MARIES COUNTY  — Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe attended the Maries County Lincoln Banquet held on March 8 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Vienna where he presented two resolutions to the county’s oldest WWII and Korean War veteran, Richard James.

The first resolution was from Bruce Sassman and the Missouri House of Representatives while the second resolution came from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Both resolutions recognized not only James’ service during WWII and in the Korean War, but also his part in helping to acquire the building for American Legion Post 12 in Vienna.

“One of the things our office gets to do is honor our state’s heroes and I can tell you, as we travel the state, that never gets old,” said Kehoe. “We can never finish appreciating the men and woman who have brought us to this gathering today and provided the freedoms that we have. It is my honor to present Mr. James with a couple of resolutions.”

 James, 98, was in attendance at the event and received the resolutions from Kehoe.

During his keynote speech, Kehoe thanked those in attendance for the hard work they have done on campaigns and for sending “good people” to Washington, D.C. to represent the interests of mid-Missouri.

He also mentioned the change in voting districts and acknowledged Sassman and Bennie Cook, both of which who were in attendance and have strong ties to Maries County as well as the local neighboring communities.

“Bruce Sassman and I got to be great friends. His districting has taken him somewhere else. Bruce will now have Gasconade, Osage, and Montgomery Counties,” said Kehoe. “Your new state representative is my buddy Bennie Cook. Bennie has Texas County, a sliver of Phelps County, and all of Maries County. Thank you for sending these guys to the state capital.”

Even though the redistricting has removed Sassman from Maries County as a representative, he assured everyone he would still keep the residents a priority to him. 

“My mom was born in Maries County, my grandpa in Maries County…Maries County will always have a place in my heart,” said Sassman. “Unfortunately, the way new districting is I’m going to have to give up Maries County. I’m still passionate about the folks here and I will do everything I can for you, even though I may not be your representative.”

Sassman said that the county would be in good hands with Cook, who is a Belle native, as a representative.

Cook said, “It’s great to be in Maries County. I can’t tell you how great it is to be here. I will be running for representative here in Maries County. I grew up over in Belle by Kingsford Charcoal. This is my second year up in Jefferson City and it has been an interesting time up there.”

Philip Lohmann, another candidate for Missouri House District 143, said he would like to reduce taxes and see reform in the Missouri Board of Education. 

Other candidates for the upcoming election were also given a chance to speak.

Maries County Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said, “It’s good to see everybody here. I signed back up for election again and I’ve done my best to work for the county and I’ll do it again for four more years. I’m not a big talker, I’m more of a listener.”

Maries County prosecuting attorney Tony Skouby said, “I signed up for re-election and I would really like another four years to serve you. If elected again I will do my best to protect you and your children.”

Mark McCloskey, a resident of St. Louis, spoke on his campaign for the United States Senate to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Roy Blunt. McCloskey, along with his wife Patty, received national attention on June 28, 2020, when they were filmed confronting Black Lives Matter protesters who were marching on Portland Place where they reside.

McCloskey said, “I’ve been a lifelong Republican and never been a candidate for anything else before in my life.”