It Seems to B.
Dr. Doug Wycoff just keeps giving back: He was one of 150 dentists who took part in the MoMoM (Missouri Ministry of Mercy) effort in St. Joe last month. They saw over 500 patients at no charge to help make their lives better.
The effort has been going on for eight years and this is Doug’s second time. All total MoMoM has seen around 11,500 patients and done $7.13 million in work.
You may recall in past years he volunteered in the “Give Kids a Smile” effort here in Cameron. That program started in St. Louis eight years ago and has grown into an international service. It is based on need with 300 local patients being seen in Cameron for about $100,000 worth of work.
Dr. Wycoff has been in dentistry over 25 years and sees these efforts as a way to “give back” to the community that has been so good to him.
Another person to make Cameron proud.
• Bob Griffin has been identified as the “anonymous donor” whose $200,000 helped make the City Animal Shelter a reality. Bob is 84 now and lives in Columbia with this son Jeff. Daughter Julie lives right across the street.
After serving as the Clinton County Prosecuting Attorney, he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1962. He served as Speaker of the House from 1981-1995, the longest tenure in history for anybody in that role.
His benevolence in Cameron includes the Western Missouri Prison and a bathroom at the Country Club. Now we can add an animal shelter to that list.
• The death of David Koch makes you wonder, when a billionaire dies, who inherits his senators?”
• Our community is going to miss Doug Schmitz. After 11 years of boosting Cameron, he has moved to St. Joseph to manage KFEQ, KKJO, KSJQ and KESJ. He was an agent for good.
• The legislature passed a bill this year that will cut down on vehicle inspections. If you have one with fewer than 150,000 miles and is not more than 10 years old, you are exempt from needing a safety inspection.
But fees for driver’s licenses, vehicle registration, title transfers and similar services will increase.
• Eighty-four-year-old David Glass sold the Royals. He paid $96 million for them in 2000 and Forbes magazine estimated their worth now at $1 billion. I wonder if the Jackson County taxpayers who have contributed hundreds of thousands of tax dollars over the years will share in the profit?
• That always-crammed Highway 152 bridge over I-35 reopened last week. The $26.2 million project opened weeks ahead of schedule. The previous bridge was demolished last spring. The new interchange has 11 lanes.
• MODOT got a $20.7 million federal grant to fix 40 bridges in north Missouri. It is barely a start. Missouri has over 900 bridges rated “poor” by the Federal Highway Administration.
• With fall approaching, it is time to be even more diligent in watching for deer. Statistics show that one in every 110 drivers will report damage because of contact with a deer. The most dangerous state is West Virginia, where the rate is 1 in 46 drivers.
• Speaking of driver safety, did you know that there should be 10 inches between your chest and the steering wheel to keep airbags from causing significant injury?
• After the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings, 68% of Americans say they are worried there will be another attack by white nationalists. 62% now support banning the sale of assault weapons, and 89% support expanding background checks for all gun sales.
However, 45% are worried about government overreach in restricting gun rights, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
• Our chance of being attacked by a shark is minimal, about one in 11.5 million.
• The longest airplane flight is from Newark to Singapore --- 18 hours and 25 minutes.
• I’m told Elvis Costello and ABBA are touring together this Fall. But they haven’t figured out who the headliner will be. So, watch for ABBA and Costello to find out who’s on first.
