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Pioneer Heritage Festival Canceled

The board of Pioneer Heritage Festival of the Ozarks has decided to cancel the annual festival which was to be held in Ava on Oct. 2-3.  The decision was made out of concern for community health.  The board cited the recent increases in local COVID-19 cases as well as the high percentage of elderly participants…

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Herald Hits Local Newsstands Thursday AM

By Michael Boyink / [email protected] The Douglas County Herald will now be available on local newsstands on Thursday mornings (the publication day), rather than on Wednesday night. The change is a result of having our printer do the work of addressing, inserting ads, and bundling the paper, vs. Herald staff doing that after-hours on Wednesday nights.…

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FFA Students Take 3 Day Ag Industry Tour

by Kerre Clark President, Ava FFA Boosters Last week, the Ava FFA Booster Club sponsored the third Ava FFA Ag Industry Tour. Ava FFA Booster Club Vice President, Ed Wittorff and President, Kerre Clark organized the three day event designed to visit locations in Southeast Missouri. 17 Ava FFA members ranging from incoming Freshmen to…

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Ava City Council: Revenues Up, Projects Beginning, Pumps Replaced

by Michael Boyink [email protected] On Tuesday, August 11th, the Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a business session at 5 p.m. City Finances City Treasurer Peggy Porter reported that as of July 30th, the city had $2.6 million in it’s accounts and all funds were in the black. She said the city’s income was up…

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Glade Top Trail Run Postponed Until April 3rd, 2021

From April, to October, back to April. That’s the updated schedule for the Glade Top Trail Run.  It usually happens the first Saturday in April each year. For 2020 it was postponed to October due to Covid-19.  With the recent rise in virus cases and the large number of attendees that the trail run draws,…

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MSHP Completes 2020 Annual School Bus Inspections

The Missouri State Highway Patrol recently completed its 2020 School Bus Inspections. Ava R-1 had 33 buses inspected. 60.6% were approved. 27.3% were deemed defective. 12.1% were considered “out of service.” Ava Superintendent Dr. Jason Dial said “All 8 district owned buses passed inspection.  We had one bus classified as “defective” and had to move…

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Ava R-1 School Board: Most Students Will Return to Class

180 choose distance learning option by Michael Boyink / [email protected] The Ava R-1 School Board held a special session on Thursday, August 6th at 6:30 p.m. Attendance Board member Dan Johnson attended via speakerphone. Bart Ellison was absent. During the hour-plus meeting, the board voted on the following action items: Copier Bids In a 6-0 vote,…

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Douglas County Election Results

Cheyney, Loveless in as County Commissioners, Degase as Sheriff by Michael Boyink/[email protected] The unofficial results of the August 4 Primary Election have been tallied and according to the total number of ballots cast, voter turnout was higher than in years past.  The ballot count shows 45.49% percent of registered voters voiced their opinions yesterday.  …

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Food, Music, Photography and Local Politics

by Michael Boyink / [email protected] “I remember when…” You hear that a lot around Ava.  Locals remember three-wide cruising around the square. Multiple movie theaters. Dairy wagons lined up at a creamery. Train cars filled with tomatoes.  And they remember election nights when people would gather outside the courthouse to hear election results called out as…

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Ava R-1 1st Day Sports Practice Times

Ava R-1 Schools will begin sports practice on Monday, August 10th. Times and locations are: Football Football Field 6:30 – 11:00 AM Softball Softball Field 9:00 AM – 12:00 Cross County HS Gym 6:30 – 8:00 AM Volleyball HS Gym  4:00 – 7:00 PM Coach Sawyer reminds students that they must have had a physical…

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