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Aug. 2, 2017 UPSP 213-200 Vol. 153, No. 10
Serving Daviess County Since 1864 — Our Best To You Each Week!
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Daviess County receives ‘good’ audit, few findings Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released an audit of the government of Daviess County on July 27. The county received an overall performance rating of ‘good’. A ‘good audit result’ indicates the entity is well managed. The report contains few findings, and the entity has indicated most or all recommendations have already been, or will be, implemented. In addition, if applicable, many of the prior recommendations have been implemented. “My recommendations provide Daviess County officials with tools to ensure citizens are informed and sensitive information is protected.” said Auditor Galloway. “Transparency and accountability allow citizens to trust that their government is working with their best interest in mind.” For the areas audited, auditors identified (1) deficiencies in internal controls, (2) noncompliance with legal provisions, and (3) the need for improvement in management practices and procedures. The basic findings in the audit of Daviess County were: The prosecuting attorney did not perform documented monthly bank reconciliations for the year end-
ed Dec. 31, 2016, and a monthly list of liabilities is not prepared to reconcile to the bank balance. The prosecuting attorney did not disburse fees collected to the county collector-treasurer monthly as required by state law. The prosecuting attorney also does not prepare a monthly list of unpaid bad checks and restitution. The audit found the commission that oversees the DaviessDeKalb Regional Jail District did not follow the law when entering into closed session. The commission did not list the specific reasons for closing the meeting to the public and addressed topics that should have been discussed in open session. This issue had been identified in a previous audit of Daviess County. The report also identified issues related to electronic data security. Computers in multiple county offices lacked adequate password controls and automatic system locks set after a specific amount of time. As noted in the prior audit report, the jail commission did not always comply with the Sunshine Law. See the complete audit online at northmissourian.com.
Area Youth Benefit Fund notches 25 years of giving The 25th Annual Farmers Electric Cooperative Area Youth Benefit Fund (AYBF) dinnerauction and golf tournament will be held at the Chillicothe Elks Lodge on Saturday, Aug. 26, with the golf tournament scheduled for Monday, Aug. 28. The dinner-auction is cosponsored by Hedrick Medical Center. A reception will begin that evening at 5 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6 p.m. A silent auction will be held throughout the reception and the dinner. Just after 7 p.m., the main auction will be called by Col. Mike Miller. Those in attendance will have a chance to enter a reverse raffle (winner will be the last number drawn) with a fabulous prize awarded at the end of the dinner. A wide variety of items will be sold in the silent auction. There will be multiple tables, each grouped with a different minimum bid ($1, $25, $50). Feature auction items this year include: two VIP tickets to the Sunday round of the 2018 Masters Golf Tournament; a week-long stay at a condo in Florida or California (top bidder’s choice of destination); a week-long stay at a beach front Florida Condo; full use of the Jabez Retreat Center (sleeps up to 40) in Mooresville over the long Thanksgiving weekend and much more. The list continues to grow every day.
Searcy R-5 students start learning right out of the box
BTC Bank recently donated $4,800 to Searcy R-5 Elementary School at Gallatin for the purchase of 20 Chromebooks, 20 Chrome management software licenses, and a 20-unit charging station to be shared between the three second grade classrooms. Shown with the presentation check are Clint Vanatta, BTC branch manager, Cindy Crone, BTC assistant branch manager, and Toni Cox, Searcy Elementary principal. The Chromebooks will allow the students to receive technology instruction in a managed and closely supervised classroom setting.
3... 2... 1... blast off! Library to launch NASA@mylibrary program this Friday The Daviess County Library will host two stargazing nights as part of its Summer Under the Stars series beginning this coming Friday, Aug. 4. Programs feature NASA Night Sky Network experts and are free and open to the public. All ages are welcome. Programs are sponsored by the Daviess County Library in partnership with the NASA@mylibrary initiative and the American Library Association. The first Summer Under the Stars Series will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the library
basement community room on Friday, Aug. 4. Presentation will be by Eclipse Chaser Jackie Beucher. Jackie is an astronomy enthusiast and has chased eclipses all over the world. She will give a 30 minute presentation followed by stargazing outside the library. Jackie is a NASA Night Sky Network expert and is currently vice-president of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City. The second program will be held Friday, Aug. 11, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the library basement community room.
Gallatin’s Tom Crouse ropes in third at national rodeo
To make a tax deductible donation to the charity, just call Farmers’ Electric Cooperative at 660-646-4281. Committee members will gladly pick up any donation. Tickets for the dinner are also currently being sold by AYBF committee members. The golf tournament will be held at the Green Hills Golf Course. For the 19th consecutive year, Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Chillicothe will be co-sponsoring the AYBF golf tournament. Every golfer who plays in the tournament will receive a registration gift, a sleeve of golf balls, and more! The entry fees cover cart rental, green fees, mulligans, lunch, prizes and registration gifts. Corporate sponsor golf teams also receive three banquet tick(continued on page 15)
Tom Crouse of Gallatin received third place in a field of 1,500 contestants at the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) held in Gillette, Wyo., July 16-22. Tom represented Missouri as the Tie-Down Calf Rop-
Tom Crouse
ing Champion and All-Around Champion. Billed as the “World’s Largest Rodeo”, the top four contestants in each event from 42 states, five Canadian provinces, and Australia are eligible to participate in the NHSFR. Rodeo performances are held twice a day and every contestant goes two times. The top 20 contestants in each event advance to the championship round. Out of 168 tie-down calf ropers, Tom finished fourth in the first round with a time of 10.01 seconds. He advanced to the championship round and was third in that round with a 9.97. He finished third in the rodeo with 32.09 seconds in three head. For placing in the rounds, Tom received a buckle and $200 scholarship for each round. His third place finish in the rodeo earned him another buckle and a $350 scholarship. Tom will be a sophomore at Gallatin R-5 High School and is the son of Gene and Carrie Crouse.
The presentation will be by NASA Night Sky Network astronomy expert Dawn Grant. Dawn will give a 30 minute tour of the night sky, followed by stargazing outside. Bring your own telescope or use one of the library’s!
Shedding light on midday darkness Jackie Beucher, an eclipsechaser, will be presenting a program on Aug. 4 at the Daviess County Library about this summer’s total eclipse. The eclipse will occur on Aug. 21, just after 1 p.m. Jackie saw her first eclipse on a beach in Hawaii in 1991 and was totally awe-struck. Since then, she has traveled the world to see a total of 11 total eclipses, and her enthusiasm has not dimmed. She says that a to- Jackie Beucher tal eclipse is the most awesome natural phenomenon that you will ever see. Jackie has been an astronomy enthusiast her whole life due to her father, a TWA pilot, showing the young Jackie the night sky from their driveway in rural Overland Park. She joined the Astronomical Society of Kansas City in 1984, and has been the treasurer, secretary, and president. Currently, she serves as vice-president. For 13 years she was a national officer of the Astronomical League, an international group of astronomical societies. She is currently the mid-states regional secretary-treasurer of the league. The Astronomical Society of (continued on page 15)