Missouri

Several Ozarks area first responders and citizens to be honored with Missouri Public Safety medals

Published

8 months ago

September 26, 2023

Several Ozarks area first responders and citizens to be honored with Missouri Public Safety medals

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The State of Missouri will honor 18 first responders and several civilians on Thursday (Sept. 28) in recognition of their heroic acts beyond the call of duty performed during 2022.

The presentation of Missouri Public Safety Medals will be made by Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe at the Missouri State Highway Patrol headquarters in Jefferson City at 1:30 p.m.

Several of the honorees are from the Ozarks.

The Medal of Valor honors public safety officers who exhibit exceptional courage and decisiveness in attempting to save human lives. This year Lawrence County Deputy Sheriff Shane Blankenship is among that group being recognized for the life-saving rescue of a driver trapped inside a burning truck in Lawrence County.

A pair of Branson police officers will also be receiving the Medal of Valor as Sgt. Tanner Muckenthaler and Officer Brendan Gamble also rescued a man trapped in a burning car following a head-on collision.

“Driving down the road, I see two cars that are kind of off the road in a ditch, and I see smoke coming from at least one of the vehicles,” recalled Muckenthaler. “While I was getting one man out of a car Mr. Childress (more on him in a moment) had gotten two occupants out of the vehicle that was on fire. When Officer Gamble arrived on scene, we went to the final passenger in the vehicle that was on fire. We knew we didn’t have much time. He was in the front passenger seat, and you could see flames coming out of the engine compartment and going up on the windshield. So we knew we had to get him out immediately and that we couldn’t wait for anybody else to provide assistance on that one. We don’t do this for recognition or anything like that, but I’m very grateful for the opportunity and grateful that I was at the right place at the right time on that day.”

“There are plenty of officers out there who don’t get recognition for all that they do,” Gamble added. “Unfortunately, stuff like this (rescuing people out of cars) happens all the time. I just wish there would be more recognition for some of the other officers out there who do stuff just like we did.”

A pair of Branson civilians are also being given Public Safety Civilian Partnership Awards for assisting public safety officers.

Shane Childress helped officers during that same wreck. He was one of the first to arrive on scene and helped get occupants out of the cars.

“Mr. Childress also used some fire extinguishers to keep the fire at bay while Officer Gamble and I cut that final individual out of the car because his seatbelt was still attached and not releasing,” Muckenthaler said.

“At one point, he grabbed a rolling chair to help us as we were able to sit one of the occupants on that chair to get him away from the fire,” Gamble added.

Another civilian award will be awarded in Jefferson City to Joseph Sapp, who will be recognized for assisting a Branson police officer who was being assaulted in an apartment complex parking lot.

The Red, White, and Blue Heart Award at the public safety honor event is given to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty or sustained serious injuries.

This year’s honorees include three Joplin officers. Cpl. Benjamin L. Cooper and Officer Jake A. Reed were killed when a suspect they were attempting to take into custody pulled a concealed gun and shot them in March 2022. Officer Rick Hirshey was severely wounded when the fleeing gunman shot him in the face. The officers had responded to a disturbance call involving suspect Anthony Felix, who stole a police car after shooting two of the officers. He was eventually shot and killed by another officer.

Another posthumous Red, White, and Blue Award will be given to Ebenezer firefighter Dustin Brandhorst, who was killed when his tender truck overturned while trying to go around a curve on the way to a fire call in March 2022. His family and several members of the Ebenezer Fire Protection District will be on hand for the ceremony.

“It will rekindle some emotions, I’m sure,” said Assistant Chief Chad Shell, who was also a neighbor to Brandhorst. “You don’t ever really forget and you don’t get over it. You just find ways to live with it and move on. For me, it’s just helping support his family. Dustin was a good friend of mine and this is a huge honor because it helps you understand just how much people care.”

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

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Missouri

Missouri State Highway Patrol shares safety tips for National Safe Boating Week

Published

3 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Missouri State Highway Patrol shares safety tips for National Safe Boating Week

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – It’s National Safe Boating Week, and it’s important to make sure your boat is functional, and you’re aware of safety tips before you hit the water for the summer.

With the holiday weekend quickly approaching, many will want to take their boat out on the lake. Still, it’s important to check and make sure you have everything on board you need, starting with life jackets.

“You want to check your life jackets to make sure that they’re still operable, they’re still in good condition, they’ve not decayed over the year, and it’s a good time to get those replaced with new ones. Also, make sure that the sizes of the life jackets that you have are also adequate for the persons that you’re going to have on the boat,” said Sergeant Michael McClure with Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D.

Fire extinguishers are another important thing to check. You want to make sure those are up-to-date and functional.

“You’ve had a lot of time for during the fall and winter for dirt dobbers and other insects to build nests inside the nozzle of fire extinguishers. So, just double-check those out. While you’re checking for proper charging and the date of expiration on your fire extinguishers, if you have a boat that’s gas-operated,” said Sgt. McClure.

You also want to make sure your boat is in operable condition before taking it out for the holiday.

“Make sure that everything from the hole doesn’t leak, bringing water in causing maybe swamping or submerging, to making sure that the motor is operable, and the equipment that’s inside the engine compartment itself, because it is a motor vehicle engine adapted for marine use. So there’s some things in there that need to be looked at before you take it out on the water,” said Sgt. McClure.

If you want your boat inspected by a highway patrolman, Sgt. McClure says you can wave one down at the lake. They’ll do a courtesy inspection for you.

Aside from being safe before hitting the water, you also want to be safe on the lake. Lakes and waterways are bound to be busy with the warm weather, so show common courtesy and go slow and pay attention.

“Just be patient, take your time. Always be on the lookout when you’re approaching docked areas or marinas that may or may not have buoys out there that tell you how far that you are from that. Just watch your wake. In other words, slow down, as slow as possible and still having forward momentum on the boat, you’re not going to leave a damaging wake, particularly those that have larger ski boats or larger boats in general can leave a wake that can damage structure and it can also toss people off,” said Sgt. McClure.

If you’re towing someone or something behind your boat, like a tube or water skis, make sure you have a flag on board to let people know when someone’s fallen off. If you’re boating, make sure you’re watching for people in the water.

“Just be cognizant of that possibility that somebody has fallen from an inner tube or other waterborne device and you’re looking out for that. So keeping your head on a swivel is always a good thing, and looking for those flags, even though a flag may not be in place, be looking for those persons outside the vessel,” said Sgt. McClure.

Remember, operate sober as well. Always have a plan and a sober driver in place.

“We may minimize the effects of drinking and driving a vessel compared to driving a vehicle but it’s it’s just as dangerous, if not more so, because there’s no lanes of traffic on the waterway. So it’s just important to include safety in your plans for the weekend. And designate that sober operator before we ever get on the water,” said Sgt. McClure.

If you run into any issues on the water, you can dial *55 to get to the Highway Patrol non-emergency line and ask for help.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

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Missouri

Missouri Softball Knocks Off Washington, Gets Rematch With Omaha

Published

10 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Missouri Softball Knocks Off Washington, Gets Rematch With Omaha

The last time Missouri and Washington softball met in the postseason (2013), the Huskies ended the Tigers’ season in Super Regionals.

11 years later, it was Missouri doing the season ending, as MU emerged victorious 4-1, ending Washington’s season and moving on to the regional final, where they’ll have to beat Omaha twice to go to Super Regionals.

Offensively, the Tigers were powered by three players: Abby Hay, Maddie Gallagher and Jenna Laird.

Hay continued her hot hitting, as she sparked Missouri in the bottom of the second with a solo home run that barely cleared the wall in center field. She also registered an RBI single to pad Missouri’s lead in the fifth inning.

Gallagher preceded Hay’s contributions in the fifth inning with an RBI single of her own; although she got jammed on an inside pitch, she hit it straight up the middle where no Husky could get to it.

However, the most unexpected run of the evening came from Laird in the bottom of the third. Facing a 2-2 count, Laird took a pitch right over the plate way over the wall in right field. It was her first home run in 750 days (Apr. 29, 2022) and electrified the home crowd who also seemed aware of Laird’s streak.

Krings was also masterful on the mound once again. Making her second start of the day, she allowed just one earned run in four and two-thirds innings pitched with four strikeouts. Along with the changeup, Krings was working her riseball the entire evening. Marissa McCann relieved her and performed exceptionally as well, throwing two and one-thirds innings of shutout ball while picking up her third save of the year.

Similarly to Missouri’s previous game against Indiana, the top of the lineup did the bulk of the work on offense, as Laird, Honnold, Gallagher and Hay accounted for six of MU’s seven hits.

Now, the Tigers will have to avenge their opening game loss to Omaha on Sunday if they want to make Super Regionals…twice. If they accomplish that, it’ll be their first Super Regional appearance since 2021, when they fell to James Madison.

On the other side, the Mavericks will look to become the second four-seed in a region since 2005 (when the modern tournament format was first used) to make Supers. The only other one was DePaul in 2005.

First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CST.

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Missouri

Missouri softball live score updates vs. Indiana in NCAA Columbia Regional

Published

17 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Missouri softball live score updates vs. Indiana in NCAA Columbia Regional

The rest of Missouri softball’s regional games have a simple picture: Win or hang up the bats for the season.

Missouri, which is the No. 7 national seed and host of the NCAA Columbia Regional, will face Indiana in an elimination game Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Softball Stadium. The Tigers lost against Omaha in their opener, and now must win four straight games to make a super regional.

More: Missouri softball stunned by Omaha in NCAA Columbia Regional opener

Regional 2-seed Washington and No. 4-seed Omaha were facing off in the winner’s bracket for a direct berth in Sunday’s championship. Missouri, in order to extend its season by another day, must eliminate Indiana and then defeat the loser of the Huskies-Washington matchup later Saturday.

Missouri, coached by Larissa Anderson since 2019, reached the championship in the 2024 SEC Softball Tournament, knocking off Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU before falling to Florida in the title game. The Tigers, who are 43-16 this season, have more wins than in any other season under Anderson.

Mizzou last advanced to an NCAA Super Regional in 2021, when the Tigers fell to James Madison. MU has fallen in the regional round every other season in Anderson’s tenure.

Mizzou’s bats went cold in a 3-1, extra-inning loss to Omaha on Friday evening, which means the Tigers are now on the brink of another season ending at the regional stage.

The NCAA Columbia Regional started Friday and will run through Sunday, when the championship will be played. You can find live score updates from Missouri’s elimination game against the Hoosiers here:

More: Missouri softball coach explains what went wrong in shocking loss to Omaha in NCAA Regional