McDonald County reports 13 new COVID-19 cases

 

Twenty-three COVID-19 cases reported in Newton County

(From the Newton County Health Department)

Covid-19 Update
August 23, 2021:

25 New Cases
118 Active Cases
23 Daily Recovered Cases

New cases by age range for August 23, 2021:
Total= 25
<1 yr= 0
1-11 yrs= 3
12-19 yrs= 0
20-29 yrs= 4
30-39 yrs= 6
40-49 yrs= 2
50-59 yrs= 4
60-69 yrs= 4
70-79 yrs= 2
80-89 yrs= 0
90+ yrs= 0
Covid-19 tests conducted in Newton County for week of August 15 – August 21, 2021:
777 Total Tests
644 Negative Tests
133 Positive tests
17.10% Positivity Rate
Covid-19 Cumulative Tests for Newton County:
50,462 Total Tests
42,127 Negative Tests
8,355 Positive Tests
16.50% Positivity Rate
Newton County Vaccinations given:
23,367 Total Vaccinations
26.30% Percentage of population with one dose
21.90% Percentage of population with two doses
644 Number of doses administered in the last 7 days

Jasper County confirms 49 new COVID-19 cases

(From the Jasper County Health Department)

COVID Update 8-23-2021

49 new positive cases

<1 year 0
1-4 yrs 2
5-11 yrs 5
12-19yrs 7
20-29yrs 12

30-39yrs 5
40-49yrs 8
50-59yrs 6
60-69yrs 3
70-79yrs 0
80-89yrs 1
90+yrs 0
Vaccinated = 4

Reinfection = 0

Watch live- Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting at 6 p.m.

The annual tax levy rate hearing for the Joplin R-8 School District will be held at 6 p.m. today in the Memorial Administration Building just before the regular session of the R-8 Board of Education.

The board will meet in closed session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss legal and personnel matters.

The agenda for the regular session is posted below:

A. Call to Order 
1. Roll Call

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Approval of Agenda

D. Reports

1. Board President's Report
a. Celebrations
b. Finance Committee Report

2. Superintendent's Data Report
a. Summer School Report
b. Health & Dental Plan Update
c. Financial Statements
d. Construction Update - (Crossland Construction)

E. Public Comments Regarding Posted Agenda Action Items

F. Consent Agenda

1. Minutes

2. Consent Contracts

a. Contract Between Joplin Schools and SpeakLife Therapy Services, LLC, Contractor
b. Contract Between Joplin Schools and Soliant, Contractor for a Sign Language Interpreter

3. Non-Resident Tuition 2021-2022

4. Annual Facility Use Fees - Including the JHS/PAC

5. Declare Miscellaneous Items Surplus and Authorize Auction

6. Proposal to Declare Modular Classrooms at Kelsey Norman Elementary Surplus

7. Snack Packs 2021-22 Food and Milk Bid

8. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Read 180/System 44 Product Support

9. Policy Updates for Second Reading
a. Policy AC : Prohibition Against Illegal Discrimination Harassment, and Retaliation
b. Policy AH : Use of Tobacco and Vaping Products
c. Policy BCB : Board Officers
d. Policy DK : Payment Process
e. Policy EBBA : Illness and Injury Response and Prevention
f. Policy ECG : Animals on District Property
g. Policy IGBCA : Programs for Homeless Students
h. Policy JG-R1 : Student Discipline 

G. Regular Agenda

1. Accounts Payable
2. Set Tax Levy for the 2021-2022 School Year
3. Update Audio Visual System NMS Auditorium

H. Plus/Deltas

1. Adjourn

Miami man charged with assaulting AP photographer during January 6 insurrection

(From the U. S. Attorney for the District of Columbia)

An Oklahoma man was arrested on Aug. 19 for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Benjamen Scott Burlew, 41, of Miami, Oklahoma, is charged with federal offenses that include assault in special territorial jurisdiction and acts of physical violence on restricted grounds. Burlew made his initial court appearance in the Northern District of Oklahoma on Aug. 20.

According to court documents, Burlew was captured in two videos engaging in a physical assault against a credentialed media member who works as a photographer for the Associated Press. As depicted in the video, the photographer was pulled down a set of stairs near the lower west terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building by two unknown assailants. 

While attempting to avoid confrontation with these unknown assailants, the photographer relocated his position elsewhere on the stairs, at which point the photographer was aggressively confronted by Burlew. 

As alleged, after that confrontation, Burlew, together with other assailants including Alan William Byerly, grabbed the photographer and pushed him, then shoved and dragged him parallel to the stairs. 

Byerly was indicted on Aug. 20 in the District of Columbia in connection with this conduct and for assaulting a District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Officer during another, separate incident.

After shoving the photographer, Burlew disengaged and walked in the other direction while the other assailants continued to push and drag the victim.

Later, the photographer can be observed on video having been backed up against a low stone wall separating the U.S. Capitol structure from the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol by the assailants. 

As alleged, Burlew lunged toward the photographer and grabbed his upper chest and leg to forcefully throw and push the photographer over the wall to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building, several feet below. Burlew continued to shove and push the photographer until the photographer was thrown backward over the wall, where he landed on his back on the grounds of the west lawn. As alleged, Burlew can be seen in the video leaning over the wall to observe his fall.

Burlew is one of eight individuals in this investigation who have been arrested for allegedly destroying media equipment, assaulting journalists or inciting violence against members of news media. Other defendants facing similar charges include: Chase Kevin Allen, 25, of, Reno, Nevada; Joshua Dillon Haynes, 39, of Covington, Virginia; Sandra Weyer, 57, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Shane Jason Woods, 43, of Auburn, Illinois; Gabriel Morgan Brown, 38, of Bayville, New York; Zvonimir Joseph Jurlina, 31, of Bethpage, New York; and Alan William Byerly, 54, of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Burlew as #195 and Byerly as #193, in its seeking information photos, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office.

In the seven months since Jan. 6, more than 570 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 170 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

The charges contained in any criminal complaint or indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Vicky Hartzler: Nancy Pelosi's budget is de facto socialism

(From Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler)

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) issued the following statement on Speaker Pelosi’s budget proposal, which calls for the highest sustained federal spending levels in American history:

“Speaker Pelosi’s astronomical $3,500,000,000,000 boondoggle would fuel inflation by raising prices on everyday goods for American families, create more dependency on big government, and plunge the United States further into a never-ending black hole of debt at the expense of future generations,” Hartzler said. 

“By allocating billions for Green New Deal mandates, expanding government programs, raising taxes on American businesses at a higher rate than Communist China, and providing amnesty to illegal immigrants, this misguided budget follows the wrong priorities and moves our nation towards socialism. Congress must reject this proposal and fight to keep our nation as the home of the American Dream.”

Nancy Hughes: Reality check- Who's in control?

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

“He’s going to college, Lord – COLLEGE!!! What if he meets the wrong people? What if he doesn’t study and loses his scholarship? What if someone hits him over the head and takes his money? What if he doesn’t match the right shirt with the right pair of jeans? What if? What if? What if? Calm and reason gave way to unreasonable in a matter of seconds. Ever been there?

Well, I was. Our oldest child was heading to a college only about 40 miles away. To me it might as well have been across the country, the sea, and on a completely different continent. I realized that I was worrying and fearful, but isn’t that on a mother’s job application? “Must be able to worry and be fearful on demand.”

However, something happened. The worry and fear that I entertained with a cup of tea and two cookies became a never-ending 8-course meal. Those two sins (and they ARE sins) kept popping up in my mind. I had allowed common sense and sanity to become an obsession with my son leaving when the Lord decided He had had enough.

One evening I was praying about the move away from home when the Lord spoke quietly but firmly to my heart: “Nancy, I’ve checked and the college he is going to is within my territory. It’s on my beat. It’s on my shift. I do not need a map. I KNOW where it is, Nancy. And I love him.” Talk about a reality check!

It was easy for me to trust the Lord with my son’s life when he was right in front of me and living in my house. But the minute I saw that he was going to be out of my control, I lost control and became a maniac. Every Scripture that I had memorized about a Father who is in control, knows all things and protects us was replaced with doubt and a franticness that threatened to consume me.

What had happened? I had allowed Satan to creep in and steal my confidence in my Father. Instead of praising the Lord for my son and asking Him to guide and direct as he moved in a new direction in his life, I focused on the situation and not on the Source of strength and power.

Instead of realizing that no matter where my son was, my Father was in complete control, I had somehow thought that I was the one in control and that my son’s success or failure in life would solely depend on his living under my roof where I could keep an eye on every move and every decision. So what did I do?

I got on my knees and asked my Father to forgive me for not trusting His plan and protection for my son’s life. My heart cried out “He is yours, Father. You have entrusted him to me for this time on earth and I trust you to do your will in his life.”

Would you believe that my son did just fine at college? He did. Would you believe that the Lord watched over him and directed his path? In every way, yes. And would you believe that Satan still tried to sneak into my thoughts and convince me that, without me at the controls of his life, my son was destined for one horrible problem after another?

Oh, yes, he tried. But each time Satan whispered his lies, I focused on a Father who says in Isaiah 43:1” . . . Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (NIV) He knows my son’s name and He knows your name, too.

God has created us, His children, and wants to take care of us and to direct our lives every day. Hand every situation in your life to the One who is in control of heaven and earth, sky and sea, and yes, of your life and mine. The Creator does not need directions to your home. He simply needs permission to enter your heart and take control.

Father, you are in control and I am not. Nothing happens in my life that does not first pass through your hands. I trust you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

What is your first reaction when you feel you are not in control of a situation? Is it worry or prayer?

Do you have a prayer warrior who will hold you accountable when you begin to worry over problems instead of placing them at the feet of Jesus?

Apply

Every morning, pause for two minutes and give the Lord your day Ask Him to help you trust Him with everything you will face and praise Him for His answers.

Write down Scriptures on index cards that encourage you to trust the Lord and tape them around your home. As you memorize them, make new cards and repeat.

Power

Psalm 27:1 (NIV) “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)

I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (NIV)

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)

Paul Richardson: Counting the cows

Often, I prefer to take the roads less traveled. Secondary lettered routes that wind through the countryside, often separating the residence and the surrounding lawn from the barnyard that lies just across the road. Roads that wind through the rolling meadows and alongside fields filled with row crops. Pasturelands that are either grazed by cattle or harvested for hay but bordered by a narrow two-lane road that is silent except for the sound of my motorcycle engine.

The safety of not competing with other traffic for that domain is an added bonus, but the real value is the enjoyment of being exposed to the surrounding nature without being inhibited by the walls of the cabin where most drivers are contained. 

If I am held in one of those environments, I often reach for that knob that controls the multitude of devices which deliver sounds that fill the space inside and turn the driving experience from any type of experience into simply passing time from the departure to the arrival at a different location.

The good wife is from a small town that is closer to the Mississippi River than to the Kansas border. Years ago, when we would plan on travelling to spend the holidays with her family, she would often leave a day or two ahead of me. This would permit me to finish my work and then ride to meet up with her at a predetermined location, usually the home of a family member. 

At some point I decided that instead of traveling the normal routes along the interstate or other high traffic thoroughfares, I would find a way to take the lesser roads and count the cows. 

It was then that I discovered with a little planning that I could cross the lower portion of the state on secondary lettered routes, for the most part that is. Occasionally, I would be forced to travel short distances on a primary route in order to connect with another secondary route going in the right direction, but this ranged from a few hundred yards to distances that were normally less than one mile. Once the connection to the next lettered route was made, I could take off again on my journey, just counting the cows.

During my formative years, it was often the highlight of the week to take a Sunday afternoon sightseeing drive. Sometimes that would be accompanied with a picnic lunch, but often it would follow a Sunday dinner when we would all pile into the car and just go for a drive. The destination was usually dependent upon a location that one of my parents wanted to see, for whatever reason. The reason didn’t really matter to me, it was the journey and not the destination that held the value. 

This was the southwest Missouri version of a “walk-about” and could only be jeopardized if on the return trip we passed through Sulfur Springs, Arkansas. It was inevitable that if we stopped at the city park in Sulphur Springs, counting the cows would be forgotten and my sister and I would insist on sampling the water from the hand pumps located there. 

It was a long way from Sulphur Springs to any location that had clear, fresh water. It is hard to count the cows if one thinks they are actually dying from having consumed the liquid that came out of those pumps!

Attorney General files class action lawsuit against Missouri school districts with mask mandates

(From Attorney General Eric Schmitt)

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today filed a class action lawsuit against school districts forcing a mask mandate on schoolchildren and teachers. 

The lawsuit, which is a reverse class action that was filed earlier this morning, names Columbia Public Schools, the Board of Education for the School District of Columbia and their board members, and the Superintendent for Columbia Public Schools as defendants.

“Forcing schoolchildren to mask all day in school flies in the face of science, especially given children’s low risk of severe illness and death and their low risk of transmission. Additionally, forcing schoolchildren to mask all day could hinder critical development by eliminating facial cues and expressions,” said Attorney General Schmitt. 

“We filed this suit today because we fundamentally don’t believe in forced masking, rather that parents and families should have the power to make decisions on masks, based on science and facts. I am committed to fighting back against this kind of government overreach. Americans are free people, not subjects.”

The lawsuit, which incorporates three counts argues that the imposition of a mask mandate on schoolchildren is arbitrary and capricious, that the mask mandate is subject to § 67.265, and that the mask mandate is unlawful as to schoolchildren.

To support the claims that the mask mandate is arbitrary and capricious, the lawsuit argues that children are at an extremely low risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, that children are at a low risk for spreading COVID-19, that masks fail to provide adequate protection against COVID-19 in children, and that masks are detrimental to the development of young children.

Citing Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services data, the lawsuit notes that zero children under the age of 10 have died from COVID-19. Further, the lawsuit notes that children make up less than 1 out of every 100,000 people who are hospitalized in Missouri. Citing a study from the United Kingdom, the lawsuit states, “Data from the United Kingdom regarding fatality rates from the delta variant show the case fatality rate from delta is lower than other variants, and it is near 0.0% for those under fifty years old.”

Citing numerous medical studies, the lawsuit also makes the point that children have a low risk of transmitting the virus to other children. A Netherlands study cited by the lawsuit confirms that, “(1) children play a minor role in the spread of the novel coronavirus, (2) the virus is mainly spread between adults and from adult family members to children, and (3) the spread of COVID-19 among children or from children to adults is less common.” The lawsuit, citing another study from the United Kingdom, states, “the author confirmed that there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools.”

Specifically relating to the efficacy of masks themselves, the lawsuit argues, “Mask use by the general population shows, at best, a marginal impact on the spread of COVID-19. And most studies show no distinguishable difference between places with mask mandates and those without them.” The lawsuit continues, “Though the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control advocates for universal public mask use, it has conceded that the evidence of the benefit in wearing a surgical mask was ‘of low to moderate certainty’ and failed to show statistically significant benefits.” Moreover, the lawsuit says, “One study found that ‘[r]ates of infection were consistently higher among those in the cloth mask group than in the medical mask and control groups. ... The poor performance may have been because the masks were not washed frequently enough or because they became moist and contaminated.’”

Lastly, the lawsuit argues that masks are a hindrance to development, especially in young children and those with special needs. A study cited by the lawsuit, which surveyed 25,930 schoolchildren, noted that 68% “complained about impairments caused by wearing the masks.” The lawsuit, citing the World Health Organization, states, “The World Health Organization notes that masking young children raises social and communication concerns. Specifically, researchers are concerned that masks may ‘hinder verbal and non-verbal communication.’”

The lawsuit also notes that the Columbia school districts continue to impose a mask mandate despite the Columbia City Council’s rejection of a citywide mask mandate.

The suit incorporates three counts:

Count One: Declaration that the mask mandates are unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious
Count Two: Declaration that the mask mandate is subject to § 67.265 and expires without Board of Education authorizations
Count Three: Declaration that the mask mandate is unlawful as to schoolchildren

The full complaint can be found here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2021-08-24---columbia-schools-petition-file-ready.pdf?sfvrsn=b365e116_2

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt recently filed suit against St. Louis County and City, Kansas City, and Jackson County for imposing a mask mandate. A St. Louis County judge issued a preliminary injunction last week halting the imposition of the mask mandate in St. Louis County.

Joint Committee on Education holds first hearing on Critical Race Theory

By Tessa Weinberg

Missouri Independent

Educators, students and advocates urged state lawmakers Monday afternoon to focus on tackling larger issues of inequity across education rather than latch onto the academic concept of critical race theory to further school choice options or ban teaching about diversity and inclusion altogether.

During a nearly two-hour hearing, which took place on the first day of school for thousands of students across the state, the Joint Committee on Education heard from former educators who said they have never encountered the teaching of critical race theory.

(Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, and Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, during a Joint Committee on Education hearing on critical race theory on July 19, 2021. Photo by Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)

“In my 40 years, I had never run across the terminology ‘critical race theory,’” said Ruth Banks, a former teacher and college professor. “I even pulled out the three versions of the textbook that I used in my course, it doesn’t have anything in there on critical race theory.”

But some lawmakers continued to insist there is evidence it is in Missouri’s schools — despite the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education previously saying that’s largely not the case.

“That’s encouraging to hear. It is out there, unfortunately,” said Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican and vice chair of the committee. “You can watch TED talks all day long — educators talking about critical pedagogy, critical race theory and DEI in the classroom. So it is present.”

Richey said the academic teaching’s definitions are fluid, and intentionally so. Meanwhile, experts have said that the academic concept of critical race theory, which is intended to acknowledge how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, is being misconstrued by conservative lawmakers who have sought to ban it.

Monday’s hearing comes more than a month after the Joint Committee on Education’s first hearing on the topic in July where they heard almost exclusively from opponents of the academic concept. One St. Louis County mother said schools “are engaging in psychological abuse of our children funded by taxpayers” as the state’s commissioner of education said the academic concept is largely not taught throughout K-12 public schools in Missouri.

Lawmakers drew criticism for having no Black witnesses testify — with Democratic lawmakers and advocates holding a press conference of their own after last month’s hearing.

Since then, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has released the results of a survey it conducted at the request of Sen. Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola. Of the 425 districts and schools that responded, nearly all schools answered “no” to teaching curriculum that featured either critical race theory or the 1619 Project by The New York Times, which detailed the United States’ legacy of slavery.

Advocates said it showed lawmakers’ focus on the issue is a “red herring,” but opponents of critical race theory — including Joint Education Committee Chair Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina — said they didn’t trust the survey’s results, noting schools self-reported. O’Laughlin later called on Margie Vandeven, the commissioner of education, to be removed from her position, a point Gov. Mike Parson pushed back on.


Legislation that would have barred school districts from teaching curriculum on critical race theory or the 1619 Project by The New York Times failed to pass before lawmakers adjourned for the year in May.

Rabbi Noah Arnow of the Kol Rinah synagogue in the St. Louis area testified he was concerned lawmakers’ attempts would make it not just difficult but impossible and illegal to teach about the wrongs that have been committed in history.

Heather Fleming, the founder and director of In Purpose Education Services and founder of Missouri Equity Education Partnership, said it would mean being unable to place incidents like the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi or the more recent fatal shooting at the hands of police that killed Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky last year into the greater cultural, social, and political contexts that connect them.

Sen. Andrew Koenig, a Manchester Republican, said he wasn’t denying that racism exists in America today, but questioned if systemically racist systems are still in place.

“The vast majority of our systemically racist laws have been corrected,” Koenig said.

Amid the hearing, Fleming ticked through statistics that exemplify racial disparities in maternal mortality, school discipline and sentencing in the criminal justice system.

“There are discrepancies,” Fleming said. “Now, here’s what we need to be doing. We need to be having the conversation about why those discrepancies exist. They don’t exist because of critical race theory.”

Mya Walker, a senior at Francis Howell North High School who is also dual-enrolled at St. Charles Community College, argued that much of the anti-critical race theory argument is essentially propaganda.

“Simply put, if you don’t see color, age, gender, sexual orientation and all the dimensions of difference that make each of us who we are, you don’t truly see the person standing in front of you,” Walker said. “Acknowledging our differences is not critical race theory. It is humanizing.”

While legislative attempts targeting critical race theory were unsuccessful this session, lawmakers have indicated the issue will return and be framed as a vehicle to further school choice legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, a Columbia Republican who is considering a run for Congress next year, told 93.9 The Eagle’s “Wake Up Columbia” Monday morning that critical race theory is a “terrible thing” but also said it’s unrealistic that critical race theory is being taught to elementary students — who probably wouldn’t understand it if it was.

Instead, Rowden said “very, very left-leaning, left-minded liberal teachers” are teaching American and world history with an increased bias than before. The answer, he said, is universal school choice for parents.

“You can ban CRT, you can do all these things kind of around the edges that are designed to make people feel good,” Rowden said, “but at the end of the day if you want to functionally give parents the choice to say, ‘Ok, I don’t like what’s happening in my public school,’ … school choice is the answer to the question, there’s no doubt about it.”

Instead, Fleming urged for real conversations that allow lawmakers and advocates to have nuanced discussions on the issues.



“What I don’t want to do is to have people introducing a bill that basically says, I can’t do the work that I do,” Fleming said, “because this is part of a grander scheme behind school choice.”