VOL 4 ISSUE 72

LC RECORD
INSIDE

WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

COMMNITY GIVE BACK MUSIC

FESTIVAL
SEE PAGE 4
Wall of Honor
Five recipients selected as this year’s honorees
STEVE SMITH
SSMITH@LACLEDERECORD.COM
This year’s honorees for Lebanon’s
Wall of Honor have been announced.
They will be recognized at the 21st
annualWall of Honor Banquet begin-
ning at 5:15 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Cowan
Civic Center.
The honors are given annually by
2022 CELEBRATION IN THE OZARKS
the Wall of Honor Committee, which
SEE PAGE 4 operates under the Lebanon Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Those being honored this year are
Don Day, Eddie Smith, Don Brenton,
Ramona Lehman and Mike Davis.
Don Day hosts a bluegrass festival
on his farm. The first festival was held
July 4-5, 1986 with six local bands
and a total of eight campers. In 1990,
the Day family built a restroom and
shower building and began adding
rows of electric pedestals for the
growing camper crowd, also adding
a large concession building. In 1992
they started a second festival set for
the third week of September. Mark,
his wife Bobbie Sue and their children
and grandchildren also work at the
event. This year is the 31st annual
Fall Festival.
Eddie Smith graduated with the
Lebanon class of 1962 and has con-
tinued to be a part of the Lebanon
community, now leading the Alumni
Association “with dreams and ideas
the inspire a sense of Yellow Jacket
pride.” Eddie worked in retail at Bur-
ley’s before opening his own store,
Eddie’s for Men. He con-
tinued in retail when he
moved to Springfield.
He helped produce the Lebanon Bi-
centennial play, served on Lebanon’s
Community Betterment and Chamber
of Commerce and chaired the Christ-
mas parade for many years. He was
a Miss America Pageant field director
and Wesley Church worship leader.
More recently he formed the LHS
Alumni Association and had the vi-
sion and initial design for the Alumni
Plaza. Smith spearheaded the 150th
anniversary celebration of Lebanon
public schools.
Don Brenton, also known as “Mr.
B,” is a fourth generation educator
who came to Lebanon in 1976 to
begin his teaching career as a high
school band director. During his
40 years with Lebanon schools, he
also taught elementary music,
coached softball, drove
a bus, and refereed bas-
ketball.
See ‘WALL’/ page A5

CONWAY COMMUNITY DAYS

SEE PAGES 6-8

INDEX
A LOOK BACK...............Page A5
CALENDAR....................Page A2
CLASSIFIEDS.......Pages B2-B3
COMICS ........................Page B5
FAITH...................Page B5
SPORTS ..................Page A5

DEATHS
Donita Price
Cole David Coffman
Pictured left to right: Don Day, Eddie Smith,
Shadel’s Colonial/Lebanon
Ramona Lehman, Mike Davis and Don Brenton
Donna Ann Willhite
Holman-Howe/Lebanon
Anna “Irene’’ (Newell)
Shelton
Memorial Chapel/Waynesville Homicide
suspect
Oren W. McCaslin
Cantlon-Otterness & Viets/

in custody
Buffalo
John Warren Yates
Greenlawn East/Springfield
SHELBY ATKISON
SHELBY@LACLEDERECORD.COM
Late Thursday eve-
ning, Sept. 1, Camden
www.holmanhowe.com County Sheriff’s Depu-
ties received word from
the Laclede County
See Pages A2 - A4
Sheriff’s Office that they
had Jordan Fitzgerald
Jones, 32, of Camdenton,
in custody.

NEWS TIPS?

Arch project coming to Downtown

contact our news staff

417-717-TIPS
editor@laclederecord.com
• all tips must include
contact phone number
@LacledeCountyRecord
@lacledenews
ONE DOLLAR
STEVE SMITH
SSMITH@LACLEDERECORD.COM
Downtown Lebanon is working on a major
addition designed to enhance the business
area.
Cynthia Coffman, executive director of the
Downtown Business District explained how
the new arches over Commercial Street at
Jefferson would attract visitors to Lebanon.
“The Downtown Lebanon gateway arches
will provide a focal point and memorable
landmark in the heart of our community,”
she said. “Thousands of cars and trucks travel
Highway 5 through the business district ev-
ery day, but many drivers never look left or
right and notice Commercial Street. Arches
are designed to attract the eye and create an
inviting space that people are curious to ex-
plore. The arches also will help visitors and
locals find their way to restaurants, shopping,
and services. Imagine being able to say, “Drive
down Jefferson till you see the arches that say
Downtown Lebanon, then turn on our main
street and stay awhile.”  Jones’ vehicle, a late
She said the gateway span of the planned
arch is 46 feet.
The arch has a 3’ archway with mesh in-
fill and 24” letters,  she said. There will be
uplighting on the words “Lebanon” and
“Downtown.” On each end of the arch there is
a structurally designed light pole to match the
existing street lights, Coffman said. At the base
of each will be a brick planter with decorative
landscaping.
The idea for the arches originated before the
pandemic when Downtown Business District
Board Member Melody Allen  went on a family
trip to Lawrenceburg, Ind.
“She and her family saw an arch in that
downtown and she said the minute they saw
it, they turned around and took pictures. She
thought this would be a really interesting thing
to do in Lebanon to mark where the downtown
business district is. She brought back pictures
and shared them with (City Administrator)
Mike Schumacher, and other people with the Jordan Fitzgerald Jones
city,” Coffman said. 
At that point, Allen began doing research and According to a press
release, Jones was want-
found the people in Indiana were very helpful
with information, according to Coffman. ed by the Camden Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Office for the
“They offered any sort of support that we
might need,” she said. “Melody said her feel- Tuesday night homicide
of 43-year-old Michael
ing was if they can do it, we can do it too.” 
The pandemic showed down the process S Varney at his home
north of Camdenton.
some. Discussion picked up at some point
last year. Camden County Sher-
iff’s Deputies responded
It was discussed throughout the summer
of 2021. August 2021 is when the city offered to Laclede County where
Jones was turned over to
financial help for the project if downtown
wanted to pursue it. their custody.
“It looks like that is when it started to become
more serious, and go from concept to an actu- 1990s teal Chevrolet
pickup truck, was also
al plan,” Coffmansaid. In late 2021, the City
Council approved a task force to get someone impounded at that time.
Jones is currently be-
to work on the designs. Olsson Studio was se-
lected for the job and their first drawings were ing held at the Camden
County Adult Detention
circulated in March.
Discussion about where to put the arches Facility awaiting formal
charges from the Cam-
began in mid March and the first rendering
showed the arches taking up eight parking den County Prosecuting
Attorney’s Office.
spaces.
See ‘ARCHES’/ page A5 See ‘SUSPECT’/ page A5