The Cherryvale Historical Museum board has announced that the museum will move to a new building in the new year. In January, board members and volunteers will begin transitioning from the current location, 215 E. Fourth St. in Cherryvale, to the new building at 322 E. Main, the former First Baptist Church and Fellowship Hall. The church congregation had grown small, and without a permanent pastor, the remaining members decided that it was time to offer the structure to another nonprofit group. The museum board saw this as an opportunity to bring the museum onto Main Street in a more visible and larger location, opposite the public library and Lincoln Elementary School. The museum board said in a prepared statement that it looks forward to preserving the 1902 historic Baptist Church building to honor past and future generations. The Cherryvale Museum began in 1964 with the donation of the glass and china collection from the estate of Opal Conduitte Evans, a former Cherryvale citizen. In 1964, the building on East Fourth Street had become vacant as Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. upgraded from a bank of phone operators at switchboards to a modern dial headquarters on East Main Street. Volunteers moved the museum into the 1,700-square-foot building in 1964 and board members quickly began acquiring historical items from the first 100 years of Cherryvale’s history. Since the museum’s beginnings, the building has reached capacity, with display cases and file drawers filled to the point that new items have had to be limited.
Source: Parsons Sun

Sunday marked the ninth year that Parsons police provided a little Christmas cheer to the community with its annual Shop With a Cop program. The Parsons Police Department helped 30 children from the community shop for Christmas. The partnership with USD 503 identifies children and families in need. The continued support from The Duke Mason Band, which does a yearly Christmas concert and donates the proceeds to the program, along with the personal donations from community members provided the means of helping. The department also gets donations yearly from St. Vincent de Paul and has a great partnership with Walmart for its donations and support for the program. “We are gearing up for next year, which will mark the 10th year the department has been able to help families and children of the community,” Police Chief Robert Spinks said. “This program is one of the most important opportunities that we get to really reach out and interact with children of the community in a truly positive manner. This really helps the public’s perception of law enforcement as well as connecting officers with the future of our community. It’s like planting seeds of positivity and we just wait to see them grow a little each year.” The department also partners with other agencies to help with the shopping event. “This has become so large it is too much for just our staff to handle alone,” according to Deputy Chief Dennis Dodd.
Source: Parsons Sun