JOPLIN, Mo. — Freeman Health System is closing its medical COVID-19 unit after the last four patients were discharged Monday.
Freeman has seen significant patient volumes decrease to a level that they say can serve patients in one combined medical unit. This enables staff to use these hospital beds for other patients.
At the moment, Freeman has 3 patients with COVID in the hospital. Two are currently in the ICU at Freeman West, while one is the Neosho facility ICU.
Nurses working in the medical COVID-19 unit will be available to discuss the impact of the closure on duty scheduling, morale and more.
A deep cleaning of the facility will also begin Wednesday night (March 17th) and into Thursday. The area will then be available once again for regular use.
MIAMI, Okla. — With more rain coming in the next couple of days, The Miami Police Department is telling residents to be aware of their surroundings.
Law enforcement says not to park along East Street Bridge area during heavy rainfall because the land can flood quickly and with little warning
They also recommend not standing directly on the bridge or other structures that are above the rising flood water because they could potentially collapse.
Thomas Anderson Miami Chief Of Police, says, “It’s horrible you know Miami has had just a lot of past experience with floods so we’re very sympathetic to anybody with those issues and hopefully the rain will lighten up and the water will go down and there won’t be a whole lot of property damage.”
He recommends the public stay home and only travel if necessary.
WYANDOTTE, Okla. — The recent flooding is causing damage for parts of Ottawa County.
Ottawa County Commissioner, Steven Chasteen, has closed Cayuga Road South of Highway 60 near Indigo Sky Casino, as well as a bridge near the area.
The flooding has swept away the road and left debris in the area making it unsafe for cars to travel on.
Chasteen is asking Senator, Michael Bergstrom, and Representative, Steve Bashore. to label the storm as a statewide disaster .
The flooding will cost more than $1,000,000 in repairs and Chasteen hopes to have the roads fixed in the next couple of weeks.
Steven Chasteen District 2 Commissioner, says, “Well we’ve uh we’ve been on the clock basically twenty-four hours now since Saturday morning and been continue to do so until we can get every road back open um it’s twenty-four seven now until we uh get back to normalcy.”
He expects more damage to continue with the rain fall.
Chasteen is urging drivers to pay attention while driving and to find alternative routes.
ANDERSON, Mo. — A couple in Anderson is living in a flood zone so they are always prepared when it rains.
Marvin and Lynett Taylor have lived in their new home for almost a year and they were warned before buying the house that it was located in a flood zone.
To prepare the couple has a bag packed with a change of clothes.
If they feel like it’s not safe, they will travel to the nearest church or a friend’s home and wait out the storm.
To keep his home safe, they will put their items and furniture away in storage.
Marvin Taylor Anderson Resident, says, “We just take a risk because we were aware of the risk when we moved here.”
If you do come across areas that are underwater do not try to drive through it, as the saying goes stop, turn around don’t drown!
JOPLIN, Mo. — Daylight saving time is here, meaning it’s a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.
Redings Mill Fire Department Lieutenant Chris Taylor says changing the batteries in your smoke detectors every year is important and doing it on daylight saving time is an easy way to remember.
He says people have been getting better at keeping up with changing their batteries in recent years.
The Redings Mill Fire Department offers programs where they hand out smoke detectors to kids at school.
Lieutenant Taylor says the department will also go to residences to install them.
Chris Taylor, Redings Mill Fire Department Lieutenant, says, “We had a grant a few years ago where we were able to install them around the residence.”
Due to Covid-19 the installation programs are on hold, but Taylor says he expects it to start up again later this year.
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. — A person is dead and two others have been arrested and charged after a seemingly accidental alarm alerted authorities before the suspects could escape.
Boone County deputies responded to the 5700 block of E. Mount Zion Church Road, in between Hallsville and Columbia, Missouri, to investigate a burglary alarm at 4:13 p.m. on March 7. The alarm company reported that a door alarm at a residence had been tripped.
Deputies called the residence on the way to the home. On the second try, a man who was not the home owner answered the phone. The man said it seemed the home owner was dead.
When deputies arrived, they found the body of the resident in a state that appeared the person had been dead for several hours. Responders also met two people at the home: Jamie Lee Chick, 36, of Columbia; and Blake Ashley Williford, 30, of Centralia.
Surveillance cameras throughout the home revealed Chick and Williford were taking drugs and drinking alcohol the night before, according to the sheriff’s office. When they woke up, it appeared the two realized the home owner was dead.
Instead of calling 911, the sheriff’s office stated that the two appeared to loot the dead person’s pockets and home. Video also showed them attempting to remove traces of drugs from the home.
“Neither Williford or Chick made any visible effort to provide medical assistance to the resident, call for emergency medical services to assist the resident, or make a report to law enforcement,” The sheriff’s office stated. “Instead they appeared to be in a panicked state, giving the perception they were preparing to flee the residence without contacting law enforcement.”
Authorities believe the two tripped the alarm during this time, alerting the sheriff’s office. Instead of running, Chick answered the phone and talked with the responding deputy.
On March 13, six days after the incident, Chick and Williford were arrested on charges of abandoning and tampering with evidence. Both have reportedly bonded out of custody at the Boone County Adult Detention Center.
JOPLIN, Mo. — The City of Joplin will be conducting an upcoming tree limb drop off day this weekend.
The City will open the tree limb and brush drop-off site this Saturday, March 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. This program is open the third Saturday of the month from February through October, unless there is a weather event that warrants another date being set.
The drop-off site is located at 1702 North Schifferdecker Avenue, six tenths of a mile north of Belle Center Road on the west side of Schifferdecker.
This free drop-off service is for Joplin residents only and has no load limits. Leaves, grass clippings, trash, etc. will not be accepted. Commercial contractors will not be allowed to drop off tree limbs.
Joplin residents should also note that the City’s residential trash service through Republic Services allows yard waste removal on their regular trash pick-up day. Limbs must be cut to a maximum of four (4) feet and bundled. Bundles shall be no heavier than 50 pounds. The diameter of each tree limb shall be no larger than four (4) inches.
For more information, call the Recycling Division, 417-624-0820 ext. 501, the Public Works Center at 417-624-0820 ext. 564, or Republic Services at 800-431-1507.
JOPLIN, Mo. — Vendors around The Four State Area come together to help a local middle school.
Joplin South Middle School hosted a “Spring Market” event to help raise money for their students and teachers.
The fundraiser will assist the school in buying computers, speakers, book sets, calculators, and other classroom supplies.
Thirty vendors from Kansas and Missouri offered clothes, jewelry, jams and jellies, and art pieces to help the school’s cause.
Chris Mitchell Principal, says, “You know it’s been great the people have come in and we’ve seen a lot of familiar faces coming in and supporting the schools Joplin community has done a really good job supporting the Joplin schools. And so we’ve seen a lot of our parents that have come in to be apart of this.”
He says he hopes to have another spring market in the near future.
