Trenton R-Times_03-09-2021

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TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021

TRENTON

R-T REPUBLICAN-TIMES 75¢

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14 PAGES, 2 SECTIONS

Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 52

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School Play Overcame COVID Obstacle

Candidate Forum Announced

Hallmarks Of Horror Finally Performed In Dec.

Editor’s Note: The Trenton Republican-Times has teamed up with the Trenton High School journalism class to work with students as they write news and feature stories, some of which will be published in the R-T. This is the first story to be printed in the R-T through the new program. by Serenity Marsh Trenton High School “Hallmarks of Horror” is a play on the structure of almost every scary movie you’ve ever seen. But it is safe to say that there was no predicting the nightmare of 2020. COVID-19 was truly a punch in the face, causing the Trenton High School Drama Club’s performance to be postponed almost five months. Though the students were still able to perform the play successfully in December, a number of challenges presented itself. It was hard to find a proper location and especially difficult to work around quarantine, but the future is bright for the drama club as they look forward to some new additions to the school. Finding a place to hold the play was a lot harder than it was expected to be. The drama club originally used the Hoover The-

R-T Photo/Lexi Gott (THS)

Seniors Travis Gifford and Kayleigh Snuffer are excited about “going to Tahiti” as part of the Trenton High School Drama Club performance of “Hallmarks of Horror”, held on Dec. 11, 2020 in the Rissler Elementary School gym. The cast and crew faced many challenges as they prepared for the performance.

atre at the local library to perform, but due to COVID they were unable to practice there. This was one of the most stressful obstacles that the club faced, because they had no idea where the play was going to be held. “We definitely had the challenge of finding a location to use. Where we thought we would be didn’t work out so we were able to find a stage to make it work,” Drama Teacher Tashyana Dowell stated. The drama students then moved to the elementary school gym which created problems of its own. The stage wasn't very big and there was very little space to work with. There were

a lot of problems designing the backdrop for the play and making it look good, considering they had very little time. Club members even shared the elementary school gym with the cheerleaders, which made it hard for both them, and the cheer squad, to concentrate. Many drama students were also unable to attend practices, and even the actual performance, because of COVID. This made it hard to see the play come together. It was difficult to find time to practice with everyone, which put the cast behind schedule quite a bit. They even postponed the play again for several weeks due to the

majority of the cast being quarantined! Sophomore Lydia Leininger was unable to attend opening night and had to be replaced on such a short notice. “...COVID affected me personally a lot because I had a part in the play and I ended up getting quarantined for the performance..,” Lydia said. Mrs. Dowell had junior Joseph Pattison fill in for Lydia just a week before the performance. This created a lot of stress for him and the other cast members. They all had to make adjustments and work very hard to make do with what they were given. [See HALLMARKS, Page 5]

Kindergarten, Preschool Screenings Open Screenings Will Be Held April 6-8 At The Early Childhood Center

The Trenton R-9 School District is now accepting appointments for the annual kindergarten and preschool screenings, which will be held in April. The screenings are open to all families residing in the Trenton R-9 School District. Kindergarten and preschool screenings will be held April 6, 7 and 8 at the Trenton R-9

Early Childhood Center located at Rissler Elementary School at 801 W. 4th Terr. The screenings are for new students only who will be age three, four or five by Aug. 1. Preschool children will receive a developmental screening in the areas of language, concepts, motor development, vision and hearing. Children who participate in the screening will be eligible to attend the Trenton R-9 preschool programs, which is free to students residing in the district. The required documents for fall enrollment for both kindergarten and preschool are the child’s immunization record, legal birth certificate and proof of residency.

Parents can expect the screening process to take approximately an hour or longer per child. Parents are given the opportunity to fill out required paperwork while their child is in the screening process. Appointments are now being accepted. Those who wish to sign up may use the link provided on the Trenton R-IX website. https://bit.ly/3uKT9hr Due to COVD-19 concerns, parents are asked to bring just the child who is being screened. Anyone entering the Early Childhood Center is required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Anyone with questions is asked to call the preschool office at 660-359-2003.

Roy Blunt Won’t Seek Senate Re-Election Missouri Senator Is Fifth Republican To Decide Not To Run

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri will not seek a third term in the U.S. Senate, he said Monday in a surprise announcement. Blunt, who turned 71 in January, was widely expected to seek a third term in 2022. Before election to the Senate he served seven terms in the U.S. House. He also served two

BRIEFS

terms as Missouri's secretary of state from 1985 to 1993. “In every job Missourians have allowed me to have, I’ve tried to do my best,” Blunt said in his announcement made via video. "In almost 12,000 votes in the Congress, I’m sure I wasn’t right every time, but you really make that decision based on the information you have at the time. “After 14 General Election victories — three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections — I won’t be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year," he said. Blunt is the No. 4 in Senate

Republican leadership and is the fifth Senate Republican to decide against running for reelection in 2022. The others are Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Richard Shelby of Alabama and Richard Burr of North Carolina. Two other Republicans — Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — have not yet said whether they plan to seek reelection. The open seats will set up contested primaries likely to highlight divisions between farright, Trump-aligned Republicans and the old guard. In Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, in particular, Democrats have hopes of winning seats.

Any such hopes are muted in Missouri, which was for decades a swing state but has moved decidedly conservative in recent elections. Several Republicans are likely to seek Blunt’s vacated post. They could include former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned amid a sex scandal and ethics investigations in 2018. Greitens told a St. Louis radio interviewer last week he was “evaluating” a run, even before Blunt’s announcement. Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe could also run. In a statement, he praised Blunt’s half-century of service to Missouri. “A history teacher and the [See BLUNT, Page 5]

The Trenton Teachers Association and the Trenton Republican-Times have joined forces to give the public an opportunity to hear from candidates who are seeking positions on the Trenton R-9 Board of Education in the April 6 election. A candidate forum will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18 in the Trenton High School commons. Mindy Walker, field representative for the Missouri State Teachers Association, will serve as moderator for the event, which will also be livestreamed with the capability of future viewing. The format will include a period of time for the candidates to introduce themselves and their platform, followed by questions that have been submitted prior to the forum. If there is time remaining, the floor will be open for questions. Those who would like to submit a question are asked to send it to the Republican-Times at rtimes@lyn.net and put “Candidate Forum” in the subject line. Questions will be organized as to avoid repeated questions on the same subject during the forum and will be presented anonymously. Those who have filed for the two open seats on the board include Emily Lasley, Melissa King, Bill Miller, Michael Voorhies, Joshua Shuler, Jeff Spencer and Shaun McCullough. Incumbents Cliff Roeder and Dr. David Whitaker chose not to seek re-election.

R-9 Board Meeting Tuesday

The Trenton R-9 Board of Education has scheduled its March meeting for 5:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, March 9) in the high school commons. The meeting will be open to the public as well as available by video link at https://meet.google.com/hzj-axwh-wsn?hs=122&authuser=0. Items on the announced agenda include approval of the consent agenda, an election reminder, a recommendation from the Facility Naming Committee for the naming of the THS tennis courts (either The Carl Carpenter and Mike Bosley Tennis Courts or The Carpenter-Bosley Tennis Courts at Trenton High School), approval of the certified and non-certified salary schedules for the 2021-22 school year, setting of the 2021-22 tuition rates, a building project update and administrative reports. A closed session is scheduled to discuss personnel, including the approval of teaching, coaching and sponsor contracts for the 2021-22 school year.

Deadlines Nearing For Election

There are two deadlines nearing in relation to the April 6 Municipal/School election. The last day to register to vote in the election is Wednesday, March 10 and the last day to file as a write-in candidate for the election is Friday, March 26. Absentee ballots are now available to be voted in the Grundy County Clerk’s office, located on the second floor of the courthouse.

Grundy R-5 Board Agenda

The Grundy R-5 Board of Education will meet in regular session Thursday, March 11 at the school in Galt. Items on the announced agenda include comments from a CTA representative, a transportation report, discussion of the four-day school week calendar, preschool information, insurance, mowing bids, a hazard mitigation plan, review of the Grundy-Newtown cooperative agreement for 2021-22, principal reports, a financial report and a closed session to discuss personnel and students matters.

Finance Committee Meeting

The Finance Committee of the Trenton City Council will continue its work on the 2021-22 budget during a meeting set for 5 p.m. Thursday at city hall. The meeting will not be physically open to the public but it can be accessed on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81110160067.

COVID Update Provided

The Grundy County Health Department reported Monday morning that there are two active cases of the COVID-19 virus in the county, with one new case reported last week. There have been 816 confirmed cases in the county, with 241 probable cases. Forty persons have died due to the virus. The health department held a vaccine clinic March 4 for open tiers. GCHD still has doses available this week by appointment. This week's Mass Vaccination Event will be held in Mound City (Holt County) on March 11. To register, use the statewide registration system at covidvaccine.mo.gov. Phase 1B - Tier 3 will open on March 15.

CVB Meeting Planned

The Trenton Convention and Visitors Bureau will meet at noon, Wednesday at city hall. The public will not be able to physically attend the meeting but may access it on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82373823391. The only specific item listed on the agenda is a report from the bureau’s branding committee.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

STATE GREATS...

There is a chance of showers in the area on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday’s high will be 71 before temperatures regress into the 50’s on Thursday and Friday. The high in Trenton on Thursday was 66 with Friday’s high sitting at 57 and Saturday’s reaching 67. The high on Sunday was 69 with a low of 39. The high on Sunday at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 66 with a low of 44.

Five Trenton High School wrestlers will be in Independence on Wednesday for the Class 1 state tournament. Coach Charlie Bacon feels like the group is more experienced than the five that went to state a yaer ago. SPORTS, PAGE 2

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CHANCE OF RAIN

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WHAT’S INSIDE

SPORTS ....................PAGE 2 & 3 OP/ED ............................PAGE 4 CALENDAR .....................PAGE 5 AGRICULTURE ...............PAGE 6 ACROSS MISSOURI .......PAGE 7 COMICS ..........................PAGE 8 CROSSWORDS ................PAGE 9 CLASSIFIEDS.........PAGE 10 & 11 AREA .............................PAGE 12


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