Christian County

CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Mo--   It's a massive overhaul for Christian County, but it doesn't come without some kinks. Responders made the switch to use digital radios about a month ago.  Digital radios help responders communicate in rural areas and the sound is clear. Now they are switching back to analog. "The reason we turned it off is we were running into several problems," said Director of Christian County 911, Rance Duffy. The system has a lot of kinks and would often go silent.  "Because of that inconsistency, we could lose a link to one site and in some cases the all the sites.  Which in turn brought down the digital radio system," said Duffy.

OZARK, Mo. -- Crime Stoppers says officers found fugitive Rebbeca Fernald, who was wanted in Christian County on charges of first-degree child endangerment, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, and traffic violations, as well as in Greene County on a forgery charge.  Her arrest on May 13 was not related to a Crime Stoppers tip. People with information about any felony can call Crime Stoppers at (417) 869-TIPS (8477).  You may also submit your information securely on-line at www.tipsubmit.com or text “417SPD plus your message” to 274637 (CRIMES)

OZARK, Mo. -- After interviewing seven people, the Ozark mayor and aldermen hired Sharon Mickey to be the new city clerk.   Mickey is the Strafford city clerk but lives in Christian County.  She has more than 14 years of experience as a city clerk. A city news release says aldermen and the mayor interviewed five external candidates and two internal candidates before deciding to hire Mickey.  She plans to start working for Ozark in early May. City leaders suspended 19-year City Clerk Lana Wilson on Feb. 25 and fired her in early March.  They were displeased because of two mistakes involving city elections in April.  In the first, Wilson didn't put an alderman's unexpired term on the ballot.  In the second, a proposed election for a Transportation Sales Tax got left off the ballot.

HIGHLANDVILLE, Mo. -- A man who led law enforcement officers on a chase up U.S. 65 from an area north of Branson is on the run.  The chase followed a call to police about an assault on Bee Creek Road in Branson at 1 a.m. Thursday. Taney County Sheriff Jimmie Russell and Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle says officers are looking for Johnny Bryan Jr., 36, of Hollister, after a series of crimes that began with him trying to run over a deputy and strike a patrol car. Deputies pursued Bryan, who fled in a vehicle up U.S. 65 and several county roads toward Highlandville.  Bryan ditched his vehicle in Christian County on Shire Court, roughly six miles southeast of Highlandville.

OZARK, Mo. -- A chase in Christian County reached speeds of up to 90 miles per hour on Tuesday morning.  The driver was arrested north of Ozark. Nixa police were called to a home where a woman reported a man had shown up there in violation of a judge's protection order.  The man left before officers arrived.  Police say they spotted him a short time later and tried to pull him over.  That's when the chase began. The chase went east toward Ozark, then north on Fremont Road.

NIXA, Mo. -- The Christian County sheriff says a standoff that followed a domestic dispute ended peacefully just north of Nixa shortly after 10 a.m.  Officers arrested a man who barricaded himself inside a home. Police cordoned off the Empire Bank and English Village Park mobile home complex to the west of U.S. 160 with crime scene tape after a man barricaded himself in the home.  The city deployed its tactical response team.  A nearby childcare center was evacuated as a precaution.

NIXA, Mo. -- Some Nixa residents woke up without electricity early Wednesday morning.  Christian County dispatchers and the City of Nixa's answering service confirmed power was out to parts of the city.  About 500 customers were without power.   It was restored to all customers within a couple of hours.   A city spokesman says the outage was the result of an underground powerline shorting out.

SPARTA, Mo.-- Investigators are searching for the cause of an overnight fire in Christian County. Crews were called to the house on Misty Lane in Sparta just before 1:30a.m. Saturday morning. The family inside was able to make it out safely. The Red Cross has been called in to help the family find somewhere else to stay.

NEAR OZARK, Mo. -- Fire damaged part of a home west of Ozark Thursday evening.  Fire crews from Sparta, Ozark and Nixa assisted in the fire in the 200 block of McLean Road, west of Highway 65 and Highway F in Christian County.  The flames burned the second floor and the roof of the home. The homeowners were not there at the time of the fire.

MARSHFIELD, Mo. -- Three people are in jail after leading law enforcement officers on a chase early Sunday morning.  The Highway Patrol says the chase started in Webster County and went through Christian County on Missouri 14 to U.S. 65. Officers laid a pair of spike strips across the road, which shredded the left rear tire of the fleeing vehicle as the driver was headed north.  The chase ended north of Evans Road when the car ran off the highway....