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The Last Supper, as interpreted by artist Johnnie Lee Fullington of West Plains, right, was sold to Robert F. Stroud, Jr., of Mtn. View, during Fullington's art show reception Thursday at The Frame Shop and Gallery, 403 Washington Ave. in West Plains. His work is scheduled to be on display through the end of January.

In first solo show, ‘Artist Known as Johnnie’ sells several paintings, including a commission

With a wall of paintings on display, Johnnie Lee Fullington, 31, West Plains, conducted a show and sale during his art show reception Thursday at the Frame Shop and Gallery, 403 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The event was Fullington's first solo exhibition. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

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West Plains Progress 2024

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Faith Collins, Alton, a 2024 graduate of Missouri State University-West Plains, is one of six students to receive the 2024-2025 Citizen Scholar Award from Missouri State University in Springfield. To the left of Collins is MSU-WP Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Michael Orf.

MSU-WP graduate receives Citizen Scholar Award from MSU

Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) graduate Faith Collins, Alton, was among six students who recently received Missouri State University’s 2024-2025 Citizen Scholar Award.
The Lincoln School was packed Monday for a ceremony remembering the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Monday was the national holiday designated to honor the civil rights leader and his impact on the furtherance of social justice. The Lincoln School is a restored one-room schoolhouse that was the local school for Black students during the segregation era, until 1958. Since being reopened as a community center, it has been host to events dedicated to educating the public, and will be the center of several Black History Month events in February.

‘If you can’t fly, run’: Locals remember Dr. King’s impact in Lincoln School ceremony

About 65 people attended a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., held Monday at the historic Lincoln School, including West Plains Mayor Mike Topliff and his wife Pam; Travis Smith, who just ended a term as Missouri's 155th District representative; and Missouri State University-West Plains athletes and other students.
It’s a boy! John Craig Decker was the first baby born at Texas County Memorial Hospital in 2025, arriving at 4:09 p.m. Jan. 1, announced hospital officials, adding his parents, Nicholas and Leah Decker, Eminence, were “overjoyed to welcome their precious son, John.” Dr. Christopher Baldwin, obstetrician and gynecologist, and Dr. Kristina Grant, family medicine physician specializing in obstetrics, delivered baby John. He weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 19 inches long. Jim and Wilda McNiell, along with Alice Wells, representatives of the TCMH Auxiliary, presented gifts and gift certificates to the new family. Local businesses, including West Plains Bank, Simmons Bank (locations in Cabool and Houston), Walmart, Forbes, Progressive Ozark Bank, Shelter Insurance (Airika Barnett-Wiseman), D&L Florist, People’s Bank of Cabool, Security Bank of the Ozarks, State Farm Insurance, S&R Insurance, the TCMH Healthcare Foundation and New Beginnings Church, donated gifts to celebrate the arrival. Front row, from left, in the group photo: Grant, Nicholas and Leah Decker holding baby John, and Baldwin. Back row: Wells, Jim and Wilda McNiell, TCMH CEO Bill Bridges and nurses Jamie Terrill and Jessica Williams.

Meet TCMH’s first baby of 2025

Howell County budget session set for Wednesday

The Howell County Commission will hold a budget work session at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the conference room on the second floor of the county office building, 35 Court Square in West Plains.

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News
FILE - In this image taken from video provided by the Jonesboro, Ark., Police Department, Jonesboro police officer Joseph Harris, right, uses his fist to strike Billy Lee Coram, who is handcuffed in the back seat of a police car, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ark. (Jonesboro Police Department via AP, File)

Former Arkansas officer arrested, charged with assault in beating of handcuffed inmate

A former Arkansas police officer who was caught on video beating a handcuffed inmate in the back of his patrol car has been arrested. Former Jonesboro Police Officer Joseph Tucker Harris was arrested …

A family of 4 die in fire at an apartment in the Kansas City suburb of Independence

Two children and two adults were killed Wednesday when a fire swept through an apartment complex in a Kansas City, Missouri, suburb in freezing temperatures. The fire was reported around 6 a.m. at …

HOWELL COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

ARRESTS

WILLOW SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT

TICKETS

HOEC: Extreme cold caused power lines to shrink, leading to Monday morning outage

The Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative has issued a peak alert notice to its members, asking them to conserve energy use through 9 p.m. today. The alert was issued Sunday afternoon ahead of single-digit overnight lows, and early Monday morning, co-op officials reported, a power outage affected 999 member households.

Missouri lawmakers are going after voter-approved abortion rights. Voters will likely reelect them

FILE - Anti-abortion supporters gather outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on June 4, 2019, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Missouri voters last election approved a constitutional amendment that promised to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban. The same day, voters also reelected a Republican supermajority to the …

Sports
Liberty Eagles claw past Mtn. Grove Panthers
In a game that had fans gripping the edges of their seats until the final buzzer, the Mtn. View-Birch Tree Liberty Eagles held off a fierce second-half comeback by the Mtn. Grove Panthers to notch a nail-biting 53-50 victory Friday night.
Zizzer boys to head to Mtn. Grove for tournament
Marquette has promoted Mike Broeker to take over as athl;etic director from the retiring Bill Scholl. University president Kimo Ah Yun announced the move Tuesday and said Broeker would take over …
In a game that came down to the final heart-stopping moment, the West Plains Zizzers edged past the Ozark Tigers 70-68 on Friday night, thanks to Jacob Moore’s electrifying buzzer-beating tip-in. The Zizzers, now 7-7, overcame a seesaw battle against the Tigers (5-6) in a game that embodied the thrill of high school basketball.
Seth Mills fights for an offensive rebound.
Basketball fans recently packed the gymnasium for the 2025 Zizzer Boys Basketball JV Invitational, a two-day shootout that tested the mettle of the West Plains High School junior varsity squad. The event brought together teams from around the region for a grueling three-game format, with no championship but plenty of heart-pounding action. The Zizzers showed flashes of brilliance, battled through adversity, and left it all on the court, finishing the tournament with one win and two hard-fought losses.

The National Duals Invitational, Sponsored by Paycom, Brings High-Stakes Wrestling to Tulsa

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 21, 2025--The National Duals Invitational, sponsored by Paycom, will welcome some of the top collegiate wrestling talent to BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the …

Zizzer wrestlers deliver strong performances in Owensville

Junior varsity wrestlers who medaled for the Zizzers at Owensville’s wrestling tournament on Friday, from left, are Burk Hopkins, first place; Tristan Powell, second place; and Chris Goodwin, first place.
West Plains High School Zizzer Wrestling had an action-packed weekend filled with impressive performances from both the boys’ and girls’ teams, shared Head Coach Raegan Fox.
People & Events

CHRIS’ CORNER: When the will of the people is at stake

Welcome back to “Chris' Corner,” where I try to steer clear of politics to focus on the common threads that connect us all. However, just this once, I need to veer slightly into that thorny territory. Not to stir the pot, but to address a deeper concern that transcends individual issues.

THE ROCKWOOD FILES: Rise of the machines

Once every five years or so, we get a new television. Sometimes it's because we actually need one — like that summer when a lightning strike electrocuted several of our appliances. But most of the time, it's because Tom starts reading about the incredible picture quality on the newest TV screens, and he just can't stand it anymore. He needs to see it for himself.

SUMMERSVILLE BOOKENDS

January is National Book Month, so why not get lost in a couple of great books this month to celebrate? Some of my favorite older titles in the New Year to consider:

Is being kind and helpful to your neighbor a liberal or conservative idea?

When it comes to being kind and helpful to your neighbors, people might wonder if it fits with liberal or conservative values. The truth is, kindness doesn’t belong to just one political side — it’s a universal idea that connects to both perspectives.

OZARKS RFD: When the pitchfork met the wood

Few sounds in winter are more unwelcome than that of a pitchfork scraping the hay loft floor.
Records
Arkansas news
Missouri news
Features
Allan Brinkman, certified professional accountant, is the newest partner to join Welch, Couch & Company at its firm in East Towne Village Shopping Center in West Plains. He has been with the firm since 2018.

Welch, Couch & Company welcomes new co-owner

Welch, Couch & Company officials say they are excited to announce the addition of Allen Brinkman, certified professional accountant, as a new owner in the firm.

WORDS TO LIVE BY: Presence

King David told the people, “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually” (I Chronicles 16:11).

Tax preparation services available in West Plains

Need help making sense of this year’s tax forms? Here’s a roundup of tax service providers in West Plains:

DOWN HOME WITH SUE: ‘Queen of Sourdough’ shares her take on French toast

I'm keeping my word.

MOMENT IN THE WORD: So, how close are we? Pt. 3

2 Timothy 3:1: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.”
Special Sections

Letters to Santa

Editor’s note: These letters are printed in addition to those published in the Letters to Santa supplement to today's Quill. They are published here as they were submitted after the deadline, but the Quill still wants to make sure Santa gets them. They are printed as they’ve been written.
Kaylee McEntire, 15, shot this eight-point buck while hunting with her dad at 7:40 a.m. Nov. 3 in Oregon County. She used a 7 mm 08 rifle to take the deer from a distance of 50 yards. She is the daughter of Jeff and Lauren McEntire, Alton. Watch the Quill on Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 and 14 for more Deer Shots, or go online to www.westplainsdailyquill.net/deer.

Deer Shots

Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative (HOEC) has donated to the Wreaths Across America program. Presenting the check are veterans employed at HOEC. From left, Kyle Willard, John Ogles and Scott Ward presented the donation to Ozark Spring chapter members of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution of West Plains. Veterans employed at HOEC also include Stace Kerley and Mike Buehler. National Wreaths Across America Day is an event held in more than 3,000 communities each December. It is a day where volunteers of all ages, demographics and backgrounds gather to place live balsam veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of veterans, joining together to say each of their names out loud and keeping their memories alive. Wreaths Across America’s mission to Remember the Fallen, Honor those that serve and their families, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom is yearlong and carried out by individuals finding a way to serve in their communities. This year’s event will be held Dec. 14 at Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Mtn. View.

Ozark Spring DAR to host second Wreaths Across America event in Mtn. View

At 11 a.m. Dec. 14, members of the Ozark Spring Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will partner with the Wreaths Across America organization to lay wreaths at Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1019 E. Third St. in Mtn. View.

COMMENTARY | The story of Veterans Day: honoring those who served

As fall deepens in November, with the leaves mostly gone and the air turning crisp, America pauses for a day to honor those who have served in the military. Veterans Day, celebrated on Nov. 11 each year, is a chance to express gratitude and reflect on the bravery and sacrifices of millions of veterans who answered the call to serve. But how did this day come to be? The history of Veterans Day is a story rooted in hope, peace, and remembrance.

WPHS to host annual Veterans Day celebration

West Plains High School invites veterans and their families to a special Veterans Day celebration on Monday, honoring the service and sacrifices of local heroes.
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