Local News – Thursday, April 12, 2018
Intercounty Electric Co-Operative Association held their annual Youth Tour Essay contest in February where juniors from the schools in their service area write a 250-500 word essay for the chance to go to Washington, D. C. for a week, or earn a three day trip on the CYCLE program to Jefferson City. Judging was held on March 24th at the Intercounty Electric auditorium in Licking and the winners of the trip to Washington D.C. from schools in the KSMO listening area included Olivia Erway from Salem, Athena Hood from Licking, Raina Forstrom from St. James and Brody Brown from Rolla. Those earning the trip to Jefferson City included Abigail Kilman from Salem, Emily Phillips from Rolla, Katelyn Kinder and Richelle Schwarz from Licking, and Alyssa Dorris and Matthew Altis from St. James. Each of the juniors who participated deserves to be congratulated on their hard work!
Missouri’s 16th annual “No MOre Trash! Bash” will focus on “spring cleaning” the outdoors by asking residents to pick up litter throughout the state during the April 15th to May 15th time period. The litter prevention campaign is sponsored by the Missouri departments of Conservation and Transportation. The annual Trash Bash encourages people to clean up litter across Missouri from roadsides, parks, neighborhoods, rivers, streams, trails and other places during April. Trash Bash activities also include educational efforts in schools, community events and Earth Day celebrations. Each year, MoDOT spends about $6.75 million to remove litter from more than 385,000 acres of roadsides along 34,000 state highway miles. Annual volunteer efforts to pick up litter along Missouri highways are valued at more than $1 million. Last year, more than 43,000 bags of litter and several truckloads of debris were picked up during the spring the “No More Trash! Bash.” People also attended numerous educational events stressing the importance of not littering. Volunteers participated through Adopt-A-Highway and Stream Team litter cleanup events. Missouri Stream Team Program volunteers removed 547 tons of litter from waterways and dedicated more than $2.3 million worth of volunteer time to litter removal statewide annually. Littering also hurts wildlife and Missouri outdoors. Volunteers are needed across the state to participate in litter cleanup activities. Participants can report their cleanup efforts and will receive a thank you No MOre Trash! pin. For more information and to learn how to participate, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636).
The Meramec Regional Planning Commission and the Phelps County Public Housing Agency (PHA) Family Self-Sufficiency program will host a free workshop from 10:00 in the morning until noon on April 16th in St. James on “Tackling the Tough Skills: Problem Solving.” This workshop is the final in a series of five that will cover topics such as attitude, responsibility, communications, problem solving and preparing for the workplace. All workshops are held in the Phelps County PHA room ag the MRPC offices located at #4 Industrial Drive in St. James. Christy Saylor, the Missouri Ozarks Community Action county projects coordinator, will be presenting the program. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA’s efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency. Workshops are offered at no cost to the participants. For more information or to RSVP, contact Savannah Vandegriffe at 573-265-4200 ext. 132. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA’s efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency. Each participant who attends will receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card, as long as they meet income qualifications.
Have you joined the petition drive to have enlisted World War II Veterans honored with a state funeral for the passing of last Medal of Honor recipient? You will find numerous petitions in the area at stores, offices, and governmental buildings. Between 1939 and 1945, sixteen million Americans served our country in World War II. Of that sixteen million, 464 received the Medal of Honor, of which only four recipients remain alive today. In the history of the United States there has never been a state funeral held for an enlisted person. Petitions are located at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory, American Legion Post #99, and numerous locations around Salem. If you have questions or concerns feel free to contact Chairman Richard LaBrash, State Funeral for World War II Veterans, at (573) 729-1394. Signers of the petition must be a registered voter. If you haven’t found a petition in town, people can go online at WorldWar2Salute.org to sign the petition.