Month: January 2024

With renovations about set to begin at its facility, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department is preparing to temporarily relocate.

On Wednesday, department officials announced they will be operating out of the Cox Medical Tower beginning on March 4 of this year.

The current facility, the Bengsch Building, will see renovations begin on February 26.

All services that are currently being offered at the Bengsch Building will also be available at the Cox Medical Tower.

For additional information, contact the SGCHD at their website, or call (417) 874-1211.

The Springfield R-12 School Board has voted unanimously to close Robberson Elementary School and make Pershing Elementary into a middle school only.

The vote on both changes was 7-0.

Robberson Elementary will close at the end of this school year.

Students will be moved to nearby Boyd Elementary at 833 east Division Street.

The board also voted to turn Pershing K-8 school into a middle school only.

160 elementary school students currently attending Pershing will move to both Wilder and Field Elementary Schools, starting in 2026.

Temperatures are rising a bit in southwest Missouri, but some administrators across the area still believe the cold is too dangerous for students, leading to some closures in the Ozarks.

The list of schools who will be out of session, or via remote, includes:

• Ash Grove
• Aurora (AMI Day)
• Blue Eye
• Bolivar
• Cassville
• Clever (AMI Day)
• Eureka Springs
• Forsyth (AMI Day)
• Gainesville
• Hollister (AMI Day)
• Joel E. Barber (Make up on 3/1)
• Laquey
• Licking
• Marion C. Early (AMI Day)
• Marionville
• Mark Twain-Taney County
• Miller
• Mt. Vernon
• Niangua
• Pierce City (AMI Day)
• Plato
• Reeds Spring (AMI Day)
• Skyline R-2
• Taneyville
• West Plains
• Wheaton (AMI Day)
• Willow Springs

A man from Springfield who allegedly attacked a woman and shot another man will spend several years on probation.

Investigators say in July of 2021 Elija Ballard got into an argument with a woman, which then escalated into him choking her.

She was able to get away for a moment, but Ballard later grabbed her, threw her against a nearby wall, then a dresser, and finally onto the floor.

Authorities said her injuries were consistent with her statement.

He then fled the home and was confronted by a relative of the female victim.

That’s when officers say Ballard fired a shot that grazed the side of the man’s head.

The man was transported to an area hospital for treatment and recovery. He survived the incident.

A judge gave Ballard a five-year suspended prison sentence, and will spend five years on probation after pleading guilty to second-degree assault via an Alford Plea.

As dangerously low temperatures continue to hamper the Ozarks, school officials around the area will be keeping students at home once again on Tuesday.

The list of schools (and it’s a long one) includes:

• Alton
• Ash Grove
• Aurora (AMI Day)
• Ava
• Billings (AMI Day)
• Blue Eye
• Bolivar
• Branson
• Cabool (AMI Day)
• Camdenton
• Cassville (AMI Day)
• Chadwick
• Clever (AMI Day)
• Crane (AMI Day)
• Crocker
• Dadeville
• Dallas County R-1
• Dixon
• Dora
• Eminence
• Fair Grove (AMI Day)
• Fair Play (AMI Day)
• Fordland
• Forsyth (AMI Day)
• Gainesville
• Golden City
• Hartville
• Hollister (AMI Day)
• Houston
• Humansville
• Kingston
• Kirbyville
• Joel E. Barber
• Laclede County R-1 Conway (AMI Day)
• Laquey
• Lebanon (AMI Day)
• Lockwood
• Logan-Rogersville (AMI Day)
• Macks Creek
• Mammoth Spring
• Mansfield
• Marion C. Early (AMI Day)
• Marionville
• Mark Twain-Taney County
• Marshfield
• Miller
• Missouri State University-West Plains (online classes in session)
• Monett (AMI Day)
• Mountain Grove
• Mt. Vernon
• Newburg
• Niangua
• Nixa (Virtual Learning only)
• Norwood
• Osceola
• Ozark
• Pierce City
• Plato
• Pleasant Hope
• Reeds Spring (AMI Day)
• Republic (AMI Day)
• Rolla
• Salem (MO)
• Seymour
• Skyline R-2
• Southwest Baptist University (Virtual Classes in session)
• Spokane (AMI Day)
• Springfield Public Schools
• Springfield Catholic Schools
• Stockton
• Strafford (AMI Day)
• Walnut Grove (AMI Day)
• Warsaw (AMI Day)
• West Plains
• Willard
• Willow Springs
• Winona

With slick roads, and dangerously low temperatures effecting the area, officials with Springfield City Utilities are asking customers to conserve energy.

In an email Monday, CU said that the low temperatures are effecting the delivery of natural gas from the pipeline for their facilities.

That problem is now creating supply issues throughout the city.

Officials say the supply issue could continue through Tuesday.

It is a voluntary request from City Utilities, and they say some of the steps you can take include:

• Postpone the use of major-energy activities
• Turn down thermostats and bundle up in warm clothing
• Limit the use of non-essential appliances and electronics
• Minimize the use of heating and lighting in unoccupied rooms

CU will continue to share updates with the community as the situation unfolds.

Two brothers will spend the next several years in prison for their involvement in a shooting that occurred near Glendale High School.

Investigators say on January 28, 2023, 22-year-old Gary McElroy and 21-year-old Antwan McElroy were involved in a drug deal in the parking lot of the school that went sideways.

A shooting ensued that injured one person. The victim survived.

Prosecutors say the two brothers each pleaded guilty to assault and were both sentenced to six years in prison.

Gary McElroy was given an additional four years for unlawful use of a weapon, while Antwan was given four years for armed criminal action.

No indication has been made as to if the sentences will be served concurrently or not.

While major roads like James River Freeway, I-44 and Highway 60 are in pretty good shape, a number of state highways and secondary roads in the Ozarks are still at least partly snow covered Monday morning.

The MoDOT Traveler Information Map shows a majority of the roads listed as “covered” are south of Interstate 44.

Once you get north of Highway 54 in the northern Ozarks, road conditions improve drastically as those areas got little to no snow over the weekend.