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Tuesday, February 25, 2020
REPUBLICAN-TIIMES 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.
12 Pages & 1 Insert
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 156th Year - No. 51
I REMEMBER TRENTON
SMITHFIELD FOODS Additional Investment
Local Boys Participated In Races
Soap Box Derby Drew Big Crowds Editor’s Note: Persons who have a memory to share about any topic related to Trenton and the surrounding area are asked to do so by e-mailing the Republican-Times newspaper at rtimes@lyn.net. Stories should include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. Stories are to be submitted by e-mail and will appear periodically in the newspaper. by Loma Hurst Does anyone remember the Soap Box Derby held in Trenton? The Soap Box Derby was a special summer event held in the late 1950s for boys aged 11 to 15. It was organized by the Junior Chamber of Commerce and sponsored locally by Nisbeth-Seidel Chevrolet Company, the Trenton Republican-Times and KTTN. Many of the employees of these sponsors and members of the Junior Chamber worked nights at Nisbeth-Seidel to help the boys with their cars or to check their progress. The wheels and axles were furnished as everything had to be the same nationwide. The boys designed and built the car according to certain specifications provided by the National Soap Box Derby Organization. The total weight of the car and boy could not be over 250 pounds. Each boy had to have
a sponsor to help with the expenses of the materials. Trenton was the smallest town in the nation to hold a Soap Box Derby. Only two other cities in Missouri, Columbia and Kansas City, had these races. The first race was held in 1957 on old Highway 65 (now Oklahoma Avenue), starting at a point near where the First Baptist Church is now and ending at 17th Street. This was really something new in town. The winner was James Coffman, son of Irene Coffman. Several boys received prizes for different parts of the car, design, brakes and others. The winner was given very nice prizes from the local organization and a very impressive plaque and other prizes from the National Soap Box Derby group. The race in 1958 was held on Seventh Street, from Grundy Street to the courthouse. Gary Hurst, son of H.P. and Loma Hurst, was the winner. The next two years, the race was held on Ninth Street from the Adams Apartments building to Kitty Street. There were as many as 42 cars built and raced by the boys some years. The number of cars increased and so did the crowd who came to watch and cheer the drivers. It was reported that over 3,000 persons lined the streets in 1959 to watch the race.
PONY EXPRESS COUNCIL
Financially Independent
Photo Courtesy of “Things And Places We Loved In Trenton” Facebook Page
The 1959 Trenton Soap Box Derby featured a parade of cars, which traveled from North Central Missouri College on Main Street to the Adams Park Apartments on Ninth Street, where the race was held.
And then there was always the “Oil Can Derby” that raced before the boys started. The cars were made out of an old oil barrel and the wheels and parts of the former winning Soap Box Derby cars. The drivers were some of the men who had helped the boys build their cars. That race was always cause for a lot of yelling and screaming. The winner in 1959 was Tom Duncan, son of W.T. and Judy Duncan. Some of the other boys who built cars were Danny Spencer, Daryl Spencer, Ronald Trump, Allan Seidel, Danny
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
approximately 90 percent of the pending abuse claims against the BSA relate to incidents that occurred more than 30 years. “The safety of the kids in our programs is our top priority,” Franks said. “Over the years we have developed the strongest expert-informed protection policies which have been adopted by many youth -serving organizations; from mandatory youth protection training like twodeep leadership, no one-on-one interaction between youth and adults and reporting of any suspected abuse is mandatory.” Franks said that scouting in the Pony Express Council, which includes northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas, will continue to serve youth, families and our communities for many years to come. Persons with questions may contact Franks at 816-233-1351 or by email at alan.franks@scouting.org
Tuesday, March 10
those listed include Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, Leonard J. Steinman II, Cory Booker, Joseph R. Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Velma Steinman, Henry Hewes, Andrew Yang, Roque DeLaFuente, John K. Delaney, Julian Castro, Deval Patrick, Marianne Williamson, Michael Bennett, Michael R. Bloomberg, Steve Burke, Robby Wells and William C. (Bill) Haas. Jacob Hornberger is the only candidate on the Libertarian Party ballot and three candidates - Howie Hawkins, Dario Hunter and David Rolde - are on the Green Party ballot. Don J. Grundmann and Don Blankenship are on the Consti-
tution Party ballot. Judges have been named for the election and it should be noted that voters in Harrison and Lincoln townships will vote in the first-floor conference room of the Grundy County Courthouse. The easiest access to that room is through the east doors of the courthouse. Judges, with the supervisor judges listed first, and polling places include: Liberty and Myers Townships (voting at the Galt Baptist Church) - Linda Baugher, Kelly Eller, Republicans; Kathy Tabbert, Abigail Neff, Democrats. Wilson and Marion TownSee Election, Page 6
National Weather Service
There’s a slight chance of snow on Wednesday before skies clear mid-week. The high on Thursday will be 35, Friday’s high will be 37 and Saturday’s high will hit 42. Lows will dip to around 18 on Thursday night. The high on Thursday at Trenton was 30, Friday’s high was 45 and Saturday’s high was 54. Sunday’s high was 62 with a low of 36. The high on Sunday at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 58, the low was 33.
See Derby, Page 6
FFA Community Breakfa a stt
Election Judges Announced Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, March 10 to cast ballots in the Missouri Presidential Preference Primary Election. Those voting will need to ask for a ballot for a specific party, with Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green and Constitution party candidates on the ballot in Missouri. The ballots will include the names of some candidates who have dropped out of the race for president as ballots had to be finalized and printed in advance. Those listed on the Republican ballot include Donald J. Trump, Bob Ely, Bill Weld, Joe Walsh and Matthew John Matern. On the Democrat ballot,
Prichett and Jim and Ronnie Hurst. A lot of the boys in the area built cars. That year they had a parade. They put all the cars and drivers on trailers or flatbed trucks and had the Trenton High School Band, the former winners and some other entries lined up at North Central Missouri College, with the parade heading to the Adams building, where the race was going to start. Jerry Wilson won the race in 1960, which was the last race held in Trenton.
Briefs...
Local Scouting Activities Will Continue As Usual Officials of the Pony Express Council of the Boy Scouts of America are wanting the public to know that activities involving scouts in the area will continue as usual despite the recent bankruptcy filing by the national BSA organization. Pony Express Executive Alan Franks said that the Pony Express Council and troops within the council, which include Trenton Boy Scout Troops 97 and 99 and Cub Scout Pack 23, are financially independent from the national organization, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Franks said that unit meetings and activities as well as district and council events will take place as usual. The Chapter 11 filing was made by the national organization to compensate abuse victims who were harmed during their time of scouting as well as help continue carrying out the scouting mission for years to come. Franks noted that
Missouri Manure To Energy Project Expanded
In observance of National FFA Week, the Trenton FFA chapter will host its annual community breakfast on Friday, Feb. 28. The breakfast will be from 6:30 to 8 a.m. in the Metcalf Building on the NCMC Barton Farm Campus. The event is being moved as the Trenton High School ag building is not available due to construction at the school. All chapter members, parents, school faculty and community supporters are invited to attend. National FFA Week is Feb. 23-28, with the local chapter holding a number of activities during the week, including the breakfast.
R-9 Pla ans Board Retreat The Trenton R-9 Board of Education will hold a board retreat at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29 in the BTC Bank community room. Board members and administrators will meet to discuss goal setting and planning, with no formal action planned.
Crowd der Park Hiike Se et Crowder State Park will host a 6.5 mile “Leap Year” Hike on Saturday, Feb. 29. The hike, which gets under way at 1 p.m., will begin in the equestrian parking lot. The lot can be reached by driving west on Highway 146 to Edinburg, turning right on 52nd Avenue, then right on Dove Lane. The lot is at the end of Dove Lane. Hikers will travel a portion of the North Thompson Trail and all of the South Thompson Trail. Participants should bring water and a snack as well as wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather conditions.
Cha ange es For Vo oters Voters in the Trenton R-9 and Spickard R-2 school districts who vote at the Galt Baptist Church will be voting absentee for the April 7 Election. Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard said there are 14 registered voters who live in the R-2 School District and nine registered voters who live in the R-9 School District who would cast their votes in that precinct for school board positions. Since that would be the only issue on the ballot in that precinct, she has elected to close that polling site for the April election and have all voters cast absentee ballots. They can vote absentee through the mail, at the courthouse beginning this week or on election day in the clerk’s office at the courthouse if they wish. Absentee voting for the April election will get under way this week. Those voters affected by the change should have received a letter and if there are any questions they may contact Mrs. Spickard’s office at 359-4040, ext. 4. The poll will be open for the March 10 Presidential Primary Election.
What’s Inside... The THS wrestling team had three medalists at the Class 1 MSHSAA Wrestling Tournament, which concluded on Saturday in Columbia. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for a recap and photos from the tournament.
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Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy recently announced an additional $45 million investment in their Monarch Bioenergy joint venture, which captures methane from hog manure to produce renewable natural gas in Missouri. According to a new release from Smithfield, the additional investment will enable the continued implementation of “manure-to-energy” projects on Smithfield’s farms, resulting in RNG generation across 85 percent of the company’s hog finishing spaces in the state. This activity builds upon the “manure-to-energy” projects currently in operation across five Smithfield farms in northern Missouri and puts the company one step closer to equipping nearly all its finishing spaces in the state with the technology to produce RNG. The continued progress underscores Smithfield's industryleading commitment to sustainability, and is key to achieving the company’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2025. “Smithfield and RAE have been innovating ‘manure-toenergy’ technology together in Missouri since 2014,” said Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables and hog production environmental affairs for Smithfield Foods. “Our companies have a longstanding commitment to renewable energy and we’re thrilled to be one step closer to having nearly all our Missouri finishing farms engaged in producing RNG.” The “manure-to-energy” projects allow Monarch Bioenergy to leverage the infrastructure of Smithfield’s farms to capture methane emissions from hog farms and convert them into pipelinequality natural gas, which will be distributed to RNG markets across the country. “The scale of Smithfield’s operations and our expertise in renewable energy production have created the ideal partnership to have a tangible impact on carbon emissions,” said Rudi Roeslein, president of RAE. “The latest phase of Monarch Bioenergy demonstrates our shared commitment to creating a sustainable future for families with new sources of renewable energy.” Monarch Bioenergy is part of Smithfield Renewables, Smithfield’s platform to unify and accelerate its carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts. The investment compliments numerous initiatives Smithfield is implementing across the country, including additional renewable natural gas projects in North Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
What’s Inside
Sports .....................page 2 & 3 Across Missouri ............page 4 Community ...................page 5 Calendars ......................page 5 Local News.............page 6 & 7 Comics ...........................page 8 Dear Annie ....................page 9 Crosswords....................page 9 Classifieds ..........page 10 & 11