Thursday for G Mas
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Sept. 23, 2020
UPSP 213-200 Vol. 156, No. 18
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New Record! Pattonsburg’s Brody Langfitt latches onto
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issouri an
28 passes
in a single game for a state record. See page 6
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Are teachers ‘essential’? Commissioners weighing the issue School superintendents from public schools in Daviess County met with the Daviess County Commissioners at the courthouse in Gallatin on Sept. 16 to discuss whether teachers should be considered “essential workers” during this pandemic. Superintendents attending were Brian Robinson, Winston R-6; Bill Pottorff, Pattonsburg R-2; David Probasco, Tri-Co R-7; and Daniel Street, North Daviess R-3. Cheryl Alexander with the Daviess County Health Department was also present.
David Roll, Daviess County Emergency Management Director, joined the meeting by phone. The Commissioners decided they needed more information before making a decision. Local officials must first wend their way through federal and state ‘advisories.’ On the federal level, the Trump administration labeled teachers and teachers’ aides as “critical infrastructure workers” in an Aug. 18 guidance published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The declaration was aimed at pushing school districts to open for in-person instruction for the fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, DHS said the label is only advisory and not meant to be a federal directive. It doesn’t have the force of law. Still, school districts that want teachers to return to classrooms — even when teachers declare that it is not safe to do so — could point to the federal designation to
argue their cause. Their cause being that a designation for educators as “essential” by the county could exempt teachers from quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus. At the state level, a joint release was made on the subject from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The release states that the decision to list teachers as essential will be made by local governments, health
Underage drinking, report of gun shots prompts six arrests The Daviess County Sheriff ’s Office received information of a large underage party near Jameson late Saturday night, Sept. 19. Daviess County deputies, along with a Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper, responded. County offiers made five arrests for minors visibly intoxicated/minors in possession of alcohol. Those individuals were released with summons to appear in court. One juvenile was held for minor visibly intoxicated and was released to a parent. The juvenile has been referred to the juvenile officer. Additionally, deputies received information that a subject was shooting a gun while at the party. An investigation by the Sheriff ’s Office is underway. If anyone has information regarding the shots being fired at the party, please call the sheriff ’s office at 660-663-2031.
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Two dates for local drive-up flu shot clinic
Bulldog players get in the act with Theatre League
Sunday, Sept. 20, the Gallatin Theater League held a clean-up day and several members of the League participated along with five Gallatin Bulldog football players: Jagger Gray, Gage Wright, Jacob Maize, Garrett Dungy, and Draygan Schweizer. These young athletes gave their time and muscles to help tear out the old signage that will be re-
placed very soon, remove scraps of wood, deteriorated props, and reorganize the ample reserve of wood used to build sets for the plays. The members of the GTL want to thank each and every one of these outstanding young men for their help. Without their help, the work would have taken much longer than planned.
‘Kickin’ Cancer’ event cancelled, but need continues by Troy Lesan
In a normal year, the “Kickin’ Cancer with Kindness” block party would be this coming weekend. Sadly, this year’s fund-raiser scheduled for Sept. 26 has been cancelled due to concerns over the pandemic. Over the past few years the Kickin’ Cancer with Kindness fund has evolved from a concept introduced in a conversation by a group in the basement of the Gallatin Methodist Church to an impressive initiative that assists countless Daviess County residents. Donations to the fund have grown from around $7,000 annually for the first few years, to $18,000 taken in last year. The donated
funds have been accumulated, in a large part, as a result of an annual block party, BBQ, and silent auction fund-raiser held in September. The funds taken in by this very worthwhile cause go entirely to the distribution of gas cards. The cards help many Daviess County cancer patients with transportation expenses going to treatments. The cards can be used at Landes at Jamesport, Wall Street Station at Altamont, or Trex at I-35 (Exit #61). Gas cards are still available at Farmers Bank and BTC Bank in Gallatin, but as a result of the cancellation, an extra big response is needed to keep this fund going. COVID19 has resulted in the cancellation of many
events, but the scourge of cancer will not be cancelled any time soon. It is stronger than ever. Sadly, a Kickin’ Cancer board member, Tracy Michael, who worked at BTC Bank, lost her life to cancer last year. Without the annual fund-raiser this year, Kickin Cancer will need a huge boost from the community. Anyone wishing to donate can do so with a check payable to Kickin’ Cancer with Kindness. Checks can be dropped off or mailed to BTC, PO Box 35, Gallatin, MO 64640. For further info, call Nancy Tate at 660-663-2588 or Jane McKinsey at 660-663-3300 Ext. 8.
The Daviess County Health Department will be offering a flu shot drive-up clinic on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2. Times are 8-11:45 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. The clinics will be held at the health department located at 609 A South Main Street in Gallatin. The clinic is for adults only and you must have an appointment. The health department will bill insurance: BC/BS of KC, UHC\UMR, CIGNA, Coventry/ Aetna, Ambetter, Medicaid and Medicare; or $25 cash/check. Call (660) 663-2414 to schedule your appointment and complete paperwork over the phone. A clinic for children will be offered on another date.
Coronavirus Update Confirmed Cases to Date
Caldwell County.. (+18 since 9/16) 78 Daviess County..... (+20 since 9/16) 94 Harrison County.. (+4 since 9/16) 101 Gentry County..... (+8 since 9/16) 117 Dekalb County... (+22 since 9/16) 123 Grundy County.. (+32 since 9/16) 173 Clinton County... (+21 since 9/16) 206 Livingston Co..... (+28 since 9/16) 388
Missouri: 115,366 cases, 1,864 deaths
Statewide change (7 days): +11.5%
Source: Missouri DHSS at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 23
USA: 6.92M confirmed cases, (u) recoveries, 201K deaths Worldwide: 31.6M cases, 21.8M recoveries, 972K deaths
Source: Wikipedia; Daily situation reports available via the World Health Organization NOTE: Daviess County has recorded 1 COVID death. Most cases involve mild or no symptoms; all recovered are without longterm effects. Testing is available, but talk to your physician first. For more information, call the Daviess County Health Department:
660.663.2414
How far is your daily commute to work?
Study shows workers from Daviess County log a long drive; Caldwell County workers endure the longest commute in the state The daily morning commute is undergoing a transformation as COVID-19 ushers in a work from home trend for millions of Americans. A recent survey ranked the average commute time for all Missouri counties. Within Missouri, Caldwell County has the longest average commute among all counties (33.5 minutes) while Nodaway County has the shortest (16.6 minutes). The average one-way commute time for Daviess County is 27.1 minutes, which places it at #26 for the longest commute in the state (14% above state average commute). The survey shows Daviess County workers with commutes over 60 minutes at 13% and workers with com-
Missouri statistics:
● Average one-way commute time to work -- 23.6 minutes (11.3% lower than the national average) ● Driving alone in car, truck, or van -- 23.3 minutes ● Carpool -- 25.1 minutes ● Public transportation -- 46.3 minutes
Counties with the longest average commutes: ● #1: Caldwell County -- 33.5 minutes ● #2: Lincoln County -- 33.2 minutes ● #3: Worth County -- 32.9 minutes
Counties with the shortest average commutes:
● #1: Nodaway County -- 16.6 minutes ● #2: Adair County -- 16.7 minutes ● #3 (tie): Sullivan County, Saline County -- 16.8 minutes
Additional commute characteristics:
● Workers with commutes over 60 minutes -- 5.2% (#37 among states) ● Workers with commutes over 90 minutes -- 1.7% (#39 among states) ● Workers who commute outside their county of residence -- 29.0% ● Workers who commute outside their state of residence -- 5.8%
mutes over 90 minutes at 4%. Missouri has the #18 shortest average one-way commute time compared to all other states and Washington D.C., with an average time of 23.6 minutes How dramatically (and permanently) the pandemic will shape worker commutes remains to be seen, but initial research shows a decreased use of public transit, a higher reliance on bicycles, scooters, and e-bikes, and decreased travel overall as more people work from home. That could spell good news for the 50% of commuters who characterize their trip to work as stressful. As Americans reevaluate their relationship with commut-
ing, Coverage.com used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, released in December 2019, to analyze which states have the roughest rides to work. States along with Washington D.C. were ranked according to their average one-way commute time to work for workers age 16 and older who don’t work at home, with ties broken by the percentage of workers who commute 60 minutes or more. Nationally, there were 143,148,111 workers aged 16 and older who worked out of the home in 2018. Out of these workers, most drove alone to get to work (80.4%), but some chose
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