The Museum Minute: Telephone Vandal Disrupts Service

Courtesy of the Bates County Museum 802 Elks Drive, Butler Mo 64730 (660) 679-0134

Herrman’s Historical Happenings week of October 27

1868 The census for Bates County shows 5,733 males, 5,057 females, 5,844 horses & 12, 535 head of cattle.

1875 A feud that has been brewing for several weeks ends when M.H. Goodwin shoots John Cane. Mr Cane found his estranged wife and Goodwin together, rural Butler.

1911 The Bates county school superintendent, Mr. Allison, reports the Harmony Mission School, 8 miles east of Passaic, has 55 students, and the teacher is Miss Randall, who gets $55 a month. 

1930 R. Spurlock is brought before Justice B. F. Jeter, in Butler, he was arrested upon a complaint of the Charlotte Telephone Co for cutting down and destroying a telephone pole at the Huffman corner 3 miles east of Virginia. The entire telephone system was tied up for several hours.

1932 Doctor R.E. Crabtree, city of Butler Health Officer, appeals to citizens to conserve water as the Miami is about dry and they may have to lay pipe to the Recreation Lake.

1940 Thieves break into the McNeil School and steal just about everything that had been donated for the school carnival, scheduled for tomorrow, but now postponed to November 4th.

1951 The Bates County Tractor & Implement Co, holds its official Grand opening, at 71 highway and Harrison St. Ed Nolin, a life time farmer of Bates Co. is manager and Jack Stark is parts and service manager.

1952 Mr & Mrs Elmer McCann have taken over the management of the Butler NU-SHO movie theater at Adams and highway 71. Former manager Wilbur Smith will go back to laying tile.

1968 The Merwin Christian Church building is dedicated.

2000 The Deems Farm Equipment of Butler is beginning its 61st year as the John Deere dealer in the area and is one of the largest in western Missouri.

Crosswind Considerations

What’s Up by Leroy Cook

That was a pretty impressive cold front that slid through here on Sunday, leaving a display of cumulus build-ups to the east after the skies cleared behind the front. The low ceilings earlier in the day had pretty well thwarted any flying, along with the strong crosswind at the Butler runway. Some of the frosty mornings last week required priming fuel to get the engine started; it’s that time of year.

As far as transient traffic goes, we saw a Piper Cherokee on the approach Saturday, a Piper Arrow was in, a Cessna Skyhawk landed and a Cirrus SR-22 came by. Locally, Rebekah Knight took the Cessna Skyhawk out, Flight Instructor Eric Eastland did a couple of Cessna 150 training sessions and Chris Hall had the SkyDive KC Beech King Air E90 up on jump runs, until the weekend frontal passage shut them down.

I get asked now and then about “how strong does the crosswind have to be before it prevents us from landing?” Doesn’t happen, I tell them; airplanes always land…one way or the other. After all, they can’t stay up forever. Seriously, I figure 15 knots of crosswind is plenty, after which I’ll look for another airport with a more favorable runway direction and perhaps land there. If you’re feeling lucky you can try landing with 20 or 25 knots across the runway, but chances are you’ll be going around instead of landing on the first attempt.

So, why don’t we build extra runways so we can avoid the risk of a crosswind landing? With land and construction costs as they are, that isn’t likely to happen. We’re lucky to have the one runway we have. I have a picture of Butler airport in the old days, when it was 80 acres of native grass, and there were three distinct landing lanes visible, a north-south and two intersecting diagonal ones. Over at St. Louis, the Navy built Smartt Field during WW-2 as a training facility (now St. Charles County airport) with no less than eight runways arranged in an octagon shape. That pretty much eliminated the crosswind accidents in their Stearman biplanes, but concrete was cheap then and the war had to be won at any cost.

The chartered DC-9 airliner accident in Houston last week was called a “miracle” by the news media, because no one got hurt when the aborted takeoff run left the airplane a burning wreck off the end of the runway. It was not a miracle, it was a survivable outcome because the crew did what it was trained to do and the exits and escape slides functioned as designed. Safety requires preparation, and the operators were prepared.

The question from last week was about “day-glow” bright florescent paint that was a brief fad in the 1950s and 1960s. The idea was to cut down on mid-air collision risk by making planes more visible, adding bright color to wingtips and tails. Ed Robertson put the paint on his old Cessna 140 trainer, in case the government’s recommendation became a requirement. The notion was wisely called off, because the color weather- faded into dull orange in a matter of a few months. For next week, we want to know what’s unique about the Navy’s new MQ-25 tanker aircraft. You can send your answer to kochhaus1@gmail.com.

Less Than Desired Turnout for Butler Town Hall Meeting

City Administrator Mike West and the council addressed a group of just over 20 citizens during the much touted Town Hall Meeting held last Thursday evening. Topics covered were water rates, street repairs, airport improvements/repairs and the roughly $800k the city will receive as part of the American Rescue Plan to offset COVID related losses. It is proposed that a portion of the money goes to reimburse the city for the cost of the city hall remodel; grant a $50 utility credit to residents; develop a sensory/handicap park at North Field Park; and use remaining funds to offset the cost of an electronic water meter reading system that will significantly reduce labor required to read meters. From the audience questions included could the incoming ARP money be used as matching funds for a city grant? Unfortunately no. Other public concerns centered around keeping streets swept, solving internet issues and infrastructure concerns related to sewer and water. 

Remember, the Butler city council meets on the first and third Tuesdays 7 pm, upstairs at the Butler city hall.

Bates County Real Estate Transfers and Marriage Licenses

Yohe, Dustin to Yohe, Arthur Lt 11 Bl 65 Rich Hill, Original Town Of+

Becker, Gale to Becker, Gale Str 13-38-33 //Nw

Heiman, Garrett to Hackett, Lorrie Lt 17 Bl 29 Rockville, Original Town Of+

Beasley, Orville to Tucker, William F Bl 10 William’s Addn+

Brooks, Linda Diane to Keener, William J. Lt 5 Bl 8 William’s Addn+

Hankins, Richard Brent (Suc Trustee) to Droz, Jeffrey D Bl 163 Town Company’s Second Addn+

Wheeler, Donald L to Wheeler, Kimberly Str 14-42-33 //Sw

Weiss, Randall L to Lind, Jeremy R Lt 406 Country South Ext. #4+

Crary, Benjamin N. to Henderson, Randy W Str 19-40-31 //Sw

Tippie, Roger Lane to Sellars, Dixie Lt 9 Bl 21 Sprague, Original Town Of+

Chandler, Colby to Simms, Timothy Bl 83 Walnut Nka Foster

Flying H Genetics, Llc to Smith, Zephaniah M Str 2-39-30 //Nw

Park West Estates, L.P. to Brown, Barbara M. Lt 2 Bl D Park West P4/52

Mcquillen, Johnathan N to Blakesley, Glen Scott Str 17-42-31 //Sw

Coffman, Gary F to Gargus, Anthony Lt 9 Bl 11 West Side Addn+

Ths Land Holdings, Llc to Stuart, Kenneth E. Lt 139 Adrian, Original Town Of

Duncan, Jennifer D. to Fink, Shane E. Str 14-42-33 //Ne

Tenholder, Mark E. to David & Nicole Thurman Farms, Llc Str 14-42-31 //Nw+

Forhy, Carolyn to Sargent, Richard B. Lt 6 Bl 21 West Side Addn+

Reyburn, Berry Lee to Wasmer, Kenneth Andrew Str 22-38-29 //Sw

Reyburn, Berry Lee to Wasmer, Kenneth Andrew Str 21-38-29 //Se+

King, Shirley Brooks to King, Shirley Brooks Str 5-38-33 //Nw

Tenholder, Donna Mae (Trustee) to David & Nicole Thurman Farms, Llc Str 14-42-31 //Nw+

King, Richard Reeves (Trustee) to Henderson, Randy Str 19-40-31 //Sw

Steel, Edward & Sue Ann Trust 07-31-2008 to Henderson, Randy Str 19-40-31 //Sw

Wheatley, Thelma B. 08-22-1990 to Lockard, Dwayne Keith Str 2-39-32 //Nw

Marriage License:

Meade, Stuart Wryan and Walsh, Sonya Ann

Kepley, Dillon Wayne and Snodgrass, Jayme Marie

Cumpton, Wade Lee and Clark, Katrina Dawn

Brown, Jameson Bastain Craig and Patrick, Cheyenne Elizabeth

Hansen, Eric Michael and Cumpton, Christine Denise

Nationwide Supply Issues Hit Close to Home

For a while, we’ve been watching news of cargo ships stacking up at U.S. ports from afar but now beginning to see the net effect of this locally. In talking with area businesses we’re hearing of shortages of all kinds and the list seems to be growing. Local appliance shops are having trouble getting replacement handles, knobs and basic timers leaving thousands of dollars of saleable merchandise waiting on a $10 part. Equally as bad, our local HVAC folks are now being told that heating and cooling systems that normally are in stock in nearby warehouses now are looking at a 4-6 month or longer delivery time. 

The shortages seem to come at all levels including common car parts such as alternators and batteries, along with some items that are rarely in short supply such as paper and ink. Paint is getting hard to find. Crafters are having trouble getting certain types and colors of fabric and thread. 

Tires are no exception. We spoke to Dale Newkirk, owner of Right Choice Truck & Tire who is also feeling some supply chain pain. “Like everyone else in our business, we’re having trouble getting certain brands and sizes of tires” he said in a conversation on Tuesday “And a really hard time getting parts for semi trucks too”. Newkirk went on to say that getting what he needs comes from wherever they can find it such as Texas or Wisconsin, which are not the regular suppliers. “A normal day of business would be to make orders and expect them in a few days, however now, an increasing amount of time is spent searching for what is in stock around the country,” he added.  

Our nation’s leaders say the shortages are because the economy is reopening and demand is up- but there seems to be a lot more at hand here, including docks running at 50% or less capacity. With Winter approaching, we have to wonder when will things start to swing back the other way? No one is certain. Newkirk offered “Not to cause panic buying, but if anyone needs tires or a repair, you might do it sooner than later before supplies get even more limited”. As our conversation continued those sentiments apply to other things as well. He reinforced “While facing unknowns, it’s better to get whatever you need now as opposed to not being able to get it when you absolutely need it down the road” and that advice seems to make sense. 

Dale and wife Trish also own Troublefree Transportation, a trucking company that predominantly serves the midwest that dispatches out of Butler. “Unlike the cargo ships that are stuck, the trucking business is pretty much wide open” said Trish, who is president of the company “We could run as many trucks as we want but the limitation now is not having enough drivers”. She went on to explain that due to changes in regulations, COVID, and varying pay incentives complicate matters greatly. Even with those issues, the trucking industry appears to be in a little better shape compared to oceanic shipping vessels. In rough numbers it is speculated that it will take at least 6 months to unload the ships off the California coast IF the ports were running at full capacity. 

As we face the great unknown, we are already seeing a spike in heating fuels, gasoline, diesel and food along with sure signs of what appears to be hyperinflation; which means problems may very well continue into a good portion of next year.

Grant to Help With Unexpected City Expense

photo courtesy Prolook Studio

All members present except Sargent for the regular Butler city council meeting Oct. 19th

The council approved a conditional use permit allowing Medicalodge on east Nursery street to install a new lighted sign for their facility. Work is expected to be completed soon.

Some time was devoted to the replacement of the police radio console in the dispatch center as it has become quite unreliable and due to age, parts are hard to find. A replacement unit is sought and the city will be guaranteed the lowest bid price due to the nature of a USDA grant that will help pay for it.  Of the estimated $85,000 minimum cost, the city will only have to pay 25% of the total thanks to the grant.

The city has been asked if it can supply electric service to a property located just south of the city limits as the owner says due to the location, Osage Valley would be quite expensive due to the length of lines needed to be run. The short answer is yes, however providing utilities outside an annexed area can create issues according to the city attorney. There will be a special meeting regarding this matter at 6 pm ahead of the next regular council meeting on November 2nd.

The remodel at city hall is running a bit behind, however progress is visible as city hall is again open to the public after a COVID scare. The new design will allow for safer transactions with customers and work is expected to be complete by December.

A fire inspection was ordered for the new Burger King on west 52 highway meaning construction is nearly complete and hopefully you’ll be able to get a Whopper within a few weeks.

A concrete island on Country Club Terrace will be removed as it has become a problem for vehicles, especially in Winter. Originally the island was home to a lighted sign but over the years that too had been struck by vehicles and is no longer in place. Crews will begin removing the roughly 4 inch high oil-pan-busting hazard soon.

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

Miami County Kansas Sheriff's Office Wanted Wednesday

PSA from the Bates County Health Center

Quarantine for household and community close contacts of a COVID-19 positive case has been reduced to 10 days from 14.

Schools also have the option of implementing the Test to Stay option for K-12 exposures in the classroom setting.

- Courtesy of the Bates County Health Center