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Friday, May 24, 2019
TRENTON
REPUBLICAN-TIMES
Trenton, MO 64683
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 155th Year - No. 75
75¢ per copy Check out the Republican-Times on the Internet: www.republican-times.com ©W.B. Rogers Printing Co., Inc.
Twelve Pages + One Insert
GRUNDY COUNTY MUSEUM ‘Chairs’ Exhibit Headlines Opening
Grundy Museum Set To Open Memorial Day
R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Demolition of the old Trenton Chamber of Commerce building began Wednesday morning. The removal of the building marks the final phase in the clean-up process from a fire that destroyed the chamber and neighboring buildings in downtown Trenton on Feb. 18. The chamber, along with the license office that was housed in the same building, have re-opened at a new location - 611 E. Ninth St.
SCHOOL NEWS Trenton R-9, Pleasant View R-6
Trenton, Pleasant View Boards Hold Meetings The Trenton R-9 Board of Education approved a new provider for employee health insurance during a special meeting on Monday at the district office, but scheduled another special meeting for Thursday afternoon to further discuss the issue. On a 6-1 vote, the board agreed to use United Healthcare as its insurance provider for the 2019-20 school year. The cost will be $601 per month, per employee, with the board agreeing to pay the entire cost. Superintendent Dan Wiebers said that as part of the motion, the board voted to cap what it will pay for employee
insurance at $602, which was amended from an original motion to cap the cost at $600 and would have required employees to pay $1. Board Secretary Susan Leeper said Thursday morning that the special meeting set for that afternoon was being held due to numbers coming in a little different than what had been expected. The board was scheduled to discuss that development in a 2:30 p.m. meeting on Thursday. Marcie Cutsinger cast the lone no vote, stating her concern about the cost of the buyup plan for additional See Schools, Page 7
CITY NEWS Spickard City Council
Spickard City Council Meets, Rescinds Budget Residents of Spickard are seeing some action at city hall as the 2019 budget was rescinded during a meeting Wednesday night. Maggie George, who serves on the city council, said the group met Wednesday evening with several members of the public in attendance. The council voted to rescind the 2019 budget, which included large increases in sewer and water rates, and will be preparing a new budget that will show a more moderate increase in the rates. She said the rate increase will still be necessary, but will not be as drastic as was approved by the council earlier this spring. The increases are being considered due to mandatory improvements to
the sewer/lagoon system. In other business, J.R. Roberts was appointed to serve as a councilman, which now gives the community a full council. Mrs. George, Charles Holtclaw and Daniel Chapman also serve as councilpersons, while Alan Tharp has been named the mayor. Other action taken Tuesday night was the hiring of Jennifer Roberts as part-time city clerk. She plans to be in the office on Mondays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Mrs. George said the council will hold another special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 29 at the Wise Community Center to discuss the budget. The next regular meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, June 10.
Visitors to the Grundy County Museum can take a little walk down memory lane this season with a replica of the old MaidRite restaurant mural being part of this year’s featured exhibit. The museum opens for the season on Monday following the VFW Post 919 presentation of a Memorial Day Flag Raising Ceremony and Rifle Salute at 10 a.m. at the museum’s Baker School. Ruth Ann Shipps, retired veteran and Commander of Princeton’s VFW, will provide brief patriotic comments following the ceremony. The museum will open immediately after the patriotic remarks. Seating will be provided and the public is encouraged to arrive early. The theme of this year’s feature exhibit is “Chairs” and the stories they could tell. On exhibit will be chairs from the museum’s collection and from local individuals, chairs with special family histories. From the museum’s collection, visitors will see…. • stools from the Maid-Rite restaurant in a replica display including a counter and full-size reproduction of the wall mural remembered by many people as they enjoyed a Maid-Rite burger and a slice of home-made pie. • office chair used by M.E. Morris, a two-term state representative, Missouri Director of Revenue and three-term Missouri State Senator. • 1850’s vintage dentist chair with foot powered drill. • two hall trees, one belonging to Nadine and Betty Frances Hall and another from Mabel Woodress Bradley. • a set of three seats from the Plaza Theater where visitors can enjoy cartoons playing on a big-screen TV. • vintage church pews from former Trenton churches. See Museum, Page 7
Briefs...
Utility Committee Meets
Memorial Day Closings
The Trenton Utility Committee met Tuesday evening, agreeing to move forward with a purchase and hearing an update on the financing for the headworks project. According to information provided by City Administrator/ Utilities Director Ron Urton, the committee approved the purchase of two gate valves, with Trenton Municipal Utilities crews installing them during the Nestle shutdown in June. Urton told the committee that Charlie Zitnik of DA Davidson has reported that he has sent the financing proposal for the headworks project at the sewer plant to several banks, with responses due back on May 23. The loan documents will be ready to sign with funds available June 17. In other business, monthly financial reports were reviewed with Comptroller Rosetta Marsh and the committee discussed the credit given to net-metering customers (residents with solar panels) for electricity supplied back to the utility. The committee asked staff to have a recommendation for the next meeting, which is scheduled for June 18. A closed session was held, with no announcement made.
Several offices and businesses have announced their plans to close on Monday, May 27 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Closed will be the Trenton City Hall/Trenton Municipal Utilities, the Grundy County Courthouse, the Grundy County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce/License Bureau, the Grundy CountyJewett Norris Library, the Grundy County Health Department, the North Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center, the North 65 Center, Green Hills Regional Planning Commission (the Career Center will also be closed), Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri, KCP&L, Grundy Electric Cooperative/Grundy and Livingston County Public Water District offices, Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri, Farmers State Bank, Citizens Bank and Trust, BTC Bank and US Bank. The Trenton Post Office will be closed on Monday and there will be no mail delivery or box mail. The Republican-Times office will be closed on Monday. The newspaper normally published on Tuesday will be moved back to Wednesday.
Owens Wins Township Seat A special run-off election for Wilson Township was held Tuesday, with a winner selected for the township board. Ronald Owens received a total of 103 votes, with Russ Thompson receiving 39 votes. The two had each received 53 votes in the April 2 Municipal Election, forcing the runoff. Adam Cooksey received 58 votes in the April election, winning one of the two spots on the board at that point.
Gooseberry 5K/10K The 2019 Gooseberry Festival 5k/10k Walk-Run, sponsored by the Grundy County Health Department, will be held on Saturday, June 15 at Eastside Park. The Festival 5k/10k is a family event designed to promote physical activity. This will be the 10th year the event has been sponsored by the Grundy County Health Department. Online registration will be accepted at www.gooseberry.racewire.com through June 12 or participants can register at the Park on the day of the event. Signin will begin at 7 a.m. in the park shelter house, with the walk beginning at 7:30. Medals will be awarded in all age brackets. There is no charge for the event and the first 150 registrants will receive a free t-shirt. For more information call the Grundy County Health Department at 660/359-4196.
Commission Agenda The Grundy County Commission will hold its regular weekly meeting Tuesday at the courthouse. Items on the announced agenda include a 10 a.m. meeting with Ambulance Director Steve Tracy and a 1:30 p.m. teleconference with Emergitech to discuss the 911 system.
Superintendent Resigns The Newtown-Harris Board of Education will be seeking a new superintendent following the resignation of Dr. Kim Johnson. In a joint statement released by Dr. Johnson and the board, it was announced that Dr. Johnson will retire from the district, effective June 30. Dr. Johnson has served as superintendent in the district since 2015.
Creatures Of The Night Hike Crowder Park will hold a “Creatures of the Night” hike on Saturday, June 1. The hike will take place at 8:30 p.m., with participants meeting in the Shelter 3 parking lot. During the guided night hike, information will be presented about animals that can be seen and heard at night. Those taking the hike are encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather, including closed-toe shoes. Insect repellent is also recommended.
National Weather Service
Distribution System Flushing Trenton Municipal Utilities staff began flushing the distribution system on Wednesday, May 22 and will continue flushing for approximately two weeks. The area to be flushed will be the entire area east of Highway 65 to the city limits. This is a semi-annual requirement of the water treatment process. There may be some discolored water during the hours of flushing, which will be done on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It is recommended to run the water for a short period of time to make sure that water is clear before doing laundry or waiting until after flushing hours. For any questions, persons can contact the water treatment plant at 359-3211.
Animal Shelter Fundraiser Green Hills Animal Shelter, Inc. will take to the streets for its annual Memorial Day weekend fundraiser. Volunteers will be out tonight (Friday) and during the day on Saturday, collecting money at three intersections in the city limits - Ninth and Main streets, Ninth Street and Oklahoma Avenue and 28th Street and Oklahoma Avenue. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to benefit the cats and dogs being housed at the shelter in Trenton.
What’s Inside...
Rain is expected throughout the holiday weekend, with highs around 80 and lows in the mid 60s. The high Monday, May 20 was 53 with 1.13 inches of rain, Tuesday’s high was 59 with .95 of an inch of rain and Wednesday’s high was 77, the low was 56 and .10 of an inch of rain fell. There was no report today from the Government Weather Station near Spickard.
Trenton High School will have two more entries in the girls MSHSAA State Track meet after the 4x400-meter relay team and Maci Moore were successful at the delayed sectional meet. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for details.
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What’s Inside Sports.............................page 2 Local News ....................page 3 Op/Ed & NASCAR ......page 4 Calendar........................page 5 Agriculture....................page 6 Bus Routes ....................page 7 Comics ...........................page 8 Crosswords....................page 9 Classifieds ...................page 10