KIRX News

A Brookfield man is recovering after he struck a deer with his motorcycle. The accident happened early Sunday, one mile north of Laclede on Highway 5. Forty-year-old Steven Gillespie was going southbound on the highway when his motorcycle hit a deer in the road. The bike overturned and Gillespie was ejected. He was taken to Pershing Memorial Hospital in Broofield with moderate injuries. Gillespie was wearing safety equipment at the time of the crash. His bike was extensively damaged.

Before the close of the 2019 session, Missouri lawmakers approved a measure that could authorize more than $300 million of bonds to repair hundreds of bridges. Governor Parson praised the move saying the infrastructure plan will allow Missouri to fix 250 bridges identified by local entities as most in need of critical repair or replacement. Transportation Department Director Patrick McKenna called the measure “a significant investment package in Missouri’s future.” He added that the plan is an innovative solution to help address the backlog of unfunded transportation needs in Missouri.

A crash in Brashear on Saturday afternoon left one person injured. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a 2001 Jeep Cherokee driven by 59-year-old Paul M. Lewis, of Hurdland, was traveling west on Missouri Route 6 at South Olive Street in Brashear. Lewis failed to yield to an eastbout 2007 Chrysler Town and Country driven by 48-year-old Angela D. Strange, of Edina, that was making a left turn. The patrol said the two vehicles collided head-on. Strange suffered minor injuries and was taken by Adair County Ambulance to Northeast Region Hospital with minor injuries. She was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The patrol was assisted by the Adair County Sheriff’s Department and Adair County First Responders.

A crash in Brashear on Saturday afternoon left one person injured. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a 2001 Jeep Cherokee driven by 59-year-old Paul M. Lewis, of Hurdland, was traveling west on Missouri Route 6 at South Olive Street in Brashear. Lewis failed to yield to an eastbound 2007 Chrysler Town and Country driven by 48-year-old Angela D. Strange, of Edina, that was making a left turn. The patrol said the two vehicles collided head-on. Strange suffered minor injuries and was taken by Adair County Ambulance to Northeast Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. The patrol was assisted by the Adair County Sheriff’s Office and Adair County First Responders.

The man from Kansas City who led police in a high speed pursuit in Northeast Missouri earlier this month waived his arraignment in Linn County court. Brookfield police say on May 8th, 39-year-old Khamis D. Pitiya
was going speeds in excess of 100mph. The driver avoided several spike strips, but his vehicle was disabled inside the Macon city limits. Pitiya has been charged with eight counts of felony resisting arrest or detention and two felony counts of armed criminal action. He was wanted on three felony warrants out of Platte County. A setting or disposition hearing in the case is set for June 6th.

The contractor for the City of Kirksville, W.L. Miller, is expected to begin asphalt street surface repairs tooday. These repairs include mill and overlay with new asphalt. Construction is expected to last approximately one to two weeks, dependent upon weather. This is the first phase of asphalt street repair. The following streets will be repaired during this phase: North Osteopathy Street (from West Elizabeth to West Scott Streets) · Potter Avenue (from North Walnut to North Baltimore Streets) · Industrial Road (from Potter Avenue to Oxford Drive) Traffic control will be in effect and the traffic may be reduced to one lane, or possibly closed at times. Parking will not be allowed in the construction zone. During this time, we ask motorists to please consider an alternate route, if possible. The traveling public is strongly encouraged to use caution and drive slowly through work areas. The City apologizes for any inconvenience, but looks forward to improving our City streets! For more information, please contact Engineering at 660.627.1272.

It’s graduation weekend for Kirksville High School seniors. This group was awarded over 5-hundred-thousand dollars in scholarships during the recent senior awards reception at Truman State University. There were 101 seniors who received some type of honor or scholarship. There are 166 members of the 2019 graduating class. Their graduation ceremony takes place at 2PM on Sunday, at Truman State University’s Pershing Arena.

It graduation weekend for ATSU. The graduation ceremony for students at A.T. Still University’s Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health begins at 10 this morning in Baldwin Hall at Truman State University. The graduation ceremony for students at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine will begin at 10 a.m. tomrrow in Baldwin Hall at Truman State University.

The 36th annual Jim Baker-John McConnell “Bass-N-Kids” fishing tournament and clinic is tomorrow at at Thousand Hills State Park. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and is free and open to children up to the age of 15. A fishing clinic will be hosted by Mike Anderson of the Missouri Department of Conservation. All participants in the fishing tournament will be eligible for door prizes.

A judge has denied the state’s motion to revoke the probation of the former Knox County Sheriff. In December 2018, Robert Becker pleaded guilty to charges of Domestic Assault and Sexual Abuse. As part of the plea agreement with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, Becker avoided jail time and was instead placed on two years of probation. In February, it was reported that Becker was facing charges of a class A misdemeanor of the pursuit of wildlife illegally and a class B misdemeanor of unlawful use of a weapon. Following these charges, the state filed the motion to revoke probation. Yesterday, the judge in the case found that Becker did not violate the terms of his probation. The charges against Becker for the illegal pursuit of wildlife and the unlawful use of a weapon are still pending.