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Missouri’s oldest daily newspaper, serving since 1838

WEEKEND, MAY 23-24, 2015

Volume 178, Issue 102 • 18 Pages • $1.25

NORTHEAST MISSOURI

School heads awaiting decision on HB 42

DAYS UNTIL HOME OPENER

MAY 30TH, 6:35PM VS. TERRE HAUTE REX

ONLINE

Superintendents say the bill would have negative impacts

• Scene on seen: Palmyra graduation

DANNY HENLEY Courier-Post Reporter

A bill intended to address the student transfer issue, but which evolved into legislation that could cost public school districts funding, will soon reach the governor’s desk if it hasn’t already, and local school superintendents are trying their hardest to convince Jay Nixon that signing the bill into law would be a mistake. “This is very, very important,”

•Video: BPW employees repair broken water main on Surrey Hills Road •Riedel Founation offers two grants to local groups See more at www.hannibal.net

SEE HB 42, A10

OPINION George F. will: What the return of Rick Santorum means. Story, page A4

Archie Allen, 98, holds photos of him and five of his brothers that served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. Now living at Maple Lawn in Palmyra, he recalled details of witnessing one of the most important events in history. ERIC DUNDON/COURIER-POST

TWAIN SAYS “A half-educated physician is not valuable. He thinks he can cure everything.” - Mark Twain’s notebook

Blue star service

ERIC DUNDON

Courier-Post Editor

TWEET WITH US @hannibalcourier @HCPEditor @HCPjasonfarmer @Danny_Henley @TrevorTMcDonald

THIS DAY

May 23, 1934: Infamous bank robbers Bonnie Parker, 23, and Clyde Barrow, 25, are ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana. Parker, Barrow and their crew of robbers are believed to have killed at least nine police officers and several civilians.

Archie Allen has seen a lot in his 98 years. The quiet, unassuming man came from a family with an immigrant father, growing up on a farm in Minnesota with one sister and eight brothers. He came to Missouri in the 1950s, moved to Maryland then settled again in Missouri after retirement. He played golf for years and remembers teams of horses used to manicure course lawns. He now lives at Maple Lawn Nursing Home in Palmyra. He also witnessed one of the most pivotal moments in history that few others still living can say. On a spring day in April 1945, Allen saw the body of Italian dictator Benito Mus-

To Tony Rodriguez, a valued subscriber from Hannibal.

OBITUARIES • Kala Boswell • Mary Culp • Gabriel Kealen • Ellen O’Bryan

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SEE SERVICE, A10

Daniel Brown, a technician with Century Signs in Quincy, Ill., was spotted climbing out of the Mark Twain Dinette’s root beer mug Thursday morning. DANNY HENLEY/COURIER-POST

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Repairs coming to root beer mug DANNY HENLEY [email protected]

The sight of someone climbing into the Mark Twain Dinette’s root beer mug Thursday morning was unexpected, and a touch huSEE MUG, A3

Fewer flags going up on Broadway WHAT IS IT? Hannibal Street Department personnel were busy putting up flags along Broadway early Friday morning. DANNY HENLEY

In advance of Memorial Day Weekend, Hannibal Street Department personnel were putting up flags along Broadway Friday morning. The task didn’t take as long as in years past since a majority of the light poles onto which flag staffs are attached have been removed as part of a Board of Public Works refurbish-

ing project that began this month. Rich Dauma, director of the Street Department, stressed that the lack of flags being placed on the north side of Broadway is in no way a sign of disrespect. “I love this country and I love the flag,” he said. Dauma is thankful that some light poles remain on Broadway. “Something is better Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend, Hannibal Street Department personnel were out putting up flags along Broadway Friday morning. DANNY HENLEY/COURIER-POST than nothing,” he said.

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Including three brothers. But that doesn’t include another brother who served in the U.S. Marine Corps. And yet another brother who served in the Army Air Force. In total, six Allen brothers served in the U.S. military during World Ward II, a sacrifice that few other families in the country could match. By 1944, Allen was in the heart of Europe, the center of the war. His brother Willard landed with the famous Fifth Division at the invasion of Iwo Jima; brother Werner was in the South Pacific; brother Arnold served in Germany; brother Lloyd worked on airplanes in India; and brother Andy, youngest of Allen brothers, served in the Philippines.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Courier-Post Reporter

GREETINGS

solini hanging upside down in a northern Italian city — a symbol for the eventual doom of fascism and the victory of the Allied Powers over the Axis in World War II. Of all the things Allen saw and did during his four years in service, that foremost event in World War II transcends all others in his memory. He had married his wife Bernice — they celebrated 74 years of marriage this month — in May 1941. The escalating conflict launched the country into total war and Allen found himself “one of the first married men they took” in the draft. He received training at Camp Wheeler, Ga. Allen served in the U.S. Army, like so many others of that “Greatest Generation.”

hannibalregionalmedicalgroup.org

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SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015 • Hannibal Courier-Post • www.hannibal.net

(NEWS) HB 42

SERVICE

Continued from Page A1


said Susan Johnson, superintendent of the Hannibal public school district, regarding House Bill 42 during Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting. Opponents of the legislation, which just squeaked through the Missouri House by two votes earlier this month, would open the door to the expansion of charter and virtual schools. “Initially it was written as a school transfer law but as time passed, many other agendas were attached to this bill,” said Johnson. According to Jim Masters, superintendent of the Monroe City school district, the bill became weighted down with other pieces of legislature, some of which is not even related to education, after it cleared the House. “HB 42 has been on our radar since it was proposed and ultimately passed in the House. At that time is was a clean bill that directly addressed the transfer issue. Many superintendents in the northeast part of Missouri supported the measure,” he said. “Once it was sent to the Senate, it became loaded with amendments and ultimately did nothing to resolve the issues created under Missouri’s transfer laws.” During this month’s Palmyra Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Eric Churchwell reported the Nixon’s signature on the bill “could mean substantially less state funding through the foundation formula for all public school districts.” How big of a hit would local school districts endure? “It is difficult to determine the specific impact because there is no way of confirming the extent to which private and homeschooled students would take advantage of expanded charter school opportunities or the impact of private schools becoming charters to take access of state funding,” said Masters. “Regardless of affiliation, serving larger numbers of students from the same revenue pie means less dollars per student. Estimates indicate as many as 68,000 additional students from the St. Louis and Kansas City areas alone would be eligible to be added to the formula calculation.” Efforts are underway to convince the governor to veto the bill. “Extensive efforts to educate the governor’s staff through state education associations, phone calls and e-mail campaigns are moving forward,” said Masters. “Of significant concern is the reality that 900,000 public school students across this state do not contribute sufficiently to re-election campaigns and there appears to be little desire to acknowledge the experience and expertise of local school boards and their respective educators. Practical realities and political realities seem to seldom mesh when it comes to education.” As of Wednesday, Nixon had not yet start his deliberations regarding the bill, according to Scott Holste, the governor’s press secretary. “This is among the bills that has not yet been delivered to the governor,” Holste wrote in an e-mail to the Courier-Post. “All the bills, including HB 42, will receive a full and fair review. The governor must take action on them by mid-July.”

The day the Italians rose against their former leader, April 28, 1945, Allen and others traveled to Milan to have photographs made of Mussolini’s hanging body. Locals had captured Mussolini and his mistress, Claretta Petacci, near Lake Como on April 27, 1945. They shot them on April 28 and transported their bodies to the nearest large city, Milan. Allen said they had 10 minutes before they “had to get the hell out of there.” Allen had instructions to abandon the others if they didn’t make back in time, fearing the angry mob of Italians that had turned so explosively against Mussolini. Years later, Allen and his grandson discussed the scene. Using a smartphone, the grandson showed Allen a photo

Reach reporter Danny Henley at danny.henley@ courierpost.com .

of the hanging. “It was just the way it was,” Allen said, seemingly mesmerized. “It just amazed me.” Mussolini, feet bound and tied to steel girders, hung upside down in Piazzale Loreto with other fascists, arms splayed toward the ground. Some were shirtless. One wasn’t wearing shoes. The black and white photo, while not as famous as some other still from the war, signified a turning point in the war. And Allen was there to see it. Out of political and military allies and with American, French and British troops closing in from the south and west, and the Russians coming from the east, Adolf Hitler killed himself two days later, all but ending the bloodiest conflict in history. After four years of service, Allen exited the military after the war. “That’s all the war I wanted,”

he said. Amazingly, the only injury he suffered in the war took place in a mess hall, of all places. Working as a cook, he poured a 10-gallon pot of scalding water into a sump, unaware that someone has mistakenly poured in a can of lye before him. The result was explosive. The injuries were temporary. Not without a sense of humor, Allen remembered calling out, “Someone grab my shoes, they’re full of water.” And as for his brothers scattered around the globe? They made it home. All of them. Without injuries. “We was so damn lucky,” Allen said. As if being an eyewitness to history wasn’t enough, the Allen family has a rare wartime memento to share. Families with children in the

military display the Service Flag during wartime. A simple icon, a red border corrals a white field with stars representing members in the armed forces during times of hostilities. Blue stars signify living servicemen. A gold star means a death struck the family. The Allen family has a rare six-star Service Flag. More rare still, all six stars shine a royal blue color — the mark of a miracle that all six Allens survived. The invaluable item has passed hands through Allen’s family and is a cherished possession. While his lifestyle has taken a more leisurely pace in recent years, Allen can still recall with clarity that fateful day in the Italian mountains where time stood still and raced all at the same. Reach Editor Eric Dundon at [email protected] .

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HANNIBAL

COURIER~POST ( THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

ONLINE • Tree falls across Hannibal’s Bear Creek Trail

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Missouri’s oldest daily newspaper, serving since 1838

Volume 178, Issue 130 • 12 Pages • 75¢

American journey

•Obama declares new chapter with communist Cuba • Rapid Descent event rescheduled

Paddlers pass Hannibal in river expedition to explore people, places and nature

See more at www.hannibal.net

National Tom Sawyer Days

Event schedule & map, page A11

OPINION Kathleen Parker: The mourning after in Charleston Story, page A4

SPORTS

Alex Ross sketches on the banks of the Mississippi River. Ross, Forrest Schoessow and Shea Selsor just passed Hannibal in the “quintessential” American experience — paddling the Muddy Mississippi. CONTRIBUTED

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by ERIC DUNDON |||| Courier-Post Editor

ud and river water squished through the aquatic shoes Alex Ross wore Tuesday afternoon along the banks of

Recent rains making mud generation a tedious task. Why?

the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Mo. He and

Story, page A6

two companions set off from America’s Hometown — Hannibal — earlier Tuesday, June 30,

TWEET WITH US

and paddled the 30 some-odd miles to the stop in Louisiana.

@hannibalcourier @HCPEditor @Danny_Henley @HCP_Trevor

After a meal at Pikers Steakhouse, Ross, Forrest Schoessow and Shea Selsor took stock of what they had: a dry jug of water needing

THIS DAY

contents. Selsor, a seasoned canoeist, said they needed to find potable water. Schoessow mean-

Insignificant compared to the sheer size of the Mississippi River, Shea Selsor, Alex Ross and Forrest Schoessow paddle near the river bank at Louisiana, Mo. Tuesday afternoon. They hoped to make it past Clarksville by sundown. ERIC DUNDON/COURIER-POST

while spray-painted the silhouette of the Hine’s emerald dragonfly on postcards to send out July 2, 1937: Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from while attempting to complete the first equatorial round-the-world flight. The pair disappeared while flying over Howard Island in the middle of the Pacific.

GREETINGS To Jim Allen, a valued subscriber from Hannibal.

later.

SEE JOURNEY, A12

RALLS COUNTY

PSC blocks company’s energy line application 3-2 vote denies certificate of convenience and necessity for Grain Belt Express TREVOR MCDONALD Courier-Post Reporter

OBITUARIES

The Missouri Public Service Commission denied a crucial certificate for a multi-state wind-powered

• Ollie Haden • John Yohn

transmission line proposal that would pass through Ralls County if built. Commissioners voted 32 on Wednesday to deny a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for the Clean Line Energy Partners Grain Belt Express Clean Line proposal, Missouri Public Service Commission spokesperson Kevin Kelly said. Supporters and opponents of the $2 billion proposal prepared to pore

through each paragraph of the commission’s order to determine what the future might hold. Commissioners assessed specific criteria for the decision to grant or deny the certificate: there must be a need for the proposed service and it must “promote the public interest”; the applicant must be qualified to provide the proposal and possess the financial ability to com-

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plete a proposal that is economically feasible. The commission determined that Clean Line Energy Partners demonstrated its qualifications and financial ability related to the proposal, but the commissioners decided the proposal did not satisfy the remaining stipulations. “In this case the evidence shows that any actual benefits to the general

public from the Project are outweighed by the burdens on affected landowners. The Commission concludes that GBE has failed to meet its burden of proof to demonstrate that the Project as described in its application for a certificate of convenience and necessity promotes the public interest,” according to a Missouri Public Service SEE PSC, A12

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015 Ë Hannibal Courier-Post Ëwww.hannibal.net

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(NEWS) PSC

JOURNEY



Commission written release. Clean Line Energy Partners representatives told commissioners about the proposal’s “enormous benefits” to Missouri, including potential jobs, annual tax revenue for counties in the proposed path and meeting future EPA clean energy requirements, Director of Development Mark Lawlor said. “There appears to be some confusion by a majority of commissioners about the benefits of this project to Missouri,” Lawlor said. Clean Line Energy Partners would review the Public Service Commission order carefully to determine possible options for the future of the project. “We feel like the project is too important to the state of Missouri to not pursue a way forward,” Lawlor said. Wind on the Wires — a St. Paul, Minn.-based nonprofit organization of groups related to the wind energy industry — saw considerable potential for the project as well. “The PSC’s decision today is a huge missed opportunity to provide lowcost clean energy to the Heartland and to create the jobs and economic development that comes along with wind development and transmission projects like the Grain Belt Express, Wind on the Wires Executive Director Beth Soholt,” said. But opposition groups were encouraged by the Wednesday decision, including Block Grain Belt Express — a group of Missouri farmers, landowners and residents who oppose the project. “The commissioners apparently believed that the proposed line is not needed by the citizens of Missouri,” Block Grain Belt Express Vice President Jennifer Gatrel said. “Grain Belt does have additional options it might pursue. We, however, are confident that we can succeed in preserving what appears to be today’s decision at the Public Service Commission.”

The trio’s entire lives for several weeks this summer floated nearby in a 1972 Grumman freighter canoe affectionately nicknamed “Calypso.” The group aptly calls themselves the “Calypso-nauts.” Barely past a river community with the moniker America’s Hometown, the trio is closing in on the midway mark of a great American adventure down the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. The expedition — the term the trio uses to describe their voyage — likens to the trip plucky Huck Finn and Jim took in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Except Huck and Jim didn’t have an iPod to play tunes to pass the time (the group’s first iPod took a disastrous swim in the river). “This is kind of the quintessential journey for a lot of Americans,” Ross said. For the group, the trip is about having the chance to “explore unique people and places,” Schoessow said. But it’s also about environmentalism and the intersection of ecology, history and the human experience. “We’ve been trying to draw attention to things every chance we get. A lot of people don’t think about the impact of choosing not to recycle and that’s been very evident along the way,” Schoessow said. They’ve noticed the impacts of regional industries on the water — logging, for example, in Minnesota. Along the way, the group takes water quality samples to analyze. They also chose to raise awareness about an endangered species in each state through which they pass. They

Reach reporter Trevor McDonald at [email protected] .

started with the whooping crane in Minnesota and will conclude with the small tooth sawfish in Louisiana — the state, not the city of their brief respite Tuesday. Missouri’s is the dragonfly whose likeness Schoessow sprayed on cards at the Louisiana riverfront. “It’s been really interesting to see the landscapes of America unfold and the peoples that go along with it,” Schoessow noted, as a lone boy, maybe age 10 or 12, lazily pedaled a bicycle nearby. For the Calypso-nauts, that included a stop in Hannibal. At the end of each day, the group most often pitches camp, finding impromptu adventure along the way in a hash of American communities along the route. But the stop in Hannibal had roots further upstream when the voyagers fortuitously met Neil Maune, a Hannibal resident who happened to be in Fort Madison, Iowa with his son John — the current official Tom Sawyer, another American folklore icon — for a baseball tournament. “I told them ‘If you need anything in Hannibal, we’ll take care of you,’” Maune said. That included food from Jimmy John’s. “Real food,” Selsor said with a laugh. Aside from the favorable food review, the group spent the night at the Mark Twain Riverboat before taking a tour of the downtown area and seeing the river from atop the bluff at Lover’s Leap. Museum Executive Director Henry Sweets took the group Tuesday morning to see the boyhood home of Mark Twain — perhaps one of the most prominent figures in Americana. “One of the most important things when we stop is also getting a flavor of the town and talking to as many people

Forrest Schoessow discusses the River’s route and island formations with a local of Wisconsin. CONTRIBUTED

as possible,” Ross said. “We had a really great time in Hannibal. It was really fantastic.” Ross said the response to the trio’s adventure has been overwhelmingly positive. Part of experiencing the heartland of America, for Schoessow, means putting technology away and getting outside. Doing so will help “cultivate environmental stewardship” Schoessow said. Weather has made the Mississippi River a bit more wild than normal. Recent rains have the river swollen, moving quicker than usual and with more debris. Conditions make for easier travel in some aspects, but the group had a grueling day getting to Hannibal Monday, paddling 65 miles before reaching their destination. A typical day puts 40 miles of river behind them, Ross estimated. On those long river days, the group sings and plays word games to pass the time, with Ross occupying the middle seat in the Calypso with Schoessow and Selsor rotating between the fore and aft seats. The voyage started May 21. They hope to reach Cairo, Ill. — where the Mississippi

meets the Ohio River — by Sunday, July 5, where Ross and Schoessow will be closest to home on the trip. Coming from western Ohio, they say big water is an “invariably rare, inspiring sight.” Ross has a background in art, while Schoessow studied history and geography and Selsor is a certified kayak instructor who studied environmental biology. As the Calypso and its crew voyages down America’s largest river, words of Mark Twain come to mind, and it’s not just because the trio is reading some Twain during their expedition. “Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them,” Twain wrote in his notebook. “I fear in the future, there will be less and less ‘wild’ in places,” Ross added. Schoessow called the stop in Hannibal a “simple stop.” Ross said it was anything but. It was a piece in the patchwork of the American Heartland, a complicated fabric with different textures of people and history, sewn together by the Mississippi River. Keep up with the trio’s travels at mrexpedition.squarespace.com .

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Weekend • Oct. 24-25, 2015 • Volume 178, Issue 212 • 18 Pages • $1.25 Missouri Bat Census Executive Director Kirsten Alvey-Mudd examines a bat’s wing using a blacklight inside Cameron Cave. The bat exhibited signs of white-nose syndrome, as evidenced by the blotchiness and inconsistency of the skin on its wing.

HANNIBAL

COURIER~POST

Battle to save bats BY ERIC DUNDON Courier-Post Editor

A little brown bat clings to Kirsten Alvey-Mudd’s glove on a data collection trip to Cameron Cave on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The bat was too small to make it through winter, so it was removed from the cave to receive treatment for WNS.

As winter approaches, a group ventures into the depths of Cameron Cave to collect data on a bat population threatened by a deadly fungus. With a treatment showing positive results, this could be the most important bat hibernation season since the detection of white-nose syndrome in the U.S. in 2006.

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n the near blackness and total silence of Cameron Cave on the grounds of the Mark Twain Cave Complex, a voice rings out.

“I got one!” The sounds of footsteps pick up as they converge on where Susan Wilkinson stands, her eyes pointed up towards the ceiling of the cave. “There, you see?” she asks, pointing at a small brown spot on the wall. To an unpracticed eye, the brown spot is barely distinguishable from the hundreds of brown rock nodules scattered on the walls of the cave complex. But to Kirsten Alvey-Mudd, executive director of the Missouri Bat Census, that little brown spot on the wall is the sole reason why she, husband Jim Mudd and Wilkinson trekked into the cave Tuesday, Oct. 20. Immediately, the group stops, unloads backpacks and goes to work. Alvey-Mudd uses a small net gerry-rigged with a blacklight to cautiously approach the little brown bat perched on the wall. “Lights off,” she said, as the group instinctively shutters the light of headlamps. A moment of darkness for the eyes to adjust. Then the purple blacklight becomes visible, the only sign of life in the still, pitch-black cave. Alvey-Mudd inches the light closer to the bat. The news isn’t good. Even from a few feet away, a casual observer could notice a fluorescent SEE BATS, A12

Kirsten Alvey-Mudd uses Susan Wilkinson’s headlamp to examine the wing of a little brown bat. WNS damages a bat’s wings, as Alvey-Mudd showed scars from WNS on almost every bat collected on a trip to Cameron Cave on Tuesday, Oct. 20. PHOTOS BY ERIC DUNDON/COURIER-POST

THIS DAY

NEW LONDON

NORTHEAST MISSOURI

Oct. 24, 2003: The supersonic passenger jet Concorde makes its final transatlantic flight.

Lightning not ruled as out Main St. fire cause

Hurricane remnants could bring rain

GREETINGS To Herman Schindler, a valued subscriber.

OBITUARIES

DANNY HENLEY

• Ada Church • Gertrude Foster • Marilyn Genthon • Edith Mastin • Taylor Pruett • James Spencer


Despite the fact the sun was shining brightly in New London Wednesday afternoon when a downtown fire was dis-

INDEX Weather Nation/World Local Opinion Deaths Comics Sports Jobs Our Area Your Life Classifieds Faith

Fire marshal’s office cited possibility of ‘strong storm’

covered, lightning is still being listed as a potential cause of the blaze that destroyed one store front and damaged an adjoining structure. “There was a strong storm with heavy lightning in the area the night before. A lightning strike or discarded smoking materials cannot be eliminated as possible causes,”

wrote Mike O’Connell, communications director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, in an e-mail response Friday to an inquiry regarding a possible cause of the blaze. An investigator with the Missouri Fire Marshal’s office arrived in

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As Northeast Missouri residents checked their rain gauges for the first time in over a month on Friday, people in southwestern Mexico were bracing for Hurricane Patricia, the strongest storm ever in the Western Hemisphere. Not unlike the tropical storms that periodically

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SEE FIRE, A12

DANNY HENLEY

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hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, this storm from the eastern Pacific could eventually bring precipitation into the Midwest, including Northeast Missouri, which the U.S. Drought Monitor has identified as being abnormal dry in recent weeks. “That’s the issue we’re going to have to wait and SEE RAIN, A12

A12 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015

• Hannibal Courier-Post • www.hannibal.net

(NEWS) BATS Continued from Page A1

glow on the bat’s muzzle, ears and feet. In the darkness, the green glow marks a more ominous presence in the cave than even the most vivid imagination could conjure: white-nose syndrome (WNS). A moment later, with headlamps back on, Alvey-Mudd traps the bat in the net and brings it down to eye level. Wilkinson sits down, clipboard in hand. This isn’t a typical caving expedition, but a research trip and the trio is here to collect data — and in this case, the bats themselves. The bats collected Tuesday, more than 15 in all, aren’t the average bat. They’re sick. But they’re also leading the fight against WNS, a vicious killer that threatens to wipe out entire bat populations from Canada to the deep south, New England to Kansas. Discovered in a New York cave nine years ago, WNS has several detrimental effects on bats. It can wither wings. It disturbs the torpor of hibernation, driving bats to cave entrances. WNS basically immobilizes bats and causes their starvation. No one knows for sure how it got to North America, but theories suggest cavers brought spores of P. destructans, the fungus responsible for WNS, on shoes and equipment from caves in Europe. As bat populations declined, scientists began working on a treatment for WNS. A major advancement occurred earlier this year, when Alvey-Mudd and

RAIN Continued from Page A1

see,” said Jim Kramper of the National Weather Service’s St. Louis office. “This one they’re forecasting across Mexico and into eastern Texas. From there it’s a little bit of a question. Will it stay more along the Gulf Coast or start moving more northeast toward the Midwest? Hopefully in another couple of days the (computer) models will have a better hand on it and we’ll have a better picture on what we might see.” At this point, however, Kramper believes the remnants of the Category 5 storm will bring some precipitation into Northeast Missouri. “The way it looks now I wouldn’t expect a deluge from it, but I think we’ll probably see some rain that will somewhat be a

From left to right, Susan Wilkinson, Kirsten Alvey-Mudd and Jim Mudd work in Cameron Cave Tuesday, Oct. 20. ERIC DUNDON/COURIER-POST

several others released bats treated with the Rhodococcus bacterium back into the wild on the grounds of the Mark Twain Cave complex. The bats collected at the site south of Hannibal showed a positive response to the treatment. The opening of a door, Alvey-Mudd said. Now, as winter approaches and the hibernation season begins, it’s time to again monitor the bats, in what could be the most important bat hibernation season since the detection of WNS in the U.S. in 2006. Back in the cave, Alvey-Mudd handles the bat, no bigger than a palm, with gentle hands. “The is a female Mylu,”

Alvey-Mudd told Wilkinson, referring to Myotis lucifugus, the bat’s scientific name. Examining the bat, Alvey-Mudd recites several pieces of information to Wilkinson, who meticulously keeps records of each bat captured. She inspects the bat’s wings with the help of a headlamp. “Do you see the scarring there?” she asks, pointing out abnormal patterns on the wing skin of the chirruping bat. “You have a loud mouth,” Alvey-Mudd tells the bat as if rebuking a child. “But you’re not using it to eat” — a comment on the thinness of the bats found Tuesday in the cave. Forearm length, body

result of it. It’s really hard to say. It all depends on how far north whatever is left of it goes,” he said, pointing at Tuesday night and Wednesday as being the time line when Patricia’s remaining moisture reaches the region. A major player in how much, if any, of Patricia’s remaining moisture pushes north will be a storm system the National Weather Service is anticipating around the same time. “It’s just a matter of how quickly the next system moves in,” said Kramper. “If it moves in very fast it will keep it further south. If it slows down a little bit it may allow it to move further north. The speed of the next system will be a big factor in what exactly ends up from this.” According to a story by The Associated Press, Patricia formed suddenly Tuesday evening as a tropical storm, turned into a

hurricane just over a day later and just kept growing in strength, catching many off guard. By Friday it was the most powerful hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere with maximum sustained winds near 200 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters were calling for a “potentially catastrophic landfall” to occur in Mexico on Friday. Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said Patricia poses problems for Texas. Forecast models indicate that after the storm breaks up over land, remnants of its tropical moisture will likely combine with and contribute to heavy rainfall that is already soaking Texas. Reach reporter Danny Henley at danny.henley@ courierpost.com .

FIRE Continued from Page A1

New London Wednesday evening and remained on scene until 9 p.m., according to Officer Ryan Sparks of the New London Police Department. According to information provided by O’Connell, the South Main Street fire was discovered at approximately 2:44 p.m. A portion of the building’s roof had collapsed inward several years ago. The building was not insured. On Wednesday, Marshall Miller, assistant fire chief in New London, advised that no utilities were connected to the building at the time of the fire. The structure in which the fire originated is listed as a “total loss,” according to the information that was provided O’Connell. “Due to the extensive damage, the fire is currently listed as undetermined,” advised O’Connell. Sparks said it’s hard to estimate when local fire officials will receive a final report from the investigator.

condition, weight, wing condition — all pieces of information recorded to compare to bats treated with Rhodococcus. Used for several industrial purposes like delaying the ripening of fruit, Rhodococcus acts as a fungal inhibitor. Georgia State University’s Chris Cornelison happened upon Rhodococcus’ effect on WNS almost by accident. It’s turned out to be a promising treatment. Some bats received treatment at a lab near Columbia, Mo., while others received treatment inside Cameron Cave itself. Deep in the cave, in a part dubbed the “research area”, hooks bored into a low overhang once held baskets of bats, an infrared

camera set up nearby to detect the movement of the bats. Wildlife biologist Sybill Amelon said she felt “very, very encouraged from what we see in both the lab and here at field sites,” at the release of rehabilitated bats back in May. The data collection performed by Alvey-Mudd and others will help determine if the treatment continues to work. “I have a vested interest in seeing these bats get better,” she said, taking a break from the non-stop search for bats. She grew up here, as did husband Jim Mudd, the self-described “valet” of the trip. Both worked as tour guides in Cameron Cave

when it was a commercial cave. It now serves as a research habitat, accessible only by a faint wilderness road. The couple knows their way through the cave with ease, with side passages jutting off every few feet creating a confusing maze for a newbie. Not without humor despite the serious nature of the work, Alvey-Mudd explained, “But I have a husband who still gets lost in Walmart.” Wilkinson proved the lucky charm on this trip, spotting more little brown bats in side passages and easily-missed crevices than anyone else. She grew up near Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, but now interns with the Missouri Bat Census. Late in the trip, Wilkinson spots another. This bat fared no better than the earlier. “She lit up like a Christmas tree,” Alvey-Mudd said with a sigh after turning off the blacklight. “And it’s not even November yet.” The hibernation season won’t begin for a few more weeks, so most bats still fly around outside the cave environment. With the cold weather encroaching, it’s a frenetic race to beat WNS. “WNS interrupts hibernation and we’re trying to interrupt WNS,” Alvey-Mudd said. The best instrument for that interruption could be the Rhodococcus treatment. “We’re trying to figure out how to best utilize this new tool in our toolbelt,” she said, as Wilkinson signaled another bat around the corner. Reach editor Eric Dundon at [email protected] .

Spotlight on London Trip

Hannibal Regional Hospital Auxiliary is organizing a special

trip, Spotlight on London, from leading tour operator Collette Vacations. Interested travelers can learn more about the tour by attending a free informational meeting. Delve into the life in London, one of the world’s most iconic metropolises. Explore its rich history, culture, and diversity. Join a local expert on a privately guided panoramic tour of the city. See Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. Visit mysterious and ancient Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Interested travelers can learn more about the tour by attending a FREE, informational presentation on

November 3rd | 5:30 p.m. Hannibal Regional Hospital Conference Room A/B Located just inside the main entrance of Hannibal Regional Hospital

“You just don’t know how many cases he might be working on,” he said. The two-story building immediately north of where the fire originated, which had three apartments on the second floor and housed the New London NECAC office on the first floor, sustained heat, smoke and water damage. The building just south of the fire scene, which most recently housed the Ralls County Herald Enterprise, is vacant. Damage to the structure is believed to have been minimal, if there is any, due to the presence of a fire wall between the buildings.

For more information about the Spotlight on London trip, or to RSVP for the presentation, please contact Alicia Rollins at 573-248-5272. To see a complete trip itinerary visit hrhonline.org.

A portion of the trip proceeds will benefit Hannibal Regional Hospital Auxiliary.

Hospital Auxiliary hrhonline.org | 573.248.5272