Forum Flashbacks: Oct. 31-Nov. 6

FORUM FILE PHOTO
15 years ago: These Bush supporters were outside Nodaway County Republican headquarters on Tuesday showing support for their candidate. In what would become a race too close to call on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning brought a concession speech by Democratic candidate John Kerry and four more years for President George W. Bush.

25 years ago

• A few short weeks ago, it seemed the passage of Amendment 7 was inevitable, simply dodging the final land mines en route to the Nov. 8 election.
  An all-out assault by state officials, school districts, city governments and a host of other agencies, both private and public, has nearly halted the momentum of Amendment 7 supporters and turned the masses against what they once saw as the savior of our state.
  That is in the north.
  As you drive south, though, along any of the many Missouri highways which stand to suffer if the amendment passes, it becomes all too clear why Amendment 7 proponents have not given up the fight. …
  Those in south are angry because they saw a significant increase in their local property tax. …
  The increased property tax forced schools in southern Missouri to generate more local funding, freeing up more state money to go to schools in the northern portions of the state.

• Sam Sander knows there is hate in the world.
  And five decades ago, Sander saw just how far it can go.
  “I am the proof, I am the life — I’ve got the number on my arm,” Sander says. “The holocaust did happen.”
  Thursday night Sander and fellow holocaust survivors Joe Boin and Sara Froman told their stories to a standing-room-only crowd at Northwest Missouri State University’s Charles Johnson Theater.

15 years ago

• Candidates and supporters were on hand at the Nodaway County Courthouse on Tuesday evening to hear the numbers that would determine the outcome of the election. …
  The race for Nodaway County Sheriff was the closest of these races, with only 16 votes between incumbent Ben Espey, who was leading Democratic challenger Rick Smail.

5 years ago

• An ongoing dispute between the city of Maryville and Nodaway County with regard to incarcerating alleged municipal offenders in the county jail has flared up again, though county prosecutor Robert Rice said he and municipal counsel Doug Thomson are working to resolve the issue.
  The difficulty goes back at least several months and originally involved prisoners arrested for driving while intoxicated, or being minors in possession of alcohol.
  Sheriff Darren White said city officers were in the habit of citing such offenders on municipal charges, then bringing them to the jail and requesting that they be placed on 24-hour “investigative hold.”
  Since the purpose of an investigative hold is to keep suspects in custody until charges can be filed, and since a summons amounts to a charge of violating a municipal ordinance, White said he lacked grounds for keeping the suspects behind bars. …Rice said he found the practice, if not illegal, at least disturbing.
  “I don’t like that at all,” he said.