Easter goodness, city-wide cleanup, taxes coming due

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Tara Lincoln, Kori Grossheider, Brian Payne, Kenny Davie, Jamie Gordon, Nathan Morgan, Sharon Hargrove, Ruth Ann Hailey, Donna Corn, Andrew Montgomery, Deana Grey, Meg Powderly, Ian Hemingway, Courtney Scheeter, Tonya King, Jonah Hendrix, Dave White, Bertie Evans, Kirk Hemingway, Ryan Dysinger, Dorothy Odell, Katherine Phillips, Janey Roney, Liz Hartman, Sherrin Rains, Daniel Peeple, Kevin Dudley, Lindsy Phillips, Gary Hester, Diane Curry, David Little, Terry Boese, Mark McKinley, Layton Tenkhoff, Andy Proffer, Jane James, Zachary Wachter, Debbie Mirly, Angela Rehm and Richard Hinkebein.

Happy anniversary to Kenny and Ginny Ruiz, Charles and Marcella Westrich, Jim and Janie Fowler and Don and Kathy Leggett.

Springtime happenings

We hope you had a wonderful Easter. Many families were enjoying Easter dinner together after attending Easter services.

We can thank WarChild Riding Group for lighting up the cross on the hill just in time for Easter. It is beautiful! WarChild, along with some city help, spent days clearing the brush and trees so we can have a good view of the cross. WarChild also plans to change the color of lighting on the cross for various causes such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to add a flagpole and the American flag.

WarChild Riding Group was started in 2004 with just a few interested riders and now numbers in the 90s. Their annual rally in June and other projects raise money for St. Jude, and they also do a lot for our veterans whether it is raising money or escorting them to various events such as the upcoming Kow Pasture Klassic in New Hamburg. They also maintain Jean Whitaker Park in downtown and participate in Chaffee events and parades.

Another attractive scene in our town are the 76 American flags flying at Circle Park. They were all in place for a trial run and pictures on a very windy recent Saturday. We thank Adam Hodge for his Eagle Scout project, Fire Chief Sam Glency, volunteer firemen and the Elks Lodge for buying the flags.

You can join the citywide effort in making the rest of Chaffee beautiful again by de-cluttering your yard, front porch and garage. The Citywide Cleanup is next Tuesday and Thursday on your scheduled bulk trash pickup day. This is a great opportunity to get rid of the clutter and items you no longer use.

The city needs to provide landlords with a simple, brief, one-page code of conduct so their tenants are in compliance with city code, i.e. keeping lawns mowed, putting out trash and garbage only on scheduled trash pickup days, legal parking, fenced dogs and such. Fines should be levied on landlords and tenants when they continue to be non-compliant and are habitual repeat offenders.

Tax prep

The tax man cometh! Taxes are due this year on Tuesday, April 17. AARP Tax Help will be at the Senior Center this Tuesday, April 10.

Watch for birds

According to the Missouri Conservation calendar, ospreys will be migrating through our area and kingfishers return. You just might get to spot both on a hike around Lake Tywappity and hear the call of a phoebe in the woods. A great time of the year for nature lovers! Richard spotted some Mississippi kites soaring overhead as they headed south. These bug eaters are fun to watch! The purple martins are here and taking up residency in houses residents have cleaned out and put in place.

New business coming

The Beauty Bar will open on Yoakum in May, and we ladies will no longer have to travel for our manicures and pedicures! Shear Delight has relocated from a residence to 135 Yoakum.

In memoriam

We were saddened with the news of the passing of Steve Duniphan of Burfordville. A graduate of Chaffee High, Steve was a published author, an avid fisherman and a lover of music. Steve took such good care of his mother, and we caught up with him on several occasions when he was fixing up his mother's house after she passed away. He and I frequently shared updates on our writing projects. We often saw him with his boat in tow for a day of fishing at one of his favorite spots. Our heartfelt condolences are with his family members and many friends.

Remember to tell those special people in your life you love them -- those three words mean so much.

Email your news and comments to me at darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

Then there was the television host who dabbed her tears onscreen with Q-tips.