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Friday, April 10, 2020
REPUBLICAN-TIMES TRENTON
Trenton, MO 64683
75¢
per copy Check out the Republican-Times on the Internet: www.republican-times.com ©W.B. Rogers Printing Co., Inc.
Eight Pages & 1 Insert
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 156th Year - No. 63
Briefs...
GRUNDY COUNTY Commission Meets
Bids Get Approval; Reports Heard
R-T Office Hours Change e Beginning on April 17, the Republican-Times newspaper office will be closed on Friday afternoon. New business hours for the newspaper will now be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Friday. Publication and deadline dates will remain the same.
Wa ate er Diisinfection Beginning today (Friday), Trenton Municipal Utilities will begin using a free chlorine conversion in its water system. The conversion involves feeding free chlorine, instead of chloramines, into the water system as the disinfectant leaves the water treatment plant. The conversion will affect customers of TMU, Grundy County Public Water District #1, the city of Galt, western Sullivan County and the city of Spickard. The conversion will occur for three to six weeks. There are no associated health risks with the process, however, there will be times of lower water pressure as well as possible odor, taste, discoloration and small particles in the water. Attempts will be made to flush those items from the mains, however, there is a possibility that some of the color, odor and tastes will remain in the service line. The water wil still be safe to drink. TMU will begin flushing the water distribution system west of the railroad tracks on Monday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This will continue daily until the flushing is completed. For more information, persons can call the TMU Water Treatment Plant at 359-3211.
TIF Me eeting Se et The Tax Increment Financing Commission will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 13 at city hall. Because of COVID-19 concerns, members of the public will not be allowed to attend in person, however, they may observe the meeting via the Zoom application. The address is https://zoom.us/j/389218113. The agenda includes an election of officers, the public hearing for the Orscheln Farm and Home TIF Plan and a resolution approving the plan.
City Counci l To Meet The Trenton City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday at city hall. The meeting will be closed to the public, however, the public will be able to view the meeting via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/619154061. The agenda includes a review of the electric rate study and ordinances approving the 2020-21 budgets for the city and TMU.
Coun ty Commiission Ag gen da a The Grundy County Commission will meet in regular session on Tuesday at the courthouse. Items listed on the agenda include a road and bridge update at 8:30 a.m., an emergency management update at 9 a.m., the weekly meeting with Ambulance Director Steve Tracy at 10 a.m., a report from the Grundy County Health Department at 10:45 a.m. and a closed session to discuss legal and personnel matters at 11 a.m.
R -9 Bo oard Meeting The Trenton R-9 Board of Education will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the district office. Due to COVID-19 concerns, members of the public will not be allowed in the meeting. The meeting can be viewed on computer through the link https://meet.google.com/tzkaff-xaq?hs=122. Superintendent Mike Stegman said he and board president Doug Franklin, along with secretary Susan Leeper and board member Corey Leeper will be the only persons in the building while the meeting is going on. All other board members will be meeting via computer. Items on the announced agenda include MSBA policy updates, discussion of health insurance, hourly employees/annualization, GEC grant proposals, the special education compliance plan, technology upgrades, the payment for Apple Bus services, a safety report, the atrisk evaluation report, the curriculum report, the principal reports and the superintendent report. An executive session for personnel is also planned, which will not be available to the public.
Milling Work Ne extt Week Weather permitting, Musselman and Hall Milling Contractors will be in Trenton on Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 16 to mill the following streets in preparation for overlay work: • West 10th Street, from Cedar Street to Tindall Avenue. • Ninth Street from Main Street to Cedar Street. • 28th Street, from west of the 28th Street Bridge to the North Missouri Saddle Club. • Harris Avenue, from 17th Street to 18th Street. Vehicles are to be removed from these streets by 7 a.m. Persons with questions can contact the Trenton Street Department, 359-6323.
Photo Courtesy of Trenton R-9 School District
Rissler Elementary School students now have access “work packets,” thanks to the Trenton Republican-Times, which has provided four newspaper vending machines to store the packets for pickup in front of the school building at any time. Using the packets is not required, however, school officials said the work included will help parents keep their child engaged in learning until they can return to class. The packets contain an entire week’s work. Packets are replinished each day and a new set of work packets will be available each Monday.
GRUNDY COUNTY
Changes Aid Election The Grundy County Clerk’s Office is making adjustments to accomodate voters who wish to vote absentee in the June 2 Municipal Election. According to Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard, her office will be working with voters to ensure they are able to vote even with the COVID-19 Pandemic that has caused the election to be delayed from its original April 7 date. She said anyone wishing to vote by mail can send a letter to her office at 700 Main St., Trenton, MO 64683 (mark it Attention: County Clerk) and a ballot will be mailed to them. The letter should include a signature and a contact phone number as well as an address to which the ballot should be mailed if it is different than the registration address. Another option would be to email Mrs. Spickard at grundyclerk@grundycountymo.com and request a ballot, with the above information to be included in the request.
COVID-19
Mrs. Spickard said this process will avoid the requesting/mailing/signing of an application for the ballot and will help shorten the mail process. Ballots can be mailed back to her office or can be dropped off in the treasurer’s office drop box located on the north side of the courthouse. Mrs. Spickard said the courthouse is not locked, but those who wish to not come inside to vote absentee can call her office at 359-4040, ext. 4 and the application will be processed and a ballot provided curbside. The ballot can be voted inside the person’s vehicle, with office staff finishing the process and returning the ballot to the office. Mrs. Spickard said her office will work with any voters who wish to vote but do not want to be out in crowds at this time and she encouraged those with questions to call her office. Ballots can also be cast in her office until 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1.
See County, Page 8
Virtual Easter Services Planned
Churches Turn To Technology COVID-19 has forced us to make monumental changes to the way we live our lives, including travel to the places we are used to going on a regular basis. For many that means not being able to attend church services in person. With traditional services on hold due to the coronavirus, pastors and ministers have turned to technology to provide a spiritual connection for their members. Here are what a few area churches will be doing to help members of their congregations observe Easter Sunday. First Baptist Church at Trenton What began as a way to meet the needs of those who could not attend worship services because of health and/or weather has allowed the First Baptist Church at Trenton to easily move into offering online Sunday services on a weekly basis during the COVID-19 crisis. Pastor Josh Gottman said the church first began streaming its worship services in December, when snow and ice kept many persons away due to safety con-
National Weather Service
It will be a rainy Easter weekend with showers expected on both Saturday and Sunday and highs reaching 61 on Saturday and 56 on Sunday. Lows will dip as low was 30 on Sunday night. It will be sunny and cool on Monday. The high on Monday, April 6 at Trenton was 63, Tuesday’s high was 83 and Wednesday’s high was 86, the low was 50. There was no report from the Government Weather Station near Spickard.
Absentee Ballots
The Grundy County Commission accepted bids for culverts and heard an update on bridge repairs during a meeting held on Tuesday, April 7. According to information provided by Grundy County Presiding Commissioner Phil Ray, the commission opened bids for culverts with Metal Culverts, Inc., the lone bidder, being awarded the bid for steel corrugated tubes. Owens Trenching, which was one of three bidders for plastic wall tile, was awarded the bid for N12 plastic tile. No bids were received for a pickup truck, fuel or concrete. Bids for fuel and concrete are being re-let and are due on Tuesday, April 28, with the fuel bids due by 9 a.m. and the concrete bids due by 9:15 a.m. During a discussion involving county roads and bridges, it was noted bridge repairs and back wall stabilization projects are taking place on NE 100th Avenue and NE 105th Avenue. Short-term equipment rental is being considered to complete flood-damaged areas at several bridge sites. Emergency Management Director Glen Briggs updated the commission on FEMA DR4451 progress and Dennis Speichinger, a civil engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has reported the NRCS Streambank stabilization program will continue work on the Highway 6 bridge project. He noted this is a sizeable project and will require large-scale planning. The Missouri Department of Transportation has expressed an interest in partnering with NRCS and will be examining cost estimate projections as
Photo Courtesy of Hodge Presbyterian Church
Hodge Presbyterian Church Interim Pastor Dale Stone conducts a recent Sunday service via Facebook Live. Many area churches have turned to online technology to provide Sunday messages to their congregation and plan on using that same technology to deliver their Easter service.
cerns. “It was a way to keep our congregation
What’s Inside... Former Trenton and Princeton high school football coach Sam Pittman is the new head coach at the University of Arkansas. Pittman remembers his days at Trenton in a story on page two of today’s Republican-Times.
Trenton Republican-Times “News Every Day...When YOU Want It”
SUNNY SKIES
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See Easter, Page 8
What’s Inside
Sports.............................page 2 Op/Ed ............................page 3 NASCAR .......................page 3 Agriculture....................page 4 Calendars ......................page 4 Comics ...........................page 5 Crosswords....................page 6 Dearn Annie ..................page 6 Classifieds .....................page 7