Boone County News Release


Press Archives Press Room

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Boone County Commission Administrative Coordinator
Phone: (573) 886-4312


Boone County Week In Review

June 17, 2011

For the week ending June 17, 2011

Things you may have missed...

Taney County commissioners visit Boone County

Taney County Commissioners Ron Houseman and Jim Strafuss

Taney County Presiding Commissioner Ron Houseman (right) and Western District Commissioner Jim Strafuss visited the Boone County Commission on Tuesday, June 14. The commissioners are touring a number of Missouri counties to learn how other county governments in the state conduct business.

Lamar Henderson, Public Information

Scam artists target Boone County

Recently, several citizens have contacted the Boone County Sheriff's Department to report suspicious telephone calls reporting they had won prizes or requesting personal financial information such as bank account or Social Security numbers.

These telephone calls are most likely the work of scam artists attempting to dupe citizens out of money or perpetrate identity theft. The Sheriff's Department reminds citizens to NEVER disclose personal or financial information to an unsolicited telephone caller. NEVER provide a credit card or debit card number to an unsolicited caller stating in order to collect a large prize you must first pay a "processing fee."

Con artists also use phony charitable organizations to get people to donate money and provide personal information. Other telephone scams include offers of low interest loans, debt consolidation, travel rip-offs and medical discounts.

An excellent source of information regarding telephone scams is the Federal Trade Commission's website at http://www.ftc.gov/phonefraud.

Tom O'Sullivan, Sheriff's Department

Road repair scheduled for Bethany Drive

Weather permitting, panel replacement and street repairs will be conducted along Bethany Drive in Columbia east of Scott Boulevard to the dead end from Wednesday, June 22 through Wednesday, July 6. Please do not park on the street between the hours of 7 a.m and 6 p.m. weekdays during this period. Traffic control devices and barricades will mark partial lane closures during the course of this repair.

Please use caution in all work zones, and allow extra travel time or find an alternate route during this project.

Kelle Westcott, Resource Management

Columbia/Boone County Office of Emergency Management prepared for potential flooding

As information continues to come in regarding flooding upstream from Boone County, the Columbia/Boone County Office of Emergency Management, along with all the emergency service organizations and local governments within the county, continue to monitor the hydrologic river levels and forecasts and meet on a regular basis.

The record release of water upstream may eventually cause an impact here in Boone County along the Missouri River. At this point, there has been an inventory of supplies from across the county and some supplies have been pre-positioned along the river. With a projected crest of 27-33 feet measured at the Booneville site, that 6 feet difference is huge. At 27 feet, there would be open farmland affected and some minor roadway impacts. However, the 33 feet mark would have a significant impact on the populated communities along the river and potentially affect some major roadways.

The Columbia/Boone County Office of Emergency Management encourages our citizens to monitor the situation closely and be prepared in the event the potential flood waters threaten your area. This could include evacuations. Remember that being prepared is the best step in dealing with an emergency. You can find preparation tips at http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/floods.html.

The community can continue to stay updated on road closures throughout the county through the http://showmeboone.com/OEM/closures. In addition, information regarding river levels and forecasts can be found on the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http://water.weather.gov.

Gale Blomenkamp, Boone County Fire Protection District

Week in preview

Robb competes in annual Soap Box Derby

This Sunday, June 19, the annual Soap Box Derby will be held at 11 a.m. on the corner of Seventh St. and Broadway in Columbia. Come and watch the spectacle of Boone County Presiding Commissioner Ed Robb and Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid racing down Broadway for the Soap Box Derby Trophy! Let's all cheer for the County Commissioner to bring home the Trophy from the Mayor!

Monica Kuster, County Commission

Job opportunities

Boone County Human Resources is currently accepting applications for: Office Specialist - Civil Process; Office Specialist - Warrants Division; Corrections Officer; and Deputy Sheriff - Roster Eligibility Only. For more details about these positions, or to apply, please visit http://www.showmeboone.com/hr.

Kara Coustry, Human Resources

In the news

Boone County has sandbags ready for Missouri River flooding

An estimated 52,000 sandbags are at the ready, and pumps were positioned in towns along the Missouri River in Boone County to counter the flooding anticipated with record releases from upstream reservoirs. | Columbia Missourian

Big dreams drive soap box derby racers

Rick McKernan swelled with pride as he pointed out a familiar face in three pictures from the early 1990s — the face of a young Carl Edwards after racing in the Mid-Missouri Soap Box Derby. “We taught him everything he knows,” joked McKernan, the derby organizer. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Boone County prepared for Missouri River floods

Emergency officials throughout Boone County said they're prepared for potential flooding. Emergency service organizations and local governments within the county continue to monitor Missouri River levels on a daily basis. | KRCG-TV

Sales tax on Boone County Fairgrounds passed

A half-cent sales tax on retail sold on the Boone County Fairgrounds was approved by the Boone County Commission Tuesday morning. The tax is a regional recreation district tax that will be imposed on the fairgrounds on all retail sales year-round. It will go into effect in October, said Karen Miller, Boone County District I Commissioner. | Columbia Missourian

Stormwater collaboration

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Columbia, Boone County and the University of Missouri to reduce the volume of runoff water into Hinkson Creek by 39 percent. The state Department of Natural Resources is charged with enforcing the rule. Earlier this month Joe Engeln of DNR told the Boone County Commission the parties could use an “adaptive management” process giving credit for progress shown toward reaching the goal. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Mid-Missouri's urban deer hunting zone will shrink

Residents of central and northern Boone County may be seeing more deer this fall, according to authorities at the Missouri Department of Conservation. | Columbia Missourian

Columbia riders of all ages take part in rodeo fundraiser

The barrel racing competition was held as a fundraiser to open the Missouri High School Rodeo State Finals, which begin on Thursday. Wednesday's competition was not limited to those competing in the high school rodeo. The fundraiser, which normally raises money for end of the year awards, raised money for victims of the Joplin tornado. Riders young and old competed with more than 100 different horses entered in the competition. | Columbia Missourian

County seeks new lead public defender

The Missouri State Public Defender's Office hopes to fill the open district leader position at the Boone County Public Defender's Office by July 1. | Columbia Daily Tribune

MFA granted approval for biomass crop plans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will subsidize farmers who partner with a subsidiary of Columbia-based MFA Oil to grow a perennial grass for use as a biofuel. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Fire board praises Task Force 1 after tornado

Missouri Task Force 1's recent deployment to Joplin just hours after an EF5 tornado obliterated thousands of homes and killed more than a 150 people cost the Boone County Fire Protection District less than $10,000. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Hallsville Heritage Days offer free fun

Thousands of people are visiting the Northern Boone County City of Hallsville for some family fun. The 16th Annual Hallsville Heritage Days are taking place at The Hallsville Fairgrounds. | KRCG-TV

PHOTO GALLERY: The Missouri High School Rodeo State Finals

High school wranglers from across the state have converged on Columbia for the Missouri High School Rodeo State Finals, which began Thursday at the Boone County Fairgrounds. | Columbia Missourian

Despite record Missouri River releases, initial flood impact in Boonville minimal

Peak releases from Gavins Point Dam should arrive at Boonville in the middle of next week, but forecasters do not expect that water to cause major flooding as soon as it arrives. | Columbia Missourian

Have an item for Week in Review?

Do you have something coming up that you want to share? Send it in! Let us know what's coming up in your week that your colleagues may be interested in, or what happened in the previous week that everyone should know. Contact Lamar Henderson, Boone County Public Information Officer, at 886-4312 or lhenderson@boonecountymo.org; the deadline for next week's Week in Review is 5 p.m., Thursday, June 23.



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