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TRENTON
THURS., MAY 30, 2024
REPUBLICAN-TIMES “GOD BLESS AMERICA”
Old Glory flying at Five Points
republican-times.com
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 160th Year - No. 39
Briefs... Summer School Meal Program
16 PAGES
Flags Adorn Courthouse
Trenton R-9 School District has announced that anyone 18 years of age or younger, as well as disabled adults over age 18, enrolled in school during the regular school year are eligible for free breakfast and lunch during summer school, which will be held May 22 to June 19. This includes students who are enrolled during the school year but chose not to attend Summer School. Breakfast will be served from 7:30-8:00 a.m., with lunch being served from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Anyone with questions should contact Superintendent Daniel Gott at 660-359-3994.
Community Blood Drive
The Community Blood Center (CBC) will hold a blood drive on Monday, June 3 from 12-6 p.m. at the North 65 Center, 2901 Hoover Drive in Trenton. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment by visiting savealifenow.org/group and using Group Code: TN. For additional details, contact Todd Schnoebelen at (816) 8109274.
NCMC Elevator Maintenance
The North Central Missouri College Ketcham Community Center elevator will be down from May 28 to June 28 for routine maintenance. The Ketcham Center will remain open, and the weight room and track will be available via stairs. For more information and questions, contact the Ketcham Center at 660-359-3948.
Cub Scout Pack 23 Fundraiser
Cub Scout Pack 23 will hold a spaghetti dinner on Saturday, June 15 from 5-8 p.m. at the First Assembly of God Family Activity Center, 1107 E. 11th St. in Trenton. All proceeds from this fundraiser will help fund summer camps for the scouts.
Flags were flying all around the Grundy County Courthouse on Monday, May 27 in honor of Memorial Day. R-T Photo by D’Anna Honeycutt
Three Local Businesses Fail Compliance Check The Trenton Police Department and the Midland Empire Alcohol Task Force conducted alcohol retail outlet compliance checks in Trenton on Friday, May 24, 2024. The Police Department is reporting that three local businesses sold an alcoholic beverage to the underage person. At this time,
charges are pending, and no further information can be released. The Task Force provides the underage person, funds to purchase, and pays for all Police Officer overtime to work the investigations. The underage person attempted to buy alcoholic beverages from approximately sixteen retail
establishments and bars in Trenton. The Police Department and the Task Force have conducted compliance checks for the last several years to eliminate mistakes by employees and identify anyone selling alcoholic beverages to minors. Businesses that would like to provide training for their employ-
ees can contact Agent Erich Hellerich of the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control at (816) 743-8745. Authorities will continue to follow up with additional training opportunities for the businesses and employees on legal requirements and compliance.
Sheriff’s Potential Lawsuit Over Pay May Face Legal Obstacles By Mark McLaughlin R-T Staff Writer Grundy County Sheriff Rodney Herring is in deliberations with his attorney about a potential lawsuit against Grundy County, claiming the County has not honored a pay raise passed in Legislative Bill 53/60, and codified in State Law 57.317.1.2, RSMo. In the legislation passed in 2021, County Sheriff’s salaries were to be tied to the salary of the Associate Court Judge, and specifically in Class Three Counties at 50 percent of the judge’s pay based on property tax valuations. The statute further instructed that if Herring’s salary increase would have been over $10,000, the increase would be split into 20 percent increments over five years. In Grundy County, the salary of Judge Carrie Lamm Clark, which will be at $163,000 as of July 1, would have made Herring’s salary $81,500 under the law. The problem with the legislation is that it was enacted as all Sheriffs statewide elected on the
2020 election cycle took office, followed by passage of the legislation, then ran squarely into Missouri Constitution Article VII, Section 13 which states “Limitation on increase of compensation and extension of terms of office. – The compensation of state, county and municipal offices shall not be increased during the term of office; nor shall the term of any officer be extended. What this means, at first glance, is that the legislatively enacted pay increase could not be paid until the beginning of the next term of office, beginning in January 2025. Herring’s current salary is $45,777.60 annually, some $34,000 short of the prescribed pay, and is an understandable point of contention. According to the Missouri Constitution, pay raises that are legislated within the current term of an officeholder cannot be paid during that term. While the Commissioner’s Association lost that suit in 2022 with the judge upholding the constitutionality of the new state law, how it
is enacted is a picture that is clear as mud. Following passage of the bill and the case of County Commissioners Association of Missouri vs. State of Missouri, in which Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green found in favor of the State, the law was Constitutional because it dealt with “public safety” as a single subject, and agreed that Sheriff’s pay was tied to the Associate Court Judge. They also noted that a number of new “accountability measures” tied to Sheriffs offices represented new and extended duties not originally within the purview of State Statute 221, which deals with everything pertaining to Sheriff’s duties and conduct of County Jails. On the basis of this, 104 of Missouri’s 114 counties moved ahead and enacted Sheriff’s pay increases, some immediately, and some sequentially. The ten counties holding out on moving forward were Mercer, Nodaway, Cape Girardeau, Shannon, Harrison, Carroll, Daviess, DeKalb, Andrew and Holt County. [See Sheriff, Page 2]
GRVCO to Present Summer Concert The Grand River Valley Choir and Orchestra will present its annual Summer Concert, “Sunlit Silence!” Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m. in the Trenton R-IX Performing Arts Center. A variety of music will be performed. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m., following the dress rehearsal. Barb Cox will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Our GRVCO musicians represent the 15 Missouri communities of Altamont, Cameron, Chillicothe, Gallatin, Jameson, Jamesport, Laredo, Ludlow, Marshall, Newtown, Pattonsburg, Princeton, Trenton, Weatherby and Winston. The GRV Orchestra will open the program with “Radetsky March”, fol[See GRVCO, Page 2]