May 16th marked the 30th anniversary of the start of the Trenton Downtown Improvement Association. TDIA Board Member Cathie Smith says the organization began as a partnership between a group of businessmen and the City of Trenton to get a Neighborhood Assistance Program credit grant to redo sidewalks. She considers one highlight of the group […]
The Spickard R-2 Board of Education on May 17 approved an addition to the 2021-2022 student handbook involving out-of-school suspension. The addition says that when a student has OSS as a consequence, he or she is not eligible for any after-school events on the same day as the OSS. The student must remain off of school […]
Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri announces the 2021 scholarship recipients. Each bank location selects one high school graduate to receive a $500 scholarship. Congratulations to the following: Unionville: Aaron Schnelle, Putnam County R-1 High School Mercer: Savannah Martin, North Mercer R-3 High School Trenton: Rylee Johnson, Grundy County R-5 High School Bethany/Cainsville: Grant Claycomb, South […]
A Hamilton man has been charged with two felonies after he allegedly threatened family members with a knife on May 18th. Thirty-year-old Grant Austin Smith faces domestic assault—third degree and unlawful use of a weapon—exhibiting. He has also been charged with misdemeanor property damage—second degree. Bond was set at $25,000 cash only with special conditions […]
(Missouri Independent) – As the case counts of the novel coronavirus began to tick up last March across Missouri, providers who offer tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) found their resources were being pulled in two directions. Swabs were in short supply as they became needed for COVID-19 testing. Contact tracers, who reach out to […]
There are two meetings scheduled for Tuesday evening, May 18, 2021, at the Chillicothe City Hall. The Railroad Advisory Board will meet at 5:15 with an agenda that includes the Yellow Creek watershed. The Historic Preservation Commission for Chillicothe meets at 6:30 Tuesday night. Topics are listed as Chillicothe Baking Committee and the status of […]
Another session of the Missouri Legislature has come and gone. Of the 1,559 House bills and 689 Senate bills filed this time around, 69 bills will make it to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. Here are some key bills left up to the governor to sign or veto: Missouri lawmakers vote to pump up […]
(Missouri Independent) – An effort by lawmakers to require disclosure of ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses was derailed on Thursday when state regulators suggested a possible gubernatorial veto. On Tuesday, the Missouri House voted to require the Department of Health and Senior Services provide legislative oversight committees with records regarding who owns […]
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education approved the 2021-2022 salary schedule May 10t. It is the same salary schedule as for the 2020-2021 school year, which Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis notes has a base salary of $31,000 for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree. The salary schedule is expected to change after further review […]
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen approved an ordinance on May 10th authorizing the city to enter into an engineering service agreement regarding a wastewater collection system evaluation facility plan. City Administrator Lance Rains reports the agreement with All-State Consultants involved a Small Community Engineering Assistance Program (SCEAP) grant. The company evaluated the infiltration and inundation […]
The Federal Communications Commission announced a new Emergency Broadband Benefit program. This temporary benefit program will lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The $3.2B Emergency Broadband Benefit program provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 […]
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on Tuesday, May 11, discussed non-certified payroll annualization with district Bookkeeper Mona Loyd and Administrative Assistant Susan Leeper. Loyd started by saying she had been willing to try annualization at the time the board originally voted to implement it for non-certified staff. She did not have the forethought to […]
(Missouri Independent) – The fate of a wide-ranging crime bill was called into question on Tuesday over a provision that would stiffen penalties for lying under oath to the legislature or obstructing a legislative investigation. During a conference committee on Tuesday morning convened to work out differences on Senate Bill 53, House members said the bill […]
Missouri is designating 50-million dollars in federal coronavirus aid to create K-12 teacher recruitment and retention grants. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will make 10,000-dollar grants available to all Missouri public school districts and charter schools to create or expand local teacher recruitment programs. Currently, 20 percent of Missouri school […]
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education approved a health insurance proposal on May 10th. The proposal from Thomas McGee includes no increase in premiums for employees. The base HSA for an employee will remain at $516.63, and the base PPO will stay at $607.35. The district cap will remain at $600. This is the third […]
An attempt to renew a law essential to financing Missouri’s Medicaid program drew fire late Monday from a state Senator who wants to bar Planned Parenthood from participating in the program and an anti-abortion group seeking to block access to contraceptives. A renewal of the taxes that provide more than $2 billion annually for Medicaid was added […]
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education will consider approval of the salary schedule next week. The board will meet in the high school Family and Consumer Sciences room on May 10, 2021, at 7 o’clock in the evening. The agenda also includes extracurricular trips, new board member training, summer personnel, and programming dates, and facility, […]
Students graduated from North Central Missouri College on Saturday, May 8th with a variety of associate degrees and certificates. Student Senate President Jacquelyn Perez welcomed guests and congratulated the graduates for beating the odds. Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn also addressed the graduates. She acknowledged that each one had a long […]
A change of venue was sustained in Division One of Daviess County Circuit Court on May 6th for a Pattonsburg man facing multiple sex-related charges involving minors. Seventy-three-year-old Steven Dale Lawrence’s case was transferred to Caldwell County. Lawrence faces first-degree felony charges of sodomy or attempted sodomy, second-degree, third-degree, and two counts of fourth-degree child […]
During the month of April, GRM Networks kicked off fiber-to-the-premise construction in three rural exchanges. Contractors working on behalf of GRM Networks began fiber construction in the rural exchanges of Bethany and Princeton, while GRM Networks’ own construction department began work in the rural Spickard exchange. “Our employees and board of directors have worked hard […]
