The Index from Hermitage, Missouri • 1

I 7 Exp date Society 7-1-91 and Lowry st 65201 stte Hiat Corner Hitt Columbia MO I Hermitage boys earn district Page 4A Weatherreservolr report 1 DATE Wednesday Feb 20 Thursday Feb 21 Friday Feb 22 Saturday Feb 23 Sunday Feb 24 Monday Feb 25 Tuesday Feb 26 HERMITAGE MO 65668 Phone 417 745-6404 Fax 417 745-2222 USPS 261500 Hickory County and the Lake Pomme de Terre Area" THURSDAY FEBRUARY 28 1991 VOL 106 NO 48 Established 1885 Clothing of murder victim found in Little Niangua River abducted about 10 pm January 19 the abductor apparently took S220 from the store The money was apparently in the bank bag which the company had marked Cash No All the recovered items have been sent to a crime laboratory for analysis Upton said Officers are searching for a heavy-set man with a beard who was seen sitting in a vehicle just a short distance from the site of the abduction during the day of the abduction Composite photos of the suspect have been circulated and several people have been questioned about the murder However Tipton says he still has no firm leads in the case Hickory County Camden County and Missouri Highway Patrol officers are still working cm the case Upton said he had hoped that the rings would be the dues that would lead officers to the murder suspect had hoped to find them in die house or he said just tells us what we already by The jeans were found approximately one quarter mile downstream from the bridge Mrs body was recovered approximately three-quarters of a mile downstream from the bridge Just a few yards upstream from where the body was found under water Tipton and Jones located a bank bag from a Camdenton bank and when they opened it they found Mrs wedding rings class ring and ring The bag was found buried with silt in shallow water Tipton said the area had been searched extensively immediately after the recovery of the body and was searched again two weeks later Dry winter weather had caused the water level to drop more than two feet since the last search of the area Tipton said amazed that we were able to find the items before the river totally covered Tipton said The sheriff theorizes that the items were discarded when the murderer Hickory County Sheriff Ray Tipton inspects rings and clothipg belonging to Trudy Darby who was murdered in eastern County January 19 The items were found in the Little Niangua River last weekend a month after the murder principal under contract for 1991-92 placed Mrs body in the river Officers are still looking for Mrs gold turtleneck sweater and her other tennis shoe Officers are also looking for the murder weapon which they believe to be a 380 semi-automatic pistol A spent cartridge from a 380 semiautomatic weapon was found at the west end of the Erickson Ford Bridge Monday January 21 two days after Mrs Darby was abducted from her work at a convenience store at the intersection of Highways 73 and 54 in western Camden County A small quantity of blood was also found at the scene Tipton theorizes that the murderer shot Mrs Darby once in the head while she was in his car then pulled her from the vehicle and shot her a second time before placing her in the river An autopsy revealed that she died from one of two gunshot wounds to the head The autopsy did not determine whether Mrs Darby had been sexually assaulted When the 42-year-old woman was consideration was for the 1991-92 school year rather than the 1992-93 school year Mr Parnell will be back as Wheatland School Principal next year Roby said One of the matters brought before the board at the February 15 meeting April Creasy was chosen homecoming queen by the student body He commended students who participated in the PCL speech contest and the math relays at Warsaw The FHA hosted a brunch for board members faculty and staff to celebrate FHA week Betty Breshears teacher reported to the board on MSTA D-Day to be held in Jefferson Gty Wednesday March 6 Teachers from all over the state will travel to Jefferson Gty to emphasize the need for adequate educational funding in Missouri Edith Whitby Ann McPheeters Barbara Wooldridge Brenda Rutherford Mel Lampton Arlene Kellner Bill Wood and Lcland Foster will represent the Weaubleau School and several others already under contract for the -1991-92 school year and the board had considered but not approved a proposal to add a year to the contract The Index had incorrectly reported last week that the contract under NEWS BRIEFS Fish attractors planned The US Army Corps of Engineers has announced plans for the annual fish attractor program at Pomme de Terre Lake Volunteers are being sought to help cut and stack cedar trees and to operate boats to place the brush piles in the lake Anyone interested in participating should call the local Corps office Sheppard earns medal Spec Christopher Sheppard has been decorated with the Army achievement medal The medal is awarded to soldiers for meritorious service acts of courage or other outstanding accomplishments He is a cannon crewman at Fort Richardson Alaska Sheppard is the son of Paul and Martha Sheppard of rural Macks Creek The specialist is a 1988 graduate of Macks Creek High School School administrator contract offered space He reported that the Drug Education Grqnt had been approved for $4454 a recent in-service on alternative intervention to help less successful students a CPR class to be held March 18 and 19 the new early childhood special education program required by the state next year and the kindergarten trip to the circus March 20 Secondary Principal Russell reported on student and teacher attendance The January enrollment count showed 159 in grades 7-12 (up 3 from September 1990) He reported that Michelle Webster Brandi Sauer and Jeff Mitchell were inducted into the National Honor Society that the freshmen were judged to have the best decoration for homecoming and that Clothing identified as belonging to Trudy Darby who was murdered January 19 in eastern Hickory County was found last weekend in the same river where her body was recovered Hickory County Sheriff Ray Tip-ton said Monday that a Tunas resident had found a Reebok tennis shoe in the Little Niangua River Saturday just 200 feet downstream from the Erickson Ford Bridge where officers believe the murderer tossed Mrs body into the river Inside the shoe were a pair of panty hose socks and a pair of underpants The daughter identified die shoe as belonging to Mrs Darby Tip-ton and Conservation Agent Cal Jones went back to the area and searched the river area again Sunday and found additional items identified as being the property of the murder victim Jones who wore insulated waders to search the river saw a faint-colored pattern on the bottom of the river and uncovered a pair of Lee designer jeans which the Darby family identified as belonging to Trudy Dar Wheatland Wheatland School District Board of Education President Gene Rob noted this week that erroneous information was published in the last issue of The Index regarding the contract of the school's principal Roby explained that Hugh Parnell is Weaubleau The Weaubleau School District's Board of Education has approved a three-year contract for Superintendent Lcland Foster and voted to offer contracts for the 1991-92 school year to Elementary Principal Don Townsend and Secondary Principal Greg Russell The action was taken at a regular board session February 20 at the school The board also accepted letters of resignation effective at the end of the 1990-91 school year from remedial reading teacher Jennifer Stokes who will be getting married and moving out of the area from music teacher Wendy Moeller who will be working on her master's degree at Harvard and from second grade teacher Mary Etter who will be retiring The board purchased an updated board policy manual from the Missouri School Boards Association The policy manual contains policies required to cover rules and regulations of the local school to follow Federal and State laws The manual will also be used to guide the board in revising the existing board policies and student and faculty handbooks Superintendent Foster reported on agenda items emphasizing the increase in enrollment since the first of the year Official enrollment counts are taken on the last Wednesdays of September and January He explained the January count is typically much lower Last year (1989-90) the September count was 374 and went down to 356 in January he said This year's September count was 355 but went up to 370 in January He reported that Stephens Studio had recommended the only way to prevent further deterioration of colored senior composites was to have them re-photographed in black and white The school's 1976 1986 1987 1988 1989 and 1990 class pictures will be re-photographed in black and white so the pictures can be displayed with other class photos at the school Foster also discussed a desire by some teachers in the Weaubleau building to have student aides as in previous years The board decided to have Mr Russell try to work something out for the remainder of the year with emphasis on establishing criteria for both teachers and student aides to follow Elementary Principal Townsend reported on student and teacher attendance and noted that the January enrollment count showed 211 in grades K-6 up 12 from September 1990 The kindergarten class now has 37 and the sixth grade has 34 Mr Townsend pointed out a need to begin planning for additional classroom in Desert Storm Army Spec Craig Armstrong has deployed to the Middle East with American military forces participating in Operation Desert Storm Desert Storm the largest deployment of US militay forces since Vietnam is in response to invasion of Kuwait and threat to Saudi Arabia Armstrong a unit supply specialist at Warner Barracks Germany is the son of Brad and Shelia Armstrong of rural Urbana He is a 1982 graduate of South Houston High School Houston was a proposal to extend the one-year contract to two years Roby captained and the board voted 3-3 on the issue which was not a majority vote required to extend the current contract to two years from the community have expressed an interest in going Faculty members and community leaders from other communities will also be attending The board approved the use of a school bus for providing transportation for those going from Weaubleau and others from area schools who wish to ride The board approved payment of S40 to the Skyline School to share the costs of recording sessions of the certified board member teleconferences to allow local board members to gain a better understanding of their role and responsibilities The board also discussed the need for a floor scrubbing machine and additional tables and chairs They decid-(Continued to Page 3A) Eyes on statehouse Missouri Attorney General William Webster was In Hermitage Tuesday night to attend a Lincoln Day Banquet sponsored by the Hickory County Republican Central Committee Webster has announced his interest In running for the office of governor Others interested in the position include State Treasurer Wendell Bailey and Secretary of State Roy Blunt Blunt and Bailey both had representatives at the banquet Tuesday night oYates in art show Dennis Yates of Preston has been selected to present his artwork for sale at the 19th Annual National Wildlife Art Show and Sale in Kansas City March 1-3 The art show is the oldest and most prestigious of its kind in America and this year will include works by over 58 renowned wildlife artists from around the United States The National Wildlife Art Show is sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of Ducks Unlimited Sales of original art and prints help the chapter raise money for wetlands habitat restoration and preservation oAbsentee ballots available mice ballots are now available to be voted for the April 2 I and city elections according to County Clerk Barbara Evans ilicalions for absentee ballots may be made in person or by No application may be made by mail after 4:30 pm Wednes-darch 27 No application may be made in person after 4:30 mi the day prior to the election County office is open week days 8 am till 4:30 pm ituidays from 8 am until noon oLeague in Omaha show The Lake Pomme de Terre League is being represented at the Omaha Travel and Sports Show this week Tuesday through Sunday blTour business and resort owners They are Robert Breshears of Breshears Pump Company: Darrell Guinn ol Anglers Resort and Jim i vnch of Hickory Grove Resort Lake League members SUES" ta orfheaoryofLlPornTm vacation land Midwest ravd and plans visit here Rrmesentative Delbert Scott has announced that he will be in --Mondav March 4 (0 ih county constituents JuSet or state problems Scott will be at the Her-ed'E LSf shoon the west side or the square at 9 am and in-.