Around Town: July 24, 2024

By: Ernie Wren
Now that we’re past the Independence Day celebrations and Boone County Fair events, the next exciting local event to keep in mind is Saturday, September 14th, 2024, which is of course, the annual Ashland Fall Festival! There will be plenty of vendors, the car and bike show, concessions, and much more. This would also be a good time to check out some of the fantastic park improvements that our volunteer Park Board and Ashland Public Works department have been working on, such as the baseball field, new restrooms, etc.

This week we also have the start of high school football! Our Southern Boone Eagles will be hosting a three-team scrimmage on Thursday, July 25th, at 6pm at the high school sports field. We’ll have the Warrenton Warriors and the Hickman Kewpies helping prepare our team for another exciting fall season. The public is invited to join the fun and cheer on your Eagles!

As we all know on the national front, elections are coming up soon. But so are the primaries, and there are some important dates to remember for those. The last day to request a mail absentee ballot for the primaries is July 24.

No-excuse absentee voting will take place July 23rd-August 5th. No-excuse absentee voting is when any registered Boone County voter can come to the Government Center and cast a ballot in person just like on Election Day. The primaries will be held on Tuesday, August 6th, 2024. (Showmeboone.com)

Shout out to the Southern Boone Board of Education for earning the “2024 Governance Team Award” this month. Per the press release, “The Southern Boone Board of Education is among 31 Missouri school boards earning the Missouri School Boards’ Association’s (MSBA) 2024 Governance Team Award.

This prestigious award is based on the outstanding commitment of the school board and superintendent to ongoing professional development in effective governance practices. The award also recognizes their commitment to regional and statewide leadership and to active participation in legislative advocacy for public schools and the students they serve.”

When you look at what is needed to earn this award, it’s not surprising that only 31 districts across Missouri achieved it.

• The district is fully accredited
• All seven school board members:
  • completed the Essential New Board Mem
    ber Certification from MSBA
  • fulfilled the Refresher Training require-
    ment for the current year through MSBA
• At least two board members attained the Advanced Certification from MSBA
• At least one board member attained the Master Certification
• At least a quorum of the board and the superintendent attended the 2023 MSBA Annual Conference and a regional meeting during the past year
• A representative attended the 2024 MSBA Advocacy Day, and a board member representative participated in MSBA’s Delegate Assembly.

This is not a “participation medal” by any means, it required hard work and dedication. Kudos to our school board!

It’s hard to list all the activities (sports, scholarships, academic contests, etc.) that the Ashland Optimist Club has provided to this community, especially when they’ve been doing it for almost 60 years now!

The public is invited to join the Ashland Optimist Club for a celebration of 60 years of service to the youth of Southern Boone on Sunday, September 29. Doors open at 5 p.m., and there will be a dinner at 5:30 p.m. followed by a program honoring the club’s history.

The event will be held at the Ashland Optimist Building – 511 Optimist Drive, Ashland, Missouri. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and younger.

You can reserve your seat by purchasing your ticket before September 14 in one of three ways: attend a weekly Saturday morning meeting at 7:30am, send payment to Ashland Optimists P.O. Box 201, Ashland, MO 65010 or via PayPal @ashlandoptimistclub or email – ashlandoptimist@gmail.com