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Friday, October 23, 2020
REPUBLICAN-TIMES TRENTON
Trenton, MO 64683 2020 ELECTION
75¢
per copy Check out the Republican-Times on the Internet: www.republican-times.com ©W.B. Rogers Printing Co., Inc.
Twelve Pages & 1 Insert
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 15
Briefs...
Keeping Track Takes Time
County Clerk Makes Sure Only Qualified Voters Cast Ballots by Ronda Lickteig R-T Staff Writer We’ve all heard the joke: “vote early, vote often!” We might get a chuckle out of that or the stories about people casting a vote 20 years after they’ve gone on to the big polling place in the sky. But seriously, how do those in the county clerk’s office maintain an accurate list of voters and ensure that everyone is getting just one vote? The short answer is that it takes a lot of effort. One way the voter rolls are maintained is to do a two-year mailing of new voter registration cards to every registered voter in the county. “By statute we have to send out the new cards to every single registered voter every two years,” said Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard. “If the post office has a change of address for that person, they are supposed to send it back.” The large number of returns every two years is proof that we’re a very mobile society. The registrations of those whose cards are returned are then deleted from the voter rolls. That’s one reason a person might not find themselves on the voter list when they go cast a ballot. So it’s important to remember to change your voter registration address if you’ve moved. Just filling out
COMMISSION MEETS Snow Removal Bids
Radio System Change Discussed
Flushing Con ntiinu es s Flushing of the city’s water distribution system is continuing throughout the month of October, with Trenton Municipal Utilities crews flushing the area east of Highway 65 in the Trenton Lake area to the city limits. This is a semi-annual requirement of the water treatment process and may be some discoloration of water during the hours of flushing, which will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. It is recommended customers run water for a short period of time prior to doing laundry or wait until after the flushing hours. Persons with questions may contact the water treatment plant at 359-3211.
terial purchases and use of TMU equipment to help with private customer line installation. The committee reviewed the utility finances, with Urton noting reserves continue to decrease in the
The radio system for the sheriff’s department and consideration of snow removal bids were on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the Grundy County Commission, which also discussed the county hazard mitigation plan. In a meeting with Grundy County Sheriff Rodney Herring, the commission discussed moving the system used by sheriff’s office to the statewide MOSWIN radio system. According to Presiding Commissioner Phillip Ray, the commission has requested monetary assistance from the Drug Task Force Seizure Fund to facilitate the switch to replace mobile and handheld radios. Ray said there would also be a hardware module installed at the dispatch center for compatability purposes. The approximate cost of the project is $65,000. Two bids were considered for snow removal. Chris and Danny Gott submitted a bid which included $500 for snow removal and ice melt application at the courthouse, prosecuting attorney’s office and law enforcement center. They also included a bid of $125 for applying ice melt only when needed, with the county supplying the ice melt. The second bid, submitted by Thane Denney, was for $375 for snow removal and ice melt application at the same three locations and the application of ice melt only for $80. The bids were tabled until further information can be sought from the parties. Commissioners met with Randy Railsback and Jennifer Wykoff to begin preparations for updating the county hazard mitigation plan, which is updated every five years.
See Committee, Page 3
See County, Page 3
Halllowe een Eve ents Pllanned Area children will have a chance to “trick or treat” at three public drive-through events planned next week, with the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce/Ambassadors and Wesley United Methodist Church holding activities from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26 while Trenton HyVee will hold activities on Saturday, Oct. 31. The chamber event will take place in the Rock Barn area, with vehicles to enter from Oklahoma Avenue, stop at the FFA cookshack area, then exit onto 12th Street. Children must be in the vehicle in order for a treat bag to be distributed. The Wesley event will be held on the Washington Street side of the church, which is located at the intersection of Ninth and Washington. Vehicles are to drive by the double glass doors, where treat bags will be distributed. The Hy-Vee event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Halloween in the store parking lot. Vehicles are to enter from Ninth Street and stop at the tent, where treat bags will be distributed to all children in costume.
COVID-19 Upd date R-T Photo/Ronda Lickteig
Courtney Campbell, deputy county clerk, shows the large number of voter registration cards that were returned in 2019 when new cards were sent to all registered voters.
a change of address at the post office won’t do it! Sometimes the post office will send the cards back because “snowbirds” have flown the coop for the winter. Being from a rural area is an advantage in keeping track of local voters.
TRENTON CITY COUNCIL
“People will come in and say ‘I live there. I’ve always lived there’,” said Deputy Clerk Courtney Campbell about those who maintain their permanent residence in Grundy County. “It’s kind of See Election, Page 3
Active COVID-19 cases in Grundy County are down since Monday, but up since Wednesday, according to information provided to the Republican-Times. The health department reports 44 active cases as of Thursday morning, up five from Wednesday but down four from Monday. The total number of county cases since testing began is listed at 328, up 13 from Monday, and includes 13 deaths. Other area counties and their numbers include Livingston, 416 (29 active - including 11 in the hospital, 7 deaths); Sullivan, 298 (32 active, 1 death); Linn, 297 (37 active, 12 deaths); Daviess, 211 (129 active - including 10 in the hospital, 3 deaths); Carroll, 204 (32 active, 5 deaths); Caldwell, 202 (26 active, 2 deaths); Harrison, 189 (23 active, 1 death); Putnam, 62 (13 active, 1 death); and Mercer, 34 (0 active, 0 deaths).
Water, Sewer Connections
Utility Committee Suggests Policy Changes Changes to policies regarding water and sanitary sewer service connections will be recommended to the Trenton City Council for approval following a meeting on Tuesday night of the utility committee. City Administrator Ron Urton said the committee reviewed the Trenton Municipal Utilities policies,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
adding changes that will go to the council for action on Monday night, Oct. 26. Urton said the changes are being made in an effort to help reduce the cost to property owners, who are responsible for the cost of connections made from the water/sewer mains to the household water/sewer line. The changes involve ma-
Organization Key In ConAgra Purchase By Nestle
NCMDA Addresses Area Business Needs Editor’s Note: The Trenton Republican-Times will be publishing a weekly series of articles regarding the activities of the North Central Missouri Development Alliance and information about economic and community development in Grundy County. By Micah Landes, Director North Central Missouri Development Alliance Late in the year of 2016 and early 2017, Grundy County received concerning news from the ConAgra Corporation which stated their intentions to phase out and ultimately close the Trenton facility. Receipt of this news threatened the employment of 350plus employees and promised to challenge the economy in Grundy County and the surrounding region. Local governments and taxing entities were faced with the possibility of a loss in property tax revenue, utilities, goods
and services as well as a decline in population. Several months after the formation of North Central Missouri Development Alliance, ConAgra announced the sale of the Trenton facility to Nestle Inc., which was a major accomplishment for the newly-formed organization. Former Nestle plant manager Andy Darley has publicly stated that without the services of NCMDA the ownership transfer would never have happened. The Nestle acquisition serves as a testament to the ability of a community to achieve great things when everyone is focused on the same goal and egos and agendas are checked at the door. Historically, economic development in Grundy County had been delivered primarily at the city level, which partnered with the Grundy County Industrial Development Corporation. Many positive outcomes
National Weather Service
It will be a frosty weekend with showers possible on Saturday and Sunday before a chance of snow moves in on Monday. Highs will be mostly in the 40s with lows as low was 29. The high on Monday, Oct. 19 at Trenton was 44 and Tuesday’s high was 47. Wednesday’s high was 52 and the low was 39. Wednesday’s high at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 52, the low was 37. Precipitation was .12 of an inch.
were realized over the years from this delivery mode however, the ConAgra situation highlighted the need for an organization that could be the conduit for all things economic development in the county without the required public purview at the city and county government levels. In response to the economic threats that the ConAgra closure promised to deliver representatives from the city, county, Industrial Development, and other partners began discussions about forming a countywide development organization that would represent the interests of all public taxing entities within the county. Those involved researched the economic development models of surrounding counties in the northeast and northwestern parts of the state and learned that almost every city/county had evolved into a public/private partnership model for the delivery of their
economic development initiatives and they were experiencing positive outcomes. After a great deal of discussion and exploration, NCMDA was incorporated on March 23, 2017, and after a selection process I was hired as the first director of the organization. NCMDA is funded by a partnership with the City of Trenton and Grundy County and the organization is governed by a set of by-laws and a board of directors. Current board members include Phillip Ray, Grundy County Presiding Commissioner, representing Grundy County; Cathie Smith, city council member representing City of Trenton: Jackie Soptic, Green Hills Regional Planning Commission. Dr. Lenny Klaver, President of North Central Missouri College; Travis Elbert; Phil Hoffman; Scott Wilson, general manager of Grundy Electric Cooperative; David
What’s Inside... The THS football team will play its last regular season game at home tonight, taking on GRC foe South Harrison. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for a preview of the game being played at C.F. Russell Stadium.
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Bain, Wright Memorial Hospital; Scott Weldon; and Cathy Bailey. NCMDA continues to facilitate positive economic outcomes in Grundy County, which is evident in recent economic reporting during the COVID-19 Pandemic. To date, county sales tax collections have been flat or have increased each month of the pandemic, a few small businesses have opened and no businesses have closed. These indicators reflect the county’s economy is strong, diversified and experiencing steady growth. NCMDA offers partnership opportunities and has enjoyed tremendous support. Local businesses and organizations in the county that acknowledge and financially support NCMDA are the Grundy County Commission, City of Trenton/TMU, Grundy Electric Cooperative, Trenton See NCMDA, Page 3
What’s Inside
Sports.............................page 2 Local News ....................page 3 Calendars ......................page 3 Op/Ed ............................page 4 Agriculture....................page 5 Amendments..........page 6 & 7 Comics ...........................page 8 Crosswords....................page 9 NASCAR .....................page 11