Archives for January 2012

Doniphan High School got and A+.

And, I don’t know if we’re supposed to tell you this, but Governor Jay Nixon is coming to recognize the school today. I have it on good authority that the Gov will encourage you, the students to take advantage of the program that could earn you scholarships to cover college tuition at a Missouri Community College. So around 1:45 this afternoon. Hope I didn’t spoil the surprise!

Students were in school in Kirksville on Monday, and so were drug dogs.

Police took the drug detecting K-9 into both Kirksville High school and the Kirksville Area Technical Center, and students were kept inside their classrooms as the animal and his human handler made a sweep of the schools. R-III district officials said they also swept the parking lot, and they said, the K-9 officer did not hit on any potential drugs. Teachers were only told by administrators to hold students in their classrooms, but that there was no emergency.

Putnam County’s Extension Information Night, which is held annually to update producers and all interested persons, will be held next Wednesday, February 8th. This year it will again be held in conjunction with Putnam County’s Annual Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) meeting. It will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and be at the Putnam County High School. Dinner will be provided, as has been the case in past years, courtesy of several of our local businesses. Our annual pie/dessert auction will be held as well during dinner with the proceeds used to help fund capital expenses (equipment, etc) for the Extension Office here in Unionville.

“We continue to try and make it possible for everyone to attend that can” says Joe Koenen, Agricultural Business Specialist. “The program is being held in February before farmers start calving, and we feel like we have topics that will interest farmers and non-farmers alike again this time”, says Joe. “Again this year we are doing just the 2 sessions so that we can get everyone home a little earlier” said Joe. Sessions will be 40 minutes and a couple will be repeated so you can attend more than 1 topic. Topics are selected for their timeliness and
interest. Several of these topics should be of interest to many of you. There will be a session on Farm Trucking Regulations due to the large interest it had last year so is returning again this year (it is a 2 part session). Another couple of sessions are on Missouri Crime Trends and Taking Care of You – A Program for Dealing with Women’s Stress and Natural Pest Control for the Home Garden that are very timely topics in our area right now. The rest of the topics will be: Managing Your Woodlands; Government Programs Available to Landowners; Glyphosate Resistant Marestail in Beans and Forages {Hay and Pastures} and Family Nutrition Programs available through University of Missouri Extension. The 2012 Annual Soil and Water Conservation District Meeting is again combined with this program to assist attendance for both programs. The Putnam County Extension Council elections will be held from 5 to 7 pm at the school before the meeting for your convenience. “We feel like these topics and the program will be very useful to you and your operation, business or home,” says Joe. Again this year, several local businesses are picking up the cost of the meal. “We really do appreciate all their support,” says Koenen. “Without their assistance, this program would not be possible”. The Putnam County Extension Council will be catering the meal this year. The Putnam County University of Missouri Extension Council and Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) sponsor this meeting. We also want to thank the Putnam County School System for the use of the school. This program has always brought out a big crowd here so we hope you’ll come and attend (and bring your spouse along too) on the 8th. Please come for the pie/dessert auction too. For more information on this or other meetings, contact the Extension Office at putnamco@missouri.edu.

JEFFERSON CITY – More than 390,000 Missourians are already registered to participate in the state’s second statewide earthquake drill on Feb. 7. Missouri is participating in the “Great Central U.S. ShakeOut,” a nine-state regional earthquake drill, during which more than 1.7 million people in the Midwest will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” at the same time – 10:15 a.m.

“I am happy to see so many Missourians participating in this important drill,” said Missouri State Emergency Management Agency Director Paul Parmenter. “Unlike other disasters, an earthquake occurs without warning, so it’s vital to know what to do ahead of time. The ShakeOut drill is the best way to learn how to protect yourself and your family, and it only takes a minute.”

There is still time plenty of time for schools, businesses and families to register and participate if the drill that takes just 60 seconds. Last year almost 500,000 Missourians participated in the first ShakeOut earthquake drill.

Missouri is one of nine states in the New Madrid Seismic Zone that will participate in this drill on the 200th anniversary of the largest earthquake in state history. The Great New Madrid Earthquake that occurred on February 7, 1812 devastated much of southeast Missouri, briefly reversed the course of the Mississippi River and was felt as far away as the East Coast.

Anyone can register for the ShakeOut at www.shakeout.org/centralus, where you will receive all the information you need for a successful drill.

During the ShakeOut, participants will “Drop, Cover and Hold On” for 60 seconds. Experts say this is the best way to protect yourself during an earthquake, since in the U.S. the primary threat for injury or loss of life is falling debris and toppling objects, like bookcases and heavy electronics, not a structural collapse.

At exactly 10:15 a.m. on Feb. 7, Missourians and people around the central U.S. will:

· DROP to the ground

· take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table

· HOLD ON to it until the shaking stops

The New Madrid Seismic Zone, centered in southeast Missouri, is the nation’s most active earthquake zone east of the Rocky Mountains. At least three of the largest earthquakes in the continental United States occurred in the region from1811-12. The largest of the quakes was centered in New Madrid and occurred on Feb. 7, 1812. The earthquakes were followed by aftershocks that continued for more than two years. More than 2,000 shocks were felt at least 180 miles away from their epicenters.

Much more information on the ShakeOut and earthquake preparedness is available from the State Emergency Management Agency. Go to www.sema.dps.mo.gov and select Earthquakes in the “How do I prepare for” section for:
· A three-minute video showing Missouri fourth graders taking part in a ShakeOut “Drop, Cover, Hold On” drill.

· A slide show highlighting earthquake history and preparedness in Missouri.

· A ShakeOut drill manual with instructions for four different levels of drill participation.

· Many more details on Missouri’s earthquake history, geology, and preparedness activities.

Editor’s Note: A dedicated Web site is available for reporters seeking additional resources on the ShakeOut, including video, graphics, and background information. Please visit: www.moeqmedia.com.

(Kirksville, MO) — The City of Kirksville and the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce invites all residents of Kirksville and Adair County to attend a public open house on Tuesday, January 31 from 7 to 8 pm at the Kirksville R-III Middle School Commons. This open house will give citizens the opportunity to discuss the proposed 2012 Community Strategic Plan for Kirksville-Adair County.

By harnessing Kirksville’s current resources, assets and geographic location support, the plan attempts to set a direction for the Kirksville community based on common goals that will lead to citizen empowerment and economic opportunity. The newly proposed plan is a continuation of an ongoing commission created in 1993 to address a variety of areas including central business district, community betterment, economic development, housing, health and human services, recreation and leisure services, schools and education, telecommunication, tourism, and transportation, utilities and infrastructure. The proposed Kirksville-Adair County Community Strategic Plan can be viewed on the City’s website, www.kirksvillecity.com.

Two meth makers were busted in Kirksville late last week.

And by late Friday, 48 year old Adam Burhop and 27 year old Autumn Cary were in the Adair County Jail on a 24 hour hold pending related charges. Kirksville police said they got a warrant and found evidence of a meth making operation and some prescription drugs. Police said they were tipped off when retailers noticed some suspicious buys at their stores, called police and the pair was taken in.

The Missouri House is back in session today, after a day off on Friday, but there’s no action planned on Representative Zach Wyatt’s resolution calling for the impeachment of Adair County Judge Russell Steele.

Wyatt said he was hoping that the speaker would assign the bill to committee last week to the bipartisan Standing Committee on Ethics. It was not. Last week, Wyatt and cosponsor Craig Redmond called for Steele’s impeachment for what they called the judge’s violating all sorts of ethics rules. Steele said in a statement late last week that quote — “This is an unprecedented and extraordinary political attack on a member of the judiciary and ignores the well established process that is in place to consider complaints against judges.” Now the legislators will wait to see what the body does this week.

That would be one Sarah Rex from the American Red Cross talking about you, at our Blood Bowl on Wednesday. Yes, its been two days, and after all the number crunching, adding and subtracting, how’d we do?

Wait! We got more units of blood than people who actually donated at this year’s blood bowl?

So next year, come back, bring your friends and donate even more. Keep in mind that for every single unit of blood on a regular donation, three people can be helped.

JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Jay Nixon today encouraged interested Missourians to submit applications to be considered for the next two-year term as poet laureate of Missouri. Webster University Professor of English David Clewell, of St. Louis, was selected by the Governor in 2010 for the current term as poet laureate.

“Missouri has a long tradition of poets and authors whose words have moved and inspired generations of people around the world,” Gov. Nixon said. “Through naming a poet laureate, we recognize how poetry has enriched our lives and hope to inspire the poets and authors of the future.”

The deadline to submit an application for poet laureate is Feb. 24, 2012. An application form that can be filled in online and then printed to mail in can be found at http://governor.mo.gov/newsroom/pdf/2012/2012_Poet_Application.pdf

An advisory committee, including three representatives of the Missouri Center for the Book and two members appointed by the Governor, is charged with reviewing and evaluating applications, and recommending appropriate candidates for appointment to the Governor. Members of the advisory committee must have expertise in contemporary American poetry and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The members of the advisory committee are:

n Dr. James Baumlin, a Professor of English at Missouri State University, who has published numerous books, essays and reviews;

n Dr. Adam Davis, a professor in the Classical and Modern Languages Department at Truman State University;

n Gabriel Fried, the author of two poetry collections and the poetry editor at Persea Books. He teaches in the graduate creative writing program at the University of Missouri;

n Kris Kleindienst, a published author and columnist, and the owner of Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore with two locations in St. Louis; and

n Nola Ruth, the chair of the Missouri Arts Council, who served for 17 years as the director of the Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies.

The individual selected as poet laureate will serve a two-year term and be expected to present and lecture on poetry to school, community and civic groups throughout the state.

Judge Russell Steele says two state reps are rehashing politics.

Judge Steele said in a statement on Thursday that Representatives Zack Wyatt and Craig Redmond are using the quote — “same old allegations that were raised by my political opponents in an attempt to defeat me in my last election in 2006.” Steele said then, voters and the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges rejected the allegations. That’s the body that Wyatt wanted to investigate charges against Steele. The judge said the commission had already found the allegations against him unfounded. He said Redmond and Wyatt are using the Missouri House to further their own agenda, instead of the people’s business. Steele called it blatant abuse of the General Assembly.