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 The
HOPE Coalition entered into an agreement with the Johnson County
Election Authority to allow the Community Activity Center (CAC)
to become a polling site, executive director
John Roberts told the board at Monday night’s regular
meeting.
The agreement states that the CAC will be a polling site for
Holden, Kingsville and Rose Hill and will be open for all upcoming
elections.
HOPE will provide voters with access to parking and access to
the CAC building by at least one handicap accessible entrance. Roberts
told the board he is in the process of obtaining several bids
to complete the process of making the back doors handicap accessible.
In the year 2006, elections will be held on April 4, August
8 and November 7, according to Roberts.
“Using the CAC as a community meeting place for such a vitally important
event as voting should help us with future funding and grants,” added
Roberts.
In new business, the board decided to postpone election of new
officers until the January meeting. A motion was made
to extend the current slate of officers for one month. New
nominees for the positions were discussed by the board.
In other new business, Roberts shared with the board another
TABE test was administered from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday, December
14 at the Community Service Center (CSC). Approximately
16 were signed up to participate.
“The fact that this is the second GED pre-test in three months and there
have been more than 30 people sign up, points to the need for this service. We
plan to check with the tester to see how HOPE personnel can be certified to
administer the exam,” said Roberts.
In other CSC business, board member Crystal Harper shared with
the board that computer classes are resuming at the CSC. Three
people have signed up at this time for the classes.
Roberts remarked that due to the age and operating systems of
the computers they are now utilizing, they need to investigate
securing a grant to replace them.
In a related matter, the computer used in the office of the CSC
is no longer working. The hard drive went out in
the system, destroying many financial records. Fortunately,
according to Roberts, they have a hard copy of many of the records
and Harper is now in the process of compiling all this information
on a disk. A new computer was purchased from Walker’s
Variety Store to replace the one that quit working.
Also, Roberts informed the board he had signed a loan agreement
with Farmers & Commercial Bank for approximately $18,000
which is the balance owed on the CAC building. Roberts
stated he was pleased the balance was down from the original
$100,000 once owed on the building.
“Much of this debt reduction was brought about by a capital pledge campaign
and the remainder by funds raised by the CAC volunteer directors, Rusty Hartwell,
Amy Morrison, Julie Carver and Susan Jennings. This income has been a
tremendous aid to the welfare and preservation of our organization,” said
Roberts.
In old CSC business, Roberts told the board that HOPE employee
Patricia Williams organized a holiday garage sale last month
and the four-day event garnered approximately $1,000.
In other old business, Roberts shared with the board that approximately
30 families, in cooperation with the Christmas store at the Methodist
Church, visited the clothes closet at the CSC and took advantage
of a free clothing promotion Friday and Saturday, December 9-10. Also,
an end of the year “Thank You” gathering for clothes
closet volunteers has been tentatively planned for Wednesday,
December 21 at the CSC beginning at 6:30 p.m. Roberts extended
an invitation to all board members to attend the gathering.
In strategic planning business, Roberts told the board several
members had met with Scott Paterson of Prairie Rose Resource
Conservation and Development Council to brainstorm and come up
with direction and plans for the organization’s future.
“It will be to our advantage to partner with other entities such as the
Holden School District and senior citizen groups,” added Roberts.
Roberts stated there is a great need to help at-risk children
as well as young parents with education and life skills.
Some workshops/clinics HOPE may consider offering are: job interviews,
baby-sitting skills, CPR skills, cholesterol screenings, other
health screenings, quilting, line dancing, physical activities
for seniors in addition to walking, Roberts said.
In CSC utility matters, board member Fred Christenson reported
he and Bill Rodgers have been working on the lighting problems
in the building and they have made tremendous progress in reaching
their goal. They have completed about half of the work
and will continue until the issue is resolved.
In a related matter, Roberts reported that three of the furnaces
in the CSC were repaired and another has been “condemned.” K & R
Heating & Cooling offered to donate a furnace but lifting
it to the roof and removing the other unit would require a crane
and that expense would have to be paid for by HOPE. The
board decided to wait until January to make a decision on the
expenditure.
In financial business, treasurer Dorothy Salsman reported she
will go forward with the 2004 audit using check registers and
bank statements, since the financial information on the main
computer was lost.
In NAP business, Roberts told the board reminders to the past
NAP
contributors were mailed out in early December. He
said he is hopeful and expects some activity in this area before
the end of the year.
The regular meeting of the HOPE Board Coalition closed to reopen
on January 9.
By Dana Neubert
News Staff
Chili
Supper Set
For Saturday
The Holden Schools Booster Club will once again hold its annual
Chili Supper Saturday night before and during the varsity
girls and boys basketball games between Crest Ridge and Holden.
The event, taking place in the Holden High School cafeteria, will
begin at 5 p.m. and last until halftime of the boys’ game,
which will be played second.
Fare for the evening includes homemade chili made from beef donated
by the Marion Callahan family of Holden. There will also
be cheese, crackers, Fritos, desserts and drinks to complement
the dinner.
Basketball, wrestling and cheerleader parents have been sent
tickets to sell for the event. The money from the sale
of tickets and any unsold tickets need to be turned in to Kelli
Spies, Holden R-III Activities Director, at the high school no
later than Friday. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.
According to Spies, “This is going to be a big night in
the gym, with the two games and other added attractions. I
hope everybody will come out and see the kids play and eat some
chili.”
License
Bureaus To Be Closed Dec. 17
The State of Missouri’s Director of Revenue Trish Vincent recently
announced that all license offices will be closed in the state on Saturday,
December 17.
The office of administration has required facility maintenance
at the Harry S. Truman State Office Building in Jefferson City,
which mandates an electrical shutdown that will impact the statewide
driver and licensing system and prohibits offices statewide from
completing customer transactions.
“I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers,” said
Vincent.
Electricity, and therefore the statewide systems, will be shut
down from December 17 from 6 a.m. to midnight.
According to the Warrensburg office, in addition to the December
17 closure, their office will also be closed the next two Saturdays,
December 24 and December 31. The Warrensburg facility is
normally open the last two Mondays of the month.
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Holden
R-III School District Superintendent Scott Slava presented the
annual district’s school accountability report card
at the regular meeting of the school board held last Thursday
at the Holden Middle School library.
The report covers the 2004-2005 school year and according
to Superintendent Slava showed a surprising fact that only
43.2 percent of the district’s revenue base was from local
sources, such as taxes. That figure is compared to the
state average of 55.7 percent.
A total of 48.2 percent of revenue comes from the state of Missouri,
compared to a statewide average of 34 percent, while a little
over eight and a half percent is collected from federal funding.
School board president Jeff Miller felt it was worthy to note
and make district citizens aware that more revenue is coming
from the state than local sources.
The state-level statistical report card for the first time
was produced by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
(DESE), instead of local school boards who had gathered
the information in the past.
In other areas of the report card, Holden, at 93.6 percent attendance is
close to the state average of 94 percent. Holden’s
graduation rate of 88.3 is above the Missouri average of 85.7,
while the local dropout rate of 3.3 is below the state-wide 3.8
average. In the “where our graduates go” section,
Holden is lagging behind the state average in attendance of four
and two-year colleges, but is higher in placement rates for career-technical
education schools. A Holden teacher’s average total
salary of 37,114 per year is more than $3,500 lower than the
statewide average.
The report also showed how Holden ranks with the state on MAP
scoring. A complete breakdown of the report card can be
found at www.dese.mo.gov/schooldata.
Student achievement continued to be the prevailing theme of the
meeting as Donna Fizer, district director of curriculum and instruction,
reported that DESE had released some MAP testing items from the
2004 and 2005 tests which they will no longer use. They
have been given to teachers so they can be used in the classroom
to familiarize students with MAP-like materials.
“By using these new materials, we hope to increase Holden’s student’s
chievement in MAP testing,” Fizer explained.
In other areas of the meetng, Slava reported to the board on
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt’s “Our Students First
- First Class Education for Missouri” initiative which
was announced in early November.
The inititiative, if passed, would change the law to require
schools to spend at least 65 percent of their operating budgets
on classroom expenses. After receiving numerous concerns
and comments, Slava stated that he had talked to state representative
David Pearce who said that he didn’t feel it would pass
withouth some “significant changes” to the bill.
Slava also explained that “It all goes back to accountability. How
we are education kids - not how we are spending money. You
could be spending 80 percent of your money in the classroom and
if you’re not educating kids, what good is it?”
The superintendent also showed a report from an official at the
Holden vs. Mount Vernon sectional football game held November
9, which praised coaches and several players on the Eagles football
team for their sportsmanship. The report, which was filed
by referee R. Gordon Watkins of Kearney, MO, stated that “I
would like to acknowledge some of the outstanding acts of sportsmanship
displayed during the entire contest.” He listed by
number Eagle players Anthony Cooper, Dennis Hutchings, Daniel
Jones, Kevin Vance, Willie Vance and Billy Hoover. He continued, “I
do believe this is a direct reflection from the positive influence
of their coaches, teachers, administrators, community and especially
from the players’ parents and family.”
District teachers were also honored by “Who’s Who
Among America’s Teachers,” in this year’s edition
of that publication. They are Beverly Chaney, Helen Hodges,
Ruch Brockhaus, Terri Ridenhour, Cyndy Hartwell and Delann Lewis.
According to the letter from “Who’s Who” this
is a great honor, because these teachers have been chosen by
their community as influential educators within their schools.
In business updates, the superintendent reported that auxiliary
services director Larry Arnone expects to be in the new building
by the end of December. He also explained that the repairs
to the Intermediate School parking lot will have to wait until
Spring Break because of weather.
A total of 24 school board policies were approved after discussion
and three readings with revisions to a policy concerning discussion
and voting on issues relevant to relatives to the fourth degree.
The policy was ammended at the request of Miller to allow school
board members to stay in the room during deliberations. He
stated that in a district this small it would be too hard to
keep track of. Slava said it was a board member’s
right to be in the room.
The board also scheduled an eight-hour working retreat to be
either January 21 or 28 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Kansas City. Miller
said this is needed to continue the work started at the MSBA
meeting in November and that the board “had a lot of work
ahead of them in the next couple of years.”
During an executive session after the regular open meeting, the
board discussed early graduation issues and decided to make the
director of curriculum and instruction a full-time position starting
with the next school year.
The board also hired Sarita Williams as a cook, Brian Tebbe a
tech intern and gave teacher Stacey McCune, the additional duty
of Middle School Science Olympiad coach.
By Steve Sullins
Editor
For
many years the Angel Tree has helped make Christmas a better
time for families in need.
Located in the Community Service Center in Holden and sponsored
by HOPE Coalition, the Angel Tree contains names of families
who might need some help this holiday season.
Individuals and businesses can adopt a family from the Angel
Tree and provide them with Christmas presents for the children
and food baskets or gift certificates for the parents.
“This year HOPE’s Angel Tree program has been a great success,” said
event coordinator Patricia Williams.
“We had 51 families on the tree and they all have been adopted, thanks
to the caring community we live in,” she added.
The number of families receiving help this year is up from 20
families last year. But even with this increase, everyone
has been very supportive and all the families will now have a
nice Christmas, according to Williams.
“Several area churches, as well as individuals, have adopted families,
and the businesses have been awesome this year,” said Williams.
The Angel Tree serves families in the Holden, Kingsville and
Latour areas.
“HOPE Coalition works closely with the coordinators of the Christmas
Store to make sure all of the families get adopted each year,” noted
Williams.
For more information contact Williams at the Community Service
Center at 732-4357.
By Dana Neubert
News Staff
The
Johnson County United Way board of directors met on December 6 and
as part of their agenda finalized the totals raised during their
recent campaign at $160,000. This falls short of their $210,000
goal.
Eugene Stillman, board president, said "We hope this figure will improve. With
campaigns still being conducted at some locations, many unknown factors can change
our final figure. We sometimes don’t have results until six or more
months after a campaign from firms with home bases outside our area. It is certain
that the natural hurricane disasters affected funds raised during our 2005-2006
campaign. Unfortunately, our agencies still need the amounts they requested.”
State Representative David Pearce, honorary campaign chairperson, emphasized
that county residents are encouraged to contribute to the campaign. Contributions
may be mailed to the Johnson County United Way at P.O. Box 203, Warrensburg,
MO 64093-0203. Donors are free to designate their funds to specific agencies
or for use by all agencies.
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