JOPLIN, Mo. — April Willis was recognized for her genuine kindness when she received a special award. This local nurse takes pride in making a difference, inside and outside of the hospital.

“I’ve always been that nurse that wants to make sure that I make a difference in the lives of the people I take care of. I want to feel like a friend to those people. I don’t want to just look like I’m swiping in for a paycheck,” said April Willis, RN, Labor & Delivery, Freeman Health System.

April Willis is a labor and delivery nurse at “Freeman Health System.”

It was just another night in the fall of 2022 for April, selflessly taking care of moms and babies.

But one patient really took April’s kindness to heart.

That’s when the patient nominated her for a DAISY award.

“This just happened to be a night I remember. This patient, she was super kind. She came in and she was very, very sick. She was very scared and I just, I’m so honored that she understood that I was trying to make things that were a very scary situation, very comfortable for her and her family. And it means so much to me that a patient can actually recognize that when they were so sick and having so many health problems at the time,” said Willis.

Dozens for nurses get nominated each month for the daisy award as a way to recognize their genuine compassion and professionalism.

“Kindness goes a long way. And I think with this week, the tragedies that we’ve seen in the NFL, we’ve learned how people can come together and that love honestly does make the world a better place. And so, I think it does help. Just to make sure that you’re not just here, putting on a fake smile and a fake persona to be that nurse, but that you are genuinely like that in everyday life, too,” said Willis.

And for April, her patients’ hand-written letter was more than a nomination.

“I think stopping, taking a moment and writing something out to let others know that, ‘you guys are making a difference too’,” said Willis.

JOPLIN, Mo. — There were plenty of smiles, today, at “Wildcat Glades”.

That’s because today was their annual Christmas bird count gathering.

Partnering with the “National Audubon Society”, the event takes place once a year.

It gives kids and families the opportunity to see and count different types of birds in their natural habitats.

Naturalist Kensi Tillman says this is a gateway to get kids outside to explore and identify with nature.

“Well this morning, we did a kid’s Christmas Bird count, which is as simple as it sounds, we counted birds. It’s a long-standing citizen science project with the Audubon Society. And so we come out here and we just count the birds that we see and then that information can be submitted for science,” said Kensi Tillman, Naturalist.

Tillman says the Audubon Society submits the bird information collected today, which is then used for tracking bird populations across the nation.

JOPLIN, Mo. — Meanwhile, others in Joplin did a little scrapbookin’ today.

The annual “Snowflake Crop” event was hosted by members of the “Creative Memories Independent” group.

Attendees dressed in pajamas for the monthly session, to catch up with one another and create scrapbooks.

They also share new ideas and make new projects, all with a chance to win a grand prize.

Lori Layne is an advisor of “Creative Memories Independent”.

She says the group is a community and is very welcoming to one another.

“It is a community and it’s great because it’s something that everybody has in common. So these ladies have gotten to know each other, and they enjoy coming and catching up on each other’s lives and their families. So the great thing about our group is they’re so welcoming — so even somebody brand new wants to come and try it out. They’ll act like they’ve known you for years and you’ll have the best time, because you’ll just become part of their community,” said Lori Layne, Creative Memories Independent Advisor.

“Creative Memories Independent” has more events to come.

If you would like to learn about those events, you can visit a link here.

JOPLIN, Mo. — Some also gathered in Joplin, today, to learn a form of art using a unique material.

That gathering happened at ‘Spiva Center for the Arts’ inside the new ‘Harry M. Cornell Arts and Entertainment Complex’.

Attendees created a model glass cactus. Jane McCaulley of ‘Spiva Center for the Arts’ guided participants on how to work with the glass, utilizing certain tools.

She says the longevity of the glass sets this form of art apart from other methods.

“People don’t usually handle glass, only time you handle glass is when you drop it on the floor and have to clean it up probably. But this way, we teach you how to actually use the glass and create something out of it. It’s something that will last, not like making something out of paper, this will last a long time,” Jane McCaulley, Teacher.

In the coming months, McCaulley will teach more classes, including a lesson on weaving glass.

Also this summer, Spiva will host a three day glass camp, for kids ages 8 through 14.

JOPLIN, Mo. — Joplin’s newest school officially opened today, combining West Central and Columbia Elementaries.

The first day of the spring semester is a big deal on North Main Street.

“I really like it,” said Brynn Walters, Joplin Student.

The new gymnasium and playground and cafeteria make up the brand-new Dover Hill Elementary School.

“I like the lights, designs and I like the library, how big it is,” said Paiten Vincent, Joplin Student.

Everything is new on campus and even figuring out where to go for lunch and make it back to class is a challenge.

“In fact, I talked to my fifth-grade teachers this morning and they said their kids were just almost in Shell Shock this morning. Just coming in the size of the rooms and just the how beautiful the campus looks,” said Bret Ingle, Dover Hill Principal.

The footprint is much bigger, more than 70,000 square feet, which means more elbow room for everything from the cafeteria to classrooms.

“We’re going from trailers at one campus to humongous music rooms and art rooms and having a gym that’s available to us at Columbia. We haven’t had a gym available for the last few years,” said Ingle.

There are now options for collaborative learning, including two spaces called “Learning Parks” where classes can combine.

“So we have a couple of spots where if a couple of teachers want to combine their classes to come out, they can work together. We also have collaborative spaces in the backs of each pod of grades,” said Ingle

School history is also front and center, both in a mural in the media center, and a timeline in the cafeteria hallway.

“It’s kind of a map in the background. It shows shots from West Central to Columbia to Dover Hill and it just shows the timeline of both buildings and how they were built and renovated. And then the timeline for construction,” said Ingle.

All leading to the newest nest for these Joplin Eagles.