News Staff

The trial date has been set for an Illinois woman, facing fmurder charges from a crash that killed 3 Kirksville children. In August of 2020, Natasha McBride crashed into a vehicle driven by Stephen Hendricks at a high rate of speed. His wife, 54-year-old Jennifer Hendricks, of Rushville, Ill, was killed in the crash. Their grandchildren from Kirksville, who were in the vehicle also died. McBride faces four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury, four counts of reckless homicide and four counts of driving with a revoked license. The jury trial for McBride will start on December 6th. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The City of Kirksville’s drainage project was completed 20 days ahead of schedule. The ribbon cutting for the opening of North Elson Street at Potter, a key access to downtown Kirksville, took place Friday morning. The North-South corridor was closed at the Potter Street intersection, July 7, for a box culvert install. The 90-day project was completed in 70 days. Jim Stanton Concrete was the general contractor and Mark Taylor excavating handled all dirt work and landscaping. Jim Stanton said the weather cooperated all but two days enabling them to get the job done timely and open the street ahead of schedule.

Adair County ended the week with 67 new COVID-19 cases and one more death. The overall count is 3,420, with 83 active cases, 3,306 people who have left isolation, and 31 deaths. The Health Department is holding a curbside COVID vaccine clinic Friday, Sept. 24, at their offices, 1001 S. Jamison Street, at 3 p.m. First, second, and third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be administered to residents ages 12 and older. Call the Health Department at 660-665-8491 to register for the curbside clinic.

The Adair County Health Department confirmed 13 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the total case count past 3400. There are currently 86 active cases. The new cases include an unvaccinated 86-year-old admitted to Northeast Regional Medical Center Wednesday. He is not currently on a ventilator. Three of yesterday’s cases reside at addresses with at least one other confirmed case. Five are in the K-12 schools sector and one is in the higher education sector. One is a breakthrough case.

Elsewhere in Northeast Missouri…

Knox County reported that 2 more residents have been hospitalized and there is 1 ventilated patient. They currently have 18 active cases. The Macon County Health Department reported that during the week of September 8 – 14, there were 52 new cases of COVID-19 in the county.

A woman from Kirksville is facing DWI and other charges following an accident this week. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crash report, 23-year-old Cynthia Davis was going northbound on 63, near Clark in Randolph County, when her vehicle ran of the left side of the roadway and struck several road signs. She was transported by Randolph County Ambulance to Moberly Regional Medical Center for treatment of her injuries. Davis was also arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated, Failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, no inurance, and for not wearing a seat belt.

The annual Mascots Marching for Meals event returns this weekend. The event is organized each year by the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri to help fund its Buddy Pack Program, which provides meals to area kids. The 1.8-mile march in Kirksville starts at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the YMCA Pavilion. There’s also a march in Macon, happening at 5:30 p.m. today at Long Branch Lake.

K-12 test scores dropped in Missouri amid the pandemic. This week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released preliminary statewide 2020-21 Missouri Assessment Program data. The tests show 45 percent of students are proficient or advanced in English, 35 percent in math and 37 percent in science. Results from social studies exams will be available in the coming weeks. Compared to results from the 2018-19 school year, that represents a drop of four points in English, seven points in math and five points in science.
State education officials say that because the 2020-21 MAP tests were taken under unprecedented circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Board of Education voted in December 2020 to waive the results for state and federal accountability purposes.

This week the United Way of Northeast Missouri kicked off their 2022 campaign. Chade Shorten is serving as the Campaign Chair and Stephanie McGrew is the Assistant Campaign Chair. They are working to help the United Way achieve their goal of reaching $180,000. The drive will raise funds to support 11 area not-for-profit agencies during their 2022 fiscal year of operations. Donate online at: liveunitednemo.org

A 48-hour boil advisory is in effect for some in Kirksville. The affected area includes Ely Street between Fillmore and Scott Streets. The boil advisory lasts until 2:50 pm tomorrow.

A Truman student is facing charges for making a terrorist threat on September 11th. According to police, 20-year-old Patrick Akins made the threat on a social media app. The post mentioned blowing up Centennial Hall. Someone who saw the post contacted Truman’s Department of Public Safety. The Director was able to obtain information about who the social media account was registered to. Akins was taken into custody and appeared in court Monday. He pled not guilty to the charge of third-degree terrorist threat.