Marlene Wainscott
Bates County Clerk
Oct 20, 2020
Important notice from the Bates County Clerk's office
And here came the highway...
Oct 19, 2020
Haze and gusts limit air traffic
What’s Upby LeRoy Cook
The weather didn’t cooperate for flying during a lot of this past week, with wind gusts to 40 knots and smoke from Colorado wildfires adding haze to the atmosphere. Still and all, some flights were gotten in. We waited for the wind to abate late in the day, flying just before darkness set in.
About the only transient traffic I saw was a Piper Arrow making the VOR-A instrument approach and a Cessna Skyhawk flying the RNAV-18 GPS approach. Locally, Jeremie Platt flew his Grumman Tiger and several Cessna 150 sorties came and went.
As we progress into fall, and eventually winter, the days are getting shorter. Come November 1, we’ll lose the ability to fly in daylight after work, when the long-delayed return to Standard Time takes place. Better prepare to get up early to take advance of whatever daylight is still available.
Venerable old Mooney Aircraft, based in Kerrville, Texas, has been wrested from the clutches of Chinese investors and is now owned by American interests. Mooney has had hard times, what with the Covid-induced recession in new plane sales, but the workers in the Texas hill country plant are inured to such hardship. They’ve been laid off, then called back, then laid off again, over the years. For now, they’re making vital spare parts for the existing fleet, and waiting for orders for new aircraft to pick up.
Used plane sales are spotty; the big overpriced iron is only trading at steep discounts, while useful utility airplanes like reliable old Cessna Skyhawks have actually appreciated. An airplane is still a tool, and if tools are needed to do a job, they’ll always been worth the price. Right now, travel without undue expose to Covid risk is attractive, making little airplanes a good option.
Our question of the week was about whether there had ever been a pilot licensed to fly who has no arms—not just a foot or hand missing, but no upper limbs. The answer, as Butch Leuthart of Rolla confirmed, is yes. Jessica Cox was born armless but grew up using her feet as hands. She flies her Ercoupe crosslegged and does just fine. For next week, does anyone know why the Light Sport Airplane category has a weight limit of exactly 1320 pounds? Send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.
 | Virus-free. www.avg.com |
Oklahoma woman arrested in Bates County
She was arrested for 1.) Felony Johnson County Kansas Sheriff's Office Warrant 2.) Felony Possession of a controlled substance.
Rose A. Scudiero was booked into the Bates County Jail in Butler and she is currently being held on no bond.
Copyright Mid America Live News
Disclaimer: Arrest records are public information. Any indication of an arrest does not mean the individual identified has been convicted of a crime. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Obituary - Michael Shawn Barnett
Memorial contributions may be made to the family. Messages of condolence may be left for the family at www.mullinaxfuneralhome.com.
Michael Shawn “Berry” Barnett was born to Patricia and Louis Strain in Butler, MO on the 28th of July 1970. He attended school and grew up in Louisburg Kansas. He moved to Butler, where he met, and married the love of his life Kathy Jo Bridges on June 26, 1999. Berry worked construction. Berry and Kathy moved to Drexel in 2005, a community they loved and he chose with his wife to raise their children.
Berry was an avid sports fan, in particular of his beloved Kansas City Chiefs. Next to his family, football was the second greatest love of his life. One of his greatest joys was seeing the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. He was himself a youth football coach in Drexel for 13 years.
Proceeded in death by his brother Curtis Strain, his father Louis Strain, and his grandfather Olen Harris. He leaves behind his wife Kathy Barnett of the home, sons Dakota (Koty) and Wyatt Barnett of the home, son Ian Bridges of Drexel, MO, and daughter Harley Reece (Holden) Merwin, MO, grandchildren Nevaeh, Skyden, AJ, and Ryder Reece, and Damon and Octavia Bridges. His mother Patricia Strain of Louisburg, KS, brother Paul Barnett (Ronnie) of Louisburg, KS, sisters Rhonda Powers of Paola, KS, Vanessa Strain of Lane, KS, and grandmother Doris Harris of Butler, MO. Along with numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and loved ones.
Chiefs tailgate/watch party following the celebration of life. Don’t forget to wear your KC gear and go red for Berry! He will be dearly missed by many…
From the city of Harrisonville
Grant was born and raised in Harrisonville, and brings with him nearly 20 years of Parks & Rec experience and a track record that will continue to drive Harrisonville toward growth and success.
Please join us in welcoming Grant back to our wonderful community.
For more details, visit >> http://harrisonville.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1486
Obituary - Charles L. Faulkner
No services are scheduled at this time, and a complete obituary will be added when it becomes available.
60 years of memories: Wild Weather In Butler
60 Years of Memories of Butler
by James Ring
Over the years, we’ve seen weather extremes on both ends of the scale, and everywhere in between. Bates County, on the edge of transition from timbered Missouri to prairie Kansas, gets to see weather changes almost daily, or even hourly. There’s nothing out here in fly-over country to shelter us or retard the progression of weather systems. Twenty below cold, tornadoes, floods, 100-degree heat and wild winds are just par for the course.
We used to have REAL winters, in that the roads would drift shut with snow, Butler would have piles of dirty used snow around the Square, and the six weeks between Christmas and Ground Hog’s Day would be a progression of cold and wet . We stocked up on fuel and food, and we dealt with it. More than once, my old car would get parked nosedown against the curb on the Square and I couldn’t get traction with my smooth tires to back out. A few Good Samaritans would push and shove until I could get loose.
I learned to carry tire chains in the trunk in the winter, rather than leave them hanging on the garage wall. While I rarely put them on the rear wheels of the car to clatter around town, they came in handy to lay down on a slick spot to gain purchase when I was having trouble getting moving. You just had to remember to go back and retrieve them after you could stop on a bare spot.
A shovel was standard equipment in the trunk as well, to dig down to pavement if you high-centered in a bad stretch of snow. We learned that “bustin’ drifts” was not really a good idea if you didn’t know how deep they were. Four-wheel drive vehicles were limited to Jeeps and an occasional war-surplus truck. Today, everybody has a 4x4 pickup, many of which never see dirt.
The winters became milder over the years, so “climate change” is not particularly new; it’s been changing for the last half-century or so. The highway department used to stock snow fence to sit up in fields next to a highway that was noted for drifting closed, keeping the snow in the pasture before it could blow into the road. There was one particular winter when the weather was so bad Deems Farm Equipment took delivery of some John Deere snowmobiles from dealers up in Iowa; the fun only lasted a few weeks.
Spring and summer floods were another regular occurrence. It was common to have Mound Branch close South Main road, and the Miami Creek on 52 West would get over the road before running down into the Maris de Cygne river. The Big Flood of 1993 was particularly bad, and it recalled earlier times when Old U.S. 71 would be under water north of Rich Hill. There was one day when Butler was an island, with roads blocked in all directions by high water on the main roads. We locals could get around through country roads, with trial and error.
And the summers regularly brought 100-degree afternoons in late July and August. There was an outdoor thermometer on the north side of Tull’s Rexall Drug store on Chestnut street, and I passed it noting 110 degrees every day in one hot week. Those were mercury-filled thermometers, which of course are horribly unsafe by today’s environmental safety standards. I didn’t own an air-conditioned car until the 1970s, and we raised our kids under primitive conditions, with only open windows and fans to keep cool. School started with big open windows and a teacher-supplied fan, until fall brought some relief. Today, we have to have climate-controlled schoolrooms, and houses and businesses are sealed cocoons.
On the Square, we sat outside on sidewalk benches under the shade of business house awnings, some of which were canvas, cranked out to extend the shade and protect window displays. There were a few screen doors in some of the smaller businesses, and some were just wide open. The apartments over the stores around the square had skylight structures with ventilation windows to let out the heat. And do you know what a “transom” was? It was a small pop-open window above an office door that would let air circulate through (and conversation as well) when the door was closed. So much for survival in the weather extremes of 60 years ago.
Click link below to listen to Monday newsOct 18, 2020
Bears go 7 and 0
IT WAS A GREAT DAY Saturday as the Butler Bears beat El Dorado Springs 18-13 giving them a perfect record of 7-0. They head to Lone Jack this Friday with hopes of returning 8-0. Good luck!
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