Featured Articles from KY3

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- One of the halfway stops on the Mother Road re-opened on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting and nostalgia.  Spared from foreclosure and demolition, the Boots Motel is back in business. Four million cars were rolling off Detroit's assembly lines by the end of World War II.  Americans were free and ready to travel.  Thousands rolled through the Ozarks on their way to or from the Grand Canyon or southern California's sunny beaches. Waiting to accommodate them were tourist courts and motels with more than 400,000 units.  Here, the place to stay was The Boots.

STONE COUNTY, -- He wanted to be a marine, but his life was cut short. Reeds Spring is mourning the loss of a well-known high school student. Mason Weitzel was a junior and a student athlete. He was driving home from a birthday party Tuesday night, but he never made it. Weitzel crashed into trees on highway DD, south of Branson West. Troopers say his 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo hit two trees then burst into flames. "He was fun to be around.  He always made people happy," said friend, Nathan Huston.

SPRINGFIELD -- Dentists say some people in the Springfield area have no way to pay for much-needed dental work. Saturday three local dentists donated their time and tools helping folks from the Ozarks have a healthier smile.  Roughly 150 people showed on on East Independence for Free Dentistry Day. From cleanings to fillings to extractions, adults 19 and older didn't have to pay a dime to improve their oral health. "It's something that some people put on the back burner," Brady Long with Distinctive Dental Care said.  "We were alleviate some peoples concerns today, it was pretty exciting.

MILLER, Mo. -- It's a trip too bountiful for customers at Brown's Berry Farm near Miller. "It's a nice problem to have," said co-owner David Brown, who traded railroading for berry farming. The owners say it looks like the best crop for all varieties for all of their 16 years in business.  Strawberry plants are yielding up to two pounds per plant.  No waiting for berries to ripen between constant pickings led the Brown family to notify regular customers sooner this season to come pick ripe berries.  Blackberries, raspberries and blueberries likely will ripen two weeks earlier than during a normal season.

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- A woman from rural Polk County is in jail after deputies say she cut the throat of her 4-year-old son early Tuesday.   A detective says Doinita Mitaru, 44, told him she intended to kill all nine of her children with the same knife. Mitaru is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.  As of Tuesday night, the boy was in critical condition at a hospital in Springfield. The probable cause statement used as the basis of the charges says emergency responders were called to the family's home at 5068 Highway U, north of Morrisville, sometime before 5 a.m.   Deputies arrested Mitaru at the scene.   Detective Billy Simpson interviewed her later at the sheriff's department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Many employers will tell you the key to their success is the people whom they hire.  They believe keeping and rewarding good employees will keep business booming.  A national retailer with stores in Springfield is doing just that.  For the fourth year in a row, Hobby Lobby is boosting wages for all hourly employees. From flowers to fabric to scrapbooking fun; for Toni Lutz, Hobby Lobby is the perfect work environment. "I love my job.  Oh my gosh, yes.  I love it.  I love the customers; I love my fellow employees," said Toni Lutz.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Greene County sheriff's deputies arrested five people on Saturday night as part of their Cinco de Mayo drunken driving crackdown, according to a news release from the sheriff's department. Deputies also issued seven citations for driving while license revoked, five tickets for driving without insurance, two citations for failure to obey a traffic control device, one for failing to register a vehicle and one for possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana. The release did not give names or ages of those arrested.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Rock artists REO Speedwagon, Styx and Ted Nugent will perform in Springfield May 15, according to a press release. The concert will take place at the O'Reilly Family Event Center on the Drury University campus. Tickets to the concert -- which will feature all three bands on the same stage at the same event -- go on sale April 6 at 10 a.m. at the O'Reilly Family Event Center box office. Ticket prices start at $44 apiece. Tickets will also be available online at www.drurytickets.com or by calling (417)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The practice of midwifery became legal in Missouri in 2007, but it requires someone with formal training to be a Certified Professional Midwife.  One C.P.M. is opening up a birth clinic here. Mary Ueland opened the center near Glenstone Avenue at Sunshine Street.  It's a five-minute drive to a hospital if there are complications.  That's why Ueland picked the location. The clinic does not have an official name yet.  Ueland says the demand is great for this practice and she's already turning people away.  The asking price is about $3,000.  That covers prenatal care.

BOONE COUNTY, Ark. - A fugitive from Texas is in the Boone County, Arkansas jail. Kip Lamb was arrested at a home on Rally Hill Road near Everton Tuesday morning.  When deputies arrived, Lamb walked out of the house but was put in handcuffs without incident.  Lamb was indicted by a federal grand jury for stealing more than $200,000 that was in a trust for a client. He's waiting extradition back to Texas.

NIXA, Mo. -- A man from Clever was finally arrested on Tuesday afternoon after he managed to get away from law enforcement officers in Christian County twice in 30 hours.  After searching more than 10 hours on Tuesday, officers found Joseph Fillyaw, 40, near Skyline View Lane at Nelson Mill Road, about a mile from where he ran earlier in the morning. Police say Fillyaw was arrested not long after he tried to break into an occupied home where the residents told him to go away.  He was carrying a bag with cigarettes, oranges and eggs that he took from a nearby chicken coop.  Officers took him into custody without incident.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Here's a rare opportunity to get rid of junk tires free of charge.  Springfield residents will be allowed to dispose of unwanted tires this Saturday at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.  A grant from the Department of Natural Resources will reimburse the Community Partnership of the Ozarks for the cost of collecting the tires and disposing of them. More than 28,000 tires have been disposed of in previous events in the city.  This tire toss is for Springfield residents only.  Proof of city residency may be required for drop-off.  The free tire drop-off is this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.