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Tuesday, October 27, 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. 16
R-T Photos/Ronda Lickteig
“We Shall Overcome: Encouraging Songs in Times of Hardship,” was the title of the Trenton Middle School and Trenton High School Fall Concert, held on Thursday, Oct. 22 at First Baptist Church. The concert featured the TMS Choir and Sofia Currie, soprano soloist on the song “We Shall Overcome,” at left. The Trenton High School Combined Choir, featuring both the concert choir and Gold Rush and pictured above, perform “In Meeting We Are Blessed.” The concert was under the direction of Tyler Busick. Laurie Bonta was the accompanist.
Briefs...
COVID-19 38 Active On Monday
Postive Case Numbers At 332 Just two new positive cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Grundy County since last Thursday, according to information provided to the Republican-Times. The health department reports 332 total cases as of Monday morning. There were no new cases reported on Saturday, which is the first time in 56 days that no new cases have been added. Active numbers are at 38, which is down six from the 44 reported on Thursday. There have been 14 deaths, an increase of one since the last reSee COVID, Page 5
NCMC C Board M eeting The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees will meet in regular session at 5:30 tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 27) in the Sugg Room of the Ketcham Community Center. Items on the announced agenda include a Head Start item, personnel matters (employments, transfers, salary adjustments, Head Start and WIOA) and reports from Head Start, the vice president for academic affairs, the vice president for student affairs and the college president. An executive session for personnel, legal matters and real estate is also planned.
Sa aturrday Vo oting Persons who wish to vote absentee in the Nov. 3 General Election will have the opportunity to do so this Saturday in the county clerk’s office. Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard said her office, located on the second floor of the courthouse, will be open from 8 a.m. to noon for those who wish to cast an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots can be cast until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Photo Courtesy of Grundy R-5 FFA
Seniors Ada Fox and Weston Carver were crowned the 2020 Grundy R-5 FFA Barnwarming Queen and King during activities held on Thursday, Oct. 22. The winners were chosen based on the amount of money raised by candidates via a “coin war,” with the money going to a local charity. Candidates also participated in various games during the dance, which was also used in determining the 2020 royalty. Pictured are, from left, freshman candidates Lanie Lewis and Slade Hill, sophomore candidates Kylar Bonnett and Cole Peterson, junior candidates Kammi Phillips and Fletcher Christy and senior candidates/barnwarming royalty Ada Fox and Weston Carver.
NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE
********** HY-VEE DRIVE-THROUGH TRICK OR TREAT Saturday, Oct. 31 - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Hy-Vee Tent in Store Parking Lot (enter from Ninth Street and drive past tent children encouraged to dress up in costume)
Grundy County In Good Shape
Statistics Don’t Always Show True Picture 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 Very few people find statistics and demographic information interesting reading. However, in the economic development arena, demographic information is VERY important as the data is read by site selectors and companies who are visiting the county without ever leaving the comfort of their home or office. Technology and the Internet have revolutionized the economic development game. No longer do prospects make calls to come and visit a community without first reading all the information (positive or negative) available on the web about a prospective location. Google maps and other GPS based
applications provide an option for site selectors to zoom in on a specific building, tract of land, public buildings and even your house, eliminating the need for in person fact finding missions. Traffic and pedestrian movement and general community life can be captured real time via webcams and the world of social media posting provides those outside a community a view of a county’s culture and overall personality. The United States Census provides an enormous amount of data concerning a county’s demographics as does MERIC (state data collection) and “All Things Missouri” (MU). There are many more data collection portals but, for the purpose of this discussion, the sites mentioned are the data sources referenced. All data collection serves as a snapshot in time and needs to be weighed as such. But, unfortunately, in the world of economic development, data is taken literally and used to make quick and final judgements about a community or county.
For instance, the 2010 census reports there are 10,261 people in Grundy County and 3,985 households. Keep in mind this number reflects information from ONLY people who completed the census. On average, only 45 percent of the population participates in the census, so an assumption can be made that Grundy County’s population is considerably greater than what is reported. According to the Community Survey, the per-person income in Grundy County is $23,249, 3.86 percent of the population is receiving public assistance benefits and 2.279 percent of the county’s children under 18 are living in poverty. The National Center for Education reports that 52.5 percent of public school students in Grundy County are eligible to receive free or reduced lunches and, according to the IRS, 820 federal tax filers in the county qualified for an earned income tax credit. Unfortunately, to those on the outside looking in, our economic data presents Grundy County on an eco-
National Weather Service
There’s a chance of rain through midweek with highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s and lows in the upper 20s and low 30s. The high at Trenton on Thursday, Oct. 22 was 82 with a high Friday of 46 and .25 of an inch of rain recorded. The high on Saturday was 43 and Sunday’s high was 41 with a low of 34. Sunday’s high at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 39, the low was 29 with one-quarter inch of snow.
nomic decline. However, that is not the case. Rarely does a prospective business take the time to evaluate all aspects of a community. If the data could be displayed in a comprehensive, real-time format, it would show that Grundy County’s demographics are at or above all the other counties in northwest and northeast Missouri. In other words, we are more like our surrounding counties than we are different. Another statistic that presents a challenge in business attraction, is current unemployment rates. As of September 2020, the Grundy County unemployment rate was 2.5 percent which, based on the available civilian workforce, means that only 108 people in the county were unemployed. To the site selector looking in, they would make a snap judgement there is not enough available labor to staff their enterprise should they decide to locate in Grundy County. Those of us who live here know that there are many people driving over 50 miles (one-way) for employment opportu-
What’s Inside... The THS football team finished up its regular season on Friday night, hosting South Harrison. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for a recap of the game, played at C.F. Russell Stadium.
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CHANCE OF RAIN
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nities who would jump at the chance to have a good job in the county. We also know that many people in our workforce are working two or more jobs or holding a job while farming or operating a side business. All these factors indicate we have a loyal, talented and hardworking labor force. Unfortunately, that story is not clearly explained in the economic data that site selectors and business prospects use to make their major business decisions. Another strong point about the economy of Grundy County that is not reflected in available data is its economic diversity. For instance, during the Great Recession in 2008, the county’s and the region’s economy had little negative downturn, which can be attributed to the economy not being totally reliant on one economic sector. The economy in Grundy County has several strong economic sectors that provide employment opportunities for a variety of workers. See NCMDA, Page 5
What’s Inside
Sports .........Sec. 1, page 2 & 3 Local ...........Sec. 1, page 4 & 6 Community ........Sec 1, page 5 Across Mo..........Sec. 1, page 7 Area News .........Sec. 1, page 8 National ......Sec. 2, page 1 & 2 Comics ...............Sec. 2, page 5 Crosswords........Sec. 2, page 6 Dear Annie.........Sec. 1, page 6