The Randolph County Shelter Industries (RCSI) is holding its Season Closing sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., November 5 – 6 at the Thrift Store at 100 Sparks Avenue. The building is packed and with everything drastically reduced, it’s a great time to stock up on Christmas needs.

While this is a great time for bargains for the Moberly area, it is a sad time for the Thrift Store. According to Manager Jodie Asbury, the thrift store employs four to six clients who are in some way disabled. These people do such things as sort clothing, put items away, and clean. They earn a very minimal wage but they are being productive.

The problem is, the thrift store has no heat and is in such disrepair, it cannot remain open during the winter. This is money lost for RCSI and reduces the number of jobs for the clients.

Everything in the thrift store is donated, said Asbury, RCSI does not purchase any of the items for sale. Things are quite cheap there said Asbury because items have to move fast.

The thrift shop is small and unheated. There is another building where clothing and a limited amount of furniture is stored. These things must be placed in the building strategically, however, for if it rains, it comes straight through and things like clothing, chairs, couches and mattresses get wet and sometimes unusable. There is no way to secure the building, so it is entered by the rodents and animals that make the area their home.

“Our mission,” said Greg Kohls, RCSI Manager, is to provide dignified, meaningful employment to the handicapped in a safe environment.”

That is a difficult mission to accomplish.

In the main building, clients help with recycling. There is a station and a machine for crushing cans, shredding paper, baling cardboard boxes, even tearing apart and rebuilding pallets. These jobs are in a building that has heat but no air conditioning so work stops when temperatures soar in the summer.

There are other jobs inside. Computers, VCRs, stereos, etc. are taken apart. Usable pieces are sorted into boxes while the rest is thrown away. Toys, books and other items are sorted and stored for later use at the thrift store.

While the work environment is not very good, it could be non-existent soon.

“When Shapiro came in,” said Asbury, “They gave us five years rent free. We are two and a half years into it.”

After that time, they will likely be somewhere else, if they are still open.

Asbury and Kohls have dreams.

“Right now, we can recycle anything but glass and Styrofoam,” said Kohls. “I would like to get a new piece of equipment that can recycle Styrofoam.

Asbury has bigger dreams.

“I would like to have an 8,000 sq. ft. building,” said Asbury. “That would let us display the furniture, hang the clothing, and store things. We have a sister store in Maryville. They started off just like us. Now they have a nice store in a prime location. It has a nice atmosphere and nice jobs for the handicapped.”

There is hope, hope that lies with Randolph county citizens. It is called Proposition O (for opportunity) and is on the Nov. 2 ballot. Proposition O asks for an increase in property taxes by 15 cents per each 100 dollars assessed valuation to “establish, improve, and/or maintain a sheltered workshop and/or residence facility and/or related services for developmentally disabled and handicapped persons”.

Asbury said a board would be established and requests would be submitted to the board for funding. Monies would be available for rental facilities, equipment, clothing racks — and maybe an 8,000 sq. ft. building.

Kohls said approval of Proposition O would mean more funds than the Proposition alone would provide.

“I have an application for a $50,000 grant for new equipment,” said Kohls. “But I need $13,000 to match. We don’t have $13,000 so I can’t apply for the grant. There are lots of grants that are going someplace. They might as well come to our county.”

Kohls said it would also mean new jobs, and not just for the handicapped.

“If we can hire another 20 clients,” said Kohls, “I will need another supervisor. That’s a mainstream job. If I can get more equipment and have more to recycle, I will need another truck driver. That’s another mainstream job.”

Asbury is looking for good inexpensive blankets now that her clients could buy.

“I want some that I can sell them for one or two dollars,” she said. They like it when they can buy something themselves. They don’t feel like they’re getting charity.”

Asbury and her entire family volunteer at Shelter Industries.

“I did the whole corporate thing,” she said, “but it wasn’t for me.”

Then she told a story about visiting handicapped people with her grandmother as a child. It took a while but she finally formed a close connection with come of the people.

“They are nothing but love,” said Asbury. “They just want to live and love.”