Champion News

Bob Clark

Friends of Clarence R. (Bob) Clark applaud the unanimous ruling of the jury in convicting William R. Wolfe Jr. of first-degree murder of their friend on September 21, 2020. The long-awaited trial began on July 22 and concluded midday on the 25th. Guilty on all ten counts. Bob Clark was 84 years old when he was slain by a person he had helped many times over the years. Bob was a genial, good-hearted, interesting person who lived in Brushy Knob for close to fifty years. A friend writes, “Four years waiting, justice served at last. Bob Clark was a seasoned bridge player—a participant in our rotating neighborhood klatch. He was formidable when he played as your opponent and a godsend when he played as your partner. He always knew who had the aces! A kind and generous man, we miss him immensely.” When sentencing happens on October 8h, at 9:00 am, his many friends will have a chance to express to the court the positive part he played in their lives.

One of the great pieces of news coming out of the Ozark Empire Fair happening this week was that our Champion friend, Kaitlyn McConnell, won a blue ribbon for her cornmeal pie. The recipe came from a cookbook produced by the Eddie Mae Herron Center in Pocahontas, Arkansas, one of the many cookbooks Kaitlyn has referenced for her Ozarks Pie Project. She has featured Champion frequently in the nine years she has been posting “Ozarks Alive,” and is always a welcome visitor.

In the old days, school started on the first Monday after Labor Day. It starts earlier these days. Sparky Clark Shannon has been out of school for decades. His birthday is on August 3rd. Right around there somewhere is the big day for an old boy called R.D. and for his good neighbor, Connie’s younger brother. August 5th will be the birthday of Skyline School third grader Genesis Castillo. Caleb Harden is now a Skyline alumnus off to the ninth grade somewhere. His birthday is also on the 5th. Jaxton Harley will have the sixth for this big day. He will be a fifth grader at Skyline. Gina Hollingshad who went to school in Dora then taught third grade there, will have her birthday on the 6th. She is the pretty part of Whetstone which can be seen on stage at 10:00 Friday morning at the Mountain Grove Senior Center. It’s always a great show, followed by a great lunch in the big hall with lots of interesting people. Gina will be celebrated big time at the Vanzant Jam on Thursday. Champions hear good reports of the Ava Senior Center jam too. The barber shop has been a mainstay for musicians for a long time. It is nice to be in a part of the world where music plays such an important role. It is good for us.

The Olympics are another big show this week. Though parts of the opening ceremony seemed to have been widely misinterpreted by many folks here, once it was explained it just became part of the fun with big blue Bacchus. It was a depiction of a raucous party held by the Greeks in Greece where the Olympics started, and not the much-loved Italian painting. Death defying, high flying, scantily clad, dedicated athletes do what seems to be impossible. The work they do to be the best in the world at what they do makes them Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!