Welcome to Pulaski County Daily — Pulaski County’s best in-depth FREE news coverage, delivered seven days a week, 365 days a year, for comprehensive news in the Fort Leonard Wood area of south-central Missouri.
Casting company needs current, former soldiers for live production this month FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Sept. 2, 2010) — You’re a soldier, or you used to be one, and you’re between the ages of 18 and 40. (Other services besides the Army are fine, too.) Alternatively, you’ve got Middle Eastern features and could pass for an Afghani citizen or insurgent, aged 18 to 50. You’ve got some free time on Friday, Sept. 3, which happens to be a training holiday for most units on Fort Leonard Wood. And you’d like to earn $1,125 for five days of work later this month. Sound interesting? If so, Heather Laird of Wright/Laird Casting wants to talk with you — right now. According to Jeff Maddy, chief of external media at Fort Leonard Wood, Laird is having difficulty recruiting people willing to play the roles of American soldiers or Afghanis for a live demonstration being conducted September 29 and 30 at Fort Leonard Wood by a major defense contractor, and while the Army can’t actively recruit military personnel for an acting job, active duty personnel can take the position, like any other part-time job, if their commanders approve and authorize them to go on leave. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Minor Monday morning wreck on I-44 in St. Robert injures one woman SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 31, 2010) — A minor wreck late Monday morning on Interstate 44 within the St. Robert city limits injured one passenger who declined medical treatment at the crash scene. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, Billie V. Cutright, 73, of Selma, Texas, had been westbound on Interstate 44 in a 2003 Monacho Monarch when an approaching westbound 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Bryce E. Dablemont, 77, of Springdale, Ark., attempted to overtake him about 11:30 a.m. Cutright crossed the center line and struck Dablemont’s Tahoe. Neither driver was hurt, but a passenger in the Tahoe, Bettye S. Dablemont, 73, of Springdale, Ark., suffered minor injuries. In an unrelated incident, April A. Dawson, 37, of Rolla, was arrested Tuesday by troopers in Pulaski County on charges including drunk driving. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Questions have been raised about whether this sign is on license bureau property.
Skelton sign is close to but not on license bureau property, officials say PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 31, 2010) — People who come to the Pulaski County license fee office to renew their driver’s licenses or vehicle licenses can’t avoid the current congressional campaign. Those entering the parking lot see a large sign on the east for Republican candidate Vicky Hartzler; those entering the main entrance see a small yard sign on the west for longtime Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton. The Hartzler sign is right next to the license bureau parking lot but is clearly on private property. The wall on which it is hanging is part of a building owned by Dr. Benny Thomas, a Lake of the Ozarks medical doctor who also runs a medical practice in Pulaski County and whose wife is a Republican elected official serving on the Camden County Commission. That’s not so obvious to visitors who see the smaller Skelton sign. Even though it is on property controlled by Darrell Nickels, the property is vacant and the property line is not obviously marked, and during Monday morning’s meeting of the county commission, Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch said he’s received complaints. “Darrell Nickels said it was on his property, and he is not going to take it down, and he’d love for the caption on a photo to say that he as a Republican is proud to support Ike Skelton,” McCulloch said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville property values increase 9.4 percent, city tax rate cut Monday WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 31, 2010) — Continued growth of the city of Waynesville means the city’s maximum allowed property tax rate decreased slightly from $0.5622 per $100 of assessed valuation to $0.5320. At a special meeting called Monday evening, the councilmen approved that tax rate unanimously, and learned that for the 2009 tax year, the city’s total assessed value increased by nearly $4.3 million or 9.4 percent in just one year, with real estate valued at $43.4 million and personal property valued at $6.3 million. Under Missouri’s Hancock Amendment, cities, counties and other taxing districts have to reduce their tax rates when a large growth in property tax values would otherwise result in a financial windfall which hasn’t been approved by the voters. In addition to the city’s growth in assessed valuation, Waynesville grew by 334 residents from 2008 to 2009 or 8.3 percent, the last year available for population estimates from the Missouri Census Data Center, which reported that Waynesville is among the 25 fastest-growing cities in Missouri. No other city in Pulaski County or adjoining counties, including St. Robert, Rolla or Lebanon, made the top-25 growth list. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Badly vented boiler could have blown up courthouse, fire inspectors warn PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2010) — County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer reported Monday that state fire inspectors have found a problem with the county’s courthouse boiler system which is so serious that the county faces a $5,000 per day penalty if it’s not fixed within 30 days. The problem is that the atmospheric vent was not vented to the outside. After being called to the courthouse for a meeting with commissioners, Waynesville Rural Fire Chief Doug Yurecko confirmed that the problem is serious. “If there was a gas leak in the regulator, it could create a buildup of raw gas in the building, and if it found a source of ignition, it would ignite until the gas burned off,” Yurecko said. “The courthouse would be relocated,” said Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch, meaning by that an explosion would “relocate” the building. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Troopers inspect a semi crash Saturday.
Separate weekend wrecks total four vehicles, seriously injure five people PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2010) — Two separate Saturday wrecks injured seven people, two requiring helicopter evacuation, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports. The worst wreck happened about 4:50 p.m. on westbound Interstate 44, just east of the Piney River Bridge, when a semi truck driver, Kalisa Evariste, 50, of Madison, Wis., carrying 40,000 pounds of strawberries lost control, slid across the median, smashed through the median cables, and struck an oncoming pickup truck which was then struck by a SUV. Evariste and a passenger in his semi, Nicholas J. Sohns, 29, of Lesuer, Minn., both suffered serious injuries. According to the state patrol report, Sohns’ semi struck the left side of a 2007 Chevrolet 3500 pickup driven by John F. Korenak, 59, seriously injuring both the driver and his passenger, Bethel A. Korenak, 60, both of Wentzville. That pickup then struck a 2003 Acura SUV driven by Angelia K. Varga, 40, of Springfield, with the secondary crash sending the SUV and the pickup down a steep embankment and causing minor injuries to Angelia Varga and her passenger, Francis J. Varga, 55, both of Springfield. Later that evening, Plato resident John W. Jones, 39, failed to negotiate a curve while southbound on Route AW near Evening Shade south of Fort Leonard Wood about 9:29 p.m., ran his 2008 Pontiac G6 off the roadway, and struck a tree, suffering serious injuries All three vehicles in the first crash as well as Jones’ car were totaled. In unrelated incidents recently reported by state troopers, five people, Mark Joseph S. Concepcion, 28, of Crocker, James E. Mayfield, 37, of Dixon, Robert W. Wilber, 34, of Plato, Hugo E. Bravo, 24, of St. Robert, and Albert C. Young, 40, of Hinesville, Ga., were arrested on a variety of charges including drunk driving. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Jack's Towing personnel prepare to remove a rollover from Interstate 44.
Sleepy semi driver rolls truck filled with wood chips Monday morning HAZELGREEN, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2010) — A sleepy semi driver wrecked his vehicle in a Monday morning rollover just west of the Richland exit on Interstate 44 at mile marker 150. According to Sgt. Darryl Suhr of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Joseph T. Palmer, 37, of Normandy, suffered moderate injuries when he fell asleep at the wheel about 6:50 a.m. and ran off the left side of westbound Interstate 44. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Barnitz, Brown both fail in efforts to obtain Farm Bureau endorsement JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Aug. 28, 2010) — As a fifth-generation rancher in the rural Dent County community of Lake Spring, State Sen. Frank Barnitz has received the Missouri Farm Bureau’s FARM-PAC endorsement in both of his last two state senate campaigns, but FARM-PAC announced Thursday that they won’t be making an endorsement this year for the 16th District. Barnitz, a conservative Democrat, previously served as a state representative for the rural communities south of Rolla. His Republican opponent this year, Dr. Dan Brown, a one-term state representative from Rolla, is a veterinarian with a large-animal practice who has years of experience working with cattle — including Barnitz’s own cows on occasion. "Our trustees felt both candidates could represent the interests of agriculture very well," said Leon Kreisler, who served as chairman of the evaluating committee, in a prepared statement. Brown has already received endorsements from two different pro-life organizations in Missouri rather than Barnitz, even though Barnitz had received the endorsements in prior years from Missouri Right to Life. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Firefighters climb down an embankment to reach a wreck.
Head-on crash partly blocks westbound I-44 at mile marker 166, four hurt DEVIL’S ELBOW, Mo. (Aug. 28, 2010) — Emergency personnel are on the scene of a head-on wreck at mile marker 166 of westbound Interstate 44, just east of the Piney River Bridge, at which a semi truck crossed the median and caused a wreck with two passenger vehicles. According to Sgt. Darryl Suhr of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, at least four people have been injured in a wreck which happened shortly before 5 p.m. All three vehicles involved have careened down a steep embankment and are off the roadway, mostly on their sides. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville firefighters inspect damage inside a burned house.
Secondary residence on Laughlin farm gutted by early evening fire Friday WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 27, 2010) — An early evening fire gutted an unoccupied secondary residence at the Laughlin farm on Superior Road, sending smoke billowing above Interstate 44 at the overpass crossing Superior Road. Saint Robert and Waynesville firefighters responded about 6:45 p.m. While initial firefighters on the scene called for a second alarm after receiving a report that there were gas containers in the house, the responding units from Crocker and Hazelgreen were cancelled prior to arrival. The residence at 18870 Superior Road is expected to be a total loss despite a rapid response, according to Waynesville Fire Capt. Mike Shempert. “We were here pretty darn quick,” Shempert said. The cause of the blaze is undetermined and the state fire marshal’s office has been called to investigate. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Pulaski County Circuit Court Reports, 8/17/2010 NEW Preliminary hearings for Shannon Renee Vanderhoof, Eric H. Vorum, Brooke Elaine Benavidez, John C. Bastean, Jakwiesha N. Nelson, John M. Overby, Henry J. Barba, Angela S. Tate, Jacquetta S. Richey, Ashanti S. Vance, Debra F. Beaty, Cory R. York, Ashley N. Plog (Abeita), Noel Sylve, Michael T. Esparza, Andre D. McClean, Leroy Vanderhoof, Kyle B. Reardon, Robert M. Dowling, Clarence A. Palmer Jr., Tony R. Adams, James I. Thomas, and Brittany Anna Johnson before Associate Circuit Judge Colin Long on Aug. 17, 2010. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ...
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #32 for Aug. 2 to 6, 2010 We are still holding at ten deputies to answer calls, but I should also include myself, Maj. Tom Cristoffer, and Capt. Bill Anderson in that response, so the actual figure of paid deputies would be 13. As I said last week, our reserves have stepped in to help. Our inmate count today stands at 77 inmates. Yes, I wrote 77 inmates. With 28 here, that means we have $1,715 worth of inmates elsewhere today. Our increased inmate count has also led to increased trips to the emergency room with inmates, and it has forced us to make an increased number of trips to the Miller, Phelps, and Dixon jails as we try to shuffle the inmates around as needed to get them to court on the correct day. Right now, our only saving grace is that we have the extra five jail staff members due to the federal grant to help us handle the traffic. I would hate to think we only had the five staff people from the regular jail budget to handle 77 inmates. Disaster! Our case number/calls for service count currently stands at 6,431. At this rate we are on target to break the 10,000 mark again this year. We do not need that high of a number for this year, but there is no real way to cut those numbers down unless we simply refuse to respond. Right now, we are forced to do that often enough on the smaller calls when we are pounded by the major calls, so that is not an option I wish to consider. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Missouri Republican leader says FLW voters shouldn't fear ousting Skelton JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Aug. 25, 2010) — In a Wednesday afternoon conference call with statewide Missouri media, Lloyd Smith, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, explained why he believes voters in a mostly rural district that includes both Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base may be ready to unseat U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, the state’s longest-serving congressman who also serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The Republican candidate is Vicky Hartzler of Harrisonville, a former state representative who was also the state spokeswoman for a Missouri ballot initiative that barred homosexual marriage statewide. “This is a conservative district on everything from taxes to health care,” Smith said. “The Fourth Congressional District is one that needs to have conservative representation in Washington, D.C.” Smith said voters near Fort Leonard Wood shouldn’t be concerned about the installation’s future if they vote Skelton out of office, and said Skelton will lose his chairmanship regardless of what Fourth District voters do in Missouri if voters nationally reject enough Democrats to cause their party to lose control of the House of Representatives. “Fort Leonard Wood will continue to be what I call the crown jewel of training for the United States Army,” Smith said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Signs welcome returning troops.
MP company which protected Gen. Ray Odierno returning to FLW today FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Aug. 25, 2010) — A group of military police who include the personal protective detail for the four-star general commanding American forces in Iraq are returning to Fort Leonard Wood today following a yearlong deployment to that country. According to post spokeswoman Nicole Black, a welcome-home ceremony has been scheduled at 4 p.m. at Nutter Field House on post for the 13th Military Police Company and the 512th Military Police Company. It’s the 2nd Platoon of the 13th MP Company which deployed last fall to protect Gen. Ray Odierno. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Airport Board holds unannounced meeting, e-mail vote proposes carrier WAYNESVILLE/SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 24, 2010) — Members of the Waynesville-St. Robert Joint Airport Board voted on Monday via an e-mail poll to recommend a New England-based airline to provide commercial passenger service to Forney Field at Fort Leonard Wood. That e-mail vote follows an earlier unofficial and unannounced breakfast meeting at PriceCutter Restaurant in Waynesville without a quorum of board members present in which representatives of two airlines, Cape Air, a subsidiary of Hyannis Air Service in Massachusetts, and the Missouri-based Air Choice One, advocated for their respective companies. Passenger air service to Fort Leonard Wood has been a problem for years. At one point, a former carrier, Regions Air, completely stopped service to numerous cities including Fort Leonard Wood. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of Fort Leonard Wood military and civilian personnel travel on a daily basis between Fort Leonard Wood and St. Louis, but most of them drive via private vehicle or by shuttle bus. While the airlines serving Fort Leonard Wood once provided service both to St. Louis and Kansas City, the current carrier, Great Lakes Aviation, stopped service to St. Louis in January of this year. Even when the airlines provided service to St. Louis, Fort Leonard Wood personnel said the on-time performance of the air carriers hasn’t been adequate and they haven’t been able to recommend air rather than surface travel. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
St. Robert Fire Chief Chuck Fraley examines a rollover.
Fort Leonard Wood man hurt in Tuesday afternoon rollover wreck SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 24, 2010) — A Tuesday afternoon rollover wreck on Interstate 44 about a mile east of Exit 161 hospitalized a Fort Leonard Wood man with moderate injuries and totaled his pickup truck. Troopers reported that Luis A. Cornier, 23, had been westbound on I-44 about 12:40 p.m. when he ran his 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup off the left side of the road, overcorrected, and overturned. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Baby, mom OK in Brinktown shooting BRINKTOWN, Mo. (Aug. 23, 2010) — Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman announced Monday morning that the unborn child and the 16-year-old mother who was shot in the stomach Friday night are both in stable condition. The mother has been released from the hospital, Heitman said; the 16-year-old male suspected in the shooting remains in the custody of juvenile authorities. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Residents bid at the annual county tax sale.
County nets thousands with tax sale PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 23, 2010) — More than three dozen people turned out Monday morning for the annual tax sale at the Pulaski County courthouse, with all 10 county properties offered for sale being sold and all but one of four Waynesville city properties being sold. County Collector Terri Mitchell said the property sale went well, though she was surprised that some properties including a 52-acre parcel near Crocker were still on the tax sale list. That property had $642.14 worth of unpaid property taxes and fees dating back three years. Numerous bidders aggressively pursued the property, with the winning bidder placing a $20,000 bid. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County Collector Terri Mitchell uses computers to speed up the tax sale process.
County tax sale held this morning PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 23, 2010) — In just a few hours, County Collector Terri Mitchell will begin the annual sale of property with unpaid taxes. Held at 10 a.m. in the first-floor lobby of the county courthouse, the annual tax sale is mandated by state law for people who don’t pay their property taxes. While the sale in previous years sometimes involved large numbers of properties for which taxes haven’t been paid for the last three years, Mitchell said last week that she’d been able to get the number of unpaid tax bills down from 82 to slightly more than two dozen, and she expected about half of the remaining unpaid tax bills would be paid by Monday morning. “We work very hard and in fact we’re still working,” Mitchell said. “We get on the internet and try to look to see where people have moved, see if we can find them somewhere, see if maybe they’re deceased or if they have any descendants out there that we can reach. We work very hard to try to locate people that may have an interest in this property. We also research to see if there is a lender out there who may have an interest in it, and we try to contact them and let them know the situation.” The owners of the property have one year to redeem the property by paying back taxes plus interest. If that doesn’t happen, a collectors’ deed is issued for the property and it becomes the property of the person who paid the back taxes. Properties available for sale range from one which has $54 worth of unpaid taxes up to some with several thousand dollars worth of unpaid taxes, Mitchell said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Vicky Hartzler
Hartzler spokesman says she didn't mean to say Missouri has lost sailors KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Aug. 23, 2010) — A recent television interview with congressional candidate Vicky Hartzler by a Kansas City-area television station has led some to question how much Hartzler knows about the military, but campaign spokesman Steve Walsh says the interview put both Hartzler and incumbent U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton in a bad light. “Let’s face it; neither of them came off well,” Walsh said. “The impression you get from watching the Channel 41 report is Vicky Hartzler is suggesting that Missouri somewhere has a naval base, and that is, of course, ridiculous. She is fully aware there is no naval base at Lake of the Ozarks or anywhere else in the state.” Walsh said Hartzler’s intent was to address a national and international reduction in force of the U.S. Navy, not to say that Missouri needs more sailors or naval operations. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Brinktown boy arrested after shooting pregnant 16-year-old girl in stomach BRINKTOWN, Mo. (Aug. 21, 2010) — Dixon Ambulance District personnel responded late Friday night to Brinktown where they found a pregnant 16-year-old girl had been shot in the stomach by a 16-year-old boy. "The victim is very lucky in this case,” said Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman, who said the girl is in stable condition after having been transported to Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton holds open house Sunday at new campaign office in Waynesville PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 21, 2010) — Clara Ichord, chairwoman of the Pulaski County Democratic Central Committee, announced Friday night that Congressman Ike Skelton will be coming to Waynesville at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday for an open house at his newly opened county campaign headquarters in Lincoln Plaza Suite 103, a brick office complex across from Westside Baptist Church. “Of course he’s here because he’s interested in the community,” Ichord said. “It depends on how many people come how much time the congressman will be able to spend with each person, but it is his intention to be able to meet people and visit casually; he will not be making a formal speech.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Army wife won't face death for killing baby while husband deployed to Iraq FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Aug. 20, 2010) — An Army wife accused of starving her 11-month-old daughter to death while her husband was deployed to Iraq accepted a federal plea bargain this week of involuntary manslaughter in return for an eight-year sentence in federal prison without parole. This week’s plea bargain by Kristin M. Phillips, 35, is a major change from the original grand jury indictment of first-degree murder, issued on April 2, 2008, which carried a potential death penalty and a minimum penalty of life imprisonment for killing her daughter “in an especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner” sometime between Feb. 18 and Feb. 21, 2008. Media reports at the time revealed that she also had another child die in a different state about a decade earlier. Then known as Kristin Matheny, after her dead baby was found in a shoebox with air freshener to conceal the smell, she was charged in 1998 with not notifying an Illinois coroner of a death and sentenced to 90 days in jail with followup counseling and probation required. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Republican Vicky Hartzler received the Farm Bureau endorsement over Rep. Ike Skelton.
Farm Bureau rejects Skelton, endorses Republican for first time in 14 years SEDALIA, Mo. (Aug. 20, 2010) — For the first time since the mid-1990s, U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton has lost the endorsement of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s political action committee. The trustees of Missouri’s 4th Congressional District FARM-PAC announced Friday morning that they’ll be endorsing Vicky Hartzler, a former state representative from Harrisonville, over Skelton. “It has been a long, long time since we didn’t endorse Skelton, and for a long time before that, we made no endorsements,” said Charles Bassett, a rural Dixon resident who chairs the 4th Congressional District FARM-PAC. The Farm Bureau endorsement could reflect an important shift in voter sentiments in Skelton’s congressional race. Skelton hasn’t had a seriously competitive race for three decades even though he’s a conservative Democrat in an increasingly Republican district. As chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Skelton has worked hard to support Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base, but Bassett noted that agriculture is just as important to many 4th District voters as national defense—and perhaps more so. “Outside of the two military bases, agriculture is the number one industry in Congressman Skelton’s district,” Bassett said. “He does have the two military installations, Whiteman and Fort Leonard Wood, but that’s pretty much Johnson County and Pulaski County.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Eddie Acosta
Texas memorial scheduled this Sunday for Eddie Acosta, local service soon PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 20, 2010) — Eddie Acosta, a retired soldier and Fort Leonard Wood civilian employee who died after being discharged on May 28 from a Columbia hospital to which was transported with stroke-like symptoms, will be among the first people buried at the Fort Leonard Wood Veterans Cemetery. Acosta’s brother and other close family members live in Texas, and a memorial service for him will be held this Sunday, Aug. 22, at 2 p.m. at Bill Harrod Memorial Baptist Mission in West Dallas. Local Masonic services for Acosta will be at 9 a.m. at Waynesville Memorial Chapel and Crematory on Monday, Aug. 30, with a 10 a.m. graveside service the same day at the Fort Leonard Wood Veterans’ Cemetery, followed by a potluck luncheon in his honor at noon hosted by the Pulaski County Shrine Club. Acosta was last seen alive by a hotel clerk in Columbia not long after he was discharged from the University of Missouri Hospital where he had been transported by ambulance. Acosta had been taken from his worksite to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital earlier that day with stroke-like symptoms, and then transported by ambulance to Columbia for further treatment. Friends and family conducted an extensive search but his remains were eventually found by a hiker at the bottom of a steep cliff which Columbia-area law enforcement and rescue personnel had asked the searchers to avoid due to dangerous terrain. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Failed fax meant sewer board never got Waynesville lawsuit warning letter PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 17, 2010) — After the board chairman of the Pulaski County Sewer District angrily cancelled a negotiation meeting with Waynesville city officials when he learned that the city was suing his board in federal court to block a $770,000 loan and claimed he knew nothing about the lawsuit in advance, City Administrator Bruce Harrill produced a copy of a June 16 letter from by Tyce Smith, a local lawyer retained by Waynesville for the special project of handling sewer district litigation, warning of the potential lawsuit. The letter said Smith was “not rattling a saber” but rather was “telling you what I will do and what I recommend that the city do,” and those recommendations included a lawsuit. However, sewer district attorney Bill Hickle released fax transmission reports at Tuesday’s sewer board meeting documenting that Smith’s fax machine appears to have failed four times in attempts to send the letter. “I contacted Tyce Smith asking whether or not he had attempted to fax this letter to me, because it shows it was sent by fax. Earlier today, he called me and indicated that they had apparently tried to fax it but that their fax transmission report, which I asked for a copy of, showed that zero pages were transmitted,” Hickle said. “There were apparently four attempts to fax something to our office on June 17.” Hickle said lawyers sending him notices of lawsuits generally don’t rely exclusively on fax machines and usually send a follow-up copy of the letter by registered mail or by standard mail. However, not all lawyers do that, Hickle said, Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Sewer board seeks an end to lawsuits, but warns it has stronger options PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 17, 2010) — Sewer Board Chairman Gary Porter says he’d like to settle multiple pending lawsuits between the sewer board and the Waynesville City Council, but if the city won’t settle, there are other more serious options. For years, the Pulaski County Sewer District has maintained that it has the right to provide sewer service to any location in Cullen Township that was outside the city limits of Waynesville and St. Robert when the sewer district was created two decades ago. Both cities have grown rapidly since then, and Waynesville councilmen argue that the growth of their city would be seriously hampered if the city can’t provide sewage systems in areas like Buckhorn where developers have purchased property and want to build major commercial and residential subdivisions. “It is my personal hope to settle these issues without further litigation on our part. But I do this, feeling very confident that the sewer district would prevail in these lawsuits that have been presented to us now … we have other legal recourses that we can pursue if we wanted to,” Porter said at Tuesday afternoon’s sewer board meeting. “There (is) at times completely untreated sewage that is making its way to the Gasconade River because of the inadequate sewer infrastructure that’s in place that this USDA loan is being granted,” said Sewer District attorney Bill Hickle. “These are federal dollars that can be used to help our environment.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Sewer District proposes purchasing Waynesville's Buckhorn infrastructure PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 17, 2010) — Board members of the Pulaski County Sewer District have a new proposal to settle a long-running dispute between the sewer board and the Waynesville city council. Meeting Tuesday afternoon, board members approved the concept of an agreement, though not the fine points or details, in which the city would give disputed territory in the Buckhorn area to the sewer district in return for the sewer district buying the city’s infrastructure in that area and agreeing to pay a proportional use fee for sewage treatment services. Sewer board member Nathan Purdome noted that the city has sent the sewer district a disputed series of bills, variously calculated at up to $100,000, for treatment of sewage coming out of Hunter’s Point and other residential areas. That sewage is collected by the sewer district’s lines but pumped into the city’s sewage lines and then treated by the city’s sewage treatment plant because the sewer district doesn’t yet have any treatment facilities in those areas. “(The proposed agreement) simply states that we’ll pay them based on the percent we send them, plus a 5 percent up-charge. Plainly and simply, if we send them 20 percent of what they treat in a month, we’re going to pay them 20 percent of their cost, plus 5 percent on top of that,” Purdome said. “It seems like a pretty fair agreement.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Taylor Hills leader thanks Pulaski County Sewer District for work PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 17, 2010) — Members of the Pulaski County Sewer District don’t hear kind words often, but a self-described “revolt leader” came to the sewer board Tuesday afternoon to thank board members for their efforts to address sewer problems in her neighborhood. “Taylor Hills has had a big waiver through the sewer district, and I want to let you know that I greatly appreciate all the board’s efforts to come to an equally mutual agreeable decision,” said Taylor Hills resident Adrienne Echelberry. “I just wanted to take my time to stop by and say thank you,” she said. “It is kind of nice to hear something nice once in a while,” said sewer board chairman Gary Porter. After Echelberry left, Porter clarified that the Taylor Hills project, which currently has 139 homes, will be one of the major beneficiaries of a $770,000 loan obtained by the sewer district through the United States Department of Agriculture’s rural development program — a loan which the city of Waynesville is suing in federal court to prevent from being granted. The Stoney Gap project will directly serve only about 40 homes but will indirectly serve Taylor Hills as well. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
USDA representative Donna Martin explains loan rules.
USDA representative outlines rules for $770,000 sewer district loan PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 17, 2010) — Construction of a new sewage treatment plant to serve the Stoney Gap area, additional residents in the Taylor Hills subdivision, and expected future growth north of Waynesville depends in large measure on a $770,000 loan by the rural development division of the United States Department of Agriculture. At Tuesday afternoon’s sewer board meeting, Donna Martin from USDA Rural Development explained what her agency needs to move ahead with the loan. A pending lawsuit from the city of Waynesville against approval of the loan won’t be an issue unless an injunction is granted by federal district court in Springfield, Martin said. “This does not have any impact,” Martin said. However, Martin said numerous other things will have to be done for approval of the loan, Martin said. Among those items are an emergency response plan, financial matters, and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Signs in Time owner Tom Mills wants out of St. Robert.
Signs in Time owner says he can't sell his land inside St. Robert city limits SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 16, 2010) — The owner of Signs in Time wants to sell property he owns at the far northeast end of the St. Robert city limits near Exit 163, and told city councilmen at their Monday night meeting that being inside the city limits is hurting his efforts to sell. “I need to sell some property and I can’t sell it because it is in the city, bottom line,” said business owner Tom Mills. Part of the problem, Mills said, is that the city of St. Robert isn’t providing city services such as sewer, water and electric even though he’s been inside the city limits for more than a decade. “I was promised when I annexed it that there would be city services,” Mills said. “Of course, we have county water, we’re still on Laclede electric out there, not city electric. We’re still on a septic tank, not city sewer. According to the statutes that I’ve read and according to the information I’ve been able to glean, if those promised services aren’t provided within three years, then that’s automatically cause or grounds for de-annexation.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County Clerk Diana Linnebringer reviews road maps with Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink.
Commissioners brace for problems at meeting with Landowners' Association PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 12, 2010) — When the county commissioners meet next week Monday in an evening session with the Pulaski County Landowners’ Association, they’ll be answering numerous questions from upset residents about road conditions. Responding to written questions in advance presented Thursday morning by Landowners’ Association President Glen Clark, the commissioners said they have a total road budget of $1.7 million. Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink said he has a total of 240 miles of roads, all but 13 to 15 of which are gravel. Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham said it’s harder to calculate the miles of road on his side since developers are constantly adding to the road system, but he estimated he has 150 miles of paved road and 200 miles of gravel. Zweerink said he expects problems at Monday’s meeting. “They’re really going to get mad at me when I say what I want to say Monday night. You may need to bail me out,” Zweerink said. “Do I need to wear a hard hat?” asked County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County could face lawsuit by developer of Shalom Mountain subdivision PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 12, 2010) — The owner of a small private airstrip warned county commissioners at their Thursday morning meeting that they might be sued by local developer Doug Tillett. Bill Taylor, who has lived at the edge of what is now the Shalom Mountain residential subdivision long before Tillett built it, has been locked in a series of legal actions by Tillett who built his subdivision with the expectation that his residents would have access to St. Robert via a road that Taylor says is his private property but Tillett says had been legally accessible to the public for decades. Tillett built an access road to his development from Highway 17 but says that road is dangerous in bad weather conditions. “He’s blowing smoke, probably,” Taylor told the commissioners. In other business, county commissioners agreed to accept a $4,300 bid for an air conditioning system for the second floor of the old courthouse museum and pay the bill out of the county courthouse maintenance fund rather than having the historical society raise the money from private donations. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Robert Bruce Taylor asks for help on Redbone and Raleigh roads.
Residents continue complaints about Raleigh, Redbone road repairs PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 12, 2010) — County Commissioner Ricky Zweerink told a resident of Redbone Road, a small gravel road off Raleigh Road between Waynesville and Richland, that he’s sorry the road hasn’t been graded for years. “I will tell you that until a few months ago I didn’t even know we had that road,” Zweerink said to Robert Bruce Taylor, who told the commissioners that he’s lived in Redbone Road for six years but has never yet seen a road grader. While Taylor said he’s been using his own tractor to grade the road, Zweerink said that’s not necessary. “We can maintain it; that is not a problem. All you have to do is call,” Zweerink said. “If it hasn’t been bladed, it will be.” Fixing the concerns of Taylor’s neighbors on Raleigh Road and replacing the street sign for Redbone Road at the Raleigh Road intersection will be more difficult, however. Taylor said he’s more concerned about the potholes on Raleigh Road which he said have become a serious hazard to motorists. “There’s going to be somebody who needs an ambulance and it’s going to hit the pothole,” Taylor said. Taylor said commissioners in the past had claimed the pavement on Raleigh Road was a substantial improvement, but it’s become a substantial problem. Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch warned Taylor that the county can no longer afford to maintain the pavement on Raleigh Road and it may have to go back to gravel; Taylor said he wouldn’t mind that since gravel would be better than pavement filled with potholes. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Col. Vance Visser receives the Chemical Corps regimental colors in a change of command ceremony.
New Chemical School commandant brings Iraq experience into classroom FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Aug. 10, 2010) — When Col. Vance (“Phil”) Visser joined the Army nearly 26 years ago, he had a somewhat unusual background in the “hard sciences” with degrees in chemistry and biology as well as ROTC commissioning through Vanderbilt University. Nearly three decades later, he took command of the Army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School in a Tuesday morning ceremony, having served until recently as the deputy director for future plans and deputy director for current operations of the American forces in Iraq. Having instructors and school commandants with recent in-theater military experience is key to the Army’s current policy on military training, and Visser said he looks forward to bringing lessons from Iraq to his new position as commandant of the CBRN School. “It’s not just myself or the commanding general; it pretty much permeates all echelons of leaders,” Visser said. “We bring in relevant experience and introduce it to the training base.” While this will be Visser’s first time commanding a school, his earlier background includes numerous assignments for instructional roles at West Point, at the Army’s Command and General Staff College, and at the School of Advanced Military Studies. In those roles, he’s been responsible for helping to train members of the Chemical Corps in how to do their jobs as well as helping to educate others in the Army on what the Chemical Corps can do to help the rest of the military. “We have some great training that goes on here,” Visser said. “I think clearly, right now if you have an interest in science or an interest in the threat that we face, that threat is real and it is growing and it is not going to go away,” Visser said. “It is a growth industry of sorts, not in a good way. To be prepared to mitigate the use of CBRN materials, that clearly is a mission set that is not going to go away. It also has a place in defense of the nation as well, both abroad and more specifically at home.” Visser said an added benefit of the Chemical Corps for a young person considering which branch to select is that serving in the Chemical Corps allows considerable variety in the types of duty. “Chemical guys get to serve in infantry, armor, artillery, cavalry units and support units. I’ve pretty much served across the full gamut,” Visser said. “It’s been a lot of fun … I’ve enjoyed it and it’s ever changing, which is another thing I like.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Witmor Farms is an example of derailed developments, Waynesville officials say.
Sewer board seriously hurt growth of Waynesville, several city officials say WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 10, 2010) — After years of fighting the Pulaski County Sewer District, Waynesville City Administrator Bruce Harrill said there’s no longer any question that the sewer district’s policies are seriously harming the city’s growth. Harrill said a major example is the now-shuttered Witmor Farms restaurant, which has been purchased by a Rolla car dealer, Bill Peach, who had planned major expansion including a hotel, commercial businesses, and a residential development with hundreds of homes. However, all of that required sewer service which the city says the sewer district is currently incapable of providing without hooking into the city’s sewer lines. “I certainly don’t think that was the intent of the sewer district, but that is what happened,” Harrill said. Harrill said he’s tired of dealing with sewer district delays. “We need to get busy and address that problem,” Harrill said. “If they say economic growth is important to them, then put their money where their mouth is and let’s see some progress.” None of the current problems needed to happen, said Waynesville Utility Committee Chairman Mike France, who said the city tried repeatedly to work out a negotiated settlement. “We’re not going to be held hostage to anybody,” France said. The terms of the sewer district loan affect not only Waynesville but all of Cullen Township running from Buckhorn to Devil’s Elbow, including the city of St. Robert, France warned. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
St. Robert Police Chief Curtis Curenton says he's open to banning on-street parking during snow emergencies.
St. Robert may ban on-street parking during declared 'snow emergencies' SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 10, 2010) — Residents who park cars on city streets in places that impede snowplowing could find their cars towed if the St. Robert City Council adopts proposals under consideration by the city’s emergency services committee. In their Tuesday evening meeting, emergency services committee members listed to ideas suggested by Alderman Todd Williams, who chairs the committee and said he’s recently spent considerable time in northern states such as Iowa which have snow routes in effect during winter months. “We need to come up with a plan of what were going to do about these vehicles … What we’re trying to so is for the safety of our citizens and the guys who are driving those trucks,” Williams said. “When the person realizes, ‘Hey, the vehicle is gone,’ then they call the city ... Any fee that comes out of our picket they will reimburse us; that way, they’re not held hostage by the local towing companies — hey, you owe this company $100 for holding the vehicle, or $200 to this company.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville documents that city did warn sewer district of possible lawsuit WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 10, 2010) — While Gary Porter, the chairman of the Pulaski County Sewer District, said recently that he had no warning of a federal lawsuit filed by the city of Waynesville that would prevent the sewer district from obtaining a $770,000 USDA loan to upgrade its treatment plan, Waynesville City Administrator Bruce Harrill has a copy of a letter he says proves his city notified the Sewer District’s attorney, Bill Hickle, that the lawsuit was under consideration. That letter, dated June 16, includes clear language by Tyce Smith, a local lawyer retained by Waynesville for the special project of handling sewer district litigation, warning of the potential lawsuit, who said he was “not rattling a saber” but rather was “telling you what I will do and what I recommend that the city do.” “The city council has authorized me to send out a 60-day suit letter to the EPA and the Sewer District,” Smith wrote in the letter. “This is a condition precedent to initiate a private action for point source continuation under the Clean Water Act. The (inflow and infiltration) into the city’s system from the Sewer District has to be dealt with quickly. This suit will be in federal court.” According to Smith’s letter, the $770,000 loan by the USDA to help the Sewer District fix its sewer lines to the Stoney Gap/Taylor Hills area is subject to legal review on the grounds that USDA is “violating its own regulations relative to lender of last resort rules and the rule about a contract being required for sewer treatment.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County declines historical society donation, will pay museum bill PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 9, 2010) — Pulaski County Historical Museum Curator Marge Scott informed county commissioners Monday that the historical society is willing to raise much and perhaps most of the more than $4,000 needed to install a four-ton air conditioning system in the upper floor of the courthouse museum, but commissioners said that’s their responsibility and would rather pay the bill themselves. Scott said the air conditioning went out on the upper level of the museum during a presentation by the mayor to a group of scouts, and that caused serious problems due to the high heat. “We have to have air conditioning and heating, and with the Smithsonian exhibit coming, we are going to be open through December and we already have bus tours coming,” Scott said. Commissioners disagreed. “In my opinion you can keep your $1,000, and the building fund will pay for it. This is the county’s building and it needs to come out of the county’s funds,” said Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch. Scott said nothing was said five years ago when the historical society paid for the air conditioning on the lower level. McCulloch reminded Scott that he wasn’t the presiding commissioner five years ago, and said the cost to maintain county buildings needs to come out of the county’s maintenance fund, which currently has a $2 million balance on which the county is earning interest. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County phone bills to be averaged, not billed by call to each department PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 9, 2010) — Efforts to cut the county’s phone bill have hit a snag. At Monday morning’s meeting, Pulaski County commissioners received a report Monday morning from County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer that the county’s phone company, Fidelity Communications of Rolla, can no longer break down the cost for phone calls based on the person or county department making the call. “With the new telephone system, we were able to reduce the number of phone lines and we go by IPs. When we open the phone bill now, we have just one massive bill,” Linnenbringer said. That’s not a problem for most county offices, but it is an issue for several. “The only ones we’re really concerned about are the assessor’s office, which reimburses us for that, and then the extension and the circuit court and a few others,” Linnenbringer said. “They’re telling us that there’s no way they can break it out; the only way they can do it is for everybody to have to put in a four digit code when dialing every call.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink reviews his budget as Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham asks for help with road repair funds.
Zweerink agrees to help Farnham with eastern district county road repairs PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 9, 2010) — Faced with an overspent budget and roads filled with potholes, Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham asked Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink for help in patching Rosette Road. The county divides its road repair budget roughly halfway between the two districts. However, the majority of the county’s property tax revenue comes from Farnham’s eastern district, as well as the majority of the county’s newer hard-surfaced roads. Zweerink’s western district is much more rural and most of his roads are gravel roads which are well-compacted because they’ve been in use for many decades. “I’ve got a couple of roads that are torn all to pieces and I’ve got no money to fix them,” Farnham said. “If I don’t fix some of those roads here, this room is going to be filled up with angry citizens, especially with school starting.” Zweerink said $13,482 is available from a line item in his western district budget which he doesn’t anticipate fully spending before the end of the year, but wanted details. Farnham also said his road sign theft problem continues to get worse and has now expanded into a new area. “The road sign theft is not limited to this side of Fort Leonard Wood. I had a lot of signs taken down in the Big piney area,” Farnham said, noting that the signs being stolen include speed limit signs and signs warning motorists of children playing. Zweerink asked whether all the stolen signs need to be replaced. “I know there’s a public safety issue for some of these signs, but what point do we go to? Some of these signs, if we put then out, they won’t last a week,” Zweerink said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Dr. Connie Respress passes out food boxes to area children.
Feed the Children event turns out hundreds for free food, school supplies SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 7, 2010) — Evangelist Susan Marshall of Greater Community Missionary Baptist Church told her audience that Saturday morning’s “Feed the Children” event stemmed from a divine message six years ago. Marshall said that while picking up children from the Brookview Apartments for an event, she received a strong impression that the children should be fed, so she took them to an area restaurant where she was pleased to see them ordering healthy food. That evening, she woke up with her television still on and saw a program regarding feeding children. After hearing what she believes was God’s voice telling her to “feed the children,” she obeyed, and helped organize what has now become an annual back-to-school event in St. Robert offering food and school supplies to area children. “Lord, I hear you. I will feed any child who is hungry,” Marshall said. Other speakers at Saturday’s event echoed Marshall’s conviction. “Jesus placed a wonderful value on giving and sharing,” said Minister Eddie Goodman. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
More than 50 local groups could lose their tax-exempt status, IRS warns PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 7, 2010) — More than 50 nonprofit organizations in the Fort Leonard Wood area have failed to file federally required IRS forms and could lose their nonprofit tax-exempt status, according to an Internal Revenue Service press release. Those organizations include some high-profile groups such as the Committee of Fifty, the Pulaski County Korean Association, the Planters of Pulaski County garden club, the Crocker Swimming Pool Committee, several local American Legion auxiliary groups, the Buckhorn Lions Club, the Waynesville Kiwanis Club, various Masonic and other fraternal organizations, and the Wingmen Motorcycle Club. Numerous school organizations are on the revocation list such as the Thayer Elementary School PTO, the Waynesville High School Key Club, the Plato FCCLA, and the Waynesville Tigers Youth Wrestling Club. The nonprofit organizations that maintain numerous small local cemeteries are also on the list. All of those organizations failed to file federally mandated IRS forms in 2007, 2008 and 2009, according to the IRS press release. “We are doing everything we can to help organizations comply with the law and keep their valuable tax exemption,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a prepared statement. “So if you do not have your filings up to date, now’s the time to take action and get back on track.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Sgt. Butch Hohman shows the St. Robert speed trailer.
Police say slow down for school WAYNESVILLE/SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 7, 2010) — As schools prepare to reopen in the Fort Leonard Wood area, police in both Saint Robert and Waynesville are preparing to slow down drivers who have forgotten that some of the area’s most heavily travelled streets have lower speed limits during school hours. That includes Historic Route 66 by Waynesville Middle School and Eastlawn Avenue in St. Robert. Sgt. Butch Hohman of the St. Robert Police Department said his city succeeded in obtaining a grant last year to purchase a speed trailer which shows drivers their speed and warns when they’re going too fast. “It’s real beneficial,” Hohman said. “It’ll blink when they go over a certain speed limit, and if they’re well above it, it also turns on red and blue lights which also gets drivers’ attention and they slow it down.” While St. Robert owns two speed trailers, Waynesville now has to borrow a speed trailer from the state patrol. Waynesville Police Chief Bob Carter said during Thursday’s Police and Emergency Services Committee meeting that he’ll be borrowing one of two state patrol speed trailers this fall to use in the school zone on Historic Route 66 for about three weeks “to get people used to the speed zones again. The city has received authorization through the Safe Routes to School grant to purchase a speed trailer that will arrive in late September or October, Carter said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville police both thanked and questioned for response times WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 7, 2010) — Councilman Mike France told members of the Waynesville Police and Emergency Services Committee that city police responded much more promptly than county deputies to an urgent problem in the city, but during the same Thursday afternoon meeting, Councilwoman Diana Stanford asked why it took nearly an hour for officers to respond to a situation outside the bar she owns in downtown Waynesville. “I had a lady in my office … She’s a single mom with three kids and two gentlemen tried to break in on her when they were sitting at home. Our officers were actively engaged on an accident on I-44 which they could not break away from; county responded about 30 to 40 minutes after the initial call,” France said. While Police Chief Bob Carter will pass on the compliments from France, he’ll also pass on questions to officers about why another incident was handled differently. Stanford said there was a case of a car that lost its front tire across the road, creating a problem on Historic Route 66. “I called and it took one hour to get a response and I had to call twice … he finally showed up,” Stanford said. “It’s unusual for that big of a time delay.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Gene Newkirk
Newkirk's win didn't include rural areas of northern Pulaski County PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 6, 2010) — Saint Robert Alderman Gene Newkirk eked out Tuesday night’s narrowest margin of victory, barely defeating former Western District Commissioner Dennis Thornsberry by only 31 votes to win the Republican nomination for presiding commissioner. That’s within the 1 percent margin for which state law allows a recount, but neither County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer nor Thornsberry’s successor as county commissioner, Ricky Zweerink, said they knew whether Thornsberry planned to ask for a recount. Thornsberry didn’t return a phone call requesting comment, and Newkirk said Thursday night that he hasn’t yet received a call yet from Thornsberry conceding the race. Linnenbringer said Thursday that if Thornsberry asks for a recount, the cost to the county will be minimal: probably less than $500, she said. He has 30 days to make up his mind. Countywide, Newkirk won by a margin of 1,780 votes or 50.44 percent compared to 1,749 votes or 49.56 percent for Thornsberry. However, most precincts were considerably more lopsided, with Thornsberry clearly winning in the northern rural part of the county, often by more than a 20 percentage point spread, while Newkirk won in the more urbanized parts of the county by margins that were generally lower but still substantial. Newkirk agreed that he has work to do in building relationships with the rural residents of northern Pulaski County who will be his constituents if he defeats the incumbent Democrat, Don McCulloch, for the presiding commissioner post this November. “It looks like I need to work harder up in the northern part of the county. I call it the Highway 133 corridor across there; I need to rub some more elbows and get up there and knock on some more doors,” Newkirk said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville Deputy City Clerk Stephanie Leuthen models the proposed police uniform.
Seized drug money leads to new uniforms for Waynesville police WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 6, 2010) — Money received from cash and sale of vehicles involved in a recent drug seizure will be used to buy new dark navy blue uniforms for the Waynesville Police Department. At Thursday afternoon’s meeting of the Waynesville Police and Emergency Services Committee, Police Chief Bob Carter asked for and received permission to use $5,600 from the $8,578.74 drug seizure to budget for uniforms to outfit all active and reserve officers in the department. Buying new uniforms that don’t have to be dry-cleaned will save an additional $2,500 per year, according to Carter and City Administrator Bruce Harrill, and in combination with other savings, can be redirected to make a part-time officer position full-time. Carter said he expects even more money to be transferred by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to the Waynesville Police Department once a seized vehicle sells that was used in the drug transaction. “According to the DEA rules, these funds have to be expended for equipment,” Harrill said. “They’ve talked over different options of how to use that money, but one of the things they’d like to do would be to get new uniforms. They feel their current uniforms haven’t been replaced in several years. They’re required to be dry-cleaned which has additional cost to the city, and they’re a little bit hotter than the uniforms that they’re proposing to buy.” Carter clarified that the current light blue uniforms aren’t just “a little bit” but rather “a lot” hotter than the new navy blue uniforms, which won’t fade and don’t need to be starched. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
State sales tax holiday starts today, but not all local areas participate PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 6, 2010) — Need to buy school supplies? Beginning today and running until the end of Sunday night, those supplies will be less expensive due to a state sales tax holiday, which means most clothing under $100, most computers under $3,500, most computer software under $350, and other school-related supplies under $50 are exempt from the Missouri sales tax rate of 4.225 percent. Not only students and parents but also teachers buying classroom supplies qualify for the sales tax holiday, as long as they’re using their own money to make the purchase. Many but not all cities, counties and special taxing districts in Missouri have also waived their local sales tax. Pulaski County and the Pulaski County 911 Board are among those exceptions, which means businesses outside city limits in Pulaski County will still collect a sales tax of 75 cents per $100 of purchased supplies. In addition, shoppers in the Wal-Mart area of St. Robert Boulevard will still pay a half-cent sales tax so purchases in that area will have a tax rate of $1.25 per $100 of purchased supplies. The city of Waynesville didn’t waive its sales tax of 2.25 percent, so people shopping in Waynesville will pay $3 per $100 of purchased supplies. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville council asked to OK police mutual aid agreement with Lebanon WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Aug. 6, 2010) — Police and firefighters in Waynesville and Saint Robert routinely help each other, and the firefighters occasionally call for backup from departments as far away as Lebanon. Meeting Thursday afternoon, members of the Waynesville Police and Emergency Services Committee unanimously recommended that the city council pass a mutual aid agreement with the city of Lebanon which would allow police to provide mutual aid in a similar manner to what the firefighters already do. “I think this would be actually more to our benefit than it would be to Lebanon in case we have a major disaster,” said committee chairman Ed Conley. Councilman Mike France noted that Thursday’s emergency with two crashed St. James school buses on Interstate 44 could be an example of the problems that would quickly overwhelm a local police department. “My sister drove through that right after it occurred,” France said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Despite "Do Not Enter" signs, motorists keep driving the wrong way out of the Wendy's parking lot onto St. Robert Boulevard.
Wrong way warning at Wendy's SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 6, 2010) — As Sgt. Butch Hohman stood next to his parked patrol car in the Wendy’s parking lot, he watched car after car drive past not just one but two “Do Not Enter” signs, driving the wrong way back onto St. Robert Boulevard. “I just wish people would look before they enter a roadway and they could probably see the sign saying ‘Do Not Enter,’ but they are still doing it, as you can see,” Hohman said. The east driveway for a mall behind Wendy’s and Domino’s Pizza is dangerous, Hohman warned, and has led to numerous crashes and even one death. That’s led to a city decision to convert the east driveway into a one-way entrance with no exit allowed back onto St. Robert Boulevard, but people still aren’t paying attention to the signs. “We’ve had a lot of crashes and some near-crashes. Basically it is a safety hazard we’re trying to fix,” Hohman said. “You’re going to have two entrances coming in, this entrance which is the east entrance and the one down by Domino’s Pizza is the west entrance. You can enter both of those, but you can only go out on the west entrance down by Domino’s.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Commissioners agree to meet with Landowners' Association on road repair PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2010) — Members of the Pulaski County Commission voted Thursday to hold a rare night meeting on Aug. 16 in response to a request from Glenn Clark of the Pulaski County Landowners’ Association that the commissioners attend one of his organizations’ meetings to discuss road-related problems. Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham readily agreed and Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch said he’d be willing to do so if his schedule permitted. Anytime two of the three commissioners meet together to discuss county business, the meeting becomes public under the Missouri Sunshine Law and minutes must be taken. Rather than holding two meetings on Aug. 16, the commissioners decided to hold a single evening meeting in the courthouse basement, with the county business meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. and the meeting with the Landowners’ Association at 7 p.m. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Ray Campbell
County Commission unanimously names Ray Campbell to sewer board PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2010) — Just two days after losing his race for the Democratic nomination for presiding commissioner, Ray Campbell received an appointment to one of the county’s most controversial public positions as a board member of the Pulaski County Sewer District. Campbell replaces Mark Cortesini, a construction contractor who previously chaired the sewer board and was asked to resign by his vice-chairman, Gary Porter, after Cortesini said Saint Robert Fire Chief Chuck Fraley should resign due to missing many meetings. The sewer board is currently embroiled in multiple lawsuits with the city of Waynesville, which wants to provide sewer service to areas of West Waynesville and Buckhorn which were outside the city limits when the sewer district was organized two decades ago but have been annexed in more recent years. All three commissioners agreed that Campbell would be a good choice, with some noting that Campbell, who is a customer of the sewer district, had come to the county commission before with complaints about sewer district construction work which he said had seriously damaged Texas Road and created flooding problems on his property. “It’s apparent to me it’s heated no matter who gets on the sewer board,” said Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink. Campbell is currently a bail bondsman and part-time correspondent for the Richland-based Pulaski County Mirror. He was previously the sports reporter and then editor for the Waynesville Daily Guide.Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Don McCulloch
Defeated Democrat endorses Don McCulloch for Presiding Commissioner PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2010) — The losing Democratic candidate for Pulaski County Presiding Commissioner has endorsed his opponent and thanked him for agreeing that improvements are necessary to the county jail. Ray Campbell, who lives on Texas Road east of Saint Robert, challenged incumbent Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch which created the only contested race in the Democratic Party primary on Tuesday. “I lost to a good man,” Campbell said. “When it comes to November, vote for him — I am.” Campbell, who now works as a bail bondsman and is a part-time correspondent for the Richland-based Pulaski County Mirror but previously worked as the sports reporter and then editor of the Waynesville Daily Guide, said he ran mostly because he wanted to make sure something is done about jail conditions. Once he was sure McCulloch agreed on the need for jail improvements, he didn’t attack McCulloch for the current situation. “I’m not sure how to say it, but I firmly believe that the county needs a new jail and I wanted to make sure that if there was any way I could, I wanted to keep the need for a new jail in the forefront,” said Campbell, who lost to McCulloch by a margin of 227 to 805, a margin of 78 to 22 percent, and lost in every one of the county’s nine precincts as well as the absentee ballots. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
State cutbacks mean sheriff will have new liquor control duties for county PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2010) — County Commissioners told Sheriff J.B. King that state budget cuts mean his department will probably have to take on new liquor control duties. Following a closed session Thursday morning for legal matters, Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch said that because the state liquor control commission has cut back on its budget, the local enforcement official, Karl Kost, will no longer be able to verify that establishments serving alcohol have purchased a local liquor license as well as the state-mandated license. That will affect not only Pulaski County but also all of its five cities, McCulloch said. “If somebody hadn’t purchased a county license we would just call Karl Kost and then he would give them a call or stop by,” said County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer. “Instead of being a state function, it will now be a county function,” McCulloch said. “Not having that ability now, we asked Sheriff King if he would call and check … we have asked the sheriff to have one deputy assigned to this so we will not lose county revenue.” Commissioners recommended that only one deputy be assigned to that duty and that the deputy by Gwen Miles. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Brent Bassett
Bassett pledges to keep Medlen despite beating her in county clerk election PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 4, 2010) — Less than a day after winning the Republican nomination for county clerk, Brent Bassett pledged that he’ll keep the current office staff including his primary election opponent, Whitney Medlen. Since no Democrats filed for the position, Bassett’s primary election victory virtually ensures that he’ll be the county clerk for the next four years. “As long as she wants a job and as long as she’s doing her job, she can have the job,” Bassett said, also pledging to try to attend as many county commission meetings as possible before he takes office in January. Medlen, a Crocker resident, has worked in the clerk’s office for nine years, one year longer than the retiring county clerk, Diana Linnenbringer, and is currently the deputy clerk. Bassett made a similar pledge to the staff of the collector’s office four years ago when he ran for the county collector’s position now held by Terri Mitchell. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Church's Chicken still open on FLW despite car smashing through doors FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Aug. 4, 2010) — The Church’s Chicken/Burger King restaurant on post is still open for business at its regular hours, despite losing a set of entry doors when a soldier smashed her vehicle through the doors on Tuesday afternoon. According to military police reports, Pfc. Ashley M. Young struck the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal, causing her 2004 Chevrolet Impala to strike several curbs and destroy the southeast pedestrian entrance of Church’s Chicken at 1:48 p.m. No injuries were reported in the incident. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Newkirk narrowly defeats Thornsberry for presiding commissioner, Hooper blown away in county prosecutor race PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 3, 2010) — Voters in Pulaski County had five contested countywide races Tuesday night, but none were closer than St. Robert Alderman Gene Newkirk’s narrow victory margin of 31 votes in the Republican primary for presiding commissioner with 1,780 votes or 50.44 percent over former Western District Commissioner Dennis Thornsberry, who received 1,749 votes or 49.56 percent. Newkirk will face incumbent Democrat Don McCulloch who won easily over Ray Campbell in his party’s primary. County voters also gave incumbent Republican prosecutor Deborah Hooper a resounding defeat in the Republican primary with only 755 votes or 20.68 percent, ending last in a three-way field. Kevin Hillman, the full-time St. Robert city attorney and part-time Waynesville municipal judge, received 1,761 votes or 48.23 percent, with the remainder of 1,135 votes or 31.09 percent going to Jeff Thomas, a Dixon resident who works with his father in private practice in St. Robert. In the November election, Hillman will face Democrat Wayne Gifford. Other winners are Brent Bassett of Waynesville, who will be the next county clerk after defeating Whitney Medlen and Becky Reid since the Democrats did not run a candidate, and Republican Sue Rapone who defeated two other candidates for county treasurer, Larry Southard and Debbie Harris, and will face Democrat Ted Helms of Crocker. Swedeborg voters also passed a tax increase to keep their school district open. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer explains voting procedures.
Polls remain open until 7 p.m. today for county, state, federal primary races PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 3, 2010) — High heat doesn’t seem to be deterring voters today, as turnout exceeded expectations at many polling places around Pulaski County. Voters have until 7 p.m. today to vote on the Republican, Democratic, and two minor party candidate slates for federal, state and local offices. Candidates vote at the following locations: St. Robert: St. Robert Community Center on Route 66; Waynesville: Parker Fine Arts Center (note change of location); Laquey: Laquey School; Hooker: Sunset Village; Richland: City Hall; Crocker: Health Department; Swedeborg: Swedeborg School; Dixon: Senior Center; Big Piney: Palace Church. Click for a list of previous articles on county elections in the Pulaski County Daily News: Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County candidates release donor and campaign expense reports this week PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 31, 2010) — Candidates for offices in Pulaski County have spent more than $56,000 seeking their political party’s nomination in the Aug. 3 primary election. Candidate financing in Pulaski County typically depends on family, friends, and the candidate’s own resources, but that’s not always the case. One candidate, Dennis Thornsberry of Crocker, received nearly all of his $3,750 in financing for his presiding commissioner race from a single businessman, John Rand, and a network of companies Rand controls that share a single St. Louis address. In addition to owning the Discount Smoke Shop chain of stores with locations in numerous states, Rand has a home and farmland near the Gasconade River and has been a major contributor to numerous local candidates in past elections, including former Sheriff J.T. Roberts and two former presiding commissioners, Bill Ransdall and Tony Crismon. The other two major candidates, Gene Newkirk and incumbent Democrat Don McCulloch, have raised somewhat smaller amounts but mostly with their own money or small amounts from their friends. Not surprisingly, the candidates for Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney have raised and spent more money in their race than in any other race. While incumbent Prosecutor Deborah Hooper’s July financial report is not yet available, based on records for her pre-July fundraising and that of her two Republican primary opponents, the race has cost more than $25,000, with $3,066 raised by Hooper, $12,848.05 by Kevin Hillman, the St. Robert city attorney who also serves as part-time Waynesville Municipal Judge, and $10,007.03 by Jeff Thomas, a Dixon resident who works in his father’s St. Robert law practice. While the prosecutor’s primary race is the most expensive in the county, the candidate who has spent the most money is Larry Southard, a developer from Laquey who is running for county treasurer and has loaned his own campaign $13,000 and received no donations. His two opponents combined, Debbie Harris and Sue Rapone, have raised less than half that amount. The least-funded race in Pulaski County this year is for county clerk, which features a candidate, Brent Bassett, who four years ago spent tens of thousands of dollars in a failed effort to beat Terri Mitchell in the Republican primary for county collector. This year, Bassett has raised only $1,850 in donations, mostly from family members and other realtors in the county, somewhat less than his main primary opponent, Whitney Medlen. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
High heat leads to move of Waynesville polls for Tuesday's primary election PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 30, 2010) — High heat and humidity caused Pulaski County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer to move the Waynesville polling place in next Tuesday’s primary election from its usual location in the Waynesville Middle School gym on the west side of the school building to the Parker Fine Arts Center on the east side. “This building is air conditioned and will make for a more comfortable voting area, as well as working conditions for election judges,” Linnenbringer said. However, Linnenbringer said she’s concerned that even with the changed location, turnout may be much lower than recent years. Absentee ballots are usually a good predictor of voter turnout, and not many absentee ballots have been submitted yet. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
New commander at Fort Leonard Wood hospital had helped Iraqi hospitals FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 30, 2010) — The military hospital at Fort Leonard Wood gets its new commander today, after a two-month interim period during which Col. Paul Kondrat, an Army regional nurse executive, headed the hospital after the former hospital commander was relieved of command. Col. Judith Ruiz, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital’s former commander, was relieved of command on June 6 due to what a prepared statement issued by Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe of the Western Regional Medical Command called “command climate and not quality of care.” The new commander, Col. Kirk Eggleston, is a medical doctor and will assume command during an 8 a.m. ceremony today at the MANSCEN Plaza. He previously commanded the U.S. Army Health Clinic in the German city of Stuttgart. Other prior duties for Eggleston include serving as division surgeon and principal medical staff officer for the Fourth Infantry Division based at Fort Carson in Colorado. During the 4th Infantry Division’s deployment to Iraq, Eggleston and other medical personnel helped coordinate a drive that donated thousands of medical textbooks, journals, and other research material to hospitals in the Baghdad area and the Medical College of the University of Tikrit, where due to lack of resources under theformer Saddam Hussein regime, doctors were relying on photocopies of often-outdated medical textbooks. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville responds to Sewer District's angry cutoff of negotiations WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (July 30, 2010) — In a Friday interview, Waynesville City Administrator Bruce Harrill responded to an angry announcement two days earlier by Pulaski County Sewer Board Chairman Gary Porter that the sewer board would cancel a meeting that had been planned in an attempt to settle a lawsuit between the city and the sewer board. Harrill said Friday that the city filed a new federal lawsuit because its lawyers believe the terms of a $770,000 grant may give the sewer district the right to enforce its position that the sewer district has the right to provide sewer service to areas that were outside the city limits when the sewer district was organized two decades ago, even if the city later annexes those areas. A key part of the problem is in West Waynesville and Buckhorn, where Skyline Cycles, Grace Covenant Christian Center, and a planned residential and commercial development behind Witmor Farms restaurant all need sewer service. “It was important to our economic growth to provide service to a business that wanted to locate in West Waynesville; to support any business in the areas it is important to have sewer,” Harrill said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville Councilman Mike France speaks with State Sen. Bill Stouffer.
State Sen. Bill Stouffer says he can beat U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton in the fall SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 28, 2010) — As one of the two leading Republican candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, State Sen. Bill Stouffer said he rather than former State Rep. Vicky Hartzler or any of the other candidates is best qualified to replace a conservative Democrat with a conservative Republican in Congress. Speaking Wednesday morning at the Sunshine Café in St. Robert, Stouffer said anyone who wants to unseat Skelton after more than three decades needs to be able to understand farmers and rural Democrats. “I think I am the only one who can win in November, and the reason is that I represent Saline, Lafayette and Ray counties out of this district, which are the most populous Democratic counties. I am Ike Skelton’s state senator. Ike gets 83, 85 percent out of those high-population counties,” Stouffer said. “They are Truman Democrats, they are not Pelosi Democrats, and they will vote for a Republican unless you have a relationship with them.” Stouffer said he received 64 percent of the vote in his last State Senate election, nearly 20 points more than the highest-scoring Republican on the statewide ballot. He’s a farmer and former board member of the MFA Cooperative. “They will vote for me. They will not vote for another Republican, and you cannot give up the kind of margins that any other Republican will lose in those three counties and make it up in the rest of the district,” Stouffer said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Stouffer and Hartzler attended a recent candidate forum.
Stouffer responds to Hartzler attacks on taxes in race to replace Skelton SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 28, 2010) — It’s hard to avoid being attacked during a political campaign, but Pulaski County’s own legislator, State Rep. David Day, says he knows State Sen. Bill Stouffer well and believes recent attacks on him by former State Rep. Vicky Hartzler miss the mark. Stouffer and Hartzler are the two leading Republican candidates to replace U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, a longtime Democrat who chairs the House Armed Services Committee and represents one of the most conservative congressional districts held by a Democrat. Skelton has rarely had aggressive opposition, but this year both Hartzler and Stouffer have spent more than $255,000 apiece in an a hard-fought campaign to unseat Skelton, who has raised $1.9 million and spent $773,000 so far despite having only token opposition in the Democratic primary. A substantial amount of the money raised by Hartzler has been spent on advertising accusing Stouffer of raising taxes. That’s misleading, according to Day, who said the accusations against Stouffer stem from his role as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, where he proposed that the legislators ask voters if they wanted to increase taxes to improve Missouri’s transportation system. “Bill did not support a tax increase. What Bill supported was putting a tax increase on the ballot to put additional monies into the transportation system in Missouri and to let Missourians decide if they want to put more of their tax monies into that sort of project,” Day said. “I don’t know how you feel about that; I think that is the ultimate in local control. I wish someone in Washington D.C. would ask me if I want my tax money going to stimulus money, if I want it to go to increased taxes for cap-and-trade.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Stouffer: 'If it’s only Ike Skelton who is keeping those bases open, then they shouldn’t be here' SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 28, 2010) — State Sen. Bill Stouffer knows he’s in an uphill battle trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton. When he visits military installations, he routinely sees everything from dog kennels to major training facilities named after Skelton, who as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has brought literally billions of dollars to Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base. So why would anyone ask voters in a county like Pulaski, where Skelton is widely credited with saving Fort Leonard Wood from closure, ask voters to close out Skelton’s congressional career of more than three decades? In a Wednesday appearance at the Sunshine Café in St. Robert, Stouffer said he realizes Skelton’s role on the House Armed Services Committee can’t be replicated by any freshman congressman. A more serious problem, according to Stouffer, is that Skelton’s votes in recent years have moved substantially to the left of his district’s viewpoints. “Ike’s running a lot of veteran commercials, and a lot of veterans I talk to say, ‘This is not what I fought for, we need a change,’” Stouffer said. “Just the bare facts of the matter are if you have a 78-year-old that is the only thing that is keeping these two bases open, folks, we’re in trouble anyways.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville files another lawsuit against Pulaski County Sewer District WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (July 28, 2010) — A fourth lawsuit filed recently in a longrunning fight between the Pulaski County Sewer District and the city of Waynesville has torpedoed efforts by Sewer Board Chairman Gary Porter to solve the dispute. Porter had announced last week that some of his board members planned to meet in closed session this week Thursday at noon with representatives of Waynesville city government. That meeting was cancelled about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after Porter learned that Waynesville has filed a federal lawsuit against the city seeking to prevent the sewer district from receiving a $770,000 federal grant to expand its sewer service. Porter said he called the sewer district’s lawyer, Bill Hickle of Rolla, to inform him of the federal grant. “He was happy too, but he said, ‘I hate to burst your bubble, but we have just been sued by the city of Waynesville,’” Porter said. “We had no idea this was coming.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Both Democrats running for presiding commissioner want jail improvements PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 23, 2010) — The only contested race on the Democratic side of the ballot this year in Pulaski County is between incumbent Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch of Waynesville and challenger Ray Campbell who lives east of St. Robert, both of whom largely agreed at Friday night’s candidate forum on the issues including a need for a new jail. On the Republican side of the ballot, St. Robert Alderman Gene Newkirk faces former Western District Commissioner Dennis Thornsberry from Crocker, who served two terms ending in 2008; both said the county needs to focus on sound financial management. Don Mayhew, also from Crocker, dropped out of the Republican primary after Thornsberry filed. McCulloch explained that he was appointed when the Pulaski County Democratic Central Committee nominated him to Gov. Jay Nixon to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Presiding Commissioner Bill Ransdall. Nixon, a Democrat, had earlier appointed Ransdall to fill a position on the Missouri State Tax Commission for which he was not confirmed by the Missouri State Senate. The Pulaski County Republican Central Committee had nominated Thornsberry over Newkirk, both of whom had asked to be considered as candidates, but Nixon decided to appoint McCulloch as a fellow Democrat rather than Thornsberry. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Brent Bassett, Whitney Medlen and Becky Reid are running for county clerk.
County Clerk candidates to succeed Linnenbringer are all Republicans PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 23, 2010) — Not many years ago, it was all but impossible for a Republican to get elected in Pulaski County. This year, however, the Democrats have put up only one candidate for most races and in the case of the county clerk’s office, there are no candidates at all. That means the Republican primary on Aug. 3 will determine whether Crocker resident Whitney Medlen, who has worked in the county clerk's office for nine years and currently serves as the deputy county clerk under retiring county clerk Diana Linnenbringer, Waynesville real estate agent and school bus driver Brent Bassett, or Richland resident and beef cattle rancher Becky Reid will succeed Linnenbringer, who is retiring at the end of the year. While Linnenbringer is a St. Louis native and is moving back to her hometown to retire, all three candidates seeking to succeed her are lifelong Pulaski County residents. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Kevin Hillman and Jeff Thomas are running against Prosecutor Deborah Hooper.
Prosecutor Deborah Hooper says she works with Sheriff’s Department “to bring them up to standard” PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 23, 2010) — Speaking at a Friday night candidate forum, incumbent Pulaski County Prosecutor Deborah Hooper told potential voters that she tries to work with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department “to bring them up to standard” but said it’s not always easy to do so. However, some local law enforcement agencies do produce good paperwork for the prosecutor, she said. “What I want you to know is I work very hard with the professionals, the police, I work very hard with the highway patrol, I work hard with St. Robert, we get along great, they do their paperwork, they do a really good job,” Hooper said. “I work hard with the city police and I am working hard with the sheriff’s department to bring them up to standard, and it is not always easy.” Hooper said it’s important to file cases only when she believes they will stand up in court. “I love being a prosecutor and I do feel I am doing a very good job, contrary to what some people like to try to claim,” Hooper said. “I am not a numbers-oriented person. By that, I am not a file-it-and-figure it out later … I want to make sure when I am filing a charge, not only do I think the person committed the crime, but also I feel I can prove it.” Speaking after the candidate forum, both of Hooper’s Republican opponents said they have a good relationship with local law enforcement and didn’t believe there was a need to bring the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department up to standard. “I intend as prosecutor to work with those departments, and when they have questions I am there to answer them,” Hillman said. “They do the best they can with what they’ve got ... Do I think they need more education? No. Do I think they need more assets? Yes. I think that’s probably the better answer.” Hillman noted that he’s already working closely with the Waynesville and St. Robert police in his job as St. Robert prosecutor and as Waynesville municipal judge. While Thomas’ role with police is different as a criminal defense attorney, he’s also observed police work and said he doesn’t have a problem with the competence of local law enforcement. “I know the police officers and they just need a prosecutor they are willing to work with,” Thomas said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Larry Southard, Debbie Harris, and Sue Rapone are running for county treasurer.
Three Republicans vie for county treasurer's job, pledge full-time service PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 23, 2010) — Three candidates, Sue Rapone of Waynesville, Larry Southard of Laquey and Debbie Harris of Richland, are seeking the Republican nomination this year to challenge Ted Helms, the sole Democratic candidate for county treasurer. The treasurer’s office is currently filled by Morris Roam, a Democrat from Crocker who was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to replace Republican treasurer Barbara Thomas, who resigned in protest last year. Vacancies in most county offices are filled by gubernatorial appointment following nominations by each political party; Rapone, who is currently the deputy public administrator working under Loretta Rouse, had received the Republican nomination for the post but Nixon decided to appoint Roam instead, who eventually decided he didn’t want to file for election. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Paramedic-nurse Judy Woodward tended to a feline patient along with the human injuries at a Thursday afternoon fire in Buckhorn.
Buckhorn blaze wrecks rented home of soldier, slightly injures wife, child BUCKHORN, Mo. (July 22, 2010) — A Thursday afternoon fire wrecked the rented home of a Fort Leonard Wood soldier and his family on the 22000 grid of Spruce Road in Buckhorn. That’s commonly known as the “South Outer Road” between Exit 156 and Exit 153. The soldier’s wife and three young children were home at the time of the blaze, which was paged out at 1:34 p.m., according to Waynesville Rural Fire Chief Doug Yurecko. “We are treating the mother for slight smoke inhalation and some burns,” Yurecko said, indicating that another child was also expected to be treated for minor injuries. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Honeycombed bridge material could save the historic Devil's Elbow Bridge.
Historic Devil's Elbow Bridge on Route 66 could be saved by green grants DEVIL’S ELBOW, Mo. (July 22, 2010) — Local military contractor Jerry Plunkett told Pulaski County Commissioners on Thursday that he still believes it’s possible to put together a package of grants to restore the endangered Devil’s Elbow Bridge on the original alignment of Route 66. The Devil’s Elbow Bridge is one of the few steel truss bridges left on Old Route 66 in Missouri. It’s one of three bridges that cross the Big Piney River in Devil’s Elbow: there’s the current concrete bridge on Interstate 44, an older bridge on Highway Z that represented the second alignment of Route 66 before the interstate highway system was built, and the original bridge. Plunkett has previously told the commissioners that more grant money may be available if the Devil’s Elbow repair project uses modern “green” technology to do things such as using solar power and wind power to heat the bridge deck and reduce the need for snow melting salt or chemicals. “I’ve been working, I just haven’t been reporting,” Plunkett said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Landowners Association invites commissioners to discuss road repairs PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 22, 2010) — Longstanding problems with county roads led Glenn Clark of the Pulaski County Landowners Association to come to Thursday’s Pulaski County Commission meeting and invite county commissioners to an upcoming Landowners Association meeting to discuss what can be done to improve conditions. Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham and Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch both said they’d try to attend the upcoming meeting on Aug. 16. “There’s been a lot in the media about the condition of the roads, and as president of the Pulaski County Landowners Association I’d like to invite at least the eastern and western district commissioners to attend our meeting,” Clark said. “Sometimes it’s just nice to get questions out there. Of course, some will try to beat on you but I’ll try to keep it to a low roll.” McCulloch said he’s be open to a special assessment in Cullen Township, which runs from Buckhorn to Devil’s Elbow and includes the unincorporated parts of Pulaski County near St. Robert and Waynesville which have seen extensive residential development in recent years, but asked Clark to have his organization’s members bring their tax statements so he can show how little of their taxes actually go to the county compared to schools and other items. “They’ll be surprised how little they pay,” McCulloch said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Commissioners seek sewer board candidate, name library board member PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 20, 2010) — Members of the Pulaski County Commission found a replacement for a person on the county library board who no longer wants to serve and may have found a replacement for former Pulaski County Sewer Board chairman Mark Cortesini. On Monday, Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch asked Jim Lord, a Waynesville real estate agent working with Miller Realty, if he’s willing to serve on the sewer board. Lord told McCulloch that whether he’s a user of the sewer district services depends on how “user” is defined. “I do own property but I don’t pay the bill,” Lord said. Local banker Keith Pritchard, who was attending the county commission meeting in his capacity as a member of the Board of Equalization, said he was surprised at Lord’s interest in a difficult assignment to the sewer board. “You don’t have enough drama in your life?” Pritchard asked. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County road funds overspent, Farnham says none left for Devil's Elbow damage PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 15, 2010) — Following years of frustration with conditions on his road, Devil’s Elbow resident Gerald Dake came to the Pulaski County Commission on Thursday to protest in person to Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham. Dake said members of the county commission years ago promised that if he paid to asphalt his portion of Teak Road, the county would maintain it. That hasn’t happened, Dake said, and the problems have actually gotten worse with potholes expanding due to lack of routine repairs. “The holes, when they were small, Mr. Farnham, is when I called you. Now they are the size of dump truck wheels,” Dake said. “When I called you a year and a half ago, the holes were small then and they could be easily repaired.” That’s not the only problem. Dake said shortly before the Independence Day weekend, county road crews used a “big Tonka toy” to lay down dirt rather than fix the potholes. “I know it is cheaper and quicker to fill the holes with dirt than it is with asphalt,” Dake said. “All that dust was just boiling over the July 4 weekend … All that weekend I had to sit there and eat the dirt.” Farnham agreed that Dake’s road needs repair, but said there’s not much he can do. “I know the shape it’s in; it’s in horrible shape,” Farnham said. “I have already overspent on asphalt and gravel for the year ... We’ve grown so much on this side, but unfortunately, our money has not grown with it. Unfortunately, I have no money for asphalt or for gravel so I have to skate until the property tax money comes in at the end of the year.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville police ordered this truck to be moved.
Police order move of prosecutor candidate's campaign truck; selective enforcement alleged WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (July 15, 2010) — When Jim and Barbara Thomas drove to the Pulaski County Courthouse on Thursday morning, they never expected they’d get a phone call from the Waynesville police dispatcher or find a Waynesville police tag on their vehicle ordering it to be moved. The Thomases had been in a white utility vehicle with a large campaign sign in the back for Jeff Thomas, the son of Jim Thomas who is running for the Republican nomination for Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney but was not in the vehicle and knew nothing about the incident until it was over. Jim and Barb Thomas parked in a 30-minute parking spot directly outside the courthouse’s front door. Not long after the Thomases left their vehicle, a Waynesville policeman pulled up, parked next to the Thomas’ vehicle, and posted a red warning notice on the driver’s side window specifying that it needed to be moved within 30 minutes. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Pulaski property assessed value increases 4.4 percent to $398 million PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 20, 2010) — County Assessor Roger Harrison reported Monday that Pulaski County’s assessed valuation has grown significantly, which should result in growth rather than decline in the county’s property tax revenues this fall. Speaking before the County Board of Equalization, which includes not only the commissioners but also three additional representatives, local banker Keith Pritchard, local real estate agent Jim Lord, and County Surveyor John Mackey, Harrison said the county has a total assessed land value of $398,400,225, not counting railroads and utilities. That reflects a 4.4 percent total increase in assessed value, of which 2.5 percent is personal property and 4.9 percent is real estate value. While housing starts nationally are facing a steep decline, that’s not the case in Pulaski County where 354 new homes were added to the assessment rolls compared to 255 the previous year. “We built quite a few homes last year also,” Harrison said. “We’ve got a lot of construction going on but it’s not causing inflated prices.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Sewer board chair's resignation raises county concerns due to lawyer wife PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 15, 2010) — Faced with a former sewer board chairman who says he’s resigned but hasn’t submitted a written letter of resignation, Pulaski County commissioners said Thursday they were hesitant to fill the vacancy. A complicating factor is that the wife of former sewer board chairman Mark Cortesini is a lawyer. Ronda Cortesini runs the Waynesville office of the Allan and Rector law firm. “I think to cover ourselves, if we could get a letter from (sewer district attorney Bill) Hickle, that would be good,” said Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch. “With his wife being an attorney, he could just be waiting.” Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink concurred. “You’d better dot them and cross them,” Zweerink said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
County fears for future of its finances PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 12, 2010) — Unlike many jurisdictions in Missouri, Pulaski County sales tax revenues have remained stable, but county commissioners warned at their Monday morning meeting that state cutbacks could cause serious problems for Pulaski County. Eastern District Commissioner Bill Farnham warned that one of the county’s biggest problems could be a reduced state reimbursement for prisoner room and board bills. Pulaski County currently pays $35 per day per inmate to send more than half and sometimes up to two-thirds of its prisoners to other counties or to the Dixon City Jail because the Pulaski County Jail is too small to handle the county’s inmates. “What I’m really concerned about it what’s going to happen with our jail reimbursement. They cut it back to $19.58 and that’s one of the first places they may cut again,” Farnham warned. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Sunday storms and tornado hit rural Pulaski County, knock out power PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 12, 2010) — A Sunday afternoon tornado and accompanying high winds knocked out power to numerous homes and businesses around Pulaski County, and left significant storm damage throughout the northern end of the county. According to a report by Pulaski County Emergency Management Director Lawson Smith, power was knocked out in the Waynesville, Buckhorn, Swedeborg and Richland areas. A funnel cloud was sighted in Crocker near Highway 133 at 3:35 p.m., with a tornado warning being paged out at 3:47 p.m. Western District County Commissioner Ricky Zweerink said part of his district in Swedeborg and Crocker was heavily damaged by the storms. “It tore the thunder out of things up there,” Zweerink said. “T Highway south of Swedeborg is where it really went through, where they call the Slick’s Mill area on Riverside Drive.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Helping small businesses means helping small banks, Roy Blunt says SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 8, 2010) — Several local bankers and businessmen delivered a message Wednesday to Senate candidate Roy Blunt: community banks are small businesses too, and national banking rule restrictions could harm local banks as well as their customers. Speaking at Lynch’s Furniture in St. Robert during a town hall meeting of small business owners, Keith Pritchard of Security Bank said small community bankers are being unfairly blamed for problems caused by major national banking chains. “There’s plenty of credit available if our regulatory structure will allow us to make good loans to good borrowers, and they’re out there,” Pritchard said. “We’re not the ones that were making subprime mortgages. We didn’t create the problem but we get to feel the regulatory burden that comes with it.” Blunt said he understands that lack of access to credit, soaring utility bills and taxes are creating major problems for small businesses. “I think there should be a different set of restrictions if you are keeping a loan inside than if you are packaging it to sell it out,” Blunt said. “If it’s a loan that you’ve made and you’re receiving the payments on that you’re responsible for and you’re going to be standing behind if you wind up with it, I think that’s a different category, frankly.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Roy Blunt speaks to Steve Lynch.
Lynch says he fears long-term future for his business, hopes Blunt can help SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 8, 2010) — Steve Lynch routinely combines furniture sales with fiery oratory supporting the Waynesville-St. Robert area, and during Wednesday’s appearance by U.S. Senate candidate Roy Blunt at his store, Lynch said something must be done to change national economic policies if small businesses are to thrive or even survive in the future. Lynch, whose grandfather founded the business in 1942 shortly after Fort Leonard Wood began as a training post for soldiers headed to World War II, is a former president of the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce and his family were among the founders and former mayors of St. Robert. However, he said he’s no longer sure his business has a long-term future. “I am a third-generation furniture guy and proud of it. There aren’t many third generations of anything anymore, but the question that I’ve got today, the question that I’ve had for the last year, is will my small business go to the fourth generation,” Lynch said. “You know me and I am a fearless businessperson … yet I have found myself afraid for my business’s future. Not so much immediately but down the road when I think of all of the money that our government is spending, as a businessman I know that money has to be paid back someday.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt speaks at Lynch's Furniture.
Roy Blunt says President Obama is hurting, not helping small businesses SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 8, 2010) — Speaking Wednesday afternoon to local small business owners gathered at Lynch’s Furniture on Missouri Avenue, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt said he should be the Republican nominee to succeed Kit Bond in the U.S. Senate because he’s a friend and supporter of small businesses. “Everybody seems to understand that small businesses drive the economy, but nobody seems to want to do what is necessary to power that engine up,” Blunt said. “Why is the government spending so much more money than it ever has before and why are we not worried about who is going to pay that off? … We cannot continue to spend this kind of money.” Blunt told his audience that President Barack Obama attempts to help American economic recovery have actually done more harm than good. Local business leaders including Charlie Bassett, Don Mayhew, Randy Becht, Sue Williams, and Keith Pritchard questioned and in some cases challenged Blunt to provide solutions that will help small businesses in rural America. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Today is the last day County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer can register voters.
Deadline is 5 p.m. today to register for upcoming Aug. 3 primary election PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 7, 2010) — Pulaski County residents who plan to vote in next month’s primary election have until 5 p.m. today to register, or they won’t be allowed to cast ballots for any state, county, or local race on Aug. 3. As required by state statute, County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer will keep the clerk’s office in the courthouse open until 5 p.m. rather than the standard closing time of 4:30 p.m. While today is the last day for most people to register to vote in the primary election, military voters have an additional option. While it’s not commonly used in off-year elections, active duty military personnel can register up until the day of the election though they will only get a federal ballot for seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Tow company personnel were able to pull this semi off I-44.
Westbound I-44 briefly blocked at mile marker 165 by overturned semi truck DEVIL’S ELBOW, Mo. (July 7, 2010) — Quick action by firefighters and tow company personnel cleared a rolled-over semi truck carrying Caterpillar bulldozer and other heavy equipment parts, reopening a part of Interstate 44 just west of the Big Piney River Bridge in about 20 minutes that had been expected to remain closed for up to four hours. Westbound traffic was backed up about a mile, according to Waynesville Rural Fire Chief Doug Yurecko. “There are three lanes here and all three were blocked,” Yurecko said. State troopers reported that Eduardo Olayo, 26, of Cicero, had been westbound driving a 2009 Freightliner when he ran off the right side of the roadway at 7:45 a.m. as he was going up a hill from the river, overcorrected, and overturned, landing on the driver’s side. Neither Olayo nor a passenger in the sleeper compartment of the semi truck were hurt. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Fort Leonard Wood firefighters to receive focus this week for their work FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 6, 2010) — Strict construction standards and rules for both professional and personal conduct while living and working in government quarters mean Fort Leonard Wood firefighters don’t need to spend much time fighting fires. Many of the full-time on-post fire personnel also volunteer in area civilian fire departments and are much more likely to respond to an off-post civilian fire call during their off-duty hours than they are to respond to a fire on Fort Leonard Wood. However, when fires or hazardous material emergencies do happen, they’re likely to be much more serious. That’s especially true in a deployed military environment when a fire or explosion may be due to enemy attack, and a 6 p.m. Tuesday deployment ceremony and an 8 a.m. Wednesday breakfast with U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton will recognize the Fort Leonard Wood firefighters for their work. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Panera franchisee Greg Anderson explains his plans.
Panera Bread coming to Saint Robert SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 6, 2010) — Local hotel owner Steve Ehrhardt tried years ago to get Panera Bread to come to the Fort Leonard Wood area when he built a commercial mall on St. Robert Boulevard that now houses a Blockbuster video rental store. That location wasn’t right for Panera franchise owner Greg Anderson of Camdenton, who already owned Panera franchises in Jefferson City, Rolla and Osage Beach, but on Tuesday, Anderson and Ehrhardt announced that they’ll be opening a Panera Bread franchise on the former Ramada Inn intersection bordered by Old Route 66, Missouri Avenue and Exit 161 of Interstate 44. “I think it’s important to recognize that we’ve actually been looking in this market probably for four to five years. I’ve been coming here periodically, I drive the streets, I talk to realtors over the years and I’ve always felt as though this particular corner is really a great spot to put a Panera if the opportunity ever presented itself, and it has, so we’re really excited about that,” Anderson said. The former Ramada location is at one of the city’s busiest intersections, and Anderson said that’s just what he wants to reach the military market. “We’re going to start pretty early, I hope, and we want to be able to catch all the coffee drinkers going into the base ... I’m sure we’ll be probably be open until at least 9 p.m.; you won’t be able to get away from us,” Anderson said. “There may still be reasons to go to Rolla, but hopefully when it comes to finding a bagel or a loaf of bread or a great sandwich or salad you can find it right here in town.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Firefighters pour water on a downtown Richland roof.
Fire-damaged building in Richland will have to be torn down, chief says RICHLAND, Mo. (July 5, 2010) — One of the oldest downtown buildings in Richland will probably have to be torn down as soon as possible following a Monday afternoon fire, according to Tri-County Fire Chief Rick Hobbs. “I’ll have to tape the whole thing off tonight. On an old masonry building like this, once the bricks get hot, the mortar deteriorates and even the firefighters are in danger,” Hobbs said. The building, known as the “Big Dollar Store,” is a seasonal artificial flower shop owned by a former Richland city administrator from the early 1990s, Daryl Durossette, and his wife. The store is mostly open around Memorial Day to sell flowers for grave decorations. From the front, the building doesn’t look too bad apart from obvious fire damage inside. However, Hobbs said the building had a three-inch-thick tarpaper roof that burned so hot that the entire roof collapsed, taking down the back side of the building and forcing firefighters to use a city-owned backhoe to rip apart the tarpaper to extinguish the blaze. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Paramedics treated a firefighter for heat exhaustion.
Four firefighters suffer heat injuries Monday at Richland downtown blaze RICHLAND, Mo. (July 5, 2010) — Two firefighters have been overcome by heat at the scene of the Dollar Store blaze in downtown Richland, according to Pulaski County Ambulance District Administrator Gary Carmack. Firefighters from six departments have been fighting the blaze since about 2:45 p.m. on Pine Street, one of Richland’s major downtown streets. One St. Robert firefighter, Felton Shoemaker, and Tri-County firefighter Angie Gayer suffered minor injuries, Carmack said. The Tri-County firefighter was transported to St. John’s Hospital in Lebanon for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, Carmack said, but was subsequently released. Shoemaker is still on the fire scene in an ambulance being treated with multiple IVs. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Firefighters work to extinguish a downtown Richland blaze.
Second-alarm structure fire wrecks Dollar Store in downtown Richland RICHLAND, Mo. (July 5,2010) — A Monday afternoon second-alarm commercial structure fire has sent at least five area fire departments to downtown Richland where the Dollar Store in Richland has flames shooting through the roof. Called in about 2:45 p.m., the blaze has shut down one of Richland’s major downtown routes, Pine Street. Firefighters from St. Robert, Waynesville, Hazelgreen and Crocker have joined the Tri-County Rural Fire Protection District from Richland in fighting the blaze. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Eddie Acosta
Body believed to be missing Eddie Acosta found down Columbia cliffside COLUMBIA, Mo. (July 3, 2010) — Family members of Eddie Acosta, 45, a Fort Leonard Wood civilian employee who has been missing more than a month, said police notified them late Friday night that human remains believed to be those of Acosta have been located down a series of cliffs in Columbia. Acosta was taken from his worksite at Fort Leonard Wood with stroke-like symptoms on May 28, transported to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, and then transferred by ambulance to University Hospital in Columbia for emergency treatment. He was discharged without a car and hasn’t been seen since that night. Marina Acosta, Eddie Acosta’s sister-in-law who serves as a family spokesman, said University of Missouri Police aren’t yet certain of the identity of the body they’ve found, but hope to know soon. “We were told that once they brought the body up and verified that it was Eddie, they would disclose the location to us,” Acosta said. “I was disappointed and frustrated at the lack of support that we were given by the Columbia Police Department. We had to push and fight for actual acknowledgement, and I feel if they had taken this case seriously from the beginning, maybe the outcome wouldn’t be what it is.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Fourth of July on Fort Leonard Wood to include fireworks, Soldier Show FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 3, 2010) — Post personnel want civilians as well as military personnel to turn out tomorrow for the largest fireworks show in the Pulaski County area. Held each year on July 4, the fireworks show on Gammon Field is held about dusk at 9:30 p.m. but is preceded by hours of other events. This year, on-post activities begin at 3 p.m. and lead up to a major live music and stage presentation, the Army Soldier Show, which starts at 7:30 p.m. The performance and fireworks are free, as are many of the other activities, according to Meghan O’Donoghue of the post’s Directorate of Morale, Welfare and Recreation. New events this year include a teen tent. “It hs been said we had lots of stuff for the kids 12 and under but we didn’t really have anything for the teens,” O’Donoghue said. “It will be the only air-conditioned tent on the field and you have to be in 6th to 12th grade to use it.” Other activities include a magician, bounce houses and other activities for younger children, and a traveling POW camp display. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Site preparation work continues at the former Ramada Inn location.
Ehrhardt Properties to announce plans soon for former Ramada Inn location SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 2, 2010) — Hotel management and St. Robert city officials have announced that they’ll soon be able to provide additional information about what’s happening at the site of the old Ramada Inn just south of the Missouri Avenue interchange on Interstate 44. More details will be released at a 10 a.m. Tuesday press conference, according to a statement issued by Donna Barkefelt of Ehrhardt Properties. The announcement will indicate that the company “is bringing another national brand to our community,” she said. Now known as Liberty Lodge, the hotel property at one of the city’s most prominent intersections was sold late last year for $3.55 million by TW Cloud, Inc., the owners of the Area 151 nightclub, to Steve Ehrhardt, who already owns five hotels on St. Robert Boulevard. He’s since torn down the older part of the Ramada Inn closer to Missouri Avenue but reopened the back wing as a stand-alone facility which is now serving guests. Ehrhardt said last fall that he would redevelop the property at a cost of $8.6 million. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Water problems with this road have generated a lawsuit in Laquey.
Laquey culvert dispute blows up into lawsuit over water damage to road LAQUEY, Mo. (July 1, 2010) — A year-old fight over a road culvert in Laquey could go to trial on Aug. 3 with a procedural hearing next week Wednesday before Circuit Judge Mary Sheffield on whether the people filing the lawsuit are entitled to a jury trial and reimbursement of their lawyer’s fees. In court papers responding to a lawsuit by Neal and Helen Warren, the defendants, John and Margaret Meade, claim that the Warrens built a culvert in August 2009 “that was accompanied by a ditch on the south side of said culvert that was dug too deep to allow for proper drainage with the existing road ditch,” and rather than building the culvert in a way “that caused it to fit in with existing drainage system (the Warrens) wrongfully dug a pathway for the water causing it to flow onto (the Meade’s) land.” Western District Commissioner Ricky Zweerink said that didn't need to happen. “It’s unfortunate that could have been settled so easily, but it wasn’t. There are a lot of personalities involved,” Zweerink said during Thursday’s county commission meeting. “They’re going to have to clean up all of them before I get involved again.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
ArmyOneSource.com staffers explain their program.
Online ArmyOneSource.com family service referral program explained FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (June 30, 2010) — Military personnel and their families have long lists of services and personnel available to help with a wide variety of personal and family issues, but the growing list is so long that many soldiers no longer know what’s out there to help. That’s a particularly serious problem for new servicemembers and spouses, so at Wednesday morning’s meeting of Woodworks, Army One Source staff member Darrell Miller spoke to representatives of major support organizations at Fort Leonard Wood on what his program can offer to help connect people with services they need. Located online at www.ArmyOneSource.com, the referral service has links and connections to many other programs and also provides some services itself, Miller said. “The bottom line up front is what Army One Source tries to do is we try to provide resources, tools and information about Army family programs,” Miller said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Joshua S. Wagner
Alleged oral sex with inmate gets county jailer fired, faces felony charges PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (June 17, 2010) — Joshua Wagner was enrolled in the Missouri Sheriff’s Academy and had hoped to move from his job as a Pulaski County jailer to become a sheriff’s deputy or police officer. Instead, following charges that he had oral sex at least twice with a female inmate, he faces felony charges of sexual contact with a prisoner. According to court documents, Wagner, a 27-year-old Rolla man, knowingly had deviate sexual intercourse with the unidentified 36-year-old woman between March 26 and April 4 while the woman was an inmate. That incident happened barely two months after Wagner was hired as a jailer. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Dead deer incident will be reviewed by city, Waynesville mayor tells council WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 17, 2010) — Mayor Cliff Hammock told Waynesville council members and residents Thursday night that he’s reviewed the way a recent incident was handled in which the Waynesville police chief directed an officer to shoot a baby deer in the parking lot of Mid-Missouri Credit Union. “I know that this has generated a lot of discussion on the part of the city staff as well as the council and within the community,” Hammock said “I read a lot of the electronic threads, if you will, and unfortunately in situations like this sometimes lots of factual information, because of emotions, takes on a different flavor,” While acknowledging that “hindsight is 20-20” and noting that he didn’t want to be perceived as failing to support police, Hammock he believes after review that changes may need to be made in city procedures. “I think we all feel that perhaps a better course of action could have probably been addressed to deal with the situation after the animal had been deemed to have humanely needed to have been put down,” Hammock said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Fair board members show a sample of Pulaski County produce.
Pulaski County Regional Fair kicks off Thursday with four days of events SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (June 17, 2010) — The four-day Pulaski County Regional Fair kicked off Thursday afternoon with show animal check-ins, Clydesdale wagon rides, various games, and the beginning of judging for various events. Fair Board member Carl Boone said attending the fair is a good way to learn more about area agriculture and see the hard work of local children and teenagers on their 4H or FFA projects, as well as having fun. “They need to come out and have a great time. We’ve got a good carnival, we’ve got bull rides both Friday and Saturday night, we’ve got a big ATV rodeo on Sunday afternoon, gospel music and a benefit dinner in the community center on Sunday as well,” Boone said. “We’ve got great vendors, we’ve got other attractions, it’s all good.” Traditional highlights of county fairs include livestock shows, and the steer and hog shows will be on Saturday, with a lamb show on Friday. All events are held in or near the St. Robert Community Center on Old Route 66. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Pulaski County Regional Fair schedule PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (June 17, 2010) — Pulaski County Regional Fair officials have announced a four-day schedule of events running from Thursday, June 17, to Sunday, June 20. General admission to the fair and most events are free. Vendors and individual rides at the carnival do have a charge, but wristband specials are available on Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. admitting holders to all carnival rides for $15. Purchases of wristbands must be made in advance. Adults and teenagers will pay $5 for admission to the ATV rodeo and $10 for admission to bull riding; children 12 and under are admitted free to both events.
Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Ron and Marie Selfors perform square dancing at the county fair.
Travelers square dance club preserves traditional American entertainment SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (June 17, 2010) — “Swing your girl around and promenade! We sure make lots of waves on the water, a-rocking in Rosalie’s boat!” Those words, dancing directions set to music by square dancing caller Kenton Sullivan, sounded Thursday evening inside the St. Robert Community Center at the Pulaski County Regional Fair. Area square dancers, many attired in traditional 1800s American clothing, gathered to perform the traditional dances. Dancers included Beatrix Hutchins who began dancing only three years ago. “Square dancing is a lot of fun, a lot of exercise, brain exercise on top of it, and the fellowship is wonderful,” Hutchins said. “You meet the best people with this square dancing and you get to travel because it is everywhere in the United States.” Randy Yocum said that the local club name indicates the members’ interest in traveling for square dancing. “We’ve been to Mountain Home, Ark., for a special dance; we went to Oklahoma just a couple of months ago where there was a special dance,” Yocum said. “You travel and it gives you a good excuse to get out of town and do something.” National square dance competitions are coming up soon in Louisville, Ky. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville councilmen vote to pay county 3 percent to collect city taxes WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 17, 2010) — By a 5 to 1 vote, city council members decided Thursday night to pay County Collector Terri Mitchell a 3 percent fee for collecting the city’s property taxes along with county tax bills. State law allows counties to collect for cities but historically that’s not often been done in Pulaski County. The county’s smallest city, Crocker, voted to do so with last year’s tax bills because the resignation of the Crocker staff member who had handled tax billing for many years caused city aldermen to believe the tax collection duties would be too difficult for a newly-hired employee. Waynesville is much larger so staffing isn’t an issue, but the city has been plagued with problems caused by the lack of an enforcement mechanism that forces people to pay their city taxes. People can’t renew their vehicle licenses without a receipt showing they have paid their county property taxes and if they continue to refuse to pay their houses can be turned over by the county collector to be sold at auction, but that can’t happen with taxes collected by city collectors. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Police Chief Bob Carter
Fawn wasn't shot in face last week, Waynesville police chief emphasizes WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 15, 2010) — Waynesville Police Chief Bob Carter is well-known for publicly defending his officers and doesn’t like criticisms that he believes to be unjustified. “My officers do not like shooting animals, period. I want the point made that officers do not like having to do this, but it has to be done, sometimes,” Carter said. Carter said the Waynesville officer who shot the fawn didn’t shoot it in the face or the head, as has been reported. “The deer was not shot in the head,” Carter said. “It was shot twice because the first one to the neck didn’t sever the artery so the second one was to the heart … those are the areas where if you are a hunter, you drop the deer. Her not being a hunter, she had to take a second shot.” That’s important, Carter said, because the purpose behind shooting the deer was to end suffering, not cause pain. Aiming at vital organs is key to quickly dispatching an animal, Carter said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville city administrator explains officer's actions in shooting fawn WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 15, 2010) — City Administrator Bruce Harrill issued a statement Tuesday morning explaining the decision by a Waynesville police officer to shoot a baby deer last week outside Mid-Missouri Credit Union. The decision to shoot the fawn sparked significant anger in some parts of the Pulaski County community, along with a statement of regret by Missouri Department of Conversation agents that neither of the two local agents were available to respond. Harrill’s statement called the incident “unfortunate” and noted that the city officer involved in the shooting doesn’t like to shoot adult deer, let alone fawns. “I talked with this officer and this incident was personally upsetting to her as she will not hunt because she does not like to shoot animals, but she had to destroy this deer in the course of her duties,” Harrill said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Conservation agent cautions Missouri residents about injured or sick deer WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 12, 2010) — Without a veterinarian’s evaluation, it may never be known with certainty whether the baby deer shot Wednesday by Waynesville police was sick. However, Conservation Agent Aaron Pondrom cautioned that sick deer do exist in Missouri, and if an animal appears to be sick, the general public should avoid contact and call conservation agents or other professionals. Inability to walk property is often a key indicator of a diseased deer. It’s one symptom of rabies which is a serious concern for many wild animals, Pondrom said, and is a key symptom of a new illness, chronic wasting disease, that has forced officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation to establish new regulations for handling deer. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville police decided this deer was sick and needed to be shot.
Dead deer dispute follows Waynesville officer's decision to shoot fawn in face WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 12, 2010) — Mid-Missouri Credit Union employees say they were trying to help a baby deer Wednesday morning, don’t understand why state conservation agents didn’t respond, and are even more upset that a Waynesville police officer shot the fawn in the head. According to Mid-Missouri Credit Union teller Dorothy Brown, employees found the fawn in their rear parking lot when they arrived for work. The first employee arrived at 7:15 a.m., realized the fawn was walking around from the back parking lot with minimal traffic to the front parking lot where it could get hit by customers’ cars, and tried repeatedly to get help. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a baby deer!’” Brown said. “My coworkers tried to call the conservation agents; they didn’t return the call. They tried to call the highway patrol, nobody called back. The deer kept trying to go into the front parking lot … we didn’t want it to get run over.” When neither conservation agents nor state troopers responded, the employees called city police. A Waynesville officer arrived about 10:30 a.m., but the response wasn’t what employees expected. According to Brown, the police officer decided the deer was sick and needed to be shot. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Eddie Acosta
Search for Acosta continues today in Columbia after two weeks missing COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 12, 2010) — Despite dark skies and expectations of rain, dozens of searchers are combing Columbia’s downtown streets today as well as rugged bluffs and forested valleys, hoping to find a Fort Leonard Wood civilian employee who’s been missing now for two weeks. Eddie Acosta, 45, of Laquey, was taken from his worksite at Fort Leonard Wood with stroke-like symptoms on May 28, transported to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, and then transferred by ambulance to University Hospital in Columbia for emergency treatment. While he arrived via ambulance, he walked out of the hospital on his own without a car or any other transportation back to the Fort Leonard Wood area, and has not been seen since. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Tasha Lord of Waynesville earned a spot at the Future Business Leaders of America national conference next month.
Waynesville graduate earns spot at FBLA college conference next month WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 11, 2010) — As a scholarship athlete, Tasha Lord is used to all-women’s basketball teams, and she’s used to winning. But an all-women’s college? That was something new for the 2008 Waynesville High School graduate who has just completed a two-year program at Cottey College in the southwest Missouri town of Nevada, one of the state’s only women’s colleges. “I really can’t explain it,” Lord said. “You have to experience it. Coming out of it, I had a really great experience.” While she's a college athlete, academics don’t take second place for her: she’s earned a spot at the July 8 national conference of Phi Beta Lambda, the college-level division of Future Business Leaders of America, which will be held this year in Nashville, Tenn. This fall, the 20-year-old from Waynesville will be continuing her education and pursuing an international business degree. As part of her final year at Cottey College, Lord participated in an international trip to London, which was paid for by the college with the exception of the students’ personal spending. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Blaine Falkena
Col. David Lowe
Former Chamber of Commerce president promoted to JAG colonel JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (June 10, 2010) — David Lowe, who lives south of Dixon, was recently promoted from the rank of lieutenant colonel to colonel in the Missouri Army National Guard at Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City. “Col. Lowe will bring added emphasis to the judge advocate general shop,” said Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard. “I look forward to working with him.” Lowe has 20 years of service in the Army, the last 13 with the Missouri Guard. He has been the state judge advocate general, the top legal position in the Missouri Guard, at Guard headquarters in Jefferson City since August 2009. Previously, he served as the command judge advocate for the 35th Engineer Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood. He was on the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors from March 2000 to June 2006 and served as president for two years starting in June 2002. He now serves as a chamber ambassador. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Col. Judith Ruiz
Hospital commander relieved of duty Sunday at Fort Leonard Wood FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (June 10, 2010) — Regional military officials have relieved Col. Judith Ruiz of her position as commander of General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital. The decision was made Sunday and publicly announced Thursday by officials of the Army’s Western Regional Medical Command, in response to media inquiries from the Pulaski County Daily News. It’s not clear whether the decision had anything to do with a local uproar that followed a false report issued by post officials and widely circulated via e-mail, community message boards, and family readiness groups that eight local restaurants had failed their health inspections. This isn’t the first time the Fort Leonard Wood’s hospital has come under fire during Ruiz’s tenure. In early 2009, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill took complaints public and said “problems with the existing (substance abuse) program, including chronic understaffing and mismanagement, were first brought to (her) attention by a whistleblower working at Fort Leonard Wood.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Teen totals car at Riddle Bridge RIDDLE BRIDGE, Mo. (June 9, 2010) — A St. Robert teenager totaled her car in a Wednesday evening wreck on the Riddle Bridge public fishing access on the Gasconade River between Highway Y and Cave Road. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, Heather M. Kaufman, 17, abruptly accelerated her 2003 Ford Focus from a parked position about 5:45 p.m., lost control of her vehicle on gravel and then struck a large boulder, suffering minor injuries. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Tuesday rollovers total two vehicles WAYNESVILLE/SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (June 8, 2010) — Two separate Tuesday rollovers in Phelps County totaled vehicles driven by Waynesville and Saint Robert residents. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, Donald G. Sellman, 79, of St. Robert, was westbound in his 1994 Toyota on Interstate 44 three miles from Rolla when he slid on the wet roadway at 12:10 p.m., ran off the left side of the roadway, struck the median barriers and overturned. Sellman was not hurt but his passenger, Pong S. Lyman, 57, also of St. Robert, suffered minor injuries. Later Tuesday night, Amanda R. Howard, 23, of Waynesville, was driving a 2002 Chevrolet pickup westbound on Interstate 44 about 12 miles west of Rolla near the Pulaski-Phelps county line, lost control of the pickup on wet pavement at 11:20 p.m., ran off the right side of the roadway, struck an embankment and overturned, suffering minor injuries. In unrelated Tuesday incidents, state troopers arrested Dustin E. Powell, 17, and Demario M. Johnson, 22, both of St. Robert on charges of resisting arrest by fleeing and of careless and imprudent driving. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
FLW officials issue new procedures preventing repeat of false food reports FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (June 5, 2010) — In a follow-up response to the false report that Fort Leonard Wood had placed eight area restaurants on a list of establishments that had been barred from receiving unit funds, post officials have not only retracted the e-mail but also have now issued a statement explaining new procedures to prevent the problem from happening again. In a press release issued Thursday afternoon, post officials stated that “Fort Leonard Wood regrets the erroneous email message to unit fund managers which recently circulated listing non-approved restaurants.” Responding to media inquiries Friday, post officials indicated that no list actually exists of disapproved restaurants, or for that matter, any other businesses prohibited from receiving unit funds for any reason. The only “list” in existence, according to Fort Leonard Wood personnel, is the off-limits list. Military personnel are currently barred from going to Dutchman’s Liquidators, Daisy’s Health Spa, and Electra’s. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville firefighters consider this trailer fire suspicious.
Friday fire wrecks Waynesville trailer WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (June 5, 2010) — An early Friday morning fire wrecked a mobile home in Wagner Trailer Court and is considered suspicious, according to Waynesville Rural Fire Chief Doug Yurecko. “There was quite a lot of the trailer saved from a four-minute response time; it’s still totaled but most of it is still there,” Yurecko said. “If the neighbor lady’s dog hadn’t been barking, it would have been a lot larger operation and a lot more damage.” Yurecko said nobody was home at the trailer, located at Lot 7 of the trailer park, but it wasn’t abandoned and the trailer sustained extensive damage to its contents. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Barbara Thomsen explains the clothes program.
Operation Homefront providing free clothes today for soldiers' families FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (June 5, 2010) — Want free clothes from Dillards, brand new and still in the packaging? If you’re from a military family, Operation Homefront has an opportunity today to pick up one bag of clothes until noon today, with priority given to spouses of deployed soldiers and to soldiers in the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Leonard Wood. “It is for all active military and family members; WTU and spouses of deployed soldiers will be given tickets and the ability to shop from 0730 to 0900, and ID cards will be checked at the door,” said Tiffany Hudgell, manager of the Fort Leonard Wood USO. The event will be at Building 805 on Iowa Avenue, the USO location on Fort Leonard Wood. The program is being coordinated locally by Barbara Thomsen and Tish Anderson. “Operation Homefront is an organization that supports soldiers their families, deployed and non-deployed, and they have a surplus of clothes and they asked us if we could make them available to soldiers and their families,” Thomsen said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Waynesville firefighters examine a rollover wreck on Interstate 44 in Buckhorn.
Saturday rollovers seriously hurt two CROCKER/BUCKHORN, Mo. (June 5, 2010) — An early Saturday morning crash south of Crocker seriously injured a teen from Iberia, followed by a rollover wreck later that morning near Buckhorn that ejected and seriously injured the driver. Both vehicles were totaled. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, Kathleen M. Heisserer, 19, was seriously injured as a passenger in a 2000 Honda that had been northbound on Highway 17 three miles south of the Crocker city limits when the driver ran the car off the right side of the road at 5:40 a.m., struck a culvert, went airborne and came to rest in the ditch. Troopers reported that the driver of the vehicle was unknown and had left the scene of the crash. In the morning’s second wreck, Christiana C. Shrader, 21, of Fort Leonard Wood, was driving a black 2002 Mitsubishi Gallant westbound on Interstate 44 at mile marker 155 in front of Skyline Cycles when she ran off the left side of the roadway at 11:35 a.m., overcorrected, skidded off onto the right side of the roadway, struck the ditch, and overturned, ejecting Shrader from the SUV. Shrader suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield; her, passenger, Melissa F. Mitchell, 18, of Waynesville, suffered moderate injuries. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Shop with a Cop schedules June fundraisers to benefit area children PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (June 5, 2010) — Christmas is still six months away, but Deputy Gwendolyn Miles of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department is already working with local law enforcement agencies to raise money for the annual Shop with a Cop program that provides Christmas gifts for needy children. “Need knows no season, and with the economy being the way that it is, starting early helps us provide for more children in the county,” said Miles, who is in her third year as director of the multi-agency program. Upcoming events include a T-shirt sales from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, June 11, outside Wal-Mart, officers by serving Pizza Hut customers as waiters and waitresses while wearing full police uniforms on Monday, June 14, and a possible dunk tank for police at the Pulaski County Fair on Saturday, June 19. “Of course there’s no retaliation; it’s all in good fun and we’ll have a great time,” Miles said. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Dixon man accused of murder tries to force prosecutor to honor plea deal DIXON, Mo. (June 4, 2010) — A Dixon teenager accused of killing a man by kicking and beating him to death still doesn’t have a trial date set and her co-defendant’s lawyer is trying to force Pulaski County Prosecutor Deborah Hooper to comply with the terms of a previous plea agreement. Ashley Gilbert, 18, has been in jail awaiting trial for more than a year, according to documents filed Wednesday in Phelps County Circuit Court by her Rolla-based lawyer, John Beger. Gilbert has pleaded innocent to a Class A felony charge of second-degree murder and is accused of killing Dixon resident David A. Blankenship on May 10 of last year along with her ex-boyfriend, Robert Fortner, 31, also of Dixon, who until he entered a plea agreement had been facing the same charges. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Three hurt in Thursday wrecks PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (June 3, 2010) — Three Thursday single-vehicle wrecks including two rollovers injured people in Pulaski County, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports. The crashes began on Highway Y about a mile north of St. Robert when Linda G. Carson-Veasman, 58, of Dixon, was driving southbound in a 1996 Chevrolet, ran off the right side of the roadway about 9:42 a.m., overcorrected, crossed the center line, ran off the right side of the roadway a second time, struck an embankment and overturned, totaling her vehicle and suffering moderate injuries. About an hour later, David M. Tucker, 49, of Dixon, had been driving a 1997 Toyota northbound at 11:03 a.m. on Highway 28 three miles south of Dixon when he ran off the right side of the roadway, overcorrected, ran off the left side of the roadway, and struck a tree and a fence, totaling his vehicle and suffering minor injuries. Later that evening, a semi truck driven by Gary L. Vest, 58, of Freeburg, rolled over on Highway J near the east gate of Fort Leonard Wood and eight miles north of Duke. Troopers reported that Vest had been driving northbound in a 1995 International semi truck when he ran off the right side of the roadway at 5:35 p.m. and went down an embankment before coming to rest. Vest was not hurt but a passenger, Christopher L. Luebbert, 19, of Lynn, suffered minor injuries. In an unrelated incident, state troopers arrested Eugene Oneal, 50, of St. Louis, on charges including drunk driving. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Eddie Acosta
Family and friends search for local man missing Friday from Columbia hospital COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 2, 2010) — Family and friends of Eddie Acosta say they have no idea why he wouldn’t have called them after leaving the University Hospital in Columbia, where he had been taken Friday by ambulance due to stroke-like symptoms. However, they’ve sure he would never have wanted to miss last weekend’s annual Freedom Rally in Buckhorn and are seriously concerned that he’s not been seen since late Friday night. According to family friend Julia Morgan, organized search parties are combing Columbia-area fields, checking motels, calling cab companies and shelters, and trying to find out where Acosta went after leaving the Columbia hospital. Acosta, 46, is Hispanic with brown eyes and black hair. He’s 5-feet 6-inches and weighs 150 pounds, according to a police missing person report. Sometime after 9:18 p.m. Friday, Acosta left University Hospital after being discharged, but he had no one to pick him up and take him back to Pulaski County that night. It’s not yet clear what happened next, or why a man considered so seriously ill that he had to be transported by ambulance to Columbia left the hospital with no arrangements in place to get back to Pulaski County or spend the night in Columbia. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Nine more motorists hurt around area by crashes on Memorial Day weekend PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (May 31, 2010) — Memorial Day weekend closed for the Fort Leonard Wood area with two separate wrecks north of Pulaski County injuring three area residents on Sunday and a double crash Monday afternoon injuring six people and snarling westbound Interstate 44 on the downhill approach to the Roubidoux Creek Bridge. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, Patrick L. Anderson, 27, of Richland, had been driving a 1997 Ford eastbound on Highway 42 in Miller County near Black Moore Road when he passed an unknown vehicle near the crest of a hill at 1:30 a.m. Sunday and struck a westbound 1994 Acura head-on driven by Brandon C. Vann, 16, of Osage Beach, totaling both vehicles but causing only minor injuries to both drivers. Anderson was arrested on numerous charges including drunk driving. Later on Sunday, Un S. Stafford, 75, of St. Robert, had been driving a 2002 Ford southbound at 10:05 p.m. Sunday on Highway 5 at U.S. Route 50 in Morgan County when she failed to stop at a stop sign, crossed U.S. Route 50 and went down an embankment, causing moderate injuries to her passenger, Kim H. Shultz, 55, also of St. Robert. Stafford was not hurt. Two separate Monday afternoon crashes on westbound Interstate 44 near the city limits between Waynesville and St. Robert totaled two vehicles, injured six people, and snarled traffic for hours. Troopers reported that Kevin J. Williams, 55, of Tulsa, Okla., was driving a 1995 Ford Mustang westbound at 3:45 p.m. at the 158.8 mile marker when he slid off the left side of the roadway and collided with a rock embankment. Williams suffered minor injuries and his passenger, Mary A. Starks, 50, also of Tulsa, suffered moderate injuries. About 15 minutes later, Trevor N. Shoop, 18, of Inola, Okla., was also westbound at mile marker 159 in a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup when he attempted to avoid cars that were slowing for the crash ahead, causing his pickup to run off the left side of the road, strike a guardrail, go down an embankment, overturn, and came to rest on the driver’s side with a towed trailer coming to rest on top of the pickup. Shoop and one passenger, Dalton K. Cole, 20, of Pryor, Okla., both suffered moderate injuries; two other passengers, Tanner L. Shoop, 21, of Inola, and Macie L. Tarmenter, 16, of Steelville, both suffered minor injuries. In unrelated weekend arrests by state troopers in Pulaski County, troopers arrested Zachary S. Woodman, 24, of St. Robert, Robert P. Woolf, 55, of Columbia, and Eduardo A. Juarez, 24, of St. Robert, on various charges. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Darrell Todd Maurina
Master Sgt. Timothy Uptegrove, right, is pinned with his new rank by his unit commander, Lt. Col. Raymond White.
Timothy Uptegrove named top NCO of weapons of mass destruction team FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Dec. 15, 2009) — Timothy Uptegrove, of Lebanon, was recently promoted both in rank and position in the Missouri Army National Guard to become the first sergeant of the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, a full-time National Guard unit at Fort Leonard Wood. Uptegrove rose from the rank of sergeant first class to master sergeant and moved up from his position as logistics noncommissioned officer with the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team. “This promotion gives me a chance to apply what I have learned from, and a means to pay tribute to, the truly great senior noncommissioned officers who have mentored me throughout my career,” Uptegrove said. Uptegrove earned the dual promotion by being the most qualified for the job through his vast experience on the team, said Lt. Col. Raymond White, 7th Civil Support Team commander. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Col. Pamela L. Martis returns from military police duty in Afghanistan NEWBURG, Mo. (Dec. 9, 2009) — Army Col. Pamela L. Martis, a 1981 graduate of Newburg High School and daughter of Wilma Darlene Cardin of Newburg, is returning to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., after being deployed to Afghanistan to serve in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Martis was a senior police advisor to the Afghan National Police and has served in the military for 24 years. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Army Public Affairs
Command Sgt. Maj. Ray Harding retires after 37 years serving National Guard FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Nov. 19, 2009) — Command Sgt. Maj. Ray Harding, a Saint Robert resident, was called “a soldier’s friend” and assured that “he will be missed” during his recent retirement ceremony at the Missouri National Guard’s 35th Engineer Brigade. Harding has more than 35 years of service in the Missouri National Guard and two in the Kansas Guard. For the last four years, Harding has been the brigade command sergeant major after moving over from his position as the command sergeant major and commandant of the 140th Regiment Missouri Regional Training Institute, also at Fort Leonard Wood. Before that, Harding was with Company B, 203rd Engineer Battalion in Joplin. In his civilian career during the week, Harding works as a contractor for Battelle Corporation. Before that, Harding spent 24 years as a teacher and head football coach or athletic director at Carthage High School. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Capt. Jean Bernard Le Gall
Capt. Jean Bernard Le Gall promoted in Missouri National Guard’s 7th CST FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Nov. 16, 2009) — Jean Bernard Le Gall, of Waynesville, was recently promoted from the rank of first lieutenant to captain in the Missouri Army National Guard. Le Gall has been with the Missouri National Guard for five years with an additional 10 years of active-duty Army experience as an enlisted Soldier. He is a physician assistant and officer in charge of the medical section for the active Guard 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team at Fort Leonard Wood. Along with his duties with the unit, Le Gall also works three days a week — two in family practice and one in the emergency room — at General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Pfc. Bryan Kaolowi
Pfc. Bryan Kaolowi named Soldier of the Quarter for National Guard unit FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Nov. 12, 2009) — Pfc. Bryan Kaolowi of Saint Robert, a 2004 graduate of Waynesville High School, was recently named Soldier of the Quarter for Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 35th Engineer Brigade for his service with the Missouri Army National Guard. The award stated that Kaolowi, who has been in the Guard less than a year, had an exceptional performance during the board, made up of the senior enlisted soldiers. Kaolowi had to perform well on his physical fitness test and answer two current events questions, as well as questions over counseling, the different types of flags and common soldier tasks. During the week, Kaolowi is a sales associate at the Discount Smoke Shop. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Spc. David Eley
Spc. David Eley receives promotion in Missouri National Guard unit at FLW FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Nov. 9, 2009) — David Eley, a Springfield resident and 2000 graduate of Laquey High School, was recently promoted from the rank of private first class to specialist in the Missouri Army National Guard. Eley has been with the National Guard for three years. He is a combat engineer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 35th Engineer Brigade, of Fort Leonard Wood, and plans to transfer to Missouri State University in Springfield where he will enroll in ROTC on his way to becoming an officer. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Diana Eberharter, of Waynesville, has her warrant officer rank pinned on her.
Waynesville woman among 10 new National Guard warrant officers FORT McCLELLAN, Ala. (Oct. 30, 2009) — Ten Missouri Army National Guardsmen from six different branches recently graduated from the Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort McClellan, Ala. That follows training in the 140th Regiment Missouri Regional Training Institute Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Leonard Wood. It was a moment of exuberance for the newly-pinned warrant officers. “I had finally accomplished my goal — it was a long road,” said Warrant Officer Diana Eberharter, of Waynesville. “I was glad to be finished.” Warrant Officer Jesse Darden, of Columbia, said it was the fulfillment of his childhood dream to fly for his country. “I have wanted to be a military aviator since age 3,” said Darden, who is now an aviator with the 3rd Battalion, 135th Theater Aviation Battalion, of Lebanon. “My dream is becoming a reality. I have gained a deeper commitment to my country and the United States Army. I feel that I am now in a position to truly serve where my greatest potential and passion lies.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
Sheriff’s View #31 for July 26 to 30, 2010 Welcome aboard one more time for a very hot trip around Pulaski County with the deputies of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, or at least, a report from the deputies that are still here to do our work. We are down on our deputy numbers at this time. We recently had a deputy resign and we have not yet hired his replacement, then we had Uncle Sam grab one of our deputies for an extended 12-week trip to another country with his National Guard unit. As a result, we are down to only ten deputies at this time. The good news is that our reserves are reporting in to work and help us cover the slack time. Our reserve deputies have put in a lot of hours lately and more hours are planned for the future. While the deputy count is down, our inmate county is up, with the usual summer jump in our jail numbers. As you may recall for the longest time this spring we were down in the mid-40 numbers on the daily inmate count. On Saturday, July 24, our inmate roster had 70 names. That means roughly 28 here in Waynesville and 42 held elsewhere. Those 42 inmates cost us $1,470 just for today. We need to be thankful for the lower totals this spring because if we had those same numbers all year the inmate board bill would have been $536,550 for the year. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Paramedic’s Corner: Teaching what to do while waiting for ambulances PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 20, 2010) — This last Saturday, EMT Christy Saylor and I presented a Summer Emergencies program at the Westside Baptist church. We had a good time; the people were involved in the discussions and very nice. They certainly had a lot of excellent input into snakes, spiders, heat and other subjects. Let me tell you, if you ever have the opportunity to spend time and learn from a room full of people who have all been on this planet for more than 50 years — well, just what a pleasure. I am not sure who taught who the most. I believe Christy and I learned more from those wonderful folks than we taught them. Our goals here at the ambulance district include doing more public education in hopes of preventing tragedies, followed by helping people to know what to do when a crisis does occur, and often more importantly, what not to do until the paramedics arrive. We will present various programs, tailored to each request, including CPR and first aid. If any group or organization is interested, contact the ambulance at the phone number or email listed below. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
County Collector Terri Mitchell
Summer Collector’s Report Greetings from the collector’s office! I hope everyone is staying cool during these hot summer days. We are staying cool but gearing up for the 2010 land tax sale in August and preparing to add the city taxes for Waynesville and St. Robert to our 2010 county collections. The addition of the 2009 Crocker city taxes to the 2009 Pulaski County statements went smoothly, and we are looking forward to the addition of St. Robert and Waynesville city collections to this year’s tax season. The beginning of summer always brings inquiries about the annual land tax sale. The annual sale is held the fourth Monday of August in every county in the state, as mandated by Missouri state statutes; the fourth Monday this year falls on Aug. 23 and the sale will be held at 10 a.m. in the lobby of the courthouse. Delinquent real estate accounts for which taxes have not been paid for three years (2007, 2008, and 2009) are mandated by Missouri state statutes to be sold for the tax amount due plus fees. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... County Collector Terri Mitchell
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #30 for July 19 to 23, 2010 The recent blitz of media articles about our work efforts has produced a humorous side note. A friend told me that someone had commented to her that I must be up for election this year considering all the news releases that I had sent out to the media. The answer is no, I am not up for election; I am just trying to do a better job of telling the world just how busy we are and what kinds of job stress we face due to our limited manpower base. The next election for sheriff will be in 2012. However, we do stay busy. As I recall last year, we arrested 613 people on felony violations and another 813 for significant misdemeanor offenses. When you add those numbers together and start working on the news releases behind those numbers, that equals a lot of news releases. It is my belief that if the citizens of Pulaski County fully understand how busy and how swamped we are, if they ever get a chance to vote on the law enforcement sales tax, the tax issue will pass on the first ballot attempt. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Paramedic’s Corner: Seatbelts prevent death and disability during crashes PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 12, 2010) — A young woman had just fixed her husband and son a nice dinner. She was distraught, though, because she noticed she was out of bread. She decided to jump in her vehicle and just run up to the store and buy some bread for the meal. It was her final act on this earth. Over the last holiday season, the July 4 weekend, there were 12 fatalities in our state. Nearly all of those were a result of the person not wearing seatbelts and being ejected out of the vehicle. That is an interesting and scary statistic, if you really think about it. That was an actual crash I worked. The young woman just wanted to run to the store and grab a loaf of bread for dinner. According to her husband, she usually wore her seatbelt. Apparently, she did what many of us do and thought, “I’m just driving a short distance away, no need for seatbelt.” However, her right steering tire drooped off the road and when she tried to correct it, she flipped over. Her head ejected out the side of the truck just as the vehicle rolled, and the impact crushed her head. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #29 for July 12 to 16, 2010 I make many references to the fact that the budget controls what we can do in many ways. Our low deputy count, when contrasted with our high crime count means that the two to three deputies on duty at any given time are always rushing to a new case. They may leave a case they have just started working on to rush to another. It seems that very frequently we are working a burglary case, just got on scene and barely started, when suddenly we get an assault in progress. We will respond to the assault as a priority call and leave the property crime for follow up later. I realize that if the burglary was at your home then it is the most important crime scene in Pulaski County and needs to be solved PDQ. The guy who just got his head bashed in on the other side of the county might well disagree with you. As the sheriff, I believe we should have sufficient manpower to take on both cases at once, but that is not the way it works around these parts. Law enforcement on the county level has a very low priority. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Paramedic’s Corner: Helping prevent drowning deaths and near-drownings PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (July 7, 2010) — How many readers have ever experienced a near-drowning event? Medically defined, drowning is death by asphyxiation resulting from submersion in a liquid. A near-drowning indicates that death either did not occur or occurred more than 24 hours after submersion. About 4,500 people die each year in the United States from drowning. Drowning is the second highest cause of death in the 1-14-year-old age group; only motor vehicle crashes kill more of our kids. World-wide drowning is the fourth-highest cause in the 5-14-year-old group and tenth in the 15-44-year-old age group. Drownings occur in a variety of places and settings, including oceans, lakes, reservoirs, bays, Jacuzzis, bathtubs, swimming pools, and buckets. Yes, even buckets. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #28 for July 5 to 9, 2010 Last week Thursday, we had an on-site visit by the federal monitor from Washington, D.C., in reference to our two largest grants. Cynthia Simmons has served as our state policy advisor since the start of the grant awards and she made the trip to Pulaski County to audit our two grants and one for the Crocker Police Department. She spent a little over two hours in my office as we went over everything related to the grants. She got down into some very small details, and in the end, she was very happy with the documentation that the sheriff’s office was saving. I then escorted her over to the Pulaski County Clerk’s Office and after a review of the documents there, she told me that Pulaski County would receive a favorable report from her on our grant documents. I had high hopes that we were doing what we were supposed to be doing and tracking the performance numbers that we needed to track, but I would be lying if I said I was completely confidant that I thought we were on the right path. I am greatly relieved to know that we are doing it correctly with only a few very minor corrections to make. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Paramedic’s Corner: Spider sightings and bites seem to be increasing PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (June 30, 2010) — Spiders, Yuk! Most of us think about those horror movies with awful tarantulas crawling all over our bodies. A lot of people have been telling me they are seeing numerous brown recluse spiders this year. I don’t know if all the spiders they are seeing are brown recluse or not, but almost all of the 30,000 species of spiders are venomous. However, the fangs of most species are too short or too fragile to penetrate the humans’ skin. Only a few spider venoms have been studied in detail. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #27 for June 28 to July 2, 2010 We have an upcoming on-site audit of our use of two federal grants that supply us with eight of our employees. As you may recall, the jail grant will pay us $288,000 for jail staff and the dispatch/evidence room grant will pay us another $170,000-something to cover the cost of those employees. Both grants are completely paid for by the feds. We do not have a matching financial amount associated with these grants and we are not required to continue the employment of the people after the grant is over. It would be a very stupid decision on our part to wave goodbye to eight well-trained people when the grants are over, but unless the Pulaski County Commission goes after new revenue for the county, that is exactly what we will do next year. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Paramedic’s Corner: Reporting May calls and handling summer heat PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (June 21, 2010) — Please consider the following safety precautions for heat: Drink plenty of water and natural fruit juices, even if you're not thirsty. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing. Use a buddy system between co-workers in high heat stress jobs. Inside during the day, keep shades drawn and blinds closed. Use air conditioning whenever available. Fans should only be used in a ventilated room. Take cool (not icy cold) baths or showers. Eat frequent, small meals. Do not leave children or pets in a closed vehicle with the windows up. Provide extra water for pets. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
Congressman Ike Skelton
New Predator mission will bring more jobs to Whiteman Air Force Base WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 21, 2010) — Today, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) announced that a new mission will bring 280 military and civilian personnel to Whiteman Air Force Base. The new MQ-1 Remote Split Operation squadron and ground control station at Whiteman Air Force Base, from which pilots will control MQ-1 Predator drone aircraft, is expected to be operational by February 2011.
Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton calls on Senate to pass biodiesel tax credit extension WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 21, 2010) — Today, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) called on the U.S. Senate to stop delaying passage of a multitude of tax credit extensions for rural businesses, families, and farmers, especially the biodiesel tax credit extension. Echoing a letter he sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday, Skelton stated during a Missouri Soybean Association press conference: “It is critical that Congress work to preserve American homegrown energy by extending the biodiesel tax credit ... Allowing this tax credit to expire would not only be a blow to the rural Missouri economy, but it would be a set back for American national security since our nation is so dependent on foreign energy sources. Growing all aspects of the clean, domestic energy industry continues to be important to me.” On Dec. 9, 2009, and again on May 28, 2010, the House of Representatives passed extensions of many tax credits, including the biodiesel tax credit. As of June 21, 2010, however, the Senate has not been able to approve a House-passed bill and send it to the President for his signature. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton helps defeat 21 percent cut of TRICARE, Medicare doctor payments WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2010) — Today, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted 417 to 1 to prevent a 21 percent cut in Medicare and TRICARE reimbursements to doctors serving senior citizens and military families: “When doctors don’t know how much they should expect to get paid by Medicare and TRICARE, it makes it harder for them to continue seeing seniors and military families ... While I am disappointed that this is just another short-term fix to an issue that is in need of a permanent solution, the cuts that took effect on June 1 were already making it more difficult for some Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries to get care.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton receives Corps of Engineers briefing on Missouri flooding problems WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2010) — Today, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) received a detailed briefing from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on their efforts to manage flooding in Missouri and throughout the Midwest. Following the conversation, Skelton released the following statement: “This afternoon, I spoke with General John R. McMahon and Colonel Roger Wilson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about dangerously high water levels on the Missouri River and about water stages in other parts of the Fourth District, such as Truman Lake, the Lake of the Ozarks, and along the Osage River ... As this situation unfolds, I will remain in close contact with the Corps of Engineers.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton says bill passed last week will make government more efficient WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 21, 2010) — As I travel throughout the Fourth District, I often hear from folks who are rightly concerned about the lack of efficiency in the federal government. While most Americans agree that federal programs are needed, there is growing concern about the wasteful and inefficient practices of some federal agencies. That is why the House of Representatives, in a continuing effort to make each tax dollar go farther, last week passed legislation that would force federal agencies and programs to operate in a more accountable manner. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #26 for June 21 to 25, 2010 I have had a number of comments about my new aggressive media news release campaign. I can say that several members of the media love the flood of releases that I have sent out of late. However, this is a double edged sword. Yes, I have done it this year, but we had the same kind of news action last year, so I get asked why did I fail to put out the news last year? About all I can say in my defense is that this job has a lot of directions we need to move in, all at once. Sometimes we fail, and sometimes we cannot decide what the most pressing direction to move toward should be at that exact minute. In those cases, we usually try several directions at once and end up doing about half the job we should on each job direction. We simply run out of time to do the job. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton says Congress keeps fighting for rural jobs, veterans, and seniors WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 14, 2010) — Promoting job growth and economic development in our small towns and rural communities remains a top priority for me. In the Fourth District, this means strengthening the agricultural marketplace and small businesses that anchor our economy. To that end, the House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 4213, a bill that would help Missouri farmers, small businesses, and veterans and has been endorsed by organizations like the American Farm Bureau, the AARP, and the Military Officer’s Association of America. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Sheriff J.B. King
Sheriff’s View #25 for June 14 to 18, 2010 We had been in line to receive two deputy positions to replace the ones we lost in the 2009 budget year under a federal COPS grant. The grant would have paid us $191,204 to fully fund two deputy positions for three years. In year four, Pulaski County would have been responsible for the payment of around $64,000 to finish off the salary for the fourth year. The Pulaski County Commission’s approval was required in order to update our application and the commissioners turned down the chance to add the two deputies. The addition of two replacement deputy positions would have increased our road positions by sixteen percent. We are in desperate need of more deputies to handle the 10,000 calls we expect this year. The lack of manpower affects every phase of our department’s activity and our ability to lock up the herds of drug pushers and burglars that infest our fine county. Never fear, we do a good job with our 1980 budget level resources. It is unfortunate that this is the year 2010 and we have had major growth over the past 20 years. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Sheriff J.B. King
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton applaudes anti-Iran sanctions, will investigate Arlington grave issue WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 10, 2010) — On Wednesday, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released a statement following passage of sanctions against Iran by the United Nations Security Council: “Today, the UN Security Council has wisely moved to place new sanctions on the Iranian regime. Congress must now follow suit and quickly pass the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009, which I fully support.” On Thursday, Skelton released the following statement on the Department of the Army Inspector General’s report of errors and misconduct at Arlington National Cemetery: “Arlington National Cemetery is a sacred shrine and it breaks my heart to learn about mismarked gravesites, mishandling of remains, missing documentation, and failures to notify next-of-kin. This conduct is disgraceful and cannot be tolerated.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Press Office of U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton says American economy still needs safe domestic oil production WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 7, 2010) — While most Americans acknowledge we must diminish our appetite for oil and gasoline, transitioning to alternative energy sources will not happen overnight. However, the recent sinking of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent oil spill catastrophe have highlighted the need for significant reexamination of the oil drilling regulations in place and how those regulations are enforced by the federal government. Also, the government must continue to contain and clean up the escaping oil and limit the scope of this horrendous disaster as much as possible. Just last week I spoke with Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter Neffenger about ongoing cleanup operations in the Gulf. I am confident that our uniformed personnel are doing everything within their power to protect the coasts and economies of Gulf states. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
Congressman Ike Skelton
Skelton upset that Senate killed effort against EPA greenhouse gas regulation WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 10, 2010) — Today, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released a statement following the defeat of S.J.Res. 26 in the U.S. Senate. “I am sorely disappointed that the Senate has voted to kill a bipartisan, bicameral effort in Congress to gain better control over the EPA. By choosing to kill S.J.Res. 26, the Senate has given the EPA the green light to enact costly greenhouse gas rules under the Clean Air Act, even though Congress has never given the Agency permission to write such regulations.” Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... Press Office of U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton
County Collector Terri Mitchell
March Collector’s Report The 2009 tax collection season was the smoothest yet with the collection percentage again reaching an excellent rate of 92 percent. The Pulaski County Collector’s Office web site was used more frequently for electronic payments, and we opened the last Saturday of December again, which was a tremendous help to taxpayers and this office in staying current on receipting mail and making daily deposits. New this year is an installment plan for the 2010 real estate taxes; 113 taxpayers with approximately 150 accounts are taking advantage of this opportunity to pay their taxes in equal increments throughout the year. With the program, installments will be automatically withdrawn every month with the final payment in November 2010. On the other hand, if you received a delinquent statement but have an escrow account with your mortgage company, you need to call their customer service number on the mortgage statement and let them know the taxes are unpaid. Although our returned mail decreased considerably each year, we still have some returned mail with no known address. Address changes/corrections are extremely important to us, and we offer different notification options when changes need to be made. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... County Collector Terri Mitchell
St. Robert Police Department report for Sept. 14 to 20, 2009 SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Sept. 22, 2009) — St. Robert Police Chief Curtis Curenton has released the following activity report for his department for the week of Sept. 14 to 20, 2009. During this period, officers responded to 210 calls for service resulting in 36 incident reports and nine accident reports being generated and nine subjects being arrested. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... St. Robert Police Chief Curtis Curenton
State Senator Frank Barnitz
Barnitz named to newly created post on Missouri Veterans Commission JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Sept. 1, 2009) — Sen. Frank Barnitz, D-Lake Spring, has been appointed to serve on the Missouri Veterans Commission. Legislation passed and signed into law this year adds legislators to the Missouri Veterans Commission, which works to provide services to Missouri’s veterans. The 16th Senate District includes Fort Leonard Wood, giving Barnitz the opportunity to represent a large concentration of soldiers and veterans. He also serves on the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... State Sen. Frank Barnitz
State Senator Frank Barnitz
Barnitz says state budgeting is broken JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (May 14, 2009) — Last week, we worked on the budget, 13 core spending bills as well as additional capital improvement bills that make up the state’s spending plan. I serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which puts me in a unique position to closely observe the budget process. This year has been a very challenging year for the budget with declining revenue, increased unemployment, and new federal stimulus and stabilization dollars adding to the confusion, and unfortunately, it has also been a destructive one to the budget process. Much of the obstructive attitude that prevailed in the Senate originated from undue influence from the House of Representatives. I don’t think people really had a chance to offer their input on these bills when they were in committee, but you can tell by reading them that the special interest groups that roam the hallways had a hand in writing these bills. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ... State Sen. Frank Barnitz
Retain Don McCulloch as Pulaski County Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch, the current Pulaski County Presiding Commissioner, is running this November 2 to retain his seat. “My main thing is I’m proven, with integrity, honesty, and experience,” McCulloch said. He’s Waynesville’s former police chief and former owner of City Barber Shop. As the current presiding commissioner, McCulloch serves on the board of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission and Missouri Ozarks Community Action (MOCA). His key duties as presiding commissioner include supervising the operations of the courthouse and preparing the annual budget for the county.
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Why should you advertise with the Pulaski County Daily News? People advertise with newspapers for many reasons. Sometimes they want to support a local business. Most of your other local media choices are owned by out-of-town and often out-of-state companies; as the owner of the Pulaski County Daily News, I not only live and pay taxes in Pulaski County, I’m committed to buying products and services locally whenever possible and reasonable. Local newspapers are supposed to be covering the local community. While I can’t be everywhere all the time, those who know me and know my background know I’m committed to covering local news. I live in Pulaski County, and I’m perfectly willing to get out of bed in the middle of the night or drive 30 minutes on ice and snow to get to a breaking news story. But advertising decisions are first and foremost business decisions — who can provide you the maximum readers for your dollar? For $100 per month, a sitewide ad on the Pulaski County Daily News in February was seen almost 120,000 times by more than 1,400 people per day. Those are readership numbers that exceed almost every print newspaper in Pulaski County. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ...
At Roubidoux Vacuum Center and Roubidoux Small Engine Repair, we service and sell supplies for vacuums, lawnmowers, and other small engines. Shop local, pay less! When you can shop locally in Waynesville, why pay more to drive to another city or shop by mail to get your Husqvarna, Simplicity, Kirby or Bissell supplies? Owned and operated by Robert Wait since he retired from the Army in 1985, Roubidoux Vacuum Center and Roubidoux Small Engine Repair is located at 607 Historic Route 66 West in Waynesville, Missouri, just a few minutes from St. Robert and Fort Leonard Wood. Wait sells Simplicity vacuums, which are made in St. James. His business is also a designated service center for Bissell and Kirby vacuums and Husqvarna lawnmowers, tractors, and equipment. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ...
Want to work for the Fort Leonard Wood area's newest hotel? Fort Wood Hotels by Ehrhardt Properties, an award-winning hotel group, is looking for the following positions for our new hotel, The Liberty Lodge: General Manager, Operations Manager, Maintenance Engineer, Front Desk Representatives, and Housekeepers. We are looking for leaders who care about our guests and are committed to high standards. We offer competitive wages, 401(K) retirement plan, paid vacation and bonus programs. Click here for application details.
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DIXON, Mo. (June 4, 2010) — A Dixon teenager accused of killing a man by kicking and beating him to death still doesn’t have a trial date set and her co-defendant’s lawyer is trying to force Pulaski County Prosecutor Deborah Hooper to comply with the terms of a previous plea agreement. Ashley Gilbert, 18, has been in jail awaiting trial for more than a year, according to documents filed Wednesday in Phelps County Circuit Court by her Rolla-based lawyer, John Beger. Gilbert has pleaded innocent to a Class A felony charge of second-degree murder and is accused of killing Dixon resident David A. Blankenship on May 10 of last year along with her ex-boyfriend, Robert Fortner, 31, also of Dixon, who until he entered a plea agreement had been facing the same charges. 
