California-based company CalClean is nearing completion on work to eliminate a contamination of MTBE, a gasoline oxygenate that was found in trace amounts in Kennett’s water lines in 2006. Oil and gasoline were found to have seeped into the soil of the lot neighboring Huck’s Food and Fuel, which used to house the Kennett Conoco Station. It is projected that CalClean is set to finish the job in the allotted 3-5 year estimate set forth by the state five years ago.

KENNETT - Chad Stone’s Sweet Mayhem Bakery & Bistro reopened its doors on Monday for sweets and coffee in its new location on the Kennett square. Later this week they will again be offering lunch, and soon breakfast and brunch options in a newly renovated storefront.

KENNETT - Voting day in Dunklin County began Tuesday with lines before the doors opened at 6:00 am. Those numbers have held steady throughout the day, as the county prepares for at least a 75% turnout.

ADJUNTAS, Puerto Rico — Xavier Valentin Nuñez dropped out of nursing school to take care of his mother following the destruction and mass power outage in the wake of Hurricane Maria. His mother is on dialysis, and when the hurricane hit Nuñez had no choice but to complete his mother’s treatments by hand, often in the dark. 

WATER VALLEY — Music in the Hall, a self-proclaimed “grass roots music video series,” will host a concert in Water Valley on Saturday night. The show will feature music by Thacker Mountain Radio Hour executive director and singer/songwriter Kate Teague, Water Valley instrumentalist Kell Kellum as well as Oxford blues and country artist Anne Freeman.

The early history of Dunklin County was marred by hardship and conflict; officially organized in 1845, the county would soon be at the center of a cultural, geographical and economic divide from the rest of the state by the Mason Dixon line. Following the onslaught of the Civil War just 17 years later, Dunklin County would eventually secede from the State of Missouri and from the Union, briefly becoming the Independent State of Dunklin.

KENNETT - Fred Hall was raised in Kennett during a much different time. His childhood was marked by the extreme poverty of the Great Depression but through hard work and perseverance he went on to eventually accomplish all his goals in life and run his own law practice. 

KENNETT - The 2020 election has brought out a record number of voters in Dunklin County, with early and absentee voting numbers up three times what has been seen in past years. More than 15,000 Dunklin County residents have cast their ballots prior to voting day on Tuesday.

OXFORD — The Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies will co-host an event with Thacker Mountain Radio Hour at 6 p.m. on Sunday at Rowan Oak, once the home of William Faulkner, featuring poetry and music by Southern women of color. The concert is a part of the center’s fourth annual Sarahfest that runs through the month of October.

KENNETT - Ten students graduated from Three Rivers College in Kennett on Friday, receiving certifications from TRC as well as from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) to become certified to work in road construction on Missouri highways through the Heavy Highway Construction Program.

KENNETT - Gwendolyn’s Kitchen is making preparations to open its doors for the busiest time of the year, celebrating its 20-year anniversary this holiday season. For two decades Gwendolyn Johnson has been serving up homemade cheese balls, casseroles and other sweets.

CLARKTON — The No. 1 seeded Gideon volleyball team beat No. 2 seeded Holcomb in the third day of the 2020 Tri-County Conference Tournament Friday to clench its 11th consecutive varsity title. Gideon continued their streak with a win 25-18, 25-15, 25-11 at Clarkton High School, bringing their season record to 26-1-1.

CHAPEL HILL — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received approval over Labor Day weekend to relocate the recently toppled “Silent Sam” statue to a “safe, legal and alternative location,” according to a statement from Chancellor Carol Folt.