A year ago, Shepherd of the Hills fish hatchery took on a new look with the addition of a state-of-the-art brown trout rearing facility.

The operation now allows the Missouri Department of Conservation to raise thousands of brown trout annually. But in the first year of operation, the facility hit a few bumps in the road.

Coldwater Hatcheries Supervisor James Civiello said high water in the spring and elevated water temperatures caused some problems.

“This year, water temperatures got up to 66 degrees and that increases the number of parasites in the water. That, in turn, causes fish loss,” Civiello said.

About eight thousand gallons of water a minute comes into the new facility from Shepherd of the Hills rainbow trout hatchery via Table Rock Lake.

“We had a bit of a struggle dealing with the warm water but we got around it,” he said.

Civiello said the new facility is a step up in the department’s effort to grow more quality trout, not only for Lake Taneycomo but the region’s other cold water fisheries.

“The design is great. We put in 12 new rearing raceways and several intermediate raceways as fish get larger,” he said.

A big addition to the new rearing facility is a fish ladder — a concrete stair-step from the river to the hatchery — and big browns are finding their way home.

Civiello said it is natural for brown trout to return to where they were hatched and the ladder makes it easier for them to get back.

“Over the years, I’ve found that a fish ladder is very important to good production,” Civiello said.

“We got a very good return of 3-year-old broodstock. In three egg-takes, we got 300,000 eggs. It worked just the way we designed it,” he said.

The early life-stage of a brown trout can be touch and go. At a critical time, fish need to be protected from disease.

Civiello said incubation goes well, but when the fish hatch, they go through a life-stage called the sack fry.

“That’s when they have the embryonic sack they absorb. In that life-stage we cannot treat for parasites because you kill the production,” he said.

Civiello said they lucked out and had more fish available during this past year’s spawn.

“We took another spawn and moved those eggs to another building, which is protected from high concentrations of parasites,” he said.

Systemwide, the conservation department wants to increase brown trout volume by 20 percent.

Approximately 700,000 rainbow trout are released into Lake Taneycomo each year. The number of brown trout is around 10,000.

Other hatcheries in the state are being renovated to increase production capabilities, as well.

Renovations include the addition of liquid oxygen to help trout grow faster.

The new Branson facility has allowed Civiello to spread out production and create better fish quality. Other state hatcheries will also benefit during times of drought and poor water quality.

Shepherd of the Hills will be able to provide fish to keep their production numbers up.

The last renovation at Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery was back in the 1970s.

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(Branson, MO) – On Tuesday evening, over 45 employees and family of Branson Bank piled into the large log home that serves as the main facility of Jacob’s House at Thunder Ranch – carrying arm loads of presents that Santa would later distribute, freshly-baked sugar cookies, and all sorts of icing and sprinkles to decorate them.

“We were accustomed to spending a certain amount of money celebrating the Christmas holiday with fruit baskets or cards,” said Bill Jones, Branson Bank President. “But this year, especially with needs so great, we all elected to spend those dollars on something more meaningful to the community.”

Discussions settled on a small foster community contemplating their first Christmas “under new management” this year.

Jacobs House at Thunder Ranch, a foster care community originally established by Tim Hill Ministries, is committed to rescuing abused and neglected children – providing housing, loving care, discipleship training and education. Located just outside Branson, Missouri, on seventy-one acres, Jacob’s House is a unique community of family-style homes where displaced children are loved and encouraged to become spiritual and moral leaders with a future and a hope in life.

“Though we’ve only been in town for a short while, Jacob’s House has been in business for 17 years,” said Penny Robichaux, Executive Director. “I’ve fostered over 200 children into adulthood, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know more countless hundreds. We were delighted that Branson Bank found a way to spread some joy and spend some time with the kids.”

The collaborative effort of bringing Christmas to Jacob’s House included nearly every employee of the Bank.

“We had staff out shopping for the kids, a great wrapping party after hours, some who baked sugar cookies and others who brought in sprinkles and frosting,” said Lyndi Carnelison, Branson Bank Public & Community Relations Coordinator. “We really couldn’t have accomplished the task without everyone’s generosity.”

Branson Bank kicked off the efforts with a generous donation to remodel a previously unused storage area into a private family room. Jacob’s House, equipped to house up to 23 children – will host 18 this Christmas from ages 2 to 17.

After a few slices of pizza and a visit with Santa that evening, children tore into packages presented to Jacob’s House, intended to keep at the facility for the new family room, like DVDs, board games, blankets & video games. Branson Bank employees were on hand to help all the kids decorate all shapes and sizes of sugar cookies. Special presents for each child from “Santa” were stashed away that night, to be saved for Christmas morning.

“The experience was extremely rewarding,” said Jones. “Jacob’s House is a hidden gem in the Ozarks, and doing really great things. We couldn’t have chosen to support a better endeavor.”

When the Humane Society of Taney County held its 1st Annual Miniature Golf Tournament in November of this year, it awarded prizes to those who raised the most sponsorship money. The prizes, a 32” flat screen HDTV and a Nintendo Wii, were then donated back to the HSTC to raffle off by the generous winners.

When the Humane Society of Taney County held its 1st Annual Miniature Golf Tournament in November of this year, it awarded prizes to those who raised the most sponsorship money. The prizes, a 32” flat screen HDTV and a Nintendo Wii, were then donated back to the HSTC to raffle off by the generous winners.

After six weeks of selling raffle tickets for both items, the drawing for the prizes was held on Saturday, Dec. 20 at The Re-Tail Shoppe in Branson. Susan Maguire, an employee at Taney County Animal Control, won the 32” HDTV. In a twist of irony, Rick Lunt, the original winner of the 32” HDTV who chose to donate it back, won the Nintendo Wii.

“I am always amazed at how generous our supporters are” said Nolene Davis, Fundraising Chair, referring to the prizes being donated back to the HSTC in November. “The raffle allowed us to raise an additional $1,100 for our programs.”

3-year-old Ethan Holly, a customer at the store on Saturday morning, drew the names.

America’s Best and Top Ten made Silver Dollar City number one on its list of Top 10 Christmas Lights Shows. The park employs millions of Christmas lights and a five-story Christmas tree complete with syncronized lights and Christmas music every year for its holiday spectacle.

Tony Carson, a member of Gene Williams’ Country Junction Band, is the featured performer and guest star on the next (Dec. 27-28) broadcast of the Lucas Oil sponsored Gene Williams Country Television Show, Branson’s longest running weekly television show.

Tony Carson, a member of Gene Williams’ Country Junction Band, is the featured performer and guest star on the next (Dec. 27-28) broadcast of the Lucas Oil sponsored Gene Williams Country Television Show, Branson’s longest running weekly television show.

“Tony joins my co-host Katie Lynn for a duet and is also featured with my band. I get many requests to feature my band on my show and I know the fans will enjoy these performances,” said Williams who is the star, producer and creator of the Gene Williams Country Television Show. “Tony is an accomplished keyboard player, vocalist and bass guitarist. Tony is from Hardy, Ark., and divides his time between homes in Hardy and Branson. He has worked with such artists as Cal Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Ernie Ashworth, Jim Ed Brown, Helen Cornelius, Jean Sheperd, Mary-Lou Turner, Jeanie Seeley, Leona Williams, Wanda Jackson, Mickey Gilley, Norma Jean, Charlie Louvin, The Hagars, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts, Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town and Jim Owen.”

The Gene Williams Country Television Show is telecast to more than 60 million homes coast-to-coast, border-to-border and Puerto Rico and Canada. (Editor’s check the listings below for station on which the show with Carson will be telecast on Dec. 27-28.)

The next taping of the Gene Williams Country Music Television Show is Jan. 4, 2009, at 2 p.m. Admission to the taping is free and the doors open at 1:30 p.m. Scheduled to appear are Joe Sanders, formerly with the Baldknobbers and Shepherd of the Hills, Gary Myers and Bucky Heard and the Horn Dawgs, and Jarett McAllister, 17-year-old CMA Music City Rising Star award-winner. For more information go to the website genewilliamscountry.com.

Williams began his country music television show in Arkansas 45 years ago and for the past seven years has taped the show in Branson live before a studio audience. Guests have included Ed McMahon, Mickey Gilley, the Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Clark, Johnny Lee, Barbara Fairchild, Sons of the Pioneers, the Osmonds, Johnny Cash’s band The Tennessee Three, the Blackwood Brothers, Helen Cornelius, Leona Williams, Charlie Louvin, Mary Lou Turner, Cal Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Norma Jean, “Diamond” Dave Somerville, Little Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Jim Owen, Buck Trent and Wanda Jackson.

Williams’ co-host Katie Lynn has received the Branson Entertainment Awards Best Support Vocalist twice for her work in the “Mickey Gilley Show.” She has worked with Gilley for more than eight years and also worked with Jim Owen for seven years. In addition to her singing career, she is a real estate agent. She and the guest stars perform weekly on the television show with the Country Junction Band.

Tony Carson, a member of Gene Williams’ Country Junction Band, is the featured performer and guest star on the next (Dec. 27-28) broadcast of the Lucas Oil sponsored Gene Williams Country Television Show, Branson’s longest running weekly television show.

“Tony joins my co-host Katie Lynn for a duet and is also featured with my band. I get many requests to feature my band on my show and I know the fans will enjoy these performances,” said Williams who is the star, producer and creator of the Gene Williams Country Television Show. “Tony is an accomplished keyboard player, vocalist and bass guitarist. Tony is from Hardy, Ark., and divides his time between homes in Hardy and Branson. He has worked with such artists as Cal Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Ernie Ashworth, Jim Ed Brown, Helen Cornelius, Jean Sheperd, Mary-Lou Turner, Jeanie Seeley, Leona Williams, Wanda Jackson, Mickey Gilley, Norma Jean, Charlie Louvin, The Hagars, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts, Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town and Jim Owen.”

The Gene Williams Country Television Show is telecast to more than 60 million homes coast-to-coast, border-to-border and Puerto Rico and Canada. (Editor’s check the listings below for station on which the show with Carson will be telecast on Dec. 27-28.)

The next taping of the Gene Williams Country Music Television Show is Jan. 4, 2009, at 2 p.m. Admission to the taping is free and the doors open at 1:30 p.m. Scheduled to appear are Joe Sanders, formerly with the Baldknobbers and Shepherd of the Hills, Gary Myers and Bucky Heard and the Horn Dawgs, and Jarett McAllister, 17-year-old CMA Music City Rising Star award-winner. For more information go to the website genewilliamscountry.com.

Williams began his country music television show in Arkansas 45 years ago and for the past seven years has taped the show in Branson live before a studio audience. Guests have included Ed McMahon, Mickey Gilley, the Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Clark, Johnny Lee, Barbara Fairchild, Sons of the Pioneers, the Osmonds, Johnny Cash’s band The Tennessee Three, the Blackwood Brothers, Helen Cornelius, Leona Williams, Charlie Louvin, Mary Lou Turner, Cal Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Norma Jean, “Diamond” Dave Somerville, Little Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Jim Owen, Buck Trent and Wanda Jackson.

Williams’ co-host Katie Lynn has received the Branson Entertainment Awards Best Support Vocalist twice for her work in the “Mickey Gilley Show.” She has worked with Gilley for more than eight years and also worked with Jim Owen for seven years. In addition to her singing career, she is a real estate agent. She and the guest stars perform weekly on the television show with the Country Junction Band.

Children and stuffed animals speak the same language — at least that’s what Hank Williams and some of his friends think.

“There is a special connection that kids have with cute, furry stuffed animals,” said Williams, a member of the Branson Bootkickers.

For more than 25 years, the Branson Bootkickers, a local country western dance group, has donated stuffed animals to local emergency and law enforcement agencies in what it calls the Teddy Bear Brigade.

The stuffed animals are used to comfort children during tough times when they come into contact with these agencies.

“The police, fire, ambulance and hospital personnel give the animals to children in hopes that it will comfort them,” Williams said. “It’s a gesture that lets the kids know they are there to help.”

On Wednesday, Williams and fellow Bootkicker Herb Rogers, delivered nearly 100 stuffed animals to Skaggs Community Health Center and the Taney County Ambulance District.

He said the group began collecting the animals in September.

“We just keep bringing them in and it turns into a pretty big pile of animals,” Williams said. “We took the bigger ones to Skaggs and the smaller ones went to the ambulance district.”

The Skaggs donation will be used in the pediatrics unit.

“This is a generous donation,” said Skaggs LPN Heather Brown. “It is greatly appreciated by both the staff and the children who need additional comforting during their stay (at Skaggs).”

Jeff Hawkins, TCAD Operations Manager, said its great to have the stuffed animals in their ambulances.

“This can give the kids something to hang onto,” Hawkins said. “It also gives them a reason to trust us. It almost always makes them smile.”

Officials from Skaggs and TCAD said they appreciate the efforts of the Bootkickers.

“If they didn’t do this for us, we would probably have to pay for the animals,” Hawkins said. “The people who donate these items will never really know how much this helps us do our jobs.”

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Area Churches Serve Loaves And Fishes Dinners Beginning January 4

Seven churches are opening their doors this year to provide meals every night of the week from January 4th through March 13th. Church locations include: Salvation Army on Sundays; First Baptist Branson on Mondays; Church Army Branson on Tuesdays; Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church on Wednesdays; Branson United Methodist Church on Thursdays; First Presbyterian on Fridays; and Faith Lutheran on Saturdays.

“No doubt the need is greater than ever for folks who are struggling in the Ozarks” said Sue Head, on of the organizers of the Loaves & Fishes program. The program is a collaborative effort among 70 groups who have stepped up to “take a night” to provide a warm, nutritious meal at no charge for anyone in need during the “off season”.

The program in 2008 was only five nights a week and served over 3,000 people.

Meals will be served from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at each of these locations. A map of the locations can be found at www.hometowndailynews.com. If you have any questions, please call Dee Klein at 335-4599.

The 60th Annual Adoration Celebration drew record crowds, according to a news release.

The parade adheres to a non-commercial policy with each of the 39 floats free of advertising and identified only with the name of the organization. There were 16 bands.

The extent of the Christmas celebration in Branson—with special shows in the theaters, special events and lighting at Silver Dollar City and the three area Christmas light drive-throughs—is one reason that Branson was included among seven destinations for the Travel Channel’s special, “Most Christmasy Places In America.”

The special airs on Dec. 10 at 7 and 11 p.m., Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. and Dec. 17 at 8 a.m. and 4 and 10 p.m.

Here are the 2008 Adoration Parade Float/Walking Unit Awards:

Non-Profit/Religious

1. Faith Life Church
2. Purdy First Freewill Church
3. First Baptist Church – Forsyth

Non-Profit/Non-Religious

1. Girl Scout Troop 294
2. Branson/Hollister Rotary
3. Kiwanis of Stone County

For-Profit/Religious

1. Sight & Sound Theater
2. Camp Little Paws
3. The Vacation Channel

For-Profit/Non-Religious

1. At Your Service Limousine
2. Taney County Tire

2008 Adoration Parade Band Awards

Red (Fewer Than 40 Students)

1. Blue Eye Marching Bulldogs
2. Spokane Marching Owls
3. Billings Wildcats

White (41-75 Students)

1. Riverton Fighting Rams, Riverton, Kan.
2. Strafford Flaming Arrows
3. Fair Grove Marching Eagles

Blue (More than 76 Students)

1. Joplin Eagle Pride

Drum & Bugle Corps

1. Hillcrest Highlanders

San Diego, December 17, 2008 – Eventful – the leading source for local events – today released its second annual ‘Most Eventful Cities’ report, which ranks U.S. cities according to the number and diversity of local events for residents and visitors. Eventful derives the rankings from its database of local events, which contains the world’s largest selection of information on what’s happening in cities throughout the world. The report provides a unique insight into the character of U.S. cities and the interests and activities of their residents, with some interesting and unexpected results.

For the second year in a row, Eventful analyzed data for all U.S. cities with a population exceeding 100,000, as well as select cities with smaller populations, examining the quantity and nature of the local events in each market. As one would expect, major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago held several of the top spots. At the same time, many smaller cities made surprise appearances in the rankings due to unexpectedly large number of events for their size. Seattle jumped from thirteenth place to fifth overall this year thanks to its vibrant music scene and its wealth of outdoor activities. San Francisco, meanwhile, held steady in third place due to its abundance of diverse cultural offerings, strong options for singles and proximity to thousands of acres of open space.

Other cities’ top rankings reinforced their already existing reputations. Branson, Missouri, which bills itself as the “live music capital of the world,” took second place in the music category, beating out Los Angeles and Chicago. The entertainment attractions of Las Vegas (pop. 560,000), from nightlife to performing arts, vaulted the city from nineteenth to ninth in the overall rankings.

Meanwhile, Pasadena (pop. 145,000), north of Los Angeles, headed up the new ‘Small but Eventful’ category, besting several college towns with thriving concert venues, including Berkeley (pop. 100,000), Ann Arbor and Gainesville (both pop. 115,000).

“The quantity and selection of local events provide a fascinating window into the soul of a city,” said Jordan Glazier, CEO, Eventful. “You learn a lot about the nature and rhythm of a place by seeing how its residents use their free time, entertain themselves and engage with their community.”

With approximately eight million events to choose from, Eventful helps active people throughout the world discover, share and create events ranging from concerts to singles events to kids’ activities to community happenings. Eventful users can promote their events on Eventful for free and choose from an assortment of tools to advertise their events on other Web sites and social networks. The 8 million members of Eventful’s user community now have the opportunity to connect both on and offline by sharing their common interests through local events.

Methodology for 2008 ‘Most Eventful Cities’ rankings Eventful has the largest aggregation of local events in the world, with approximately eight million upcoming events on the site at any time. The 2008 ‘Most Eventful Cities’ rankings are based on the total number of events listed on Eventful that took place in each U.S. city between December 1, 2007 and November 18, 2008. For the new ‘Small but Eventful’ category, Eventful looked at cities with populations smaller than 150,000 that had the highest number of events per capita.

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Ozarks Technical Community College’s Branson center will be able to offer about 50 percent more classes by the time the spring semester begins in January.

A 5,000-square-foot expansion on the 11,000 square-foot facility will be completed at the end of this week to help the college keep up with local demand. Branson Center Coordinator Rob Griffith said he estimates about a 30-percent increase in enrollment over the spring; most of those students are taking general education classes that will transfer to a four-year college.

“Most of the need is for more of what we’ve been doing,” Griffith said.

The expansion includes more classrooms and office space.

“We are growing and want to offer facilities that meet the demands of students,” Griffith said.

The center now has a community room, and Griffith said he hopes OTC will be able to host more community events in Branson.

More than 360 students took fall classes at the center and early enrollment projections show that the number of students taking classes will be up significantly.

Griffith said he estimates 425 students will enroll for the spring semester.

The center, located in The Shoppes at Branson Meadows on Gretna Road, offers a variety of general education, non-credit and work force development courses, as well as the GED and the English as a Second Language program.

Students may earn an Associate of Arts degree or work toward fulfilling requirements for a four-year degree.

“Branson’s enrollment and growth over the last two years has been double digit. We cannot offer more classes without more space,” said Hal Higdon, president of OTC.

Griffith said students needing to enroll for the spring semester should act fast. He said there is quite a bit of paperwork that needs to be completed before classes begin in January.

The center will host a welcome day Jan. 14, 2009, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. when the public is invited to see the renovated center.

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