Tag Archives: newton county

Joplin Schools add mental health program for employees and family

Posted on by

JOPLIN, Mo. — A new school year for Joplin School District employees will bring with it more than just a new school year. The Board of Education has green-lighted a proposal to implement a new “Employee Assistance Program.” It will provide mental health support and more to all district employees, spouses, children, and other family members living in the home, regardless of their current enrollment in district healthcare plans. It goes into effect on October 1st.

“Typically an employee assistance program is focused primarily on mental health, and that was the primary function when we looked at it. But we compared several different options for them and found one that offered a lot more than just mental health, that would be a full-blown resource for the employees and their families for different stages of life that they’re facing,” said Jamie Brummett, Barker Phillips Jackson Insurance.

Management training will also be included for district personnel — as well as access to a “Crisis Response Team.”

Jasper Co. 4-H youth needs, Military Care Packages

Posted on by

JASPER COUNTY, Mo. — An area youth organization needs your help to brighten the day for a service man or woman stationed far from home. The Jasper County 4-H Club received a $1,500 grant from the state 4-H office recently and will put that money towards a project to send care packages to soldiers overseas.

The group plans on sending the items around the anniversary of 9/11 this fall.

“That grant money is really going to go towards helping us pay the shipping costs. Items that the kids are looking to collect include things like lip balm, reading materials, decks of playing cards, beef jerky, things like that, things that remind you of home,” said Tianna Fisher, Pleasant Valley Pioneers 4-H Club Leader.

The group hopes to send as many as 50 packages to soldiers in Guam, Japan, Germany, and the Middle East.

If you’d like to know where the boxes are located so you can drop off items you can follow this link here.

News To Know: body discovered by abandoned farmhouse, motorcycle hit and run, train collides with tractor trailer

Posted on by

JASPER COUNTY, Mo. – The Jasper County sheriff’s department opens an investigation after a body is found in a vehicle in a rural part of the county. Authorities say the body was found around 3:00 Wednesday afternoon near Civil War and Pine Road at a long-abandoned farmhouse in Carytown. Detectives say a vehicle was found behind the farmhouse with the body inside, believed to be that of a missing Alba woman, Michele Stone. Authorities do not suspect foul play at this time, but the investigation is ongoing. Click here to read more about this story.

NEWTON COUNTY, Mo. – Authorities in Newton County, Missouri open an investigation after a vehicle flees the scene after rear-ending a motorcycle and injuring its rider. The crash happened shortly before 10:00 pm Monday along I-49 Gateway Drive. Authorities say 52-year-old Bradley Pippin was riding his motorcycle north near the gateway exit when he was hit. Pippen was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

COFFEYVILLE, Ks. – A Montgomery County Kansas Road was closed Wednesday morning after a train collided with a tractor-trailer. It happened on South Walnut near Coffeyville. Authorities say no one was injured in the crash. Click here if you’d like more information about this story.

PITTSBURG, Ks. – Authorities in Pittsburg have charged a man for firing a gun near a house with children in it and damaging property. Police say around 3:00 Wednesday morning they responded to a domestic incident. When they arrived — they found 39-year-old Corbin Murray in the backyard of the home with a shotgun and rifle pointed in the direction of an officer. Police were able to knock the weapons out of his hands and arrest him. Authorities say before that Murray hit a woman in the home and damaged property while children were inside. Murray is charged with domestic battery, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, and five counts of aggravated endangering a child. Click here to read more about this story.

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT: On Tuesday voters in Kansas had a chance to vote on whether or not to protect abortion rights in the state and voters came out in droves…to vote to uphold the state’s abortion protections. A significant number of voters turned out for what was a statewide election and it was the first test any state has faced since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. We want to know what you think: do you think the issue of abortion and abortion rights should be in the hands of the voters? Head over to the Instapoll section of our website and vote now.

COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

Kodiak Rd. dedicated to longtime Neosho businessman

Posted on by

NEOSHO, Mo. — The final part of a road construction project in Neosho received a bit of fanfare this morning. A number of officials were on hand as a portion of Kodiak Road, which was recently finished, was dedicated to Gene Schwartz, Senior. He’s a longtime Neosho business owner and one of the founding members of the “Neosho Transportation Development District.”

“I’m totally surprised and pleased with everybody’s thankfulness of what they and us all did. Wasn’t just me, you know, the group,” said Gene Schwartz, Sr., Honoree.

“It’s been rewarding when we get to this point now and we can see this thing done. The roads out here are now safer, much safer. We have this beautiful school complex out here that now we have good roads to get to it, and safe roads to get to it, so we’re excited about that,” added Steve Roark, Neosho TDD.

The TDD has been in existence since 2010 and, since that time, has funded a number of infrastructure projects in and around Neosho.

Freeman fair helps people travel the world

Posted on by

JOPLIN, Mo. — An area group is not only promoting healthy living for people over 50, but also providing them with an opportunity to see the world. The Freeman Business Center was the setting for the “Freeman Advantage Health and Resource Fair.” It had been an annual event, until COVID forced its cancellation the last two years.

The gathering offered members the chance to conduct a variety of screenings — including blood pressure, cholesterol, bone density, and body mass index or “BMI.” It also highlighted some of the travel options for members.

“I’m signing up now for a trip to Costa Rica, nine days next February. We’re going to Africa, to the Holy Land, we’re doing Colorado,” said Jamie Gillmore, Freeman Advantage Coordinator

People over the age of 50 can join “Freeman Advantage.” A lifetime membership is $20. The medical, education, and social program currently has more than 3,000 members.

Multiple murals, one big dedication

Posted on by

NEOSHO, Mo. — Eight new murals are now on display in Neosho. The north end of Morse Park is the home to these murals that are divided between two pavilions, meaning there are 4 murals on each pavilion.

The art depicts everything the park has offered over the years, from fishing and disc golf to other sports, like biking and skating. They even feature some local residents who often visit the park.

“Well, this is a very busy part of the park, there’s a lot of people that come and go here. All of that is depicted here and it kind of gives people an entire sense of what’s going on here,” said Clint Dalbom, Director, Neosho Parks and Recreation.

“People drive around to see that, to see what we’ve done and you know, that absolutely brings them in,” said David Kennedy, Neosho City Manager.

“I’m calling it eight murals in 9.25 days because it was just a couple hours on that last day,” said Sandra Pemberton, Mural Artist.

The project was a collaborative effort by Artist Sandra Pemberton, the Neosho Arts Council, “The Friends of the Park,” Neosho Disc Golf, the Newton County Tourism Council, and the City of Neosho.

What would Joplin's Prop Public Safety do?

Posted on by

JOPLIN, Mo. — One of the biggest issues before Joplin voters is the Public Safety Tax question.

Voters are being asked to authorize a tax not to exceed $1.00 on the $100.00 of assessed valuation for municipal public safety purposes.

By voting ‘yes,’ residents are saying they would support an increase in property taxes that would generate up to $9-million for the sole purpose of hiring more police officers and fire fighters, increasing their wages, building a new fire station and equipping it, and hiring support staff.

By voting ‘no,’ property taxes would stay the same and it would be up to the City Council and other Joplin leaders to figure out how to not only hire the more than 40 officers needed to support Joplin’s call volume and workload, but also keep them on staff.

This would be a new tax not currently collected by the City and would be in addition to what’s currently collected by the County.

“The simplest way to look at this is if you look at your property tax and your real estate tax you just paid from last year and increase it by 20-percent. That’s if things remain the same the coming year, a 20-percent increase is what you can calculate that the passage of Proposition Public Safety as a cost will be to an individual,” said Mike Seibert, Citizens for Proposition Public Safety Co-Chair.

Seibert adds it will be easy to track the money collected from this tax if it’s approved. He said the first salary increases will take effect November 1st, which will take up a big sum of the money.

Mo. voters reminded of redistricting changes ahead of Primaries

Posted on by

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Absentee voting in Jasper County has seen a significant increase over the past week.

Jasper County Clerk Charlie Davis says they’re now on track to either match or exceed the number of early ballots from both 2020 and 2018.

Something to keep in mind for voters ahead of the August 2nd Primary: Some district maps have changed. The State of Missouri was statutorily required to redistrict after the census. So, while polling places may not have changed for some voters — their State Representatives have.

“And that’s exactly what is gonna happen. People in certain areas, primarily on the outer sides of Joplin, Carthage, Oronogo, Webb City, Carl Junction, that would’ve changed quite a bit over the last 10 years, so because of redistricting there may be some people that are in new house districts than they were during the last election cycle,” said Davis.

The polls are open tomorrow in Missouri from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

You can search online for your specific polling place and specific district information by following this link here.

The Big 3: shooting near Cunningham Park, no survivors in head-on crash, Newton County brush fire and “bear in the air”

Posted on by

STORY 3: JOPLIN, Mo. – On Saturday, July 23rd, at about 8:20 a.m. a 35-year-old male was rushed to an area hospital suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Officers on patrol noticed a vehicle that seemed out of place near 25th and Annie Baxter. Officers approached the vehicle and noticed a male in the drivers seat apparently sleeping. They ran the tag posted in the back window and it came back stolen. Officers boxed the car in so it couldn’t flee the scene. The subject then began to ram both patrol vehicles, backing up and ramming forward. Authorities say officers went to break the vehicle’s windows and an officer involved shooting occurred. Click here if you’d like to read more about this story.

STORY 2: NEWTON COUNTY, Mo. – On Thursday, July 21st, at about 7 a.m. authorities respond to the scene of a head-on crash. One driver died at the scene; the other driver was flown to an area hospital, but died from injuries. If you are interested in reading more about this story, click here.

STORY 1: JOPLIN, Mo. – On Monday, July 25th, Joplin Fire responded to reports of  smoke and fire near 6 mile marker to the west of Kum and Go at 5002 S Main in Joplin. Redings Mill Fire, Carl Junction Fire and Duenweg Fire all joined the response. At one time reports were 6 brush trucks were working along Castle Drive where the fire jumped the roadway moving east towards Shoal Creek. Click here if you are interested in reading more about this story.

BONUS STORY: JOPLIN, Mo. – On Saturday, July 23rd, the Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers along with local Jasper County agencies conducted a traffic operation. MSHP, conducted an aggressive vehicle enforcement event focusing on impaired and careless drivers. Starting about 5 p.m.  Missouri State Highway Patrol had their helicopter above monitoring traffic. If you’d like to read more about this story, click here.

 

COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

Project Manager pleads guilty to false statements on lead contamination at Granby City Park

Posted on by

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Federal officials hope to recover the money they say was paid under false pretenses for lead clean-up in a Granby park.

The United States Attorney announced today that 65-year-old Lynn Eich of St. Louis took a plea deal that will allow them to recover some of the funds paid for the project.

This case stems from a remediation contract awarded to the company Eich worked for at the time. They say he falsified documents and mismanaged the project possibly to the tune of $1.5 million.

The park in Granby is part of a superfund site that was supposed to be cleaned up six years ago. The total contract for the clean-up was $11.9 million.

Work was finally completed on the site last year by the EPA. Eich could face up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is set for January.