NEN Preschool Roundup April 16th

The Northeast Nodaway 2025-26 preschool roundup will be Wednesday, April 16th, 2025 from 9 am to 11 am. Bring your preschooler to NEN to spend some time with preschool teacher, Brayden Hanf. Parents are encouraged to drop their children at the main entrance of the school at 9 am. Miss Hanf, Mrs. Adwell, and Mrs. Davison will be there to greet your child.

Your child will experience a short bus ride, a tour of the school, and activities in the classroom.

A parent meeting with Mrs. Beatty, PK-12 Principal, will be held at 10:30 am in the new gym. Your child can be picked up afterwards.

If interested, please RSVP with the school.

 

Letter to the Editor -- Debbie Roach for Mayor

Dear Citizens of Grant City,

I decided to run for Mayor again because I would like to continue working with our city council to move our community forward and help sustain it for the future. We have some projects started that I would like to see through, such as the $5 million wastewater improvement project, the new shelter house at the pool park, a waterline project that will improve services for a number of people in the community and the demolition of a number of buildings around the square that have been abandoned or need to be torn down and removed.

I think the city is moving in the right direction and I would like to help keep it moving forward. If we want to bring in jobs, grow population and help our community grow towards the future; we must first take pride in our community and make it a clean, viable community to encourage growth.

One of my priorities would be removing the derelict buildings around our square. We have received estimates for the cost to demolition a number of them but the City cannot afford to pay over $975,000 at one time to get rid of them. We are prioritizing the buildings and hope to get rid of two or three this spring/summer depending on how much we can afford to put toward the cost. We need to improve the aesthetic value of our community in order to bring businesses/jobs to our community.

One of the city’s biggest challenges will be sustainable revenue. We do not want to raise taxes or rates. We want to keep the cost of living as low as possible for our citizens. When we have others providing water, gas, electric and other outside services and they raise their rates we have to pass those rate hikes on to the customers in order to sustain the services we provide. We have been collecting past due revenues to help build our general fund and we will monitor all past due accounts to ensure we keep our general revenue fund healthy. At some time in the future we may have to look at raising our tax rates but we will hold off as long as it is feasible to do so. Another challenge will be the continued cleanup efforts. We appreciate all the work those of you that have made to clean up your property’s but there is still a ways to go. We will continue those efforts so we can all be proud of our community!

I have served as Mayor for many years and also served 7 years on the city council before becoming Mayor. We have seen many improvements in our community over the years and we have many wonderful people in our community that have helped with all the improvement projects. We have had and currently have great city council members that are progressive thinkers and want to see our community grow towards the future. We live in a great community with low cost of living compared to other communities with a great school system and it is a great place to raise a family. With the new main waterline replacement we completed a few years ago and the upcoming wastewater project; hopefully we will be good for the next 20 or 30 years. I would appreciate the opportunity to continue moving our community forward and sustaining it for the future! Thank you to everyone that gives their time and efforts to make Grant City a Great Place to Call Home!!!

My husband Dan and I have lived in Worth County all our lives. We have been married 49 years and we raised a couple of good kids in this community. We have 4 grandchildren and we love spending time with them. Dan retired from MoDOT and I retired from the United States Postal Service as a Postmaster. I have always been very active in the community and hope to continue the efforts to keep Grant City sustainable for the future. I would very much appreciate your continued support in the upcoming election.

Thank you!
Debbie Roach, Mayor
City of Grant City

Cannon Fletcher, Wyatt Hill Score 49; Tiger Golf Third at Stanberry

 The Worth County boys golf team took third at Stanberry Wednesday in a five team meet. What started out as a two-team match between Worth County and Stanberry turned into five. First, St. Joseph Christian asked to join; then, King City and Albany joined as well after another meet was canceled. St. Joseph Christian won the match with 196 strokes. Stanberry was second with 204, followed by Worth County with 210. Worth County finished ahead of Albany and King City. Worth County started off well, and was first at one point, fell to as low as fourth, then righted the ship and rose back up to third. 

Cannon Fletcher, in his third year of playing golf for the Tigers, finished with a 49, as did Wyatt Hill. Brayden Combs had a 53. Keaton Morin, playing for the first time ever, struggled on some holes, but also had a three and got a 58. Hayden Sanders had 60. Tiger golf has suddenly become popular this year with nine players out, of which they took five to the meet.

Rory Jackson Named Assistant Principal, Athletic Director for NEN

The Northeast Nodaway School Board, at their March meeting, hired Rory Jackson as their new Assistant Principal and Athletic Director for the upcoming school year. Chaim Jenkins, the previous Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, will serve as an Assistant Superintendent under Brenda Dougan next year and will transition to Superintendent for the 2026-27 school year.

The board also approved two new extra duty contracts for the current school year. They named Eryn Kemper as an Assistant Track Coach and Ike Werner for Senior Trip Support.

The board approved teacher contracts for the 2025-26 school year. Hired or rehired for the upcoming school year were Tabi Adwell, Janis Pargas, Isabella Schneider, Melissa Trickel, Shea Gladman, Sikoya Trelow, Payton Beason, Angie Davison, Eryn Kemper, Sydney Meek, Brayden Hanf, Ike Werner, Mazzy Hummel, Will Harding, Jessi Masek, Lisa Grotewiel, Marcy Sobotka, Mandy Adwell, Barb Bredlow, Jared Freemyer, Abbie Groomer, Katie Jenkins, and Jen Ware. The board received the resignation of Sheldon Saxton as a PE and Health teacher.

The board voted to contract Hayston Wilson for Mental Health Counseling services. The board hired McBee for school photography.

The board voted to continue the football, baseball, and girls golf cooperative agreements with Worth County.

The board voted to continue using Southern Bank for its banking services. The board voted to switch from Lunchtime Solutions to Opaa for its food service provider. 

The school received two gym floor bids for summer gym floor maintenance for the new gym. Myeer bid $1,839.95 while Hillyard bid $2,888. The board voted to accept the bid from Meyer.

The board voted to continue the bus fuel contract with Consumer Oil Company.

Wiederholt Lawn Care sent a bid for $170 per mow for the school, $200 per mow for the ballfield, and $60 per mow for the outfield only. The board voted to accept the bid with the $200 per mow bid for the whole ballpark. The vote was 6-0-1 with Heather Jackson abstaining. 

The school is seeking a grant for sewing equipment for the FACS classroom. Total estimated cost would be $1,650 with the school providing a 50% match. The board voted to pursue the grant.

Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Chaim Jenkins reported that the girls basketball team finished 17-8 while the boys were 2-22. Scholar Bowl was 2-4, but won two meets out of three Tuesday, March 25th. Blair Nelson and Brianna Meyer competed in FCCLA Star events at state. FFA competed at Lathrop March 10th and are getting ready for districts April 1st and 2nd. The Band received a II (Outstanding) rating at the Large Band Ensemble Contest. District Solo and Ensemble contest March 14th received a Bronze (Satisfactory) and three Silver (Outstanding) ratings. Baseball has 13 out, while Varsity Track has 5 girls and 6 boys. Junior High has 14 girls and 14 boys. Seven students made it to the State Science Olympiad which will be held April 26th in Warrensburg.

Principal Heidi Beatty reported that a 7-12 career day was held on Friday, February 28th. People coming were Jeremy Waldeier (Opening Speaker), Josh Hansen (Mechanic at Tri-State Ford), Craig Wilmes (Four Rivers MFA), Sgt. Hufford (National Guard), Andrea Pierce (Ultrasound Tech at Mosaic), Kevin Haywood (Missouri State Highway Patrol), Linzie Gilbert (HR Manager, Maryville Hy-Vee), Rylee Caples (Recruiter with Herzog), and Denise Henggeler (Retired Teacher from NEN).

Jennifer Stoll and Audri Villegas were the school's representatives at the Nodaway County Spelling Bee.

All of the elementary classes will have field trips. Preschool and Kindergarten went to InspireU in St. Joseph. First and Second Grades will go to Shatto Dairy Farm. Third and Fourth Grades will go to the Pony Express Museum and Remington Nature Center in St. Joseph. Fifth and Sixth Grades will go to the SAC Museum and Wildlife Safari May 9th. Third through Fifth Grades will attend Safety Acres at Northwest May 6th.

Spring Music Concert will be held Tuesday, April 8th for PK through 12th grades. National Honor Society inductions will be held Tuesday, April 29th.

Superintendent Brenda Dougan reported that there will be no election needed for the school board. Karl Wilmes and Brandy Rush filed for the two open positions for the April 8th election.

The steamer in the kitchen had to be repaired.

House Bill 711 passed out of the House with an 88-69 vote. This bill creates a voluntary open enrollment program. Each district can decide if they want to participate; however, schools cannot stop students from leaving under this bill. 

The supplemental budget bill has been passed and sent to the governor. It includes funding for the extra small school grant funding that was included in SB 727 that was passed last year.

House Bill 607 passed the House. It allows an inclement weather exception to get the additional state aid when attending a minimum of 169 days.

The school had no personnel openings as of March 20th.

The next meeting will be April 16th at 7 pm.

Bluejay Basketball and Cheer Squads for 2024-25 Celebrated

Northeast Nodaway's basketball squads were celebrated one last time along with the cheerleaders Tuesday night, March 25th. "Sports is about teaching hard work and creating joyful moments," said Chaim Jenkins, the athletic director. "You'll remember some of the games, but you'll always make memories that will last a lifetime."

"It was the day after Thanksgiving break started when I got the call that I was the coach of the girls as well as the boys," said coach Ike Werner. He was the Elementary PE teacher, so was not around the girls a whole lot like he was the boys, whom he had coached over the summer. He came in not really knowing everyone. But he realized they were for real when they won the first two games of the PVI and finished second. Despite some games in which Werner admitted his blood pressure went up, the Bluejays went on to win 17 games this year. They won the Stanberry Tournament and were second in the King City Tournament.

Werner did something a little bit different from many other coaches; he gave some creative awards to all the players. These were decided on by the players. Bristol Hicks was named most likely to be the biggest hype person. Kynder Florea was named the most likely to take weird shots, like the time that Hadley DeFreece almost took her head off with a bullet pass against Worth County, and she whirled around and caught it just in time and whirled around and dropped a critical 3-pointer against them. Blair Nelson was named most likely to crack the team up. Skyler Florea was named most likely to be late to the game; she even dressed in the wrong uniform and changed it just in time for the game. However, it likely won't happen again given that she beat the reporter 10-4 in an impromptu game after the main event was over. Baylie Busby was named most likely to fall down, although she rarely, if ever, did it on our watch. All nine of them got one.

Baylie Busby and Skyler Florea were recognized for getting postseason honors. Busby was named first team all-conference and all-district. Florea was honorable mention all-conference.

Werner was assisted by Brayden Hanf. Next year, Brayden Hanf will be the head girls coach while Werner will continue to coach the boys.

Brittany Burns came in having known some of the cheerleaders from her high school days; this was her second year sponsoring them. Cora Munns and Sasha Deardorff were recognized for being cheerleaders for all four years. 

Cheyenne Garnett was named most improved. Drayson Villegas was named the Energizer Bunny who kept everyone else going. Ashlynn Kennard had the loudest voice. Sasha Deardorff got the outstanding support award for always being willing to help other cheerleaders out. Cora Munns was named the most confident; she would keep going even when she messed up. Holly Bennett was named the hardest worker. Jaylen Burns was named the most likely to be a future cheer coach; like Sasha, she was always willing to help other cheerleaders out. Lindsey Jackson was named the one who cracked everyone else up. 

For the boys basketball team, Fenton Ackley was named the most likely to cheer up the team. The one named most likely to be in the gym was Chase Allen. Reece Gray was named the one most likely to jump out of the gym; he won the hustle award. The one named most likely to play the whole game was Reece Gray, who played nearly every minute this year; he won the toughness award. The one most likely to get three fouls in one minute was Keegan Hansen. The happy warrior award went to Kenneth Schieber, who always had a smile on his face. The Electric Three award went to Chase Clabaugh, who would make a mistake, get down on himself, then turn right around and hit a 3-pointer. Kyler Scadden was named the player most likely to work up a sweat. Jake Redden was named most likely to fill up the stat sheet; he was a threat to get 15 boards every night. He also got the leadership award. 

New York Coach Pulls Player by the Hair, Fired

A New York basketball coach, Jim Zullo, was fired by the Northville Central School District after his girls basketball team lost the Class D State Championship game to La Fargeville 43-37. Zullo proceeded to grab one of his girls by the hair as his team was lined up for its medal presentation.

The footage was posted on WTEN, a local TV station, which reported he accused the player in question of directing an expletive towards him after he had instructed her to shake hands with the opposing team. The footage was captured on the NFHS stream.

Hudson Valley Community College, where the game was played, said the incident was under investigation by campus police and other law enforcement agencies. 

 

Trump Administration Moving Forward With Grain Belt Express Loan

 

By Senator Josh Hawley’s Office

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, urging him to immediately cancel the Biden administration’s last-ditch attempt to force a $4.9 billion loan for the Grain Belt Express transmission line. The Biden administration pushed the nearly $5 billion loan through at the eleventh hour, allowing the government to seize land from Missouri’s farmers and ranchers.

“I write once again to bring your attention to the Department of Energy’s $4.9 billion conditional loan to the green-energy Grain Belt Express transmission line. Recently, officials from the Department of Energy confirmed that your department is moving forward with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, a key step in approving the loan. This goes directly against the wishes of constituents in my state – who have fought this transmission line for years,” argued Senator Hawley.

He reminded the Energy Secretary of his past correspondence with the agency and expressed his alarm that Energy is moving forward with a Biden-era loan designed to enrich out-of-state corporations with no regard for Missouri farmland. 

“I am alarmed that DOE is moving forward with the draft EIS process for the Grain Belt Express. Currently, Invenergy, the parent company for the Grain Belt Express is bringing eminent domain cases against farmers in my state. Additionally, I have repeatedly raised concerns to DOE about the viability of the transmission line. Your department should be taking every possible action to stop this loan,” he wrote.

Senator Hawley concluded, “It’s not too late to reverse course. I urge you to immediately terminate all agency actions related to the Department of Energy’s $4.9 billion loan to the Grain Belt Express.”

Read the full letter below. 

Dear Secretary Wright,

I write once again to bring your attention to the Department of Energy’s $4.9 billion conditional loan to the green-energy Grain Belt Express transmission line. Recently, officials from the Department of Energy confirmed that your department is moving forward with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, a key step in approving the loan. This goes directly against the wishes of constituents in my state – who have fought this transmission line for years.

Shortly after President Trump took office, DOE announced it would pause all loans funded by Democrats Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In response to this announcement, on February 4, 2025, I wrote a letter to DOE seeking clarity about status of the draft EIS and the Grain Belt Express’s conditional loan.

On March 6, 2025, I received correspondence from your department indicating that the process would continue to move forward. It reads:

“During the public comment period, DOE LPO hosted 6 public meetings – 4 in-person meetings and 2 virtual public meetings – to allow the public to learn more about DEIS, ask questions, and provide oral testimony, on the following dates. In person meetings: Feb. 10 (Dodge City, Kansas), Feb. 11 (Concordia, KS), Feb 12 (St. Joseph, MO), Feb. 13 (Carrollton, MO); Virtual Meetings: Feb. 19 and 20… LPO will review all the comments received and prepare a response to comments, document and incorporate any updates in the Environmental Impact Statement, and we estimate that DOE will issue a Final EIS in July 2025.”

I am alarmed that DOE is moving forward with the draft EIS process for the Grain Belt Express. Currently, Invenergy, the parent company for the Grain Belt Express is bringing eminent domain cases against farmers in my state. Additionally, I have repeatedly raised concerns to DOE about the viability of the transmission line. Your department should be taking every possible action to stop this loan. It’s not too late to reverse course. I urge you to immediately terminate all agency actions related to the Department of Energy’s $4.9 billion loan to the Grain Belt Express.