THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2023
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
VOL. 111, NO. 18
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
@THEMISSOURIAN
Trafficking awareness extends to Northwest, Maryville HANNAH CLAYWELL Asst. News Editor | @Hannah_9504
T
housands of men, women and children are working in terrible conditions, being treated like animals and forced to sell their bodies every year. Many trafficking victims lose hope after not being treated like a human, possibly for years. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and both the college and community police advise people to be aware. Only 0.4% of survivors are identified internationally, meaning most never get detected. Women and girls make up 71% of human trafficking victims, and college students can be vulnerable as well with social media usage, economic instability and possible use of recreational substances. This does not only affect college students, but the whole community. Police Chief Ron Christian and Detective Ryan Glidden said they could only remember one case being similar to human trafficking in Maryville. In June 2015, a massage parlor opened in Maryville. At Sunny Massage the workers exchanged sexual acts with customers in exchange for money. Authorities became aware of this after an online advertisement containing various photos of women in different undressed states. The police addressed the issue very quickly, and the owner was arrested and charged.
SEE AWARENESS | A4
Business closures impact rural town revenue SIDNEY LOWRY Managing Editor | @sidney_lowry
The end of December, for most, means celebrating the holidays and bringing in the new year. For one store in Maryville, it also included their closure announcement. Following Sears Hometown Stores Inc. declaration of bankruptcy in December 2022, the Maryville location is the final store of its kind in the region. Though the store in Maryville will be shutting down, it isn’t the only town where this will happen. There will be 115 Sears Hometown Store closures nationwide, with three shutdowns in Missouri, three in Iowa and four in Nebraska. Executive Director of Nod-
GRAPHIC BY MAKAYLA POLAK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Big Brothers Big Sisters recognize mentor’s impact ALYNA THIBAULT Missourian Reporter | @TheMissourian
DAKOTA WEAVER PHOTO EDITOR
The Sears Hometown in Maryville announced its closing following Sears Hometown Stores, Inc. filing for bankruptcy.
away County Economic Development Josh McKim said this trend was seen before COVID, but the process sped up as inperson shopping came to a halt and had to move online. “We were seeing a trend of more online shopping, but also people wanted their shopping to be an experience,” McKim said. “So it seemed, as an outsider looking in, it seemed that there were some strengths in businesses that could provide an experience.” During the first year of COVID, there were roughly 200,000 permanent business closures across the nation, according to a study done through the Finance and Economics Discussion Series at the Federal Reserve.
Alongside this, McKim said since the pandemic, big companies have cut back on expansions and have started cutting shops and stores all over. Some locations at the top of the list for closures are those in rural areas. “I really get frustrated with corporate retail because as you look at over the last 10 years of closures in Maryville that were corporate related stores, not one of them wasn’t profitable,” McKim said. “It was a corporate decision that said ‘We’re not profitable as a corporation, we’re gonna cut resources in small markets to move them to larger markets.’”
January marks the annual celebration of Mentoring Month, a time to recognize and appreciate the critical role mentorship plays in personal and professional development. Big Brothers Big Sisters has been making a positive impact on the lives of young people for over 100 years. The organization matches children, also known as littles with adult mentors, or bigs who provide guidance and support. The goal is to help littles reach their full potential and succeed in their personal and academic lives. Lynette Harbin is the executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nodaway County as well as a mentor. She has been with the organization since 2008 and started off on the Board of Directors. “We are a mentoring organization,” Harbin said “We match children from a single parent or nontraditional home with an adult mentor, who spends a couple hours each week with the kid doing normal everyday type activities.” Mentoring Month is a national celebration, mentors come from many forms and environments. They are special people that have great leadership, communication skills and empathy for younger adults. “For us, as a mentoring organization, we use this month to really celebrate our mentors,” Harbin said.
SEE CLOSURES | A4
SEE MENTORING | A4
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