Forum Flashbacks: Feb. 11-17

By Geoffrey Woehlk | February 12, 2021 |

FORUM FILE PHOTO
25 YEARS AGO – Honest Abe, In honor of Abe Lincoln’s birthday, Jerry Eckstein of Clyde, portrayed the 16th president of the United States, as he paid a special visit to the Parnell Elementary School, visiting classes throughout the day.

25 years ago

Students, faculty and staff at Northwest Missouri State University will be signing a special valentine.
At noon, today, Northwest signed a giant valentine for Mercedes Ramirez, the Northwest junior international business major who survived the Colombian airliner crash just before Christmas. Ramirez who was released last week from a Kansas City hospital is recovering at her sister’s home in Kansas.
A kick-off signing ceremony is scheduled for noon at the Spanish Den, located on the first floor of the J.W. Jones Union on Wednesday. University President Dean L. Hubbard, Student President Karrie Krambeck and others are expected to participate in the ceremony.
The giant valentine, a 6-by-18-foot banner, will be available for individuals to sign until 5 p.m. It will also be available throughout the day Thursday and Friday. …
The valentine will be delivered to Ramirez this weekend.

15 years ago

A misinterpretation of U.S. Census statistics for the City of Maryville has caused city officials to believe the town has about 2,000 more residents than it actually does.
The revelation came to light at a Maryville City Council meeting this week when the council was discussing a plan to build a new wastewater treatment plant.
To make sure the plant would be large enough to facilitate the town’s citizens 20 years down the road, the council worked with an engineering firm to predict what the population would be in 2027. But during this process, the council discovered that it had been wrong about the current population all along.
U.S. Census figures reported a population of 10,581 in 2000, and the city believed this figure did not include about 2,000 students who live on campus at Northwest Missouri State University, which lies in the city limits.
However, the U.S. Census count did include students who live on campus.
City officials downplayed importance of the mistake.
“It has certain impact,” City Manager Michael Rietz said, “but it doesn’t change the number which drives all of our funding, which is the Census number. That number doesn’t change.”
It doesn’t matter whether you spell it “bunco” or “bunko,” for a group of northwest Missouri women, it’s more than a game — it’s a party.
To play bunco, you need nine dice, some scratch paper and a dozen people — and that is exactly what has come together in Hopkins once a month for the past 30 years.
In the spring of 1975, at the home of Mary Coleman, 12 young mothers who had been friends for many years met together, ate Spanish peanuts and a chocolate layered dessert, and were taught the game of bunco by Linda Morrison.
Since that time, one Wednesday night each month in Hopkins, 12 women have gotten together for a night away from the responsibilities of family and home to let their hair down, eat snacks, and attempt to win one of the coveted prizes given away after the bunco game has ended.
It would be hard to decide what the main attraction is for the women who gather to play bunco once a month in Hopkins. For some it definitely is the thrill of competition from time to time, some players even have to be called out for cheating.

5 years ago

Municipal government in Maryville has seen the light — or at least will very shortly after Clinton-based American Eagle Electrical finishes replacing fluorescent and incandescent tubes and bulbs with highly efficient LEDs in approximately 600 fixtures at City Hall, Maryville Public Safety headquarters, and the street maintenance garage.
Installation by American Eagle owner David Stadter and subcontractor Karol Wilson began Monday and should be complete in two weeks or less.
In addition to the city buildings listed above, the upgrade to LEDs will also include 29 vintage-style streetlights on the courthouse square and all fixtures at the New Nodaway Humane Society animal shelter on South Depot.
Two of the top employers in Maryville are working together to solve a communitywide problem.
Pradnya Patet, who is an assistant professor and coordinator of early childhood education at Northwest Missouri State University, and SSM Health Preschool and Childcare Director Cindy Sons began discussing what they could do about the community’s need for more day care and preschool options more than two years ago.
Patet said St. Francis Hospital Foundation Development Officer Megan Jennings rejuvenated the conversation last year, which has given structure to the project.
“We’ve got a lot of great people around the table right now,” Jennings said.
According to Jennings, SSM Health St. Francis is in the process of applying for a Community Development Block Grant to assist in building a new center on the SSM Health St. Francis Hospital campus.