Late night update from the Bates County Coroner’s Office

I’ve been away at Coroner’s Convention and training most of this week so I’m getting caught up on paperwork. Deputy Coroner Miller handled cases while I was away and did an excellent job. You can probably imagine how busy the Coroner’s office has been since Covid, so there have been many of these late nights.]

But in the mail on my desk was a letter from Transplant Network. My office had handled a case in which the decedent wished to be an organ donor and I cooperated to facilitate the request. The letter tells me the end of the story. Where each organ went - the quality of each person’s life before transplant, and how they have been doing in their new life after transplant.

 
It’s not required that they do this. But I think somebody realized we usually have no idea what ever happened and I might like to know my extra efforts did positively affect somebody’s life. You see in Missouri, I can override organ donation if I think it would hinder or obstruct an investigation like an autopsy. But in almost all cases, I can accommodate the donation if I change some of the ways I do things. I try very hard to honor those wishes and almost never override them.

 
But getting letters like this, I always wind up reading every detail. It’s amazing the impact organ donation has and amazes me at the number of people who benefit. I always go back and retrieve the deceased person’s file and place the letter there. I don’t have to... but it just seems like the right thing to do.

 
I know the deceased’s family gets the letter too. I hope they know the impact of their choices. We are all here to help each other, after all.

Greg Mullinax
Coroner

2021 Week 9 Missouri State High School Football Scores:

Week 9 Scores:
Adrian 41, Wellington Napoleon 15

Appleton City 46, Greenfield 14

Archie 84, Concordia 42 
Ash Grove 52, Sarcoxie 32
Ava 51, Willow Springs 14
Butler 53, Lone Jack 6

Drexel 80, St. Paul 26

Cass Midway 53, Sherwood 20
Carthage 49, Nixa 14
Diamond 48, Slater 26

Eldon 42, Versailles 41

Excelsior Springs 41, Pleasant Hill 40
Fair Grove 54, El Dorado Springs 6
Glendale 57, Waynesville 20

Grain Valley 34, Belton 26

Holden 34, Knob Noster 6 
Hollister 48, Catholic 0
Jasper 58, Osceola 18
Joplin 63, Neosho 0

King City 48, St. Joe Christian 0 
Lamar 48, East Newton 0

Lathrop 51, Plattsburg 7

Lebanon 55, Parkview 22

Lees Summit North 38, Lees Summit West 6 

Liberty 43, Houston 14]

Liberty North 27, Blue Springs South 0 
Lincoln 32, Cole Camp 14

Lockwood 57, Pleasant Hope 6
Marshfield 26, Mt. Vernon 14
Marionville 64, Miller 8

Marshall 30, Cameron 0 

Maryville 37, Lafayette 6
McDonald County 20, Cassville 0
Mountain Grove 21,Thayer 14
Nevada 41, Aurora 16
Oak Grove 35, Warrensburg 28 

Odessa 55, Harrisonville 14
Ozark 38, Carl Junction 16

Ray-Pec 43, Park Hill 40
Raytown 56, Truman 6

Republic 42, Branson 3
Rich Hill 46, Liberal 12
Rockhurst 10, Blue Springs 3 

Rogersville 45, Reeds Spring 7
Rolla 36, Camdenton 14

Ruskin 26, Raytown South 24
Seneca 26, Monett 21
Skyline 27, Strafford 6

Smithville 42, Winnetonka 7
Springfield Central 34, Forsyth 15

St. Pius X 35, Savannah 0 
Stockton 42, Pierce City 0
Summit Christian Academy 63, Central 0

Sweet Springs 37, Fulton 7 

Tipton 45, Crest Ridge 20 

Van Horn 47, Pembroke Hill 19

Warsaw 19, Buffalo 14

Webb City 55, Willard 0
West Plains 56, Bolivar 7

Windsor 30, St. Michaels the Arch Angel 21

We will continue to update throughout the evening when more scores are made available to us!!

Burglary in Henry County

Burglary occurred Wednesday/Thursday, October 21-22 on NW 500 road. If you recognize this vehicle or either of the subjects, please contact our office at 660-885-7300 and ask for Detectives Office or after hours call 660-885-5587.

Way to go Kelsie

CONGRATULATIONS to Kelsie Wikoff of Hume on her harvest of this 268-pound boar (male bear) in Zone 1 during Missouri’s first bear-hunting season.

She says she had spent 48 hours in a tree stand since the season began on Monday and harvested the bear yesterday.

She is one of nine hunters to harvest a bear so far, and the first female. The season ends Oct. 27 with a total harvest limit of 40 bears.

Courtesy of the MDC Facebook Page

Zone map is listed below:

State Farm Student Athlete of the Week!

We are so excited to announce this week’s State Farm Student Athlete of the week, Briar McIntire. Briar is a sophomore and plays for the varsity Archie Whirlwinds football team. He was nominated by his Coach Drew Smith. Coach Smith stated “Briar had 20 rushes for 265 yards and 6 touchdowns last week offensively in our win against Lockwood. He also added 8 tackles on defense. Briar not only excels on the field but is an all A student in the classroom. 

He is a huge asset to our team.” When we asked Briar to tell us something he has learned playing sports that he can apply later in life he stated “I’ve learned a lot about teamwork. If you come together as a team you can accomplish a lot more than if you try to go at it alone.” When we asked him what it takes to become an elite athlete and a leader on your team he stated “it takes determination and consistently doing the stuff no one else wants to do.” Briar is just a sophomore so he’s undecided on future plans but plans on attending college and possibly continuing to play a sport depending on how things continue to go through high school. 

It was a pleasure talking to Briar and this honor is well deserved. We want to wish him and his team the best of luck tonight as they take on Concordia. Archie is currently ranked second in their district and 7th in the State. Congrats to Briar and the Whirlwinds!

Pictured left to right: Kellie Davidson State Farm; Briar McIntire, son of Matt & Dana McIntire; Head football Coach Drew Smith

Vernon County teen seriously injured in Barton County rollover accident

On October 21st around 6:24 p.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Barton County along with Barton County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a one vehicle rollover accident on the East Outer Road of I-49 around 3 miles north of Lamar.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occurred when the 2005 Chevrolet Colorado driven by a 16 year old male from Richards, Missouri ran off the road, hit a culvert and overturned.

The juvenile males sustained serious injuries in this accident and he was transported by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Springfield for treatment.

View crash report below:

https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=210549761

BCMH welcomes Kristy Packard to the Physical Therapy Department

Join us in welcoming Kristy Packard, PT, who joined the Rehabilitation Services team the first of September, 2021.

Kristy earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2016 from Missouri State University, and brings five years of clinical experience in the home health, inpatient and outpatient areas.

She recently became certified in the management of lymphedema. Kristy is a great addition to our staff of physical therapists: Jeremy Jones, Niki Hilgenberg, Brittany Booker, Kara Mullen and Scott Ridings.

Welcome, Kristy!

#physicaltherapist #physicaltherapy

Winter operations drill affords employees crucial training

Persistent job vacancies mean limited plow crews to clear roadways

MoDot Press Release: Snowy weather is just around the corner. In preparation, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will hold its annual winter operations drill on Thursday, Oct. 21. With high turnover rates and many positions still open, the training is more critical than ever.

“With nearly 20% of our plow operators with less than one year of experience, this training drill is important to be ready when snow flies,” said Becky Allmeroth, MoDOT chief safety and operations officer. “One of the most valuable parts of the drill is it allows our newest employees the opportunity to drive a snowplow over their designated routes so they are aware of curbs and raised islands that might be hidden in snow or ice.”

Despite the department’s best efforts, it has not made progress filling the winter operations vacancies. Additionally, the department is experiencing record high turnover, including more than 70 employees leaving every month for the past six months.

“We are several hundred employees below what we need in order to cover more than one shift in a statewide storm,” said Patrick McKenna, MoDOT director. “If a widespread winter storm lasts more than one 12-hour shift, we will not have enough employees to fill all the trucks on the second shift and therefore it will take longer to clear the roads.”

During the drill, motorists may notice increased numbers of MoDOT vehicles on state routes. In rural areas, crews will deploy after 8 a.m. In urban areas, the drill will not begin until after 9 a.m. The exercise should be completed by 3 p.m.

MoDOT employees will react to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. The department’s emergency operations centers will activate and maintenance employees will be deployed to their trucks. Emergency communications systems will also be tested.

“The drill ensures that proper equipment, plowing techniques and safety measures are used by every MoDOT employee,” said Allmeroth. “In addition, every piece of equipment—every truck, motor grader, snow blower and tractor—is inspected and calibrated to conserve materials and operate efficiently and safely.”

MoDOT spent more than $58 million on winter operations last year and used over 139,000 tons of salt; 2.8 million gallons of salt brine; and nearly 490,000 gallons of beet juice. MoDOT has purchased 118,000 tons of salt to refill salt supplies and has a total of 240,000 tons available for use statewide this winter.

For information on road conditions across the state, safe traveling tips, and other winter weather information, visit www.modot.org.