The Leader • 12-21-23

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LEADER CLINTON COUNT Y

Thurs., December 21, 2023 |

Plattsburg, Lathrop and Gower, Mo.

$1.00 | “Covers Clinton County Like Dew ”

LATHROP SCHOOLS

District to consider tax shift on April ballot by brett adkison leader editor

The Lathrop R-II Board of Education met Wednesday, December 13, to tackle their monthly duties, which included a first look at the proposed schedule for next school

ELECTIONS

A Rush of Candidates File in Plattsburg

year, a change at the old football field next to the elementary school, and establishing the district’s mission statement going forward. Joe Kinder, managing director with Stifel Institutional’s public finance groups, visited with the

board Monday to go over an opportunity for the school district to optimize some of its funding. As Superintendent Dr. Adam Willard later explained, the school district’s debt service levy (97 cents per $100 assessed value) is gener-

ating more than enough revenue to make its annual debt service payment. However, the additional revenue is limited in its use. Dr. Willard said the board will consider moving 23 cents of the ||Continued on A2

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA

WE WON’T FORGET

leader editor

||Continued on A2

One Section | 12 pages

Honor for the late Wohlford The late Cory Wohlford earns a metro-wide award for his inspiration to student-athletes. || PAGE A6

Group Asks For Guidance The Clinton County Initiative is looking for help as it aims to bring services to the county . || PAGE A2

by brett adkison

Voters in Plattsburg will have to wade through a busy ballot this April when deciding who will lead the city council. With a week left in the filing period, 10 candidates have already signed up for the four seats that will be decided in the spring, including three candidates for mayor. Incumbent Mayor James Kennedy has filed for another term with the gavel, while two challengers—Ricky Volkman and David Jett—have also filed. Alderman John Mirosh has signed up for another term in Ward I, while challengers Ammon Waters and Larry Schussler have also filed for the seat. Ward III Alderman Scott Gordee has filed for re-election, while Travis Brooks and Josh Tulley also signed up for the seat. Alderman Richard Stanley, who was appointed to his Ward II seat earlier this year, has filed for election, and as of this past Monday, has done so unopposed. The City of Lathrop finds itself in a much different situation. Two seats on its council— those of North Ward Alderman Porter Hensen and South Ward Alderman Donnie Quinn—will be contested in April. However, no one (including the incumbents) have filed for either seat. Similarly, the City of Gower has a pair of seats up for election—those of Ward I Alderman Bill Stallard and Ward II Alderman Paul Pottier—for which only Pottier is the only resident to have signed up, as of Monday. A pair of seats on the Clinton County R-III Board of Education will be up for grabs in

INSIDE

Sheriff ’s Calls for Service

The local Wreaths Across America event on Saturday at the Lathrop Cemetery was the most successful in the efforts’ history, as 180 wreaths were funded for the graves of our late veterans. For more from the event, see page A12 of this edition of The Leader. (Above) Lathrop resident Debbie Nelson places a wreath Saturday, as volunteers worked through the rain and cold. (Left) Volunteer Richard Stanley with Melissa Vazzano, who spearheaded the project this year.

brett adkison | the leader

Law enforcement involved in wreck by brett adkison leader editor

A vehicle accident in southern Clinton County involved a pair of local law enforcement officers responding to an emergency last week. The accident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 13, when officers with both the Lathrop Police Department and Clinton County Sheriff’s Department responded to an emergency

call of a suicidal subject at Lake Arrowhead, south of Lathrop. The accident occurred as Jace Hickman with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department in a 2023 Ford Interceptor and Jacob Hutton with the Lathrop Police Department in a 2020 Dodge Durango were southbound on 33 Highway, Hickman in front of Hutton. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the accident happened when Hick-

man’s Interceptor slowed to make a left turn and Hutton’s Durango swerved left to avoid a collision. The Durango struck the Interceptor in the driver’s side. Both vehicles went off the side of the road and the Durango struck a fence post. Both men were wearing safety devices at the time. Hickman sustained moderate injuries and was transported to Liberty Hospital by the Holt Fire Department.

See what calls for service the Clinton County Sheriff ’s Department recently fielded through dispatch. || PAGE A3

Community........A5 Opinion..............A4 Legals..............A10 Sports................A7

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VOL. 129, NO. 9


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