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Volume 104 • Number 6 • Thursday, January 9, 2014 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO
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Coleman hearing is today By TONY BROWN News editor
A spokesman for Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker, who was named in October as the special prosecutor in the Daisy Coleman sexual assault case, has announced that Baker will be at the Nodaway County Courthouse today for a hearing before associate Circuit Judge Glen Dietrich.
Daisy Coleman
No other details were released except that the hearing is to begin at 1:30 p.m., and that a press conference is expected to follow.
Coleman is at the center of a case that garnered national media attention two years after she and another minor were allegedly raped at a party in Maryville attended by a number of local high school students. Coleman was 14 at the time, and the other alleged victim was 13. Two 17-year-old boys were charged as adults after Coleman was allegedly abandoned outside her Maryville home in freezing temperatures after the party ended during the early morning hours. After the Coleman family left Maryville and moved to Albany, the house where they lived was destroyed by fire. No cause was ever determined. Charges against the two teenaged boys were subsequently dropped by Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice, who cited a lack of cooperation by Coleman and her mother. Both the mother, Melinda Coleman, and her daughter have vigorously denied Rice’s assertion. Investigative reports by a See COLEMAN, Page 3
BBBS names case manager By STEVE HARTMAN Staff writer
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Nodaway County has announced the hiring of Shelby Wayman as case manager. Wayman, a Chillicothe native, is a 2013 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University. She will be responsible for intake — the screening of prospective “Bigs” and “Littles” — and management and support of the 51 matches currently administered by the youth mentoring program. “I’m very excited to get
Shelby Wayman
out and help our matches,” Wayman said. “I believe it will be a highly rewarding See BBBS, Page 3
KEVIN BIRDSELL/DAILY FORUM
Josh McKim took over Jan. 6 as the new director of Nodaway County Economic Development. In an interview with the Daily Forum this week, he said his top priorities include finding a tenant for the now-vacant Energizer battery plant and exploiting the recruiting advantages provided by the presence in Maryville of a state university.
McKim takes over as NCED chief By KEVIN BIRDSELL Staff writer
After spending time away from his hometown, Maryville native Josh McKim has returned to Maryville as director of Nodaway County Economic Development. McKim, who graduated from Maryville High School in 1996 and from Northwest Missouri State University in 2000, and holds a master’s degree in economics from Oklahoma State University. His resume includes earlier stops in Gary County, Kan., and Stillwater, Okla., where he held professional positions in both the public and private sector. “This job came open and I had been thinking of getting back into economic development,” McKim said. “I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I could make a difference in my hometown and my home county. That would be so cool.’ So I jumped at the opportunity to come back and help out.” Though only on the job for a few days, McKim already has a long list of goals in terms of business recruitment and job creation. But finding a new corporate tenant for the nowempty Energizer battery plant stands at that top of the list. “The Energizer building is a big priority for us,” McKim said. “We are going to be working very hard to reach out to different site selectors as well as corporate real estate executives to push that building and see if we can get that filled in the near future.”
Late last year, the Maryville City Council appropriated an extra $10,000 to NCED above its usual contribution, money that is specifically earmarked for attracting a new occupant at the 480,000 square-foot manufacturing complex, located at 3131 E. First. “(The building) has to be at the top of our minds,” McKim said. “But, we also need to look at it as an opportunity to move in a new direction and how we can get ourselves into a position to do that.”
‘I’m a firm believer that the economic engines of the future are going to be universities that are actively engaged in the market.’ — Josh McKim Another goal for McKim is developing stronger relationships between NCED and the county’s existing businesses. “I’m a firm believer that any good economic development organization is first and foremost about supporting our local businesses that are already here,” McKim said. “That is a top priority for me.” McKim is hoping he will be able to meet with most, if not all, of the area’s business owners and executives over the next few weeks to offer his support and talk about NCED’s role in
promoting opportunities for growth. Retail development is another item on McKim’s list, along with strategies designed to encourage local residents to shop at home rather than traveling to St. Joseph or Kansas City. Over the years, a number of companies have considered moving to Maryville before going elsewhere. McKim said he believes it’s time to revisit those firms to see if they might be ready to change their minds. “We will be going back over the last five years and looking at companies that have looked at our community and for some reason said no and reaching back out to them,” McKim said. “That has been a way in the past that I have filled a big building.” The keys, he said, are always to keep the channels of communication open between NCED and companies that show a potential for recruitment. McKim added that this area has one huge advantage over competing markets in the region — Northwest Missouri State University. “I’m a firm believer that the economic engines of the future are going to be universities that are actively engaged in the market,” McKim said. “Northwest seems to have a real vision and focus to be actively engaged. That’s a great thing for Maryville and says a lot for the potential for Maryville and Nodaway County. The university is probably our number one competitive advantage.” McKim has relocated to Maryville and lives with his wife, Angie, and the couple’s three children: Grace, 10; Claire, 7; and Jonah, 5.
Hunters voice worries over diminished deer herd By BRENT FRAZEE AP Panorama
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Is there trouble in paradise? Missouri deer hunters certainly think so. They remember days
when they could pick and choose the deer they wanted to shoot. Now, they’re lucky just to see deer. Any deer, let alone a big buck. A severe outbreak of hemorrhagic disease during the summer of 2012 hit
hard — harder than even the Missouri Department of Conservation first thought. That, combined with the long-term effects of liberalized hunting regulations that allow hunters to take unlimited does in many counties,
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several years of drought and reduced habitat, has hunters worried. Missouri, for years known nationally for its deer hunting, no longer is the land of plenty when it comes to whitetails. Or at least, that’s
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what hunters are reporting. “I’ve hunted deer in Missouri since 1984, and this is by far the worst season I have seen,” said Joe Monteleone, an avid deer hunter from Liberty. “We’re seeing far less deer when we’re
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hunting. Our trail cameras tell the story: We just don’t have the deer out there that we once did.” Monteleone isn’t alone in his thoughts. Many hunters have conSee DEER HERD, Page 3
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