Hot Pursuit Ends With Four Arrests.

news release from Don E. Richardson
Chief of Police, Webb City.

On Tuesday morning, Sept. 10th, at approximately 1:30 a.m. Webb City officers heard what appeared to be a loud gunshot in the area of Main and McArthur streets. They then observed a white Buick Century leaving the area, traveling south on Hall Street. Officers followed the vehicle for a short distance, and when they activated their emergency equipment in an attempt to stop it, the vehicle refused to stop and sped away, southbound on Hall Street. The pursuit continued south to MSSC, then east on Newman Road. At the College Heights Church the vehicle circled around the parking lot, and one of the four occupants threw a weapon from the car. The pursuit continued through the community of Prosperity, then north and then east on County Road AA. The vehicle turned south on a county lane, and at the intersection of Elm Road and Chapel Road the driver lost control on a curve. Three of the occupants fled on foot, while one occupant was captured at the scene.

Officers from Webb City and Carthage police departments, the Jasper County Sheriff’s department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducted an extensive search, and the other three subjects were later taken into custody. They are being held pending the filing of charges by the Jasper County Prosecutor’s office. Three weapons and several rounds of ammunition were recovered, and one weapon is believed to have been stolen from a burglary in Joplin.

Like most folks, I remember exactly the circumstances of a year ago today.

I received a phone call from my daughter in NY to let us know she was o.k. She had just passed through the Twin Towers on her way to work some twenty minutes before the planes hit.

Throughout the year I have talked with others who had similar experiences. Loved ones who should have been there, or had just left or were on their way. Despite the fact that thousands of lives were devastated a year ago, many folks were blessed with some type of unforeseen luck.

Fortunately those of us in this part of the country have remained relatively unaffected by the incident. But, I doubt that a September 11 will pass without thoughts of that day in 2001.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

YOUR AMERICA

By Amy Anderson

I recently received a touching letter from a reader in Edgewater, Fla. It reads, in part: "I am going to chase my dream, which is to drive from Edgewater, Fla., to Spokane, Wash., knowing I must complete this RV trip now, hoping I can complete this trip without too many pitfalls. ... I wish to see and enjoy the wonderful world God created and have decided not to sit and wait for the years to pass by, my yes, they pass so swiftly."

It has brought home in this time of reflection some very important reasons for following our dreams and living life to its fullest extent. Our time here is brief and the years do pass swiftly, so get out and actively seek to fulfill those dreams of yours.

For some people, especially in the past year, fear has kept them close to home. But the things we fear have always been there, lurking. It was, is and will continue to be our determination that says "You will not stop me!" Let’s be determined again.

For others, traveling seems like an impossibility, something to save for and think about but never do. I say Paris is only $500 and a little legwork away. And when you get right down to it, that’s only four months of forgoing dinner for two in a restaurant once a week. Or do your own math. The point is, it just isn’t as impossible as one might make it out to be. It’s just an ocean, and crossing it is simple.

Make a list of the places in this world (and this country) that you want to see, and then, for Pete’s sake, start crossing it off. What good will a list do you if it isn’t a means to an end?

Get on a plane and visit your family. There are precious few of us who can say they see their family often enough for it to really count. Get in a car with three of your closest friends and drive. Just drive and remember why you became friends in the first place — you enjoy each other’s company.

Never ever let fear or complacency keep you from chasing your dreams, for what is a life without dreams? And what valor is there in having dreams and never chasing them? I hope everyone across the country will join me in wishing my reader a safe trip and much luck in chasing her dream.