Rescuing bees in Pierce City

An old oak tree knocked over at the Pierce City Cemetery contained a hive of honeybees. Richard Palmer, cemetery caretaker, reported the bees, about 30 feet up on the hollowed tree, were out of harm’s way in normal conditions. Palmer called Denny Mayne from Home and Hive in Verona, at left, who cut the tree in sections, sealed the top and bottom where the hive was located, then returned at night when the foraging workers had returned to plug holes on the sides of the truck. A local loader operator helped place the section in Mayne’s truck to be hauled to his Verona operation for transplant to a better home. Mayne also extracted a hive from the Jack Henry campus in Monett, from a tree also downed by the April 28 storm. (Murray Bishoff photo)