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Tuesday, August 20, 2019
TRENTON
REPUBLICAN-TIMES
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. 97
Trenton, MO 64683
Ten Pages U.S. COURT Grain Fraud
Briefs...
Chillicothe Man Gets 10-Year Sentence
WMH Dedication Ceremony Wright Memorial Hospital will hold a memorial wall and plaque dedication at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30 at the hospital in Trenton. WMH Foundation Director Dave Bain will give the welcome with board member Dan Wilford giving the invocation. Senior Director of Advancement for the University of Missouri College of Engineering and former WMH Development Director Matt Osterthun will be the guest speaker at the memorial wall dedication. Critical Access Region CEO Steve Schieber will be the guest speaker for the dedication of a plaque honoring long-time Trenton physician Dr. J.A. Keuhn. To conclude the ceremony, the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting, which will be followed by a reception in the hospital education center. The event is open to the public.
sales, with 11 being offered for the second sale and six being offered for third sale. Franklin Township has three properties being offered for the first sale, five being offered for the second sale and eight being offered for the third sale. Wilson Township’s properties include two being offered for the first sale, one being offered for the second sale and four being offered for the third
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A judge on Friday sentenced the mastermind of the largest known organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history to 10 years in prison, saying he cheated thousands of customers into buying products they didn't want. U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams said Randy Constant orchestrated a massive fraud that did "extreme and incalculable damage" to consumers and shook public confidence in the nation's organic food industry. Williams said that, between 2010 and 2017, consumers nationwide were fooled into paying extra to buy products ranging from eggs to steak that they believed were better for the environment and their own health. Instead, they unwittingly purchased food that relied on farming practices, including the use of chemical pesticides to grow crops, that they opposed. "Thousands upon thousands of consumers paid for products they did not get and paid for products they did not want," Williams said. "This has caused incalculable damage to the confidence the American public has in organic products." Williams said the scam harmed other organic farmers who were playing by the rules but could not compete with the low prices offered by Constant's Iowa-based grain brokerage, and middlemen who unknowingly purchased and marketed tainted organic grain. Williams ordered Constant, a 60-year-old farmer and former school board president from Chillicothe, Missouri, to serve 122 months in federal prison, as his wife and other relatives sobbed. Earlier in the day, Williams gave shorter prison terms to three Overton, Nebraska, farmers whom Constant recruited to join the scheme. Williams described the three as largely law-abiding citizens, including one "legitimate war hero," who succumbed to greed when Constant gave them the opportunity. Michael Potter, 41, was ordered to serve 24 months behind bars; James Brennan, 41, was sentenced to 20 months; and his father, 71-year-old Tom Brennan, was given a three-month sentence. Williams said the shorter sentence for the elder Brennan reflected his heroism as a decorated platoon leader in the Vietnam War. All four farmers sentenced Friday had pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges and cooperated with a two-year investigation that isn't over. A fifth
See Tax Page 3
See Fraud, Page 4
MAP, EOC Scores Available R-T Photo/Diane Lowrey
Retired Kansas City Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard, center, visited Trenton on Saturday to assist with fundraising efforts for the Dream Factory. Leonard signed autographs at the event, held at Hy-Vee, and also met with the public, along with former Trenton resident and Royals Senior Advisor to the General Manager Mike Arbuckle, at right. A silent auction was also held along with the sale of tenderloins by Hy-Vee, with a portion of those sales also going to the Dream Factory. Pictured above, at left, is Dr. James Colyer, who was among many who stopped by to get an autograph from Leonard.
2019 MISSOURI DAY FESTIVAL
Oct. 18-20
Festival Theme Chosen “Missouri Day Embraces the Past, Looks to the Future” is the theme of the 35th annual Missouri Day Festival, which will take place on Oct. 18-20 in Trenton. The event will focus on activities that celebrate the history and the heritage of Missouri. The Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce is serving as overall organizer for the festival, which will include a parade, marching band festival, food and craft vendors and a flea market. The Trenton Rotary Club will once again sponsor the
Missouri Day Parade, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19 and begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. Businesses, organizations and individuals are encouraged to begin planning to enter their floats, antique vehicles, machinery, horses and more in this year’s parade as the club wants to continue the traditional excitement the parade brings to Trenton. Music will again fill the air on Saturday as plans continue for the Trenton Marching Festival, also scheduled for Saturday. Bands from throughout the area will be taking part in
parade, field show, auxiliary and colorguard competitions throughout the day, with award winners to be announced during events at C.F. Russell Stadium. The Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce continues to receive vendor applications that will bring a large variety of items to shop for and great food choices throughout the weekend as thousands of individuals are expected on the festival grounds throughout the week. Vendors wanting an application can contact the chamber at 359-4324.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has released the Missouri Assessment Program test scores for English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Science scores are expected to be released in October. Rissler Elementary and Trenton Middle School parents may access their child's score reports on the R-9 parent portal under “documents.” A hard copy of a child's individual score can also be received by request. The Individual Student Report includes an achievement level, which will describe his or her performance as below basic, basic, proficient or advanced. The report will also include a short description of the knowledge and skills that are typically demonstrated by students in each achievement level. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has also released the 2019 End of Course Assessments for Algebra I, Algebra II, English II and Geometry. Parents may access their child’s scores on the parent portal under the “assessment” tab.
R-T Labor Day Schedule With the Labor Day holiday falling on Monday, Sept. 2, the Republican-Times will be moving back its publication date by one day. Instead of being published on its normal day of Tuesday, Sept. 3, the newspaper will be published on Wednesday, Sept. 4. News to be included in the Sept. 4 edition must be submitted to the R-T office no later than 9 a.m. on Tuesday. The Friday, Sept. 6 newspaper will be published as scheduled. Trenton High School classes submitting alumni information for publication can leave their news in the foyer of the newspaper office over the Labor Day weekend or email it to rtimes@lyn.net.
Window Decorating Deadline SPICKARD BOARD OF ALDLERMAN
Time still remains for Trenton High School classes and organizations to enter the second annual window decorating contest in observance of Trenton High School Alumni Weekend. The Trenton High School Alumni Association is organizing the event, with prize money to be awarded to the first- and second-place decorated windows in recognition of THS while promoting the alumni weekend. All graduating classes, whether observing special reunions or not, are invited to participate along with existing school organizations that would want to commemorate the history of their group. There is no entry fee, according to Alumni Secretary Steve Maxey, who added that classes and organizations “simply need to select the window of choice and contact the store for permission.” Once finalized, the display needs to be completed by Thursday night, Aug. 29 for judging on Friday morning, Aug. 30. Interested organizations should also contact Maxey to register their window for judging.
SSRD Contract Approved
2019 Levy Set At Spickard The Spickard Board of Aldermen approved the 2019 tax levy as well as a new contract with the Spickard Special Road District during a meeting on Aug. 13. According to minutes provided by City Clerk Amy Chapman, the board set the 2019 levy at 99.17 cents on the $100 assessed valuation. The tax is anticipated to generate $48,650 in local tax revenue for the city, based upon the current assessed valuation of $1,348,604. The valuation for 2019 is $15,185 less than a year ago. Approval was given to a one-year contract with the road district, which went into effect on Aug. 13. The contract calls for the cost of street lights to be deducted from the motor fuel tax
GRUNDY COUNTY
collected by the city before any excess funds are given to the road district. The vote was 3-0 with Maggie George abstaining. The board set wages for both Ms. Chapman and maintenance man Robert Payne at $12.50 and also approved a rateof 40 cents a mile and one hour of wages for Ms. Chapman to take bank deposits for the city. It was decided to have the board sign checks for Ms. Chapman that would be used to purchase items for the office, with receipts to be turned in to the board. A motion to have a petty cash fund of $200 for office expenses was defeated. It was also voted See Spickard, Page 4
Aug. 26 At Courthouse
98 Properties Listed For 2019 Tax Sale The 2019 Grundy County Delinquent Tax Sale is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 26 at the courthouse. The tax sale is authorized by Missouri state statutes and is an effort to collect the unpaid taxes on properties in the county. As of Friday, Aug. 16 there were 98 properties in the county that are on the list for sale for back taxes. That total includes 30 in Trenton Township; 17 in Franklin Township; eight in Liberty Township; seven in Wilson
Township; and one in Harrison Township. There are 35 properties located at Leisure Lake in Madison Township. According to Grundy County Assessor/Collector Barbara Harris’ office, which oversees the sale of the properties, those with three years of back taxes due are offered for what is called the “first sale.” Those with four years of back taxes due are available for the “second sale” and properties with five years of delinquent taxes are offered as
a “third sale.” In each case, the properties have to sell for at least the amount of taxes against them, however, properties that don’t sell after the third sale and are offered for a fourth sale can be sold for any amount. The properties that are being sold in Trenton Township include 19 being offered for the first time, seven being offered for the second time and four being offered for the third time. At Leisure Lake, 18 properties are first
National Weather Service There’s a chance of rain through Thursday with temperatures dropping from the high 80s to the low 80s. Lows will be in the 60s. The high temperature at Trenton on Thursday, Aug. 15 was 79, Friday’s high was 83 and Saturday’s high was 85. Sunday’s high was 87 and the overnight low was 66. A total of 1.44 inches of rain fell during that time. Sunday’s high at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 84, the low was 67.
What’s Inside... The THS cheer squad won several awards during the UCA cheerleading camp the group attended over the summer. See page 4 of today’s Republican-Times for a photo of the squad with its awards.
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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