Boonville Daily News

Monday I gave notice that my last day here at the paper will be June 26. It’s been a long six years and, with a young son to consider, our family is ready for a change.

My new job is with the City of Columbia so I’ll be working downtown on Broadway in the Daniel Boone Building. This position is set up as a part of the city’s Public Works Dept., but is supervised by the Mid Missouri Solid Waste Management District, the folks who oversee grant funding for recycling projects for the Dept. of Natural Resources. I think it will be meaningful and interesting work. There will be familiar faces –M.L. Cauthon is chairman of the MMSWMD board and Boonslick Industries is one of the district’s grant recipients.

I’m most excited because I will have “normal” working hours. I am exhausted from working at the paper. It is probably not apparent to those outside the office but working in the newsroom, and as editor, is a COMPLETELY all-consuming job, and, no matter how much or how hard we work, it is never enough – at least according to the majority of the feedback from readers that makes its way back to us, and according to management and corporate standards, there is no hope of increased staffing in the newsroom.

Sadly, it is often the cantankerous, ill-spoken, offensive remarks from people that make an impression on us. But I have truly appreciated those of you who have been supportive of the work we do – it’s a difficult place to work – and your words are not lost on me.

I guess I stuck with it for so long because there is so much I have enjoyed about the job. I wanted to make the paper better and more local, and to have it be a reflection of the people who live here. And given the resources available, and other limitations, I think great strides were made in these areas.

So, now, I am looking forward to working 8-5, working only rarely at night or on Saturdays, and giving my energy to my family and other interests I have shelved for far too long. I am looking forward to being able to take time off, to have a job that doesn’t overtake my life and to have the luxury of redirecting my energies in other channels. I feel like I’m getting myself back!

Undoubtedly, the paper will continue to evolve and change with the industry. I hope you will continue to support it and those who work here. The paper is an important resource for our community, and to lose it would be tragic.

Theresa Krebs

I love May! It is when our crazy weather starts to warm up and we can go outside more often. I regularly spend my May weekends at World War II re-enactments, where I am constantly learning new things from not only the re-enactors that attend, but the children we are supposed to be teaching.

This Saturday is Armed Forces Day and I will be celebrating with my fiancé Greg and our friends at a re-enactment at Mark Twain Lake. There is going to be a timeline display over the weekend in honor of Armed Forces Day that will cover time periods from pre-colonial Native Americans to the Vietnam War. We will be teaching local visitors how our military forces functioned in the past. Also present will be a local National Guard unit showing off their equipment and discussing some things they do to keep us safe.

The creation of Armed Forces Day was announced on August 31, 1949 by the Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson. It was created to combine the separate holidays celebrated by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Although the Army, Navy, and Air Force complied with the change, the Marines and Coast Guard chose to keep their individual holidays, but they also recognize Armed Forces Day as an additional celebration.

Armed Forces Day was created to show the unity of all the separate segments of the military under the newly created Department of Defense. Also, President Truman and the Secretary of Defense hoped to expand the public’s understanding of the military and its purpose in war and peace, along with showing the latest equipment and technologies that protect us all. President Truman wanted us to know our military is ready for any threat or challenge to our country and that we should honor all of our military service men and women.

But unfortunately its meaning has become confused with Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Which is easy to confuse, but a clarification is in order. Memorial Day is to honor all who have died in wars and actions taken to defend and protect the United States. Veteran’s Day is to honor all who have served in the military- especially to recognize those who have fought in wars or actions taken to protect the United States. And Armed Forces Day is to honor all United States military forces and the work they do along with increasing the understanding and respect for all the segments of the military by learning about the military and what it does in war and peace.

What can we do to celebrate this holiday? Here are a few traditions you can observe on Armed Forces Day: Fly the American flag, wear red, white, and blue clothing, write a letter to a soldier, read an article or book about any branch of the military or a conflict the U.S. was involved in, or discuss the importance of the military with your family.

Enjoy your weekend – and make the most of every second,
Melody Cook
BDN circulation assistant

Sometimes when I need a break from the technology that surrounds my office I head to a more peaceful, simpler area on my family’s farm. There are times that I do not worry about film, graphic design and such art things and just look around myself and see what beauty God has given us. The farm brings this to me, especially the animals. They portray a simpler time, one we have left long ago. This is one reason I still live on the farm, to get a balance between my two worlds, one of technology and one outside of this, God’s creation.

About two years ago, my mother made the trek to southern Missouri to purchase some bottle calves, Ellie, Millie, Anna and Peter. They were blessed to be on our farm since they got so much attention. Occasionally when I would come home for a short stay while in school in the greater Chicago area, I would watch them grow, as I would see them maybe once a month. They grew up quickly all with their own personalities. While Ellie being an Angus is easy going, she really likes her food. The rest were all Jerseys: Ana is headstrong; Peter, crazy part of the time; and Millie is just, Millie. As they all got older, their habits changed a little bit but not too much.

To make a pretty long story short, Peter had to be sold; Ellie, Millie and Anna grew up and are doing well. Now that I am on the farm again, I see them and take care of them often. Being a film major, I have documented them through this entire time. The footage will probably be used in one of my many projects in the near future, probably the farm documentary I have been working on for a while. Although it has taken the back seat to my other works, my mother will be glad to know that I have not forgotten it. These things take time, sometimes quite a bit of it.

Recently, Ellie and Millie had their first calves. Both bull calves were born healthy within a week of each other in the worst possible spring weather. Both were rainy and cool days. At least they were not born in the winter. Since all of our cows have names it was only prudent that we name the new calves.

Meet Elvan and Miles. I will not go into which calf is Millie’s or Ellie’s, I think the names have pretty much explained it. Their personalities are pretty much a duplicate of their mothers’. Elvan is laid back while Miles is hyper-active. He loves chasing chickens out of his pen.
As I look at the both of them, and the herd for that matter, they take me away from the technology that I am surrounded with. Sometime I need a break and they provide that to me. It will be interesting to watch them grow and film them. It is that sort of glimpse of simpler life that gives us wonder.

Enjoy your weekend – and make the most of every second,
Edward Lang
BDN reporter