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The COVID pandemic has many anxious to put 2020 completely behindDec. us. But before you do, stop and consider this 2, 2020 213-200 Vol. 156, No. 28published during the past year. sampling ofUPSP news headlines
March 2020
• The Active Aging Resource Center announced it is participating in the 18th annual March for Meals – a month-long, nationwide celebration of Meal on Wheels. • Popular author and nationally syndicated radio announcer Andrew McCrea was keynote speaker at the Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner. • Gene Ferrel, construction supervisor, and his crew are currently framing offices in the newest building at the construction site of McBee Farm and Cattle Company in the Industrial Park off Hwy. 6 northwest of Gallatin. • Sec-
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Wednesday, January 06, 2021
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McBee Farm & Cattle erects grain bins, office and facilites retary of State Jay Ashcroft announced that Daviess County Library received a Technology Mini-Grant of $9,238. • Pattonsburg Superintendent Scott Ireland presented the school calendar to the Pattonsburg R-2 School Board, proposing a four-day school week. • Six states voted for a Democratic Presidential nominee, choosing between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Missouri was one of those states, but voters in Daviess County hardly noticed. • March is the time for wildfires. One fire was on Hwy. M about five miles northwest of Breckenridge. • Debby (Swinney) Dilks of Sibley has book signings set in Daviess County for her recently published Grass fires dangers flare book, “Miss Kansas City Kitty: Doris Markham’s Story.” The book covers the life of the author’s mother from 1912-1948 in Jameson and Kansas City. • As of March 17, Daviess County and surrounding counties had no confirmed cases of COVID-19. • The escalating outbreak of COVID-19 across the world is shifting daily routines in this country in ways never seen before. No one knows how this pandemic story will end, but all agree that we are experiencing an historic time on all levels of society, including locally. • Hamilton edged Athens, OH, to advance into the Final Four of competition in the Strongest Town competition. • Gallatin School Board approved the following teachers to be tenured: Jessica Fitzgerald, Brittney Ghidoni, and Chad Sullenger. • Rapid Removal outlined new protocols for trash pickup and postponed city wide cleanups. • Markay August, Regent of the Gallatin Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, provided an American Flag to the Altamont Post Office. • In Regards to COVID-19 Pandemic: Gallatin City Hall was closed to the public. • The General Municipal Election scheduled for April 7 was postponed to June 2, due to the COVID-19 virus.
Freeze out 2020
The year 2020 closed out with a glaze of ice as rain switched to freezing rain, followed by snow for the new year. This picture was taken on Thursday, Dec. 31, on a farm in southwest Daviess County.
Attention Citizens of Gallatin! – Plans for Street Repair Lance Rains, City Administrator, has created a plan to obtain the funds needed to repair the streets of Gallatin. However, he needs help from Gallatin citizens. According to Rains, the most pressing concern he hears from the people of Gallatin is the condition of the streets. In passing years, it has been difficult for the City of Gallatin to meet these needs. Repairs are sometimes delayed or the funding doesn’t cover the cost for all the roads needing repaired in that fiscal year. “Our roads are deteriorating at a much more rapid rate than we have the money to repair them,” Rains states in his Letter to the Editor on page 2. To obtain grant funding, the City of Gallatin proposes that residents participate in a random Low to Moderate Income survey (LMI). The LMI for the city of Gallatin must be at 51 percent or higher with an 80 percent return rate or higher to be eligible for funds. These funds could potentially help the city of Gallatin with projects other than
Community immunity: first round of vaccinations given
April 2020 • Gallatin Publishing Company closed with most of its 24 employees observing selfimposed quarantine for a 3-day period while awaiting confirmation of a suspected COVID-19 test positive involving one employee. The test result officially was finally determined to be negative. • Freeman Detweiler, with the Jamesport Farm Supply store, says the Jamesport Amish community is taking the coronavirus outbreak every bit as seriously as their “English” neighbors. • Daviess County continued COVID-19 free, with no confirmed local cases of the virus officially reported by the county’s health department. • Edmon Howard, Director of the This BIG ...no foolin’! Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail, continued the “no admittance” procedures for the jail. • The more we stay home, the more temporary this situation will be. That is the hope and the message of Daviess County’s health and emergency directors as they guide the area through the COVID-19 crisis. • The Gallatin Ministerial Alliance canceled its annual Good Friday service due to the COVID-19 virus. • Building on Missouri’s efforts to control, contain, and combat COVID-19, Gov. Mike Parson issued a statewide “Stay Home Missouri” order. • Larry Rouner, a rural carrier at the Pattonsburg Post Office, officially retired on April 30. • A Gallatin alumnus, Brig. Gen. James R. Sears Jr., was promoted to commander of the U.S. Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland AFB, NM. • A new hot asphalt deck was laid
(continued on page 3)
street repairs, such as repairs to water and sewer lines, and the LMI funds last for four years. “Basically, Gallatin would get the benefit of $1,000,000 for the repair of the streets for a 7-year payment of $75,000 per year,” Rains states in his letter. “There would be zero ($0) additional expense to the residents of Gallatin. […] The only way for the City of Gallatin to catch up on the street deterioration is to receive grant funding from outside sources. Gallatin needs its residents to complete the survey, if they receive the random survey, and send it to Green Hills Regional Planning Commission to be tallied.” Rains then assures Gallatin residents that Green Hills Regional Planning Commission, a third party used for help to create the grant application, will be the only party to receive the LMI surveys. For the love of these bumpy roads, please consider completing the survey, and contact Lance Rains with any questions. Also, be sure to see the complete Letter to the Editor on page 2.
First rounds of vaccinations against COVID-19 are in the process of being given to Daviess County’s frontline workers and to residents of Daviess County Nursing and Rehab. The Daviess County Health Department gave out its first 10 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at their office on Dec. 31, to local frontline workers. Amy Heldenbrand, Family Nurse Practitioner at Gallatin Family Medicine, is pictured receiving the vaccine from Cheryl Alexander, RN/Administrator at the Health Department. Amy said she felt “totally fine” at the vac-
Larry Adams Jr. Sworn in as the New Daviess County Sheriff Daviess County rings in the new year with new Sheriff Larry Adams Jr. Officer Larry Adams Jr. was sworn in as the new Daviess County Sheriff on Dec. 31, 2020. Adams served previously as Chief Deputy and worked at the Sheriff ’s department for many years prior. The previous Daviess County Sheriff, Ben Becerra, just celebrated his retirement as the new year began.
cination and would encourage everyone to be a part of history and get the shot. All those receiving the shot had to fill out a consent form before taking the vaccine. They were asked to wait 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine to make sure they did not have an allergic reaction from the shot. (continued on page 3)
COVID Update: Jan. 06 County Statewide Rank per 100k population:
*Daviess (76th) ....(+19 since 01/06) 486 Caldwell (69th) .... (+24 since 01/06) 564 Gentry (7th) ........ (+37 since 01/06) 635 Harrison (26th) .... (+38 since 01/06) 654 Grundy (36th) ...... (+31 since 01/06) 702 Dekalb (64th) ...... (+25 since 01/06) 795 Livingston (43rd)(+36 since 01/06) 1064 Clinton (61st) .... (+61 since 12/23) 1302 State to date: 408,443 cases, 5,858 deaths Statewide positivity rate (last 7 days): +19.7% Source: Missouri DHSS at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 06
USA: 21.1M confirmed cases
(recoveries unreported); 357K deaths
Worldwide: 84.7M cases,
(recoveries unreported), 1.85M deaths
Source: Wikipedia & NY Times; daily reports available via the World Health Organization
*NOTE: Local numbers reported by the Daviess County Health Department may differ from state reports due to the lag time involved in processing the reports.Today Daviess County locally reports 556 cases (112 active ; 431 recovered). To date the have been 13 deaths officially recorded in Daviess County. Questions? Call the County Health Dept.:
660.663.2414