Chris Holt makes the HOF
The football coach that helped Lathrop to a state title game earns honor from Mo. Football Coaches Assoc. || PAGE A6
LEADER CLINTON COUNT Y
“The People Have The Right To Know”
Thursday, June 13, 2024 | Plattsburg • Lathrop • Gower • Cameron |
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CLINTON COUNTY
Zoning signs off on proposed meat processing plant County Commissioners to consider rezoning, permit Thursday
by brett adkison leader editor
A proposed beef processing facility near I-35 just outside of Lathrop has moved one step closer to reality. The Clinton County
Planning and Zoning Commission approved the rezoning and special use permit for the proposed business on Thursday, June 6, at the courthouse in Plattsburg. The two items will go to the Clinton County Commis-
sioners for final approval. The commission is expected to consider the items Thursday morning, June 13. Murphy Land and Cattle made the request with the intention of building a beef processing center at the
proposed location (just over 45 acres) on the south side of SE 248th Street, about a half mile south of the 116 Highway/Interstate 35 intersection, and two miles east of the town of Lathrop. The zoning board approved the
request for rezoning to M-2 Heavy Industrial along with a special use permit that’s needed specifically for the slaughter of animals. At full capacity, the center could process upwards of 40 head daily while pro-
viding as many as 55 jobs, though a representative of the company said Thursday they plan to work up to those numbers. After hearing from representatives of Murphy Land ||Continued on A2
HITTING THE POOL!
CAMERON
A SUMMERTIME OASIS
Rains brings experience to to economic development by jamey honeycutt leader publisher
While Lance Rains may be new to Cameron City Hall, his roots run deep in Northwest Missouri. Born in the old hospital in Cameron, the city’s new economic development director graduated high school in Gallatin as a National Honor Society member, varsity wrestler and an active member of both the FFA and 4-H. College took Rains to the University of Missouri, where he majored in agriculture with a minor in animal science and agriculture economics. After graduating, Rains accepted a position with the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission (GHRPC), and in 1993 he wrote the grant that led to the relocation of Old Pattonsburg to its present location. In total, the flood grant that Rains wrote to move the town was an $18 million project. It is still one of the biggest projects Rains has been associated with in his years of economic development experience. That sort of a project was unheard of at the time and was the first time the Department of Economic Development offered one-time flood buy-outs. The framework of the plan was later used in New Or||Continued on A7
brett adkison | the clinton county leader
The summer temperatures are on the rise, and soon kids and adults alike will seek refuge in the cool waters of our local pools, including Bodie’s Pool in Plattsburg (above). Whether it’s in Cameron, Plattsburg or Gower, there are plenty of ways to hit the waves in 2024, including nearby Watkin’s Mill, Wallace State Park and Smithville Lake.
LEADER FEATURE
Mallen family catches total solar eclipse in Texas
Texas was the perfect place to watch the eclipse. (Left to Right) Josh Mallen (Tom’s son), Tom Mallen, Della Mallen, Teresa (Mallen) Reed and Rebecca Mallen (Tom’s daughter).
by brett adkison leader editor
The intrigue of the total solar eclipse this past April didn’t escape Tom Mallen, an engineer for Northrop Grumman who worked as a subsystem engineer on the James T. Webb Telescope. In 2017, he traveled back to his hometown of Plattsburg from Redondo
submitted photo
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Beach, California, for the solar eclipse, only to join the thousands of other local sun watchers who were disappointed due to the cloud cover. This time around, he hoped (and planned) it would be different. And it was. Mallen flew with his son, Josh, and daughter,
Plattsburg Council holds meeting
This Week’s Sheriff ’s Report
Plattsburg City Council approves MOU, makes changes to its policy about providing agenda to the public.
See which calls for service came through the Clinton County Sheriff ’s Dispatch for the previous week.
|| PAGE A2
|| PAGE A3
Rebecca, from California to Dallas, where they met up Tom’s mother, Della Mallen, of Plattsburg. He had chosen Texas for a couple of reasons, but especially due to the length of totality. “Ultimately, I chose Terrell, Texas, because it was very close to maximum totality at four minutes, 22 ||Continued on A2
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VOL. 129, NO. 34