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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
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Copple Submits Resignation Athletic Director Gann Set To Retire At The End Of The Year The Gallatin R-5 Board of Education will be looking for a new superintendent after Dr. Bryan Copple submitted his resignation during Thursday’s meeting of the board. Dr. Copple will be taking a position in the Richmond School District, with his resignation effective June 30. He has been with the district since July 1, 2015. The action took place following an executive session which also included the board accepting the resignation of Baron Gann, who will retire effect June 30. He currently serves as activities director. The board voted to hire Samantha Boyd as a speech-language pathologist for the 2022-23 school year and to hire Cole Lockhart as the assistant baseball coach for the 2021-22 school year. Olivia Woody was selected as the MSBA Future Builders Belcher Scholarship applicant. With Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s recent decision to not fight a Cole County Circuit Court ruling invalidating local health department orders relating to COVID19 mitigation measures, the board has taken action to ensure patrons are aware of the district’s measures to keep students and staff healthy. Board members approved updates to its Safety Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, with those changes outlined in a letter provided to parents and available on the district’s website. In the letter, dated Dec. 7, Superintendent Dr. Bryan Copple stated that the district maintains the ability to exclude students who have communicable diseases or who are liable to spread communicable disease. He said the district will continue to notify the Daviess County Health Department of positive COVID-19 cases to allow for follow up on those cases. Students currently at home due to a county-mandated quarantine need
Dr. Bryan Copple
to remain at home until they produce a negative test. In addition, he said the district will continue to notify close contacts when a positive case occurs in the classroom. “The same healthy habits that have allowed our schools to remain open not only help prevent the spread of COVID-19 but also will keep our students from spreading other viruses,” he wrote. Anyone sick with possible symptoms of COVID-19 will be required to remain at home until they have proof of a negative COVID test, an alternate diagnosis from a physician or complete a 10-day isolation period. “We have learned a great deal from the last two years,” he wrote, “and it has reaffirmed our commitment to good hygiene, frequent hand washing, covering coughs, sneezes and staying home when ill.” Board members met with Mark Higgins of Conrad and Higgins, LLC concerning the 2020-21 audit. Higgins told the board the district has a $2.6 million fund balance and as he has said at other schools of similar size, the only finding involves the segregation of duties and internal controls. Because of the amount of federal funds received, $908,000, a single audit had to be conducted and that finding was not listed on the federal portion because it’s a different standard.The board approved the audit following the
Beds For Bulldogs Set For January 4 Trenton, Gallatin Districts Work To Provide Beds There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep and thanks to a joint effort between the Bright Futures organizations in the Trenton R-9 and Gallatin R-5 school districts, some students in those two districts will be coming to school a lot more rested and ready to learn. The two organizations, coordinated by Terri Critten at Trenton and Shonna Morrison at Gallatin, have joined forces to
WEATHER ALMANAC Day: High/Low Rain Thursday 45/30 — Friday 42/28 — Saturday 38/25 — Sunday 37/24 — Barton Campus Sunday 35/21 —
launch “Beds for Bulldogs,” an initiative that will provide a new mattress and frame for students in need as well as a new set of bedding. Both Bright Futures organizations have noticed an increased need for beds, a basic need, in recent years and agree with the Centers for Disease Control that sleep is an essential human need that “contributes to a student’s overall health and well being.” Mrs. Critten spoke to those gathered in October for the Bright Futures Trenton Celebration of the need for beds and a sponsor to help get the project started. “We have local students sleeping on the floor, in recliners, on air mattresses and sometimes sharing a crowded bed with multiple siblings,” she said. “Sometimes a mattress becomes unsanitary or broken down and a student’s family doesn’t have the resources to replace it.” At that time she noted that the district had already had six requests for beds from the Children’s Divi[See BEDS, Page 6]
closed session. The board heard a vocational report from agriculture instructors/FFA advisors Brant Burns and Amy Holder. Burns said there are currently 61 students in agriculture classes and FFA. He noted that while ag was previously a maledominated field, the students are split pretty evenly with 33 boys and 28 girls. He and Mrs. Holder discussed the accomplishments of their students on district, state and national levels. Mrs. Holder said the FFA Chapter won the Field Crops Sweepstakes at the Missouri State Fair and had eight students participate in the Missouri Farmers Care Day of Service at the fair, packing meals for food insecure families. Mrs. Holder also discussed the trap team, which had 12 competitors this year. In his report, Dr. Copple said district buildings escaped serious damage from Wednesday’s storm, although a tree did fall near the sign at the high school, but cleanup was planned over the weekend. The good news, he said, is that there were no leaks during the rain, meaning the repairs to the roof held during the storm. Dr. Copple also reported that parents will receive a letter from the district concerning an incident in which the bus transporting the boys varsity basketball team was involved in a minor accident on the way home from the Putnam County game in Unionville. The incident, which was recorded by the camera on the bus, involved a truck crossing the center line, causing the mirrors on the two vehicles to collide. No injuries were reported and Dr. Copple said most people on the bus did not even realize the incident had occurred. He said the video has been provided to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Nicole Thogmartin, principal at Covel D. Searcy Elementary School, told board members that the K-2 winter program was held Thursday, rather than Wednesday, due to the storm. She commended [See COPPLE, Page 6]
BRIEFS Holiday Closings Announced
Several offices have announced they will be closed for some or part of the upcoming holiday weekends. Offices that will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day include Trenton City Hall/Trenton Municipal Utilities, Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce/License Bureau, the Grundy County Courthouse, Grundy County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and all state offices, USDA Farm Services Agency, the Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library, the Grundy County Health Department, the North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center, the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission, including the Job Center (also closed Dec. 27), the North 65 Center and Grundy Electric Cooperative/Public Water Supply District #1. All of the city’s banks will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Farmer’s Bank of Northern Missouri and BTC Bank will also be closed on Christmas Eve, with Farmer’s State Bank closing that day at noon and Citizens Bank and U.S. Bank closing at 1 p.m. All of the banks will be open for normal hours on New Year’s Eve. The Trenton Post Office will be closed both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day with no delivery. Mail will be delivered as usual on Christmas Eve, however the customer service window will close at 3 p.m. There will be no change in the regular service on New Year’s Eve. The Trenton Republican-Times will publish as normal on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, with the office observing regular Friday hours, 8 a.m. to noon.
Utility Committee Meeting
The Trenton Utility Committee will meet at 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 21) at city hall. The meeting will be held in person, but can be accessed on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87149841874. Items on the announced agenda include department reports, a review of monthly financial reports and a utility director’s report.
NCMC Board Agenda
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees will meet in regular session at 5:30 tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 21) in the Frey Administrative Center. Items on the announced agenda include new employee introductions, a presentation on the library, reports from the Head Start directors, vice president for academic affairs, vice president for student affairs, chief information officer and college president, consideration of the FY21 annual audit report, Head Start items, consideration of bids/purchases, consideration of COVID salary supplements, consideration of surplus property and personnel, including Head Start items, resignations, employments and a job description. An executive session is also planned to discuss personnel, legal matters and real estate.
Stolen Vehicle Leads To Manhunt Truck Was Stolen From Nebraska Department There was excitement in Grundy County over the weekend as a stolen law enforcement vehicle was found east of Trenton, leading to a manhunt for the person responsible. According to Grundy County Sheriff Rodney Herring, the manhunt began Saturday after local residents noticed a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado truck
abandoned on Highway Y, a quarter mile north of Highway 6. The vehicle was fully marked as a vehicle from the Jefferson County, NE Sheriff’s Department in Fairbury, NE. Sheriff Herring contacted Jefferson County authorities, who were unaware that the vehicle was missing. They were able to use video to get a description of the man who was seen taking the truck Friday evening and after checking local bars, identified him as Bird Roy Nightwalker, a 39-year-old
resident of Clinton, OK. In the meantime, Grundy County authorities launched a search for the suspect, whom Sheriff Herring said has an extensive, violent criminal history. The Trenton Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol assisted the GCSD in the search. Nightwalker had been seen walking into Trenton around 8:30 a.m. and was later found to have been at the BP Station on Ninth Street. Using technology that could locate Nightwalker’s cell phone, law
enforcement officers searched an area near Wright Memorial Hospital. Multiple reports of sightings were coming in from various areas of the county, including on Highway 146. Finally, updated and more specific cell phone data led officers to believe that Nightwalker was in the area of 19th and Lulu streets, however, as officers were preparing to go to that location, Nightwalker was found around 11 p.m. near the Grundy County Law Enforcement Center walk[See MANHUNT, Page 6]
Gallatin Aldermen Working On Budget Board Plans To Approve Document At Next Meeting The Gallatin Board of Aldermen is looking forward to 2022, with work taking place on the new budget. At meetings held on Dec. 15 and Nov. 22, the board discussed the 2022 budget and continued that discussion at a special meeting held Thursday. At the Dec. 15 meeting, the board reviewed mini excavator lease proposals, agreeing to go with a 60-month lease option for a Cat 305E2 CR that will be part of the 2022 budget. The
annual payment will be $11,344, with a $33,390 residual buyout. On the recommendation of City Administrator Lance Rains, the council voted to use Capital Improvement Funds for the purchases made in 2021 for AMI electric and water meters. This will help balance the 2021 budget. The AMI grant funding will be reimbursed back to the Capital Improvement Fund if approved and received in 2022. Rains told the council that FEMA/SEMA has adjusted its funding payments and will only be releasing its funding once the check has
been cut and cash and documents are provided. This will be for all engineering and contracting work going forward. He said the city has received notice that D.A. Davidson and Company is willing to find the funding match of $500,000 for the Street Improvement Project and said he has completed a Sunshine Law request, although the information has not been picked up by the party making the request. Rains provided a stopping/standing/parking ordinance example from the city of Trenton as well as a trailers [See GALLATIN, Page 6]