New Year to be greeted with full moon

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Dixie Shaffer, Samantha Lincoln, Kellie Lynn, Tom Essner, Lee Sadler, Ed Wells, Jory

Hitt, Bill Beard, Katie Ralph, Georgia Dannenmueller, Kori Brown, Darrell Chapman, Ray Motes, Colby Devenport, Josh Eifert, Chris Whitaker, Norman Graviett, Boyce Boese, Virginia Seyer, Gabe Walter, Ian Eichhorn, Dale Simpson, Mallory Siebert, Bonnie Haney, Danny Lee Finley, Sue Ann Lynn, Kristen Wessel, Annie Ralph, Bonnie Haney, Kathryn Miller, Roger Simpson, John Hampton, Larry Kirn and Sue Wessel.

Happy anniversary to Bob and Glenda Dacus, Charlie and Teresa Clark, and Victor and Lisa Powell.

Congratulations to Larry and Judy Meyr on the birth of their grandson Crosby Dixon. Weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces, he is the second son of Tory and Brandi Meyr of Jackson.

Congratulations also to Korey and Katie Chapman on the birth of their first child. Son Kaynen Lee weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We wish you a healthy, prosperous, peaceful and joyous New Year!

The month of January is Hot Tea Month, National Hobby Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Soup Month and National Blood Donor Month.

We will enjoy a full moon Monday, Jan. 1, which often is referred to as the Wolf Moon, Winter Month, Holiday Moon and Ice Moon. A special month indeed as we will have another full moon Jan. 31 -- a blue moon! Pianists, get your sheet music out!

Ron Whitaker asked why the half-moon has a straight border when we know it is round? According to Google, by the time of half moon, a larger part of the circumference of the Earth is casting the shadow and the curve is less pronounced. The moon also is curved, which means the shadow disappears over the moon horizon. Together, Ron, they make it look straight to the naked eye. There are various explanations but also this: in the half-moon phase, all the mice that are eating the cheese line up in a straight line. Hmmm.

Around town

Due to the holiday, City Council meets Tuesday. Engineer John Burgelin with Horner & Shifrin attended the last meeting and gave us an update on the sewer/collection project. If all goes well, the project will be underway this summer. Meanwhile, we remind residents not to clog up the system by flushing anything down your toilet other than toilet paper and the obvious. Even items that tout being flushable are not friends of the sewer system.

The Chamber of Commerce will be taking the street decorations down. It's been so nice seeing Circle Park and all the homes and businesses decorated for Christmas. Thanks to WarChild, Jean Whitaker Park has looked especially lovely -- as lovely as Jean herself.

The kiddos soon will be back in school. Have you noticed the handsome black and red signs at the high school and elementary school complete with the image of the Red Devil himself? Nice! Congratulations to the girls and boys basketball teams for a great season thus far.

The sixth Chaffee Chamber Trivia Night is Jan. 13 at the VFW. Registration is at 5 p.m., and trivia starts at 6 p.m. Registration is $15 before Feb. 7 and $20 thereafter. Cost includes chili, soup, hot dogs and dessert. BYOB. There will be lots of prizes. To register, call Linda at (573) 887-1704 or Laura at (573) 318-6217.

Holiday wrap up

Along with "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," there are many new movies hitting theater screens. Holidays are always a popular time to go to the movies. Do you remember the musical prompt during intermission to go to the concession stand back in the day? "Let's go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat."

A lot of people hit the road during the holiday to visit family. A reader told me a friend was griping about traveling from Texas to Missouri with his wife to visit her elderly mother. A non-native, he kept referring to Missouri as 'misery,' even stating Google backs it up. Really? Some people pronounce it "missouree" or "missourah," but "misery?" Always protective of my native state, I Googled it and confirmed he obviously is mistaken. Early on, the French explorers pronounced it "mi-ss-oo-ree." I'd say he's short a syllable.

If you missed it, please read Mark Hopkins' Dec. 18 column, "Presents or presence," about how nice it is to have the presence of family.

As always

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

Email your news to darbuck2@airmail.net or call 573-887-6430 or 214-207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was 2017.