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TRENTON
THURS., DEC. 14, 2023
REPUBLICAN-TIMES “GOD BLESS AMERICA”
Old Glory flying at Five Points
republican-times.com
Council Discusses Bids, Wages The Trenton City Council met in open session Monday, December 11, 2023 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. In attendance were Mayor Jackie Soptic; Council Members William Fisher, Calvin Brown, Marvin Humphreys, Timothy Meinecke, David Mlika, and John Dolan on zoom; City Attorney Tara Walker; City Administrator/Utilities Director Ron Urton; and City Clerk Cindy Simpson. Absent were Councilmembers Duane Urich and Glenn Briggs. The meeting was called to order after the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. When the minutes from the previous meeting were brought to the council, there was discussion on the [See Council, Page 2]
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Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 160th Year - No. 15
MU Extension Recognizes Century Farm
BRIEFS Election Filings
For the City of Trenton City Council, incumbent David Mlika of 909 E. 10th Street has filed for reelection as third ward councilman. Filing for the municipal election to be held Tuesday, April 2, 2024 began Tuesday, December 5 and runs through Tuesday, December 26, 2023.
NCMC Winter Break
Submitted Photo
Mike and Stephanie Eckert of rural Grundy County were recently recognized as owning a Missouri Century Farm by members of the Grundy County Extension Council (GCEC) through the University of Missouri Extension. Pictured are, from left, GCEC member Sarah Allen, Mike Eckert (holding a replica of the original farmstead), Stephanie Eckert, GCEC member Denise Hamilton and GCEC member Morgan Duff.
GRVCO Presents Winter Concert Close to 350 were in attendance as the Grand River Valley Choir and Orchestra performed their winter concert “Christmastime” on Saturday, December 9 at 3 p.m. at the Trenton R-IX Performing Arts Center. Chris Thomas served as orchestra conductor, Linda Arnold was choir conductor and Sonja Wimer served as choir accompanist.
RT Photo/Libby Endicott
Members of the Grand River Valley Orchestra included Angela Hunt, Mikaela Ledford, Rebecca Richardson, Allex Smith, Susan Stull and Kim Suttenfield, violin; Leslie Hixson, viola; Elizabeth Chipman, cello; Charles and Norma Jeane Ferguson, string bass; Terri Critten and Vanessa Pauley, flute; Mary Garr and Sarah Pauley, clarinet; Jessie O’Dell, bassoon; Leah Meek, french horn; Joe Gilliland, trumpet; Mark Knorr, trombone; Madi Cutsinger and Nathan Vandevender, percussion; Cathie Lowrey, keyboard/percussion; and Colton Hammond, guitar.
RT Photo/Libby Endicott
Members of the Grand River Valley Choir included Stephanie Closterman, Amy Guthrie, Jean Hamilton, Becky McDonald, Pam MacDonald, Luanne Oneal, Laurel Pauley, Helen Smith, Naomi Starkebaum and Janet Urton, soprano; Jane Cotton, Anita Ewing, Lori Hudson, Kathryn Morrison, Linda Overton, Sara Thomson, Kathy Waits and Carol Wilford, alto; Tyler Busick, John Hudson, David Turley and Robert Wimer, tenor; and Jim Frazier, Greg Lewis, Dennis McDonald, Joe MacDonald, Andrew Pauley, Ephraim Smith and Al Trump, bass.
R-IX Board Discusses Four-Day Week The Trenton R-IX Board of Education met in open session on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. at the District office. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and the call to order. All members of the board were present except for Dorothy Taul. The board approved the minutes of the agenda, the minutes from the last meeting, the treasurer’s report and payment of bills. The meeting moved on to unfinished business. The board discussed the election filing dates for the upcoming April election. Both Melissa King’s and Bill Miller’s terms expire on April 9, 2024. The terms are a three year service, with the first date to file for the positions on December 5, 2023 and the last day to file December 26, 2023. There have been three applications at this time. Next on the agenda was the discussion of the school audit. A member of Conrad & Higgins, LLC was in attendance to go over the report with the board. They discussed the only test that was a problem was the in-
ternal control, which isn’t uncommon within schools. Conrad & Higgins worked hard to get everything done by the end of December. The board voted to approve the audit with a vote of 60. The building project bond resolution was next on the agenda. Superintendent Daniel Gott went over the ballot language for the tax levy and all the projects the school is looking into having completed. They will be keeping the $0.90 tax levy, having no tax increase to help take care of the current buildings the school owns. The 2024 Summer school dates were approved. Summer school will be 24 days long, starting on May 22, and ending on June 26. The informational part of the meeting was next. High School Principal, Chris Hodge, went over his counseling program evaluation. He said they are looking into community agencies to provide mental help to students who may need it or any extra help. [See R-IX, Page 2]
North Central Missouri College will be closed Friday, December 22, 2023 through Monday, January 1, 2024 for winter break. All campuses and offices at all locations will be closed during this time. The Ketcham Community Center will remain open, with the exception of being closed on December 24, 25, and January 1. KCC will have limited hours on December 23 and 31 from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. All campuses and offices at all locations will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
Letters to Santa
The Trenton Republican-Times will be publishing “Letters to Santa” in a special section that will be included in the newspaper on Thursday, December 21. Children who are not submitting letters through their class at school are encouraged to write letters to Santa to let him know their Christmas wishes. Letters must include the child’s name, age, address (town) and a telephone number in order to be published. Only the child’s name, age and town will be included in the letter. Because of space constraints, letters should be kept to a minimum and the R-T reserves the right to edit letters, if necessary. The deadline to submit letters is 12 p.m., Friday, December 15. Letters should be emailed to news@republicantimes.com. Please type “Letters to Santa” in the subject line.