Information has been provided from last weeks’ meeting of the Spickard Board of Aldermen. The board voted to send a letter to those individuals with properties considered to be a nuisance. A discussion was held on the Department of Natural Resources inspection regarding alleged violations of the city’s water system. Problems with the sewer pumps […]
Tag: problems
Missouri prison healthcare contract won by a company accused of bid-rigging in Tennessee
(Missouri Independent) – The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat […]
Special session on tax crucial for Medicaid in doubt over Planned Parenthood amendment
(Missouri Independent) – Last Tuesday, Republicans appeared to have reached a fragile consensus around extending a tax crucial to Missouri’s Medicaid finances — opening the door for Gov. Mike Parson to call lawmakers into a special session this week. By Friday afternoon, June 18, that consensus appears to have been derailed, at least temporarily, by disagreements […]
MFA Oil raises more than $1 million for military families
MFA Oil announces its Seventh Annual Charity Golf Scramble and Concert benefitting Operation Homefront raised $150,000 in donations and more than $1 million of support for America’s military families since the inaugural event in 2015. Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit that provides financial assistance to the families of U.S. military service members and veterans. […]
Audio: Some Missouri ambulance districts struggle to keep first responders, attract new ones
Some Missouri ambulance districts are having problems keeping first responders and attracting new recruits, including in the northeast part of the state. Aaron Stutheit, the Lewis County Ambulance District Administrator, says he has EMTs and paramedics coming from St. Louis and Columbia to help fill shifts. He says another struggle has been finding […]
Trenton Park Board accepts bids for sign replacement and playground border
The Trenton Park Board June 9th accepted bids for replacement of the entrance sign at Eastside Park and playground border at VanMeter Park. A bid was accepted from Greg Sharp for replacement of the sign at Eastside Park for $2,830. It was the only bid submitted. Park Superintendent David Shockley reported the bid only included […]
Chillicothe Police Department seeks assistance in locating missing man
The Chillicothe Police Department is seeking assistance in finding a missing man. Larry Eugene Smith is described as being white, being five feet five inches tall, and weighing 160 pounds. He also has brown hair and brown eyes. The police report Smith was last seen in the 14 block of Jackson Street on June 6 around […]
Chillicothe man faces several charged after arrest on Wednesday
A Chillicothe resident was arrested on June 2 after the Chillicothe Police took a report of someone suffering from anxiety problems and possibly going to injure himself or herself. Assistant Police Chief Rick Sampsel says officers located the person in a vehicle, and no weapon was observed. The person allegedly became belligerent with and resisted officers. […]
Audio: Missouri could join 49 other states by improving access to mental health services
In 2008, Congress passed and then-President George W. Bush signed into law a bill requiring health insurance companies to cover mental health the same as any other health problems. Thirteen years after the measure became law, Missouri is the only state not yet enforcing that law. Two bills pass this year would ban insurance companies […]
Missouri needs free market marijuana reforms now
(Missouri Independent) – In 2018, 66% of Missouri voters voted to legalize medical marijuana, picking a Constitutional amendment proposal floated by a group called New Approach Missouri. Two and a half years later, access to medical marijuana remains limited, due to both a cap on the number of licenses and the extremely high regulatory compliance […]
Gallatin Board of Aldermen approve setting electric rates
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen this week approved an ordinance and resolution regarding the setting of electric rates. City Clerk Hattie Rains reports the ordinance authorized the city, going forward, to use a resolution instead of an ordinance to set electric rates. The resolution changed the electric rates for citizens and businesses. The rates will […]
Free testing aims to curb STIs that went unchecked as COVID spread in Missouri
(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 […]
Push for disclosure of Missouri medical marijuana records runs into veto threat
(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 […]
Gallatin Board of Aldermen approve ordinance regarding wastewater collection
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 […]
Annualization of salaries within the school district tops discussion at Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting
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 […]
Audio: Proposed Missouri budget would designate $7 million to veterans home operations
A group of Missouri House and Senate members are expected to work out their state budget differences this week. Currently, the 34-billion dollar budget plan includes seven million dollars for the state’s seven nursing homes caring for veterans. During the Missouri Senate budget debate, Creve Coeur Democrat Jill Schupp, who serves on the Missouri Veterans […]
Audio: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Looks to reduce teacher shortage
Missouri is facing a teacher shortage, and for Teacher Appreciation Week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working to inspire more high school and college students to consider becoming educators. Halley Russell a government teacher at Jackson High School, said the shortage is nothing new but is getting more attention with the […]
Gallatin Board of Aldermen approve final payment on new water plant
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen this week approved payment of the final outstanding invoice for the new water plant. The invoice was for $15,000 to Ross Construction. Authorization was approved for Mayor Barbara Ballew to sign the release agreement between the City of Gallatin and Snyder and Associates regarding the city’s water treatment plant. The […]
Audio: Stress from the pandemic will cause 10% of Missouri teachers to quit
A Missouri State University survey of eight-thousand K-12 public school teachers says 1 in 10 educators plan to leave the field this year. Doctor Jon Turner, an associate professor at the university, says about 62-percent of those likely to quit point to challenges caused by the coronavirus. He says rural teachers have weathered the pandemic […]
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: “Missouri vaccinators to resume use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine”
Missouri COVID-19 vaccinators will resume use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. This decision was made following the announcement by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it has studied and confirmed that the pause on its use can be lifted. It was concluded that the known […]