The Tri-state Iris Society members are proud to be bringing back their annual iris sale Saturday at the Webb City Farmers Market. (It was canceled last year.)

Society member Oma Nichols welcomes all to attend the sale “for the easiest perennial to add to your landscape.” 

After all, Webb City has an iris heritage, going back to the days when Amos Hatten collected many varieties and gave his extras away.

Nichols points out that iris blooms were known as “flags.” And it is said that Webb City may have gotten its City of Flags slogan because irises are so prolific here. 

“Come to the sale, pick out some beautiful irises grown and donated by the society’s members,” says Nichols. “Plant them and make Webb City truly the City of Flags.

The sale will be held during market hours, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday at the pavilion in King Jack Park.

SOLACE HOUSE GOLF TOURNEY

Solace House of the Ozarks announces it will hold a golf tournament Saturday, Sept. 25, at Briarbrook Golf Course.

The four-man scramble will have a shotgun start at 9 a.m. It will cost $75 per person, which includes a catered barbecue lunch. Hole sponsorships are available for $250.

Solace House, a non-profit organization providing end-of-life care in a residential setting in Joplin, is holding the tournament to raise funds.

Information and the register form are here.

EMPLOYEES SAY FOXBERRY’S A GREAT PLACE TO WORK

Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine have honored Americare Senior Living as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces in Aging Services. Foxberry Terrace in Webb City is a member of the Americare Senior Living family of communities and participated in the national survey.

The Best Workplaces in Aging Services award is based on analysis of survey responses from more than 220,000 current employees at participating companies across the country. In that survey, 80 percent of Americare’s employees said Americare is a great place to work. This number is 21 percentage points higher than the average U.S. company. 

“Our people make working at Americare communities across the midwest a truly special experience every day,” said Clay Crosson, Americare president and chief operating officer. We celebrate and thank them for all they do to earn this incredible honor, especially as we complete this challenging last year and a half.”

Among the statistics in which Americare employees rated the company highly in the survey are:

• 91% say my work has special meaning: this is not “just a job.”

• 87% say when I look at what we accomplish, I feel a sense of pride.

• 86% say I feel I make a difference here.

• 85% say people here are given a lot of responsibility.

• 85% say I’m proud to tell others I work here.

JOPLIN HITS 160 COVID DEATHS MARK

The Joplin Health Department announced Monday the death of five more residents because of COVID-19, bringing the total to 160.

In an editorial Wednesday, the Joplin Globe, noted the city’s number of COVID deaths now equals the number of lives lost in the 2011 tornado.

The ages of the most recent coronavirus victims included two men, ages 52 and 71; and three women,  60, 70, 73.

Last Friday, the Jasper County Health Department announced four additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the county’s total to 190. 

The latest to die were two males, both in their 50s, a women in her 20s, and a woman in her 50s.

According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services dashboard, there have been 14 COVID-19 cases (ages 5-19) reported in the Webb City R-7 School District during the past 14 days. School started Monday.

Since March 2020, the dashboard indicates there have been 426 COVID-19 cases (ages 5-19) in the district. There are roughly 4,500 students in the district.