Here's Looking At You! The County's Top Stories Of 2024

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As the year 2024 comes to an end, we at the Benton County Enterprise flipped back through the pages of the paper this year to look at the top stories of the year.

As the year 2024 began, Randy Pogue, Warsaw City Administrator, was named Person of the Year by the Benton County Enterprise. He was the third person to be honored with this fairly new annual award for accomplishments in the community that promote the health and well-being of its citizens.

In January 2024, Warsaw resident Rick Bibb approached the city about donating a dollar for every dollar donated by the community for Phase II of the Drake Harbor playground project, with a limit of $300,000 in matching funds. Organizations, businesses, and individuals were also jumping in to raise funds for Phase II of the playground project. With continued support from the community, it is possible to raise a total of $600,000 or more.

“The design will continue the riverboat theme from Phase I,” said Randy Pogue, City of Warsaw Administrator, who submitted a grant request to Missouri State Parks which resulted in building Phase I of the $226,169 playground.

From 1988 to 1995, Warsaw Wildcats football was arguably the top Class 2 program in the state, winning state championships in 1990 and 1993, and reaching the MSHSAA Final Four five other times throughout those eight seasons. For those reasons, that era for the program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame as members of its 2024 enshrinement class at a ceremony and banquet held at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds E-Plex in Springfield in February. The Warsaw contingent was led by Randy Morrow, former 'Cats boss and already a Hall of Famer himself after being inducted with the Class of 2011.
Other coaches making their own appearance included: Bill Ramsey, Loren Burke, Randy Bloess, Tony Berry, Brent Depee, Matt Bohanon and Steve Miller.

Also in February, Warsaw's Jayce Estes won the 2024 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships where he went undefeated through his bracket to finish his season with an overall record of 38-4 and a Class 1 state championship in the 113-pound weight class.

The 2024 paddlefish snagging season was off to a great start after an angler reeled in a world record fish at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Over 250 people attended the 51st annual Benton County Historical Society Banquet held at St. Ann Catholic Church near Warsaw on Thursday evening, April 4. During the evening, attendees placed bids on items offered for the silent auction. A live auction was held after dinner with Larry Drenon Auction providing their services.

Deputies were notified at 4:30 PM on Saturday, April 13, 2024, that an assault occurred in the parking lot of Dollar General located at 14633 Highway 7, in rural Warsaw. According to the victim, Troy Mays 59, the suspect, David Meddings, 58, allegedly attacked him while he was sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's vehicle. Both suspect and victim left the scene and returned to their respective residences on Fairview Drive in Bent Tree Harbor.

It was standing room only in the WHS gym in April as folks young and old from all over the county and surrounding areas came to watch the popular KY3 First Alert Weather Tour presentation. The many in attendance stood in line to meet meteorologist's Ron Hearst and Brandon Beck, as well as popular news anchors Lisa Rose and Paul Adler and other KY3 personalities. The weather tour was brought to WHS through the efforts of KY3 early news producer Makayla Mais, a 2017 graduate of WHS.

A Benton County resident was killed in an accident at Missouri 7 Highway near the West Dam Access Road intersection on April 27 at 7:52 PM. The crash occurred as a 2005 Ford F250 driven by Craig A. Ralston, 52, of Matteson, IL travelled off the right side of the roadway. Ralston overcorrected which caused the vehicle to overturn. The vehicle then travelled off the left side of the roadway and overturned. A passenger in the truck, Walter R. Spooner, 64, of Warsaw, was pronounced dead at the scene by Benton County Coroner Weston Miller. Miller was assisted by J.W. Miller.

Also in April, the Benton County Food Pantry was currently experiencing food shortages according to Susan Sullivan, president of the BCFP Board. The Food Bank works with more than 145 partner agencies across a 32-county service area to provide food assistance to any person who needs it.

The Warsaw Police Department and 9-1-l presented six-year-old Myracle Fitzpatrick a small Hero Medalion and a certificate for a job well done at a ceremony held on April 19, at North Elementary School. She called 9-1-1 when she and her dog were alone with her mother who passed out while helping Myracle with her homework. She provided details and her address to the 911 Dispatcher and remained calm while EMTs hurried to her house.

A Benton County deputy risked his life to save a woman whose car was swept into the high water of Deer Creek near Hastain in southern Benton County during the storm on April 29. Although he was not sure where the woman was, Deputy Markus Burns went into the water following the sound of her screams.
He spotted her clinging to a tree. He had to convince her just to let go.

The Thirty-third Annual Warsaw R-9/Warsaw Chamber of Commerce Academic Banquet was held on May 2 with honor students and parents filling the gymnasium. After the meal, Warsaw High School Principal Danny Morrison introduced the speaker for the evening, David Lemon. Lemon, a 1998 graduate of WHS, has been the chief revenue officer at Archer Technologies in Kansas City for many years. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with an engineering degree. Next Superintendent Gemes presented retired Warsaw R-9 instructors Bob and Linda Lemon the Warsaw School District Service Award for 2024.

Barry Pabst replaced Linda Viebrock as the new director of the Benton County Health Department as of May 1, 2024. Viebrock, who has worked for the BCHD since 1975, has retired.

Lincoln High School held their graduation on Donnelly Field on Friday, May 10. Thirty-nine seniors received their diplomas. One of the speakers at the event was Lexie Dulaban, valedictorian of the Class of ’24. The salutatorian of the LHS Class of 2024 was Kindle Bartley.

Also in May, speakers at the 2024 Warsaw High School graduation included the top two graduates of the class, Alyson Alcantara and Erin Goodpaster.

Up before the sun rose, Warsaw R-9 School District bus driver J. D. Findley took his last drive as a school bus driver on May 16 with his usual load of children from ages 5 to 18. A bus driver for Warsaw R-9 for 46 years, Findley delivered school children safely to and from school from the southern part of the district to South Elementary and on to Warsaw High School.

In June, all the Jubilee Days events went off without a hitch as the 57th annual celebration drew big crowds. Karly Keele was crowned as the 57th Warsaw Jubilee Days Queen. Riley Nevius was crowned as the 2024 Jubilee Days Princess. Jubilee Days chairman Chuck Allcorn presented Mary Shinn with the John Wiest Award for her many years of service to the Jubilee Days celebration during the Queen and Princess contest.

Enterprise Reporter Homer May passed away on June 14, just shy of his 91st birthday as the result of a car accident. Homer began writing for the Enterprise in 1999 and was a fixture at city board meetings in Warsaw, Lincoln and Cole Camp.

Goetze Bros. Carpet and Furniture in Stover has served the area since 1969, and recently expanded into Warsaw with the grand opening of Goetze Bros. Carpet on June 15.

The City of Warsaw announced that Jason Wenberg accepted the role filling the vacancy for the position of Police Chief.

The Cole Camp Jaycees held their Third annual MSTPA pulling event at the Antique Tractor Farm grounds on Saturday, July 6.

Warsaw resident Rich Chiles was been named as the new Operations Project Manager of Harry S. Truman Dam & Reservoir. Chiles began his career at HTDR in 1990 while attending college at Missouri State University. After graduation, Chiles worked at Bull Shoals Lake in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Later he transferred to Carlyle Lake in Illinois.

Warsaw native Amelia Roberts represented Missouri in the Miss United States Agriculture pageant in Enterprise, Alabama, July 11 through July 13.

On July 18 at 10:41 PM, Benton County Central Dispatch was notified of a stabbing that had just occurred at 33035 KK Highway, a rural Warsaw address. Deputies arrived to find Douglas E. Roberts, 55, a resident of the address, sitting on his wife, Pamela E. Roberts, 55, also of the residence. Douglas stated his wife Pamela stabbed him in the back two times with a large camping knife after he returned from walking by the lake with his dog. Douglas stated his wife was enraged about him being gone for so long.

A Benton County man drowned at Lake of the Ozarks on Friday, August 9, 2024. The incident occurred around 12:00 PM near the 90-mile marker of the lake.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that Steven F. Bucklinger, a 69-year-old man from Warsaw was fishing from his 2002 Triton boat when he fell overboard for an unknown reason. Bucklinger was not wearing a flotation device at the time of the incident.

Casey and Stephanie Ledbetter and family of Warsaw, Missouri, were among the families honored during the 67th annual Missouri Farm Family Day, Aug. 12 at the Missouri State Fair. The Ledbetter family was selected as the Benton County Missouri Farm Family by University of Missouri Extension in Benton County and the local Farm Bureau. The family includes sons, Zane and Pace.

On September 16, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office was notified of an implied threat of a shooting that would happen during the homecoming parade scheduled for 1:00 PM that day. Apparently, some juvenile friends were engaged in a group chat that began during the night of September 15. The parent of a member of the group found out about the statements and contacted the Sheriff’s Office the morning of the 16th. This led to deputies going into the field to interview parents and kids before the juvenile responsible for the statements was taken into custody at 8:50 A.M.

Also in September, a 13-6 win over Butler propelled the Warsaw Wildcats to a 7-0 overall record, which solidified their first championship in the Ozark Highlands Conference and their first outright conference title since 2009 when the Wildcats were still members of the Tri-County.

On Wednesday, October 23, after months of investigation, the Lincoln Police Department, along with the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force, and with the assistance of the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office, executed a narcotics-related search warrant at 107 North Ohio Street, Lincoln, Missouri, which resulted in four people being arrested. Upon execution, officers arrested Brandon Hough 39, of Lincoln, along with Monica Morris 19, currently of Lincoln, Tiffany Morris 34, of Kansas City, and Timothy Morris, 40, of Kansas City.

The Benton County PHIL held their annual meeting Tuesday, October 22 in the Cole Camp Senior Center. The evening was a time of fellowship and refreshments topped off with the awarding of $50,000 in grant money that benefits the youth of the county.

Pumpkinfest in Cole Camp, celebrated its fifth year and over 300 attendees toured the haunted house at RiOak. In addition to the haunted house, there were food trucks and vendors on Maple Street, along with outdoor games and Spooky stories being told down at AJ’s Dairy-Bar.

In one of the more anticipated election days in recent history, voters rallied to polls on Tuesday in November and many even exploited the opportunity to exercise their right to vote early. Races at the national, state and local levels were of esteemed interest, causing a massive turnout.

Members of 4-H from across Benton County gathered at the First United Methodist Church fellowship hall on November 3 for the annual Recognition Banquet and Awards. Missouri gives the Gold Seal as the highest rank for a 4-H Club followed by the Silver and then the Bronze Seal. This past year all three Benton County Clubs met the standards for the Gold Seal for 2023-2024: The All Arounders, Lake Creek Lamplighters and Turkey Creek Homesteaders successfully met the requirements for a Gold Seal. All three clubs also met the Youth Service to Communities Recognition Award: All Arounders, Lake Creek Lamplighters and Turkey Creek Homesteaders all received the highest award, the Purple Seal.

In November, the father of a Benton County four-year-old girl (Jessica Mast) who died in 2020 has accepted a plea deal offered by prosecutors. According to court officials, James Mast of Lincoln accepted a guilty plea deal to second-degree murder and first-degree assault. If Mast fully cooperates and doesn’t renege on the terms of his plea agreement, his six other counts will be dismissed. Mast will not be sentenced until co-defendant Kourtney Aumen’s case is resolved. The four people charged in the case are Mary Mast and James Mast (the parents of Jessica Mast), Kourtney Aumen and Ethan Mast (no relation).

Visitors flocked to Benton County in November as the annual Missouri deer season started. Hunters in Benton County harvested 2,102 whitetails the first weekend of the season. Of those, 868 were does, 162 button bucks and 1,072 were antlered deer.

The Warsaw Playground Expansion project received the FY25 Quad-Lakes Solid Waste Management District Grant worth $25,000 toward the purchase of scrap tire safety surface material which will match the playground's current surface. The rubber safety surface material will triple the size of the play area and provide superior protection for accidental falls.

A huge crowd packed the Warsaw High School gym in support of the Stacey Barnes Morrison family on Sunday, December 15. Morrison, who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her husband WHS Principal Danny Morrison and their three daughters were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and concern from their family, friends and neighbors. Longtime friend and classmate of Stacey’s, Kristen Carleton Marema, was one of the organizers of the event.

Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare (GVMH) is excited to announce Melissa Howe has been promoted to Director, Warsaw Clinic. A GVMH employee for more than 10 years, Howe began her career in retail pharmacy before becoming a Medical Assistant. For the last three years, she has been serving in a dual-capacity role — part-time Assistant Director and part-time Medical Assistant.

Also in December, WHS seniors Jaxson Deckard and Drake Murrell received Principal Nominations from U.S. Congressman Mark Alford. This remarkable achievement brings them one step closer to earning acceptance into a United States Military Service Academy.

The Lady Wildcat basketball team ended the year by taking third place in the Doug Loehr Holiday Classic Tournament. Kiera Mostaffa and Tanna Howe were selected to the All-Tournament team.

As we head into 2025, all of us here at the Benton County Enterprise wish you a Happy New Year and encourage you to keep up with Benton County events by reading the BCE!