Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has issued a proclamation directing flags around the area to fly at half-staff Friday, March 14, 2025, in memory of a firefighter who recently died in the line of duty.

All flags in Johnson County will be lowered Friday for the funeral of 60-year-old Capt. Vernon Collett, who died Saturday, March 8, 2025 when responding to a field fire outside Valley City. Collett was a 29-year veteran of the Johnson County Fire Protection District, and was the first line-of-duty death in the district’s history. An escort will depart the Sweeney-Phillips and Holdren Funeral Home Friday at 9 a.m. and pass by Station 6 on Route E, before arriving at the Heartland Church north of Knob Noster.

Flags at fire stations across the state, as well as at the Missouri Firefighters Memorial in Kingdom City, will also fly at half-staff. The funeral announcement for Collett is posted in the obituaries section of our website.