RALLS COUNTY
UNIOR FAIR HIGHLIGHTS
See page 6A
Ralls County
Herald-Enterprise
“The County Paper” - An Area Tradition Since 1865 - Ralls County, Missouri
Thursday, August 14, 2014
USPS 454-720 Vol. 149, No. 33 • New London, Missouri 63459 • 14 Pages • 1 Section • 50 Cents
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PSC hears testimony regarding Grain Belt Express Clean Line
ARMSE MEETING TO BE HELD
The Hannibal Mark Twain Chapter of the Association of Retired Missouri State Employees (ARMSE) will meet on Friday, Aug. 15, beginning at 11:30 a.m., at the Nutrition Center, 219 South Tenth Street, in Hannibal. The program will be given by Joel Dant who recently returned to Hannibal after many years and opened the new museum “Huck Finn Freedom Center – Jim’s Journey.” All current and retired State employees are encouraged to attend. Reservations are not required. For more information, call 573-221-4157.
AWANA TO BEGIN
Salem Baptist Church, AWANA Club, starts Wednesday, Sept. 10, 6:30 – 8 p.m., from ages four to sixth grade. The club will run from Sept. 10 through the last Wednesday in April. For more information call Theresa Albers at 573406-3131.
CEMETERY ASSOCIATION MEETS
Pleasant View Cemetery Association will meet on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the ForgetMe-Not Senior Citizens’ Building, 412 Main Street, New London. Anyone may attend.
FISH FRY
Annual Southfork Fish Fry will be held on Saturday, August 16, at noon. Everyone welcome!
Read the Ralls County Herald Enterprise
A large crowd, many wearing green t-shirts reading “no need, no gain, no eminent domain, Block Grain Belt Express,” fills the theater in the Roland Fine Arts building on the H-LGU campus to participate in the Missouri Public Service Commission hearing Tuesday, August 12. RCHE PHOTO
Over the past few months there has waged a battle for the public’s approval of a major power line transmission through eight Missouri counties. On one hand Grain Belt Express Clean Line has inundated the mailboxes and op-ed pages with the benefits of the transmission line. On the other, there are the thousands of farmers and likeminded folk who have crowded meetings, written their own op-ed pieces and filled the corn rows with signs protesting the transmission towers in their fields and pastures.
Each of the eight counties has held numerous meetings with both sides presenting their case. Over the course of about a year the county commissioners of all eight counties have said no to the transmission lines. Some counties changed from an initial agreement to the rescinding of that permission when the voice of the county’s agriculture community grew too loud to ignore. On Tuesday, August 12, the Missouri Public Service Commission held two public hearings in our area to allow public comments on Grain Belt Express
Clean Line’s application for a “Certificate of Convenience and Necessity.” The first meeting was held at 11 a.m. in Monroe County and the second was held at 5 p.m. for Ralls County. To allow for an anticipated capacity crowd the meeting was held at the Roland Fine Arts Theater at Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal instead of the Multipurpose Room at Mark Twain High School in Center where previous meetings had been held. Grain Belt is proposing an approximately 750-mile overhead direct current Continued to page 3
THE FORMER THOMPSON TRUSS CO. BUILDING HAS A LOT GOING ON Yes, “there’s something going on at Jimmy’s old place.” Indeed, there is a lot going on at the former Thompson Truss Co. building 14891 New London Grave Road. Jim Thompson’s family has been in the Saverton area of Ralls County for over 100 years. Thompson was a general contractor, building residences and commercial properties from 1972 to 1990 when he started Thompson Truss Company. In 2011 he sold Thompson Truss to Con-Tech Building Components Inc. Rob Cody, Con-Tech representative, operates a satellite office at Thompson’s location. Cody acts as the sales representative for Con-Tech selling roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels. Cody is also available for job-site consultations and can be reached from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thompson’s daughter, Tara Comer, operates Ralls County Lumber LLC, a wholesale lumber company which sells products mainly to other truss plants. There are two salesmen under Comer, Jeff Harvey and Eric Harvey, who arrange loads and make customer contact. They sell anywhere in the United States and can be reached at 573-985-3044. Shane Thompson operates Thompson Wood Products LLC, a business which sells pole barn packages, engineered I-joists and stock lumber as well as custom-built sheds and other engineered wood products. Thompson can be reached at 573-985-1991.
Pictured are the site operators representing four of the five businesses that are located at the former Thompson Truss building on New London Gravel Road. From left are Tara Comer, Ralls County Lumber LLC; Chris Comer, United Country Real Estate; Kyle Evans, Evans Construction and Kingdom Blind; and Rob Cody, Con-Tech Building Components.
Chris Comer is an on-site agent for United Country Real Estate, giving people an opportunity to contact the St. Louis based real estate agency at a local office. Comer, a land specialist, offers rural property, hunting acreage and homes in the country to interested buyers all over the country. Clients can view videos on numerous web sites as well as in Comer’s office. Comer can
be reached at 573-248-6461. The fifth business to operate at the New London Gravel Road location is Kingdom Blind, a company building custom built metal exterior hunting blinds. Kyle Evans builds the blinds on site and can be reached at 573-4063282. Evans also operates Evans Construction specializing in pole barns, roofing and concrete work.
Continuing The Tradition Of The Ralls County Record, The Center Herald, And The Perry Enterprise