Anna Mae Owens, 81, of Gerald, MO, passed away Saturday, December 29, 2018 at New Haven Care Center.
Anna was born in Etlah, Missouri on March 14, 1937, a daughter of the late Henry & Agnes (Bruening)Fieselmann.
She worked for Hodges Badge Company in Washington, for Langenberg Hat Factory and as a hairdresser. 
She was the widow of Franklin D. Owens.
Anna is survived by two daughters, Sheryl Downing, of Des Moines, Iowa; and Suzette Brown, of Grant, Alabama; a sister, Rose Bollinger, of Ferguson, Missouri; four grandchildren, Shana & Joshua Brown, and Mike & Dawn Downing, and five great grandchildren, Ricky, Romeo, Keegan, Colby, and Franklin.
 Anna loved to travel.  She was a Girl Scout Leader in Berger and a manager of a girls soft ball team.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 1st from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home, New Haven.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at Ebenezer Stone Church, Gerald, Missouri.
Burial will be at St. John's Cemetery, Berger, Missouri.  Memorials may be given to cemetery. C/O Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home.

James "Jim" W. Willimann, 55, of Berger, Missouri, passed away Friday, December 28, 2018 at his home. 
Jim was born in Washington, Missouri on July 3, 1963, a son of Walter & Dorris (Von Behren) Willimann.
He proudly served his country in the United States Air Force.  He worked for Chrysler Automotive for many years until his retirement and was a member of the UAW.  He was currently working part time for Crown Suites Hotel in Hermann. 
Jim is survived by his parents, Walter & Dorris Willimann, of Berger; a daughter, Jamie Willimann, of Berger; a son, Christopher "C.J." Willimann, of Truxton, Missouri; a granddaughter, Alana Grace Willimann, of Berger; two sisters, Theresa Menke & husband Wendall, of New Haven, Missouri; and Vicki Gardner, of Berger; by two nieces, Tiffany Femmer, of Berger; and Tonya Whitman, of Dutzow, Missouri; a nephew, Ryan Hurd & wife Nicole, of Shreveport, Louisiana, his girlfriend, Marlene Opps, of Rolla, Missouri, and  many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Jim was a family man.  He loved spending time with his daughter, granddaughter, and other family.  He enjoyed being in the outdoors, whether it was hunting, fishing, or doing yard work.  He also loved his animals, his dogs and cats.
 
Visitation will be held Wednesday, January 2nd from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home, New Haven, where funeral services will be held Thursday at 10:00 a.m., with Pastor David Poe officiating.
Burial will be at New Haven Cemetery.  Memorials may be given to families choice.  C/O Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home.

East Central College will host Walk-In Weekend on Saturday, January 5 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at its Union campus. This is an opportunity for current and prospective students to get ready for the Spring 2019 semester.
 
At the event, students will be able to apply to East Central College, register for classes, take a placement test, receive assistance with financial aid and meet with an advisor. The Bookstore and Learning Center will also be open during the event.
 
No appointment is needed. Students can walk in at any time during the event.
 
On Wednesday, January 9, East Central College in Rolla will extend its hours until 7 p.m. to help students prepare for the Spring 2019 semester.

By: Callie Weatherly

Ms. McCroskey is one of the current English teachers at New Haven High School. She teaches English 1A, English 3, English 4, English 4 Honors, and Journalism. This is Ms. McCroskey’s third year; however, this isn’t her first teaching position like many had assumed. She did her student teaching at the high school she went to in Brentwood, TN, and taught for a year at West End Middle and High School in Nashville, TN.

Everyone always has something that they favor above all else, so why wouldn’t a teacher have a favorite class? When asked her favorite class to teach, Ms. McCroskey responded, “Easy-- English 4 and 4 Honors. Not that I dislike the other classes, but British literature is what I went to school for, what I love. It's in my veins.”

However Ms. McCroskey is more than just a high school English teacher. Like the rest of society, she has a life outside of her work.

Ms. McCroskey’s hometown is Nashville, TN. She graduated from Brentwood High in 2010. Ms. McCroskey later went to Indiana University, graduating in 2014. When she left Indiana, she had a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and a Master’s in education.

Teaching hasn’t always been her dream job. Ms. McCroskey said that she “considered for a while working in publishing.”

Ms. McCroskey explained, “I'm good with editing and writing, so working with book publications would be cool. But I think the reality of that job is very different than what I once thought. I have a good friend in the publishing business, and instead of the glamorous vision of cuddling up by the fire and editing manuscripts, it seems like it's mostly boring cubicle work."

As students and some of the other teachers at NHHS have noticed, Ms. McCroskey has several flags hung around her room. She has explained to students in the past that she has a flag for every country she has traveled to.

“I think I count 20, give or take,” Ms. McCroskey begins after being asked how many countries she has traveled to and which would be her favorite. “And I couldn't possibly choose a favorite!”

Ms. McCroskey continues, “If you're asking for a place that feels like home, it's England. If you're looking for the wildest place I've ever been, it's Iceland. The most fascinating culturally? Russia. The most beautiful? Austria. The hottest? Portugal. The most stressful? France (but only because of my fellow travelers).”

Her classroom isn’t just English and talks of her travels, however. Ms. McCroskey has made it clear in all of her classes that she is an animal lover; which is something that has not changed since she was a child.

When questioned about her childhood pets, she explained, “We had a couple hamsters, which all ran away. I remember one's name was Warwick (my dad named him). After them, we had 2 rabbits for a while-- Clover and Smokey. We had a Dalmatian/Beagle mix too when I was really young, but I don't remember him much. His name was Domino.”

As I said, her love for animals has not changed. Ms. McCroskey currently has “three lovely pups! Bella is my brother's German Shepherd/hound mix; Finnegan is a sweet little goof of a Retriever and Keeshond mix; and Nox is a Border Collie/lab. She's the youngest, and as my husband says, ‘She's trouble.’”

Although she still goes by Ms. McCroskey, she is married. Her husband is Conor McClenaghan.
    
“He's working a post-doctoral position as a pharmacologist at WashU in St. Louis. He's English-- he grew up near Manchester in the north of England and went to Oxford University for his Ph.D. He's annoyingly smart,” Ms. McCroskey explains.

If her description doesn’t scream love for you, they met in “a hostel in Berlin… in November of 2012… I was traveling with 2 friends, and he had 5 other boys with him on a ‘lads holiday,’ as he called it. Our hostel room slept 9, so that's how we met. We were hostel roommates! Crazy, right?”

Aside from her education, her career, her British husband, and her love for animals, Ms. McCroskey has many favorites.

Her favorite foods are “Mexican, Indian, or bread and pasta in general.”

“My favorite movie is a giant tie between Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Sound of Music, You've Got Mail, and a number of Disney movies and romantic comedies,” Ms. McCroskey explained.

When asked her favorite book, she responded with, “The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Hands down.”

“Come on. Christmas every time,” Ms. McCroskey answered without a doubt when she was asked her favorite holiday.
​
A big question that has been asked thousands of times is, “If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and why?”

On the topic of changing the world, Ms. McCroskey answered, “Setting aside things like global peace, solving world hunger, etc., I guess I wish that our culture would slow down a little. The whole ‘life in the fast lane’ thing is wearing us down-- we're working too hard, too much, too fast, and it's great for business, but the nonstop pressure is just crushing sometimes. America is nowhere near the top in the list of happiest countries in the world, and that simply has to have something to do with our cultural habits and expectations.”

When asked what advice she would give to younger generations, Ms. McCroskey responded with, “When you're young, you're too afraid to be dorky and look stupid. That goes for every generation though-- it's just a growing up thing. I wish high school age kids would just cut loose and be goofier. In class, I embarrass myself all the time, but I don't care. Life is too short to worry about being embarrassed! I just wish high schoolers weren't wasting their precious time worrying about what people think. It's way more fun making yourself laugh (as my students know well-- I tell many jokes that are directed only at myself).”

As you can see, Ms. McCroskey is more than just a high school English teacher. She is a world traveler, a wife, an animal lover, and so much more. She has accomplished many great things and still has many more adventures to go on. The younger generations-- her students-- can learn more than just English from her.  

Residents can put their used natural Christmas trees to good use after the holidays at locations in St. Louis, St. Charles and Lincoln Counties.
St. LOUIS, Mo.--What better Christmas present could there be than a new home? Of course, some anglers might say an improved chance to catch some fish would be at the top of their list.
Christmas trees can check both boxes off the list by creating a place for fish to live and giving an advantage to anglers.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is accepting used natural Christmas trees to create fish habitat in north St. Louis County’s Spanish Lake Park, Lake 34 on the August A. Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles, and Cuivre River State Park in Lincoln County for use in the park’s Lake Lincoln.
So how does recycling a used Christmas tree give fish something to celebrate? Turns out, a bunch of them can create the aquatic equivalent of an underwater condominium.
“A lot of lakes we work with are manmade and there’s not much fish cover in them, so we have to figure out how to put fish habitat in those lakes,” said Kevin Meneau, MDC Fisheries Management Biologist. “Christmas trees are one of the best ways to do that in winter.”
According to Meneau, the trees provide woody cover that makes excellent habitat for invertebrates. These are an ideal food source for smaller fish, which draws them in like a magnet. This in turn brings in bigger fish and creates a situation that gives a boost to the lake’s entire food chain.
“They also help young fish,” Meneau added, “because when the adults spawn their young can hide in those trees.”
The trees benefit some of the most popular fish that anglers like to pursue, including largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and crappie.
Since these fish typically spawn in shallow water, the trees are tied to cement blocks and submerged at depths of four-to-seven feet to give emerging fish easy access to their cover.
The underwater brush piles concentrate fish, so the submerged trees can be a boon for anglers as well. By noting the location of the trees, astute anglers can focus their efforts in these areas to improve their odds. Meneau said the tree tops are usually visible for five-to-six weeks after being put into the lake before they become water logged and sink completely. This gives anglers until about mid-March to locate these potential fishing jackpots. Resourceful anglers often mark the sites for future reference on maps they make themselves or by using a GPS.
Meneau said it’s best to drop off the entire tree, without cutting it up or removing any branches. Tree donors should remove all decorations, including lights, garland, and ornaments before drop off.
Details regarding tree drop off locations are as follows:

• Spanish Lake Park—12500 Spanish Pond Road, which is east off Bellefontaine Road approximately a half mile north of I-270. Signs at the park will indicate the drop off point.
• August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area—2360 Highway D, St. Charles. The entrance to the August A. Busch Conservation Area is on Route D, two miles west of Highway 94. Signs on the area will guide visitors to the drop off point at Lake 34.
• Cuivre River State Park--678 State Route 147. The park is located four miles east of Troy. Look for signs identifying the drop off location.

Christmas trees can be donated at these lakes between now and Jan.6, 2019.

Thank you to all who came out to Santa at the Caboose.  Photos are posted at the link above.  All sales benefit the New Haven High School TV/Studio and Yearbook classes.

​On 12-13-18  Franklin County 911 received a call from a business located in the county stating that they had received an email demanding Bitcoins to be sent in exchange for not detonating an alleged bomb. This is a scam that is going around the country. These threats are coming around via email and being sent to various agencies, organizations and businesses demanding Bitcoin in exchange for not detonating an alleged bomb. The threat did not appear to be a legitimate threat, however, an investigation is ongoing.
 
There are similar threats that have occurred nationwide and at this time there is nothing credible to report. There were several received in the St. Louis area on the same date. If you receive one of these emails you are encouraged to contacted your local law enforcement agency.
 
Steve Pelton
 
Franklin County Sheriff

Doug Meyer, 63, of New Haven, MO, passed away Wednesday, December 12, 2018 in Joplin, Missouri. 
Doug was born in New Haven, Missouri on October 29, 1955, a son of Marvin F. "Buddy" & Norma Lee (Danz) Meyer.
He was the husband of Cynthia "Cindy" (Willard) Meyer.  They were united in marriage on April 5, 1980, in Knoxville, Tennessee.  
Doug was the co-owner, along with his wife, of Arrow Drilling Company.  He had been drilling since he was 18 years old. He was a member of St. Peter's United Church of Christ, New Haven, and of the Operating Engineers Local 513.
Doug is survived by his wife Cindy, of New Haven; by his mother, Norma Lee Meyer, of New Haven, by four children, Derrick Douglas Meyer & wife Hannah, of Beaufort, Missouri; Brittany Marie Kuchem & husband Corey, of New Haven; Courtney Lee Baker & husband Marc, of Raymore, Missouri; and Aaron Blake Meyer, of Washington, Missouri, by grandchildren, Caden Blake Kuchem, Charles Dean Meyer, Emerson Marie Kuchem, Lucille Marie Baker, William Douglas Meyer, Primrose Lee Kuchem, and Theodore Ellsworth Baker, by a sister Sharon Marie Meyer & significant other Michael, of New Haven; by a brother, Chris Meyer, of Lake Ozark, Missouri, and a sister, Janice Ann Lammert & husband Dale, of St. Clair, Missouri, nieces, nephews, and by many other relatives and friends.   He is preceded in death by his father and his beloved Rocky.
Doug was a family's man, his family was very important to him, especially his grandchildren.  He was kind of a jokester except when it came to his grandchildren, he became very serious then.  He was a very outdoorsy person.  Some of his hobbies he loved were camping, hunting, trout fishing, hiking, boating, and one of his favorite places to visit was the Smoky Mountains.  Doug had many friends and was loved by all. He will be greatly missed.
Visitation will be held Saturday, December 15th from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home, New Haven.
Funeral services will be held Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at St. Peter's United Church of Christ, New Haven, with Rev. David Poe officiating. 
Memorials may be given to St. Peter's U.C.C. C/O Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home.

​Position:                     Custodian
 
Qualifications:
1.Ability to perform the essential job functions
2.Effective interpersonal skills
3.Effective grooming skills
4.Ability to lift 55 pounds to shoulder height occasionally
5.Ability to push/pull a minimum of 20 pounds frequently
 
Reports To:                Principal
 
The online application can be found here.

​Position:                     High School Secretary
 
Qualifications:            High School Diploma/GED or Equivalent Experience
 
Reports To:                High School Principal
 
The online application can be found here.
 
Closing Date: 12/22/18 or until the position is filled.

On December 12, 2018, I was contacted by a known aquantaince stating that they had received a “robo-call” for health care services and the caller id showed the phone number as mine. This phone number listed is not a good working number for my residence, however in-fact it still showed my name on the caller id. This release is to reinforce what had previously been stated about scam and fraud calls that you may receive as an individual. It also shows that there are app’s out there that will “spoof” names and numbers. It is a well known fact that across the nation there are scams going around stating various things such as “ you have missed a court appearance and a warrant has been issued for your arrest” or “your relative has been involved in an accident and he/she needs bail money”. We at the Sheriff’s Office would like to again state that agencies do not call people and request money. If you are ever in doubt about the validity of a call take their information, look up the number for the agency and return the call asking for the person to whom they are claiming to be.
 
This release is intended to be a reminder to our citizens of the scams that are out there and to help safegaurd their information.
 
 
Steve Pelton
Franklin County Sheriff

On December 10, 2018 Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a domestic assault in the 300 block of Daniels Estates Dr outside Union. Upon arrival a deputy met with a 46-year-old female victim that reported she was assaulted by her son in the bedroom of her home during an argument. She reported her son choked her and punched her in the face several times. The deputy found evidence of apparent injury around the victim’s neck. The son was located at the scene as well and interviewed by the deputy. He admitted to choking his mother during the argument. He was arrested and an application for charges stemming from the assault was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office. The suspect is identified as a 19-year-old, Jonathan M. Tetidrick, a warrant was issued for the charge of Domestic Assault 2nd degree. Bond was set at $30,000 cash or surety.

All people are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
 
 
Steve Pelton
Franklin County Sheriff

Back Row (L to R):   Rebekah Russell, Suetta Martin, Corby Faerber, Beth Cunningham, Emily Borcherding, Michelle Clark, Jennifer Owens, Melinda Clark, Jerica Moore
Front Row (L to R):  Terra Smith, Randi Woods, Jessica Torres, Kimberly Sallin, Jennifer Henson, Heather Friend, Krystal O’Connor, Jennifer Hector