The Northwest Missourian

NORTHWEST

MISSOURIAN

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021

MARYVILLE, MISSOURI

NWMISSOURINEWS.COM

VOL. 110, NO. 9

@THEMISSOURIAN

Water, sewer rates to increase by 2022 QUENTIN MORRIS News Reporter | @TheMissourian

He is still “cautiously optimistic” about trends with the virus, the caution coming from the unpredictability of COVID-19. Both locally and nationally, health officials had thought the winter of 2021 would be the worst of the virus before the delta variant began to sweep across the country.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for this to get refueled,” Blackford said. “I think we like trends, and trends are important. But they aren’t necessarily forecasts of what’s going to happen in the future.”

Both Nodaway County and Northwest currently sit in Category Three of three in terms of COVID-19 risk. The third category means populations in those areas are at the least amount of risk, while the first means they are at the most risk.

Lt. Amanda Cullin, a member of Crisis Response Team 2, said Northwest has been in the low-risk category for several weeks. The main data points to determine the risk categories are the seven-day positivity rate and the seven-day total case rate.

Maryville’s City Council is in the process of approving increases in sewer and water rates, which could cost the average resident $677.40 more per year on their water bills by 2023.

Over the summer, the city hired a company to complete the first water and sewer rate study since 2005. That study showed that in order for Maryville to gain enough revenue to support the system and save money for future projects, such as replacing old pipes, the city would have to increase sewer rates 50% and water rates 25%.

The City Council is discussing alternatives to a dramatic price hike, including a two-year plan.

In that plan, residents would see a 13% increase in both the minimum charge and the volumetric rate for 2022 and 2023, respectively. Residents would also see a 28% increase in their sewer rates for both the minimum charge and the volumetric rate for 2022 and 2023.

If the City Council were to approve this plan, the average Maryville resident with a fiveeighth water meter would see their water bill increase by $8.88 for 2022, then in 2023 increase $12.25. Residents would also see their sewer bill increase by $15.91 for 2022 and then an additional $19.41 increase for 2023.

SEE COVID | A4

SEE COUNCIL | A4

ADDALYNN BRADBURY | NW

While walking into Colden Hall, senior Amberlea Auffert puts on a mask before entering the building. The latest data available at the time of publication shows 27 active cases of the virus in Nodaway County.

County COVID-19 cases fall to three-month low NATHAN ENGLISH Managing Editor | @nathan_3nglish

T

he amount of active COVID-19 cases in Nodaway County reached its lowest point since mid-July, and as of Oct. 11, there were no hospitalizations from COVID-19 as the virus’s hold seems to be weakening locally.

The latest data available at the time of publication shows 27 active cases of the virus in Nodaway County. The last time the county had less than 30 active cases of COVID-19 was July 12.

Nate Blackford, president of Mosaic - Maryville, and Tom Patterson, administrator of the Nodaway County Health Department, said vaccination rates, natural virus immunity from those who recently contracted the virus, and mitigation efforts all have played a factor in the recent downturn.

“You’ve got to feel good about seeing less cases,” Patterson said.

Blackford reflected a similar sentiment, and said he feels as good as he has in several months.

Emergency funds roll out to students after Regents’ vote SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry

At the Oct. 8 Board of Regents meeting, the approval for the allocation of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III money to students ranging from $250-$1,100 per student was passed. International and online students are now included in the distribution of these funds for the first time since the funds started in spring 2021.

Students were placed into three tiers of eligibility for HEERF funding. The first tier is offering undergraduate, Pell

IN THE NEWS

grant eligible students $1,100.

The next tier is for undergraduate students with an estimated family contribution under $30,000 to be given $500. The final tier is for undergraduate students with an EFC of more than $30,000, online graduate students or international students to receive $250.

The Board of Regents meeting was called before the originally planned meeting for Oct. 29 because some questions were raised about who the allocation of the funds were going to.

“I’m surprised they would allow federal money for interna-

A2 NW art professors honored

Two Northwest art professors were chosen to have their work featured in the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art.

IN THE NEWS

A3 Peep Connect off the ground

Peep Connect, an app designed to help build a connection between local businesses and university students, has officially launched.

tional students. I guess that’s the only part of the tiering that you’ve mentioned that gives me a little bit of thought,” John Moore said.

Mary Collins, assistant vice president of finance and controller, made the proposal to the Board of Regents, and said the decision to allow international students these funds was one the federal government made for this specific round.

This was a highly debated topic and that it has been in the works since the first HEERF funds were given out, Collins said. Though the decision to allow international students was up to each individual university, Northwest thought it was best to include them in this semester’s funding.

“The international students are our students here on campus and they do have needs,” Collins said.

HERF III STUDENT ALLOCATIONS

TIER 1

$1,100 Undergraduate Pell Grant recipients

TIER 2

$500 Undergraduate with EFC < 30,000

TIER 3

$250 Undergraduate with EFC > or = 30,000 Students with no FAFSA filed International students Online students

SEE HEERF | A4 OUR VIEW

A5

Lack of cohesion with midterms make for useless grade checks and confusing schedules. Northwest should implement a midterm week.

MAKAYLA POLAK | NW MISSOURIAN

IN SPORTS Northwest men’s basketball was tabbed as the MIAA’s preseason favorite. The Bearcats are hoping for a fourth national title.

A8 Conference Kings

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Oct. 14, 2021 @TheMissourian

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NEWS

Art professors featured in St. Joseph exhibit SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry

Two Northwest professors’ art pieces were chosen to be displayed at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Missouri, in the “Missouri Art Now: A Bicentennial Celebration” exhibit until Nov. 7.

The travelling show is to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of Missouri being a state. The exhibits were held in five different parts of Missouri: Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Joplin, Hannibal and St. Joseph.

Ceramics professor Veronica Watkins and graphic design professor Feixue Mei both entered pieces into the exhibition, and

“Anytime you’re recognized among your peers, it makes you feel like you’re doing something right.

There are probably a lot of great artists in the state; to be among the top 60 feels good.”

-VERONICA WATKINS

they are two of the 60 artists to represent the state’s art culture through visuals.

Watkins entered a few pieces, but her wheel-thrown ceramic bowl was chosen. Rather than just making a conventional bowl, she alters it after the base has been made, with surface work, layers, stain washes and glazes.

“It really transcends traditional wheel-thrown forms by the time I do all that stuff to it,” Watkins said. “The shapes that I incorporate in it are sort of related to shapes that I see and constantly recycle themselves, and the colors I use are intense and neutral contrasts that relate to the landscape of the Midwest.”

Submissions for the show were sent in September 2020, and finally a year later, the show made its way to northwest Missouri.

“I feel honored to be recognized,” Watkins said. “Anytime you’re recognized among your peers, it makes you feel like you’re doing something right.

There are probably a lot of great artists in the state; to be among the top 60 feels good.”

The art exhibit is composed of multiple different mediums, from ceramics and paintings to illustrations.

Mei submitted an illustration, one of 10 in a series, with commentary on how social media causes negative group behavior.

The piece displays a witch, with a keyboard in the background that has hands typing on it, and the whole theme of the artwork is about cyberbullying.

“I am pretty fascinated by pop culture, internet culture, and I work with a lot of different forms.

I always work with a theme, and I

SUBMITTED

Graphic design professor Feixue Mei has one piece from her 10-part series about social media’s effect on behavior as an entry. This piece is a visual representation of cyberbullying through a witch.

am also interested in cultural adaptation and identity formation, especially online. So that specific piece I witnessed cyberbullying online, so I wanted to make some works on that as the initial idea behind it,” Mei said.

The main reason Mei submitted her piece into this art show was for exposure as an artist.

“Last year was my first year here. I had just come from Virginia, so I wanted more people here to know about my art. So I thought, ‘why don’t I submit my art to a local art exhibition or a competition to let more people know my work?’ So I think that was a good opportunity for me.”

Mei said she agreed with Watkins on how it was an honor to be chosen out of hundreds of artists who submitted pieces for this exhibition.

“I know a lot of people submitted to that exhibition, and I am glad to be one of the chosen ones. I am just really happy to be a part of that,” Mei said.

SUBMITTED

Ceramics professor Veronica Watkins’ piece in the exhibit is a wheel-thrown bowl with layers of surface work, stains and glazes. While making the bowl, she was inspired by the landscape, shapes and colors seen in the Midwest.

APPLY AT: online.nwmissouri.edu

CAREER READY. DAY ONE.

NEWS

Oct. 14, 2021 @TheMissourian

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ADDALYNN BRADBURY | NW MISSOURIAN

In a file photo, Peep Connect co-founder Zerryn Gines displays his app for helping people find small businesses around their cities. The app had officially launched in the midst of the pandemic Sept. 21, 2020.

Peep Connect app offically launches, helps local retailers dents, has officially launched.

The app was originally created to help students find out what businesses were available around them. Now, it has become a twoway street for helping both the small businesses and the univer-

SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry

After almost a year of troubleshooting and upgrading, Peep Connect, an app designed to help build a connection between local businesses and university stu-

sity students around them. Cofounder Zerryn Gines found that this was not just a local problem, but it also affects around 2,600 universities and towns just like Northwest and Maryville.

“When I went to Northwest, I didn’t even know we had a bowling alley until my senior year, so I thought that it was weird that I only knew about places if my friends told me about them,” Gines said. “We wanted to solve that problem and to create something that mitigates that.”

James Palmer, the campus manager for Peep Connect, said that this is beneficial for everyone in Maryville, and he has heard feedback from international students on how an app like this is useful.

“This app helps people find places in Maryville that are cheap, gives them deals, that are close to campus, and helps them get to these places,” Palmer said. “I’ve even had some friends of mine that said they found places on the app they didn’t even know existed.”

CEO Valentine Osakwe and Gines first launched the app in fall 2020. Osakwe and Gines were Northwest students when they started working on the app. Since then, they have graduated and continued to build Peep Connect with others on their team.

When the app first launched, Gines said, they were new to the market and the technology. Be-

cause the entire team working on the app was in school, they didn’t quite know what they were doing.

Since the launch a year ago, there have been obstacles with developing the app.

“I think for us, we were a little naive. We thought we were going to be the next Facebook in like two years, which is not the case,” Gines said. “It takes a lot of time to build something to solve problems, and I think one of the things we did was, we rushed it because we wanted to get it out there to provide value.”

Though there have been problems, Gines said that is just what comes with technology. He said Northwest has been there to witness every trial and error with the app.

“I don’t know how many failures Google had at the onset, Snapchat as well. A lot of companies and their first few customers experience everything,” Gines said. “Within the next year, you’ll have a group of people who won’t even know that we were at Northwest, didn’t even know all we went through to build it. Northwest got to see us at the beginning.”

After some trial and error, the app development and outreach started to pick up momentum.

“In spring 2021, we started launching notifications through a completely different platform; we were able to provide some

value for business owners. So we took that and said, ‘let’s make this better, take on some investment and make this product better.’ And since then, we have been able to do that,” Gines said.

Now, Peep Connect is fully ready for people to use, and the Peep Connect team has started to think of other ways to get people engaged.

“Within the next week or two, you guys will see something on social media about the rewards system,” Gines said. “If you go and support a local business that is a part of our platform, you can earn rewards like being put in these drawings to win like sneakers or win merch or win different things like that.”

There is also talk of having mobile payments for mobile orders and geolocation to connect with friends and the small businesses that students are visiting.

All these additions to the app are to make it easier for students to reach small businesses in their town that they might not have known of before.

“There are local businesses that have been here in Maryville for 15 to 20 years and still haven’t found a way to target students directly,” Gines said. “I think that’s on our part as students, but, more importantly, I think it’s something that technology will be able to fix. That’s really why we wanted to go out there and do it.”

Student Senate helps fund trapshooting event, swears in three representatives two new campus organizations at the Oct. 12 meeting.

Pi Sigma Alpha, a collegiate national honor society for the political science department, was approved as a new organization on campus. Students are eligible to join if they have met a 3.5 GPA in at least 10 credit hours of political science classes and are within the top third of all students in the department.

Faculty will choose five potential members to be a part of this honor society.

Senior Sidney Kucera, one of the members starting the club at Northwest, said the club will participate in an initiation ceremony and apply for national scholarships through the organization.

Members will have the opportunity to be published authors in the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics.

The Disc Golf Association was the second approved student organization. Members of the executive board, President Jacob Mustard, Vice President Edward Cockerham, Secretary Brad Du-

RIAN CASWELL News Reporter | @rian_caswell

Student Senate appropriated $1,000 to the Bearcat Trapshooters to host their Glow in the Dark Trapshoot event from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 25 at Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area.

The money Senate approved will go toward supplies that will be provided at the event. All proceeds from the event will go to a local breast cancer charity.

Senior Faith Offner said the event will have neon clays that will glow in the dark and some neon lighting on the course. It will be open to all Northwest students and anyone in the Maryville community.

“Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we chose this cause, and we decided to donate the money locally so we could give back to the Maryville community,” Offner said. “This event will also help to bring publicity to MOERA, which not that many students know is open for them to use.”

Student Senate also approved

nivan and Treasurer Jackson Weddle, shared a presentation about what this club would add to the Northwest campus.

“A few of our goals for this organization are to get people in the community familiar with the sport of disc golf, advocate for course improvements and let people enjoy themselves,” Mustard said.

They hope to hold a disc golf tournament on this course in the spring.

“Disc golf really took off during COVID-19, so many more people are playing it now. And we think this club will help people get involved on campus,” Mustard said.

Student Senate closed the meeting by swearing in two new inclusion representatives and a new Interfraternity Council representative.

Junior Juhee Kwon and freshman Deep Suikha were sworn in as the new inclusion representatives.

Senior Eli Weber, who is the current vice president of judicial affairs for IFC, was sworn in as the new IFC representative.

ROSCOE FLINT | NW MISSOURIAN

Student Senate swears in 3 new representatives: Inclusion Representatives Deep Shuikha and Juhee Kwon, along with Eli Weber, an Interfraternity Council representative.

Worship in Maryville Disciples of Christ

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Eve Everyo very ry ne ryo ne IIss Wel Welcom Welcom come e Here

Dale Baker, Pastor

Sundays: 9 a.m. Discipleship Classes 10:30 a.m. Worship onsite live livestreamed on our facebook page Fa Facebook.com/FFCMaryvilleMo 201 West Third, Maryville 660.582.4101

Phone - (660)562-2616

Campus contact: Deena Poynter

Email - fbcmaryvillemo@gmail.com

660.541.1336

Join us for worship Sundays at 9 and 11 am

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Join Us On Sundays Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.

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121 E. Jenkins St. Maryville, MO 64468

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333 South Davis Street Maryville, MO 64468

Mass times: Saturday- 5:00 p.m.

Sunday- 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Monday- 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday- 12:00 p.m.

Wednesday-Friday- 8 a.m.

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Oct. 14, 2021 @TheMissourian

A4

CRIME LOG

NEWS

TRACKING COVID-19: ACTIVE CASES AT NORTHWEST UP TO OCT. 11

for the week of Oct. 14

12

Active Cases

Northwest Missouri State University Police Department

9

Oct. 12 There is an open investigation for counterfeiting at the J.W. Jones Student Union.

6

Oct. 11 There is an open investigation for fourth degree assault in Wells Hall.

3

Oct. 8 There is a closed investigation for a liquor law violation in Perrin Hall.

There is a closed investigation for an accident on Walnut Street.

0

COVID CONTINUED FROM A1 At the time of publication, there were nine active COVID-19 cases at Northwest. The University has not had 20 or more active cases since March 12 and has not had consecutive days with 20 or more cases since December 2020.

The case downturn is happening as the U.S. is on the doorstep of flu season, which typically runs from the fall through winter. Other respiratory illnesses, such as the common cold and pneumonia, are also more common this year.

Many health experts have

Maryville Police Department Oct. 10 A summons was issued to Jay’von J. McKinney, 20, for permitting a peace disturbance and giving false information to law enforcement on the 300 block of North Walnut Street.

A cooler was recovered on the 400 block of South Market Street.

Oct. 8 A summons was issued to Stephanie K. Houlette, 19, for driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain the right half of the roadway and failure to maintain financial responsibility on East South Avenue and U.S. Highway 71 Bypass.

There is an ongoing investigation for stealing by deceit on the 2100 block of South Main Street.

A bicycle was recovered on the 400 block of South Davis Street.

There is an ongoing investigation for assault on the 400 block of South Prairie Street.

There is an ongoing investigation for larceny on the 300 block of East Fifth Street.

10/1

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warned of the possibility of a “twindemic,” with flu season and COVID-19 occuring at the same time. Last year, reported flu cases were at an all-time low, which could be caused by increased mitigation, lack of reporting or a number of other reasons.

Local officials are gearing up for the season. Cullin said it’s important for those who are symptomatic to get tested for COVID-19, even if they think it’s just the flu or a cold.

Northwest is also encouraging students to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19.

Northwest Wellness hosted two flu vaccine clinics Oct. 8 and 11.

The last incentive drawing Oct. 1 marked the end of COV-

ID-19 vaccine incentives from the University, for now. After the last drawing, 57% of Northwest students and 67% of employees had shared that they were fully vaccinated with Wellness.

The numbers are still above Nodaway County and Missouri’s vaccination rates of 42.5% and 48.5%, respectively. There haven’t been any new discussions on incentives from CRT 2, Cullin said.

Both Blackford and Patterson praised Northwest’s vaccination rates and said they were important to keep COVID-19 on a downward trend locally.

“We’re still focused on vaccinating,” Patterson said.

First paintball field in Maryville sees success JAKE PRATER Missourian Reporter | @TheMissourian

The Fields Paintball has been open for two weeks, and owners Chelsey Clark and David Baker are thrilled with the success of the new business, getting customers that are students, Maryville locals and from out of town.

The new paintball area offers five different fields to play on. After signing a waiver, either there or online beforehand, you can rent all the equipment you need for $25, or you can bring your own. The Fields Paintball is open all year long, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Both Clark and Baker are Maryville locals themselves and began playing paintball when they were teenagers. They traveled many miles and dedicated entire weekends to enjoy the sport.

“We were constantly talking about how great it would be to have a paintball park lo-

cally,” Clark said. “Eventually that conversation turned into ‘why don’t we provide the paintball park?’”

But it was easier said than done. Because there were no other paintball businesses in Maryville, they had no business models to reference. Instead, they had to travel to paintball parks to understand the flow of business and the customer base.

Clark and Baker also had to get advice from park owners across the nation and develop relations with paintball manufacturers that ship paintball equipment worldwide.

“Building the paintball business was really exciting because we are introducing a sport to this market,” Baker said. “We found that there was already a large number of people who were active in the paintball community that we’ve since made connections with.”

The project was a year in the making. It

took the pair six months to finalize all their planning and necessary preparations. Once that was complete, they only had a mobile paintball business. Getting a permanent location took another six months, along with building the park itself and the five different fields therein.

Both Clark and Baker have a military background, which they utilized to increase the realism of the paintball fields and experience.

Baker was in the 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion as a cannon crew member, howitzer gunner and an Admin NCO before being honorably discharged in 2020 after 12 years of service.

Clark was commissioned as an officer from Northwest in 2015 and served as a Field Medical Assistant Lieutenant for four years with the same artillery battalion as Baker. Now, Clark is a medical operations officer of the 35th Combat Aviation Brigade in Sedalia, Missouri. She is currently waiting for her promotion to captain..

Clark and Baker said they hope The Fields Paintball will become one of the many iconic staples in Maryville and Northwest Missouri that “stands the test of time.”

“Our customers have continued to tell us that there is very little to do in Maryville,” Baker said. “Because of that, they’re excited that we’re here.”

HEERF CONTINUED FROM A1

Oct. 7 There is an ongoing investigation for domestic assault on the 800 block of East Fourth Street.

Oct. 6 A driver’s license was recovered on the 100 block of North Vine Street.

There was an accident between Sarah E. Dewitte, 43, and Ryan S. Smith, 33, on South Main Street and Horsepower Drive. Smith was issued a citation for careless and imprudent driving.

There was an accident between an unknown driver and Paige M. Kelley, 24, on the 1200 block of South Main Street.

Oct. 5 There is an ongoing investigation for trespassing on the 600 block of East Seventh Street.

A summons was issued to Lazman K. Alugubelli, 24, for failure to maintain financial responsibility on the 100 block of North College Avenue.

Oct. 4 A summons was issued to Tucker J. Murphy, 18, for not having a valid driver’s license on the 900 block of North Buchanan Street.

Maryville Fire Department Oct. 6 There was a fire during a vehicle accident on 410th Street and Icon Road.

10/10 10/11

MAKAYLA POLAK | NW MISSOURIAN

Oct. 7 There is a closed investigation for an accident.

Oct. 9 A summons was issued to Samuel L. Clarkson, 20, for disorderly conduct, a minor in possession and possession of a fake ID. There is an ongoing investigation for a lost or stolen license plate on the 200 block of North Main Street.

There was an accident between Chelsea M. Greer, 18, and Deborah R. Clark, 71, on West Second Street and North Walnut Street.

There was an accident between Lorena N. Rettele, 23, and Anthony S. Meyers Jr., 16, on West Seventh Street and North Fillmore Street.

9/30

9/29

SILVIA ALBERTI | NW MISSOURIAN

Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel explains a water plan phase that will involve the increase of water and sewer rates.

COUNCIL CONTINUED FROM A1 The plan would total to an extra $24.79 a month for 2022 and $31.66 each month for 2023 — an increase that would have the average resident paying $677.40 more each year on their water bills.

Though this plan has not been approved, City Manager Greg McDanel said increased rates are inevitable.

“There will be an increase, whatever that amount is, on their February bill,” McDanel said.

These price increases do not account for any of the other recommended rate changes that NewGen Strategies & Solutions proposed, including the rate increases for all meters and add-

ing on a new $16.95 charge for those that have a five-eighths meter, which most residential buildings in Maryville have. This also does not include the potential increase in fire sprinkle rates that NewGen Strategies & Solutions also wants to add to monthly bills.

City Council member Dannen Merrill said he is in favor of spreading out the cost over two years.

“I think it’s great that we have some flexibility to spread that out, and I also think that looking further down the road. I think when you put it in dollar figures, that it is a lot more manageable over even a two or three year period for most consumers,” Merrill said.

Not all of the City Council members are sold on the idea

of spreading out the cost. Member Rachael Martin is concerned about the time it would take for Maryville to break even if the city decided to implement a phased-in rate increase instead of just one large spike.

“I think that as a consumer, the phase-in approach is, of course, more attractive,” Martin said. “I am debating with myself which is the right move because we are basically taking that much longer before we are breaking even, and some of the feedback that I have gotten is, ‘why should we pay more when you guys haven’t solved the problem?’”

While the City Council did not vote on any proposal to increase water and sewer rates yet, McDanel said a decision will be made within the month.

“We get requests and questions about this all the time from them about the potential of helping them. For us, it felt like an outreach to them to be included and that we are taking care of all our students across campus.’ Collins said.

Northwest Director of Financial Assistance Charles Mayfield said there was internal conversation when it came to having Northwest include international students in this round of funding.

When international students apply for admission, they turn in paperwork that states they can afford to be at Northwest.

“That’s the reason they end up in the lowest tier, because on paper, they look the same as a domestic student who has no financial need,” Mayfield said.

Regent Jason Klindt was the only regent to vote against this proposal for the funding.

“I’m going to vote against the program because I think that it’s inappropriate to give taxpayer dollars to individuals from foreign countries,” Klindt said.

Student Regent Connor Thompson disagreed.

“I think this is great. I love giving some of our international students and some of our online students money to help them out because we all know this has been a rough year,” Thompson said.

Despite the controversy surrounding including international students into HEERF money given to students, the Board of Regents approved the plan 6-1 and money began rolling out to students Oct. 11.

OPINION

Oct. 7, 2021 @TheMissourian

A5

Interns should be paid for their work NICK SHUTTS Columnist @TheMissourian

Internships have become a rite of passage into the workforce. Employers hiring fresh college graduates prefer students with working experience. However, the playing field isn’t fair when it comes to opportunity. Unpaid internships are promoting classism in the job market.

Classism is when people of a lower social class are treated unfairly compared to those from wealthier backgrounds.

In today’s job market, entrylevel positions aren’t typically your first job. Many of them require work experience, and this is often fulfilled through internships. Whether it’s a summer internship or parttime gig throughout the school year, recruiters want potential employees to know what they’re doing.

This is problematic for many reasons. Work experience is an expectation for graduates. However, companies can only afford to hire so many people. In reaction to this, many companies offer unpaid internships.

The idea is that people can get work experience they need without companies going bankrupt. In theory, it provides a solution to competition; in reality, it means that lower-class students cannot afford to enter the job market.

Students who come from poorer backgrounds have to work outside of class to make ends meet, often at minimum wage jobs. Tuition, rent, groceries and gas are expensive.

People in this situation hardly have time for the jobs they’re currently working, let alone an unpaid internship.

In the meantime, students from wealthier backgrounds can work for free without having to take another job or worry about paying for college.

That is, if those students’ parents are paying for their college. They can gather experience that sets them up for better jobs after graduation because they won’t spend time focusing on how they’re going to pay rent for the next month.

This isn’t the student’s fault; a person can’t help what socioeconomic class they’re born into. However, graduates who can afford to work unpaid internships will be more likely to get hired right out of college. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Center for Career Development and Talent Acquisition, employers highly value job candidates with unpaid internship experiences and the duration and structure of an internship.

This perpetuates the cycle of income inequality. Students who start with less continue to get less, while students from families of higher income will continue to benefit from their privilege.

Companies should be held accountable for the negative impact their unpaid internships are having on society. It’s classist to have internships that only a sector of the population can afford to work. Nobody should have to work for free.

ALEXANDRIA MESZ | NW MISSOURIAN

OUR VIEW:

Northwest should designate week for midterm exams One of the more stressful feelings in a student’s life is the pressure of an upcoming test. Not knowing if you know enough to pass coupled with the piles of other assignments from different classes makes for a difficult period of studying. During finals week, this is managed by the strict schedule of tests and the decline in number of assignments. However, the same cannot be said for midterms.

Although midterms don’t always bear the same weight as finals do, they’re arguably as stressful. Due to the inconsistency of midterm schedules, Northwest should implement a midterms week similar to finals week.

Of course, finals week is stressful. A week completely dedicated to hefty exams is quite demanding. Class loads have lightened enough for students to get those crucial study hours in, and the entire semester leading up to finals is used for preparation.

Larger universities like Princeton, Duke and Minnesota all have designated midterm weeks, allowing students extra preparation time.

Truman State University even has a midterm break, where classes are canceled the Thursday and Friday of its designated midterms week.

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Should Northwest have a midterms week?

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“I don’t think it’s necessary, because it can create unnecessary pressure on students. We’ll have everything all at once, whereas now, all the midterms for my course are spread out.”

“No, I don’t think it’s necessary. It all seems fine how it is now, and all my midterms have gone fine being spread out the way they are.”

“No, I’m satisfied with how things have gone so far. I haven’t been stressed with them all being in one week, so I think they should stay how they are.

Let teachers do what they want.”

THE STROLLER:

Your Bearcat wants to cancel a cold We are in the age of cancel culture, according to people who like to be bigots and then are shocked when they have to pay consequences for it. Yeah, Jon Gruden, I’m talking directly to you right now. I’m sure you read this paper — actually I’m not sure you can read.

We, as a society, have canceled everything from racists to homophobes to people who genuinely believe “Cars 2” is good — it’s the worst Pixar movie, no question. However,

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why haven’t we canceled having a cold?

We have been living in a Panera Bread — or St. Louis Bread Company if you are a bad person — since March 2020.

Every time I’ve gotten a sore throat in the past 18 months, I’ve thought I had the coronavirus — I was actually right once.

It’s exhausting to have to get a deep tissue massage for your brain with a Q-tip whenever you wake up feeling sick, just to make sure you don’t have

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Cocoa Pebbles. And when you inevitably test negative for the communist virus — that’s what my uncle calls it — then you feel bad for wasting everyone’s time.

Plus, no one feels bad for you if you are just normal sick now. Every “don’t come to class if you’re sick” message should have “*with cornucopia-19” next to it.

Nobody cares if you have a cold buddy, suck it up. There’s no possible way the professor could just send you the slides

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the entire class.

If assignment grades are low, maybe students need less assignments. If test scores are low, maybe students need better methods to learn the material. The main goal is to educate students and make sure they can earn a high enough grade on the final to move on in their college journey. The University should be striving to help its students learn as much as they can while they’re here, so try to help.

Northwest regularly emphasizes its belief that mental health is important. With the stress of normal classes, tests and whatever else goes on with students outside of campus, mental health often takes a backseat and suffers. A great way to help students and reinforce a mental health stance is to take some pressure off of students when they need it most.

This doesn’t have to just be a week strictly devoted to midterms.

Students experience enough during the semester, and we have to roll with those punches. However, we think students and instructors would appreciate it if Northwest implemented a designated midterm week to focus solely on studying and tests.

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Northwest could learn from these academically successful institutions and implement something similar.

For midterms, a student’s workload is a lot more dense. In addition to the test preparation, students have to continue to work on assignments due the same day as the test. If that wasn’t enough, midterms’ lack of uniformity allows professors to assign midterms differently from others.

Having a midterm week could eliminate some workload stress by giving students somewhat of a homework break. Students would be able to focus on getting the highest scores on their tests, and afterward, be able to get back to regular assignments.

The University released midterm grades Oct. 4, yet most students still haven’t taken a midterm. It’s not fair to students for having no preparation time on top of their ordinary class work, and it’s equally not fair to instructors who frantically catch up on grading just to get a midterm test in.

The tests would be the only grade they’d need to finalize in order to get midterm grades to their students.

Additionally, this would aid in the instructor’s assessment in how their teaching methods are working for

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they read word for word for the entirety of class.

If we truly have the power to cancel anyone or anything, I propose that, as a society, we focus on the common cold. The people that tweeted or emailed misogynistic comments as fullgrown adults in the 21st century can wait a little longer before being held accountable.

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Oct. 14, 2021 @TheMissourian

A6

SWEEP CONTINUED FROM A8 The Bearcats were led by sophomore outside hitter Jaden Ferguson, who hit .387% with 12 kills, junior outside hitter Kelsey Havel with 11 kills while hitting .286% and redshirt freshman outside hitter Payton Kirchhoefer, who hit .290% to

end up with 11 kills.

As a team, Northwest hit .298% with eight total errors in the matchup.

The ’Cats were ready to return to their home court after a four-game road stretch that included trips to Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Woerth has a viking hat as a prop, which she now wears and takes to all the road games. Al-

though it’s for jokes, there’s a reason why she brings this hat.

“We’ve worked really hard and really long to be able to get this road-warrior mentality,” Woerth said.

“It felt amazing,” Kirchhoefer said about being back in Maryville. “We were tired of being on the road, but we’re back now.”

The Bearcats will stay at home

for their next pair of matches against conference foes, and they will face Washburn for the first time this season Oct. 15 and Emporia State for their Pink Out game Oct.16.

“We’ve always had a goal to beat Washburn, being No. 1 in Division II right now,” Kirchhoefer said. “So, we’re gonna come out swinging and bring everything we do in practice together.”

ADDALYNN BRADBURY | NW MISSOURIAN

Maryville High School freshman Emma Sprague pitches to a batter from Savannah High School during their game Oct. 5. The Spoofhounds went head to head against Chillicothe in a varsity district tournament Oct. 12, losing 0-11 against the Dragons.

Maryville softball falls to Chillicothe in first round of district tournament TRISTAN LYNCH Missourian Reporter | @NWMSports

The Maryville softball team struggled to find any offensive rhythm against dominant pitching, and the Spoofhounds finished their season 5-21 with an 11-0 loss in five innings to No. 1 seed Chillicothe in the first round of district play Oct. 12 in Chillicothe, Missouri.

Coach Chandra DeMott came out of the Benton tournament, held in St. Joseph Oct. 9, with a new defensive lineup that she felt performed well.

“We had several games this weekend, tournament experience, which actually kind of ended up being good for us,” DeMott said. “We found a couple of different defensive rotations for us that we ended up using one of those tonight. ... We ended up having a really good defensive game tonight.”

DeMott adjusted the defen-

sive lineup by moving junior Miquela Geisken from catcher to first base and freshman Alyssa Cunningham to fill Geisken’s void at catcher.

Freshman Emma Sprague got the starting pitcher spot, which moved sophomore Ella Schulte from starting pitcher to center field. The ‘Hounds finished the game with only one error.

DeMott was happy with the way Schulte performed out in center field.

“We sent Schulte out to center field tonight. She made four, if not five, phenomenal catches tonight out in center,” DeMott said.

With the first at-bat, the ‘Hounds got a runner on base with a single from Schulte.

They didn’t know it, but that was the last hit for the ‘Hounds, as Chillicothe junior pitcher Kinlei Boley went on to strike out eight straight batters before Schulte grounded out to the second base-

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man in the top of the third. Boley ended the game with 13 strikeouts.

DeMott was feeling good with the Spoofhounds’ offensive capabilities coming out of the weekend tournament, she said, but knew Boley was a dominant pitcher.

“Coming off this weekend, we were hitting pretty well, but Chillicothe’s pitcher is a tough pitcher,” DeMott said. “She has a great rise ball; it breaks pretty nicely. And she’s got some good speed to her, so we struggled a little bit to adjust to that.”

Chillicothe had control from the beginning of the game, jumping out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first inning. The Hornets continued to dominate all game, tallying 14 hits with home runs from Boley and junior Hope Helton.

As the season ended, the ‘Hounds had a heartwarming goodbye with two seniors, Alonna Cross and Maggie Graham.

“It was emotional, as it al-

ways is. These girls spend a lot of time together, and our seniors have been very involved in everything in their years with the program. So it is always hard to see them go,” DeMott said. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for them, but I’m sad to see them go.”

Although the ‘Hounds will be losing two players, DeMott is intrigued with the rest of the team’s progression and what the future holds for them, she said, as the core is still young.

“I would say these girls have progressed pretty nicely,” DeMott said. “A lot of what we struggled with this season is not so much skill level but just that competitive edge and that mental aspect of the game. Overall, gaining that ability to process the mental side of the game has been big and just gaining experience.”

MEDIA DAY

ond person in program history to receive the honor.

The NBA Draft prospect told ESPN at the end of last season he was returning to Northwest for one final year of collegiate basketball, and he knows that he’ll have a target on his back throughout the entirety of this season. He doesn’t care.

“Everyone goes at us, regardless,” Hudgins said. “It’s not even just me; it’s the whole team, I feel like. I feel like even coaches just want to beat Coach Mac, like it’s not even just their team — their players wanting to beat us — it’s their whole organization. … I feel like our whole team has a chip on our shoulder. I mean, we’ve been getting everyone’s best shot since I’ve been here.”

The men will start their season against reigning NSIC powerhouse Northern State Nov. 6 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri.

It’ll be a rematch of the Central Region title game, when the Bearcats rallied from down 11 with three minutes left in regulation to defeat the Wolves 9186 in overtime at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

So, when his program takes the floor for the first time this season, McCollum is expecting nothing short of a game that’s similar to the matchup between the two programs in March.

“If anybody saw the Northern State game last season, when we were down 11 or 12, it will be a rematch of that,” McCollum said.

“We’re excited to be able to play in (the Hall of Fame Classic) and have been the last few seasons.”

CONTINUED FROM A8

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The domination throughout the last few years led to the Bearcats being voted No. 1 in the MIAA Preseason Polls by both the coaches and the media. The ’Cats received all first-place votes, except for the one McCollum had to cast, which he gave to Washburn.

But Northwest will prepare for the upcoming year without one of the most notable players in the history of the program for the first time since 2017: Ryan Hawkins.

After the NCAA granted 2020-21 student-athletes an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 modifying schedules, the forward elected to enter his name into the transfer portal in early May. A week later, he committed to the University of Creighton.

That doesn’t matter for Northwest, though, because sophomores Wes Dreamer and Luke Waters are striving to have breakout seasons.

“I mean, we’ve got Wes Dreamer and Luke Waters, who have both stepped up,” junior guard Trevor Hudgins said.

“The whole team is stepping up right now. Me and Diego (Bernard) are just maturing, growing more into leadership roles every day. … I don’t think anything’s gonna change, for real.

(Hawkins) was a great player, but I feel like our program’s in good hands.”

Hudgins is coming off a season in which he was named the NABC Division II Player of the Year, making him only the sec-

SPORTS

FOOTBALL CONTINUED FROM A8 “The thing I always noticed when I play these guys is they’re very multiple — in terms of formations, in terms of looks,” Wright said. “They’re always going to have some things that they haven’t shown on film, and they’re gonna present you with.

They force you to be flexible in your defensive framework. They do a really nice job, offensively.”

The Ichabods’ offense will be led by quarterback Mitch Schurig, who enters Week 7 leading the MIAA in passing touchdowns (18) and is tied for the most interceptions with seven. He’ll be coming off a 23-20 overtime win against Fort Hays, which featured the senior going 25-of-31 for 282 yards passing and three touchdowns.

When Northwest beat the Ichabods 38-17 in 2019, Schurig was 18-of-31 for 243 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception.

Despite the Bearcats’ defense being able to rattle him then, Wright doesn’t foresee Schurig backing down from the opportunity to face the top team in the conference.

“Anytime you’ve got a super senior, a guy that’s played in as many games as he has, he feels comfortable in big-game situations,” Wright said. “He’s already played in several throughout his career. He’s a coach’s kid, so he’s got a great understanding of football in general, but their offense, specifically.”

Schurig’s father, Craig, is in his 20th season as the head coach at Washburn. But, if history is on Northwest’s side, Craig Schurig won’t be happy when he steps off his home turf Oct. 16.

The Bearcats will have won 13 consecutive matchups against the Ichabods when the two teams meet in Topeka. The last time Washburn was able to successfully defend its home field was Oct. 8, 1994, when the ’Bods beat Northwest 31-28 — seven years before Craig Schurig took over the reins to the program.

Green is hoping to play a pivotal part in assuring that streak doesn’t end in Week 7.

“We kind of pride ourselves on that first drive, setting the tempo for what we’re going to do for the rest of the game. That first drive didn’t pan out like we had anticipated,” Green said of the Bearcats’ early mishaps against Pitt. “That’s something we need to clean up this week in practice and heading into the Washburn game.”

The linebacker-turned-defensive lineman knows it won’t be easy, though. Wright knows that, too.

Schurig will be accompanied by a trio of receivers who each have at least five touchdown receptions. The passing attack, aside from the quarterback, is led by senior wideout James Letcher Jr., who has reeled in 34 catches for 559 yards receiving and six scores.

“It’ll probably be the best three receivers, together, that we’ve played to date,” Wright said. “Tight end can run. They’re physical at the line of scrimmage.

Their (running) backs run hard.

They’ve got a full back that likes to mix it up pretty well. They’re definitely the complete package on offense. We’re going to have to play well to win.”

“Watching them so much this year, they play hard,” Green said about the Ichabods. “They play hard. They play fast. They’re really, really physical. So, it’ll be a good game, and we’re just blessed and excited to have the opportunity to step out there with them.”

The Bearcats, of course, will aim to clean up the mistakes that plagued them for the better part of their matchup against the Gorillas. They’ll have an opportunity to do so against an offense that could create the same problems for them that Pitt did, and Wright said the program prides itself on the ability to make adjustments.

Should Wright and company find themselves in a similar position to their Week 6 thriller, they’ll know it’s a situation that isn’t too far out of reach.

“To get the result that we got, and to be able to figure out a way to win and figure out a way to persevere in that football game, is going to pay dividends moving forward,” Wright said. “We had to come from behind. We had to work when things weren’t going easy, and, so, I think it taught us all a lesson.”

SPORTS

Oct. 14, 2021 @NWMSports

’Cats to wrap up road trip with trek to Okla.

WESLEY MILLER Sports Reporter | @wesleymiller360

It’s not an oddity for soccer matches to end up in overtime.

In the case of Northwest soccer, though, that was all too common last weekend.

Both games went in the Bearcats’ favor, and they will now look to continue that win streak into the next pair of games against two more MIAA foes: Rogers State and Northeastern State.

Coach Marc Gordon said Rogers and Northeastern are good teams, fundamentally, and they are well coached.

“They’re doing their work as we’re trying to do on our end through what bits of film we have on each other to figure out how to get a result,” Gordon said.

The first game of the weekend will happen when Gordon and company travel to Claremore, Oklahoma, for the matchup

UP NEXT NW @ Rogers State 6 p.m. Oct. 15 Claremore, Oklahoma NW @ Northeastern State 1 p.m. Oct. 17 Tahlequah, Oklahoma

WESLEY MILLLER | NW MISSOURIAN

Northwest junior defender Letycia Bonifacio steals the ball during a 4-1 loss to Emporia State Oct. 3. Northwest will finish a four-game road trip when they travel to play Rogers State and Northeastern State Oct. 15 and 17, respectively.

with Rogers Oct. 15. The Hillcats come into the game above .500 at 6-5-1 and on a four-game losing skid. Their most recent loss came at the hands of Washburn (6-3-2). Northwest beat Washburn 5-0 Oct. 1.

Then, the Bearcats will trek 57 miles to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, for their matchup against Northeastern. The RiverHawks’ season has been a bit of a rollercoaster with a 4-5-3 record. Their most recent game ended in a 5-3 loss to No. 3 Emporia State.

Simply looking at the final score will not tell the whole story. Northeastern had a 3-1 lead entering the second half of the match before the Hornets went on a 4-0 run to finish the game.

The Hillcats have a balanced offensive attack, which can be seen from their last game against the Ichabods when six players recorded a shot.

The RiverHawks share that

WESLEY MILLER | NW MISSOURIAN

Maryville senior running back Tyler Siemer fights through a tackle while diving for the end zone during the Spoofhounds’ 26-25 loss to Lincoln College Prep Oct. 8, marking the program’s first homecoming loss in 10 years.

Maryville hopes to bounce back with Highway 71 title on line against rival Savages WESLEY MILLER Sports Reporter | @wesleymiller360

For some, it’s just another Missouri highway — black pavement, yellow lines and farmland on both sides. But for others, it’s the birthplace of one of the biggest rivalries in the northwest corner of Missouri.

Separated by that segment of black pavement with yellow lines on it, 28 miles apart, sit two towns with a combined population of less than 17,000 people. When it comes to a Week 8 showdown between the two Midland Empire Conference rivals, the size of the towns and distance between them doesn’t

A7

matter. What does matter is being the owner of the Highway 71 Trophy until the two programs meet the following fall.

For nine straight years, Maryville football has owned the rights to the trophy over rival Savannah.

“When you have a rivalry game like this, you can throw the records out the book,” Maryville coach Matt Webb said.

Maryville has won each of the last nine matchups by at least two scores, including when the two programs met in the 2018 Class 3 State Tournament.

Not once in those nine years did both the Spoofhounds (3-4)

characteristic with the Hillcats and have had at least five or more players record a shot in seven consecutive matches.

Last weekend, defensively, the Bearcats picked up eight saves through both games.

However, the defense doesn’t just come from the goalkeeper.

Lately, the focus for the Bearcats has been defense in the midfield.

As a person who occupies that area a lot, senior midfielder Madison McKeever emphasized the role the defense will have in order to win.

“We need to get to every ball and make sure we are helping out our teammates in every situation,” McKeever said.

McKeever said the small things, such as helping out if someone is left open, will go a long way.

Every team is going to have a couple of players who require a little extra focus, Gordon said,

but that’s not his main concern.

“I think our best way to be successful is to do the things we do well,” Gordon said.

Specifically, he said, the passing and transitions will have to be on point.

McKeever said the matches this weekend will be tough ones, but that doesn’t worry her.

“I feel if we put the ball on the ground, play our style of soccer and play the full 90 minutes, that we can come away with two road wins this weekend,” McKeever said.

Gordon said they were fortunate to have so many home games early on, but now they have to adapt to being on the road. He said the coaching staff is ensuring players have more time to focus on school work and other things by modifying the training routine.

“These are some of our realities with all the traveling we’re

and the Savages (3-4) come into the game with the same record on the season.

Similarity between the two does not stop at records, though.

The ‘Hounds and Savages are close in scoring and in points allowed. Maryville scores an average of 28.6 points, compared with Savannah’s 25.7 points per game. Additionally, on average, Maryville allows 20.9 points per game and Savannah allows 21.9.

“This is always a heated battle,” Webb said. “Always an exciting game.”

Webb said he is looking forward to the next edition of the rivalry and for the chance to increase the streak up to a decade long.

In order for the Spoofhounds to do so, they will have to stop Savannah’s offense, which focuses on the run-pass option.

The Savages offense is led by junior quarterback Ethan Dudeck, who is more than willing to both run and pass.

Webb described Dudeck as a great athlete who can run the ball well and complete passes over the top of the defense.

“It’s difficult to defend,” Webb said. “We’ll have to do a good job in order to combat that.”

During practice, Webb said, the Spoofhounds will be working on defensive schemes all week to accomplish that.

Offensively, Maryville will have to compete against the Savannah defense, which, over the past three games, has improved its points allowed per game by 7 points.

One of the Savages’ big-

gest strengths, Webb said, is their size.

“They’re big up front and will be hard to move,” Webb said.

Webb said the linebackers are also bigger body types and can clog the running lanes. As running the ball is a significant part of Maryville’s offense, Webb said the Spoofhounds need to be sure the blocking is good up front.

Junior defensive back Cooper Loe said they’ll be ready to go on Friday.

“I think we’re going to come into Savannah guns up,” Loe said.

Loe said the tough loss last week to Lincoln College Prep in Week 7 will have the team fired up for the game against the Savages.

Senior running back Tyler Siemer agreed the loss will also be motivation for the team this week. He said it would be great to get back to the winning side of things, especially after the 26-25 loss.

“I think we need to come out, play like we can play and make a statement,” Siemer said.

doing,” Gordon said.

There are multiple disadvantages for a visiting team. These disadvantages generally lead to the home team being favored to win.

For Gordon, he’s more than prepared for that reality going into the weekend.

“Being the visiting team, you’re always the supposed underdog,” Gordon said. “But I feel like having the success we had this past weekend brings confidence to the girls.”

The success from last weekend was the Bearcats winning two straight road games. They didn’t just win in ordinary fashion; instead, they came away with the win after both games went into overtime. This marked the first time Northwest won two consecutive overtime games since 2017.

The first overtime match against Nebraska-Kearney was over within the first two minutes of the extended period and ended 2-1. The second match against Fort Hays State went until the 104th minute of playtime, and the Bearcats secured the 1-0 victory.

FULL STORY ONLINE: NWMISSOURINEWS.COM

UP NEXT MHS vs. Savannah 7 p.m. Oct. 15 ’Hound Pound

The rivalry between the Spoofhounds and the Savages is something Webb said he remembers from his time as a player. No matter what the year was or what the records were, it was always a great rivalry, Webb said.

The proximity, those aforementioned 28 miles, is what helps drive the rivalry, Webb said. The players go against each other all year, in multiple sports, and they get more familiar with each other over the years. Another big part, he said, is that both towns are prideful in their youth sports and their football teams.

“For me, personally, the game is always about the kids,” Webb said. “It’s about the players on the field and the memories they make, and that’s what we always focus on.”

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Districts dilemma MHS softball ends season in first-round loss to Chillicothe

Highway 71 hype Maryville readies to face rival Savannah for Highway 71 title

see A6

see A7

Oct. 14, 2021

ADDALYNN BRADBURY | NW MISSOURIAN

Northwest football redshirt freshman defensive back Cahleel Smith tackles Pitt State senior wideout Jalen Martin — a transfer from Iowa State — in the Bearcats 20-19 win over the Gorillas Oct. 9 at Bearcat Stadium, improving their record 5-0. The No. 2 Bearcats’ Week 7 matchup with MIAA foe Washburn will take place two hours away from Maryville Oct. 16 in Topeka, Kansas.

Football hopes to right wrongs during matchup with Washburn JON WALKER Sports Editor | @ByJonWalker

E

ach week at the Northwest Athletics Media Luncheon, Northwest coaches give behind-the-scenes rundowns of the week that led up to the gathering.

Volleyball coach Amy Woerth always provides a recap. Tennis coach Mark Rosewell always provides a recap. Women’s golf coach Andy Peterson — who also serves as the school’s athletic director — always provides a recap.

Fifth-year football coach Rich Wright usually doesn’t.

It’s a tradition of his, one of the superstitious rituals he follows every week of football

season. He usually defers the commentary to the athlete who accompanies him to the venue. Wright elected to bring junior defensive end Elijah Green to Tuesday’s meeting, just days prior to the No. 2 Bearcats’ Week 7 matchup with MIAA foe Washburn.

“It wasn’t ideal,” Green said of Northwest’s 20-19 win against Pitt State Oct. 9. “We got into a dog fight. But, I mean, we won.”

The Maryville native ended his remarks by referencing a quote from Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched.”

The Bearcats got punched for the first two and a half quarters against Pitt, a game in which they ultimately outscored the Gorillas 20-6 after trailing 13-0 at halftime, but they’re hoping it’s a different case when they

JON WALKER | NW MISSOURIAN

Northwest men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum addresses reporters at the 2021 MIAA Basketball Media Day Oct. 12 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Northwest was tabbed as the preseason favorite by coaches and media.

Northwest men eager to get new season underway after changes to program JON WALKER Sports Editor | @ByJonWalker

When members of the Northwest men’s basketball program arrived at the College Basketball Experience Oct. 12 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, it marked the first in-person MIAA Basketball Media Day in two years.

“I want to thank the MIAA for putting this on. Also, I’m very thankful to all of the administrators … for last season,” Northwest men’s basketball coach Ben Mc-

Collum said. “We were able to get in all of our games, and I’m not sure there’s a lot of leagues that were able to do that. I think our kids really appreciate the fact that they were able to play basketball.”

McCollum and company will enter the 2021-22 season following the program’s third national title in the last four tournaments, including back-toback championships in 2018 and 2020.

SEE MEDIA DAY | A6

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UP NEXT Northwest @ Washburn 1 p.m. Oct. 16 Topeka, Kansas

make the two-hour trek to Topeka, Kansas, to face the Ichabods Oct. 16.

In the aftermath of the comeback win against Pitt, Wright said some of the Bearcats’ defensive struggles came from the Gorillas presenting an offense that wasn’t seen on film. He’s expecting the matchup with Washburn to be no different.

SEE FOOTBALL | A6

Volleyball sweeps Western, readies for Ichabods JAYVON MCKINNEY Missourian Reporter | @NWMSports

No. 9 Northwest volleyball improved to 2-1 at home Oct. 12 after a three-set sweep of MIAA rival Missouri Western in the final regular-season meeting between the two programs.

After two weekend’s worth of road trips, in which the Bearcats (14-2, 7-1 MIAA) deemed themselves “road warriors,” they made their return to Maryville for the first of three matches this week. The triumph over Western gave Northwest its seventh win in a row, and the ’Cats sit at third in the MIAA standings.

They’ll face No. 1 Wasburn, the team atop the country and the MIAA standings, Oct. 15 in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. They knew they couldn’t overlook Western, though.

“I knew it was gonna be a dog fight,” Northwest coach Amy

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ADDALYNN BRADBURY | NW MISSOURIAN

Junior Hannah Koechl bumps the ball back to score the match point in the Bearcats’ 3-0 win against Missouri Western Oct. 12. Northwest will be back in action Oct. 15 in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse to host No. 1 Washburn.

Woerth said. “We had to control our controllables at a high level.”

The Griffons (11-7, 3-6 MIAA) kept the matchup interesting with a lot of long points, but the Bearcats were able to take the first set 25-11. It wasn’t till the second set the Griffons started providing responses to anything the Bearcats presented, eventually taking a commanding 12-7 lead.

Although the Griffons were hitting at .267% in the second set, the Bearcats rallied to regain the lead at 20-19 before ultimately finishing off the

UP NEXT NW vs. Washburn 6 p.m. Oct. 15 Hughes Fieldhouse NW vs. Emporia State 3 p.m. Oct. 16 Hughes Fieldhouse

set 25-11. The Bearcats started the third set on a 16-3 run and showed no sign of slowing down, before going on to win the set 25-11.

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