Ralph Davidson Killed in Accident

Ralph Davidson, 72, of Sheridan, was killed in an accident Thursday morning. The Missouri Highway Patrol reports the accident occurred around 8:20 in the morning on Route NN 9 miles east of Pickering. A 1982 Peterbilt Dump Truck driven by Stephen Mick of Bedford was westbound and a 2000 Chevy Silverado Pickup driven by Davidson and pulling a trailer was stationary in the westbound lane. Davidson was outside his vehicle when the dump truck struck the trailer, causing it to strike Davidson. The dump truck traveled into the eastbound lane, overcorrected, and overturned, coming to rest on its side facing west on the north side of Route NN. The Silverado came to rest on its wheels on the north side of Route NN. Davidson was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:09 a.m. by Nodaway County Coroner Vince Shelby. A summons against Mick is pending.

Mary Welch Seriously Injured in Car Wreck

A one-car accident last Wednesday morning around 10:19 a.m. seriously injured Mary Welch, a Parnell resident, on Route E about six miles west of Parnell. The Missouri Highway Patrol reports that a 2004 Chevrolet driven by Welch was northbound when she lost control, went off the west side of the road, struck a ditch, went airborne, and came to rest on its wheels after overturning. Welch was taken by the Nodaway County Ambulance to St. Francis Hospital of Maryville and then later lifeflighted to Heartland Hospital of St. Joseph. The car was totaled.

Walk 1440 for August 20th, 2008

by Jeff Blaine
A single tear rolled down her cheek…
What’s in a tear? Water? Salt? Have you considered: a lifetime?
She is 91 & life was recently dealt a difficult blow to her body…a stroke.
Having just learned she can no longer drive…the painful tears of change flow freely…the fear filled tears of a future unknown stream down her cheeks…what is it about tears?
Those tears I have cried too…my 38 years have seen my share of change & uncertainty resulting in tear swelled eyes.
Yet, the tears each of us cry are different from others because our tears are born of the pain, change, joy, or suffering unique to our own life…we are the sole owners of our tears.
Oh, that someone could understand the saltiness of our tears…someone so familiar with us that they know those tears flow from the very center of our being.
Oh, that someone could have the ability to wipe away our tears, wanting to care for us, as they listen to the depths of our heart pouring out the joy, the pain, the fear, & the suffering.
Someone who knows why we cry in the night…our sobs echoing in the silence.
Someone who knows the sorrow from my loss, my hurt, my pain…my trouble.
Someone who can tell me through the mind numbing grief I feel…they truly understand.
If only someone could know & take into account the "why" of our tears…might it stop the flow?
You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle
Are they not in Your book? Psalm 56:8
That someone is our God…
Who can possibly know the very depth of each tear but our God?
Who can possibly know our very soul but our God?
Why does our God take an "account of my wanderings"?
Why does our God keep the tears so bitterly spent in His bottle?
Why does our God write in His book the painful days of my life marked with my tears?
Might it be love?
Why would someone care to consider the lifetime in a tear if they didn’t love the one crying?
Why would someone care to track the memories of that lifetime in those tears if they didn’t want to comfort the one crying?
Isn’t it a comfort to know…you don’t cry alone?
There are 1440 minutes in a day…WALK1440 knowing your tears are known

Sheridan News for August 20th, 2008

by Barb Rowe
I was sorry to hear that Margaret Findley was in the hospital last weekend. She is home and doing a little better. Her daughters took turns helping her out while she wasn't feeling well.
Beth West and Kathleen Carroll were visitors of the John Stephenson family. They are from Kansas City and sisters to John. They took J.C. out school clothes shopping for his birthday.

Sheridan Holds Initial Strategic Plan Meeting

Arnie Kreek of the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments led the initial Strategic Plan Meeting for Sheridan with over ten community leaders and guided them through a brainstorming session about the town’s strengths and weaknesses Monday. His main point was that when communities plan, they would be in a better position to deal with changes rather than simply reacting to random events. He said that when towns do a strategic plan, they would be able to filter out unnecessary work that did not fit into the plan.
The first exercise he led the participants in was to develop a mission statement, which he said give an ongoing guide to the city without the limitations of a time frame. "In other words, how do we define our community?" asked Economic Developer Charity Austin, present at the meeting. Tim Brogan said that it was a matter of what the town can be, and Dave Thomas said that a good mission statement would also teach youth lessons, such as about citizenship, for instance.
The group agreed to meet for each of the next four weeks to discuss each of the areas of focus. Participants agreed to focus on physical appearance, parks and recreation, public services, and community development. The first two meetings were set for August 25th and September 8th at Sheridan City Hall at 6:00 p.m.; all Strategic Plan meetings are open to the public. Participants encouraged people who were not present to attend one of the upcoming meetings. Each of the participants will work on a possible mission statement for the town. After each of the four meetings are over, Kreek will meet again with the participants to work on the mission statement for the community and discuss the results of the brainstorming sessions.
Thomas said that it was important for towns to give the youth some structure; he has led hunter educations classes in the area and is starting an Archery in Schools program for the Worth County School this year. Candy Martin pointed to the Roxy Theater as an example of something that can be accomplished when communities work together. "Just because we don’t have thing doesn’t mean we can’t have them," added Austin.
Among some of the cultural aspects of the community, Jeff Blaine said that the town had a cowboy culture, pointing to the success of the annual Mud Run. Austin said that there was interest in restarting the Little Dinner Theater. Brogan said that he was worried that the history of the town was being lost, and Thomas added that most people didn’t even know about the significance of the Grist Mill in the park.
Turning to public services, Butch Thomas, who serves on the Emergency Services Board, said that the target date for starting the Enhanced 911 service for the county was April. Kreek said that another issue to consider was the Hazardous Mitigation Plan that the Regional Council was developing for the area. In local terms, for instance, how does the City of Sheridan react to reduce the threat of disaster, such as a tornado, another ice storm, or a chemical truck turning over? Or, how does the city react to special needs people who are on oxygen in the event of an extended outage?
The next topic was community development; Thomas noted that when he was young, there was a store, a gas station, and a restaurant in Denver; now, "you can’t even buy a can of pop there." In other exercise, Kreek had participants lay out strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the community. Kreek will then categorize them and they will be brought up at the upcoming meetings. Some aspects are already being addressed; for instance, Thomas and Austin are part of the Sheridan Park Restoration Fund, which is seeking to purchase a Noah’s Ark for the park.
Blaine said that it was important for the mayor and council to back the plans; "or this will all be for nought." Mayor Bud Allee said that it was a matter of figuring out where the money was going to come from. Austin said that previous plans have been effective for the community; for instance, 85% of the goals set forth in the 1999 Strategic Plan for Grant City were accomplished, including the Dollar Store and the Gunstock Factory.

Nursing Home Breaks Even Last Month

The Worth County Nursing Home broke even last month as the number of residents fluctuated from 33 to 37 residents; they are currently at 36 residents. The cost per resident was $112.82, which was $17 over June’s figures. Administrator Charlie Green said that more money would come in from Medicare billing after he got the necessary paperwork. He said that it would take time to iron out the bugs in the budget, but that it gave a good general idea of what should be spent. A lightning strike that knocked out a panel to the generator will cost the facility a $1,000 deductible; the other $2,500 of the replacement cost was insured.
The board approved a resident-council adopted dog policy for the facility; Board President Scott Houk said that it struck a good balance between allowing residents who derived therapeutic benefits from animals to continue to enjoy them and consideration for residents and employees who were allergic to animals.
There was only one bid for the roof; the board, after waiting another month to see if other bids would come in, voted to accept the $4,951 bid from Campbell Construction of Grant City; costs for plywood and sheets are additional.
The tax rate was set for 35 cents.
The board adopted a new mission statement for the facility which states that the center will provide quality care with compassion and understanding the individualities of each of their residents. The statement emphasizes that the center is a home and a place to live and a place where the rights and privileges of the residents would be protected.
Paul Pouliter of the Missouri Healthcare Association and the president of the region addressed the board about the benefits of joining the association; the board had previously begun a trial membership for two months which started in August. He said that some of the main benefits of belonging to the association include having a strong voice in the legislative process, regular trainings for administrators, employees, and board members, a membership in the national association, professional recognition for employees, networking, and regional activities for residents. For instance, the association puts on the Golden Age Games in St. Joseph at Missouri Western State University. Houk said that one of the most important aspects of belonging to the association was the networking aspect; "We’re sitting between 33 and 36 residents, and we’ve got to find ways of generating more income," he said. Green said that he found that another benefit was the ability to put beds up for sale so that the facility could get down to a 50-bed license instead of 60.
Secretary Jozy Moyer reported that she had gotten inquiries for daycare for residents who were being cared for by family members and asked for guidelines for what to charge. She said that one advantage to providing daycare was that it would reduce the shock value to residents when they get sent to the Nursing Home; board member Kaye Havner said that it would provide a good community service. Green said that he had inquired at various homes and that they had ranged from anywhere from $20 per day to $92 for 8-10 hours. Board member Bill Calhoon said that one potential problem was if 8-10 people dropped people off for daycare, meaning that the facility would have to hire extra help to manage the workload. And Havner noted that some people would require watching more than others. The board delegated board member Martha Rush to work with Green and Moyer on a possible policy for elderly daycare.
The board voted to purchase blood testing equipment so that the facility could do blood draws on site rather than have to drive down to Albany to do it. Green said that it would reduce liability for employees who had to transport the samples, allow for more time on work, allow the facility to know results on the spot and take quicker action, and eliminate charges from the hospital for doing the work. Green said that hospitals might charge more than what Part A allows and that in 12 to 18 months, the purchase would pay for itself.
Board President Scott Houk gave a state of the facility address to the board and administrators. He said that while the facility was out of immediate danger, they still had to change in order to generate more revenues. "We can sit on our hands and hope we get 40-45 people, or we can figure out what we can do differently to get more revenues," he said. He said that the board should look into offering assisted care. Although the board had previously considered and rejected such an option, Houk said that they should look at it again. "We’re assuming that we can’t do it," said Houk. "It’s not like we were 30-40 years ago when we could just sit on our hands and take in residents. Now, we are fighting for survival."
Other people present pointed out other variables. Calhoon said that the fact that baby boomers were retiring would provide more residents and more income. Rush said that assisted living was a blanket statement, while visitor Jerry Dignan pointed out that it takes a lot more room to offer assisted living. Houk acknowledged that there were a lot of unknowns but that "until we generate more income, we can’t retain our employees."
Houk and other board members also addressed the question of earmarks. The problem with earmarking money, as noted by Calhoon, is that it means that the facility would have a lack of flexibility on how to spend money. For instance, the facility recently had to spend $1,000 to replace four beds in order to become compliant with the state; "if you need a new bed, you need a new bed," he said. Another example, as noted by board member Wilbur Osborne, was the entryway, which he said needed fixing up.
Board member Boyd Pickering asked about the current freeze on the employee pay raises. "Everything has gone up," he said. Calhoon said that at the time the board made the decision to freeze raises, they promised that they would lift the freeze "if the funds were available." The board went into closed session to discuss personnel issues that were related to the freeze.

New Agronomist for Area

New Extension Agronomist Hired For Area
University of Missouri Extension has hired a new agronomist named Heather Benedict to work the east side of the Extension region. Heather officially started August 4th and is located at the Harrison County office in Bethany.
Heather has a strong background in forages which is well suited to the amount of forage production that occurs in the area. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Masters degree in Agronomy.
The assigned counties for Heather are Mercer, Daviess, Grundy, Livingston, Caldwell, Gentry, Worth and Harrison. Wayne Flanary, other Extension agronomist, is assigned to Nodaway, Atchison, Holt, Andrew, Clinton, Buchanan and DeKalb.
To contact the Harrison County Extension office, please call Heather Benedict, Agronomy Specialist, University of Missouri Extension at 660-425-6434.