Northwest Missourian

McKemy Center to see more programs

SIDNEY LOWRY Managing Editor

After approval from the Board of Regents in October 2022, the McKemy Center for Lifelong Learning is in the middle of renovations for expansion in the School of Agricultural Sciences.

In the 1990s, the McKemy Center was used as an agricultural mechanics lab and classroom before the courses moved to the Thompson-Ringold Building. Director of the School of Agricultural Sciences Rod Barr said with the pending demolition of that building, these renovations are taking the space in the McKemy Center back to its original roots.

“At that point, we started to look

at different locations on campus and came back to probably the best location was the McKemy Center because that’s where it used to be. It was kind of designed for that and had a lot of open space,” he said.

The renovations include the addition of laboratory spaces, equipment, as well as safety upgrades to support the systems management for manufacturing and the agribusiness program. Along with supporting the existing programs, there will be certification courses through Lincoln Electric for welding, four Snap-on certifications like precision measuring and multimeter, AC-DC electric certifications and more.

INCREASING INCLUSION

With the change in space, Barr said they are looking into bringing back programs that haven’t been offered since the change in space.

“We have courses on the books that haven’t been taught for several years and are now bringing those up to date to allow us to do that,” Barr said. “We will pursue a minor in systems management to broaden the scope of what that off ers. So from a programming standpoint, yeah, we will kind of go back to where we used to be modified, but broaden the scope to include more than just agriculture.”

SEE MCKEMY

State teacher salary causes division

LAKEN MONTGOMERY News Reporter | @lmontgomerymiss

Low teacher compensation is not a new issue in the United States, but within the last couple of years, it is becoming more urgent. It not only affects the current teachers trying to make a living, but also future generations by making it difficult to live off of a teaching career.

Timothy Wall, director of the School of Education, said 18% of Northwest students majoring in education despite the compensation that challenges the position. Northwest started out as a teaching school in 1905, preparing students for a career in education. Even though Northwest has broadened and started allowing other degrees, it still prides itself with its education program.

“I believe our reputation for high-quality educator preparation, coupled with a 100% placement rate in employment, helps us attract amazing future teachers and leaders. Plus, we have the best faculty in America,” Wall said.

Missouri is the sixth worst state in paid salary for teachers with an average of $51,557, according to a study done in 2022 by usafacts.org. Around 8,000 Missouri teachers don’t even meet that average and make less than $38,000 a year. Ninetyseven percent of teachers admit that their salary is insufficient to live off of.

Mallett talks diversity, inclusion progress

HANNAH CLAYWELL

Justin Mallett, assistant vice president of Diversity and Inclusion, gave an address about the state of Diversity and Inclusion Jan. 16 as a part of Martin Luther King Jr. Week activities. The address focused on academic progress, programming and academic partnerships.

The address focused on the things that are working for Diversity and Inclusion. Mallett said that the purpose of the address is to inform all of the work that has been done by DI.

“The reason why we started doing this, this is the second year we’ve done it, is because we wanted to create transparency within our office about the efforts and the works we are doing to create and foster an inclusive environment,” Mallett said.

In the academic progress, there were 986 domestic underrepresented students on campus — 86% of these students finished with good academic standings.

Mallett said there is still work to do with the freshmen class, specifically. Though there is a trend of increase with the average GPA within classifications, rising from 1.79 with freshmen to 3.2 with seniors.

There is a breakdown in statistics between Black, Hispanic, Asian, White and multi-race students. In the spring 2022, the GPA for domestic underrepresented students was 3.03 in comparison to white students, 3.23. This is a significant improvement from years ago when 82% of underrepresented students had a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

Missouri’s governor and legislature have proposed a temporary solution, increasing the minimum salary from $25,000 to $38,000. The state will also provide funds to support 70% of salary costs within the program, the remaining would need to be covered by local school districts.

This problem is not only restricted to Missouri, it affects schools across the nation. In 28 states, college educated teachers are paid a teacher wage penalty from 2% all the way up to 32.7%, meaning that the average wage paid to employed workers in a specific occupation in the area of the intended employment is less than the wage paid to cover employees.

Logan Lightfoot, superintendent of Maryville R-II School District, said based on what state he worked in, the actions taken to fix this pay gap changed.

Assistant Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Justin Mallett discusses the state of diversity and inclusion. Mallett covered the academics of underrepresented students and the changes that have been seen in the past semester.

HANNAH CLAYWELL ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Mosaic awarded for quality

MONTGOMERY News Reporter | @lmontgomerymiss

Mosaic Life Care was awarded runner-up for Innovator of the Year for its successful efforts in the past couple of years to decrease readmission rates.

In December 2022, Mosaic Medical Center - Maryville was awarded as the runner-up for the Health Quality Innovator Award for Rural Health after someone noticed its positive scores and advised it to apply. Jodi Griffin, quality improvement coordinator, submitted the hospital’s data and was chosen for its effort in readmission reduction rate and dedication to its customers in rural areas.

“Mosaic is dedicated to decreasing the percentage of patients that come back within the next thirty days after discharge with the same or different problems,” Griffin said.

This sixth annual award, chosen by Health Quality Innovators, recognizes health care providers across the United States that have demonstrated innovative solutions and creative application of technology within their healthcare environments.

There are five different categories within the Innovator Award: Collaboration, Health Equity, Patient Engagement and Activation, Population Health and Rural Health. Each category recognizes three different health care providers.

The Mosaic team has implemented effective strategies such as making documents as

user friendly as possible, which allowed patients to be able to understand important information, dates and medications. Mosaic also has a nurse practitioner that regularly sees all patients after inpatient discharges in nursing homes for up to four weeks and is adding a palliative care nurse in August that helps increase consults.

More effective strategies it’s using is making phone calls to patients that have been discharged to check up, making sure patients have everything they need and watching for other diagnoses. It is also determined to improve its communication — it started having regular meetings discussing patient’s health and getting the best plan of action to move forward with. Along with better communication, it created a direct line to make it easier to schedule follow up appointments and make it easier on discharging patients.

Vice President of Patient Services Debbie Hoffman said Mosaic has been working hard to improve patient care and applying strategies to slow recurring patients.

“We look at our scores from previous years, our goal is always to improve and do better,” Hoffman said. “We look at how we’re doing things and as we get readmission, we look at opportunities and what happened with patients that we could improve on.”

“Mosaic Life Care - Maryville in Missouri launched initiatives to reduce readmission rates within their rural community … Additionally, Mosaic’s population health strat-

egy incorporated community and regional partnerships. As a result of these initiatives, Mosaic improved their patient satisfaction scores, provided greater access to health care, reduced health care spending, improved care coordination and avoided financial penalties,” Health Quality Innovators said in its announcement of the winners.

On top of the runner-up for Health Quality Innovator Award, Mosaic Medical Center - Maryville was given an A grade hospital rating twice in the last year by national nonprofit organization, Leapfrog. The group collects a survey on publicly reported data about rates and statistics within the hospital.

The company takes the information and calculates it with other hospitals. It then gives the hospital a grade from A to D. These awards are given twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. In 2022, Mosaic received an A both times for its high-value care. According to a press release from Mosaic, only 14 out of the 63 eligible hospitals in Missouri receive an A grade.

President of Mosaic, Nate Blackford, says the team’s goal isn’t about receiving awards or recognition. The priority is the patient’s health and safety.

“The awards are wonderful, we love to receive recognition, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to provide the highest level of patient safety and quality we possibly can, we believe that the awards follow from there,” Blackford said.

TRIO restructures staff for better funding use

HANNAH CLAYWELL Asst. News Editor | @Hannah_9504

The Northwest TRIO has restructured to have three project directors instead of a single director. This restructure is to ensure efficiency within the programs while giving students educational support.

TRIO serves students who are first generation college students, need financial aid or disabled. In the programs, there are 82 high school students, 71 students in Upward Bound Math and Science and 180 SSS students.

Northwest TRIO has three programs: Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math and Science and Student Support Services. The TRIO programs help assist students before and during their college experiences. TRIO member Travis Rogers said the program has had a positive impact on their life, even before college while being in the Upward Bound program.

“TRIO has been such a resource in my back pocket for me to use throughout any college experience,” Rogers said.

There have been several different roles made to create more management and efficiency. There is now a TRIO specialist role, filled by Lisa Ruehter. She said the restructure gave TRIO more to help students before they attend college and during their college careers.

“Our biggest goal in restructuring is helping a student complete or answer the questions they need answered to get to the completion of college,” Ruehter said.

Jay Johnson, associate provost for academic operations and development, has been serving as the interim director, but has since stepped down. He said as a whole, TRIO decided that having three directors was a better option and now can

put more money back into the student programs.

Ruehter and Johnson both said it’s important to give back to the programs to improve them for students and have more money in the programs.

“We were seeing a number of things that have influenced how that design for having a singular director over three units may be taking resources away from the students and also does not necessarily allow for more efficient control of each program,” Johnson said.

The restructure of TRIO came around after the director left in September 2021, and the spot needed to be filled. There was not a plan to restructure at the beginning when it started to look for a new director. Ruehter said COVID made things more difficult, and there were a couple failed searches. After this it was decided that a restructure would be the most beneficial.

The restructure also fell into the funding, there are $2 million grants that span over five years, which goes to both the students and the programs. By removing the director, there is more money going back into staffing below and programming and helping maintain the TRIO programs.

“The main goal is efficiency and local control, so each program is able to manage at a more student level rather than an administrative level and also provide sustainability over the five years with funding,” Johnson said.

The members of TRIO gain a lot of resources and help throughout their time with the programs. The programs can start as early as freshman year of high school and last throughout a college career. Rogers said it was very helpful in his journey towards college and now during his time at Northwest.

“It was a fantastic way to make connections with peers when I just joined college and I didn’t know anybody,” Rogers said.

LAKEN

After being awarded with Innovator of the Year runner-up, staff members Miranda Diggs, Ali Brittain, Paula Goodridge, Dr. Amulya Dakka, Marcia Beason, Jodi Griffin, Debbie Hoffman and Sarah Spoonemore smile for a group picture. Health Quality Innovators recognizes innovative application of technology within rural hospitals.

SUBMITTED

Just over a year since the proposal, the Northwest Missouri Cooperative Mental Health Board has its first plan in the works to help bridge the gaps in mental health services in the area.

Nodaway County Associate Circuit Judge Robert Rice has been a proponent for the creation of this Board since the beginning. He said it has been invigorating to see what happens when multiple people from different communities come together with one goal and that the Board has started from the ground up.

“It's sometimes slow to get that ball rolling,” he said. “As far as logistics of creating a new organization or a new board, when you start off the first day, we don't have any money. We don't have a checking account. We don't have anything other than agreements from the counties and bylaws with how we're supposed to operate, and so a little bit is an education process.”

One of the steps for the Board in its first two meetings was asking Holt, Gentry, Worth and Nodaway County for funds when making the county budget. Rice said it based the request for funds on population, the highest being asked of Nodaway County for $40,000. Gentry and Holt County were both asked for $12,000, and Worth County was asked for $6,000. He said Worth and Gentry County have both already approved the request.

Since its second meeting in December 2022, the first goal the Board has within its first year is to put telehealth stations in each school district in Holt, Gentry, Worth and Nodaway County. Rice said the Board hopes to use those funds from county budgets to get it up and running, but also to fund part of this project alongside grants.

“We think that this telehealth unit would make it so that if a student needs to visit with a mental health doctor that transportation shall not be a barrier to getting that service,” Rice said. “... that is a major motivation for this Board is something that would be useful, helpful and needed in each one of our communities.”

Rice said this was the first issue the Board wanted to combat because of members' experiences working in juvenile, criminal and family court. In these courts, transportation is a barrier for many, and the Board wants to try to eliminate this as a problem for those needing to seek mental health services.

“You're talking about having to go a great dis-

tance away for more severe cases, and so at least telehealth units, we said ‘hey, you know, kids go to school, if we get them to the school, that’s at least no more than just their normal daily trip there’ so then that's no longer a barrier,” Rice said.

Along with the idea for the telehealth services, the Board got immediately to work with the idea of identifying needs within the community. It talked with Mosaic Medical Center - Maryville to discuss partnership for a $400,000 grant opportunity that could be used for identifying gaps of mental health services throughout Northwest Missouri. Rice hopes to hear news about the grant in a couple of weeks.

“What do we need in order so that we can have services up here and not have folks feel, I mean, just not have folks have to drive to Kansas City or farther in order to get services,” Rice said.

With this grant, the Board would have focus groups around counties in Northwest Missouri to identify needs. To start this process, it is hosting a Sequential Intercept Model Mapping Workshop Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 where 196 various community leaders, civic stakeholders, school officials, teachers, counselors, medical professions and more are convening to talk about the resources offered versus the ones that are needed.

Rice said the agenda for the meeting is to go through multiple different stages based on the court system. During the two-day long meeting, participants will discuss what needs to be addressed in areas ranging from crisis lines to parole and probation.

“I mean, those folks, who are addicted, what you find, when you really, really dig deep down into those cases, is that there's some severe underlying trauma, or something that happened to him in the past, it's stuff that breaks your heart every day,” Rice said. “And so, kind of fixing that, where a person would self medicate.”

By identifying mental health resource needs within the court system, there are hopes to stop those from repeating crimes by allowing better help throughout stages in the system.

“If we can help them with the body's yearning for a chemical in an organized way, where there's regular meetings and get them on a new path and show them, you know, when you're able to maintain full time work, you've got a few extra bucks in your pocket now, and your family members aren't as mad at you anymore, and they start inviting you back to family dinners and stuff like that, it’s really life changing,” Rice said.

Associate Circuit Judge Robert Rice has worked with the Northwest Missouri Cooperative Mental Health Board from the beginning. The board will be holding a Sequential Intercept Mapping Model Workshop Feb. 23 and Feb. 24

SIDNEY LOWRY MANAGING EDITOR

Senate

HANNAH CLAYWELL

The first Student Senate meeting of the spring semester was held in Colden Hall instead of the normal Union Ballroom Jan. 17. Senate mainly discussed the vacancies in Senate positions.

There have been several changes to the Senate members, including the Executive Board.

Garrison Kennedy stepped down from the secretary position at the end of last semester and Jaelee Pittel is now the secretary for Senate.

During this meeting, there were several nominations for the positions of senior class representative, on campus representative, off campus representative, junior class representative and sophomore class representative.

The only nomination present was Shelby Godding, who was sworn in as the junior class representative.

“I was on Panhellenic (Council), I was the Panhellenic rep. I’d love to be the junior rep for you and stay on Senate,” Godding said during the meeting.

There were no nominations for graduate representative and international representative.

President Elizabeth Motazedi updated the Senate members on the presidential search and the student panels that will be happening when the candidates come to campus.

There will be four candidates coming to Northwest in February for interviews. The new president is expected to be announced this spring.

“This is pretty serious, and you guys should also take this

it a point to be very transparent.

seriously because you’re having a say in who our new president is for this University,” Motazedi said.

Motazedi said not a lot of colleges offer this opportunity to students, so it is important for the Senate to attend these panels.

Treasurer Jillian McNamara also recommended the Senate to go to a teaching program with the potential new hire for the political science department.

The Civic Service committee announced the blood drive for Feb. 21-23, and it is finding a date for highway cleanup. Last semester’s blood drive brought in 143 units of blood, which was double the previous year’s donation.

The Student Senate legislative reception trip to Jefferson City will be Feb. 13-14. The students on this trip will be talking to legislators and going to sev-

eral meetings involving Senate.

“We’re getting an in-depth tour from an intern, and they’re going to take us to areas of the capital that they wouldn’t normally take people,” Motazedi said.

Senate voted on $1,800 for the Governor’s Leadership Forum to fund four volunteers to go on another trip to Jefferson City, this trip is different from the other Senate trip. The proposal was approved unanimously.

The Organizational Finance committee said it expects organizations to start coming to Senate and asking for appropriations at the next meeting Jan. 24.

Senate finished the meeting with the normal inspiration, which is a short talk from one of the senators about something they find inspirational or interesting to share.

The programming introduced nine students to Northwest resources and various activities in the Maryville community. Eight of the nine students finished in good academic standings, three of the students were named to the honor roll and two were named to the president’s honor roll.

“We have seen a stronger rise in attendance at all of our programs,” Mallett said.

Some of the programs DI held in the fall semester were pride tiedye, spice it up and different movie nights.

Mallett said the most significant change from last year is the commitment from the students and employees while attending DI events. He said DI wants to continue providing quality events and for students to feel comfortable and they have a strong sense of belonging.

Following the address, there was a student panel to answer questions from the audience. Sherry Harper and Darren Ross were two of the students on the panel. Harper said, having been on several panels, she makes

CRIME LOG

for the week of Jan. 19

Maryville Police Department

Jan. 16 There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in Forest Village ApartmentsSycamore.

Jan. 15 There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in South Complex.

Jan. 14 There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in Hudson Hall.

Jan. 13 There is a closed investigation for a drug violation on University Drive.

Jan. 10 There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in Perrin Hall.

There is a closed investigation for six alcohol violations in Roberta Hall.

“The idea of having a community and knowing that it is possible, of course with the help of Dr. Mallett and the coordinators, definitely helped me realize it was possible to have what I wanted,” Harper said. “After seeing that it was something that the other Black students on campus were creating as well, I think it really just motivated me to do better, to want better.”

The panel discussed the things that have impacted it during its time at Northwest and with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Many of the panelists talked about how they consider Northwest home through the connections they have made.

“The accessibility to you all, the ability for you to pull out the time to talk to the students and actually get to know us, not only from an academic standpoint, but at a personal level, these types of interactions with students is why we stay here,” Ross said.

Mallett said there is room for improvement, but mainly wants to continue the quality the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has reached and continue to give students a safe space and the resources they might need.

MCKEMY

With the reintroduction of old courses, and the addition of new certifications, the School of Agricultural Sciences will have to certify instructors to teach those courses as well as bring on an additional staff member. Barr said the school hopes to find that additional staff member this spring.

“It does require a different skill set, it’s a train-the-trainer type of situation,” Barr said. “That person will go to training and then be able to train our students. Ultimately, hopefully, we’ll be able to offer some of that training for professional development, especially to teachers that are out in the field.”

Barr said many programs will be up and running by the fall 2023 semester, but some won’t be fully implemented until later on when more details are hammered out. As of now, they are in the process of ordering equipment, revamping the old curriculum and creating a new curriculum for the certification courses.

People have been expressing interest in these new offerings as well as a desire from manufacturing indus-

UNDERPAID CONTINUED FROM A1

“What Missouri has done as far as raising the minimum salary is a good start. I worked as a superintendent in Nebraska, and they focused more on a local scale rather than state wide,” Lightfoot said.

In 2021, The Teaching Salary Project administered a survey to 1,200 classroom teachers to see how many teachers needed to have a second job to financially support themselves. The outcome of that survey was that 82% of those teachers had to work two jobs. Of those teachers, 53% needed more than two jobs to support themselves.

On top of the low salary, in most school

tries in Maryville for people to be certified in different areas. Barr said he wants the University and manufacturer to have a partnership and collaborate to meet the needs of the industry and teach students to do that through these programs.

“Partnerships are going to be key to this and understanding what the industry needs,” he said. “What does the systems management side for Agribusiness look like and what are the industry needs there? What are the industry needs for manufacturing and can we put those together to meet the needs of the community in the region? That’s really what the University is all about.”

He said the addition of these programs not only benefit students on campus, but also students in the Maryville R-II School District. He said these new courses open new opportunities students may not have considered before.

“I think it just broadens the opportunities for our students to take a look at what might be out there and anytime we can do that I think that’s beneficial,” Barr said. “It leads to student success after their time in college.”

BY SAVANNAH ATHY-SEDBROK ASST. DESIGN EDITOR

classrooms, teachers are required to supply their classroom with school mandated utensils. Ninety percent of teachers spend their own money to provide students with required supplies, according to the National Education Organization.

“I think that It has been a long time coming issue, and it won’t go away that quickly,” Lightfoot said.

Students can help by bringing this issue to the attention of local and state decision makers.

“We should press our decision makers and policymakers to find a systemic, long-term approach to teacher salaries in Missouri education and higher education organizations,” Wall said.

GRAPHIC

Governmental Affairs Rep. Sophia Sanders discusses the upcoming Student Senate trip to Jefferson City at the meeting Jan. 17. Senate discussed upcoming student panels in February for the presidential search and representative vacancies within Senate.

HANNAH CLAYWELL ASST. NEWS EDITOR

We can’t generalize all mental illnesses

MAKAYLA POLAK Editor-in-Chief @kaypolak

The whole point of going to a doctor is to find out what is wrong and to either fix the issue, or find out what the next steps are. Doctors are supposed to be a resource for people to utilize, but it is just as easy to give up on a doctor when you don’t feel that they are doing the job you went to them for.

I recently experienced a doctor telling me that pain medications are just a Band-Aid to a problem. I completely agree, I know that pain medications are not the end-all-be-all and doesn’t mean that the problem is solved. Taking that into consideration, we could argue this goes for mental health as well.

I was 11 years old when I was first diagnosed incorrectly with a form of depression. I was medicated for this and put into group therapy. This lasted roughly a year before they realized that I was misdiagnosed. The cycle went on for years, yet I ended up having none of it.

I have ‘situational’ depression, a term rarely used by doctors meaning that stressful and traumatizing events can trigger a depressive episode. I don’t have depression 365 days a year nor do I need to be constantly treated for the issue, rather through the process of therapy and managing my anxiety, I am able to find a balance that works for me.

That part is important, “what works for me.” As a society, we like to categorize people into groups. It’s easier to throw a person in a generalized group rather than taking the time to find out more about a person details.

For some people, medication is the end-all-be-all. It is the solution that they are looking for because their medical issue ends at a chemical imbalance in the brain.

For many, medication as a solution to mental health issues is just a Band-Aid. It isn’t finding the root to the problem nor does it solve the issue. Depressive medication has historically shown that misdiagnosis, improper dosage or inconsistent usage can lead to worsening symptoms and even lifethreatening effects.

The one thing that doctors need to encourage more before automatically diagnosing and medicating a person is therapy or counseling. There are many different forms of therapy designed specifically for not only the many different mental illnesses, but for the individuals as well.

Just as we can’t learn everything about a person in a day, doctors cannot understand a person’s history and genetics in one appointment, which is usually under 40 minutes, and assume it is the proper diagnosis. Therapy and counseling works through years and years of history, helping you and the therapist understand your behavioral patterns.

After many different doctors, therapists, medications and life altering moments, I would encourage everyone to talk with a doctor about possible mental disorders, but take time talking to a counselor or therapist about it as well before jumping the gun and starting medication.

THE STROLLER:

Your Bearcat loves state border feuds

I am not from Missouri. I wasn’t born and raised a diehard Chiefs and Royals fan. I knew nothing about this state until I got here for college. But if there is one thing that I learned after coming to college, is the residency border wars is something else.

The feud easily starts with whether you are a Hawkeyes, Huskers or Mizzou fan. Not to be a hater, but let’s get real, all

of those teams are barely above decent. Except the Huskers, they are just tragic.

It isn’t only sports, for some reason the Midwest likes to argue over who has the best crops, particularly corn.

For those of you who are worried, I didn’t forget about Kansas — everyone did. Even if you are from Kansas, you know what I’m talking about. You will say that you’re from Kansas, and every

person will give you a look and even you are like “Yeah, I know.”

Being a Nebraskan, I already knew about the Nebraska-Iowa feud, but I’ve learned much more since entering this state. I thought it was a joke, turns out it’s just Iowa — literally no one likes them.

This is my conclusion; Nebraska is just there, a random state with a bad football team. Missouri is the crazed sports

fans with a little too much to say at all times. Iowa is the punchline of a joke that is extremely not funny, yet you keep trying to explain how it is funny, but it just keeps getting worse. Kansas is naturally last, and that seems pretty selfexplanatory considering most people forget about it anyways.

OUR VIEW:

Maryville needs to prioritize adding and fixing sidewalks

For many of us, driving down South Main Street has become a cluttered mess of traffic cones and confused drivers. The construction is nothing shy of needed changes to the community.

As you are driving down Main Street, you may have noticed the beginning of future sidewalks, shareduse lanes and street lights in the works. These sidewalks are going to provide safer transportation for those without vehicles or who prefer to walk.

Currently, we are seeing people maneuver through traffic cones and moving vehicles, trekking in snow and mud to get places around town. The sidewalks will not only benefit those walking, but the drivers as well, but the importance of adding sidewalks doesn’t end on Main Street.

With the construction on the main road, side and residential roads have seen an increase of usage. Many of these roads either don’t have sidewalks or the sidewalks are not in good condition. This is not something people even consider when they’re driving. If someone is seen walking in the road rather than the sidewalk next to them, they’re seen as an inconvenience when they’re trying to safely get from point A to point B.

For many college students, walk-

YOUR VIEW:

ing to campus is a daily routine, and for those in Maryville without vehicles, walking or biking is a main form of transportation. Though it isn’t the main form of transportation for residents, this doesn’t mean the sidewalks shouldn’t be a priority for improvements throughout the town.

Current sidewalks throughout Maryville are either covered in weeds and grass or are breaking into pieces, sinking into the ground, making them hard to walk on. The overgrown and sunken areas pose issues for people using wheelchairs, strollers, bikes and skateboards. For people with accessibility issues, these sidewalks are unusable.

The upkeep of sidewalks in town have been neglected for years. The point of these sidewalks is to keep people safe by keeping them from walking on the streets. Without maintenance being done, the sidewalks are not being used for their intended purposes — or in general.

Even for people driving through town, it’s common to look out your window and find someone walking to their destination. The sidewalks are not only an issue for those using it, but the people driving as well.

With sidewalks being unusable, people are having to dodge cars while walking on the road. Not only would the sidewalk improvement be beneficial for the people using them, but for all drivers.

For some students, driving isn’t an option. International students attending Northwest have many different rules they need to follow to get a driver’s license. Even after getting a driver’s license, buying a car may not be in their budget or may be difficult to do. For these students and many others, driving is not an option, making sidewalks more important.

The addition of more sidewalks, on top of maintaining the existing ones, is imperative to reassuring that Maryville is walkable. The Editorial Board, and all of Maryville residents, have witnessed the struggle. With fixing the sidewalks, the safety of pedestrians should be the main focus.

We recognize this isn’t something that can be changed overnight. It takes funds and manual labor to build new sidewalks, especially to continue maintenance on them. Though it will take time for this change, it not only impacts current residents, but future students and families as well.

JESSICA

“Here the transportation is less. I mean, we do have cab rides, we can have personal cars and that’s the only transportation, there is no public transportation here.”

HAILEY JOHNSON-NESSER CARTOONIST

How do you feel about the current state of walking transportation in Maryville?

MANEESHA MADAGONI Freshman Masters in Information System

The Stroller has been a tradition since 1918 and does not reflect the views of the Northwest Missourian.

“I’ll be honest, they really suck. I have to use a cane occasionally because of the issues, and it’s really rough around certain parts of campus.”

CASPER WILLIAMS Junior Theater Tech

“I really hate it, honestly. Personally, there’s not enough sidewalks even if you go more towards the suburbs like you start to walk in the middle of the street and it’s definitely not safe.”

HOLLIS Senior Cyber Security

This game is the 42nd meeting between the ’Cats and Jennies. The Bearcats have lost 14 straight to the Jennies, with their last triumph being Jan. 17, 2015, when Northwest defeated Central 61-60. Central is the No. 1 offense in the MIAA, averaging 77.9 points per game and No. 5 defensively in the MIAA, allowing 58.3 points per contest.

Northwest is the No. 12 team offensively in the MIAA, averaging 61 points per game but defensively is one spot behind Central Missouri at No. 6 in the MIAA, allowing an average of 61.4 points.

“We have to defend how we’re capable of defending. I thought we did a good job over the weekend of eliminating 3-point field goal attempts,” Meyer said. “I think our post defense is gonna have to be better than it was because they’re a team that can score inside and out.”

After the clash with Central, Northwest will battle Lincoln Jan. 21 in Bearcat Arena. The Blue Tigers are 5-11 on the season with a 3-7 record in the MIAA.

Lincoln has an edge offensively, averaging 64.3 points per game, but the Blue Tigers give up 73.3 points per game on defense.

“Lincoln depends on the day. They’re fast and athletic, but if we stay under control and play within ourselves, we should be OK,” Green said. “We just have to have confidence and calm down because they’ll get you sped up and just turning the ball over.”

After a two-game road trip, the Bearcats will be back in Bearcat Arena for a two-game homestand. Green said it’s great being at home and since the break is over, there will be even more support in Bearcat Arena.

Meyer said the atmosphere at Bearcat Arena is amazing, and he is glad to be back.

“Division II-wise, I don’t think there is a better home environment than ours, just with the support of our fans and students,” Meyer said. “You know you’re going to get a good crowd in the gym on Thursdays and Saturdays. Our kids enjoy playing at home and hopefully we can play well.”

Relay team sets school-best time

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Coach Brandon Masters was not looking for anything special. It was the first meet in over a month for Northwest track and field, and the team was over 130 miles away from home.

Before Masters took some of the athletes to the Graduate Classic Jan. 14 in Lincoln, Nebraska, he said he was focused on how the athletes’ process was getting ready for the meet and at the meet, rather than their results.

Just 34 days after the previous meet, something special is exactly what Masters found in the Devaney Center Indoor Track.

With a time of three minutes, 44 seconds and 37 milliseconds, the quartet of freshman Kennedi Cline, sophomore Chloe Saenz, sophomore Luisarys Toledo and junior Tiffany Hughey set a new program record in the women’s 4x400-meter relay.

The previous mark of 3:44.49 was

“They don’t have a great record, but they’re going to bring and play with a tremendous amount of energy. They always do. They always play hard, so we just need to make sure that we continue to do what we want to do and focus on that,” Stoecklein said.

Not only is this a conference game, but it is the next edition of the Highway 71 rivalry. A rivalry like this can motivate both teams to win and play harder than normal as bragging rights will be on the line.

Stoecklein said playing Savannah as their opponent is fun and adds to the game.

“We’re going to be at their place, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a big crowd, just with the past history with Savannah, not only basketball but football as well. It’s going to be a big energy crowd,” Stoecklein said. “We need to survive that initial burst of energy, you come out and it’s just a crazy environment.”

Maryville senior guard Caden Stoecklein said beating Savannah is very important because of how competitive the rivalry is.

“Since they couldn’t beat us in foot-

set March 12 in the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. Hughey and Saenz were also a part of that group, along with then-freshman Jaedy Commins and then-freshman Bailey Blake.

“It’s really cool to be able to do that very early on,” Hughey said. “... It’s pretty special. It’s really fun to run with these girls. They mean a lot to me, and they’re all very strong.”

It wasn’t just the women’s relay squad that found success. Junior Kemuel Sloan took first place in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 47 feet and three-fourths of an inch. His jump was good enough to hit the Division II provisional qualifying mark. Freshman Truman Hare, with a time of 21.62, won the men’s 200-meter dash. His time also helped him earn a provisional qualifying mark.

Now the team is truly back within the rhythm of the season with its next meet just the week after the Graduate Classic.

ball, they really want to beat us in basketball this year,” Caden Stoecklein said. “We know we’re the better team, and if we go and execute on Friday night, I have no doubt that we will come out with a win.”

After the rivalry clash, the Spoofhounds will have three days off before driving 73 miles to play in the Cameron Tournament. The ‘Hounds will kick off the tournament Jan. 24 against Chillicothe. Maryville will play Smithville Jan. 25 before wrapping up tournament play Jan. 27 against the host Cameron.

This tournament gives the Spoofhounds a chance to play against two district foes, Chillicothe (8-4) and Cameron, in the tournament, while giving the ’Hounds a chance to play Smithville (8-6).

Matt Stoecklein said the Spoofhounds always want to face different opponents, and tournaments give the ’Hounds the chance to do so.

“We’re looking forward to playing Smithville. They’re a solid team, with some of the better players in Northwest Missouri,” Matt Stoecklein said. “We’re excited for that challenge, and we have Cameron and Chillicothe, which will have a conference game feel to them.”

Now, Northwest will have a chance to continue to build itself back up with games against Central Missouri (8-9, 4-7 MIAA) Jan. 19 and Lincoln (10-4, 6-4 MIAA). After two games on the road, the Bearcats will be back in Bearcat Arena for a pair of games. McCollum said he expects challenges from both teams.

“Central’s, defensively, one of the best, if not the best in the conference,” McCollum said. “I mean, they’re, year in and year out, elite defensively.”

UP NEXT

Northwest Open Jan. 21

Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse

The next competition will also be the first of two consecutive home meets.

Masters said he expects around 15 teams to be at the Northwest Open Jan. 21. It’s their third chance to compete against competition in preparation for the MIAA Championships Feb. 24-26.

For runners, like Hughey, the familiarity with the track can provide an edge.

“Compared to a lot of other schools, they run on a 200-meter bank, and that’s a tight track to run on,” Hughey said. “On a 300, like we have here, it’s very close to running on an outdoor track. So, you know, we know the ins and outs, and we know the curves and turns.”

The Mules are No. 6 in the MIAA in points allowed per game, giving up 64.4. The Bearcats are No. 3 in the conference, allowing just 60.9 points per contest.

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in the conference over

halfway through the season is Lincoln. After finishing the 2021-22 campaign with a record of 4-23, the Blue Tigers hired former Central Florida assistant coach Jimmy Drew to take over the program in April.

“They’re exponentially better than they were last year,” McCollum said. “I think they’re tough, they’re physical, they get after rebounds, they defend and they play hard.”

Just one season ago, Lincoln was No. 13 in the MIAA in points per game (65.9) and last in the conference in points allowed (77.3). After 14 games, the Blue Tigers score 72.9 points per contest, which is good enough for No. 7 in the MIAA, while only giving up 62.9 points — No. 4 in the conference.

“I kind of expect the same I do with every team, that they’re going to give us their best because of the name we have around us,” Abreu said of the Mules and Blue Tigers. “We just got to go into every game thinking like, ‘We have to beat these guys.’ They’re gonna give us their best, and we got to give them our best.”

Northwest track and field assistant coach Wick Cunningham and junior Matt Goeckel run laps around the track inside Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse during practice Jan. 17. Goeckel finished in 19th place out of 24 athletes in the men’s 800-meter run at the Graduate Classic Jan. 14.

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Junior guard Delton Davis splits through two defenders to attempt a layup against Red Oak Jan. 6 in Maryville High School. The Spoofhounds will play Highway 71 rival Jan. 20.

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Top Records: Rock talks about career

Throughout the 24-year history of Northwest soccer, lots of players have donned the green and white on Bearcat Pitch — the home field for Northwest.

On top of the program’s record books, though, one player’s name shows up more than any others: Kaylie Rock.

“I had no idea what the stats were when I came,” Rock said. “It obviously feels great that I’ve been able to help out the team. I feel like I can’t really give credit to myself. Honestly, it’s been mostly just the impact of my teammates I’ve been getting throughout college. I’ve been getting so much closer in my relationship with God, and I give it all to him.

I don’t think any of this would be possible without him. So, I’m very thankful that I’m on a team with the girls that I’m with, and I have faith in my life because it’s been able to get me where I am.”

The junior forward finished up her fourth season with the Bearcats in November. Through those seasons, she put herself at the top of the career lists at Northwest for goals, assists, shots, shots on goal and points. Additionally, she also has the record for the most assists in a single season with 12 during the 2021 campaign.

She broke the goals record with a penalty kick in the 66th minute in the team’s 2-0 victory over then-No. 22 Central Oklahoma Oct. 9. In the 55th minute of a 2-1 win over Rogers State Oct. 16, she passed the ball to sophomore forward Sophie Cissell, who ultimately scored the first goal of the game. The Bearcats went up 1-0, and Rock went up to No. 1 on the all-time assists list. In a week’s time, she had set the mark for two major records for Northwest soccer.

Her credit to her teammates is something her coach, Marc Gordon, has come to expect in the time he’s spent working with her. During the 2022 season, Rock missed a couple of games with unspecified issues with injuries. Gordon said he sometimes teased her that she was getting older, but also that it was refreshing to see her mindset while going through a challenge she hadn’t faced up to that point in her collegiate career.

“Even though she was frustrated, it wasn’t in such a way that was a detriment to the team,” Gordon said. “It wasn’t about her. It was about the team.”

The records, the success, Bearcat Pitch or even soccer itself wasn’t what brought her to Northwest.

Rock grew up in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, just outside of Kansas City. She played multiple sports growing up, such as basketball, softball and tennis, though soccer is what gained her love. From as early as 5 or 6 years old, she said, she loved soccer. In middle school, she began joining clubs and traveling teams.

Then high school came, and that’s when decisions got more serious. Her dad, Steve Rock, said he wasn’t sure if she was going to keep playing.

“She had gotten to a point where she was kind of burned out,” Steve Rock said. “... We always knew she had the talent —

there was no question she had the talent — but we weren’t convinced she was going to have the interest or the desire. In fact, she basically quit.”

Steve Rock said Kaylie Rock was on a competitive team, but she stepped away after she wasn’t enjoying it. She and her parents discussed if continuing to play was in her best interest.

That was not until she found a club team with a couple of her friends. While it was still competitive, the team mainly played in Kansas City and did not travel like others did. Steve Rock said being able to just enjoy soccer again made all the difference.

“She started to love it again. It stopped being a grind,” Steve Rock said.

Kaylie Rock said she began looking for colleges, but her main focus was what the school offered, not playing soccer. She said her and her dad came on a visit to Northwest and both of them were very impressed.

“I just loved the campus,” Kaylie Rock said. “I love the size of it. I love the feel of it.”

However, it was former Northwest coach Tracy Hoza who offered Kaylie Rock a scholarship to play at Northwest. Between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the Bearcats underwent a coaching change, and Gordon took over the program in December 2017.

Kaylie Rock was left wondering if she was still going to be offered a spot on Northwest’s squad. She said she thought she may have to find another school or attend Northwest without a scholarship. Before her first year, Gordon observed her at a camp, and there he knew he wanted Kaylie Rock on the team.

“After seeing her play, I thought she’s going to be a great player to work with based on what I saw,” Gordon said.

Aside from the individual achievements she’s reached, she’s also been part of a transformation within the team itself. After finishing 6-10-3 in 2019, her first season, and having the 2020 season canceled due to COVID, the team finished with the most wins in a single season with 13 in 2021. The Bearcats followed it up with another 13win season in 2022.

She’s not done, yet, though. She’s still got one more season as a Bearcat. Gordon said he expects great things from her. She said one of her motivations is helping the team earn its first ever NCAA Tournament win after two consecutive appearances being cut short in the first round.

“You know, the expectation is I just want her to enjoy it,” Gordon said. “I want it to be her best season. I want it to be the team’s best season.”

“It was definitely challenging this season, especially since we left on a Wednesday for a game on Friday, and we didn’t come back until Saturday,” Kaylie Rock said. “We spent four days away from campus and away from class for that one game, and it was tough to end like that. It’s motivating, for sure, to try even harder next season so we can get even farther, and we know that we can do it.”

Junior forwards Teagan Blackburn and Kaylie Rock celebrate after Blackburn scores a goal courtesy of an assist by Rock in the 17th minute of Northwest soccer’s 3-1 win over Missouri-St. Louis Sept. 1.

DAKOTA WEAVER PHOTO EDITOR

Northwest soccer junior forward Kaylie Rock dribbles the ball down the pitch against Missouri-St. Louis Sept. 1. Rock was credited for 2 points in the 3-1 win, which helped her set the program record of most points in a career with 56.

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INFOGRAPHIC BY SAVANNAH ATHY-SEDBROOK ASST. DESIGN EDITOR

REDEMPTION ROUND

Central Missouri, Lincoln next on slate for Bearcats

WESLEY MILLER Sports Editor| @wesleymiller360

Success is nothing new to No. 9 Northwest men’s basketball. The Bearcats are over halfway through their third straight season of defending a national title.

UP NEXT NW vs. Central Missouri

7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 Bearcat Arena NW vs. Lincoln 3:30 p.m. Jan. 21 Bearcat Arena

Even with the filled trophy case, sophomore forward Daniel Abreu made it clear what his takeaway was after the team’s 69-58 loss to No. 7 Central Oklahoma Jan. 12. At the Northwest Athletics’ media luncheon inside Maryville’s Pizza Ranch Jan. 17, the sophomore said it was a humbling experience.

“I would say, it doesn’t matter who you are, what program you are, there’s always room to improve,” Abreu said. “I mean, we’ve had Trevor (Hudgins), we’ve had (Ryan Hawkins), but that doesn’t mean we’re entitled to any wins or anything. So, like, UCO, they st killed s and it was em arrassin . er em arrassin defnitely, for a program as successful as this one. It doesn’t really matter who o are o ’re defnitel s sce ti le to an t e o loss.

The Bearcats (15-2, 8-2 MIAA) were able to bounce back a bit with a 74-57 win over Newman (6-11, 2-9 MIAA) Jan. 14. Abreu scored 11 points in his seventh game of the season with double-digit points.

Coach Ben McCollum said the game against the Jets was too small of a sample size to see how the team is going to respond after the loss to the Bronchos. He said he will be able to truly tell in practice.

“I think how we respond in practice — if we can really address what happened down there, what happens in practice and what happens consistently — if we can address that and improve it, I think it’s going to help us quite a bit,” McCollum said.

Women’s basketball aims to build momentum with games at home

Northwest women’s basketball was up 11 with 1:30 left in the game against Newman Jan. 14, in Wichita, Kansas. Junior forward Jayna Green went up against the Jets’ senior forward Britney Ho and blocked the shot.

That denial cements Green as the all-time block leader at Northwest with 123 blocks, passing the previous mark of 122 set by Sarah Vollerston, who played for the Bearcats between 2002-04.

“I remember getting the block, and I think in the back of my head I knew, but I think at that point of the game it was still like a 10-point game,” Green said. “So, I don’t think I was

thinking about it much. After the game I checked, and I was like, ‘Mom, I think I got it.’”

This milestone wasn’t the only thing that the Bearcats (97, 4-6 MIAA) achieved over the weekend, as they went 2-0 on their road trip against Central Oklahoma (6-10, 3-9 MIAA) Jan. 12 in Edmond, Oklahoma, and Newman (6-10, 3-8 MIAA) Jan. 14 in Wichita, Kansas. Those two road wins boosted Northwest from No. 11 in the MIAA to No. 7 in the conference.

Next up for the ’Cats is a clash with the undefeated, 15-0, No. 5 Central Missouri Jan. 19 in Bearcat Arena. Northwest coach Austin Meyer said the Bearcats need to play really well and defend really well against the unde-

UP NEXT

NW vs. Central Missouri

5:30 p.m. Jan. 19 Bearcat Arena

NW vs. Lincoln 1:30 p.m. Jan. 21 Bearcat Arena

feated Central team.

“They have a really good startin f e rooke ittrell is their lead scorer. She’s a kid that can shoot the 3, she can post up and she can t it on the oor Meyer said. “Just a really good team. We’re going to have to be locked in defensively and hopell la well o ensi el .

Maryville, Savannah prepare for frst meeting of 2022-23 season

Maryville boys basketball has four road games over the next seven days. The Spoofhounds start their busy schedule Jan. 20 against Highway 71 rival Savannah in Savannah, Missouri.

The Savages are 2-9 on the season compared to the ’Hounds 11-3 record. Savannah won its last game, while Maryville is on a three-game winning streak.

Coach Matt Stoecklein said the Spoofhounds have been practicing hard and using what they practice in their games which has helped them go on the winning streak.

“No. 1 on that list was the defensive side. We’ve really stressed keeping the ball in front of us. Just work on that and then let’s get better on help-side defense, really just keep the ball in front of us because we had a hard time doing that,” Stoecklein

UP NEXT

MHS vs. Savannah

7:30 p.m. Jan. 20

Savannah, Missouri

Cameron Tournament Jan. 23-28 Cameron, Missouri

said. ensi el st mo e the all and share the ball better and not shoot so quickly.”

In the last three installments of the Highway 71 basketball games, the ’Hounds have come out on top. They defeated the Savages 45-38 Feb. 18, 2022, in Savannah, Missouri. Since 2008, Maryville and Savannah have played 37 times. The Spoofhounds lead that series 26-11.

Junior forward Luke Waters looks down at the basketball in preparation of one his free throws during Northwest men’s basketball’s 64-49 win over Fort Hays State Dec. 11.

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Senior Guard Caden Stoecklein attempts to keep the ball in front of him against Red Oak Jan. 6 in Maryville High School.

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In Northwest women’s basketball’s 67-52 loss to Fort Hays State Dec. 11, sophomore guard Molly Hartnett examines the court for an open teammate.

MAKAYLA POLAK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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