Bird’s eye view of Amsterdam St. Paddy’s parade

Obituary - Maria Louise Smith

Maria Louise Smith, age 75, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at her home. Maria was born June 20, 1948, to her parents, Charles Meek and Betty Graham. She was the oldest of four children. She was born in Ft. Scott, Kansas where she grew up and attended school. 

Maria married James Linn, who she had three children with but later divorced. Maria remarried in 1988 to Bill Smith. She worked as a supervisor at Peerless for twenty-five years. In Maria’s younger years, she enjoyed playing softball as a catcher and dancing whenever given the chance. As she got older, Maria loved spending time with her children and grandchildren. She also enjoyed listening to music on her record player and watching NBA basketball games.

Maria is survived by her three children, Cindy Marsh (Ashley Stark) of Ft. Scott, James Linn Jr., (Junie) of South Carolina and Ganette Davidson of Ft. Scott. She is also survived by one brother, fifteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Maria was preceded in death by her two husbands, parents, two brothers, two nephews and a granddaughter.

Graveside services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Friday, March 22nd at the Centerville Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the Maria Smith Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

One vehicle accident this afternoon in Bates County

On Saturday March 16th at approximately 1:45 p.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Bates County along with the Bates County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a single vehicle accident on southbound I-49 at MM 130.2 just south of Butler.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occured when a southBound 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan driven a 48 year old male by the name of Timothy A. Fowler of Raytown, Missouri traveled off the left side of the roadway, crossed the median into the northbound lanes of I-49 and becoming airborne before crashing into some trees.

Mr. Fowler sustained minor injuries and was transported to Bates County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

View crash report below:

https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=240130667

Butler bears baseball gets win against Diamond today

The Butler bears baseball team ousted the Diamond wildcats 12-9 on Saturday in the Lamar Tiger Classic. A single by Senior Maddox Fennewald put the bears on the board in the bottom of the first. 

Giancarlo Martinez singled, which helped the wildcats tie the game at one in the top of the third.

Butler flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the third, scoring six runs on seven hits to take a 7-1 lead. The biggest blow in the inning was a single by Junior Eli Cox that drove in two.

The Diamond wildcats scored five runs on six hits in the top of the seventh inning. Martinez singled, scoring one run, Adam Brown homered to left field, scoring two runs, and Grady Bentley homered to left field, scoring two runs.

Eli Cox earned the win for Butler. The right-handed pitcher surrendered 11 hits and 9 runs (seven earned) over six and two-thirds innings, striking out five and walking one. 

Bentley started on the mound for Diamond. The starting pitcher allowed 9 hits and 7 runs over two and one-thirds innings, stringing out four and walking one. Sophomore Brandon Hammett collected the save. 

Butler tallied 13 hits in the game. Senior Maddox Fennewald and Sophomore Cohen Wilson each collected three hits for Butler.

Junior Brayden Jackson and Sophomore Jake Chandler each collected multiple hits and Maddox Fennewald stole two bases. Butler stole five bases in the game.

Diamond tallied 11 hits in the game. Matthew Navarro, Daniel Weiss, Bentley, and Martinez each collected two hits for the Diamond Wildcats. Bentley, Brown, and Martinez each drove in two runs as well.

Butler will now move on to play Carthage on Monday in Lamar.

Wind increase, Temps decrease

A warm and breezy evening across the area. Temperatures decrease as winds pick up tomorrow. Highs Sunday reach the upper 40s and low 50s. Wind gusts around 25-30 MPH are anticipated. Much cooler temperatures expected Sunday night with the whole area dipping below freezing.

Obituary - Joseph Paul Nunez

Joseph Paul Nunez, 65, Kansas City, MO, passed away on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City. Paul was born July 29, 1958 in Nevada, MO, the eleventh of eleven children born to Frank Vincente and Mary Ellen (Little) Nunez. He married Dana Kim Segur on July 20, 1996 at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, KS, and she survives of the home.

Paul was raised in Milo and Nevada. He graduated from Nevada High School in 1976 where he participated in ROTC, football, and was a member of the National Honor Society. Following high school, he attended SMSU and the University of Missouri graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and later received his master’s in psychology and counseling. Paul worked for two years at De La Salle Education Center as a counselor for underprivileged youth, then worked at Rockhurst University in the Helzberg School of Management from 1985-2020 as the Director of Undergraduate Advising until his retirement.

Paul believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and lived his life true to his high principles and integrity. He was beloved by his wife, family, and the many students he impacted.

In addition to his wife Dana, survivors include one sister, Martha Tipling, Wheatland, MO; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers, Francis Nunez, Robert Nunez, Donald Lee Nunez, and James Nunez, five sisters, Angelina Geary, Mary Lou Gillespie, Margreat Bolser, Norma Dayringer, and Teresa Huss, and one niece and four nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 22, 2024 at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada with Father Peter Savidge and Pastor Terry Mosher officiating. Interment will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Nevada. The family will receive friends from 1-2:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home.

Memorials are suggested in his name to World Vision International c/o Ferry Funeral Home.

Reminder: I-49 in Cass County set to be closed this coming week

I-49 CLOSED: From Monday, March 18 through Thursday, March 21, northbound and southbound I-49 will be closed at MO-7 for bridge demolition. This will be a 72-hour closure.
DETOUR INFORMATION (March 18-21):

NB/SB I-49: Traffic traveling on NB and SB I-49 will use the on and off ramps to continue on NB/SB I-49.

NB I-49 to 275th Street: Traffic exiting from NB I-49 to 275th Street traffic will be detoured over the on and off ramps on NB I-49 to the Commercial Street interchange.

SB I-49 to MO-7 South: Traffic exiting from SB I-49 to MO-7 South traffic will be detoured over the on and off ramps on SB I-49 to the 307th Street interchange.

275th Street: Traffic on 275th Street will be detoured on the Outer Road to 307th Street interchange

For more information about the project, visit >> http://www.harrisonville.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1552

Sunday night/Monday morning lows

Just a heads up - a hard freeze is expected across the region for Sunday night into Monday morning. 

Protect any sensitive vegetation that may have gotten off to an early start this spring with the above normal temperatures over the past 7 weeks.