As the world transitions from 2023 to 2024, it’s a good time to reflect upon the past year from a local perspective.
Here is a look back at some of the content that appeared in the pages of the Houston Herald in 2023.
JANUARY
•Efforts to construct a new branch of the Texas County Library in Houston receive a boost with a $350,000 award of state tax credits.
•A Hartville man is charged with five felony offenses after allegedly installing a hidden camera inside a women’s restroom at a business in Cabool.
•Houston’s mayor announces he wants a city council member impeached.
•Houston Police Department Chief Brad Evans recaps 2022, a year that saw officers dispatched 9,127 times.
•A winter storm drops 10 inches or more of heavy, wet snow during the final days of the month, causing school closures and widespread power outages.
•Walgreens announces it will keep the iconic Forbes Pharmacy store open in downtown Houston.
FEBRUARY
•City of Houston Fire Department Chief Robbie Smith recaps 2022, when the department responded to a record 172 calls. The total was far higher than in any other year because it included emergency medical responses for the first time.
•Texas County Sheriff Scott Lindsey recaps 2022, outlining response totals and categories, personnel and the rise of fentanyl.
•Houston High School FFA members celebrate National FFA Week, and the Herald publishes its annual FFA special section.
•City of Houston workers destroy an old stone house at Highway 17 and Lilly Avenue to make way for a new park. The property was donated to the city in 2022.
•West Plains Bank and Trust Company hosts a grand opening event at its new location on U.S. 63 in Houston.
MARCH
•City of Houston firefighters conduct a large nighttime prescribed burn at the Tuttle Soccer Complex on the west edge of the Houston Industrial Park on Opportunity Circle off of West Highway 17.
•The Cabool-based STARS Foundation presents an evening of Irish entertainment at the Melba Performing Arts Center in downtown Houston.
•The Piney River Brewing Company in Bucyrus hosts its “12th Aleiversary” event.
•Candidates for various local offices are highlighted in a question-and-answer format.
•Area residents gather for a service in Hiett Gymnasium to provide support for the family of a 9-year-old girl who was killed in a Nashville school shooting.
•Houston’s American Legion Post 41 hosts an annual event honoring military veterans who served in Vietnam.
APRIL
•A feature article highlights Houston High School junior Levi McConnell playing tuba with the 2023 High School Honors Band at Carnegie Hall in New York City in February.
•Christians participate in the annual “Carry the Cross” campaign.
•Viki Narancich is elected mayor of Houston, defeating incumbent Willy Walker.
•Construction begins at the site of the Piney River Museum south of Houston that will highlight the impact of the Big Piney River on the region and its people.
•The Houston High School Scholar Bowl team wins the district championship, adding to the championship won in March.
•High winds destroy a 50 X 100-foot steel barn on cattle farm property off of Highway 137 in Yukon.
•Hundreds of works of art produced by students from eight area high schools are displayed inside the Houston Storm Shelter during the annual Alpha Rho Tau Community Art Show.
•The annual Emmett Kelly Clown Festival takes place in downtown Houston.
•Sharp Shooters Gun & Pawn on Walnut Street closes after 15 years of operation.
MAY
•Houston Herald owner and publisher Brad Gentry sells the business to Isaiah Buse and Buse Media LLC.
•The Houston High School Class of 2023 graduates.
•Built in 1925, the Old Cannery Building on Mill Street is disassembled by Joseph Neal and The Barn Savers.
•The Houston High School softball team wins the Class 2 District 3 championship.
•Houston’s American Legion Post 41 hosts the third annual Armed Forces Appreciation Day at the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce Fairgrounds.
•Texas County Memorial Hospital finalizes the purchase of property on East Highway 32 in Licking that will be converted into a health clinic.
•Houston attorney Brad Eidson is sworn in as Texas County associate circuit judge.
•A crew from Colorado-based HistoriCorps does repair work on the main structure of the Mark Twain National Forest Ranger Station in Houston. Buildings at the station are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
•Thanks to the efforts of many local residents, the Roby Saddle Club resumes operation after being closed for 25 years.
JUNE
•Personnel from the City of Houston Fire Department and several other area departments respond to a big at a church in Mountain Grove.
•Five defendants are indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Texas County and for illegally possessing firearms.
•Feature stories highlight two new businesses in Houston: Ozarks Pet Cremations and Stratagem Hobbies.
•The Houston High School Alumni Football Team beats a team from Salem, Ark., 12-6 in the squad’s first-ever matchup with a team from outside Missouri.
•A new guest column called “Old Paths” is added to the monthly rotation running in the Herald’s Messenger section. It is written by Texas County native Michael Everett Jones, and is historical in nature with a Biblical perspective.
•A feature story highlights the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department and its director, Robbie Mortensen.
•The annual Independence Day Parade takes place on the last Saturday in June in downtown Houston.
JULY
•Julia Sloan is introduced as Houston High School’s new volleyball head coach.
•A rare set of all-male calf triplets thrives on a cattle farm near Houston.
•A feature story highlights an ultra-rare albino bison calf born in a herd on property owned by Hamilton Native Outpost CEO Colt Hamilton.
•The Houston City Council announces the firing of city administrator Mark Campbell.
•The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approves a five-year plan for construction and paving in Texas County totaling nearly $28.8 million.
•Micah Lee is introduced as Houston High School’s new girls basketball head coach.
•Houston resident Barbara White and former Raymondville resident Lyn Wightman (who now lives in Florida) create large murals depicting Emmett Kelly on plywood to be displayed in downtown Houston.
•The Texas County Fair makes its annual run. The event wraps up with the Texas County Fair Board purchasing an 8-acre tract from the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce that includes all the livestock-oriented facilities at the fairgrounds.
AUGUST
•A Beulah man is charged with second-degree murder in relation to a shooting of his brother at the Crow Creek Grill and Bar in Licking.
•A large number of antique cars are sold at an auction at the fairgrounds.
•A local man is reunited with his Houston High School class ring that was lost in Nebraska in the 1980s. A Nebraska woman found it in the pocket of a new raincoat she bought in the 80s, and an acquaintance took steps to find its owner in 2023.
•Cathryn Davis is introduced as the Houston Police Department’s new School Resource Officer for the Houston School District.
•The Houston School District’s second annual “School-a-Palooza” draws a huge crowd to Hiett Gymnasium, as dozens of organizations and businesses offer many types of free items and information.
SEPTEMBER
•Work is completed on a major upgrade to the lighting system at Houston Memorial Airport.
•Texas County firefighting personnel collect money from motorists on U.S. 63 during the annual “Fill the Boot” campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
•The Houston City Council announces the hiring of Lloyd Wells as city administrator.
•The Culpepper and Merriweather Circus makes its second appearance in three years at the fairgrounds.
•The Houston School District launches the Tiger Development Academy (TDA), a program designed to enhance the development of athletes in grades 3 through 6.
•The City of Houston Fire Department solicits bids for its training facility to be constructed next to the water tower on Industrial Drive.
•Huge crowds and 115 vendors gather for the inaugural Not Too Shabby Fall Festival on Grand Avenue downtown.
•Senior Nikaylee Sheppard is crowned the Houston High School 2023 Homecoming Queen.
•Longtime Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper and former Texas County Sheriff Carl Watson dies at age 80.
OCTOBER
•Long-time Houston Education Foundation President Joe Richardson steps down from the position.
•A group of area legislators visit Texas County Memorial Hospital.
•The suspect in the March 2022 murder of his sister-in-law at Eunice is declared incompetent to stand trial by a circuit judge.
•Houston Elementary School hosts the second annual “Careers on Wheels” event, designed to give students a look at various jobs that include the use of vehicles.
•Houston’s boys and girls high school and middle school cross country teams are all winners at the 2023 South Central Association conference championships in Willow Springs.
•The Houston High School volleyball team wins the Class 2 District 8 championship.
•Houston Middle School 7th-grader Lyla Huffman wins the Class 3 girls race in the Missouri Middle School State Championships at Lucas Oil Speedway Wheatland.
•A fire on a utility pole causes power outages around Houston.
NOVEMBER
•The Houston High School Constitution Project team wins the state championship.
•Kevin Buck is introduced as Houston’s new economic development director.
•An article highlights the importance of the U.S. military’s DD Form 214 that is presented to all members of each branch when they’re discharged.
•The Houston School District hosts its annual tribute to U.S. military veterans.
•Tuttle Utility Gas and Houston Elementary School team up for a drive that collects dozens of coats and hoodies for young students.
•A feature story outlines the efforts of Huggins resident Mark Bengtson, who takes Kunuekune piglets to local nursing homes for “pig therapy” sessions with elderly residents.
•A house explodes in Licking due to an open propane gas valve. Two men living there survive.
DECEMBER
•A big crowd attends the annual Christmas Parade in downtown Houston. The City of Houston Fire Department unveils its huge float featuring Santa in his sleigh being drawn by his eight reindeer.
•Several holiday-themed events take place on Dec. 9, including the gigantic Not Too Shabby Market event at the fairgrounds.
•Stratagem Hobbies LLC in Houston begins weekly gatherings for U.S. military veterans featuring free snacks and refreshments, free model cars (that can be assembled on site), informative brochures and the chance to gather and play games and enjoy fellowship.
•The annual “Shop with a Hero” program concludes with close to 250 kids from low-income living situations in Texas County enjoying a $100 shopping spree at Walmart assisted by local law enforcement officers and various first-responders.
•The local “Share Your Christmas” campaign concludes its 36th year by assisting children from low-income families in Texas County, as well as close to 50 adult residents of the Houston Housing Authority’s Hamrick Terrace.
•Texas County Memorial Hospital honors employees during its 41st annual awards and recognition event.
