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May 30, 2018 UPSP 213-200 Vol. 154, No. 1
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This week marks the 154th anniversary of the first printing of the Gallatin North Missourian!
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Fish fry, silent auction on June 8th as benefit event for Lori Kloepping
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The Gallatin Men’s Club will hold a fish fry and silent auction for Lori Kloepping of Gallatin at Michael 6 p.m. on Friday, June 8, at the 2nd termGallatin Lions Club building. Lori cer. See page 8 is scheduled for a kidney transplant on June 21. The meal will include fried fish, hush puppies, baked beans, fries, dessert and drink. Suggested donation is $10 at the door.
Also for Lori’s benefit, there are T-shirts ($20) and bracelets ($3) available for sale at Terry Implement and Gallatin Publishing Company. T-shirts are available in sizes S-M-L-XL-XXL. For additional donations call Julie Critten at 660-663-7493; Julie Rains at 660-663-7262; or Cyd Terry at 660-605-1988.
County Health Department welcomes new breastfeeding peer counselor
The Daviess County Health Department has hired Caitlin Roberts as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor (BFPC). Caitlin lives in Pattonsburg with her husband Craig and their two children, Paislee, two, and Teagan, 10 months. Caitlin learned from personal experience that breastfeeding can be challenging and mothers are in need of support and education to help them meet their breastfeeding goals. She also realized that this is something that she would like to help other mothers with and decided to pursue a more active role in the community by becoming Caitlin Roberts a BFPC. BFPCs are funded through a special WIC (Women, Infants & Children) grant. Caitlin is able to assist anyone in the community that is in need of assistance with breastfeeding—you do not have to be a WIC participant to use our BFPCs. Caitlin will be in the health department office on from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. The on-call BFPC Angela Wayne is available the other days, evenings and weekends. The office number is 660-6632414 and Angela’s number is 660-663-5147 (call or text). For more information on WIC and breastfeeding, you can go to the website (daviesshealthonline.com) or the state health department website: health.mo.gov/living/families/wic/wicfamilies/index.php
Next library board meeting on June 19 The Daviess County Library Board of Directors voted unanimously to employ Elizabeth Plotner as interim library director during a special board meeting held May 23. The period of her employment is four weeks at which time her continued employment will be discussed. During the special meeting, the board discussed expectations for the interim position with Ms. Plotner, including the period of time she will serve as interim director and her pay. She will be gone from Aug. 22 to Sept. 5 because of a previous commitment. The special meeting was held in the basement community
room of the library in Gallatin due to the large number of citizens in attendance. About 50 citizens voiced comments during the first 90 minutes of the meeting, and several continued in attendance for another half hour before the board voted to convene in executive session closed to the public. Those serving on the library board are Daren Adkins, president; Shonna Morrison, Kelvina Hobbs, Gregg Hartley and Mary Jarboe. The next regularly scheduled public meeting of the library board is slated for 4 pm on Tuesday, June 19 at the library facility in Gallatin.
‘Suicide Widow’ takes harsh look at death and grief
Krystal Youngs gains closure by writing her journey by T.L. Huffman, staff writer
On Feb. 28 two years ago, Krystal Youngs received a knock on the door that would change her life forever. Her husband Chad had been found dead. Chad was a lineman employed by the City of Gallatin. He was a volunteer fire fighter. He was 37 years old. At the time Chad’s death, though classified as ‘undetermined,’ was accepted as a suicide by Krystal, and as such it seemed like a blow out of the blue. It is only with reflection that she recognizes the warning signs. “Looking back, I did see signs in his anger, the mood swings, the increased substance abuse,” she says. “But I never thought in a million years that it would happen to him.” Krystal has written a book about what happened, called “Suicide Widow: My life story of persevering through adversity, addiction, and abandonment.” She says the tragedy sent her into a tailspin of anger, despair, confusion, panic. “I didn’t know what to do or how to do it,” she says. “I was numb for the first six months.” Overwhelmed by emotions, Krystal, then 28, still had to deal with everyday realities of home life and caring for their four-year-old daughter, Charley. And now there was the additional and immediate burden of coping with the funeral, insurance policies, bank statements, bills, and the rest. “Two years later, I still get phone calls from companies and have to tell him he’s gone,” she says. Both Chad’s and Krystal’s fathers were diagnosed with cancer while Chad was still alive. Nine months after Chad’s death, his father passed away. Writing things down and creating the book helped Krystal deal with the compiled grief and continue life’s journey as a widow and single mother.
“I forgive him, but I’m still going through the grieving process,” she says. “I still get angry at him, and question things and wonder why. I’ll never get over it. I’ve learned to cope.” Krystal wanted to get the story out there. “There are a lot of suicides in small communities and nobody talks about it,” she says. “People make up stories. Nobody’s perfect and no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. Chad was a pillar in the community. Nobody knew he had problems until it was too late.” Krystal hopes her book will make a positive change and will help others who are contemplating suicide. “It shows what your family will go through.” In the book, she describes her life as a ‘living hell,’ a ‘nightmare’ and ‘disastrous.’ That’s the reason I wrote the book. If I help talk one person out of suicide, my mission is accomplished.” Her book’s introduction talks about the “awfulness of people during trauma and tragedy.” She discusses how people pass judgments on others who commit suicide; there’s a stigma associated with it. Krystal, too, had blame and criticism and judgment passed on her. “I was blamed as soon as it happened,” she says. “I think people have to have someone to blame. They don’t think mental illness is a good enough reason to die by suicide.” The “awfulness” included odd responses after Chad’s death. “People don’t really know how to react,” she says. “They would talk badly about him. There are people who don’t want to believe it was a sucide. I’ve talked to other suicide widows and they tell me that’s a normal reaction.” She had to deal with the guilt, not just with Chad’s suicide but with the coroner labeling it an ‘undetermined’ death. Chad was shot in the back of the head and the bullet came out above his left eye. It happened in the middle of a field (continued on page 12)
Road work closes local roads The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in Daviess County planned for the week of May 28 – June 3 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. Route 13 – closed for a bridge replacement project at the Honey Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through Sept. Route OO – chip seal, May 30. Route KK – chip seal, May 31. Route KK was to have pavement repair, May 29. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, mowing, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs, litter pick up and other road work conducted throughout
the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change. MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions. For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-2756636) or visit www.modot.org/ northwest. You can also follow MoDOT Northwest Missouri district on twitter @modotnorthwest and on facebook at www. facebook.com/modotnwdistrict.
This photo, a favorite of both Krystal Youngs and daughter Charley, was selected for the cover of the 125-page paperback book, Suicide Widow. Photo credit goes to Nikki Berry Photography, Gallatin, who added Chad’s presence. The book about Krystal’s experiences, coping with adversities as a child and adulthood, is available on Amazon and Kindle.