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Pat Caplinger |
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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Wednesday on U.S. 63
Crash left truck in flames, local man dead
IN A FIERY COLLISION Wednesday afternoon south of West Plains on U.S. 63, emergency workers encountered one fatality, one injury, a fire that destroyed a tractor unit, debris scattered across 200 yards of road. In the above right photo, South Howell County Ambulance EMT Keri Harper, left, and Howell Rural Firefighter Gene Cantrell tend to the body of Patton Anderson, 64, West Plains. When smoke cleared, remains of the tractor became visible, bottom right. (Quill/Crider)
OVER THE HURDLES – There were many smiles Monday and Tuesday as approximately 1,000 West Plains students took part in the annual West Plains Elementary Track and Field Meet at Zizzer Stadium. Monday’s event included fourth, fifth and sixth grade students from West Plains Elementary, West Plains Middle School and South Fork Elementary. On Tuesday, kindergarten through third graders participated. Nearing the finish line in a heat of the 100-meter hurdles are second graders Jacob Harper, left, and Aaron Campbell. The two 8-year-olds are from West Plains Elementary. Meet directors were physical education instructors Nancy Davidson, Lee Laughary and Alicia Gunter. Davidson said all participants in each running event and the top eight in field events received ribbons. “Our goal is to teach them how to be in a track meet, how to be a spectator and to learn about fitness and learn where their strengths are,” Davidson said. (Quill/Crider)
Earthquake drill Tues. at Winona
Tuesday at the Twin Pines Conservation Education Center at Winona in Shannon County, emergency management directors from Carter, Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Reynolds, Shannon, Wright and Texas Counties will take part in a simulated emergency response to a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on the New Madrid Fault.
The education center is run by the Mo. Department of Conservation, and center director, Melanie Carden-Jessen, reports attendees also will include other individuals involved in all aspects of emergency services.
Terry Toler, Area G coordinator for the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said breakfast will be at 8 a.m., the table talk exercise to begin at 9 a.m.
In the afternoon, the group, with additional volunteers, emergency personnel, faith-based organizations, county employees and officials, will set up and operate an emergency rest area site (ERAS) at the Nuway Grocery on U.S. 60 in Winona. Toler said the aim will be to provide information, food and other services to simulated evacuees from the Bootheel area of Missouri.
He told The Quill this will be a first-ever ERAS drill for this area, the goal is to fine-tune how decisions would be made in a real emergency.
“This exercise is a very big deal,” he added.
Exercises of this type help to point out strengths and weaknesses in current emergency plans and provide essential feedback to the State Emergency Management Agency, which will assist in evaluating the exercise, Carden-Jessen said.
Willow Springs School
gets grant extension
BY MELISSA McENTIRE
Quill Staff Writer
The Willow Springs School District has been granted a 10-month extension from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to take advantage of a disaster mitigation grant.
The district has received the $1.056 million to help pay for an emergency shelter and multipurpose space. The district must contribute at least 25 percent of the project cost. In March, the school board voted not to move forward because committment to the project had to be made by June and time was needed to decide how to raise the district’s portion of the cost.
Superintendent Derrick Hutsell said board members met Monday and decided to continue discussing options, including funding and if additional classroom space should be built along with the shelter.
“It gives us more organizational time to pursue that effort,” Hutsell said of FEMA’s decision.
Hutsell said the district’s first step will be to communicate with community members to see if there is support for an additional FEMA shelter.
This is the district’s second FEMA grant. In October 2007, a ribbon-cutting was held for a storm shelter/multipurpose room on the northwest side of the Willow Springs Middle School. The $1 million shelter can house 1,200 people in an emergency.
Hutsell said that if the district does move forward with the current FEMA project, the completion date is expected to be in July 2010.
Quill seeks photos of some 2008 WPHS graduates
Photos of the 2008 West Plains High School graduates will be published May 22 in a special keepsake edition of The Quill.
Following is a list of students whose photos are needed by 2 p.m. Tuesday. Students can come to The Quill to have their photo taken, can bring one to the office on Jefferson Avenue to be scanned or can e-mail one to wpqnews@centurytel.net.
Ashley Lynn Adams, Justin David Austin, Elijah Wayne Autry, Benjamin Walter Barfield, Kaitlyn Nicole Beck, Christa Dawn Clark, Billie Jo Clough, Matt Scott Coen, Cateland Jade Collins, Dustin James Collins, Rhonda Dean Crapson, Samantha Jean Davis, Amanda K. Denton;
Kayla Michelle Fickas, Daniel Michael Frank, Justin Lloyd Gregory, Tarra Alyse Hackworth, Ashley Dawn Hardin, Danielle LeAnn Henry, Tony James Hiltebran, Luke Tyler Hughes, Tamirah LeAnn Jones, Blane Charles Lair, Jeremy Ray Martin, Stephanie Jo McFarland, David Joseph Mills, Savannah Lynn Mortenson;
Angela Denise Neff, Jordan Micheal Owens, Cehre Martha Prantl, Houston Wayne Proctor, Charley Adelle Rolen, Christopher Eli Sewell, Cody Benjamin Smith, Tyler Levi Stephens, Brittany Nicole Sullivant, Steven Ryan Turner, Kelley Daye Tyler, Heather Nicole Wasdyke, Nichole Alyse Wilburn, Brett Allen Wilcox, Tyler Kent Wood, Brandi Nicole Wood, Stephanie Jo Wood and Ingo Wiebke Christensen.
Check out Link to Mo Kids
Children in Missouri fared better on five out of 10 primary indicators of child welfare in 2006 (the most recent year for which data is available), but increasing signs of poverty, concerns for infants’ health and need for early education continue to pose serious challenges for their future well-being and success.
That’s the message from Citizens for Missouri’s Children (CMC) in its annual Kids Count in Missouri report. It looks at the status of Missouri’s children in such areas as health, education, financial security, juvenile justice and child protection.
"By reviewing annually the status of Missouri's children, we hope to educate the public about whether our children have the resources and supports needed to develop into healthy, well-rounded adults," said CMC Board President Munnie Pacino. "Together as a community we can work to develop policies to ensure that our children do count."
For example, Howell County is ranked 76th out of the 114 counties. Its statistics are worse in six indicators, including students enrolled in the free/reduced lunch program. Howell County is better in three indicators, including incidents of child abuse and neglect. There is no change in statistics for low birthweight infants.
Five indicators of child welfare showed declines statewide in the latest data report:
– Students enrolled in free/reduced price lunch increased by 2.7 percent between 2002 and 2006.
– Teens giving birth increased by 1.6 per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 19, between 2002 and 2006.
– The annual high school dropouts rate increased by .4 percent between 2002 and 2006.
– Low birth weight infants increased by .4 percent between the base years of 1997 to 2001 and the current period of 2002 to 2006.
– The infant mortality rate has increased by .2 per 1,000 live births, between the base years of 1997 to 2001 and the current period of 2002 to 2006.
"The percent of students enrolled in the free/reduced price lunch program is a strong indicator of a family's poverty status," added Pacino. "We've also seen a 5.1 percent increase in the number of children receiving food stamps since 2002. As families struggle to make ends meet, it becomes harder for them to provide basic necessities for their children, such as health and dental care, quality child care and early education, and a safe and secure place to live."
ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
In recent years, CMC has focused its advocacy efforts on the issue of children's health care. "The 2007 Data Book indicates that slightly more than 25,000 Missouri children stopped participating in Missouri's public health insurance program during 2006," said Tom Vansaghi, chairman of CMC's Public Policy Committee. "Many of the declines that we are seeing, such as low birth weight infants and infant mortalities, can be traced to this lack of access to adequate health care."
Vansaghi added that from 2002 until 2006, over 20,000 more children began accessing mental health services. "Missouri is still implementing 2004's Senate Bill 1003, which mandated a unified, comprehensive child mental health system," he said. "The growing demand for these services underscores the importance of Missouri fully achieving this mandate as quickly as possible."
Five indicators of child welfare did show improvement in the latest statistics:
– Between 2002 and 2006, the child abuse and neglect rate decreased by 11.3 per 1,000 children.
– Violent teen deaths decreased by 6.1 per 1,000 teens, between the base years of 1997 to 2001 and the current period of 2002 to 2006.
– Deaths among children ages 1 to 14 decreased by a rate of 2.1 per 100,000 children, between the base years of 1997 to 2001 and the current period of 2002 to 2006.
– Out-of-home placements decreased by 1.0 per 1,000 children, between 2002 and 2006.
– The rate of mothers who don’t have high school diplomas, giving birth decreased by .1 percent, between 2002 and 2006.
"It is encouraging to see progress on these indicators," said Pacino. "At the same time, the incidence rates in each of these areas remains high, which underscores how much more work needs to be done."
COUNTIES BY RANKING
The annual Kids Count report documents the status of children in all 114 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis. For the second year in a row, St. Charles County, a St. Louis suburb, was ranked as the state’s most kid-friendly area, based on a composite of all Kids Count measures. Platte County, just north of Kansas City, was second, followed by Nodaway, Clay and Andrew Counties. St. Louis City again ranked last on the composite rankings, with Pemiscot, Dunklin, McDonald and Ripley Counties rounding out the bottom five. The state’s two largest counties, St. Louis County and Jackson County, ranked 16th and 77th respectively.
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