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Volume 104 • Number 23 • Tuesday, February 4, 2014 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO • 75¢
Maryville braces for predicted winter storm By TONY BROWN News editor
Northwest Missourians braced Monday night for a powerful winter storm that forecasters expected to blanket virtually all of northern Missouri with between 6 to 10 inches of snow. City crews spent Monday checking and repairing plows, salt spreaders and other gear as Maryville Public Safety made plans to invoke the city’s snow emergency ordinance early. Public Works Director C.E. Goodall said the ordinance, which forbids parking along certain streets in the event of severe winter weather, was to be activated shortly after the National Weather Service upgraded its advisory for the area
from a watch to a warning. And if all that wasn’t enough, today’s predicted storm will likely be followed by days of severe cold. Tonight’s forecast calls for a low of around 5 degrees with north winds gusting to around 30 mph and wind chill readings of 10 to 15 degrees below zero after midnight. Of course no weather forecast is perfect, but Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service had set the probability of snowfall and other precipitation across the region at 100 percent. “That’s what we’re planning on,” Goodall said yesterday, adding that the city’s seven-member street crew was working to fix several mechanical issues affecting Maryville’s snowplow fleet,
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Preparing for the worst
Members of the city of Maryville street crew load salt into a spreader truck Monday afternoon in preparation for a major winter storm forecast to hit much of north Missouri, including Nodaway County, starting early today. which consist of three bladeequipped dump trucks and three salt-spreader trucks, also fitted out with plows. “We’ve been working on those today to make sure we’ve got everything operating correctly and up and ready to go,” Goodall said. As for the city’s aforementioned emergency snow routes, Goodall said the best option for motorists is simply to park off-street if at all possible. “That’s the best thing we can advise,” he said. “Parking off the street just makes it easier and safer for our guys to get down the road.” Under the ordinance, Goodall said, cars left parked along snow routes can be towed. He added, however, that the city will
make every effort to contact vehicle owners before taking that step. “That’s handled on a caseby-case basis,” he said. A map of the city’s snow routes is available online at www.maryville.org/pView. aspx?id=22801&catid=506. The threat of another blast of severe winter weather has Maryville — along with virtually every other community north of Interstate 70 — scrambling to stock up on road salt Maryville’s salt supply has declined somewhat during what is shaping up into a winter for the record books. However, Goodall said a couple of fresh loads were expected in Monday, and that sufficient salt is on hand to handle a seven- to 10-
inch snowfall. But it’s going to cost. The tough winter has depleted salt supplies, more than doubling the price per ton from $60 in December to more than $130 as the predicted storm approached. “Frankly, I’m amazed that the price had to go up that drastically,” Goodall said. If this week’s storm materializes as predicted, Goodall said the crew might have to apply as many as 70 tons of salt, which is mixed with a corn-based melting solution, to city streets. “This could easily put a big dint in (the salt) we do have,” Goodall said. “On the positive side, our new product (the corn-based biomelt, which is designed to reduce pavement corrosion)
has done very well.” This is the first year the city has used the new-type bio-melt, which earlier in the year was priced at $2.20 a gallon. The compound is mixed with salt at a ratio of five gallons per ton, and it takes about 50 gallons of the stuff to treat both lanes of a mile-long street. In addition to its seventruck fleet, Maryville also uses two large loaders and a giant snow-blower to remove white stuff from city streets, paved trails and parking lots. When a snowstorm hits, the crew divides the town up into five sections with a driver assigned to each section. That leaves two equipment operators to fill in on various tasks as needed.
Hegeman, Johnson enter Missouri Senate race By TONY BROWN News editor
One current and one former member of the Missouri House of Representatives have announced their intentions to seek the Republican nomination for the 12th District Missouri Senate seat currently held by Sen. Brad Lager. Announcing Monday that they were candidates in the August primary run were Dan Hegeman, North District community affairs manager for Kansas City Power & Light, and State Rep. Delus Johnson, a former firefighter whose 9th District includes parts of Andrew and Buchanan counties. Now serving his second four-year term in the Senate, Lager, a former state representative and Maryville city councilman who has since moved to Savannah, will leave office at the end of this year due to Missouri’s term
limits law. The 12th District comprises 16 northwest Missouri counties, including Nodaway. The announcements by Hegeman and Johnson followed last week’s statement by Rep. Casey Guernsey, a Bethany Republican representing the 2nd District, that he was no longer a candidate for the GOP nomination. In removing himself from the August primary ballot, Guernsey said he was leaving politics and would not seek re-election to a fourth term in the House. Hegeman, president of the Andrew County Farm Bureau, is part owner of a family owned row crop and cattle farm near Cosby. “I believe the primary driver of our economy in Northwest Missouri is agriculture,” he said in a prepared statement. “No matter who you are, you depend on it three times every day. We need more farmers who understand the importance of
Dan Hegeman
Rep. Delus Johnson
this issue in the Capitol.” Hegeman graduated from Savannah High School in 1981 and the University of Missouri in 1985. He has received the Missouri Farm Bureau’s Friend of Agriculture Award and served as president of the Andrew County University of Missouri Extension Council. Long active in Republican politics, Hegeman served in the Missouri House from 1992-2002 and was an An-
drew County clerk. He also spent time as an associate district manager for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves. A member of Hope United Church of Christ in Cosby, Hegeman belongs to the Moila Shrine Temple. He and his wife, Fran, have four children. Johnson, who spent 20 years as a captain on the St. Joseph Fire Department, was elected to the House in 2010. Last year, he in-
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troduced a bill to eliminate daylight saving time in Missouri if 20 other states would pledge to do the same. “During my time in the Missouri House of Representatives, I’ve fought for Missouri families by promoting policies that create jobs, cut taxes, and encourage strong agricultural growth,” Johnson said in a prepared statement announcing his candidacy. “I want to continue this work, and so today, after much consideration, I am proud to announce my candidacy for Missouri’s 12th state Senate district.” Johnson said three major issues for his campaign would be job creation, the promotion of agriculture and state tax reform. “I’m running because we need a proven conservative leader with business experience who will stand up to the special interests and lobbyists in Jefferson City,” Johnson said. “I want to
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continue my endless fight to create new Missouri jobs.” In addition to his fire department career, during which he received the Fire Chief’s Life Saving Award, Johnson has owned several small businesses, including a training company catering to entrepreneurs. In the House, he serves as chairman of the Emerging Issues in Agriculture Committee and also sits on panels related to small business, agriculture policy, international trade, oral health and ports. According to Johnson’s official House biography, he is a member of the National Rifle Association, the St. Joseph Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Savannah Chamber of Commerce, Savannah Rotary Club and the International Association of Firefighters. Johnson and his wife, Tara, have two daughters and live in Andrew County.
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