News Staff Tributes are coming in for Bob Dole who died yesterday. He was 98 years old.
Dole suffered disabling wounds in World War II. He rose to prominence in the Senate and ran for President against Bill Clinton.
Missouri Senator Roy Blunt said that Missouri Republicans considered Bob Dole as Missouri’s third United States Senator. Blunt said Dole’s quick wit and “keen understanding of America’s role in the world were always part of any conversation you had with him. A great life, well lived.”
Tis the season for porch pirates — people who steal packages delivered to your house by Amazon or UPS or other services. A Kirksville man arrested for doing just that. 19 year old Ely McKeehan arrested after police were alerted to a package swiped from a porch on March Drive. The homeowner had video of the crime being committed.
Be careful looking for love online. In St. Louis County, a man pleaded guilty to helping sweet-talk women out of a lot of money in 25 states. 43-year-old Bonmene Sibe pleaded guilty to helping a Nigerian group. The scam involved using stolen identities of U.S. military officers, so women thought they were talking to real soldiers. Sibe’s job was to find people willing to send cash and electronics to their new online boyfriends.
Victims lost more than a million dollars.
Experts say if you’re talking romance with someone online and they begin asking for money — it’s probably a scam.
Covid count. The Adair county health department says 28 new cases on Wednesday. That brings the current number of active cases to 123. And since this all started last year, Adair county has had right at 39-hundred people in the county with the virus. Nearly all recovered.
The city of Kirksville will hold a workshop for people interested in starting a daycare.
WIth the pandemic, child care has become an issue, with some centers closing or having trouble getting help.
But the city says that grant money is available to help open child care facilities. So a session is planned for Wednesday, Dec 15th on Zoom to explain the details. You can contact the city to learn more…665-3348.
The new Omicron strain of covid-19 has turned up in the U.S. — in California. The patient is fully vaccinated and has mild symptoms.
Locally, cases of covid are climbing in Adair county. Yesterday, the Health Department confirmed 10 new cases, and that pushes the number of people known to have the virus in Adair county to 106. That is the highest number in a while. The youngest person reported with a new case is a five year old boy. An 86 year woman also one of the newly diagnosed patients.
But there are no reports of the Omicron strain except for that California case.
In Sullivan county — 3 new cases reported on Wednesday.
A Missouri federal judge says the federal government cannot force health care workers to take the covid shot. The ruling affects workers in Missouri and nine other state. Judge Matthew Schelp said that rules given by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid were not valid because Congress did not approve the mandate. Schelp said that the feds were taking decisions traditionally made by the state, creating a federal dictate into private medical decisions of millions of Americans.
Adair county ended the month of Novmber with 42 new covid cases yesterday and two new deaths. An unvaccinated 94 year old woman died, and a 60 year old man who was also unvaxxed passed away. In all, 37 people in the county have died from covid since the pandemic began.
In Sullivan county, the health dept says only 39% of the county’s population is fully vaxed. That’s about 24-hundred people. Five new positive cases in the county this week for a total of 13 active cases at the moment.
The state patrol says nine people died in wrecks during the Thanksgiving holiday — none of the fatalities in our area.
Statewide during the holiday period, the patrol was called to 457 wrecks with 114 injured. Troopers also made 125 arrests for DWI and 72 people arrested for having drugs
Covid vaccination clinics are scheduled at the Adair County Health Department. The shots are free but you have to call the Health Department to register. The adult clinics are from 1:30 to 3:30 on December 7th, 21st and 28th.
The pediatric COVID-19 vaccine will be given from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on each Thursday in December.
And there’s pandemic payola for getting the shot. Those who get the vaccine, including kids ages 5-11, will receive a $50 gift card to local Casey’s, Hy-Vee, Walgreens or Walmarts. You also get a $50 gift card for a second dose…but not boosters.