Month: September 2023

This story courtesy of Emilee Kuschel of OzarksFirst.com-

William Sipple, the Affordable Towing driver accused of leading officers on a chase in a tow truck on August 29 appeared in court today.

Sipple is charged with resisting arrest, a Class E felony. The court ruled that he continue to be held without bond.

He will appear in court again on September 13 for a counsel status hearing, then again on September 18 for a preliminary hearing.

The probable cause statement said he drove 11 miles, driving recklessly and narrowly avoiding hitting several vehicles before officers were able to pull him over by using stop sticks to pop three of the truck’s six tires.

“Due to the dangerous actions, this driver had to be stopped before injuring or killing innocent citizens,” said Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott.

Affordable Towing’s new owner said that an employee was driving the truck, but he was not authorized to do so on the day of the incident.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released the traffic figures for this past Labor Day Holiday Weekend.

The Labor Day counting period began at 6 pm Friday, September 1^st and ended at midnight on September 4^th.

The Highway Patrol says there were 12 traffic fatality accidents during the counting period.

There was a total of 306 crashes.

The Highway Patrol also says there were 199 drivers arrested for D-W-I.

Springfield Police are warning parents of college students about a phone scam.

The Springfield Police Department says the caller tells the parents that their student has gotten into trouble at college.

They then attempt to get money from the parents using digital payment platforms, such as PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle.

Police say that law enforcement does not collect money over the phone.

If you get one of these calls, you should contact the college, the student, and Springfield Police.

There is a chance for the Ozarks to have some severe weather Tuesday night.

The National Weather Service in Springfield says there is a chance that we could have strong to severe thunderstorms late this afternoon into tonight as a cold front will pass through the Ozarks.

These storms could bring quarter sized hail and wind gusts of 60 miles per hour.

Heavy humidity will continue through the afternoon.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is accusing a Springfield based development company and its property manager of discrimination on the basis of sex.

According to the report, the HOD says Second Bell Trust and the manager, Jimmie Bell, discriminated against a female tenant on the basis of her gender.

Officials say Bell requested sexual favors from the woman in exchange for her rent, made unwanted sexual advances on her and touched her inappropriately.

The HUD is accusing Second Bell Trust and Bell of violating the Fair Housing Act.

The case will be overseen by a United States Administrative Law Judge.

A new program in Springfield will give residents the opportunity to recycle their food instead of throwing it away.

With a $285,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture, city officials are creating Dish to Dirt Food Scraps Recycling.

The purpose of the facility is to take residents uneaten food and transform it into high-quality compost.

There will be three drop-off facilities for the waste, which will all be transported to Yardwaste Recycling Center to be converted into compost.

Officials say they are trying to cut down on food waste, which accounts for close to 14% of the city’s material at the Noble Hill Sanitary Landfill.

For more information on the project and opportunity’s to participate, click here.

The program will open for drop-off beginning on September 29.

This story courtesy of Jessica Hammer of OzarksFirst.com-

The westbound lanes of James River Freeway will close again to repair the sinkhole that appeared a few weeks ago.

Starting at 6:30 a.m. on Sep. 16, the westbound lanes between U.S. Highway 65 and Glenstone Avenue, along with both of the Highway 65 ramps onto James River Freeway will be closed while additional repairs are made to the hole.

The Missouri Department of Transportation expects the work to continue until Sep. 22.

The search is on for a new school superintendent in Ozark following Dr. Chris Bauman’s retirement back in the spring.

The school board has named Dr. Lori Wilson as the interim superintendent for this school year.

Board President Sarah Adams Orr says the district is giving parents a chance to voice their opinions on what experience and qualities they’d like to see in a new superintendent.

The district says it has a whole semester to do the search and take its time to find the right person to lead Ozark schools.

Two people are dead and a man from Oklahoma is in custody after a crash involving three motorcycles over the holiday weekend in Joplin.

The Joplin Police Department says an officer tried to pull over two motorcycles Saturday night on Main near 15th Street.

The bikes were travelling at speeds of 80 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone.

They sped away from officers on Main, running red lights.

Moments later, 911 got a call that multiple motorcycles were involved in a wreck.

Two of the three riders died, including a victim who was pulling out of a convenience store parking lot when he was hit.

The third, who’s 18 years old, was not hurt and was arrested for second degree murder.

He has not been formally charged.