March 2019 – Page 45 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Western women win first event of the spring; Ong, Bech tie for individual title

Posted on March 13, 2019

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – With the team sitting in third place entering the second round of the Warrior Invitational on Wednesday, the Missouri Western women’s golf team had the best team score of the second round to jump two spots and win the tournament.

Anna Bech came into the second day of the tournament tied for 15th, but shot a 78 (+6) to vault up to first to tie teammate Shi Qing Ong as co-winner of the tournament. Bech and Ong both finished 159 (+15) to win the event by five strokes.

The Griffons handled the weather conditions better than any other team at the tournament. Wind gusts on the course consistently ranged from 25 to 35 miles per hour, with some gusts as high as 50 miles per hour. Each of the eight teams at the event suffered higher stroke totals on Wednesday, but the Griffons still managed to out-perform the next best round-two score by 20 strokes.

Bech was the main story of the second round. Bech shot an impressive 78 (+6) to climb 14 spots for a share of the individual tournament win. She was one of just four golfers to improve in the field of 47. The win gives Bech her first career victory at Missouri Western.

Ong held on to tie for the win with her 88 (+16) in round two. Her second-round score gave her the fifth-best performance in the field.

Chong Yong tied for fourth place to give the Griffons three of the top five finishers. Yong’s score of 85 (+13) was the second-best score of the round, behind Bech’s 78.

Giving Missouri Western another top-10 finish was Jenna Kosmatka. Kosmatka finished tied for eighth after her 89 (+17) on Wednesday. She entered the round tied for 15th but advanced seven spots on day two.

Rounding out the scores for the Griffons was Sabrina Galfano, whose two day score of 183 landed her in the top-25.

Missouri Western Women’s Golf will return to St. Joseph for its next event, as they compete in the MWSU Holiday Inn Express Invitational at the St. Joseph Country Club on March 18-19.

— MWSU Athletics —

Geist helps Mizzou defeat Georgia 71-61 in SEC Tournament

Posted on March 13, 2019

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Missouri’s Jordan Geist isn’t ready for his college career to end just yet.

Geist scored a career-high 30 points and No. 12 seed Missouri outlasted No. 13 seed Georgia 71-61 on Wednesday in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

“I just tried to go out there and play my game,” the senior guard said. “When it all comes down to it, if I give my all, I don’t have anything to regret.”

Missouri (13-14) advanced to a second-round matchup Thursday with No. 22 Auburn (22-9), the fifth seed. Missouri lost 92-58 at Auburn on Jan. 30 in their only regular-season matchup.

After losing four straight games last month, Missouri (15-16) has bounced back to win three of its last four.

“Sometimes in losing, though it’s painful, it forces you to grow,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Missouri gained a measure of revenge after losing 62-60 to Georgia in last year’s SEC Tournament.

Georgia (11-21) finished the first season of Tom Crean’s coaching tenure with 12 losses in its last 13 games. The Bulldogs wasted a career-high 26 points from Jordan Harris.

The two teams were meeting exactly one week after Missouri won 64-39 at Georgia, holding the Bulldogs to their lowest point total at home since a 36-30 victory over Georgia Tech during the 1945-46 season.

Georgia nearly matched that output in the first half Wednesday while building a 34-32 lead. The Bulldogs shot just 35.7 percent in the first half but pulled ahead by getting to the bonus early.

“Playing this team a week ago and knowing we did not leave it all out there on the floor against them, I am firmly convinced they did tonight,” Crean said.

Missouri took the lead for good at 45-43 on a Kevin Puryear basket with 12:05 left. Neither team led by more than seven points until the final four minutes of the game.

While Georgia did a great job of drawing fouls, the Bulldogs failed to take full advantage. Georgia shot just 21 of 36 on free-throw attempts, including 9 of 18 in the second half.

“It spreads throughout a team,” Georgia forward Derek Ogbeide said. “Once two or three guys, a couple of guys miss, the next thing you know, it spreads, much like anything. Simply missing a shot from a few people a few times, that becomes contagious.”

Geist shot 9 of 15 overall and 10 of 13 from the foul line to lead Missouri. His previous career high was a 28-point performance against Green Bay on Dec. 9, 2017. Xavier Pinson added 15 points.

Ogbeide had 12 and Nicolas Claxton added 11 for Georgia. Claxton also had six blocks.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia: The Bulldogs have a long way to go as Crean attempts to rebuild the program. Before this year, Georgia hadn’t lost as many as 21 games in a season since a 3-21 finish in 1955-56.

Missouri: The Tigers won without getting much from Jeremiah Tilmon, their top post player. Tilmon scored four points and shot just 1 of 7 while playing 20 minutes and battling foul trouble. Tilmon has picked up at least four fouls in seven of his last eight games and has fouled out of three of them.

PICKETT’S RETURN

Missouri’s Javon Pickett returned to the starting lineup after back spasms caused him to miss a 73-68 loss to Mississippi on Saturday. He went scoreless in 22 minutes.

3-POINT WOES

Something about this matchup causes poor outside shooting.

Georgia was 4 of 19 and Missouri went 3 of 11 from 3-point range Wednesday. When these two teams met last week, the two teams shot a combined 0 for 22 from beyond the arc in the first half before Missouri ended up 6 of 21 and Georgia finished 3 of 20.

UP NEXT

Georgia will replace three departing senior starters in Claxton, Turtle Jackson and Ogbeide next season. The Bulldogs add incoming freshman Anthony Edwards, rated as the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect in his class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports.

Missouri faces Auburn in a second-round game Thursday.

— Associated Press —

K-State’s Wade unlikely to play in Big 12 tourney

Posted on March 13, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade is expected to miss the entire Big 12 tournament for No. 15 Kansas State because of a foot injury that has lingered for much of the season.

Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said after Wednesday’s practice at Sprint Center that the 6-foot-10 Wade would spend most of his time this week getting treatment. The hope is that Wade will be ready for next week’s NCAA tournament, though Weber said he could not promise anything.

Wade is averaging 12.9 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Wildcats, who are the No. 1 seed in Kansas City after tying Texas Tech for the regular-season conference title.

The Wildcats did get some good news in that Cartier Diarra, who has missed several weeks after hand surgery, is expected to be available for their quarterfinal on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri fugitive accused of Oklahoma police car heist

Posted on March 13, 2019March 14, 2019

HEAVENER, Okla. (AP) — Authorities are searching for a Missouri fugitive who is accused of stealing a police car in Oklahoma as authorities attempted to recapture him.

Heavener, Oklahoma, Police Chief Ty Armstrong says police found 30-year old Travis Lee Davis at a convenience store Wednesday after a woman called to report that she was the victim of a kidnapping and that her captor was sleeping in a parked car.

Officers captured Davis after a short foot chase and put him in the back of the running patrol car with his hands cuffed behind his back. While officers stood near the vehicle interviewing the woman, Davis was able to crawl through a window that separates officers from suspects and take off.

Davis drove the car about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) before crashing into a tree in Howe. Armstrong said it’s possible that Davis then may have gotten onto one of two trains that approached the area at the time.

Davis was reported missing from his cell block late Sunday night in a jail in central Missouri’s Pettis County, where he had been held since a hostage situation last month involving a woman and a toddler. He had been charged with kidnapping, child endangerment, domestic assault, resisting arrest and parole violation.

Armstrong said authorities also are searching the towns of Heavener and Howe. Armstrong asked the public to keep doors locked.

The sheriff said Davis has several tattoos, including an eye inside a triangle on the front of his neck.

Police don’t yet know how Davis opened the window of the patrol car. It was completely closed, and should only be possible to open the window from the officers’ side. Police also don’t yet know how Davis was able to drive so far without the key fob, which was with officers, not in the vehicle. None of the weapons inside the police car were missing.

Palmer Jr. scores 34 as Nebraska beats Rutgers in Big Ten Tournament opener

Posted on March 13, 2019

CHICAGO (AP) — James Palmer Jr. tied a career high with 34 points, and Nebraska beat Rutgers 68-61 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

Palmer matched a personal best set against Ohio State last season and scored 27 in the second half to carry Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers (17-15) went on a 15-0 run to grab a 10-point lead in the closing minutes on the way to their second straight win after dropping 11 of 13. They are banking on a run in the conference tournament to vault them into the NCAA picture and maybe save coach Tim Miles’ job.

Eugene Omoruyi led Rutgers (14-17) with 16 points. Myles Johnson added 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Scarlet Knights were one and done this time after winning at least one game in the previous two conference tournaments.

Nebraska went on a 15-0 run to turn a five-point deficit into a 61-51 lead with 1:30 remaining.

Isaiah Roby started it with a layup with 6:21 remaining and hit two free throws with four minutes left to put Nebraska back on top for the first time since the opening minutes of the half at 52-51.

Palmer then nailed a 3 and Roby drove for a neat scoop layup after a steal by Johnny Trueblood. Palmer then threw down a hard fast-break dunk, getting intentionally fouled from behind by Omoruyi, and Glynn Watson Jr. made two free throws to finish the run.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Palmer could probably use some help if the Cornhuskers are going to make a run in the conference tournament. No one else scored more than 11 points, and Nebraska shot just 40.4 percent while making 3 of 15 3-pointers.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights came up short down the stretch in this one after showing some promise during the regular season.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were swept by Maryland — 74-72 on the road on Jan. 2 and 60-45 at home on Feb. 6.

Rutgers: Season is likely over.

— Associated Press —

Two St. Joseph men hospitalized after van overturns

Posted on March 13, 2019March 14, 2019

ANDREW COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just before 3p.m. Wednesday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 International Box Van driven by Chris D. Larsen, 53, St. Joseph, was southbound on Route Z at the junction of Route O four miles south of Helena. The vehicle traveled off the west side of the road and overturned.

Andrew County EMS transported Larsen and a passenger Nicholas Bundy, 26, St. Joseph to Mosaic Life Care. Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

Former Kansas EMT Sentenced For Stealing Morphine

Posted on March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

JACKSON COUNTY– A former EMT in Jackson County, Kan., was sentenced Tuesday to five years on federal probation for stealing morphine from vials, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

One condition of his release is he not engage in any occupation that would give him access to controlled substances without prior approval from his probation officer. He also must complete an approved substance abuse program.

Colby W. VanWagoner, 33, Mayetta, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a controlled substance by deception and one count of making a false statement during an investigation.

The crimes took place while VanWagoner was working for the Jackson County Emergency Medical Service in Holton, Kan. In his plea, VanWagoner admitted he tampered with vials of morphine sulfate. He replaced morphine with saline solution and put the vials back into narcotic boxes on ambulances and in office stocks. Tests showed the concentration of morphine in vials that had been tampered with was low as 1 percent or less. The concentration of morphine should have been 100 percent.

Fired Missouri middle school teacher sentenced for child porn

Posted on March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A fired Missouri middle school teacher has been sentenced to eight years and a month in federal prison for a child pornography charge.

26-year-old Brandon Hileman was sentenced Wednesday after entering a guilty plea. Federal prosecutors say Hileman was a new math teacher at Joel E. Barber Junior High School in Lebanon in September 2017 when authorities searched his home and found more than 100 videos depicting child porn.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan Nguyen sought a longer, 10-year sentence, noting that Hileman also was a youth leader at a church and developed a concerning relationship with a teenage girl. Nguyen said Hileman eventually obtained a video of the girl using the restroom, but there was no evidence of inappropriate touching.

Update: Troubled Kansas hospital closes, Governor responds

Posted on March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

HORTON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas hospital run by an embattled health management company has shut down operations after struggling for months without enough funds to pay its employees or buy medication and food for patients.

The city of Horton’s only medical provider, Horton Community Hospital, closed on Tuesday, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Residents will now have to travel 12 miles (19 kilometers) to Hiawatha for medical care.

The hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Richard Brown, said the closure didn’t come as a surprise. Hospital staff, who have faced weekslong gaps in pay, had been working with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and Kansas Department of Health and Environment to find a way to keep the facility open, Brown said.

Staff described trash piling up and negotiating with city officials to keep the lights on as the hospital struggled to pay overdue bills.

John Calhoon, Horton’s city administrator and chief of police, said the hospital recently made a partial payment on a utility bill that was nearly two months overdue. Calhoon expects a March invoice to go unpaid.

“It’s not anything that any of us wanted to happen, but we just have to move forward from here,” he said.

The hospital in the town of about 1,700 people was transferred to iHealthcare after being managed by EmpowerHMS, which is associated with other Kansas hospitals that have closed after being unable to pay their bills. The former EmpowerHMS-owned Oswego Community Hospital shuttered in February, and an affiliated hospital in rural Missouri was cut off from Medicare this month.

C.J. Grover, a spokesman for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, said the agency is investigating Horton Community Hospital, but declined to comment further.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a response to the news.

“I’m concerned for the community of Horton as they face the serious loss of their local hospital,” Kelly said. “This is becoming a far too frequent occurrence in our state. Local hospitals are key to the health of Kansas families and are often one of the largest employers in a small town. Elected leaders must work together to do more to support our local hospitals.”

Three rural hospitals have closed in the last three months. Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott closed on December 31st. Oswego Community Hospital closed in February. And Horton Community Hospital closed its doors Tuesday.

“I’ve directed our agencies to coordinate support for hospital staff during this challenging time,” Kelly said. “A closure of a hospital has ripple effects through the community and region. Our KANSASWORKS team will be in Horton Thursday to assist hospital staff with filing for unemployment benefits, as well as job applications and re-employment services.”

The Governor’s Office, Kansas Department of Commerce and Kansas Department of Labor are working to provide support to employees of the hospital, ensure unemployment benefits applications are streamlined, and re-employment opportunities are available.

In response to Tuesday’s closure, KANSASWORKS will be hosting Rapid Response Informational Meetings Thursday in Horton in conjunction with the Community Outreach Event at the Horton Public Library.

Efforts to assist affected hospital employees will include Rapid Response Informational Meetings at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday at the Horton Public Library, 809 1st Ave E. No registration is required. Information will be shared about KANSASWORKS, Workforce Center employment and training services and how to file unemployment insurance benefits.

Also, the KANSASWORKS Mobile Workforce Center will be at the Horton Public Library from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday to provide additional re-employment services. Workforce Center staff will be available to help with registering on KANSASWORKS.com, creating a resumé, job search assistance and filling out job applications.

The Rapid Response team was also sent to Oswego following the closure of its hospital last month.

Any questions about KANSASWORKS should be directed to the Department of Commerce:
Emily Fitzgerald
(785) 296-1778
[email protected]

————

The city of Horton’s only medical provider, Horton Community Hospital, closed on Tuesday. Residents will now have to travel 12 miles to Hiawatha for medical care.

The hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Richard Brown, says the closure didn’t come as a surprise. Hospital staff said they’ve had to negotiate with city officials to keep the lights on at the hospital, which faced mounting, overdue bills.

The hospital was transferred to iHealthcare after being managed by EmpowerHMS, which is associated with other Kansas hospitals that have struggled to pay bills.

Chiefs release safety Eric Berry

Posted on March 13, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Wednesday that the club has released safety Eric Berry.

“On behalf of my family and the entire Chiefs organization, I want to thank Eric for his many contributions to the Chiefs over the last nine seasons,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “Eric has been a tremendous leader for our football team and an inspiration to so many fans over the years, and we sincerely appreciate all that he has meant to the Chiefs. He will always be an important part of our Chiefs family, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

“We continually evaluate every aspect of our football team and we came to the decision that it was in our best interest to release Eric,” Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said. “Knowing what Eric has meant to this organization and this city made this an incredibly difficult decision. We wish him nothing but the best.”

“I’d like to thank Eric for his contributions to our team and the Kansas City community over the last nine years,” Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid said. “Seeing his passion and watching his love for the game has been truly remarkable. He’s a special person, and we wish him the best as his career moves forward.”

Berry (6-0, 212) has played in 89 games (87 starts) in nine NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2010-18). His career numbers include 440 tackles (372 solo), 5.5 sacks, 14 interceptions (five return TDs), 51 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

He earned five trips to the Pro Bowl in his time with the Chiefs. Following the 2015 season, Berry was honored with the AP’s Comeback Player of the Year Award as well as being the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award after overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He earned the team’s Derrick Thomas Award in 2015 and 2016, given to the team’s most valuable player, voted on by his teammates.

The Fairburn, Ga., native, originally entered the NFL as the fifth-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. He played collegiately at the University of Tennessee.

— Chiefs Press Release —