Gasconade County Republican

James Ruth - It is sad that it took this long for him to serve hard time for what he did. However there should now not be any doubt that he was given a chance that he did not give his victim. I think in general the times have changed. We need to look at juvenile offenders harder it seems some have no fear and at times feel emboldened by the laws that protect juveniles. Maybe if we punished harder we would have fewer offenders. Who knows. I just feel it is sad that he was given all these chances while the victims family suffered wondering where was justice for their beautiful daughter. Well it has come to pass and he will now finally get what he deserves. It will not bring her back . But I hope it provides closure for them. Rest in Peace Dee.

Its about time! - I would say this is a good day for the people of Gasconade county, in that the current Sheriff will have to fight for his position. However, this Sutton guy already has two strikes against him. First, there can be no doubt Esphorst has done a better job than Ebker, but that would be the easiest job of any elected office. It states here that Mr. Sutton worked for Ebker, so that is a bad sign already. Two, I believe Mr. Sutton currently works closely with the local drug task force near his place of employment. That is a deal breaker with me. We only have to look at the counties around us to see what happens when the task forces get involved. Franklin county may be the best example in the whole state. So, anyone who would allow the task force to run around in our county would never get my vote. If it were up to me, I would have Zelch run for our Sheriff spot. I remember how badly he was treated in Franklin County because he wouldn't let the local task force ...

Ruth - Well hes back!!! is anyone surprised? He walks free and that sweet girl is in her grave . He has been given every opportunity to get it together . He has more opportunity to actually do something with his life. I was against that. So many said he was young and should be given a break. Well how many breaks should he get???? Or do we wait until he kills again?

I am confused Republicans say they want less government . But they want to legislate morality and tell us what we can or can not do in the bedroom . And then the poor misguided things think they can stop meth production by taking away a medicine for sinus suffers who probably have no health care because they are against that so I just wish they would make up their mind.

keep up the good work! - WOW! I laughed through this story because I saw myself in the same possition! The first time I went to look for a new car I test drove it overnight and couldnt wait to get my beater back the next morning!

I dwell on thougths of the past - I dwell on thoughts of the past every time I open the Bible, or my pocket constitution, and look at my familys pictures that have been kept. Nothing wrong in it. Seems to me we can learn from the past and most likely we should re-discover them again.

I am also opposed to the idea of the city aldermen selecting the next marshal. What happens if the people of this city don't like the aldermen? What happens if we feel like he's not representing us? What happens if the aldermen feel as if he's doing a good job even if we're not happy with him. This basically means that the marshal would be more likely to try to keep the aldermen happy and do their bidding instead of doing what's right. The election of city marshal should be left to the people and not local government.

Primary Opponent - Forcing the sale of ephedrine by prescription only was Schatz's signature legislation, it went down in flames as it rightly should have. Forcing unneeded extra expense on law abiding allergy sufferers is the liberals way of dealing with problems. Blame the object, does gun control ring a bell? It's the criminals STUPID!!! Get caught cooking meth, lock them up and throw away the key, commit a gun crime, same result. Quit coddling the damned criminals and leave the law abiding citizens alone. Let us hope Mr Schatz draws a "real" conservative primary opponent, one who understands that, liberty once lost, will require force to regain it.

The truth is all there - Looks like you just pointed out the truth. According to you your friend is Bi-Polar. That explains it. You should stop trying to defend him and get him help. Stop being blind to the problem. The problem is not Bland. The problem is your friends refusal to accept he is Bi-Polar. He needs medication. He needs it for the sake of his children.

The Truth - Wow!!! Anyone who reads this article once and even knows part of the truth, could tell you why newspapers today, struggle in a downward spiral economy. Dave Mirna? How much investigative work do you actually put into your articles? I am a Franklin County resident and the farthest thing from a journalist. The "alleged suspect" is an acquaintance of mine, and stops by my Union home from time to time. Usually when he is picking up/dropping off his boys from Bland, MO. He often complains that his boys are being raised in a "Meth Town" and how much this disturbs him. He is Bi-Polar and I can usually tell when a manic episode is on arise as he seems to think he can fix the world single handed. Stress seems to set him off. His passion and heart belong to children and dogs. He will often introduce himself to an individual dog before it's owner. I personally would never step foot in the town of Bland! Just continue to read articles on the town, or sp...

pep - Carol is one of the most amazing women that I have met. She is one of the few people that love animals as much as I do LOL I know that she does this in a small part to honor her beloved Bud. So if you love your animals ,do something to honor them by helping this organization in any way you can.

My brother was at the scene immediately after and there were 2 casings and my son committed suicide and Mark told me he would never ever do that to me - he seen how hard is it for me to deal with every day and it has been 11 years - Mark always went to the local saloon - he was a happy drinker - he loved being around people and he just would not of done this - He had a great night until he got home - at the wake at the bar there was not one person that would agree that he did this - not one.

This is so sad and my heart goes out to her family, thoughts and prayers .

THINK - If these startling facts are true and I do not doubt they are, we need to think very carefully about supporting any person who is running for election who thinks that the hard earned social security benefit they receive is "welfare" and feels we need to do away with Social Security. Also let us not forget those who receive that benefit who put that benefit into law Franklin Roosevelt. Lets not forget where we came from! And if you support those policy please send your social security check or as some call it "welfare check" back.

cont. - If the weapon was a revolver, and there were 2 spent casings in the cylinder, is it known if the other couldn't have been discharged prior to this incident. i would like to know where the two casings was heard from. It makes me question if that information was reliable.