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Woman Gets Four Years For Killing Infant Son


A central Missouri woman accused of killing her infant son and throwing his body into a pond was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge.

Twenty-six-year-old Cassidy King of Moberly was sentenced Tuesday to four years for manslaughter in the 2011 death of her son.

Prosecutors say he was born at King’s home a few weeks before his body was found in a duffel bag floating in a pond in Higbee.

King had been charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter before being sentenced.

King also was sentenced to four years for drug trafficking, with the sentences running consecutively.

King is currently serving a seven-year sentence on drug charges in Shelby County.

Killer Sentenced To Two Life Terms

Vance Gossett

A St. Joseph man has been sentenced to two concurrent life terms for the death of a northwest Missouri general contractor.

Fifth Circuit Judge Weldon Judah on Monday gave 42-year-old Vance Gossett the sentence recommended earlier by prosecutors.

Gossett had pleaded guilty to robbery and second-degree murder for the killing of Kenneth Wilson Junior. The 41-year-old victim was found dead in the driveway of his rural Savannah home last April 5.

Wilson owned a general contracting business in St. Joseph, where Gossett lived.

Gossett told the court in November that he hit Wilson twice in the head with a crowbar, then set his body on fire. He also admitted taking Wilson’s cellphone and ATM card.

Investigation Continues In Accidental Shooting Death Of Boy, 12


Caldwell County authorities are not releasing much information after an accidental shooting claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy.

The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to a home in Breckenridge around 8:45 p.m. Friday and found the child suffering from a gunshot wound.

Investigators say the boy was mishandling the gun when it went off. He was flown by helicopter to University of Kansas Medical Center where he died.

Investigators say they haven’t determined whether charges will be filed.

Flu Season Arrives Early; Kansas & Missouri Hit Hard


The flu is hitting the U.S. earlier than usual this year.

In Missouri, there have already been more than 9,800 cases of the flu this year, more than 16 times the average of the past five flu seasons at this point.

Most of the flu that’s been reported so far in Missouri is type B, but type A flu is also being reported as well.

 

The flu season has hit Kansas hard this year as well. Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Robert Moser says his agency uses several methods to track the illness, including monitoring the percentage of patients seeking health care who exhibit influenza-like illness.

KDHE spokeswoman Barbara Hersh says more than 460 influenza and pneumonia deaths have been reported in Kansas this flu season. During the 2011-2012 influenza season flu and pneumonia contributed to or directly caused more than 1,300 deaths in Kansas.

Officials say the flu season usually doesn’t kick in until late January or early February. More than 40 states report widespread flu activity, even as a handful of states in the south and southeastern US are seeing the cases taper off.

Suspect Arrested In California School Shooting


At least one and possibly two students have been shot at a high school in Taft, Calif., a community in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Kern County sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt also says a suspect is in custody and is believed to be a student.

The shooting was reported at Taft Union High School around 9 a.m. Thursday. ABC Television affiliate 23ABC News reports two people shot. The stations received phone calls from people inside the school who were hiding in closets. Sheriff’s Department officials were going room-by-room to secure the school.

Reports indicate that the first person shot was airlifted to Kern Medical Center and the second person refused medical treatment.

The sheriff’s spokesman says the wounded student was flown to a hospital in Bakersfield.

Pruitt says it’s believed a shotgun was used in the attack.

Taft is a community of about 7,000 some 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Mammoth 3D Movie Screen Arrives At KC’s Union Station

A movie screen billed as the largest in the region has arrived at Union Station at Kansas City and will be installed as part of a face lift of the facility’s theater.

Union Station officials say the 74-foot screen arrived Wednesday and will sit in the building for a few days before being unrolled and installed.

The five-story-high screen is part of a renovation project to transform the movie theater into a 3-D digital theater.

The screen was trucked in to Kansas City from Canada.

Kansas School District Okays Armed Security


Security guards at schools in Emporia, Kansas will be able to carry guns starting Feb. 1.

The Emporia school district’s board of education voted Wednesday to allow the security guards to carry guns while on duty at the schools.

Currently, all school employees are banned from carrying guns.

Superintendent Theresa Davidson said the change will move the district closer to a comprehensive plan for making all students and staff safe.

The board also changed the job description for security officers. Officers will be required to have some law enforcement experience, be certified with a 70 percent target practice accuracy, get 20 hours of law enforcement training every year and follow legal “use of force” protocols.

AG To Retry 20-Year-Old Murder Case

The Missouri attorney general plans to retry a northwest Missouri man after the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction for the 1990 murder of a neighbor.

The state’s high court ruled Tuesday that prosecutors had failed to share evidence that could have helped Mark Woodworth’s defense against charges that he fatally shot Catherine Robertson and wounded her husband.

The court ordered Woodworth released unless prosecutors decide to retry him.

Later Tuesday, a spokeswoman said Attorney General Chris Koster intends to retry Woodworth.

Woodworth was 16 years old at the time of Robertson’s death. He lived near their rural Chillicothe home, and his father had farmed with the Robertsons.

Utility Updates Efforts To Restart Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant

Federal regulators will get an update Tuesday on the efforts to restart the troubled Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant north of Omaha.

Omaha Public Power District officials will brief the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Maryland and answer questions.

The meeting, which will also include a report from NRC inspectors, will be broadcast online at http://1.usa.gov/13e4una .

The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant sits 20 miles north of Omaha. It was initially shut down for refueling maintenance in April 2011. Flooding along the Missouri River and a series of safety violations forced it to stay closed.

Regulators and OPPD officials all say Fort Calhoun won’t be restarted until they’re sure it’s safe.

Regular Identified As Suspect In Barroom Strong-Arm Robbery


Police in Wichita had little trouble finding the suspect in the early-morning robbery of a bar.

The 41-year-old man was a regular customer at Judy’s Place, where other patrons helpfully gave police his name and address.

 

Police say the man went behind the bar at closing time early Monday, pushed a cashier out of the way and grabbed several hundred dollars before walking out.

Wichita police Lt. Doug Nolte says officers followed the tips from other customers and found the man at his home, along with the stolen cash.

Nolte says he does not know how much alcohol the man consumed before he stole the money.

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