Dec. 26
11 female senators see new book as example of new bipartisanship
The women of the Missouri Senate are telling their own stories through a forthcoming children's book that chronicles the journeys of lawmakers past and present.
Titled, "You Can, Too!," the book recounts the stories of the 36 women who have served in the state Senate over the course of the chamber's history. The book is the product of a bipartisan effort of Missouri's women senators to improve literacy rates across the state.
In a chamber that's been increasingly wrought by tension and infighting, the group of 11 senators also hopes it can be a testament to the type of collaboration that's possible across party lines.
We're "showing kids that no matter your background and where you've come from, that you can find your dreams and reach your dreams," said Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur. "Each one of us became members of the Senate. And each one of us came from very different backgrounds and experiences."
The idea was first raised over dinner the women senators had together earlier this year where they bounced off ideas on how to work together. It's also the most recent example of how the group has forged relationships and fostered collaboration.
They call themselves "The Eleven."
The name, signed onto a letter sent this month to senators about requesting copies of the book, is in reference to the historic number of 11 women serving in the Missouri Senate at once -- in a chamber where the first woman served nearly 50 years ago.
Missouri bill would require schools to filter drinking fountains for lead
Thousands of Missouri school buildings are likely not testing water for lead. A Missouri House bill would require them to start filtering.
Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin. Medical professionals say there is no safe amount of lead for children to inhale or consume. However, Missouri residents drink water supplied by lead pipes at rates exceeding almost the entire country.
And children in Missouri suffer from elevated levels of lead in their blood in numbers exceeding all but a few states.
"Since no level of exposure is safe, just addressing one part of this very large problem is helpful," said Madeline Middlebrooks, an equal justice works fellow for the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center.
A Missouri House bill would require schools install high-quality filters to assure children aren't drinking water contaminated by lead, which can leach into the water from lead pipes. The legislation would require schools to test after the installation and ensure the water has less than one part per billion of lead. Water fountains that exceed that level must be shut off, and the school must develop a plan to remediate the lead.
Starting when children return to school in the summer of 2023, schools would be required to provide drinking water with a lead concentration below one part per billion. They would have to have one filtered drinking station per 100 students in every building.
Districts would also have to submit their testing results to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The bill outlines a number of federal programs from which schools can seek reimbursement and allows the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide funding. Funding would be prioritized for disadvantaged schools.
Dec. 27
Work at theater energizes Callaway County assistant prosecutor
Ben Miller isn't exactly your classically trained actor.
As Callaway County's assistant prosecutor, he has a good amount of experience with public speaking. He often addresses juries and judges during courtroom trials. As a college student, he studied vocal performance before switching majors, so he had some training in singing.
But he had no formal acting training when he went to Capital City Productions about 1½ years ago looking to be involved in local theater.
Now, he has some 10 productions under his belt, including his first starring role this fall as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in "Young Frankenstein," originally a 1974 comedy/horror directed by Mel Brooks.
Miller, who moved to Mid- Missouri with his wife and two children about nine years ago, lives in Holts Summit and is a member of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City.
He joined the church choir, surprising some of his fellow church members who didn't know he could sing. Some of them told Miller that Jefferson City has a thriving community theater scene.
"You should check it out and get involved in a play or two," they said.
He took their advice and gave it a try.
Tool may help you find a fit in health care industry
Maybe you're a student beginning to think about what type of career might be enjoyable and last a lifetime.
Or, you could be an adult who is considering a change.
Thousands of jobs in health care are waiting for just the right person to apply, according to a news release from the Missouri Hospital Association.
The MHA, the release said, has just the tool to help potential job-seekers learn where they might fit in the workforce and direct them to the training they'll need, whether they wish to enter patient care or administration.
Missourihealthcareers.com guides visitors through a career quiz that can help determine their trajectory. The site uses a series of questions about education, income, patient interaction and other relevant interests to guide individuals to career paths that meet their preferences.
Whether you're actively seeking a new career or not, it might be worth a few minutes to take the quiz, just to see what comes up.
The first question gets right to the point about whether you are bothered by the sight of blood.
"Your co-worker cuts their hand badly and their is blood everywhere. What would you do?"
Dec. 28
Chamber's Annual Banquet to be held Jan. 27
The Callaway Chamber of Commerce will have its annual banquet from 5-7 p.m. Jan. 27 at 54 Country, 400 Gaylord Drive. This year's theme is "An Evening with the Stars."
"We hold this event every single year," Executive Director Tamara Tateosian said. "It's kind of our annual overview of what happened the previous year with the Chamber of Commerce."
Once members take in what the chamber accomplished during the year, it's time to give out awards.
During the banquet, seven awards are presented: J.H. Atkinson, Loyal Subject, Allen Conner Youth Award, Small Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Chamber Leadership Award and an Ambassador of the Year Award.
They also will recognize the teacher who won the grant from the chamber's Teacher Appreciation Breakfast in August. They will be awarded a check.
"It is basically a night for our chamber members," Tateosian said. "They come in, we have some hospitality time where they have a chance to visit, network and catch up from the holidays, and then we do food and have our program."
Omicron's spread puts state on track for COVID cases 'worse...than it has ever been'
Missouri's two largest counties will continue their efforts to overturn a court ruling that severely limits the powers of local health departments at the same time health officials warn the omicron variant will bring thousands of new COVID-19 cases.
Missouri reported almost 10,000 new coronavirus infections Monday, making December the second- worst month of the pandemic this year. Only January had more cases. The Monday report was an accumulation of four days of test results because the Department of Health and Senior Services did not report over Christmas weekend.
Daily average cases are at levels not seen since January, before vaccines became widely available.
The state health department, in a news release, reported the omicron variant was found in samples from 32 wastewater facilities last week, up from two just two weeks ago.
"I am expecting it to be worse in the next few weeks than it has ever been during the pandemic in terms of cases per day," Marc Johnson, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri, told the Independent.
Johnson's lab analyzes more than 100 samples from small and large sewer systems around the state each week.
The forecast comes as many counties have ceased all work to trace or quarantine coronavirus cases as a result of Circuit Judge Daniel Green's Nov. 22 ruling state health department rules granting local agencies powers for disease-control measures were unconstitutional.
Dec. 29
Holt Summit woman connecting children with nature
When Jan Syrigos was growing up in Mid-Missouri, she was immersed in nature.
Speaking from her cabin-like home tucked in the woods in Holts Summit, she gestured out the window to the lake and treeline outside as she recounted her childhood experiences: climbing in treehouses, ice skating on the lake, building forts, collecting acorns, canoeing and camping every year.
Today, she feels some people have missed out on that experience.
"We're starting to see the symptoms of a generation that did not connect with nature," she said
Those symptoms include loss of focus, fear of the world, substituting virtual adventure for real experiences and unwillingness to take risks. Syrigos said it's "vital" to expose children to nature and conservation.
Now Syrigos runs WildHeart, an interactive musical performance that teaches children about nature. She calls it "edutainment."
The program targets children in preschool through fifth grade. A typical program includes five or six songs with a lot of things in between, such as puppets, magic and maybe even a live animal or two, though Syrigos said that's not a guarantee, as she usually has to borrow those.
Children can come up to sing the chorus with Syrigos and perform the actions that go along with it. A favorite is "Reptile Rap," in which, prior to COVID-19, children were given sunglasses and hats to wear as they would "jam" about "cold-blooded, sun-loving" reptiles.
"I really have a desire to connect children with nature, and this gives me an opportunity to introduce it in an engaging way so that they're perhaps excited enough to go explore themselves," Syrigos said. "And I always want to try to connect them with nature versus electronics."
Libraries closing to install new check-out technology
The Daniel Boone Regional Library will install new check-out technology at its libraries in Fulton, Ashland, Columbia and Holts Summit.
Each library will be closed while its collection is being converted to the new system. During the closures, curbside pickup, online chat, outreach services and the bookmobile will continue as usual.
"We were fortunate to receive an LSTA grant through the Missouri State Library to fund the switch to RFID (radio frequency identification) technology that will speed up the check-in and check-out process for patrons," Margaret Conroy, executive director of DBRL, said in a news release. "Many other libraries across the country have been using this technology for a while and their patrons like how convenient it is."
Callaway County Public Library in Fulton will be closed Jan. 6, Holts Summit Public Library will be closed Jan. 7, Southern Boone County Public Library in Ashland will be closed Jan. 10 and Columbia Public Library will be closed Jan. 11-13.
The project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Dec. 30
Road crews prepare for potential winter weather
Two months ago, Missouri Department of Transportation officials said they were worried about not having enough drivers to push the snow off the roads.
With the forecast for Saturday calling for some form of winter precipitation to start off 2022, MoDOT's snow plowing concerns haven't gone away.
"We're still dealing with high staff turnover rates and many vacant positions," MoDOT Director Patrick McKennasaid. "On top of that, you have to add any quarantined employees with COVID. The urban areas are where our turnover is high and our ability to replace those employees is low.
"The market for drivers with a CDL (commercial driver's license) is still very competitive," he said.
Because they are still several hundred employees below what they need in order to cover more than one shift in a statewide storm, McKenna said, "If a widespread winter storm lasts more than one 12-hour shift, we will not have enough employees to fill all the trucks on the second shift, and therefore it will take longer to clear the roads."
Some contingency plans have been in put in place. If an area of the state is hit by the flu or COVID-19 or whatever the issue, then they'll have neighboring crews come in to help that area out. If a storm would only hit a section of the state and they need help, they'll move crews from other areas to help out.
Despite the challenges, the top priority for MoDOT in a snowstorm is clearing all interstates and higher volume highways.
Parson introduces two department directors
Gov. Mike Parson's staff will have two new department directors starting in the new year.
Valerie Huhn is Missouri's new director of Mental Health. Her first day as director is Saturday. Rep. Wayne Wallingford will leave the Missouri House of Representatives to become head the Department of Revenue. His first day is Monday.
Parson's office announced at the beginning of December it had chosen Huhn, a longtime department employee, who had been acting as director since the beginning of November to lead DMH.
Huhn has worked for the state since 2000, and has served Missouri in the Division of Budget and Planning and departments of Administration, Health and Senior Services, Social Services and Mental Health. She became a deputy director in DMH about two years ago.
Huhn said during a news conference introducing the new directors she's proud of the team DMH already has, which helps Missourians live their best lives.
"Right now, though, our biggest concern is the workforce," Huhn said. "Delivering support and treatment has been much harder over the last two years."
Men and women who do the work have continued to provide high-quality care despite an ongoing, years-long workforce shortage, and the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
During hearings in the Capitol chambers this past fall, Huhn and her predecessor, Mark Stringer, testified DMH has a severe and dangerous shortage of mental health workers.
Stringer testified Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, DMH's 108-bed psychiatric hospital providing long-term in-patient care for adults in St. Joseph, had 74 percent of its registered nursing positions and 56 percent of licensed practical nurse positions vacant in early October.