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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2022
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TRENTON
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Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 158th Year - No. 46
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BRIEFS Commission Takes Action
Photo courtesy of Macon Schweizer
GALLATIN COURTWARMING Gallatin High School held Courtwarming activities on Monday during the school’s varsity basketball match-up with Maysville. The Courtwarming court included, from left, seniors Brantley Burns and Olivia Woody, freshmen Lachlan Gibson and Lyndsey King, sophomores Boston Bell and Courtney Crose, king and queen juniors Gabe Parker and Madison Kirk, student council seniors Andon Allen and Brianna Filley, seniors Rodell Sperry and Kyrsten Collins and student council juniors Colt Baker and Kaydence Clevenger.
Kiwanis Club Will Host Annual Trivia Night
The Oylers: It Took Time, But Lasted A Lifetime
Event Will Be Held On March 12 At Black Silo The Trenton Kiwanis Club will host its Fourth Annual Trivia Night on Saturday, March 12. The event will be held at the Black Silo Winery and is a fundraiser for the local club. The contest will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. Concessions will be available. The theme for the trivia event is “Team Choice”. Teams who register by Feb. 18 will be able to select a category of play for the trivia contest. There will be four rounds of trivia with 15 questions in each round. Teams will also have a chance to earn points by participating in the theme contest whereby teams are encouraged to decorate their table and dress according to a theme of their choice. Additional points will be awarded to the top three teams who best depict their theme. Each team will consist of six to eight adults (18 and over). The entry fee for a team is $120. Kiwanis Club members are currently reaching out to area businesses to help with sponsorship of the event. Sponsorships available include sponsoring a round, prize money sponsorship, as well as items for [See KIWANIS, Page 12]
WEATHER ALMANAC Day: High/Low Rain Monday 52/21 — Tuesday 57/33 — Wednesday 51/35 — Barton Campus Wednesday 51/33 —
This photo, taken from the book, “Grundy County, Missouri And Its People,” was taken on Oct. 15, 1948 when Max Oyler and Maradyn Webster were married. Pictured, from left, are Max’s mother, Blanche Oyler; Max and Maradyn; and Maradyn’s parents, Pearl and John Webster.
“She didn’t like Tom Mix but I hardly noticed the movie as I was captivated by her company.” — Max Oyler
Editor’s Note: In honor of Valentine’s Day, we are sharing this love story, told by the late Max Oyler to Rick Neff in 2019. The Oylers, longtime Trenton residents, were married 61 years before Mrs. Oyler passed away in 2010 at the age of 87. Mr. Oyler passed away in 2020 at the age of 101. John Fillmore and Pearl Taylor Webster, the parents of my future wife, Maradyn, moved their family to a farm west of Tindall that had ground on both sides of the Weldon River in the early 1930s. My family lived nearby on the west side of the Weldon River. I graduated high school in 1936 and dated Maradyn’s older sister, Mevlyn a few times, but there was just something about the younger girl. Maybe it was her smile. July 30, 1938 was my first date with Maradyn, who hadn’t turned 16 yet. I still remember that night. We watched a movie in Trenton, a western starring Tom Mix, a cowboy hero. She didn’t like Tom Mix [See OYLERS, Page 7]
R-9 Considers 4-Day Week Research Just Beginning, Public Will Have Input The Trenton R-9 Board of Education heard a presentation at Tuesday’s board meeting on how a four-day school week would look in the R-9 District if the community and board agree that’s the direction they want to move. Joel Hultman, representing the Trenton Teachers Association, gave the presentation, providing research that has been done on districts that have implemented such a schedule. He said the information is just
being presented and that the district should “let the community kind of decide” if a four-day schedule is right for this district. Four main problems being experienced by the R-9 District were looked at, with the four-day schedule seen as a way to combat them: recruitment and retention of quality staff, improved attendance during the school day, quality time for families and collaboration time for staff in preparing for high quality instruction. Recruitment and Retention of Quality Staff In looking at how a fourday schedule would impact recruitment and retention,
it was reported that since 2011, 118 Missouri school districts have implemented a four-day week, with 22 more estimated to make that change in 2022. Only one district, Lexington, has returned to a traditional five-day week and according to Hultman, that change was made in an attempt to make up for time lost due to the pandemic. Hultman said that a recent survey of teachers resulted in more than half of respondents requesting that it be considered although that question was not on the survey - it was an open-ended question asking for “other suggestions.” [See 4 DAY, Page 5]
The Grundy County Commission moved forward on three large purchases and made two appointments during a meeting Tuesday morning. According to Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard, the commission accepted the loan bid of $28,000 from S&B Hinnen Trucking for a 1994 International 9300 Road Tractor. A quote from Command One of Centertown was accepted for a radio for the new ambulance at a cost of $8,858.58 and the commission voted to move forward on the purchase of a 911 console from Command One at cost of $269,767. The cost of the console will come from the $600,000 included in the 911 budget for this year. In other business, Ashley Wilson and Janet Wilson were appointed to fill vacancies on the Families and Friends of the Developmentally Disabled in Grundy County Board of Directors. They replace Connie Olmstead and Jackie Wyant, who have resigned. Commissioners also met with Henry Martin, a Democrat who has announced that he will seek election to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Sixth District, and conducted an online interview for the position of ambulance director. The commission spent the remainder of the week at the Missouri Association of County Commissioners meeting in Columbia and are scheduled to host the annual meeting with township officials tonight (Friday). Next week’s meeting will be held Wednesday, rather than Tuesday and includes an interview at noon.
Spickard Aldermen To Meet
The Spickard Board of Aldermen will meet at 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 14 at city hall. Items on the announced agenda include remarks by guest Kendall Anglin, hay bids, a sewer update, water update (water loss report), the clerk’s report, ASC pumping and a closed session.
LEPC Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the Grundy County Local Emergency Planning Committee will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15 at the Trenton Fire Department Training Room. The meeting is open but can also be accessed on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84126667091?pwd=THlkUm RVRmNBOUxxV0p5M0J2SWc0QT09. Officers will be elected at the meeting and the application for the 2022 Chemical Emergency Preparedness Fund is expected to receive pre-approval. Those funds should be available in March.
‘Sharing Of The Heart’ Feb. 18
The Trenton Area Ministerial Alliance will hold its annual “Sharing of the Heart” baked potato bar and homemade pie auction for the group’s Good Samaritan Fund on Friday, Feb. 18. The event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the First Assembly of God Church Activity Center, located at 1107 E. 11th St. in Trenton. The eat-what-you-want, pay-whatyou-want chili and potato bar will be accompanied by a pie auction conducted by Michael Witten, with pies to be auctioned every 15 minutes. The Good Samaritan Fund is a ministry of TAMA that helps those in need of assistance to pay for utilities.
No Action Taken On Admin Contract Board Increases Sub Pay To $110 Per Day Administrator contracts with a glaring exception were renewed following the closed portion of the Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting Tuesday. Board members also heard a presentation on how a four-day school week could be implemented in the district and voted to increase the daily pay for substitute teachers. Following the closed session, the board voted to renew the contracts for the 2022-23 school year for Rissler Elementary School Principal Susan Gott, Trenton Middle School Principal Daniel Gott, Trenton High School Principal Kasey Bailey, Director of Special Education Tara Hoffman, Rissler Assistant Principal Carolyn Schmidt
and THS Assistant Principal/Athletic Director John Cowling. Their salaries will be determined at a later date. Not on the list of administrative contract renewals was that of R-9 Superintendent Mike Stegman. Traditionally, action is taken on the superintendent’s contract in January. There was no announcement concerning his contract following the January meeting and no mention of it following Tuesday night’s meeting, leading one to believe that his contract, which runs through the 2023-24 school year, has not been extended at this time. It is also assumed and was confirmed by board secretary Susan Leeper, that while discussion has taken place on whether or not to offer a contract extension, there has not been a formal vote taken. [See R-9, Page 7]