News

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will lead two guided hikes to the top of Pilot Knob National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Oct. 6, and Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. Hike participants will meet at 9:30 a.m. each day at Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site.

During the hike, staff and volunteers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will discuss how past mining has created critical habitat for endangered Indiana bats.

This important refuge with its unique geology and mining history provided hibernation habitat that continues today. Space is limited; participants must pre-register to reserve their spot for the hike by calling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge at 573-222-3589.

Hikers will walk up steep terrain with loose rock and uneven footing.  Participants must be physically able to make this hike.  Details on time and meeting location will be provided to registered participants.

Annapolis man injured

An Annapolis man was injured in a one-vehicle accident at 6:35 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 3, in Iron County.

Timothy J. Mayes, 19, received moderate injuries and was transported by ambulance to Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob, according to a report by the Missouri Highway Patrol.

An official survey of Medicare beneficiaries is under way, and the Missouri Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is offering some pointers to folks who may receive visits.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct a national study to provide information on the healthcare experiences of Medicare recipients. As part of the effort, the NORC representatives are interviewing Medicare beneficiaries in Missouri.

Jason Fitzwater has been named Police Chief at Arcadia. 

Fitzwater, 39, and his wife, Ryane, have two children, a daughter, 13, and a son, 3.

An Arcadia Valley High School student was among a group of Missouri musicians who toured Europe this summer for a series of concerts.

Libby Turner, the daugher of Corby and Betsy Turner of rural Arcadia, was nominated by her band instructor, Charles Lee, for the tour, organized by Voyagers International. The company has been arranging such tours for over 40 years. Students must be nominated by their music directors to participate. The nominations are based on such things as playing ability (Libby plays the trumpet) and character.

Retired Lead Belt miners, mill workers and other lead-company employees will be honored guests during the 23rd annual Mine Open House 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Missouri Mines State Historic Site in Park Hills. The special guests will also be on hand to answer questions and describe what it was like to work in the lead mines many years ago. The event is free and open to the public.

Four people were injured, three seriously, in a one-vehicle accident on Saturday, August 18 in Reynolds County.

According to a report by the Missouri Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at 11:10 a.m. on County Road 354, 1.5 miles west of Lesterville.

Brian S. Maize, 22, of Lesterville was driving a 2017 Kawasaki westbound on the roadway when it traveled off the left side, struck a tree and struck a second tree, the report stated.

Maize received serious injuries and was transported by Reynolds County Ambulance to Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob.

Three passengers were also injured.  They included:

•Briadon J. Maize, 9, of Lesterville, who received serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.

•Cecil R. Rawlings, 45, of Centerville, who received serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Creve Couer.

Work will soon be underway to replace the Route 21 bridge over Carver Creek in Iron County. The bridge is located approximately 2.2 miles west of the intersection of Route 21/72/49 near Glover.

Weather permitting, construction of the temporary bypass will begin the week of Sept. 10. During this time, Route 21 will be reduced to one lane in the vicinity of the bridge with a 15-foot width restriction.

Traffic is expected to shift to utilize the temporary bypass on Monday, Sept. 17, weather permitting. Completion is anticipated Saturday, Dec. 1, weather permitting.

The work zone will be marked with signs.  Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area.

For additional information, contact Resident Engineer, Darius Dowdy at (573-431-4933) or MoDOT’s Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast.

The Iron County Historical Society was recently selected as one of the Missouri State Genealogical Society’s (MoSGA) 21st Century Fund Grant Program award winners for 2018.  Two members of the historical society’s board of directors, Charlie Brooks and Bill Sheehy, travelled to Columbia to receive the $1,000 grant check during MoSGA’s Annual Conference on August 11.

The historical society’s mission has always been to preserve and share Iron County’s rich history.  According to Bill Sheehy, the new oral history project will preserve important aspects of the county’s history by video recording interviews of persons who participated in the events first hand.  The project will also involve instructing members in the best principles and practices of oral history and, to this end, he has already sought out and gained support for the project from experts at the State Historical Society of Missouri and locally at the Arcadia Valley Career Tech Center.

An Ironton man has been charged with felony rape in the first degree after an alleged assault at Lake Hannah on July 14.

A report by the St. Francois Sheriff’s Department stated that Cecil Burrows, 60, of Ironton was charged with felony rape in the first degree after reportedly “knowingly having sexual intercourse with a teenage girl who was incapable of consent because of intoxication and was manifestly unable or known by defendant to be unable to make a reasonable judgment as to the nature or harmfulness of the sexual intercourse.”

According to a probable cause statement, on July 25 a detective with the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department conducted a recorded interview with a 19-year-old girl who explained she was a victim of a rape that occurred at Lake Hannah.