Forum Flashbacks: Aug. 13-Aug. 19

FORUM FILE PHOTO
15 years ago: A bronze likeness of a Northwest Missouri State University student studying on a computer appeared to be sacking out on the grass last week. The figure is part of a sculpture by Gregory Johnson of Gainesville, Ga., which was erected on campus last week near the J.W. Jones Student Union. Johnson was commissioned to do the sculpture, which features a college-age man and woman sitting on a bench. The statue will be unveiled on Sept. 10 in honor of the university’s centennial celebration, which officially kicks off that weekend.

25 years ago

• Maryville has a “once in a blue moon” opportunity to overlay streets this year, the city manager said this morning in a telephone interview.
  The Maryville City Council voted last night to approve $150,000 for street overlays for the year.
  City Manager David Angerer said an asphalt plant has been set up on the south end of town to help with repaving contracted by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.
• Jury selection will begin Monday in the first-degree murder case against a rural Maryville man in the death of his wife in a Nov. 10, 1994, incident.
  William Taylor was charged with second-degree murder Nov. 14, 1994. Charges were later changed to first-degree murder.
  Taylor allegedly ran over his wife, DebraJo, with a combine as he backed out of a shed.
  Scott Holste, Office of Communications in the Attorney General’s Office, said the prosecutor will not be seeking the death penalty.
  Holste said that if he is found guilty life without parole would more than likely be the sentence.

15 years ago

• Maryville’s new interim city manager Matt Unrein, heading full-steam into the city’s annual budgeting process, feels he has been well groomed to fill the shoes of outgoing city manager Matt Chesnut.
  Monday marked Chesnut’s last day in office, and Unrein will take over in the interim capacity until a permanent city manager is found.
  Chesnut was hired by the City of Maryville in 1997 first as public works director and assistant city manager, and in 2001 he was hired as city manager. He and his wife, Christy, and their son, Christian, will be moving to Titusville, Fla., where Chesnut will be managing The Great Outdoors RV and Golf Resort.

5 years ago

• After an initial informational meeting in May, community members gathered Tuesday night to discuss the plausibility of an indoor swimming pool facility in Maryville.
  A group of more than 15 citizens met at the Maryville Community Center to discuss the next steps toward potentially making an indoor pool facility a reality.
  The only indoor aquatic center in Maryville, the Robert P. Foster Aquatic Center, shut down three years ago and has now been transformed into the fully furnished Robert and Virginia Foster Fitness Center, which is scheduled to open in early September.
• About 25 international students from India gathered Saturday morning on the Joyce and Harvey White International Plaza at Northwest Missouri State University to celebrate their nation’s independence from the British Empire on Aug. 15, 1947.
  The brief flag-raising ceremony, during which the students sang the Indian national anthem while one of their classmates raised the saffron, white and green Indian Tricolor, served as both a patriotic salute to their native land and a kickoff for the fast-approaching school year, which will bring more international students to the Northwest campus than ever before.
  Northwest’s international program has grown significantly over the past three years, and Jeff Foot, who serves as the university’s director of international affairs and leads the campus’ English as a second language program, said Saturday the expansion is by design. …
  Foot said just over 700 international graduate and undergraduate students are expected to be on campus this fall.