Highway 52 will be closed within Appleton City for sewer main work January 5-9. Areas of work include: the bridge at the west edge of the city, in front of Frost Tire and AC Schools. The crew’s working hours are scheduled to be: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. All lanes of Hwy 52 will be open when the crews are not working. Local traffic will be rerouted to side streets. Large vehicles, like semi-trucks, may be detoured outside of town. Drivers are urged to find alternative routes.
Countywide Disposal will not be running trash pickup routes on New Year’s Day. They will run Appleton City routes on Friday January 2.
New Year’s Masses at Immaculate Conception Church in Montrose and St. Patrick’s Church in Butler are as follows: St. Patrick’s 5:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve and Immaculate Conception at 8:00 a.m. New Year’s Day
The Knights of Columbus will have their monthly pancake and sausage breakfast at the Knight’s Hall in Montrose on Sunday, January 11 from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. Treat your family to a hot breakfast you don’t have to cook or clean up. A free will donation will be greatly appreciated
January 3, 2026 is Growing In Grace Community Center’s monthly community dinner with music from 3:00-6:00 p.m. The menu is chili/soup with cornbread and crackers, salad bar, sandwiches, salads and pie. Musical guests from Soule Harbor Worship Center. Free will donations appreciated.
The AC Library invites you to join them January 20 at 5:30 at the library for their next book club pick, Going Viral for Christmas, by Cedar James This festive, feel-good novel is full of small-town charm, unexpected fame, and plenty of Christmas cheer, perfect for curling up with during the season. If you are interested in joining them, message the library or stop by the front desk to sign up. Their meeting will be to talk about the book.
Funds are needed for the backpack program. Holy Trinity Church in AC houses this project, which is funded by you, the community. They now are sending 35 packs of food home with school kids weekly. The cost is $950 per month and they are reaching out for help. Donations are accepted at the church and may be made to: TUMC, with memo: Backpack. Thank You.
The Ellett Memorial Hospital Foundation was established in 2000 by a local couple to benefit and carry out the purposes of Ellett Memorial Hospital. The Foundation has played a major role in the Hospital’s recent renovation/expansion project. The Foundation is a 501c3 organization and plays an important role in ensuring the future of the Hospital by providing an avenue for individuals, groups and corporations to lend their financial support through tax-deductible contributions. The Ellett Memorial Hospital Foundation would like to extend an invitation to the community to assist with this project. They would like to welcome all current and past members of the community and service area to make a donation to the Ellett Memorial Hospital Foundation. Donations can be restricted or non-restricted for use as the donor identifies. Recognition will be given for all contributions. For further information, contact Julee Snyder, Ellett Memorial Hospital, 660-476-211.
The Appleton City Ministerial Alliance meets throughout the year providing community services and opportunities for the area churches to gather together for worship. Additionally, the ACMA helps people through the region in a variety of ways. In 2023 the ACMA founded the Tony Reynolds Memorial Scholarship, which is a $1000 scholarship awarded locally to an area student pursuing continuing education post-high school. Some in the community have asked about the ability to make donations directly towards the scholarship fund that are not used in other ACMA endeavors. At any time, you may make donations towards the ACMA and they encourage you to do so. You may make donations at any of their community meetings, or feel free to contact one of the ministers serving in the ACMA for more information.
Ellett Memorial Hospital Appleton City offers outpatient specialist services for January 2026. Call 660-476-2111 for appointments. Wednesday, Jan 7 – Upper GI, Colonoscopy-Dr. Namin, Thursday, Jan 8 – Neurology- Dr.- Shoaib, Friday, Jan 11 –Orthopedics-Dr. Gray, Tuesday, Jan 13 – Rheumatology-Dr. John, Thursday, Jan 15 – Podiatry- Dr. Pace, Friday, Jan 16 – Ortho-Noble, FNP, Wednesday, Jan 21– Upper GI, Colonoscopy-Dr. Namin, Friday, Jan 23- Dermatology-Dylan Timmerman, P.A., Tuesday, Jan 27 – Rheumatology-Dr. John, Wednesday Jan 28 –Orthopedics-Dr. Gray, Wednesday Jan 28– Ophthalmology, Dr. Soni, Thursday, Jan 28 – Neurology- Dr.- Shoaib
“The Little Apple” was started by the A. C. Economic Development as way of informing residents of news and events sponsored by area businesses and organizations. Items of a clearly personal nature, such as birthdays, anniversaries, awards (not group sponsored), personal sales and the like are not accepted for publication. Items may be edited for accuracy, grammar or space restrictions. Please email articles for “The Little Apple” to dcp81@embarqmail.com by Tuesday evenings or bring them to Dr. Payton’s office to be included in that week’s edition. To receive “The Little Apple” free by e-mail, or to be removed from the email list, send your e-mail address to dcp81@embarqmail.com If you have changed your email address, please send the current address, so the list can be updated.
New Year’s helpful hint: Go ahead and write 2026 on the next several checks in your checkbook. That way, you won’t write the wrong year on them during the first few days of 2026.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Jan 1 New Year’s Day
Jan 5 Classes resume at Appleton City Schools
Jan 11 Knights of Columbus pancake and sausage breakfast 8:30-10:00 at the Knight’s Hall in Montrose
Jan 12-17 AC Invitational Basketball Tournament
