Jon Saunsaucie, 16, was forced to take the ditch Monday morning on Highway 19 just south of Owensville to avoid a line of stopped traffic. Witness at the scene reported that a line of stopped vehicles greeted Saunsaucie as he came over a hill heading north in a 1968 Ford pickup just before Tappmeyer Road. Fire chief Scott Stranghoener (in orange) assisted Owensville Area Ambulance District personnel in carrying Saunsaucie out of the ditch and up a step embankment. He was transported to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis with moderate injuries. Family members report that they expect him home today (Wednesday). Rapidly falling temperatures throughout the day brought windy conditions and snowfall which forced area schools to dismiss early on Monday. Schools were closed Tuesday due to conditions on county roads across the Gasconade County R-2 School District.  Tuesday’s missed day of classes will be made up on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, which had been scheduled as a day off for the Martin Luther King, Jr., national holiday