DWI arrest for Carthage man in fatality crash at 7th and Duquesne was third in past four years

A Carthage man who has been charged with DWI in connection with a fatality crash at 7th and Main that killed a Missouri Southern State University professor Saturday has a long history of driving under the influence.

At the time of the crash, Kenton C. Cowgill, 36, was free on $10,000 bond on a felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance after being arrested May 27 by the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team. His next hearing in that case is scheduled for July 12.

The DWI arrest is the third in less than four years for Cowgill. The Joplin Police Department arrested him November 18, 2017. Cowgill pleaded guilty September 11, 2018 in Newton County Circuit Court and was sentenced to three months in jail, then given a suspended sentence and placed on two years probation.

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office arrested Cowgill on the same charge four days earlier, on November 14, 2017. He pleaded guilty September 17, 2019 in Jasper County Circuit Court, was sentenced to six months in jail, given a suspended sentenced and placed on probation for one year.

On December 15, 2003, Cowgill pleaded guilty in Joplin Municipal Court to driving under the influence.

Cowgill's lengthy criminal history also includes a 2014 conviction for unlawful use of a weapon after he hit his wife in the face, aimed a rifle at his father-in-law and in a struggle with him over the weapon, accidentally shot two children, a four-year-old and a two-year-old.

Cowgill was originally charged with three counts of domestic assault and armed criminal action, but under a plea bargain agreement with the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office pleaded guilty to the weapons charge and was sentenced to four years in prison. The sentence was suspended and Cowgill was placed on supervised probation for five years.

A Joplin Police Department news release describes the events that led to the fatality crash at 7th and Duquesne:

On July 3, 2021 at 8:23 am the Joplin Police Department received a report of a male driver passed out in a vehicle that was blocking a driveway in the 800 block of South Rex Avenue. 

Officers responded and located the vehicle and observed the driver was not conscious. Officers were able to wake the driver and found that he was showing signs of being intoxicated. While officers were conducting their investigation, the driver fled in the vehicle from officers going northbound on Rex Avenue. 

While Joplin officers were attempting to catch up to the driver, a Duquesne Police Department officer was nearby and observed the vehicle fleeing and initiated a pursuit that went eastbound on 7th Street. 

Shortly thereafter, Joplin Officers were notified the suspect vehicle was involved in a crash with two other vehicles at the intersection of 7th Street and Duquesne Road. 

The driver of one of those vehicles, Robert D. McDermid, age 66 of Joplin, did not survive injuries sustained in the crash. Next of kin has been notified. 

The driver of the suspect vehicle briefly attempted to flee from the scene and also discarded 94 grams of methamphetamine under the suspect vehicle. He was apprehended by officers and identified as Kenton C. Cowgill, age 36, of Carthage. 

Following the incident, charges were filed for Driving While Intoxicated, Resisting Arrest and Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Cowgill is currently being held in the Jasper County Jail with no bond. 

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is conducting the crash investigation and the Joplin Police Department is conducting the criminal investigation. The investigation into the incident is active and ongoing. Further details will be released as they become available.

Cowgill will be arraigned 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Seven new COVID-19 cases reported in McDonald County

 

Newton County confirms 57 COVID-19 tests in past two days

 

(From the Newton County Health Department)

Covid-19 Update
July 1, 2021:
37 New Cases
141 Active Cases
32 Daily Recovered Cases

July 2, 2021:
20 New Cases
139 Active Cases
22 Daily Recovered Cases

 
Covid-19 tests conducted in Newton County for week of June 25 – July 1, 2021:
580 Total Tests
440 Negative Tests
140 Positive tests
24.10% Positivity Rate

Covid-19 Cumulative Tests for Newton County:
42,082 Total Tests
35,227 Negative Tests
6,855 Positive Tests
16.30% Positivity Rate

Newton County Vaccinations given:
18,890 Total Vaccinations
20.30% Percentage of population with one dose
18.00% Percentage of population with two doses
404 Number of doses administered in the last 7 days

Joplin confirms seven new COVID-19 cases, 23 residents hospitalized

The Joplin Health Department reported seven new COVID-19 cases today, according to statistics posted on the city's website.

To date Joplin has recorded 6,732 cases and 133 deaths. Eighty-eight cases remain active.

The city has been averaging more than 20 cases per day for the past two weeks.

The city's hospitals have 73 COVID-19 patients, including 23 Joplin residents.

 

Joplin Schools salutes, celebrates Ron Lankford as he retires for third time

(From Joplin Schools)

Joplin Schools would like to ask you to help celebrate the retirement of Dr. Ron Lankford, assistant superintendent for business services. This is the third time Dr. Lankford as retired in his 48-year career in public education.

Lankford retired the first time in June 2010 after 33 years with the Webb City School District. He was named Superintendent of the Year in 2009 by the Missouri Association of School Administrators. 

After that he accepted a position as at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as deputy commissioner for financial and administrative services, working for the state for six years before retiring in 2016. 

Dr. Lankford, who has served as human resources director and assistant superintendent for business services over the past five years with the Joplin School District is retiring yet again.

 
Dr. Lankford has been a driving force in education both in Southwest Missouri and the State and pave the way for many other educators and administrators to follow. His expertise, humor, style of communicating very complex issues in very simple and understandable manner will be missed. 

We are grateful for the time he has spent with Joplin Schools and the phenomenal fiscal situation he has created for the district. We wish him well on his retirement and want to thank him for the bridges he has built for others to cross over.

Jasper County reports five COVID-19 deaths

The Jasper County Health Department reported five deaths due to COVID-19, two today and three on Thursday.

The deaths bring the county's total to 165.

Billy Long: Biden is canceling all of the good things Trump did

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

To Be Energy Independent or Not to Be??? Are you serious? Do you want to rely on countries that hate us for our energy needs or do you want to rewind the clock to January 19, 2021, when we didn't have to rely on others for energy? I'll wait while you mull that over... 

You’ve probably heard the swamp creatures in Washington talk about how many jobs they can create, but the Biden Administration is different. Since entering office, President Biden has shut down several energy projects, resulting in the loss of thousands of American jobs. They view this as a source of pride, claiming to have achieved a great victory for the environment. The only problem is, they have no plan for putting these hard-working Americans back to work.

The issue of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska has been debated for many years. Many on the left oppose energy production in this region on environmental grounds, however, the facts should come first. 

In 1980, President Carter set aside a small portion of ANWR for oil and natural resources development. This area is not designated as wilderness, despite what the left claims. The area in question is 500,000 acres of land, which sounds like a lot until you realize that this accounts for just 3% of ANWR’s total landmass. 3% of the land gives us most of the resources. 

In total, it is estimated that 10.4 billion barrels of oil exist in ANWR. This area alone contains more oil than the known reserves of nations that we currently purchase oil from.

In 2017, President Trump opened ANWR for development, but like all of President Trump’s great decisions, President Biden reversed this several weeks ago. Keeping ANWR open helps to secure America’s energy independence, generates billions in revenue for the United States, and creates thousands of jobs. All of this in turn protects our national security by reducing our independence on foreign oil, and thanks to new technology, the environmental impact is significantly reduced.

ANWR is not the only energy project that President Biden has spiked. Not twelve hours after taking office, he signed an executive order to halt construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada. This action resulted in the loss of 10,000 American jobs and the permanent cancelation of the project by the owners. 

You can add another 38,000 jobs lost when you take into consideration ancillary businesses. Pipelines provide a safe, and ironically, environmentally friendly way to transport oil, but thanks to President Biden, much-needed oil is now being transported by boat, rail, and truck from our adversaries like Venezuela and Russia.

Energy independence is not only an issue here at home but for our allies as well. While President Biden has been busy killing tens of thousands of jobs by canceling projects in the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been busy building his pipeline into Germany. Nord Stream 2 was under American sanctions which were lifted by President Biden. 

This all but guarantees that Russian oil will be flowing into the European Union soon, giving President Putin dangerous influence over our European allies. If we are going to secure our national security and interests, the United States should be preventing Russia from building international pipelines, not giving them a free pass.

As long as I am serving in Congress, I will always support American energy independence. Energy independence is beneficial to our national security and creates thousands of high-paying and high skilled American jobs. I strongly encourage President Biden to end his Green New Deal crusade and reopen ANWR for energy independence. Failure to act will result in our continued reliance on foreign adversaries for energy resources.

Trump derangement syndrome is real folks. And, canceling all the good things President Trump and Republicans in the House and Senate did to protect you and your family should not have been on the chopping block. Keystone XL - gone and forgotten. 

Border wall construction stopped - cease and desist. Stay in Mexico policy adios - gone, which lead to over 180,000 illegals aliens flocking to the United States in May alone! If you want to check out our 20 year high of illegal incursions into our formerly great country just go sit in the McAllen Texas airport as I did yesterday returning from my trip to the border with President Trump and Governor Abbott. 

Watch all of the illegal aliens being loaded onto commercial airlines to be dispersed around the county at your expense. They board the planes with no I.D. - try that at your airport! You'll know who they are because they all carry a large envelope with writing all over it and their free cell phone with free minutes you paid for. Where are they flying to? We don't know but wherever it is we do know the elected officials in those cities don't know they are coming. We do know they are not flying to Mexico because the Biden-Harris Administration put the kibosh on Trump's Stay in Mexico policy, or did I mention that already?

State audit of Purcell begins, arraignment set for former city official accused of embezzling

 An audit of the city of Purcell has begun, State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced today.

Sixty-four signatures of Purcell residents were needed for the audit and 84 signed the petition.

In a news release issued earlier today, Galloway said, "I look forward to conducting this independent review, and I encourage anyone with information to contact my Whistleblower Hotline.

The announcement of the audit comes five weeks after the Jasper County Sheriff's Office arrested the city's former mayor pro tem Nancy M. Wilson, 50, on a felony stealing charge.

The allegations against Wilson were spelled out in the probable cause statement:

On 04/15/2021 I, Det. D. Lewis, responded to 104 W. 3rd St. in Purcell, MO located in Jasper County. I took a stealing report from Kelsey Freelend, recently elected Mayor of the City of Purcell. 

Kelsey turned over copies of several checks and debit receipts from the city's Southwest Missouri Bank checking account. Kelsey said that several of the checks were suspicious and were all signed by the city's former Mayor Pro Tem, Nancy Wilson. Kelsey requested that the Sheriff's Office look into the suspicious checks. 

During my investigation I located a total of five checks from the city of Purcell's SMB account and one SMB debit (withdrawal) receipt all signed by Nancy Wilson. 

All five checks and the debit (withdrawal) receipt occurred between 03/13/21 through 04/10/21. All of these checks lacked the required second signature as required by city policy. 

The following check numbers were all written on the city of Purcell's SMB account, signed by Nancy Wilson, and all deposited into Nancy Wilson's Arvest Bank account: SMB check #3450 for $500.00, SMB check #3484 for $488.00, SMB check 3488 for $500.00, SMB check # 3454 for $500.00, and SMB check # 3457 for $200.00. The SMB debit (withdrawal) receipt showed that on 04/02/2021 Nancy Wilson withdrew $400.00 from the city of Purcell's SMB bank account. 

There is video of the withdrawal transaction on 04/02/21 from the SMB bank located at 300 W. 3rd St. in Carthage, MO. The total amount of money stolen from the City of Purcell by Nancy Wilson is $2,588.00.

In his request for a warrant, Detective Lewis said Wilson had been arrested in the past for felony stealing though no details were provided.

Wilson is scheduled to be arraigned 9 a.m. Tuesday in Jasper County Circuit Court. She is free after posting $2,600 bond.

Anyone who would like to provide information for the state audit may contact the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by calling 800-347-8597. Concerns may also be submitted anonymously online at auditor.mo.gov/hotline.

Agenda posted for Joplin City Council meeting

JOPLIN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021
5th FLOOR COUNCIL CHAMBERS
602 S. MAIN ST. JOPLIN MO
6:00 P.M.

1.

Call To Order

Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance of the United States of America

2.

Roll Call

3.

Presentations

4.

Finalization Of Consent Agenda

5.

Reports And Communications

1.

MML Update-Diane Reid Adams

2.

Health Dept. Update

3.

News From The Public Information Office

6.

Citizen Requests And Petitions

7.

Public Hearings

1.

Public Hearing Procedures

Documents:

1. PUBLIC HEARING PROC.PDF

2.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2021-273

AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2004-256, passed by the Council of the City of Joplin, Missouri, November 15, 2004, by removing from District R-1 (Single Family Residential) and including in District C-O (Non-Retail Commercial) property as described below and located 1827 & 1831 S Wall Ave, City of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

1. CB 2021-273 MINUTES.PDF
2. CB 2021-273 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CB 2021-273 SUMMARY.PDF
4. CB 2021-273.PDF

3.

CASE NO. 030-21

Case 030-21 - 1917 Carolyn Pl. – A request to review the site plan for future office development – CASA

Documents:

1. CASE 030-21 MINUTES.PDF
2. CASE 030-21 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CASE 030-21 SUMMARY.PDF
4. SITE PLAN - CASA.PDF

8.

Consent Agenda

1.

Minutes Of The June 21, 2021 City Council Meeting (Draft)

Documents:

1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUN 21.PDF

9.

Resolutions

10.

Ordinances - Emergency

1.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2021-450

AN ORDINANCE authorizing a Participation Agreement For State Investment In Local Public Health Agencies and a Memorandum of Understanding for participation in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Health Services Initiatives (H.S.I.) project, by and between the State of Missouri, Department of Health and Senior Services, and the City of Joplin, Missouri, and for the City of Joplin Health Department to receive compensation, for up to One-Hundred Thousand,  Sixty Dollars, no Cents, ($100,060.00); and, authorizing the City Manager to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin, Missouri; and, containing an emergency clause.  

Documents:

1. CB2021-450-SUMMARY SHEET.PDF
2. CB2021-450-COUNCIL BILL.PDF
3. CB2021-450 SUPPLEMENTAL ITEM CONTRACT.PDF

2.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2021-451

AN ORDINANCE authorizing a Program Services Contract, by and between the State of Missouri, Department of Health and Senior Services, and the City of Joplin, Missouri, for the City of Joplin Health Department to receive compensation, for up to One Hundred Eighty-Two Thousand, Nine Hundred Thirteen Dollars and no Cents, ($182,913.00); and, authorizing the City Manager to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin, Missouri; and, containing an emergency clause.  

Documents:

1. CB2021-451-SUMMARY SHEET.PDF
2. CB2021-451-COUNCIL BILL.PDF
3. CB2021-451-SUPPLEMENTAL ITEM CONTRACT.PDF

3.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2021-605

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the City of Joplin to enter into an agreement with All-American Pride LLC, in the amount of Two Hundred Twenty Thousand 00/100 Dollars ($220,000.00) for construction services and installation of an automated diesel fuel system with Diesel Exhaust Fluid dispenser on behalf of the City of Joplin and authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin; and containing an emergency clause.

Documents:

1. GS 2021-605 SUMMARY SHEET -.PDF
2. BID SUMMARY.PDF
3. JOPLIN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FORM - LOCAL FUNDING - 2021.PDF
4. CB 2021-605BILL.PDF

11.

Ordinances - First Reading

1.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2021-006

    AN ORDINANCE amending Chapter 42 – Courts, Division 1 – Generally, Section 42-35 – Court costs and other fees, by repealing subsection (j).

Documents:

1. SUMMARY AND CB2021-006 RE CHAPTER 42_REPEALING 42-35J SHERIFFS RETIREMENT FUND.PDF

2.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2021-143

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the City of Joplin, Missouri, to enter into an agreement with Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc., a Missouri Corporation, for the purpose of constructing the West 32nd Street widening project from South Schifferdecker Avenue to South Central City Road for the not to exceed price of Eight Million Six Hundred Eighty-Seven Thousand One Hundred Thirty and 29/100 Dollars ($8,687,130.29); and authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin.

Documents:

1. CB2021-143 32ND ST. CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT COUNCIL ORDINANCE - DE.PDF
2. CB2021-143 AWARD RECOMMENDATION LETTER_32ND STREET WIDENING.PDF
3. CB2021-143 32ND ST. AGREEMENT.PDF
4. CB2021-143 32ND ST. WIDENING BID TAB.PDF
5. CB2021-143 32ND ST. CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT SUMMARY SHEET-DE.PDF
6. CB2021-143 32ND ST. WIDENING MAP.PDF

12.

Ordinances - Second Reading And Third Reading

13.

Unfinished Business

14.

New Business

1.

Boards & Commissions-Confirm Appointments.

Sam Graves: Art isn't infrastructure

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

This week, Speaker Pelosi rammed through her $715 billion fake “infrastructure” bill. Throughout the debate, we heard how “transformative” this bill is. I’d agree with that as it completely upends the definition of infrastructure.

It redefines infrastructure to include art, by repealing longstanding bipartisan protections that keep our tax dollars from funding paintings, sculptures, and nonfunctional landscaping. 

I don’t care if communities want to spend their local tax dollars on frescos and chandeliers, but Missourians shouldn’t be footing the bill for artwork in subway stations in New York City. We need those dollars to fix our roads and bridges.

Ironically, Pelosi chose to name her bill the “INVEST in America” Act. That’s rich, given that her bill would send our tax dollars overseas to China where they use slave labor to mine the rare earth minerals needed to meet her Green New Deal mandates. She gutted language that would have kept these dollars from flowing to China and used that money to support high-paying jobs here in America instead.

Perhaps the most concerning part of her bill though is that she didn’t even bother coming up for a way to pay for it. This isn’t just bad policy; it’s going to have real impacts on working Americans. $715 billion in deficit spending right now is only going to further fuel inflation. Right now, we’re seeing the worst inflation since 2008. The last thing working families need is for the cost of everything from gasoline to groceries to go through the roof. We can’t afford it.

The Highway Trust Fund’s roads and bridges account will be another casualty of this deficit spending plan. Current projections suggest the Speaker’s bill would bankrupt that account in just 2 years—TWO YEARS! This is one of the only remaining true trust funds left in the federal government. States and localities have relied on it for more than 60 years to make critical repairs to fix our roads and bridges.

While I’d agree this bill is “transformative” in how it redefines what infrastructure is, I have to strongly disagree with those that describe it as “forward-looking.” This bill is just the opposite. It mortgages our children’s future just to score a few cheap political points.

Instead of selling out American workers to China to meet the goals of the Green New Deal, we should be working on real bipartisan solutions to fix America’s infrastructure. That’s exactly what I proposed in my STARTER Act 2.0 earlier this year and it’s what I’m going to keep fighting for here in Washington.