Joplin fire a result of heat gun

JOPLIN, Mo. — Crews have determined what caused a fire at a Joplin home this morning.

Firefighters responded to 2519 Florida Avenue just before 8:30 this morning. Two people who were inside the home — and were able to make it out safely.

It took crews almost three hours to get the fire out. At least four fire trucks responded to the scene. Firefighters continued to monitor hot spots this afternoon.

Officials say it started because the homeowner was using a heat gun in an attempt to thaw out frozen pipes.

MoDOT comments on road conditions near Joplin

JOPLIN, Mo. — Many MoDOT crews have been keeping a close eye on road conditions since early yesterday morning.

We spoke with MoDOT District Maintenance Engineer, Darin Hamelink, today — who says crews are currently putting a focus on cleaning up intersections, passing lanes, and turn lanes on places like Range Line Road and 7th Street in Joplin.

They’re also working to clear rural roads like Highways 37 and 60 with plows and ice-clearing products. But — depending on how cold it is — those products don’t always work.

“And if it’s not sticking, if the precips not sticking to the road, we can just plow it off and kind of let the cold temperatures help us when we can. And we did have some routes that were clear because of that, and we had other ones that it stuck down on us, and we just weren’t able to get it off,” said Hamelink.

Hamelink also says they had 4 trucks rear-ended yesterday, resulting in one worker being injured.

Drivers are reminded to not follow those trucks too closely.

MoDOT also has an online travel map, which stays up-to-date with road conditions. You can check that out by following this link here.

3 Joplin agencies team up to save those vulnerable to arctic temps

JOPLIN, Mo. — Between the brutal cold and a holiday weekend, area shelters and churches are keeping busy. Luckily, community teamwork in Joplin has helped keep folks fed and warm.

“On Thursday morning, everyone was here. And it’s just increased since then,” said Dianna Gurley, Executive Director of Souls Harbor.

Souls Harbor has teamed up with Joplin First Church of the Nazarene and the nonprofit, Food Not Bombs to provide warmth and food for those in need.

“We have a lot more people in-house and then we have a lot more people in here, and then a lot more people that are coming by because, you know, financially this year, it’s really taking a hit on people. And so, there’s a lot more people reaching out for the help this year,” added Gurley.

During the day, Souls Harbor has been transporting around 100 people to the church — which announced this week it was opening as a “warming center.” In the evening and nights, everyone goes back over to Souls Harbor.

“And then we’ll keep them up into the evening and then Food Not Bombs, once again, will come in and then they’ll take over for the overnight shift, and take care of things. So, it’s been a really hand-in-hand operation with everybody taken care of. It’s been wonderful,” said Gurley.

Pastor Shana Mcgarrah says her husband has spent the last couple of days picking up those in-need off of the streets.

“He went down, he had one of the guys that’s here with us thats from Souls Harbor, he took him around and was showing him where all the people would be, all the homeless people would be. And they went around calling to everybody in the tents and everything, trying to get them to come. And so, bringing them in yesterday,” said McGarrah.

Joplin First Church of the Nazarene says they will stay open on Christmas Day.

“It’s just been really good getting to know them and kind of hearing their stories, and just you know, getting a heart for where they are, and so, that’s been really good,” she added.

Crash closes eastbound traffic on I-44 CLOSED past Exit 38-MO 97

Update

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. — Eastbound traffic along I-44 MM 43.4 was halted as road crews work to move a stalled vehicle.

MoDOT’s I-44 traffic camera located at the scene showed emergency vehicles in an empty eastbound lane near MM 43.4 Thursday afternoon (below). The incident was reported around 2:20 PM.

Crews were able to get the vehicle off the roadway and traffic flowing by 2:51 PM, MoDOT said.


Original

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. — Missouri State Highway Patrol has confirmed that eastbound lanes on I-44 near Mile Marker 38 are closed.

A crash reported around 11:16 AM Thursday near MM 40 has forced crews to close eastbound lanes past Exit 38.

Traffic is being diverted at MM 38 – near the Stotts City exit.

The wreck involved a semi carrying a load of frozen chicken. The closure is estimated to last 1.5 hours.

MoDOT traffic cam at MM 47 shows traffic continuing west but not east

MoDOT asks travelers use an alternate route for the time being. You can access MoDOT’s Traveler Map here. Traffic cameras can be toggled on through an option at the bottom left of the page.

How Joplin is responding to the road conditions

JOPLIN, Mo. — We got a bird’s-eye view this morning, of what the conditions looked like from the inside of a “Joplin Special Road District” truck.

Crews were out early this morning, around 4 a.m. pre-treating roads.

Officials say they felt fortunate there wasn’t any rain before the snow and drop in temperatures because that would’ve resulted in a whole lot of ice. 12 drivers cover about 300 miles of roads.

We tagged along with Randy Reed, who’s actually the road district’s shop foreman.

“Yeah, on days like today I get to help the guys take care of the roads. I’m just kind of a floater, anywhere I’m needed, go out and just take care of that area. It’s best to stay at a safe distance back, the further back possible, not try to pass. Just be aware of us being around. We’re, we’re doin’ out best to, to be as safe as possible, but when we got to deal with traffic, it makes our job that much more difficult. We still got guys out coverin’ all the roads, makin’ sure that what we treated earlier, sometimes we’ll have to go back and retreat it, especially when the wind’s blowin’ like it is,” said Randy Reed, JSRD.

Before the temperatures dropped severely, Reed says crews were using a mixture of cinders, salt, and man-made sand from area rock quarries.

It helps with traction. The salt, however, becomes ineffective when temps drop below 15 degrees, so they make the switch to a sodium-beet juice mix.

How "Vita Nova Village" is helping the homeless

JOPLIN, Mo. — Members of a new nonprofit in Joplin are working to find homeless, homes.

It’s called, “Vita Nova Village.”

Officials are trying to come up with enough funding to construct several tiny homes.

The goal is to have homeless individuals from the area move into the 340-square-foot structures, and eventually transition into a bigger home of their own.

“They will have a living space, a small kitchen so they can prepare their own meals, a private bedroom, and their own bathroom. They won’t have a laundry, we’re putting the laundry in the community room in an effort to prevent isolation,” said Rhonda Thompson, Exec. Dir., Vita Nova Village.

Officials are looking at a couple of properties where they’d like to build their first six to twelve tiny homes.

They also recently held a food drive to benefit the homeless. Donation boxes were placed inside several area businesses.

Those interested in learning more about the organization can visit its website here.

Additional warming stations open up

KSN/KODE— Many area churches and organizations in Southwest Missouri are opening up to serve those needing to warm up or seek shelter from the onslaught of ice, snow, and painful arctic temperatures.

Joplin

  • Joplin First Church of the Nazarene – 2124 Utica St. (417)623-3455, Thursday-Friday Open at 7 a.m. and working with Soul’s Harbor to transport folks who need shelter overnight

Click here for a full list of warming shelters in southwest Missouri

Neosho

  • Neosho Freeman Family YMCA – 4701 Chouteau St., (417)455-9999, No membership is needed to warm up during normal business hours. Friday 7 a.m.- 6 p.m. (Hours are subject to change.)
  • Restoration Life Center – 415 N. High St., (417)455-9393, Warming center is open until Friday morning, at least. Still seeking volunteers to continue providing that space past Friday morning.

Area Senior Centers and services close due to inclement weather

Carthage

  • Carthage Crisis Center – 100 South Main St., (417)358-3533, Lobby is open overnight Thursday and Friday. Each person must submit to a warrant check.

Goodman

  • Splitlog Baptist Church – 3670 Splitlog Road, (417)364-7458, Warming shelter is open overnight until 12:00 p.m. Saturday.

ODET confirms large meth bust in Joplin

JOPLIN, Mo. — Officers say a search warrant executed at a Joplin home resulted in a huge bust for the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team and Joplin SWAT.

Authorities served a Narcotics Search Warrant at 2106 Virginia Ave Wednesday morning and say they uncovered “a large quantity of suspected methamphetamine.”

Five adults were inside the residence when ODET detectives arrived; two of which now face charges of distribution of a controlled substance. Those charges are pending through the Jasper County Prosecutors Office.

The names of the suspects involved have not been released. The investigation remains ongoing.

Area Senior Centers close due to incoming winter weather

JOPLIN, Mo. — The Area Agency on Aging Region X announced on Facebook that some area senior centers will close out of caution for the projected inclement weather, and all services provided by the Agency, such as lunch, will not be available.

The Area Agency on Aging central office and Senior Center services in Barton County, Carthage, Neosho, Joplin, and McDonald County will close on Thursday, December 22.

Officials said they don’t want the older adult population to be getting out in the case of severe weather. They also do not have the capacity or funding to staff the senior centers after hours.

The Center in Carl Junction and the Webb City Senior Center will be open by the city as warming shelters for those in need. You can find more information about that and other warming shelters in the area here.

This information is subject to change depending on city-specific judgments in the case of severe weather.

Joplin Airport gearing up for winter elements

JOPLIN, Mo. — Joplin Regional Airport officials are keeping a close eye on the forecast.

Airport Manager Bart Starkey, who was hired to replace the retired Steve Stockam in August, says they can only use F.A.A approved materials on runways. They can’t use salt— only things that are non-corrosive. So it’s a timing issue when it comes to snowfall — and they have to watch to see what it’s doing first.

“A lot of times we’ll let the snow fall, if it accumulates, especially on warm runways, because it will actually insulate the runway, so when we actually remove the snow, it’ll stay wet. We don’t want to remove snow too early, because it can freeze and then we ruin a runway. I mean, if it gets ice, we’re, it’s done until it thaws, so, we have to be careful about when we clear a runway and, and how we do it,” said Starkey.

Starkey also told us they have the manpower to handle the elements but should they need more, they do have contractors who can be brought in to help.

If you need to check the airport out of which you, a family member, or a friend is flying check out the list of links below: