CON V ERGING CA MPUS & COMMUNIT Y
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 112, NO. 24
@THEMISSOURIAN
Students help build new visitors center for Mozingo ANNA BAILEY News Reporter | @AmBailey16
Students at the Northwest Technical School have been working on building a visitors center at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park, after the Maryville City Council approved the project in August. In August, Mozingo Lake Recreation Park earned a community betterment grant of $310,000 that has allowed the park to begin building a visitors center. Northwest Technical School Building Trades Instructor Jay Drake has been bringing his students to the site during class to work on the project since the beginning of the school year. Drake said this project has been a great hands-on opportunity for his students. “There is no better way to get hands-on experience than actually doing the work themselves,” Drake said. “Right now they have probably done 90-95% of the work that’s done at the job site right now.” Mozingo Lake Recreation Park has been working out of its information booth. In this single-roomed building, information about any park activity can be found as well as concessions and boating passes. This is also where visitors pay for any park booking they have bought or, if a staff member is not present, they can use the “Pay Here” drop box. Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Director Jordyn Greenhaw said the information booth does not provide the needed space for all the information and supplies it holds. She said the visitors center will give the park a much needed space for different needs. “Prior to this visitors center our operations of the park site have been run by our information booth. It’s like this little shack that is in the middle of the road at Mozingo, and there is barely room for a countertop and a desk,” Greenhaw said. “So this is going to be a huge benefit as far as our operations go and then just the customers’ experience coming into the park.” Once the visitors center is built, it will be the new location for any information visitors need about the activities they may be doing while at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park. The new building will also include a retail area for visitors. There is continual progress for the new building. As of now, it has been completely closed in. Within the next couple of weeks, the electrical, plumbing and roof will be worked on. Greenhaw said in the next couple of weeks they should have a good idea of how much progress they have made and what is left to be done.
Fire chief talks updated bans, regulations on burning waste
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HANNAH CLAYWELL News Editor | @Hannah_9504
pring is almost here, which means warmer weather and people are beginning to burn more leaves and nd yard waste. Burning regulations and d burn bans have been popping up in Maryville, ryville, the last one being March 3. Last year at the Feb. 27 Maryville City Council meeting, an ordinance about open burning ng policies was amended. Before the amendment, t, there were three open burning periods from April pril 1 to April 14, July 17 to July 31 and Oct. 24 to Nov. 6 and now open burning is allowed year round. nd. This change was due to the city dump closing a while before the amendment. Maryville Fire Chief Jace Pine said because ause of the city dump closing, it made it harder for people to get rid of yard waste and the three open n burning periods were no longer enough. “So we took that opportunity to movee away from the open burn period and so now, currenturrently in the city of Maryville, you can burn whenever you need,” Pine said. “There are a couplee of parameters in place.” Those parameters include a diameter off 16 feet and height restriction of 4 feet and the need ed for a source of extinguishment close by, which can include a hose, fire extinguisher or a bucket of sand or dirt. Someone also has to be supervising the fire until it is put out completely, and it has to be at least 25 feet away from any structures. Pine said generally burn bans follow the red flag warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Anytime the National Weather er Service issues a warning stating there is low ow humidity or increased winds that increase fire re danger, a burn ban will follow closely behind.. There doesn’t have to be a red flag warning for a burn ban to be called. “Sometimes the National Weather Service ce won’t hit that just right,” Pine said. “You know theyy might forecast something, but the actual ground conditions here are a little different, so myself and the city manager will work together and decidee whenever the ban needs to be put in place.” The bans usually start around 5 a.m. to o 6 a.m. and run until the sun goes down. Pine said aid the fire department has not run into any problems oblems with people not following the burn bans. ns. The Maryville Police Department officers are the he ones who keep an eye out for anyone possiblyy disregarding the bans. If someone is caught breaking the burn rn ban there is a chance for a fine of up to $500 and d a ticket for illegal burning from the MPD. The burn bans only encompass the city ity of Maryville proper, so anything outside of thee city limits does not have to follow the bans. Pine said the main worry about people burnrning yard waste or other materials is the fire spreading to structures.
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