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The following traffic offenses
were recorded in Marion County.
Marsha A. Kelley, Monroe City,
speeding 16+; Nickolas D. Reeves,
Hannibal, speeding +20, no seat
belt; Nadine L Davis, Kansas City,
Mo., speeding 16+; Ryan Matthew
Waters, Hannibal, no seat belt;
Heather Ashley Pfaff, Hannibal,
no seat belt; Brian Keith Clemons,
Martelle, Iowa, speeding 20+;
Lavell D. Dickerson, Palmyra, no
seat belt, failed to maintain financial
responsibility; Jacqueline L.
Mundell, Hannibal, speeding 16+,
no seat belt; Deborah Sue Hall,
Kalona, Iowa, speeding, no seat
belt; Michael P. Baldwin, Two
Rivers, Wis., speeding; Jeremiah
D. Waelder, New London, excessive
vision reducing material; John
E. Nordyke, Hannibal, speeding;
Aimie Lynn Essig, Hannibal, excessive
reducing material; David
E. Beilsmith, Hannibal, no seat
belt; Christina D. Ogden, Hannibal,
failed to provide proof of inspection;
Jake Ryan Mudd, Hannibal,
no seat belt; Troy Adam Stone,
Brighton, Ill., commercial vehicle
operation with no seat belt, bad
brakes; Rex K. Ramsey, Milton,
Ill., motor carrier without medical
certificate; Wentric D. Williams II,
Hannibal, failed to register; Emily
E. Ver Meer, Hannibal, failure to
register; Sharon Louise Murphy,
Hannibal, failed to properly secure
child, no seat belt; Dannie Ray
Overton, Steele, Mo., commercial
motor vehicle without seat belt;
Coty Steven Boggs, Hannibal, failure
to register; Brittany L. Martinez
Synchez, Hannibal, failed to
display plates, no seat belt; Shawna
Louise Bowen, Hannibal, no title
on vehicle, no seat belt; Nicole M.
Gilker, Hannibal, no seat belt; Carmen
Denise Christal, New London,
failure to register; Knox Alan Gee,
Mount Vernon, Ill., speeding; Mark
J. Roettger, Troy, speeding; Robert
Lee Tippen, Imperial, speeding;
Daniel S. Androff, Decatur, Ill.,
speeding; Zachery Joseph Pratt,
Minneapolis, Minn., speeding; Caleb
William Gottman, Palmyra, no
seat belt; Randall Eugene Klocke,
Ewing, speeding 20+; Dale Lawrence
Harper, Kahoka, Mo., speeding
20+; Rebecca S. Lindsey, St.
George, Kan., speeding 20+; Ashley
Bradley, St. Louis, speeding 16+;
Carla Faye Humphrey, Hannibal,
failed to display plates, no fi nancial
responsibility; Lindsey M.
Lillard, Palmyra, speeding; Hope
M. Markley, Palmyra, no seat belt;
Michelle M. Denish, Maywood,
speeding; Mark L. Adams, Lubbock,
Texas, speeding 20+; Randy
D. McReynolds, Hannibal, failed
to stop at railroad track, failed to
register, no financial responsibility;
Eric M. Deverger, Palmyra, no
seat belt; Brandon Nicholas Klunder,
Albany, Ga., speeding; Daniel
Ray Mitchell, Springfield, La.,
speeding, no seat belt; Elijah T.
Travis Jr., Kentwood, La., no seat
belt; Gregory D. Griffin, Quincy,
Ill., failed to register commercial
vehicle, operated as interstate vehicle
without proper license; Robert
Michael Trower, Palmyra, did not
use seat belt in commercial vehicle;
Joseph R. Kendrick, Palmyra,
failure to register; Chad J. Szarka,
Palmyra, speeding; Cameron C.
Berry, Macon, speeding; Amanda
R. Brown, Hannibal, no seat belt;
Maranda Hope Lain, Hannibal,
no seat belt; Anthony E. Cichowicz,
Chicago Ridge, Ill., speeding;
Joshua S. Knouse, Macon, no financial responsibility; Dennie M.
Lewellen, New London, no seat
belt; Wendy Sue Hale, Columbia,
speeding; Kevin Kenneth Dromey,
Taylor, speeding; Jerico Lim Chua,
Ruskin, Fl., speeding 16+, failed
to properly secure child; Whitcomb
Steve Howell III, Palmyra,
speeding; Lowell Douglas Raker
Jr., Crawfordville, Fl., speeding;
Deseray S. Shafer, Monroe
City, no seat belt; Tammy L. Ratliff,
Shelbina, speeding; Kelly S.
Billingsley, Shelbina, speeding;
Travis Eugene Clay, Hannibal,
speeding 16+, no seat belt; Tracy
L. Beck, Florissant, speeding; Jason
Nathaniel Haley, St. Louis,
drove commercial vehicle without
seat belt; Robert J. Glover, Ewing,
failed to stop at sign; Nathaniel
Douglas Cramsey, Canton, Mo.,
excessive vision reduction; Paul
Stephen Sullivan, Clarence, Mo.,
speeding, no seat belt; Amanda
Sue Goodwin, Quincy, Ill., speeding
16+; Emily L. Ellerbrock,
Palmyra, speeding; Lester Craig
Corum, Palmyra, failed to stop
for sign; Ian Nathaniel Beck, Des
Moines, Iowa, speeding; Matthew
James Halbolm, Urbana, Iowa,
speeding; Sarah G. Miles, Monroe
City, speeding; Bobby Lavon Bonner,
Hannibal, failed to register;
Brian K. Durand, Hannibal, failed
to register; Derek Scott McDonald,
Hannibal, excessive vision
reducing material; William Eugene
Miles, Hannibal, failed to register;
James Lee Abell, Ewing, failed
to display plates; Patrick Stephan
Montgomery, Hannibal, speeding;
Earl David Martin, Barnett, speeding;
James R. Thompson, Wentzville,
speeding 16+; Donald N.
Storgaard, Ft. Meyers Beach, Fl.,
speeding 16+; James M. Tourney,
Quincy, Ill., speeding 16+; Cynthia
Huffman Slater, LaGrange, Mo.,
speeding; Nichol Danielle Riley,
Eldridge, Iowa, speeding; Kendra
Lanae Ragar, Palmyra, speeding;
Amanda Louise Perry, Palmyra,
speeding; Terry Wayne Tesson,
Monroe City, speeding 16+; Irma
K. Weber, Pine, Ariz., speeding;
Carl V. Luehman, Granite City, Ill.,
speeding 16+; Arlene Noboa, Cape
Coral, Fl., speeding; Annette Marie
Sydnor, St. Charles, speeding;
Fabiouns S. Myles, Osceola, Ark.,
speeding.

Circuit Court
James A. Ratliff, DWI fi rst offense,
suspended imposition of
sentence, two years of probation,
20 hours community service, complete
a SATOP program, attend
Victim Impact Panel (VIP), pay
$100 restitution, court costs;
Amy M. Leebold, DWI first
offense, suspended imposition of
sentence, two years private probation,
40 hours community service,
SATOP program, Victim Impact
Panel, $100 restitution, court
costs;
Brad E. Renier, DWI first offense,
six months in jail suspended
if two years private probation
completed, 40 hours community
service, $250 fine, $100 restitution,
court costs;
James Johnson, DWI first offense,
90 days in county jail suspended
with two years private probation,
$250 fine, SATOP program,
VIP, $100 restitution, court costs;
Jordan Covington, possession of
misdemeanor marijuana, 90 days
in county jail suspended with two
years private probation, 40 hours
community service, $100 restitution,
court costs;
Wesley E. Miller, possession of
misdemeanor marijuana, 90 days
in county jail suspended with two
years private probation, 20 hours
of community service, $500 fine,
$100 restitution, court costs;
Melvin Littlejohn, domestic
assault misdemeanor, one year in
county jail suspended with two
years probation, restitution to victim,
counseling and treatment if
required by probation officer, $100
restitution, court costs.

Civil Court
Credigy Receivables Inc. V
William J. Stover, $4.417.14 plus
interest and court costs;
Northeast Community Action
Corp. V Robert Riney, $2,438 plus
court costs and interest;
Asset Acceptance LLC V Amy
Noble, $1,136.51 plus court costs.   2878 090603 6/3/2009 cnw

Shannon Maas was indicted on
federal charges of receipt and possession
child pornography, Acting
United States Attorney Michael W.
Reap announced today.

Maas, 31, Palmyra, MO, was
indicted by a federal grand jury
on one felony count of receipt of
child pornography and two felony
counts of possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that
Maas received child pornography
over the Internet and possessed
child pornography on two different
computers.

If convicted, receipt of child
pornography carries a maximum
penalty of twenty years in prison
and/or fines up to $250,000 and
possession of child pornography
carries a maximum penalty of ten
years in prison and/or fines up to
$250,000.

This case is brought as part
of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide
initiative to combat the
growing epidemic of child sexual
exploitation and abuse launched
in May 2006 by the Department
of Justice. Led by United States
Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal
Division’s Child Exploitation
and Obscenity Section (CEOS),
Project Safe Childhood marshals
federal, state and local resources
to better locate, apprehend and
prosecute individuals who exploit
children via the Internet, as well as
to identify and rescue victims. For
more information about Project
Safe Childhood, please visit www.
projectsafechildhood.gov.

Reap commended the work on
the case the Palmyra Police Department,
the Missouri Internet
Crimes Against Children (ICAC)
and the Regional Computer Crimes
Education and Enforcement Group
(RCCEEG); and Assistant United
States Attorney Tiffany Becker,
who is handling the case for the
U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment
are merely accusations,
and each defendant is presumed
innocent until and unless proven
guilty.   2879 090603 6/3/2009 cnw

A Monroe City woman was sentenced to serve five years probation on
three federal charges of bank fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s office of the Eastern District of Missouri said
Stephanie K. O’Bryan, was sentenced May 22. She had pled guilty in
March to charges of depositing and cashing of forged company checks
on her previous employer, Northeast Independent Living Service of
Hannibal between September 2003 and January 2007. The Department
of Justice reported that O’Bryan had engaged in a scheme in which she
forged signatures on checks drawn on NEILS’ bank account and then
deposited some of the checks into her own bank accounts at Perry State
Bank and cashed other forged checks.

O’Bryan could have faced a maximum penalty of 30 years of prison
and/or fines and up to $1,000,000 per count.   2881 090603 6/3/2009 cnw

The following offenses were recorded
in Monroe County.

John D. Reed, Fulton, seat belt
violation, $10; Nathan S. Williams,
Columbia, 71, $80.50; Charles R.
Everhart, Paris, 73, $80.50; Eric L.
Ward, Centralia, 69, $80.50; Ryan
D. Nowlin, Columbia, possession
of alcohol as a minor, suspended
imposition of sentence and placed
on one year private probation and
to complete 12 hours community
service; Joshua A. Duncan, Hallsville,
minor visibly intoxicated,
suspended imposition of sentence,
one year private probation, 12
hours community service; Jeffrey
D. Hartley, Columbia, minor visibly
intoxicated, suspended imposition
of sentence and placed on one
year of private probation, 12 hours
community service; Tanner R. Burton,
Hallsville, supplying liquor to
a minor, suspended imposition of
sentence, one year private probation,
30 hours community service;
Jayme L. Redmon, Columbia, 56 in
45, $80.50, driving without a valid
drivers license, $100.50; Robert G.
Huffman, Center, driving without
a valid drivers license, $200.50;
Dennis J. Lococo, St. Charles, 68,
$80.50; John H. Brucker, Paris,
driving while license revoked, 10
days in county jail.

Civil Court
Chase Bank USA V Beverly A.
Mojzis, $7,187.81 plus court costs
and interest;
Beneficial Missouri Inc. V Jason
Freeman, $3,452.94 plus court
costs and interest.   2880 090603 6/3/2009 cnw

Granted, there is not a single
drop of Monroe County blood in
my veins, but my children’s heritage
goes back to 1830 and the
creation of Little Dixie, or as it’s
known to their generation, Mark
Twain Country. Once I discovered
the genealogy of my in-laws I was
hooked on Monroe County history.

In the past seven years I’ve
gone through three computers, two
pair of eyeglasses, and spent more
hours than I care to count pouring
over microfilm and historical documents.

This “crash course” in the
history of Monroe and surrounding
counties has perhaps given me
a different perspective than many
natives.

In the process, I’ve learned
some great and rather obvious
truths. Change is inevitable. Life
is uncertain…it doesn’t come with
guarantees. Each generation is so
busy living in the present that they
fail to recognize the importance of
their contribution to the history of
tomorrow.

I’ve also learned that each generation
of Monroe County residents
has found ways to meet the challenge
of change and preserve the
basic peace and serenity of life that
has characterized this area since
the pioneers first settled the banks
of the Salt River. Events that some
in each generation have seen as an
end to their way of life, others view
as a new beginning. Will agriculture,
industry, tourism, or just the
lure of rural Missouri’s small-town
life-style be the defining factor for
the next generation?

When Monroe County was
formed from Ralls in 1831, the
federal government was the largest
single landowner in both counties.
For more than a decade a few pioneer
families had begun to settle
along the banks of the Salt River
where game and timber seemed
like endless resources and the
fertile land could be cultivated to
support their families. As the country’s
growing population moved
west across the Mississippi River
the land was sold and by the 1880s
the population of Monroe County
reached 22,000. Today it is less
than half that number and the Federal
government is once again the
largest single landowner.

In the beginning, two groups of
pioneers came to Monroe County,
primarily from Kentucky and other
southern states. For the young
farmer it was an opportunity to
buy cheap fertile land and raise a
family. For others the land was an
investment in the growth potential
of the area. From the vantage point
of historical perspective, it seems
to me as if that conflict has never
been resolved.

The early trails across Monroe
County brought the first wave of
tourists. Hundreds if not thousands
of immigrants passed through on
their way to the Oregon and Santa
Fe trailheads on the Missouri
River and fortune hunters passed
through on their way to the gold
fields. Way stations, inns and trading
posts were built along the trails
to accommodate the travelers. Between
1831 and 1861 there were
14 post offices established in Monroe
County.

The Civil War intervened and
growth was halted for a time. By
then the Hannibal & St. Joseph
railroad was a major form of
transportation for passengers and
freight. In the 1870s the second
railroad crossed Monroe County
from southwest to northeast. Monroe
City grew into a major trade
and shipping center; other towns
sprang up around depots along the
rails. In 1900 there were 24 post offices in Monroe County. By 1920,
with the improvement of roads and
the beginning of a decline in population,
there were only 10. Today
there are five.

Before the automobile gave the
population mobility travelers and
their teams were welcome guests
at several large hotels in both Paris
and Monroe City. Mineral springs
were commercialized into popular
resort hotels at Harris Springs
hear Middle Grove in southwestern
Monroe County and Spalding
Springs near the Salt River in Ralls
County.

In the 1880s and 1890s real estate
agents in Monroe City tried to
lure new residents and prospective
business owners to the area. The
lack of an ample supply of fresh
water was a deterrent to many businesses
that considered locating in
the area. Hannibal outgrew Monroe
City as a retail center and although
a few tried to encourage local manufacturing
nothing took hold until
Henderson Produce Company developed
the poultry industry after
1904. It would be the largest employer
in Monroe County until the
advent of the die-casting industry
in the late 1950s.

During World War I every tillable
inch of Monroe County soil
was apparently cleared and farmed
to help feed our soldiers and the
world. A popular song of the time
asked, “How you gonna keep ‘em
down on the farm after they’ve
seen Paree?” And the lyricist didn’t
mean Paris, Missouri.

After the war the automobile
industry boomed. Roads were
improved and highways that ran
pretty much parallel to the railroad
routes drew more retail business
out of Monroe County than into
it. Just as travelers on the old trails
had needed lodging, the motoring
public opened up an opportunity
for a few motels to serve tourists.

The large-scale recreational
benefits of the Salt River were first
established when Mark Twain State
Park at Florida opened Aug. 20,
1924. During the Great Depression
years the facilities were expanded
and improved by a unit of President
Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation
Corps. Two years later the
editor of the Monroe County Appeal
in Paris, H. J. “Jack” Blanton
suggested that a dam could be built
on the Salt River to create a great
lake.

Between 1900 and 1960 the
population of Monroe County
dropped from 19,716 to 10,688.
World War II gave the returning
soldiers educational and employment
opportunities that pulled
them away from farming. The war
also halted domestic programs and
even though a dam on the Salt River
at Joanna in Ralls County was
first put before Congress in 1935, it
was not until 1962 that legislation
was passed to create a multi-purpose
lake and reservoir. Another 22
years passed before the dedication
of Cannon Dam and Mark Twain
Lake.

In the 1960s officials said the
government would be buying land
from about 400 farmers to build a
multi-purpose dam that would create
flood control for the Mississippi
and Lower Salt Rivers. It would
also generate hydro-electric power,
develop recreational and conservation
opportunities, and bring safe
usable water to the area.

Those who supported the multimillion
dollar project claimed it
would draw up to three million
visitors a year to Monroe and Ralls
Counties. They envisioned a substantial
growth in population and
business that would bring an economic
boom to all of northeast
Missouri. Many of the tourist attractions
that were proposed never
got off the ground. Some, but not
all, of the business ventures that
sprang up because the lake was
built no longer exist. Population
continues to decline not only in
Monroe and Ralls, but all of rural
northeast Missouri as the nation
becomes more urbanized.

The opposition did not want to
relinquish their land and their way
of life along the Salt River that in
many cases had served their families
well for a century or more.

Farm practices changed dramatically
across the country during
the time Cannon Dam and Mark
Twain Lake were being built. With
or without the dam, change was
coming.

Today nearly one in three Monroe
County residents is under the
age of 25. They do not remember
what life was like before the creation
of Mark Twain Lake. Once
again we are faced with an economic
depression that is being
compared to that of the Great Depression.

The fate of the die-casting
industry that provided a true industrial
base in Monroe County for
half a century seems to have been
sealed by the economic downturn
of the auto industry.

As the tourist season 2009
opens on Memorial Day weekend
the campgrounds at Mark Twain
Lake are once again filled. The out-of-area hunters that came in the
spring will be back in the fall. The
wave of new settlers that bought
property in Lake Country many
not always be visible to long-time
residents, but they are here.

The past quarter century of
Monroe County’s history may in
fact be one of the most significant
and least appreciated by the generation
who now will determine her
future. How they meet that challenge
remains to be seen.

Monroe County history by Nancy Stone   2886 090603 6/3/2009 his

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