News Staff

The rescheduled sidewalk brick band replacement is set to begin next week. Work on this year’s sidewalk brick band replacement project in the Central Business District – or Downtown area of Kirksville – willl begin Monday, September 27. The project will consist of removing the old brick pavers and replacing them with colored concrete in a stamped brick pattern. Sidewalks may be temporarily closed while the brick bands are replaced. However, access to businesses will be maintained throughout the project. The project area includes the west side of the 100 block of South Franklin Street, 100 block of East McPherson Street, the 100 block of South Marion Street, the 200 block of North Main Street, the 100 block of South Main Street, and various curb extensions on the Square.

Truman’s mask policy will remain in place. The Univerity says after considering a variety of factors, including recent campus surveys, the number of active cases in Adair County, the advice of public health professionals and CDC guidance, Truman will continue the current mask policy and will review and reevaluate the policy by November 5th. Masks are required inside all campus buildings, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status. The only exceptions are for dining and when in a personal residence hall room or office. Recent surveys show Truman’s known vaccination rate for faculty/staff 65% and students 50%.

The Adair County Health Department confirmed another 17 new cases of COVID-19 among residents since Friday. The overall case count now stands at 3,437 with 73 active cases and 3,333 people who have left isolation. Seven of the new cases reside at addresses with at least one other confirmed case, four are in the K-12 schools sector, and one is a fully vaccinated employee at an area skilled nursing facility. Three other cases are also breakthrough cases.

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety is hosting Missouri’s 2021 Highway Safety and Traffic Conference through tomorrow. The conference being held in-person or virtual,. feautures a comprehensive agenda that supports the state’s strategic highway safety plan, Show-Me Zero. Speakers at the conference include Governor Mike Parson, Patrick McKenna, Director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, Colonel Eric Olson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and representatives from MODOT, AAA, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, local law enforcement agencies and more. Topics at the conference include ways to prevent distracted driving, efforts to promote motorcycle safety, workzone safety, high risk DWI sentencing and the promise of DWI courts, and using technology to advance Missouri operations.

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.