Henry County Sheriff seeking whereabouts of Janice Cook

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office continues assisting in the ongoing missing person investigation involving Janice Cook, as concern for her well-being continues to grow.

Those who know Janice have advised that her disappearance is completely out of character, and her family and friends remain deeply concerned for her safety. If you have seen Janice or have any information regarding where she may be, we ask that you please come forward. No piece of information is too small and may be critical in helping bring answers to those who care deeply for her.

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office remains actively involved and will continue working hand-in-hand with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and Pettis County Sheriff’s Office as leads continue to develop across jurisdictional lines. All agencies involved are actively following up on investigative leads and will provide more substantial information if and when it becomes available.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at 660-747-2265, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 660-885-5587 or Lt. Kubilus at 660-885-7328, or their nearest local law enforcement agency.

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Reports from the Bates County Commission

March 30, 2026 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner John Gray and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present.

John spoke at the Capital on Tuesday the 24th and spoke over SB40 and Shelter Workshops across Missouri. He also visited the offices of Denny Hoskins, Rick Brattin, Dane Deihl and the State Auditors.

Trent and Jim attended the West Central Commissioners Association at the Capital on Thursday the 26th.

Shelly Harrison, Jami Page, Terry Bettels, Jean Furr, Danyelle Baker, and Kacie Robey with Bates County Women, met with the Commission to follow up on the signing on the American 250 Resolution.

Trent made a motion to put Resolution 26-001 in place for the 250th Celebration and Commemoration of the United States. John seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried. No opposition. Jim signed the Resolution and pictures were taken.

The Commission sat down together and discussed recent concerns and caught up on some situations.

John explained a meeting with the Wall That Heals Committee that took place in the Commissioner’s Office that Jim had caught wind of and had concerns over it. Jim mentioned that he did not like people using the back door to enter the building, so John just wanted to clear the air that it was a meeting that had nothing to do with work related issues. John then asked Jim about a meeting between Meghan Robbins, Trent and Jim that took place after hours. Jim and Trent explained that she only stopped in to ask about the software and how it was coming along. John asked if the meeting was recorded and told them that it was an illegal meeting.

John then continued to speak on the Software and the bid process that took place. He also informed the other two Commissioners of information he had learned from different individuals. He learned that Ulrich has kept data from Counties that have left. John also has an issue with this as well, as that data belongs to the County. Jim pointed out that it does state in the Contract that Ulrich understands that the data belongs to the County, but John is worried because that did not stop them from holding data hostage from other Counties. Ulrich uses the same DOS system that the current software uses, but there is a significant increase in money totals and then the chance of losing the Counties data if they decide to leave. Trent said that he spoke to several individuals at the West Central Commissioners’ Association and heard nothing but good things, to which John agreed he has heard great things as well, but he wants to make sure the County is covered in case anything should happen, due to the bad things he has heard. Jim stated that he had talked to people about Vanguard but there wasn’t a side for the Collectors Office and he too heard that Vanguard had several issues when paired with another company and was warned to use a company that had both offices available.

John informed the Commission about the bid proposal from Vanguard that was sent to the Assessor’s Office before there was a bid placed and asked if the Commission wanted to send the Contract over to their Attorney so they could make sure it’s all ironclad over the issues they have. John doesn’t like that there isn’t a Termination of Cause in the Contract.

John threw out the idea that Ulrich sends us our data every six months. Jim thought that there was already something in place that had been backing up our data but was unsure. He then said he was going to call Ivan and see what the holdup was. John stated that he sent over a copy of the Contract to Ivan this morning and one to his attorney was well.

As Jim was on the phone with Ivan, John spoke to Trent about how he felt it was unprofessional that the Collector and Assessor received the bid for Ulrich on February 17th and waited until March 9th to come in and demand signatures and to move forward.

Jim got off the phone with Ivan and explained that Ivan stated that most of the companies will not put anything in a contract for releasing data.

The Commission agreed that it’s time to get away from Governmentor but wants the County to be covered in all areas before they switch. He wants to wait to hear back from the attorneys before making any moves. He stated that the money that is going to be spent is from the Taxpayers and he wants to make sure it’s being spent carefully.

Jim got a call from Sam Ulrich and they said they will be sending over an addendum to download and transfer data by Wednesday. They have rewritten the Contracts, and the Commission is going to review them.

Cathy Pittman came in and asked the Commission about the process of making some of her personal property into a personal burial site.

April 1, 2026 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner John Gray and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present.

Ellen Galab came in and addressed issues that she was having with the Assessor’s Office. The Commission was able to contact the DMV, make more sense of the situation and ease her mind until the Assessor's Office was able to distribute the waiver she needed, as their software was down. Jim went to Assessor's Office to check into the situation and there was nothing that could be done until the software was up and running again.

Christian Farris, with Viebrock, came in and presented a bid to the Commission. Great River had put out a bid for the Bridge #48500121 Project happening at County Road 3286. Great River expected another bid, but they never showed. The Commission was under the impression that Great River would be in attendance as well, so John called Zack Olivias and lined out the situation. Zach apologized, he was only planning on a follow-up call when the decision was made.

John made the motion to accept Viebrock’s bid. Trent seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried. No opposition.

Kacie Robey, with the Treasurer/Collector Office, and Carl Bettels, with the Assessor’s Office, came into follow-up on the Software Bid progression. Meghan Robbins and Carolyn Lake joined alongside Carl and was accompanied by Lonny Duckworth and Troy Hendrix.

Right off the bat, Jim called for a motion to be accepted to sign the contracts for the Software. There was no second motion made. Two voted Aye in favor and one not voting.

Jim reminded Carl and Kacie to get with Ulrich and updated them that Ulrich is still waiting for the NDA to be signed by iNetVisions, their attorney is still looking into things before they sign. He then went over the contracts, reading the part that needed to be updated before they signed where they state there is a three-year contract and a data release agreement.

Trent spoke over conversations he had with other Commissioners and how they talked highly about Ulrich. Kacie then explained that she and Carl did her research and strived for software that was going to benefit the county best, they didn’t just jump into this. They needed something that isn’t as outdated and better customer service. She explained that she enjoys Gene, he’s just getting old. Carl then chimed in and mentioned that it’s about time for Gene to start thinking about retiring.

Chris Gach joined the meeting to observe.

Contracts were signed and they are going to make copies.

John asked Kacie if he could have a few minutes of her time, to which she happily said yes. John mentioned that he had seen some of her comments on social media about the HR contract that was explained in previous minutes. He explained to her when the Commission spoke about the HR contract, when HR came in and met with the Commission and when the contract was signed. Kacie mentioned that she appreciated the information and thanked John.

Several individuals from West Point, Homer and Prairie Townships came in and spoke once more about the Solar Farms that are to be joining Bates County. Chris Gach was still in attendance, as well.

These individuals were here to push the questions they had asked the Commissioners’ at the last solar meeting. Jim and John both were told by Clearway that they would be in attendance, but they were a no show. The Commission informed these individuals that they had no agreement with the Chapter 100 Bonds, and they haven’t had many conversations to speed up the process, just emails here and there.

There were mentions of Ordinances the Commission could pass if they go fully taxable, since no one expects these Solar Companies to back out.

Brent Bettels pushed the Commission, again, to be the ones to reach out and make the move to get a meeting put in place so the citizens can ask questions directly and get the answers they deserve.

The Commission also mentioned that they have not seen any contracts that the Solar Companies are giving the landowners or the neighboring landowners, so contracts were presented and copied for the Commission and any other individuals that wanted one. Chad Wiley also shared a map of where the panels will be located. The map was also copied and passed around to any individual that wanted one.

They spoke over reclamation and decommissioning bonds, again.

John said he did speak with Clearway to try and rush them and that is when they said they would be in attendance.

It was asked why this had been hidden, to which John replied that it had been in the minutes on Facebook. Jim asked the individuals to spread the word and get questions that they might have, to which an individual stated that it should be the Southern and Northern Commissioners’ job. John stated that they had been.

It was also noted that Ivan Schrader testified in Court that he was an employee of these Solar Companies and is currently in a lawsuit in Henry County. John noted such matters and stated he was going to investigate that and thanked Stan Klinksick for the information.

Chad asked when the Commission would get a contract from GilmoreBell, John said they are waiting for the Commission to get back with them and hoped they’d know more next week.

They spoke over numbers and percentages, but the Commission cannot give them a certain amount due to not having that information from the Solar Companies.

Chad asked if the Commission could send out letters to inform citizens about the solar farm project and to get meeting dates figured out, but John felt as if it would be best for the Solar Companies to do that, but agreed to do so.

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Recipe of the Week

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Bates County Court news

Judge Julie Highley-Keutzer presiding

Fines do not include added court costs

City of Butler v Jewell Cochran- expired plates, fine $50.50

St v Richard Petrey- fishing without permit, fine $149.50

St v Jacob Hensley- seatbelt violation, fine $10.00

St v Scott Sawyer- speeding, fine $80.50

City of Butler v Ahmed Babar- defective equipment, fine $165.50

City of Butler v Joshua Schuman- expired plates, fine $50.50

City of Butler v Johnathan Tarvin- displaying plates of another, fine $50.50

City of Rich Hill v Nathaniel Driver- speeding, fine $120.50

City of Butler v Duane Scrogham- parking violation, fine $50.50

City of Butler v Zackary Underwood- fail to register vehicle, fine $50.50

City of Adrian v Mason Rusow- expired plates, fine $50.50

St v Tina Jones- speeding, fine $50.50

St v Vincent Shields- speeding, fine $50.50

St v Darius Harris- speeding, fine $50.50

St v Tristen Bowden- speeding, fine $120.50

St v Ryan Anderson- excess window tint, fine $50.50

St v Kevin Cockrum- possession of controlled substance, 5 years DOC, SES, 5 years probation

City of Adrian v Jacob Mumma- speeding, fine $120.50

City of Adrian v Kendall Bailey- expired plates, fine $50.50

St v Marcus Lemon- Felony D stealing, SES, 5 years probation

City of Rich Hill v Ashley Detienne- animal at large, fine $50.50

City of Adrian v Brian McGuire- fail to stop at stop sign, fine $60.50

City of Rich Hill v Ashley Detienne- no animal license, fine $50.50

St v Rose Smith- no working horn, fine $200.00

City of Butler v William Skinner- parking violation, fine $50.50

St v Patricia Alvarez- speeding, fine $120.50

St v Jose Alvarez- seatbelt violation, fine $10.00

City of Butler v Dennis Appleberry- parking violation, fine $50.50

St v Patricia West- fail to yield, 2 years supervised probation

St v Kathy Carver- speeding, fine $80.50

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Bates County real estate transfers and marriage licenses

Farr, Richard A to Jones, Stephanie J Str 34-42-31 //Sw

Smith, Shea M to Englebrick, Matthew C Str 2-42-32

Watts, James B to S & T Royal Properties Bl 59 Butler, Original Town Of

Dead Water Duck Club to RNJ Properties Str 10-38-32 //Se

Pajula, Kevin Rae to Rogers, Heather Lt 5 Bl 1 Harper's (Albert) Subds 23-40-31+

Kimbrough, Kevin D to Kimbrough, Chad Str 16-40-33 //Nw

Wendleton, Henry to Coopman, Cierra Str 4-40-31 //Se

Teeman, Barbara Ann to Smith, Catherine Lt 6 Bl 1 Harper's (Albert) Subds 23-40-31

Copsey, Evan R. III (Trustee) to Copsey, Evan Reese III (Co-Trustee) Str 35-39-32 //Sw

Marriage license

Snider, Kevin Dwayne and Grah, Brenda Louise

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What's Up by LeRoy Cook

Senator Escapes Injury

Green-up continued last week, boosted  by heavy rainfall. The surviving winter wheat shows some color and the new corn is coming up, so aerial excursions are looking more spring-like. Soon we’ll be complaining about the rough air from thermal updrafts. 

Local air traffic was on and off over the past week. A regular Cirrus SR22 was in, a Piper Archer came by and the usual Army Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter made an arrival. Of the local fleet, Jim Ferguson’s Cessna Skylane flew, the club Skyhawk made some circuits, and the Air Tractor sprayplane was busy aiding farmers inoculate some crop fields. The SkyDive KC jump plane also did some weekend runs.

U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy from Montana escaped injury on Friday when the engine quit in a light trainer airplane he was flying during his scheduled recurrency training. Fortunately, he’s an experienced air tanker fire-bomber pilot, his career before becoming a politician, and was able to execute the forced landing into a pasture without damage.

The big news of the week, of course, was the Artimus loop-around-the-moon mission that recovered successfully last Friday. The Iran War was even put on hold temporarily while the world focused on the PC-chosen crew’s problems with the capsule’s toilet. We’re glad they’re back safe, and they’re no doubt grateful to have fresh air to breathe.

If you are looking to buy a new turbine-powered aerial application aircraft, there’s only one place to spend your money, as of last week. It was announced that Air Tractor Holdings, builder of the big yellow cropdusters, has purchased Thrush Aircraft, its main competitor. Both types were designed by Leland Snow, who sold his first duster to Rockwell in the 1970s, then started up Air Tractor.

The FAA recently announced that it plans to hire 2,400 air traffic controllers this year, and 100 more each year thereafter, trying to overcome chronic staff shortages at the nation’s airports. Problem is, a hiree does not a controller make; it takes years of development to bring a new controller to full proficiency, and 30 percent of those enrolled never get there. Best prospects are video gamers, it’s been found.

An outfit called Reliable Robotics just completed a testing program at Hollister, California to promote “detect and avoid” technology for operating remotely-piloted drones in airport traffic patterns, integrated with regular traffic. Of course, it was entirely successful and the drone pilot evaded all human-occupied aircraft...this time. The FAA is under Congressional mandate to bring us all together. Hopefully, not literally.

Our previous question was about the airplane that was sold by Sears Roebuck in the 1940s. The answer was, the Ercoupe 415C two seater, which was also shown in some department stores. For this week, we want to know, is it possible to burn aviation gasoline in an aircraft with a turbine engine? You can send your answer to kochhaus1@gmail.com.

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The Museum Minute: Firebug sought

Courtesy of the Bates County Museum 802 Elks Drive, Butler Mo 64730 (660) 679-0134

Herrman’s Historical Happenings week of April 15

1884 A Grand Army of the Republic meeting is held in Adrian with a gigantic supper provided by the Howerton Hotel.

1892 The Worland Watchman newspaper begins publication with W.D. Sylvester acting as editor.

1895 A late night storm literally floods the city of Rich Hill.

1905 The Independent Order of Good Templars install a temple at Passaic with 24 members.

1927 American Legion Post #46 announces a World War memorial will be dedicated on Decoration Day (Doughboy statue on Butler Courthouse lawn).

1955 Harmony School, established in 1872, closes. Shawnee township.

1979 A reward of $400 is offered for the arrest of a firebug responsible for several torchings in Butler in recent months.

2000 A capacity crowd enjoys the Ballard Schools dinner theatre, feature food and fun with "If Boys Wore The Skirts" and "Chicago ERR". Ginger Moore, Director.

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BCMH honors Kim Keating

On April 6, Bates County Memorial Hospital celebrated Kim Keating with a retirement party honoring her 12 years of service.

Kim most recently served as Director of Quality and Risk Management, a role she has held since 2023. She began her time with BCMH in the 1990s as a Nursing Administration Assistant, later returning in 2014. Over the years, she contributed in several areas including Family Care Clinics, Patient Centered Health Home, Information Technology, and Human Resources.

During her career at BCMH, Kim shared that she is most proud of supporting employees and managers through challenges and encouraging others to grow beyond their comfort zones.

“I feel so proud of what we’ve done here together. Every single one of us knows we’re not doing this job for ourselves. We’re doing it for our patients,” Kim said during her retirement reception. “I’m so appreciative of all of you, and what you’ve built in me as a person, and what you continue to build in the community.”

In retirement, Kim plans to spend more time traveling, enjoying hobbies, and making memories with family and friends. She and her husband, Tim, are looking forward to putting her retirement gift to good use, with many miles ahead in her new hiking boots, trekking poles, and gear.

BCMH is grateful for Kim’s dedication and the lasting impact she has made on patients, employees, and the community.

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