Month: February 2022

Two pedestrians were struck by a vehicle along I-44 near Springfield on Saturday. One pedestrian suffered minor injuries, with another suffering severe injuries.

The individual who suffered serious injuries is Branson Fire Marshal Dennis Brunner. Brunner and the other pedestrian were changing a tire when a truck traveling along the highway struck them.

According to the city of Branson, Brunner is expected to recover despite the severity of his injuries.

Branson Fire and Rescue would like to remind all drivers to slow down and move over when approaching an emergency vehicle, or any vehicle, that is parked on the side of the road.

A high-speed chase between authorities in Ozark and a juvenile early Monday morning ended tragically.

Officers conducted a traffic stop for a driver they believed to be possibly impaired, and had committed multiple traffic violations. The driver stopped briefly before fleeing police at a high rate of speed, according to reports.

Police then pursued the vehicle along MO Highway 14 at a high rate of speed. The pursuit ended when, according to preliminary investigation, the juvenile failed to slow down on a curve near 32nd street and MO Highway 14 and struck a utility pole. The juvenile was pronounced dead at the scene.

No information about the juvenile involved in the accident has been released, but police have said there were no other occupants in the vehicle.

Springfield Police are notifying family members about the death of a man whose body was found in a creek on the city’s west side.

Officers say the body was located at North Branch Wilson’s Creek near West Bypass.

Police had to call fire crews because officers had trouble removing the body from the water because of the ice and snow on the rocks.

Authorities say the man is possibly homeless, and there were no signs of trauma to the body.

Police are searching for a man who robbed a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint over the weekend in Springfield.

Authorities say a driver was robbed just before 10 p.m. Saturday outside the Domino’s location in the 1200 block of east Kearney.

Investigators say the driver was carrying several pizzas to his car when a an approached him, pointed a gun, then took off with the pizzas

No one was hurt, and police do not believe the delivery driver and the suspect know each other.

Nixa City Council has appointed Rebekka Coffey to serve as City Clerk, effective Monday, February 7th

Coffey has served as Deputy City Clerk since September, 2021 and was hired by the city back in 2016 as an Administrative Assistant.

Nixa’s Home Rule Charter calls for the clerk’s position to be appointed by city council, along with the positions of City Administrator, City Attorney and Chief of Police.

The City Clerk’s position became open when former City Clerk Cindy Robbins was promoted to Assistant City Administrator.

Some schools in the Ozarks remain closed on Monday following last week’s winter storm.

These public schools in southwest Missouri are either closed, doing alternative methods of instruction (AMI) or open, but running snow routes or other special instruction:

Alton (closed Monday)

Bunker (closed Monday)

Camdenton (open Monday. Bus drivers will use their discretion on roads)

Dent-Phelps (closed Monday)

Green Forest (MO) R-2 (closed Monday)

Houston (closed Monday)

Koshkonong (closed Monday, complete AMI packet #1)

Licking (closed Monday)

North Wood R-4 (closed Monday)

Norwood (closed Monday, AMI Day #5)

Plato (closed Monday, daycare open)

Raymondville R-7 (closed Monday)

Salem (closed Monday)

Success (closed Monday)

Summersville (closed Monday, AMI Day #4)

Waynesville (open Monday, snow routes)

West Plains (virtual learning Monday)

Winona (closed Monday, AMI Day #1)

Three people have been arrested in Monett after police were called to a report of a stolen car.

Police tracked the car to a home in Monett at 11 a.m. and found weapons inside the car. This caused a standoff with authorities due to a chance of their being weapons inside the home as well.

Police executed a search warrant at 2:15 p.m. that led to the arrests. The arrest included a 24-year-old woman, an 18-year-old woman and a juvenile.

Upon further searches, police recovered other weapons and guns as well. One of the suspects is believed to be involved in other car thefts in the area in the last 48 hours as well, according to police.

Baylee A. Turner, 26, has been on trial nearly two years after being charged in February, 2019 for sexual relations with a student. That trial is no more.

Charges were nullified after Turner married the student involved in this case.

The marriage now prevents the former student from being compelled to take the stand in the case against Turner, effectively levelling the prosecution’s case.

Information about the case does not state the age of the student when the incident(s) took place, but Turner has turned over her teaching license for the State of Missouri, which was one of the prosecutions main intentions with this trial.

Turner was in her first year of teaching at Sarcoxie High School when charges were filed.

A driver and passenger escaped from their car after it went into the water in Pulaski County Thursday night.

THe car went into the water off Carroll Cave Road at Perkins Slab north of Richland.

When rescuers arrived, they found the car on its roof submerged in water.

The driver and passenger were not hurt.