Month: February 2024

A four-mile project to improve sections of East Sunshine in Springfield is now being delayed until next year.

MoDOT officials say the construction, which was supposed to begin this spring, is being pushed back. An exact reason has not been released.

The project will improve five intersection and stop lights between Glenstone and Farm Road 199 along Sunshine, with right turn lanes and raised medians in areas with the highest crash numbers.

Many business owners along that stretch of the road expressed concerns about the project effect their businesses with customers having difficulty with the proposed raised medians that would be installed.

A meeting has been scheduled for today, February 6, at the Schweitzer Student Center on East Sunshine for residents to learn more about the project and voice concerns and ask questions.

The meeting will run from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00. It is an estimated $10.7 million project.

The Missouri Department of Transportation says roadway fatalities in Missouri dipped slightly in 2023.

According to preliminary data, 989 fatalities occurred last year on state roadways in 2023, which is a decrease of 6% compared to 2022, when 1,057 deaths were reported.

Fatalities involving motorcyclists, however, were 14% higher in 2023 compared to ’22.

The 175 motorcyclist deaths last year were the most ever in Missouri.

Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety officials say using safety belts, not texting for talking while driving, slowing down, and driving sober could significantly reduce traffic deaths.

A man from Springfield and another suspect are being held in Camden County after authorities found drugs in their vehicle.

Investigators say 45-year-old Joseph Riggs and 26-year-old Yuriy Lyashuk were in a car that was pulled over along Highway 5 and Mount Horeb Road on February 3 south of Camdenton.

During the stop, authorities identified Riggs and discovered multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest. The two men were then taken into custody.

A search of the vehicle followed, where Camden County Sheriff’s deputies found:

• Meth
• Cocaine
• 4.5 grams of fentanyl
• More than 20 fentanyl capsules
• Other drug paraphernalia

Deputies say they also found body armor, night vision goggles, ammunition, and a loaded handgun.

Riggs and Lyashuk are each charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Cox Health has bought the J P Morgan Chase building on East Republic Road.

The building is about 60-thousand square feet.

Cox officials say they are still planning how to use the space but say the building will house a variety of functions.

They say buying the building allows Cox Health to expand capacity and flexibility at a fraction of the cost of new construction.

Prosecutors in Douglas County are indicting a man from Ava on charges of child sex crimes.

Investigators say 41-year-old John Medlock began being looked into by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in March of 2023 after a report from the Children’s Division.

The report centered around a sexual assault that took place, allegedly, between Medlock and a child in 2014.

He was arrested and charged Friday with:

• First-degree statutory sodomy
• Sexual intercourse with a person less than 14-years old

Medlock is being held in the Douglas County Jail on a $10,000 bond and a hearing has been scheduled for February 6.

Officials with Springfield Public Schools will soon be addressing the districts drinking water after higher-than-normal lead levels were found in many of the schools facilities.

Lead testing of 27 buildings should levels above the state standard of 5pbp (parts per billion), and 21 of them were above the EPA level of 15pbp.

The initiative is part of the “Get Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act” which was passed in 2022.

Health officials have discovered that elevated lead levels and exposure in children can have many adverse effects, including behavioral problems and stunted neurological development.

The official testing data and which buildings tested at different levels were posted to the district’s website.

Plans to address the problem and lower lead levels in the drinking water are already in place and will begin to be put in place soon.

A wreck involving several vehicles has tied up traffic Friday morning at the intersection of Sunshine and West Bypass in Springfield.

KOLR-10 reports Springfield police have confirmed a bus from the Republic School District was involved in the wreck, but no children have been injured.

Ozarkstraffic.com reports the wreck occurred after 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Several lanes of traffic have been blocked at the crash site.

Phase One of the Kansas Expressway Extension project is near completion.

Republic Road south to Weaver Road will open to traffic Friday night.

The portion from Weaver Road to Plainview Road will open to traffic on February 9^th. Construction on Phase 2 of the project has started.

It is expected to be finished in 2025.

Federal funds will pay for 80-percent of the over 15-million-dollar project.