News

North Central students place at state SkillsUSA competition

North Central Missouri College sent three teams to compete in the Robotics Automation Technology contest for the Missouri SkillsUSA State Competition on April 11.The contest was held at State Tech Community College in Lynn, Mo."The teams placed first, second, and third," said Rick Sharp, Industrial Technology Instructor and Coordinator. "The students were outstanding and they worked very hard."Students were asked to create a small factory robotic process that sorted materials of metal and plastic, good parts and bad parts, by palletizing the metal and plastic parts.The robot would move the parts through the process to test the parts for its drilled holes.The teams had approximately two hours to complete the process and move to the PLC Programmable Logic Controller Station where they would program PLC and be judged on time of process and efficiency.The winners will be moving on to the national competition in Georgia..

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Savannah High School prepares to celebrates opening of new Performing Arts Center

Savannah High School will be passing a huge milestone in the construction process on May 2 with the official ribbon cutting and open house of its brand new Performing Arts Center.This celebration has been a long time coming, with construction beginning nearly a year ago during the previous school year as part of a grant issue approved by voters allowing the start of construction.The ribbon cutting ceremony and open house will begin as soon as school lets out and all the traffic has cleared out. It is open for all students, staff and the community members, roviding an opportunity to come and explore the new facility and getting a glimpse of what the future will hold for the fine arts department of Savannah High School.Guests who attend will have the opportunity to go through and explore the new Performing Arts Center during the open house which will take place immediately following the ribbon cutting ceremony.

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God’s Furry Angels Pet Rescue receives grant

The Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri announced that its Mary Margaret Hodgin Fund has approved the amount of $5,000 in response to God’s Furry Angels Pet Rescue request for funding to purchase turf for dog runs.The grant committee at the Community Foundation reviewed applications selecting three recipients of which God’s Furry Angels Pet Rescue is one.The Mary Margaret Hodgin Fund at the Community Foundation specifically supports 501(c)(3) organizations dedicated to the care of dogs and cats in Buchanan and Andrew Counties in Missouri. The annual net income is allocated to benefit organizations that utilize the funds for the welfare of animals in these counties.

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MoDOT Urges Drivers to “Work with Us” in Busy Construction Season

As a historic construction season ramps up in Missouri, and as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week April 21 to 25, the Missouri Department of Transportation is reminding motorists to 'work with us' by making safe and responsible driving choices behind the wheel. These efforts are essential to protect motorists and workers inside the hundreds of work zones expected across the state this construction season – more than ever.In 2024, 23 people were killed in Missouri work zone crashes.

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Capitol Report April 22, 2025

Empowering the Attorney General to Defend Missouri from Judicial Overreach goes to Governor KehoeSB 22- Modifies provisions relating to judicial proceedings was truly agreed to and finally passed and will head to the Governor. It will bring clarity, fairness, and efficiency to the process surrounding summary statements for statewide ballot measures.

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School Resource Officers meeting

School district superintendents gathered at the Andrew County Courthouse for a meeting with the county commissioners and the Andrew County Sheriff's Department on Thursday, April 17."I'm excited to get this going," said Fritz Hegeman, the Eastern District commissioner.He added, nothing has been set in stone."Its all going to be a learning experience for all of us," Gary Baumann, the Western District commissioner, said.The Andrew County Sheriff's Department has posted notice that they are seeking applications for individuals wanting to work as school resource officers (SROs).At the meeting superintendents Josh Barker, North Andrew R-VI; Becky Grimes, Avenue City R-IX; and Dr. Brian Hansen, Savannah R-III agreed school resource officers will be county employees, however each district will supervise time and routine assignments.This is so if there is a game at night the district can have the school resource officer come in late and work the game, Grimes said.Everyone agreed school resource officers can work overtime if the district wishes to budget for the extra time.And if there is any kind of an emergency situation the sheriff can redirect the school resource officer to that emergency, Andrew County Sheriff Grant Gillett said with a smile.The goal for SRO's is to have them working through the school year and any summer school.

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Council honors former police chief, newly elected officials sworn In

The Savannah City Council met on April 21 where former police chief, David Vincent, was honored and three newly elected officials were sworn in.Current police chief Zach Long presented former chief David Vincent with the firearm he used while on the police force. Long thanked Vincent for his many years of serving Savannah in law enforcement and wished him well in retirement.

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County commission discusses communication center costs

Twelve agencies representing fire departments, ambulance districts and other law enforcement agencies gathered to discuss the costs of operating a single Andrew County Communications Center.The Andrew County Commission was meeting with 26 other individuals.The immediate consensus was that no one wants to move the communications center from the Andrew County Jail to a facility in Cameron, Mo.The county commission showed each entity that it's estimate of the cost would be based on a percentage of the calls the communication center receives.The county's report suggested for example that the city of Savannah would have to contribute an additional $74,649.96 down to Bolckow Fire, which would have to contribute an additional $242.96. The county currently pays $191,655.97 through the sheriff's department.

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Savannah Activities Director seeking assistance with records

Savannah High School Activities Director Anthony Hays is seeking the communities of Andrew County's help in creating a records project."I am working on a project to create an all-time record board for each sport at Savannah High School, which will be displayed either in the gym or in the hallway between the gyms," explained Hays. "Additionally, I want to recognize every All-State athlete in school history."To make this happen, Hays need help gathering records.He has a few pieces of data showing both all-time record holders and a list of All-State athletes on record.Unfortunately, over the years, some records were either not kept or have been lost."We would love to make this as accurate as possible," said Hays.

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