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Volume 103 • Number 246 • Thursday, December 19, 2013 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO
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R-II board reviews ballot language for bond issue
Klotz gives drug testing update By TONY BROWN News Editor
Midway through the Maryville R-II School District’s second year of random student drug testing at the middle school and high school, Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz said the new policy continues to run smoothly with few problems or complaints. Since the program was implemented at the beginning of the fall 2012 term, Klotz said a total of 250 student urine samples have been tested. Several “non-negative” findings resulted, but Klotz said all were declared by the district’s medical officer to have been caused by properly prescribed medication. He added that a small number of students have declined to provide samples, which is their right under current policy.
Students who refuse to submit a urine sample automatically lose campus parking privileges and are excluded from participating in Missouri State High School Activities Association activities, including interscholastic sports, speech and debate, cheerleading and band. Over the past year and a half, Klotz said the district has spent about $4,300 on testing services, which are contracted through a private company. One of the few issues that has arisen with the advent of random drug testing, Klotz said, is difficulty by some students in producing a sample within the allowed time frame. So far, all of the young people tested have managed to provide an acceptable sample, though Klotz said a few students have had to See R-II, Page 3
Getting it right
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Maryville Superintendent Larry Linthacum, right, reviews ballot language with regard to a proposed $10.25 million bond issue at this week’s R-II School Board meeting. The session also included an update by Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz on the district’s system of random student drug testing, now entering its second year.
McPherson is No. 1 KEVIN BIRDSELL/DAILY FORUM
‘I love technology’
Sixth-grader Quin Collins does schoolwork on a Chromebook at Maryville Middle School. Collins and other students in Janara Sims’ social studies class now use the web-based computers to complete a wide variety of assignments.
Chromebooks let students walk on ‘the cloud’
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Showing her colors
Kathy McPherson of Burlington Junction poses for a photo with K.C. Wolf, the mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. McPerson will be honored this weekend at Arrowhead Stadium as the 2013 Tony DiPardo Fan of the Year.
By KEVIN BIRDSELL Staff Reporter
Nodaway County woman named top KC Chiefs fan By TONY BROWN News Editor
Football talk in Maryville these days is all about the Bearcats’ attempt to win a fourth national championship. But one Nodaway County couple will be dividing their gridiron loyalty this weekend between the guys in green and the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. Of course lots of Northwest Missouri State boosters also pull for the Chiefs. No real conflict there. But Kathy and Brian McPherson of rural Burlington Junction are especially fond of the Chiefs and have been loyal season ticket holders for more than 15 years. And on Sunday, the Chiefs will repay that loyalty when they recognize Kathy McPherson as the Tony
DiPardo Fan of the Year. McPherson, who will be cheered by thousands of the Chiefs faithful during an on-field ceremony at this Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, makes no bones about having red and gold in her veins. But more than her devotion to the team — a championship contender this season for the first time in years — the Chiefs selected McPherson as fan No. 1 because of her courage and determination in battling back against breast cancer. McPherson has been cancer free for more than six years, but even when she was actively fighting the disease she managed to make every single home game at Arrowhead Stadium. In order to celebrate her commitment, the Chiefs back See McPherson, Page 3
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Janara Sims’ sixth grade social studies class is taking big steps into a new era of schoolroom technology. Sims’ youngsters are among the first in the Maryville R-II School District to leave console computers and traditional laptops behind in favor of Chromebooks. The compact, extremely fast screen-and-keyboard devices are designed solely for use with web-based programs instead of traditional applications that reside on an internal hard drive. R-II has a tech replacement schedule that cycles from year to year. So when the time came for some rooms to get new computers, Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz thought he’d give the Chromebook a try. “The idea actually came from (Klotz),” Maryville Middle School Principal Kevin Pitts said. “He’s kind of in charge of technology across the district. We’re on a technology maintenance schedule, and we churn it out when it gets old. This was an opportunity to get more machines for the same amount of money. It was an economic decision, and it ended up working out as a win-win.” After using traditional laptops for almost five years, Sims is happy with how well the Chromebooks have performed. “They’ve been really great,” Sims said. “We haven’t had any battery trouble with them, and they’re quick and easy See Chromebooks, Page 3
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