At least 10 people are arrested in the Lake Area by the highway patrol over the weekend. Nine of the 10 involved alcohol including 24-year-old Donald Kemper, of Jefferson City, who is charged according to the highway patrol with DWI-alcohol resulting in the death of another. All totaled, six people were taken into custody for boating while intoxicated and three people for driving while intoxicated. One other arrest, 35-year-old Timothy Thomas of Richland, was arrested for felony possession of methamphetamine and traffic-related offenses.

There were, at least, two incidents covered on the lake by the water patrol division of the highway patrol. The first happened Saturday afternoon when a deck boat operated by 26-year-old Christopher Gear, of St. Louis, took on water and sank at the 5.5 mile mark of the Big Niangua. The second incident happened Saturday evening when a Searay operated at the 8.2 mile mark of the main channel caught fire. The operator, 29-year-old Tyler Anthony of Olathe Kansas, and his passengers were able to escape injury. The boat, however, was totaled.

The Miller County Sheriff’s Department adds another name to the “most wanted” list. 41-year-old William Daniel Rowden, of Eldon, is wanted for felony non-support. Rowden is described as 6-foot with blue eyes and brown hair. Anyone with information on whereabouts should contact the Miller County Sheriff’s Department.

A former teacher in the School of the Osage District is scheduled to be in a Miller County courtroom Monday (06/25/2018) for a preliminary hearing on his charges involving sexual contact with a couple students. Mark Edwards was originally charged, in April, with one count each of statutory sodomy and sexual contact with a student…Edwards admitting to the contact according to the probable cause statement filed in Tuscumbia. Since then, the case has been amended to include two more charges…child molestation and another charge of sexual contact with a student. A motion for a bond reduction was denied in May. Edwards continues to be held in the Miller County Jail on a $300-thousand bond with a GPS requirement and an order of no contact unsupervised with anyone under the age of 18 should he bond out.

We are now just a matter of hours away from the start of the 2018 Can-Am Games.  The Olympics-style competition is expected to bring well over 1,000 participants from as many as 28 states and at least six countries to the lake region.  The weeklong event features over 50 competitions, including angling, crossfit, shooting sports, running, power lifting, and more. Proceeds from the games will benefit the athletes of Missouri Special Olympics.  Opening ceremonies will be held Monday night at 7pm at the Ozarks Amphitheater.  The first events will begin at 8 o’clock Tuesday morning and include cycling time trials, golf, running, and the Toughest Firefighter Alive competition. 

One man is officially charged after a vicious beating in Eldon.  A formal charge of first-degree assault with serious physical injury was filed Thursday against Enoch “Spike” Gill.  The incident happened Wednesday at J&M Barber Shop.  Gill told police he was getting his haircut and telling the barber that two members of a motorcycle club had told his son they were going to “beat up” his dad.  At that point, the unidentified victim apparently jumped out of his seat, told Gill who he was, and the argument ensued.  When the men went outside, Gill knocked the man down and continued beating him even after he became unresponsive.  The victim was taken to Lake Regional and transferred to University Hospital.  His injuries include multiple facial fractures and destroyed eye sockets, according to police documents.