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Local Veteran Groups Begin Building Projects

  Two local veterans groups announced building projects this week in Ava. (Above) the former Emily’s Closet building on the northwest corner of the square has been purchased by the Russell T. Scott Post 5993 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. According to Josh Swainston, Post Commander and Gail Huffman, Auxiliary President, once renovations are…

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Ava R-1 School District Files Counterclaim Against Bus Route Owners

by Michael Boyink / [email protected] On Monday, March 23rd the Ava R-1 School District filed a Counterclaim for Declaratory Judgment and Breach of Contract against a collection of 14 defendants comprising the Ava School Bus Route Owners Association. The action is a response to a Petition for Declaratory Judgment filed on December 16th, 2019 by the…

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Ava City Council: Mayor to Handle COVID-19 Related Utility Non-payments On Case-by-Case Basis

by Michael Boyink / [email protected] On Tuesday, March 24th, the Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a business session at 5 p.m. Coronavirus Update Loftin said the city was following both the CDC and Governor’s recommendations for handling the coronavirus. City employees were instructed to keep group sizes down, reduce cross-department activities, maintain social distancing, good…

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Ava R-1 School Board: COVID-19 Response, Bus Drivers Deliver Meals, Daycamps Offered, April Elections Postponed

Editor’s Note: In keeping with the CDC’s latest recommendations for groups of no more than 10 people gather in person, this month’s school board meeting was held on-line.  However, the audio steam from the school’s equipment wasn’t 100% intelligible. The article below represents what was discussed at the meeting as best as we could understand…

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City of Ava’s Response Regarding Coronavirus

In keeping with recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as recommendations from the Governor, the City of Ava will maintain its workforce in order to meet the needs of the public. Departments are currently working in small teams as they continue to perform essential duties.  For now, the City Hall…

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New Angels of Ava

by Michael Boyink / [email protected] In 1940, Ava had an angel. Envelopes of money mysteriously showed up in people’s mailboxes.  $100, more or less. About $1850 in today’s dollars.  Sometimes they included notes signed “Your Sunshine Friend.” Other times they were unsigned.   Eighty years later, the story still circulates, but the identity of the “Angel…

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Herald Closes Lobby, Creates Outdoor Dropbox, Continues to Publish Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

During this uncertain period, the Douglas County Herald is taking steps to do our part in protecting our customers and our staff as we work through this crisis together.  Our staff is hard at work continuing to facilitate print jobs and work on the newspaper, however, due to the coronavirus threat, we have closed our…

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Bypassing Ava: Ava’s New Faces

(Editors Note: This article is reprinted from the 1963 Missouri State Highway Commission Annual Report, investigating how the Route 5 bypass had affected Ava. These are some of the new faces of Ava, new faces that have appeared since the opening of the Route 5 bypass around the town. All of them did not result directly…

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MDC to Close Staffed Shooting Ranges Starting Friday

Closures done to help protect public amid coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (MARCH 19, 2020) – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces it will close its five staffed shooting ranges starting Friday, March 20, through April 15. MDC will reassess the situation at that point. MDC unstaffed shooting ranges remain open. The MDC…

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Governor Parson Announces April 7 Municipal Elections Postponed Until June 2 in Response to COVID-19 

JEFFERSON CITY, MO) – Pursuant to Governor Mike Parson’s Executive Order 20-02 declaring a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 and a request from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Governor Parson on Wednesday, March 18 signed Executive Order 20-03 ordering all Missouri municipal elections previously scheduled for April 7, 2020, to be postponed to…

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