Drexel teen injured in Cass County rollover accident

On October 21st around 7:50 a.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Cass County along with Cass County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a one vehicle rollover accident on 307th Street just west of I-49 in rural Cass County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occurred when the 2005 Chevrolet driven by 18 year old Lorin L. Wells of Drexel, Missouri traveled off the roadway and overturned after striking a fence.

Lorin L. Wells sustained minor injuries and she was transported by ambulance to Research Medical Center in Kansas City for treatment.

View crash report below:
https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=210548450

Obituary - John Edward Jackson

John Edward Jackson, 66, Sheldon, MO passed away on Monday, October 18, 2021 at his home in Sheldon. John was born November 11, 1954 in Fort Scott, KS to Delbert G. and Ethel M. (Johnston) Jackson.

Throughout his life, John was a truck driver and until his retirement drove for Johnson and Baker Trucking for many years. In his spare time he enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Survivors include the love of his life and longtime companion of the home, Vickie Williams; stepdaughters, April Boyd (Mike), Nevada, MO, Tonya Herbst (Donald), El Dorado Springs, MO, Lesia Farris (Mike), Nevada, MO; grandson, Jessey Menadue, as well as several other grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and his stepmother, Cammie Acock, Jerico Springs, MO. He was preceded in death by one brother, and two sisters.

No services are planned.

Obituary - Mildred B. Roth

Mildred B. Roth, 102, Harrisonville, MO, passed away Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at Golden Years Care Center in Harrisonville.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville with visitation from 9:30-11:00. Memorial contributions may be made to First Christian Church, Harrisonville.

A complete obituary will be posted when information is available.

Man arrested after impersonating a Sheriff’s Office Detective in Vernon County

Detectives with the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Nevada resident for impersonating an Investigator with the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office Monday afternoon.

According to Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher, his office received information that an individual was calling citizens and identifying himself as a detective in order gain the whereabouts of another individual. A detective with the Sheriff’s Office then called the number reported to him and the individual that answered the phone identified himself again as a detective. The real detectives then responded to the location the phone call was coming from, which was on the Northeast edge of Nevada. During the investigation one Nevada resident was taken into custody for impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Mosher said the suspect did not know he was speaking to an actual detective when he identified himself as a detective. “Telling people that you are a cop is illegal and just not a smart thing to do but telling the cops that you are a cop is going to get you caught even faster.”

The suspect has been identified as 38-year-old Dustin Jones of Nevada, Mo. Jones was arrested and has now been charged with False Impersonation Law Enforcement Officer. Jones has been released on a $2,500 bond from the Vernon County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court.

Obituary - Daniel Thomas Pattison

Daniel Thomas Pattison, 64, of Kansas City, Missouri passed away Monday morning, October 18, 2021 at his home. He was born June 5, 1957 in Sacramento, California, the son of Robert Stanley Pattison and Betty Lou (Miller) Pattison.

Daniel was employed with various roofing companies for many years before retiring due to health concerns. Surviving are one son, Kyle Thomas Pattison, Lee’s Summit, Mo.; two sisters, Sherry Hooten and her husband Jack, and Kelli Wright and her husband Dean. He was preceded in death by his dad, Robert S. Pattison and his mother, Betty Lou Pattison. No services are planned at this time. Mr. Pattison’s wishes were to be cremated and be buried with his dad in Laurel Oak Cemetery in Windsor, Mo. Condolences may be left online at www.bradleyhadley.com.

Obituary - Jonathan N. McKinley

Jonathan N. McKinley, 35, of Clinton, Missouri passed away unexpectedly Thursday, October 14, 2021. He was born December 6, 1985 in Clinton, Mo., the son of Brian James McKinley and Roberta Ann (Savage) McKinley.

Jonathan was the owner and operator of McKinley Refrigeration and also worked as an installer for Google Fiber. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, tinkering with anything mechanical. He could fix just about anything. He was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Surviving are his parents, Brian and Roberta McKinley, Clinton, Mo.; one sister, Amy Sockwell and fiancé, Jimmie “Bo” Reid, Clinton, Mo.; one niece, Lana Sockwell, Clinton, Mo.; one nephew, Cecil Sockwell, III; maternal grandmother, Phyllis (Savage) McMillian and Orbon, Branson, Mo.; aunts and uncles, Roger and Patty McKinley, Clinton, Mo., Bret and Rhonda Savage, Belton, Mo., and Matthew Savage, Aurora, Mo.; and numerous cousins. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Jimmie D. McKinley and Pauline A. (Smolnik) McKinley; and maternal grandfather, Bert Savage, Jr. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Monday, October 25, 2021 at the Bradley & Hadley Funeral Home, Clinton. A private family memorial service will be scheduled for a later date. The family suggests memorial gifts to the Jonathan N. McKinley memorial fund, and donations may be left in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be left online at www.bradleyhadley.com.

Drexel R-4 School District Superintendent Report October 2021

Drexel R-4 School District Superintendent Report

October 2021

It’s hard to believe that the first quarter of school was over on October 15th and we are having parent/teacher conferences on October 25th.

The school year is off to a good start. I could not be more proud of our students and staff and how they continue to work through the start of another school year while still facing the impacts of COVID.

The fall athletic seasons for junior high and high school teams have concluded or are preparing for district playoffs. The district volleyball tournament will be held at Drexel this year. We are anticipating hosting several district football games over the next few weeks. In just a couple of weeks our winter seasons will be getting underway with junior high basketball games starting on November 1st and high school basketball practices beginning on that date as well.

The district has received two separate grants for the purposes of teacher retention and recruitment. The application deadline is January 31st, 2022. There are two separate grants; Teacher Retention Grant is $15,000 and can be used for teacher retention strategies (mentoring programs, stipends, social-emotional needs, wellness, professional learning), while the Teacher Recruitment Grant is $10,000 and can be used for recruiting and selecting strategies (advertising, future teacher programs, scholarships).
Food Service Updates – the food service department is still working to limit any food delivery or food supply issues that may impact the district. During the month of September food service served an average of 137 breakfasts each day, which is nearly 48% of our students – which also includes serving an average of 53 second chance breakfasts each day. During the same month food serviced served an average of 163 lunches each day, which is nearly 57% of our students.

Municipal Bonds/Debt Service Financial Analysis – the district is eligible for a general obligation bond refunding in December of 2021, this would save district taxpayers over $92,000. The district is also eligible for a no-tax increase general obligation bond issue in 2022 or 2023. An April 2022 bond issue would provide $950,000 to complete projects, while an April 2023 bond issue would provide $1,150,000 to complete projects.

ESSER III Application and Budget Status – on 10/11/21 we received some feedback from DESE regarding our ESSER III Application Use of Funds and our ESSER III Budget. I am currently working to make the revisions to the application and the budget and should be able to resubmit for further review within the next few days.

Respectfully,
Terry Mayfield, Superintendent

Obituary - Betty Jean Smith

Betty Jean Smith, 91, Adrian, MO, passed away Monday, October 18, 2021 at her home in Adrian. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday, October 22, 2021 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Adrian, MO with visitation from 12:00-1:00. Burial to follow in Crescent Hill Cemetery, Adrian. Memorial contributions may be made to Harmony Mission DAR Leta Wagy Scholarship Fund.

Betty Jean Poague, third child of Leslie and Thelma James Poague was born March 27, 1930, Southeast of Butler, in Lone Oak Township, Bates County, Missouri. Unlike the rest of her family who migrated to Oregon, Betty has spent her entire life in Bates County except for two years when she lived in Vernon County, near Nevada, MO. On February 12, 1948, she married the love of her life, Loren Earl Smith of Adrian, MO. They lived with his grandfather, Oscar Askew, for one year. During this time, Betty attended a School of Cosmetology in Kansas City after which she and her mother-in-in-law opened Smith’s Beauty Shoppe on Main Street in Adrian. Loren and Betty lived over the shop for about a year. In 1950, they purchased the home place located near Burdette, MO, which had been in Loren’s family since 1898 and adjoined the farm where Loren had spent a good portion of his growing up years. Betty and Loren lived there together for 56 years until Loren’s passing in 2004. Betty remained at the home until the moment of her death.

For most of Betty’s life, she remained at home raising the family and helping to keep everything running on the farm. Even though she never opened back up her Beauty Shop, she did a lot of hair cutting, perms and styling in her Kitchen. This helped a little with finances and allowed her to stay at home with the children. There were various times she would work part time in town, but always managed to be home by the time the children arrived from school. After her youngest child graduated high school in 1982, she was employed at the Bates County Courthouse, remaining there the next sixteen years. Betty enjoyed sewing and made most of her daughters’ clothes as they were growing up. Among her many hobbies, she has enjoyed making quilts, all kinds of needle work, oil painting, genealogy, riding horses, bowling, and working on the computer. Some of the high points in her life were the birth of four healthy children, twelve grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. Having them all come home on holidays and other special occasions brought great joy. Vacation times with the family and traveling had created many wonderful memories over the years and she always looked forward to the next family reunion or vacation. She enjoyed spending time with her friends through various organizations such as Daughters of the American Revolution, McNeil Women’s Club, and the Friday Bowlers.

Betty gave her life to the Lord at age 14 and was baptized in Walnut Creek at Foster, MO. Throughout her married life, she served in the Burdette Baptist Church teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and was Church Treasurer for about 30 years. For the last several years, she has attended the Adrian Baptist Church.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband (Loren Smith), both parents (Leslie and Thelma Poague), three brothers (Lewis, Harold, and Willie Poague), one sister (Wanda Newport), and grandson (Daniel Patterson). She is survived by her children, Gary Smith & wife Treva of Adrian, Mo, Steve Smith and wife Teresa of Adrian, Mo, Lorraina and husband Mark of Cody, Wy, and Dianne Patterson and husband Joe of Adrian, Mo, 11 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, three sisters (Alice Fritter of Richards, Mo, Wanetta Dryer Grants Pass, Or, Viola Kinman, Medford, Or) and many nieces and nephews.