” explained a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article from Jan. 31, 1915. “It should advance on the offensive with the skirmish line itself … and should go wherever the infantry should go.”

Many military leaders of the period scoffed at Parker’s suggestion, but during the Spanish-American War in 1898, the value of the machine gun was revealed to the naysayers. It was during this conflict he was placed in command of a small machine gun detachment.

“During the fighting at El Caney, Parker’s men engaged four Gatlings, each carrying 10,000 rounds of ammunition …” explained the “Historical Dictionary of the Spanish-American War.” It continued, “At a distance of 600 to 800 yards, the guns fired 500 shots a minute upon the Spanish blockhouses at San Juan Hill.”

The authors went on to explain, “With the assistance of the 10th Cavalry and Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, the Gatlings flushed the Spaniards from their trenches. … After the war, the Gatling received enormous praise for the important role it played in the conflict.”

Theodore Roosevelt applauded Parker for his command of the Gatlings and maintained the machine-gun detachment deserved credit for the success of the campaign.

A few years later, Parker was appointed commander of the first Provisional Machine Gun Company of the U.S. Army. A biographical register from West Point notes that in August 1910, he was assigned to Kemper Military School in Boonville, spending nearly the next three years as the professor of military science and tactics.

By 1914, Maj. Parker was assigned to the Eighth Infantry and was serving in the Philippines. Then, in 1916, he was transferred to the 24th Infantry and served several months along the Mexican border during the Punitive Expedition as a judge advocate. When World War I unfolded in Europe, he was able to travel to Europe and share his knowledge of effective usage of the machine gun.

“In World War I … Parker was assigned to Gen. Pershing’s staff as a machine gun expert and went to France, organizing the A.E.F. Automatic Weapons School at Langress,” reported the St. Louis Star and Times on Oct. 14, 1942.

“He was thrice wounded in action,” the newspaper clarified. “Holder of many medals and service crosses … Parker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with two oak leaves and in 1923 was awarded another leaf, making him the only holder of three oak leaves in the U.S. Army.”

When returning stateside after the war, Gen. Parker commanded the recruiting office in St. Louis and was later appointed commander of Jefferson Barracks. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1922, and retired from the Army two years later.

“Gatling Gun” Parker, a name he earned during the Spanish-American War, lost his first wife in 1931. Four years later, he married Bertha Bortell. The combat veteran was 76 years old when he died in 1942, leaving behind a son and daughter from his first marriage.

He received a hero’s burial in the San Francisco National Cemetery.

“Long before the war with Spain … Parker grasped the tactical value of the machine gun, and became so insistently an advocate of the weapon that he talked about it upon every possible occasion,” noted a June 9, 1916, article in the Shannon County Democrat.

Summarizing his persistence in demonstrating the effectiveness of the machine gun, the aforementioned article added, “But his enthusiasm and theories have been fully justified, first by the work of his machine gun detachment in the Spanish-American War, and now, even more fully, by the developments of the great conflict in Europe.”

Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America.

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Students at State Fair Community College (SFCC) now have a formalized transfer path to obtain bachelor’s degrees through Lincoln University of Missouri (LU) thanks to a new agreement between the two institutions.

LU-SFCC’s Connect Blue concurrent enrollment program will make the SFCC students’ transition process from their associate degree to the completion of their undergraduate baccalaureate degrees at LU seamless and support students’ success. LU President Dr. John B. Moseley and SFCC President Dr. Brent Bates made the memorandum of understanding between the two schools official at a signing ceremony on Tuesday, April 18.

 

“Today is a great day for Lincoln University, State Fair Community College and the students who will benefit from this new partnership,” said LU President Moseley. “Our goal in higher education is to provide students with the best opportunities to ensure their success, and this program is a great example of how collaboration can expand their possibilities.”

 

The Connect Blue concurrent enrollment program allows students to be admitted to both LU and SFCC simultaneously, giving them the opportunity to experience both two-year and four-year college life. By participating in the program, SFCC students can take courses at LU for a reduced rate while fully immersing themselves in the university campus life, including living on campus and joining campus organizations while pursuing an SFCC Associates of Arts degree.

 

“We’re really excited about partnership,” said SFCC President Dr. Bates. “It’s important for State Fair Community College and our ability to serve Jefferson City in our service region, and a great partnership with Lincoln University to help them accomplish some of their goals. It’s a win-win all the way around.”

 

Connect Blue concurrent enrollment program is open to students enrolling for fall 2023. Contact Admissions at SFCC or LU for more information.

 

State Fair Community College opened its doors in September 1968 on land west of the Missouri State Fairgrounds and recently added a 200-acre working farm to the Sedalia campus. SFCC offers four transfer degrees—Associate of Arts; Associate of Fine Arts in Music, Theatre, Musical Theatre, or Art; Associate of Arts in Teaching, and Associate of Science in Chemistry or Engineering—plus 35 Associate of Applied Science degrees in career programs ranging from accounting to welding.

SFCC serves a 14-county area with campuses in Boonville, Clinton, Eldon, Lake of the Ozarks, Warsaw, and Whiteman Air Force Base. More than 260 online classes plus two complete online degree programs are offered—an Associate of Arts degree and a Business Management degree. SFCC has maintained full Higher Learning Commission accreditation since 1976.
Lincoln University of Missouri is a historically Black, 1890 land-grant, public university that provides excellent educational opportunities to a diverse population within a nurturing, student-centered environment. Lincoln is known for its innovative undergraduate and graduate programs in agriculture, business administration, criminal justice, elementary education, nursing, business administration, guidance and counseling and natural science.

Located in Jefferson City, Missouri, Lincoln University was founded in 1866 by the men of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries and their white officers for the benefit of freed African Americans. The university boasts an exciting residential life and a full slate of NCAA Division II athletics.

In the photo: Lincoln University President Dr. John B. Moseley (left) and State Fair Community College President Dr. Brent Bates signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two schools at a ceremony on April 18 to create the LU-SFCC Connect Blue concurrent enrollment program. 

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The Missouri Department of Transportation congratulates Ginnifer Fuemmeler and their K-2 students at Hannah Cole Primary School in Boonville, Daniel Schaefer and their 4th graders at Kingdom Christian Academy in Fulton, and Hannah Shaw and their 7th graders at Liberal R-II Middle School in Liberal on being selected as winners of the 2023 “Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter Free” trash-can-decorating contest.

MoDOT sponsors the contest as part of Missouri’s “No MOre Trash” campaign to raise awareness about and discourage littering. The contest encourages students from kindergarten through eighth grade to join the fight against litter by decorating and displaying a large trash can with the “No MOre Trash!” logo and a litter-prevention message using a variety of creative mediums.

These first-place winners from each of the three competition categories (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) receive a $200 award. All first-place winners are then eligible for the $600 grand prize and trophy. Entries are judged by MoDOT staff.

Hannah Cole Primary School in Boonville Wins K-2 Grade Category, Grand Prize

Congratulations to teacher Ginnifer Fuemmeler and their K-2 students at Hannah Cole Primary School in Boonville on winning the K-2 category and the grand prize for their “One Man’s Trash, Another Child’s Treasure” entry!

“Students kindergarten through second grade have heard the ‘one man’s trash’ saying in our classroom all year long, so when it came time to pick a theme for our can, they immediately thought of using the recyclables in our room,” wrote Fuemmeler in their submission entry. “Not only did students learn about tremendous possibilities when reusing trash, but they were also able to study native plants in our area and the value they hold.”

The school will receive a check for $200 for the category win as well as $600 and a trophy as the grand prize winner. This project will be on display in the MoDOT Highway Gardens building at this year’s Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Aug. 10-20, 2023.

Kingdom Christian Academy in Fulton Wins 3-5 Grade Category

Congratulations to teacher Daniel Schaefer and their 4th graders at Kingdom Christian Academy in Fulton on winning the 3-5 category for their “Gotta Catch MO Trash” entry! The school will receive a check for $200 for the category win.

“The students came up with the ‘Gotta Catch MO Trash’ to play off the already ‘No MOre Trash,”” Schaefer wrote in their submission entry. “The trash can will be used as the school’s new soda can recycling bin and is located in the lunchroom for all to see and talk about.”

Liberal R-II Middle School in Liberal Wins 6-8 Grade Category

Congratulations to teacher Hannah Shaw and their 7th graders at Liberal R-II Middle School in Liberal on winning the 6-8 category for their entry, “Don’t ‘Leaf’ Your Trash Behind!” The school will receive a check for $200 for the category win.

“By bringing up the idea of pollution in a lighthearted way, their goal was to bring some comedy to a serious topic,” wrote Shaw in their submission entry. “With this approach, they felt like people were more likely to look at their own habits when it comes to littering.”

The winners were among 21 entries from Missouri students. See images and information on all entries on the MoDOT website.

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Lincoln University finalized an enrollment “game-changer” with a new transfer agreement, University President John Moseley said Tuesday.

Moseley and State Fair Community College President Brent Bates signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the Connect Blue program. Starting in the fall, students can enroll at the community college from Lincoln’s campus and seamlessly transfer credits between the two institutions.

“This is a big day for us,” Moseley said before signing the agreement, adding he’s excited about the possibilities the new partnership presents. “This has been a dream of ours for some time as we continue the mission that this institution was founded for in providing an education for all.”

The partnership enables students pursuing associates of arts degrees at State Fair Community College to be simultaneously admitted to Lincoln and live on the university’s campus. They could join university organizations and must be enrolled in at least one three-credit-hour course at Lincoln, effectively allowing students to work toward degrees at both institutions at the same time.

“We’re really excited about it,” Bates said. “It’s a really big deal. It’s important for both State Fair Community College and our ability to serve Jefferson City in our service region, and a great partnership with Lincoln University and helping them accomplish some of their goals. So it’s a win-win all the way around.”

State Fair serves 14 counties in west central Missouri, including Cole, Miller, Moniteau and Morgan counties. The community college has campuses in Sedalia, Boonville, Clinton and Lake of the Ozarks.

Bates said the new partnership will boost enrollment at both institutions. Students could use A+ Scholarships to enroll at State Fair and then have a clear path to a four-year degree from Lincoln, he said.

“Typically, students that graduate from a community college are successful at the university level when they transfer, so it’ll be a good opportunity for them to get some really good students into their pipeline,” Bates said.

Moseley said he sees at least two major benefits for Lincoln: helping the university fill open seats in upper level courses and training under-prepared students who apply to the open enrollment institution.

Historically, more than 40 percent of Lincoln students have enrolled at the university with a grade point average of 2.5 or less.

The university is piloting a program, approved by the state, that requires those students with a 2.5 GPA to apply and be admitted before June 15. They are then required to complete a free four-credit-hour summer bridge program before starting their freshman year at Lincoln.

Moseley said students who don’t pass the summer bridge program or meet the criteria and apply after June 15 will be encouraged to attend State Fair through the Connect Blue program.

“For under-prepared students that may fall into this opportunity, we’re not saying ‘No,’ we’re saying, ‘Not yet. We encourage you to go and get the foundation that you need,'” Moseley said. “For Lincoln, it’s necessary as we work to move the retention rate and graduation rate. We expect … it will significantly impact those numbers over the next four, five, six years.”

Some of the degree programs at State Fair align well with those at Lincoln, Moseley said, such as nursing and agriculture. The university has open seats in its upper level degree courses that can easily be filled through transfer agreements, he added.

Darius Watson, executive director of academic initiatives at Lincoln, spearheaded development of the program on the university’s side. He said he’s heard from several high school guidance counselors in the region that they’ve been waiting for the formal agreement to start promoting it to students.

Lincoln will house a few State Fair guidance counselors and instructors on campus, allowing students to navigate their degree path with input from both institutions.

For students primarily enrolled at State Fair and living at Lincoln (and taking a course at LU), financial aid would flow through the community college first, Watson said. The students would then receive a refund and have to independently apply that to costs incurred at Lincoln.

Watson said Lincoln has capped the number of students allowed to stay on campus at 50 for the program’s first year because the university is renovating its largest residence hall, creating a potential housing crunch. The limit could be lifted after renovations, he said.

“The goal is to make sure that we’re offering the State Fair students every opportunity that we would also be offering to LU students, and I think that’s going to be something that they find really attractive,” Watson said.

Watson’s role lately has been focused on developing transfer agreements with community college systems throughout the country.

Lincoln already has agreements with College of Lake County in Illinois, City Colleges of Chicago and California Community Colleges, the nation’s largest higher education system with 116 colleges on the west coast. It’s working to develop similar agreements with Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, St. Louis Community College and State Technical College of Missouri.

Watson said the university’s goal is to develop transfer agreements in parts of the state and country where the university has historically recruited from.

“We believe by developing these community college partnerships that we will be able to offer significantly more options, not just from a general, ‘Hey, there’s options short of a four-year degree,’ but literally options in their space,” Watson said. “So you could stay in St. Louis and do a year, and then come (to Lincoln) when you’re more supported.”

The agreements allow Lincoln and its partners to leverage each other’s curriculum without institutions carrying the cost of creating new programs, he said.

Moseley said he’s expecting the partnership to open new pathways to education for students throughout the state and for generations to come.

“We see this as collaboration at its best on the state level in higher education,” he said.

    Julie Smith/News Tribune photo: John Moseley, president of Lincoln University, left, exchanges an agreement with State Fair Community College President Brent Bates Tuesday, April 18, 2023, as the the two sign an agreement wherein the two will join forces to ensure that more Lincoln U students graduate and that students from SFCC can transfer credits to Lincoln toward a four-year degree.
  

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Most Notable Historic Property City Of Columbia

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Ed And Yang In Their Kitchen

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A home as historic as Columbia itself finds new life as a luxury vacation rental.

When you think of historic homes in Columbia, your mind might go to sections of West Broadway or Stewart and Rollins roads, or East Campus. But one of the oldest homes in Columbia is located at the southeast corner of the Crossroads intersection at Broadway and Stadium, just catty-corner to Andy’s Frozen Custard, on Briarwood Lane.

Heading east on Broadway just past Stadium, the white columns of the Colonial Revival at 100 W. Briarwood Lane can just be glimpsed to the right, at the back of a deep, winter-bare wooded lot. The estate is located on one of the largest lots in town, but it used to be well outside of city limits when it was built in the 1800s on the road out of town to Rocheport.

When he first purchased the home in 1981, Ed Brent lived at 100 Briarwood with his then-wife and children for many years. He now co-owns the estate with Yangmali Sahadev Rai, and renovated it in 2019. They rent the home out on Airbnb and VRBO and after returning it to its former glory revel in its long and storied past.

Juxtaposed just next door is an ultra-modern estate owned by Ed and Yang that is also available as a short-term rental. 

An Auspicious 19th Century Beginning

It is believed that the original home on this lot was built before 1850. It was just a small, two-room brick cabin, whose bricks were handmade and fired on-site. A Victorian-style frame house was built just 10 feet from the brick cabin around 1870.

In 1933, Alexander Richard Troxell (1893-1971) bought the property. Within a year, he married Jesse Williams (1894-1994). The pair was something of a power couple in Columbia at the time. Alexander earned three college degrees, including one from Yale University Law school, and had a prominent law office on the third floor of the Guitar Building downtown. He went on to serve in both World Wars and retired from the army as a colonel. And so, the estate was known for many years as the Troxell or Col. Troxell house.

Jesse was an equally impressive scholar, having earned three degrees herself, in arts, science, and journalism. She worked for the Boonville Advertiser during World War I, and it’s speculated that her choice of journalism as a career may have been influenced by her uncle, Walter Williams, the founding dean of the MU School of Journalism. The couple also owned the local telephone company until they sold it to General Telephone. Both Troxells are buried in the Columbia Cemetery.

The Troxell Era Gives Way to Modern Luxury

The Troxells merged the two-room brick cabin and the frame house, but a fire destroyed the frame house in 1938. The home had been fashionably appointed with dark walnut furniture and woodwork, which neighbors helped save from the fire by prying the woodwork off with crowbars. The wood panels can still be found in the original two-room cabin today. 

“In 1830, walnut was an easily available building material, so they used it to build the house,” Yang says about the antique woodwork. 

After the fire, Alexander hired local architect Henry Satterly Bill to design a house similar to the Victorian-style frame house that was destroyed. During demolition, an attempt was made to bring down the brick cabin, but it didn’t budge, so it was incorporated into the new house as a long living room and features a fireplace at each end. It remains today, at the back of the house. The room is sophisticated-cozy with leather and linen furnishings, and a large, black lantern hanging in the center, while the salvaged walnut fireplace mantles, chair rails, and window frames add warmth all around. An antique walnut door at one end leads to a spacious screened-in porch with views of the wooded acreage. 

“My favorite part of the house is [this] great room,” Ed says. “Because this is the whole original house and we have managed to restore it to its original form.” 

Tons of Historic Charm

The enormous brick home’s six white pillars welcome guests to linger on the stately front patio before entering the front door into the foyer, where the historic charm is on full display. Directly to the right is the entrance to the parlor, and to the left is the entrance to a long dining room and kitchen. A set of stairs with an original banister and rails on the right side of the foyer winds up to the second story through a curved opening in the ceiling that is still trimmed with original molding.

An original 1930s papier maché light fixture medallion adorns the ceiling here, and in several places throughout the home. A large lantern hangs over the stairs to match the one in the great room at the back of the house. Straight ahead, a tall, arched doorway leads down a hallway to the great room. The parlor today serves as another living space, which is furnished in understated neutrals, including a sleeper sofa for guests. The crown jewel of the parlor is the marble fireplace, the mantle of which was salvaged from a demolished Boonville home.

The kitchen is timeless in all-white with stainless steel appliances. Ed and Yang tore down the wall that separated the dining room and kitchen, which had made the kitchen an extremely small galley style. What had once been the front of the kitchen is now an island with bar seating on the dining room side. The dining room boasts a long, narrow table that seats up to eight. The space is bathed in ample natural light from the home’s many windows.

“My favorite part of the house is the renovated open-plan kitchen and dining area because it allows families to stay together during meals,” Yang says. “And of course, I love cooking and it’s got a spacious modern kitchen.” 

The upstairs houses four spacious bedrooms with dark walnut bedframes. With the sleeper sofa in the parlor, the Airbnb property sleeps 12, with lots of room to spread out. The backyard offers a magical respite with its enormous brick terraced patio that leads out to a charming pergola with inviting white curtains and lights.

It’s not just an enticing place to sit outside on a beautiful day — it has also been a popular wedding spot, especially during Covid-19. The photo gallery on the Airbnb listing includes pictures of a few weddings; not only is the outside perfect for getting hitched, but the staircase in the foyer gives the bride a chance to descend the stairs like royalty.

Ed and Yang relied on the expertise of contractor Stephen Ketchum of Ketchum-Up Services for the renovation, Studio Home for interior design, and Korte Tree Care for cleaning up brush and tackling the massive project of thinning the trees in the front yard. 

If you need a short-term rental for a special occasion or a stay-cation, Ed and Yang are Airbnb superhosts who make a point of meeting each of their renters and doing what they can to personalize their stay. A one-night stay runs from $800 to $1,200 per night for the entire luxury home. 

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BOONVILLE − A new Kawasaki Motors manufacturing facility has opened up in Boonville. The facility started mass production of equipment on Feb. 28 with about 80 employees.

Kawasaki now has two manufacturing plants in Missouri, with Boonville being the smaller of the two. The other location is in Maryville and has about 950 employees.

The plant has one assembly line in place right now. It expects to add a second in July and a couple more next fall. Even with only one assembly line, the plant turns out about 1,200 engines for lawnmowers and other items for the residential market per day.

Senior Manager Monte Hoskey believes the plant could have about 300 employees and become one of the biggest employers in Boonville. 

“Right now we’re adding on six to 10 each week,” Hoskey said. “Our goal is to have about 300 hired on by October, November. And if hiring allows, we’ll continue to hire up to maybe 500 people total by the time we get our third assembly line in and possibly adding a fourth, as long as the staffing continues.”

Hoskey said Boonville lost five larger industries over the last three or four years, which made the company want to put a plant in the area.

“And so it really, we felt that the job pool in the Boonville area would be great for for our needs,” Hoskey said.

An assembly line worker from Boonville, Zack Sandbothe, gets to work at about 6 a.m. for his 10-hour shift. He said staying close to family is what attracted him the most to this opportunity.

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“Seeing a corporation like Kawasaki coming in and figure that’d be a great opportunity to do something better with myself and try to be and a company that treats you like family,” Sandbothe said.

Supervisor Jamie Robertson said the new plant is a unique experience, but he looks forward to the future.

“We’re all learning new jobs, and we’re in everybody’s growing and, I mean, we’re having our two steps forward, one step back thing. Everybody has frustration daily, but you know, we’re working through it,” Robertson said. “So I just, I gotta tell everybody, I wish we could fast forward three months, and then everything’s just like, rolling.”

He also reiterated the aspect of family that can be seen within the Boonville Kawasaki plant.

“You’re helping your neighbor and you haven’t learned or if you see something they’re doing wrong, and you try to help them or you try to point out something that might help them, you know, it’s the same thing, what we’re doing. We’re trying to get processes going through the plant are the best process that we can do,” Robertson said.

Robertson said he believes Kawasaki is going to be a “force here in the next five to 10 years.”

“You know, with the ability of the plant and how much they care about their employees and stuff,” Robertson said.

The plant was established in October 2021 as a division of Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing corporation. 

Originally Appeared Here

Boonville, Indiana to Deliver Fiber-Powered Broadband Access to More than 4,000 Locations via AT&T

AT&T Fiber with speeds of up to 5 Gigs to help close the digital divide

The city of Boonville, Indiana and AT&T* have finalized a $4.4 million contract that will result in AT&T building its state-of-the-art fiber network to more than 4,000 locations throughout the city.

“This is an exciting day for our city, as our residents will soon have access to AT&T Fiber and the incredible internet speeds it provides,” said Mayor Charlie Wyatt, City of Boonville. “Connectivity is crucial to the success of a community and we are so pleased to now officially be moving forward with AT&T on this important project.”

AT&T has extensive experience deploying fiber-optics across Indiana. In fact, hundreds of thousands of locations in the state have access to AT&T Fiber today. AT&T is also currently working with neighboring Vanderburgh County to bring AT&T Fiber to unincorporated parts of the county later this year.   

“Our AT&T Fiber network is fast and reliable, and it’s helping communities like Boonville close the digital divide for its businesses and people,” said Bill Soards, president, AT&T Indiana. “We look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Charlie Wyatt, the City Council, and the Board of Works on this connectivity collaboration.”

Extensive planning and engineering work for this project will begin immediately.  The network is expected to be complete in 18 months.

AT&T Fiber is the fastest among major providers and offers symmetrical speeds of up to 5-Gigs on downloads and uploads.1 The faster speeds and increased bandwidth mean customers can connect multiple devices, stream multiple entertainment sources, quickly upload content to social media and experience ultra-low lag for pro-level gaming – all at the same time.

Residents and businesses can learn more about AT&T Fiber at att.com/fiber and can sign up to be notified when service will be available at their address at att.com/notifyme.

Affordable internet service is available for low-income households as part of AT&T’s commitment to help close the digital divide. Access from AT&T offers low-cost broadband options, including free internet for eligible households when combined with federal benefits from the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).2 After you confirm your ACP eligibility, call us at 866-986-0963 to discuss your options and order service. Be sure to have your National Verifier application ID handy when you call.

About AT&T in Indiana

From 2019-2021, AT&T invested more than $1 billion in its wireless and wireline networks in Indiana to expand coverage and improve connectivity in more communities. That investment has increased reliability, coverage and overall performance for residents and businesses. It’s also improved critical communications services for Indiana’s first responders using the FirstNet® network.

Becoming the Best Broadband Provider

We are on a mission to be the best broadband provider in America, whether you’re at home, work or on the move. We do this by combining the most reliable 5G network3 with the fastest growing fiber internet in America4,  so you have a seamless experience from a single provider. Becoming the best connectivity provider also means serving the critical mission of America’s first responders. FirstNet®, Built with AT&T is the only purpose-built, nationwide wireless broadband communications platform dedicated to the public safety community.

Originally Appeared Here

The Moniteau County Library has chosen an architect to design its new home.

Following an architect showcase March 21 at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place, the library’s board of trustees narrowed its search from three architecture firms to one during a special open-session meeting March 22. The board voted to move forward with Sapp Design Architects, of Springfield and Kansas City, who will be responsible for designing a new facility. The current facility, an unreinforced masonry building constructed around 1864 and remodeled between 1996-98, is running out of space and cannot be expanded due to structural concerns. As a result, the library is looking to move to a new facility to be built on a vacant lot.

Architect showcase

Three Sapp Design Architects employees joined representatives from two other firms — Simon Oswald Architects (SOA; in partnership with Bond Architects) and Porter, Berendzen & Associates (PBA) — in presenting their experience, ideas and design process at the architect showcase. While all three firms had prior experience in designing libraries, they differed in their amount of experience and offered different perspectives at the event.

Moniteau County Library Board of Trustees President Mike Staton opened the event by discussing the need for a new facility. He said the library initially wanted to expand its current facility into a neighboring building housing a barbershop, but a May 2022 structural evaluation found the library building would be unable to withstand the work.

Following the evaluation, the trustees started looking at building a new facility elsewhere — leading the library to purchasing a lot at 209 S. Oak St., after two dilapidated homes on the property were demolished by the previous owner. The location is centrally-located on a primary street, and is close to the elementary/middle school campus, making it an ideal location for a new library. Staton said the purchase came to secure an ideal location for the library’s future home.

“There’s not just a ton of options, so when that place came available, we felt it was ideal,” he said. “It was right here on Oak Street, (close to) the kids, the middle school and elementary school … right directly behind it, (children) can walk across there. We just didn’t feel like we could ever find a better location than that, so we have purchased it and the library does own the property over there.”

Sapp Design Architects presented on their design process and expertise in designing libraries, in addition to trends found at many libraries. Library Director Connie Beauchamp previously worked with Sapp Design Architects in her previous role as library director at the Morgan County Library, which built a 12,000-square-foot facility in 2005 in Versailles.

Sapp’s library expertise extends far beyond the Morgan County Library facility. Sapp Design Architects specializes in libraries, designing more than 70 libraries in its history — with more than 45 designed in just the past five years. Michael Sapp, founding principal of the firm, said they’ve designed libraries ranging from 3,000 to more than 110,000 square feet. The firm got its start with libraries in 2000 by transforming a lumber yard warehouse into Springfield Public Libraries’ The Library Center branch, a project that received national attention.

Sapp said the two other representatives present at the showcase — Neill Scheiter, project architect, and Kathe Kristek, interior designer — would directly work on the Moniteau County Library project. Brad McKenzie, not present at the meeting, would also work on the project as a project manager. The four have 108 years of combined experience.

“This is what they do on a consistent basis,” he said. “They don’t once-in-a-while work on a library while they’re working on other types of projects. We live and breathe libraries, and have for about 25 years. It’s a big part of our annual business.”

Scheiter said community involvement is a big part of Sapp’s design process, as they look at problems being “just as unique as the community itself.” He said the firm looks to connect the facility with its community, such as incorporating unique facets of a community — like its history — into the facility’s design. The design process, he said, serves as a reflection of a community’s values and priorities.

“We look at design as … an opportunity for collaboration and communication with our clients and with the community,” Scheiter said. “It’s not just about the clients themselves, but also thinking about the taxpayers as stakeholders within this project.”

Much like the SOA/Bond partnership that presented earlier in the event, the Sapp representatives discussed a variety of library design trends — light, open spaces with optimal sightlines for library staff and flexibility for using the space for other purposes. A modern use for a library, they mentioned, is to provide a space for people to work and connect with others — especially with more people working from home after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think we can summarize libraries today into three things, and it’s flexibility, flexibility and flexibility,” Sapp said. “That’s the key, going to be the key to the success of your library. Whatever you build, it better be flexible, because our world is evolving every single day.”

Nick Borgmeyer, a principal and architect for SOA, and Susan Pruchnicki, a principal-in-charge of Bond Architects, presented first at the event. Pruchnicki said her St. Louis firm has an extensive history in designing libraries around the St. Louis metropolitan area, with experience in new construction, remodels and converting other types of facilities into libraries. Borgmeyer said SOA would act as the primary architect on the project, with Bond Architects providing specialized input for the library components, if the library chose to move forward with the group.

The second group to present was PBA, of Ashland, who kept their presentation short. Jon Berendzen, vice president of PBA, said the firm mostly has experience with designing educational facilities, but it designed the Southern Boone County Public Library in Ashland around a decade ago. The pre-engineered metal building, which simplifies construction and is cheaper compared to other building types, has a spruced-up brick facade. The facility cost $10 million to construct. Berendzen said the firm is collaborating with AM Designs, of Columbia, for interior design of a remodel to the Boonslick Regional Library in Boonville.

Board action

After hearing from the three firms, the Moniteau County Library Board of Trustees convened March 22 in a special open-session meeting to pick a firm to move forward with.

The options were quickly narrowed to the SOA/Bond partnership and Sapp Design Architects due to PBA’s limited library experience. Sapp eventually became the front-runner with its specialization in libraries, knowledge of trends and realization libraries have limited budgets and resources. Beauchamp also vouched for Sapp Design Architects, saying they were good to work with on the Morgan County Library project. The board unanimously decided to move forward with Sapp Design Architects.

The Moniteau County Library Board of Trustees will next meet for their regular monthly meeting at 10 a.m. April 19 at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place, 501 S. Oak St.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Moniteau County Library Board of Trustees President Mike Staton introduces the need for a new library March 21 at the library’s Architect Showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place. Representatives from three architecture firms — Simon Oswald Architects; Porter, Berendzen & Associates, and Sapp Design Architects — discussed their experience in designing libraries, along with their design process and trends affecting libraries.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Susan Pruchnicki, left, of Bond Architects, and Nick Borgmeyer, of Simon Oswald Architects, discuss the design process and services they would offer the Moniteau County Library on March 21 during the library’s architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Susan Pruchnicki, of Bond Architects, discusses utilizing a new library space in phases, along with community involvement opportunities, March 21 at the library’s architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place. If selected, Bond Architects would partner with Simon Oswald Architects to offer library-specific input on the project.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — California native Nick Borgmeyer, of Simon Oswald Architects, discusses the firm’s experience March 21 at an architect showcase held in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Jacob Berendzen, left, and Jon Berendzen, of Porter, Berendzen & Associates, answer questions from the crowd March 21 at the library architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Jacob Berendzen, left, and Jon Berendzen, of Porter, Berendzen & Associates, answer questions from the crowd March 21 at the library architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Neill Scheiter, a project architect with Sapp Design Architects, explains a concept March 21 at the library architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place. The library’s Board of Trustees decided March 22 to move forward with Sapp Design Architects designing the new library facility.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Neill Scheiter, from left, Kathe Kristek and Michael Sapp, all from Sapp Design Architects, present March 21 at the library’s architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place. The library’s Board of Trustees decided March 22 to move forward with Sapp Design Architects on designing the library’s new facility. Sapp, a founding principal of Sapp Design Architects, explained his firm has designed more than 70 libraries — including more than 45 in the past five years. He added that Scheiter, a project architect, and Kristek, an interior designer, would directly work on the Moniteau County Library facility.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Michael Sapp, principal of Sapp Design Architects, points in the direction of the empty lot at 209 S. Oak St., that will eventually house the library’s new facility as he discusses another library’s unique ribbon cutting event March 21 during the library’s architect showcase in Heyssel Hall of the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place. Sapp explained another community formed a human chain to pass books from the old facility to the new one, one at a time, like a bucket brigade.

Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Kathe Kristek, left, and Michael Sapp, center, both of Sapp Design Architects, listen to Jon Berendzen, of Porter, Berendzen & Associates, speak March 21 before the Moniteau County Library’s architect showcase in Heyssel Hall at the Moniteau County Library at Wood Place.

Originally Appeared Here