A Rogersville woman is hospitalized after being struck by the extended rear view mirror of a truck.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 19-year-old Gracie Shelton was walking along Farm Road 186 when she was struck by the truck’s mirror. She was taken to an area hospital with “serious” injuries.
The accident took place around 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Troopers say the truck’s driver did not appear to be impaired.
Springfield Public Schools will be reducing the size of their teaching team because of a significant drop to the district’s enrollment.
The district has lost about 1,500 students in the last year, mostly to homeschooling or private schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The drop in enrollment is forcing the district to cut 49 positions.
However, no current teachers will lose their positions as the cut positions will come from retirements or teachers leaving for other positions.
The biggest cuts will take place at the elementary level, with 35 of the 49 eliminated positions at that level. The elementary level saw the biggest decrease in enrollment.
The district returns to five days a week in-school classes this fall without virtual classes.
Springfield Public Schools has stated a middle school teacher who was caught on video making derogatory statements to a student is no longer employed by the district.
On the last day of school, a student at Pershing Middle School recorded a teacher handing out “unicorn cupcakes” to celebrate LGBTQ. The video shows the teacher’s reaction to a student that pushed back against her views, where she insults the student by calling him a “straight jerk,” a “weasel,” and other terms.
Springfield Public Schools officials said they were informed about the incident within 24 hours, received video from a parent, and that a hotline call was made to Missouri Children’s Division.
The teacher has not been named publicly.
SPS spokesman Stephen Hall said the statements were inappropriate and inexcusable and that the district followed their board policy for these situations.
State Senator Eric Burlison commented about the video on social media.
“She promoted her personal beliefs in the classroom, she lost her objectivity in a conversation with one of her students, who pushed back on these ideas,” Burlison said. “Crossing the line even further, she is said to have called a young man many demeaning and derogatory names.”
The Springfield Police Department has released a new video in hopes public tips will help lead to the arrest of suspects in a June 9th attempted robbery on South Broadway.
The video is believed to show the suspect vehicle and the driver. The vehicle is believed to be a 2016-2019 Ford Explorer with tinted windows.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield PD at 864-1755 or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 417-869-8477.
Authorities in Greene County are concerned about the well-being of an elderly woman who’s been missing since Sunday night.
The sheriff’s office says Joan Vandenberg, 81, disappeared from the 4300 block of south Meadowlark Drive.
Deputies say Vandenberg left for Walmart, but never returned home. She has Alzheimer’s Disease.
Vandenberg drives a maroon 2016 Ford Escape with Missouri license plate LE4 K7H.
Anyone with information on Vandenberg or has seen her is asked to call the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
Winds of up to 70 miles per hour, half dollar size hail and torrential rains have swept across the Ozarks Friday afternoon and evening.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for eastern Greene and western Webster Counties until 2:00 a.m. Saturday. Radar indicates thunderstorms producing heavy rain up to 1.5 inches as of 7:55 p.m., with additional rainfall amounts of one to two inches possible. This includes east Springfield, Strafford, Marshfield, Rogersville, Fair Grove and Fordland.
A Flash Flood Warning is in effect until 2:15 a.m. Saturday for northeastern Christian County and northwestern Douglas County, including Nixa, Ozark and Sparta.
A Flash Flood Warning is also in effect for western Douglas, Ozark and northeastern Taney Counties until 2:45 a.m. Saturday. Ava, Gainesville, and Bakersfield are among the towns included.
We’ve had several reports of wind damage as these storms moved through Friday evening, including several power outages in the Brighton area due to limbs on power lines.
We’ve also had two inch tree limbs down just south of the McDonalds in the Seymour area.
North of Springfield in Ebenezer, heavy winds blew over some small trees, and moved a garage door in its track.
A National Weather Service employee reported a tree uprooted by the gust front out ahead of the storms around 7:24 p.m. Friday on Farm Road 146 near Wilson’s Creek west of Springfield.
Six large trees were reported down in the Louisburg area in Dallas County and power outages were reported as storms moved through Ava just before 9:00 p.m. In addition, limbs have been brought down with damage to outbuildings in the Goodhope area in Douglas County.
Trees and telephone lines have been brought down in Theodosia, according to emergency management.
Storms that moved through the Kansas City area and into the Lake of the Ozarks and Lebanon areas produced up to 70 mile per hour winds, with up to ping ball size hail along the Missouri/Kansas border early Friday evening.
Editorial by: U.S. Rep. Billy Long
On this past Memorial Day, we paid tribute to the men and women who sacrificed their lives to protect our freedoms and our way of life. I had the honor of delivering remarks at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield on Memorial Day where a very nice ceremony was held to commemorate those that made the ultimate sacrifice. At the cemetery, I spoke with a veteran that reminded me that while we honor those that died, we need to honor living Veterans too. As a member of Congress, I am able to help veterans in a variety of ways.
When most people think of Congress they naturally think about the bills we pass. We have the ability to enact laws that can have real-life implications for veterans. I always say that just because we can never fully repay the debt we owe to our Veterans it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try! And yes, Congress can work effectively together on issues when we put our minds to it. Take the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act for example. PAWS is a program where veterans who need a service dog can take part in training the dog. This increases the bond the veteran has with their service dog and also can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Another piece of legislation that I am proud to be a cosponsor of is the Major Richard Star Act. This bill would allow veterans who were medically retired but served less than 20 years to collect VA disability benefits as well as military retired pay. The military careers of these men and women were cut short and they were forced to retire, but their retirement pay is offset because of the injury they sustained. This isn’t fair to the 42,000 veterans that find themselves in this situation. As members of Congress, we came together and decided this is a wrong that needs to be made right.
Both of these bills are a great example of how we can come together in the halls of Congress to help our veterans. But legislation is not the only way a member of Congress can assist veterans. My office can also help veterans with issues they are having with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Lisa Saylor and Sydney Ingram Johnson in my Springfield office work tirelessly with veterans from across southwest Missouri to help them cut through the red tape. My staff can assist veterans with records requests, appeals, benefits, and more. I would highly encourage any veteran that resides in Missouri’s 7thCongressional District that is having trouble with the VA to reach out to Lisa or Sydney for assistance. And if you don’t have the good fortune of living in the best Congressional district in the United States you can reach out to your own member of Congress. If their staff isn’t as experienced as mine in dealing with the V.A. they can sure call Lisa or Sydney for guidance.
Veterans gave up a tremendous amount to serve our country, and when they come home, our country needs to serve them. Congress needs to continue to work on good legislation that will benefit veterans in our communities. I am glad to do what I can to make a difference in the lives of veterans. It is my honor and privilege to be a champion for veterans in Congress and assist them with all of the red tape at the VA. Our veterans deserve the best, and I will continue to do everything I can to make sure that is what we give them.
For more information on my activities in our district and in Washington I encourage you to follow my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Rep.Billy.Long and my Twitter page at https://twitter.com/USRepLong. You can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter, “Long’s Short Report,” by visiting https://longforms.house.gov/newsletter-and-email-updates-form.
An intense complex of thunderstorms entered Missouri from the north early Friday afternoon, and will continue to race south into the Ozarks in the late afternoon and evening.
The National Weather Service says damaging wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour and large hail will be possible, along with intense rain. Tornadoes aren’t believed to be a risk with this system.
The Storm Prediction Center has upgraded the far western Ozarks into a “slight risk” area, with the Springfield metro area under a “marginal risk’ for severe storms.
The storms should push through the Nevada, Warsaw and Lake of the Ozarks area between 3-6 p.m. Friday, then moving through the Joplin, Springfield and Houston, Missouri areas between 4-7 p.m.
The storms will then track closer to the Missouri/Arkansas border between 5-8 p.m.
If the storms move slowly over any particular areas, then rapid rises in small streams and creeks will be possible.
93-3 and AM 560 KWTO will keep you up to date with the latest severe weather updates.
A man is in the Greene County Jail after a robbery of a Springfield dry cleaners.
Officers responded to a call from GLO Cleaners at National and Cherry at 8:15 a.m.. The staff said a man walked into the business, claimed he had a gun, and demanded money.
Officers found the man about 45 minutes after the robbery. One officer used a taser to help subdue the suspect and take them into custody. Police did not find a gun on the suspect.
A former Purdy music teacher who sent a letter to a student with inappropriate statements will no longer be able to teach in the state of Missouri.
Dalton Breshears, 28, signed an agreement with state officials that will surrender a four-year substitute certificate that he received in June 2017. He will also not seek another certificate to teach in the state of Missouri.
Breshears was a band and vocal music teacher at Purdy elementary and high school from 2018 until his resignation on January 10, 2019.
State officials obtained a handwritten letter that Breshears sent to a student in December 2018 where he wrote “there are approximately 100 M&Ms in a box so I have written 100 reasons why I believe you are as special as your favorite candy!”
The list included such statements as:
“You always look so amazing after gym class, it’s like you sweat glitter or something.”
“You know who you are and who you are not, which is super sexy!”
“Being around you is better than an all-inclusive vacation.”
“On a scale of 1 to 10, you’re an 11.”
State officials redacted the name of the student and all identifying information, including the student’s gender, grade level, and age.
If the agreement is approved by the state board of education, the settlement would be a public record, meaning if Breshears tried to apply for a teaching position anywhere, a background check could discover the agreement.
No criminal charges have been filed against Breshears.
Here is the agreement between the state and Breshears that is awaiting board of education approval: