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July -- man escapes crop duster crash, White Grill marks 70 years
July came to Vernon County wet and bedraggled -- a surfeit of rain had left the county's roads in bad shape, and the townships and county crews with a lot of work to do. Vernon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Ron Sloan said that while the roads themselves are maintained by the individual townships, county crews take care of the bridges and the approaches to them.
The two roads that remained closed in July were 3100 road south of Y Highway and Panama between 2900 road and 3000 road. The roads were so eroded that the tops of culverts were exposed and the roadways were rough and pitted. Crews were out over the weekend and the roads were opened, but work was still needed to get them into final shape.
The Vernon County Office of Emergency Management reported that the county had qualified for FEMA Individual Disaster Assistance for flooding and severe storm damage.
A crop dusting plane crashed in northwestern Vernon County after the engine quit was the pilot was dusting pecan trees. Dennis Grainger was piloting the Air Ag Inc., aircraft above Dodson Road east of 425 Road when his engine failed and he was forced to make a crash landing in a corn field. Grainger walked away from the crash uninjured.
As Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman noted at the time, "It's lucky he's out, walking around."
A Nevada doctor celebrated 30 years of service to the area in July. Dr. Frederick L. Thompson was honored for his long service to the Nevada community and his passion for quality care.
"He's a very valuable asset to Nevada Medical Clinic," Sherry Lakeman, clinic administrator said. "He mentors new physicians that come in and he helps keep the business targeted."
Jan Thompson said she was with her husband when he decided to come to Nevada from Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Thompson was recruited by Dr. Magruder.
"He was doing his residency and family practice training at Cedar Rapids," Jan said. "Dr. Magruder came up and talked him into coming to Nevada and we've been here since then."
Thompson is modest about his work and said he didn't want a big fuss made.
"I just try to do my job every day," Thompson said. "I'm happy that I've been able to do that."
A 27-year-old Nevada man, Matthew E. Leer, was hood surfing, standing on the hood of a car as it drove down the road Saturday, July 5, when he fell to his death. Captain Jimmie Dye of the Nevada Police Department said the practice didn't seem to be popular in the area, this incident was the first he'd heard of.
A Nevada landmark, White Grill, celebrated 70 years of serving their famous hamburgers and Suzie Q's in July. The restaurant is now owned by a family partnership with Diana Wessley managing.
"When our parents passed away we divided it six ways," Wessley said. "There me of course, Megan Wessley, she's my daughter; Taylor Gower, my niece; two nephews, Matthew Sandoval and Zachary Sandoval and my brother Mike Novak."
Wessley said the restaurant goes through 100 pounds of hamburger a week and cook Michael Lile said they use a half a ton of potatoes a week. With that volume they still make some things the old-fashioned way. The hamburger is portioned out and formed into balls that get flattened on the grill while cooking.
"We still make all of our tenderloins ourselves," Wessley said. "We make our Suzies and hashbrowns too."
Wessley said there has been some change in the menu, but not much.
"The only thing I've done differently is adding the barbecue and I also cater," Wessley said.
The Governor's Committee to End Homelessness, Missouri Housing Development Commission, numerous not-for-profit and government agencies, and faith based organizations partnered to conduct a street count of homeless individuals throughout Missouri on Tuesday, July 15, as part of the 2008 Continuum of Care planning process.
The Continuum of Care concept is a community plan to organize and deliver housing services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximize self-sufficiency. The concept is designed to help communities develop the capacity to envision, organize and plan comprehensive and long-term solutions to address the problem of homelessness in the community. These steps aim to end homelessness and prevent individuals from returning to homelessness. The homeless count gives communities a better understanding of the scope of the homelessness problem in their areas.
A contractor was chosen for the shelter house project that has spanned several years. "A repeat of the airport won't happen," Bill Erwin told the Nevada Parks Board Wednesday afternoon, before his firm was chosen to build an enclosed shelter house in Marmaduke Park.
"My concern is that Nevada has a poor reputation for projects being finished," he said.
Erwin said that this is the third time he has bid on the shelter house.
"The way to do this is not to talk about it, but do it," he said.
Main Street Nevada had to scale back its operation but remains a part of Nevada, even though there are some who think the organization has ceased to exist.
Mike Seitz, speaking for Main Street, echoed what one of Missouri's favorite sons once said about his death -- reports of it were greatly exaggerated.
"Main Street is still a viable organization," Seitz said. "We will be scaling back our operations but we will continue with some projects."
"The directors will still maintain the lights around the square," Seitz said. "The Safe Treats parade around the Square is a must, we enjoy it as much as the public does. Since our board is a volunteer group, there's no paid position with Main Street, the members of the board are scaling back."
In July gas prices were at an all-time high and motorists were ready to hit the road for the traditional Fourth of July holiday and the Missouri Department of Transportation had some advice - slow down and wear your seatbelts, it's safer to go slower.
According to the U. S. Department of Energy, aggressive driving such as speeding, rapid acceleration and braking can lower gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town. The agency also estimates that drivers can assume that each 5 mph they drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas.
"The Fourth of July is the pinnacle of the summer travel season and the height of highway construction as well," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. "Traveling not only takes time and money, but can be deadly as well. In fact, the deadliest days of the year in terms of traffic crashes are the 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day."
The 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day are also the busiest time of the year for highway travel. Typically, vehicle traffic during this time increases an average of 3 percent. More vehicles on the roads mean more distractions for drivers and more possibilities for crashes -- all the more reason to slow down and buckle up.
In addition to helping fight the cost of record-high gas prices, slowing down also increases the likelihood of surviving a crash.
As usual, the Vernon County Youth Fair was a highlight of the month as well, featuring hundreds of livestock and non-livestock exhibits from Vernon County's youth.