Woman arrested after stealing fire truck in Henry County

Shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Henry County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a fire truck driving recklessly on Florence Street in Windsor. 

As no fire calls had been dispatched, it was suspect that the fire truck had been taken without permission from the fire station in Windsor. Arriving on the scene deputies located a female subject who had been driving the truck.

The female attempted to escape by fleeing from the deputies, but was quickly apprehended. Upon examination of the fire station, deputies found that the stolen fire truck had apparently been driven through the overhead garage door, causing extensive damage.

Charged with burglary, felony stealing, property damage and resisting arrest was Jade Raygan Gibbs, age 20 who lists her address as homeless. Bond has been set at 100,000.00 and she remains in custody as of Thursday morning.

Bates County Posse Rodeo a huge success

The Bates County Sheriff’s Office and the Bates County Sheriff’s Posse would like to Thank everyone who attended the Bates County Sheriff’s Office and Posse Rodeo in Adrian.

First we would like to recognize the most respectful and appreciative attendees and contestants. This year’s rodeo was estimated to have doubled in size with cars parked clear to the highway. 

We would also like to Thank our Co-Sponsors the Adrian Optimist Club along with Rodeo Gold Productions for putting together one of the best rodeos of the year. We couldn’t have done it without the support of the City of Adrian and its public works department. Many man hours were given by the Deputies and the Sheriff’s Posse, Adrian Fire Department, Adrian Police Department and the EMS crew from the Bates County Hospital to bring this free community event to Adrian.

 
We enjoyed partnering up with local businesses and sponsors to help make this year's event successful. Please take a look at our partners and consider using their businesses for all your needs.

CHUTE SPONSORS
Adrian Bank
Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel
Nroute
GOLD SPONSORS
American Dreams Spray Foam
Inetvisions LLC
Moose Electrical
SILVER SPONSORS
Adrian Muffler
Bates County Memorial Hospital
CTC
Justin Corbin Excavating
Rhyno Tire
BRONZE SPONSORS
3T Tire
Dylan Allison Mowing
Butler Abstract and Title
Byrds Pecans
Citizens Bank
Cook Insurance
Grays Café
Heather Bridges, NextHome
Hubbard Construction
J&J Tire
Mark Elmer Carpentry
NSK
Osage Valley Electric
Ritchie Davis, American Family
Yoss Thriftway

SPECIAL THANKS
Heritage Tractor for Tractor Donation
Jeremy Fly for running the tractor
Tom Williams Show Horses - Mutton Bustin and Boot Scramble
Mid-America Live News - Promoting the Rodeo
FM 92.1- Promoting the Rodeo
Adrian News Leader - Promoting the Rodeo
Justin Corbin Excavating for the multiple days of dirt work on the arena
Bates County’s High School Rodeo Team for signing autographs
Multiple vendors who sat up and then donated a portion of their sales

Obituary - Diane Louise Hopkins

Diane Louise Hopkins, 82, of Adrian, MO, passed away on Monday, October 2, 2023 at Medicalodge of Butler in Butler, MO. A graveside service will be held on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Hume Cemetery in Hume, MO. Memorial contributions may be made to Hume Cemetery or Promedica Hospice of Butler, MO.

Diane was born May 20, 1941 to Jesse Evans and Alberta Felch in Kansas City, MO. She attended El Dorado Springs High School, where she was in the graduating class of 1959. She started working at Citizens Bank in Nevada, but she ended up with the primary job as homemaker. She married Larry White in 1960 and to this union two children were born, Doug and LeAnna. She later married Walter Hopkins in 1977, where she gained three step-daughters: Karen, Karla and Kelley. She always loved spending time with family and friends. Diane loved being outside, whether it be gardening or fishing. She also loved her cats, who were her companions and comfort.

Diane is preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and her grandson, Wyatt Fisher. She is survived by her son, Doug (Shelli) White, of Adrian, MO; her daughter, LeAnna (Jeff) Fisher, of Adrian, MO; step-daughters: Karen (Tim) Mckinley, Karla (Jeff) Davidson, and Kelley Hopkins all of Hume, MO; her grandchildren: Kevin (Amber) Fisher, Jeffery (Katie) Fisher, Erik (Jacey) White, Brendin (fiancé, Samantha Ozburn) White, Kenny (Debi) McKinley, Stephanie (Chris) Chaplin, Cheyenne (Blake) Lewis, and Samantha Davidson; 14 great-grandchildren; her brother, Danny (Laura) Evans; and three nieces.

NRTC Director Eric Schneider named Missouri CTE Administrator of the Year.

(Nevada, Missouri) On Monday October 2nd, Eric Schneider was recognized as the Administrator the Year by the Missouri Council of Career and Technical Administrators. In his capacity as NRTC Director, Mr. Schneider has had the opportunity to assist instructors as they continue to reshape and enhance the career and technical education opportunities for students at NRTC.

 
According to Dr. Gage Tiller, Director at Carthage Technical Center, “Eric has played an integral role in the Southwest Missouri Career Pathways Coalition (SMCPC) that paired CTE instructors together to develop a common curriculum aligned to industry and postsecondary standards. (He) has become a well-known voice for Missouri CTE. Any time you have a conversation with Eric, it's easy to see his passion for high-quality CTE and ensuring students are prepared for life after high school… (He) has been a great asset to both NRTC and MCCTA. His willingness to get involved and be an advocate for CTE are unmatched. He has the charisma and personality to draw people in and follow his great leadership.”

Mr. Schneider had the following to say. “I love what I get to do with and for the students and staff at NRTC. The instructors and support staff at our school are truly outstanding. Dr. Beshore and Mrs. McNeley, our Nevada Central Office Administrators, are always supportive of our CTE efforts. I have had the privilege of working closely with the other outstanding CTE Directors in SW Missouri and have leaned on them heavily at times. I have experienced the advantage of working closely with my predecessor Dr. Phillip Witt who made great strides to improve curriculum alignment and improve the hands-on learning opportunities for NRTC students during his tenure. Because of the amazing foundation formed by all of these amazing people, I have had the opportunity to help with the great work being done by the Southwest Missouri Career Pathways Coalition as we continue to improve CTE instruction across the region. They have also blessed me with the opportunity to serve in multiple leadership roles within the Missouri Council of Career and Technical Administrators. The foremost being the planning and facilitating of professional development as a member of the MCCTA Conference Planning Committee. None of these things would be possible without the support and professionalism of all of the exceptional people with whom I work.”

Mr Schneider is excited about the things being accomplished at NRTC and is very excited for all of the new opportunities they plan to provide students in the future. New construction is being planned. New CTE programs are being considered. These enhancements will continue to serve students as they prepare for bigger and brighter futures.

Activity report from the Bates County Commission

 

September 6 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present. Viebrock and Metal Culverts were the only bids for the metal culverts and dimple bands needed for Road and Bridge. Viebrock missed one culvert quote needed. Metal Culverts bid total was $32683.30. Trent made the motion to accept Metal Culverts bid. Ken seconded. All voted yes. Motion passed with no opposition.

September 11 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present. The commission went through the townships requirements for CART money. The ones with competed paperwork were submitted for payments. See the list at the end of this month’s minutes. Trent Diehl with the city of Butler came over to talk about paving the alley between the south side of the square and the Sheriff’s Office from the where the concrete ends east to Main St. There would need to be a utility study to see what is under the alley and then the existing makeup to decide the best pavement to apply. Paving options were discussed. A meeting with the Sheriff’s Office will need to take place.

September 13  The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present. Ken was absent for the afternoon session. Josh Framel with Clearway stopped in for an update on the Swan Solar Project. They are in phase one with SBP and 2 more phases to go. Phase 2 should be starting in January. With phase 3 to follow later in 2024. The land needed has been secured. They are looking to add more land to account for unusable areas. The land is mostly in Sterling Ranch with some extending to Shilo Ranch. Discussion of the county road use lead to only one possibly being used at the south end of road 4002. Conversation started about the PILT agreements. At this point there isn’t much to go forward with there. Clearway does have opportunities with Government Programs for reduction by using American made panels and utilizing areas with economical loss. Approved bills.

September 18 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present. The Bates County Coroner, Greg Mullinax and Public Administrator, Brenda Doody came in with a plan to adopt for  indigent cremations and dealings.  The Coroner’s office has been taking care of these when they arise. There has been an increase in indigent and or unclaimed remains and assets. The county can look over and adopt this process to utilize both offices to make this process seamless and efficient. The Commission is going to consider this plan.

September 20 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present. Approved bills. Donna Rich had set an appointment to speak to the commission about a sewer line problem with the EMA building. A resident on Ft Scott St. is having sewer issues and the city may need to find that line and make repairs. She did not show. At 1:24 pm Trent made the motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel issues with Jami Page, Carl Bettels and Danyelle Baker. Ken seconded the motion. All voted yes. At 2:07 pm Ken made the motion to go back in open session. Trent  seconded. All voted yes.

September 25 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present. Jami Page, Bates County Clerk, asked the Commission for an update on the courthouse roof.  There is major damage after this weekend’s rain.  There are two more rooms that have leaks and cracks in the walls.  Ken Mooney said they need to get the roof repairs sent out for bid.  Jim Wheatley stated he would like to get our insurance agent, Charles Rush, to look at the damage since the insurance company said they would not pay anything towards the roof.  Jami asked the Commission to go over to the courthouse and meet with Gary Ratliff to look at the damage. 

Jim Wheatley said they have not yet heard back from Sheriff Anderson in regards to the alley behind the Sheriff’s Office.  On September 20, 2023, Jim sent the Sheriff an email requesting him to contact the Clerk’s Office to schedule a meeting.  The Sheriff has yet to respond to his email.  On July 31, 2023 Jim sent Sheriff Anderson an email requesting a copy of the agreement with the U.S. Marshals regarding the federal inmates.  He also requested a copy of the speech that Sheriff Anderson read to the Commission that morning.  Sheriff Anderson has failed to produce those documents so the Commission is going to send him a Sunshine Law Request. The Rockville City Council came in to talk to the commission about the city sewer and water situations. They are in need of a secondary source hook up for the city’s water. They have tried to approach this before and are being held up by one resident that does not want to give an easement of his property. They have a secondary route that could be used. They are wanting to hook into PWD#7 and have received their approval. The tower is in need of a few repairs. The sewer has had some issues with inspections as it does not work as designed any longer. Temporary repairs have been put into place. This needs to be corrected to be up to standard in order to work long into the future. They have set up a meeting with Dane Diehl and will be meeting with Kaysigner to get different ideas on funding. They are seeking help with ARPA money. They have saved what they had received as a City from ARPA. The funding of these projects are far over what they have. They were advised to fill out 2 applications one for water and one for sewer. The County has some ARPA left and might be able to help. 

Tom Varner with Benefits Administration presented a different Health Insurance choice for the county. He has a company that puts several counties together to get the best quotes. His goals are at least 5% less, rate guarantee of at least 5 years hopefully 10 and longevity. He likes to see the county stay with the same company for 5 years or so. The commission gave him ideas to build his base and to check back when our current agreement is up. 

Jami Page, County Clerk, brought in the Indigent Policy rewritten to Bates County and with a few changes. There are still several things in the policy to work out. She is proposing to have the Clerk’s office keep the records. The remains to be kept by the county as they are paying for the cremation and prevents any issues on dealing with future relatives wanting to claim the remains. There are still several things to work out. i.e where to store the remains and possible burial. The commission also will want our legal advisor to look the policy over. The commission is going to look over the policy and proposed changes and will table this till a later date. Jami also brought up the Inventory Policy. The inventory list is due from each office October 10th and a few items need changed to meet the current statue. There are a few changes that the county would like to add as well. The statue has listed anything at or over $1000.00 be listed. The county added any electronics and tools purchased for $300 or more that can easily be stolen to be listed as well as firearms purchased of any value with serial number and model. Ken made the motion to accept the revised inventory policy to go into effect as of 9-25-2023. Trent seconded. All voted yes. No opposition. Motion passed.

2024 ELECTION DATES:

April 2, 2024 Municipal Election

First day for candidate filing is December 5, 2023

Last day for candidate filing is December 26, 2023

August 6, 2024 Primary Election

First day for candidate filing is February 27, 2024

Last day for candidate filing is March 26, 2024

November 5, 2024 General Election

First day for candidate filing is July 9, 2024

Last day for candidate filing is July 30, 2024

Council approves special use permit

 

All were present for the Butler city council meeting October 3, except Ward 2 councilman Jeff Hall

Guest Kaleb Breshears, a specialist representing Core & Main addressed the council and answered questions regarding the status of the wireless utility read system (AMI) which is slated to be online and operational soon. His appearance was prompted by the council as concerns were growing that the project was running behind schedule however. According to Breshears, there are several ‘layers’ of the project that have to be implemented a few steps at a time- for example about 22 total electric and water meter transmitters have been installed and next comes testing and implementation of the integration and billing software which began last week.

In short, he assured the council the project is on track with a delivery of about 400 meters a month scheduled, putting the system mostly operational the early part of 2024. While the initial cost of the AMI remote utility meter reading system is close to $750k, it will greatly enhance speed and accuracy of reading meters while saving the city a substantial amount of manual labor as well. Other benefits include immediate notification in the event of outages as well as early water leak detection and an automated billing system.

Another hot topic has been the renovation taking place at 113 S. Orange (former Nelson Motel location) as property owner Parker Byron is currently rehabbing the entire facility to meet modern efficiency standards in an effort to provide affordable housing which is desperately needed in Butler. The project has been under fire due to the previous owner allegedly not keeping up with codes along with numerous issues concerning illegal activity and more.

In last month’s meeting Byron assured the council that he was aware of the violations and as the new owner he has been working with the city to ‘raise the bar’ in terms fulfilling legal requirements while enhancing the standard of living there as well. In that meeting the council was in agreeance with Byron on all counts but wanted to add some items to the conditional use permit including four ‘spot checks’ of compliance the first year of operation. With that, the permit was approved unanimously.

In other news City Clerk Corey Snead advised the group that $300,000 of restricted money will be put into CD’s which have a pretty good rate of 5.7%. Other discussion included raising funds for a public safety building which could include grant, USDA and FEMA money as part of this long term goal.

Snead also spoke optimistically about rural economic development interests in Butler that could make good use of empty buildings such as the former Walmart and Country Mart locations to name a few. His discussions with the group highlighted the fact the Butler is an ideal location (between Nevada and Harrisonville) for big box retailers. Bringing one to town would certainly reduce drive time for some and more is expected on this in upcoming meetings.

Ward 3 councilwoman Carmen Behringer inquired about something she heard on the street, a Frisbee golf course to be located somewhere in Butler. Her surprise of this announcement was shared with other council members as no one seemed to know anything about it. City administrator Mike West did point out that it was in the budget and was in the works before the current council was elected. He went on to say that work has begun on the project, likely completed next year and will be located at South park. 

It was announced that Butler has a new code enforcement officer, Don Hastings. He officially started in the position September 27th and was welcomed by the council.

Remember the Butler city council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm at city hall. The public is highly encouraged to attend.

Tense moment in west Butler

On Monday October 2nd, a local resident had finished shopping at Butler Walmart when they were accosted by a man near the stoplight. 

The driver reported that while waiting for the light to change, the man attempted to open the front passenger vehicle door and when the driver pulled forward, the man attempted to open the rear passenger door. The driver then pulled onto 52 highway against a red light during which the man reportedly threw rocks at the vehicle.

While there was no further incident, the identity of the man is still unknown. If anyone has information, please contact the Butler police department at 660-679-6131.

Obituary - Dewey McGuire

Visitation for Dewey McGuire of Butler, Missouri will be 3 - 5 p.m. Friday, October 6, 2023 at Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) in Butler, Missouri. Inurnment at a later date at Virginia Cemetery, Virginia, Missouri. Online condolences www.schowengerdtchapel.com.

Dewey McGuire, age 92 of Butler, Missouri died Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at the Butler Center. He was born May 6, 1931 to Ezra and Pearl McQuinn McGuire in Butler.

Dewey is survived by two sons, Gary McGuire and wife Rachel of St. Catharines Ontario, Canada and Dewey Lee McGuire and wife Cheryl of Cleveland, Missouri; two daughters, Linda Christopher and husband Robert of Butler, Missouri and Julie Conrad of Rich Hill, Missouri; 10 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Nelda Lee McGuire on December 13, 1996; a son, Roy Allen McGuire; and a brother, Terry McGuire.