DNR issues $50,000 grant to city of Washburn to evaluate wastewater system

(From the Missouri Department of Natural Resources)

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded a $50,000 Small Community Engineering Assistance Program grant to the city of Washburn to evaluate the city’s wastewater system. The grant offers funding to qualifying small communities to help cover engineering costs for evaluating water and wastewater system improvements.

The city will use the grant to identify wastewater system improvements needed to continue reliable service to the area, meet permit requirements and reduce stormwater infiltration into sewer collection pipes. The facility plan should be complete in May 2021.

“We are committed to helping Missouri communities find funding for water and wastewater infrastructure improvement projects, which often provide an economic benefit locally,” said Carol Comer, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The department is committed to assisting Missouri communities with water and wastewater infrastructure improvement projects. Through its Financial Assistance Center, the department provides funding opportunities for communities with water quality, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure needs.

For more information on wastewater and drinking water funding opportunities, visit dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/srf/index.html.

Seven Springfield Police Department officers retire after 25 years of service

(From the Springfield Police Department)

After 25 years of service seven Springfield Police Department veterans retired this week. Each began their career as a Springfield Police Officer in 1995 after graduating as a member of the 39th Police Academy and they have many notable accomplishments since that time.

Upon their retirement, each was nominated and approved for the Springfield Police Department’s Lifetime Achievement Award for their work.

“I am very proud of the outstanding careers of each of these dedicated police officers and their absence will be felt at SPD. However, I know their impact within the department has been broad and they will serve as an example to our younger officers,” said Chief Paul Williams. “I thank them for their service and wish them the best of luck in retirement.” 

Congratulations to Major Greg Higdon, Captain Kevin Grizzell, Lieutenant Chris Wells, Lieutenant Mark Schindler, Sergeant Justin Gargus, Sergeant David Stone, and Corporal Chris Welsh.

Major Greg Higdon

Major Higdon began his career as a Patrol Officer. During that time, he served as a Field Training Officer, training new academy graduates. He was also a member of the full-time Special Response Team (Red Team) among other roles.

Major Higdon was promoted to Corporal in 2001 and served in the Criminal Investigations Unit as a Detective in the Persons Crimes Section, investigating cases involving Sexual Assaults, Missing Persons, Domestic Assaults, and Robbery/Homicide.

In 2006 he was promoted to Sergeant and moved back to the Uniform Operations Bureau, working as a patrol supervisor and then as the Special Response Team Supervisor. In 2009, Major Higdon was promoted to Lieutenant, working in Patrol and as the Special Response Team and Community Services Section Commander.

He was promoted to Captain in 2013 and served as the UOB-Zone 2 Division Commander. In 2017 he was promoted to Major and worked as the Bureau Commander over both the Uniform Operations Bureau and Investigations and Support Services Bureau until his retirement.

During his career, Major Higdon graduated from the FBI National Academy, PERF’s Senior Management Institute for Police, and Leadership Springfield, (Class 30) among many other accomplishments.

Captain Kevin Grizzell

Captain Grizzell began his police career in 1989 after graduating from the SPD Reserve Academy. He worked in Patrol as a reserve before attending the 39th SPD Police Academy where he was honored as the class valedictorian in 1995. Captain Grizzell worked as a Patrol Officer and Field Training Officer, training new academy graduates, until 2001 when he was promoted to Corporal.

As a Corporal he served as the Resource Management Officer, serving as the SPD recruiter while also responsible for maintaining SPD’s accreditation and updating the Standard Operating Guidelines system.

Captain Grizzell promoted to Sergeant in 2002 and worked as a patrol supervisor and then as the Community Oriented Policing sergeant, working out of the Commercial Street substation.

In 2008 he promoted to Lieutenant and served as a patrol shift commander before transferring to the Criminal Investigations Property Section in 2012. In 2018 he was promoted to Captain and has served as the commander over SPD Zone 1 Patrol Division and Traffic Section.

During his career, Captain Grizzell received two Command Commendations- one for achieving a high level of DWI arrests in a year and the other for action taken to help save a suicidal person. He represented Lieutenants on the SPD Leadership Council, attended the first Leadership Springfield Access class, and graduated from the Missouri Police Chief’s Command College, among other accomplishments.

Lieutenant Chris Wells

Lt. Chris Wells began his time at the Springfield Police Department as a cadet, volunteering for four years before beginning the Police Academy as a 20-year-old recruit and graduating in 1995. After graduating, he served as a Patrol Officer, as an officer in the Community Services Section and as a member of the Special Response Team.

After being promoted to Corporal, Lt. Wells continued his work in the Patrol Unit. He later served as an investigator in the Criminal Investigations Section and finally as a member of the Special Response Team.

Upon promotion to Sergeant, he worked as a patrol supervisor and in the SPD training section. In 2017 he was promoted to Lieutenant. As a Lieutenant, Lt. Wells worked as a patrol shift commander, the Special Response Team Commander, and in the Support Services Section where he served as the Department Safety Officer.

Lt. Wells is also a member of the US Naval Reserves and was deployed to the middle east during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011. He is commissioned as a Naval Intelligence Officer and is works for the US Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

Lt. Wells is a graduate of the Missouri Police Chief’s Command College, among other accomplishments.

Lieutenant Mark Schindler

Lt. Mark Schindler began his career with SPD in the Patrol Unit, where he served for four years. In 1997 he began working part-time with the Special Response Team (Blue Team) and in 2000 he was assigned to the full-time Special Response Team (Red Team).

Lt. Schindler transferred to the Training Unit as a range instructor in 2006 and in 2010 he became the department Recruiting Officer.

Lt. Schindler was promoted to Sergeant in 2014 and then to Lieutenant in 2018, serving in Patrol as a squad supervisor and shift commander.

Sergeant Justin Gargus

Sergeant Justin Gargus worked as a patrol officer for five years after graduating from the academy. During that time, he worked as a Field Training Officer, training new academy graduates, and as a Major Crime Scene Investigator.

In 2000, Sgt. Gargus was selected for a detective position with the Criminal Investigations Division Task Force. He was promoted to Corporal in early 2001 and transferred to the Property Crimes Unit. During his time in the Criminal Investigations Division, Sgt. Gargus also served on the Major Crime Scene Response Team

He was promoted to Corporal in 2006 and served in the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

After being promoted to Sergeant in 2009, he served as a patrol squad supervisor before moving back to the Special Investigations Section in 2010, where he has served for the last 10 years. For his work, Sgt. Gargus was named the 2019 Midwest Gang Investigator’s Association’s Officer of the Year. He was honored by the local Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution with the Law Enforcement Commendation medal upon his retirement

Sergeant David Stone
After graduating from the academy, Sgt. Dave Stone worked as a patrol officer until 2001. During that time, he was honored as his squad’s Outstanding Officer of the Year for two consecutive years and was awarded a PD Command Commendation Award for drug enforcement efforts.

In 2001 Sgt. Stone served as the Crime Stoppers Coordinator before being promoted to the rank of Corporal in 2002. As a Corporal he served in SPD’s Property Crimes Unit and in 2006 he became part of the Cyber Crimes Unit, being named the Acting Sergeant of the unit in 2011.

In 2013 he was promoted to Sergeant and was assigned to the Uniform Operations Bureau as a patrol supervisor. Sgt. Stone was working the night Officer Aaron Pearson was shot and he received a Command Commendation Award for his performance that night.

Sgt. Stone was selected as the Inspections and Internal Affairs Unit supervisor in 2017, where he served until his retirement.

Corporal Chris Welsh

Corporal Chris Welsh has served his department, his community and his fellow officers in a number of capacities during his time at SPD. During his 25 years, Cpl. Welsh helped lead the inception of SPD’s Crisis Intervention Team, working to assist people experiencing mental health crisis. He was named the National Alliance for Mental Illness Crisis Intervention Officer of the Year in 2016.

Serving the majority of his career in patrol, Cpl. Welsh received the following Department Awards for his efforts: Meritorious Service Medal-2003, Command Commendation-2008, Meritorious Service Medal -2011, Life Saving Medal -2012.

He was promoted to Corporal in 2014 and was assigned to the Community Services Section as the Special Events Coordinator.

Cpl. Welsh has served as the president of the FOP Lodge 22/Springfield Police Officers Association (SPOA) since 2015, helping to negotiate significant increases in pay and benefits for SPD officers, corporals, and sergeants. During his time with the SPOA, he also helped create a mental wellness program that provides free anonymous professional counseling for all members and their families.

We congratulate all seven of these fine men and wish them well in their next chapter of life.

Springfield man sentenced to 12 years for meth trafficking, illegal firearms

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking and illegally possessing firearms.

Tyler J. Brown, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Wednesday, June 3, to 12 years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 11, 2019, Brown pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Brown was arrested on Dec. 25, 2017, when Springfield police officers found him passed out in the driver’s seat of a Pontiac Grand Am. The vehicle was parked, with the engine running, at the intersection of North Grant Avenue and West Calhoun Street. Officers found two firearms in the car with Brown.

A loaded Pioneer Arms 7.62mm semi-automatic pistol was sitting muzzle-end down, in the passenger floorboard, with the handle of the firearm leaning toward the driver’s seat. Brown’s right hand rested next to the firearm, with his last two fingers touching the end of the firearm. While removing the first firearm, an officer saw a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol resting near Brown’s right side.

Officers were able to wake Brown up and place him under arrest. Brown was in possession of $2,666 and had a plastic baggie in his pocket that contained 1.45 grams of methamphetamine. He was wearing body armor beneath his shirt. Officers searched the car and found a black backpack in the front passenger seat. Inside the backpack was a glass jar that contained 71.44 grams of methamphetamine, a distributive amount, and a black and silver box that contained 3.46 grams of methamphetamine.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nhan D. Nguyen and Josephine L. Stockard. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Marshfield man killed in lawn tractor accident

A Marshfield man was killed in a one-vehicle accident 7 p.m. Tuesday on a private drive four miles north of Marshfield.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2019 Snapper 360Z lawn tractor driven by James R. Carter, 71, Marshfield, was backing in a driveway and overturned down a steep embankment ejecting Carter.







Webster County Coroner Michael Taylor pronounced Carter dead at the scene at 11:36 p.m.

The fatality was the 44th this year for Highway Patrol Troop D.

Highway Patrol Arrests June 2-3

Anaya R. Kumar, 20, Lebanon, possession of marijuana

Isaiah W. Murdie, 20, Nixa, possession of marijuana

Jerel M. Phanelson, 23, Lebanon, possession of marijuana

Alan E. Litchy, 45, Springfield, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated

Nighttime traffic slowdowns/stops planned on I-44 near Halltown

(From MODOT)

TRAFFIC ALERT: Nighttime Traffic Slowdowns/Stops on I-44 at Rt 96 (MM 58) Near Halltown June 3 & 4

What: I-44 traffic slowed and possibly stopped on eastbound and westbound I-44 between Mile Markers 52 & 61 at Missouri Route 96 near Halltown

When: 8-10 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday, June 3 & 4

Traffic Impacts

Traffic on I-44 slowed or stopped in all eastbound and westbound lanes for up to 15 minutes
Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers will slow traffic on westbound I-44 with contractor crews slowing traffic on eastbound I-44

Details: Contractor crews blasting rock along Missouri Route 96 at I-44 near Halltown to lower the roadway as part of construction of an arch that will replace the eastbound and westbound I-44 bridges over Route 96. This is part of the larger I-44 Project Bridge Rebuild project to replace or rehabilitate 13 bridges along I-44 between Sarcoxie and Halltown. For more information, click here.

(Weather and/or construction delays will alter the schedule)

(For more information, call MoDOT in Springfield at 417-895-7600 or visit

www.modot.org/southwest)

Complete video- Springfield City Council meeting

Highway Patrol Arrests June 1-2

Dylan S. Haynes, 24, Sikeston, possession of marijuana, no valid license

Micheal A. Fairchild, 48, Springfield, driving while intoxicated, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, careless and imprudent driving, no seat belt








Richard D. Yasinski, 56, Springfield, boating while intoxicated

Frank L. Chapman, 31, Joplin, felony driving while intoxicated

Highway Patrol Arrests May 31-June 1

Sabrina E. Epperson, 33, Goodman, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated (drugs), careless and imprudent driving, no seat belt, no insurance, no valid driver's license, no valid license plates

Michael B. Kiprotich, 46, Kansas City, driving while intoxicated, careless and imprudent driving

Elvis H Alacon, 43, Springdale, Arkansas, driving while intoxicated, failure to drive on right half of roadway








Brittany N. Baker, 34, Springfield, felony possession of methamphetamine, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, no seat belt

Kevin J. Totty, 36, Springfield, felony unlawful possession of a weapon, felony receiving stolen property (three counts), no valid license, no seat belt

Springfield City Council to act on resolution condemning acts of Minneapolis police officers

(From the City of Springfield)

The recent actions by police officers in Minneapolis that caused the death of George Floyd are intolerable and cause us all to think twice about the dignity of all persons, the value of life and our responsibility as a local government. As a result, City Manager Jason Gage has drafted a formal resolution expected to be formalized by Springfield City Council Monday evening.

“This resolution is very direct and on point, as intended. It allows all of us to collectively be intentional with regard to our thoughts concerning this horrific incident and what that means for our community and organization,” Gage said. “We think this statement is vitally important, but just an initial step for our organization and community.”

Read the resolution here.

Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams issued a statement Friday, May 29, reading: “I’m aware of and following the recent events in Minneapolis. I was shocked by the behavior of the Minneapolis police officers that led to the untimely death of George Floyd. The actions seen in the video do not align with the training or values of the Springfield Police Department, nor with those of the policing profession as a whole, and I consider those actions egregious and inexcusable.”

Williams went on to say, “I also understand that while this tragedy occurred hundreds of miles away, it still affects us all in a variety of ways. The members of the SPD want to assure the citizens of Springfield that we stand with them and we respect their right to voice their concerns, peacefully. We are committed to continuing to partner with all members of our community to ensure that our city remains a place we can all be proud of.”

City Council will meet for its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. electronically via teleconferencing technology due to City offices being closed to the public at this time.