City Council meeting addresses terminating CEO for mismanaged funds

NEVADA, Mo. — The future of the Barone Alzheimer’s Care Center in Nevada and its residents is still up in the air.

Things got heated during last week’s city council meeting with family members of residents voicing their concerns over what they call mismanagement by the facility’s long-term board. The facility was, again, the topic of Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

The city gave $100,000 in ARPA funds to Barone and a nursing home in town, Moore-Few Care Center. But city officials say they’re not sure how those funds were allocated by the interim CEO of the long-term board, Gene Vestal. Council members decided to postpone a vote on an ordinance to repeal those funds. They want more time to find out where the money was spent.

As for Vestal, a motion was passed last week to add his termination to Tuesday night’s agenda. But Mayor George Knox told us the motion was reversed.

“I made a motion that was not proper, and it died for lack of a second, so, we’ll see if that happens sometime in the near future or not,” said George Knox, Mayor, City of Nevada.

As of now, it is unclear what the future holds for the Alzheimer’s facility. The original proposal called for its residents to be moved to Moore-Few.

The next city council meeting is on September 13th.

Nevada resident to be featured at Times Square

NEVADA, Mo. — A very young Nevada resident will be kicking off Down Syndrome Awareness Month in a very unique way.

Meet three year old Owen Jones – who absolutely loves music, dancing, sports and can even communicate through sign language.

Owen meets no strangers and his parents say he makes everyone smile wherever they go.

The “National Down Syndrome Society” chose Owen to be featured on the Jumbo-Tron in New York City’s Time Square.

His smiling face will shine over Times Square on September 17th to kick off National Down Syndrome Awareness month in October.

The NDSS says featuring these images promotes value, acceptance and inclusion of people with down syndrome in a very visible way.

Owen’s mom, Renee, says she was thrilled to hear Owen was chosen and hopes to keep fighting negative stigmas often associated with down syndrome.

“What’s even cooler is just because we’re from a small town of Nevada and he’s just awesome and he’s just a big deal, and so, the more people that see how cute and adorable he is, the better. Like I said, the stigma there is that, it’s scary and there’s nothing scary about Owen, he’s magical,” said Renee jones, Owen’s mom.

Owen even has his own Tik Tok account with almost 40,000 followers and a viral video that has 4 million views.

You can follow his Tik Tok account: @owentheomazing

Cottey College names new education lab after former president

NEVADA, Mo. — Classes begin next week at Cottey College, and students will notice something new when they arrive on campus. It’s a new education lab inside the Blanche Skiff Ross Memorial Library. The entire basement, in fact, is now called the “Jann Rudd Weitzel Education Lab.” It’s named in honor of the college’s 12th president, who retired in June. The space will be used by education students to collaborate, as well as observe lessons and teach their own in a true K-12 setting.

“We want them to feel comfortable once they get out in the real world, real world and start teaching, right? So this provides them that realistic opportunity to practice the art of teaching, and a safe environment to get feedback from seasoned professionals,” said Dr, Kristina Adams, Cottey College.

Orientation for all Cottey students starts on Friday.

Classes begin next Tuesday.

LIVE BLOG: Nevada residents fight for elderly care

Vernon County Residents Protest Closing Of Baroness Alzheimer’s Care Center

Vernon County Residents gather at a packed Nevada City Council Meeting tonight (8/16). The City Council is holding an open session starting tonight at 7:00 p.m.

Residents are upset because Alzheimer’s patients living at “Barone Care Center” received a letter on August 9th from Gene Vestal, the Interim CEO of Barone Care Center.

That letter was a proposed transfer plan for moving Barone’s residents to “Moore-Few Care Center,” effective October 31st.

Many of those who have gathered at tonight’s meeting have plans to protest the proposed closure of Barone Care Center and the plan to move the residents afflicted with Alzheimer’s.

Loved ones of residents argue that Moore-Few Care Center is not capable of taking care of Alzheimer’s patients, saying it does not hold the appropriate license and can’t handle the physical needs of those living with Alzheimer’s.

At tonight’s meeting, loved ones of residents living at Barone Care Center are planning to call for the firing of Interm CEO, Gene Vestal.

City leader’s we’ve talked to say they’re also against closing the facility.

We’ll start to update what happens in tonight’s meeting at 7:00 p.m.

*IF YOU’RE FOLLOWING ALONG LIVE, PLEASE REFRESH YOUR WEB BROWSER EVERY FEW MINUTES*


7:20 p.m. – Alzheimer’s advocate, Jennifer Gundy, was the first to speak to the Council about this issue. At the end of her statement, Gundy called for the firing of the Interm CEO of Barone Care Center, Gene Vestal. Grundy also stated that it “can be deadly to move Alzheimer’s patients to a new facility.”

7:30 p.m. – The Mayor of Nevada, George Knox, stated that Gene Vestal has not discussed any plans to close Barone Care Center with city leaders.

7:40 p.m. – The fourth person to speak at the podium has a mother who lives at Barone Care Center. She had the following to say: “These Alzheimer patients are going to die if you move them to another facility. It’s horrible to watch your loved one’s mind go deeper and deeper into the disease, but to add on top of that the confusion that it would put on their minds… I know that if I told my mother who lives at Barone, that she has to move, I know she would die… I also call for the resignation of Gene Vestal immediately.” (Applause from most all of those watching in the Council Chambers)

7:45 p.m. – Pam Grainley, who was next up at the podium, said this: “Barone Care Center runs like a fine oiled machine. They set a daily schedule for those with Dementia. That helps with planning and having an overall feeling of safety. While my mom was alive and living at Barone, she was so happy there. My mother was comfortable, happy and knew that Barone was home. Those who worked there while my mom was alive, cared for her like she was a person. Each time I visited her, there wasn’t a time when she wasn’t being cared for by a staff member. This is home to my mom. This is home to our loved ones so please don’t take it away from them. Ill leave you with this, imagine you have a family member that has cancer. You’ve spent countless hours finding the best care for your loved one. Now imagine that care being taken from you. All the care your loved one received – gone. Suddenly, someone who doesn’t know anything about your loved one is now in charge, because money was being mishandled. This is what’s facing those who live at Barone.”


Reporter Notes: Barone Care Center currently has 33 residents, all who suffer from the disease of Alzheimer’s, living at the facility.

If you would like to voice your opinion on what’s happing tonight inside the Nevada City Council Chambers, post a Facebook comment on the Facebook page of…

KSN-TV 16: facebook.com/ksnf16

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8:00 p.m. – Marvin Query was next up to speak. He had this to say: “I heard an interesting fact today. The plan to move residents from Barone Care Center to Moore-Few Care Center, did not mention the destination for transfer as Moore-Few Care Center. I would really like to know why.” He later said to the Council, “please ask the community to be involved in these decisions and to be engaged with the City.”


Reporter Notes: Every audience seat is fill tonight, inside the Nevada City Council Chambers. Each speaker is suppose to speak for only 3-4 minutes, although the Council is letting each speaker go over 5 minutes, in order to get the speaker’s point across.

Reporter Notes: Tonight on Action 12 News at 10:00, Kate Dalton will have a live report from Nevada City Hall to summarize what went on inside the Nevada City Council Chambers tonight. Digital News Reporter, Dustin Lattimer is also at tonight’s meeting and will post a summary of what took place there.


8:20 p.m. – Maurine Short, a former long-term care facility administrator, was next up to the podium. She said she was asked to speak at tonight’s Council Meeting. Maurine Short, knowing a lot about Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, summarized what it’s like as a patient with progressive Alzheimer’s disease. She described the decline of the brain, like the reverse progression of physical aging. Short said that as an Alzheimer’s patient progresses in the disease, they’re becoming “more like an infant child.” Toward the end of her time, Short said that at Barone, the staff is “well trained” in caring for Alzheimer’s patient. Short stated that you “have to know how to approach someone with Alzheimer’s and it takes special people with a special skill set to be able to do that job. Short stated that, “Moving the patients from Barone Care Center to Moore-Few Care Center, makes financial sense. But, the staff, leadership and the hospital has to do everything they can to duplicate the care, the approach and the feeling of security and safety that those people at Barone feel. Every staff member at Moore-Few Care Center has got to be trained to specifically handle those with Alzheimer’s. There has to be a specific Alzheimer’s wing where residents with Alzheimer’s are locked in.”

8:40 p.m. – A Vernon County Resident, who only said that her name was Cindy, had this to say: “There are a group of us who have been meeting to come up with some solution. Here’s what we came up with… we want Barone to have its own Board; a Board of people who actually know what they’re doing when it comes to special memory care, because this board doesn’t (audience applause).”

8:45 p.m. – End of public comments.

8:47 p.m. – Mayor proposed two motions. One of them was “an immediate dismissal of Mr. Vestal.”


Reporter Notes: This ends the LIVE BLOG. You’ll find a summary of tonight’s City Council Meeting posted later on Fourstateshomepage.com

Residents upset over possible closing of Alzheimer's facility

Nevada City Council Meeting

NEVADA, Mo. — The future of Alzheimer’s care facility was front and center at tonight’s city council meeting in Nevada (8/16).

Dozens of loved ones whose family members are residents of “Barone Alzheimer’s Care Center” protested tonight.

After receiving a letter from Long Term Care Interim CEO, Gene Vestal, stating that the facility is going to close on October 31st.

Family members came with signs demanding the center not to close and ask for allocated funds to be checked on.

The also came with the goal of asking the city to fire Vestal.

Many family members said tonight that if their loved ones were moved from the facility to a nursing home in town, “Moore-Few Care Center,” there would be detrimental effects because “Barone” specializes in treating Alzheimer’s patients.

“They care. You take them out of there and they will die. There is no question about it. I will lose my mom quicker than I have to now and that’s why we’re trying to fight to keep it open because there is misappropriation of funds. This long term board, they are not even paying attention as to what is going on with the families and the residents,” said Cindi Louderback, daughter of a resident living at Barone.

Tonight, Nevada’s Mayor passed a motion for the immediate termination of Gene Vestal, which was approved by all Nevada City Council members.

Vestal’s termination will be put in the city agenda and will be finalized at the next council meeting on August 23rd.

We asked Vestal to comment after tonight’s meeting.

He declined by saying, “I have no comment.”

Cottey College hosts Community Partner Fair

NEVADA, Mo. — A Southwest Missouri college is preparing to show students the wealth of opportunities in the area.

Cottey College will host the Nevada Community Dinner and Partner Fair next week. The decades-long tradition will bring together roughly 26 businesses, organizations, and other groups for first-year students and their families. The goal is to help those students feel more comfortable in the community and learn about resources that are available to them.

“Our students come from, not just nationwide within the United States, but we have many international students as well. So, even the students that are coming from within our state, Missouri, are not familiar with our community and it really helps them feel more at home in our community,” said Kim Severance, Cottey College Director of Career Services.

The event will be held Friday, August 19th at The Nevada Community Center from 6 to 8 P.M.

Army Vet Jack Truman: Missouri's unopposed candidate

NEVADA, Mo. — A candidate for Missouri’s 4th Congressional District seat is in the midst of quite the tour. Lamar-native Jack Truman is touring the District’s 24 counties between now and November 8th. We caught up with him during his campaign stop, in Nevada. The 56-year-old was unopposed in last week’s Democratic Primary.

“My campaign slogan is ‘For the people.’ I’m not a politician. I’ve never been in a political office, and I think it’s going to take a regular person, who has nothing to do with politics, who’s open-minded, to go to Washington and help shake things up,” said Truman.

Truman is making his 4th bid for Congress. He’s an army veteran as well as an actor and filmmaker, and a 1994 graduate of Missouri Southern. The 4th congressional race on November 8th also includes Randy Langkraehr, and former Kansas City Television Anchor Mark Alford.

The seat has been occupied since 2011 by Vicky Hartzler, who was unsuccessful in her run for U.S. Senate.

First openly gay drag racer to unveil Pride car in Topeka

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Travis Shumake, the first openly gay professional drag racer, will make his racing debut in a pride-themed dragster at Heartland Motorsports Park at the NHRA Nationals Aug. 12-14.

The car features a bison and Pride Kansas on the side, with a geometric rainbow hood and matching parachutes.

“Just like the city of Topeka, the sport of NHRA drag racing is an unexpectedly welcoming and diverse place,” Shumake said. “Making my national event debut in Topeka sends a clear message that cities and sports with traditionally conservative reputations shouldn’t be overlooked as leaders in diversity. I couldn’t have picked a better debut sponsor. We are both trying to provide representations, resources, and hope to underrepresented groups.”

Shumake, a second-generation racer, follows in the footsteps of his father Tripp Shumake, a nationally renowned Funny Car racer who also competed in the NHRA.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Travis to Topeka in August for his national debut,” Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla said. “Topeka is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming community, which has been demonstrated in our recent Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index score, in which we received the highest score in the state, tying only with Overland Park. As a city, we continue to increase our efforts on the score, ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table in everything we do.”

An unveiling of the car will take place on Aug. 10, 2022, at the Rainbow Crosswalk in the North Topeka Arts and Entertainment District (NOTO).

The dragster is a 24-foot, 4,000-horsepower, nitromethane-burning rocket.

Visit Topeka and Pride Kansas have announced their sponsorship of the car.

The Nevada City Court is closing

NEVADA, Mo. — Due to financial reasons, a local city court will be closing.

Starting last May, the City of Nevada began assessing its budget for next year.

“The financial issue itself is sad for all small municipalities and to try to maintain the separate court system from the county, it’s almost impossible,” said George Knox, Mayor, City of Nevada.

Last Tuesday, the Nevada City Council voted to close the city court.

Council will now decide the court’s closing date at the August 2nd meeting.

“Actually, our budget, like everybody else’s budget is very, very tight, and if we can make any changes at all without hurting, you know, the citizens that the court serves, I think we have to do that,” said Knox.

Knox says this change will have the biggest impact on city court employees who are close to their retirement with the city.

“Because their retirement is with the City itself, if they even move to the county, and that’s an option that they could move to the county, would be under a whole new retirement system which would mean that they’re at square one, and that’s not fair to them at all,” said Knox.

When the city court does close, all cases will be assigned to the Vernon County Court House.

“You have to face every decision on how it’s going to impact your community, and that’s the toughest part that I personally struggle with is how it’s going to impact our community,” said Knox.

Addressing the rural affordable housing issue in Vernon County

NEVADA, Mo. (KODE) – Affordable housing can be hard for some to find not just in rural Missouri, but around the country.

Carol Branham, Executive Director of the Nevada Housing Authority, says they have been addressing the need for additional housing for years.

That’s because in rural areas, affordable housing programs have had a hard time finding safe, decent, affordable housing that meets inspection criteria.

“It’s a nation wide issue, it’s not, but particularly for small rural areas, housing has become a challenge for some of our affordable housing programs in finding safe, decent, affordable housing, that meets the inspection criteria for our programs,” says Branham.

Some of these criteria that landlords need to follow fall under Section Eight of the housing quality standards.

They include notifying of rent increase, passing quality standards, and properly collecting security deposits and monthly rent.

Branham says many area properties have changed ownership and are unaware of the criteria, thus causing challenges.

“If landlords are not engaged and not willing to bring those houses up to that inspection standard, then that’s where the challenge is. Once we can engage the landlords and make them understand the value of the program, and the support we have working in partnership with that public private partnership then it’s a win-win,” says Branham.

Once they are engaged, future residents may experience easier transitioning than resident Dianna Phelps did after her mother passed away.

“Very unaware of what I was gonna go on, what I was gonna do. As far as money wise being able to afford an apartment on my own and stuff, it was very scary,” says Phelps.

Phelps adds others don’t need to be scared about not knowing where to live.

“I would tell them to stay positive and take it one day at a time,” she says.

Branham says addressing the issue is the first step, but she adds it won’t be taken care of over night – It could take years.