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Wednesday, September 9, 2020
REPUBLICAN-TIMES TRENTON
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per copy Check out the Republican-Times on the Internet: www.republican-times.com ©W.B. Rogers Printing Co., Inc.
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 2
Trenton, MO 64683
Twelve Pages
R-T Photos/Diane Lowrey
Old-time farming techniques were showcased at the Hickory Threshing and Tractor Show on Saturday, with oat threshing, at left, and blacksmithing, right, among the activities viewed by those in attendance throughout the day. There was also a display of antique cars and tractors along with corn shelling and apple press demonstrations.
COVID-19
THS ALUMNI Board Holds Meeting
Active Cases See Big Jump
Volleyball Team Latest Virus Victim As COVID-19 numbers continue to climb, the Trenton High School volleyball team has been hit with a positive case and, as a result, the entire player roster and coaching staff have been quarantined. According to a news release from Trenton R-9 Athletic Director John Cowling, one high school player has tested positive for the virus. Missouri State High School Activities Association rules require all players on the volleyball team roster, along with the coaching staff, be quarantined from the point of last contact with the positive case. Cowling said the Grundy County Health Department and R-9 School District
ELECTION 2020
will be conducting a close contact investigation and any students or adults determined to be close contacts with the affected individual will be notified by either the health department or school district. “Even though we have taken precautionary measures in order for our volleyball program to be successful and stay healthy, situations like this are inevitable and we are now faced with a positive case on our team,” the news release stated. Cowling said the district is asking parents to monitor their child for COVID symptoms, which include loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath or difficulty
in breathing, coughing, congestion or a runny nose, headaches, a sore throat, a fever of more than 100.4, chills, fatigue, muscle or body aches, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea. Should symptoms appear, parents are being asked to contact their family doctor. The district will be in contact with all schools on the volleyball schedule between now and the player’s return date of Sept. 16 in an attempt to reschedule contests miss during this period. Announcements will be made as the situation moves forward. See COVID, Page 4
In Battleground States
Rejection Of Absentee Ballots Could Triple ATLANTA (AP) — Thousands of absentee ballots get rejected in every presidential election. This year, that problem could be much worse and potentially pivotal in hotly contested battleground states. With the coronavirus creating a surge in mailin balloting and postal delays reported across the country, the number of rejected ballots in November is projected to be significantly higher than previous elections. If ballots are rejected at the same rate as during this year's primaries, up to three times as many voters in November could be disenfranchised in key battleground states when compared to the last presidential election, according to an Associated Press analysis of rejected ballots. It could be even more pronounced in some urban areas where Democratic votes are concentrated and ballot rejection rates trended higher during this year’s primaries. “It is the number one thing that keeps me up at night — the idea that voters will do everything they can to ensure their ballot is returned on time and the system will still fail them,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Ballot rejections occur even under the best of circumstances. They go uncounted because they arrived too late in the mail, voters forgot to sign them or signatures didn't match the one on file at local election offices. Those problems could be compounded this year as millions of voters cast mail-in ballots for the first time because of election changes forced
by the coronavirus. Large numbers of uncounted ballots could be used to sow doubts about the election; President Donald Trump has been claiming for months without evidence that widespread mail-in voting will lead to fraud. The sudden leap is worrisome: 22 states are going from absentee ballots comprising less than 10% of all ballots four years ago to perhaps half or more this November. Pennsylvania is among them: Nearly 51% of all votes cast during its June primary were mail-in. If voter turnout is the same as 2016 and the ballot rejection rate equals the 1.4% from this year’s primary, nearly 43,000 voters in Pennsylvania could be disenfranchised this fall, according to AP’s analysis. That's almost the same number of votes by which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state four years ago, when some 2,100 ballots were rejected. In Philadelphia, a far higher percentage of absentee ballots cast in June were rejected — 3.9%. Most of those arrived too late to be counted, even though Gov. Tom Wolf extended the deadline by a week. Amy Campbell, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania medical student, had her ballot rejected for another reason: a missing signature. Campbell is upset she didn’t have a chance to fix her ballot. She received an email two days after the vote count ended telling her officials “couldn’t obtain (her) required signature.” See Election, Page 4
National Weather Service
Be ready for rain each day this week with highs in the low to mid 60s and lows in the low to mid 50s. The high at Trenton on Thursday, Sept. 3 was 83, Friday’s high was 85, Saturday’s high was 91 and Sunday’s high was 89. Monday’s high was 80 with a low of 63. The high at the Government Weather Station near Spickard on Monday was 78 and the low was 52 with .09 of an inch of rain recorded.
R-T Photo/Diane Lowrey
Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn was in Trenton on Thursday night, Sept. 3 to address members of the Grundy County Farm Bureau at their annual meeting. Ms. Chinn talked about the state response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it related to agriculture, specifically addressing measures taken to assure the state’s food supply remained stable. She also visited about federal CARES Act funding distributed to the Department of Agriculture which the state is using for broadband expansion in rural areas (including libraries and telehealth), K-12 distance learning, higher education and grants to meat and poultry processors which are designed to increase food supply capabilities in the state. She addressed changes to the Missouri State Fair, which this year featured youth livestock shows. During the business meeting, it was announced that Jane Cotton was the recipient of a Century Farm designation and that a minigrant had been awarded to the Trenton R-9 FACS program. Election of officers and board members was postponed due to a lack of quorum to conduct official business. Grundy County Farm Bureau Board Vice President Carl Woodard presided at the meeting in the absence of local president David Meservey.
What’s Inside... Trenton High School’s fall sports schedule got into full swing last week with football, softball, tennis and volleyball matchups. See page 2 & 3 of today’s Republican-Times for a recap of contests at home and on the road.
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New Officers Elected Officers for the Foundation Trust for Trenton High School/Trenton Alumni Association were elected at the annual board meeting on Sunday, Sept. 6. Dr. John Holcomb was reelected president with Kevin Bailey chosen as vice-president. Also re-elected were secretary Steve Maxey and treasurer Katie Kinney. Members set Nov. 8 for the all-alumni planning meeting. This is an earlier date than normal to allow classes to plan for the 2021 reunion. It is anticipated there will be a much larger reunion celebration than normal in 2021 due to cancellations this year, with several classes planning to re-schedule their reunions for next year along with the regularlyscheduled class celebration. Classes hosting celebrations next year are encouraged to begin to book venues and caterers due to larger reunion events anticipated next year. Board members voted to contribute $1,300 to the Trenton High School graphic design class, which is launching a multi-year project to recognize alums of THS in numerous pictorial collages being placed in the halls of the high school. THS Principal Kasey Bailey reported the effort will recognize alums of all ages in a way to show pride as a THS graduate. The project will carry over for several years as collages are placed throughout the hallways. Additional details will be announced shortly to generate pictures for use by the graphic design class. Dr. Holcomb announced See Alumni, Page 4
What’s Inside
Sports ....................page 2 & 3 Local News ....................page 4 Community ...................page 5 Across Missouri ............page 6 National News ...............page 7 Comics ...........................page 8 Crosswords....................page 9 Dear Annie ....................page 9 Classifieds ..............page 10-11