Branson West

BRANSON WEST, Mo -- Another Ozarks community could soon go pseudoephedrine free, at least over the counter, if the Branson West police chief gets his way.   To help combat meth production,  he is introducing an ordinance to require prescriptions for most cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Chief Steve Dalton says, because other communities have passed similar measures, criminals are now coming to his city to buy the drugs. The ordinance would allow some cold medicines over the counter -- like Zephrex-D.  It is a tamper-resistant type of cold medicine.

BRANSON WEST, Mo. -- A house near Branson West is a total loss after a a fire gutted it early Thursday. The fire was reported around 2:30 a.m.  When crews arrived at the two-story house in the 1400 block of Talking Rocks Road, they found flames coming through the roof. At one point Talking Rocks Road was closed so crews could fight the fire.  Thirty firefighters fought the fire from a defensive stance to prevent nearby homes from catching fire.  Tankers shuttled water to the scene from the nearest hydrant one mile away, firefighters said.

Quite a surprise for a man in Branson West.  Jeff Brown, an engineer at Applied Digital, Inc., had been working at his desk all morning long.  He left office for about 10 minutes and when he returned, he saw a 5-foot-long black snake curled around the base of his chair. He told us he thought it was a joke, that his co-workers were pranking him so he bent over & touched the tail and it moved, "And I thought, no, it's not fake!" he said. He grabbed a camera, snapped this photo & texted it to his wife, then picked up the snake and let it go outside.  His wife contacted KY3 & emailed us the pic. He said it didn't scare him all that much but he is glad he wasn't sitting there when it slithered up.  "If it had touched my leg, then  I would have freaked out!"

BRANSON WEST, Mo. -- A crash south killed a teenager from Branson West.  Troopers say Mason Weitzel ran off Highway DD nearly five miles south of Branson West just before 10:30 Tuesday night.  His 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo hit two trees and then burst into flames, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Weitzel, 17, died at the scene.  He played football and baseball at Reeds Spring High School.  He also worked in the Food Department of Silver Dollar City for two seasons.  Reeds Spring High School officials had grief counselors on hand for students on Wednesday.

BRANSON WEST, Mo. -- It was touted as one of the Branson area's biggest housing developments in years.  Indian Ridge Resort broke ground in 2006, but construction stopped years ago and now the vacant property is going on the auction block. Nestled in the rolling mountains of Stone County, above Table Rock Lake, 13 condos in various stages of completion were to be dream homes.      The construction loan for one lot -- or half of one condo -- was $440,000, according to court documents, which also indicate more than 20 people had already bought a home, but they never got the chance to move in. Now, a little more than 25 acres with all the structures will be put up for auction with an opening bid of $550,000.

BRANSON WEST, Mo. - The road connecting two Taney County towns is officially open for business. Construction on Missouri Route 13 between Branson West and Kimberling City is finished. Crews spent the past month widening the oft-traveled highway to four lanes. An official ribbon cutting is scheduled for late morning Friday.

GALENA, Mo. -- A man from Hollister who is charged with statutory sodomy pleaded not guilty in Stone County court.   Investigators say Kyle Larue, 53, posed as a teenager while chatting with the victim on a social media site.  They say Larue then met the 15-year-old boy at the Walmart bathroom in Branson West, where the assault happened.    Larue's next court appearance is set for Feb. 21.

GALENA, Mo. -- A 53-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the bathroom of the Walmart store in Branson West.  Kyle Larue, who has addresses in Hollister and Fort Smith, Ark., is charged second-degree statutory sodomy. Investigators say they learned about the crime shortly after it happened on Jan. 8.  They used store surveillance photos of the boy's attacker and his vehicle, plus a trace on his cell phone, to locate Larue in Hollister.  They arrested Larue and then got a search warrant for his home.  They say they found the clothes worn by the teenager's attacker inside the home.

BRANSON WEST, Mo. --  Leona Baughman has been running her deli between Branson West and Kimberling City for six years.  She picked this location because it's right along Missouri 13.  "It increased my business a lot moving over here," said Baughman, owner of Leona's  Deli. Things are about to change, however, and not for the better, said Baughman. "I worked my butt off for it and so, when we first heard about the bypass, it kind of stung a little bit. " Baughman is referring to a mile long section of Missouri 13 that's being relocated and scheduled to be completed by this December.  Heavy traffic prompted the Missouri Department of Transportation to make the highway improvements.  The old section will become Business 13.  Baughman is not the only one concerned about losing customers.  At dozens of businesses in the area, owners and employees are worried their shops also will suffer.

BRANSON WEST, Mo -- A new bill passed by Congress is snuffing out the roll-your-own smoking business.  Hundreds of small businesses across the country are closing up shop because of a law that is meant to create jobs. "We opened up on Nov. 1 with something that nobody had ever saw first," said Liberty Smoke Shop owner Johnny Hagerty. Hagerty started a roll-your-own cigarette business in 2011. "I opened up another store over in Hollister," he said. By the spring of 2012, he owned three stores: Liberty Smoke Shop in Branson West, Freedom Smoke Shop in Hollister, and Independence Smoke Shop in Lampe.

GALENA, Mo. -- A man from Powersite is charged with shooting another man in Branson West on Sunday evening.  Carmen Ramos-Herrera, 42, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader says his deputies and officers from Branson West responded to a fight at 128 Fritts Way on Sunday at 7 p.m. and found Cornelio Rodriguez had a gunshot to his right foot.  He was treated at a hospital in Springfield. Rader said Ramos-Herrera fled from the scene.  Nearly two hours later, Greene County sheriff's deputies arrested him on Interstate 44 after they pulled over his pickup.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A man is being questioned for a shooting in Branson West. The man, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody after a traffic stop on I-44 west of Springfield last night. The shooting happened at a duplex on Fritts way in Branson West. It happened a couple of hours before the man was pulled over. The Stone County Sheriff says the victim of the shooting has non-life threatening injuries.

BRANSON WEST, Mo -- Another Ozarks community could soon go pseudoephedrine free, at least over the counter, if the Branson West police chief gets his way.   To help combat meth production,  he is introducing an ordinance to require prescriptions for most cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Chief Steve Dalton says, because other communities have passed similar measures, criminals are now coming to his city to buy the drugs. The ordinance would allow some cold medicines over the counter -- like Zephrex-D.  It is a tamper-resistant type of cold medicine.

BRANSON, Mo. - City leaders are excited about Mercy's major expansion plans for the Branson area- including a new “super-clinic” "It really is the continued growth and health care needs with the baby boomers aging and needing  health care more and more," stated John Swope, president and CEO of Mercy Springfield. Not quite a full-scale hospital, the new 62,000 square foot facility will go up where the old Branson Inn now stands.  It'll have doctor's offices, urgent care, surgery center- and pharmacy "It is smarter for us to take our services to the patient than expect everyone to drive to Springfield," explained Swope.

BRANSON WEST, Mo. -- A house near Branson West is a total loss after a a fire gutted it early Thursday. The fire was reported around 2:30 a.m.  When crews arrived at the two-story house in the 1400 block of Talking Rocks Road, they found flames coming through the roof. At one point Talking Rocks Road was closed so crews could fight the fire.  Thirty firefighters fought the fire from a defensive stance to prevent nearby homes from catching fire.  Tankers shuttled water to the scene from the nearest hydrant one mile away, firefighters said.

GALENA, Mo. -- The owner of Predator World, a former business in Branson West, is charged with repeatedly abusing two teenagers.   In a case filed by the Stone County prosecuting attorney on Wednesday, Breck Wakefield is accused of regularly having sexual encounters with two boys who worked or volunteered at Predator World from 2001 through 2008.  The former employees are now 20 and 27 years old.  The probable cause statement used as the basis...

BRANSON WEST, Mo. - The road connecting two Taney County towns is officially open for business. Construction on Missouri Route 13 between Branson West and Kimberling City is finished. Crews spent the past month widening the oft-traveled highway to four lanes. An official ribbon cutting is scheduled for late morning Friday.

KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. -- Southern Stone County's firefighters really do give a hoot about their jobs.   A gray barred owl was spotted in the middle of Missouri 13 on Tuesday morning near Kimberling City.  It was dazed and disoriented.  The bird wasn't injured, so Fire Marshal Mike Creswell took it to the edge of some woods.   The owl released its grip on his gloved hand and gracefully flew into the trees.  "It was one of those moments...

BRANSON, Mo. - Skaggs Hospital in Branson is marking a medical milestone as its Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab program celebrated its 25th birthday this past weekend. It began in November 1987 and had 7 patients in its first month, and since then it's helped more than 8,500 people. The program helps people who have had a heart attack or heart surgery or been diagnosed with a major pulmonary illness. In 1998 it opened a branch in Branson West which has helped more than 1,200 patients alone.

BRANSON WEST, Mo. --  Leona Baughman has been running her deli between Branson West and Kimberling City for six years.  She picked this location because it's right along Missouri 13.  "It increased my business a lot moving over here," said Baughman, owner of Leona's  Deli. Things are about to change, however, and not for the better, said Baughman. "I worked my butt off for it and so, when we first heard about the bypass, it kind of stung a little bit. " Baughman is referring to a mile long section of Missouri 13 that's being relocated and scheduled to be completed by this December.  Heavy traffic prompted the Missouri Department of Transportation to make the highway improvements.  The old section will become Business 13.  Baughman is not the only one concerned about losing customers.  At dozens of businesses in the area, owners and employees are worried their shops also will suffer.