August 9 2023 complete issue

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Fans flood Fair

Biggest Friday night in Fair history

By Jonathan Riley rileyj@emissourian.com

It’s been a while since it rained every day of the Washington Town & Country Fair. But despite all of the challenges that the weather presented, Fair officials said the annual event was a success. It was even a record-breaker.

While exact figures are hard to come by, organizers estimate that some 70,000 people attended the Fair over the five days of its run from Wednesday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 6.

Off and on rain showers and a soggy fairground didn’t prevent what officials say was likely the largest Main Stage crowd ever in the Fair’s history when St. Louis hip-hop star Nelly performed Friday evening.

“It’s the biggest one we’ve had so far on Friday, and I would say probably any day out of any other Fairs. Friday was the most,” Fair Chairman Jason Gildehaus said Monday.

Gildehaus said there were probably 20,000 or more people at the Fair Friday night. Previously, the biggest crowd at the Fair for a single music act was in 2013, when between 16,000 and 17,000 people are estimated to

have seen Lynyrd Skynyrd perform.

The Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction also broke the previous record, generating $956,251.25 in gross receipts during a marathon sale on Saturday that took over six and half hours to complete. The previous high was $864,169 in 2021.

Daily admission ticket sales at the Fair gates this year totaled $633,837, which, combined with $743,185 in pre-Fair sales, generated $1,377,022 in total ticket sales. This compares to a total of $1,020,546 in 2022, split between $499,790 in pre-Fair sales and $520,756 in on-site sales.

Preliminary total receipts from this year’s Fair, which, in addition to ticket sales, also includes concessions and other purchases at the fairgrounds, came to $2,380,629.90, according to Fair officials.

The Fair posted $1.88 million in total receipts last year, $1.94 million in 2021, $1.45 million in 2019, $1.49 million in 2018 and $1.37 million in 2017. Total revenue for the 2023 Fair, including auction proceeds, totaled $3,376,129.

“It was a challenging Fair because of

City council approves short-term rental rules

By Jonathan Riley rileyj@emissourian.com

After months of discussion, the Washington City Council approved changes Monday to several sections of the city code governing short-term rentals — but not without some last minute disagreements on the best path forward.

Under the final set of rules, short-term rentals — properties rented out as vacation lodging through mobile apps like Airbnb and Vrbo — are permitted “by right” in commercial districts zoned C-1, C-2, C-2 Overlay and C-3.

Going forward, new short-term rentals are required to have a special use permit in the city’s R-2 Overlay and R-3 Multi-Family Residential zoning districts, and must also be at least 150 feet away from existing shortterm rentals.

All special use permits are revocable, and if a shortterm rental owner remits no tourism tax for two consecutive quarters, the shortterm rental is considered inactive and its permit is revoked.

“

“I appreciate, and I think all of our councilmen do too, the input everybody here has given over the course of — way too long.”

Doug Hagedorn Mayor

By Bill Miller Jr. bmillerjr@emissourian.com

The Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair didn’t just break records this year – it shattered them.

In nearly every category, the 2023 auction surpassed previous Fair records.

This year’s auction, which featured 306 entries, tallied $956,251.25 in gross sales, eclipsing the previous record of $864,169, which was set in 2021.

“It’s amazing how this community supports our youth, and our agricultural community,” Fair Manager Jennifer Giesike said Monday. “I don’t know what else you can say.”

2023:

2022:

2021:

2020:

2019:

2018:

2017:

2016:

2015:

Source:

The auction included 67 steers, 24 market lambs, two market dairy cows and 213 hogs and took over six and one half hours to complete.

The Grand Champion steer brought the highest price ever paid for a steer at the Blue Ribbon Auction. The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 513, paid $25 per pound for Kaitlynn Van De Wiele’s 1,300-pound steer for a total of $32,500. This was the first time Local 513 purchased an animal at the auction.

That price shattered the previous auction record of $10,725 or $7.50 per pound that David and Jerri Hoffmann of Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate paid for a steer at last year’s auction.

“What the kids are doing out here is great, and we wanted

”

Although there were more than a dozen people in attendance, no one spoke during the public comment period of Monday’s meeting. Mayor Doug Hagedorn addressed those present prior to the discussion of short-term rentals, saying it was time for the council to make its own decision after receiving community feedback since early this year. In February, the council declared a six-month moratorium on new special use permits for short-term rentals.

“I appreciate, and I think all of our councilmen do too, the input everybody here has given over the course of — way too long,” Hagedorn said. “It’s time that we made the discussion up here, so we’re going to talk about it, then up here we’ll ask questions, but I’m not going to open the floor, but thank you for being here and contributing to this conversation.”

Two months ago, the council appeared poised to approve a recommendation of the city’s Planning & Zoning

records

Nelly draws huge crowd Nelly hits the stage under the lights Aug. 4 at the Fair. Nelly began his career as part of the St. Lunatics before going solo. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction

the weather, but all in all it was a great Fair,” Jennifer Giesike, Fair manager, said. “You can measure the success of a Fair in a lot of different ways, not just from a financial standpoint. If you measure by the memories that were made or the smiles on people’s faces, I’d say it was a success.”

While the rain this year created some challenges, Fair Co-Chair Joe Leesmann said it also helped keep the fairgrounds cooler.

“The temperatures being down a little bit and rain being intermittent, I think people just put their rubber boots on and still enjoyed the Fair experience,” he said. “The community still supported it.”

Gildehaus said a wide range of people, from current and former Fair Board members, to city

RENTALS

CONTINUED FROM 1A

Commission that would govern short-term rentals, including rules such as requiring new shortterm rentals in some zoning districts to be at least 150 feet away from existing ones.

At the council’s June 20 meeting, however, Ward 2 Councilman Mark Wessels proposed allowing short-term rentals in the city’s R-1 zoning districts, provided that owners of those short-term rentals get special use permits and that they be spaced 500 feet apart — further than would be allowed in the city’s R-2 Overlay and R-3 Multi-Family Residential zoning districts, or in commercial districts. Under rules previously proposed, new short-term rentals would not be allowed at all in areas zoned R-1.

“My logic there was, every owner of every home in our city could do this. They could file for a special use permit, doesn’t matter where you live, what home you were in or anything else,

employees, to official and unofficial volunteers, deserved credit for the success of this year’s Fair.

“You can’t single one person out, it was just all across everywhere,” Gildehaus said. He added that with how busy he and other Fair organizers usually are during the five days of the event, they often don’t realize the contributions that various community members have made until the Fair is over.

“We don’t, per se, see it, you know, because we don’t see everything, but after you get to talking to people, you realize that, well, they’ve been at the Fair working the whole entire time, too,” Gildehaus said, “and that Fair couldn’t go on without them, that’s for sure.”

“I would call it dedication to the extreme,” longtime Fair volunteer

you could always do this — had to go through the special use permit procedure and so forth,” Wessels said Monday. “And so when we put this thing together and it came out, all those things were considered, except in the case of R-1, it was not allowed, so they weren’t given that option.”

Wessels pointed out that under the rules recommended by Planning & Zoning, people living in areas zoned R-1 could still rent their property out for periods of time longer than a month. He said he didn’t understand the reasoning for completely banning residents of R-1 districts from renting their homes out on a short-term basis, and that’s why he came up with his proposal.

“The R-1 people, they would have to go through the same process as everyone else, and one change though was the 500-foot buffer, just because the R-1 lots are typically a little bit larger,” Wessels said.

The council approved a first reading of the short-term rental rules, including Wessels’ proposed changes, on June 20, with Ward 3 Councilman Chad Briggs voting against the measure. Ward 3 Councilman Jeff Patke and Ward 2 Councilman Mark Hidritch were not at the meeting.

On Monday, however, both Hidritch and Pat-

Mike Carey said Sunday of the effort by current and former Fair Board members and other volunteers who worked nonstop to keep the fairgrounds open. “This group worked harder than in most years to make sure we still had a Fair with all the rain.”

The massive volunteer effort didn’t go unnoticed.

“The Fair is over. I’d like to thank the workers, especially the police, dispatch, EMS, fire, the Fair Board especially and all the volunteers,” Mayor Doug Hagedorn said at Monday’s Washington City Council meeting.

“That’s our showcase event for our community, you guys, and, yeah, we got lucky on Friday night with the weather, but we pulled it off again, and it’s just a darn testament to a lot of hard work by our folks,” he added.

ke were present, and, along with Briggs, voted against giving final approval to the short-term rental rules as amended to include allowing the rentals in R-1 zoning districts with a 500-foot buffer. Ward 1 Councilman Al Behr – who seconded Wessels’ motion June 20 – was not present Monday to potentially cast a fifth vote needed to approve Wessels’ proposal, and it failed.

“Mainly, for me, it’s out of respect for the Planning & Zoning Commission and the four months that they spent doing it, and their recommendation to us, and the ability for us to have it as a living document,” Patke said after casting his vote.

“If it’s not enough, and we have an issue in a year from now or whenever it may be, we can go back” and revisit the short-term rental regulations, he added.

Hidritch made a motion, which Briggs seconded, to approve the original Planning & Zoning recommendation, without allowing any future short-term rentals in R-1 zones.

Ward 1 Councilman

Duane Reed and Ward

4 Councilman Mike Coulter joined Hidritch, Briggs and Patke in voting in favor of the motion, which passed despite Wessels and Ward 4 Councilman Joe Holtmeier voting against it.

Motorcycle crash leaves Union woman injured

A single vehicle crash left a Union woman with moderate injuries last Sunday, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The highway patrol reports that at approximately 3:20 a.m., Mariah Staggs, 22, was riding a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle southbound on North Bend Road just past Crider Lane outside of Union. Staggs failed to negotiate a curve, causing the motorcycle to overturn and slide off the road, according to the patrol.

Staggs was taken to Mercy Hospital Washington by Union Ambulance District personnel to be treated for moderate injuries. The crash report stated Staggs was wearing a helmet.

Top hog goes to Hoffmann

The Grand Champion hog at Saturday’s Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair was purchased by Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate for $5,680 or $20 per pound. The hog was exhibited by Evie Bryson of Labadie. Shown behind the Grand Champion animal, from left, are Don Simon and Kimberly Altmansberger of Hoffmann and Bryson.

how Karumuri selected the victim to call, said Union Police Capt. Mike Williford.

The victim contacted Union Police Aug. 2 to report the incident and told officers he purchased $64,920 worth of gold bars from an online store, and that Karumuri had arrived at his residence shortly before 9 a.m. that morning to pick up the gold.

him the gold bars and as (Karumuri) was leaving, he took a picture of the vehicle because he just felt, ‘eh something’s not right.’ I don’t know if there was one particular thing that made him feel that way, but he just started to feel like he was getting scammed, something was off.”

allegedly told the victim that his

had been stolen and that he had a warrant for his arrest. He said that “the only way to get his identity back and the warrant taken care of was to give him gold,” according to court documents. Police do not know

Karumuri was reportedly driving a vehicle registered to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which he had rented in Montgomery. Karumuri matched the description of the suspect provided by the victim, according to police, and the victim positively identified Karumuri through a photo lineup as the individual who picked up the gold bars from his residence.

“He said he just felt off about the situation,” Williford said of the victim. “After he gave

Court records indicate Karumuri is a Montgomery resident. He is believed to have fled Missouri, according to the Union PD. He has been charged with felony financial exploitation of an elderly person. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Union Police have contacted law enforcement agencies in other areas where they determined Karumuri could go to, Williford said. “We were able to identify him through a photo lineup, but we have not been able to locate him,” he said.

Missourian Photo/Jon Riley.

to do something with our advertising budget to support them and to help our recruiting effort in Franklin County,” Brian Graff, president and business manager of Local 513 said Monday.

“We have over 600 members in Franklin County which is why we wanted to support them, the fair and this livestock auction. We hope we can get some of the other (trade) crafts to join us in supporting the auction next year. Hopefully we can start a movement,” Graff added.

Fair Chairman Jason Gildehaus pointed to the record-breaking livestock auction and all of the livestock committee members as one of the reasons why this fair was successful despite several rounds of rainstorms throughout the five-day event.

“We had another great auction, that was one thing. But what I will remember is how those guys, all of the (livestock) assistants – they all went to the parking lots on Friday to help us because they didn’t have anything to do in livestock. So everybody that went there, even though they had their big stuff

on Saturday, those guys were out in the parking lots helping us (get them ready),” Gildehaus said.

The steer portion of the auction generated $415,117.50 in total sales; the market hogs brought in $481,381.25; the market lambs brought in $53,252.50 and the dairy cows generated $6,500 in receipts.

The total of $53,252.50 in gross sales that bidders spent

Inaya Chishti, Saint Louis, 1,200, $4, $4,800, Hendricks, Leisa Remax Today; Nicholas Holdmeyer, Washington, 1,230, $3.75, $4,612.50, Modern Auto; Jared Meyer, Marthasville, 1,445, $6, $8,670, Lamke Trenching & Excavating, Inc; Vivian Kessler, Augusta, 1,350, $4.75, $6,412.50, MFA Coop No. 2-Washington, New Haven & Marthasville; Leah Haberberger, Villa Ridge, 1,275, $4, $5,100, Bank Of Washington;

Wesley Bierbaum, Augusta, 1,320, $5, $6,600, Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate; Levi Lane, Lonedell, 1,325, $4.50, $5,962.50, MFA Agri Service-St. Clair; Ginny Schengbier, Leslie, 1,235, $3.75, $4,631.25, Mercy Clinic And Hospital; Hope Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,315, $4.25, $5,588.75, Alferman Air, JML Investments; Jacob Brinkmann, Washington, 1,095, $4, $4,380, Mo. Tiger Scholarship Fund; Amy Gerlemann, Beaufort, 1,300, $4, $5,200, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Jillian Tobben, Villa Ridge, 1,050, $5.75, $6,037.50, Hall Bros. Lumber Co.; Gunner Grodie, Pacific, 1,140, $3.75, $4,275, Thermaltech, Inc.; Megan Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,260, $4, $5,040, Dolan Realtors, Oltmann Funeral Home; Hailey Struckhoff, Augusta, 1,305, $4, $5,220, Ballmann Earthworks LLC; Cady Koch, Villa Ridge, 1,475, $4, $5,900, Bank Of Washington; Coraline Nobel, New Haven, 1,275, $4.50, $5,737.50, Dr. Christy Bleckman and Mr. Jason Kessler ; Cayden Mohrlock, Leslie, 1,190, $4.25, $5,057.50, KJ Unnerstall Construction Co.; Allison Roetheli, New Haven, 1,420, $4.25, $6,035, Bank Of Washington ; Sophia Helling, Union, 1,240, $4.25, $5,270, Mc-

for 24 market lambs

at this year’s auction set a record surpassing last year’s gross sales of $40,188 for the same number of lambs.

The Bank of Washington led all buyers by purchasing $69,408.75 worth of livestock at the auction. The bank purchased six steers and 15 hogs at the auction. They were followed by Sieve Contractors and HTH Companies, which spent $52,692.25 buy-

Donald’s Of Washington, St. Clair, and Union; Joseph Hellebusch, Marthasville, 1,365, $4.75, $6,483.75, Innovative Machine & Tool Inc;

Darren Armfield, New Haven, 1,440, $3.75, $5,400, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Norah Feldmann, Marthasville, 1,395, $5.25, $7,323.75, Tuepker Brothers Construction; Titan Grodie, Pacific, 1,170, $3.75, $4,387.50, Sieve Contractors & hth companies;

Evan Haberberger, Villa Ridge, 1,345, $4.25, $5,716.25, Bank Of Washington; Karissa Barrett, Washington, 1,200, $4, $4,800, Homeyer Precision Manufacturing; Hunter Miller, Leslie, 1,155, $4, $4,620, Riecher’s Tire & Auto; Jacob Evrard, Union, 1,295, $3.75, $4,856.25, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Aiden Crooks, Villa Ridge, 1,190, $7.50, $8,925, Sullivan Bank; Adam Bolzenius, Beaufort, 1,380, $3.75, $5,175, Lakebrink Heating & AC; Nicholas Borcherding, New Haven, 1,460, $4, $5,840, Boeuf & Berger Mutual Insurance, Groppe Insurance Agency, and Boeuf & Berger Mutual Agent-Christy Groppe; Jase Shofner, Lonedell, 1,325, $4.75, $6,293.75, Farmers & Merchants; Alexa Piontek, Washington, 1,465, $4.75, $6,958.75, WEG Transformers USA LLC; Elise Gildehaus, Washington, 1,165, $4.75, $5,533.75, Bank Of Franklin County- Bob Dobsch; Haley Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,320, $4.25, $5,610, Advanced Plumbing Systems; Aurora Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,455, $3.75, $5,456.25, Curt & Cathie Grus ; Blane Reed, Union, 1,260, $4, $5,040, Farmers & Merchants; Celia Gildehaus, Washington, 1,370, $4.25, $5,822.50, John Henry Foster Company; Caleb Amann, Wash-

Hoffmanns purchase Reserve Champion

David and Jerri Hoffmann of Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate purchased the Reserve Grand Champion steer at Saturday’s Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair. The Hoffmanns paid $11,080 or $8 per pound for Olivia Jacquin’s steer. Pictured is David Hoffmann and Jacquin. Missourian Photo/Jonathan Riley

ing eight steers and seven hogs. Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate spent $33,447.50 at the livestock auction.

“The livestock auction is an event we look forward to every single year,” L.B. Eckelkamp, Jr., Bank of Washington CEO, said Tuesday. “Our community depends on the next generation’s hard work, determination, grit and

volunteerism. We are honored to be able to encourage and support the work that these kids do. Their work is not always easy, but we want to help ensure it is rewarding. We are proud of them.”

The auctioneer for Saturday’s sale was Dave Schumacher, who has called the auction for many years with the assistance of Ken Bolte, a

retired MU Extension specialist. Schumacher announced next year’s auction would be his last. One percent of the total will be placed in a scholarship fund for livestock exhibitors, and 3 percent is retained by the Fair board to cover expenses associated with the auction, with 96 percent dispersed to the exhibitors. according to Fair officials.

G.H. Tool And Mold; Julia Borcherding, New Haven, 1,400, $4.25, $5,950, Rick Hellmann Construction LLC; Trenton Tobben, Villa Ridge, 1,100, $4.25, $4,675, Prewitt Hauling, Wayde’s Equipment Of Union; Ann Dinger, Villa Ridge, 1,370, $4, $5,480, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Alex Bolzenius, Beaufort, 1,315, $3.75, $4,931.25, Sieve Contractors & hth companies;

ington, 1,425, $3.75, $5,343.75, Bank Of Franklin County- Bob Dobsch; Madeline Eckstein, Beaufort, 1,365, $4, $5,460, Septic Services; Henry Koch, Berger, 1,270, $4.50, $5,715, Mentz Foundations; Brayden Theiss, New Haven, 1,330, $5, $6,650, Hall Bros. Lumber Co.; Elijah Pehle, New Haven, 1,365, $5, $6,825, WEG Transformers USA LLC ; Anna Hilkerbaumer,

Union, 1,315, $3.75, $4,931.25, TLH Trucking LLC ; Dylin Bade, Leslie, 1,315, $5, $6,575, U Team-Unerstall Electric/Construction/ Plumbing/Foundations; Delilah Nobel, New Haven, 1,325, $4.25, $5,631.25, Concrete Works LLC; Natalie Theiss, New Haven, 1,350, $6, $8,100, Town & Country Metals; Johnathan Brinkmann, Washington, 1,175, $3.75,

$4,406.25, KJ Unnerstall Construction Co.; Benjamin Roehrig, Washington, 1,400, $4.75, $6,650, Bank Of Washington ; Mark Brune, New Haven, 1,145, $4.75, $5,438.75, Strubberg Accounting ; Marcella Eckstein, Beaufort, 1,355, $4, $5,420, Septic Services; Augustus Reed, Union, 1,370, $4, $5,480, Sieve Contractors & hth companies

to do something with our advertising budget to support them and to help our recruiting effort in Franklin County,” Brian Graff, president and business manager of Local 513 said Monday.

“We have over 600 members in Franklin County which is why we wanted to support them, the fair and this livestock auction. We hope we can get some of the other (trade) crafts to join us in supporting the auction next year. Hopefully we can start a movement,” Graff added.

Fair Chairman Jason Gildehaus pointed to the record-breaking livestock auction and all of the livestock committee members as one of the reasons why this fair was successful despite several rounds of rainstorms throughout the five-day event.

“We had another great auction, that was one thing. But what I will remember is how those guys, all of the (livestock) assistants – they all went to the parking lots on Friday to help us because they didn’t have anything to do in livestock. So everybody that went there, even though they had their big stuff

on Saturday, those guys were out in the parking lots helping us (get them ready),” Gildehaus said.

The steer portion of the auction generated $415,117.50 in total sales; the market hogs brought in $481,381.25; the market lambs brought in $53,252.50 and the dairy cows generated $6,500 in receipts.

The total of $53,252.50 in gross sales that bidders spent

Inaya Chishti, Saint Louis, 1,200, $4, $4,800, Hendricks, Leisa Remax Today; Nicholas Holdmeyer, Washington, 1,230, $3.75, $4,612.50, Modern Auto; Jared Meyer, Marthasville, 1,445, $6, $8,670, Lamke Trenching & Excavating, Inc; Vivian Kessler, Augusta, 1,350, $4.75, $6,412.50, MFA Coop No. 2-Washington, New Haven & Marthasville; Leah Haberberger, Villa Ridge, 1,275, $4, $5,100, Bank Of Washington;

Wesley Bierbaum, Augusta, 1,320, $5, $6,600, Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate; Levi Lane, Lonedell, 1,325, $4.50, $5,962.50, MFA Agri Service-St. Clair; Ginny Schengbier, Leslie, 1,235, $3.75, $4,631.25, Mercy Clinic And Hospital; Hope Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,315, $4.25, $5,588.75, Alferman Air, JML Investments; Jacob Brinkmann, Washington, 1,095, $4, $4,380, Mo. Tiger Scholarship Fund; Amy Gerlemann, Beaufort, 1,300, $4, $5,200, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Jillian Tobben, Villa Ridge, 1,050, $5.75, $6,037.50, Hall Bros. Lumber Co.; Gunner Grodie, Pacific, 1,140, $3.75, $4,275, Thermaltech, Inc.; Megan Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,260, $4, $5,040, Dolan Realtors, Oltmann Funeral Home; Hailey Struckhoff, Augusta, 1,305, $4, $5,220, Ballmann Earthworks LLC; Cady Koch, Villa Ridge, 1,475, $4, $5,900, Bank Of Washington; Coraline Nobel, New Haven, 1,275, $4.50, $5,737.50, Dr. Christy Bleckman and Mr. Jason Kessler ; Cayden Mohrlock, Leslie, 1,190, $4.25, $5,057.50, KJ Unnerstall Construction Co.; Allison Roetheli, New Haven, 1,420, $4.25, $6,035, Bank Of Washington ; Sophia Helling, Union, 1,240, $4.25, $5,270, Mc-

for 24 market lambs

at this year’s auction set a record surpassing last year’s gross sales of $40,188 for the same number of lambs.

The Bank of Washington led all buyers by purchasing $69,408.75 worth of livestock at the auction. The bank purchased six steers and 15 hogs at the auction. They were followed by Sieve Contractors and HTH Companies, which spent $52,692.25 buy-

Donald’s Of Washington, St. Clair, and Union; Joseph Hellebusch, Marthasville, 1,365, $4.75, $6,483.75, Innovative Machine & Tool Inc;

Darren Armfield, New Haven, 1,440, $3.75, $5,400, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Norah Feldmann, Marthasville, 1,395, $5.25, $7,323.75, Tuepker Brothers Construction; Titan Grodie, Pacific, 1,170, $3.75, $4,387.50, Sieve Contractors & hth companies;

Evan Haberberger, Villa Ridge, 1,345, $4.25, $5,716.25, Bank Of Washington; Karissa Barrett, Washington, 1,200, $4, $4,800, Homeyer Precision Manufacturing; Hunter Miller, Leslie, 1,155, $4, $4,620, Riecher’s Tire & Auto; Jacob Evrard, Union, 1,295, $3.75, $4,856.25, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Aiden Crooks, Villa Ridge, 1,190, $7.50, $8,925, Sullivan Bank; Adam Bolzenius, Beaufort, 1,380, $3.75, $5,175, Lakebrink Heating & AC; Nicholas Borcherding, New Haven, 1,460, $4, $5,840, Boeuf & Berger Mutual Insurance, Groppe Insurance Agency, and Boeuf & Berger Mutual Agent-Christy Groppe; Jase Shofner, Lonedell, 1,325, $4.75, $6,293.75, Farmers & Merchants; Alexa Piontek, Washington, 1,465, $4.75, $6,958.75, WEG Transformers USA LLC; Elise Gildehaus, Washington, 1,165, $4.75, $5,533.75, Bank Of Franklin County- Bob Dobsch; Haley Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,320, $4.25, $5,610, Advanced Plumbing Systems; Aurora Hilkerbaumer, Union, 1,455, $3.75, $5,456.25, Curt & Cathie Grus ; Blane Reed, Union, 1,260, $4, $5,040, Farmers & Merchants; Celia Gildehaus, Washington, 1,370, $4.25, $5,822.50, John Henry Foster Company; Caleb Amann, Wash-

Hoffmanns purchase Reserve Champion

David and Jerri Hoffmann of Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate purchased the Reserve Grand Champion steer at Saturday’s Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair. The Hoffmanns paid $11,080 or $8 per pound for Olivia Jacquin’s steer. Pictured is David Hoffmann and Jacquin. Missourian Photo/Jonathan Riley.

ing eight steers and seven hogs. Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate spent $33,447.50 at the livestock auction.

“The livestock auction is an event we look forward to every single year,” L.B. Eckelkamp, Jr., Bank of Washington CEO, said Tuesday. “Our community depends on the next generation’s hard work, determination, grit and

volunteerism. We are honored to be able to encourage and support the work that these kids do. Their work is not always easy, but we want to help ensure it is rewarding. We are proud of them.”

The auctioneer for Saturday’s sale was Dave Schumacher, who has called the auction for many years with the assistance of Ken Bolte, a

retired MU Extension specialist. Schumacher announced next year’s auction would be his last. One percent of the total will be placed in a scholarship fund for livestock exhibitors, and 3 percent is retained by the Fair board to cover expenses associated with the auction, with 96 percent dispersed to the exhibitors. according to Fair officials.

G.H. Tool And Mold; Julia Borcherding, New Haven, 1,400, $4.25, $5,950, Rick Hellmann Construction LLC; Trenton Tobben, Villa Ridge, 1,100, $4.25, $4,675, Prewitt Hauling, Wayde’s Equipment Of Union; Ann Dinger, Villa Ridge, 1,370, $4, $5,480, Sieve Contractors & hth companies; Alex Bolzenius, Beaufort, 1,315, $3.75, $4,931.25, Sieve Contractors & hth companies;

ington, 1,425, $3.75, $5,343.75, Bank Of Franklin County- Bob Dobsch; Madeline Eckstein, Beaufort, 1,365, $4, $5,460, Septic Services; Henry Koch, Berger, 1,270, $4.50, $5,715, Mentz Foundations; Brayden Theiss, New Haven, 1,330, $5, $6,650, Hall Bros. Lumber Co.; Elijah Pehle, New Haven, 1,365, $5, $6,825, WEG Transformers USA LLC ; Anna Hilkerbaumer,

Union, 1,315, $3.75, $4,931.25, TLH Trucking LLC ; Dylin Bade, Leslie, 1,315, $5, $6,575, U Team-Unerstall Electric/Construction/ Plumbing/Foundations; Delilah Nobel, New Haven, 1,325, $4.25, $5,631.25, Concrete Works LLC; Natalie Theiss, New Haven, 1,350, $6, $8,100, Town & Country Metals; Johnathan Brinkmann, Washington, 1,175, $3.75,

$4,406.25, KJ Unnerstall Construction Co.; Benjamin Roehrig, Washington, 1,400, $4.75, $6,650, Bank Of Washington ; Mark Brune, New Haven, 1,145, $4.75, $5,438.75, Strubberg Accounting ; Marcella Eckstein, Beaufort, 1,355, $4, $5,420, Septic Services; Augustus Reed, Union, 1,370, $4, $5,480, Sieve Contractors & hth companies

August & September

Pickin’ in the Glen: One Way Traffic

A Premier band in the St. Louis and regional music scenes, featuring ECC alumnus Erik Ferguson. Food and beverages can be purchase from Seoul Taco, Augusta Winery and Gibby’s.

August 17 • 7 PM • ECC Glen

Sarah Nguyen, “Untrimmable Light”

This work plays with the idea of art as an ongoing conversation with posterity in which artifacts are painted over, yet traces of the original art remain.

August 28 - September 21 • ECC Art Gallery

Documentary: “Fire of Love”

Katia and Maurice Krafft, a daring French volcanologist couple, roamed the planet documenting their discoveries.

September 14 • 6 PM

The 442s

The 442s are a genre-defying acoustic sextet breaking down barriers between jazz, classical, folk and pop music. The group includes St. Louis Symphony Orchestra members.

September 15 • 7:30 PM

Early Music Missouri — String Music from the French Court

An intimate concert of string music from the courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV.

September 29 • 4 PM • HH 105

Olivia Jacquin, Go Hog Wild 4-H Club, shows Rocky, her Class 7 winner in the Market Steer competition. Rocky went on to be the Reserve Grand Champion.

Lane Roetheli, New Haven 4-H Club, stands with his Class 8 Market Steer winner, Frank. Roetheli also had the Reserve Champion Home-Raised Steer and won the Junior Showman competition.

Jared Meyer, Homestead 4-H Club, is pictured with Copper, the Class 9 winner in the Market Steer competition, Aug. 3.

Kaitlynn Van De Wiele, St. Clair FFA member, shows Ollie, the Class 4 Market Steer winner and the eventual Grand Champion, Aug. 3.

Levi Lane, of the Indian Prairie 4-H Club, stands with Waylon, the Class 5 winner in the Market Steer competition, Aug. 3.

Natalie Theiss, 10, New Haven 4-H Club, is pictured with Whopper, her Class 6 Market Steer winner, Aug. 3.

Jillian Tobben, 10, 4Ever Clever 4-H Club, shows Randy, the Class 1 winner in the Market Steer competition, Aug. 3.

Inaya Chishti, Gateway Gang 4-H Club, is pictured with Mont, her Class 2 Market Steer winner, Aug. 3.

Megan Hilkerbaumer, Jeffriesburg 4-H Club, stands with Ace, the Class 3 Market Steer winner.

Olivia Jacquin is pictured with her Reserve Grand Champion Steer Aug. 3 at the Fair. This was her third Reserve Grand Champion; she also won the honor in 2017 and 2022.

Kaitlynn Van De Wiele, St. Clair FFA member, stands with her

Grand Champion steer, Aug. 3 during the Fair’s livestock show.

Lane Roetheli, New Haven 4-H Club, stands with his Home-Raised Reserve Champion steer, Aug. 3 during the Fair’s livestock show.

Marthasville Fire holds national rating

By Christopher Parker parkerc@emissourian.com

Following a series of updates and improvements in the last eight years, the Marthasville Volunteer Fire Department has maintained its rating of 4 from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), placing it in the top 35 percent of fire departments nationwide, according to recent data.

Fire Chief Brian Johnson said that the department’s most recent Public Protection Classification (PPC) evaluation took place in 2015. Since that time, the depart-

ment has upgraded its digital record-keeping system, seen an uptick in membership and added more training opportunities for members.

The PPC is used by insurance companies to help determine risk in certain neighborhoods: when your fire department is better, you might be paying less.

“We’re graded on our performance and the services that we provide for our community,” Johnson explained. “If we have a very well functioning department, a welloiled machine that’s going to take care of you in your time

of need, your insurance [provider] has less liability.” Equipment plays a substantial role in the PPC rating, according to ISO’s website, and Johnson said that the department took steps to integrate better technology into their protocols. A new computer system allows for more accessibility for the firefighters and more reliable backups of information. The department also managed to upgrade all its radios.

Meanwhile, Johnson said, the department has worked just as diligently on improving the more human side of the PPC rating. His department has in-

Nelly concert ‘one of the craziest times’ for EMS

By Antjea Wolff wolffa@emissourian.com

The record-breaking crowds during Nelly’s performance Friday at the Washington Town & Country Fair kept the Washington Ambulance District busy.

“The concert was kind of scary for us,” Washington Ambulance District Chief Christopher Clifton said. “There were people that were passing out or felt anxious that the crowd was packed so tight.”

Three ambulance crews were stationed by the Pepsi Main Stage in preparation for the concert.

Out of the 72 emergency medical service calls at the fairgrounds on Friday, 23 occurred within the hip-hop artist’s 90-minute performance. Clifton added that one of the ambulance crews stationed by the stage was unable to keep track of how many people were treated, so there were more patients than what was recorded.

In comparison, during the Gabby Barrett show, emergency medical personnel only responded to two calls, and three calls at the Big & Rich concert.

“We were pushed to our limits on Friday at the concert,” Clifton said.

Many of the individuals were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration or, Clifton said, having panic attacks due to people packing closely together.

Clifton said one individual suffering from cardiac arrest was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital Washington. A GoFundMe page has been set up by a Union man to help pay for funeral costs for Regi-

nald “Reggie” Wilkins, which states that Wilkins died of a heart attack Aug. 4, and Mercy confirmed that a Reggie Wilkins died at the hospital Friday.

Three other people were taken by ambulance to the hospital for heat-related illness and one allergic reaction that same night.

“Everybody that was on staff that day said that was one of the craziest times we’ve ever seen,” Clifton said.

Washington Ambulance was assisted by Mercy staff, and Clifton said he could not thank them enough for their help.

Aside from the chaos of Friday night’s concert, Clifton said the rest of the Fair was on par with previous years.

Wednesday was the crew’s lightest day, with only 16 calls at the Fairgrounds. Fifty calls were reported on Thursday, 72 on Friday, 61 on Saturday and 64 on Sunday. Clifton said the most common reasons for people requesting first aid were for blisters and heat exhaustion.

Despite the struggles the Washington Ambulance District had to keep up with on medical issues, Washington Police Department Lt. Detective Steve Sitzes said this year’s criminal occurrences at the Fair were mild compared to previous years. Sitzes said the department dealt with five minor in possession arrests and less than five assaults on the fairgrounds.

“Most of our workload was heat-related and that was Friday night at the Nelly concert,” Sitzes said.

Sitzes stated the department had adequate personnel on site to deal with the incidents that occurred.

creased the frequency and scope of its training opportunities in areas like structural firefighting and emergency medical services. In conjunction with practical training, volunteers can also make use of online resources on nights when they cannot attend in person.

“We know that not everybody can make every Wednesday, but now you can be at home and watch a video on training topics,” said Johnson.

Johnson said membership has increased in recent years, and the department currently has 30 active members.

Per the new rating, anyone

living within five miles of a Marthasville fire station and 1,000 feet of a certified water source like a fire hydrant falls into the PPC level 4 classification. If residents do not have that access to water, they receive a special designation of 4Y. It is the ISO’s policy to place any home further than five miles from a fire station automatically into class 10, the worst rating. The national ISO aggregated data from its website includes scores for 38,195 fire departments, and 13,399 of those departments have scores of 4 or better.

Marthasville Fire holds national rating

By Christopher Parker parkerc@emissourian.com

Following a series of updates and improvements in the last eight years, the Marthasville Volunteer Fire Department has maintained its rating of 4 from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), placing it in the top 35 percent of fire departments nationwide, according to recent data.

Fire Chief Brian Johnson said that the department’s most recent Public Protection Classification (PPC) evaluation took place in 2015. Since that time, the depart-

ment has upgraded its digital record-keeping system, seen an uptick in membership and added more training opportunities for members.

The PPC is used by insurance companies to help determine risk in certain neighborhoods: when your fire department is better, you might be paying less.

“We’re graded on our performance and the services that we provide for our community,” Johnson explained. “If we have a very well functioning department, a welloiled machine that’s going to take care of you in your time

of need, your insurance [provider] has less liability.” Equipment plays a substantial role in the PPC rating, according to ISO’s website, and Johnson said that the department took steps to integrate better technology into their protocols. A new computer system allows for more accessibility for the firefighters and more reliable backups of information. The department also managed to upgrade all its radios.

Meanwhile, Johnson said, the department has worked just as diligently on improving the more human side of the PPC rating. His department has in-

Nelly concert ‘one of the craziest times’ for EMS

By Antjea Wolff wolffa@emissourian.com

The record-breaking crowds during Nelly’s performance Friday at the Washington Town & Country Fair kept the Washington Ambulance District busy.

“The concert was kind of scary for us,” Washington Ambulance District Chief Christopher Clifton said. “There were people that were passing out or felt anxious that the crowd was packed so tight.”

Three ambulance crews were stationed by the Pepsi Main Stage in preparation for the concert.

Out of the 72 emergency medical service calls at the fairgrounds on Friday, 23 occurred within the hip-hop artist’s 90-minute performance. Clifton added that one of the ambulance crews stationed by the stage was unable to keep track of how many people were treated, so there were more patients than what was recorded.

In comparison, during the Gabby Barrett show, emergency medical personnel only responded to two calls, and three calls at the Big & Rich concert.

“We were pushed to our limits on Friday at the concert,” Clifton said.

Many of the individuals were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration or, Clifton said, having panic attacks due to people packing closely together.

Clifton said one individual suffering from cardiac arrest was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital Washington. A GoFundMe page has been set up by a Union man to help pay for funeral costs for Regi-

nald “Reggie” Wilkins, which states that Wilkins died of a heart attack Aug. 4, and Mercy confirmed that a Reggie Wilkins died at the hospital Friday.

Three other people were taken by ambulance to the hospital for heat-related illness and one allergic reaction that same night.

“Everybody that was on staff that day said that was one of the craziest times we’ve ever seen,” Clifton said.

Washington Ambulance was assisted by Mercy staff, and Clifton said he could not thank them enough for their help.

Aside from the chaos of Friday night’s concert, Clifton said the rest of the Fair was on par with previous years.

Wednesday was the crew’s lightest day, with only 16 calls at the Fairgrounds. Fifty calls were reported on Thursday, 72 on Friday, 61 on Saturday and 64 on Sunday. Clifton said the most common reasons for people requesting first aid were for blisters and heat exhaustion.

Despite the struggles the Washington Ambulance District had to keep up with on medical issues, Washington Police Department Lt. Detective Steve Sitzes said this year’s criminal occurrences at the Fair were mild compared to previous years. Sitzes said the department dealt with five minor in possession arrests and less than five assaults on the fairgrounds.

“Most of our workload was heat-related and that was Friday night at the Nelly concert,” Sitzes said.

Sitzes stated the department had adequate personnel on site to deal with the incidents that occurred.

creased the frequency and scope of its training opportunities in areas like structural firefighting and emergency medical services. In conjunction with practical training, volunteers can also make use of online resources on nights when they cannot attend in person.

“We know that not everybody can make every Wednesday, but now you can be at home and watch a video on training topics,” said Johnson.

Johnson said membership has increased in recent years, and the department currently has 30 active members.

Per the new rating, anyone

living within five miles of a Marthasville fire station and 1,000 feet of a certified water source like a fire hydrant falls into the PPC level 4 classification. If residents do not have that access to water, they receive a special designation of 4Y. It is the ISO’s policy to place any home further than five miles from a fire station automatically into class 10, the worst rating. The national ISO aggregated data from its website includes scores for 38,195 fire departments, and 13,399 of those departments have scores of 4 or better.

Nelly sighting

Fans crane their necks to get a view of Nelly’s Fair performance Aug. 4. The crowd was shoulder to shoulder, covering the entirety of the grassy area between the stage and the Midway. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Successful bidders spent $53,252.50 on 24 market lambs at the Washington Town & Country Fair’s Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction on Saturday. The gross sales total for the market lamb auction set a record, surpassing last year’s total of $40,188 for the same number of lambs.

2023: $53,252

2022:

2021: $35,150

2020:

2019:

2018:

2017:

The average price per pound paid at this year’s lamb auction was $17.19.

The Grand Champion lamb, exhibited by Bradley Kuenzel, of Washington, was purchased by Dolan Realtors for $3,520, or $27.50 per pound. The Reserve Champion lamb was shown by Alina Cottrell, of Washington. The successful bidder on her lamb was Bill Cottrell who paid $3,300 for the lamb, or $25 per pound.

Listed below are the names of the exhibitors, their hometown, weights of the lambs, prices paid per pound, totals paid and buyers.

Bradley Kuenzel, Washington, Grand Champion, 128, $27.50, $3,520, Dolan Realtors; Alina Cottrell, Washington, Reserve Grand Champion, 132, $25, $3,300, Bill Cottrell; Emma Gerdes, New Haven, 118, $12.50, $1,475, Sundrop Division of Pepsi Bottling; Amelia Davis, New Haven, 121, $10, $1,210, Zick VossPolitte & Richardson PC; Nicholas Gilbert, Union, 119, $10, $1,190, Citizens Bank of New Haven/Pacific/

Gerald/Washington; Hunter Straatmann, Villa Ridge, 138, $15, $2,070, Patke Restoration; Maddie Buehrle, Beaufort, 126, $25, $3,150, AJ Heating & Cooling; Ava Brueggemann, Marthasville, 130, $10, $1,300, Thermaltech, Inc.; Grant Cottrell, Washington, 127, $22.50, $2,857.50, Bill Cottrell; Gabriel Briggs, Beaufort, 142, $10, $1,420, Williams Bros. Meat Market; Harper Davis, New Haven, 130, $10, $1,300, Franklin County Construction; Bailie Riegel, Washington, 125, $20, $2,500, Astral Glass; Jacob Gerdes, New Haven, 118, $12.50, $1,475, Strubberg Accounting; Connor Briggs, Beaufort, 146, $12.50, $1,825, Williams Bros. Meat Market; Drew Van Booven, Washington, 145, $10, $1,450, First State Community Bank; Ian Briggs, Beaufort, 132, $25, $3,300, Vance Properties; Adian Scheer, New Haven, 133, $10, $1,330, W & M Restaurants Inc Taco Bell; Weston Mills, Beaufort, 130, $20, $2,600, U Team-Unerstall Electric/Construction/ Plumbing/Foundations; Abigail Mills, Beaufort, 119, $20, $2,380, U Team-Unerstall Electric/Construction/ Plumbing/Foundations; Kamille Eads, Leslie, 131, $25, $3,275, AJ Heating & Cooling; Colin Ennis, Union, 134, $20, $2,680, Grus Foundations LLC; Jack Ennis, Union, 115, $27.50, $3,162.50, JSLK Trucking; Brett Cottrell, Washington, 146, $20, $2,920, Bill Cottrell; and Lane Davis, New Haven, 125, $12.50, $1,562.50, Grus Foundations LLC

Van De Wiele, Roetheli win steer competition

By Dan Claxton

The Bred-to-Own Steer competition at the Washington Town & Country Fair was dominated by two young competitors who are no strangers to winning. The Grand Champion in the new category was Kaitlynn Van De Wiele from the St. Clair FFA, and the Reserve Grand Champion was Lane Roetheli, who also won the Junior Showman contest and the Class Eight Market Steer division in Thursday’s competition.

Van De Wiele won in Class 4 and Roetheli won in Class 8.

Other winners include Hunter Miller, Class 1; Aiden Crooks, Class 2; Adam Homeyer, Class 3; Hope Hilkerbaumer, Class 5; Natalie Theiss, Class 6; Lena Roetheli, Class 7; and Jared Meyer, Class 9.

Dolan buys Champion

Reserve Champion lamb

Bill Cottrell, left, was the successful bidder for Alina Cottrell’s Reserve Champion 132-pound lamb on Saturday at the Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Cottrell paid $3,300 or $25 per pound for the lamb. Missourian Photo/Jonathan Riley

811 East Eighth St. • Suite 103 Washington, MO 63090 636.239.1130

Bradley Kunezel’s Grand Champion lamb was purchased by Dolan Realtors for $3,520 or $27.50 per pound at the Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair Saturday.

From left are Penny Rombach, Kuenzel and Robert Borgmann of Dolan. Missourian Photo/Jonathan Riley

Sheriff’s office assists ‘Operation Cross Country’

By Jonathan Riley rileyj@emissourian.com

The FBI has announced results of a nationwide campaign that successfully located 200 sex trafficking victims and missing children, “Operation Cross Country,” which involved several area law enforcement agencies, including the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.

St. Louis area investigators located nine minors during the operation who had been considered actively missing, according to Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division.

“We wanted to get to these missing juveniles before the sex traffickers did,” Greenberg said in a press release.

Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton said his office currently has an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigator on staff, and plans to add another soon. The ICAC Task Force Program is a nationwide network of 61 coordinated task forces representing over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

“We assigned an ICAC in-

vestigator to assist during this operation, and what it all boils down to is this operation is trying to locate missing juveniles before they get into prostitution and living on the streets and stuff like that,” Pelton said. No missing children were found or human traffickers apprehended in Franklin County as part of the campaign, Pelton said, “but this thing goes across the country.”

Other agencies involved in the campaign included St. Louis County Special Investigations/MOICAC, the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division, Missouri Department of Social Services State Technical Assistance Team, International Institute of St. Louis and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Pelton noted that his office’s involvement in Operation Cross Country was not limited to investigating local cases, as much of the sex trafficking crime targeting

children takes place online, meaning it can involve victims anywhere. “Everything’s done on social media nowadays when it comes to kids,” Pelton said. He added that there are no active cases his office is investigating involving missing Franklin County minors suspected of being at risk of sex trafficking.

“You probably see it on our Facebook page, we end up putting a lot of things saying ‘Hey, we’re trying to locate this juvenile,’ but, you know, most of them have just been pissed off at mom or dad and just took off, or they’re running around with their buddies, or hiding out, and sometimes it’s just a bad family life at home,” Pelton said. “But to say somebody that I would say legitimately is missing? Not that I’m aware of, not a child. We’ve got some old cold cases where people are missing.” For those with concerns or wishing to report a person who may be missing or at risk of sex trafficking, the FBI noted in its release that NCMEC operates a 24/7 call center number at 1-800-THE-LOST (8435678).

Man injured in semi crash

Two semi-trucks and a Ford pickup truck were involved in a crash on Sunday, injuring one of the drivers.

At approximately 1:50 p.m. a 2024 International Conventional semi-truck, 2002 Ford F250 and 2020 Freightliner Conventional semi-truck were driving eastbound on Interstate 44 in the area of Allen Drive, southeast of Union.

As the International truck began to stop, the Ford col-

lided with the rear end of the semi, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The highway patrol report stated the Ford was following the semi too closely.

After the collision, the Freightliner, which was traveling behind the Ford, swerved to the right to avoid hitting the Ford. The Freightliner went off the highway and overturned down the embankment, according to the report.

The driver of the In-

ternational semi-truck, Ebenezer Baiden, 49, of Bronx, New York, and the driver of the Freightliner, Yaroslav Balytski, 27, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, were not injured. The Ford driver, Steven Feldwerth, 45, of St. Peters, was taken by Union Ambulance District personnel to Mercy Hospital St. Louis to be treated for moderate injuries. The report stated all drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Herding hogs

A crowd lines the show arena as kids compete in the Market Hog Show Aug. 3 at the Fair. Missourian Photo/Christopher Parker

Franklin County officials approve road widening agreements

By Geoff Folsom folsomg@emissourian.com

Franklin County commissioners approved the first group of easement deed agreements for improvements on a road east of Gerald at their Tuesday, Aug. 8, meeting.

The 12 agreements approved for Klemme Road include ones with homeowners, trusts and St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, of Gerald. “These are about half of the properties necessary for the utility easements and right of way,” Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker said.

The county is converting Klemme Road to a hard surface, but to do that, it needs to widen the road to 50 feet from its current 30 feet wide, county Highway Administrator Jim Grutsch told The Missourian

“We need property owners to dedicate an additional 10 feet on each side for road easement,” he said.

The county plans to upgrade the entire two miles of Klemme Road, Grutsch said. The road’s eastern and western termini are both at Highway 50, with Klemme Road running south of the highway.

The Klemme Road improvements have an estimated cost of $200,000, Grutsch said. Construction will start once the remaining easement deeds are secured. “It could be next year, it could be two years from now,” he said.

Asked if the county was having difficulty securing the other deeds from landowners, Grutsch said, “There’s always some reluctance, but eventually we get everybody.”

Big Kenny, left, and John Rich, front right, speak to Ott Jasper, a 103-year-old World War II veteran and Washington resident, Aug. 5 during their Fair performance. The duo also invited veterans Jason Stanfield, back center, and Zach Zuroweste, back right, on stage. Jasper was escorted by his great-grandson, back left.

Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

An egg explodes on one of the contestants Aug. 6 at the Washington Town & Country Fair’s Egg Drop Contest. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Sophia Cousins, 6, gets wrapped up in toilet paper Aug. 6 while dancing around the Fair’s Family Fun Center. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Gwen Lause, 6, spins one of the wheels for the Wheels of Agriculture Game Show Aug. 3 at the Fair. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Jayden Evans, 3 1/2, stretches to reach the pedals on a tractor Aug. 5 at the Fair’s Mighty Machines exhibit. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

George Morrison, 7, gets messy with homemade slime Aug. 5. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

William Hagedorn, 9, has his bubble measured Aug. 2 during the Bubble Gum Blowing Contest. Contestants had two tries to blow the largest bubble they could.

Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Quinn Kelley, 11, left, and her brother, Jack, 15, sample wings Aug. 6 at the Fair’s Brewfest & Wing-Ding. According to their mom, the wing-ding is one of the kids’ favorite events. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Missourian Wednesday and the Weekend Our aim

Guest Editorial

The following editorial appeared in the Jefferson City News Tribune

Senior tax relief law needs more work

The devil is always in the details.

Senate Bill 190, which sought to offer seniors tax relief, is certainly living up to the maxim that the particulars – even the seemingly insignificant – can end up causing problems.

In this instance, the legislation, which was signed by Gov. Mike Parson in July, lacks the details for how to implement and apply the tax relief.

The legislation seeks to offer seniors relief on their property and income taxes. The first part of the law authorizes counties to grant a property tax credit to eligible seniors; the second part eliminates income tax on Social Security benefits.

For the property tax credit to be available, counties would have to adopt ordinances authorizing the credits or residents would have to create petitions in support of the credits, which would then have to be approved by voters.

Under SB 190, once the credit is made available in a county, taxpayers could claim the tax credit if they are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, own or have legal interest in a home and are liable for paying real property taxes on it.

The credit would essentially freeze the property tax at the time the county in which the property sits adopted the ordinance.

The sponsor of the bill said he was inspired to draft the legislation seniors in his district and around the state have seen dramatic increases in property tax assessments. Many of those seniors on fixed incomes are at risk of being forced out of their homes, or have already been forced out, because they cannot afford the taxes, he said.

SB 190 seemed like a straightforward bill.

But the bill, as signed and enacted, has left county collectors and Missourians with a lot of questions about the details.

Not everyone receives Social Security. Would retirees such as teachers and railroad

workers who have retirement plans other than Social Security be eligible for the credits?

What is the age of eligibility? Seniors can start receiving Social Security benefits as early as 62, but full retirement benefits don’t kick in until 66 or 67, depending on what year the person was born.

What if one of the homeowners is eligible, but the other is not; would the credits be granted?

Would potential lost revenue for taxing entities be confined only to the county’s taxes or would it affect each city, township, fire department, school district and other entities as well?

In some counties, the lost revenue to those taxing entities could be devastating. For instance, in Cole County, 70 percent or more of the taxes the county collects goes to school districts.

These questions and others must be addressed for the law’s property tax relief to work. Thankfully, collectors have seen the value of the legislation and have offered to help legislators find a path toward success. One would think much of the uncertainties of the bill might have been avoided if the conversations had happened during the drafting and vetting of the bill.

The second part of SB 190 seems more straightforward and would be welcome relief for seniors.

Missouri was one of only 12 states that taxed seniors’ Social Security income. SB 190 would change that.

Eliminating that income tax on Missouri’s seniors was a good move that will have a direct effect on seniors who are struggling to make ends meet.

If seniors are wondering when they might start seeing benefits from SB 190, the answer is it could be a while. Counties are holding off on passing ordinances in support until the law is further clarified.

We look forward to the Legislature tidying up this legislation when it returns next session.

The Biden Pardon that can spare America

By Daniel McCarthy

President Joe Biden has a chance to do the right thing for all Americans – a brave and unpopular thing that will spare the country excruciating pain next year.

He can pardon Donald Trump and announce he’s not seeking reelection.

Without having to worry about reelection, Biden can spare the Justice Department a humiliating and corrupt plea bargain, too, by simply pardoning his son Hunter.

As things now stand, with the election 15 months away, both parties have painted themselves into a corner.

Biden barely polls ahead of Trump, and every week brings unwelcome reminders of the incumbent’s age (80) and dubious fitness for office.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, just a year older than Biden, was recently struck dumb as he attempted to lead a Republican press conference.

And Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, is so greatly diminished she’s had to turn power of attorney over to her daughter – even as Feinstein, or at any rate her office, continues to exercise power to vote in what was once the greatest deliberative body in the world.

The gerontocracy is visibly failing.

Meanwhile Republicans are on course to nominate a man who turns 78 next year.

Trump is far more energetic than Biden was when he became president at that age in 2021.

But Trump’s energy, and campaign cash, is being consumed by the staggering array of criminal charges he faces.

These prosecutions only help Trump in the primary; his rivals are forced either to side with Biden’s Justice Department and Democratic prosecutors or else to defend the man they want to beat.

Biden’s a record-setter in unpopularity, with the lowest approval ratings at this point in his term of any president in the last 40 years.

You have to go back to Jimmy Carter to find worse.

the era of good feelings by comparison.

The legal system itself will be on trial at the ballot box, and if a jury in Washington, D.C., convicts Trump, voters nationwide might yet acquit him.

A federal conviction is no bar to running for, or winning, the highest office.

On the other hand, if Biden prevails, what can America expect from an octogenarian’s second term?

Democrats might soon find their victory a Pyrrhic one, as an already weak president becomes a lame duck.

And if Democrats think they would win political advantage by turning the GOP into a revenge-for-Trump party, perhaps with Trump himself as an imprisoned martyr, they should consider which cause would inspire more devotion: that of a winner too decrepit to lead or that of a populist hero whose persecution mirrors the way his followers feel about their own fate in a Democrat-run America?

Biden has the power to avert this; all it will cost is his shot at a miserable second term.

If Biden pardons Trump, the Republican contest will have to be fought on different, better terms – not whether or not the charges against Trump are valid.

Trump might still win such a contest, politically embarrassing though it would be to accept clemency from Biden.

But the battle will be conducted like a traditional primary, not a referendum on the Democrats’ desire to “lock him up.”

Biden’s own party would revile the president for granting a pardon, but he could do them an equal favor by accepting their outrage in good grace and opting not to seek renomination next year. The Democrats, too, would then have a more competitive primary, with the likelihood of younger leadership getting its turn.

Trump was supremely polarizing even before the onslaught of prosecutions.

He drives Republican turnout – but many in the GOP fear he drives Democratic turnout even more. The 2024 contest threatens to leave millions of voters feeling jaded, with even die-hard partisans wondering if their party nominated the only man who could lose to the other guy.

And the spectacle of a major-party nominee campaigning while on trial, or indeed in prison, will not do wonders for America’s image around the world.

At home, it will embitter our politics for a generation; the Watergate ordeal will seem like

An open Democratic primary would, of course, change electability calculations in the GOP as well – again not necessarily to Trump’s disadvantage, but both parties would have more cause to think about the future.

Biden knows how tenuous his position is on account of his senectitude and unpopularity.

He could bow out with a grand gesture, one offensive to the fanatics in his party yet actually healthy for the party – and for the other party, too.

He would make history.

But to do it, he has to be selfless and bold.

Consider it, Mr. President: All you have to lose are the burdens better borne by a younger leader.

Why I’m supporting No Labels’ effort to get on the 2024 ballot

While I’m a lifelong Democrat and proud of it, my country will always come first. That’s particularly true when our democracy is under threat. Today, political animosity and partisanship are categorically different than at any other time in my lifetime. There is a growing tendency in both parties to say or do anything if they think it will help win a news cycle or an election. In times like these, we need to hug the pillars of democracy tighter than ever by doubling down on our rights and responsibilities as citizens, including voting and raising our voices in the political process. That’s why I’m announcing this week my support for No Labels, the group working to give voice to millions of disaffected Americans by securing a ballot line on 2024 presidential ballots in all 50 states plus DC.

In addition to being a former governor of Missouri, I’m a former attorney general and a practicing lawyer. And No Labels is exercising a constitutionally protected right through its ballot access work, one that deserves to be protected and encouraged. Every American has a right to speak out against our leaders when we feel they are not acting in our interests—as the Constitution puts it, “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In several landmark cases, the Supreme Court has ruled that organizing voters for ballot access is protected speech under the First Amendment.

But that hasn’t stopped an increasingly organized groups of operatives and partisans from try-

By Jay Nixon

ing to keep No Labels off the ballot. Many on the left are afraid that No Labels might inadvertently help Trump win by siphoning votes away from Joe Biden. Others on the right say No Labels will end up hurting Trumpmore than Biden. No matter which side they’re on, critics are welcome to oppose No Labels and argue against them in the public square. What they are not allowed to do is attempt to undermine the rights of all Americans, including No Labels and its supporters. Yet that is what too many are doing. One far-left group sent a letter to every secretary of state calling on them to “investigate” No Labelsa shameful attempt to intimidate the group and its supporters. Others have financed lawsuits and run smear campaigns in the press. A super PAC – ironically titled Save Our Republic – has been created to oppose No Labels with tactics that violate the founding ideals of our republic. Too much of this is coming from those who self-style as champions of democracy and everyday voters.

My fellow Democrats and I respect and appreciate the 14th Amendment and its equal protection clause for its defense of the rights of all. Well, the 14th Amendment applies here too and to deny otherwise reeks of situational ethics. The measure of how much we believe anything is the extent to which we will defend it when it may not serve our interests.

I am confident that No Labels will not play spoiler in the 2024 election. It has pledged to stand down if

extensive polling reveals an independent Unity ticket has no chance to win. But both parties are underestimating the dissatisfaction a majority of Americans have with their likely choices from the major parties and their openness to an alternative. If there is indeed a viable path for a Unity ticket next year, millions of voters will be glad No Labels has done the work to provide another choice.

By creating the opening for a Unity ticket in 2024, No Labels is making a meaningful attempt at mending the brokenness of our political status quo. Even if No Labels never offers its ballot line to a candidate, I believe its effort to obtain ballot access and share the ideas in its recently released Common Sense policy booklet can pull the 2024 presidential debate toward the center where most Americans reside. So many in our country believe our politics does not represent who they are or what they want America to be. If these Americans want another choice for president, and enough sign on to get No Labels on the ballot nationwide, then I call that a victory for democracy.

I understand my party’s desire to keep President Trump from returning to the White House. But what we should never endorse or accept is any strategy that relies on disenfranchising voters. We are better than that as a party. More importantly, we are better than that as a country.

Jay Nixon served as Governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017.

Hog auction generates $481,381 in sales

The Blue Ribbon Market Hog Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair featured 213 animals that netted area exhibitors $481,381.25 in total sales. The average price paid at Saturday’s hog auction was $8.06 per pound.

The Grand Champion hog, exhibited by Evie Bryson, Labadie, was purchased by Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate for $5,680 or $20 per pound. The hog weighed 284 pounds. Bryson’s hog was named Grand cChampion in three of the last for years at the auction. She also won the top title in 2022 and 2020. Bryson, 16, is a member of the Washington FFA.

This year’s Reserve Grand Champion hog was exhibited by Dylan See, 16, of New Haven. His 272-pound hog was purchased by Dolan Realtors for $3,400 or $12.50 a pound.

Listed below are the names of the exhibitors, weights of the hog, prices paid per pound, totals paid and buyers.

The complete auction results:

Evie Bryson, Labadie, Grand Champion, 284, $20, $5,680, Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate;

Dylan See, Washington, Reserve Grand Champion, 272, $12.50, $3,400, Dolan Realtors; Peter Bush, New Haven, 283, $4.50, $1,273.50, Thermaltech, Inc.; Barrett Short, Washington, 288, $4.25, $1,224, Oltmann Funeral Home; Addison Short, Washington, 260, $4.75, $1,235, Collin Maune/Trilogy Labs; Madison Diener, New Haven, 280, $4, $1,120, MFA Coop No. 2-Washington, New Haven & Marthasville; Luke Diener, New Haven, 299, $4.25, $1,270.75, D & H Trucking; Collin Parks, Marthasville, 299, $4.25, $1,270.75, Service Central

struction;

Jeremy Pruessner, New Haven, 277, $9, $2,493, Richard Kleinheider Construction; Henry Spaunhorst, Washington, 300, $15.50, $4,650, LDK Precision Contracting; Hunter Bakameyer, Marthasville, 282, $4.50, $1,269, Bill Elcan; William Chesnut, New Haven, 290, $8, $2,320, Jim Brinker Recycling;

Payton Chesnut, New Haven, 292, $8.50, $2,482, Creative Touch Paint & Design;

Caleb Moritz, New Haven, 303, $7.50, $2,272.50, Bank of Washington; Colton Moritz, New Haven, 283, $5.25, $1,485.75, Riechers Tire & Auto; Harvick Kleinheider, Washington, 269, $5, $1,345, United Mutual Insurance-Ryan & Liz Short;

Katrina Kleinheider, Washington, 287, $4.50, $1,291.50, Sieve Contractors & Hhth Companies;

Maelee Meyer, Marthasville, 273, $7.50, $2,047.50, Midwest Military Equipment;

Reid Meyer, Marthasville, 277, $11.50, $3,185.50, G.H. Tool and Mold;

Cayton Johnson, Marthasville, 272, $4.50, $1,224, Sieve Contractors & hth Companies;

Luke Mauchenheimer, Leslie, 296, $5, $1,480, Imo’s Pizza; Lane Kluesner, Marthasville, 285, $8.50, $2,422.50, Gleeson AG Services;

Alfred Brinker, Washington, 296, $9.50, $2,812, Quality Taping and Painting Inc.;

Bradley Yoder, Villa Ridge, 295, $7, $2,065, Bank of Washington;

Matthew Yoder, Villa Ridge, 270, $9, $2,430, Blanche Monahan;

Abbey Yoder, Villa Ridge, 285, $8, $2,280, Yoder’s Total Contracting; Jenna Ballmann, Washington, 291, $10.50, $3,055.50, Sieve Contractors & hth Companies;

Jane Ballmann, Washington, 300, $12.50, $3,750, Hayden Machinery; Edward Kessler, Augusta, 293, $9, $2,637, Bank of Washington;

Jodi Kessler, Augusta, 269, $9, $2,421, Jasper Builders;

Benjamin Kessler, Augusta, 294, $9, $2,646, Bavarian Smokehaus;

Jake Kessler, Augusta, 288, $9.50, $2,736, Tom Straatmann Construction & Repair/Senate Grove Inn;

Dolan buys Reserve Champion

Dolan Realtors was the winning bidder for the Reserve Champion hog at the Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the Washington Town & Country Fair Saturday. Dylan See, Washington, exhibited the Reserve Champion which brought $3,400 or $12.50 per pound. Shown, from left, behind the Reserve Champion, are See and Penny Rombach and Robert Borgmann of Dolan Realtors. Missourian Photo/Jon Riley

Market Hog Auction Results

2023: $481,381

2022: $396,780

2021: $508,378

2020: $138,175

2019: $255,014

2018: $250,982

2017: $247,335

2016: $246,488

2015: $241,320

2014: $203,311

2013: $133,817

2012: $153,749

2011: $150,676

2010: $105,437

2009: $106,107

2008: $145,509

2007: $201,329

Source: Missourian Archives

;

&

Schroeder, Washington,

$1,512, Adam Tiefenbrunn; Grant Schroeder, Washington, 282, $6.25, $1,762.50, KJU Concrete Division; Morgan Schroeder, Washington, 280, $7.50, $2,100, Ameren Missouri Labadie Energy Center; Tyler Schroeder, Washington, 274, $7.25, $1,986.50, KJ Unnerstall Construction Co.; Jacob Rinne, Marthasville, 287, $6, $1,722, Ballmann Earthworks LLC; Reid Holdmeyer, Washington, 292, $6.25, $1,825, Adam Tiefenbrunn; Olivia Reed, Washington, 283, $5.75, $1,627.25, Riechers Tire & Auto; Elizabeth Reed, Washington, 304, $6.25, $1,900, Grant Young; Lily Holdmeyer, Washington, 300, $5.50, $1,650, Henderson Implement Company; Blake Deppe, Washington, 275, $6.50, $1,787.50, Westermeyer Ag Service LLC; Kameron Huttenlocker, Washington, 277, $5, $1,385, Bank of Franklin CountyBob Dobsch; Kolton Huttenlocker, Washington, 292, $5, $1,460, Chris Motley; Alyssa Deppe, Washington, 294, $7.50, $2,205, Huellinghoff Brothers; Annelise Obermark, Labadie, 280, $6.25,

Arthur Bruckerhoff, Washington, 290, $5, $1,450, Hanenkamp Electric; Oliver Bruckerhoff, Washington, 290, $6.50, $1,885, Hanenkamp Electric; Vivian Dieckman, Marthasville, 268, $9, $2,412, Mentz Foundations;

John Dieckman Jr., Marthasville, 262, $10, $2,620, Mentz Foundations; Evan Mallinckrodt, Augusta, 310, $7, $2,170, Bank Of Washington; Aubrey Mallinckrodt, Augusta, 285, $7.50, $2,137.50, Bank of Washington; Lane Mallinckrodt, Augusta, 292, $7, $2,044, Rehmeier Farm Inc; Kaleb Dobsch, Washington, 263, $5.50, $1,446.50, Franklin Mortgage Company; Zachary Dobsch, Washington, 272, $5, $1,360, Bent Oak Mutual, Osage Ridge Insurance LLC; Brayden Dobsch, Washington, 267, $5, $1,335, Ballmann Earthworks LLC; Samuel Kleberger, Marthasville, 292, $7.50, $2,190, Rehmeier Farm Inc; Dane Hecktor, Marthasville, 261, $10.50, $2,740.50, Temperature Control Solutions; Andrew Hecktor, Marthasville, 283, $9.50, $2,688.50, Couch Farms; Wyatt Couch, Marthasville, 287, $11.50, $3,300.50, Midwest Veterinary Services-Dr. Spencer Thompson; Evan Reeves, Marthasville, 288, $4.75, $1,368, Bank of Washington; James Lehr, Washington, 286, $4.75, $1,358.50, Northern Star Homes; Jessie Tovo, Washington, 298, $9.50, $2,831, WEG Transformers USA LLC; Holly Rodgers, Washington, 295, $11, $3,245, Huellinghoff Brothers;

Elliana Koirtyohann, Washington, 294, $9.50, $2,793, Dr. David Chalk;

Cole Rettke, Beaufort, 290, $7, $2,030, Innovative Building Concepts Inc.;

Gracie Rettke, Beaufort, 260, $7.50, $1,950, Strubberg Accounting;

Olivia Struckhoff, Augusta, 288, $12, $3,456, Tochtrop & Associates Certified Public Accountants;

Addison Struckhoff, Augusta, 278, $9, $2,502, First State Community Bank, Sugarfire Smokehouse; Noelle Brueggenjohann, Marthasville, 272, $10, $2,720, Fred’s Trucking LLC;

Nathan Brueggenjohann, Marthasville, 296, $10, $2,960, Roscoe Mayer Contracting Inc;

Max Mayer, Washington, 303, $16, $4,848, D & S Homeyer Leasing;

Clara Nowak, Marthasville, 300, $12, $3,600, Alferman Air, Patton Woodworks; Sophia Fitzgerald, Washington, 302, $8, $2,416, Bank of Washington; Isabella Fitzgerald, Washington, 303, $8, $2,424, WEG Transformers USA LLC; Ryan Westermeyer, New Haven, 281, $10, $2,810, Peoples Savings Bank; Amelia Sahm, New Haven, 307, $7, $2,149, Carpenters Local 1839; Logan Sahm, New Haven, 273, $8.50, $2,320.50, Bank of Washington; Emmalynn

299, $6, $1,794, Advanced Plumbing Systems; Andrew Steffens, Washington, 280, $6, $1,680, Heritage Community Bank; Henry Steffens, Washington, 298, $7, $2,086, Huellinghoff Brothers; Mason Fischer, Washington, 274, $7.75, $2,123.50, Deppe Farms; Kylie Alfermann, Washington, 298, $8.50, $2,533, WEG Transformers USA LLC; Brooklyn Kleinheider, Washington, 266, $9, $2,394, Richard Kleinheider Construction; Kenedi Meyer, Washington, 303, $8.50, $2,575.50, Esse Health-Andrew Valleroy; Jacob Pruessner, New Haven, 292, $9.50, $2,774, Richard Kleinheider Con-

Grace Sorensen, Beaufort, 282, $6, $1,692, Modern Auto; Dixie Sorensen, Beaufort, 284, $7, $1,988, Dolan Realtors, Oltmann Funeral Home; Lane Barron, Augusta, 308, $7, $2,156, Dr. Christy Bleckman and Mr. Jason Kessler; Arlie Wessel, Augusta, 291, $9.50, $2,764.50, Blues Hog; Ella Wessel, Augusta, 271, $7.50, $2,032.50, Hellebusch Family Farms (Dwayne & Teddy), Jim Hellebusch; Kristian Steffey, Saint Clair, 260, $6, $1,560, Jacob Farm-Al & Mary; Isabelle Enke, St. Clair, 298, $6, $1,788, Franklin County Mobile Blasting; Hunter Roetheli, Washington, 288, $7.50, $2,160, Dr. David Chalk; Sophia Voss, New Haven, 276, $6, $1,656, KBJ Properties, Junior & Diane Loepker; Stella Voss, New Haven, 293, $8.50, $2,490.50, Sullivan Bank; Madalyn Hrastich, St. Clair, 287, $6, $1,722, Dickey Bub; Matthew Freitag, Washington, 288, $17, $4,896, Re/Max Today-Elisha Hoerstkamp; Maralee Gildehaus, Leslie, 294, $10.50, $3,087, Sieve Contractors & hth Companies; Kaylee Mueller, Washington, 276, $8.50, $2,346, Bank of Washington; Austin Mueller, Washington, 263, $7, $1,841, U Team-Unerstall Electric/Construction/Plumbing/Foundations; Ethan Mueller, Washington, 294, $7, $2,058, Bank of Washington; Quinton Nowak, Washington, 276, $13.50, $3,726, Jimmy John’s; Colvin Pollock, New Haven, 269, $12, $3,228, Jasper Builders; Keira King, Washington, 268, $8, $2,144, WEG Transformers USA LLC; Kailee King, Washington, 284, $8, $2,272, Koch Chi-Angus Farms; Matthew Maniaci, Washington, 287, $6.50, $1,865.50, Hagie’s 19; James Maniaci, Washington, 299, $6.50, $1,943.50, Dr. Christy Bleckman and Mr. Jason Kessler; Jacob Maniaci, Washington, 297, $7.50, $2,227.50, Bob & Mary Dobsch; Frank Caruso, Washington, 286, $6.50, $1,859, Nieburg-Vitt, Miller Funeral Home; Paetyn See, Washington, 293, $6.50, $1,904.50, Sundrop Division oOf Pepsi Bottling; Landon Baynes, Berger, 290, $8, $2,320, CC Painting LLC; Hadley Baynes, Berger, 275, $10.50, $2,887.50, Backes & Toelke, Concrete Works LLC, Peoples Savings Bank, SN Partners; Carter Baynes, Berger, 268, $7.50, $2,010, Korte Meat Processing; Tatum Scheer, New Haven, 292, $20, $5,840, Korte Meat Processing; Taylor Scheer, New Haven, 283, $10, $2,830, Backes & Toelke, Peoples Savings Bank; Alexandra Fortner, New Haven, 283, $7.50, $2,122.50, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of New Haven; Tenley Scheer, New Haven, 293, $10.50, $3,076.50, Boland Energy, Gradel Heating & Cooling; Addison Pehle, Berger, 281, $7, $1,967, KJU Concrete Division; Mason Pehle, Berger, 260, $8, $2,080, Backes & Toelke; Ayden Pehle, Berger, 296, $7.50, $2,220, A&E Storage; Kalyssa Eads, Leslie, 294, $6.50, $1,911, JCAM LLC; Abigail Seitter, New Haven, 264, $8.25, $2,178, Backes & Toelke, Peoples Savings Bank; Lucas Seitter, New Haven, 277, $8, $2,216, Westermeyer Excavating; Brinley Seitter, New Haven, 284, $9, $2,556, Backes & Toelke, Concrete Works LLC; Blake Dewert, Union, 269, $6.50, $1,748.50, Heritage Community Bank; Camden Dewert, Union, 277, $7.50, $2,077.50, Beyond The Horizon Aba, Union Eye Associates; Ryleigh Rehmeier, Augusta, 301, $14, $4,214, N-Sports, Piontek Ag Products, LLC; Brian Brinker, Washington, 279, $9, $2,511, Missourian Media Group; Lucas Brautigam, Washington, 289, $5.50, $1,589.50, Nick & Amy Barron; Rosalie Wymer, Union, 295, $6, $1,770, Sullivan Bank; Cole Alfermann, Washington, 304, $5.50, $1,672, Nick & Amy Barron; Barrett Henderson, Washington, 309,

$6, $1,854, 5H Custom Meats (Arlin Hoener); Emmalyne Henderson, Washington, 306, $8, $2,448, Boland Energy; Halle Goodman, Union, 285, $5.50, $1,567.50, JCAM LLC; William Hagedorn, Washington, 290, $9, $2,610, Nate Hagedorn Construction; Nathaniel Hagedorn, Washington, 289, $9, $2,601, Bank of Washington; Evan Roewe, New Haven, 261, $7, $1,827, Henges Interiors; Ethan Roewe, New Haven, 277, $6, $1,662, MFA Owensville; Matthew Loesing, Labadie, 271, $7, $1,897, Citizens Bank of New Haven/Pacific/Gerald/Washington; Ben Loesing, Labadie, 300, $6.50, $1,950, Bank Of Washington; Lillian Kluesner, Marthasville, 269, $14.50, $3,900.50, Gleeson AG Services, Temperature Control Solutions; Samuel Busch, Washington, 278, $11, $3,058, Williams Bros. Meat Market; Terrance Busch, Washington, 279, $10.50, $2,929.50, Oltmann Funeral Home; Eric Morgan, Washington, 269, $8.50, $2,286.50, Mary Jo Straatmann, Franklin County Public Administrator; Wyatt Morgan, Washington, 295, $8, $2,360, Unnerstall Contracting Co; Walter Bobo, Villa Ridge, 269, $7, $1,883, Unnerstall

Straatmann, Leslie, 270, $8, $2,160, Tom Straatmann Construction & Repair/Senate Grove Inn; Adele Kluesner, Washington, 268, $7, $1,876, Homeyer Precision Manufacturing; Josie Kluesner, Washington, 261, $7, $1,827, Corey & Stacy Baker, Brinker Livestock LLC; Anthony Holmes, Villa Ridge, 293, $7.50, $2,197.50, Unnerstall Contracting Co.; Ross Obermark, Washington, 310, $8, $2,480,

Simpson is now charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault causing serious physical injury, two counts of armed criminal action, three counts related to unlawful firearm possession, possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest for a felony.

In March, Simpson pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree

murder, one count of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm due to prior felony convictions, according to previous Missourian reporting.

The new charges relate to Simpson’s alleged possession of methamphetamine and a “short barreled” shotgun, according to the amended

Aiming for a win

felony complaint. Simpson is alleged to have shot Griffith and Sullentrup with a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun.

Bailey’s office was asked to assist with the case by the Gasconade County prosecuting attorney. The case is being handled by Bailey, Assistant Attorney General Kelly Snyder and Assistant Attorney General Greg Goodwin. Kenneth Lee Simpson

Woman crashes into tree

A Pacific woman was injured Monday, July 31, when she lost control of her car and struck a tree, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The highway patrol reports that Jesse Sims, 33, of Pacific, was driving a 2021 Chevrolet Cruze northbound on Route N at approximately 9:53 a.m. when she swerved off to the right side of the roadway. The report states that she was driving too fast for the wet road conditions. Sims

overcorrected to avoid driving off the road and skidded off the left side, according to the patrol. The undercarriage of her car struck the ground, causing it to rotate and crash into the tree with its right side and rear. Sims sustained moderate injuries and was transported to Mercy Hospital Washington by the Meramec Ambulance District. Her car was towed from the scene by Big Boy’s Towing and Recovery.

Liam Schneider, right, tosses a mule nugget Aug. 6 during the Mule Nugget Toss at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

LET’S SEE YOUR RIBBON

SPORTS

Winner of Multiple NNA, MPA, AP and NSMA Awards

Dang rain

Rain was needed, but it would have been more helpful to have it more spread out.

And I’m sure organizers of the Washington Town & Country Fair would have rather had it any time other than last week.

With almost an inch of rainfall nearly every day of the Fair this year, it felt as though we got a month’s worth of precipitation in the span of just a handful of days.

In the Motor Sports Arena, it washed out two entire events, the first of two nights of bull riding and the field class tractor pull.

While the bull riding was condensed to just one night, Thursday, it cost those hoping to compete in Wednesday’s barrel racing event their chance for the year.

It no doubt took a lot of time and effort to get the arena into working shape several times over throughout the course of the week, only to have to come back and work on it again the next day after Mother Nature turned the dry bits soggy again in between events.

In the two pro-stock tractor pulls Friday and Saturday, the arena was limited to just one lane in front of the grandstand.

Had it been possible to get two lanes open Friday, the event likely would have been able to reach completion well before thunderstorms approached the area just before Midnight.

However, running one lane that was still probably wetter than most would have likely limited how quickly the event could go and as a result the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League reported the last nine pulls of the night as rained out.

The arena was somewhat drier Saturday and due to that it felt like the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association event, while still limited to just one lane, was able to move along at a faster pace. Regardless of conditions, I always find it notable how quickly the arena is transformed from its normal surface Saturday into a functioning Motocross course in time for Sunday.

The rain was not only an issue here, but followed the Washington Post 218 baseball team all the way to Alabama, causing delays in at least one morning of the American Legion MidSouth Regional.

One of the benefits of the rainfall, besides what good it may have done for area farmers, it’s helped keep temperature projections in a comfortable range for the first week of high school fall sports practices, which began Monday.

Apple’s Weather app projects temperatures with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s for much of the week ahead, See Arron’s Page 3B

Post 218 ties for third

Out at the plate

Big first carries Paragould to victory

By Bill Battle

battleb@emissourian.com

For six innings Saturday, Washington Post 218 kept Paragould, Arkansas, Post 17 Glen Sain GMC off the scoreboard.

However, it was that other inning, the first, that made all of the difference. Paragould scored five times in the top of the first on the way to a 5-3 American Legion MidSouth Regional win on Semifinal Saturday in Pelham, Alabama.

“The ball didn’t bounce our way today, but they came out like a house on fire,” Post 218 Manager Kent Getsee said. “These games are tough to win against good teams like that. When a team puts up five runs, it’s really hard to come back from that, but we were on our way and we gave it a whirl.”

The loss ended Washington’s season at 38-3.

“We had a great group of guys,” Post 218 shortstop Sam Paule said. “Going in, our goal was to win state and we accomplished that. After that, it was See Paragould Page 3B

Washington knocks out Panola

Broeker records one-hitter

By Bill Battle battleb@emissourian.com

One was a key number in Friday’s Washington Post 218 American Legion Mid-South Regional contest against Mississippi champion Panola Post 118.

One was the number of runs Post 218 managed, and it was the number of hits Anthony Broeker allowed in a complete game victory, 1-0. “I just put the ball over the plate and made them hit it,” Broeker said. “I just made my defense make the plays like I know they can do.”

Post 218 Manager Kent Getsee said Broeker stepped up at a key time. “He was nails,” Getsee said. “He’s been progressively getting better all year. Using the defense was the big thing. We needed him and he came through for his teammates.”

The win allowed Post 218 (38-2) to advance to Semifinal Saturday in Pelham, Alabama, while the Pirates headed home.

The game also gave Post 218 as many regional wins as the 2021 team had. The 2021 Post 218 Seniors went 2-2 in Hastings, Nebraska. Broeker used 80 pitches to go through the seven innings. He walked two and struck out three. Of the 80 pitches, 53 were strikes. Broeker utilized his defense for 12 groundSee One-Hitter Page 3B

Paule stops

Washington Post 218 catcher Peyton Straatmann reaches to tag out Paragould, Arkansas, Post 17 Glen Sain GMC runner Hayden Nazarenus in the top of the second inning Saturday in Pelham, Alabama. Paragould knocked out Post 218 in the game, 5-3. Washington finished the eight-team tournament tied for third place. Missourian Photo/Bill Battle.

Troy Post 70 claims Mid-South Regional crown

By Arron Hustead husteada@emissourian.com

They saved the no-no for the finals.

Troy, Alabama, Post 70 (24-5-1) sealed the Mid-South Regional championship Sunday with a no-hit pitching effort to defeat Paragould, Arkansas, Post 17 Glen Sain GMC, 9-0.

Jake Johnson struck out nine batters, walked two and beaned one in his no-hit performance on the mound, delivering the regional title to the defending American Legion World Series champions.

The regional victory in Pelham, Alabama, sent Post 70 back to the World Series this coming week in Shelby, North Carolina.

Troy’s bats backed Johnson up with two runs in the bottom of the first, three in the second and four in the third.

Cason Eubanks had a big game at the plate, launching a home run and a triple, driving

in six runs and scoring twice himself. He was also hit by a pitch.

Mason Steele and Drew Shiver both doubled.

Steele walked twice, scored three times and drove in a run.

Shiver walked once and scored twice.

Christian Hill singled.

Matt Snell walked and scored. Tanner Taylor walked twice.

Griffin Duvall was the Paragould hitter plunked by Johnson. Kayson Becker and Matt Gardner each reached on a walk.

Asher Griffin pitched one inning for Post 17 and allowed two unearned runs on one walk and one hit batter with one strikeout.

Hayden Nazarenus took over for 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs (six earned) on four hits and four walks.

Duvall pitched 3.1 shutout innings and allowed one hit and one walk with three strikeouts.

St. John wins three times in Fair Motocross

By Arron Hustead husteada@emissourian.com

Five riders won more than one class Sunday in the Motocross races at the Washington Town & Country Fair.

Nobody won as many times as St. Charles rider Sam St. John, who took first place in the 50cc 7-8 class, the 65cc 7-9 class and the 50cc Open. Ace Enloe of St. Clair, Dylan Burkett of Freeburg, Illinois, Jackson Potashnick of Sikeston and Michael Hicks of Fenton each won two classes.

The top three in each class were as follows:

250cc Intermediate - B — Enloe placed first, followed by Joseph Wegrzyn (Moscow Mills) and Kevin Brower (Wentzville).

250cc Novice - C — Burkett raced to first place with Roger Beilman (Foristell) in second place and Jacob Jones in third.

65cc Open — Jamie Witzig of Labadie raced to first place. Second went to Cash King (Labadie) and third to Maddix Devine (Belle).

50cc 4-6 — Danny Burke of Labadie won the class with second going to Brantley Pepper (Arnold) and third to Jett Nowak (St. Clair).

50cc 7-8 — St. John was followed by William Waldrop (Washington) in second place and Chase Rawson (Bonne Terre) in third.

Supermini (12-16) — Potaschnick was the first to finish this race with Parker McDonald (O’Fallon) coming in second and Ayden Oggesen (Fenton) third.

Motorcyle Beginner — Timothy Conger Jr. won this class. Second place went to Ben Wegrzyn (Moscow

Mills) and third to William Powell (St. Louis).

65cc 7-9 — St. John placed first, King second and Dominic Moore (St. Clair) third.

65cc 10-11 — Korbin Wells of Irondale won the race with Ben Hoffman (Cedar Hill) coming in second and Witzig third.

250cc Expert - A — Hicks finished first with Preston Taylor (Hartings, Nebraska) placing second and Theodore Pauli (Edwardsville, Illinois) third.

Open Intermediate - B — Enloe ranked first in this two-racer class. Nicholas Hastie was the runner-up.

Big Bike Open — Kyle Hussey (St. Charles) won the class. Wegrzyn placed second and third went to Nathan Keith (Union).

50cc Open — St. John completed his third victory. Burke ranked second and Rawson third.

85cc Open — Layton Manning was the race winner. McDonald finished as the runner up with Wells coming in third. 85cc 12-15 — Potashnick earned his second win. Jason Lange (St. Clair) placed second and Campbell Owen third.

Open Novice - C — Burkett notched his second class win, followed by Roger Seger (Pevely) in second place and Keith in third.

Youth Beginner — Oggesen recorded the class win, followed by Kaylee DeClue in second and Emry Henninger (Palmyra) in third.

Open Expert - A — Hicks gained his second victory. Second place went to Carter Gordon (Louisville, Illinois) and third to Hussey.

Fall sports practices start

Monday marked the start of the 2023 fall sports season at high schools around the area.

Athletes in football, volleyball, softball, boys soccer, cross country, girls golf, boys swimming and girls tennis began preparations for the upcoming season.

Some teams might have to make cuts. After that come scrimmages and jamborees. Only

football, volleyball, softball and boys soccer teams are participating in jamborees. The regular season starts Friday, Aug. 25, with the first week of high school football along with softball tournaments in Union and Sullivan.

Practice coverage from area programs will be in upcoming Missourian editions.

Broeker deals

Washington Post 218 pitcher Anthony Broeker sends a

to

Friday against the Panola, Mississippi, Post 118 Pirates. Broeker held

Weather trims part of Friday’s pulling

By Arron Hustead husteada@emissourian.com

The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League nearly got through six of its seven classes Friday at the Washington Town & Country Fair.

Mother Nature put a damper on the festivities near the end of the night, raining out the final three pulls of the Limited Pro Stock class and all six pulls of the Light Limited Super Stock class.

That was after crews had worked against prior rain from Thursday night and Friday morning to prepare the arena for the event, though only one lane was usable.

The storm Friday night prompted the cancellation of Saturday afternoon’s Field Class tractor pull, though Saturday night’s pro pull sanctioned by the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association went on as scheduled.

Event winners for

the completed classes included Jay Butson (Pearl City, Illinois) in the Limited Mini Rods, Jim Bracket (Richland) in the 5.0 Pro Stock, Jerald Grimes (Osborn) in the Light Pro Stock, Bryan Haug (Centralia, Kansas) in the Lightweight Super Stock and Jason Wayman (Novinger) in the Limited Pro Diesel Trucks.

Gage Schottel (Savannah) was leading the Limited Pro Stock class through the first 12 of 15 pulls before the rain out.

Haug’s Lightweight Super Stock pull on “Big Temptation” of 349.43 feet was the top pull of the night in any class.

Rounding out the top placers in that class were Elmer Haug of Centralia, Kansas, (336.64) Todd Maedge of Marine, Illinois, (328.14) and Brian Schramek of Williamsburg (320.56).

In the Limited Mini Rods Class, Butson moved the sled 330.01

feet with “American Ethanol.” Others placing in the top five of the Mini Rod class included Dominic Pecka of Union (311.92), Zach Jasper of Washington (309.79), Austin Jasper of Washington (305.51) and Butson on a second entry (287.2).

Brackett and his tractor, “Hillbilly Xpress” moved the sled 327.29 feet. Jacob Hellebusch of Marthasville had the only other successful pull in the class, going 319.95.

Grimes and “Just Another Buck” pulled the sled 313.45 feet in the Light Pro Stock class. Luke Ross of Kahoka place second at 303.96.

Wayman and his truck, “Megatron,” traveled 283.55 feet with the sled in the Limited Pro Diesel Trucks class.

Rounding out the top five in the class were Dalen Bell of Tuscumbia (280.69), Skyler Leeper of California (276.94), Ryan Stahl of Clear-

mont (275.41) and Craig McElfresh of Rushville (272.54).

Schottel and “Ole Black Magic” reached 312.72 feet in the Limited Pro Stock class.

Following him in the top five at the time of the rain out were Mike Bousema of Worthington (310.36), Makinzie Trinklein of Jefferson City (308.83), Logan Stumph of Columbia, Illinois, (308.82) and Brad Begeman of Mendon, Illinois (307.91).

Pullers who did not get to hook onto the sled in the class included Jarrod Wrothman (Montgomery City), Doug Ruth (no hometown listed) and Adrian Cox (Trenton).

The six pullers in the Light Limited Super Stock class, which was rained out entirely, were Ben Klott (Bowling Green), Carey Franks (Centertown), Josie Otto (Iberia), Cole Robinson (Lucerne), Wyatt Robinson (Lucerne) and Andy Culwell (Meta).

pitch

the plate

the Mississippi champions to one hit in a 1-0 shutout win during the Mid-South Regional in Pelham, Alabama. Missourian Photo/Bill Battle.

Union Squids swim to third in DiRado Division

By Bill Battle battleb@emissourian.com

It was a third-place finish for the Union Swim Team Squids at this year’s Gateway Swimming and Diving League DiRado Division

Meet in Pacific July 15.

Union tallied 1,726 total points to end behind host Pacific (2,435) and Arbor Oaks (1,895).

Finishing fourth was Whispering Hills (919).

Union also was third in girls events (857) and boys events (869).

Pacific scored the most girls points, 1,517, with Arbor Oaks second at 956. Whispering Hills scored 511 girls points.

On the boys side, Arbor Oaks led the way with 939 points. Pacific was next at 918 while Whispering Hills was fourth at 408.

Winning events for the Squids were:

William Melton (boys 9-10 individual medley).

Chris Luckner (boys 11-12 individual medley, freestyle and butterfly).

Haylie Borgmann (girls 7-8 freestyle).

Connor Berry (boys 7-8 freestyle and butterfly).

Hunter Smith (boys 15-18 freestyle).

Ava Smith (girls 7-8 backstroke).

Audrey Dean (girls 11-12 backstroke).

Second-place Squids were:

• Raegan Rice (girls 15-18 individual medley, freestyle and backstroke).

Walker Buckalew (boys 6-Under freestyle and backstroke).

• Ivana Smith (girls 11-12 freestyle and butterfly).

Everett Jacquin Lindsey (boys 13-14 freestyle, backstroke and butterfly).

• Nick Haberberger (boys 15-18 freestyle and butterfly).

Haylie Borgmann (girls 7-8 breaststroke).

Isaiah Smith (boys 9-10 breaststroke).

• Xavier Dean (boys 7-8 backstroke).

Mikayla Weber (girls 15-18 butterfly).

Third-place finishers were:

Mikayla Weber (girls 15-18 individual medley and freestyle).

• Nick Haberberger (boys 15-18 individual medley).

Wyatt Buckalew (boys 9-10 breaststroke).

Kennedy Melton (girls 11-12 breaststroke).

Haylie Borgmann (girls 7-8 backstroke).

Talon Buck (boys 11-12 backstroke).

Tristan Fusco (boys 15-18 backstroke).

Eric Morgan (boys 9-10 butterfly).

Union’s fourth-place swimmers were Ivana Smith, Reagan Melton (thrice), Hunter Smith, Xavier Dean, William Melton, Tristan Fusco, Audrey Dean and Hunter Smith.

Claiming fifth were Kennedy Melton (twice), Kate Haberberger (twice), Elie Jones (twice), Marcus Griffith, Lucas Gremaud, Connor Berry and Isaiah Smith.

Earning sixth were Sadie Mueller, Tristan Fusco, Weston Buckalew (twice), Audrey Dean, Auggie Borgmann, Eric Morgan and Abby Feldmann.

Swimming to seventh were Kate Haberberger, Presley Demyen, Helen Klabunde, Wyatt Buckalew and Sadie Mueller.

Ending eighth were Auggie Borgmann, Eric Morgan, Marcus Griffith and Kinsley Demyen.

Navigating to ninth were Presley Demyen, Abby Feldmann (twice), Michael Jones, Kinsley Demyen, Sadie Mueller and William Melton.

Union’s 10th-place

One-Hitter

outs and five flyouts. Post 218 made one double play as well.

“I knew I had to come out and pitch good,” Broeker said. “I knew I had to work ahead in the count. I knew this was win or go home, so I gave it everything I had.”

Panola’s JP Allen kept up with Broeker for much of the game, holding Washington to just one run on five hits and three walks. He struck out three.

The lone run was tallied in the top of the third. Sam Paule led off with a single on the first pitch.

Reagan Kandlbinder then put down a sacrifice bunt and beat out the throw to first.

Gavin Matchell hit a grounder to shortstop. Paule moved to third, but Kandlbinder was out at second. Matchell hustled to make first.

Kannon Hibbs then hit a 2-2 pitch for an infield single up the middle. Matchell made second.

“It reminded me a little of the Paragould game (Wednesday), when we were getting guys on, but not moving them over,” Getsee said.

“These are good teams. The deeper we get, the better they’re going to be. We’ve got to fully expect them to be 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 games. We’ll see where we land now because everyone is getting a little deeper into their pitching.”

Post 218 nearly had a second run in the frame.

Tanner McPherson singled to left, but Matchell was called out at the plate.

As it turned out, one run ended up being

swimmers were Isaiah Smith, Knight Klabunde and Parker Griffith.

Placing 11th were Wyatt Buckalew, Jayce Wehrman, Maxwell Jacquin Lindsey and Kylee Fusco.

Taking 12th were Elise Williams (twice), Kylee Fusco and Kinsley Demyen.

Scoring for 13th were Helen Klabunde, Maxwell Jacquin Lindsey, Parker Griffith, Talon Buck and Addison Smith.

Union’s 14th place swimmers were Presley Demyen and Trudy Griffith.

Adding a point for 16th was Addison Smith.

Winning relay teams were:

Boys 15-18 freestyle team of Hunter Smith, Nick Haberberger, Tristan Fusco and Lucas Gremaud.

Boys 15-18 medley team of Tristan Fusco, Nick Haberberger, Hunter Smith and Lucas Gremaud.

Second-place relay teams were:

Boys 7-8 freestyle team of Xavier Dean Weston Buckalew, Jayce Wehrman and Connor Berry.

Boys 9-10 freestyle team of Marcus Griffith, Maxwell Jacquin Lindsey, Isaiah Smith and Michael Jones.

Girls 11-12 freestyle team of Kennedy Melton, Parker Griffith, Kinsley Demyen and Presley Demyen.

Girls 15-18 team of Reagan Melton, Kate Haberberger, Mikayla Weber and Raegan Rice.

Girls 11-12 medley team of Audrey Dean, Kennedy Melton, Ivana Smith and Presley Demyen.

• Girls 15-18 medley team of Sadie Mueller, Mikayla Weber, Raegan Rice and Reagan Melton.

• Continued from Page 1B

MID-SOUTH REGIONAL

field to start the fourth inning. One of the walks followed, but Post 218 came up with the double play and got another groundout to end the threat.

Marshall Weaver and Jacob Smith walked.

Drumheller had a sacrifice hit.

The game originally had been scheduled for 11 a.m., but was pushed back to 1 p.m. due to weather. The game had another delay after Post 218 reserve player Justin Mort collapsed during the national anthem.

Broeker was standing next to Mort.

“It kind of shook me a little bit, but I knew we had to do this for him,” Broeker said. “He would want us not to quit.”

Getsee said the team got positive news about Mort’s status by the end of the game.

Mentz snags

Washington Post 218 left fielder Will Mentz tracks down a fly ball against Paragould, Arkansas, Post 17 Glen Sain GMC Saturday at the Mid-South Regional in Pelham, Alabama. Missourian Photo/Bill Battle.

Paragould

regional and nationals. We had a great group of guys, a fun group of guys and I’m glad I got to play with them all season. I’ll remember this forever.”

Post 218 fought back, scoring once in the third and twice in the fourth, but couldn’t find a way to come back from the early deficit.

“We had plenty of opportunities,” Getsee said. “We had the bases loaded twice. The point is that we had guys on and we needed big hits. That would have squashed anything they had in the first inning. When you don’t do that, you’re not going to score.”

Paule came through with Washington’s biggest hit, a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth. Paule’s drive cleared the fence about 20 feet inside the left field foul pole.

“It was a fastball inside on a 1-2 count,” Paule said. “He didn’t throw any offspeed because he was missing with his fastball. Once it got to 1-2, I just shortened up. I’m glad I got a good barrel on the ball.”

Paule had lined out to left on his previous atbat.

“I was running,” Paule said of the home run. “I thought it was going to be short of the fence. It carried and I got good back spin on it. I’m glad it went over. It was a good swing.”

ner McPherson. Washington batters drew nine walks with Will Mentz and Aden Pecka each walking twice.

Paule, Reagan Kandlbinder, Gavin Matchell, Tanner McPherson and Kabren Koelling walked once. Post 218 had other chances to score. Washington had the bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom of the first, but failed to score. A double play ended the inning.

Post 218 also left the bases loaded in the bottom of the third after scoring its first run.

“We played a good game,” Paule said. “We made a good comeback. We just couldn’t collect all of the runs.”

Ryan Weidle threw six scoreless frames after taking over in the second inning. He allowed three hits and two walks.

“Ryan is money,” Getsee said. “He was in the state tournament and he also was that here. We’re thankful he’s on our team.”

Kaden Patke, the winning pitcher in last week’s Missouri State Tournament championship game, took the loss, pitching the first. He allowed five runs on four hits, one walk and one hit batter while striking out two.

• Continued from Page 1B

here.”

Larry Fikes led Paragould with two hits, including a double.

Hayden Nazarenus, Tanner Pierce, Lane England, Griffin Duvall and Matthew Gardner singled.

Kayson Becker, Nazarenus and England walked. Becker was hit by a pitch.

Duvall stole a base.

Becker, Nazarenus, Pierce, England and Fikes scored the runs.

Nazarenus was thrown out at the plate in the top of the second inning with Peyton Straatmann applying the tag following a single by England to center field.

“The sting of this loss will wear off,” Getsee said. “They will look back and know. I think these guys put together the best record and tournament record in our program history. They should be very proud of that.”

Paragould advanced to the championship game after defending World Series champion Troy, Alabama, Post 70 walloped Kansas champion Pittsburg Post 64 in the other Saturday game, 16-1.

Troy won the MidSouth Regional title Sunday with a 9-0 win over Paragould.

Jake Johnson threw a no-hitter for Troy, striking out nine.

enough. Paule, Kandlbinder, Hibbs, McPherson and Karson Eads each singled in the game.

Paule, Noah Hendrickson and Eads walked.

Paule was hit by a pitch.

Kandlbinder put down two bunts with one for a sacrifice and one for a hit.

Defensively, Paule logged six assists while McPherson had four.

Trey

“These guys love each other,” Getsee said. “When Justin went down, they just rallied around him and it was something special. It definitely helped once we found out his situation. He was doing OK, but was just dehydrated. That settled everybody down. We’re thankful he’s OK.”

The other Washington hits were singles by Kannon Hibbs and Tan-

“We’re sad to see a lot of these guys go, but they’re on to bigger and better things,” Getsee said. “It’s been fun while they’ve been

Cason Eubanks slugged a grand slam and added a two-run triple for the winning team.

College Sports Signings

Click signs

Matchell signs

Tomlinson signs

Schmidt signs

New Haven cuts softball

The

not even a pickup of a couple of players in the next week would make a difference.

Spoon signs

St. Clair graduate Hanna Spoon, seated

from

recently signed a letter of intent to run cross country at Jefferson College. Seated with Hanna are her parents, Ken and Kim, and her brother, Chase. Standing are, left to right, Jefferson College Head Coach Chris Sandefur, St. Clair Head Coach Ben Martin and St. Clair Assistant Coach Michael Rodgers.

Submitted photo.

Duggan signs

Tesar signs

Schmidt signs

New Haven

was set to return this season with the team.

New Haven softball isn’t the only sport which will miss this fall.

St. Clair boys soccer also is suspended for a second season.

The team also was halted due to low numbers and hasn’t been able to return.

Sweden knocks out American women at World Cup

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The oncedominant Americans crashed out of the Women’s World Cup on penalties after a scoreless draw with Sweden in the Round of 16. It was the earliest

exit ever for the fourtime tournament champions. The Americans struggled from the start of the World Cup. With the rest of the world catching up in skill and physical conditioning, the future of

the team could look dramatically different.

There’s no guarantee that coach Vlatko Andonovski will continue with the team as it prepares for the next big tournament, the Olympics in France next year.

Washington graduate Cole Click, seated center, recently signed a letter of intent to play soccer at William Woods University. Seated with Cole are his parents, Pam and Neal Click. Standing are, left to right, Washington Head Coach Brian Dougherty, William Woods University Head Coach Tommy Nienhaus and Washington Assistant Coach Terry Pabst, who also coached Click at the Scott Gallagher Soccer Club. Missourian Photo.

third

left,

Washington graduate Gavin Matchell, seated center, recently signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Principia College. Seated with Gavin are his parents, Jen and Mike Matchell. Standing are, left to right, Washington Assistant Coaches Matt Kroeter and Jeff Beck, Washington Head Coach Dane Gough, Assistant Coach Tim Zumsteg, Gavin’s siblings, Caleb, Paige and Emmett, Washington Post 218 Manager Kent Getsee and Washington Activities Director Bill Deckelman. Missourian Photo.

Pacific graduate Hannah Duggan, seated center, recently signed a letter of intent to play softball at University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Seated with Hannah are her parents, Darren and Sharon. Standing is Pacific Head Coach Tonya Lewis. Missourian Photo.

Pacific graduate Annie Tomlinson, seated center, recently signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Stephens College. Seated with Annie are her parents, Thomas and Jessica. Standing are Annie’s sister, Caroline, Pacific Assistant Coach Renee Nickelson and Head Coach Joe Brammeier. Missourian Photo.

Pacific graduate Carrison Tesar, seated right, recently signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Hannibal-LaGrange University. Seated with Carrison is her mother, Erin. Standing are, left to right, Pacific Assistant Coach Renee Nickelson, club coach Spencer Randall and Pacific Head Coach Joe Brammeier. Missourian Photo.

St. Clair graduate Makayla Schmidt, seated center, recently signed a letter of intent for cheerleading at Missouri Baptist University. Seated with Schmidt are coed coaches Jacie Coleman and Andrea Robb. Standing are fellow cheerleaders, left to right, Kelly Wright and Elaina Camerlyn. Submitted Photo.

Veteran

Coach Doug Peirick

Union graduate Anna Schmidt, seated center, recently signed a letter of intent for cheerleading at Missouri State University. Seated with Anna are her parents, Robert and Cindy Schmidt. Standing, from left, are Union Head Coach Sarah Otto and Power Athletix Tumbling Coach Steve Roberts. Missourian Photo.

Big air

Uncontested

A blaze of glory

Scheer power

Side by side

Jamie Witzig flies through the air during the Washington Town & Country Fair motocross race Sunday. Witzig won the 65cc Open class and ran third in the 65cc 10-11 class.

Missourian Photo/Arron Hustead. Green light

Smoke erupts from the “Hillbilly Xpress,” driven by Jim Brackett, as he gets the sign to start his pull Friday at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Brackett won the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League’s 5.0 Pro Stock class at the event. Missourian Photo/Arron Hustead.

Dylan Frerking pulls in the Light Modified class of the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association sanctioned event at the Washington Town & Country Fair Saturday. Frerking’s pull of 307.94 feet was the only pull in the class.

Missourian Photo/Arron Hustead.

Wally Scheer and “Scheer Agri-Vation” pull Saturday at the Washington Town & Country Fair. This was part of the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association event. Missourian Photo/Arron Hustead.

Motocross racers Ayden Oggeson (left) and Jason Lange race into a corner Sunday at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Oggeson ranked third in the Supermini (12-16) class and Lange finished fourth. Missourian Photo/Arron Hustead.

Josh “Porkchop” Garrick entertains the bull riding fans with a flaming bull whip routine Thursday at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Garrick provided entertainment and humor at the Motor Sports Arena in between bull riding contestants.

Missourian Photo/Arron Hustead.

More pickleball courts wanted

By Geoff Folsom folsomg@emissourian.com

A member of the Union Park Advisory Board is calling for the city to provide more dedicated outdoor pickleball courts.

The city now has pickleball lines on its two tennis courts in City Park. It also offers open play pickleball on Monday nights, as well as on weekdays, on the wooden basketball court in Union Memorial Auditorium.

“Monday night we had 28 people here for pickleball,” Jeff Watson said near the end of the Thursday, Aug. 3, park board meeting. “It was crazy. We’re getting more and more.”

“During the week, we’re getting a lot more,” parks department Program Coordinator Angie Breeden added.

Parks Director Chad Pohlmann said the city looked a couple years ago at converting the tennis courts at City Park to hold four pickleball courts. He said estimates came in at $94,000 to resurface the courts, not including the costs for new nets and fencing.

“It’s on our list of projects, but it’s not as high as other things,” he said.

Asked for further comment Friday, Pohlmann said any review of the courts was “very preliminary.”

“There is not a plan, currently,” he said. “Whenever

we’re looking at the configuration, though, to put four pickleball courts there, you would no longer be able to play tennis. It would change that area solely into pickleball.”

The pickleball courts would face east-west, compared to the current north-south configuration of the tennis courts, Pohlmann added.

“We’re not actively doing that,” he said. “If we did, that recommendation would come through the Park Advisory Board. It would give guidance on that.”

Pohlmann’s No. 1 priority remains renovating the large pavilion at City Park, he said at Thursday’s meeting.

“Before it falls in,”

Sip on Main

at a Union Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for their new bar on its first day in business. Sip on Main, located at 201 E. Main St. in Union, features paninis, craft cocktails, shareable appetizers and nonalcoholic beverages. It also has an event rental area.

Breeden added.

Earlier this year, the parks department was turned down in its request for a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that would have paid for half the pavilion project’s $750,964 cost, with the city responsible for the remainder.

The Board of Aldermen then turned down a request for $291,720 to replace the roof at the large pavilion, which was built in 1928, which Pohlmann said would have addressed the primary issue with the building. Union pickleball players could have a more immediate issue on their hands. The city is planning to close the auditorium for several months for

renovations.

“What will I do on Monday nights?” Watson asked.

While it has the popular indoor pickleball program, Union is quickly falling behind Washington in the outdoor game. Players there will soon be able to play pickleball in a new pavilion that is a joint venture between the Washington Town & Country Fair Board and the city. The pavilion is replacing the Entertainment Tent, where small concerts are held, and will house four pickleball courts.

Pickleball is similar to tennis, but it is played on a smaller 44-foot-long by 20-foot-wide court, with a 34-inch-high net.

Fireworks for football could be sanctioned

By Geoff Folsom folsomg@emissourian.com

A man who has been informally setting off fireworks after Union High School football victories wants to make it more official.

Luke Russell told aldermen he discharged a 30-second to a minute fireworks show after Wildcats victories during the 2022 season and part of the 2021 season.

“I guess the (Wildcat) boosters are interested in funding that now, because I’ve been funding that out of my own pocket,” he said. “After my son graduated, they want to keep it going. But for them to pay

for it, I guess they need to go through all the proper channels.”

Russell shoots a four-inch mortar and 500-gram cake during each show, he said at the Monday, Aug. 7, meeting of the Union Personnel, Finance and Public Works Committee.

Russell is not allowed to shoot fireworks on the high school campus, he noted. He had been shooting them from a utility easement.

“Now you’ve got my curiosity,” City Attorney Matt Schroeder said. “We can’t shoot it from a utility easement. If you’re trespassing on an easement, then we can’t give you

• See Fireworks Page 7B

Swimplex fee discussion fizzles again

By Geoff Folsom folsomg@emissourian.com

A month after tabling discussion of raising fees at the Union Splash-N-Swimplex for the 2024 swimming season, the Union Park Advisory Board took no action again at its Aug. 3 meeting because it lacked a voting quorum.

“I don’t want to take people’s time up and go into detail if you don’t want to,” Parks Director Chad Pohlmann said. “I get paid the same. You guys are here on voluntary. I would love to have the conversation in depth.”

Board President Suzy Curnutte asked if the fees

needed to be addressed before the park board’s September meeting, or if it could take it up again then.

“It’s just something that we want to do before next season, so it can stay on the same spot in ‘old business’ and come back next month,” Pohlmann replied, referring to the board’s agenda. “Because we have time. I just don’t want to take it off and then forget about it, and next pool season comes around.”

It is important for the park board to make a recommendation on the fees, Pohlmann said. “There’s a lot more discussion and thought that happens with the bigger

City working on retail projects

By Geoff Folsom folsomg@emissourian.com

Union is working on some potential economic development projects, but city officials are not ready to discuss them yet.

“We’re working on quite a few projects, but most of them are at that stage where we’re still in conversation, progressing along, but they’re not ready for an announcement,” Union Assistant City Administrator James Schmieder told the board of the Union Development Corp. (UDC) at its Thursday, Aug. 3, meeting. “It has a lot more to do with retail development right now. There’s stuff downtown, there’s stuff out east, they’re just longterm projects.”

Economic development prospects can be in development for a year to 18 months before a public announcement is made, Schmieder noted. “A lot of that’s on our radar screen,” he said.

The board also discussed price increases for a required audit of UDC’s finances.

The city has used Sikich LLP, which is based in Naperville, Illinois, and has an office in Washington, for audit and tax services for several years, said Wanda Parsons, city economic development specialist. UDC has been charged $1,500 in years it was audited and $600 in years when it only had tax filings. The audit is required ev-

group of people here, and then it makes another little tier, so that at the committee level, the elected (aldermen and mayor) can then take the recommendation,” he said.

While agreeing the possible fee increases should be discussed in September, Curnutte expressed frustration with the board members who did not attend the meeting, especially those who did not notify the parks department that they wouldn’t make it. That meant five board members showed up, one fewer than the six required for an official meeting.

“You’ve got to get the word out that they need to

show up,” she said. Curnutte also asked parks department officials to change the department’s website to say the meetings are now held the first Thursday each month. As of Monday, Aug. 7, the website still said the park board meetings are on the fourth Thursday, even though the meetings were moved to the first Thursday more than a year ago. Parks Program Coordinator Angie Breeden said attendance has actually improved for park board meetings in recent months. Though no minutes were taken, the board members in attendance informally discussed the pool costs.

Pohlmann said some public pools charge extra for nonresidents, which Union wants to avoid.

“We get a lot of people, because we don’t do that,” Breeden said.

Breeden, who did not attend the July meeting where the initial pool fee discussion was held, said she would like to see the city require pool punch cards be used within the year they are issued, which was a popular sentiment at the July park board meeting. The punch cards allow users to have 20 visits to the pool for $60.

“We still get the white (cards) every once in a

• See Swimplex Page 7B

Sip on Main owners Tyler Catt, left, and Logan Bell share the scissors Wednesday, Aug. 2,

Missourian Photo/Geoff Folsom.

FIREWORKS

CONTINUED FROM 6B

permission to shoot them off there.”

“That’s why I never asked, I just did,” Russell replied. “I was just a dad supporting some kids.”

Russell added he has produced more professional fireworks shows, including in Gerald this year.

Aldermen asked that Russell talk with the Union Fire Protection District to get guidance on where to shoot the fireworks, even suggesting the fireworks be shot from the fire department’s training range behind its station on Springfield Avenue. But that was shot down because it could require additional insurance

SWIMPLEX

CONTINUED FROM 6B

while,” pool manager Kate Schroeder said.

“And that’s been how many years ago?” Breeden asked.

“A lot,” Schroeder replied. Officials said they want the pool to come closer to breaking even financially. The pool lost $94,836 in the 2022 season.

Union currently charges $6 for admission to its pool for adults, seniors and children ages 3 and up. That is $1

RETAIL

CONTINUED FROM 6B

ery other year, according to UDC’s bylaws.

But this year, UDC was notified that the cost of the audit had

and fireworks shot from there would be more visible from the visiting stands at Stierberger Stadium than for the home fans.

“I shot over by Autumn Hill, because it goes off behind the scoreboard for the fans,” Russell said.

Mayor Bob Schmuke suggested Russell shoot fireworks from private property near Autumn Hill School.

Schroeder said aldermen cannot sign off on allowing Russell to shoot fireworks until they know where he will be shooting from. Russell was advised to get permission from the fire department and the property owner, so aldermen can consider

less than Washington’s Agnes Nolting Aquatic Complex and between $1 and $3 less than pools in Eureka, Chesterfield and Manchester. One of the areas the parks department is most concerned about losing money is in rentals of the pool. Union charges more than some cities for pool rentals, at $220 for up to 40 people, $275 for up to 80 people and $400 for the pool’s full 400-person capacity. For the $220 pool

risen to $8,500, plus the cost of the tax filing, which has risen to $1,000.

The audit has to be completed this year, un-

it, possibly at their regular monthly meeting on Aug. 14.

Union High has five scheduled home football games, with the first Sept. 1 against St. Francis Borgia.

The Franklin County Humane Society’s shelter is located across West Main Street from the high school.

“We have several dogs in our care who are sensitive to fireworks, so it is likely they would also struggle with fireworks,” Kaeli Poling with the Humane Society told The Missourian Tuesday.

Poling added they could administer appropriate anxiety medication if provided the date and time of the display.

rental, the city loses $231, Pohlmann said. Union is considering changing pool rentals to be based on whether the renter wants the part of the pool with waterslides, since the slides require 10 total lifeguards in the pool, compared to six guards needed without waterslides. The pool rentals would no longer be based on the number of guests, since they require the same number of lifeguards regardless of how many people are at the pool.

less UDC changes its bylaws, Parsons said.

Board member Ed Strubberg, with accounting firm Langenberg, Strubberg & Arand, LLC, said cost increases are common with entities that are audited.

“It’s industry wide, I played golf Tuesday with a school board member in a neighboring town,” Strubberg said. “Their audit doubled, and they put it out for bid, and nobody responded. Small firms can’t adhere to all the requirements now. There’s no players in the game.”

City Attorney Matt Schroeder was asked if UDC’s audit could “piggyback” on the city’s audit, but Schroeder said it has to be conducted separately. “It’s a separate entity,” he said.

Schroeder said he will review UDC’s options and present them at the September board meeting.

While UDC, a 501c6 nonprofit, has assets, including 44 acres in the Union Corporate Center industrial park, it only has $975 in cash and its bank accounts, according to its financial report.

The Fussbudget

Musings from a curmudgeonly cheapskate

by Geoff Folsom

n Hanging on by Threads

I wrote a while back about how Elon Musk, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and owner of the micro-blogging site Twitter, was threatening to remove the blue checkmark I earned years ago as a verified journalist, as well as the blue checks of thousands of others, if we did not fork over $8 a month to him.

After months of threatening, Musk finally took away the checkmarks in April. It sounds silly, but it was a disappointment for me, since the check showed I’d made some contribution in the business at some point.

I’d threatened to leave Twitter if Musk went forward with removing my blue check. I haven’t gone that far, but I did take the big step of deleting the Twitter app, which Musk is bizarrely renaming “X,” from my phone. Sure I still spend time looking at Twitter on its desktop site, but I think I’ve cut down my time on my screen time significantly.

Ultimately, I’d like to leave Twitter/X and Elon entirely, but the other options for social media sites that deal primarily with disseminating news have not been great. There have been a couple smaller companies, like Bluesky and Mastodon, that sounded promising but did not seem to be attracting many of the Twitter users that I follow to their platforms. So I stuck with Twitter.

Then on July 5, I started seeing many of the people I follow on Twitter post how they were going to a new social media app called Threads. Intrigued, I looked Threads up and found it was being launched by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

Finally, I thought, someone with money is standing up to Elon and his nonsense. But I should have known I could not

trust Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to save the day.

I started creating a Threads account almost as soon as I found out about it. Unfortunately, there were issues immediately.

First off, to join Threads, you need to have an Instagram account. This is something I’ve avoided creating, since I’ve always thought of people on Instagram as being a little full of themselves with their “look at how great my life is” photos. Sure, I too post vacation photos like that on Facebook, but I figure I have to post them somewhere so that I can find them.

And, of course, Instagram/Threads did not have the user name available that I use on Twitter, the simple @GeoffFolsom. I had to settle for the harder to remember @ geoffreymfolsom.

The thing I like about Twitter is it shows me tweets (or xeets) from people I actually follow in the order they were posted. While they have been trying to get away from that

them posts from a week ago, so I guess Zuckerberg thought people would want that on Threads. But Twitter users want more current posts.

It also did not help that most of the accounts I followed on Threads are well know media people or sports and music figures. While following people I know in real life has never been as important on Twitter as it is on Facebook, there were at least a few people on Twitter I actually know, who would follow me back and respond if I tweeted at them. Hardly anyone I know in person is on Threads, and the few well-known reporters or minor celebrities who follow me on Twitter have not followed me back on Threads (I thought they loved me!).

As of a month after joining Threads, I have just one follower, an account called “Zero Star Reviews.”

As if all that was not enough to make me lose interest in Threads, I recently got a reminder of how awful a company

Piggyback Dash approaching

The seventh annual Piggyback Dash race, which includes 10-kilome ter, 5-K and 2-K races, is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23.

The races start and end on Autumn Hill, near Union’s Clark-Vitt

from left, are Operation Clean Stream CoChairmen Leonard Benter and Keith Voss and Secretary Karen Gerlemann. Evan Swoboda, the other winner, is

shown. The next

Submitted Photo/Operation

Recalling flood of ’93

River was finally going down 30 years ago today

Story by Dan Claxton, Missourian Feature Editor Missourian File Photos

TThirty years ago today, the Great Flood of 1993 was ending. Areas which were once green were now covered with a fetid, brown ooze that assaulted the senses. Reaching its highest crest in Washington on July 31, the river was slowly heading back into its banks, putting an end to the worst flooding on the Missouri River on record. For many, the smell is what they remember most of the aftermath of the flood. The cloying smell of rotting vegetation, dead animals, and chemical waste permeated the Washington area. The flood left in its wake devastation and economic loss, but in the end lessons were learned that will help mitigate the damage when, not if, the next flood rolls down the river.

Precursors

Scientists, including those with the STEM Education Institute, theorize that the flood of 1993 actually began with the mighty eruption of Mt. Pinatubo two years before, in June 1991, some 8,000 miles away in the Philippines. According to this theory, a volcanic winter began with the eruption as tons and tons of sulphuric acid droplets were spewed into the atmosphere, partially obscuring the sun and lowering temperatures globally. This created conditions for the soil to retain more moisture.

The droplets also provided “seeds” for the formation of raindrops. Lots and lots of raindrops.

In 1992, these conditions resulted in higher-than-average rainfall in the central United States, according to the National Weather Service. So by the end of 1992, the stage was set: The soil in the midwestern states was already moist, and the increased rainfall was continuing. The upstream dams were holding back lakes that were already full, leaving little room for flood-mitigating water retention. It was, as they say in the movies, the perfect storm waiting to happen.

1993

Jud Kneuvean is the emergency management chief for the Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which encompasses Washington. He said with conditions ripe for a flood, it was simply too much rain in too short a time. “So, soil conditions were right, but the big thing was just precipitation. Some of that rainfall was 150 percent above average, 200 percent in the Kansas River ba-

sin,” he said. Water from the Kansas River flows into the Missouri. “A high-pressure dome formed over the central United States and stuck there for a long time.”

Those conditions resulted in persistent weather patterns that produced storms over the same areas time and time again. Some areas of the Midwest received more than four feet of rain that spring and summer, according to the National Weather Service. And that water was all drained by the Missouri River. There was a harbinger of things to come in March when a spring flood hit the river and it crested above flood stage at Washington for the first time that year. On March 5, the water at Washington climbed the gauge to 20.3 feet, just above the 20-foot flood stage, according to statistics compiled at the time by Missourian weather reporter Bill Battle. Kneuvean said that wasn’t particularly unusual for spring in Missouri. A week later, the water was back in its banks, but Missourians had had their first taste of what was to come.

Another, more serious flood occurred during the second week of May when the water at Washington reached 23.9 feet. Again, not a major flood, but this time there were bad portents as several levy systems in central Missouri showed signs of sliding and sloughing, an indication of weakened levies, according to Kneuvean. For the most part, these warning signs went unheeded.

Mayor Doug Hagedorn is a seventh-generation Washingtonian whose grandfathers both worked on the river, one building dikes and one clearing snags. His parents liked to joke that he was baptized in the river, and while he may not have predicted the Great Flood in March, he has great respect for the river. “It’s a part of me. I look at it every day when I wake up, and I’ve learned it’s one of the most awesome things in our country. It’s a waterway, it’s this ugly drainage ditch at times, but it’s also beautiful, it’s not to be trifled with or taken with anything but the utmost respect,” he said.

Kneuvean said the real flood of ’93 began on the Fourth of July when big rain-producing storms struck much of the Midwest. By that time, Washington had been above flood stage for a little over a day. By July 7, the water level was at 29.75 feet at

James W. Rennick Riverfront Park in Washington, and the flooding was just getting started. From June through August, 10 states reported rainfall amounts surpassing 12 inches per month, with all that water from all those states flowing right by Washington, inundating its airport and the surrounding fields and closing the Route 47 Missouri River bridge after the failure of the levy system, which was a hodgepodge of private and government levies across the river from Washington which were not consolidated.

On July 31, the Missouri River at Washington reached its highest-ever recorded level: 35.4 feet. That time, the river at Washington was above flood stage for 47 consecutive days, from July 2 to Aug. 20, according to previous Missourian reporting.

Hagedorn said the experience was almost beyond description. “You just watched the news every day to see buildings in the flood plain washed away, airplanes floating ... I rode my bike across our bridge, which was closed at the time, and rode on the Augusta Bottom Road,” he said, referring to the road near the airport that sits atop a levy which the river had broken through. “So I rode my bike right up to it, and it was just this humongous, raging torrent through there and it was a religious experience for me, just seeing the power of that.”

In many ways, Washington was lucky. The city’s water supply was unaffected, since it comes from deep wells and not the river. The fact that the city occupies the southern bluff meant water inundation was minimal, although the water did overtop the Union Pacific railroad tracks along Front Street and the roadway itself was breached near Olive Street.

City Administrator Darren Lamb said structural damage was minimal, but not absent. “You did have several homes that were in the flood plain where the city was able to secure funds from FEMA ... and were able to go ahead and do the buyouts,” he said. “Obviously our airport was underwater, so there was some damage.”

The biggest challenge for the city was trying, and ultimately failing, to keep the wastewater treatment plant, which sat in the flood plain on Mission Drive east of the city, above water. Kevin Quaethem, now Washington’s Public Works Supervisor, said they

• See Flood of ’93 on 2C

Three girls run through the floodwater in Warren County. This was not recommended, as the water was full of contaminants. Missourian Photo. Augusta Bottom Road across the river from Washington. Missourian Photo.

The City of Washington near the high-water mark of 35.4 feet, reached on July 31, 1993.

Missourian Photo.

Profiles,

Flood of ’93

simply couldn’t do it, so all of the wastewater being treated in the plant, as well as every toilet flush for several weeks, became part of the Missouri River. “Dilution is the solution,” he said jokingly. “That’s just what happens. You can’t do anything with it, so it just goes out to the river.” People didn’t notice any difference when they flushed their toilets, since the water still flowed toward the river, pulled by gravity, but instead of being treated, it went right into the river, according to Quaethem. “I don’t think most of Washington even knew there was a problem,” he said.

Ironically, the breaking of the levy Hagedorn rode his bicycle down that day was helpful to the city. Quaethem, who was working in New Haven at the time, actually saw a levy break across the river and watched as the water level dropped two feet in a matter of minutes. He said something similar happened in Washington when the levy system across the river failed. “That release of that water, no matter where it was on that side, literally dropped the river by two or three feet almost instantly,” he said. He also credits the Public Works employees who worked diligently to set things right.

What’s that smell?

When the water finally began to recede for the last time on Aug. 20, it left behind a thick layer of silt composed of filth and decay, creating a foul stench that permeated everywhere near the river. According to Kneuvean, it was pretty ugly. “There were a lot more things in the water than people want to think about,” he said. Sewage plants were flooded out, spilling effluent and bacteria into the water. Cemeteries were washed out, sending coffins floating downstream. Rotting crops and other vegetation, chemical fertilizers, dead livestock, and sewage lagoons all contributed to the mix. And there wasn’t much you could do to clean it up except get in it, according to Quaethem. “You take dump trucks and loaders and you just load it up and haul it off,” he said. Finish with a fire hose and call it good.

What about next time?

There is simply no doubt that another flood like

the Great Flood of 1993 will happen again. After all, it happened again in 1995, although not quite so badly. So, officials from the federal level on down have put in place, or plan to put in place, a number of flood-mitigating efforts. The federal government has improved and added to its system of levies, especially on the Kansas River and near St. Joseph, according to Kneuvean. The levies across the river from Washington have also been consolidated into the Missouri Valley Levy System.

But Kneuvean says levies can only go so far. “Doesn’t matter how big a levy system you have, if you think you’ve got it dialed in, Mother Nature’s going to prove you wrong,” he said. Hagedorn doesn’t hesitate when asked what efforts he would like to see: “Raise up Highway 47 or protect it with a levy.” He said the closure of the bridge was the biggest nightmare of the flood for him. Any such effort would take a lot of time,

according to Lamb, and would likely involve the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources, Warren County, the City of Washington, and maybe others. Funding will have to be secured through grants, and the whole process will likely take years.

The wastewater treatment plant has been rebuilt, and Lamb says Washington is in relatively good shape for another flood. “We’re a river town and you know it’s going to happen so you try to get the infrastructure in place to go ahead and deal with it when it does, and get people out of harm’s way and hope that nothing really horrible happens, right?”

But for all that, Kneuvean said our efforts to control Mother Nature are futile. Somewhat reluctantly, he said,“If we were to have the same conditions presented to us now, we would see similar results.”

The furthest breach of the city occurred at Front Street near Olive. Missourian Photo. A stiltwalker fist bumps a Fair attendee as the two pass on a walkway Aug. 5 at the

Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

From left, Isaac Booth, 9, Brook Snider, 10, and others watch Aug. 5 as turtles compete in the Turtle Races. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

YMCA adult literacy program gets donation

By Dan Claxton claxtond@emissourian.com

The Presbyterian Church of Washington donated almost $600 to the Four Rivers Family YMCA’s “Y Community Adult Literacy” program on Monday, Aug.

7.

The program provides free tutoring for adults who want to improve their reading skills. Program Director Diane Schwab says people need to improve their reading ability for a variety of reasons, including becoming citizens, improving their job performance, getting a GED, or getting a driver’s license. A related

citizenship program is closely tied to the literacy program, according to Schwab.

The program also helps people who start with no reading ability at all.

Schwab says they have 30 tutors who put in at least one hour per week helping others, some in a classroom setting, others one-onone.

She says there is only one qualification to become a tutor. “It’s the desire to give back to the community, to help another person along the way,” she said.

Gretchen Farrell of the Presbyterian Church of Washington said her

group donates 10 percent of its annual book sale revenue to the YMCA’s literacy program, because the two seem to go hand-in-hand. “We know that there are so many people that benefit from the Y literacy program, and the materials are not inexpensive — they really cost a lot, so when we give the checks for four, five, six hundred dollars, we know that the materials are going to be used in a great way,” she said.

The YMCA partners with libraries in Washington, St. Clair, Pacific, Union and New Haven. They are preparing to start a new program in Marthasville soon.

Helping people read

Members of the Presbyterian Church of Washington’s Book Sale Committee present a check Aug. 7 to Diane Schwab, director of the Y Community Adult Literacy program. Pictured,

from left,

Missourian Photo/Dan Claxton.

UPCOMING

The VFW Post 2661 Auxiliary is hosting its biannual blood drive Wednesday, Aug. 16, from 2-6 p.m. at 813 Jefferson St. in Washington. Masks are optional and appointments are required. To schedule, visit bloodcenter.org/group, group #11199, or call 800747-5401 for assistance. Give blood and receive your choice of a gift card or a donation to support local teachers. All presenting donors receive a free ice cream sundae or root beer float. For more information, call (636) 390-1802.

Aug. 19

The Hermann Wine & Jazz Festival will present four bands on Saturday, Aug. 19. The event will kick off at 2 p.m. and continue through 9:30 p.m., featuring several well-known jazz performers. Headlining this year’s event is Funky Butt Brass Band, a St. Louis-based band, who is celebrating their 15th year. The Funky Butt Brass Band was formed in 2008 by six talented musicians who respect and revere the New Orleans brass band tradition. The FBBB takes classic New Orleans brass tunes and gives them a twist, in the style of Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rebirth and Bonerama. But don’t be surprised if you also hear some Minneapolis funk, Southern rock, Memphis soul, Chicago blues and St. Louis R&B in the mix.

Aug. 24

nors who gave at the Cardinals drive at the Elks in June and donate at this drive in August, will receive two free Cardinals tickets for next season.

Aug. 24

Join us for music, food and drinks at the Riverfront in Downtown Washington for the August Sunset on the Riverfront Thursday, Aug. 24, at 5 p.m. The event is free and is family-oriented. Music by the Texas Giants, food by Happy Apple & Mosaic Cafe and Catering, and bartenders from Heritage Community Bank.

AUG. 26

Downtown Wash -

ington Inc.’s Foodstock XII will be happening at the Farmers’ Market from 5-10 p.m. Admission is a monetary donation or a bag of nonperishable food items to help fill local food pantries. Live music starts with Unspecific Railroad Band at 5 p.m. followed by Texas Giants Band, The Window Makers, Butch Wax & The Hollywoods and Baglunch Blues Band. For more information, call (636) 239-1743.

Grand Champion sells for $1,358

Ponticello’s Restaurant bought the Grand Champion steer at the Washington Fair for $1,358.50. Lori Kestler, right, exhibited the Grand Champion, a 1,045-pound Angus, which brought $1.30 a pound. From left are Mary Kay Huber, Second Runner-Up in the queen’s contest, Cindy

EVENTS Kiera Blackwell reaches for “snow” Aug. 3 during the Fair’s Christmas in July event. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen. WWW.EMISSOURIAN.COM THE MISSOURIAN WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2023 3C Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively. ANSWERS FOUND IN THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTION est. 1993 224 W. Main Street Downtown Washington 636-390-0026 Mon.-Fri. 10-5 • Sat. 10-3 50%off HUGE SALE AT ENCORE August 7-19 EVERYTHING #1CyberSite DIRECTORY Brought to you by The Missourian. To publish your website, call The Missourian today at 636-239-7701. #1 News Source for Franklin County For links to community websites, go to: emissourian.com/marketplace Auto/Motorcycle Dealers Chris Auffenberg www.auffenbergwashington.com Modern Auto www.modernautoco.com Motorcycles and More, Inc. www.motorcyclesandmore.net Straatmann Toyota www.straatmanntoyota.com Banks Bank of Franklin County www.bankfc.com Bank of Washington www.bankofwashington.com Farmers and Merchants Bank www.fmb4banking.com United Bank of Union www.ubu.bank Oltmann Funeral Home www.oltmannfuneralhome.com Russell Colonial Funeral Home www.russellcolonialfuneralhome.com Funeral Homes Grocery Country Mart www.stccountrymart.com Newspapers The Missourian www.emissourian.com Printers Missourian Media Group www.emissourian.com Professional Services LPL Financial Eric Park & George Meyer www.parkmeyeradvisors.com Shelter Insurance® www.shelterinsurance.com LIST YOUR BUSINESS HERE! www.yoursitename.com KGNV — 89.9 FM “PERFECT SOCIAL DISTANCING” www.goodnewsvoice.org Radio Real Estate Coldwell Banker Premier Group www.coldwellbankerpremier.com Dolan Realtors www.dolanrealtors.com Home Team Realtors www.hometeamrealtors.net RE/MAX Today www.FranklinCountyToday.com Recreation/ Entertainment Blumenhof Winery www.blumenhof.com Downtown Washington www.downtownwashmo.org Pasta House www.pastahouse.com www.missourianmediagroup.com Retail Purcell Tire www.purcelltire.com R&R Family Home Center www.acehardware.com Travel Time To Travel www.time-to-travel.com Autobody Shops Fifth & Oak Autobody www.fifthandoakautobody.com

KMOX is hosting a blood drive Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Washington Elks Lodge #1559 from 2-7 p.m. Call 1-800-Red Cross or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter KMOX to schedule an appointment. Any do -

Geyer, Queen, John Ponticello, Shelly Bueker, Queen, and Joyce Hillermann, First Runner-Up.

Washington Missourian Thursday, August 9, 1973 Pg. 1A

Looking Back

are Robert Van Der Kamp, Barbara Mullins, Kathy Froning, Gretchen Farrell and Schwab.

Aug. 16

Hunter Roetheli, Krakow Go-Getters 4-H Club, was the Class 13 Market Hog Show winner.

Landon Baynes, New Haven 4-H Club, was the Class 14 Market Hog Show winner.

Mason Sturm, Jeffriesburg 4-H Club, was the Class 15 Market Hog Show winner.

Tenley Scheer, New Haven 4-H Club, was the Class 16 Market Hog Show winner.

Maralee Gildehaus, Krakow Go-Getters 4-H Club, was the Class 17 Market Hog Show winner.

Bradley Yoder, Go Hog Wild 4-H Club, was the Class 18 Market Hog Show winner.

Isabelle Enke, St. Clair FFA, was the Class 19 Market Hog Show winner.

Henry Spaunhorst, Campbellton Livestock 4-H Club, was the Class 20 Market Hog Show winner.

Kenedi Meyer, Campbellton Livestock 4-H Club, was the Class 21 Market Hog Show winner.

James Homer, Jeffriesburg 4-H Club, was the Class 22 Market Hog Show winner.

Missourian Photos/Christopher Parker. Photo gallery

Dylan See, second from right, was named the Grand Reserve Champion of Thursday’s Market Hog Show. See is a member of the New Haven 4-H Club and is pictured with the Fair Queen court and judges.

The

Luke Thornton hauls his second-place piglet to the pen Aug. 3 during the 6-year-old category of the Pig Chase. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Liam Schneider, left, congratulates Kale Conway, middle, for winning the pie eating contest Aug. 5 at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Henry Stelzer, 4, pauses with a mouth full of funnel cake Aug. 4 during the Washington Town & Country Fair’s Funnel Cake Eating Contest. Missourian Photo/Veronica Smith.

Kathryn McCleave, 2, visits with Fair royalty, from left, Second RunnerUp Lauren Killian, First Runner-Up Brinna Smith and Miss Congeniality Nicole Brinker Aug. 4 at the Fair. Missourian Photo/Veronica Smith.

Wyatt Patton, 7, of Palo Alto, California, poses with his edible bug creation Aug. 4 at the Fair. Patton and his sister were in town visiting grandparents Nell and Paul Redhage. Missourian Photo/Veronica Smith.

Fairgoers compete in the Cornhole Tournament Aug. 5 at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Aubrey Mueller, 9, of Washington, catches herself at the end of the slide in Agriland Aug. 5 at the Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Josh Bergin strives to finish five chicken wings during the Hot Wing Eating Contest Aug. 5 at the Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Brayden Theiss, 8, lies on his steer while brushing it Aug. 4 at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Annmarie Voss, 5, pedals a tractor Aug. 5 during competition at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Hunter Nelson, 7, sticks his head in a Minion cutout Aug. 3 near the food courts.

Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Fairgoers watch the fireworks Aug. 6 from the Midway at the end of the Washington Town & Country Fair.

Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Norah Sadler, 8, pets a Clydesdale as its handlers watch Aug. 5 at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Judge Ken Bolte assesses Maria Vedder’s cow Aug. 4 during one of the Fair’s dairy shows. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

From left, Maggie, Kristina and Emma Unerstall fix their displays during a flower arrangement class Aug. 5. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Trustee’s Sale

In Re: Garry M. Muse and Sandra L. Muse, husband and wife

TRUSTEE’S SALE

Under the terms of the Deed of Trust executed by Garry M. Muse and Sandra L. Muse, husband and wife dated 09/08/2006, and recorded on 09/12/2006 Document 0620770 in the office of the Recorder of Deeds for Franklin County, MISSOURI, the undersigned Successor Trustee, will on 08/28/2023 at 9:00 a.m. at the North Front Door of the Franklin County Courthouse, 300 E. Main St., Union, MO 63084, sell at public venue to the highest bidder for cash subject to the terms announced at the sale, the realty described in said deed of trust, to wit:

LOT THREE (3) OF DUNNMORE WOODS, A SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTH HALF OF THE NORTHEAST QR. AND PART OF THE SOUTHEAST QR. OF THE NORTHWEST QR. IN SECTION

TWENTY (20), TOWNSHIP FORTY-TWO (42) NORTH, RANGE TWO (2) EAST OF THE 5TH P.M., AS PER PLAT OF RECORD IN PLAT BOOK M PAGE 866 IN THE OFFICE OF THE RECORDER OF DEEDS, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI. Eastplains Corporation

SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE Published in the Washington Missourian File #: MUSGANAT First publication date 08/02/2023

Publish in The Missourian August 2, 9 16 and 23, 2023.

TRUSTEE’S SALE IN RE: Phillip J. Meyers, and Caroline J. Meyers, Husband and Wife Trustee’s Sale: For default

costs are to be paid from the court cost deposit(s) previously posted. Mark Brinkmann Judge 7/21/2023 Publish in The Missourian August 9, 16 and 23, 2023.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY MISSOURI In re: Riley David West, Petitioner

Case No. 23AB-DR00215 JUDGMENT FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF ADULT INDIVIDUAL

Petitioner Riley David West appears in person.

Petitioner's full legal name at birth (prior to first marriage) was same as current full legal name.

• Continued on Page 9C

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED RATE OF TAXES FOR THE NEW HAVEN

Notice

OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. That the valuation of the

$92,575,623

Personal Property $31,225,708

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED RATE OF TAXES FOR THE GERALD AREA AMBULANCE DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that a Public Meeting will be held on the 17th day of August, 2023 at the Gerald Ambulance Building, 6 East Springfield, at 7:00 o’clock P.M. for the purpose of setting the proposed rate of tax levy for the GERALD AREA AMBULANCE DISTRICT. That the valuation of the taxable property within the said District for the year 2022 was as follows:

Real Estate $115,179,008

Personal Property $ 40,132,849

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $155,311,857

That the valuation of the taxable property within the

AREA AMBULANCE DISTRICT for the year 2023, as reported by the State Tax Commission and as shown on the assessment lists of Franklin and Gasconade Counties is as follows:

Real Estate $122,200,470

Personal Property $ 40,861,923

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $163,062,393

That the proposed tax levy of twenty and forty-seven hundred cents ($. 2047) per hundred dollar assessed valuation on the above sum will produce $333,788.72, the amount of revenue required to be provided from the property tax as set forth in the annual budget.

The proposed tax levy is after the required sales tax reduction.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE

GERALD AREA AMBULANCE DISTRICT

Publish in The Missourian August 9 and 16, 2023.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED RATE OF TAXES FOR THE BEAUFORT LESLIE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that a Public Meeting will be held on the 21st day of August, 2023, at the Beaufort Leslie Fire Station #1, 6486 Highway 185, Beaufort, Mo., at 7:00 o’clock P.M. for the purpose of setting the proposed rate of tax levy for the BEAUFORT LESLIE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. That the valuation of the taxable property within the said District for the year 2022 was as follows:

Real Estate $58,600,787

Personal Property $17,285,903

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $75,886,690

That the valuation of the taxable property within the BEAUFORT LESLIE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT for the year 2023, as reported by the State Tax Commission and as shown on the assessment lists of Franklin County are as follows:

Real Estate $62,417,040

Personal Property $16,695,247

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $79,112,287

That the proposed tax levy of forty-two and eight hundred cents ($.4208) per hundred dollar assessed valuation on the above sum will produce $332,904.50, the amount of Revenue required to be provided from the property tax as set forth in the annual budget.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BEAUFORT LESLIE FIRE PROTECTION

DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY

Publish in The Missourian August 9 and 16, 2023.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR

PROPOSED RATE OF TAXES FOR THE UNION AMBULANCE DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY

Notice is hereby given that a Public Meeting will be held on the 23rd day of August, 2023, at the Union Ambulance Building, 211 South Church, at 7:00 o’clock P.M. for the purpose of setting the proposed rate of tax levy for the UNION AMBULANCE DISTRICT. That the valuation of the taxable property within the said District for the year 2022 was as follows:

Real Estate $347,925,851

Personal Property $106,202,543

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $454,128,394

That the valuation of the taxable property within the UNION AMBULANCE DISTRICT for the year 2023, as reported by the State Tax Commission and as shown on the assessment lists of Franklin County, are as follows:

Real Estate $364,421,930

Personal Property $ 98,739,002

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $463,160,932

That the proposed tax levy of thirty-two hundred cents ($.0032) per hundred dollar assessed valuation on the above sum will produce $14,821.15, the amount of Revenue required to be provided from the property tax as set forth in the annual budget. The proposed tax levy is after the required sales tax reduction.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UNION AMBULANCE DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Publish in The Missourian August 9 and 16, 2023.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED RATE OF TAXES FOR THE UNION FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that a Public

CREEK SEWER DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Notice is hereby given that a Virtual Public Meeting will be held on the 16th day of August, 2023, via WEB-EX, at 6:00 o’clock p.m. for the purpose of setting the proposed rate of tax levy for the CALVEY CREEK SEWER DISTRICT. All interested parties should contact the district chairperson at 636-577-5977 for virtual meeting sign-in instructions.

That the valuation of the taxable property within the CALVEY CREEK SEWER DISTRICT for the year 2022 was as follows:

Real Estate $20,376,275

State Assessed Railroad & Utilities $ 2,424,355

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $22,800,630

That the valuation of the taxable property within the CALVEY CREEK SEWER DISTRICT for the year 2023, as reported by the State Tax Commission and as shown on the assessment lists of Franklin County, are as follows:

Real Estate $22,637,599

State Assessed Railroad & Utilities $ 4,514,986

TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION: $27,152,585

That the proposed tax levy of thirty-two and ninety-nine hundred cents ($.3299) per hundred dollar assessed valuation on the above sum will produce $89,576.38, the amount of revenue required to be provided from the property tax as set forth in the annual budget.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF

CALVEY CREEK SEWER DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Publish in The Missourian August 9 and 16, 2023.

LEGALS

Public Notice IN THE 20TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI Judge or Division: JOSEPH W. PURSCHKE

Case Number: 23AB-PR00131 ARIA S HULSEY

Plaintiff/Petitioner: SHELLY LYNN HULSEY vs.

Defendant/Respondent: Nature of Suit:

PR Guardianship - Minor NOTICE UPON ORDER FOR SERVICE

BY PUBLICATION

The State of Missouri to: LONNELL DIXON POE

UNKNOWN

You are notified that an action has been commenced against you in the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Missouri, the object and general nature of which involves guardianship and which affects the following minor: Aria S. Hulsey.

The names of all parties in this action are stated in the caption above and the name and address of the attorney for the petitioner is:

SCOTT A. FULFORD, ROBINSON & FULFORD LLC, 24 S. CHURCH ST., UNION, MO 63084, 636583-7908

You are further notified that, unless you file an answer or other pleading or otherwise appear and defend against this action within 45 days after AUGUST 9, 2023, judgment by default will be entered against you. (seal) 07/31/2023 Connie Ward, Clerk BY: /S/ CC, DEPUTY CLERK Publish in The Missourian August 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2023.

ORDER OF PUBLICATION OF NOTICE

(Civil Rule 54.17 Rev. 1973)

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI JUVENILE DIVISION

JORDAN VIGLASKI

You are hereby notified that an action has been commenced against you in the

IN THE 20TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI Judge or Division: JOSEPH W. PURSCHKE

Case Number: 23AB-PR00129 MA’LIAH LEANN HULSEY-ARMSTRONG Plaintiff/Petitioner: SHELLY LYNN HULSEY vs. Defendant/Respondent:

Nature of Suit:

PR Guardianship - Minor NOTICE UPON ORDER FOR SERVICE

BY PUBLICATION

The State of Missouri to: MICHAEL ARMSTRONG UNKNOWN

You are notified that an action has been commenced against you in the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Missouri, the object and general nature of which involves guardianship and which affects the following minor: Ma’liah Leann Hulsey-Armstrong

The names of all parties in this action are stated in the caption above and the name and address of the attorney for the petitioner is:

SCOTT A. FULFORD, ROBINSON & FULFORD LLC, 24 S. CHURCH ST., UNION, MO 63084, 636583-7908

You are further notified that, unless you file an answer or other pleading or otherwise appear and defend against this action within 45 days after AUGUST 9, 2023, judgment by default will be entered against you. (seal) 07/31/2023 Connie Ward, Clerk BY: /S/ CC, DEPUTY CLERK Publish in The Missourian August 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2023.

“Notice for Interpreting the Limits of the Floodway for Linear Infrastructure Projects Complying with HUD Floodplain Management Regulations, 24 CFR Part 55HUD. The proposed project is located in Franklin County.

The purpose of the project is to combine the three existing sewer districts of Labadie Sewer District, Beauty View Sewer District and Gray Summit Sewer District. This will include improvements to the Labadie Wastewater Treatment Plant and the elimination of the Gray Summit and Beauty View Treatment Plants. This will assist the District in meeting current and future EPA and DNR regulations. A new force main will be installed from the City of Labadie running down along Highway MM to Beauty View Subdivision with new grinder systems. A new gravity main will be installed from the Beauty View Subdivision, along Highway MM to Gray Summit Hills with new lift systems installed. A NitrOx Wastewater Treatment System and UV Disinfection will be installed at the Labadie Treatment Plant. Lagoon stabilization and treatment plant sitework will also be included. Underground pipelines may pass under a floodway if installed by construction technology such as directional drilling or any technology that would not disturb the stream or floodway. There are two methods being considered for the area of the floodplain/floodway, underground directional boring or open cutting. If boring is selected for the project, there will be 2,250 feet (0.05 acres) in the floodplain/floodway. If open cutting is selected, 4,500 feet (0.1 acres) will be located within the floodplain/floodway. A Floodplain Development Permit will be acquired before any work may begin.

Additionally, an Engineering “No-Rise” analysis will be conducted. All conditions of the local floodplain ordinance will be followed. There are three primary purposes for this notice.

First, people who may be affected by activities in floodplains and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment should be given an opportunity to express their concerns and provide information about these areas.

Commenters are encouraged to offer alternative sites outside of the floodplain, alternative methods to serve the same project purpose, and methods to minimize and mitigate impacts. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an important public educational tool. The dissemination of information and request for public comment about floodplains can facilitate and enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks and impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of these special areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will participate in actions taking place in floodplains, it must inform those who may be put at greater or continued risk.

Written comments must be received by Franklin County at the following address on or before August, 24, 2023: Franklin County, 400 East Locust Street, Union, MO 63084 and (636) 583-6358, Attention: Tim Brinker, Presiding Commissioner. A full description of the project may also be reviewed from 8:00 a.m. –4:30 p.m. at 400 East Locust Street, Union, MO 63084. Comments may also be submitted via email at EHellmann@franklinmo.gov.

Date: August 9, 2023

Publish in The Missourian August 9, 2023.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF FRANKLIN STATE OF MISSOURI CRAIG KELEMEN, Plaintiffs, vs. ALVIN FREESE, deceased, and LOUISE FREESE, deceased and DAVID L. FREESE, and ALL OF THE UNKNOWN AND/ OR UNBORN HEIRS, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, DONEES, ALIENEES, LEGATEES, ADMINISTRATORS, EXECUTORS. GUARDIANS, MORTGAGEES, TRUSTEES AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF ALVIN FREESE and LOUISE FREESE, Defendants Cause Number: 23AB-CC00092 Division No. 2 NOTICE UPON ORDER FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION The State of Missouri to Alvin Freese, Louise, Freese and all of their unknown and/or unborn heirs, devisees, grantees, successors, assigns, donees, alienees, legatees, administrators, executors, guardians, mortagees, trustees and successors in interest. You are hereby notified that an action has been commenced against you in the Circuit Court for the County of Franklin, State of Missouri, the object and general nature of which is to quiet the title of the following described real estate located in Franklin County, Missouri of Plaintiff (including all mineral rights appurtenant thereto), to-wit: Parcel 1: Part of Lot Nineteen (19), Block C of

AUBUCHON BUESCHER GOODALE &, BARDOT LLC, 104 S. MCKINLEY STE. B, UNION, MO 63084 636-583-4541 You are further notified that, unless you file an answer or other pleading or otherwise appear and defend against this action within 45 days after August 2, 2023, judgment by default will be entered against you. (seal)

07/24/2023 Connie Ward, Clerk

BY: /S/ CC, DEPUTY CLERK Publish in The Missourian August 2, 9,

year floodplain, and Franklin County will be identifying and evaluating practicable alternatives to locating the action in the floodplain and the potential impacts on the floodplain from the proposed action, as required by Executive Order 11988, in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 55.20 Subpart C Procedures for Making Determinations on Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands.

Floodplains and wetlands have natural values such as floodwater storage, floodwater conveyance, and habitat for flora and fauna. The floodway is the effective part of the floodplain conveying the water. The project will follow guidance found in

Jay Demarcus, left, and Tom Yankton rock out Aug. 5 during Generation Radio’s Fair performance as Yankton strums his guitar with a drill on the Main Stage. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Big Kenny walks out on the catwalk at the beginning of Big

Rich’s performance Aug. 5 at the Fair. Missourian Photo/Julia Hansen.

Rusty Crewse wails on his guitar as Missouri plays Aug. 6 at the Wash

ington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

Todd Pettygrove sings Aug. 6 during Shooting Star’s performance at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian Photo/Antjea Wolff.

PERFORMANCES

7:30-8:30PM

The Missourian has a one-shift-per-week special opportunity in our Mailroom for the right person!

Wednesday 3:00 p.m.-Thursday 1:00 a.m. (10 hours/paid lunch)

When successful, position could lead to additional opportunities or not, your choice! email resume to paynet@emissourian.com or send resume to:

C/O Tim Payne 6321 Bluff Road •Washington, MO 63090

•

Missouri Mentor/Sevita

is hiring in your area.

• Caregiver/Direct Support Professionals – $18

THRIVE AS A CAREGIVER AT SEVITA.

You’ll assist people with their personal hygiene and support individuals who can have behavioral challenges and other complex needs. You’ll support people with housekeeping, shopping, outings, and appointments.

EVERY PERSON DESERVES A FULFILLING CAREER

• Competitive Pay: Pay on Demand, Full benefits package for employees working 30+ hours/week, including a 401(k) with a 3% company match

• Time Off: Paid time off plus holiday pay to recharge so you can be your best at work

• Network of Support: Supervisors who care deeply about the participants and your well-being

• Job Security: A stable job at an established, growing company

• Learning and Development: We invest in your development and provide the tools and training you need to have a fulfilling career Visit sevitacareers.com to apply today!

Full-Time Receptionist

NEC Insurance of Pacific, Mo.,

currently accepting applications for full-time receptionist to join our team. Entry level position with opportunity for advancement. Applicants should be reliable, energetic, friendly, professional with a good attitude and excellent communication skills. Job duties include answering phones, directing customers, data entry, scanning and other light office duties. Comprehensive benefit package includes medical, dental, vision and life insurance and 401(k) after eligibility period.

Please email resume to melissas@necins.com or send to

308 NOONAN DRIVE, PACIFIC, MO 63069

Day

– M-F, 6am – 2:30pm

Must have experience – forklift experience ok. INCOMING

Day Shift – M-F, 6:30am – 3pm

Perform quality audits on our different products from various suppliers and facilities to ensure our quality standards are met.

Prepare reports of findings/testing through various software including Microsoft Excel, Word and utilize Microsoft file system and email (outlook).

Experience with or ability to learn JD Edwards E1 ERP system. Willingness to learn to operate material handling equipment, such as forklifts.

All positions Must be able to walk, sit, bend, turn and lift up to 50 lbs for full shift.

APPLY IN PERSON:

200 Westlink Drive, Washington, MO 63090 OR EMAIL RESUME TO: washmojobs@rawlings.com

•

•

Mercy Careers:

Mercy Careers:

Mercy

Now

•LPNs

•

•Patient Care Associate

•Patient Care Associate

•Medical Lab Technician

•Medical Lab Technician

•Physical Therapist

•Physical Therapist

•

•Respiratory Therapist

•Respiratory Therapist

•Facility Systems Technician

•Facility Systems Technician

•Cooks

•

•Cooks

•Food Service Technician

•Food Service Technician

IN

the Estate of: RICHARD JOSEPH MCFALL, Deceased. NOTICE OF LETTERS TESTAMENTARY GRANTED (Independent Administration - Non-Resident Fiduciary) To All Persons Interested in the Estate of RICHARD JOSEPH MCFALL, Decedent: On August 1, 2023, the last will of Decedent having been admitted to probate, the following individual was appointed the personal representative of the estate of RICHARD JOSEPH MCFALL, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Missouri. The personal representative may administer the estate independently without adjudication, order, or direction of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, unless a petition for supervised administration is made to and granted by the court. The name and business address is: MARY ANNE HEDERMAN, 311 BRADINGTON DR., COLUMBIA, IL 62236. The personal representative’s attorney’s name, business address and phone number is: ANNA M. MORRISSEY, 168 S. PAYNE STEWART DR., STE. 150, BRANSON, MO 65616, 417-335-3550 The non-resident personal representative’s designated agent’s name, business address and phone number is: ANNA M. MORRISSEY, 168 S. PAYNE STEWART DR., STE. 150, BRANSON, MO 65616, 417-335-3550. All creditors of said decedent are notified to file claims in court within six months from the date of the first publication of this notice or if a copy of this notice was mailed to, or served upon, such creditor by the personal representative, then within two months from the date it was mailed or served, whichever is later, or be forever barred to the fullest extent permissible by law. Such six-month period and such two-month period do not extend the limitation period that would bar claims one year after Decedent's death, as provided in Section 473.444, RSMo, or any other applicable limitation periods. Nothing in Section 473.033, RSMo, shall be construed to bar any action against a decedent's liability insurance carrier through a defendant ad litem pursuant to Section 537.021, RSMo. Date of the decedent's death: February 6, 2023

of first

publication: August

2022

Date of first publication: August 9, 2023

CONNIE WARD, CIRCUIT CLERK

BY:

/S/ SCARLETT BORGMANN, DEPUTY CLERK

beneficial interest in the estate. The nature and

extent

Klecka, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Missouri.

The personal representative’s business address is: CHRISTOPHER KLECKA, 1403 PEACH TREE, PACIFIC, MO 63069.

The personal representative’s attorney’s name, business address and phone number is:

BRANDON WAYNE BARDOT, AUBUCHON BUESCHER &, GOODALE LLC, 104 S. MCKINLEY AVE., STE. B, UNION, MO 63084-1800, 636-583-4541.

IN THE 20TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI Judge or Division: PROBATE Case Number: 23AB-PR00233

In the Estate of:

Matthew B. Pauk, Deceased. NOTICE OF LETTERS TESTAMENTARY GRANTED (Independent Administration)

To All Persons Interested in the Estate of Matthew B. Pauk, Decedent: On July 24, 2023, the last will of Decedent having been admitted to probate, the following individual was appointed the personal representative of the estate of Matthew B. Pauk, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County Missouri. The personal representative may administer the estate independently without adjudication, order, or direction of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, unless a petition for supervised administration is made to and granted by the court.

The name and business address of the personal representative is : JEROME PAUK, 274 PAUK DRIVE , LESLIE, MO 63056

The personal representative’s attorney’s name, business address and phone number is:

BRANDON BARDOT, AUBUCHON BUESCHER & GOODALE LLC, 104 S. MCKINLEY AVE., STE. B, UNION, MO 63084-1800, 636-583-4541.

Date of the decedent's death: November 28, 2022

Date of first publication: August 9, 2023

CONNIE WARD, CIRCUIT CLERK

CAROL COFFMAN, DEPUTY CLERK

Receipt of this notice by mail should not be construed by the recipient to indicate that the recipient necessarily has a beneficial interest in the estate. The nature and extent of any person's interest, if any, can be determined from the files and records of this estate in the Probate Division of the above referenced Circuit Court. Publish in The Missourian August 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2023.

ily has a beneficial interest in the estate. The nature and extent of any person's interest, if any, can be determined from the files and records of this estate in the Probate Division of the above referenced Circuit Court. Publish in The Missourian July 19, 26, August 2 and 9, 2023.

COURT,

CIRCUIT

Case Number:

TESTAMENTARY GRANTED (Independent Administration)

To All Persons Interested in the Estate of RONALD E. EMIG, Decedent: On June 30, 2023, the last will of Decedent having been admitted to probate, the following individual was appointed the personal representative of the estate of RONALD E. EMIG, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Missouri. The personal representative may administer the estate independently without adjudication, order, or direction of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, unless a petition for supervised administration is made to and granted by the court.

The name and business address of the personal representative is:

CLAIRE JOHNSON, 5012 EAGLE WING CT., EUREKA, MO 63025

The personal representative’s attorney’s name and business address is:

ber is: ADAM JOHN PIONTEK, 30 S. MCKINLEY AVE., UNION, MO 63084, 636583-5103.

All creditors of said decedent are notified to file claims in court within six months from the date of the first publication of this notice or if a copy of this notice was mailed to, or served upon, such creditor by the personal representative, then within two months from the date it was mailed or served, whichever is later, or be forever barred to the fullest extent permissible by law. Such six-month period and such two-month period do not extend the limitation period that would bar claims one year after the decedent's death, as provided in Section 473.444, RSMo, or any other applicable limitation periods. Nothing in Section 473.033, RSMo, shall be construed to bar any action against a decedent's liability insurance carrier through a defendant ad litem pursuant to Section 537.021, RSMo.

Date of the decedent's death: October 3, 2022

Date of first publication: August 2, 2023

CONNIE WARD, CIRCUIT CLERK BY: /S/ CAROL COFFMAN, DEPUTY CLERK

IN THE 20TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI Judge or Division: PROBATE Case Number: 23AB-PR00220

In the Estate of: PATSY L. KRAMME, Deceased.

NOTICE OF LETTERS

TESTAMENTARY GRANTED (Independent Administration) To All Persons Interested in the Estate of PATSY L. KRAMME, Decedent:

On August 1, 2023, the last will of Decedent having been admitted to probate, the following individual was appointed the personal representative of the estate of PATSY L. KRAMME, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County Missouri. The personal representative may administer the estate independently without adjudication, order, or direction of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, unless a petition for supervised administration is made to and granted by the court.

The name, business address and phone number of the personal representative is:

MICHELE L. NELSON, 1340 BRIGHTON CREST DRIVE, O'FALLON, MO 63366

The personal representative’s attorney’s name, business address and phone number is:

PRUDENCE F. JOHNSON, 17 S. OAK ST., STE. 100, UNION, MO 630841809, 636-583-5929

All creditors of said decedent are notified to file claims in court within six months from the date of the first publication of this notice or if a copy of this notice was mailed to, or served upon, such creditor by the personal representative, then within two months from the date it was mailed or served, whichever is later,

All creditors of said decedent are notified to file claims in court within six months from the date of the first publication of this notice or if a copy of this notice was mailed to, or served upon, such creditor by the personal representative, then within two months from the date it was mailed or served, whichever is later, or be forever barred to the fullest extent permissible by law. Such six-month period and such two-month period do not extend the limitation period that would bar claims one year after the decedent's death, as provided in Section 473.444, RSMo, or any other applicable limitation periods. Nothing in Section 473.033, RSMo, shall be construed to bar any action against a decedent's liability insurance carrier through a defendant ad litem pursuant to Section 537.021, RSMo.

Date of the decedent's

death: JUNE 4, 2023

Date of first publication: AUGUST 9, 2023

CONNIE WARD, CIRCUIT CLERK

BY: /S/ SCARLETT BORGMANN, DEPUTY CLERK

In the Estate of: ROLLAND K. RILEY, Deceased.

NOTICE OF LETTERS TESTAMENTARY GRANTED (Independent Administration - Non-Resident Fiduciary) To All Persons Interested in the Estate of ROLLAND

K. RILEY, Decedent: On June 29, 2023, the last will of Decedent having been admitted to probate, the following individual was appointed the personal representative of the estate of ROLLAND K. RILEY, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Missouri. The personal representative may administer the estate independently without adjudication, order, or direction of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, unless a petition for supervised administration is made to and granted by the court. The name and business address is: CAROL BURKE HIBBS, 1641 GREEN BRANCH CIRCLE, WEST DES MOINES, IA 50265. The personal representative’s attorney’s name and business address is:

JOSHUA BRADLEY HUTKINS, 600 WASHINGTON AVE., 15TH FL., SAINT LOUIS, MO 63101. The non-resident personal representative’s designated agent’s name, business address, and phone number is:

314-231-3332. All creditors of said decedent are notified to file claims in court within six months from the date of the first publication of this notice or if a copy of this notice was mailed to, or served upon, such creditor by the personal representative, then within two months from the date it was mailed or served, whichever is later, or be forever barred to the fullest extent permissible by law. Such six-month period and such two-month period do not extend the limitation period that would bar claims one year after Decedent's death, as provided in Section 473.444, RSMo, or any other applicable limitation periods. Nothing in Section 473.033, RSMo, shall be construed to bar any action against a decedent's liability insurance carrier through a defendant ad litem pursuant to Section 537.021, RSMo. Date of the decedent's death: October 4, 2022 Date of first publication: July 19, 2023 CONNIE WARD, CIRCUIT CLERK BY: /S/ CAROL COFFMAN, DEPUTY CLERK Receipt of this notice by mail should not be construed by the recipient to indicate that the recipient necessar-

JONATHAN DOWNARD, 315 EAST MAIN STREET, UNION, MO 63084. All creditors of said decedent are notified to file claims in court within six months from the date of the first publication of this notice or if a copy of this notice was mailed to, or served upon, such creditor by the personal representative, then within two months from the date it was mailed or served, whichever is later, or be forever barred to the fullest extent permissible by law. Such six-month period and such two-month period do not extend the limitation period that would bar claims one year after the decedent's death, as provided in Section 473.444, RSMo, or any other applicable limitation periods. Nothing in Section 473.033, RSMo, shall be construed to bar any action against a decedent's liability insurance carrier through a defendant ad litem pursuant to Section 537.021, RSMo.

Date of the decedent's

death: October 4, 2022

Date of first publication: July 19, 2023

CONNIE WARD, CIRCUIT CLERK

BY: /S/ CAROL COFFMAN, DEPUTY CLERK Receipt of this notice by mail should not be construed by the recipient to indicate that the recipient necessarily has a beneficial interest in the estate. The nature and extent of any person's interest, if any, can be determined from the files and records of this estate in the Probate Division of the above referenced Circuit Court. Publish in The Missourian July 19, 26, August 2 and 9, 2023.

IN THE 20TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI Judge or Division: PROBATE Case Number: 23AB-PR00137

In the Estate of:

JENNIFER JOUETT, Deceased.

NOTICE OF LETTERS

TESTAMENTARY GRANTED

(Independent Administration)

To All Persons Interested in the Estate of JENNIFER JOUETT, Decedent:

On July 11, 2023, the last will of Decedent having been admitted to probate, the following individual was appointed the personal representative of the estate of JENNIFER JOUETT, decedent, by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Franklin County Missouri. The personal representative may administer the estate independently without adjudication, order, or direction of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, unless a petition for supervised administration is made to and granted by the court.

The name and business address of the personal representative is: ABBIE KIPP, 2061 HIGHWAY A, WASHINGTON, MO 63090

whichever is later, or be forever barred to the fullest extent permissible by law. Such six-month period and such

two-month

Soetebier died Aug. 3

Bonnie J. Soetebier, nee Scheer, 79, Union, passed away Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. Visitation was held from 4-8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, at Oltmann Funeral Home, Union.

A funeral service was held at 11 a.m.

Wanda L. Petry

- 1 928 – 2 023Wanda Laverne Petry, nee Stone, 95, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington.

She was born May 15, 1928, in Shelbina to Raymond Stone and wife Essie, nee Wol fe. Wanda grew up in Quincy Illinois, and graduated from Quincy High School in 1946 She was united in marriage to Robert “Bob” Petry, July 9, 1948, in Quincy, Illi nois. Two daughters and one son blessed their marriage.

Shortly afte r their marriage, Bob was asked to relocate for work, so the couple moved to Detroit, Michigan. The couple later moved back to Quincy then to St Charles and settled in Cuba after Bob retired. Wanda was primarily a homemaker but also worked a co uple of part-time positions outside of the home. She also worked at department stores and as an office administ rator for a chiropractic practice in St. Charles

In her youn ger years, Wanda learned to play the violin and played with the “Teeney-Weeney Orchestra” in elementary school. She also learned to play the piano and became a talented pianist She le arned to play by ear, replicating songs simply by list en ing and enjoyed sharing her talent and love for music with the elderly in retirement homes After she and her husband retired, Wanda and Bob enjoyed traveling on bus trips and visiting family members and frien ds. She was a longtime volunteer at the Golden Echoes in Steelv ille.

She is survived by three children, Linda Henderson and husband Harry, Beaufort, Charlotte Albright and husband Warren, Troy and Tom Petry and wife Ann Magnolia, Texas; eight grandchildren, Jason Henderson (Brittany), Douglas Henderson , Beverly Heidbrink , Marsha Rice (Greg), Paul Albright, Robert Petry, Julie Petry and Stephen Petry; seven great-grandchildren, Bryson and Aubree Henderson , Carah Lowery (Sam), Zac Labrier, Devin Olds, Hailey Rice and Seth Albright; one sister-inlaw, Aleene Petry, Placentia, California; nieces; nephews; other relatives and many dear friends.

Wanda was preceded in death by her tw in brother in infancy; her parents, Raymond and Essie Stone; parents-inlaw, William and Cecilia Petry; three brothers-in-law, William (JoAnn) Petry, Ronald Petry and Paul (Donna) Petry; and one sister-in-law, Eileen (Peter) Rahill

Wanda will be laid to rest Monday, Aug. 14, with her beloved husband of nearly 74 years at Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville

In lieu of flowers memorial do nations may be made to Golden Echoes of Steelville

Marian E. Gerling

- 1 930 – 2 023 -

Adkison service Aug. 10

Dannie L. Adkison, 86, passed away Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. A memorial visitation will be held at Midlawn Funeral Home, Union, from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, with a memorial service and military

honors following at 6 p.m.

He is survived by three sons, Monte and wife Diana Kleinberg, Stanton, Josh Reagan and Tommy; two daughters, Tammy and Cheryl; other relatives and friends.

Meyer passed Aug. 5

Glen D. Meyer, 89, Washington, passedaway Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Visitation will be held Friday, Aug. 11,

from 9-11 a.m. at Nieburg-Vitt, Miller Funeral Home, Washington, with a memorial service following at 11 a.m

Erna Mae Boles

- 1 941 – 2 023 -

Erna Mae Boles, 81, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend passed away peacefully Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Washington.

Born Nov. 21, 1941, in Leslie, Erna Mae was a beacon of love , faith and devotion to her family, friends and community. She was a proud graduate of Union High School Her dedication to her work was evident throughout her career where she se rved as a secretary in various capaci ties, including the Unio n Sc hool District and the Meramec Valle y R-III School District as a payroll clerk from where she retired in 2001 Her spirit of service extended to her church where she was an active member and served as the secretary for the Antioch Christian Church LIFT (Ladies in Fellowship Together). Erna Mae vo lunteered for several service organizations as well

Erna Mae was united in marriage to her first husband, James Hendricks March 12, 1960, in Beaufort. She was an excellent homemaker raising their three daughters while working full time. Despite her busy career, she always found time to enjoy life and create beautiful memories with her family. Travels with James and the girls to Pomme De Terre Lake were fondly re membered as were fishing trips and the simple joy of spending time together.

After James' passin g in 2001, Erna Mae found love again with her childhood friend, Jim Boles They were united in marriage on March 27, 2010, and enjoyed traveling to places like Alaska, Maine an d California. Even simple drives through the country brought them joy. Erna Mae also was a lover of gospel music and enjoyed day trips to the Meramec Music Theater.

Erna Mae was a de vout Christian woman wh o loved people like Jesus does Her faith was an integral part of her life, and she was a lo ngtime member of First Christian Church of Union, later Antioch an d most recently Spring Bluff Baptist Church Her love for people was evident in her active participation in church activi ties and her role as a steadfast friend to many.

Marvin L. Drewel, 79, Union, passed away Sunday, July 30, 2023. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, and from 9 a.m. to time of service at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at Russell Colonial Funeral

Marian E. Ger ling, nee Pruessner, 93, Washington, passed away Friday, August 4, 2023.

Mrs Gerling, daughter of the late Elmer Pruessner and wife Frances, nee Giebler, was born June 23, 1930, in New Haven. She rece ived her education from New Haven High School

On Oct. 14, 1950, she was united in marriage to Alvin Gerling at St Pe ter's U.C.C. in New Haven

Mrs. Gerling loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed goin g dancing with her husband, Alvin, and traveling. Marian was a longtime member of St Peter's U.C.C. in Washington.

Among her surviv ors are two daughters, Judy Schnei der and Nanc y Balven, both of Washington; grandchi dren, Jennifer Kroeter and husband Matt, Matt Balven, John Balven, Kelly Schneider and husband Jon Genthe and Clint Schn eider and wife Keli; great-grandchild Luke Kroeter, Ella Kroeter, Lydia Genthe, Alex Genthe, Lyla Schneider, Weslee Schneider, Jack Balven, Ang Balven and Hazel Balv en; other relatives and many friends.

She was preceded in death by he r parents; husband Alvin Gerling; three siblings, Clara Jane Wolf f, Robert Pruessner and Don Pruessner; and two so ns-in-law, Wendell Schneider and Steve Balv en Visitation was held Tuesday, Au g. 8, from 10-11 a.m. St Peter's U.C.C., Washington, with a funeral service lowing at 11 a.m.

Interment will be in the church cemetery Memorial donations can be made to St . Peter's U.C.C. the Diabetes Association.

Arrangements were in care of Nieburg-Vitt, Miller neral Home, Washington

The Petry family is being served by Oltmann Funeral Home, Union. Like

Stay up to date on breaking news, local sports, city government and everything else that happens in your community by liking The

She is survived by her lovi ng husband, Jim, Sullivan; three daughters Sherri Willia ms Unio n, Kristi Fleming and husband Joe, Beaufort, and Jimi Hendricks and fiance Casey Cress, Unio n; stepdaughter, Laura Shaw and husband Kevin, Un ion; grandchildren, Nicki Meyer and husband Brian Uni on, Kevin Williams and wife Lauren Marthasvi lle KC Fleming and wife Kayla Beaufort, Kody Fleming and wife Jessie, Gerald, Danielle Brooks, Labadie, Tommy Brooks, Union, and Matthew Ransom, Valley Park; 11 great-grandchildren, Ian, Isaac, Grayson, Beckham, Annie, Eli, Tucker, Mabel, Charlie, Gideon and Skyler; nephew, Kevin Westermann, Leslie; sister-in-law, Berniece Westermann, Leslie; other relatives and many friends.

She was preceded in death by he r first husband, James Hendricks; great-grandson, Eldon Joe Fleming; son-inlaw, Jim Wi lliams; he r pare nts, Charles and Vera We stermann; and a brother, Wi lliam Westermann.

Arrangements for cremation have taken place.

A memorial service will be held at Antioc h Christian Church, Leslie, Saturday, Aug 12. Visita tion will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a celebration of life following at 1 p.m. A meal will be provided in the church fellowship hall i mmediately foll owing the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Live Like Jake Foundation in memory of Eldon Fleming (non-

Union. She is survived by her husband, Bob Soetebier, Union; three daughters, Angela McDonnell and husband Timothy, Dardenne Prairie, Sarah Sullentrup and husband Scott, Washington, and Melissa Nordmann and husband Daniel, Dardenne Prairie; other relatives and friends. 6D WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2023 THE MISSOURIAN WWW.EMISSOURIAN.COM GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP Help and encouragement after the death of a loved one. GriefShare is a special weekly seminar and support group designed to help you rebuild your life. We know it hurts, and we want to help. Contact Us Today Wed., 10 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. August 16 – November 8 First Christian Church 6890 Hwy. 100 636-239-7560 fcc@fccwashington.org

Drewel passed July 30

Home, St. Clair. Burial is in Liberty Cemetery, Belle. He is survived by his wife, Carol Drewel, Union; son, Mike Drewel Sr. and wife Marcie, Boerne, Texas; other relatives and friends.

James E. Schaffner

-

- 1 926 – 2 023

James Earl Schaffner a proud member of The Greatest Generation, went home to his Lord, Saturday, July 29, 2023, at the age of 97. His family was by his side.

James was born April 7, 1926, in Owensville, the first son of Earl Schaffner and wife He dwig, nee Engel brecht He was baptized at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Bay Growing up he lived in Jefferson City and St Louis, graduating from Webster Groves High School in 1944. He was immediately inducted into the Army and fought in World War II. During his tour of duty he received two Purple Hearts for his injuries In 1950, he was recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict where he served as an instructor while stationed in Fort Benning Georgia He retired as lieutenant colo ne l in 1986 after four years active duty and 30 years in the Reserves and National Guard.

In 1949, he ma rried Arline Behrens in St Louis. Th is marriage resulted in the births of two daughters, Judith and Janet. Arline died in 1956. In 1958, James marr ied Hazel Bunge in Washing ton. They lived there of f and on until he r death in 2016. He then returned to Jefferson City to be near his daughter. The majority of James' career was in state government positions He served as the Missouri director of revenue during Governor Hearnes' administration. He then moved to Oklahoma to be the administrative assistant to the Oklahoma gov ernor until his retirement in 1985.

James loved staying active by volunteering and serving on the board of many organizations. He was a devoted church member and served as president on the councils of Central United Church of Christ in Jefferson City and St Peters United Church of Christ in Washington He was artistic and creative as reflected in his woodworking and computer design s.

During the last few years, James received numerous recognitions and awards fo r his military service. He was honored at the Operation Bugle Boy's annual Veterans Appreciation Night in 2019 and 2022. He was inducted into the Missouri National Guard Hall of Fame in 2022. He is survived by his daughters, Judith Heins (Ken) and Janet Schaffner (Robert Wiegert); granddaughters Jill Keller (Tom) and Jodi Garner (Morgan); great-grandchildren, Kai, Brecklyn and Reece Keller, and Laynie Garner; nephew, Steve Schaffner; and niece, He len Cason. James will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

James was preceded in death by his parents Earl and Hedwig Schaffner; brother, Da vid Ernst Schaffner; his two wives, Arline Schaffner and Hazel Schaffner; and nephew, David Bl ake Schaffner.

Friends will be received Friday, Aug. 11 from 10-11 a.m. at Houser-Millard Funeral Directors, 2613 West Main Street, Jefferson City, MO 65109. A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m., with Pastor Russ Pflasterer officiating. A graveside inurnment will follow at 3 p.m. at St Peter's United Church of Christ Ceme tery, Washington, with Pastor Eric Moelle r officiating.

Memorials may be made to St. Peter's United Church of Christ Washington, or Operation Bugle Boy, Jefferson City Condolences may be left online for the family at www.millardfamilychapels.com.

Arrangements are un der the direction of Houser-Millard Funeral Directors, Jefferson City, 573-636-3838.

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Rusty A. Higby

– 2 023 -

- 1 982

Rusty Allen Higby, 40, St Louis, passed away Thursday, Aug . 3, 2023.

Denis G. Mebruer

- 1 941 – 2 023Denis Gregory Mebruer, 81, Washington, passed away Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. He was born Oct. 25, 1941 at home on the Mebruer farm in Concord Hill, the son of Nick and Marie (Roesner) Mebruer. Denis graduated in 1959 from St Francis Borgia High School in Washington. He was united in marriage to Mary (R oetheli) Oct. 15, 1966, at St Francis Borgia Church, and two children blessed their union. Denis worked at a variety of places over the years including Emerson Electric, Tradco, Permaneer and McDonnell Douglas, before retiring from Boeing He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves Denis volu nt eered with Meals on Wheels, Marriage Encounter & TEC (Teens Encounter Christ), and alongside Mary, was involved with marriage prep classes at St. Francis Borgia

He is surviv ed by one son, Greg Mebruer and wife Molly Eureka; one daughter, Tori Mebruer, Washing ton; three grandchildren, Grace Sullentrup, St Louis, Joel Sullentrup, Washington, and Robin Mebruer, Eureka; one brother, Glen Mebruer and wife Emily, Lebanon; sist erin-law, Patty Mebruer, Treloar; brother-in-law David Roetheli and wife Debbie, Washington; nieces; nephews; many other relatives and friends.

Denis was preceded in death by his parents, Nick and Marie Mebruer; his wife, Mary Mebruer; one brother, Paul Mebruer; and one sister, Mary Louise Kellogg

A memorial visitation was scheduled for Tuesday, Aug 8, from 4-6 p.m. at Midlawn Funeral Home, Union.

A memorial Mass will be held Wednesda y, Aug 9, at 10 a.m. at St. Gertrude Church, Krakow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the St Gertrude Learning Center or Ameri can Cancer Society are preferred Arrangements are in care of Midlawn Funeral Home.

Michael E. Searcy

- 1 953 – 2 023 -

Michael E. Searcy, 69, Burbank, California, passed away at his son's home, Wednesday, July 18, 2023, afte r a short battle with pancreatic and liver cancer.

Michael was born Dec. 12, 1953, in Washington to the late Edgar Searcy and wife Theola, ne e Koester. After graduating from Washington High School in 1972, he went on to study metallurgical engineering at the Univ ersity of Missouri, Ro lla In 1976, he married Loree Anthon, and they were married 19 years They went on to have two children, Andrea Lee, nee Searcy in 1986, and Dean Searcy in 1990.

Over the years, Michael could be found surfing at Venice Beach, hiking at Griffith Park enjoying Disneyland with his children, Andrea and Dean, and traveling the world. During his travels, Michael climbed the Great Pyramid at Giza in E gypt, summited Mount Fuji in Japan, hiked to Everest Basecamp met princes of Saud and went dog sledding in Iceland He worked as a claims adjust er for St ate Fund for 32 years until reti rement in 2019.

He is survived by his siblings, Fred Searcy, Michele Phinney, nee Searcy, and Eric Searcy, all of Washington; children, Andrea Lee, El Cerrito California, and Dean Searcy, Lake Forest, California; and adorable grandchildren, Ryan and Adaline Lee.

A memorial service will be held at Mariner's Ch apel, 5001 Newport Coast Drive Irvine, CA 92 603, Saturday Aug. 12, at 10 a.m.

Rusty son of Rusty D. Higby and Barbara Higby, nee Mueller, was born Aug 4, 1982, in St Louis. Rusty was a lover of all things St Louis, especially Cardinals baseball and Blues hockey Rusty had a vast knowledge of the history of both franchises. He could walk through the Hall of Fame and tell you all about every significant event. He also loved to watch any and all horror movies. Above all, Rusty loved his family more than anything.

Among his survivors are his mother, Barbara Higby; father, Rusty D. Higby; two sisters, Shashandra Ogletree and Tessa Higby and sign ificant other Devon Grant; niece, Cecelia Marks; nephew, Nicholas Ciaccio; honorary big broth er, Eric Rigsby; dear friend, John Hudson; aunts; uncles; cousins; and friends.

He was preceded in deat h by

Warren Joern to Matthew Neil Cowan, Northland Subdivision.

Jo seph and Kathleen Esslinger to Joseph H. Esslinger.

L eon L. and Shelia M. Koelling to Debra and Shane Huskey.

Jimmie Shane Stricklin to Noach Palatnik.

D&S Prime Homes LLC to Heather Arnett, Thos J. Smith’s Sub division.

Jeanette R. and Robert L. Thornton Jr. to Bradley S. and Ellen R. Hanneken. Jeanette R.