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Friday, October 30, 2020
REPUBLICAN-TIMES TRENTON
Trenton, MO 64683
75¢
per copy Check out the Republican-Times on the Internet: www.republican-times.com ©W.B. Rogers Printing Co., Inc.
Fourteen Pages - 2 Sections & 1 Insert
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 17
GRUNDY COUNTY
Polls Open at 6 a.m.
Judges Named For November General Election
R-T Photo/Ronda Lickteig
Brenda Orndorff, left, and Sue Ball, work on getting the 2020 Grundy County real estate and property tax bills ready for mailing. Grundy County Collector-Treasurer Barbara Harris said the bills will be mailed on Monday and should be arriving in mailboxes soon. Those who don’t receive a bill should contact her office, located on the second floor of the courthouse. Payments can be made through the mail, in person or left in the drop box on the north side of the courthouse and must be paid or postmarked by Dec. 31 to avoid a penalty.
COVID 19
Large Patient Surge In October
Hospitalization Numbers Up COVID-19 hospitalization numbers at Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton and Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe are seeing significant rises, according to information provided by the Saint Luke’s Health System. Jordan Ferguson, who is the marketing and public relations director, said 34 individuals have been hospitalized with COVID-related conditions since July 1, with 33 of those coming in the month of October alone. This is after no hospitalizations were reported during the first two
Briefs... D riveThrrough h Vo otiing g
Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard has announced an opportunity for those who are currently quarantined due to the COVID-19 pandemic to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s General Election. Mrs. Spickard said those who are quarantined by the Grundy County Health Department may call her office to make an appointment to vote from their vehicle on Saturday afternoon. While the clerk’s office will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday for in-person absentee voting, those who are quarantined and will not be released from quarantine by Tuesday will be allowed to vote Saturday afternoon. Those wishing to take advantage of this opportunity are asked to call the clerk’s office at 359-4040, ext. 4 by 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Appointments are necessary so paperwork can be prepared prior to the person arriving to vote. Those wishing to vote absentee in the election may do so in person until 5 p.m. on Monday.
quarters of 2020 (January through June). The numbers reported were not broken out by hospital and do not include COVID-19 patients from Grundy or Livingston counties who may have been hospitalized in other facilities. According to the state’s COVID reporting site at www.showmestrong.gov.mo, there were 1,446 Missourians who were currently being hospitalized for COVIDrelated conditions as of Oct. 25. The number included 451 individuals who were in ICU facilities and 173 who were on ven-
CITY OF TRENTON
tilators. Total numbers since statistics started being kept were not available. As of Thursday morning, Grundy County added nine new COVID cases since its report to the Republican-Times on Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the county since testing began to 341. The number of active cases continues to decline, with Thursday’s number at 26, which is down by 13 cases since Monday. The total number of COVID-related See COVID, Page 3
Judges for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 General Election have been announced by Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and absentee balloting can take place until 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2. A meeting for supervisory judges is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Monday. Liberty and Myers Townships (voting at Galt) - Linda Baugher, TBA Republican; Kathy Tabbert, TBA, Democrat. Wilson and Marion Townships (voting at the Laredo Community Building) Vickie Bowe, Peggy Scott, Republicans; Jackie Owens, Kayla Smith, Democrats. Franklin and Washington Townships (voting at the Spickard Christian Church) - Rhonda McIntosh, Carol Marrs, Republicans; Vicki Weaver, Carolyn Brown, Democrats. Madison and Taylor Townships (voting at the Edinburg Baptist Church) Barbra Adams, Shirley Gondringer, Republicans; Wanda Long, Margaret Turner, Democrats. Trenton First Ward and Jefferson Township (voting at the Grundy County Courthouse) - Janice Garri-
son, Marleen Johnson, Republicans; Linda Brummitt, Sue Ball, Democrats. Trenton, Second Ward and Lincoln Township (voting at the Ketcham Community Center at North Central Missouri College)Jim Coldicott, Michelle Grisamore, Republicans; Melanie McCloud, Rebecca Ransdell, Democrats. Trenton, Third Ward and Harrison Township(voting in the fellowship hall at the First Christian Church in Trenton) - Ida Lee Little, Nadine Gibler, Republicans; Janet Slater, Diane Zeiger, Democrats. Trenton Fourth Ward and Jackson Township (voting at the First Baptist Church Recreation Center) - Janet Spencer, Amy Bethards, Republicans; Sheron Lovell, Yvonne Ulmer, Democrats. Judges scheduled to count absentee ballots include Michelle Shaw and Janice Belvel, Republicans; and Charlene Arnold and Marie Gladback-Dolan, Democrats. Tonna Ricketts will run the machine during that time and will join Mrs. Wilson and Lorene Skroh as night judges, who count one precinct by hand to ensure the electronic ballot counter is accurate.
OKs Utility Connection Policies
Council Sends Request Back To P&Z A conditional use permit, turned down by the Trenton Planning and Zoning Commission, will be sent back to the commission for further consideration following action taken by the Trenton City Council on Monday night. Council members voted 8-0 to send the permit request from Gabriella Chrisman back to the commission after receiving a revised plan from Ms. Chrisman that includes additional information not previously available at the planning and zoning hearing. Ms. Chrisman and Erma Newton had asked the commission to approve the permit to allow them to build an outdoor theater on property Ms. Chrisman owns at 2306 Oak St. and 2211 Stature St. The commission turned down the request, citing location of a business within an area that is primarily residential. Three persons who attended the hearing via Zoom expressed concerns regarding increased traffic, noise and late hours. Ms. Chrisman, who attended the council meeting in person, said she had been working with an attorney
NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI COLLEGE
and wanted to abide by the city’s zoning ordinance. She said she had “apparently given the wrong impression” regarding what she wanted to do in the area, noting that it was never her intention to have a large movie screen or generate a lot of traffic. She referred to the proposal as a “family atmosphere.” The revised plan presented at Monday night’s meeting showed a food truck being located in the area, with four to six picnic tables where persons could eat. A 100-inch “TV-type” screen would also be erected where persons would be able to view videos being shown. Hours of operation were listed from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Code Enforcement Officer Wes Barone said the area was zoned as B-2, which does allow for small businesses located inside of buildings, such as attorney’s offices, insurance offices, etc. Because there were changes to the plan from what the commission had received, the council unanimously agreed to have Ms. Chrisman send her revised plan back to the commission for
reconsideration. Voting in person were Glen Briggs, Danny Brewer, Cathie Smith, Dave Mlika and Duane Urich. Voting via Zoom were Kevin Klinginsmith, Marvin Humphreys and John Dolan. The council approved new written policies regarding water and sanitary sewer service connections. City Administrator Ron Urton, attending the meeting via Zoom, said the policies will help property owners when replacing service lines between the city main and the house, including reducing the cost and making sure the work meets city code. Under the new policies, the property owner would hire a contractor but materials would be purchased through the city. Permits will be required for excavation in the public right of way. In an effort to reduce street cut costs, TMU would have the option to use its boring device to go under the street and pull in new service lines. Approval was given to a budget revision, allowing funds designated for overhead doors at the fire station See Council, Page 3
WDB Has New Director
Personnel Recommendations Approved North Central Missouri College trustees made appointments to two upper-level management positions during a meeting held on Tuesday on the campus. Brent Stevens, who has been serving as the Workforce Development Board Equal Opportunity Officer/Program Operations Manager, will replace Lisa Hostetler as executive director of the WDB. Mrs. Hostetler had earlier announced her retirement. Stevens, who
will begin his new duties on Dec. 1, will be paid $55,378 annually. His prior position will now need to be filled. Also approved for a promotion during the meeting was Joni Oaks, who will be moving from assistant registrar to director of enrollment and records/registrar. She will be replacing long-time registrar Linda Brown, who has retired. Mrs. Oaks will be paid $50,000 annually. Megan Miller of Trenton was approved for an internal
National Weather Service
It looks like it will be a sunny but cool weekend with highs hitting 61 on Saturday before dropping back to 46 on Sunday. Lows will be as low as 25. The high at Trenton on Monday, Oct. 26 was 34 with .03 of an inch of snow recorded. Tuesday’s high was 39 with Wednesday’s high reaching 49. The low was 31. The high on Wednesday at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 57, the low was 21.
transfer moving her from part-time academic records clerk to full-time assistant registrar at a pay rate of $13.13 per hour. In other personnel matters, the board hired Shiann Campbell of Edgerton, who will serve as campus store associate-retail at a pay rate of $11.01 per hour, and Zane Robinson of Trenton, who will serve as IT Helpdesk Specialist at a salary rate of $14.65 per hour. Adjunct instructors approved for em-
ployment include Kassandra Anderson of Dawn, massage therapy; Jared Harding of Grant City, agriculture; and Abigail Bilby of St. Joseph, nursing clinical instructor. Trustees approved a salary adjustment for Tocarra Williams, Student Support Services assistant director, from $35,250 to $37,250. The change, retroactive to Sept. 1, was made due to
What’s Inside... The THS football team will meet up with the Lexington Minutemen tonight in the first round of the Class 2, District 8 playoffs. See page 3 of today’s Republican-Times for a preview of the contest, being played on the road.
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What’s Inside
Sports.................Sec. 1, page 2 Local ...........Sec. 1, page 3 & 7 Op/Ed.................Sec. 1, page 4 Community .......Sec. 1, page 5 Agriculture ........Sec. 1, page 6 Comics ...............Sec. 2, page 1 Crosswords........Sec. 2, page 2 Dear Annie.........Sec. 2, page 2 Ballot..................Sec. 2, page 6