Arts/Education
Questions, accusations and calls for resignations cast a pall on the beginning of the new 2025-26 school year. With $3.96 million bleeding from the local school district's cash reserves over the last two years, the taxpayers of the Willow Springs R-IV School District are demanding answers.
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Snow blanketed the ground with heavy, cushiony flakes over Pine Hollow. They were the kind that seemed to hush the whole world. Twelve-year-old Mira pressed her forehead to the frosty window of her grandmother's cabin, tracing slow circles in the fog with her fingertip. It was Christmas Eve, and...
Once upon a time in a land millions of stars away, lived a young teenager, Coral, and her frail grandfather, Saint Nicolous. I know what you may be thinking: Santa lives on Earth in the North Pole! Not to mention, he is the opposite of frail! Now, I’m not going to deny any of that, but this story...
Sammy the Mouse loved Christmas. The lights, presents wrapped in their gleaming paper, the sweet-smelling Christmas tree—and especially the delicious, scrumptious Christmas treats! Sammy lived in a cozy house which was inhabited by a family with three children, who often dropped tantalizing...
Once in a small town called Fearsbrooks, there was a girl named Amelia. She was 7 years old. She was a blonde-haired girl with green eyes. She was definitely her father’s daughter. She loved decorating the Christmas tree and making Christmas cookies with him. One day, her dad woke her up to...
There once was a 10-year-old child named Andrew. He was a boy of average weight. His hair was dark blonde in a wavy style. He had decent grades, played football, and loved to go fishing. He was sitting on the couch one day watching the Chiefs play the Titans when his parents came in a hurry...
Virginia Uphaus, Principal of West Plains Elementary School, has accepted the position of Director of Operations at West Plains R-II schools. This position is the newly titled version of the former Director of Human Resources and Student Services role.
"Mrs. Uphaus represents the very best...
Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) officials announced last week that Crockett W. Oaks III, associate vice chancellor of business support services, will leave the university to assume the full-time role of executive director of the Lincoln School Project, the historic preservation and...
The State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) has announced new members on its Board of Trustees, including the election of Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Chancellor Zora Mulligan.
The announcement was made at SHSMO's annual meeting on Saturday, Nov. 22. The meeting was...
The Missouri Arts Council has chosen the recipients of the 2026 Missouri Arts Awards, the state’s highest honor in the arts.
Among them is West Plains, which has been named the 2026 Creative Community.
“The arts are crucial to the identity and growth of West Plains, the commercial...