Gwen Rolofson, Trenton Roberts Reign Over 129th Hopkins Picnic

Gwen Rolofson and Trenton Roberts were chosen to reign over the 129th Hopkins Picnic Thursday. They were crowned by last year’s winners, Owen Coleman and Zoey Phillips. Other contestants were Gannon Stricker, Kloey Langley, Zoey Pearson, Tristen Wray, Luke Clements, and Hudson Alexander. The event was emceed by teacher Angie Davison. Judges were chosen from outside the community.

David Parman Honored for Service to Country

Over 100 people attended a special dinner and surprise party in honor of David Parman Friday night. He served his country from 1970-2004, a time period spanning 34 years. He received an honorable discharge from Vietnam, with letters of thanks from both President Richard Nixon and General William Westmoreland. He continued to serve in the Army Reserve, serving in Desert Storm, Bosnia, and then Iraq.

In addition, Parman served as a coach at Coffey, Jameson, and Worth County. “We had a lot of fun in Coffey,” he said. That school was even smaller than Sheridan by the time it closed, producing 1-3 seniors a year, with five graduating in its final year of existence with no 8th graders coming up. Coming up to honor him were around 10 of his former players, friends, and co-workers, including former Principal Rob Dowis, who hired him, along with Max Courter, who was the board president at Coffey and who later served with Parman as a prison guard.

Parman also kept a watch on water quality while in Sheridan and in Coffey. “The water tastes better in Sheridan than it did in Arizona,” said Chuck Zook, who lived in Sheridan, moved to Arizona, and has recently moved back to Maryville. While he was alive, the late Mayor Bud Allee, at one point, sought to bottle and sell the city’s water due to the high quality. “He is what an American is,” said Rachel Rush, who emceed the program.

In recent years, Parman has taken up even more hobbies. He continues to run Weekend’s, an antique and thrift store which also sells pop and ice cream; it draws customers in from outside the community. One person who came was a DNR man who inspected the city’s water system and then, after retiring, came back to check out Parman’s store. Parman started a fireworks show several years ago; with volunteer help, the show goes on. Fireworks were shot in town Friday night as usual after the program honoring Parman. Parman also has taken up art, painting some patriotic pictures on the side of his building.

Other veterans were also recognized, who had served in Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq.

Obituary -- Rosalie Hart 1937-2017

Rosalie Hart was born April 29, 1937 in Mt. Moriah, Missouri to Charles Ward and Nora Bell (Thomas) Franklin. She passed away July 9, 2017  in Maryville, Missouri at the age of 80.

     

Rosalie was united in marriage to Roland Keith Hart on December 26, 1958. She loved living on the farm, gardening and worked hard canning and providing for her family and enjoyed sewing and embroidery.  She was an excellent cook. Some of Keitha’s favorites were her cinnamon rolls, noodles, chocolate upside down cake and pies with meringue.

     

Rosalie was a kind person, always putting others first, she always had a positive comment. She spent  much time picking out just the right card and picking out the right wording for each card she sent. She loved her children and grandchildren, Crystal, Carrie, Kara, Christi and her great-grandchildren, they were the sunshine of her life. She

     

Rosalie was preceded in death by her husband Keith, parents: and sister Thelma Jean Frazier. She is survived by 2 children: Donald Wray Hart and wife Sharon of Sheridan, Missouri, Keitha Irene Nance and husband Jim of Maryville, Missouri, grandchildren Crystal Combs and husband Will, Carrie Dannar and husband Brett, Kara Downing and husband Blake and Christi Nance, and 6 great-grandchildren: Kylie and Leah Combs, Carter and Annalyn Dannar and Izzy and Alivia Downing.

  

Funeral Services will be 3:00 P.M. Friday, July 14, 2017 at the Prugh-Dunfee Funeral Home in Grant City, Missouri. Interment will be in the Sheridan Cemetery, Vanskyock Addition in Sheridan. Visitation will be one hour prior to service.

Obituary -- Allen Fletchall 1926-2017

     Allen Fletchall  passed away on July 7, 2017 after a brief illness. He was born July 2, 1926 in Worth County, Missouri. He was the son of Gordon and Mildred (Rowen) Fletchall.

     Allen served in the United States Army during World War 11. He worked most of his life as a heavy equipment operator.

     In 1947, Allen married Venita VanHoutan. To this union 4 children were born: Randy, Marsha, Kevin and Lora. The couple later divorced.

     Allen spent his retirement years as an independent equipment operator and working on his acreage in Grant City, Missouri. He enjoyed being outdoors and going to auctions.

     He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters: Janis Newcomer and Cleta Ahrens, two brothers: Gerald and Jerry Fletchall and one granddaughter: Tonya Fletchall.

     Surviving are his four children, two sisters: Margie Conard and Faye Heintz, brother Kenneth Fletchall, numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

     Graveside Services and interment will be 10:00 A.M. Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at the Knox Cemetery in Worth, Missouri. Visitation from 6:00-8:00 P.M. Monday at the Prugh-Dunfee Funeral Home in Grant City.  

Obituary -- Elmer Smith Davidson 1954-2017

Elmer “Smith Rock” Davidson, age 63, Grant City, Missouri died Monday, July 3, 2017 at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas.

Elmer was born February 27, 1954, the son of Chase Ellis and Leona Faye (Fletchall) Davidson.
Elmer graduated with an associate degree in welding from Southwestern Iowa Community College at Creston, Iowa.

In 1991, Elmer was married to Christie Martin at the Grant City Baptist Church. To this union one son was born, Lucas. They were later divorced.

Elmer was currently employed as a Direct Support Professional with Rolling Hills Creative Living, Inc., Albany, Missouri.

Preceding him in death were his father, Chase, sister Connie Findley, brother Dudley and sister Deidra Hunt.

Survivors include: his son, Lucas Davidson, Grant City, mother, Leona Davidson, Grant City, two brothers, Harold (Debbie) Davidson, Parkville, Missouri, William (Sherry) Davidson, Grant City, sister-in-law Carmen Davidson, and two brother-in-law’s, Bob Hunt and Robert Findley, cousins, nieces, nephews and a host of other friends and loved ones.

Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Saturday, July 8, 2017 at Andrews-Hann Funeral Home in Grant City. Burial will be in the Grant City Cemetery.

Obituary -- Beverly June Duncan 1929-2017

Funeral Celebration of Life Services for Beverly Duncan, age 87, of Bedford who passed away Friday, June 23, 2017 in Maryville, Missouri were held Monday, June 26, 2017, at 10:30 AM at the Ritchie Funeral Home in Bedford. Visitation was held one hour prior to services. Interment was held in the Fairview Cemetery in Bedford. Memorials may be given in Beverly's name. Memories may be shared at www.ritchiefuneralhome.com. Arrangements were entrusted to the Ritchie Funeral Home of Bedford where we 'Celebrate Life'. 

Beverly June (Thompson) Duncan was born August 7, 1929 in Rural Nodaway County Missouri the daughter of Paul Clarence Thompson and Opal Marie (Thummel) Thompson. Beverly grew up in the Hopkins and Bedford areas and graduated from Bedford High School. Following her graduation from high school Beverly attended Northwest Missouri State where she completed normative training, allowing her to teach country school, which she did for many years. 

On June 11, 1954 she was united in marriage to Delbert Wayne Duncan in Bedford. Wayne and Beverly lived in the Conway area for many years until moving to Bedford in 1994. Following Wayne’s passing in 2000, Beverly continued to live in Bedford. 

Many community members will remember that Beverly and Wayne had a large chicken operation they ran together for many years. Beverly also enjoyed collecting and painting China dolls and also doing tole painting. Through the years the couple loved to travel and following Wayne’s retirement he and Beverly spent eighteen winters in Mexico where they helped tutor young boys and girls in English for free. Beverly and Wayne also spent many summers in Canada fishing. 

Beverly is survived by a son Duane Duncan and wife Patricia of California; a daughter Kathy Duncan of Bedford; a sister Mary Jo Sleep (Robert) of Bedford; a brother Tommy (Jan) Thompson of Maryville, Missouri; four grandchildren, Teather, DeeDee, Thomas and Aaron, along with may nieces, nephews and sister-in-law Margaret Thompson. 

Preceding Beverly in death are her husband Wayne; her parents, Paul and Opal; and a brother, Donald Thompson.

We will forever hold your precious memory in our hearts.
May you be at peace in God’s loving care.

At Least Five Tornadoes Hit Area; Massive Flooding and Rains Wednesday

At least five tornadoes struck the area Wednesday along with massive flooding and anywhere from 6-13 inches of rain. In Sheridan, rain started around 4 pm and around four inches of rain fell over the next two hours. Rain fell throughout the night as a tornado watch, originally set to expire at 10, was extended to midnight.

Among the tornadoes spotted, two were spotted in Denver and did extensive damage to trees, broke windows, and flooded homes. One more was spotted near Gentry, one large one was spotted near Maryville, and one was spotted north of Sheridan just across the Iowa line. 

The Sheridan twister, which was visible from the town, destroyed a home and all the outbuildings around it, knocked down power lines and trees, and tore the roofs off three hog confinement facilities.

Flooding was bad, with some places that had escaped the Flood of 1993 being flooded. At one point, it was not possible to get in or out of Sheridan as the bridge east of town is still closed until September and ditches south of Gaynor and north of Gary Hart’s jumped the bank and went over the road. Route H was nearly impassable north of Sheridan, with one truck hauling hay having to plow its way through water to get out. The Rodeo Grounds were underwater, as was the street just west of MFA. By contrast, the Flood of 1993 came up to the edge of Sheridan, but never inside it.

There were plenty of other places that were flooded as well. Runoff from the flooding was so bad that the West Fork and Middlefork jumped the banks between Stanberry and Albany. Casey’s was not able to pump gas for customers there. Route 136 north of Ravenwood was closed due to flooding, making it difficult Thursday morning for people to get to work in Maryville that day.

Power was out in Sheridan from 6:30 to 10:30 in the evening Wednesday, with power once again going out from 9 to 10:30 Thursday morning as Ravenwood was hit hard by the storm. In Grant City, the power was out all night until 11 Thursday morning. In Denver, multiple power lines and tree limbs blew over Route M, forcing the closure of that road.

One Denver resident, Joe Marshall, said that the Jam Session ended early in Grant City Wednesday night due to the storm. He attempted to go home the normal way, on Route M, but the road was already closed due to power lines being down. He said he had to go around through Allendale and had to stop and remove some tree limbs from the road in the driving rain in order to get back home. He said that one twister had come from Ravenwood, while the other one came from Stanberry. “As far as I’m concerned, they can keep their tornadoes,” he said.

Correction -- The damage to the Allendale Rodeo Grounds was done by a storm the week before.