Obituary - Larry W. Gilkey Sr.

Funeral Services for Larry W. Gilkey Sr. 70, of Rich Hill, Missouri will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 19th at the Heuser Funeral Home in Rich Hill with Military Rites Following the service. 

The visitation will be held on Monday from 10 a.m. until service time. Contributions may be made to the Rich Hill Memorial Library.

He is survived by his wife Marie of the home; son Larry Gilkey, Jr. of Hot Springs, Ark. Daughters Vera Conwell, Walker, MO; Dauna Killum, Florida; Nadine Helfer, Butler, MO; Roxy Sage, Archie; Ann Finn, Harrisonville; Susan Lefevre, Rich Hill; Tammy White, New Haven, MO. 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

History of Bates County: Tragedy Strikes Missile Escort

Typical Minuteman missile transport vehicle

By Doug Mager

This is the final segment of our three part History of Bates County series featuring information about Minuteman missile silos and launch facilities formerly located throughout the area

June 11, 1982. Misty, overcast conditions greeted twins Les and Wes Nieder, 19, of Amsterdam as they began their daily farm chores, which included a trip down F highway near the Miami school. 

Around 9:30 am, they met an Air Force missile transport heading west. It wasn't unusual to see one of these trucks at any given time. What was unusual was the UH-1 Huey helicopter flying very low, slightly erratically. The helicopter was not tracking with the vehicle but had just crossed over the highway and was headed northeast.

Unknown to the Nieder's, the pilots had radioed a few minutes earlier to let flight control know there was a problem with the aircraft. It is guessed that they may have been trying to make it to a suitable landing spot, possibly at Kilo 1, the closest Air Force facility which was just a couple of miles away.

Wes told his brother something was terribly wrong and thought the helicopter was probably going to crash. The tail section was wobbling badly and it was obvious the pilot was having difficulty controlling it.

Members of the Whiteman Air Honor
Guard participate in the dedication of the
UH-1F for those who died in the Bates
County crash June 11, 1982

The Nieder's, somewhat panic stricken, tried to signal the transport truck to stop so they could inform the driver about what they had just seen. No dice. Unbeknownst to them, military transports don't stop for anything.

Not even if their escort helicopter was in trouble.

The truck continued towards Amsterdam as the twins headed their vehicle north to find the wreckage.

In the muddy farm field just west of CC highway, about 3/4 of a mile north of F highway, 6 men are trapped in the burning helicopter. Those first on the scene, including the Nieders', said some screamed for help, but the flames were simply too hot- plus ammo bursting from within made getting close too dangerous.

The wreckage burned for about 3 hours while Air Force personnel, police and TV crews poured into the area. It was later in the afternoon before the bodies were removed and the area secured for the evening.

X marks the spot where the Huey helicopter went down just north of
F highway and west of CC highway in northwestern Bates County

In all, the scene was tightly guarded for several days while the investigation continued and wreckage was finally removed.

Those who lost their lives were Capt. Richard Conrardy, 2nd Lt. James Hebert, Staff Sgt. Richard Bohling, Sgt. Thomas Meredith, Senior Airman Marion Pace and Senior Airman David Jones. 

A memorial for those who died was dedicated June 11, 1984 at Whiteman Air Force base.

It was later determined that a small piece of the main rotor had broken loose, striking the tail rotor. The imbalance caused structural failure.

**The writer of this article walked the area of the crash a few weeks later- only to find a tiny bit of debris- a charred piece of a metal watchband. A sad reminder of the tragedy that unfolded a short time earlier.

St. Clair County Sheriff's Office-Felony warrant arrest

Brad Larson

On Jan. 14, Brad Larson, 56, Wichita, Ks, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging him with two class C felonies of passing a bad check. 

The warrant was issued in August 2013 and stemmed from incidents on February 12-13, 2013. 

Bond is set at $5,000 cash or surety.

Missouri bill would ban spanking, paddling in public schools

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Proposed Missouri legislation would ban the use of spanking or paddling by educators in public schools.

Democratic state Sen. Joe Keaveny of St. Louis this week filed a bill to prohibit corporal punishment in those schools.

Missouri is one of 19 states that allow teachers to hit children as a form of discipline.

Local school boards are responsible for deciding whether educators can use corporal punishment and whether parents must be notified if it's used. School boards also can determine whether parents can opt for an alternative form of discipline.

Similar legislation that also would have banned spanking in private schools failed last year.

ACT Dinner Theatre Tickets On Sale Now!‏

Amber Alert: Mom fled with 1-month-old boy in Wright County

HARTVILLE, Mo. - The Wright County Sheriff's Department, through the Missouri State Highway Patrol, issued an Amber Alert for a missing 1-month-old boy about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The boy's mother took him and fled as the state Children's Division was trying to take custody of him at a home on Highway E near Hartville about 5 p.m.

The boy is Takoda Wolfe. He's described as 25 inches long and weighing about 10 pounds, with a light complexion.

The mother, Terracotta Marie Warren, 37, may be with William Wolfe Jr., 48. They left in a black 2000 Pontiac Grand Am with Missouri license pjlate WJ7-D9C. Terracotta Marie Warren is described as 5-foot-2 and 120 pounds. William Wolfe is described as a white man.

UPDATED: http://batescountynewswire.blogspot.com/2015/01/amber-alert-cancelled-in-wright-county.html

History of Bates County Series: Hidden in Plain Sight

This is part Two of the History of Bates County Series featuring information about the legacy of the Minuteman missile program that lived in our rural areas for some 30+ years

Two houses in Bates County are identical ranch style, with asphalt shingles and lap siding. Add an 8 foot chain link fence, some antennas in the yard and most notably, all vehicles parked there were dark blue.

Ok, they look like houses but there's obviously more here than meets the eye, guards and all.

The two properties in question lie in opposite quadrants of Bates County. One, about 6 miles west and slightly north of Passaic; the other, a few miles southwest of the Hudson school off of 52 highway. Both are known as Launch Control Facilities (LCF's) each responsible for a 'flight' of 10 Minuteman missiles scattered around the area. Albeit, missiles armed with up to three 500 kiloton nuclear warheads.

Those three warheads were about 60 times more powerful than either bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. Now multiply by 20 missiles in Bates County alone and you'll get a real perspective on the earth toasting Armageddon that lived in our back yards.

Obviously designed to 'blend in', the two structures were part of the Whiteman AFB
509th and 510th Missile Squadrons activated in 1962, now decommissioned. All said, in the Whiteman area alone, there were 10 LCF's which were in control of 100 Minuteman missiles in western Missouri.

Topside, the building provided living quarters for about 10 people- guards, missile operators (missileers), maintenance workers, a cook and others. 

Underneath, things got serious. An elevator lead to a pod, some 50 feet or so beneath the surface where two missileers spent their time in shifts, with their sole job to be launch missiles if the call came.

Fortunately, the call never came. In the roughly 3 decades of service, there were two known instances where it came "within minutes" of happening. Thank God it didn't.

A call to launch, a very complex procedure, would have meant "missiles away" within a minute or two. While the exact protocol behind a launch is still classified, it is known that dates were tied to specific launch codes. Through human intervention and at least two computers (one in the LCF and one in each missile silo) the code would be checked and double checked for validity.

Inside the control pod some 50 feet below the surface

Note that a single LCF could not launch missiles on their own- it took a combined, redundant effort by two LCF's to fly a single missile. This would be a flurry of activity, which again, would happen in a very short period of time:

1. LCF's receive launch code.

2. Code is verified by date. 

3. A second code is sent with a reminder "This Is Not A Test".

4. Missileers use individual keys to open a lockbox that contains additional codes and a set of launch keys.

5. Codes again verified. Keys are inserted into the console by each of the missileers. The launch keys must be turned within a quarter second of each other for activation. The distance between keys is so that one person would not be able to turn both keys quickly enough for a launch, insuring that two people were involved and had properly verified everything.

6. The launch command would be sent by underground cable from the LCF to the unmanned silos. In later years, the ability was added to launch from aircraft in the event the LCF was destroyed.

7. The computer located in the silo again verified launch code against date and possibly some other criteria.

8. The 8,000 pound silo door would be blasted open, exposing the missile.

The following sequence outlines the missile's trip to its final destination:

1. The missile launches out of its silo by firing its 1st-stage boost motor (A).

2. About 60 seconds after launch, the 1st stage drops off and the 2nd-stage motor (B) ignites. The missile shroud (E) is ejected.

3. About 120 seconds after launch, the 3rd-stage motor (C) ignites and separates from the 2nd stage.

4. About 180 seconds after launch, 3rd-stage thrust terminates and the Post-Boost Vehicle (D) separates from the rocket.

5. The Post-Boost Vehicle maneuvers itself and prepares for re-entry vehicle (RV) deployment.

6. The RVs, as well as decoys and chaff, are deployed during backaway.

7. The RVs and chaff re-enter the atmosphere at high speeds (up to 15,000 mph) and are armed in flight.

8. The nuclear warheads initiate, either as air bursts or ground bursts.

That's one missile. From a "go" to an intended target halfway around the world in less than 30 minutes. Sent with condolences from Bates County, Missouri.

One has to wonder how many Soviet missiles had us in their crosshairs? The locations of silos was no secret, regardless of how well they might be disguised. 

At the peak of the Cold War we had a stockpile of just over 30,000 nuclear warheads, while Russia (Soviet Union) had closer to 40,000. During the mid-1980s, the U.S-Soviet relations significantly improved, Mikhail Gorbachev assumed control of the Soviet Union after the deaths of several former Soviet leaders, and announced a new era of perestroika and glasnost, meaning restructuring and openness respectively. Gorbachev proposed a 50% reduction of nuclear weapons for both the U.S and Soviet Union at the meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland in October 1986. However, the proposal was refused due to disagreements over Reagan's SDI. Instead, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987 in Washington, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.

In the late 1980s, after the signing of this treaty, much of the Soviet Union began to declare independence and slowly became free of Soviet influence. One of the most iconic events of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the destruction of the Berlin Wall on November 10, 1989. On December 8, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established. This event marked the end of the 45 year long Cold War.

Hence, the Minuteman missiles were removed, silos imploded with dynamite, filled with rock, landscaped and the properties were then sold to adjacent landowners. The two Bates County LCF's were decommissioned by removing equipment and filling the elevator shaft and underground pods with concrete. 

Watch video of a Minuteman launch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAjS1DFi0qA

Video of launch sequence here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYWf3bD7OlM

In our upcoming segment, we'll cover a tragedy involving Air Force personnel who were working in conjunction with our local Minuteman program.

Attempt to locate: Missing man out of Columbia