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Volume 104 • Number 27 • Monday, February 10, 2014 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO
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Area anglers hooked on sport of ice fishing By TONY BROWN News editor
With the temperatures “soaring” into the high teens Saturday morning, it was a perfect day for more than 100 hardy souls to head out to Mozingo Lake Recreation Park for a few hours of ice fishing. Held at least annually — assuming the ice gets thick enough to be safe — the Missouri Department of Conservation clinic has grown into a popular event at Mozingo, attracting anglers of all ages from across the region. There’s no charge, and MDC staff are on hand with loaner tackle, jigs and bait. Fisherfolk at Saturday’s event were also treated to free soft drinks, minipastries, potato chips and
boiled frankfurters served up by fisheries management biologist Matt Engel. The ice fishing workshop at Mozingo got its start about six years ago when another MDC fisheries biologist, Tory Mason, whose area includes Nodaway County, decided the sport had untapped potential in northwest Missouri. Mason grew up ice fishing in northern Illinois and continued his winter angling ways while attending college at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “A lot of people are kind of afraid to try it on their own,” said Mason while baiting a hook dressed in camouflage hat and gloves, insulated coveralls and a green MDC barn jacket. “So this kind of gets you going. People want some-
thing to do in February.” Crouching over a coffee-can sized hole in the ice 200 feet offshore on a windswept, snow-covered 1,000-acre lake waiting for a crappie or bluegill to tickle your jig may not sound like everyone’s idea of a good time. But ice fishing is finding a good number of converts in these parts, Mason said. “It’s addicting, almost,” he said, “and you’re not going to drift off your spot. If you catch fish you know you’re right on them.” And the anglers at Mozingo Saturday seemed to be having a fair amount of success, pulling pan-sized fish from pre-drilled drilled holes — courtesy of MDC — at fairly regular intervals. See ICE FISHING, Page 6
Wintertime — and the fishing’s fine TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Clayton Allen, a Northwest Missouri State University agronomy major from Chillicothe, was smiling beneath his ski mask Saturday after pulling a pan-sized perch through a hole in the ice at Mozingo Lake.
Salt reserve shrinks as price skyrockets By TONY BROWN News editor
Street Superintendent Jay Cacek said Saturday that the city of Maryville is struggling to maintain an adequate street salt reserve following last week’s severe winter storm that dumped between five and seven inches of snow on Nodaway County. The problem, Cacek said, is not so much the amount of snow that has fallen locally but an increased demand for icemelting salt throughout the rest of the state, and indeed much of the nation, which has been locked in winter’s grip for weeks. The price of street salt
has doubled and then some since late fall when it was selling for around $60 a ton. Suppliers are currently asking for $165 a ton, if indeed the compound is available at all. Cacek said he was able to purchase a single 25ton load of salt prior to the storm at $130 per ton, and that the city, as of Saturday, had a total of about 160 tons stored at its maintenance garage on the east side of town. It takes about 30 tons of salt to treat Maryville’s 80 miles of streets following an “average” snow storm, and perhaps twice that if there is a significant amount of ice. While pledging that the
city’s street crew would do everything it could to keep the streets clear and safe in the event of more bad weather, Cacek said he is hoping he can “get by with what we’ve got.” “We’re going to use salt wisely,” he said. Otherwise, Cacek’s sixmember crew has been working to keep trucks and other equipment going during what is, by any measure, a very hard winter. One truck recently had to be fitted with a new set of leaf springs while another went in for repairs after its snowplow was torn off. “Other than that, it’s gone pretty well,” Cacek said of this year’s snow removal efforts.
State targets disabilities wait list JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hundreds of people who have developmental disabilities could begin receiving publicly funded services as Missouri officials tackle a waiting list for in-home services that now stands at nearly 1,400 people. Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed nearly $24 million for in-home services for people qualifying for Medicaid, which officials estimate would cover 970 people. The potential for
additional help is leading to some excitement, particularly among those who need the services. Maureen Fitzgerald, director of disability rights for The Arc, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said wait lists can lead to financial difficulties and psychological strain. Family members sometimes quit jobs or reduce hours to care for loved ones.
Missouri has been making progress since launching Partnership for Hope in 2010. The program combines county, state and federal funds and is seeking to end the waiting period for services, thereby avoiding the need for institutional placement. The program now covers 101 counties and St. Louis city and offers services such as transportation, specialized medical equipment, job preparation and independent living skills.
OFFICE NUMBER
660-562-2424
KEVIN BIRDSELL/DAILY FORUM
Up for bids
The Maryville License Bureau currently shares a building with the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce. However, if Community Action Inc., a local social services non-profit, wins the contract, which is now up for bid, the bureau would move to 1212B S. Main.
Two entities competing for local License Bureau By KEVIN BIRDSELL Staff writer
The Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce has had a contract for years with the Missouri Department of Revenue to operate the local motor vehicle License Bureau. But that could soon
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change. Every three years, the department allows organizations and private individuals to bid License Bureau contracts around the state, and this year the chamber has competition. “The Maryville Chamber has run the license bureau for many, many years,
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and our contract expired in 2013,” said Executive Director Melanie Smith. The business advocacy group is seeking to win a new contract, but Community Services Inc., a local social services agency, has also put in a bid. If the non-profit is sucSee LICENSE, Page 5
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Today High: 13° Low: -2°