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ATIONAL FFA WEEK
See what local FFA members are doing in your area See pages C1-C8
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POSTAL CUSTOMER
US POSTAGE PAID QUINCY, IL PERMIT #108
REGIONAL ISSUE • REGIONAL ISSUE • REGIONAL ISSUE • REGIONAL ISSUE • REGIONAL ISSUE •
Serving the communities of Lewis County, Mo. since 1862 (USPS 088-820) Vol. XLI New Series, No. 7 Canton, Mo. 63435 • 24 Pages • 4 Sections • 55 cents
THE PRESS-NEWS JOURNAL’S WEBSITE
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Canton Aldermen meet with Senior Housing Residents
PRESIDENTS DAY TO BE OBSERVED Many schools, city and government offices will be closed in observance of President’s Day on Feb. 18. The Press-News Journal will observe regular deadline of 10 a.m. Monday, but those mailing information should prepare accordingly.
BLOOD DRIVE TO BE HELD IN CANTON The Red Cross will be holding a blood drive at Canton R-V High School, 200 S. Fourth St. on Feb. 25.
LABELLE ELECTION CORRECTION Candidates for the LaBelle City election are Mayor- Larry Hackemack. Collector, Debra Lay. Aldermen South WardRoger Scott. One candidate will be elected for each of those positions. North Ward candidates are Roy Lewis Sr., Jonah Lewis, Benny Kaylor. Two candidates will be elected for the North Ward.. This is a correction to information found in last week’s issue.
SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK MAKES PLANS FOR 5K RUN The Shrine of St. Patrick is planning a 5k fun run in conjunction with other St. Patrick’s Day festivities on March 17, 2013, at the Shrine of St. Patrick. The course will be 3.2 mile stretch beginning and ending at the Shrine of St. Patrick. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. through 9:45 a.m. and race will start at 10:00 a.m. You can preregister at St. Michael’s rectory in Kahoka, Mo., or St. Joseph rectory in Canton, Mo., by March 6, 2013. There is a cost to register. Awards will be given to overall male and female runners and to age group winners. In addition to the fun run, the Shrine of St. Patrick will be having a meal from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., musical entertainment, and mass at 3:00 p.m. For more information please contact Kristen Roth St. Michaels Church 660-727-3472.
Photo by Rita Cox
The City of Canton held a special board meeting with Canton Senior Housing residents with over 75 people attending concerning information about a meter charge and rate increase for water.
BY RITA COX EDITOR rita1@lewispnj.com
The City of Canton held a special open council meeting at the United Methodist Church in Canton on Feb. 5 to give residents of Canton Senior Housing a chance to ask questions about an ordinance that has recently been enforced. According to the city municipal code Section 700.115: SEPARATE CONNECTIONS FOR EACH USER The City requires each user of water and/or sewer services provided by the City to install and maintain a separate connection with the City water and sewer mains; customer connections intended to serve one (1) user shall not serve any other user in any way; even if both users are on the same lot or property. Darlene Mohr, manager of the Canton Senior Housing and the Senior Housing residents are questioning why the city waited 40 years to enact this ordinance that they feel targets the elderly, disabled and veterans who are surviving on a fixed income. The Senior Housing complex has three meters. The City of Canton is requiring each apartment in the city to be charged for
a meter, which means that Senior Housing would be charged for 77 meters instead of the three currently used. Meters will not be installed because installation would be too costly for both Senior Housing and the city. Mayor Jarrod Phillips began the meeting with a power point presentation to answer some of the concerns. The presentation included facts about the City of Canton’s water and sewer system. The city has 28 miles of water lines with 935 individual customers. The sewer has 15 miles of sewer lines connected to four pumping stations that send wastewater to the lagoon system. The wastewater treatment lagoon receives over 300,000 of gallons of sewage per day. Phillips explained that both the water and sewer systems are inspected by the Department of Natural Resources(DNR) and the system could also be taken over by DNR if the city fails to keep the system operating as laid out by DNR. With the water revenue collected, the city replaces water lines, upgrades water meters and funds the daily operations of the water treatment plant and water distri-
bution system. Revenue also goes to paying off debt for the water and sewer systems. Phillips also explained about grants, debt, how the city is trying to keep costs down and why it is necessary to raise rates. In July 2012, all customers of the city had a rate increase to the minimum assessment and Phillips explained that every house and multi-unit dwelling is paying the same minimum. Senior Housing was phased in with the first rate increased by $15 per apartment per month. In July 2013 the last phase will go into effect in the amount of $14.45 for a total amount of $29.45 per apartment. The rate impacted a total of 160 individual apartments with Senior Housing having 77, or 48 percent of the total apartments impacted. Phillips told the audience that the city is certainly not targeting any group of people for the increase, especially the elderly. After the mayor’s presentation, concerned citizens and residents of Senior Housing were given a chance to ask questions and speak about how the rate increase Story continues on page 2A
CITY OF CANTON RECEIVES FUNDS THROUGH SAFE ROUTES The City of Canton will receive a $232,549 infrastructure grant through the Safe Routes to School program for new ADA accessible sidewalks to begin at 7th and Nesmith Streets and run along 7th, White, 6th and Washington Streets and end at the Canton R-V School. The Federal SRTS Program provides Federal-aid highway funds to State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) solely for the purpose of SRTS infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects, and to administer state SRTS programs that benefit elementary and middle school
children in grades K-8. Missouri’s SRTS Program is administered by MoDOT, however these funds cannot be used for road or bridge type projects. The SRTS program is focused on providing safety improvements, ADA improvements, safety education and encouragement for grade school (K-8) children to be able to walk to school safely. The SRTS program will benefit communities by making bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle for school
children from an early age. General information can be found online at http://www.modot.mo.gov/. Click on “Safety� and then go to Safe Routes to School. You can also call (800) 800BELT for more information. If you have questions about this or other transportation issues in your area please call MoDOT’s Customer Service Center toll free at 1-888 ASK MODOT (2756636) during normal business hours or visit the project website at www.modot. org/northeast.
Bring the whole family to enjoy a 50s style Cafe, and see our lineup of antique cars at the Heartland Ford Museum. Over a century of cars, from the 1906 Model S to the 2007 Shelby Mustang. t 4FSWJOH TBOEXJDIFT CVSHFST GSJFT QJ[[B TPGU TFSWF JDF DSFBN BOE NPSF t %BJMZ #VòFU #SFBLGBTU BN QN -VODI BN QN t 4NPSHBTCPSE 8FEOFTEBZT QN t 1J[[B #VòFU QN TU 5VFTEBZ &WFSZ .POUI Located in the Heartland Community, just off Route E between Newark & Bethel, MO.
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