Steve Rasmussen (left) and Gerrit Fischer

Dave Baumgartner, President and CEO of The Bank of Versailles recently announced the appointment of Steve Rasmussen as the Community Bank President of the bank’s Laurie Facility and Gerrit Fischer as Assistant Credit Officer at the bank’s main facility in Versailles.

"We are proud to announce new positions of these two well-deserved employees,” said Baumgartner. “Both Steve and Gerrit have worked hard for the continued success of the our banking operations. We know they will continue to serve our banking customers well.”

The Bank of Versailles, chartered in 1882, consists of four area branches including the main bank in Versailles, MO, a drive-in facility in Versailles, the Laurie Bank in Laurie, and the Greenview Bank in Greenview. The Bank of Versailles combines modern technology with local knowledgeable personnel and is locally owned and controlled. The main bank can be reached at 573-378-4626 or on the Internet at www.bankov.com

Motorists will soon see improvements to the U.S. 54 and Route 5 interchange area to better accommodate pedestrians and smooth traffic flow for motorists.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a contract today to APAC-Missouri, Inc. of Columbia, Mo. to construct a 6-foot wide sidewalk on the U.S. 54 interchange bridge that crosses over Route 5.

"About 2,100 feet of new sidewalk will be constructed parallel to eastbound U.S. 54 leading up to and across the bridge," said MoDOT Transportation Project Manager Bruce Green. "The sidewalks will connect to existing city sidewalks on the west side of the interchange and extend to a location near a shopping area to the east."

This work is being completed in coordination with the City of Camdenton. Enhancement funds, which are set aside for the improvement of pedestrian facilities, are being utilized for this portion of construction.

"The addition of sidewalks to this area will provide the public with additional travel options," said Green.

The low bid for work to the interchange area is $500,535.21. That amount also includes widening the northbound Route 5 off ramp to eastbound U.S. 54 in Camdenton to allow for dual right-turn lanes.

"The addition of a second right-turn lane will decrease the minor backups occurring on the exit ramp as people travel to the Lake of the Ozarks area," said Green. "It also provides tractor-trailer trucks with more room to make right turns at the top of the ramp."

Improvements to the interchange will begin in early March and are scheduled to be finished before the Memorial Day weekend in May. Motorists should expect lane closures and the narrowing of lanes through the interchange area during construction. Minor delays are possible.

For more information about this project or other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or log onto www.modot.org/central.

Lt. Mike O’Day with the Osage Beach Police Department is going to participate in the Super Plunge again this year to raise money for Special Olympics. This will be Mike’s third year jumping into frigid water once an hour during a twenty-four hour period. The event will take place on February 24, the day before the actual Polar Plunge, which will take place on February 25, both to be held at Public Beach No. 2, Osage Beach, Mo.

Lt. O’Day also participates in the Polar Plunge to continue his fundraising efforts. Mike is very passionate about his reasons for freezing and needs your support.

If you want to donate to Special Olympics by supporting Lt. O’Day, you can make contributions through Mike’s SOMO web page, www.somo.org/Mike908.

Osage Financial Group (OFG) celebrated opening their offices in Osage Beach with a ribbon cutting with the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. (OFG) was founded on the philosophy of providing independent financial advice to individuals and businesses through an "open architecture" structure that gives each client access to thousands of investment options designed to fit their individual and organizational needs. For over twenty years OFG has been building long term relationships with their clients by promoting ongoing education and understanding of complex concepts. Log on to Osagefg.com, or call 573-302-7707 to learn more about us.

ATTENDING:

Pictured along with Chamber Active Volunteer Ambassadors and TAG Team Members from left to right are: (1st Row) John Watson, Owner; Jody and Victoria Watson. (2nd Row) Aaron Spieler, Famer’s Insurance; Jennifer Betherum, Lake Area Chamber Board Member; Jeff Betherum, Lake Insurance Group; Misti Schaeffer, Olympus Media; Tom Smith, American Sun Control; and Amanda Fagan, Golden Rule Insurance.

The world’s most famous painting—and at an estimated $700 million plus—most valuable painting, “La Giaconda”, better known as Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, has a twin.

The Prado (http://www.museodelprado.es/en) has had the clone stored away, except for occasional exhibitions. Until recently, however, it had a dark, opaque background. Cleaning and restoring the painting removed this add-on obscurity and the glorious artwork from Leonardo’s apprentice emerged.

Believed to have been painted by Leonardo’s apprentice and lover Francesco Melzi, the work may have been created at the same time as the masterpiece, with the student standing next to the master, matching stroke for stroke. X-Ray and infrared examinations of the artwork in fact show the same sketches and under-painting as the original, and the same changes that Leonardo made.

The Mona Lisa is widely believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the affluent Florence fabric merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Prado officials believe that the work looks “very, very close” to how the Mona Lisa did when it was completed by the man from Vinci in 1505.

The Prado will hang the painting in exhibition until it is scheduled to go to Paris in March, where it will be displayed beside Leonardo’s, at the Louvre. Since the Mona Lisa hangs in a glass temperature and humidity controlled case, it is unlikely that she will receive the cleaning and restoration the Prado’s version did. The newly discovered work gives art lovers everywhere a new perspective on Mona—to see her as she was more than 500 years ago. Time, damage and layers of varnish have obscured da Vinci’s.

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