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| Serving Callaway County communities since 1875. | www.fultonsun.com | Saturday, July 04, 2009 |
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Callaway-Osage ferry project receives $10,000 donation By COLIN E. SUCHLAND The Fulton Sun
Chamois Industrial Development Corp., which hopes to connect Callaway and Osage counties via river route, recently announced that Chamois resident Marie Frechmann was behind the large, private contribution. The organization also reported it is negotiating with a southeast Missouri business for a tugboat. Frechmann's father, E.J. Hempelmann, was a Chamois business leader in the 1950s and '60s and worked unsuccessfully to connect Osage County to its northern neighbor via boat or bridge. "I know he was trying hard to get a ferry many years ago," Frechmann said Monday. "If he was living, I'm sure he'd still be working for the city." News of the current ferry project and recollections of Hempelmann's ambition prompted Frechmann to action. "I felt that I should do as much as I could. I know my father would have," she said. Chamois is located on the Missouri River east of Jefferson City, nearly opposite Steedman in Callaway County. At present residents must travel south to Linn and west on Highway 50 to the capital before reaching the nearest bridge. Though ferry project success likely will hinge on grant money CIDC is seeking, proponents are soliciting the matching funds needed. Frechmann's gift will go a long way toward their goal. The group anticipates total startup costs of about $900,000 including the cost of a new tugboat. "We are overwhelmed with the generosity of Mrs. Frechmann," CIDC grant writer and spokesperson Judy Miller said in a release. "Her donation certainly will assist us in our efforts to make this ferry a reality." In other news, the CIDC team also recently inspected a tugboat serving a ferry service on the Mississippi River in Dorena, Mo. The craft has been pushing ferry barges for about five years, and is in need of engine repair and other modifications before it could be used at Chamois. "It would be a boost to our project to acquire this tugboat," Miller said, noting that purchasing a used tug could represent substantial savings for the project. CIDC plans to operate their ferry, which would be the only one of its kind on the Missouri River in the state, on an at-cost basis. In September, the group secured land to build ferry slips on both sides of the river - near Callaway County Road 467 and in Chamois' riverfront park. Miller said she also is soliciting support from Missouri Congressional delegates Rep. Kenny Hulshof and Sen. Kit Bond. |
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