Donald and Carol Scurlock will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on December 25. Their son Jerry (Margaret) Scurlock and daughter Joy (Scott) Aylward will hold an open house for them on December 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the Downing Christian Church. They have four grandkids, Jennifer (Brett) Tuttle, John (Sara) Scurlock, Kimberly (Zac) Campbell, and Laura (Quentin) Winters. They also have nine great grandkids and one great great grandkid. They have worked together on their farm north of Downing their entire lives. They enjoyed camping, boating, hunting, and traveling with friends. Carol was famous for her cakes and chocolate chip…

Downing Christian Church has hired Jake Levett to fill the full-time minister position at the church. Jake grew up in Callao, Missouri and said he is a middle child having an older and younger brother. Jake stated that he more or less grew up in the ministry. “The preacher in the Callao Chrisitan Church started a program called “Preacher Boys.” I was one of the very first boys in the program and preached my first sermon at the age of eight. It was probably about three minutes long and out of Revelations. I continued going to classes and took an…

Submitted A brand-new opportunity for young athletes has arrived in Schuyler County: the Schuyler Youth Wrestling Club, led by Head Coach Alex Yedlik, officially launched this season—and the response has been outstanding. The club has 35 wrestlers signed up, marking an impressive start for its first year. Even after registration closed, interest in the program has continued to grow, showing just how excited local families are to bring wrestling back into the community. Practices are underway at the Field House Armory in Kirksville, where athletes are training in the fully equipped combat room. The mix of seasoned wrestlers and first-timers…

By Mike Scott, NEMOnews Media Group NORTHEAST MISSOURI — With winter weather forcing school closures across northeast Missouri, some residents are left wondering why student activities — such as basketball games — sometimes still go on. NEMOnews Media group contacted several area school superintendents who say student safety is always the top priority, even if conditions change throughout the day. “We always make our decisions on what is best and safest for kids,” said Ryan Bergeson, superintendent of Scotland County R-1. “Each situation is unique such as morning, afternoon, and evening temperatures. There are occasions when travel is not safe…

I sat in a very comfortable folding chair and had moved my electric heater from inside the cabin to the deck, where I would spend the evening deer hunting. It had been a quiet evening without seeing a deer, but that didn’t surprise me, as I fully expected the deer not to appear until the last 20 minutes of the day. There were plenty of tracks revealing that deer had been coming out to feed on the harvested cornfield I was hunting over. It was the Alternative Methods whitetail deer season, and unlike this year, a deer was needed to…

Hannibal Regional hosted an official groundbreaking for the new state-of-the-art cancer center to be built in Kirksville on Tuesday, December 2. More than 100 community members joined in the event, celebrating a major milestone in Hannibal Regional’s journey to bring radiation oncology services back to Kirksville. Leading the ceremony, Hannibal Regional President & CEO Todd Ahrens shared, “Today marks a very important step to bringing radiation oncology back to Kirksville, as we break ground on our new, state-of-the art cancer center, which should be open to patients in early spring of 2027.” Joining Mr. Ahrens at the podium was Mr.…