Today's Feature

Nodler Chairs Senate Education Committee.

News Release

Among the first order of business for the First Regular Session of the 93rd Missouri General Assembly is the selection of committee chairs and appointments to various Senate committees.

This session Senate leaders tapped Assistant Majority Floor Leader Gary Nodler, R-Joplin to chair the pivotal Senate Education Committee, which will undertake one of the biggest tasks facing the 93rd Missouri General Assembly - rewriting the school foundation formula.

Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, applauded the selection of Senator Nodler to chair the Education Committee.

"This is one of most daunting tasks facing the Legislature this year and I have every confidence Senator Nodler can skillfully guide our members toward an equitable solution for all of our school districts," Gibbons said.

The Committee on Education examines and reports upon all matters referred to it relating to all matters of education in the state, including the public schools, libraries, programs and institutions of higher learning, and examines and reports on all propositions, memorials, petitions, or bills relating to education in Missouri.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, says Nodler was an easy choice to lead the effort to rework the school funding formula.

"Senator Nodler’s skill in crafting compromise among his colleagues will prove priceless in this complicated issue," Shields said.

According to Education Week, thirty-five states are pursuing major changes in the way they fund schools. In Missouri, nearly half of the state’s 524 school districts are suing the state, seeking more money and a more equitable distribution of school funding.

"It’s an honor to be chosen by my colleagues in the Missouri Senate to chair this important committee," Nodler said. "I welcome the challenge to ensure our policies place the children of Missouri first and foremost."

Nodler also has been selected by Senate leaders to serve as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for crafting the state budget.

"That’s another difficult task facing the Legislature this year given the anemic growth in state revenue forecast by Governor-elect Matt Blunt," Nodler said. "The Governor-elect says every part of state government can expect less revenue than they’ve had in previous fiscal years, so that will be a major consideration as members of the Appropriations Committee put together a state budget this session."

In addition to his leadership roles on the Education and Appropriations Committees, Senator Nodler also will serve on the Financial, Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee and the Governmental

Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee. Nodler served as Vice Chairman of the latter committee during the previous legislative session.

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This is some fact, but mostly,

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To Your Good Health

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

Try These Tips to Reduce Heartburn

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ANSWER: Heartburn results from stomach acid bubbling up into the esophagus, the long tube that stretches from the back of the throat to the stomach and through which food passes on its way to the stomach. At its juncture with the stomach, the esophagus has a door, the lower esophageal sphincter. It’s not actually a door. It’s a muscular valve that slams shut after food passes through it. People with heartburn (GERD — gastroesophageal reflux) have a door that doesn’t tightly close, so stomach acid spurts upward through it into the esophagus.

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