Month: May 2022

On Friday, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office unveiled their new office and jail in a cornerstone ceremony at the jail’s site.

The ceremony began at 9 a.m. Friday morning at the new Greene County Sheriff’s Office, located on North Haseltine Road near West Division.

Multiple members of the community gave speeches during the ceremony, including Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott, District 1 Commissioner Rust MacLachlan, District 2 Commissioner John Russell and Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon.

The grand procession was performed by The Sons of the American Revolution and the Masonic Lodges of Greene County.

Dr. Ty Treutelaar, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, honored the site during the dedication of the cornerstone.

Following the ceremony, self-guided tours of the facility were available to the public to see the new office and jail, which will allow all Greene County Sheriff’s employees to work under the same roof for the first time in over 40 years.

The jail also greatly expends the capacity, and can house over 1,200 inmates. Multiple officers expressed excitement at the opportunity for growth of the jail with the large amount of land surrounding the facility.

Attached below the article is a gallery of photos taken during and after the cornerstone ceremony.

Strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible in the Ozarks Friday afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service says storms could last into the overnight hours Saturday morning, and thunderstorms on Friday will be scattered, with not all locations experiencing bad weather.

Large hail up to the size of quarters and damaging winds in excess of 60 miles per hour are the biggest threats, along with heavy rain.

Most of southwest Missouri is under a marginal risk for severe storms overnight Saturday night into Sunday morning, although forecasters say most of your Saturday will remain dry.

Finally, the Ozarks is under a level two “slight risk” for severe storms Sunday afternoon and evening, with large hail and damaging winds again the biggest risks.

93-3 AM 560 KWTO will keep you up to date with the latest watches and warnings, plus any reports of hail or wind damage as they come in.

Evangel University has received a one million dollar donation for the construction of a new outdoor sports and performance facility.

The project will include bigger locker rooms and a new weight room for athletes.

Evangel President Mike Rakes says the university has raised more than 12 million dollars for the new facility and hopes to hold a groundbreaking ceremony later this year.

The Missouri Senate has passed a Congressional redistricting map, then adjourned a day before the end of the legislative session.

The 22-11 vote for a 6-2 GOP map came after Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden invoked a rarely-used rule to bring a bill from the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting to the floor.

The map, which is awaiting Governor Parson’s signature, has Webster County split between the 7th and 4th Congressional districts.

All of Taney County would be in the 7th district.

This is one of the few times either chamber of the Missouri General Assembly has quit working a day early since a fixed adjournment date was added to the Missouri Constitution in 1952.

Students and staff at Willard South Elementary School were evacuated Thursday afternoon.

A building-wide alarm sounded and everyone was evacuated. The Willard Fire Department, Police Department and other crews arrived on the scene.

After an investigation, it was discovered an electrical issue with an HVAC system set off the alarm.

Everyone at Willard South Elementary was allowed back into the building.

The Aurora Police Department, in a press release, confirmed a plane crash at the Aurora Airport Thursday morning.

According to police, the crash occurred at 10:47 a.m. with only the pilot inside the aircraft at the time of the accident.

The Aurora Airport is located near U.S. 60 and Lawrence County 1200.

Aurora firefighters say the pilot was air-lifted to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.

The fire department says the plane hit power lines as it was falling, and that utility crews are working diligently on repairs.

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office believes the plane was owned by a company that specializes in crop-dusting.

The search is over for a 12 year old Neosho girl.

Law enforcement searched for Itali Savage Wednesday, ending the search at 8 PM without finding the missing girl.

At 1:18 AM Thursday morning, members of the child’s family were traveling along I-49 and spotted Savage walking along the interstate.

Savage was found to have ran away from home, which Neosho Police Detective Dan Cook reports as having happened multiple times before.

Savage was found safe, uninjured, and is now staying with extended family.

Gas prices have hit an all time high in the state of Missouri at an average of $3.95 per gallon.

In Springfield, consumers are paying an average of $3.95, which has broken the previous record of $3.94 set on July 16th, 2008, in the height of the recession.

In the last week alone, gas has shot up 16 cents per gallon, and is up nearly $1.25 per gallon more than this time last year.