Breaking Neighborhood News

I got a call this afternoon that long-time neighbor Dick Vaught has passed away.  I don’t have a lot of details at the moment, but I understand he died at home early this afternoon.   Funeral arrangements are still pending; I will post here as soon as I have any more news.

– Martha

Tuesday – April 2
Dick Vaught’s obituary has been posted in the Columbia Tribune and from Memorial Funeral Home.   The funeral is scheduled for Friday at 11am, at the 1st Christian Church.   He will certainly be missed!

Yet another farewell

I had news this morning that our long-time neighbor, Bob Allen, passed away overnight.  He had apparently been in the hospital for a couple of days and was doing better, but took a turn last night and slipped away.  If I get information about services or anything, I will post it here.  Please keep Gladys in your thoughts.

EDIT:  Dr. Allen’s obituary has been published.  You can find it online here.  He was quite a fellow and will be missed.

Martha

News about a neighbor

Yesterday afternoon our good neighbor, Tanna Klein, was out walking her dog, Charlie, when she (apparently) had a stroke.  She was on Fairway Drive and John O’Laughlin and John Larkin were right there.  John O called an ambulance which came immediately and took her to University Hospital.  Thanks to quick action by several neighbors, she got to the hospital quickly and was taken into surgery right away.  She is currently in a coma in ICU and they won’t know much more for a while.

I am so grateful that I live in a neighborhood where neighbors look out for each other so well.  In some places she could have lain there unconsious for a long time before anyone noticed.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Time again for the annual “Night Out”

It is time once again for our annual neighborhood meeting and potluck, timed to coincide with the nationwide “Neighborhood Night Out” program on Tuesday, August 7.  Because of the usual weather on the first Tuesday in August, we have once again made arrangements to have our party in air-conditioned comfort at the Columbia Country Club, starting at 5:30 pm.  We will begin setting up at 5:00, so you can arrive any time after that.  If you haven’t received a note in your mailbox yet, you should get it soon.  Here are the particulars:

• We will meet at the Country Club – arrival begins at 5:00, dinner will start at 5:30
• Your choice of hamburgers or hot dogs, with table service and condiments provided
• Water, tea and coffee will be provided; there will be a cash bar if you wish to buy drinks or sodas.
• Bring your favorite salads, side dishes and/or desserts
• Business meeting will start after dinner, but we promise to keep it short.

We are asking for a donation of $5 per person, to cover what the Country Club is charging us.  Any amount will be welcome, above or below that, and no one will be turned away.  We also need an approximate count of how many people will be coming; call Secretary Martha John at 573-442-5924, or e-mail her (see the “About” page) to let us know.  If you forgot to call, come anyway, we won’t turn you away.

There won’t be a lot of business on the agenda, but there is some:  the annual election of officers, and a discussion about the annual neighborhood-wide garage/yard sale.  If you have other items for the meeting, just let us know.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Martha John

Missing Cats

Update, Sunday April 8: Both cats have returned home this morning! Hooray! If some good samaritan sent them home, thank you!

* * *
Missing:   two 4 year old, long haired, male cats.  One cat, Woody, is grey striped w/ deep green eyes, and the other is a large yellow cat named Bernie.  (Or, Woodward and Bernstein.)  Both cats are neutered and up-to-date on all shots, and on Frontline.  The grey cat was missing as of late Tuesday evening, April 3.  The yellow cat disappeared Friday evening, April 6.

Woody

Bernie

If you have seen either one of these cats or have infomation that might help the owner locate them please contact:
Linda Hutton:   lhutton60@gmail.com

Another departed neighbor

I only just received word this evening that we lost another neighber last month.  Peggy Baker passed away on February 22nd.  Her obituary appeared in the Tribune last week and her memorial was last Saturday.  Her sister, ​Frances Deuel, will be keeping an eye on the house while they get it ready to sell.  If anyone knows of people who might be interested in buying the house, I can pass that along to the family.

Informational meeting March 6

We have received word that the owner of the old Total Environments site is ready to take the next step toward developing it.  You may recall that we had a meeting some time ago, along with the Benton-Stephens Neighborhood Association, so that the Engineer could present the concept to us.  At the time, we generally felt that it was a good use of the site and were agreeable.  With economic realities, the project was put on hold but it is back on track now.  We have not seen the current plans but have heard that they are not hugely changed from what we saw before.

So that we can become familiar with their plans, our neighborhood (and the Benton-Stephens neighborhood) have been invited to another informational meeting, to be held this coming Tuesday, March 6, at the Columbia Country Club clubhouse, at 6:30 pm.  It will be an informal meeting which will allow us to see what they have in mind, ask questions and understand what happens next. We have been told that our council member, Gary Kespohl, will also be in attendance.

This site is not actually in our neighborhood, but it is right next door and it is good for us to be aware of what is happening around us.  Please plan to come to the meeting on March 6th at 6:30.

Items in the news

A couple of news items which may be of interest to the Neighborhood:

First: you may have heard about plans to use the building at the old Total Environments location on Old Highway 63 as a homeless shelter.  The initial newspaper reports indicated that the intent was to have 40 people there overnight during this winter.  Subsequent discussions with the relevant city officials changed that to being just 10 people per night in order to comply with health & safety regulations.  In addition, the shelter will only be open from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, and there will be an armed guard on the premises from 11:00 PM until they close the next morning.  A request for a conditional use permit allowing this operation from the first of the year until March 15th will be presented to the City Council next Tuesday.  If you would like more information, or have concerns about the matter, contact our City Council person, Gary Kespohl, at ward3@gocolumbiamo.com or 573-268-7651.

Second, and concerning the same location: it looks like Dave Fenton has started the process for C-P zoning on the rest of that parcel (part of it is already zoned that way), in order to locate his auto repair business there.  This was the presentation Mr. Fenton and his engineer made to our Neighborhood Association previously, which met with general agreement at the time.  The next step will be for him to present actual plans to the planning department for review.

Happy New Year everyone!