Bates County Live prepares application to Missouri Press Association

While this may not be considered headline news, we are proud to announce that Bates County Live is making application and hope soon to become a member of the Missouri Press Association.

The guidelines for a regular membership require that you be in business for at least three years (we've been at it 13 months) so we plan to apply for the 'Friend of Missouri Press Association' membership and then will upgrade to a full membership when we reach our third birthday.

The primary reason for joining is to reinforce our pledge to provide accurate, honest, strait forward news with the credibility and resources of the MPA behind us.

In the meantime, we will continue to do what we love- providing the news.

Sincerely,
Doug Mager, Editor
Bates County Live
subsidiary of News Now, LLC

Next chance of rain later tonight...

Rest of Today - nice

Partly sunny with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. East winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Friday - getting warmer

Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 90s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Heat index readings 97 to 102.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s. East winds around 5 mph.

Saturday - muggy

Partly cloudy. Hot and humid. Highs in the upper 90s. South winds around 5 mph. Heat index readings 106 to 111.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s.

Sunday - continued muggy

Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Hot and humid. Highs in the mid 90s.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s.

Monday - just like August

Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 90s.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s.

View live radar here

From the desk of Senator David Pearce

Providing Missourians Job Opportunities Since the regular session ended on May 13, there has been talk of a special session in order to continue discussions on topics that lawmakers didn’t have the opportunity to fully debate and adopt. The biggest topic to be discussed, one that will affect every Missourian, is economic development and job creation. This week, my republican Senate colleagues and I met in Jefferson City to discuss a proposed jobs bill to be discussed during the upcoming special session. We met for over three hours to hammer out details in order to come up with a bill to benefit all Missourians. I am confident we can pass this jobs bill that will be an advantage to our entire state. Recently, leaders from both the House and Senate came together to announce that their continued summer discussions had been effective. An economic development agreement had been reached among leadership and a special session would be needed to fulfill its purpose. Luckily, the governor agreed and a special session, which will most likely coincide with the veto session, is set for September. The official dates have not been released as of this time. Other possible special session topics include the date of the presidential primary, early site permit legislation for another nuclear plant and local control for St. Louis police. The most pressing topic in our state is job creation. Missourians want to work and there needs to be jobs available to them. This economic development measure includes a number of ways to put many Missourians back to work. Among the items in the jobs bill that would be of particular interest to the 31st Senatorial District are incentives to open data centers, potential tax credit reforms for businesses, funding for the Kansas City area to assist with retaining jobs that have been recently moved to Kansas or other neighboring states, and the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) that is targeted at bringing high-tech jobs to the state. Another item that will be beneficial to the whole state is the concept of Aerotropolis, a project that will turn the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport into an international hub for local exports and distribution. Also included in this measure are tax credit reforms that will limit some current programs and make them as efficient as possible, reducing their need for state income reduction. Any of these provisions could stand alone to help improve the state’s employment standings, creating new jobs and prospects across the state. I am in support this bill and what it stands for, creating a brighter economic future. Among the other issues that could be addressed during special session, I feel that economic development is the most important topic at this time. Our state and its citizens deserve these job creation opportunities. I can’t wait to get back to the Capitol to discuss this measure’s future with my colleagues. We will have a short window within which to accomplish these goals, but by focusing our efforts and getting into these discussions, I am positive that good things will come out of this special session. As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381. Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.

Obituary - Bryant Laine Boggs

Bryant Laine Boggs, 53, Amsterdam, MO, died Thursday, August 4, 2011 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, MO. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 6, 2011 at West Point Cemetery in Amsterdam, MO. Friends may call from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Atkinson Chapel in Adrian, MO. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bryant Boggs Memorial Fund, c/o Atkinson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 325, Adrian, MO 64720.

Ozark Empire Fair results‏- Bates County 4-H'ers do well

According to Alan J. Mundey, 4-H Youth Specialist, Bates County 4-H’ers once again displayed first-rate exhibits at the Ozark Empire Fair, held July 29-August 7, in Springfield. With a total of 111 exhibits taken to the fair, the local 4-H’ers brought home 8 Grand Champion ribbons and 7 Reserve Champion ribbons. The Grand Champion recipients were as follows: Morgan Bradley (secretary’s notebook), Ben Brown (jar of lespedeza), Lilli Colburn (framed item), Allison Jenkins (mosaic tray), Samantha Long (breakfast gift basket), Brooklyn Popplewell (decorated window frame), Michael Scrivener (golf club-head cover) and Victoria Sears (Chinese cookies). Reserve Champion ribbons were received by Lynnlee Barton (coaster set), Clayson Bartz (wheat), Morgan Bradley (Christmas gift basket), Ben Brown (Appleton City music picture), Rachel Brown (sour dough cinnamon rolls), Kirstyn Eckhoff (Hudson Hustlers 4-H scrapbook) and Jack Rotert (rabbit trap). In addition, Bates County 4-H’ers were awarded 80 blue ribbons, 27 red ribbons and 4 white ribbons. 

Wes Merritt judges Clayson Bartz’s prize winning wheat at Bates County Fair.

Your weekend planner...

If we've missed something, email us at bateswire@hotmail.com:

Friday, August 5
Hume Fair and Rodeo - all day - Hume Mo.
Back to school tax free weekend

Saturday, August 6
Hume Fair and Rodeo - all day -Hume Mo.
Back to school tax free weekend
Archie city wide garage sale - Archie, Mo.
Adrian Library to celebrate 5 year anniversary - 9 a.m. at Adrian Library, Main st.
Back to school party - 9 to noon - Drexel United Methodist Church
Which Bates brother was our county named after? - 10 a.m. - Robertson Hall, Bates County Museum
Drexel Christian Church VBS - 2 p.m. - Drexel, Mo.
Harry Potter movie review - 3 p.m. - Ohio St. United Methodist Church, Butler Mo.

Sunday, August 7
Back to school tax free weekend

Fatality in afternoon accident near Passaic

Misty D. Vann, 44, of Clinton died from injuries sustained in an accident on route D near county road NE7003 east of Passaic around 3:55 this afternoon. Vann was a passenger in a 2007 Ford driven by Dakota L. Moyers, 16, (also of Clinton) that struck the rear of another vehicle, left the roadway and struck a tree. Other passengers were Justice Love, 1, of Clinton and Kimberly L. Stout, 16,  of Garden City Mo.

Justice Love was transported to Children's Mercy by Bates County Ambulance; Dakota Moyers was taken to Children's Mercy by air ambulance; Kimberly Stout was transported to Research Hospital also by air ambulance, all three with serious injuries. Misty Vann was pronounced dead at the Cass County emergency room at 5:11 p.m.

The driver of the other vehicle was not injured and is listed as Ruth Althoff, 71 of California, Mo.

Serious accident east of Passaic

4:00 p.m. - Butler and Adrian Fire/Rescue and Bates County EMS are in route to the scene of an accident involving multiple victims on D highway several miles east of Passaic. At least one medical helicopter has been summoned and it is reported that extrication of one victim is required.

Please use extreme caution  if in the area and avoid traveling on D highway if at all possible.

Update 4:35 p.m. - Two more medical helicopters have been dispatched to the scene.