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Designer sandles, purses, candles, decor items, collectibles, cards and lot’s of fun stuff. 

Check out the new items at Cabin Fever at Brideway Plaza in Shell Knob, Missouri

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follow up with a report on the safety of drinking the water that were brought to light at the meeting. The Aqua website is still hard to understand and navigate.  Phone calls concerning outages go unanswered and homeowners are not informed when outages occur.  The result is bath water and clothes that are ruined by pests, debris, and mud in rinse water.

by Paula Andersen

The Shell Knob Elementary school gym warmed with the heated comments of 35 plus individuals that chose to venture out Thursday night.  The crowd started to arrive at 5 pm for this important official Public Hearing in response to AQUA’s request for another rate request.  This will be the third in 3 ½ years and equates to a 180% increase in revenue for this utility.  Judge Harold Sterling officiated with members of the Missouri Public Service Commission assisting in collecting facts from local water customers.  Christina Baker, of the Office of Public Counsel introduced the purpose of the meeting as twofold.  “We are here to collect facts concerning billing issues, service to customers, and the quality of the water provided by this company. “ 

The meeting started with an informal question and answer exchange that quickly turned heated as customers argued with AQUA representatives that a rate increase was economically a hardship on the communities in southern Stone and Barry County.  A major point of contention was that by arbitrarily increasing the minimum water usage to three thousand gallons, as a basis for supplying water to individual households was cruel to householders with less than two people in them. This fact brought a loud outcry from the audience. The Public Service Commission officials sought to bring order to the commotion by saying,” These are the comments and facts that we need to bring to the official meeting and have them verified by testifying under oath.”  He asked that attendees fill out forms with their names, addresses and statements and sign up to speak in the order that they signed. 

The official meeting started at 6:15 pm, took over three hours and was recorded on a video camera along with a court reporter taking each person’s disposition as they testified under oath.  Physical evidence collected included a jar of foul smelling water and Judge Sterling accepted this as evidence.  Reports of people trying to reach AQUA by phone, by emails, by personal letters of inquiry, and by visiting their webpage created an image of a company that was unresponsive and had turned their backs to their customers needs.  The facts collected portrayed an image of a large utility that had heavy-handedily pushed their way into people’s lives and then choose to ignore even the basic humanitarian issues; communication of essential information, awareness to their customers’ needs, and clean inexpensive water! 

Other issues included the facts that people need to know when their water was fouled by broken water lines, boil water notices need to be sent or customers called to alert them. AQUA customer services need to eliminate over-billing and then issuing shut off notices when people were still questioning why they were billed in the first place.  A non-user friendly web page that offered no current information other than the fact that the water was tested in 2007 and was safe at that time needs to be updated.  Problems such as callers left on the line for over 20 minutes when they called for answers to issues and callers who gave up because to obtain basic customer service you had to have too much information to reach an AQUA customer service representative brought loud ugly comments .  

All of the local consumers present voiced their opinion that the rate request be refused by the Missouri Public Service Commission.  Those issues held by AQUA that the cost of providing the water have increased because electricity cost, chemicals costs, and of their investment in upgrading the district were blown out of the water by testimony of speakers that noted replacing a water tower twice—“Why not do it right the first time?”.  About AQUA employees giving out the wrong answers to consumers, or no information given about breakages, breakages not fixed for a week or more, and confusion about whether or not the water is safe to drink.  Reports of dishwashers clogged, water heaters ruined, washing machines hoses broken with debris from water line repairs, and refrigerators destroyed by high pressure were countless. The crowd repeatedly supported speakers that told of taking showers with debris and muddy water floating around their feet. 

 Ruth Murray, a community advocate, and key person to bringing this issue to the attention of Representative Sater posed two significant questions to Aqua representatives. She asked as to whether or not AQUA was making any money for itself and its stockowners. Ms. Murray has been a timeless advocate of citizen’s rights. When she raised the question about the potential of DNR requirements for sewage discharge issues being changed and the cost charged back to homeowners by AQUA there were no answers offered.  Other comments referred to the lack of transparency of AQUA’s motives as a public service utility and the actual need for their rate increase.   

The Missouri Public Service Commission held a well-organized meeting over a volatile issue that needs to be resolved as soon as possible.  If you are interested in this important, water, issue or if you have a utility consumer complaint call the offices of the Missouri Public Service Commission toll free 1-800-3924211 or visit their website at www.psc.mo.gov.  If you would like to respond in writing, the address is 200 Madison Street, P.O. Box 360, Jefferson City, Mo 65102. 

By Sue Beck

Crafters, vendors and local artists have a great opportunity to display their art or demo their products at this year’s Shakin’ in the Shell Fest.  The Shell Fest has much to offer with its free entertainment, car show, ugly dog contest and family fun area.  With a lineup like that, it’s sure to include everyone’s target marketing group.  Three to four thousand happy, fun-loving people visit the Fest each year, making it a perfect place to sell or advertise.

Want to let the community know about your club or organization?  Secure a space at this year’s Fest. You’ll be glad you did.  Give Becky a call at 417-858-0413 and she’ll give you all the details.  Prices are reasonable and very competitive, but act fast for the best possible space. Shakin in the Shell Fest takes place Saturday September 25th just off of Hwy 39 in beautiful Shell Knob, Missouri.  You can visit us on the web at www.shakinfest.com .  Shakin’ in the Shell Fest is a Shell Knob Chamber of Commerce event.  See ya at the Fest!