Vol 28 no 50
December 16, 2020
St. Clair Co. Health Department reports there have now been over 474 COVID cases with 12 deaths in the county. AC had 13 new cases last week for a total of 104 cases. This count does not include the nursing homes. According to the Health Department, due to people in the community spreading this disease, it has now come into the elderly care facilities. Hospitalizations are happening more frequently. They ask people to please stop running around, having parties, get togethers and visiting family and friends. One visit is all it takes. You should wear masks, social distance, wash your hands often and stay home! Don’t go to work sick. Stop the spread!
If you have been in close contact with a person known to have Coronavirus or if you have recently traveled to an area with ongoing spread of Coronavirus, as well as experiencing fever, cough, or trouble breathing and need medical attention, please call Ellett Memorial Hospital at 660-476-5219, OR AC Rural Health Clinic at 660-476-2121 TO ALERT STAFF PRIOR TO YOUR ARRIVAL! Ellett Memorial Hospital recommends washing your hands often, wearing a mask as much as possible, stay home if you don’t feel well and practice social distancing!
Appleton City City Hall will be closed Thursday, December 24 and Friday December 25 for Christmas.
Darrell Pohlman will host his annual Christmas display (weather permitting) from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays through December 23. The display can be seen at 513 W. 7th St. in Appleton City.
FarmHouse Kitchen and Sumo’s Pub will be closed December 22 until January 5.
The PACE classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s 9:00-10:00 a.m. at Ellett Memorial Hospital will be cancelled until 2021. They will notify participants when it will begin again.
AC Rural Health Clinic now has flu shots: FLUZONE Quadrivalent High Dose is an inactivated influenza vaccine recommended for 65 and older and is indicated for active immunization against influenza disease dose caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B (H1N1) (H3N2) contained in the vaccine. FLUZONE Quadrivalent is for patients ages 4 months – 65 years and is an inactivated influenza vaccine indicated for active immunization against influenza disease caused by influenza virus sub types A & B, (H1N1)(H3N2). Contraindication is for persons allergic to egg proteins. These are the recommendations for the 2020 – 21 season. Flu shots can be given without an appointment or provider visit from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call the clinic at 660-475-2121 with any questions. The cost for FLUZONE 4 months – 65 years is $52.75 and Fluzone for 65+ is $128.25. Please bring your Medicare or insurance card with you and they will file for insurance benefits.
Sesquicentennial Souvenirs would make great Christmas gifts for all ages. They can be purchased from committee members or at Community First Bank. Orders may be placed for pickup at the bank. Call or text Denice at 660-492-3180 or email acmolampkin@yahoo.com
Ellett Memorial Hospital Appleton City offers outpatient specialist services for January 2021 2020. Call 660-476-2111 for appointments: Jan 6- Upper GI, Colonoscopy- Dr. Namin, Jan 7 – OB/GYN-Dr. Kallberg, Jan 8 – Ortho-Dr. Gray, Jan 13 -Upper GI, Colonoscopy-Dr. Vardakis, Jan 14 – Rheumatology, Dr. Tay, Jan 20- Upper GI, Colonoscopy- Dr. Namin Jan 27 – Ortho-Dr. Gray, Jan 27 –Ophthalmology, Dr. Soni, Jan 28 -Rheumatology, Dr. Tay.
The following is a list of military personnel from the area. It would be an “Act of Kindness” during the Christmas Season to remember our local service people serving in the military with a Christmas Card. You can tell them who you are or belong to, classmate, know relatives, or whatever might tell them about your connection in AC. If you would like to add names of AC area service people to the list, email acmolampkin@yahoo.com, subject “military”
Daniel Parsons, Building 1900 Shay Street, Room 102 B, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473, Daniel graduated ACHS 2018, son of Marcus ACHS 1988 & Tracy (an AC Teacher).
PV2 Bell, Steven P., PSC 307 Box 922, AP0 AP 96224. Steven was born in AC, attended school till 3rd grade in AC, graduated from Butler in 2020. Basic in OK and now at Camp Case in South Korea. Mother is Amy Crusha Peterman, ACHS 1995. Grandparents Bill & Eileen Crusha.
Pvt Austin Nold c/o Amy Nold, 25NW 51 Road, Urich, MO 64788. Austin is in CA with no current stable address. Mother’s address will forward to him, so when addressing, leave room for her to forward. ACHS 2020. Parents Jeff and former Amy Green Nold, daughter of Chris & Karen Green.
Pvt. Austin McClure, 14257 SE County Road 836, ACMO 64724. Currently he will be home waiting location assignment. ACHS 2020. E-2pv 2. Parents Greg & Jessica McClure.
Dalton Rapp, 164 E. River Drive, Altus AFB, Oklahoma 73521. He attended AC elementary till 5th grade with ACHS 2015. Father was Danny Rapp, Grandfather Duwayne Rapp.
Daylen Doll, 12830 SE County Road 7586, Rockville, MO 64780. Currently home from West Point Army Academy. ACHS 2018. Parents Logan & Brenda Clark.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Dec 18 Hudson R-IX Last Day of Semester/Christmas Break Begins
Dec 23-Jan 5 Christmas break at AC Schools
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Jan 11-16 ACHS Invitational Varsity Basketball Tournament
The Appleton City R-II School District is pleased to announce that they are now offering free COVID-19 testing to any student or staff member in the district as the need arises. The federal government has prioritized public and private K-12 districts/schools to receive Abbott’s BinaxNOW rapid antigen test kits to test symptomatic school personnel and students for COVID-19. The test kits were provided for free to the school district. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) strongly believes that these rapid antigen tests will be instrumental in both opening and keeping schools open so onsite education can safely be delivered to as many students as possible. The rapid testing will allow quicker notification of positive cases and hopefully limit the contact they have with others sooner, therefore reducing the number of exposures within in the school and lessening the numbers placed on quarantine.
The testing will be offered in the school nurse’s office daily during school hours as needed and will be free of charge to all students and staff members. The Abbott BinaxNOW test is a minimally invasive anterior nasal swab test, and yields results in just 15 minutes. The test will be only administered by Nicole Piepmeier, R.N. at the Appleton City School. The test is completely voluntary and will never be administered unless the written consent form is signed by a parent/guardian.
If you wish for your child to be tested for COVID-19 at school please follow the guidelines listed below:
1. If your child has any symptoms of COVID-19 keep them home and call the school nurse at (660)476-2161 option #7 to set up a date and time to have your child tested. The BinaxNOW test should only be performed on someone who is within the first 7 days of having symptoms of COVID-19.
2. You will be asked to bring your child to school at the scheduled time and call (660)476-2161 option #7 or ring the doorbell in the front of the school under the awning to let the nurse know you have arrived.
3. You will be asked to sign a written consent for your child to be tested at that time, and you will be given written information about the test.
4. The test will be conducted in the school nurse’s office and only takes a few minutes to perform.
5. After the test is performed, the student and parent will be asked to return to theiir vehicle for approximately 15 minutes to wait for test results. If you do not wish to wait, you may leave a phone number for where you can be reached for notification of results.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact the school nurse at (660)476-2161 option #7.
On Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn will align in a position known as the great conjunction, which is the point at which they’re closest to each other in the night sky as seen from Earth. This phenomenon is often also referred to as the “Christmas star.” While this meeting happens every 20 years or so, in 2020, the planets will be closer together than they have been since 1623. But that year, the alignment was too close to the sun to view from Earth. The last time humans were able to see a great conjunction this close was in 1226, well before telescopes were invented. This year, Jupiter and Saturn will be just a tenth of a degree apart at their closest. To help you visualize that distance, that’s about the width of a dime if you hold one out at arm’s length. (It’s worth noting that despite their apparent closeness from our vantage point, Jupiter and Saturn are actually 400 million miles apart.) As such, anyone with a pair of strong binoculars or a telescope will be able to see both planets within a single field of view. You’ll even be able to witness them with the naked eye, though the show is much more impressive at closer range. To spot the great conjunction, look to the southwest sky just after sunset on Dec. 21. The two bright planets, which will appear consistently bright and not twinkling like stars, will be pretty low in the sky. The good news is that they’ll be viewable everywhere on the planet, so as long as the skies are clear, you’ll be good to go. If you don’t have your own binoculars or telescope, many local astronomy clubs and observatories are hosting socially distanced viewing events. You definitely won’t want to miss the show this time around; after Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn won’t be this close in the night sky until March 15, 2080.
The Sesquicentennial Poster Contest is open to anyone age from 3rd grade to beyond retirement age. The deadline is January 31, 2021. Categories will include both free hand art and computer generated art. The art must be about “Appleton City Past or Present”. Everyone may participate by encouraging artists in the AC area to create and enter a poster. You can get guidelines and entry forms from school art teachers or call 660-476-5857 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. or email acmolampkin@yahoo.com
If you don’t have time or space for a large Christmas tree, consider a Norfolk Island pine. Many stores sell these evergreen houseplants during the holidays. These easy-to-grow plants often come decorated and are perfect for gift-giving or to keep for yourself. Norfolk Island pines grow slowly and seldom need repotting. An extremely tolerant plant, it prefers diffused sunlight or partial shade with full sun in the winter. However, it will survive in cool, warm, light and dark locations. Branches droop in low-light conditions. Keep the soil uniformly moist but not wet, Miller says. Fertilize lightly every one to two months. Many Norfolk Island pines come with several stems in a pot. They can be pruned at soil level to one stem. As they grow, the lower limbs will drop off. This is normal, so don’t be concerned when this happens. A newly acquired plant needs time to adjust to its environment. Immediate repotting can stress the plant. Many do not require potting for some time. Pot-bound plants, in which roots are too extensive for the pot, require frequent watering and grow poorly. Repot in a mixture of three parts sphagnum peat, one part vermiculite and one part perlite, or choose a commercially available “peat-lite” mix. In most cases, adding soil to a potting medium leads to poor drainage, overwatering and root diseases. To avoid damage to the root system when repotting, firm the soil gently around the root ball. Avoid pressing so hard that the soil becomes compacted. Allow space for water at the top of the pot. Water newly potted plants thoroughly, drain and do not water again until necessary.
With minimal care, the Norfolk Island pine can provide you with not only a small Christmas tree but an interesting evergreen houseplant year-round.
For more information, contact Pat Miller at 417-448-2560. She also recommends the free MU Extension guide “Caring for Houseplants” (G6510), available from county extension centers and online at extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6510.
In 1817 Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Income tax time is just around the corner and farmers need to start getting prepared. A good resource that can help is the free Farmer’s Tax Guides available at your local University of Missouri Extension center. This is a free publication and is very helpful in explaining tax related issues. Whether you file your own taxes or hire a professional tax preparer, you still need to understand the basic farm income tax principals. To request one of these free publications, stop by your local MU Extension Center and for farm tax questions, contact your local Agricultural Business Specialist, Raysha Tate tatere@missouri.edu, by calling the Extension Center at (417) 646-2419, or coming by the center on the first floor of the courthouse in Osceola.
“The Little Apple” was started by the A. C. Economic Development as way of informing residents of news and events sponsored by area businesses and organizations. Items of a clearly personal nature, such as birthdays, anniversaries, awards (not group sponsored), personal sales and the like are not accepted for publication. Please email articles for “The Little Apple” to dcp81@embarqmail.com by Tuesday evenings or bring them to Dr. Payton’s office to be included in that week’s edition. To receive “The Little Apple” free by e-mail, send your e-mail address to dcp81@embarqmail.com If you have changed your previous email address, you are asked to send the current address, so the list can be updated.
