BY ANDY  TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — Montgomery County will be the national center of the Bible Holiness Church denomination starting next Thursday, Aug. 6, when several hundred church members from across the country gather for a 10-day camp meeting in Independence.
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BY ANDY  TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CHERRYVALE — The City of Cherryvale is proposing a mill hike of slightly less than one mill for the 2010 budget year, city councilors discussed Monday night at a budget work session.

The council is proposing a 2010 budget plan that calls for the city’s total mill levy, also known as a tax rate, to increase from 39.730 mills in the current 2009 budget year to 40.715 mills in the 2010 budget year, which begins Jan. 1.

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BY ANDY TAYLOR

INDEPENDENCE — When the Montgomery County 4-H Fair takes place each July, the area surrounding Riverside Park’s livestock barns almost has the look of a big RV park.

Amid the diesel pickup trucks pulling livestock trailers are dozens of pop-up campers, tents and makeshift camping sites — all habited by 4-H’ers and their families.

And, for many of the 4-H families, having a impromptu campsite at Riverside Park makes for an easy home away from home.

“It makes the fair experience more enjoyable,” said Jay O’Brien, a member of the Peppy Progressive 4-H Club, who, at the age of 19, was completing his final year at the 4-H fair.

The O’Brien family — including parents Ron and Stella and sons Jay, Aaron and Cody — have been camping at the Cherryvale Youth Fair and Montgomery County 4-H Fair for years. In recent years, they have combined their camping efforts with several other 4-H families to form a virtual compound of camping trailers. The ancient stone fence of Mount Hope Cemetery serves as one of the camping area’s four walls as other camper vehicles form the other sides of the camp. A couple of picnic tables and a charcoal grill sit in the middle of the camping area — making it Checkpoint Central for all 4-H fair relaxation.
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BY ANDY  TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

BARTLESVILLE — A Caney man convicted of attemped murder was denied a motion to withdraw his “no contest” plea in Washington County.

District Judge Curtis DeLapp last Wednesday, July 22, denied a motion to withdraw Darek Dustin Windsor’s “no contest” plea after Windsor was convicted of attempting to kill a 17-year-old Mexican national in rural Dewey in late July 2008.

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