2016 Year In Review – Part 2

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three-part series that highlights events occuring in the area during 2016.
March
Christian Goode began his duties as a Grundy County Deputy Sheriff. Goode, who had served as a police officer in Roland, OK, was sworn into office by Third Judicial Circuit Judge Jack Peace.
The source of the loud “booms” that had been heard throughout the area for several weeks was the topic of conversation with Grundy County Emergency Management Director Glen Briggs saying that the only thing he could be sure of was that the sounds were not sonic booms.
Trenton High School FFA member Mariah Fox was elected as president of the Area II FFA for the 2016-2017 school year.
The Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce honored businesses and individuals at its annual meeting. Those honored included Trenton Coca-Cola Bottling Co., the Large Business of the Year; Farmers Mutual Insurance Company/Robbins and Black Agency, the Small Business of the Year; the Trenton Downtown Improvement Association, the Organization of the Year; and Dr. John Holcomb and Ron Dougan, Pillars of the Community.
Rissler Elementary School student Jillian Voorhies was featured in local and state media outlets for taking efforts to keep the ConAgra plant in Trenton straight to the top, writing a letter to the company CEO. She expressed her concern that her father and the fathers of her friends would be losing their jobs and might have to move. She had also provided a letter to her neighbors indicating she and her friends, Lindsay Babcock and Serenity Marsh, might be holding fundraisers so the three won’t have to move when the plant closes.
Princeton R-5 eighth grader Robert Esposito won the Northwest Missouri Regional Spelling Bee in St. Joseph. He correctly spelled “punctilio” to capture the regional title and earn a trip to the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.
Trenton resident Brandon Gibler was named as the new Trenton Fire Chief, replacing Rick Morris, who retired in July. Gibler has been employed with the city and county fire departments since 1998 and was a paramedic with the Grundy County Ambulance Department at the time of his selection.
The Trenton Key Club attended the Missouri-Arkansas Leadership Conference in Springfield, with several members coming home with awards from various competitions. The club won first place in single service project for their Bike Rodeo Project and was one of three clubs in the district to earn the Diamond Level Distinguished Award. The club is sponsored by the Trenton Kiwanis Club.
A Grundy County Grand Jury, being used for the first time in several years, indicted a Trenton man, David Manus, on charges relating to the kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl from her bus stop in Oct. 2015. Manus later pleaded guilty to first degree endangering the welfare of a child and sexual misconduct by indecent exposure, both class C felonies. A charge of kidnapping was dismissed. Manus was sentenced to serve seven years in prison on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The Trenton Police Department and Trenton Fire Department squared off in the annual Guns ‘n Hoses basketball game, with the TPD taking a 52-19 victory in the fund raiser, which benefited the Lt. Eric Lorenz First Responders Scholarship Fund.
After visits from two finalists, the North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees voted to hire Dr. Lenny Klaver of Hancock, MI, to serve as the next president of North Central Missouri College. Dr. Klaver, who came to NCMC from Finlandia University, began his duties on May 15. A formal investiture ceremony was held in September.
After a meeting with area producers and much input for several months, the Grundy County Commission voted to not adopt a county health ordinance that would establish rules and regulations beyond that of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for concentrated animal feeding operations.
The Trenton City Council voted to appoint City Clerk Cindy Simpson as interim city administrator, effective May 2. Mrs. Simpson was placed in the position due to the retirement of Kerry Sampson and remained in it until December when Ron Urton began his duties as city administrator/utility director following the resignation of TMU Director Chad Davis in July. Davis took a position in Rolla.
April
Trenton High School vocal and instrumental music students competed at the District Music Festival. Those earning I ratings on vocal performances were Karissa Brock, Mickenzey Willey, Emma Gilham, Emily Bonta, Salem Croy, Shelby Laird, Kail McCarter, Sarah Dryer, Landon Ellis, Dakota Cutsinger and Jesse Farmer. Those earning I ratings on instrumental performances were Wyatt Neal, Jasmyn French, Jaima Knight, Claire Utley, Tomi Delp, Jonathan Burnfin, Jose Barron, Zackery Maberry and Jacob Davis.
The Trenton High School Students of the Quarter for the third quarter were named and included freshman Emma Gilham, sophomore Hannah Persell, junior Jacob Davis and senior Layla Palmer.
The April Municipal Election was held, with a sales tax for fire department operations approved, as well as Trenton city councilmen Allan Quilty, Brad Chumbley, David Mlika and Scott Blair being elected, as well as Dorothy Taul and Brooke McAtee earning places on the Trenton R-9 School Board. Jim Cox and Sherry Knapp were also elected to the Grundy County Nursing Home District Board of Directors.
A fire ripped through a portion of the square in Princeton, destroying both the Mercer County Senior Center and Jeff’s Place, located on the east side of the square. Another building that housed a beauty salon received extensive damage.
The Trenton FFA Ag Sales team took first in the northwest district CDE Judging Contest and earned the right to compete at state. Team members included Sadie Roy, Karley McCollum, Mariah Fox and Jacob Davis. Also moving on to state were the farm management team, dairy cattle team, the FFA knowledge team and the meats team. The meats team earned a trip to national competition after placing second at state. Team members included Katerina Black, Jaylen Neff, Karli Crawford and Emily Lynch.
Trenton resident Warren Woodson received the Silver Beaver Award from the Pony Express Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It is the highest form of recognition that an adult volunteer can be awarded.
Richard Witten of Trenton ran the Boston Marathon after qualifying for the race over a year before.
The Trenton Police Department implemented the “Trenton Clean Sweep” program in which families, businesses and organizations adopt a portion of a street for clean up.
Trenton High School student Werthen Gass earned a trip to the National FBLA Contest after placing first at state in the International Business Procedures competition.
North Central Missouri College recognized its distinguished alumni during a luncheon on the campus. Those honored included Robert Witten, Jack Derry and Phil Hoffman of Trenton, Harry Bratton of Lee’s Summit and Herb Webster of Kearney.
May
Daniel Gott, a teacher at Trenton High School, was named the Trenton Middle School principal for the 2016-2017 school year. He replaced Dustin Jenkerson, who had resigned.
Bryce Whitney and Jessi Westcott were named the 2016 Trenton High School prom king and queen. Other attendants included Trey Shields, Jose Barron, Tomi Delp and Maria Martinez.
Doug Franklin and Blake Callen, members of the Trenton Fire Department and Grundy County Rural Fire Protection District, received an award from the Firefighters Association of Missouri for their work in getting Janeen Batson out of her home during a fire on Nov. 23, 2015. Although Mrs. Batson later died, the efforts of Franklin and Callen were credited with preventing a fire fatality at the time of the incident.
Luis Barriga and Emily Milazzo were named the valedictorian and salutatorian during commencement ceremonies at Grundy R-5 High School. Both students addressed their classmates during the ceremony, held at the high school in Galt.
A total of 381 students received 404 degrees and/or certificates during North Central Missouri College Commencement ceremonies held at the Ketcham Community Center.
The 2016-2017 Trenton High School Student Council officers were named, including Rylee Berti, president; Ellis Gilham, vice president; Emma Gilham, secretary; Tessa Schlatter, treasurer; Mariah Fox, historian; Sarah Spencer, freshman representative; Stacy Coplen, sophomore representative; Jazmine Webb, junior representative; and Brittany Wilson, senior representative.
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education recognized retiring personnel, including Ruby Walker, Don Scott, Shirley King, Kay Moore, Marjorie Keuhn and Robin Brown.
Trenton native Capt. Brent Trickel assumed command of NAS Sigonella in a ceremony held aboard the ship in Sicily, Italy on May 10.
Alexia Tolson was named the valedictorian of the 150th graduating class of Trenton High School. Miss Tolson and salutatorian Ally Ockenfels addressed their classmates at commencement exercises held at the Ketcham Community Center.
Trenton Middle School named its Top Dawgs for the 2015-2016 school year, which included fifth graders Kaylea Boyle and Connor Campbell, sixth graders Mallory Sole and Jonin Villacampa, seventh graders Emily Owen and Aidan McAtee and eighth graders Kasie Otto and Sabastian Brown.
After receiving the Hy-Vee Legendary Customer Service Award in 2015, Joel McCulley got to see his face on the side of a Hy-Vee truck along with other winners of the award. Only 10 of the company’s 78,000 employees are selected each year for the award.
Dr. Jamie Hooyman, who had been serving as vice president for institutional effectiveness at North Central Missouri College, announced her resignation as she had accepted the position of vice provost at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.
“A Night to Sparkle” was the name of a special needs prom held in Cameron. Several Trenton area residents attended the prom, with members of the community coming together to make it special. A feature story about the event appeared in the R-T.
June
Disc golf made its debut in Trenton as part of the annual Gooseberry Festival. A disc golf tournament was held at the newly-constructed course located in Moberly Park. Among the other events were a 5K/10K run/walk, a tennis tournament, Gooseberry cooking contest and art show.
Trenton native Maerissa Knapp spent the 2015-2016 school year teaching in Nairobi, Kenya and her experience there was the subject of a feature story in the R-T.
The Trenton High School cheer squad attended camp on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. Four members of the squad, Abbie Shuler, Thelma Guerrero, Kayley Griffin and Mason Hooyman, earned All-American honors.
July
A retirement reception was held for long-time Trenton optometrist Dr. John Holcomb. Dr. Holcomb retired from his private practice after 45 years, 44 of which were in Trenton.
After a rainy start to the weekend, the July 4 holiday was celebrated by area residents who were treated to concerts by Greg and Suzie York and Friends and Soca Jukebox, as well as free watermelon and a fireworks show. All of the events were held in the Eastside Park/C.F. Russell Stadium area.
A changing of the guard took place at the Trenton Fire Department as retiring chief Rick Morris presented the chief’s badge to new chief Brandon Gibler. Morris retired after five years with the TFD and more than 45 years in fire service.
It was announced that a fund-raiser is under way to raise $600,000 to install artifical turf at C.F. Russell Stadium. At the time of the announcement, organizers said $10,000 donations had been pledged by 35 persons, with those funds to be paid over a four-year period.
More than 100 motorcycles took off from Trenton for the Fourth Annual Buzzard Run. The event, which is organized each year by the family of the late Larry Buzzard, is a fund-raiser for the Trenton R-9 Special Education Department.
Carloads of hometown fans made the trek to Kansas City to see Trenton High School graduate Jeff Binney perform his one-man standup comedy routine. Binney, who presented four shows over two days, performed the shows which were taped as part of a documentary he is making about his mother, the late Deb Binney, and her struggle with obesity and how that struggle eventually prompted him to run a 100-mile ultramarathon.
Several Trenton students attended the National FCCLA Convention in San Diego, CA. Those competing there were Trenton Middle School students Lindi Moulin, Mackenzie Klinginsmith, McKenna Cox, Oakley Mad-den and McKayla Blackburn and Trenton High School students Maycie Mayfield and Werthen Gass.
Nearly 200 persons crowded into the Grundy County Law Enforcement Center to offer prayers and support for law enforcement officers and other first responders. The event was prompted by a series of attacks on law enforcement officers across the country.
It was announced that retired Rissler Elementary School teacher Marsha Hurst would be honored as the 2016 Alumni Honoree at the Labor Day Weekend alumni gathering in Trenton.
The Trenton Police Department held its inaugural Blue Line Ladies Academy in Trenton, with nine girls from Trenton and the surrounding area participating.
August
Claire Stuedel of Cameron was named the 2016 North Central Missouri Fair Queen, with Emily Milazzo of Galt being named first runner-up.
Don Sager unseated incumbent Gene Wyant in a two-way race for the Republican nomination for first district Grundy County commissioner. Sager went on to defeat Jimmy Martin, an independent, in the November election.
Breilly Roy of Trenton, competing as the 2015 North Central Missouri Fair Queen, was named third runner-up to the 2016 Missouri State Fair Queen during ceremonies in Sedalia.
Enrollment was down in the Trenton R-9 School District on the first day of class, with 1,098 students in school on the first day, a 16-student decrease over the first day of class in 2015. Area districts were mixed on their first-day enrollments.
A Chula man, Chris Curd, won the $100,000 top prize on a Missouri Lottery “Black Pearl” scratcher ticket. He purchased the ticket at Trenton BP and told lottery officials he planned to buy a farmhouse, perhaps the one that he and his family were living in. He is a crop and cattle farmer.
The David Meservey family was honored as the Grundy County State Fair Farm Family during Missouri Farm Family Day at the fair in Sedalia.
Mike Ormsby took the $2,000 cash prize in the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce /Riverside Country Club golf ball drop. A total of 760 balls were sold, with Barnes Baker Automotive of Trenton and Brent Wyant providing the top prize. Terry Walker won the second-place prize of $500 in cash, provided by the chamber and RCC.
A total of $7,100 was raised through the American Cancer Society’s Grundy County Relay for Life, which had to be moved inside at Trenton High School due to rain earlier in the week.
Residents of the Hickory community took part in an old-time oat thrashing, using a 5 hp hit-and-miss engine to power a stationary baler. Photos of the event were included in the R-T.