2023: The Year In Review
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Every January, The Media takes a look back at the news from the previous year. This week, we look back at January through June, 2023.
January 2023
Clark County started 2023 with a new Prosecuting Attorney, Lindsay Gravett.
The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced the state minimum wage rate as $12.00 per hour.
Kahoka/Clark County Fire Chief Mick Wood talked about smoke alarm safety and how to properly maintain smoke alarms.
Local Kahoka Chapter #40, Order of the Eastern Star, held a soup supper at the Clark County Senior Center on January 13 to raise funds for new jungle gym equipment for Black Hawk Elementary.
The Clark County Health Department promoted National Radon Action Month.
The American Red Cross held a Blood Drive on Thursday, January 26 at First Baptist Church in Kahoka.
Local couple Angie and Roy Gilbert have donated real-life looking baby dolls to local benefits for many years. They created Gift From God Nursery in 2000.
The CCR-1 School Board approved the CC Marching Indians band trip to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City.
Dr. Aaron Neisen joined the medical staff at Scotland County Hospital in Memphis, Missouri.
Voters had to decide whether to vote for or against the city borrowing up to eight million dollars to improve its water quality by building a new water generation/filtration plant and replacing the 50-plus year-old transmission line running from the wells and water plant near Wayland to Kahoka.
February 2023
A public bond meeting was held on January 25 by the City of Kahoka officials. This public meeting was held to answer questions and promote the eight million dollar water bond issue which will be voted on in February.
Backroads Consignment and Boutique moved to a new location. Owners Dwaine and Jamee Kelley of Kahoka opened the new store at 288 East Main Street in Kahoka.
Kahoka lost their largest water customer. The Consolidated Public Water Supply District #1 of Clark County signed a contract to supply water to the City of Wayland.
People’s Bank of Wyaconda presented a $1,000 check to Kahoka Chapter #40, Order of the Eastern Star. The donation went towards purchasing new playground equipment at Black Hawk Elementary.
The Clark County Health Department had a new cement parking lot poured.
The Clark County Valentine Sweethearts this year were Larry and Ilene Howell and Joe and Ann Edlen.
The 2023 Courtwarming King and Queen were Wyatt Randall and Akadia Hallford.
Mr. Dooley was honored by the Missouri Music Educators Association. He received the Dr. Wynne J. Harrell Outstanding Music Educator Award. Mr. Dooley has taught music for 41 years, all at Clark County.
Peoples Bank of Wyaconda made a donation to the Clark County High School Band for their trip to New York City.
The Clark County Health Department celebrated February as Heart Month.
Kaho Coffee Co. held their grand opening. Owners Cristian and Emily Reyes opened the new coffee shop on the north side of the square.
Local Cub Scouts celebrated Scout Week.
The CCR-1 School board approved the roofing and sidewalk projects.
Kahoka voters approved the water bond issue on February 7. 171 voters approved, while 66 voted “No” on the issue, giving it a majority of 72.15 percent.
Gene Phillips retired from the Clark County Mutual Board. He served for 41 years on the board.
A trivia night fundraiser was held on February 18 for the Black Hawk Elementary PBS.
Kahoka Chapter #40, Order of the Eastern Star hosted its Daryl Calvert Memorial card tournament and Bingo night on Friday, February 24. Donations from the event went towards the Black Hawk Elementary School jungle gym.
The Shrine of St. Patrick announced its 2023 Special Pictorial Cancellation Envelope.
The Gym Bar & Grill opened up on the Kahoka Square.
Dan Ferguson, Clark County graduate, was featured in an art exhibit at the Keokuk Art Center.
The Kahoka Council approved the TAP grant extension.
On February 20, five young ladies were installed as officers in Clark County Assembly #107.
March 2023
The Clark County R-1 Middle School stage curtains were installed. In 2022, Kahoka Chapter #40, Order of the Eastern Star, utilized the Create a Partnership Program with the Masonic Home to get matching funds to replace the stage curtains.
The Clark County Marching Indians hosted a Shamrock Bingo on March 4 at the Clark County High School to raise funds for their trip to New York City.
A bill carving some legislation records out of the Missouri Sunshine Law advanced in the Senate.
A benefit was held for Shelbi Slater on March 5. Shelbi was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, which is a rare blood vessel (vascular) disorder.
All Conference Basketball selections were named. Hope Ross was named 2nd Team All CCC, Carter Briscoe was named 2nd Team All CCC, and Drayson Daniel was named Honorable Mention CCC.
The Lady Indians softball team was honored with an Academic All-State Recognition.
Local veteran, Junior ‘Bud’ Nichols, recalled his time serving in the United States Navy. Bud was only 17 years old when he volunteered to serve in World War II.
The Clark County Extension Council hosted the 37th Annual Farm/City Night on March 11. The Peterson Farm Brothers were the entertainment for the evening. The Ed and Debbie Otte Century Farm was honored that evening, along with James Verlin McAfee Century Farm and the Harold and Marilyn Hall Century Farm.
The Shrine of St. Patrick hosted their annual St. Patrick’s Day Diner on March 12.
The 2023 Historical Preservation Award was presented to the family of John N. Kirchner, who was the longest serving St. Patrick postmaster.
Andrew Tappendorf was the winner of the Math Club Spaghetti Bridge competition.
CCR-1 are to receive three new electric buses through an EPA grant. Each bus cost $375,000 each.
First Baptist Church in Kahoka celebrated its 150th anniversary on March 26. The church was organized on March 18, 1873 in the old Sansom building at the southwest corner of the downtown square.
Kyle Anderson was named March Spirit of Scotland County Hospital. Kyle works in the Therapy Services Department.
Terrisa Yates retired from the Clark County Pharmacy. She has worked at the pharmacy since May of 2006.
Former CEO, Dr. Randy Tobler, MD, filed a lawsuit against the Scotland County Hospital and SCH employee Achim Hoyal.
For Women’s History Month, we celebrated the life of Doc Gray. Grace LaRue Gray Howell graduated from Kirksville College of Osteopathy in 1926. She served the Clark County community for many years. She delivered over 700 babies in the area and first traveled to patients’ homes with a horse and wagon.
The Alexandria Fire Protection District was awarded a funds grant of $2,700 to purchase 10 Nomex Jackets, 10 Nomex Pants, and 10 Flashlights.
The Clark County Marching Indians traveled to New York City to perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17.
The Kahoka Council considered police recruitment options.
Clark County was designated as Missouri’s newest Agri-Ready Designated County.
Christina Farmer was named the new postmaster at the Kahoka Post Office.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the statewide Annual Performance Reports for the 2021-22 school year.
Ava McKay broke the previous school record, vaulting 8 feet at the Kirksville track meet.
20 Years ago, Sue and Mike Scott purchased The Media, The Edina Sentinel, and the LaBelle Star from Hazel Bledsoe Smith.
April 2023
A powerful thunderstorm with straight-line winds blew into Kahoka and uprooted several trees. The radio antenna at the Clark County Sheriff’s office was snapped as well.
Wayne and Debbie Priebe of Kahoka celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Local couple, Zane and Denise Campbell have competed in Beagle field trials and show competitions in multiple states for many years.
Clark County was recognized as only one of the 12 counties in Missouri to have zero highway fatalities for 2022.
Voters headed to the polls on April 4, but there was a low turnout for the Municipal Election. Only 10.63 percent cast their ballots in the election.
The Clark County Chapter DAR recognized youth in the area. The 2022 Youth Citizenship recipients were Johnathan Schmitz, Addelyn Baker, and Conner Pearl.
The Kahoka Council approved the 2023-24 Wages.
The City approved Klinger and Associates as the water project engineer.
Mike Schantz retired from IMI Equipment after 42 years of dedicated service.
The Clark County Chapter DAR held a state regent visit at the Christian Church in Memphis.
The Kahoka City Council approved increasing the pay for the Kahoka Police Department, the pool manager, and the Fire Chief.
The Clark County R-1 School board heard a request to arm teachers, but the board took no action.
Mike and Tammy Paben won a man cave makeover this year. The two own Weapons 2 Wallhangers and won $2,500 worth of Skull Hooker products.
Local teen, Reid Sammons races modified cars on the track. His favorite thing about racing is going fast.
The Consolidated Public Water Supply District #1 of Clark County grew again. They signed a 20-year contract to supply water to the West Quincy area. They are also working on a new water tower at Luray, which should improve water pressure and reliability in that area.
Megan Alderton was named the NEMSCA secondary counselor of the year on April 19.
Author Duane Taylor wrote about a local true-life crime story and published two books. The books are called Innocent as the Angels and talk about the Spencer family murders and the lynching of Bill Young.
A message in a bottle was found by Mira Maggard of Kahoka while she was hunting mushrooms along the Des Moines River near Alexandria. The message was dated August 15, 1976 and signed by Karen from Dallas Center, Iowa. After sharing on Facebook, someone shared that the sender, Karen Evans, passed away in 1978.
Hope Ross and Gage Winters were crowned the 2023 Clark County R-1 High School Prom Queen and King.
May 2023
Kahoka Chapter #40, Order of the Eastern Star, presented Black Hawk Elementary School with a check in the amount of $44,313.90 for the new playground equipment. Locally the group raised over $14,000 which was double-matched by the Masonic Home Create a Partnership Program.
Duer’s started erecting a new building behind their old building in Kahoka.
Moderate flooding is taking place along the Mississippi River in Clark County.
Carissa Riney was named Truman State University’s 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student in Communications Disorders.
The Shelbina Weekly was purchased by NEMOnews Media Group. The Shelbina Weekly merged into the Shelby County Herald.
Mrs. Lemmon received a Western Governors University grant for the fourth-grade robotics program.
CCR-1 School board considered looking for a school resource officer.
Three area teens competed for the Miss Missouri Teen. The teens were Miss Northwest Counties’ Teen Kampbel James, Miss Lewis and Clark’s Teen Evan Jones, and Miss Clark County Teen Maggie Weaver.
Activities Director, Delma Smith, retired from the Clark County Nursing Home on May 31. Delma worked at the CC Nursing Home since 1986.
A new horse arena was installed at the Clark County Fairgrounds. The new arena consists of six-panel continuous fencing.
The 2023 Outstanding Senior Athletes were Ally Fox and Carter Briscoe.
Kaden Hamner was crowned the Class 3 400m Dash champion at the State Track Meet. Hamner’s time of 48.70 is a school record.
The class of 2023 graduated on May 20. Valedictorian was Hope Ross. Gage Winter was named Salutatorian and he received the Leadership, Citizenship, and Character honors. Ashtyn Ebeling receive a Citizenship honor and Abby Plenge and Carter Briscoe both had the High ACT. Carter Briscoe was also named the Outstanding Senior.
June 2023
Pastor Shawn McAfee celebrated 25 years at Peaksville Christian Church.
Shiloh Christian Church’s Ranch moved from their Kahoka site to the Clarence ranch site.
Miss Clark County Valerie Shinn competed for the Miss Missouri crown.
The Antioch 4-H Club received an FCS Financial grant. The grant funds will be used to build serving tables for the two shelter houses at the O-Mak- O-Hak Park in Kahoka.
The Clark County Chapter DAR nominated Judy Gaston to receive the DAR Distinguished Citizen Medal.
The Clark County Nursing Home hired a new Activity Director, Tonya Irvin.
On June 9, Sandra Triplett became an American citizen and attended the Naturalization Ceremony Program in Hannibal.
Bonnie and Cliff Sheffler celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
The Ashton Cloverleaf 4-H Club received an FCS Financial grant. The 4-H club used the grant funds to make handicap accessible picnic tables, which will be placed at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
The VFW Post held a Flag Day disposal ceremony on June 14.
Alcohol became a problem at the Kahoka Pool. The issue was brought to the board’s attention when underage lifeguards had to deal with intoxicated adults.
Local students visited Washington D.C. on the REC Youth Tour. These students included Mia Johnson, Robert Ellison, Macy Hamlin, and Laney James.
Beth Bash talked about FlowersFor Haiti. All of the money collected from the flower sales is sent to an orphanage in Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
Six local veterans received Quilts of Valor during the Flag Day ceremony and parade in Kahoka. The veterans receiving a quilt were Cort Forrest Springer, Jed Wilson, Robert “Bob” Ebeling, Ernest Branson, Sr., Ernest Branson, Jr., and James “Mike” Privia.
The CCR-1 School board partnered with the Clark County Sheriff’s Department to place a school resource officer in the schools.
Josey Schaller competed in the 2023 National Junior High Finals Rodeo in the team roping competition on June 20 and 22.
Missouri Secretary of State, Jay Ashcroft, visited Kahoka on June 26.
A Derecho slammed Kahoka on June 29. The storm downed hundreds of tree branches and littered streets and yards with debris. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted with winds estimated at exceeding 100mph. Electricity was knocked out in the area. There was also an EF-1 tornado that developed near Medill and was on the ground just west of Kahoka.
