Gov. Nixon requests federal emergency declaration for state and local response to blizzard and severe winter storm that affected most of Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Jay Nixon today requested from President Barack Obama an emergency declaration for the entire state of Missouri to assist local jurisdictions and the state with the cost of responding to the record snowfall that affected almost the entire state, beginning on Jan. 31.
"This week's blizzard and severe winter storm hit with a fury, depositing up to 21 inches of snow, forcing the closure of almost the entire length of Interstate 70 and a significant portion of Interstate 44, and burdening local jurisdictions and the state with tremendous response costs," said Gov. Nixon. "I am asking the President to issue an emergency declaration to assist with some of the costs of this historic statewide response."

Gov. Nixon's request for an emergency declaration is for all 114 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis. Many communities received record or near-record snowfall totals, and they continue to dig out from the largest statewide snowfall in a generation. The declaration would enable the state and local governments to seek reimbursement for some of their costs in responding to the storm to protect public health and safety.

On Jan. 31, Gov. Nixon declared a state of emergency, which activated the State Emergency Operations Center and allowed state agencies to assist local jurisdictions with their emergency preparation and response. The same day, the Governor also activated 600 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen of the Missouri National Guard to support local emergency agencies. The Guard continues to assist communities across the state and the State Emergency Operations Center continues to operate 24 hours a day to aid local communities with resource requests.

Visit Governor Jay Nixon's web site here

Obituary - Maxine Ewing

C. Maxine Ewing Columbia SC. (formerly of Carroll, Iowa) Graveside services 11:30 am Thursday, February 3, Oak Hill Cemetery, Butler, MO.

Maxine Ewing, daughter of Cecil Mack Hawkins and Ruth Rush Hawkins, was born September 26, 1916, near Adrian, Bates County, Missouri and died January 31, 2011 at Still Hopes Retirement Community in Columbia S.C.


Following graduation from high school in Butler, Mo., Mrs. Ewing graduated from the College of Business in Kansas City, Mo. Mrs. Ewing worked as Deputy Circuit Clerk of Bates County, where she met Paul R. Ewing. They were married December 24, 1939. She later did secretarial work for the Federal Land Bank Office and a mortgage company in Butler. In 1954 Mrs. Ewing moved with her family to Lexington, Mo., and in 1958 to Carroll, IA. An accomplished knitter, she owned and operated the Knit Shop in Carroll for 15 years. She was a member of P.E.O. for over 50 years and a very active member of First Methodist Church and her church circle in Carroll.


In Carroll, Mrs. Ewing did volunteer work for St. Anthony Hospital, the Methodist church, and served as advisor to the Rainbow Girls. She enjoyed social activities with her friends, flowers and gardening, writing, watching baseball games, reading and knitting at her home in later years.


Surviving are her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara Ewing Parks and John B. Parks, of Columbia; granddaughter, Brittany Parks of Chicago; granddaughter, Heather Parks Menendez, husband Mark, and their son John Mark of St. Louis; grandson, Jason Parks, his wife, Jessica and great-grandchildren, Kenan and Julia of Seattle, Washington. Mrs. Ewing was preceded in death by her husband Paul, and her sister, Lucille Peak of Houston Texas.
A graveside service will be held 11:30 am, Thursday, February 3, 2011 at the Oak Hill Cemetery, Butler, Mo., followed by a memorial service with family and friends at First United Methodist Church in Carroll, Iowa on Saturday February, 5th at 2:00. Lunch and visitation will follow the service.


Memorials may be made to P.E.O. Chapter EB or First United Methodist Church of Carroll. Either may be sent to First United Methodist Church, 1612 N. Main St., Carroll, IA 51401.
Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel of Columbia is assisting the family. Please sign the online.

Kudos for a job well done...

Throughout yesterday, fire department personnel (albeit mostly volunteers) opted to temporarily move in to their fire stations, ready to make the fastest response possible as the need arose. Many police, EMS and others did the same. 


And a timely response was needed in several instances. As was a call from a parent in rural Adrian who was stuck in snow on a county road while attempting to get care for their child with severe abdominal pain. Getting to the patient required the use of two National Guard Humvees, loaded with Bates County EMS, the Highway Patrol and Adrian Fire Department first responders. Due to the location of the vehicle and extreme drifted snow, a Humvee with first responders arrived at the scene and moved the patient to the second Humvee which carried Bates County EMS personnel. Unfortunately, the vehicles were not able to simply turn around and an alternate route had to be taken out of the area. While the entire operation took a considerable amount of time, the patient arrived safely at Bates County Memorial Hospital some two hours later.

Similar scenarios  played out in several other areas of the county as emergency calls came in. Coordination of various departments and the "lets work together" mindset brought everything together as planned, thanks to a pre-snowstorm meeting involving the Bates County Sheriff's Department, Bates County Hospital EMS, local fire departments, first responders, city administrators, Bates County EMS Director Kelly Phillips, Emergency Management Director Ron Nissan, Presiding Commissioner Donna Gregory and others. 


Part of the plan was to put everyone on the "same page" which included the use of the sheriff's department radio channel for all EMS operations, opening the airwaves so that everyone involved would know what was going on. Another important element was the recruitment of available National Guard Humvee vehicles, which are extremely agile in rough terrains, mud and heavy snow.

Other contingency plans included the pre-planned use of available temporary shelters, such as the Adrian Optimist Building and others. In fact, most every detail was worked out including planning of having generators, food and water available at the shelters, along with personnel available to staff them.


City crews got busy early, too. At first it was thought it might be counter productive to start plowing while the snow was still falling so rapidly, but the idea of waiting was nixed and most removal operations began before noon. The plowing allowed many city streets to remain open as the storm progressed.


As the day wore on, 71 Highway became a literal parking lot littered with stuck box trucks, tractor trailers, cars and more. Local tow and recovery operators are reporting a heavy overflow of business into today as well, as road clearing and vehicle recovery will likely continue for some time to come.


Fortunately, as of the time of this writing, there have been no reports of serious injuries in any of the many accidents and incidents that have occurred around the county in the past 24 hours. Likewise, no reports of rural structure fires as many roads will be impassable for fire trucks for some time to come.


Thanks also goes to all the unsung heros who offer the use of their farm tractors, utility equipment, four wheel drives and tow ropes to help folks who otherwise couldn't help themselves. Hats off to you- a job well done.

Road conditions around the area

Although the sun is shining and the snow is over, many rural roads in the county remain blocked or otherwise impassable, making travel nearly very slow, if at all for some. State crews have been working to clear the main arteries but most still remain snow packed as shown in the map.

As of 10:45 a.m. today, I-70 is again open, while I-44 near Joplin remains closed. For the latest road conditions in Missouri, click here.
Click here for road conditions in Kansas.

Bye snowfall, hello bitter cold

Blizzard Warning expires at 6 am this morning.......Wind Chill Advisory will be in effect until noon Thursday

Today
Considerable cloudiness in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Areas of blowing snow in the morning. Frigid. Highs around 10. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Wind chill readings 15 below to 20 below zero in the morning.

Tonight
Partly cloudy in the evening then clearing. Frigid. Lows around 9 below. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chill readings 15 below to 20 below zero after midnight.

Many accidents around the area

A Cleveland Mo. man escaped serious injury this morning in an accident on northbound 71 Highway just south of route A. A 1993 Mercury Sable driven by Dean Spurgeon, 19, slid into the rear of a tractor-trailer whose driver who appeared to not be aware of the accident and continued northbound. The Spurgeon car was totaled.

There have been reports of numerous minor accidents and slide offs around the area and no serious injuries so far. The Bates County Sheriff's Department has stepped up patrols and indicate there are many vehicles stuck along roadways around the county.

The forecast calls for winds to increase to 20 - 30 mph overnight which will inevitably cause extreme drifting of snow. Use extreme caution if you must travel, otherwise stay home for at least the next day or so.

BCMH February Employee of the Month

Kelley Robb is recognized as the Bates County Memorial Hospital Employee of the Month for February, 2011. Kelley has been employed at the hospital since 1999 as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Kelley is considered to be one of the kindest and most thoughtful nurses to work with. She shows respect and concern to her patients and co-workers. Kelley is a compassionate and knowledgeable nurse, and an asset to the hospital.

Yoss Thriftway closing at 3 p.m. today

Yoss Thriftway in Adrian will be closing at 3 p.m. today. The store will be open tomorrow at 8 a.m.