FLIP PAGES FOR WEBSITE.qxp_shopper 4-22-20.qxp 12/7/20 11:36 AM Page 1
Tuesday, December 8, 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.
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 28
Ten Pages
TRENTON R-9 Starts Today
COVID-19 Quarantine Protocol Changes Are Made The Trenton R-9 School District has announced some changes in the school’s quarantine protocol regarding students who are considered “close contacts.” Superintendent Mike Stegman said the district plans to implement modifications recently announced by Gov. Mike Parson, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, with the changes taking effect at the high school and middle school today (Tuesday, Dec. 8). Rissler Elementary will look into modifying the mask mandates currently used to take advantage of the new protocols. While not all students will be able to utilize the changes, Stegman said they should help some and allow students who follow all of the guidelines and have no symptoms to stay in school. Students will still be close contact-traced and placed on quarantine with those who meet the established guidelines to come to school during the regular day as long as no COVID symptoms are present. Stegman said the district has had a large number of students quarantined in the last few weeks due to close contact with a positive COVID-19 student within a classroom and that the administration has worked to keep students safe by wearing masks and social distancing. The district has seen a drop in the quarantine numbers since the Thanksgiving break and Stegman said administration felt this would be a good time to implement the modifications. Stegman said no activities are allowed for students outside of the school day while in quarantine. The update will not change the quarantines in athletics and other large groups not wearing masks as well as for classes that are in cohorts and not wearing masks in the classroom. Close contacts during the lunch period will still be in quarantine. Stegman said he does not believe the changes will not create additional risk in the district, adding there have been no signs the spread of the virus is happening within the schools. He said the positive cases the district has had are tracked to activities and contacts outside of the school day. He also believes not all students sent home are staying quarantined as intended and those students would be better off in school where they will wear masks as much as possible and receive an educational benefit. Stegman noted that if the district finds it has a positive See R-9, Page 4
Photos Courtesy of Phil Schlarb
The Christmas holiday officially made its way to Trenton on Friday night with the annual Christmas parade taking place. There were over 30 entries in the event, which made its way past the Sunnyview Nursing Home and Apartments, Bristol Manor and Eastview Manor before heading to downtown, where around 250 persons awaited the arrival of Santa and his elves, pictured above. A special guest in the parade was KC Wolf, pictured at left, who visited with the crowd. The entry from the Pleasant View R-6 School, pictured at the top, took top honors in the parade.
Briefs...
HUNGER IN AMERICA
COVID-19 Update Grundy County has 15 new positive COVID-19 cases since Thursday, according to information provided by the Grundy County Health Department. There were 714 total cases reported to the RepublicanTimes on Monday. Active cases were listed at 98, down 12 since Thursday. Deaths remained at 22. Area county numbers include Livingston, 855 (63 active, including 13 hospitalized, 22 deaths); Linn, 700 (73 active, 10 deaths); Sullivan, 659 (24 active, 8 deaths); Carroll, 609 (54 active, 13 deaths); Harrison, 487 (39 active, 8 deaths); Daviess, 410 (162 active, 10 deaths); and Mercer, 96 (51 active, 1 death). There were no new numbers available from Caldwell or Putnam counties.
R--9 Boa ard d To o Me eet Tonightt The Trenton R-9 Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting at 5:30 tonight (Tuesday) at the district office. The meeting is set up for board members and administrators, with the public not having physical access to the meeting. They may access the meeting via the Google Meet Link, meet.google.com/pvw-ixhh-jsp. Items on the announced agenda include setting election filing dates, the 2019-20 audit, the John T. Belcher Scholarship, the 2021 summer school program, a COVID discussion, the guidance program evaluation, a safety report and principal reports. An executive session is also planned for personnel. ********** SANTA LETTER DEADLINE - FRIDAY, DEC. 11 Mail to Trenton Republican-Times 122 E. Eighth St., PO Box 548, Trenton, MO 64683; email to rtimes @lyn.net; or leave at the Republican-Times office during business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to noon on Friday.)
National Weather Service
Mostly sunny skies are expected through the first part of this week with highs in the low to mid 50s and lows in the 30s. The high temperature at Trenton on Thursday, Dec. 3 was 45 and the high on both Friday and Saturday was 53. The high on Sunday was 46 and the overnight low was 29. The high temperature on Sunday at the Government Weather station near Spickard was 44, the low was 29.
Pandemic Affects Millions
Many Are Using Food Banks For First Time By The Associated Press The deadly pandemic that tore through the nation’s heartland struck just as Aaron Crawford was in a moment of crisis. He was looking for work, his wife needed surgery, then the virus began eating away at her work hours and her paycheck. The Crawfords had no savings, mounting bills and a growing dread: What if they ran out of food? The couple had two boys, 5 and 10, and boxes of macaroni and cheese from the dollar store could go only so far. A 37-year-old Navy vet, Crawford saw himself as selfreliant. Asking for food made him uncomfortable. “I felt like I was a failure,” he says. “It’s this whole stigma ... this mindset that you’re this guy who can’t provide for his family, that you’re a deadbeat." Hunger is a harsh reality in the richest country in the world. Even during times of
prosperity, schools hand out millions of hot meals a day to children, and desperate elderly Americans are sometimes forced to choose between medicine and food. Now, in the pandemic of 2020, with illness, job loss and business closures, millions more Americans are worried about empty refrigerators and barren cupboards. Food banks are doling out meals at a rapid pace and an Associated Press data analysis found a sharp rise in the amount of food distributed compared with last year. Meanwhile, some folks are skipping meals so their children can eat and others are depending on cheap food that lacks nutrition. Those fighting hunger say they’ve never seen anything like this in America, even during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The first place many Americans are finding relief is a neighborhood food pantry,
What’s Inside... The THS boys and girls basketball teams finished up play in the Gallatin Tournament on Friday night. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for a recap of the contests played against Maysville.
Trenton Republican-Times “News Every Day...When YOU Want It”
NICE!
www.republican-times.com
most connected to vast networks of nonprofits. Tons of food move each day from grocery store discards and government handouts to warehouse distribution centers, and then to the neighborhood charity. The Crawfords turned to the Family Resource Centers and Food Shelf, part of 360 Communities, a nonprofit 15 minutes from their apartment in Apple Valley, Minnesota. When needed, they receive monthly boxes of fresh produce, dairy, deli, meat and other basics — enough food to fill two grocery carts. If that runs out, they can get an emergency package to tide them over for the rest of the month. Crawford's wife, Sheyla, had insisted they seek help; her hours had been cut at the day care center where she worked. At first, Crawford was embarrassed to go the food shelf; he worried he'd bump into someone he knew. He now sees it differently.
What’s Inside
Sports.............................page 2 Local News.............page 3 & 4 Community ...................page 5 Calendars ......................page 5 Comics ...........................page 6 Crosswords....................page 7 Dear Annie ....................page 7 Classifieds ..............page 8 & 9 Church Page .................page 9