Before the new year begins on Thursday, the Fulton Sun is taking a look back at 2014's most significant news stories in Callaway County. Pick up tomorrow's paper for more year-in-review coverage.
May
Coari pleads guilty in Auxvasse double homicide, sentenced to life
Ryan Coari received two consecutive life sentences for the 2011 double homicide of an Auxvasse-area man and his daughter. Coari, 32 of Mexico, pleaded guilty to both counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Michael J. Wieberg and his daughter, Amanda Wieberg.
He was accused of shooting the Wiebergs during an armed robbery and then setting their home on fire. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of armed criminal action. Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson said the plea deal was reached after months of negotiation and consultation with the Wiebergs' family.
"His attorneys, the attorney general and I had a number of discussions the last couple of months, coming to a place where we were closer to being on the same page," Wilson told the Fulton Sun in May. "After he made the offer, we sat down with the victims' family and that's what they wanted to do."
Fulton State Hospital plan goes to governor
Missouri lawmakers approved selling $198 million in bonds to build a more modern facility for the aging Fulton State Hospital. After their approval, the plan for the new facility went to Gov. Jay Nixon for approval.
Several of the hospital's buildings have been deemed unsafe for workers and patients. The mental health facility - originally built in 1851 - is the oldest one west of the Mississippi River.
State Rep. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, said in a May news release: "I am thrilled and thankful to see we are now positioned to build a state-of-the-art hospital that will replace what is currently the most dangerous place to work in the state.
Westminster College president announces retirement
Westminster College President Barney Forsythe announced in May that he will retire at the end of the 2014-15 academic year. Forsythe, before coming the college's 20th president, was the senior vice president and dean of faculty in 2005. He became president in February 2008, according to a press release at the time.
He joined the Westminster College administration after 35 years commissioned service with the U.S. Army in the grade of Brigadier General.
In May, Forsythe told the Fulton Sun that he and his wife had been considering retirement for some time. He also said that his announcement's timing allows the college to be "thoughtful and deliberate" in selecting a replacement.
In late June, the college formed the Presidential Advisory Search Committee. And in November, college officials hired executive search firm Witt/Kieffer from Oak Brook, Illinois to assist that committee in the search for Westminster's next president.
June
Public forum sparks beginning of hog farm dispute
Concerned residents living near a potential Kingdom City hog confinement, which would bring more than 10,000 pigs to the area, started their public outcry against the facility in June with a public forum at the Hatton-McCredie Elementary School. Hundreds attended, sounding mostly opposition to the concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO).
In the months since, the concerned residents officially organized as Friends of Responsible Agriculture and held more public meetings. In August, the group also garnered more than 1,400 signatures from community members who oppose the hog farm, expressing health and environmental concerns. Letters were sent to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources requesting the agency deny Callaway Farrowing, LLC's operation permit application and, in response to those letters of concern, the DNR held an informational meeting.
The DNR issued the permit in November, and FORAG sent an appeal to that decision in December in a nearly final attempt to stop the CAFO.
Fulton man named national Head Start "Parent of the Year'
National Head Start Association named Jerry Damron of Fulton the organization's Parent of the Year in June.
Damron received $500 and a commemorative plaque, accepting the award at the annual Head Start Conference in California.
A regular volunteer at Head Start, Damron said the award came as a surprise at the time. His children are enrolled in the federal program that provides early childhood education and health services for low-income families.
After losing his job and going through a divorce, Damron hit a rough patch in his life, but faced the challenge and got back on his feet.
"Knowing Jerry and what he has done, he has worked to improve his own life and education as well as his children's," Beth Vossler, Central Missouri Community Action's director of Head Start operations, said in June. "He's gone back to school, he's found housing and employment which of course goes to show the support Head Start can bring to table."
July
Moore's Mill dedication honors fallen Civil War soldiers
For 152 years, fallen Union and Confederate soldiers from the Civil War were at rest in an unmarked grave near Calwood. In July, these soldiers, for the first time, had a large, granite monument bearing their names dedicated to them. The memorial lists the names of the 24 men killed in combat at the Battle of Moore's Mill. It was erected at a public event on the property of Gus Guthrie, owner and grave site donor, located on State Road Z (about 1 mile southwest of the intersection of State Roads Z and JJ in Calwood).
Elijah Gates Camp of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans raised $5,000 in support of the monument and hosted the event. The money also helped fund high-tech sonar scanning of the site for the remains of the soldiers.
North Callaway puts bond issue on ballot
The North Callaway School Board unanimously approved to put a bond issue on the November ballot during its July meeting. The bond issue passed with 67 percent approval in Audrain County and 63 percent approval in Callaway County. There were a total of 1,782 votes cast on Proposition K.I.D.S., with 1,121 - or 63 percent - in favor of the bond issue.
The $6 million bond issue will help fund a variety of district improvements including a new ag/science building and a track at the high school and district-wide technology upgrades. At the school board's December meeting, they heard options for building the new all-weather track included in the bond issue.
Man arrested after Carver Park shooting
Fulton police arrested Ronnie Joewette Lee Jr., who they believed to be responsible for an armed robbery at Carver Park. Fulton Police Department received a report on July 10 from a man who said he was robbed at gunpoint between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on July 8 at Carver Park by two black males, one allegedly with the nickname "Jojo," whom police believed to be Lee.
The victim told police that a "muscular black male" brandished a black handgun, which he used to push the victim in the back of the head, according to a press release at the time. The man then demanded the victim give him money.
Lee was charged with first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of firearms, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. Lee was taken to the Callaway County Jail with a total bond of $120,000.
Callaway Energy Center reports high levels of chemicals in on site water
Results from a July 25 test of groundwater at Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center contained levels of radioactive tritium and Cobalt-60, both byproducts of a nuclear reaction, higher than EPA drinking water standards.
Ameren Missouri and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) both stressed that public drinking water was safe. Also, as a precaution, Barry Cox, the Callaway plant's senior director of nuclear operations, told the Fulton Sun in September that the Callaway Energy Center would start routinely testing water at its monitoring wells monthly instead of quarterly.
August
New Bloomfield police officer dies after two years in a coma
Michael Tufts, a New Bloomfield police officer, died in August after spending two years in a coma - the result of a drunk driving crash caused by Spencer Michael Gordon of Columbia.
Tufts served in New Bloomfield for four months before the accident on Providence Road in Columbia, which also killed his girlfriend, 24-year-old Michelle Morrow.
In a 2012 interview with the Fulton Sun, Sgt. Justin Davidson, who was with the New Bloomfield Police Department at the time, spoke highly of the young officer. Davidson said this was Tufts' first job in law enforcement and he was "eager to succeed."
In June, Gordon was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Circuit Judge Christine Carpenter issued Gordon his sentence based on the charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault.
Danuser celebrates expansion, latest tools
Fulton-based Danuser Machine Company shared its success in August with a public open house of the entire facility, showing off its 32,000-square foot addition. The $3.7 million expansion was completed after about a year of construction. The city of Fulton aided Dansuer in the project, issuing 100 industrial development bonds.
The grand opening ceremony also allowed the company to demonstrate its Hammer - a one-person post driver utilized by farmers, contractors, homeowners, etc. The Hammer was featured on the cable show "How Its Made."
Community mourns loss of slain 6-year-old Fulton boy
In August, a Fulton woman returned home from working an overnight shift to find her son murdered inside their home.
Dayne Hathman, 6, of Fulton was allegedly shot multiple times by a family friend - Scottie Willet, 27 - who had been living with him and his mother, Ladaynea Simpson, since January. Willet is being held in Callaway County Jail where he awaits his judgment on the charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Hathman was a kindergarten student at McIntire Elementary School. Former and current employees of the Post Office Bar and Grill held fundraisers for Simpson in response. People in the community showed their support by changing their Facebook profile pictures to an image of Elmo - one of Hathman's favorite characters.
Splash Pad opens in Memorial Park
The much anticipated Splash Pad opened for children and their families at the end of August.
The water attraction features various spray features that spray, dump and shoot water onto patrons as well as benches and shaded areas. The Fulton City Council approved the project design in April with a price tag less than originally expected.