Howell's It Going, January 30, 2025
Hello and welcome to Howell’s It Going. This is your weekly update on what’s happening in your community. I’m Amanda Mendez, and this is your news.
At the January West Plains City Council Meeting, several residents spoke out against a rezoning effort seeking to build multi-family homes. A bill prompted by a petition from West Plains resident Avery Grant seeks to rezone four lots on Deatherage Avenue and one lot on Rhonda Drive from R1 – single family to R3 – multi-family. Building Official and Zoning Admin Dustin Harrison recommended denying the request, stating this rezone is not consistent with the Future Land Use Plan.
Deatherage Avenue resident Maureen DeMarks was the first to address the council against the bill. She said that her forever home is located on this street. She has concerns about water issues from new construction, and lower property values she expects tri-plex rentals to cause. She presented a petition signed by homeowners in the area who are against the rezoning.
Next to speak was Avery Grant himself in favor of the bill. Grant said he wants to develop new quality, affordable rentals. He said he found only three rentals under $1,000 that were open in the city. In his proposal, he estimates these units could cost more than $200 less per month. He claimed single family homes weren't selling well in the city and that only eleven newly built homes were purchased in the city in 2024, and those sat on the market for over 220 days.
The final speakers were Nick Ellison and his wife Stephanie Horn, speaking against the bill. Ellison said, "We know what rentals do. You know what you get in a rental. I wouldn't want that living next to my house." Horn said "Nothing against somebody that rents, but normally they don't take as good of care of your place as they would if they owned it."
The council approved the first reading of the bill, with Mayor Mike Topliff noting during the meeting “this does not mean start building.” The council will take more time to consider the proposal and give their final decision after the second reading of the bill during the February meeting.
A West Plains man with a criminal history was arrested during a narcotics-related search on a Joe Jones Boulevard residence last Thursday morning.
Police arrested Thomas Flanagan, 54, without incident during the search. Law enforcement also recovered suspected fentanyl and paraphernalia.
At the time of his arrest, Flanagan was on probation after he pled to possession charges in 2023 and had multiple active arrest warrants out of Howell County and the City of West Plains. A probable cause statement for additional charges for possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia has been submitted to the Howell County Prosecutor's Office.
Like many school districts around the state, the West Plains School District is looking at cutting programs and slimming employment as they struggle to balance their upcoming budget in the shadow of the unfunded teacher wage increase that was passed down from legislators in Jefferson City last year. The 2025-2026 school year budget was a major topic of the district's most recent board of education meeting.
In talks about the budget, Superintendent Dr. Wes Davis told the board he was going to “start making some very hard decisions about getting to this $40,000,” and looking at which courses and programs to keep. The superintendent stated he had to raise 235 employees’ wages by $11,000. This means an increase in the district's operating cost by over $2,585,000.
First, Dr. Davis is getting rid of SPARK, the West Plains Schools-based virtual course program. The law requires the school to have virtual class options, but there are other options. Next, Dr. Davis was looking at increasing the minimum number of seated courses to participate sports from two to four. The requirement for a stated minimum comes from the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
Dr. Davis wanted to reassure teachers they will still be getting paid and have their jobs, saying “We're still going to pay teachers. We're still going to have benefits. We're still going to fix things around the district,” but also said he is going to reduce some positions when he can.
The board did increase the tuition rate for the 2025-2026 school by the largest percentage in the last three years. The tuition rate was approved to increase by 3.0452% to $9,591.24 for the upcoming year. The current tuition rate is at $9,307.80 and increased by 2.7056% from the previous year.
And the board finally came to a decision on the start date for the 2025-2026 school year, choosing Monday, August 18. This comes after a stalemate from the Calendar Committee between Monday and Wednesday and against a staff survey where 55% said they wanted a Wednesday start.
West Plains Senior Shaley Francis was crowned Midwinter Queen during the halftime of the Zizzers Varsity Boys basketball game on Friday, January 25. She was escorted by her fellow cheerleader and senior Jack Rutledge.
The West Plains School District presented Lexi Williams and her family with a $15,322 check to help her with medical costs. Williams, a student at West Plains High, was paralyzed last year while she fought an infection. The district hosted a series of fundraising events to help the family, including selling over 200 racks of ribs, selling T-shirts, and holding a dessert auction.
And in sports, the Zizzers fell to the Parkview Vikings during their Midwinter boys' basketball game held on January 25. The Vikings raided the west plains team, winning by nearly 40 points.
The Zizzers kept it close during the first quarter, trailing 16 to 22. A dunk by Parkview's Eli Govan in the opening two minutes of the game forcasted a long night ahead for the West Plains defense.
In spike of the aggressive, pesky defense of Parkview forcing Zizzer turnovers, West Plains was holding on at halftime, 29 to 42.
The Zizzer offense sputtered in the third quarter while the Vikings offense sunk shots from everywhere, ending the quarter leading 40 to 65.
With a 25-point lead, Parkview played their bench for the majority of the fourth quarter, ending the game with the Vikings 82 to the Zizzers 48.
With this loss, West Plains drops to 8 and 8 for the season. I'll have the results from the Zizzers next game at the Family Pharmacy Panther Classic in Mountain Grove next week.
I'm Amanda and this has been Howell's It Going.