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Tuesday, December 29, 2020
REPUBLICAN-TIMES TRENTON
Trenton, MO 64683
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 33
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
BRIEFS Grundy COVID-19 Update Active COVID cases in Grundy County are down again according to information provided on Monday by the Grundy County Health Department. The Dec. 28 briefing by the department shows 91 active cases in the county, down seven from the 98 the department reported on Wednesday, Dec. 23. The total number of positive cases was 856, which was up 22 from Wednesday’s report and the total COVID-related deaths in the county remained at 28. Other area numbers include Livingston, 1,049 with 44 deaths; Harrison, 640 with 12 deaths; Caldwell, 583 with 7 deaths; Daviess, 515 with 12 deaths; Mercer, 260 with 7 deaths; Sullivan, 648 cases with 9 deaths; Putnam, 197 cases with 1 death; Linn, 406 cases with 11 deaths; and Carroll, 641 cases woith 14 deaths.
Local New Year’s Closings
R-T Photo/Ronda Lickteig
Payne Weaver, center, was born with Type 1 Spinal Muscle Atrophy, something only 1 in about every 10,000 children are born with.
Family’s Strength Shines In The Face Of Tremendous Challenge Couple’s Child Was Born With Type 1 Spinal Muscle Atrophy
Trenton City Council Filing An incumbent has filed for a seat on the Trenton City Council, subject to the April 6 election. Glen Briggs of 701E. Fifth St., filed for re-election to the council from the city’s first ward. Those wishing to file for a seat on the council may do so at city hall through Tuesday, Jan. 19. Others whose terms are expiring are Danny Brewer, second ward; Cathie Smith, third ward; and John Dolan, fourth ward.
BY RONDA LICKTEIG Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a two-part story focusing on the Weaver family’s journey following the diagnosis of their infant son, Payne, with Spinal Muscle Atrophy.
A
s we say goodbye to 2020, many people are also saying “good riddance!” There’s no doubt it’s been a year unlike any other in modern history, but for Jim and Hannah Weaver, 2020 will always be remembered as a year that brought a life-changing blessing and revealed their strength as a family in the face of a tremendous challenge. For the young couple, news of a pregnancy in 2019 was unexpected as Hannah had been told that the likelihood of her getting pregnant was very low. With shared custody of Jim’s son, Drake, then 9, the three were a family – complete even if no other children were ever to join them. But with a new little one on the way, the couple looked forward to becoming a family of four. Hannah experienced a routine pregnancy, with no complications and with a husband who found her even more beautiful as she carried their son. “Overall, she was the prettiest little pregnant picture you could imagine,” he recently wrote of her during that time. On May 11, as the world dealt with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jim was laying on the “dad couch” in Hannah’s room at Liberty Hospital, reading - perhaps prophetically - Ryan Holliday’s book, “The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph.” Just before noon, the nurse checked Hannah and they knew it was “go time.” Payne William Weaver (his first name is from Jim’s childhood hero, the late golfer Payne Stewart; William was se-
Several offices and businesses have announced plans to close or modify their hours on Thursday, Dec. 31 and Friday, Jan. 1. Closed on Friday, Jan. 1 will be Trenton City Hall/TMU, the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce/License Bureau, the Grundy County Courthouse, the Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library, the Grundy County Health Department, the North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center, the North 65 Center, the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission and Missouri Job Center, Grundy Electric Cooperative/Grundy-Livingston Water District office, US Bank, Citizens Bank and Trust, Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri and BTC Bank. The the Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri will be closed on both Thursday and Friday while Farmers State Bank will close at 3 p.m. on Thursday and will remain closed on Friday. The Trenton Post Office will be closed on Friday, Jan. 1, with normal hours on Thursday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 2. The Trenton Republican-Times office will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 31 and Friday, Jan. 1, with publication of the Friday newspaper being pushed back to Thursday, Dec. 31. The office will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 4.
Trump Reluctantly Signs COVID Aid The degeneration of motor neurons leads to the gradual decrease in the mass and strength of muscles (atrophy). lected by Drake) entered the world at 7 pounds, 14 ounces. All was right in their world. Fast forward to May 16. Jim was working on the couple’s farm about 15 minutes from their home in Trenton when he received a phone call from Hannah telling him she’d been notified that there was “something wrong” with Payne. Believing that maybe she was just being a stressed new mom, and knowing that Payne acted like a perfect newborn, he headed home to console her. But he also did what many of us do first when we’re looking for information: he Googled “SMA newborn,” the condition Hannah had been told Payne’s newborn screening had shown. He clicked on a link to “SMA Statistics” and felt what he describes as a punch in the gut like he had never felt. What he took away from that initial “research” was that the life expectancy for a Type 1 SMA baby was 18 months to two years. He had never even heard of SMA, Spinal Muscle Atrophy. As he sped back to town, he called his parents, Kenny and Vicki Weaver, and had them meet him at home. The scene he describes and what happened in those first moments is, on one hand, heartbreaking, and on the other hand, a glimpse into how this family was going to handle a crisis. “I walk in the front door to a sleeping baby, my wife sobbing, my mom sobbing, my dad looks sick and my 10-year-old,
National Weather Service
Drake, is bawling. He and I have been through thick and thin together. I hug Hannah, grab Drake and go outside. I tell him we don’t know anything but this is going to change everything. It’s going to be hard and that we’ll do it together. He and I have always been like that together. He doesn’t understand what’s happening; he just knows this is bad. I’ve had rough days in my life, but that one takes the cake. May 16 stands alone in our lives.” But as that day stands alone as the worst, Sunday, May 17, will be remembered by this family as well. That’s the day the couple woke up to a beautiful day. They looked at each other and determined that they would never have another day like May 16. Whatever was going to happen, would happen but they would be positive and seek solutions. They would not feel sorry for themselves or for Payne. And from that point on, that’s exactly what has happened. The next day, Monday, May 18, the family received a call from their Children’s Mercy Hospital caseworker, Anna, who began preparing them for what was to come with a diagnosis of Type 1 SMA. The rare genetic neuromuscular disease (only 1 in about every 10,000 children are born with it) affects the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement. The disease causes the loss of [See WEAVERS, Page 5]
President Sparks Fresh Fight For Republicans WASHINGTON (AP) — Shelving his objections, President Donald Trump has signed a $2 trillion-plus COVID-19 and annual federal spending package providing relief for millions of Americans, even as Congress returns to confront the White House on remaining priorities in a rare end-of-session showdown. Trump appears to have accomplished little, if anything, from the days of drama over his refusal to accept the sweeping bipartisan deal. While the president's demands for larger $2,000 pandemic relief checks seem destined to fail, his push served up a political opportunity for Democrats, who support the larger stipends and are forcing Trump's Republican allies into a tough spot. On Monday, the Democratic-led House is set to vote to boost the $600 payments to $2,000, sending a new bill to
What’s Inside...
A winter weather advisory is in effect for Tuesday with rain, freezing rain and sleet forcasted.A total of 1-3 inches is possible. The high Wednesday at Trenton was 56, Thursday’s high was 22 and Friday’s high was 34. The high Saturday was 47 and Sunday’s high was 46, with a low of 32. No report was available from the Government Weather Station near Spickard.
Two Trenton High School athletes were honored on the St. Joseph News-Press All-News-Press NOW fall sports teams. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times to see who made the team.
Trenton Republican-Times “News Every Day...When YOU Want It”
FREEZING RAIN
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the Senate. There, Republicans have the majority but reject more spending and are likely to defeat the effort. The showdown offers more symbol than substance, and it's not expected to alter the massive package that Trump reluctantly signed into law late Sunday after golfing at his Florida club. The $900 billion in COVID aid and $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown that otherwise would have started Tuesday. Together with votes Monday and Tuesday to override Trump’s veto of a sweeping defense bill, the action is perhaps the last standoff of the president’s final days in office as he imposes fresh demands and disputes the results of the presidential election. The new Congress is set to be sworn in Sunday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seized on the divide between the president and his party, urging Trump to put pressure on his Senate GOP allies to pass the bill. “The President must immediately call on Congressional [See COVID AID, Page 5]
What’s Inside
Sports ..............................page 2 Across Missouri ..............page 3 National News.................page 4 Calendars ........................page 5 Local News...............page 6 & 7 Comics.............................page 8 Dear Annie ......................page 9 Crosswords .....................page 9 Classifieds ............page 10 & 11