Forum Flashbacks: March 5 – March 11

FORUM FILE PHOTO
The recent snows gave a few creative area residents a new way to support the Maryville High School Spoofhounds in their bid for a state championship this week. The above snowman, sporting Matt Redd’s number, is in Peach Creek Park.

25 years ago

• A correctional facility at the former Mount Alverno Convent will apparently begin housing inmates in one year.
  Late this morning, Gov. Mel Carnahan approved proceeding on the project which calls for utilizing the former convent as a minimum-security prison housing 525 inmates.
  “I feel comfortable that the community as a whole is supportive of this project,” the governor said in a statement issued shortly before noon.
  He said he would not have approved the project if there had not been support for the proposal in the community.
  Missouri Department of Corrections Director Dora Schriro, speaking by phone from her Jefferson City office, said her department will now begin work to finalize a contract with an architectural firm. Construction and renovation work for what will be an 11-acre prison facility is scheduled to begin in October.

15 years ago

• After more than 55 years of involvement in softball — from pitching for high school and college teams to coaching high school and college teams — Marvin Murphy of Maryville was inducted into the Missouri Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame on Feb. 12 in Rolla, Mo.
  Murphy received an engraved plaque for Meritorious Service during the Missouri A.S.A.’s 19th annual Awards Banquet held at Zeno’s Hotel and Steakhouse. David Carroll of Maitland, who was last year’s Hall of Fame honoree, nominated Murphy to the state A.S.A. Board of Directors, who selected him on every ballot for the honor.
• Northwest Missouri State senior wide receiver-kick returner Jamaica Rector completed his workouts at the NFL Combine on Feb. 26.
  Rector was invited to the professional football event based on recommendations from NFL scouts. Rector was one of 41 wide receivers to take part in the session, and one of three non-Division I wide receivers in attendance – Leron McCoy from Division II Indiana (Pa.) and Larry Brackins from Pearl River Community College were the others. …
  Testing with notable college stars such as Reggie Brown (Georgia), Mark Clayton (Oklahoma), Fred Gibson (Georgia) and Mike Williams (USC), Rector held his own. In the 40M, Rector’s mark of 4.47 was better than both Gibson (4.55) and Williams (4.56). Also, Rector was tops among the elite group in the cone drill with a time of 6.80.
  Rector, who joins former Northwest athletes Seth Wand (2003) and Chris Greisen (1999) to attend the NFL Combine, will await his professional future with the NFL Draft.

5 years ago

• In an effort to maintain current levels of service to the community, Maryville voters will be asked April 7 to approve a 10-cent increase in the annual Parks and Recreation Department tax levy.
  The request for additional tax revenues is the first by the city’s parks department since 1987, according to Maryville Parks and Recreation director Rod Auxier.
  If approved, the increased tax rate would provide an additional $138,000 toward the department’s budget that totals $1.2 million for the 2015 fiscal year, Auxier said.
• The City of Maryville confirmed Monday that South Cross Properties LLC plans to construct a Pizza Ranch restaurant here.
  According to a statement released jointly by City Hall, Nodaway County Economic Development and South Cross Properties, the company has been working with municipal and NCED officials to move the project forward over the past several months.