New 39th Circuit, county clerk appointments made

Cole, Kasper fill judicial positions

Ennis sworn in as Barry County Clerk

    David Cole, of Ellis, Cupps & Cole in Cassville, was appointed to the position of Circuit Judge of the 39th Judicial Circuit.

February 3, 2021
Sheila Harris
    Friday Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced the appointments of David Cole, of Cassville, to the position of Circuit Judge for the 39th Judicial Circuit and Matthew Kasper, of Mt. Vernon, to the position of Associate Circuit Judge for the 39th Judicial Circuit.
    Cole, raised in Barry County and a graduate of Wheaton High School, will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Jack A. L. Goodman to the Southern District Court of Appeals.
    Cole is currently a partner at Ellis, Cupps & Cole Law Firm in Cassville. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Missouri Southern State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law.
    Kasper will fill the Associate Circuit Judge vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Robert George.
    Kasper currently serves as the assistant prosecuting attorney for Lawrence County. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Arkansas Tech University and a master’s degree in divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Mr. Kasper earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law.

    Above, Joyce Ennis (right) ignores Jill LeCompte’s admonition not to cry prior to a swearing-in ceremony for Ennis as Barry County’s new county clerk.
    Ennis will be taking the place of LeCompte (left), who resigned effective January 31, citing family priorities after the death of her husband in November.

February 3, 2021
Sheila Harris
    In a ceremony notable for the tears which were shed, outgoing county clerk, Jill LeCompte, swore in her replacement, Joyce Ennis, at the courthouse in Cassville Friday, January 29.
    “Ennis was my secretary when I had my first principal position with Cassville Schools,” LeCompte said, “then she was in the clerk’s office when I was elected to this office. Now here she is taking my place.
    “She’d better not cry, either,” LeCompte added.
    The suggestion was promptly ignored.
    LeCompte said that, for her, although the last few months have been rough, the take-away lesson is that life must go on.
    “That’s what we do, we go on,” she said, “and that includes business in the county clerk’s office.”
    Ennis was appointed to replace LeCompte as county clerk in an announcement made last week by Governor Mike Parson.
    Ennis was an administrative assistant for the Cassville R-IV school district for more than 25 years, before joining the staff in the clerk’s office in 2018, where she has served as deputy clerk.
    During her employment with the school, Ennis headed the canned food drive for the local food bank and assisted the Bright Futures and Back Pack programs.
    Ennis, a native of Barry County, attended Jenkins Elementary and graduated from Cassville High School. She lives in the McDowell area with her husband Steve, and has two children and three grandchildren.