The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.
(News Last updated August 8, 2008)
Highway 54 claims two more lives
Vehicles come barreling over the hill as a silver automobile (right) begins to accelerate after turning out of Business Park Road in Linn Creek. This dangerous stretch of Highway 54 claimed two more lives last week. (Reporter photo by Dale Johnson)
Bodies keep piling up as state government ignores dangerous intersection
By Dale Johnson
LINN CREEK – A dangerous section of Highway 54 has claimed two more lives, with no solution to the problem in sight. Last Wednesday, July 30, a 1998 Ford Windstar driven by 21-year-old Bonnie Boals of Richland was hit by a 1996 Freightliner truck at the intersection of Highway 54 and Business Park Road, according to Police Chief Les Harsh.
With Boals was her 70-year-old-grandmother Shirley Thaxton, also of Richland. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the police report, the van pulled out into the path of the truck. The truck driver attempted to avoid the van but was unable to stop and struck the left side of the vehicle. Harsh said the victims had just picked up their dog from Lake of the Ozarks Animal Hospital when the accident occurred.
The next day Thaxton would have celebrated her seventy-first birthday. The driver of the freightliner, 29 year-old Shaun Foist of Du Quoin Il. survived and refused treatment at the scene.
The tragic part of the entire incident is it could have been avoided and most of the blame goes on the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), who is responsible for safety on state highways.
According to Harsh, that area ranks as the fourth most dangerous intersection in the entire state. Despite being fourth in rank – and Harsh expects that to be even higher now – MoDOT has done little to nothing to fix the problem.
Flashing lights warn motorists traveling east or west that a vehicle is at the intersection, but drivers going eastbound come over a hill, doing at least 65 miles per hour and have no time to stop if there is a vehicle in the intersection.
This is not the first fatality at that intersection and Harsh is disappointed and a bit angry that MoDOT has not solved the problem and saved lives.
One solution is to remove the small hill on Highway 54 between Valley Drive and Route V, but Harsh said that would cost MoDOT too much money.
Other ideas such as an overpass, like the one on Highway 54 and Y Road would also work, but would also cost too much money.
Harsh said that one proposal by MoDOT is to make the intersection a right-turn-only. That means that people coming out of Business Park Road, near the animal hospital, would have to turn right (eastbound) and travel Highway 54 to a U-turn and then be able to go westbound.
Harsh said that would make matters worse because drivers would be pulling out of Business Park Road and immediately getting in the left lane in order to make the U-turn. That would also include all the trucks coming out of the Apac quarry.
Harsh said nothing is finalized but MoDOT is avoiding spending any money, or as little as possible, even if lives are at stake.
As far as getting help from State Rep. Wayne Cooper, Linn Creek Mayor Joyce Thompson said Cooper has never met with her or the Board of Alderman to see what ideas or proposals he could bring to the Missouri Government to fix the problem.
Until something is done, Harsh said that more accidents will happen and more people will die.
|
SUV pursuit, bullets, keep cops busy
CAMDEN COUNTY - Last Friday, the first day of August, saw county deputies in pursuit of a stolen vehicle in addition to investigating an apparent firearms discharge on South Highway 5. According to Sheriff John Page, a Camden County Sheriff’s Department (CCSD) deputy observed a 1996 GMC Jimmy SUV driving erratically on Highway 5 north of Camdenton at about 2:30 a.m. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, but the SUV refused to stop and fled at a high rate of speed. A tire-deflation device was used just north of Camdenton which resulted in the deflation of the front passenger side tire, but the SUV continued fleeing on a flat tire. A check of the vehicle license indicated that it was stolen from the St. Louis area. The pursuit continued on Highway 5 south of Camdenton, the SUV driving very erratically and nearly striking several other vehicles, according to the CCSD. The Laclede County Sheriff's Office was informed of the pursuit and their assistance was requested. Laclede County took a position on Highway 5 near the intersection of Highway 5 and Olathe Road in Laclede County. The suspect vehicle nearly struck the Laclede County patrol car, swerved and lost control. It traveled down a hill and came to a rest in a ditch, said the CCSD. The suspect then attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended by deputies from both Camden and Laclede counties. The suspect was found to be wanted by the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole as an absconder. Robert F. Marquez, Jr., is being held on a Probation and Parole Violation, one count of Tampering with a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree and one count of felony Resisting Arrest by Fleeing. No bond was allowed and a court date of August 5 was set. In addition, two Camdenton men were arrested in connection with an apparent handgun discharge near Jamie Drive. According to the CCSD deputies responded to the 200 block of Jamie Drive after residents were awakened by “a loud bang”. The resident found holes in the wall of the bedroom indicating some type of firearm had been fired at the house, said the CCSD. The deputies discovered that the subject next door had fired a handgun inside their residence which had apparently went through the walls of that house and entered the bedroom of the victim's residence. Deputies arrested 2 male subjects. Arrested were Daemian Barr, 36, and Brandon J. McGuire, 25. Both were charged with one county of felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon and bond was set at $10,000 for each suspect. A court date of August 5 had been set. |
Police, water patrol to crack down on impaired drivers
By Jeff Thompson
LAKE OF THE OZARKS - The Osage Beach Department of Public Safety (OBDPS) will be watching closely for “impaired drivers” August 15 through Sept. 1. In addition, a DWI sobriety checkpoint will be held sometime this month within the city limits.
The crackdown on impaired driving dovetails into the state’s “You Drink and Drive, You Lose” campaign.
“Law enforcement efforts will be increased in an endeavor to reduce the deaths and serious injuries caused by impaired drivers,“ a OBDPS spokesman said.
According to officials, driving while intoxicated is one of the most common violent crimes, randomly killing or injuring someone in Missouri every one and a half hours.
“These tragedies are preventable when drivers make a simple, smart choice not to drink and drive,” the OBDPS spokesman added.
Additionally, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MHP) is conducting what it calls a “hazardous moving operation” enforcement program. The program is designed to target drivers that are operating motor vehicles in a hazardous manner.
“The goal of this program is to reduce the number of traffic crashes by concentrating enforcement efforts on hazardous moving violations that cause vehicle crashes and place other motorists in danger,” a MHP spokesman said.
The overtime operation concentrates additional officers to monitor traffic and ensure drivers are traveling in a lawful manner. MHP’s Troop F recently held such a special traffic enforcement operation in Camden, Boone, Callaway, Cole and Montgomery counties during the month of July. A total of 59 arrests were made as well as 159 warnings issued. The most common incident was speeding with a total of 19 arrests followed by 14 seat belt violations.
Hazardous moving operation enforcement programs have also been held in Andrew (Troop H) and Ste. Genevieve (Troop C) counties. A total of eight troopers were assigned to the four-hour operation in Andrew County. Troopers stopped a total of 52 vehicles and issued 28 summonses and 64 warnings.
Law enforcement agencies not only target Missouri roads for sobriety checkpoints, but the Missouri State Water Patrol (MWP) does its fair share to help keep the state’s waterways free of “impaired drivers”.
The MWP arrested two people for boating while intoxicated during an evening sobriety check point at the 2 mile marker of the Gravois Arm on Saturday, July 26.
here were 68 boats stopped during the check point and one other boating related citation was issued. MWP Commissioner Colonel Rad Talburt said he was encouraged by the low number of arrests and high number of designated operators that were seen by officers at the July 26 checkpoint.
The MWP also conducted a daytime sobriety checkpoint on Saturday, July 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the one-half mile marker on the Glaize Arm. There were 212 boats stopped during the checkpoint and eight operators were arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated.
Ten other citations were issued to operators, which included no wake violations and insufficient life jackets. Other boating sobriety checkpoints on the lake are scheduled for this month, according to the MWP. .
|
MoDOT scheduled to begin repairs on lake area bridges By Jeff Thompson LAKE OF THE OZARKS - The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will be focusing on 18 smaller bridges in the lake area in need of repairs and refurbishing as part of a statewide endeavor. MoDOT’s Safe & Sound Bridges improvement project targets a total of 802 bridges throughout the state, many of which are located on supplemental routes. “This program will replace or rehabilitate more than 800 of the state's most worn-out bridges,” a MoDOT spokesman said. MoDOT will seek to award a single contract to design and build the bridge upgrades as well as maintain the bridges in good condition for at least 25 years. The entire project will have to be completed on of before Dec. 31, 2012. The bridges scheduled for repair or replacement in the lake area include: * Camden County: Route W East, Macks Creek and Watson Branch; Route D South, Spencer Creek; Route Z South, Morris Creek; Route T South, Wet Glaize Creek; Route J South, Prairie Hollow; and Route A East, Barnett Branch. * Miller County: Missouri Highway 17 South, Catail Creek and Saline Creek; Route M East, Burris Branch; Route MM South, J. Buster Creek; and Route 52 East, Humphreys Creek. * Morgan County: Route D South, Richland Creek; Route HH East, Smith Fort Creek; Missouri Highway 5 South, Soap Creek; Route JJ South and Route BB South, Richland Creek; and Route J South, Bushy Creek. According to MoDOT, financing for the Safe & Sound Bridges project will come from anticipated federal and state funds and will require no additional revenue. MoDOT made examinations of the state’s deck truss bridges and declared them safe for travel after a deck truss bridge collapsed in Minnesota last year. One of the state’s deck truss bridges - the Hurricane Deck Bridge located on North Highway 5 - was built in 1934 and is the only deck arch truss bridge in Missouri. The average age of Missouri's truss bridges is 67 years old. Federal investigators later determined that design flaws with some of the gusset plates, as well as weight added to the bridge, contributed to the Minneapolis collapse. Truss bridges use steel gusset plates to hold together the steel beams that support the structure. MoDOT has 232 truss bridges, 76 of which have had weight added to them since their original construction. Additionally, the city of Linn Creek dealt with its own bridge problems in March of this year. A four-foot hole appeared in Business Park Road bridge on March 20 and continued to crumble. The bridge links the city to its post office along with a business and industrial park. The bridge was closed to all traffic until repairs were made. When a permanent solution or replacement to the bridge is unknown at this time. |
| Bridge safety taken seriously, says MoDOT director Rahn By Jeff Thompson LAKE OF THE OZARKS - A little more than a year has passed since the deadly collapse of a deck truss bridge in Minneapolis, and only four months after an Illinois earthquake again raised concerns of Missouri’s aging bridges. Last year Missouri Governor Matt Blunt ordered Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Pete Rahn to inspect all of the state’s deck truss bridges after the fatal collapse in Minnesota on Aug. 1, 2007. MoDOT made examinations of Missouri’s deck truss bridges and declared them safe for travel. “MoDOT takes bridge safety very seriously and we immediately close any structure we determine to be unsafe," said State Bridge Engineer Dennis Heckman. “When further information is released from the investigation of the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, we will determine if that information applies to the bridges in Missouri and take any action necessary." Missouri has more than 10,000 bridges that are inspected a minimum of every two years, according to MoDOT. Lately the head of MoDOT has had more than just Missouri bridges on his mind. MoDOT drirector Rahn moonlights as the president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). According to an AASHTO report released last week, $140 billion would be needed to repair and modernize the nation’s nearly 600,000 bridges. AASHTO described many of the bridges as "baby boomers" because while most were built to last 50 years, their average age is 43. Rahn was adamant in urging quick action. "The current generation of baby boomer bridges are showing their age and they're going to require significant investment," Rahn said. "We must act now." According to the report, 20 percent of America's bridges are more than 50 years old. Missouri has a total of 24,042 bridges and the most major river bridges in the nation. |
Gravois Mills man charged with growing pot
LAKE OF THE OZARKS – A Gravois Mills man has been arrested and charged with felony cultivation of marijuana and drug trafficking-second degree.
Last week, officers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F Eradication Team, Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group, and Camden County Sheriff’s Department arrested 39 year old Stephen N Petrocelli of the 400 block of Bronco lane.
Petrocelli was arrested after police executed a search warrant at his residence. According to police, during the search 325 cultivated marijuana plants were located inside the residence.
Petrocelli was arrested and charged with the felony and is being held in the Camden County Jail until bond is set.
All content is Copyright 2008 by Reporter Publishing, L.L.C. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited without written permission.
