HOUSTON HERALD n Thursday, March 18, 2021
Legislators show support for FFA
Rep. Bennie Cook (front row, third from left) and members of the Missouri House who are former FFA members, take time to show their support for FFA. “I’m a proud
former FFA member and I understand the importance of this great program in our schools,” Cook said. “FFA encourages our youth to develop leadership skills and
it helps our youth gain agriculture knowledge and has had such a positive impact on so many young people. I’m proud to work alongside so many former members
of the FFA as we work to continue carrying on the proud tradition of agriculture in our state.” The FFA organization was founded by a group of young farmers who
met in Kansas City in 1928. For more information, call Cook’s office at 573-751-1490.
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‘Houston Strong’
To the editor:
I recently read an article on LinkedIn that talked
about how smaller rural communities were dras-
tically hurting due to the COVID-19 recession.
The Brookings article wrote that many of
these communities would find it hard to survive
without different economic development strate-
gies. What I found interesting about this article
is that in Houston, we have not had the drastic
downturn that many other communities have
seen. So I thought maybe it was time to write
something that pointed out our community’s
significant accomplishments as a whole over the
last couple of years.
Houston has seen a tremendous increase in
new development and renovation over the past
two years. We have seen over $10 million of de-
velopment completed or started in our commu-
nity, from public projects like the recent pool
renovations and the school gym to private devel-
opments like the hospital and Walmart renova-
tions. These new developments make our com-
munity more attractive to outsiders who are
visiting and looking for a new beginning. It is a
place to come and set up roots to grow their fam-
ily and live a peaceful life away from the crime
and craziness in bigger cities.
These private developments were also in new
residential property growth, from the new stu-
dio apartments located downtown to the mul-
tiple duplexes popping up all over town. These
much-needed rentals have helped with what
many smaller communities would consider a
good problem of significant residential growth
and the need for more quality and affordable
rental properties. With our rental properties at
95-percent capacity, we continue to work with
several local developers and out-of-town devel-
opers on new subdivisions and rentals through-
out our community. This growth will only con-
tinue as we see projects like the new high-speed
fiber come to fruition in the coming months and
people want to go and take part in our commu-
nity’s success.
Not all of our growth and success has come
from things that you can see or touch. Some
fantastic things which happened over the last
couple of years have been in the giving we have
witnessed from our community and not just the
development of new buildings. From new schol-
arship funds created for our students at Hous-
ton High School above $700,000, to the grants
we have received for organizations like Down-
town Houston and the Houston Fire Department
which totaled over $600,000, the influx of funds
has increased remarkable for such a small com-
munity.
We continue to see more dollars be granted to
more organizations across town and honestly
believe that the best is still yet to come.
A community like Houston is not rare. It is
also not common. However, what sets Houston
apart from other organizations like it across
Missouri is the resilience that the people who
live here have. The fight they are born with to
make sure that we succeed as a whole and that
our community will continue to grow no matter
what the rest of the world is doing.
I am proud to call this community home as we
all are. We have bucked the trend of failing small
towns and have proved to many that we are not
weak together. We are Houston strong!
ROB HARRINGTON,
CITY OF HOUSTON
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
B7
TCMH sponsors COVID-19 vaccine event in Houston
Organizers of a COVID-19 vaccine
booster clinic at Houston on Tuesday
of last week were pleased with the
turnout, the generosity of those who
pitched in to help and the support of
others in the community who pro-
vided food.
About 930 people received vaccina-
tions at the Houston Area Chamber
of Commerce Fairgrounds on North
U.S. 63. The event was staged in the
community building. Parking needs
and data entry were handled by Mis-
souri National Guard members.
The first vaccination — which was
hailed for its organization — drew
1,000 people in February. Texas Coun-
ty Memorial Hospital CEO Wes Mur-
ray said some were hindered from re-
turning due to transportation issues
and scheduling conflicts. An attempt
will be made to accommodate the 70
who weren’t able to return.
Murray expressed his gratitude
to the Missouri National Guard,
AmeriCorps, Texas County Tech-
nical College and Texas County
Health Department. AmeriCorps
is an organization that works to
strengthen communities and foster
civic engagement through service
and volunteering. A team arrived to
help in Texas County. Many of those
were young adults who wanted to
donate time to better the country in
Study: Most Missourians who got first COVID vaccine dose got second shot
Only 2.5 percent of Missourians
who received their first COVID-19
vaccine dose skipped out on receiving
the second one, according to a study
released last week by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention that
looked at a two-month period.
Out of the 50 states, Missouri had
the 10th highest rate of completion
of the vaccination series, with 93 per-
cent of over 216,000 residents receiv-
ing their second dose. Other states
completion rates ranged from nearly
96 percent in West Virginia to rough-
ly 75 percent in Utah.
Meanwhile, 2.5 percent of people
who had received their first dose in
Missouri had not received their sec-
ond dose within the recommended
six weeks — which was better than
the national average of 3.4 percent.
Virginia had the highest percentage
of residents who had missed their
second dose at 7.8 percent, while
Louisiana had the lowest at nearly 1
percent.
For Missouri, about 4.5 percent
Seven COVID-19 cases reported in county since March 9
Seven COVID-19 cases have been reported in Texas
County since March 9, the Texas County Health Depart-
ment reported on Monday.
There are five in isolation at home, and no one is
Local news updated daily online at www.houstonherald.com
A mass vaccination event was held on Tuesday of last week in the commu-
nity building at the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce Fairgrounds.
advance of attending college.
“TCMH could not have completed
an event of this caliber as success-
fully as it transpired without the help
of these volunteers,” Murray said.
“It was truly an honor for TCMH to
serve our community by offering
this opportunity. We received several
compliments throughout the day in
regards to how well organized and
smoothly the event flowed.”
Murray said he was touched by the
comments. Some people had been
had not yet received their second
dose as of the analysis but still re-
mained in the allowable period of
six weeks. Of those who had re-
ceived their second dose, nearly 97
percent received it in the recom-
mended timeframe.
The CDC’s study, the first federal
analysis to look at completion of the
two-dose vaccine series, found that
nationwide among people who had
received the prime dose, 88 percent
received their booster dose, 3.4 per-
cent had missed their second dose
and 8.6 percent had not yet gotten it
but were still within the allowable
interval to receive it.
The study assessed nearly 12.5
million people who had received a
first dose and for whom sufficient
time had elapsed to receive their
second dose between a two-month
period from Dec. 14 to Feb. 14.
Both Pfizer and Moderna’s vac-
cines require two shots, spaced out
three and four weeks respectively.
The CDC also recently issued guid-
hospitalized.
Since the pandemic began, 1,693 cases have been con-
firmed. Of those, 1,665 are off isolation. Twenty-three
have died.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
SUBMITTED PHOTO
isolated and couldn’t participate in
family functions, such as interacting
with their grandchildren.
Murray also expressed a special
thanks to Houston businesses and or-
ganizations that provided food for the
event’s volunteers, including McDon-
ald’s, Hardee’s, Pizza Hut and Hous-
ton House Nursing Center.
More information regarding COV-
ID-19 vaccines and their availability
in Missouri is available online at co-
vidvaccine.mo.gov.
ance that said booster doses may be
given up to six weeks after the initial
shot if those intervals can’t be met.
Winter weather delays during that
time that led to canceled appoint-
ments and delayed doses — which
affected Missouri — may have con-
tributed to lower rates in some areas,
according to the study.
Overall, the study noted the find-
ings were reassuring, as they showed
nearly 9 out of every 10 people who
received the first dose ended up get-
ting their second.
However, it also stressed that
groups prioritized early on to receive
the vaccine in many states — like
healthcare workers and nursing
home residents and staff — were
more likely to be vaccinated at their
work or home, which may have led to
increased adherence of the recom-
mended vaccination schedule.
“As priority groups broaden, ad-
herence to the recommended dosing
interval might decrease,” the study
noted.