Forum Flashbacks: July 13 – July 29

FORUM FILE PHOTO
Despite overcast weather on Tuesday evening, three-year-old Tyler McGary grabbed his kid-sized fishing pole and dropped a line into the 102 River on the east end of Maryville. If Tyler wanted to go fishing today, he wouldn’t have to worry about stormy skies, and the temperature would be just right: the forecast calls for highs in the mid-80s and not a cloud in the sky.

25 years ago

• Once again, the opening date for the front nine of the Mozingo Lake Golf Course has been set back, from July 29 to Aug. 10.
  Rick Schultz, golf pro, said it was decided last night the opening would be pushed back and a special rule be put into effect.
  “If you hit the ball into the rough, we will ask you to move the ball back into the fairway,” Schultz said. “It will make for a more interesting round and a better score.”
  Helping golfers’ handicaps is not the purpose of the special rule, yet the condition of the rough is a concern.
  “The rough is what’s bad,” Schultz said. “It just hasn’t filled in yet. We don’t want them hitting from the rough that’s taken three months to grow grass.”
  The Buffalo Grass planted in the rough is starting to come up, but will probably sustain better growth in the fall.
• Several Northwest Missouri State University faculty members are getting a look at education from the student’s point of view this week, through the university’s Electronic Campus pilot program.
  Under the tutelage of Dr. Phil Heeler, chair of the department of computer science/information systems, and Dr. Jon Rickman, director of computing services at Northwest, the 15 faculty members are being immersed in how to expand their teaching using laptop computers. …
  The pilot project will place notebook computers in the hands of approximately 100 freshmen students for use in general education courses throughout the 1995-96 year. Cost to the students who elected to take part in the pilot project is $395 per semester.
  The goal of the pilot is to improve the learning process for Northwest students and to prepare for the program’s expansion campus-wide in the future.

15 years ago

• The Maryville City Council may be taking a look at the allowance of Fourth of July fireworks in the city limits after a citizen complaint at Monday night’s council meeting.
  Chanda Funston, who lives on 13th Street in Maryville, told the council her house was bombarded with fireworks on the Fourth this year, even to the point where she feared for her safety, she said.
  “I’m here to voice my concern about the use of fireworks by individuals in a crowded area,” she told the council. “This past Fourth of July, my house was peppered with fireworks. They clattered on the roof, they banged against the windows, they bounced off my patio. I felt like I was in a war zone.” …
  Currently, the city ordinance says certain types of fireworks may be discharged within the city limits only between certain hours on the Fourth of July. However, fireworks propelled with a stick, such as bottle rockets, are not allowed.
  Funston said she would show the council what she found in her yard the next morning, and spread hundreds of used fireworks casings on two pieces of construction paper on the floor of the council chambers.

5 years ago

• The Skidmore Community Betterment Association has announced the publication of a new cookbook, “Hometown Favorites,” proceeds from which will help pay for park improvements.
  The association is currently raising funds to pay for a proposed walking trail and full-length basketball court, complete with benches and lights, at the town park. The court is envisioned as a venue for both games and community events.
  Printed by G&R Publishing, “Hometown Favorites” is filled with nearly 400 recipes submitted by Skidmore residents and former residents. Many of the recipes are traditional family dishes handed down through the generations.
• Fish were caught, pizzas were eaten, races were won, towers were climbed, golf balls were struck, and some very dirty games of mud volleyball were played over the weekend during the 20th birthday party for the 3,000-acre public playground known as Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.
  Despite cloud-filled skies and roving thunderstorms, hundreds of people turned out to celebrate along the shores of the municipal lake constructed just east of Maryville two decades ago in order to ensure that the city would always have enough drinking water.
  Though Mozingo exists primarily so that wet, clear liquid will flow every time local residents tum their taps, the lake has evolved into one of the most popular recreation areas in this part of the state.