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Friday, June 14, 2019
TRENTON
REPUBLICAN-TIMES
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 - 155th Year - No. 81
TRENTON R-9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
Twelve Pages & 1 Insert PARK BOARD Officers Re-Elected
Student Cellphone Use To Be Studied
Attendance Requirement Removed Handbooks, normally a quick action item, took up several minutes of discussion during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Trenton R-9 Board of Education. At the center of the discussion was a middle school/high school policy that requires students to have a 90 percent attendance rate to participate in events such as dances, assemblies and nonacademic-related trips. The 2018-19 school year was the first time the policy had been in place which, according to Assistant Principal Kasey Bailey, was implemented in an effort to encourage better attendance and help the district meet the state APR attendance requirement of 90 percent. In past meetings, board member Dr. David Whitaker had voiced his concern about the requirement, particularly involving students being unable to attend prom - an issue discussed at a meeting in April. Dr. Whitaker again brought up his concern, stating that while he understands the 90 percent requirement for athletics because of MSHSAA rules, he did not think students should be penalized from participation due to not meeting the local attendance policy. Board member Dorothy Taul said she had received several calls about the policy as well. Those concerns resulted in the board voting 3-2 to eliminate the policy, with Dr. Whitaker, Ms. Taul and Corey Leeper voting in favor while Doug Franklin and Cliff Roeder voted no. Marcie Cutsinger and Brandon Gibler were absent. Franklin said he couldn’t see throwing out the policy because of a few students who are unhappy with it, adding that eliminating the policy would be
holding athletes/music/scholar bowl participants to a different standard than students who participate in other types of activities. Roeder said the district should not be rewarding students who don’t meet the standards set by the district, noting that “school is about education” and that extracurricular activities “were a privilege.” There was also much discussion regarding cellphones in the classroom. It was noted that cellphones are to only be used during the lunch hour and/or during “pass periods” between classes. However, exit interviews conducted with personnel leaving the district have revealed an issue with cellphones being allowed in the classroom by some teachers and not by others. Bailey said
TRENTON CITY COUNCIL
More Waterline Work Planned
Board Takes Personnel Action Following an executive session at Tuesday’s Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting, approval was given to employ Adriane Todd as Rissler assistant principal; Amanda Tatum and Samantha Baldwin as elementary teachers; Emily Reardon as THS health and physical education teacher and FTA sponsor; Derek Bloom as THS government instructor; Lucas Lewis as THS world history instructor; Chanse Houghton as THS physical science instructor; and Amy Currie, THS/TMS National Honor Society sponsor. The resignation of cook Mattie Yoder and paraprofessional Briana Bentley were also approved. Coaching/extra duty assignments approved included Jon Guthrie, middle school weights and middle school boys track; Emily Reardon, high school girls basketball assistant and middle school assistant girls softball; David Sager, high school boys tennis and high school boys basketball assistant; Joel Hultman, head boys baseball and middle school boys assistant basketball; Corbin Coe, high school assistant baseball; Wes Croy, high school boys track; Chris Parks, high school girls track; Mike Witten, high school assistant track; Travis Mullenix, high school boys golf; Derek Bloom, high school scholar bowl; Amanda King, head middle school girls track; Shanin Parks, assistant girls and boys middle school track; Trey Shields, middle school assistant football and middle school wrestling; and Pam Bowden, middle school assistant girls basketball.
that he has visited with teachers about the situation and encouraged them to send students to the office if there is an issue. He stated he would be in favor of not allowing the phones in the classroom. Dr. Whitaker and Roeder both expressed support of no cellphones in the classroom while Ms. Taul said she would favor letting teachers make the call on whether or not the phones can be used. Roeder said teachers are in the classroom to teach and shouldn’t have to deal with the cellphone issue. It was decided to have Bailey and TMS Principal Daniel Gott gather information on what other school districts are doing and bring it back to the board for consideration. The board wants to
intoxicated” charges when an individual operates a vehicle while under the influence of medical marijuana. There are also three ordinances addressing zoning issues, designating areas in which manufacturing and cultivation facilities can be located and rules to be followed, how the facilities are to be zoned and definitions regarding what constitutes a medical manufacturing/cultivation facility. Seven of the eight ordinances received approval on an 8-0 vote. The ordinance regarding regulation of facilities
AREA SCHOOL BOARDS
GRVCO Concert Is Saturday
was approved on a 7-1 vote, with Brad Chumbley voting no. Chumbley said he was opposed to the section that does not allow cities/communities to charge additional licensing fees for medical marijuana-related businesses, which the state allows for businesses serving alcohol. Chumbley is owner of Chumbley’s Hometown Billards. An ordinance approving an agreement with Lamp Rynearson Inc. for engineering services at a cost of $17,750 was
County Commission Meeting
Arts Group To Meet
Budgets Highlight Agendas Wednesday, June 26, to close out the 2018-19 school year, including amendment of the budget to show actual revenues and expenditures. The board approved the purchase of three school buses from Masters Transportation at a cost of $72,500. Members also agreed to participate in a bus mechanic co-op with the Princeton School District for next year at a cost of $12,000. The board discussed co-oping sports activities with the Newtown-Harris School District for 2019-20. The district will be fielding teams for varsity softball, baseball and girls and boys See Schools, Page 7
A meeting is planned for Monday, June 17 to continue work on revitalization of the arts program in Grundy County. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Sugg Room of the Ketcham Community Center. All interested persons are encouraged to attend.
Monthly Board Meeting Set The Grundy County Nursing Home District Board of Directors will hold its regular monthly meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 in the conference room of the Sunnyview Nursing Home and Apartments. Items on the announced agenda include the budget, hay bids, energy improvement projects and the administrator and RCF reports. An executive session for personnel and legal matters is also planned.
What’s Inside...
National Weather Service Rain is expected Friday night and Saturday with partly sunny skies returning on Sunday and Monday. Highs will be around 80 and lows will be in the mid 60s. The high at Trenton on Monday, June 10 was 80, Tuesday’s high was 81 and Wednesday’s high was 73, the low was 60 with .38 of an inch of rain recorded. There was no report from the Government Weather Station near Spickard.
The Grand River Valley Choir and Orchestra will present its summer concert “How Can I Keep from Singing?” on Saturday, June 15, at the First Baptist Church in Trenton. Doors open to the public at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m. with a cookie reception to follow. The concert is free and open to the public. The program will begin with several songs from the choir, followed by the orchestra’s selections. The concert will conclude with two pieces featuring the combined choir and orchestra, “I Hear America Singing” and “How Can I Keep from Singing.” The GRVCO consists of members from throughout the Green Hills area, representing the communities of Cameron, Chillicothe, Gallatin, Galt, Jamesport, Ludlow, Marshall, Milan, Pattonsburg, Princeton and Trenton. The choir is directed by Tyler Busick, and the orchestra is directed by Buddy Hannaford. Cathie Lowrey is the accompanist for the choir and orchestra.
The Grundy County Commission will meet in regular session on Tuesday in the commission office, located on the second floor of the Grundy County Courthouse. The only item on the announced agenda is a 10 a.m. meeting with Ambulance Supervisor Steve Tracy.
See Council, Page 7
Special Meetings Set
Budgets, personnel and bids topped agendas for meetings this week of the Grundy R-5, Laredo R-7, Princeton R-5 and Tri-County R-7 boards of education. Grundy R-5 The Grundy R-5 Board of Education approved the 2019-20 school budget during a meeting on Wednesday night. According to information provided by Superintendent Rob Deaver, the budget shows anticipated revenues of $2,388,055 while expenditures are estimated at $2,378,261, resulting in a surplus of $9,794. The budget goes into effect on July 1. The board set a special meeting for noon on
See R-9, Page 7
Briefs...
Medical Marijuana Ordinances Approved The Trenton City Council approved ordinances involving medical marijuana regulations during a meeting on Monday night. The council approved eight ordinances to either amend or add language to city codes regarding medical marijuana to mirror state law put in place when voters approved the measure last November. Changes address legal use of medical marijuana, including requirement of permitted use cards, as well as consumption in public places, disposal and designation of “driving while
have the issue resolved before school starts in August. The board approved all 2019-20 student/activities handbooks, with administrators explaining changes being made for the coming year. The board set a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 27 to close out the 2018-19 school year as well as approve the proposed 2019-20 school budget. Superintendent Dan Wiebers presented the preliminary budget, which shows a $1,766,328 surplus overall (revenues over expenditures). However, the operational budget shows a deficit of around $161,511. The overall surplus, Wiebers said, is the result of the $7 million the district will receive this year to pay for the construction project. As for the operational budget deficit, Wiebers said he estimated revenues on the low end and expenditures on the high end, but added he anticipates expenditures will come in lower than what is being projected. In other business, the board: • reviewed the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan, which is developed by school leaders, staff, students and patrons and approved by the board. The plan is used to set goals and standards for the district to achieve over a five-year period. The current CSIP was adopted in 2017 and expires in 2022. • approved renewal of the district contract with Newton Alliance LLC (Catapult Learning) for summer school through the summer of 2022. The cost will remain unchanged at $525 times the average daily student attendance.
Coaching changes are coming to the THS/TMS sports programs next year. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for a list of coaching assignments as well as information regarding the return of Wes Croy to the coaching ranks.
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Board Rejects Mower Purchase To buy or not to buy? That was the question that dominated the discussion concerning the purchase of a new mower during a Wednesday evening meeting of the Trenton Park Board. The board, which had been considering the purchase of a new mower for the park department, ended up in a tie vote and will not be purchasing a new mower that had been budgeted for this year. The discussion on the mower had begun at the May meeting and at that meeting and Wednesday’s meeting, Board President Duane Helmandollar told members he feels the department needs to either keep the department’s existing three mowers or get more money from the one they would sell if a new one was purchased. Helmandollar said that most of the type of mowers the department uses can be run for 2,500 to 3,000 hours. The mowers currently owned by the department include two 2015 Dixie Chopper models that have around 600 hours on them and a 2011 Dixie Chopper mower with around 800 hours that is used as a backup. He said a mower with 700 hours should last another eight years and parts are still available for them, if needed. Board members Gary Schuett and Gary Berry advocated purchasing a new Dixie Chopper. Schuett reminded the board Dixie Choppers are no longer being made and this will be the last chance to buy a new one. He said purchasing one would set up the department for many years with quality mowers. “The reliability is great and the speed is unsurpassed,” Schuett explained. “It’s about 40 percent faster than the previous mowers, so we would be saving about 130 hours per year on two mowers. That’s a great deal for the taxpayer.” Schuett also pointed out that Park Superintendent Jason Shuler is trained to maintain and repair Dixie Choppers and that his research has shown parts for the mowers will be available well into the future. “This is an opportunity to get our fleet as modern as we can,” he said. It was explained that the city planned to purchase the 2011 mower at a price of $5,500 and would use it to mow at the Trenton Municipal Airport. While bids were received for several mowers, the only one discussed was for the Dixie Chopper, with Landmark Lawn Equipment LLC of Trenton submitting a bid for $11,500 (the amount See Park, Page 7
What’s Inside Sports.............................page 2 Local News.............page 3 & 7 Op/Ed ............................page 4 Community ...................page 5 Agriculture....................page 6 Comics ...........................page 8 Crosswords....................page 8 Dear Annie ....................page 9 NASCAR .....................page 11