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TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021
TRENTON
R-T REPUBLICAN-TIMES 75¢
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12 PAGES
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 63
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THS Grad Comes To The Rescue
R-9 Board Meeting
Black Saves Horses With Fire Fast Approaching
Editor’s Note: This story was written by Annika Plummer, administrative assistant for the agriculture department at Dickinson State University, where 2017 Trenton High School graduate Katerina Black is a student. She is the daughter of Kelli Griffith and David Black. The town of Medora, ND, just 37 miles west of Dickinson, was threatened by a fire on Thursday, April 1, 2021. This was no April Fool’s joke. The fire burned an estimated 2,276 acres and came very close to the town of Medora. One of the Ag Department’s students, Katerina Black, was instrumental in saving horses that were in danger. Katerina works for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) Riding Stables. On the day of the fire, she had just arrived in Medora at about 1:30 p.m. and noticed the smoke. She caught and saddled her personal horse, Zipper, while ash from the fire fell down on her. At the time, she was unsure of the fire’s severity but she wanted to be prepared. Katerina called a friend/co-worker to bring a trailer and help her prepare to rescue six TRMF horses in the path of the fire. The pasture the horses were in was below the Burning Hills Amphitheater and just down the road from the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center. At first, Katerina and her friend were on stand-by, waiting for notification to relocate the horses. It didn’t take long before the call came. The horses were in the path of the fire and needed to be moved to a safer location. Katerina and Zipper were doing their best to herd the horses into the catch pen, but due to the heavy smoke, the horses were riled up and wouldn’t go in. By this time, the fire was only about a quarter mile away. The best option was to open the gate and chase the horses out of the pasture toward the railroad tracks and safety. Katerina was the only person mounted on a horse; all of the other helpers
BRIEFS The Trenton R-9 Board of Education will meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m., tonight (Tuesday, April 13) in the Trenton High School commons. The meeting will also be available virtually at https://meet.google.com/pne-fnco-cvx?hs=122&authuser=0. Items on the announced agenda include approval of the consent agenda, approval of employee health insurance options, certification of election results, administration of the oath of office for new members, reorganization of the board, consideration of GEC grant applications, approval of an assistant instrumental music director as a Tier 4 extra- duty position, setting of the date for a board retreat, a safety report, at-risk evaluation report, principal reports and the superintendent’s report. An executive session is planned to discuss personnel and student matters.
Public Hearings Scheduled
The Trenton Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled two public hearings for 7 p.m., Monday, May 3 at city hall. One hearing will involve a request from KGI Wireless in care of Verizon Wireless for a conditional use permit to allow the construction of a new 150-foot monopole to improve wireless coverage in the city of Trenton on property located at 212 E. Seventh St. The second hearing will involve the issue of whether the proposed downtown Historic Preservation District meets the criteria set forth in the Trenton City Code.
Area Alumni Announcements
Photo Courtesy of Katerina Black
Trenton High School graduate Katerina Black and her horse, Zipper, right, helped rescue dozens of other horses, including another one of her personal animals, Tally, left, during an April 1 fire in Medora, ND.
were on foot trying to catch the horses. The situation became tense when, right after the horses were approaching the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center, some of the horses tried to run to their winter pasture. This winter pasture is just west of the interpretive center up the hill and behind the Medora cemetery. This was an area that was back burnt by firemen in an effort to keep the fire contained and not move closer to Medora. Thankfully, Katerina and Zipper were able to get around the horses and turn them toward a grassy area between the Medora pool and Little Missouri River. It would have been nearly impossible to turn the horses on foot, especially since they were scared due to all the smoke. Fortunately, three of
the horses were caught and loaded onto the trailer. The other three horses were scared and running, but with helpers on foot working to calm the horses and catch them, Katerina could turn her focus to another pressing issue. Katerina’s other personal horse, a mare named Tally, was in a pasture behind the Medora Fire Hall. Katerina and Zipper headed to catch Tally and get her safely across the river. Turns out Zipper is the father to Tally, so father was helping daughter escape! The smoke was thick, but Katerina could see the flames in the valley across the road. Katerina and Zipper led Tally about a mile to the Ranch-o-Rama on the east side of Medora. Not long after Katerina moved Tally to safety, a spark from the main fire was carried in the wind
and started a fire in that pasture. There were other TRMF horses at Ranch-o-Rama, so with the addition of the six that were trailered over and Katerina’s two horses, there were 48 horses under Katerina’s care. With the horses in relative safety, Katerina turned her attention to getting back to her house in the Medora Campground. She needed to get some personal items as Medora was being evacuated. Once her personal items were secured, Katerina stayed at Ranch-o-Rama with the horses to ensure she was there if they needed to be relocated. Angels must have been looking over Medora, because the fire was stopped due to the courageous efforts of the Medora Fire Department, Na[See BLACK, Page 6]
One area alumni banquet has been cancelled for this year, while another one has announced changes for its annual event. Organizers of the annual Spickard Alumni Banquet have announced that the banquet will not be held this year, however the Laredo Alumni Banquet will be held with a less formal format. Instead of a banquet, an open house is scheduled at the school from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, with a brief business meeting to be held at 2 p.m. Honor classes will be recognized and a memorial will be read for those who have passed away. A complimentary “picnic style” luncheon with deli sandwiches, salad and homemade pie will then be served. As in the past, guests and former classmates are welcome. If possible, guests are asked to RSVP to a board member to ensure a sufficient amount of food. Board members include Marlene Engleman, 660-3597674; Linda Urich, 660-654-3035; Kathy Waits, 660-286-6200; and Kay Thomas, 573-219-1038.
Vaccines Open For All
Missouri’s vaccination efforts have moved to Phase Three, meaning all Missouri adults are now eligible to be vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus. According to Grundy County Health Department Administrator Elizabeth Gibson, 22 percent of county residents have received at least one COVID vaccine, with 18 percent now full vaccinated. Ms. Gibson said there have been no new cases reported in the county since the department’s last report, which showed no active cases of the virus.
Sip & Stroll Tickets Available
Tickets for Main Street Trenton’s Sip & Stroll: Taste of Missouri are now on sale. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. in downtown Trenton. There will be samples of Missouri wines at 17 downtown locations and the evening will also feature music by the local band, “The Ghosted” at the Trenton Elks Lodge at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $25 and can be purchased at Vintage Vines at 805 Main St. or the Main Street Trenton office, located at 903 Main St. or online at www.eventbrite.com. If tickets remain, they can be purchased the day of the event for $30. All participants must be at least 21 years of age.
Tri-County Board Accepts Bids For New Bus, Ranger And More Calendar Amended, Last Day Of School Now Set For May 14 The Tri-County R-7 Board of Education met Thursday, accepting multiple bids and amending the school calendar. According to information provided by Superintendent David Probasco,
the board accepted the following bids: Midwest Transit for a new bus; Extreme Recreation for a Ranger with a snow plow system; Troyer Roofing for repair and coating of the old gym, stage roof and ag shop roof; Ferman Hostetler to replace windows in the ag shop; Sargent’s Glass Co. to replace the west elementary school door; and Omaha Stage Equipment to replace stage curtains. Concrete bids were tabled. Board members also discussed sign proposals, a tuckpointing proposal and playground
proposals. Officers were re-elected and include Heath Cook, president; Luke Skinner, vice president; Jeremy Turner, treasurer; and Jennifer Simons, secretary. Cook and Skinner were re-elected to the board in the April 6 election. The board approved recommendations to increase extra-duty payments for assistant varsity basketball and softball umpires and voted to increase the health insurance contribution from $500 to $525 for the 2021-22
school year. Salary increases for certified and non-certified staff were discussed, with no action taken. The 2020-21 school calendar was amended, with the last day of classes now scheduled for May 14. It was noted that the district was the first to start school in the state on Aug. 11 and will have greatly exceeded the required 1,044 hours. Summer school is scheduled to begin on July 12 and conclude on July 23. Under new business, the board approved sports cooperatives with Gal-
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
THE STREAK CONTINUES...
Trenton will see sunny skies on Wednesday and Thursday before a chance of rain comes in on Friday. The high in Trenton on Thursday was 56 with .06 of an inch of rain falling. Friday saw a high of 70 with another .01 of an inch of rain and Saturday hit 56 with .84 of an inch of rain. The high Sunday was 70 with a low of 42. The high on Sunday at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 67 with a low of 39.
For the third year in a row the North Central Missouri College men’s basketball team is heading to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. The Pirates topped Spoon River 9081 on Saturday to punch their ticket. SPORTS, PAGE 2
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latin for junior high football with Gallatin serving as the host school, and varsity spring baseball with TriCounty as the host school. Budget items were also discussed, with no action taken, and an executive session was held, with no announcement made. The board plans to hold a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. on April 19, with the next regular meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 10, with both meetings to be held in the superintendent’s office.
WHAT’S INSIDE
SPORTS ....................PAGE 2 & 3 LOCAL ......................PAGE 4 & 6 COMMUNITY ..................PAGE 5 CALENDAR .....................PAGE 5 AREA ..............................PAGE 7 COMICS ..........................PAGE 8 CROSSWORDS ................PAGE 9 CLASSIFIEDS ................PAGE 10