First Year of Baseball Cooperative Brings Out 14 Players

Northeast Nodaway will play its first year with a cooperative agreement with Worth County. The Bluejays were figuring on playing the numbers game this year, with the possibility of not having a team. But Worth County voted to join the cooperative, meaning that they have a healthy 14 players out for baseball this year. 

Out for the squad this year are Jace Cameron, Brayden Stevens, Tyler New, Dylan McIntyre, Grant McIntyre, Landon Wilmes, Chase Clabaugh, Gage Bodle, Carter Chapman, Elias Alarcon, Sawyer Thurman, Camdain Frisch, Boston Adwell, and Drew Dack.

Northeast will move up to Class 2 this year, meaning that while they won’t have to worry about St. Joseph Christian or Platte Valley, they will have to play much bigger schools if they are to get out of districts. They will know right away how good they are, as they have to play Christian, Mid-Buchanan, and Maryville right out of the gate. 

The conference schedule will not be any easier, with teams like Platte Valley and East Atchison figuring to contend. South Holt will be right up there as well, bringing everyone back from last year. Nodaway Valley will be a handful as they took Northeast to extra innings, and Rock Port beat Platte Valley this year. North Nodaway could show some improvement as they have most of their players back.

The back end of the schedule will be loaded as well, with a showdown against Platte Valley, a trip to a tough North Platte squad that gave the Bluejays everything they could handle, and a dangerous Gilman City squad. That game will be Northeast’s Senior Night.

Vance Proffitt will return for the Bluejays for his final year before he becomes the Principal at King City. He will once again be assisted by Cody Green. The game against Christian will once again feature a brother against brother battle as his brother Micah will be one of the Christian coaches. The Lions will also have James Schoonover as one of their coaches; during his Mound City days, he was a very strong kid who brought down Chuck Borey in celebration after they had teamed up to win the Eight Man All Star Game.

The Bluejays have several horses from previous campaigns. Dylan McIntyre, one of the top pitchers in the area, returns for this year. Drew Dack is a promising freshman pitcher. One of the biggest question marks is catcher, anchored for the last few years by Colton Swalley. Whoever gets the job will have some big shoes to fill. Grant McIntyre could fill the slot; he caught a game last year for the Bluejays. Another big hole is first base, as Auston Pride has graduated. Boston Adwell returns this year to anchor third base. If he doesn’t catch, Grant McIntyre will return to his center field slot. Landon Wilmes broke into the starting lineup in right field as a freshman last year and made several key catches there last year. 

One of the most improved players from last year is Chase Clabaugh, who put on some muscle this year and was hitting the ball sharply in practice. A freshman, Gaige Bodle, was also showing some promise at the plate.

The Worth County kids have all caught on fast and will be able to help. Tyler New and Elias Alarcon have traveled before and could anchor the infield. Jace Cameron and Sawyer Thurman showed some range and caught most of the balls hit to them Friday. Camdain Frisch is one of the fastest players on the team. Carter Chapman has morphed into a really tall kid and could be part of the puzzle at first base. Brayden Stevens, only a freshman, could jump right in after he gets cleared to play from a knee injury sustained in football.

Practices are now held later for Northeast to accommodate the Worth County kids. Some of them do both track and baseball, so the Worth County kids do their track practice, then go over to Ravenwood in the school van, driven by Cody Green. 

The team took hitting drills for the first time Friday. They started off by working on technique in the batting cage, then worked their way to the plate, where Coach Proffitt tossed some balls to the players to hit. They also worked on baserunning, with Coach Green giving pointers on how to run the bases. While they are cousins, Dylan and Grant McIntyre have a sibling rivalry like brothers. During one turn at the batting cage, Dylan absolutely crushed one to deep center field, only for Grant to trot back and catch it and make it look effortless.

North Harrison Pops & Pie Auction Sells $6,755 for Band

The North Harrison Pops and Pie Auction for 2023 netted a total of $6,755 for the band. There were 80 pies that were auctioned off by Fordyce Auction Company, and they went for an average of almost $85 per pie. The biggest selling pie went to Teela Sadowsky’s chocolate cheesecake pie, which went for $210.

The figure does not include money that was raised from the silent auction, a free will donation supper, the pie contest, or from private donations.

Music teacher Ted Keck directed the concert. He said he had been at bigger schools but had never seen the kind of support that North Harrison has for its music program. He will return for one more year, and then will retire, since state rules say that there is a limit for how many years that teachers can teach and take state retirement. That limit was extended during the pandemic, allowing Mr. Keck to build up the program.

This year saw a lot of accomplishments for the band, including a trip to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Conference. North Harrison was the smallest school ever to perform. This year also saw a large sixth grade contingent go to St. Joseph Christian to perform at a concert there and get all top scores.

Eleven different seniors were recognized. They were Ashlin Bomar, Paige Lane, Katelyn Briggs, Jayliegh Robins, Raelynn Estrada, Lily Owens, Kendall Kimbrough, Amber Wilson, Trendi Johnson, Trinity Lane, and Halle Morgan. Morgan was not present as she was doing basic training for the Air Force.

Senator Hawley Writes Letter Regarding Local Mail Delays

On Friday, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to United States Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb Hull urging that the mail delays in the Kansas City area be resolved and an investigation be conducted to prevent future delays.

"After months of widespread delays, it is well past time for the Postal Service to determine the root cause of the delays and recommend corrective action. We cannot wait any longer. Without an audit of these areas of concern, residents of the Northland will not get the services they deserve from USPS," wrote Senator Hawley.

In September 2022, Senator Hawley requested that the Postal Service investigate the service complaints from Clay and Platte Counties in Missouri and conduct an audit of the offices of concern, yet no action has been reported and the complaints continue.

Read the full letter below.

March 3, 2023

The Honorable Tammy Whitcomb Hull

Inspector General

United States Postal Service

1735 N. Lynn Street

Arlington, Virginia, 22209-2020

Dear Inspector General Hull,

I write again with great concern regarding persistent mail delivery issues in the Kansas City Northland area. On September 28, 2022, I sent a letter requesting that your office conduct an audit of all post offices in Clay and Platte Counties in Missouri. My office has received minimal correspondence regarding this issue, and there has been no indication your office plans to complete an audit.

Mail service delays in the Northland area were first reported last September. In this report, residents shared that they routinely waited more than five days between receiving mail. Recent reporting explains that residents are still experiencing significant delays, and they are even turning to other mail services to ensure timely delivery of important documents. My office has worked with the Postal Service directly to address individual complaints.

An audit of these post offices remains necessary to solve the mail service issues. After months of widespread delays, it is well past time for the Postal Service to determine the root cause of the delays and recommend corrective action. We cannot wait any longer. Without an audit of these areas of concern, residents of the Northland will not get the services they deserve from USPS.

Please reply to my office by March 15, 2023 to detail your plans to complete this audit of the region’s post offices and your expected timeline for completing this audit.

Sincerely,

Josh Hawley

United States Senator

Editor – If you have been experiencing mail delays recently, please contact Sen. Hawley’s Kansas City office at (816) 960-4694 and contact your local post office.

Grand River Conference to Split in Two

The Grand River Conference will split in two, the conference announced Friday. The conference schools held a vote, and the move was approved with a 12-4 vote Thursday. Maysville, Polo, Putnam County, and South Harrison cast the dissenting votes. 

The move will take effect for the 2023-2024 school year. Albany, King City, North Andrew, North Harrison, Pattonsburg, Princeton, St. Joseph Christian, Stanberry, and Worth County will form one of the conferences. Gallatin, Maysville, Milan, Polo, Putnam County, South Harrison, and Trenton will form the other conference. Brookfield and Marceline will join the other conference starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

Names of the new conferences will be announced at a later date.

The move means that Worth County, North Harrison, and other members of both conferences will be looking for basketball games since the GRC Showcase will no longer be held.

Don Edwards, Multiple NEN Girls Teams Make Missouri Hall of Fame

On Thursday, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted North Harrison grad Don Edwards into the Hall of Fame. He played basketball for North Harrison, where he scored over 1,000 career points during the 1970’s. He later was an assistant under Claude Samson at Northeast Nodaway.

Starting with the 1983-84 season, Edwards began his career coaching at Jefferson. He brought the same hell-bent style he had as a player onto his teams at Jefferson. In one of his first games as coach, he was coaching the boys at the Albany Armory at the Albany Tournament against the Warriors, who had a long year that year. They were trailing at halftime, and he yelled at his players so loudly that everyone could hear it from the gym. Someone asked his dad, Lyle Edwards, who that was. The Eagles came back and won the game and would go on to state that year.

Edwards went on to win multiple state championships in both basketball and softball, winning a state title with the boys in his final year. 

Also inducted into the Hall of Fame were the Northeast Nodaway girls basketball teams from 1973-79 and 1982. They won six state titles during that span, including putting together a winning streak of 78 games. Coach Claude Samson, who was a graduate of Ravenwood High School, won over 1,200 games for the Bluejays over the years. His rule was that if the other team was a better team, they couldn’t do anything about it, but if they won because his team didn’t hustle, they could do something about it. On more than one occasion, he would bench his starters for not hustling and give his freshmen and sophomores a chance.

He was a professional boxer before he got into coaching. If any of the kids talked back during practice, he had a pair of boxing gloves handy, and they had a choice between shutting up and getting into the ring with him. 

Courthouse News for March 1st, 2023

On February 21st, Nodaway County Prosecutor Tina Dieter filed charges against Victor Shores (39) of Maryville alleging Driving While Revoked (Felony).

On February 22nd, Missourinet reported that State Rep. Adrian Plank’s office received a call from a man threatening to commit suicide. The call was traced and the man was located. The man subsequently called to let them know he was OK. If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

On February 23rd, one of the Porter Trash trucks had a serious wreck. Both of the employees will be OK, but will be out of action for a while. Some trash customers were missed as a result.

On February 24th, Nodaway County Prosecutor Tina Dieter filed charges against Margaret Helzer (65) of Barnard and Nicki Samson (60) of Maryville alleging two counts Stealing (Felony, $25,000 or more). Bond was set at $40,000, cash or corporate surety, posted by the defendants. The Maryville Forum reported that the defendants were allegedly employed by NOCOMO Industries and that they allegedly stole $483,000 from the retirement fund. Most of the money was recovered.

On February 24th, Harrison County Prosecutor Alex Van Zandt filed charges against W.L. Robertson (81) of Gilman City alleging Careless & Imprudent Driving (Accident) and DWI.

On February 24th, the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested Dakota Weese (27) of Burlington Junction on charges of DWI, Resisting Arrest, Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicle, Failure to Drive on Right Half of Roadway, and Failure to Signal.

On February 25th, Northwest Mo Info reported that Lisa Walston (27) of Milan went missing. She was last seen on February 22nd and was believed to be accompanied by a shorter Hispanic male known to be dangerous. He is known to be her ex-boyfriend and thought to be holding her against her will. He is originally from Mexico. Anyone with information should call the Missouri State Highway Patrol Missing Persons Unit at (573) 526-6178.

On February 25th, the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested Christopher Clark (32) of Kansas City in Harrison County on charges of No Valid License (Felony), Speeding, and No Plates. On February 26th, Harrison County Prosecutor Alex Van Zandt filed charges and included an additional charge of Stealing (Felony). Bond was set at $50,000, cash only.

On February 25th, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that Donald Boswell (86) of Lamoni was southbound on Interstate 35 one mile north of Eagleville in a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup at around 7:45 am when he traveled off the east side, overcorrected, skidded, traveled off the west side, struck a mile marker post, and overturned. Boswell received minor injuries and was taken to Harrison County Hospital.

On February 26th, the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Department reported that scammers were collecting names of people who like and comment on the Facebook page and sending them links to fake companies offering tee shirts and coffee mugs. These links could have a virus.

On February 27th, the Putnam County School canceled classes and used AMI due to a small fire in an elementary classroom. The school spent the day removing smoke and soot. Classes resumed the next day.

On February 27th, Harrison County Prosecutor Alex Van Zandt filed charges against Rodney Jackson (63) of Bethany alleging Sex Trafficking (Felony) and Attempted Statutory Rape (Felony). Northwest Mo Info reported that the defendant allegedly communicated with individuals purporting to be a 15 year old girl. It turned out to be a group of private citizens who attempt to contact sexual predators and refer them to law enforcement. The defendant allegedly attempted to entice the “girl” to move to Missouri, offering to pay her transportation and lodging.

On February 27th, Harrison County Prosecutor Alex Van Zandt filed charges against Scott Virtue (46) of Bethany alleging Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Failure to Register, No Insurance, and No Seat Belt.

On February 27th, Nodaway County Prosecutor Tina Dieter filed charges against Nitish Dakuri (26) of Denton (TX) alleging Resisting Arrest and Careless & Imprudent Driving.

Charges listed are mere allegations. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty it is to determine guilt or innocence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Worth County Land Transfers for February 2023

February 10th – Book 206, Page 69; Thomas Rockey Trust to John Rockey; Quit Claim Deed; See Record.

February 15th – Book 206, Page 72; James and Mary Ann Huff to Wake & Co. LLC; Quit Claim Deed; Lot 12, Block 10, Original Town of Sheridan.

February 15th – Book 206, Page 73; Eric & Jana Stevens to Richard & Dezra Eighhorn and Scott & Jeanette Richborn; Quit Claim Deed; See Record.

February 21st – Book 206, Page 74; Mark & Laurice Harding to Kenneth & Traci Cass; Special Warranty Deed; See Record.

February 22nd – Book 206, Page 77; US Bank National Association to Grand River Family Farms LLC; Deed of Release; Book 200, Page 154.

February 23rd – Book 206, Page 79; Becky Force to Brandi Knight Revocable Living Trust; Beneficiary Deed; See Record.

February 27th – Book 206, Page 80; Steven Sisk, Michael & Cheryl Sisk; Susan & Matthew Hardins; Marcie & Andrew Monrad to Kansas City Properties & Investments LLC; General Warranty Deed; See Record.

February 28th – Book 206; Page 82; Justin & Charlotte Green to HNB National Bank; Deed of Trust; See Record.