I broke out my hard hat again last week for an exciting event on the south side of the Cassville High School campus, the official groundbreaking for what I thought was a new pickleball stadium. Turns out it’s for a state-of-the-art, nearly $10 million Performing Arts Center. Now, I know I’m better suited for water than dirt, but riddle me this: how can we have a groundbreaking for ground that has already been broken? As High School Principal Tyler Willis said, “Shouldn’t our shovels be going into the grass or something?” Groundbreaking ceremonies have become less literal over the years, but that doesn’t take away from the opportunities Cassville fine arts students will have in one year. The only people I feel sorry for are the homeowners in the neighborhood across the street. Are there any bond funds available to get those folks some earplugs while all this heavy equipment is trouncing around? Or maybe offer them some of that fill dirt for free, and use of the backhoes for landscaping? Just a thought. 

Trout Brown is the comics correspondent for the Cassville Democrat, aiming to point out entertaining happenings in Barry County.