Missouri health officials are investigating dozens of confirmed or probable cases of cyclosporiasis, the intestinal infection that has sickened thousands of people across the country this summer.

As of Sunday, the state Department of Health and Senior Services logged 43 cases of the infection, which causes diarrhea and other digestive symptoms. The department data does not include where in the state cases have been reported.

Missouri has a relatively small number of reported cases compared to Michigan and other states at the center of the outbreak.

Illinois health officials have reported 216 cases of the infection, according to the state’s health department. In Michigan, which has the most reported cases, health officials have logged more than 3,700 cyclospora infections.

Officials expect that number to go up as more people are tested. Because people with diarrhea rarely go to the doctor and even fewer of those people receive the necessary stool sample test, it’s likely more people are infected.

Local health departments are following up with patients to get their food and travel history, which could help identify where the parasite came from.

Cyclosporiasis can cause watery diarrhea, nausea and dehydration. Unlike other illnesses caused by food-borne pathogens, fever and vomiting are relatively rare symptoms. Most people recover from the infection without treatment, but antibiotics can clear the infection.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no deaths have been reported due to the current outbreak.

Cyclospora, a parasite that can only be seen through a microscope, is spread through human feces. Past outbreaks have been linked to leafy greens, but officials have not yet found the cause of this year’s outbreak.

People can prevent the illness by thoroughly washing produce, cutting off bruised or damaged bits and refrigerating cut fruits and vegetables. Heat kills the parasite, so cooking vegetables can also cut down on risk.

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A Bent Mountain teenager will compete at the National High School Rodeo Finals in Lincoln, Neb., later this month after qualifying with the Virginia High School Rodeo Association.

Kellen Hamm, a dual-enrolled homeschooled Roanoke County senior, graduated this May with a 4.2 GPA. She will compete at the national finals July 18–25 in four events: breakaway roping, team roping, barrel racing and pole bending.

Seventh state title in pole bending

Hamm recently claimed her seventh consecutive Virginia state championship in pole bending, riding her horse Tucker. Winning seven straight state titles in the same event on the same horse is considered a rare accomplishment in high school rodeo competition.

College plans

Hamm has been accepted to Murray State University in Kentucky, where she plans to enroll this fall. She will pursue a degree in elementary education and compete on Murray State’s collegiate rodeo team.

To follow Hamm’s progress at the National High School Rodeo Finals, visit the event’s official website online.

There are moments that remind us exactly who we are as a community, and the recent fire at Antelope Creek Bar and Grill in Mooreton was one of them. Many already know the awful loss that unfolded. It was a brutally hot day, the kind where the sun feels heavy and the air is so thick, and social media quickly filled with photos, videos, and comments documenting the devastation. Heartbreaking. Gut‑wrenching. A place that held memories for so many suddenly only visions smoke and charred remains.

But even in the middle of all that loss, something else rose up, something that always seems to show itself around here when life gets hard. Kindness. Pure, steady kindness.

The volunteer firefighters were the first reminder. They never cease to amaze me. They drop everything … work, family, whatever they were in the middle of and suit up in layers of gear despite the heat and humidity. They’re regular people with regular jobs, yet they show up like it’s the most natural thing in the world. No spotlight. No applause. Just service. Just heart.

Then came the folks who arrived with water, Gatorade, and anything they could think of to help ease the burden of those battling the blaze. Nobody organized it. Nobody asked. They simply showed up because that’s what people do here. That alone would have been enough to warm my heart.

But it didn’t stop there.

As the day went on, I saw posts from other regional businesses, specifically other bar and grills, reaching out with messages of support. These are places that could easily be seen as competition, yet there they were, offering help, extending care, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the owners who had just watched their livelihood disappear. “We are here. How can we help?” they wrote. No rivalry. No hesitation. Just neighbors being neighbors.

If you ever need a reminder of what makes this valley special, it’s moments like that. People who could have stayed quiet choosing instead to lift someone else up. Businesses that could have focused on themselves choosing instead to stand with another in their darkest moment. It’s the best of us. The part of small town life that doesn’t make headlines but makes all the difference.

We talk a lot about community, but this, this right here is what it looks like. It looks like firefighters sweating through their gear on a 90‑degree day. It looks like strangers handing out cold drinks. It looks like business owners reaching across the aisle to say, “You’re not alone.” It looks like compassion showing up before anyone has time to think twice.

Loss has a way of revealing character. And what I saw in the wake of that fire was a valley full of people who still believe in showing up, still believe in helping, still believe in each other. In a world that can feel divided and loud, this quiet, steady goodness is worth noticing. Worth celebrating. Worth holding onto.

Because when the smoke clears and the debris settles, what remains is the strength of a community that refuses to let anyone face hardship alone. And that, more than anything, is the story worth telling.

That is the true Best of the Valley. The people.

Bobbi Steffens resides in the Southern Valley and discovered her passion for writing through an unexpected path.