After an unexpected and unpredictable two-year long global pandemic, 2022 arrived amidst a surge of new positive COVID cases. However, as of January 1st, the COVID-19 related state of emergency in Missouri expired and was not renewed. It had been extended five times over the previous 22 months. Kicking off the new year right, the first baby of 2022 born at GVMH was baby Betty Lee Johnson born to Cody Johnson and Carol Cooper. Happy first birthday Betty Lee! By mid-January 5G cell phone service was launched in the United States, not without complaints from airlines suggesting it could interfere with airplane technologies, however. Check on your friends who fly Southwest. Meanwhile, area schools were already into their respective winter sports/activities seasons. Clinton high school student athlete Amitria McNack rang in the new year celebrating her first place win at the Wonder Woman Wrestling Tournament held in Columbia, MO. The tournament was host to over 500 females from more than 75 schools over a multi-state span. Amitria also won the Thundering Herd tournament later in January 2022. Amitria ended last season only losing to one competitor, who won state, and taking home third place at the State Wrestling Tournament. Amitria is currently 28-1 on her wrestling season this year and is ranked no.1 in the state for her weight class. She also brought home third place at the Wonder Woman tournament this year. Clinton School District also announced that Brian Wishard had been voted in as the next Superintendent on January 12, 2022. Throughout the month of January, not only was there an insurrection at the nations’ capital and the Kansas City Chiefs lost the AFC to the Bengals, but a new variant of COVID known as “omicron” made its way through the states. Though SEMA had more than 150,000 COVID tests piled in a warehouse, tests had become scarce across Missouri. Locally, there were 1,321 positive COVID tests taken by Henry County residents.
By February, Tom Brady had announced his retirement and tax season was in full swing with new regulations and changes that ultimately caused delays in many filers’ tax returns this year. Locally, Golden Valley Memorial Hospital was gearing up for their 50th anniversary celebration. GVMH’s first day open was February 29, 1972. On February 10, 2022 Mayor Greg Lowe signed a proclamation declaring the first Thursday of every February to be Optimist Day. Later that same day, a second building on the downtown Clinton square had collapsed. This construction incident would lead to a months-long battle between the city, the buildings’ owner, and other downtown business owners. In February, local teenager Mason Munsch received a heart surgery, which was the first of its kind. In Clinton School District news, mid-month they announced the selection of Christian Meier (Former CTS Principal) as the new Assistant Superintendent. CSD also announced the return of Morgan Patrick to take over as Principal at Henry Elementary. Also at Henry Elementary, Assistant Principal Jake Kenney was awarded the MAESP (Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals) 2022 Outstanding Assistant Principal award.Mr. Kenney is now the Assistant Principal at CMS. During the month, Clinton’s business community lost a couple restaurants in the area. However, in February Bear Down Fitness brought new life to the Historical Downtown District. As February came to a close, the world was largely shocked when Putin invaded Ukraine causing an escalation to the almost decade-long Russo-Ukrainian War between the two nations. Though this conflict mostly overshadowed COVID in the news, it seemed as though things might be slowing down. Henry County only reported 318 positive COVID cases in the month of February.
March began with a State of the Union address from President Biden in which he referred to Putin’s invasion of Russia as “badly miscalculated”. Shortly after, Aaron Rodgers re-signed with the Green Bay Packers, making him the highest paid player in NFL history- another miscalculation, or so it seemed until the Packers recently found themselves still in the hunt for the postseason. Locally, Clinton School District was making headlines again as they wrapped up the construction projects aimed at improving safety and security at Henry Elementary and Clinton Intermediate Schools. Also in March, Holy Rosary Catholic School hosted its annual Pot O’ Gold event. There are over 300 tickets sold each year for a chance to take home the $10,000 prize. Last year’s winner was Nathan Suthoff. Survival House, whose services are free and open to anyone fleeing domestic or sexual violence, announced their plans to host a domestic violence/sexual violence support group every Thursday from 6pm to 7pm at the Clinton Public Library. In CSD sports action, Amitria McNack set a new school record by making it to the State Tournament, and came back with a bronze medal. The Lady Cardinals basketball team won the District 13 championship, and the boys’ basketball team came back from districts with a 2nd place title. The CCA Lady Patriots basketball team also took 2nd place at their state competition, while the Lakeland Vikings took their run for a state championship to Quarterfinals. Area schools and businesses participated in National FFA week, O’Reillys opened their new location across town, Parks and Recreation held the ribbon cutting for the back 9 of the disc golf course in Artesian Park, and baseball season had begun. CHS student athlete alum Trey Miller competed at the NCAA D2 Indoor Track Championships and finished runner-up in the heptathlon. MLB and the MLB Players Association had come to an agreement just in time for Spring Training to begin, and Tom Brady came out of retirement after only 40 days. All in all, March was a decent month, and with only 31 positive COVID cases reported in Henry County, it seemed as though we were finally trending in the right direction.
As tides were turning overseas, in April, when Ukraine liberated the entirety of Kyiv from retreating Russian forces, local student athletes and supporters were getting their fill with girls soccer, boys tennis, track and field, baseball, and golf all underway. Local nurse, Jennifer Umland, returned from providing crisis relief in Ukraine and shared her experience of volunteering at a field hospital amidst the hostile invasion. Municipal elections were held in April and there was a record high voter turnout of 18.7%. This April, for the first time since the pandemic started, the annual Easter Egg Hunt was once again hosted on the courthouse lawn. Wallace White, operations manager at Clinton Regional Airport shared his thoughts on the growing local economy and how the Clinton Regional Airport facilitates that growth. Clinton School District announced the six finalists for the 2022 Educator of the Year award. The finalists were: Jill Chapman, Crystal Roskop, Leslie Largent, Christy Staashelm, Lori Markham, and Gina Johannsen. Also announced by the CSD in April was the relocation of administrative team Jenny Corson and Dr. Rob Anthony from Clinton Middle School to Clinton High School. The Clinton Lady Cardinals soccer team was on a hot streak, The CCA Lady Patriots soccer team had their inaugural season, and the CHS golf team was just trying not to get rained out.
U.S. Inflation was at 8.5%, a record high spanning at least four decades. Only 28 new positive COVID cases occurred in Henry County in April.
We learned of Brittney Griner’s detention in a Russian prison in May. The weather had finally started warming up and in early May, the city was finalizing renovations to the outdoor city pool. The Henry County Memory Fund held their eighth annual Big Purple Party which is an annual event in which money is raised to help locals with alzheimers/dementia or to research. Local school sports were winding down for the season as students were preparing for prom and graduation. CHS senior Dylan Bloom placed 5th at districts his first time playing the sport. The Lady Cardinals soccer team made school history with a winning record on the season and made it all the way to the semifinals at the district tournament. In a surprising turn of events, the CHS boys’ baseball team also overcame much adversity, but wound up falling short in their district semifinals as well. CHS also had several track and field athletes compete at the state tournament, including Tristan Switzer who received a 4th place medal in Pole Vault and Briley Wishard who placed 8th at state and set a school record at sectionals. Also in CSD news, Jill Chapman was selected to become the new principal at Clinton Middle School. Clinton merchants hosted the first “Shop Small Crawl” on May 12th. Businesses featured on a passport would place a stamp on the passport next to their business name. Once the passport had all of the stamps on it, participants would turn it in to be entered to win up to $500. Throughout the month, the baby formula shortage seemed to get worse, and people were traveling to places out of their way to try to locate needed formula. Clinton Christian Academy just recently expanded to high school students. May 2022 was the first high school graduation in school history. Another project, spearheaded by Clinton Main Street was the hanging of banners of veterans on the light poles on/around the square. Business owners and Downtown patrons were still mildly inconvenienced by the eye sore and traffic hazard on the east side of the square after the building collapsed in February. As May ended, VFW Post #1894 hosted their annual Memorial Day service at Englewood Cemetery in Clinton. There were 40 positive COVID cases county-wide in May.
We tiptoed into June as Johnny Depp was awarded $15 Million in the lawsuit against his ex Amber Heard. Queen Elizabeth II hosted a Jubilee for being the first British Monarch to reign for 70 years. The US Reserves raised interest rates 0.75 to try to combat rising inflation. Locally, the kids were out of school and ready for the much anticipated summer break. Once the school year had ended, CSD announced Henry and CIS physical education teacher Gina Johannsen as the recipient of the 2021-2022 Educator of the Year. The Clinton Public Library announced the theme for their summer reading program was “Oceans of Possibilities”, launching the program with a water party in the parking lot. The CHS Cheerleaders hosted the 14th annual Golf Tournament and silent auction in June. The Clinton Christian Academy track team competed in the Christian School State Championship for the first time in school history and won. Across the county, kids were attending camps for sports and hobbies alike. The 2nd annual Rodeo Gold productions rodeo came to Clinton to put on a show at the Henry County fairgrounds. The rodeo included steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding and the occasional mutton bustin’. The GVSC Dolphins kicked off their season with a home meet in early June. The Northern Cherokee Nation held their 27th annual Pow Wow at the Cherokee Cultural Center, keeping the tradition alive since 1995. Little League and traveling softball and baseball players were wrapping up their respective summer seasons and CCA installed new playground equipment in preparation to return to school in the fall. June ended as per usual with the Olde Glory Days celebration on the Historic Downtown Clinton Square. The annual event welcomes locals and tourists alike to partake in the shows, booths, carnival, concerts and more. The 5K took place in the rain this year, but participants said it was still a great time despite the weather. In June, the Henry County totals for COVID positive cases increased to 140.
Throughout the month of July, Clinton and surrounding areas were host to several large events. The Henry County fair is an annual tradition in July for many residents. There was also a demolition derby at the fairgrounds in July that had quite a turnout as well. Scooters came to town and opened in July, bringing much excitement to local coffee drinkers. In July, the “painted lady” house on the corner of Third and Ohio got a makeover and seemed to turn bright blue overnight. Many area restaurants were struggling to find help and were having to close their doors early due to staffing shortages. With all the large-scale local events, COVID numbers in Henry County soared to 408 for the month of July.
By August, the FBI was raiding Mar-a-Largo and local students were gearing up to return to school. Local college freshman, Sophie Schilling shared her story of how she chose TCU, how she prepared for independence there and her plans for academics and philanthropies. Here in Clinton, Apple Bus had been bought out by First Student and had several changes to implement before the start of the new school year. Bus drivers took test runs prior to school starting to smooth out the kinks in their routes before the students’ first day. August closed out with 241 positive COVID cases in Henry County.
September truly felt like summer was over. Suddenly, schedules started filling up with sports and activities. Parents became taxis again while getting kids to and from school, practices, and games. Clinton United Methodist Church was elated to start hosting 5th quarters after the home football games this season as they weren’t able to host the event due to the pandemic. In September, the Clinton Moose Lodge hosted their grand opening luncheon. The Moose Lodge presented the local first responders with moose stuffed animals to keep in their vehicles in the event they encounter a traumatized child. During the month of September, area student athletes were putting their all into their respective sports when longtime CDD Sports Editor Tim Komer decided to announce his retirement. September was dry and there were several unauthorized burns that created potential hazards for area residents. CMS girls softball team set school records during their inaugural season. 154 positive COVID cases were recorded in Henry County in September.
In October, Clinton Main Street hosted the annual Wine Stroll on the Historic Downtown Square. The wine stroll is an opportunity to get a lot of foot traffic into the Downtown District businesses. Clinton School District hosted their Homecoming festivities in October as their fall sports and activities seasons were winding down. In true Clinton fashion, skeleton enthusiast Tamara Jones once again wowed citizens with her creative skeleton displays this halloween season. Tamara has been keeping her yard decorated with skeletons year round since 2018 when a bet was made that she would be unable to keep up with the task of decorating for each holiday.
Throughout November and December, several community agencies and programs came together to host holiday dinners, and prepare for the holiday season so that all area children would be able to receive presents. Amanda Johnson (of Gary’s Towing) and Clinton Bright Futures once again spearheaded the Clinton Angel Tree program which annually provides presents children both want and need to more than 300 local children. Additionally in November, Clinton Main Street announced their selection of Amanda Johnson (of Fortress Wealth) as the new Main Street Director. Bree Smith had been standing in as interim Director until a permanent selection could be made. Clinton hosted the annual lighting of the square with a parade and visits with Santa. Project Christmas Cheer had expanded beyond what was ever imagined possible back when a group of local church women wanted to be able to help families during the holidays. GVMH also broke ground on a groundbreaking radiation oncology center on land donated by OakStar Bank. The CHS band played at the MHSAA State Basketball tournament and ended the year in New Orleans playing at a bowl game. 2022 was another busy and unpredictable year.
