HATCHERY RIDGE TRAIL BREAKS GROUND AT OSAGE BEACH CITY PARK
Osage Beach broke ground November 14, 2025 on the Hatchery Ridge Trail, an almost three-mile single-track loop for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. The project is a partnership between the City of Osage Beach, Missouri State Parks, and Magic Dragon Trails. Missouri State Representative Jeff Vernetti, Missouri State Parks personnel, Osage Beach Mayor Michael Harmison, and Aldermen Phyllis Marose, Justin Hoffman, and Becca Collins attended the ceremony along with numerous trail enthusiasts.
Construction will be completed by Osage Beach Parks & Recreation staff, and Magic Dragon Trails volunteers. Volunteer Days this winter and spring will help keep the project on track for a Memorial Day weekend opening.
50 YEARS OF RESCUE: DOGWOOD ANNOUNCES MILESTONE EVENTS
Dogwood Animal Shelter is celebrating a remarkable milestone—50 years of rescuing, healing, and rehoming the community’s most vulnerable animals. What began as one person’s vision has grown into a vital nonprofit caring for hundreds of pets each year, relying entirely on community generosity.
As part of a year-long anniversary celebration, the shelter will host a ribbon cutting in February, participate in the Dogwood Parade in April, and welcome the public to a special on-site celebration on May 2, 2026. A reduced-cost spay/neuter event and a spring vaccine clinic will also be offered to support local pet owners. In October, the shelter will host a festive masquerade ball.
To help sustain its mission amid rising operational costs, Dogwood is introducing Legacy Sponsorships for businesses and individuals committed to supporting the next 50 years of lifesaving work.
COLUMBIA POOL AND SPA ANNOUNCES LAKE LOCATION
Columbia Pool and Spa plans to open its Lake location in Spring 2026. This will be the company’s second location. Owner Craig Hurst says opening the new location was a natural move after countless years of traveling to the Lake for business.
“Columbia Pool and Spa has done a substantial amount of both residential and commercial pool business at the Lake for many years, so opening another location just made sense. We believe the potential at the Lake for our products – swimming pools, hot tubs, swim spas, saunas, and cold plunges – is virtually unlimited. Our showroom will be the first of its kind at the Lake. We look forward to many years here!” Hurst said.
FOOD INSECURITY RISING ACROSS THE LAKE AREA
Local food banks across the Lake of the Ozarks area report growing demands as families face rising food insecurity this season. Share the Harvest in Camdenton, which celebrated its 20th anniversary recently, continues to support an average of 800 families each month. They offer pantry staples, fresh produce, and personal items in a dignity-focused setting.
Food for Morgan County in Versailles operates a choice pantry with monthly distributions, allowing neighbors to select foods that
best meet their family needs. The Missouri Food Atlas lists Morgan county as a high need county with 16.2% of the population being food insecure.
The Buddy Pack program — operated in schools in Camden, Miller, and Morgan counties — delivers weekend meal packs to students so they won’t go hungry outside the classroom. In schools such as Climax Springs, Osage Beach, Iberia and Morgan County R-I/II, the program contributes to the roughly 7,500 children served weekly across the region during the school year, helping ensure consistent nutrition when school meals aren’t available.
BLAIR OAKS WINS STATE TITLE IN EMOTIONAL SEASON-ENDING VICTORY
Overshadowed by heartbreak, the Blair Oaks Falcons football team pulled together and captured a state championship — doing so in memory of their late classmate, Cassidy-Rae Luebbering. Cassidy-Rae — known affectionately as “C-Rae” — was a senior at Blair Oaks High School whose warmth and spirit left a profound impact. The Blair Oaks seniors — heart-broken but resolute — had served as the pallbearers at Cassidy-Rae’s funeral on the Thursday before the Friday state championship game.
Head coach Ted LePage said, “She adopted the football team and we were better for being around her because she made everybody’s life better.”
On their way out of town for the championship game, the team stopped to collect C-Rae’s green jersey sign — which had lined the roadside with all the team jersey signs — so they could symbolically have Cassidy with them at their final game.
In the championship game Saturday, Blair Oaks completed an undefeated season with a dominating 59–0 victory over St. Pius X Festus Tigers, cementing back-to-back state titles — their first consecutive-year win in program history.
For the community, the win represents not just athletic triumph but a moment of healing and solidarity, honoring a cherished classmate and friend.
