Dean’s Daily Eye-Catcher

Lucy comes to work every day with Kirsten Eichner, the health services director for The Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Springfield. The residents love her said Eichner. She is fed so well at The Gardens that she does not like to eat at home.

Hundreds of starlings take to the air along East Chestnut Expressway.

Earth moving equipment levels a hill at U.S. 65 and Battlefield Road as preparations are being made for a diverging diamond intersection.

How low will it go? Gas prices continue to fall in Springfield.

The Christmas wreaths are up for the holidaqys on the Maple Park gazebo.

The tower crane at the Wonders of Wildlife construction site is coming down Tuesday, Dec. 9.

A man fishes on Lake Springfield on a sunny Monday, Dec. 8.

An eagle perches in a tree above the Finley River.

An oak leaf is hung up on a small falls on Galloway Creek.

A City worker is framd by a wreath as a flag is replaced on Park Central Square.

An old water pump is found outside a cement block building in Stone County.

A red shouldered hawk blends into the terain while flying low to the ground near Sequiota Park.

John Heisel gasps for air as he finishes the 5k Turkey Trot on Thursday, Nov. 27.

A homemade sign is propped against a fence across from the driveway at Nixa High School whose football team is playing for the state championship on Friday, Nov. 28.

A woman makes her way through Wednesday morning's brief snow flurry.

Construction workers on the Heers Building take a break from their day to watch a truck driver, who thought he cound navigate Park Central Square, back his truck up after wedging the trailer against one of the steel poles. Police blocked traffic to allow the driver to back out to Campbell Avenue.

Ballerina Emily Ricca, who is fromSpringfield but now is with the Miami City Ballet, practices before teaching a master's class at The Creamery. She said she is in town for the holiday.

A Springfield Fire Department bomb technician walks away from the bomb squad total containment vehicle after placing a suspicious bag into it.

Construction workers are sihlouetted against a reflective roof on the Wonders of Wildlife building.

Canada geese land on Lake Springfield as strong sunlight twinkles on the water.

Snow has gathered on a rose still in bloom.

The holiday season is just around the corner when the snowflake lights are put up by City Utilities. James Dodd hangs them along Boorville Avenue.

City of Springfield workers pose with a 30 foot blue spruce before the Christmas Tree was placed in teh center of Park Central Square Friday, Nov. 14.

Harvey Howard, 81, who owned the Wedgewood Barbar Shop for 30 years before selling it to Tyler Blane, and his co-workers are dressed as 1840s barbers to celebrate the shop's 62 years in business on south Campbell Avenue. Howard has been a barber for 59 years and 57 have been at Wedgewood. "Barbers used to wear visors to keep the light out of their eyes," Howard said. He is cutting the hair of Frank McDaniels.

A red tailed hawk perches in a tree looking for prey with an oak tree in the peak of fall colors in the background.

MSU student Johanna Pruett, left, shares her hat with classmate Randi Montgomery on a chili morning, Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Flags lining the driveway to American Legion Post 639 in honor of Veterasns Day flap in the wind.

Work continues on the historic City Hall.

A full moon shines ofer Hammons Tower and the Shrine Mosque.

A couple takes an early evening stroll down Pickwick Avenue.

A person exercises their right to vote on Election Day Nov. 4.

Tom Beale, who had been a fixture on Weller Avenue during the Rountree Neighborhood Halloween Parade, twirls his lasso around Zoey Johns, 5, as the parade goes by on Friday, Oct. 31.

Kathleen Larkins, 91, Springfield, right, gets a goodbye kiss from church friend Thelma Sweeney, Ozark, while both were at the Cassidy United Methodist Church WomenÕs Fall Bazaar.

Two clawfoot bathtubs sit on the second floor of the old Sterling Hotel building which is going to be renovated by the Vecino Group.

This Halloween watch out for giant spiders at this house on east Commercial Street.

The sun sets behind stalks of corn at Rutledge-Wilson Farm west of Springfield.

Figure skater Hope Kovach, 10, left, helps training partner Anna Luper, 15, with her skate tights prior to their three-hour practice Friday, Oct. 24.

Some trees, like this one found on Pickwick Avenue, are at the peak of their fall colors.

Brittany Meeker, right, and David Rotkowitz practice tag fighting in Phelps Grove Park. They are part of the medieval combat and roleplay group Amtgard.

Kathaleen Nusse, right, receives a flu shot from nursing student, Carl Horton, left, and Phebe Goldsmith, associate professor of the Mercy/SBU School of Nursing.

Fall crocus are starting to peek out of the grass at Maple Park Cemetery.

Monarch butterflies atop flowers at Close Memorial Park.

Dark clouds roll over Springfield Thursday afternoon Oct. 9.

The lunar eclipse as I saw it off my back deck. I started taking photos at about 5:10 a.m. and the moon reached full eclipse about 5:25 a.m. and then the clouds moved in. Shot with a 70-200 mm lens with a 2x converter.

Wesley DeWilde, Springfield, practices slack lining while at Phelps Grove Park, Monday, Oct. 6.

Gabriel Peters, son of Sgt. Joseph Peters, leaves a flower at his grave. Monday marked the one-year anniversary that Sgt. Peters was killed in action in Afghanistan. there was a ceremony for him at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield.

Sam Rose, one of 46 Springfield students in the W.O.L.F. ( Wonders of the Ozarks Learning) Program, tries his hand at paddle boarding on Lake Springfield.

Art student Cindy Holman, Cassville, a junior at Missouri Stete University, took advantage of some recent nice weather to draw outside.

Hunter Johnson, 6, tries to catch up on his homework atop his grandmother, Carol Etherton's car as they wait for Johnson's sister at Pipkin Middle School.

A Vietnam War veteran who identified himself only as Wulf Pack 31, sought services during the Veterans Stand Down event Tuesday, Sept. 23. The Community Partnership of the Ozarks and the American Red Cross organized the event to provide services to veterans who are homeless are at risk of homelessness. He said he served 18 months in Vietnam and his hat said "Salute a Vet."

Summer is now over and leaves are begining to change in Maple Park Cemetery Monday, Sept. 22.

A swan floats across an algae filled pond in Southern Hills.

Tenley Sproule, 4, right, and Bitsy Owen, 4, play with their hair during an Every Child Promise press conference.

A cardinal flower is found along the banks of the North Fork River.

Roger Roberts has been running Fun Acre miniature golf for 40 years.

Paul Snider, a volunteer, found a cool way to water the herbs at the Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park garden. He said the person that usually runs the sprinklers is out of the country and with the hotter weather the timing of the watering needed to be adjusted.

A roofer for Absolute Roofing wipes the sweat from his face with as shirt he has draped over his head in an effort to keep cool in the 95-degree heat.

Tad Morris with Cox College helps paint a basketball backboard in Washington Park during their Day of Caring project.

Linda Allen is drenched by ice water after hhe ALS ice bucket challenge came to Evangel University by way of Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams. President Carol Taylor and her cabinet responded to the challenge.

I found Dan Beckner, Springfield, working on Hidden Waters Park in Marshfield. Beckner and his wife, Zoann, bought the land in 1998 to save it from development and formed the park in 2002. He visits once or twice a week to do work on the park.

Kevin Tisdel hugs his son, Skylor, 6, a first-grader, on his first day of school at Wilder Elementary School. Tisdel said his son was a "little nervous" because it was a new school for him Tuesday, August 12.

Bolivar High School football players cool off during practice which started this week.

A snapping turtle comes up for air while lurking amidst the fish at the Close Memorial Park pond.

Jimmy Huff, Springfield, found one of the few shady spots at Lake Springfield to work on a short story. He said he likes to find quiet spots to write.

Young and old each needed a mode of transportation at the Ozark Empire Fair. Luz Robledo, nine-months-old, and Lorena Zavoras, 75, wait for family at a ticket booth.

Lily Walter, 2, joyously swings at the Dan Kinney Park. She was with her grandmother, Kathy Walter, and they are from Springfield

Kortney Parker, atop barrel, helps friend Catlin Bolin train her horse to barrel race atthe Finley River Saddle Club in Ozark. "Barrel racing is life," said Parker who has been racing since she was two according to her mother, Kristy Parker..

Hannah Holum is wide-eyed as she is about to whack a baseball during practice with her team, the Fireballs.

Art student Denise Belt, Springfield, works on a mold for a sculpture in Drury University's Pool Art Center. She is participating in Drury's Summer Institute for Visual Arts program.

Gray-headed coneflowers grace a field west of Springfield.

Matthew Grogan, Ozark, center, goes for a merry-go-round spin with Mikey and Lizzie Thomas, Nixa, at Close Memorial Park Monday, July 14.

An Amish buggy heads north of Stott City on Highway 97 Wed., July 9.

Construction workers on the new Cox South Hospital pour concrete on a new floor. Once they start they can not stop according to Rod Schaffer, CoxHealth vice president, facilities manager. When the structure is complete the amount of concrete would build a 5 foot-wide sidewalk from here to Branson, Said Shaffer. They will use 3.6 million tons of rebar.

Street performer Art Basner, with dog, Ellie Mae, spills music onto South Avenue late afternoon THursday, July 3. He also plays the banjo and mandolne.

Cameron Bostwick, right, and Ben Briley of Advanced Landscape Inc., pull up bricks from a sidewalk at Lafayette Park. They are contracted by the city to repair the historic brick sidewalks.

My sleepless night guarding the church fireworks stand was rewarded with this sunrise.

"25-cents for a lemonade, 50-cents for a medium!" shout Davon Ready, Arionne Ross, Elnora Owens and Shania Sherrod, left to right, as they sold drinks in a north Springfield neighborhood on Thursday, July 3.

Mercy Life Line pilot Phil Rogers approaches the hospital. They are celebrating the 30th aniversary of Life Line which has flown over 30,000 accident free missions according to a press release. D.J. Satterfield, administrative director of Mercy Life Line said Ò thousands of lives have been saved each year because we have the most experienced flight team in the region.Ó Members of the media were given a flight in the helecopter.

A young woman riding in the back of a pickup holds up her red bible as she and another woman drove by the protestors who were demonstrating against Hobby Lobby Tuesday, July 1.

Richard Napieralski waters plants after adding them to a square foot garden example at the Grant Beach Community Garden.

Baby birds are so hungry they beg for food even from the photographer that stuck his head into the bushes to photograph them.

Construction workers watch a boat part as it is lowered into place. The boat was lifted into place by the tower crane and is to be part of the major Wonders of Wildlife expansion.

A boy swings from a rope and into the James River at the Hootentown Access area.

Animal control officers Nicole Keyes, pictured, and Kip Baumgartener with the help of Springfield police, rescued this kitten from a stormwater drain on Thursday, June 19. It is currently at the animal shelter and is up for adoption. Anyone interested can call the shelter at 833-3592.

Animal control officer Nicole Keyes goes to great lengths to rescue a kitten that had fallen into a stormwater drain on National Avenue. Find out Monday if she was successful.

Polite geese and their youngsters use the crosswalk on Blackman Road as they make their way to another pond.

Horses graze in a flower-covered field in north Springfield.

Andrea Kendrick, a zookeeper at the Dickerson Park Zoo, gives Henry the Hippo a scoop of grain as she does the daily inspection of his condition. She checks for cuts or scratches and the condition of his tusks.

A male eagle and its two chicks in their nest.

Donna Galloway visits her brother, Earl Burks', grave at the Springfield National Cemetery Friday, May 23. Burks was a Korean War veteran. She left flowers at his grave.

Lucas Wilson, 6, a kindergartener at Delaware Elementary School, makes a "quiet bubble" just befoe he and classmates entred the gym for their graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 15.

Members of the Springfield Sertoma Club and their guests say the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of their annual gifting ceremony. They gave over $325,000 to children's charities.

Longtime Northview Senior Center kitchen volunteer, Esther, who did not give her last name and is "sixty-something" gets a kiss from co-volunteer Carolyn Hurt, 70, on her last day of volunteering at the center Thursday, May 8.

Yet another truck has become stuck under the Grant Avenue railroad bridge just north of Commercial Street. There were no injuries and an officer on the scene said this is the first time since last year a truck has become wedged unter the bridge.

Freddie Ray, Springfield, pitches to his grandson, Jackson Chittenden, 4, at Phelps Grove Park Tuesday, May 6.

Maelyn Floyd, left, and Madelyn Holtman head back to the rectory at St.Agnes Cathedral prior to their First Communion Sunday, May 4. The children got to pet a lamb that was brought in for the event.

Carol Agee, 54, has been living in the back of her modified 1992 Ford Ranger around Springfield on and off for the last year. "I will get by one way or the other," Agee says. If it is too hot or too cold she will try to find a motel room. She modified the topper to live inside, and she prefers to be by herself. She worries about using too much gas. "I have no idea what will happen in the future," she said. " I will manage."

Dean's Daily Eye-Catcher

Pastor David Carr, Grace Assembly of God, is deep in prayer during the Springfield Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, May 1, which is part of the Annual National Day of Prayer . Hundreds attended.

Devon Parker, 12, right, and Christopher Avalos, 13, both 7th graders at St. Joseph Catholic Academy, put up the flag at the start of the school day Monday, April 28.