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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021
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Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 158th Year - No. 19
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BRIEFS Griffin Found Competent
R-T Photo/Ronda Lickteig
RISSLER CHILI SUPPER The Rissler Elementary School PTO hosted its annual chili supper and book fair Thursday evening at the school, raising funds that will be used for items that benefit both teachers and students. Pictured serving at this year’s event, which also included a pie and dessert auction conducted by Norman Ropp, are Jenna Vandel, left, and Adriane Todd, with Rachel and Cody Walton and children Connor Walton and Rachel and Lucas Lorenz, preparing to enjoy the chili and cinnamon rolls.
ECONOMIC VITALITY: Thinking Outside The Box Success Will Be More Than Large Manufacturer What do the words “economic development” have to do with getting your kids and grandkids to move back to the Trenton area? A lot, if you believe what local economic development officials are saying. Once upon a time, economic development meant getting a big piece of land or unused building and attracting a large manufacturing firm to locate in Grundy County. While that’s still a goal and any and all large manufacturing companies are more than welcome to come here to make their home, local officials are also looking at other ways to attract businesses - including businesses that may only employ a few people. In recent weeks, there have been discussions about the land available in Grundy County and what can be developed to attract these businesses. Scott Sharp, director of the North Central Missouri Development Alliance, has met with the Trenton City Council and economic leaders to discuss the need for a plot of land - something the city already owns north of town but without utility service to it. Sharp said he receives regular requests from the Missouri Partnership to submit proposals to businesses hoping to locate or ex-
WEATHER ALMANAC Day: High/Low Rain Thursday 55/36 — Friday 59/38 — Saturday 68/39 — Sunday 70/44 — Barton Campus Sunday 70/41 —
pand in Missouri. An example of a recent request includes a manufacturing company looking for an existing building on 20 acres or a build to suit site located on 20 acres within 200 miles of Kansas City. That company, which would manufacture trailers, would create 170 to 220 jobs. The request came by email at 2:40 p.m. on Sept. 1 and the proposal was due by noon on Friday, Sept. 3. Not much time if you don’t already have something in place. And Grundy County doesn’t. The city owns a 43-acre tract of land on the northeast corner of NW 10th Avenue and NW 27th Street and a 48-acre tract south of NW 27th Street. The cost to run sanitary sewer service to the north tract is estimated at $900,809.53, with the cost for sanitary sewer service to the south tract coming in at $188,980.47. Water service to the north tract would run another $1,112,925.31. That’s a lot of money and, following a meeting held recently at the Barton Farm Campus, Grundy County Industrial Development Corporation President Jackie Soptic said a land swap might be a better option. “Out of this meeting came Grundy Electric Cooperative, the city of Trenton and the IDC hoping to work together to get a good adjacent plot of land within the city and then maybe sell the other land,” Mrs. Soptic said. “Do some kind of swap. Instead of spending $2 million on infrastructure for that land, just do a land swap and then you have a good tract of land to offer.” But there are other types of “development” that may be more effective in spurring economic development in north Missouri. Mrs. Soptic said the best use of Sharp’s time and energy is not in trying to figure out how to get utilities to the city-owned land, but to focus on expansion of existing businesses, retention of businesses and assisting entrepreneurs. “We can’t play the attraction [See VITALITY, Page 8]
Leaders Get Vision For What Downtown Trenton Could Potentially Offer What downtown Trenton could be got some extra attention last week when those involved in revitalizing the area received customized training through a USDA and Missouri Main Street Connection Grant. Keith Winge, MMSC Community Development Director; Ben Muldrow, a brand specialist with Arnett Muldrow; and Jim Thompson, Iowa Main Street Economic Vitality Specialist were on hand to conduct the training, which had participants take a hard look at what downtown Trenton is today and what it could be. The trio spent time with business and property owners, volunteers, Main Street Trenton board members and downtown supporters. Some of Trenton’s “positives” were discussed, including North Central Missouri College, Crowder State Park, quality public schools, a high rate of young people returning to the area, etc. But they also pointed out some things that need to change if “downtown” is going to be the destination business owners hope it will become. As visitors to the city they said it was not always apparent which downtown businesses are open and which are vacant, making it not a place that made them want to “stop and get out.” “Tell your story on the outside as well as on the inside,” Thompson suggested. Muldrow said the flag pole in the middle of Five Points - and the five converging streets themselves - are somewhat disorienting. “Five Points is unique, but there’s so much asphalt!” he said. Of course, it was made very clear that Five Points is here to stay, as is the flag pole, and Muldrow used the “five points” design when he presented possible “brands” to be used downtown. Branding, he said, is “the discovery and preservation of a community’s personality.” Based on that, the Five Points “brand” was important to those attending the meeting. [See DOWNTOWN, Page 8]
The defendant in the case involving the shooting of a Trenton police officer has been found competent to stand trial. According to online court records, Jamey A. Griffin of Trenton has been evaluated and it was found that he is not only competent now, but was at the time of the June 2019 shooting of Trenton Police Officer Jasmine Diab in Daviess County. The letter to 43rd Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman from Dr. Heather McMahon, director of psychology/director of treatment services at Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center in St. Joseph, indicates that the recent exam found that Griffin is “competent to stand trial and at the time of the alleged criminal conduct was not rendered incapable of knowing or appreciating the nature, quality or wrongfulness of his conduct by reason of mental disease or defect.” Griffin is charged with first degree assault, a class A felony; unlawful use of a weapon, also a class A felony; and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony. Griffin has been held in custody since the shooting and trial-setting has been scheduled for Nov. 9 in Livingston County Circuit Court, where the case was moved on a change of venue. Officer Diab sustained serious injuries in the shooting. She was transporting Griffin to St. Joseph for a mental health evaluation when he was able to obtain her service weapon and shoot her as they traveled through Winston.
Children’s COVID-19 Vaccine
The Grundy County Health Department will hold a children’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at the health department. GCHD Administrator Elizabeth Gibson said the Pfizer vaccine will be available from 2 to 4:30 p.m. for children ages 5 to 11. She said that vaccine is a smaller dosage than that for adults, but is still a two-shot vaccine. Ms. Gibson said the health department has been busy providing all of the vaccines available, including booster shots for the virus. Anyone receiving their first or second dose of the COVID19 vaccine is eligible for a $50 gift card, which is being made available through federal funding. Ms. Gibson said that as of Monday morning, there were 14 active cases of COVID-19 in the county, with 13 new cases reported in the past seven days.
R-9 Board Agenda
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education will meet in regular session at 5:30 tonight (Tuesday, Nov. 9) at the district office. Items on the announced agenda include 2021C MSBA policy updates, school calendar adjustment to make Dec. 6 a full day out, election filing dates, approval of hard surface bus routes/winter weather plans, discussion of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, a review of the Gifted Program, a safety report, instructional coach updates, principal reports, a superintendent’s report and a closed session to discuss personnel.
Filing Deadline Shortened
If you’re thinking about running for a city or school board office in the April 5, 2022 election you’d better make your mind up a little quicker this time! This year, rather than having about a month to file for office, candidates will have from 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7 until 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 28. The change has come about due to the passage of House Bill 271. In the past, many candidates for school board filed prior to Christmas break or after schools had re-opened in January. Chrissy Peters, Missouri director of elections, said her office has been in contact with the Missouri School Boards Association in regard to the fact that the majority of the candidate filing period is during the school district Christmas breaks. MSBA will be holding meetings with all board secretaries regarding the timeline for candidate filing and how they will be affected. Local political entities will announce their hours for filing in the near future.
Festival Of Trees Nov. 27
The 13th Annual Festival of Trees has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 27 at the Rock Barn in Trenton. The event, which benefits those with special needs, will get under way with a parade at 5:30 p.m., followed by live music and crafts from 6 to 7 p.m. and an auction of decorated trees at 7 p.m.
NCMC To Honor Veterans
In honor of Veterans Day, North Central Missouri College will participate in the National Roll Call Event which is taking place at college campuses across the nation. The National Roll Call will be held at noon on Thursday in front of Geyer Hall on the NCMC campus, with members of the public invited to attend. The program will include NCMC student leaders, faculty, staff and board of trustee members. Area veterans and fallen heroes will be honored in a roll call of names read during the ceremony. NCMC will also participate in the National Moment of Silence at 1 p.m. Drone filming of the event will occur, weather permitting. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be moved into the gym at the Ketcham Community Center. Main Street in front of Geyer Hall, 13th Street to Crowder Road, will be closed for the ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. to accommodate the crowd and local service vehicles.