News Staff

A Unionville man was seriously injured following an accident in Sullivan County yesterday morning. An SUV driven by 23-year-old Jeramiah Summers, of Unionville, was on Missouri Highway 129, 8 miles south of 136, when the vehicle traveled off the left side of the road and overturned. The vehicle was totaled in the accident. Summers was transported by ambulance to Northeast Regional Medical Center.

Four new cases of COVID-19 confirmed by the Adair County Health Department last week and two old cases identified by audit brings the county’s overall case count to 2,482. Currently, there are four active cases and 2,458 people who have left
isolation. On June 1, a 17-year-old male was admitted and discharged from Northeast Regional Medical Center. Other active cases confirmed June 4 include females ages 29 and 92 and a four- year-old male. Two cases reside in the same household. Also on June 4, two cases from May, involving a 25-year-old female and 28-year-old
male residing in the same household, were identified as part of the Adair County Health Department’s ongoing auditing process. On June 2, the Health Department was notified that a 24-year-old male who tested positive for COVID-19 in May had the B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India. Variant identification was made in random sampling of lab tests.

Two people were injured in separate crashes in Northeast Missouri over the weekend.

On Saturday, a woman suffered minor injuries in a single vehicle accident in Chariton County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol report says 68-year-old Kathryn Mellesen of Marceline, was driving westbound on Route JJ, two miles west of Marceline, when her vehicle ran off the road and struck a ditch. She was taken by Linn County Ambulance to Pershing Memorial Hospital.

Yesterday in Putman County, one person had minor injuries in a 2-vehicle collision. The Highway Patrol reports the accident happened on 27th Street and Birch Street in Unionville. A Ford Escape, driven by 79-year-old Shirly Mahoney, failed to yield and traveled into the path of a Can-Am UTV, driven by 37-year-old Eric Lutz. He was transported by ambulance to Putnam County Memorial Hospital.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced on Friday that she won’t run for re-election in 2022.Galloway said serving Missourians has been the honor of her life. She also said that during this past decade, she’s missed countless family events, little league games and school activites. Galloway says she is ready for the next chapter of service and life with her family. Galloway was appointed auditor by Governor Jay Nixon in 2015 and won a full term in office in 2018. She lost in a run for Governor in 2020 against Mike Parson. Galloway is the only Democrat to currently hold a statewide office in Missouri.

Vaccination numbers continue to rise in Adair County. According to the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker, 34.1% of the eligible population – or 8,638 people, have received at least 1 dose. 30.6% – or 7,773 people have been fully vaccinated. Statewide, 43% of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, and 35% are fully vaccinated.

A Kirksville man has been convicted of murder. In Adair County Circuit Court yesterday, 20-year-old Andrew Head, was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The charges stem from the shooting death of a 17-year-old in 2019. The state said Head was the accomplice of the shooting and that another suspect, Drake Zanoni was the one who fired the weapon. The victim, Izaiha McFarland was shot in the chest an apartment on North Franklin Street, following an altercation with Head and Zanoni. The suspects are being tried separately. Zanoni’s trial is scheduled for late August in Lewis County. Head’s sentencing is scheduled for July 20. He could receive up to two life sentences for the crimes.

A northeast Missouri woman was seriously injured in a crash in Macon. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol report, 50-year-old Melissa Hendricks was at Maffry Avenue at Highway 63 on a UTV Tuesday afternoon, when her vehicle traveled off the right side of the street and the UTV overturned. Hendricks was flown to University Hospital in Columbia for treatment.

United Way of Northeast Missouri announced the leaders of the 2022 drive. Chade Shorten will serve as the 2022 United Way Campaign Chair and Stephanie McGrew will be Assistant Campaign Chair. Shorten says she’s honored to join an experienced and dedicated team for the 2022 Campaign Drive. She added that through the drive, they hope to expand the community’s involvement with the United Way and look forward to bringing in a new generation of donors. McGrew said serving the community has always been a priority and she’s happy to team up with Shorten to work on providing resources for those that need it. The drive, which will start the beginning of September, will raise funds to support 11 local agencies during their 2022 fiscal year of operations.

At-home tests that check for presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are now available for free to Missouri residents. You can order the free testing kit online, and it will be delivered to your home in two days. The kit is good for six months and comes with easy-to-follow instructions. It’s a nasal swab test that you send out using FedEx with free shipping. Test results are then provided via email within two days. Health officials say testing remains a key tool to keeping Missourians safe. Learn more at: health.mo.gov/communitytest.

Kirksville Regional Economic Development, Inc recently held a series of virtual seminars on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for regional companies. K-REDI partnered with A.T. Still University’s diversity & inclusion coordinator, Stephanie McGrew, who conducted the seminars. Companies were able to take part in one or all three of seminars for a nominal fee, and those fees collected by K-REDI were used to purchase Colors of the World makers and crayons, and book for each classroom at the Early Childhood Learning Center and each kindergarten class at the Kirksville Primary. As more seminars are held throughout the year, more classes will receive the kits. Executive Director, Carolyn Chrisman said it was K-REDI’s goal to offer seminars to local businesses in order to increase awareness of the topics. Then, push the impact and information forward to the next generation by making small kits available to the local preschool and kindergarten classes.