Letter to the Editor -- Lockdown Caused Hardships for Nursing Home Residents

During the first several months of the Covid-19 pandemic, area long term care facilities denied visitation for their residents. You can imagine the sense of isolation and loneliness, as well as familial disconnect, this has caused.

Fortunately, on September 17, 2020, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) released new visitation guidelines that have greatly eased those upsetting restrictions, effective immediately. This is encouraging news for Young at Heart Resources, because we serve 84 licensed long term care facilities by advocating for those same residents. It’s our purpose to support them as they strive to live healthy, happy lives, which includes sharing time with their loved ones.

Our Northwest Missouri service area of 18 counties covers 9,274 square miles. The Young at Heart Resources Ombudsman Program is in need of new volunteers who will help educate residents in long term care facilities about their rights, and advocate for those rights, especially as their facilities open up again.

An Ombudsman volunteer may serve as an investigator, mediator, liaison and educator for residents and their families, communities, or the facility; wherever they are needed. An Ombudsman (meaning “citizen representative” in Swedish) works to resolve individual problems and provide immediate assistance to residents.

If you’re interested in learning more about becoming an Ombudsman volunteer, please contact myself or Robin Williams, Regional Ombudsman, at 660-749-0034 or toll free, 855-205-7520. You can also email me at bcaldwell@yahresources.org. Thank you.    

 

Becky Caldwell

Regional Ombudsman Manager

Young at Heart

Hemorrhagic Disease Showing Up in Missouri Deer

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports low levels of hemorrhagic disease (HD) in deer around the state. HD is a naturally occurring virus that infects deer through the bite of a native midge fly. It is common in Missouri between July and October when the insect that spreads it is most active.

Hemorrhagic disease in deer has been recently confirmed through diagnostic testing in Boone, Camden, Cole, Jackson, Linn, and Osage counties. MDC has received at least 100 reports of additional suspected cases from locations throughout the state. 

“Hemorrhagic disease has been recognized in Missouri for many decades,” explained MDC Wildlife Health Program Supervisor Jasmine Batten. “We get reports of suspected cases every year and ask the public to report suspected cases of HD to their local MDC office or to email information to WildlifeHealth@mdc.mo.gov.”

Batten added that hemorrhagic disease can have severe impacts on localized deer numbers during some years with high infection rates, but transmission of the disease ends in the fall when heavy frost kills the midge flies. Deer populations are able to recover between outbreaks.

Hemorrhagic disease can be fatal to infected deer, but some deer survive and develop immunity.

“Clinical signs of hemorrhagic disease in deer vary but may include an unwillingness to move; difficulty breathing; and swelling of the head, neck, or tongue,” Batten explained. “Hemorrhagic disease can cause a high fever, prompting infected deer to seek out water sources. Deer that are sick may appear dazed, lethargic, and nonresponsive to the approach of people. Deer that die from hemorrhagic disease usually do so in a matter of days and are often found dead in or near water with no outward signs of illness.”

She added that HD is not directly contagious between infected deer and it is not known to infect people.

November Birthdays & Anniversaries

 November Birthdays

1 – Charles Laine Dimmitt, Taylor Langford; 2 – Owen Coleman; 3 – Morrison Shoda, Caleb New, Sharon Nelson; 4 – Cole Fisher; 6 – Chelsey Hopkins; 7 – Lillian Parman, Andrew Alarcon, Rodney Martin; 8 – Keith Wray, Carla Mitchell; 10 – Laura Wall, Drew Steinman; 11 – Amanda Fleetwood, Coby Langford; 12 – Larue Allee, Lindajoy Petersen; 13 – Maddie Taute; 15 – Jim Harrell; 16 – Donna Hansen; 17 – Katie Wilson; 21 – Nick Buel, Charlotte Knight, Miklo Garcia; 22 – Johnny Mancuso, Megan Fletchall, Justin Rush; 23 – Betty Dokken, Alana Parman, J.R. Gladman; 24 – Samuel Stephenson, Brooke Florea, Kallie Hinshaw; 25 – Mike Troutwine; 26 – Nate Lewis, Judy Houk, Kassie (Davidson) Sapp; 27 – Gage Faustlin, Nola Parman, Wilbur Noakes; 28 – Colby Hinshaw; 30 – Andrea Winemiller, Lindsey Smith, Kathy Brand.

November Anniversaries

5 – Dennis & Wonda Shimer; 8 – Brad & Tanya Hill; 29 – Bruce & Janis Roorda.

Letter to the Editor -- A Successful Student

Jesse, you’ve always covered your stories and never sent someone out to do it. You were at my birthday party taking pictures of things I had brought during my teaching days. You took a picture of me and Evanell Havner. She reminded me that one of my former students, Connie Bunker of Excelsior Springs, would be contacting me because she thought I was a great teacher. Edward and Evanell Bunker are her parents. Edward passed away and Evanell eventually married Kay Havner.

I taught Connie the first year that I taught in Grant City because I taught the overflow of the first and the overflow of the second grade. That was a harder year for me, because I was teaching two grades.

Connie became a trained court reporter. She used her skills in arbitration in law firms. She worked up as a specialized division manager over several offices around the world. She and her husband have been married for 41 years.

When their daughter graduated from high school, she was recruited out of college to work for a defense organization. She’s now in Virginia outside of DC. She worked at the White House Situation Room for 3+ years and is now employed at the Pentagon and holds two positions with two different agencies. 

She said their son recently went into business with his uncle in an excavating company, and is fully licensed. They’re so busy, they have to turn down business. 

Her husband is an engineer and close to retirement.

The birthday card has a plastic dog filled with a glistening flat round felt thing around his neck; it says, “Party Animal.” She said I wanted something that glistened!

Evelyn Groom

Albany, MO

Letter to the Editor -- Why Women Should Vote for Trump

Black Lives Matter – if I hear that one more time, I may lose my lunch. Of course they matter, but not one iota more than any other life.

Natalie Wallace and Secoria Turner. Who are they? Just two of the many innocent children killed by other Blacks. It would appear your life only matters if you are killed by a white person, especially if it’s a white man.

I listened to Kamala Harris, and she scares the bloomers off me. She advocates taxpayer funded abortion on demand at any stage. We are all made in the image of God, both the born and the unborn. I, for one, don’t want my tax dollars used to kill the image of God.

Harris wants mandatory buyback of “assault weapons.” Here, we call them deer rifles.

She wants free medical care for illegal immigrants. Boy, would I like free medical care, and I’m a citizen.

How about open borders? No borders, no country.

Also, eliminate the electoral college. Our forefathers were wise enough to see without it that the midwest would have no voice. We would be ruled by New York and California.

I read a Letter to the Editor about why young females should vote Biden/Harris. One argument was that your wages are 81% of your male counterparts. I don’t know the figures, so I won’t dispute that. My question is, Biden was in government 47 years, 8 of which was in the powerful position of Vice-President. What did he do to correct that?

Please don’t forget to vote!

Ann Roach 

Grant City, MO

Dog and Calf Killed Near Gower; Mountain Lion Suspected

A 122 pound German Shepherd and a 200 pound calf were killed near Gower, Michelle Frazier, a resident of Gower, posted on her Facebook. She stated that her dog’s wounds were long, deep scratches with no bite marks. She stated that a neighbor was missing a 200 pound calf, and that someone big, and not a dog or a coyote, was seen crossing 169 near their home a few days earlier. 

Kami Gibson, Emma Craig Go Deep; Shamrocks are HDC Champions with 56th Straight Conference Win

North Harrison wrapped up their conference schedule by getting their 56th straight conference win and clinching another conference title Thursday, beating Winston 14-0. The Shamrocks thought they had won 49 straight following the end of the 2019 season, but some checking revealed a game with Mercer that hadn’t gotten posted on the MSHSAA site, putting North Harrison at 50 wins at the start of the season.

Following their home tournament, in which they went 2-1, beating Worth County and Princeton and losing to Lawson, they hit a slump against Albany, falling 7-1 Monday. They were hitting the ball hard, but right at people, while everything Albany hit hard found a gap in that game.

They got back on track Tuesday with a 10-0 win over Mercer, setting up Thursday’s game. Winston is much better this year, fielding the ball much better; they only had one error in Thursday’s game. There was a stiff wind blowing in. But the Shamrocks were hitting the ball like the wind wasn’t even there, as Kami Gibson hit a home run and nearly missed another, Emma Craig narrowly missed the cycle, and Carly Rinehart scattered two hits and struck out ten. Rinehart’s rising fastball was working Thursday night as the red shirts were chasing her high pitches all night long.

In the first inning, with one out, Carly Rinehart singled to left and Emma Craig crushed one into the wind off the left center field wall and Rainey Fordyce walked. Camden Castleberry grounded into a force at second, scoring Natalie Parkhurst (running for Rinehart). Kami Gibson crushed one off the left field wall to score two and make it 3-0. 

That was simply the warmup for the rest of the game. Trendi Johnson came out of a hitting slump in a big way, hitting one as hard as she had ever hit as a Shamrock and landing it just fair down the left field line for a double to start the third. Carly Rinehart singled her home, and then Emma Craig crushed a two run home run into the wind to make it 6-0. 

In the fourth, Jayliegh Robins tripled off the wall in right center and Carly Rinehart grounded out to get her home. Emma Craig tripled to the wall in left, flying around the bases. Rainey Fordyce singled to center and Kami Gibson crushed one into the wind, and it didn’t matter as it flew over the fence in right field for an opposite field home run to make it 10-0.

Ruby Heintz, who had a double earlier in the game, crushed a triple when the right fielder tried for a great catch and missed. Trendi Johnson grounded out to score her; she was hitting it hard all evening. The green shirts continued to play pepper with the wall despite the wind as Jayliegh Robins doubled to the right center wall. Carly Rinehart singled and made it to second and made it to second when the cutoff throw got away. Emma Craig had a chance to complete the cycle, but drew a walk instead to load the bases. Rainey Fordyce got a base hit that turned into a bad hop double as two runs scored, and Camden Castleberry singled to left to score one.