Polk County Republican Women will hold their monthly meeting Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Brenda’s Café at noon. We will collect Share Your Christmas gifts for teenage girls. Please bring an unwrapped item with you to the meeting. We will be welcoming our new slate of officers for the 2024 year. Please call your lunch orders in ahead of time to help the wait staff. more

SHERIFF’S REPORTS more

CIVIL ACTIONS more

On Friday, Nov. 3, at 1:40 p.m., Corporal J.R. Rorie responded to a vehicle accident three miles south of Bolivar on MO-13. Tammy Combs, 57, of Springfield, was driving north on the highway when she went off the road. Combs was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected when her vehicle overturned. She was transported to CMH in Bolivar and was pronounced deceased at 2:48 p.m. by Dr. Assmann. Combs’ 2008 Chevrolet Impala was totaled in the accident and was removed by B&B Wrecker. more

The Bolivar Police Department is seeking the community’s help in identifying the driver of a vehicle in a hit and run incident. more

The Polk County Courthouse will be closed on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023 in observance of the Veteran’s Day Holiday. more

The Bolivar School District has called for an election on Nov. 7, 2023, for the residents within their boundaries. Absentee voting started on Sept. 26. The Polk County Clerk’s office will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday and open through the lunch hour for absentee voting. The deadline for casting an absentee ballot in person at the County Clerk’s office is 5 p.m. the day before the election, Tuesday, Nov. 7. The County Clerk’s office will also be open on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to noon. more

SHERIFF’S REPORTS more

At 2:43 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27, there was an accident involving three vehicles seven miles south of Bolivar on MO-13. Sixty-seven-year-old Ruby McNight of Pleasant Hope, driving a 2012 Ford F-150, attempted to cross the north lanes of the highway. Her Ford struck a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Terry Neal, 43, of Bolivar. The truck continued crossing the road and traveled directly into the path of Kendra Smith, who was driving a 2016 Dodge Challenger. Smith, of Bolivar, was traveling with a four-year-old girl; both sustained minor injuries. They were taken to CMH. The Camaro received minor damage and was driven from the accident scene. The other two vehicles were totaled and were removed by B&B Wrecker. All occupants of the vehicles were wearing seat belts. Corporal J.R. Rorie was the responding officer. more

CIVIL ACTIONS more

The first accident occurred at 1:01 p.m., one mile south of Halfway. This single-vehicle incident involved a 1995 Chevrolet GMT-400 driven by 66-year-old Donald Waterman of Tunas. Waterman was traveling southbound on Route H. He traveled partially off the right side of the road and then corrected, overturning the vehicle. Mr. Waterman sustained moderate injuries when his GMT-400 landed on its top; he was not wearing a seatbelt. Trooper D.J. Jackson, Sergeant S.W. Long, and Corporal J.R. Rorie were the responding officers. An ambulance transported Waterman to CMH, and B&B Wrecker of Bolivar removed his totaled vehicle from the scene. more

SHERIFF’S REPORTS more