Foundation with Stone County tie give $1million to Hollister's OTC campus
By Kathee Baird
A foundation established by a late business tycoon and philanthropist from Lebanon, who also had a home in Stone County, has donated at least $1 million to Ozarks Technical Community College for a building on its new campus in Hollister. OTC announced the gift and unveiled an artists rendering of the building today (10-27-11) at thegroundbreaking for the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center.
The name of the Holllister campus will be OTC – Table Rock Campus. The 9-acre site will be located where Crockey’s Restaurant used to be at 10698 Historic Highway 165, near U.S. 65 at Missouri 165. OTC already owned most of the land to be used for the campus and the City of Hollister donated close to an acre for the campus. Demolition of the restaurant is to begin this summer and the campus should be ready for students in 2013.
OTC didn’t announce the exact total of the donation from the Robert W. Plaster Foundation, except to call it “a significant seven-figure “gift.” Plaster, the owner of Empire Gas and other companies, made many gifts for buildings that bear his name across the Ozarks.
In 2007 former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton attempted to hijack the “village law” into state legislation, a law that would have greatly benefitted Plaster. If it had passed it would have allowed developers to avoid oversight of county governments by incorporating small subdivisions into “villages.” Plaster had 400 acres of land near Kimberling City that he wanted turned into the Village of Table Rock. The Stone County Commission had turned Plaster’s request down, and a state appeals court upheld their decision in 2006. On August 28, 2007, the DAY the law went into effect, Plaster’s attorney filed paperwork with the Stone County Commission to create the Village of Table Rock.
The village law was repealed in the next legislative session.
Citizens in the Hollister School District voted to join the OTC district in April 2010. By joining the OTC district Hollister resident sare now able to pay in-district tuition rates at OTC, which are significantly lower than those for students who live outside the district.
Send To A FriendLeave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading ...
