Obituary - William "Bill" Lloyd Elam

William "Bill" Lloyd Elam, 72, of Harrisonville, MO, passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at his home. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Heartland Baptist Fellowship in Harrisonville.

Bill was born September 8, 1950 to Clarence Elam, Sr. and Betty (Hughes) Elam in Harrisonville, MO. He grew up in Sedalia, MO, graduating from Smith-Cotton High School. He married Angela Riggs on December 15, 2007. He spent most of his career as a laborer, working for the Union in construction. His true passion was fishing and being out on a boat on the lake. He had a great love for God, his family, and his grandchildren and will be missed by all those who knew him.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Ronald Elam. He is survived by his wife, Angie Elam; his daughters, Missy Elam-Welch and Megan Elam; his step-children: Jerramy Ruel, Travis Ruel, Amber Ruel, and Nicole Ruel; his siblings: Clarence Elam, David Elam, Cathy Lemler, and Cricket Sanders; and several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the family.

Water rescue happening now near the Old Town Access Boat Ramp

The Bates County Sheriff's Office along with the Butler Fire Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol is conducting a water rescue at Old Town Access Boat Ramp north of Rich Hill on the Marais Des Cygnes River.

Four occupants including a 85 year old male are said to be in the water after their boat sunk.

Mid America Live News will update when more information is made available to us.

This story has been updated:

https://www.midamericalive.com/2023/03/update-water-rescue-success-in-bates.html

Obituary - Michael Chatfield

Michael Chatfield, 74, passed away at his residence in rural Blairstown, Missouri, with his wife Judy at his side.

Michael was born October 30, 1948, in Raytown, Missouri, to Kenneth and Betty “Moyer” Chatfield. Michael graduated from Cass Midway High School. He served in Vietnam in the US Navy as an Electricians Mate on the USS Long Beach.

Michael spent his working life as a Systems Engineer in the Computer Industry for Xerox and other companies. He did custom seeding work on CRP grounds as a side job. He was a muscle car enthusiast and owned a 1970 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible, and a 1971 Buick GS (Gran Sport) 455 himself. He was a Ham Radio operator. He was a member of the Holden VFW Post 5844.

Michael is survived by his wife, Judith “Judy” Gordon Chatfield; son, Travis Chatfield, stepchildren, Damon Gordon, Kansas City, MO., and Brandes Gordon, Kansas City, MO.; brothers, Lowell (Sherry) Chatfield, Raytown, MO., Kenneth Chatfield, and Donald Chatfield, Drexel, MO.; sisters, Joanne Chatfield, Wichita, KS., and Clara Chatfield, Wichita, KS.; as well as many other family and friends.

He was preceded by his parents, Kenneth and Betty Chatfield; and step-son Dennis Gordon Jr.. Services will be scheduled by the family at a later date.

Structure fire in rural Dayton

In the overnight hours the Adrian Fire Department was dispatched on mutual aide to assist the Central Cass Fire Department on a structure fire at a address of 29411 East State Route B Highway in the Dayton area of Cass County. 

Mid America Live News will update this story when more information is made available to us. 

Reality Day with Students from Three Different Counties

University of Missouri Bates County Extension office and rootEd co-hosted Hume Reality Day to help 107 local-rural students become smart consumers Hume, MO- “Being an adult is really hard” and “kids are expensive" were common phrases heard from students completing the event. During Reality Day at Hume High School, students were asked a series of questions and selected options based on a scenario given to them.

The student would go booth-to-booth selecting and making choices for their “family” working with a partner to practice compromise and communication. Students were able to select their housing, utilities, phone plans, internet and ways to have fun. They all built a budget for a month. “This is was such a great event … thank you for doing this…it really made me think about my future” Abigail Harris, Hume Senior. Reality Day was able to host six schools: Sheldon, Appleton City, Ballard, Montrose, Bronaugh and Hume.

Over 15 volunteers from the Hume community along with local community partners supported the event. Representatives from the following business and organizations attended: Peerless, West Central Community Action Center, MODot, Crowder College (Nevada Campus), Missouri Welding Institute, Hume Bank, Hume Insurance Agency, University of Missouri Bates County Extension office, Bates County Sheriff Office, Metropolitan Community College-Blue River. Reality Fairs are important experiential learning for students, this event was a success and helped empower young minds with budgeting skills and options to explore for their future.

Each student completed a check your knowledge pre and post survey and had opportunities to win a prize including all students earning a free ice cream cone from Swope’s sponsored by the extension office. Bates County Sheriff’s office also won a prize as the community partner that brought in the most canned goods. rootEd and the extension office enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate and support local students. Did this activity change the way you think about a family budget? “Yes, it’s crazy how much living costs”- anonymous response to post survey.

rootEd Alliance is a partner with DESE and believes every student should graduate high school on a path to achieve career success and economic stability. rootEd Alliance places dedicated college and career advisors in rural high schools to work with all students to define and plan their futures, whether through a college degree, work-based learning, or military service.

Hume school established a rootEd advisor in 2022, Janine Castillo. For more information on how to host a similar Reality Day event contact Sara Bridgewater, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist & County Engagement Specialist at sbridgewater@missouri.edu or 660-679-4167.

MDC tracks crappie populations at Truman Lake to benefit anglers

Clinton, Mo. – When late autumn winds were putting a chill on Truman Lake, Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Biologist Chris Brooke and assistants were counting and measuring hundreds of crappie netted from the lake’s depths. Nature’s ancient processes guide the life patterns of fish like crappie. But anglers play a role in their ecosystem, too, at a heavily fished reservoir. Brooke was out on the water with the help of other MDC personnel in October to gather data used to track fish population trends.

Black crappie and white crappie, separate species that are closely related, are among Missouri’s most popular sport fish. They can be easily caught during the spring spawning season on small lures or bait like minnows. Many anglers consider them a favorite fish to eat and a year-round quarry. Truman Lake is one of the state’s most productive crappie fishing lakes, an enormous reservoir with varied water and habitat conditions. Crappie are panfish that must be 9 inches long or longer to be kept at Truman Lake. But they are numerous given a succession of good spawning years, a fish that’s important to the lake’s recreation economy.

MDC biologists scientifically monitor fish populations in Missouri waters to make sure they are healthy, and if not, possibly propose a regulation change. No regulation change is being considered for Truman Lake because crappie populations are good and relatively stable. The population sampling done with nets in autumn does enable a prediction for angler success. He expects 2023 to be a good year for crappie fishing. That’s helped by a large year-class of black crappie spawned in 2019 that have reached the legal length limit.

“I think we’re going to have an average year on Truman,” Brooke said of 2023. “But an average year on Truman still produces a lot of really good crappie fishing.”

When sampling crappie populations, biologists pull trap nets from the lake and process the fish. The crappie are identified by species, counted, and fish over five inches are measured. Most are then released back to the lake. Otoliths, an ear bone in fish, are removed from a few fish to determine the age. Data gathered goes into computer programs used to track population trends, such as growth rates. For example, the 2022 sampling showed that in the Windsor Crossing area of the lake on the Tebo Creek arm, 10 percent of the black crappie were over nine inches long and 48 percent of the white crappie were that size. Catch rates for both species were about the same.

Brooke sampled at six sites last autumn. Crappie numbers and average size varies between different lake locations. The middle and upper reaches of the Osage and South Grand River arms of the lake have higher percentages of white crappie than black crappie. Black crappie are sampled in higher percentages in the Pomme de Terre and Tebo Creek arms as well as the lower lake areas closer to the dam. White crappie dominate in the murkier arms of the lake. Black crappie are more numerous where water is more clear. The upper areas of the lake’s arms tend to have more larger fish, while the lower areas have more fish.

For an angler, catching crappie comes down to knowledge of fish habits, skill, and some luck regarding weather and baitfish patterns. Also required is if fish happen to be hanging out and hungry where a baited hook on a line is dropped down into the water. Uncertainty helps make fishing an adventure.

For more information about Truman Lake fishing, visit MDC’s Fishing Prospects page at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/4gH. For a YouTube video of Brooke removing an otolith to determine a crappie’s age, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/4gV.

Photos: MDC Fisheries Management Biologist Chris Brooke and other MDC staff members netted crappie last fall to gather data used to monitor trends for fish populations in the lake.

Missouri Department of Conservation photo

Obituary - Michael Dwain Huff

Michael Dwain Huff, age 63, died unexpectedly at his Belton home on Sunday, March 19, 2023. Mike (as he was known to his friends and family) was born February 5, 1960 in Grinnell, Iowa. He was the first of two sons born to Jack D. and Judy A. (Lamb) Huff.

Mike graduated from Belton High School in 1979. His career took several paths including farming, waste water technician, street department supervisor, heavy equipment operator, and truck driver. Mike enjoyed cooking bar-b-que and working in his yard.

Mike was preceded in death by his father Jack Huff. He is survived by his mother Judy Huff(Grinnell, IA); son Jacob Huff (Overland Park, KS); brother Brian Huff (and Brian's wife Toni of Peculiar,MO); nephews Brandon Carroll and Cody Briggs; and niece Amanda Miller.

Mike will be inurned in Rock Creek Cemetery in Grinnell, Iowa. Services will be scheduled there at a later date.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mcgilleygeorgebelton.com for the Huff family.

Butler man arrested after traffic stop

On Saturday March 25th around 10:02 p.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Bates County arrested 56 year old Joseph R. Wyssbrod of Butler.

Mr. Wyssbrod was arrested on the following charges 1.) Felony possession of a controlled substance 2.) Unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.

Joseph R. Wyssbrod was booked into the Bates County Jail and later cited with tickets and released. 

View arrest report below:

https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP71/ArrestDetailsAction?TW01REPORTNUMBER=I463989A

Disclaimer: Arrest records are public information. Any indication of an arrest does not mean the individual identified has been convicted of a crime. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.