The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 13

Page edited by Seth Doria; call 836-1199 after 5 p.m. Monday, November 19, 2001 News-Leader 3B From Page IB Region VlealS'It just keeps getting worse and worse Around the Region sou 7 7 'st. Louis? Senior population in area counties vV Lebanon C71) Bolivar Lamar fl i '-'t 'Carthage lepuoiic Monett Neosho 0 Cassville LP Continued from 1B frozen meals delivered once a week. "We desperately, desperately need volunteers," said Tena Wood, director of the Northview facility. "Every day is a struggle." The Southwest Missouri Office on Aging, an umbrella group of senior centers covering 17 counties, said home-delivered meal programs at 40 senior centers throughout the region delivered more than 615,000 meals to seniors last year 100,000 of those in Springfield.

Jim Appelquist, director of field services for the Southwest Missouri Office on Aging, said volunteer drivers are always hard to come by, but "Springfield seems to be harder." "It seems to be more difficult to find people here in Springfield to make these deliveries," he said, adding that rural towns have smaller community bases and less difficulty recruiting volunteers. Appelquist blames the problem on the high demand for volunteer services in Springfield. He said senior centers have to compete for volunteers with hospitals and other social service agencies. Another factor is Springfield's large senior population. According to the 2000 U.S.

census, seniors 65 and older make up about 15 percent of Springfield's population, and 22,586 'Branson Chatters Some improvement seen tion on the way. A new center will be built within two years with funds generated by February's quarter-cent tax renewal for parks and roads. Until then, Northview will have to recruit volunteers on the joys of the job, Appelquist said. "You really get to see people that appreciate the program," he said. "Many of them will meet you at the door.

It may be the only face they see all day." Volunteers are asked to work at least one delivery route a week, or about an hour. Volunteers must have their own cars, but the center reimburses drivers at 32 cents per mile. The average route is about 10 miles. "If people could just come in for one day and see how it is, we'd have so many volunteers," Wood said. Appelquist said more volunteers would also mean more seniors can get into the program.

There's always enough food, he said, with funding coming from the federal Older Americans Act and state sources. "We know there are more out there that need the service," he said. And seniors who rely on the service would hate to see it go because of volunteer shortages. "I just hope they continue," said 70-year-old Gladys Muse. "I can't get around too good, and they've really been nice and helpful." Two killed after camper hits bus from Joplin The Associated Press Two people are dead and two injured after a camper detached from a pickup truck and struck a charter bus carrying 40 teenagers and their advisors head-on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the bus was carrying a group from southwest Missouri. They were returning from a convention in Nashville, said Roger Martin, with the patrol's communications department Bus driver Richard Osborn, 66, and student adviser Sharon DeJager, 56, both of Joplin were killed. DeJager was a Sarcoxie teacher. Teacher Linda Johnson, 54, sustained serious injury, Cathleen Lucke, 14, suffered minor -injuries. Martin said the accident occurred on U.S.

Highway 60 about eight miles from Poplar Bluff in Butler County. "A 28-foot camper trailer pulled by a pickup truck detached from the vehicle into the oncoming lane. It struck the bus head-on," said Martin. Randy Powell, 50, of Steele was driving the pickup truck and traveling eastbound. Authorities said he was alone in his vehicle and was not injured.

No charges have been filed. The bus. a 1983 MCI owned by Crossroads Travel of Joplin, was one of two that were traveling together. The other bus was not hit. service time today in the funeral home.

Sydney Scipio Bryant, 94 The Rev. Sydney Scipio Bryant, Springfield, a retired missionary', died at 12 a.m. Sunday in Marantha Manor. Services will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Greenlawn Funeral Home North with burial in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today in the funeral home. See DEATHS, Page 4B Texas: 4,106 Webster 3,553 Wright 2,968 Livingston: 2,762 Dallas: 2,376 Douglas: 2,234 Oregon: 1,863 Ozark: 1,860 Dade: 1,610 Shannon: 1,250 with seven to 15 seniors per round. Northview has five hot routes, delivered Monday through Friday, and five weekly frozen-meal routes. Wood said the center delivers 53 hot meals a day and 356 frozen meals per week.

As many as four routes a day don't have drivers, forcing Northview staff to deliver the meals and leaving little help at the center for the seniors who use it. Appelquist said some volunteers are turned off by Northview's appearance. "The facility itself is run down," he said. "The building's just not pleasant to be in anymore." That problem already has a solu- schools in the struggling Kansas City and St. Louis school districts in 1998.

The first schools opened in the 1999-2000 school year. This year, nearly 8,000 students are enrolled, with the schools getting roughly $5,000 for each student. In Kansas City, some education leaders believe the schools were too swift to open for business. Charter sponsors said the schools are generally heading in the right direction after the bumpy start. State Sen.

Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau and Senate President Pro Tern, said this week that he would push legislation aiming to expand charter schools in both cities. Despite the problems, enrollment is going up at the schools. Kansas City's charter enrollment has risen 30 percent over the first year, and some schools report long waiting lists of students trying to get in. Ultimately, testing may decide the schools' fate. State officials and even some charter school officials say they doubt all the existing schools will be around three years from now.

"The reason charters exist is to provide complete freedom and flexibility to try new ways to educate kids," said Tom Davis, a state school board member from Kansas City. "The proof is in the pudding. If the schools don't show student achievement over time, they could fail on those grounds." Williams Funeral Home, Marionville. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today in the funeral home.

Loren Michael Brotherton, 16 HERMITAGE Mr. Loren Michael Brotherton, Hermitage, died at 7:50 p.m. Saturday in Nemo, from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. Services will be at 7 p.m. today in Cantlon Otterness Funeral Home, Urbana, with burial at a later date.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to PLEASE CUP AND MAIL WITH YOUR GIFT TODAY Southwest Missouri population of residents age 65 and older, by county; Greene: 32,668 (22,586 in Springfield) Taney: 6,425 Christian: 5,751 Lawrence: 5,493 Barry: 5,477 Stone: 5,429 Polk: 4,125 of Greene County's 32,558 seniors live within city limits. Coleen Cornelison, administrator of the South Side Senior Center, said Northview is in "critical need" of volunteers. "It just keeps getting worse and worse," she said. Cornelison said things have gotten so bad that staff and volunteers from her facility have had to come up north to cover for staff delivering meals, creating shortages at both facilities.

"That really hurts our seniors," Cornelison said. The Northview facility covers Springfield's north side. Meals are delivered by geographic location, Advancement of Colored People, spoke against charter schools in the district, saying he feared the concept would push back the progress of desegregation. Under the state charter school law, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has little power over the publicly funded charter schools. Governance is left to the schools themselves, with oversight by universities that sponsor them.

The schools are freed of many rules and regulations, which advocates say encourages innovation. Critics of the schools claim they drain money and students away from districts that struggle to maintain the schools they already control. University sponsors will decide after five years whether to renew a school's charter and are able to revoke a charter at any time. Besides King's proposal to ask the legislature for the ability to cut off funding, state officials also could encourage the sponsors to take action if performance doesn't improve. "At some point, if schools are going to continue to get public money, they need to demonstrate improved student performance," King said.

"I'm not against charter schools, but I believe they should be held to the same standards we hold public schools to." Background Missouri law authorized charter died at 4:40 a.m. Thursday in Cox Medical Center North. Services will be at 9 a.m. today in Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel with burial with full military honors in Missouri Veterans Cemetery. Teddie Junior Brinley, 69 AURORA Mr.

Teddie Junior Brinley, Aurora, a retired farmer, died at 10:35 a.m. Saturday in St. John's Regional Health Center, Springfield. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in I.O.O.F.

Cemetery, Marionville, under direction of P. I IV Waynesvill Rf Leonard Wood Licking mi Marshfield Cabool Houston ol eov Rogersv.ll. yan8(led Ozark West Plains Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation presented the award at its annual conference. MoDOT was the only organization to receive more than one award. MoDOT also received the 2001 Globe Award for its geocarbon-relocation project associated with improvements made to Missouri 13 at Collins.

REGIONAL Foster parents needed for neglected children Abused and neglected children in Polk, Webster, Dallas, Hickory or Benton counties need temporary families to care for them. Residents of those counties who are interested in information about becoming a foster parent are encouraged to call 859-2208. ARKANSAS State cracking down on inmate schemes NEWPORT Women behind bars in Arkansas are conning gullible or hopeful men out of thousands of dollars through pen-pal schemes, state prison officials say. Jim Cooksey, assistant warden of the McPherson Unit for women at Newport, says the state has begun an effort to cut down on the take. The effort involves closer scrutiny of letters coming to inmates that contain checks or money, and sending letters to inmate correspondents warning them of the prisoners' schemes.

"It's always the same story," Cooksey said. "He's convinced she's getting clemency if only he pays her fines. And then she gets out, and they live happily ever after." Stink bugs infiltrate Arkansas crops LITTLE ROCK An insect specialist says 2001 is the year of the stink bug in Arkansas farmers' fields. Gus Lorenz with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service says the bugs have showed up in fields in greater numbers this year than ever before. "I don't think there was a soybean field in Arkansas" that didn't have the bugs in numbers that should have required pesticide treatment Lorenz said.

As some fields were harvested, he said, "You look in the back of the combine, and it was just alive in stink bugs." Dave Freeze, extension service agronomist in Mississippi County, said the problems were scattered, with farmers losing anywhere from 10 percent to half of their expected per-acre yields. A few lost fields entirely to the bugs, he said. 250 Xplorer4x4 Automatic 53G50 Ms 32SXpeditlon 4x4 5 Speed 54GOO (5) 00 RAN SON Kindergartners' art on display at center Artwork created by students in Branson kindergarten classes will be shown through November at the Dewey Short Visitors Center near Table Rock Dam. The center is on Missouri 165 at the south end of the dam. It is open from 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. daily. SPRINGFIELD New directors named to Make-A-Vish board The Board of Directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri have announced new officers for fiscal year 2001-02. They are president Ted Hamilton, Signature Bank; president-elect Mark Smith, Greene County Sheriffs Office; secretary Stacey Clem, Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors; and treasurer Terry Breazeale, Sturhahn Breazeale Company. Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.

OSAGE BEACH Meeting features talk by cancer survivor Beverly Vote, author and cancer survivor, will be the featured guest speaker at a meeting Tuesday of the Lake Regional Hospital Cancer Support Group, Osage Beach. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. and the public is welcome. Vote will discuss the pivotal role played by the patient during the treatment and recovery processes. The Cancer Support Group meets the third Tuesday of each month at Lake Regional Hospital.

For details, call 348-8222. Qrolla Golfers raise money for UMR scholarships Several Rolla residents helped raise nearly $7,000 for scholarships at the University of Mis-souri-Rolla by participating in the Chancellor's Cup Golf Tournament. The October tournament was held at The Country Club at the Legends in Eureka. Proceeds will help fund the UMR Chancellor's Scholarship for Missouri students. STATEWIDE MoDOT receives two environmental awards The Missouri Department of Transportation has received two environmental excellence awards for its contributions to environmental protection and mitigation.

The American Road and Intent i Until 325 Magnum 4x4 Automatic 54700 It Continued from 1B King said he would consider asking the legislature for the ability to yank funding from schools that still have dismal student performance after five years. "At some point you have to show some improvement, and at this point that's not evident, generally," King said. Test scores from the Missouri Assessment Program released to the state school board in October show that of the 18 schools with scores available, only one K.C. Foreign Language Charter compared favorably with the state average. Most schools, however, scored below the average of their school districts.

The state board will hear a consultant's evaluation of the oldest schools at its Nov. 29 meeting. Some schools with low first-year test scores managed to make big improvements the second year, though the majority of those scores remained below state averages. Debate Charter schools and their sponsors stress that many of the schools target students who are more likely to struggle academically because they are learning English, move often, have children of their own or have been homeless. In Springfield, Athel Ransom, president of the local branch of the National Association for the Death Notices Notices contain senice and death information only.

Val J. Bennett, 63 OSCEOLA Mr. Val J. Bennett, Osceola, a retired high school principal, died Saturday in Sac-Osage Hospital Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Assembly of God Church gymnasium with burial in Resthaven Memorial Gardens under direction of Sheldon-Goodrich Funeral Home.

Visitation will be from 7 to 8 p.m. today in the funeral home. Theodore A. Bossing 75 Mr. Theodore A.

Bossing Springfield, a retired lime company employee and World War veteran, 325 Magnum 2x4 Automatic S4050 2ooa 500 Sportsman S5GOO PC2LRRIS' ThA XAnrv Out nrierage6tol5 Aiway wear a hrtmat and ba Complete Thanksgiving During this time of national grief, we need your help to continue our services to our city 's hungry and homeless. Your gift today can send a powerful message of hope to our city 's neediest peopleand to the world! For just $1.79 you can provide a hot meal al our Great Thanksgiving Banquet. Or help prov ide some of the food. shelter, clean clothes and Ovistian guidance hungry, hurting and homeless people in the Springfield area will need this fall. Please help us feed and care for hungry, hurting and homeless people by mailing your gift today.

1 fd 1 7.90 helps 10 people S5.V70 helps 30 people 535.80 helps 20 people DS71 .60 helps 40 people CSI79 provides UK) meals or other essential services to feed and care for as many as possible Nanx" Address Api CityStateZip E-mail r7 SPRINGFIELD VICTORY MISSION PURINTONS 1-800-498-4578 'fV- 1 PO-Box 2884. Dept. OOOOO I -VS' Springfield. MO 65801-2884 I tt LT" Loca 20? Commercial Street mmmmmmmmmmiBSmamtml www.victorymission.com 1 11901 email gogreen i pa.net www.purintons.com ATVs can tw rtazanlous to oprai Poians Kb models tor ncte" age l6andofctor Potans morJete are for sure to tafce 8 crnjrse For say B'XS trarHnq tnogtioo, sw your Poians deaw of can 1 -800 mm ana nm am out. 2sth yi pkoviwno ho to rt springfwld ama aa an nj.