Editing Stella, Missouri (section)

===Hospital closure and EPA clean up===
[[File:Cardwell Hospital in Stella, Missouri.jpg|thumb|The former Cardwell Hospital in Stella, Missouri in 2004, shortly before it was torn down and removed because of asbestos contamination.]] 
Cardwell Memorial Osteopathic Hospital closed in 1977, but the building was soon reopened as a [[residential care facility]] owned by Don and Vera Littlefield. But this venture proved short lived and the building was vacant by the mid-1980s.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> After sitting empty for nearly 20 years, the residents of Stella, seeking to revive the town's [[business district]], proposed a plan to convert the empty hospital building into a multipurpose building complex, which would house a clinic, a [[library]], [[city hall]], retail space and residential units.<ref name="tethys.engg.ksu.edu">{{cite web |url=http://tethys.engg.ksu.edu/chsr/tab/tab-sites/cardwell-hospital-site-stella-missouri |title=Cardwell Hospital Site, Stella, Missouri &#124; Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities |access-date=March 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130409232929/http://tethys.engg.ksu.edu/chsr/tab/tab-sites/cardwell-hospital-site-stella-missouri |archive-date=April 9, 2013 }}</ref> However, due to considerable [[asbestos]] [[contamination]] at the site, the decision was made to remove the now derelict structure.<ref name="tethys.engg.ksu.edu"/> Because of the nature of the contamination, the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] declared the former Cardwell Hospital building a [[superfund site]] and assisted the town in removing it.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Microsoft Word - LHC-formerStellaCardwellHospital-Final.doc | url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha//FormerStellaCardwellHospital/FormerStellaCardwellHospitalLHC052208.pdf | access-date=2024-12-15 | website=www.atsdr.cdc.gov}}</ref> In the summer of 2006, the former Cardwell Hospital was torn down and the site was decontaminated, making it safe for other uses.<ref>Joplin Globe; Hospital being razed; July 26, 2006</ref> Following the removal of the building, the site was redeveloped as the Stella Veterans Memorial Park, which is dedicated to veterans from the Stella area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenrightnow.com/welcome/2011/06/23/stella-veterans-memorial/ |title=Stella Veterans Memorial » Green Right Now |access-date=March 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411020727/http://www.greenrightnow.com/welcome/2011/06/23/stella-veterans-memorial/ |archive-date=April 11, 2013 }}</ref>