Month: July 2024

The Springfield-based humanitarian organization Convoy of Hope has responded to the Caribbean to help with relief efforts following Beryl.

The hurricane turned tropical storm strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as Beryl made landfall Monday morning around 4 a.m. 85 miles southwest of Houston, Texas with top sustained winds of 80 miles per hour.

Here’s the latest on Convoy of Hope’s response to the hurricane as outlined Sunday on the group’s website, convoyofhope.org.

Convoy of Hope is in communication with the Texas Department of Emergency Management, officials with the City of Houston, and regional partners as Beryl — now classified as a tropical storm — tracks closer to the Texas coastline. Beryl is set to restrengthen today to a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall tonight and into Monday morning. Waterlogged areas in and around Houston will endure a night of strong winds, storm surge, flooding, and even possible tornadoes.

As a U.S. response starts, Convoy’s relief work in the Caribbean presses on. Many survivors in the Windward Islands are still without water and electricity. According to The Washington Post, almost 98% of homes and buildings on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique were destroyed. Recovery will be long, and international assistance will be necessary for some time.

The remnants of Hurricane Beryl will increase rain chances in the Ozarks Monday night through Tuesday, with the highest chances south and east of Springfield.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for areas south of I-44 for that same period, where localized rain amounts as high as four to six inches could occur. Amounts to the west will be much lower.

Forecasters say the severe weather threat overall remains low, but the remnants of Beryl could cause a few severe storms Monday night into early Tuesday morning to the southeast of Springfield.

Potential hazards include 50 to 60 mile per hour winds and a brief tornado.

We’ll keep you up to date with any watches and warnings on 93-3 and A-M 560 KWTO.

The Glendale High School, and Springfield sports community is mourning the loss of a rising basketball star in 16-year-old Amare Witham.

School officials reported said the soon-to-be junior passed unexpectedly earlier this week.

As a sophomore, Witham was a MSHSAA Class 6 All-State selection after averaging 24.4 points per game, including a 54-point masterpiece against SPS rival Parkview.

The sharpshooting guard, who was described as “extremely confident” already had multiple Division I offers, including from Missouri State University.

Glendale High School is open this afternoon from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with a team of counselors on-site if any students of staff are in need of additional support.

Investigators still uncovering more information after a body was found in Hallsville on Sunday.

The body, which was found near a Beechnut Road in Hallsville, was confirmed to be 71 year-old Beauford Wilson.

The Greene County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.

Some Missouri courts are still in a state of confusion today as casenet, the electronic filing system for the state, remains down.

The issue began on June 29th and is still affecting multiple county courts. Greene County records are now accessible once again.

The Missouri Supreme Court doesn’t suspect foul play yet.

75-year-old Dennis Marty is missing. He is 6ft tall, 180lbs and suffers from severe dementia.

Marty was last seen driving a blue Chevy Silverado in Springfield and wearing a dark blue-button up shirt, jean shorts, and white Nike shoes.

Anyone with information on Dennis Marty’s location is asked to call 911 or 417-869-TIPS (8477)

The Camden County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a group of people who allegedly ordered food, left before paying, and then threw a woman into the Lake of the Ozarks when she confronted them about the bill.

Investigators say the group, which may have been from out-of-state, came into the Fish and Company restaurant, where their server was Liahna Bertels.

According to Bertels, a woman ordered an alcoholic beverage, but she was unable to serve her because she didn’t have an ID.

The group became upset, and then ordered food a short time later.

Things were busy at the restaurant, and the food was taking longer than usual to be served.

It was after another wait that Bertels said the group got up and stormed off.

She offered to box up their food in to-go boxes, but the group continued along the dock and towards their boat.

Sheriff’s deputies say that Bertels ran after the group because they had not paid for their service, which was about $150.

When Bertels caught up to the group, she says they grabbed her and threw her into the lake. She could hear them laughing at her and celebrating what they had done, before getting in their boat and fleeing the scene.

The Camden County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case as a misdemeanor assault, while Fish and Company is making changes to its policy regarding customers who dine and dash.

With extreme heat entering the area on Tuesday, chances for scattered to severe storms increase as well as we approach the Fourth of July.

Weather experts say rain chances will begin Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, increasing into scattered thunderstorms during the day Wednesday.

As the calendar turns to Independence day Thursday, the entire Ozarks, and most of the state of Missouri, has been placed under a slight risk for severe thunderstorms, which includes heavy rainfall.

The greatest chance for storms in southwest Missouri Thursday, according to the National Weather Service, are during the evening and into the overnight hours.

Rain chances leave the Ozarks during the early morning hours Friday, giving you plenty of time, and great weather, to enjoy the birth of the nation.

A man in Arkansas has been arrested for participating in the January 6th riot.

45-year-old David Michael Camden of Tontitown, Arkansas was arrested by the FBI on Monday.

He is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and civil disorder.

On video, Camden is seen deploying a fire extinguisher at law enforcement, and pushing a bike rack over into officers

OTC is preparing to make some big changes to improve career readiness for its graduates.

A new “Center for Workplace and Student Success” will begin construction in Springfield.

The 60 million dollar project will include special computer labs, training facilities, and more.