Jefferson City

Thorpe Gordon STEM Academy opened its doors to students, parents, former teachers, current teachers and their families, and community partners Thursday at the Thorpe Gordon Community Reception prior to the September board meeting.

Guests could enjoy cookies and drinks as they explored the new gym; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math lab and library space; and art and music rooms. The school prepared for 75-100 guests.

There were also members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church, which has a service partnership with the school providing tutors and connecting Big Brothers and Big Sisters. A few middle-school students who had left Thorpe Gordon returned Thursday with a bit of jealousy.

STEM Instructional Coach Erin LaFlamme introduced people to the STEM lab. LaFlamme said students take the lead in the lab, and she plays the role of “co-pilot,” planning and scheduling use of the space based on the students’ step of the engineering process, readying supplies, researching and answering questions.

Nonfiction books have been stored along the library wall attached to the STEM Lab so students can use them for research.

This week, third-graders have been working on states of matter by cutting up tortillas — a solid — and making oobleck — a mixture of corn starch and water that acts as both a liquid and a solid.

Kindergarten students will be learning about heat from the sun by observing objects that have been left outside.

Fourth-grade students learned about how to build their dream playground with a lesson from the Parks and Recreation Department at the Adams Street park. Students had just learned about polio in their reading unit and were especially attentive to how accessible the equipment was.

LaFlamme also had on display a few robots for kindergarten through second grade that are controlled by iPads.

During the meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education recognized the staff at Thorpe Gordon as “staff champions” for September. Hogg saluted them for preparing for an entirely new school year without full access to the building, which was being renovated. He thanked them for their preparation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math during the summer.

In other business, Chief of Operations Dawn Berhorst said in her report the district has recruited some of its staff members to serve as monitors on buses. Some schools are also providing early morning supervision to allow buses to go back out on another route. Berhorst said afternoon busing is still difficult.

Six drivers are training with First Student now, she said.

The district is also planning to issue a request for proposals for a transportation company with the hope of bringing a recommendation to the board in November.

Board Member Suzanne Luther asked whether the district might be able to obtain air conditioning in all of its buses with its RFP, but Berhorst said that would be “big lift financially.”

“Right now, we just have a few air-conditioned buses for our special education students,” Berhorst said.

President Lindsey Rowden said this year was unique in that the first week of school was very hot and routes were longer.

Luther mentioned the Jefferson City Chapter of the National Education Associations’ request for an extreme heat plan at the previous meeting.

“They asked for a heat procedure, which we had,” Superintendent Bryan McGraw said. “We didn’t have kids out past a certain time on recess, we limited sports and activities. That plan was in place and worked that week.”

Board member Scott Hovis chimed in: “Dawn, just to clarify, we’ve never had air-conditioned buses in the history of the school district, have we?”

“No, just for special education,” Berhorst responded.

“And we all survived before?” Hovis said. “Just asking.”

During the student board member presentation, Zack Shoki, JCHS student board representative, said JCHS published the first issue of the Red and Black newspaper, which was revived this year after a break of a few years.

Val Ike, CCHS student board representative, said the student advisory team at CCHS is working on a student feedback survey.

The board also updated a number of policies relating to legislative changes.

  

    Josh Cobb/News Tribune. Director of Communications at Jefferson City Schools Ryan Burns tests out one of the robots in the STEM room during the Thorpe Gordon STEM Academy Community Reception on Thursday night. During the event the community was invited take tours of the newly renovated STEM Academy.
       Josh Cobb/News Tribune. STEM Instructional Coach Erin LaFlamme speaks to a member of the public during the Thrope Gordon STEM Academy Community Reception on Thursday night. During the event the community was invited take tours of the newly renovated STEM Academy.
    Josh Cobb/News Tribune. Deanna Burris shows Marilynn Medley some of the programs used to help teach kids in the classroom during the Thorpe Gordon STEM Academy Community Reception on Thursday night. During the event the community was invited take tours of the newly renovated STEM Academy.
  

Originally Appeared Here

BY SHEILA HARRIS sheilaharrisads@gmail.com

CRAP claims Denali, Synagro lagoons are solid waste processing facilities

While Denali Water Solutions and Synagro Central are awaiting a date for judicial review of their suit against the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board for what they allege is the Board’s abrupt change in interpretation of the Missouri Fertilizer Law, a group of residents from Randolph County have filed suit against the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for what they allege is an overstepping of the department’s authority relating to Denali.

According to their petition, Citizens of Randolph County Against Pollution (CRAP) allege that the DNR has exceeded its statutory authority by allowing Denali to construct what they say is a “solid waste processing facility” in their county without the permits required by law. Their suit was filed in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City on Aug. 24 by Attorney Stephen G. Jeffery of the Jeffery Law Group, LLC, in Chesterfield, Missouri.

CRAP’s petition alleges that a near-15-million-gallon earthen basin constructed a couple of miles southwest of Jacksonville in Randolph County, is a “solid waste processing facility,” and, as such, should be subject to the Missouri Solid Waste Management Law.

Instead, states the petition, “Denali did not apply for and [the DNR] did not issue any permit of any kind relating to the earthen basin [in Randolph County], nor was a permit granted for [its] construction.”

The Randolph County basin is not alone.

In a January 2023 email to the Cassville Democrat, Heather Peters, with the Watershed Protection Program of the DNR, said the system used for the Evans lagoon in Newton County, was exempt from the DNR’s construction and operating permitting requirements.

“Denali shared their design plans, which were prepared to meet our regulatory standards for lagoons,” Peters said at that time. “Because [the Evans] facility is exempt from our regulations, though, we did not oversee or verify construction; we also did not have the authority to establish operational requirements or conduct routine operational inspections.” Denali did not share their design plans for the Gideon basin prior to its construction, Peters said.

When the Evans and Gideon basins were constructed a few years ago, fertilizer permits had been issued to Denali by the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board (MoFCB) for the land-application of the contents of the Denali basins. However, as of June 30, 2023, the MoFCB says fertilizer permits for those contents are no longer required and will not be issued. The responsibility for the basins’ contents, says the MoFCB, is now in the hands of the DNR. Denali and fellow affected company, Synagro, are contesting the MoFCB’s decision with a lawsuit filed in Cole Country Circuit Court on July 27.

The more recent citizens of Randolph County lawsuit brought against the DNR adds yet another dimension to the game of waste companies round robin.

If CRAP’s case is successful, not just one, but all four of Denali’s basins in Missouri could be affected. Those basins include the Randolph County basin, the Evans basin in Newton County, the Gideon basin in McDonald County and a smaller basin located in Macon County.

CRAP cites the purpose and importance of the Missouri Solid Waste Management Law in its petition, a law “state legislature enacted in (?) to prevent public nuisances, public health hazards, and the despoliation of the environment that necessarily accompany the accumulation and unmanaged disposal of garbage, refuse and filth.”

“Throughout human history this menace has led to and intensified disease and plague,” the Law states. “The legislature, in its wisdom, has forbidden the dumping of solid waste on the ground, in streams, springs and other bodies of water except through solid waste processing facilities, solid waste disposal areas, and other means that do not create public nuisances or adversely affect the public health.” Craig v. City of Macon, 543 S.W.2d 772, 773 (Mo. Banc 1976).

At question, in part, is the type of material that Denali handles.

According to CRAP’s petition, Denali’s website defines the company as a waste disposal and recycling industry. As such, it has accepted over 250 permits from the State of Arkansas with the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code for “Refuse Systems.”

However, alleges the petition, in its application submitted to the state of Missouri, Denali uses the SIC code for an agricultural business performing “Soil Preparation Services.”

In its petition, CRAP states that perhaps the DNR was confused by Denali using an apparently erroneous SIC code in its application which made it appear that Denali was an agricultural business instead of a waste disposal business. The DNR then unlawfully issued the company a permit exemption for their facility, CRAP alleges.

CRAP is asking the Court to sustain its petition and issue a preliminary and permanent Writ of Prohibition against the DNR, and command the department to require Denali to cease any and all activities and operations at any solid waste processing facility/earthen basin in Missouri storing food waste residuals until such time as the DNR has issued Denali a construction permit and an operating permit under the Missouri Solid Waste Management Law.

Attorney Stephen Jeffery says that if the same materials are being deposited into the lagoons in Newton and McDonald Counties that are being proposed for the lagoon in Randolph County, he believes citizens in southwest Missouri have strong legal theory to pursue the same type of legal action.

In response to CRAP’s petition, a preliminary Writ in Prohibition was signed by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Richard Greene on Aug. 31, directing the DNR to refrain from all further [permitting] action until further order.

The DNR has until Oct. 20 to respond.

In Denali and Synagro’s suit against the MoFCB, a response was filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on behalf of the MoFCB, on Aug. 28.

A date for the judicial review has not yet been set. The case has been assigned to Judge Cotton Walker in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City.

Originally Appeared Here

A series of moderate to heavy thunderstorms moved through the Parkland this summer, bringing with them damaging winds, torrential rainfall and dangerous lightning.

St. Francois County excluded from list for requested help

Jefferson City, MO – Wednesday, Gov. Mike Parson asked President Joe Biden to approve a major disaster declaration to provide federal help in 33 counties that have been hit hard by severe weather systems Missouri experienced from July 29 – Aug. 14.

Iron, Madison, and Ste. Genevieve counties were among the 33 counties cited as needing federal funding. St. Francois and Washington counties were not included.

The storm systems generated tornadoes, straight-line winds, heavy rain, and flooding across the state, leading to significant damage to public infrastructure.

“For the past several weeks, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has been working tirelessly and in close coordination with our federal and local partners to document widespread damage as a result of the severe weather that repeatedly struck Missouri late this summer,” Parson said. “We are confident federal assistance will be forthcoming and appreciate all the work that’s already been done by SEMA, local responders, and partner agencies to help our communities recover.”

Joint preliminary damage assessments conducted by SEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local emergency managers estimate more than $14 million in infrastructure damage and emergency response costs eligible for federal assistance.

Gov. Mike Parson

In addition to three of the five Parkland counties, Parson is requesting public assistance for the following: Adair, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Bollinger, Camden, Christian, Clark, Crawford, Dade, Gentry, Greene, Grundy, Henry, Knox, Maries, Mississippi, Morgan, New Madrid, Ozark, Perry, Scotland, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Taney, Vernon, Wayne and Worth.

If approved, local governments and qualifying nonprofit agencies can ask for federal assistance to reimburse them for emergency response and recovery costs, including repair and replacement costs for damaged roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure.

On Aug. 5, Parson signed Executive Order 23-08 activating the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan in response to continuing severe weather.

On Aug. 4, an EF-2 tornado in Baring, located in Knox County, destroyed or caused major damage to more than 35 homes as well as the town’s post office, fire station, and several other buildings. More than 30 people were displaced.

That same night, torrential rain in Adair County led to flash flooding and dozens of emergency calls. Hundreds of thousands of Missourians also lost power during the incident period due to strong winds downing trees and utility poles.

Individuals with unmet needs should contact United Way 211. Call 2-1-1 for assistance or visit http://211helps.org. For additional resources and information about disaster recovery in Missouri, please visit recovery.mo.gov.

Missouri has had its share of severe weather this summer, and it hasn’t always produced precipitation.

In June, in response to worsening drought, Parson announced the availability of emergency hay and water for Missouri farmers and ranchers.

Boat ramps at 25 Missouri state parks and 36 Department of Conservation areas were opened for farmers to collect water. Nearly 700 acres were made available for haying at 17 state parks.

In addition, the Department of Transportation offered special overwidth hauling permits at no charge to help farmers and ranchers move hay. Some livestock producers affected by drought were able to defer gains on livestock sold to the next tax year or until livestock that were sold were replaced.

Missourians were encouraged to help local, state, and national decision-makers better understand drought conditions across the state by completing a survey via the Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) service.

Originally Appeared Here

CARTHAGE, Mo. — The historic Boots Court Motel has a new manager and a new mission representing both historic routes at the “Crossroads of America.”

Jeremy Morris, a self-professed “roadie” and Route 66 historian, took over in August as manager of the Boots Court from Kim Bausinger. Bausinger was the original manager when the Boots Court Foundation took over the Route 66 icon and began a total renovation in 2021.

Morris said managing the Boots is a dream job for him. He lives at Red Oak II, the small whimsical community built by the late Carthage artist Lowell Davis on Kafir Road between county roads 120 and 130 northeast of Carthage. He bought the parsonage, a home just behind the church in Red Oak II, and sells merchandise to tourists who stop by the little community on their travels on Route 66.

“I live on Route 66, I own a piece of it and I work on it now,” Morris said. “So I really do Route 66 all day long. This is kind of my life.”

Morris said the restoration of the Boots Court is finished, and all 13 rooms were opened earlier this year.

“The restoration phase on this side is done,” Morris said. “Everything’s open. It’s all available to rent. You can book online. We get a lot of walk-ins just from motorists winging it on 66. We get a lot of people during the day; they call in because they didn’t know how far they were going to get on the route. They say, ‘We’re in Springfield, we’re heading your way, we think we’ll make it.'”

Now the Boots Court Foundation, which owns the Boots Court and the property south of it to Olive Street, is working to convert the former gas station at the corner of Olive and Garrison Avenue into a visitors center and the office for the Boots Court.

The foundation has removed two homes that were located to the north and west of the filling station and is planning to create a park or green space and possibly some expanded parking in that area.

Representing the Jefferson

The Boots Court also has taken on a new mission representing the Jefferson Highway, the other highway that puts Carthage at the “Crossroads of America.”

The Jefferson Highway Association announced last week in a Facebook post that the motel had become the inaugural Missouri member of the Jefferson Highway Historic Lodging Association.

“Though built in 1939 and a few years after the time of the named auto roads such as the Jefferson Highway, the historic motel property was built right at a crossroads point of Route 66 and U.S. 71 (formerly Jefferson Highway in Missouri) in Carthage,” the association said. “Arthur Boots, who was once a machinery salesman, chose this spot after a great deal of research. His motel offered ‘a radio in every room’ and a covered carport for drivers stopping there at night. Its location at the ‘crossroads of America’ and its modern amenities made the motel a success. Today, a stay at the Boots Court is a special experience for travelers, with the radio still in every room and the great vintage décor.”

The Jefferson Highway was a north-south route that ran from Winnipeg in Canada to New Orleans and existed roughly between 1916 and 1926 when the federal government started numbering highways and contributing to the maintenance of some highways.

The Jefferson Highway Association, led from 1916 to 1922 by a Carthage resident, James Clarkson, was a private group that designated the roads that would be named as part of the Jefferson Highway. Competition among communities to be located on the Jefferson Highway was fierce in the 1910s, and as part of a compromise, the group designated Jefferson Highway routes both in eastern Kansas and western Missouri between Kansas City and Joplin.

The eastern Kansas route went through Fort Scott and Pittsburg. The western Missouri route traveled through Lamar, Jasper and Carthage into Joplin, where the two routes merged and continued into Oklahoma.

The Jefferson Highway designation was abolished when the federal government started numbering highways, but the old Jefferson Highway, redesigned U.S. 71 in Missouri, and Route 66 crossed in Carthage, and both highways used Oak Street to continue west toward Joplin.

Route 66 centennial

Morris said the Boots is one of the “big five” historic motels left on Route 66 in Missouri and has been pictured in international books and brochures promoting Route 66 to tourists in Europe and other areas overseas.

“So there’s the Wagon Wheel in Cuba, there’s the Munger Moss in Lebanon, there’s the Rail Haven in Springfield, the Rockwood in Springfield, and there’s us,” Morris said. “And 90% of our traffic is going west, but about 95% of our visitors are traveling Route 66. It’s ramping up as we get to the centennial in 2026, which is the 100th anniversary of the road. What makes Route 66 great is that it’s a do-it-yourself trip. There’s no committees involved, there’s no bureaucracies, there’s no government involved.”

Morris said the visitors center, when finished, will offer a variety of merchandise and memorabilia related to the Boots Court, Route 66 and the Jefferson Highway.

Among the most popular items selling now are replica keys from the two rooms in which actor Clark Gable stayed on his road trips across Route 66.

“We’ll have T-shirts available and keychains,” Morris said. “People want to buy the keychains from Clark Gable’s rooms — 6 and 10. Those are both rooms Clark Gable stayed in. At the new visitors center, we’re going to really to ramp up the merch.”

Originally Appeared Here

Michael Higgins, a longtime Detroit landlord, redeveloper and business owner who controlled a sizable real estate empire at an usually young age in the 1970s and ’80s, died Sunday at age 74.

The death was announced Wednesday by Higgins’ firm, Midwest Real Estate Assets. A cause was not given.

Higgins grew up in Grosse Pointe and was in his early 20s in 1970 when he bought his first Detroit building, which he financed by stock left to him in his father’s will.

At a time when many businesses were leaving Detroit for the suburbs, Higgins became a big Detroit promoter, buying a succession of mostly older apartment buildings, oftentimes on land contract and usually with limited partners.

“He’s the one who held on when everybody else left. He held on and believed,” Luis Ramirez, chief operating officer of Higgins Management, said Wednesday.

Some of the buildings Higgins renovated as living spaces for young professionals as well as artists and musicians. For others, the renovation work was minimal — but so were the rents.

Higgins started a nightclub in the 1970s called City Club. Several years after he bought the 22-story Leland Hotel in 1980, Higgins moved the club into the downtown residential hotel’s second floor. The club is still around today and known as Leland City Club.

By the early 1980s, Higgins owned or had recently sold more than two dozen Detroit properties, many of them prominent — such as the Leland, the Broderick Tower, the Farwell Building and the old Women’s City Club at 2110 Park Ave., located downtown. Others included the Parkstone and Parkhurst apartments in the city’s West Village and the Colony Arms Apartments on East Jefferson.

He even bought a 12-story building on Woodward that was home to 400 elderly residents and known as Carmel Hall. (That building, originally the Hotel Detroiter, was torn down in the 1990s.)

But there were signs that Higgins was stretching himself too thin. Some of his buildings attracted negative headlines for equipment breakdowns, poor conditions and unpaid taxes. Many of them he ultimately sold.

Yet Higgins stayed a key player in Detroit real estate and development.

He also owned several restaurants through the years, including the old Flaming Embers on Grand Circus Park and the Detroit Sports Bar and Grille at 1570 Woodward. Last year, he reopened the former IHOP restaurant building on East Jefferson near Belle Isle as the Detroit House of Pancakes.

One of his biggest successes came in 2012, when he and partners successfully redeveloped the 34-story Broderick Tower into upscale apartments. It was the first major residential redevelopment in downtown since the Great Recession.

“When we redeveloped the Broderick Tower, we were told, ‘It can’t be done. It can’t be done,’ ” Luis Ramirez, the chief operating officer for Higgins Management, recalled. “And we got the project done and we were 100% filled up on day one — with a waiting list.”

He also redeveloped the Elliott Building, a onetime Kresge department store at 1403 Woodward, into apartments and ground-floor retail space. (The building’s lower floors are currently leased to Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock firm.)

More recently, Higgins unveiled designs to redevelop the deteriorating Leland Hotel into more upscale apartments, although those plans have faced financial difficulties. Another project is a mixed-used residential and commercial development in the West Village, on East Jefferson and Van Dyke, that is just getting underway.

According to Higgins’ firm, Midwest Real Estate Assets, he also owned various properties and historic houses in the West Village, 25 luxury condos on the Detroit riverfront and 12 vacation condos in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Aspen, Colorado, and elsewhere.

Higgins, who lived in Detroit, had no immediate family survivors.

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mike Higgins,” employees of Midwest Real Estate Assets said in a statement. “Mike was a true visionary in urban redevelopment in Detroit. The company’s employees, investors as well as the many tenants and neighbors whose lives he touched, mourn his loss.”

Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The state is making a historic investment in a maternal mortality prevention plan after learning Missouri has one of the highest rates of pregnancy-related deaths in the country.

In a new report, an average of 70 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year after giving birth between 2018 and 2020. The Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) said Tuesday the most sobering piece of the report is nearly 85% of those deaths were preventable.

“Maternal mortality rates in Missouri are not great,” MHA spokesperson Renee Wilde said. “We are well below the national average, and we know that’s something we need to improve on.”

Missouri is looking at new ways to help save new moms. According to a recent report from the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) Board, the number one cause of pregnancy-related deaths was mental health conditions, including substance use disorders.

“One thing that this report shows is that the highest occurrence of these deaths happen between 43 days and 365 days postpartum,” Wilde said. “So, it’s not that we’re even seeing these deaths during pregnancy, during childbirth, or even immediately after childbirth.”

The second leading cause is cardiovascular disease, like high blood pressure, followed by homicides. The number of suicide deaths doubled when compared to 2017-2019 with 2018-2020.

The PAMR Board found that the pregnancy-related mortality ratio was 32 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is up from 25.2 deaths in the 2017-2019 time frame. The report found the highest number of pregnancy-related deaths happened in 2020, at 85 deaths.

“The report also showed Black women have a three-times higher instance of maternal mortality than white women,” Wilde said.

Last week, a new law went into effect, extending Medicaid coverage for new moms four up to one year after the baby is born. By extending the coverage for up to one year after giving birth, the legislation is estimated to help more than 4,200 new moms a year.

“We know that health care access is critical and if you don’t have insurance, you probably are a lot less likely to receive prenatal care to continue seeking care postpartum and really getting those conditions treated,” Wilde said.

More than half of the country has already extended Medicaid coverage for new moms and the bipartisan legislation approved by the General Assembly this year is not only expected to save lives but cover thousands of women who would otherwise go uninsured two months after giving birth. Due to a provision in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, each state is allowed to expand Medicaid coverage to women up to 12 months. The state recently started Medicaid eligibility renewals again after the federal government prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid for three years.

Since the governor has signed the bill, the Department of Social Services (DSS) is reviewing to see which Medicaid patients recently gave birth or if currently pregnant, are eligible for the postpartum program. DSS said you’re a new mom on Medicaid who gave birth back in May, you will still receive extended postpartum care for up to 12 months.

“I thought if there was ever a time to spend money, what better way to spend it than on mothers and children,” Governor Mike Parson said. “We know we need to do a better job for it.”

The state is also spending more than $4.35 million to create a maternal mortality prevention plan. In addition, the General Assembly also funded four recommendations centered around improving the state’s maternal mortality.

• Provide funding for a statewide Perinatal Quality Collaborative by 2023
• Establish and fund a statewide Perinatal Health Access Project to aid healthcare providers in providing evidence-based mental health care, including substance use disorder treatment
• Extend Medicaid coverage to one year postpartum for all conditions, even if the woman did not start treatment prior to delivery
• Fund Medicaid expansion in 2023

“I think that’s why we did the appropriations this year. It’s one of the largest investments in really trying to change the need in that,” Parson said. “Now just to go out there and kind of talk about it but how do we really help those moms and those babies out there to make sure we save lives.”

The report shows that before extending coverage, women on Medicaid were 10 times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than new moms on private insurance.

Back in January during his annual State of the State Address, Parson called the state’s high maternal mortality rate “embarrassing.”

Wilde says it will take years for Missouri to improve from having the 12th highest maternal mortality rate in the nation.

“I would say it’s shocking that we’re not seeing some sort of improvement,” Wilde said. “You would think with modern medicine and better access to care that we would be seeing slight improvements. We really are optimistic that with all of these programs that are being put in place, the funding and the legislation that we will start to see that needle move in a positive direction.

The report also found that women living in metropolitan counties were almost twice as likely to die of a pregnancy-related death than women in rural counties.

Click here to see the full 2018-2020 PAMR Board report.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The state’s top educators want to curb bad behavior in the classroom by implementing social-emotional learning standards for all students.

For the past few months, a group of teachers, school counselors, and mental health experts have been researching what would help improve student behavior in the classroom. The reason behind this study is to not only help with teacher recruitment and retention but also to have an effect on the business community.

“We’re not advocating that everyone has to change their values to meet the same values,” Missouri State Board of Education member Kim Bailey said. “We’re advocating for basic human dignity.”

It’s a plan to improve the current climate of education in the state. Back in December, the Board of Education asked the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to form a working group to create social and emotional learning (SEL) standards starting in kindergarten through 12th grade.

“What we heard from teachers all across the state is that their jobs are more and more challenging if the students aren’t willing to work with them,” DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven said. “They need to establish what that looks like and revisit with their students on a daily basis some of those expectations of classroom behavior.”

Labor Day events continuing today across bi-state area

But it’s not only educators feeling the effects of the current culture and climate inside the classroom; it’s also Missouri’s workforce.

“The constant thing you hear out of employers is I have employees that just don’t know how to behave and be a team member because they don’t have those standards and skills,” Missouri State Board of Education President Charlie Shields said.

Earlier this year, DESE formed a working group to create “social-emotional learning standards.” Back in May, the group presented its draft to the State Board of Education. Then, in August, group members presented the proposed standards during the board’s monthly meeting.

The proposal includes 15 standards, known as the MO CORE Skills. CORE stands for Competencies Of Relationship-building Education by setting expectations in three categories: me, we, and others.

Under the “Me” category, “Students will demonstrate a healthy sense of self.”

• Ability to process and manage one’s own thoughts and behaviors to regulate emotions in a healthy manner.
• Ability to examine one’s own behavior, take ownership, and be accountable for one’s actions.
• Awareness and beliefs in one’s own strengths, interests, skills, and areas for growth, trusting in their abilities.
• Ability to set, monitor, and achieve attainable goals with perseverance.
• Advocacy for oneself to promote health, safety, and personal needs.

Under the “We” category, “Students will demonstrate relationship-building skills that are critical to employment and life success.”

• Effective teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation.
• Constructive decision-making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
• Awareness of and respect for others, different and similar to oneself.
• Understanding that different settings require different behaviors and the ability to adjust to those settings.
• Effective communication includes self-expression and active listening.

Under the “Others” category, “Students will demonstrate prosocial skills that have a positive effect on those around them and improve their communities.”

• Understanding others’ feelings or emotions accurately.
• Empathy and compassion for others, including concern for how one’s behavior affects others.
• Respect and treat others with kindness, civility, and dignity.
• Fair, equitable, and just treatment of others.
• Advocacy for others as individuals or communities.

“We need to give people the freedom to have different values, differing opinions and teach people how to be okay with that,” Bailey said. “I can show up with my differing values and my different opinions but still treat people with respect and with those prosocial skills.”

Kim Greenlee, who is in the working group, tried implementing some of these standards in her own fifth-grade classroom last year at Potosi Trojan Intermediate. She said her success rate has been outstanding and everyone is learning, including her.

“If we got into a moment, and I was teaching, and I felt unsupported, I would stop and say you know what, I don’t feel supported right now,” Greenlee said. “It’s not just accountability for our students, but teachers are feeling some relief that my principals are going to be treating me this way.”

Vandeven said these proposed standards would not change the curriculum in schools or require students to take an additional class. Instead, these SEL standards are to ensure students learn to develop the characteristics needed to work well with others.

“It’s your basic employability skills is what we’re hearing from business leaders and from family members and parents,” Vandeven said. “We know that improving climate and culture can’t just be done at one classroom level. It really does take the whole school; it takes the district and the community.”

Niki Atkinson is a social-emotional learning specialist at Noth Elementary School within the Jefferson City School District and also sits on the working group. Atkinson told the State Board of Education in August, if teachers give time for healthy social interactions and coaching kids on what that looks like, educators can then move further on the academic piece.

“It doesn’t mean you have to value what I value; it just means that we can exist, we can interact, and I feel respected in that manner,” Atkinson said. “That’s what we are looking for from pre-kindergarten all the way through secondary education.”

But a concern for the State Board of Education is how some might politicize the phrase, “social-emotional learning.”

“People are going to say, ‘You crazy people are telling our students how they should think,’ and that’s not what this is at all,” Shields said. “I would almost describe this as creating as set of norms of what civility looks at.”

DESE and the State Board of Education are looking for feedback from parents and educators on these proposed social emotion learning standards and definitions. The public comment period is open until Sept. 15. Click here to voice your opinion.

Board members will then review the comments at their meeting in October. 

Originally Appeared Here

11th Annual Crowder Roughrider Rodeo

From Crowder College

Neosho, MO — The 11th Annual Roughrider Scholarship Rodeo was a huge success for Crowder College’s Agriculture division. Both nights were packed with spectators who enjoyed cooler weather Friday and endured the heat on Saturday. Record ticket sales and sponsorships raised over $20,000 for the Crowder College Agriculture student scholarships.

“The Roughrider Scholarship Rodeo has been successful because of the tremendous support from the local community, our student volunteers, and the Crowder team. Students lives are impacted greatly by these funds that invest in their future,” stated Jorge Zapata, Agriculture Division Chair and Instructor.

The rodeo has provided the agriculture division more than $100,000 to use for scholarships. These funds help offset the cost students incur during travel and competitive events throughout the year.

Local funny man, Gizmo McCracken entertained the crowd along with top ranked cowboys and cowgirls competing in nine rodeo events. Plans are in the works for the 12th Annual Roughrider Scholarship Rodeo.

Behavioral health scholarship winner selected

From the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas

PITTSBURG — After a nearly 30-year “detour,” Ann Wolfe has just one year left until she adds another degree — a Master of Social Work.

Wolfe always wanted to complete a Master of Social Work degree but was worried about certain coursework, such as statistics. It was her husband Jeremey, a master’s level social worker, who encouraged her to further her education and complete an MSW degree.

“He kept telling me, ‘You’ll love this degree; it opens all these doors; you can do so much with a social work degree,’” she said. “I just didn’t listen, and then I finally did.

“He was so right.”

Wolfe, a University of Kansas MSW student, was selected to be the first Anderson Behavioral Health Scholarship. The scholarship was created through CHC/SEK’s Inspire Health Foundation to recognize Dr. Darwin Anderson, Ph.D., and his wife Pam Anderson, LSCSW, who, over their 18 years with CHC/SEK, were instrumental in developing the behavioral health program.

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity, this scholarship, and the vision the team put together,” Wolfe said, adding a special thanks to the Andersons. “Everyone is working hard to ensure that behavioral health is valued and a priority.”

The Inspire Health Foundation supports the efforts of the CHC/SEK by providing, sponsoring, facilitating, promoting, and supporting healthcare education throughout the region.

“It’s encouraging to see the number of fantastic individuals in our region who are pursuing a behavioral health degree,” Inspire Health Foundation’s Executive Director Rebecca Turnbull said. “We are very happy to award Ann with this scholarship, recognizing her contributions to the community and continued work to help others.”

Wolfe has several years of experience in the counseling and therapy field. She has served as a case manager, quality assurance administrator, clinical case consultant, and therapy intern in area mental health facilities and nonprofit agencies. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling and a Master’s in Early Childhood and Family Development.

Wolfe and her husband live in Joplin. They have three adult children, a son-in-law, and a new puppy. They live in a former schoolhouse that is full of history as well as endless restoration projects.

Buy trees and shrubs from MDC State Forest Nursery

From the Missouri Department of Conservation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Need trees and shrubs for your landscape? Go native with tree and shrub seedlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Native trees and shrubs can improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of private property. MDC’s George O. White State Forest Nursery offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for sale for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover and more.

The nursery provides mainly one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Varieties include: pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel, and others. MDC recommends ordering early.

“The nursery grows millions of seedlings each year, but some species are very popular and sell out quickly,” said Forest Nursery Supervisor Mike Fiaoni. “And some seedlings occasionally succumb to harsh weather or hungry wildlife, despite the nursery staff’s best efforts.”

Fiaoni said if a species is listed as “sold out,” customers can still order those seedlings because other orders may get canceled. Customers won’t be charged for seedlings unless they are available to ship.

Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or increments of 25 per species. Prices range from 34 cents to $1 per seedling. Sales tax will be added to orders unless tax exempt. There is a shipping fee and a $9 handling charge for each order. Receive a 15% discount up to $20 off seedling orders with a Heritage Card, Permit Card, or Conservation ID Number. Orders will be shipped or can be picked up at the nursery, located near Licking, from February through May. Orders can be placed Sept. 1 through April 15, 2024. Place orders at mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-seedlings.

Learn more from MDC’s 2023-2024 Seedling Order Form. Find it in the September issue of the Missouri Conservationist, at MDC regional offices and nature centers, or by contacting the State Forest Nursery at 573-674-3229 or StateForestNursery@mdc.mo.gov.

Nominations open for educator awards

From McDonald’s

JOPLIN, MO — Local McDonald’s restaurants will again celebrate area teachers this Fall with the launch of the fourth-annual McDonald’s Outstanding Educator Awards. Nominations will be accepted online through September 15 at www.surveymonkey.com/r/moeducator23.

Since launching this award program in 2020, locally-owned McDonald’s restaurants have given more than $35,000 in cash and prizes to 185 educators across local communities.

Community members can nominate outstanding teachers in grades K-12 and the award honors educators who exhibit the ultimate dedication to their students and go the extra mile to contribute to the improvement of education.

“Year after year, our local educators amaze the community with their commitment to our children,” said Thomas Nichols, local McDonald’s Owner/Operator. “We want to hear the stories of local teachers who make a difference every day in the lives of their students so we can help celebrate them!”

Two tiers of prizes will be awarded at random—45 educators will receive a $100 Visa gift card and five educators will receive a $1000 gift card to use toward their classroom. All winners will receive a Best Teacher Ever coffee mug, Outstanding Educator certificate, and McDonald’s food vouchers to “teach it forward” to parents with outstanding students throughout the year.

Nichols says he is honored to celebrate local educators with this award for a fourth year, especially as teachers are constantly adapting to whatever is thrown at them while ensuring that the children in local communities succeed.

In addition to funds for their classrooms and a Best Teacher Ever coffee mug, the McDonald’s Outstanding Educator Award winners can recognize good behavior and academic success among their students with vouchers for free McDonald’s items.

For more information or to submit a McDonald’s Outstanding Educator Award nomination, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/moeducator23.

Originally Appeared Here

Bernadine Klebba and Janet Koetting visited while sitting at a table in a room that was built as an addition to the Osage Bend General Store decades ago, representing separate generations of families who once ran the business.

Culling through photographs and a local church and community history book, they described the lengthy history of the store and the role it fulfilled in Osage Bend.

Koetting said the property on which the former store now sits was first patented in 1850. However, she said the true history of this mercantile begins with a Swiss native who immigrated to Osage Bend and became a citizen in 1892.

“Joseph Hofer (Jr.) bought 280 acres of land in 1897 on Section 9, some of which is now the center of Osage Bend,” noted the “Cole County Cooking and Culture” booklet printed in 1976. “In 1907, Louis Bode purchased land from Hofer and built the general store,” the booklet clarified.

Louis Bode married Agnes Adrian on Oct. 29, 1907, and two of their four children were born while living on the second floor of the store. It was also in 1907 that another important anchor in the community was erected across the street from the general store on land donated by Joseph Hofer — St. Margaret’s Catholic Parish. Fifty years later, the first church structure was demolished, and the current one erected.

Similar to many mercantile businesses of that era, Bode operated the local post office for approximately 12 years out of his store. The original Hofer home, first store building, church and one-room school next to the store were covered in tin, thus earning the community the unofficial title of “Tintown.”

“In 1920, Henry and Mary (Bisges) purchased the Osage Bend Country Store from Louis Bode,” explained the centennial booklet printed in 2007 by the congregation of St. Margaret of Antioch Catholic Church. “Living quarters were added onto the side of the store at that time.”

Henry and his wife raised seven children, most of whom worked in the store during their youth. Sadly, Henry was only 48 years old when he died from pneumonia in 1930 and his wife received help operating the store for the next few years from her brother and brother-in-law.

“My father, Leo Bisges, who was Henry’s son, married my mother, Regina Bode, in 1936,” Bernadine Klebba said. “They then moved into the store and began running it.”

With a smile, she added, “I was actually born in the store in 1942.”

Klebba retains many fond memories of growing up in the store and assisting her parents throughout the years. One of these includes the bookmobile from the county library stopping there on a rotational basis, in addition to a book lending library also being maintained in the store.

“After Sunday morning mass, since the church was just across the street, parishioners would come in and buy their livestock feed and some of their groceries,” Klebba said. “A lot of people would run tabs and pay it off at the end of every month.”

She added, “I also remember the handwritten ledgers being kept for these tabs.”

Since there was not a high school in the district, the school bus stopped in front of the store to transfer students to and from Fatima in Westphalia. The students often came into the store to purchase sodas and candies. Also, since there was no restaurant in Osage Bend, those working in the area came to the store to have Klebba’s mother prepare sandwiches.

Leo Bisges died in 1967 and his widow, Regina, sold the store to Alfred and Janet Koetting. The store officially changed hands on Jan. 1, 1968.

“I’d worked for the state until our second son was born and wanted to stay home and raise our kids while my husband continued other full-time employment,” Janet Koetting said. “It was an opportunity that just came up, and I ran the store. For many years, we were open from around six in the morning to nine at night.”

Gasoline pumps had been installed in front of the store, but the Koettings moved them to the side, adding a bell to signal them when a motorist pulled up for fuel. Although they did not deal much in dry goods, the Koetting Store sold a variety of items, including livestock feed, lunch meats, cheeses, sodas, groceries and tobacco products.

Koetting said, “We did extensive remodeling and took the back porch and converted it into a dining room, bathroom and a laundry/furnace room. We changed the pink ceilings and removed all the horsehair plaster, which made quite a mess when it came down.”

The Koetting Store remained open until 1989, at which time the decision was made to close since most area residents did the bulk of their shopping in nearby Jefferson City. The building continues to serve as a home for Alfred and Janet Koetting and contains items linking it to its storied past, like an old candy case, vinegar barrel and scale.

“I don’t know if there was ever a large amount of profit in this general store, but it certainly helped support many families throughout the years,” Koetting said.

Bernadine Klebba added, “That store was all that I knew for many years of my life. We may have been sitting in the kitchen eating dinner as a family, but if a customer showed up, you went next door and helped them. The customer was always first, my father taught us.”

Jeremy P. Ämick is the author of “Hidden History of Cole County.”

Courtesy/Bernadine Klebba
Louis Bode built the general store around 1907. He is pictured in his wedding photo with his wife, Agnes Adrian.

Originally Appeared Here

State Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles, sits on the Senate floor on Friday, May 15, 2020, during the final day of the legislative session in the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City. 

Christian Gooden, Post-Dispatch

JEFFERSON CITY — In his quest for Missouri governor, state Sen. Bill Eigel has found financial support in faraway places. One of them is Salome, Arizona, an unincorporated community nearly 100 miles west of Phoenix, where Susan Comer resides.

Comer, 59, in May donated $10 to a political action committee supporting Eigel, records show. Eigel has pointed to thousands of small donations such as Comer’s as evidence of grassroots support.

“For every special interest check or endorsement received by my opponents, a thousand people donated to my message and cause,” Eigel said in July.

But there’s a problem: Comer, who said she lives on a fixed income of less than $1,000 a month, reported Thursday she has never heard of Eigel and doesn’t follow Missouri politics.

“I don’t know who he is,” she told the Post-Dispatch. “I can’t afford it.”

Though she doesn’t know what prompted her to donate to Eigel, Comer and her life partner, David Pinol, 62, said they are supporters of former President Donald Trump and complained of underhanded political fundraising tactics in a stream of messages they both receive. 

An Aug. 2 email could help explain why Eigel has attracted so much small-dollar support from across the country, including from Comer.

The email, paid for by Eigel’s BILL PAC, solicited support for Trump, who had just been indicted for the fourth time, and asked “pro-Trump patriots” to “Stand with Trump,” sign a petition and make a donation. But the money would go to Eigel’s campaign, the email said in small type.

The email illustrates the nationwide battle underway for a limited number of small-dollar GOP donors, one in which digital fundraising firms can blast out pitches to masses expressing support for a certain cause — all while directing money to a specific candidate, whom the donor may not know.

“They take the candidate that we are known to have supported and they use that candidate’s image and that candidate’s quotes and that candidate’s policy opinions and then they sneak in, you know, their own candidate in the fine print,” Pinol said.

Trump’s campaign in March told 10 GOP consulting firms the former president likely wouldn’t endorse a candidate paying a digital fundraising vendor “that routinely fundraises off of his (Trump’s) name, image and likeness without his authorization,” Politico reported.

Records show BILL PAC has paid one of the firms that received the letter, Arlington, Virginia-based Targeted Victory, nearly $300,000 this year for work described as consulting and project management.

“When you deceive the President’s donors and usurp his brand for your own profit, you drain him of the financial resources his campaign needs to defeat Joe Biden and Make America Great Again,” the Trump campaign officials wrote earlier this year, Politico reported.

Eigel and a spokesman for Targeted Victory did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Disabled, retired give to Eigel

Many of thousands of donors to Eigel’s PAC, which is allowed to coordinate fundraising efforts with his campaign, appear to be living on fixed incomes.

More than 40 donors to Eigel’s BILL PAC this year entered “disabled” and/or “disability” in the employer/occupation fields when they made donations, according to a review of state records.

Combined, those donors have given hundreds of dollars in small donations, many of them recurring, since the beginning of January.

They aren’t the only group giving big amounts of small donations to the state senator: an army of thousands of retirees is also donating to Eigel’s PAC.

Potential donors received this email, from an account named “TRUMP ARREST UPDATE” with the subject line “Biden DOJ moves in for the kill.” When the recipient clicks on the link at the bottom, the email opens to a donation page … 

This year, Eigel’s political action committee has raked in more than $386,000 from people who listed “retired” as their employer/occupation, records show.

Those donors are the targets of emails, such as the one sent on Aug. 2. That email was sent by an account named “TRUMP ARREST UPDATE” and had the subject line “Biden DOJ moves in for the kill.”

The fundraising plea warns: “At any moment, Biden’s DOJ could move to put Trump in jail for the rest of his life!”

“The Democrats are abusing their power to take down their #1 political rival, and NO RED-BLOODED American can stand for this.”

On the second page of the email sent by “TRUMP ARREST REPORT,” in which donations are solicited, appears a small line of type: “Your contribution will benefit Eigel for Missouri.” 

“We can still do something, but we have to act NOW because prosecutors are coming down hard on Trump with everything they’ve got.

“Only a massive GOP response right now will work!”

The email then says “500,000 names needed” and presents a link that says “denounce this witch hunt … stand with Trump.”

Recipients who clicked that link were directed to a page where they can sign a petition and then check a box indicating a donation amount.

Only then does it say “Your contribution will benefit Eigel for Missouri.”

The form goes on to ask for the person’s occupation, their phone number and payment information. 

Donors must uncheck a box to opt out of recurring donations. The bottom of the page says it was paid for by BILL PAC.

‘Deceptive’

Comer, the Eigel donor from Arizona, said she would be inclined to donate to a pro-Trump cause referencing the former president’s struggle against President Biden’s Department of Justice “witch hunt” and its moving “in for the kill.”

“I think it’s extremely deceptive,” said Pinol, who works as a repair man. 

He called it “extremely underhanded for these PACs to use the candidate’s name and image and words and quotes and all that.” 

Pinol has urged Comer to be more careful with the fundraising solicitations in her email inbox.

“Since he pointed things out to me and showed me things, I’m very careful now,” Comer said. “Every time it says a certain thing, I immediately delete it.” 

Eigel will face Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe in the GOP primary in 2024. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Democrat, is also running.

Missouri Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, denounces the leadership’s decision to put his proposal to end personal property taxes on the back burner as the Legislature ends its session. Video editing by Beth O’Malley

Beth O’Malley

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Originally Appeared Here