From The Cass County Sheriff's Office

As of this morning, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office Disaster Emergency Response Team (DERT) has made a total of 22 rescues due to winter weather from this weekend.

The team was called out at around 10 p.m. Saturday night and has been working to assist drivers since then. We still recommend that you don’t travel unless it’s absolutely necessary.

While the snow has stopped accumulating, driving conditions are still dangerous because of ice on the roads.

Weather closings and cancelations for Tuesday January 7th

The following will be closed Tuesday January 7th due to weather and road conditions.

Adrian School District (AMI Day)
Adrian Methodist Church Senior Lunches
Appleton City School District
Archie School District (AMI Day)
Bates County Administration Building

Bates County Extension Office 

Bates County Prosecutor Office

Butler Senior Center 

Ballard School District

Butler School District

Drexel School District 

Eldorado Springs School District 

Old Pantry Thrift Store 
Leeton School District
Miami School District (AMI Day)
Midway School District

Nevada School District

Nevada Regional Technical Center 
Harrisonville School District (AMI Day)

Hudson School District 
Hume School District
Osceola School District
Rich Hill School District
Sherwood School District

Please bookmark this page as we will be adding to this list as more closings are made available.

City of Adrian Alert

Alert from City of Adrian: City Hall Closed

Date: Jan 06, 2025

City Hall will be closed today due to the icy road conditions. 

Obituary - Vicki Sue Parsons

Vicki Sue Cox Parsons, age 68, a resident of Pittsburg, Kansas, passed away Thursday, January 2, 2025, at the Via Christi Village in Pittsburg. She was born January 15, 1956, in Ft. Scott, Kansas, the daughter of Albert L. Cox, Sr. and Rosalie Smith Cox. 

Vicki married Donald M. Parsons on February 29, 1972, in Girard, Kansas. They later divorced. Vicki received her BSN in nursing from Pittsburg State University. 

She worked at Mt. Carmel Hospital in Pittsburg for twenty-six years. She worked as a nurse in several areas of the hospital, but she especially enjoyed her time in pediatrics. Vicki dearly loved all her family and was a second mom to her eleven grandchildren; she faithfully attended their many activities and loved hosting sleepovers. Vicki was an avid traveler and was privileged to take many vacations with her family, some of which included Europe and South Korea. She will be greatly missed by her family and all who loved her.

Survivors include her children, Brandy Stanley (Roger), Micah Parsons (Sarah) all of Pittsburg, and Andrea Briley (Christopher) of Webb City, Missouri, and eleven grandchildren, Montana, Kayln, Blair, Andrew, Christopher, Brady, Levi, Addison, Parker, Calista and Rourke. A great-granddaughter is expected later this month. Also surviving are two brothers, William Cox (Kelly) of Ft. Scott and Robert Cox, Murphysboro, Illinois and two sisters, Teresa Ahmadi (Reza) of Houston, Texas and Cindy Larsen (Danny) of Ft. Scott. Vicki was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Albert L. “Sonny” Cox, Jr. and three sisters, Jean Schroder, Sharon Baucom, and Linda Metcalf.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Monday, January 13th at the Cheney Witt Chapel. The family will receive friends on Monday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the chapel. Following services, there will be cremation, and a private burial will take place later at the Evergreen Cemetery in Ft. Scott. Memorials are suggested to Fostering Connections 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

Obituary - Tami (Dennis) Gould

Tami (Dennis) Gould, 56, of Clinton, Missouri passed away Saturday evening, January 4, 2025 at her home.

Funeral Arrangements are pending under the direction of the Bradley & Hadley Funeral Home, Clinton. We will update this when more information is made available to us. 

News Release: Drivers Urged to Avoid Travel Today; Crews Working to Clear Heavy Snow

Drifting snow, ice and bitter temperatures will make road clearance challenging

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Transportation is urging drivers to continue to avoid traveling through Monday in the heaviest weather impacted areas. The heavy amounts of snow, bitterly cold temperatures and cloud cover will keep MoDOT crews working around the clock to clear the roads the next couple of days. The northern half of Missouri, especially from Interstate 70 to the north, received 8 inches to over a foot of snow, with some pockets of northwestern Missouri receiving nearly two feet.

Today, motorists can expect heavy snow on entrance and exit ramps, outer roads, and the non-interstates. If motorists are driving and get stuck, please stay in the vehicle to avoid the potential of another vehicle sliding into you. Also, you do not want to be outside in these bitterly cold temperatures. The materials used to clear the roads are also less effective in these temperatures.

“Thank you to Missourians for heeding the warnings and staying off the roads during the storm. We need continued patience over the next couple of days as crews keep working to clear off the snow and clear downed trees from the ice,” said MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger. “Our team will continue to work around the clock, and we are shifting staff from the southern parts of the state to the north to help continue to dig out from this major storm.”

“We also thank our emergency response partners with the State Emergency Management Agency, Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Missouri National Guard for the coordinated response to his storm,” said Hassinger.

Across the state, MoDOT has approximately 1,500 snow trucks operating with crews working 12-hour shifts until roads are in a mostly clear condition. Missouri road conditions are available 24/7 on the Traveler Information Map at www.modot.org on desktop and mobile devices.

From the Desk of Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson:

Let’s have a real talk today. That bright thing in the sky is the Sun. It’s beautiful and big we know. Don’t let it fool you!!! It’s not doing anything other than giving you false security. It’s 18 degrees outside, the sun is not melting anything.

Let’s talk roads in Bates County. They are still covered in ice. The plows have been out and they are working hard. The only thing a plow does is take the snow off the ice. Let me repeat that. The plows remove snow and leave you ice. Cars and trucks stop the same on ice……usually when it hits the ditch. Interstate I49 has one lane clear. The fast lane looks wet. DO NOT LET THIS FOOL YOU! There really isn’t a thing called wet pavement in 18 degrees weather. It’s call ice. The fast lane maybe used to pass a slower vehicle but should not be at 80+mph.

Side highways like 52, 18, D, FF, CC, Y, AA, B, and A are still solid sheets of ice.

Please think hard about traveling on those highways.

Gravel roads. Many of our townships have worked hard to treat and work on the gravel roads. Again, gravel freezes and is covered in ice. It also gives you a false sense of security. Don’t trust the roads anymore than you do a fast food fart.

Warming stations. The Sheriff’s Office does not have control over warming stations/storm shelters. Identifying and gaining agreements for a particular location to be a predetermined warming station or storm shelter is the duties of another office. We are at the mercy of those offices to activate and make those arrangements. We currently have one church in Butler that has agreed to open for this purpose.

For those of you who have needed to call for slid offs and or wrecks, thank you for having patience with response times. Remember, our employees can’t just close the doors and stay home. They risk their lives to leave their family to continue to come to work to serve you. Many of my employees realize that when they get to work they may have to sleep on the floor or work double shifts. Our dispatchers are real hero’s who always put our community first.

Public works. Many municipalities are out working on the roads and power. We know it’s an inconvenience to be without power. Our Dispatch does not dispatch for these entities. Please report your outages direct to your provider. If no electricity or heat creates a medical emergency then please call us so we can attempt to find resources for you or your loved ones. I’ve attached a picture of two Rich Hill workers working hard to spread salt at intersections. They woke up today and chose to sling salt not meth.

To sum it up. It’s still too dangerous to travel. Probably more dangerous because of the instinct to be over confident. We have ran nonstop since this weather started. Our staff will continue to come to work and be here for you.

Structure fire last night in Clinton

Last night the Clinton Fire Department responded to a structure fire in the 400 Block of Louise Avenue. All residents have been accounted for, no injuries.

Mid America Live News will update when more information is made available to us from the Clinton Fire Department.