BCSO teams up with Nevada police, takes down child predator

In June 2025, Detectives with the Sheriff's Office took a report of a child sexual assault which spanned several states and multiple jurisdictions, to include Bates County.

Detectives in Bates County began working closely with Nevada, Missouri Police Department Detectives to gather information, locate witnesses and establish a timeline of the alleged assaults.

On 07/11/2025, Bates County Detectives submitted a probable cause statement and on 07/18/2025, the suspect, identified as Taylor Wayne Zander, was charged with the following:

2 counts of Statutory Rape or Attempted Statutory Rape 1st degree victim less than 12,

4 counts of Statutory Sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy- deviate sexual intercourse-person less than 12,

1 count of Child Molestation 2nd degree- child less than 12,

7 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child Creating Substantial Risk- 1st degree- sexual conduct.

A warrant was issued by the honorable Judge Highley with a $1 Million Cash Only bond.

Zander was also charged in Vernon County and had an active warrant in their jurisdiction in relation to this case as well.

Nevada Detectives and Bates County Detectives requested assistance from the US Marshal Service in locating Zander, and on 07/17/2025, Zander was located and taken into custody by agents with the US Marshal Service.

This case is ongoing and no further information will be released at this time. If you have information about this case, or other crimes against children, please reach out to Detective Fishbaugh at (660) 679-3232.

Little Apple News

 

July 16, 2025

The Community Blood Center (CBC) is the primary provider of blood and blood components to 70 plus hospitals and medical centers in the Greater Kansas City Region.  CBC will conduct a life-saving blood drive on Friday, July 25 from 2:00-6:00 p.m. at Ellett Memorial Hospital, 610 N. Ohio St, Appleton City. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment by visiting savealifenow.org/group and using Group Code: EG2B but walk in donors are welcome.  For additional details, contact Julie Grubb at 660-476-5242 or Kayla Orear at 660-476-5214.

River of Life Fellowship hosts Third Sunday meetings each month called “All the More” meetings at 6:00 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend, and they will have a variety of “different kinds” of meetings over the year including singspirations, times of fellowship, formal and more informal times of worship.  Sunday, July 20, they are hosting a Worship Singspiration and encourage you to come and hear great music (and maybe bring a song or two to share as well).  They will enjoy some snacks and fellowship after the meeting.

Trinity Lutheran Church, Appleton City, Mo, will be hosting “Christmas in July” VBS July 21-24 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. They will be following the star to the cradle of our Lord. Join them for cool crafts, great music, and fellowship with friends. Dinner will be provided each evening. Registration begins at the door at 5:45 p.m. July 21. For their mission this year, they will be collecting non-perishable food for West Central Food Bank. 

The 2025 EMH Community Block Party will be Saturday, September 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  If you are interested in vendor space, please contact Kim Raybourn at 660-476-5236.  

Zink Motor Company is featured in the June 15, 2024 issue of Rural Missouri magazine.  A link to the article is https://ruralmissouri.org/drive-into-yesteryear/ Previous articles about local businesses include the Rustic Duck from January 2023, https://ruralmissouri.org/rustic-duck/ The AC Carousel from July, 2024 https://ruralmissouri.org/a-gift-for-the-kids-2/ and the awarding of “Kid Friendly Attraction” in “The Best of Rural Missouri 2024”,  April, 2024, https://ruralmissouri.org/best-of-rural-missouri-2024/

The Appleton City Ministerial Alliance meets throughout the year providing community services and opportunities for the area churches to gather together for worship.  Additionally, the ACMA helps people through the region in a variety of ways.  In 2023 the ACMA founded the Tony Reynolds Memorial Scholarship, which is a $1000 scholarship awarded locally to an area student pursuing continuing education post-high school.  Some in the community have asked about the ability to make donations directly towards the scholarship fund that are not used in other ACMA endeavors.  At any time, you may make donations towards the ACMA and we encourage you to do so.  You may make donations at any of our community meetings, or feel free to contact one of the ministers serving in the ACMA for more information.  

The Appleton City Carousel is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday 4:00-7:00 p.m. until Labor Days weekend. The Carousel added the 35th state of Connecticut to their Visitors Map. States left to visit the Carousel are AK, AL, AZ, DE, HI, ID, IN, LA, ND, NJ, MT, PA, RI, SC, WY and Washington DC.  Six Countries have visited Belize, Denmark, Haiti, Italy, S. Korea and Spain. If anyone in the area has visitors from an unvisited state or country, Linda Lampkin is willing to meet them in off hours. Leave a message at 660-492-0131.

Growing In Grace Community Center, 117 W 4th St, ACMO is sponsoring a community dinner featuring food and music August 2.  Fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, corn, homemade bread, salad bar and dessert will be served 3:00-6:00 p.m. Music will be provided by Freedom Tabernacle Church from Osceola and James Damon from 4:00-6:00 p.m. They will also have a kids’ fun day August  16 with food, games, cotton, candy, slushies and more, including balloon twister at 4:00 p.m. Both events are donation only.

The Appleton City Museum is open Friday afternoons 1:30-4:30 through September 26, with other times by chance or appointment.  Contact Susan at 660-464-0288.  New exhibits have been added including stained glass window from the original First Baptist Church and a beautiful framed mirror from Motts Food Locker in Rockville.  Bring your family to learn about Appleton City’s history

“The Little Apple” was started by the A. C. Economic Development as way of informing residents of news and events sponsored by area businesses and organizations.  Items of a clearly personal nature, such as birthdays, anniversaries, awards (not group sponsored), personal sales and the like are not accepted for publication. Items may be edited for accuracy, grammar or space restrictions. Please email articles for “The Little Apple” to dcp81@embarqmail.com by Tuesday evenings or bring them to Dr. Payton’s office to be included in that week’s edition. To receive "The Little Apple" free by e-mail, or to be removed from the email list, send your e-mail address to dcp81@embarqmail.com If you have changed your email address, please send the current address, so the list can be updated.

Ellett Memorial Hospital Appleton City offers outpatient specialist services for July, 2025. Call 660-476-2111 for appointments. July 16 – Upper GI, Colonoscopy-Dr. Namin, July 17– Podiatry- Dr. Pace, July 18 – Ortho- Laura Noble, FNP,  July 23 - Ortho-Dr. Gray,  July 25 – Dermatology – Dylan Timmerman, PA,   July 29– Rheumatology-Dr. John,  July 31-Neurology- Dr.- Shoaib. 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July 20     River of Life Fellowship hosts Third Sunday “All the More” meeting 6:00 p.m.

July 21-24     Trinity Lutheran Church, ACMO, “Christmas in July” VBS 6:00-8:00 p.m.

July 25     Blood Drive at Ellett Memorial Hospital 2:00-6:00 p.m.

Local lunch program receives boost from Catholic Charities

The Butler Christian Ministerial Alliance has received a generous $2000.00 donation from the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and has 'paid it forward' to Carpenters Cup to help defray the cost of the summer lunch program.  

The free lunch program was the brain child of the late Alvina Harrison-Wells to address the need for feeding school age children during summer vacation.  Carpenter's Cup distributes the sack lunches, Monday through Friday at the Bandstand on the Butler Square. 

Some 110 lunches are distributed daily courtesy of McDonald's, Sonic and Pizza Hut however, hand made lunches with ham sandwiches and other favorites are also part of the program. The $2000 donation will greatly help to offset costs according to Becky Clift of the Carpenter's Cup "We pack each lunch as a complete meal that includes a dessert and condiments, and it all adds up real quick."

She said it's not unusual to spend $700 per shopping trip even being as thrifty as possible. "Even though, we are blessed by this and all donations we receive. No one should miss a good, free meal and that's our goal."

While the boost from Catholic Charities greatly helps, it won't last long, according to Clift and anyone who would like to make any type of tax deductible donation should stop by the Carpenter's Cup in Butler or give them a call at 660-679-3333.

Obituary - Larry Dale Vogt

Larry Dale Vogt

January 17, 1945 - June 29, 2025

Funeral Service
Tuesday July 22, 2025
at 1:00 p.m.
Heuser Funeral Home
Graveside Interment
Balltown Cemetery • Horton, Missouri

Larry Dale Vogt was born January 17, 1945. Larry was a graduate of the class of 1963 at Rich Hill, MO. He was in the Army Reserves after graduation. He was a retired Accountant and Mortgage Broker. He passed away June 29, 2025 at his home in New Albany, IN. Larry was proceeded in death by his mother Nadine Seater, his sister Charlene (Vogt) Smith, and his step-brother, Bob Seater.

Car show in Butler postponed

 FOR ANYONE PLANNING to attend the car show on the Butler square this weekend, please note that plans have changed and the show will likely be held in September instead.

We will post info once it becomes available!

71 down, 94 to go

 

Five more Quilts of Valor were presented to area Veterans this morning during the monthly breakfast sponsored by Good Shepherd Hospice of Butler. Recipients were L-R: Jerry Crump, Wesley Cumpton, Chris Moree, Herman Schubert and David Williams. To date, Rocking Chair Quilts of Butler has presented 71 quilts and another 94 are in the works.

While the monthly breakfast is usually held on the third Friday at Happy Hill Church, note that the August breakfast will be held on the 22nd and if you would like to donate to the program contact Marsha at Rocking Chair Quilts by calling 660-679-2226.

Nationwide, over 416,000 Quilts of Valor have been presented since the program began in 2003; more information can be found HERE.

BCMH Announces Additional Community Meetings

Bates County Memorial Hospital (BCMH) has announced two additional community meetings following its successful series of summer town hall events in Adrian, Rich Hill, Butler, and Hume.

These meetings are part of the hospital’s continued effort to reintroduce residents to their local hospital — offering updates on services, addressing questions about healthcare access and sustainability, and opening the door for more direct communication between hospital leadership and the communities they serve.

The newly scheduled events include:

Amsterdam Area Community Talk
Tuesday, August 5 at 6:00 p.m.
Amsterdam Community Center, 8524 NW State Rt. Y, Amsterdam, Mo.
Residents of Amsterdam, Amoret, Virginia, and nearby areas are encouraged to attend for a conversation about local healthcare and hospital services.

Elected Officials Briefing
Thursday, August 21 at 6:00 p.m.
BCMH Education Center, 615 W. Nursery Street, Butler, Mo.
All city, county, and township elected officials in Bates County are invited to attend a focused briefing and open discussion on hospital operations, challenges, and future planning.

The August events build on the momentum of BCMH’s June community talks, which brought forward valuable questions about mental health care, EMS funding, physician recruitment, and hospital stability in today’s rural healthcare landscape. Leaders from across the organization were on hand to speak directly with attendees and share how the hospital is responding to these challenges and opportunities.

“These meetings have been a meaningful way for us to listen, share information, and connect with our community in a personal and transparent way,” said BCMH CEO Greg Weaver. “We’re grateful for the turnout and the honest questions we’ve received so far — and we’re looking forward to continuing those conversations this August.”

Please note: These corrected dates replace those included in an earlier announcement. BCMH appreciates the community’s attention and understanding.

For more information and ongoing updates, visit www.bcmhospital.com/news.

Obituary - Diane Bradley

 Diane Nadean (née Perry) Bradley of Columbia, Missouri, age 80, passed away on July 12, 2025, in St. Louis after a long illness. The immediate cause of death was heart failure.

Diane was born on November 8, 1944, in Nevada, Missouri to Nadean Adeline (née Smith) and James Ervel Perry and grew up in Rich Hill, Missouri. She graduated from Rich High School and Central Missouri State University with a degree in music education.

Diane had a difficult life. For decades, she suffered from nearly untreatable depression. At times, the disease was so consuming that it pushed out almost everything else. When the disease receded, she sold real estate, worked in a variety of odd jobs, and got to live the place that she loved most, the Florida Gulf Coast. She loved animals, nature, and was incredibly empathetic to the suffering of others.

Diane was very close to her parents and lived with them in Rich Hill at the end of their lives. During that time, she taught special education at Rich Hill Elementary.

She is survived by her two sons and their families: Colonel Matthew P. Bradley and his wife Lisa D. Bradley, Matt and Lisa’s children Bennet, Hayden, and Becket, Dr. D. Nathan Bradley and his wife Dr. Lyndsay B. Ball; her sister Carol and her husband Ron Johnson; and Diane’s ex-husband David D. Bradley.

Funeral Service will be held at 11 am, Saturday, July 19 at the Heuser Funeral Home.  Visitation will be from 10 am until service time.  Burial will follow at the Green Lawn Cemetery.