GNM 6-21-17

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Missourian North

June 21, 2017

UPSP 213-200 Vol. 153, No. 4

Serving Daviess County Since 1864 — Our Best To You Each Week!

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Neglect cited in bathtub death of toddler in Altamont last year A 25-year-old Florida woman has been charged in the death of her two-year-old daughter last year in Altamont. Susan Phelps, Cocoa, Fla., was charged June 15 with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, A felony, in Daviess County. According to the probable cause statement, Phelps placed her two-year-old daughter in a bathtub at 310 Altamont Street in Altamont on April 14, 2016. She left the child unattended in the bathtub, which contained approximately five inches of soapy water, for a period of time. Phelps returned to the bathroom and found the child unresponsive. The statement was prepared by Kimberly Grebner, an investigator with the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, on June 14, 2017. The child, Semya Kelly, was pronounced dead at Cameron Regional Medical Center. An autopsy determined that the circumstances supported a diagnosis of drowning, and further asserted that the death was directly related to the neglectful act of Phelps leaving her child unattended. An obituary on the child’s death, previously published in the Gallatin North Missourian, identified the victim’s parents as James Kelly and Susan Phelps. The child has grandparents, an GPC GALLATIN aunt and an©uncle livingPUBLISHING in Altamont,CO. and a grandmother who resides in Florida. The child’s remains were cremated by McWilliams Funeral Home in Gallatin. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Susan Phelps, with bond set at $100,000. No court dates have been set.

Access II cuts local services, remains open Effective July 1, the Access II Independent Living Center in Gallatin is dropping some services and limiting many others due to drastic budget cuts affecting similar centers across the state. Last month state legislators voted to cut funding by more than $1.8 million statewide. The decision impacts all 22 centers throughout Missouri. Previously these centers split $4.8 million in funding. In addition to this 40% reduction in annual operating funds, even more budget cuts potentially loom depending on Gov. Eric

Greitens. If HCB 3 is vetoed, Access II will lose additional funding for programs and services. Services that will no longer offered locally by the non-profit organization, effective July 1, are as follows: child advocacy services, consumer assistance fund requests, home modifications, and bullying presentations. Other services will now be limited, including: transportation services, durable medical equipment, telephones for the hard of hearing (TAP), assistive technology, and benefits planning. After this year, Access II will

also be cutting several community events including the Daviess County Back-to-School Bash and participation in the Regional Transition Network Transition Skills Day. Despite these cuts, Access II will remain open. The center will continue to provide consumer directed services, in-home services, employment services, and ...69¢ deliveredhealth department of mental anywhere in Missouri contracted services. if you subscribe! In an effort to recoup some of the lost funding, Access June 14, 2017II is looking to add a business payroll UPSP 213-200 Vol. 153, No. 3

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FEC annual event attracts 700; no rate hike planned Nearly 700 people attended the 79th annual meeting of Farmers’ Electric Cooperative on the evening of June 13 at the Gary Dickinson Performing Arts Center in Chillicothe. The member-owners of the cooperative re-elected three directors to serve three-year terms on the seven-person board of directors. Those elected were: District 2 — Leroy Kern (Caldwell and Clinton Counties), District 3 — Arzy Bisbee, Jr. (Ray County); and District 7 — W.D. Richards III (Chariton County). Board President Ron Cornett opened the meeting, thanking members for their attendance. General Manager Rod Cotton

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then outlined the results of the cooperative’s strategic planning process whereby the long-term direction of the cooperative is reviewed by the directors and management. Key strategic initiatives include: financially strong cooperative, reliable electric service, skilled workforce and member engagement. He explained how the cooperative had taken advantage of the low interest rate environment to refinance long-term debt that resulted in savings of nearly $4 million dollars in interest payments over 18 years. Manager Cotton indicated that no rate increase for resi(continued on page 15)

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Serving Daviess County Since 1864 — Our Best To You Each Week!

Simmons places second in Missouri Junior Match Play Tourney

Gallatin R-5 senior Jett Simmons finished second out of 32 golfers last week in the 2017 Missouri Junior Golf Match Play Tournament held at the Eldon Country Club in Eldon, MO. Simmons won four matches, www.NorthMissourian.com — FREE with your print subscription advancing from the round of 32, before falling to Hank Lierz of St. Joseph, 3 and 2. In match play, scoring is based on the number of holes won during a round, as opposed to the number of strokes accumulated. A final score of 3 and 2 means that Lierz had a threestroke lead with two holes remaining and the match ended after 16 holes. Simmons and Lierz (Bishop LeBlond), both members of Missouri high school championship teams, are competing this week in the Missouri Amateur Championship at St. Joseph Country Club in St. Joseph. Hank Lierz of St. Joseph and Jett Simmons of Gallatin

Mary Immaculate Church raises big money for Active Aging Center, Backpack Buddies by Troy Lesan

It’s no overstatement to say the Mary Immaculate Catholic Church Auction is a big deal. In the past, it has helped pay off the church’s remodeling project, built a rectory, and other upkeep projects.

Courthouse not entirely smoke free Smoking in the 911 room was the subject of discussion during the meeting of the Daviess County Central 911 Board held May 25. The Daviess County Commissioners received a complaint from a courthouse employee on May 10. Commissioners referred the complaint to the 911 Board. In 1997, the courthouse was ordered a smoke-free building by the commission, with the south entryway designated as the smoking area. However, the 911 office was exempted from this no-smoking order. When the 911 office was established in 1993, an agreement was struck that the office would purchase its own commercial exhaust fan to expel the air to the outside. This was done because the dispatchers are not allowed to leave their phones and sometimes there is only one dispatcher on duty. The board told commissioners that the 911 em-

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ployees will ensure the exhaust fan is turned on in the future, and the office door closed. The commissioners agreed to the installation of a seal around the 911 office door. 911 Supervisor Dana Carder said of the seven employees in the 911 office, two smoke. The 911 Board noted that there are ashtrays at every entrance of the courthouse and it was possible the smoke smell could be coming from citizens stubbing out their smokes as they came into the courthouse, especially on those days when the doors are propped open. Those ashtrays may need to be relocated. In other business, Supervisor Carder advised that liability insurance has increased to $6,565. She also informed the board that all employees would be receiving their Emergency (continued on page 10)

Over 400 people attended the event last Saturday, June 17, under a big tent at Lake Viking. Proceeds are to fund a major parking expansion for the church located in Gallatin. Tradition has benefits. Auction organizers have a good system built upon the extremely hard work in lining up patrons, donors, and -- most importantly -- participants. As a result, the quality of donated items that were bid upon was extraordinary: starting with things as small as a pennants, tire rotations, and watering cans all the way upward to the larger items such as 8 slabs of barbeque ribs (smoked & delivered), an airplane ride, four baseball game tickets to the Royals Diamond Club area, two tickets to a Notre Dame vs. USC football game -- even an adorable pedigreed Golden Retriever puppy delivered with some veterinary services. As impressive as this array of items to be auctioned was, everything relied on a good auctioneer. Mary Immaculate definitely has

its man in Mark Leggett. Mark’s prowess was never more apparent than when it came time for “Fund-A-Need.” Perhaps it’s less challenging or even easy to auction off baseball tickets and such to a cause where the bidder personally benefits. But the “Fund-A-Need” proposed to split a designated auction item between Gallatin Active Aging Resource Center and Back-Pack Buddies, a program to help hungry school children in Gallatin. Volunteer auctioneer Mark Leggett had been on a roll and decided to start high: “Will anyone give $1,000 to “Fund a Need?” At first there was no response. “Do I hear a bid for $750?” Complete silence. Then: “How about a gift of $500?” It was like an alarm went off. One bid, then a second, then another, and another. When the flurry of bidding was over, it was calculated that over $12,000 had been raised for AARC and Backpack Buddies (donations are still being added, and the final count may increase significantly). (continued on page 10)

Gallatin Golf Pro Brice Garnett competes with world’s best at the U.S. Open in Wisconsin. See page 9


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