Shadow Rock Park Flood Update for August 2011

From May the 9^th to August the 7^th, the composite pictures above tell a story of flood waters that have been slow to recede. The extreme rain events of late May that covered the entire region with over a foot of water was a major contributor. Then, heavy rains falling over the Midwest and which inundated the Mississippi river served to really back things up for the remainder of the summer.

The end result, here in Forsyth Missouri, has been a set of flooded parks that have not yet recovered from actions initiated by the Corp of Engineers. Both Shadow Rock and River Run Parks which are across from each other have been closed during the peak summer months and it would appear they will remain closed as fall approaches. The river level chart, here, show just how high the levels rose and give some idea that it will be quite some time before they get back to normal. The question, asked by some, are whether the levels will ever drop back down fast enough before the coming fall and then spring rains raise the levels again! It seems we may have entered a period of extreme weather.

Either it’s too dry or too wet it seems! There doesn’t seem to be much middle road left anymore; a fact that residents of Central Texas can attest to. They’ve endured one of the worst droughts in decades with temperatures this summer getting into the hundred plus degree mark on a daily basis. And, while it’s also been on the dry side here in southwest Missouri, we have still been blessed with the occasional pop-up storms that have helped keep the vegetation from dying off entirely.

Weather, experts tell us are all about patterns, regular patterns that people depend on from year to year and season to season. When those patterns get weird, however, they can bollix up the entire works. Let us all hope for a return to normalcy sometime soon.

Spaghetti Dinner Benefit in Rockaway Beach this Friday!

This coming Friday, July 29, 2011, the City of Rockaway Beach Police Department will host a spaghetti dinner at $10 a plate from 5PM to 7 PM at the Community Center located in town on the main drag. The proceeds of this event will go towards the purchase of a new squad car for the Police Department. In addition to the food, the Plumb Country Band will be on hand to play music. More information can be obtained by calling the Rockaway Beach City Hall at 417-561-4424.

Note: Pictured meal is representative and may or may not be accurate.

Cedarcreek Convenience Store

One thing about the cedar creek area in southwest Missouri, there’s not a lot in the way of grocery stores. That’s why the Cedarcreek Convenience Store which has been in business since 1995 is such a great thing to have for local residents and the hordes of fishermen who come down ‘M’ Highway to fish in the pristine waters of Bull Shoals.

The store is located at 6685 State Highway M in Cedarcreek Missouri and the telephone number to reach them is 417-794-3371. The store hours are currently Monday and Tuesday 1 to 6PM, Wednesday thru Saturday 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Sunday 7AM to 6PM. The store offers a gas island, groceries, fishing accessories and liquor. Stop in and and check them out!

Forsyth Computer Shop now open for business!

I had a chance to stop in at the Forsyth Computer Shop located at 15960 Hwy 160 next to the Prime Time. Inside the store, which has just opened are a number of computers for sale along with helpful personnel that also do computer repair. The owner Brian Loehmann was attending to the needs of some customers, but I was able to chat with great person by the name of Michelle.

Their store hours are currently M-F 8AM to 6PM and Saturday 10AM to 2PM. They can be reached by calling 417-546-8400 or emailed at forsythcomputershop@yahoo.com. Stop in and say hi!

For a more recent blog click here!

A new Gun Shop/Furniture Store opening soon?

There are now confirmed rumors circulating that a new fishing, gun and antique shop will be opening sometime in early August at what used to be the Carol Jones office on Highway 160 in Forsyth Missouri. My sources tell me it may be called KJM Mercantile. I'll try and have more pictures and information as soon as possible.

Here's an update!

Forsyth Fun Day 2011 was just awesome!

Whenever a dedicated group of individuals goes to the trouble to assemble great food and easy listening music in a setting of emerald green hills surrounded by sparkling water, well that’s anyone's ticket to good times! And, that’s also just what went down at the Forsyth Fun Day event held Saturday, July the 16^th at the Empire Electric Park (courtesy of Tom Schneider and his crew) located just above the Powersite Dam.

The Forsyth Fun Day is a tradition that has taken place now for eight years and each year the food seems to taste a little bit better. (But maybe that’s just my stomach talking). This year, I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich, potato chips and a diet coke while watching the hilarious antics known as the ‘cardboard boat races’.  This event  is a yearly competition where young kids get to test their home-brewed cardboard creations on the chilly waters of Lake Taneycomo. Some of the boats make it around the competition circuit and some don’t. Either way, it doesn't matter. Just watching was a great time and that’s what counts!

After awards were handed out to the kids, it was trophy time for the BBQ chefs, many of whom arrived the day before to setup. In the ribs category, Primo's Pizza man Big Josh took 1st place. Pork butt was nailed by the Skinny Broads, and last but not least, the winner of the beef brisket competition was also Skinny Broads (pictured above)! The top three contestants, in each category, all got trophies and checks for their efforts. The real winners, however, were the people (like me) who got to sample fabulous food while kicking back and listening to the great sounds of the band Hip Katz.

If you missed the action this year, be sure to check in about the same time in 2012 when the next Forsyth Fun Day will be held in one of the best locales to live in the entire United States... Forsyth Missouri! For anyone interested, I also have some of the pictures of the event posted at www.taneyservices.com.

The Forsyth Park Audit: Fair or Not?

By nature, I confess to two recurrent problems in my life; one, an ongoing and entrenched form of naivety and two, a sense of curiosity that often gets me into trouble. Blindly walking into problems is no way to live a life, but that’s just the way I was built. So, it was with a growing sense of curiosity that I began to follow the exploits of the City of Forsyth and its seeming trouble with parks.

Let me begin with what I think a park actually is. By one definition, it’s ‘an area of land, usually in a largely natural state, set aside for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities for rest and recreation, and which is often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation.’ That would seem to be a pretty good starting definition to me. But, I also feel that a city’s park(s) should be locales that are planned, implemented and managed in such a manner that the citizens feel they have been a part of the process. Did that happen here? I’m not sure.

Here in Forsyth, Missouri we have now have two parks; Shadow Rock Park, a site that spends part of it’s time underwater and a recent addition, Shoals Bend Park. Interestingly, neither park actually resides within the city limits. Shadowrock lies on federally owned land and Shoals Bend is…well, it’s down Highway 76 a piece.

The first park, Shadowrock, has been under the control of the City of Forsyth for some time. As I understand it, we rent the place from the Corps of Engineers. However, the stuff built there over time has come from the city and the folks who paid property taxes. That was until a bill was passed in 2000 whereby a half cent city tax was enacted. The proceeds of which went into a fund for the future management of local city parks. (This act then repealed the City Ordinance numbered 128 which levied a portion of the funds collected from property taxes for park purposes). A move that would hopefully make money spent on the park systems much easier to track. Theoretically at least.

That half cent tax, by the way, amounted to something like 1.6 million dollars in the ten year span of time to up to 2010. How exactly that money was disseminated over that decade has only recently come into question by some in the community. The problem some have with Shadowrock is one of visual infrastructural accounting (VIA). Over the last ten years, where has the money gone and for what purpose? (I believe that even the walking path which runs from the Shadowrock Park proper to the property managed by Empire Electric was subsidized by the Federal government at a cost to the city of only $40K)! Then, there was the recurrent flood damage over the years. I’m not sure what the cost was there, but I do know that volunteers were employed at least once to help make things right. (I know, because I was one of them). Other expenses that were visible was park maintenance and the building of a bandstand. Other than that…what? I need some help here!

Now, we have us a brand new park area known as Shoals Bend Park. A sprawling 78 acre track of land which I understand was purchased by the city and which has now has been leased out to the Taney County Fair Board for a period of thirty years. As I understand it, both the city and the Fair Board will help build a couple of baseball parks and an arena along with other needed improvements to function as a vehicle for future Fairs and such. The profits of which will be funneled back into the park system for additional improvements. Did I get that even close to right? But, wait a minute! What about that half cent tax thingy? Are they still collecting it, and if so, which park will it go to? Both? Neither? I dunno. Tangled webs were never my bag man.

The bottom line is this park deal seems to be a bit of a mess, and I wholly endorse the expenditure of monies to have an audit performed at this time. I’m also confident that there is enough concern in the Forsyth community to warrant such an investigation. A process I would like to see done in a timely and transparent fashion.

Disclaimer: All the opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and may or may not be factually accurate. Readers are encouraged to do their own research, and in doing so, come to their own conclusions.