Forum Flashbacks: April 22-28

By Geoffrey Woehlk | April 23, 2021 |

FORUM FILE PHOTO
5 years ago – Members of the Lettuce Dream board of directors, along with state Rep. Allen Andrews, right, participated in groundbreaking ceremonies Friday for a hydroponic greenhouse complex on the east side of Maryville that is to provide job training for area residents coping with developmental and cognitive disabilities. If all goes as scheduled, the first crop of lettuce, which is to be sold to area markets, restaurants, and food service operations, could be planted late this summer.

25 years ago

After hearing from a large faction of citizenry against hunting at the Mozingo Recreational Area, the Mozingo Recreation Advisory board voted 5-3 last night on a motion which would forbid hunting, except at the discretion of the city manager with approval by the City Council …
Members of the Mozingo Recreation Advisory Board and a faction of the public which has been against hunting at Mozingo toured the recreational facility yesterday afternoon, prior to the group’s regular meeting at City Hall.
The Internet.
Just a few short years ago the word was unfamiliar to the vast majority of Americans. Now, just about everyone is familiar with the term, if not the territory.
The primary reason many people have not jumped on the Internet bandwagon is the cost factor. For years the only practical way to access the Internet from Northwest Missouri was through programs like AmericaOnline or CompuServe. Those programs charge a monthly fee, and subscribers in Northwest Missouri still had to pay long distance charges each time they logged on.
Not any more.
In September of last year, M & S Computers in Maryville started offering direct Internet access with a Maryville telephone number. The cost is inexpensive, just $20 a month and it comes with 30 hours of Internet access free. If that isn’t enough to suit your needs, although it probably will be, additional time on the Internet costs just 50 cents per hour.

15 years ago

Will there be wind farms in Nodaway County?
That was the topic discussed at the public forum Wednesday evening at Northwest Missouri State University.
Dr. Neil Fox, an assistant professor of atmospheric science at the University of Missouri-Columbia, was the first professional to speak. Fox has spent the past two years working with Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources attempting to determine how much wind would actually be available for proposed wind farms in northwest Missouri.
“The more we exploit free energy,” Fox said, “the better off we’ll all be. There is more wind in the northwest part of Missouri than there appears to be in the rest of the state.”
When the head coaching job for the Maryville High School football team opened up, Chris Holt knew it would be a mistake if he didn’t try to fill the position.
At this point in his life Holt said he felt it was the perfect job for him. Apparently, Maryville officials thought he was the perfect man for the job. The only thing left is a little bit of paperwork.
“I guess when I sign the contract it’s a done deal,” Holt said. “The verbal commitment has been made from me to them and from them to me. We’ve already notified our school here that we won’t be coming back next year.”
The 33-year-old leaves Princeton after two years as head coach leading them to a 6-4 record in 2004 and a 9-1 record in 2005. Holt, a graduate of Northwest Missouri State, started his coaching career as an assistant at South Harrison. He then took a head coaching position at Schuyler County in 2000 where he won a couple of district titles.

5 years ago

The Maryville City Council this week gave the go-ahead to Schneider Electric, a multi-national company specializing in energy efficiency and automation, to proceed with an “investment grade” audit of the city’s water meters.
Maryville’s drinking water delivery system contains just over 4,000 meters of various makes and models, many of which are at least 20 years old. About 2,400 of those meters, all of which must be manually read, are hooked up to homes and apartments.
Public Works Director C.E. Goodall and his staff have been discussing the possibility of a large-scale meter upgrade for some time, but thus far the city has lacked funding to move forward on a project that will cost an estimated $2 million.
Now, a solution may be at hand.
Peter Hinkle, Schneider’s Midwest sales team leader, told the council that, pending results of the audit — which will entail the removal and inspection of about 80 water meters citywide — the company is prepared to guarantee recovery of municipal investment in meter replacement over a period of seven to 10 years through reduced water waste and more accurate billing.
Should the payback fail to materialize during the agreed upon time, Schneider would be obligated to write the city a check for the difference.
The guarantee, Hinkle said, effectively “shifts the risk” of recovering funds from a major capital investment from City Hall to the contractor.
It is likely the city would cover the initial cost of replacing meters with some type of debt financing.
After consulting with Public Works staff and comparing the amount of water treated with the number of gallons paid for by water service customers, Hinkle estimated that Maryville has an unmetered or incorrectly metered wastage rate of around 13 percent.