With more than two months to go before voters cast ballots in November, candidates in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District are stepping up their campaign aggression.

Republican challenger Vicky Hartzler seeks to unseat U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D), who has served for more than 23 years.
Hartlzer accuses Skelton of avoiding debates with her and consistently links the congressman’s voting record to that of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California). In a press release, she took up the issues of economics and unemployment.

In defense, Skelton tied his involvement as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee to job growth.

A third-party candidate from Lebanon hopes to mix it up with Skelton and Hartzler. Greg Cowan runs under the Constitution Party banner.
Cowan explained his decision to run outside of the Republican and Democratic parties in a letter to voters. He weighed out his stances on both mainstream parties.

A new, phone call notification system has been installed at School of the Osage — even better, since parents’ phone numbers were automatically programed, parents won’t have to remember to register.

The district plans on using the alert system to notify parents and guardians of school cancellations and early dismissals due to weather. The superintendent can also use the program to send out other emergency messages deemed necessary.

Fall and winter at Lake of the Ozarks usually means a lull in activity and a break on the roads. That's not so this year. In the next few weeks, new roads will open to traffic, detours will reroute vehicles and fresh projects will get underway. Combined, more than $200 million has been spent by the Missouri Department of Transportation in the lake area. The projects have transformed the landscaped, redefined how residents and tourists get from one destination to another and even made it a little safer to travel.

Gary Braman has taken to Facebook to help boost the drive for a disc golf course in Camdenton. The local resident has created a Facebook page entitled "Camdenton, Mo. Disc Golf" as he continues his quest to bring the sport to town.

A Camdenton man was arrested on drug charges after an Aug. 31 search of his home yielded suspected marijuana plants, weapons and other paraphernalia.

Fire damaged a home on Turkey Bend Wednsday afternoon, but the occupants escaped without injury.

Some residents on Horseshoe Bend and Shawnee Bend will see an increase in their water and sewer bills by the end of September.

Late last week, the Missouri Public Service Commission signed off on an agreement authorizing a rate increase for the Lake Region Water & Sewer Company (Lake Region) to cover the increased cost of providing water and sewer service to its customers. Under the Commission’s decision, Lake Region has been granted a rate increase totaling approximately $191,294. The Commission’s vote was 3-2.

A ruling by three judges in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District against a state government commission leaves some Lake Ozark and Osage Beach residents with feelings of vindication.

The appellate court ruled against the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Land Reclamation Commission and Magruder Limestone Company in the case of a piece of property on Woodriver Road that has been disputed for more than three years.

Magruder Limestone initially sought a permit to open a rock quarry on its Woodriver Road property, but the Lake Ozark/Osage Beach Joint Sewer Board and a concerned citizens’ group raised a legal challenge to stop the quarry from opening. A quarry, they say, will threaten the sewage treatment plant near the proposed blasting site and the two force main sewer lines that pass through Magruder’s property.

(AP) — Missouri's environmental director announced Monday that he was resigning to take a job to help oversee a $20 billion fund for people harmed by the Gulf oil spill.
Mark Templeton, the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources since 2009, said he was resigning effective Wednesday to become the executive director of the Office of the Independent Trustees of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. The fund was established by BP PLC and is administered by two trustees — John Martin, a former federal judge in New York; and Kent Syverd, the dean of the Washington University law school in St. Louis.

It took more than a year to build the Osage River Bridge beginning in 1932. On Tuesday, a few seconds passed, and the 77-year-old structure was sent crashing into the river below.

A billow of dust rose above and hung in the sky. The noise from the blast ricocheted and echoed in the valley creating a thunderous boom when it reached people’s ears.

“It was awesome,” Cody Limbach, of Iberia, said after the demolition.

Limbach was one of more than a hundred people who gathered on Route 17 in Tuscumbia for the countdown to the implosion.

“It’s a piece of history. I had to be here to see it,” Cyrilla Doerhoff said, who waited for the blast as well.

Instead of a discussion with a moderator, residents who have questions for elected officials in Laurie will have to request to address the mayor and the board during Board of Aldermen meetings, and the deadline for getting on the upcoming meeting agenda is ticking.

A group calling themselves “concerned citizens” will meet Tuesday, Sept. 7, but the board will not be attending.

Although the Board of Aldermen and mayor had requested to attend and answer questions through a moderator, the board has now flip-flopped and decided not to attend. The change in plans is based on the advice of city attorney Tom Loraine.

The School of the Osage High School Homecoming Parade is Friday, Sept. 24, at 4 p.m. Community businesses and organizations that would like to support School of the Osage are invited to submit an application to have a float in the homecoming parade on the Bagnall Dam Strip. The application can be found on the School of the Osage website.

The deadline for applications is Monday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. Return all applications to the main high school office or email completed applications to durninb@osage.k12.mo.us.

The School of the Osage held the line on its 2010-11 tax levy for the fourth consecutive year.
The board of education last week voted to set a tax levy of $2.72 per $100 of assessed valuation after a mandated tax levy hearing.  The hearing preceded the board’s regular monthly meeting.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has referred several cases to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office for allegations of violating the state’s Clean Water Law.

There are changes ahead for property owners and developers within the lakeside planning and zoning district in Camden County. The final draft of the revamped master plan will be turned over to the Camden County Commission for review and public comment this fall.

The plan could go to the Camden County Planning and Zoning Commission as early as September.
Planning Director Chris Hall said the schedule is to have the new master plan in place by the end of the year. That means the draft must be reviewed and approved by the planning commission before being sent on to the county commission.

On Thursday, August 19, 2010, the Osage Beach Fire Protection District held a ceremony to promote seven personnel. David Radlund was promoted to fire captain. Bobby Latham, Jimmie Chipley, Jeff Mellencamp, Mike Oakes, Casey Jones and Pete Zimmerman were promoted to Fire Engineer. The fire engineer is a newly created position within the district. An engineer is responsible to drive and operate the apparatus.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has referred several cases to the Missouri Attorney General's Office for allegations of violating the state's Clean Water Law.

Here's a brief recap of the Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 24.

• An ordinance outlining a Code of Ethics for city officials was approved after little discussion.

• Lake Ozark is cleaning house.

• It may not cure the city's financial woes, but the Board of Aldermen is proposing a cut to their own pockets in order to save a few extra dollars.

Banking officials warn area residents that the lake area is experiencing a type of employment fraud involving “secret” or “mystery” shoppers.

The scam preys upon the individuals whose desire to secure a job blinds them to the scam.  Victims are promised an easy-to-perform part-time job that works within their schedule and pays well.

Scammers lure their victims in with job postings advertising secret shopper positions. Such ads tout the ease of the work, the short hours and the money to be made from merely visiting stores each day to make purchases, and they stress that no special training or educational background is required.

From Bach to Rock.

As an infant, Craig Wingate was rocked to sleep nightly listening to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or Vivaldi.

As  a toddler, he loved to bang on Mom's aluminum mixing bowl with wooden spoons while listening to classical music. He began taking piano  lessons from his mother at the age of seven, practicing at 6:30 in the morning or in the evening after baseball, basketball or soccer games.

After school, the house was always full of the music of numerous piano students parading in and out of the Wingate home in Camdenton, according to his mom, Judy. A self-described music junkie and now groupie as her son's musical career takes off.

Craig is a 1998 graduate of Camdenton HIgh School and the son of Mike and Judy Wingate and brother of Kyle Wingate. Mike was the former director of the Lake Area Vo-Tech prior to his death in 1997.  Judy just retired from teaching elementary music in the Camdenton schools.
This weekend Craig will be returning "home" to visit with family and friends who are headed to the Shootout  to hear him and the band known as Shaman's Harvest on stage performing their hit "Dargaonfly."