RAY COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 9p.m. Monday in Ray County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Monica M. Watson, 22, Excelsior Springs, was southbound on Silvey Road just south of NE 174^th.

The Jeep crossed the center line, traveled off the left side of the road, returned to the road and overturned.

Watson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Three passengers in the jeep from Excelsior Springs were injured. Charlie R. Eddington, 16, was transported to Children’s Mercy. William Graham, 12, was transported to Liberty Hospital. Ezekiel Parker, 4, was transported to North Kansas City Hospital.   Watson and Edington were not wearing seat belts, according to the MSHP.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A panel of lawmakers on Monday considered enacting a ban on discrimination against unvaccinated children, an effort that comes as other states look to increase immunization amid disease outbreaks.

Parents testified to lawmakers that their unimmunized children were turned away from daycares and doctors. Republican Rep. Lynn Morris, a pharmacist from southwest Missouri, said parents are being pressured to vaccinate their children.

“Parents are getting bullied,” Morris said. “They’re getting bullied by county health departments. They’re getting bullied by schools. They’re getting bullied by their doctors. They’re being intimidated, and I just don’t think that’s right.”

The Republican’s bill would ban discrimination against unimmunized children in doctors’ offices, daycares, public schools and colleges if families have legal exemptions. Missouri grants exemptions for religious and medical reasons.

The hearing came just days after a judge temporarily blocked a suburban New York county’s emergency order banning children from public places unless they’ve been vaccinated against measles.

Lawmakers from other states also are looking to ramp up vaccinations in response to outbreaks of diseases such as measles and whooping cough .

Washington lawmakers in March passed a measure to strip exemptions for measles vaccinations after an outbreak sickened dozens. There’s a push to end non-medical exemptions for vaccines in Maine, where there were 95 cases of whooping cough through February.

While overall vaccination rates remain high in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control, the number of kids under two who haven’t received any vaccines is growing. The CDC attributes much of this to lack of health insurance — uninsured kids are much more likely to be unvaccinated than children who have health insurance.

Janessa Baake, from the city of Peculiar in southwestern Missouri, cited concern over potential medical risks and told lawmakers Monday that her 3-year-old daughter is unvaccinated. She said after being denied by a Missouri doctor, she now takes her daughter to a Kansas pediatrician.

Another man said his two children developed autism after being vaccinated as toddlers.

“All of the stories and the anecdotes that we heard are very important, but I don’t think that they can be used to refute science,” Ferguson Democrat Rep. Cora Faith Walker said during a break in the hearing.

Multiple studies have debunked claims that measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations increase the risk for autism, and the National Institutes of Health says reports of serious reactions are rare: about one every 100,000 vaccinations. In the U.S., more than 90 percent of the population nationally is properly vaccinated.

“What we know and what we have in study after study of scientific fact is that vaccines are safe, and they’re effective,” said Jefferson City pediatrician Katie Blount, a member of the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Ultimately what it boils down to is it’s one of the best ways that I know how to take care of a kiddo.”

A similar bill didn’t make it to the floor last year.

The House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee also is considering legislation to require physicians to provide information on the benefits and risks of vaccines, information from CDC and other information before giving vaccines.

CLAY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities were busy Sunday after a traffic stop near Interstate 35 in Clay County.

Just after 5:40a.m., a police officer in Kearny conducted a traffic stop near Interstate 35, which resulted in a large drug seizure and arrest of three subjects ages 26, 28, and 34 from Iowa and Illinois.

Authorities have not released names of the suspects.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri sex offender has been sentenced in federal court for receiving and distributing child pornography, according to the United State’s Attorney.

Bill Lawrence, Jr., 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on April 5, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Lawrence to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration.

Lawrence, who pleaded guilty on Aug. 28, 2018, has prior convictions for possessing child pornography and promoting child pornography.

According to court documents, the investigation began with two CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Lawrence had attached images of child pornography to at least two emails that were sent from his Google account. The images depicted prepubescent children being sexually abused or in sexual poses.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Lawrence’s residence and seized his cell phone, which contained multiple images of child pornography. Lawrence admitted to officers that he used the Chat Hour application to both receive and distribute child pornography over the internet.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A south Kansas City school district says police are investigating a report that at least one student became ill after eating marijuana-laced brownies.

The Hickman Mills district said in a statement Monday the incident happened in late March at Hickman Mills Freshman Center.

Assistant principal John Miller said a student complained March 28 that she felt strange after eating a brownie given to her by another student.

Another student said she felt fine after taking a bite of the same brownie. And Miller said the girl accused of having the brownies denied they were laced with anything.

The school nurse were checked the students, who were then sent home. Miller reported the incident to the Missouri Division of Family Services.

CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, Mo. – With the assistance of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Norton County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest connected to the murder of Lori Shields.

At approximately 4:20 p.m. on Monday, he was released from the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Damien L. Shields, 42, of Norton, was arrested for the first-degree murder of his wife, 38-year-old Lori Shields.

Shields was then booked into the Cape Girardeau County Jail.

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NORTON COUNTY– The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Norton County Sheriff’s Office are currently investigating a homicide that occurred in rural Norton, Kan. on Sunday.

According to a media release from the KBI, preliminary information indicates that the Norton County Sheriff’s Office received information Sunday afternoon that a female victim was deceased at 16353 U.S. Highway 36, in Norton. At approximately 3:40 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the residence where they discovered 38-year-old Lori Shields, of Norton, deceased inside.

A suspect connected to the case was identified, and KBI agents and sheriff’s deputies worked to try to locate him. On Monday, at approximately 2:40 a.m., the Cape Girardeau, Mo., Police Department responded to a report of person calling out for help from a hotel room. Once police arrived, they learned the man in the hotel room was being sought by Kansas authorities connected to this homicide case.

The man was taken to a hospital in Cape Girardeau to be treated for injuries that were likely self-inflicted. He remains hospitalized at this time.

By Paige Henderson
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — Jacquie Fernandez-Lenati, the great niece of prominent labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, gave a powerful speech Wednesday, April 3, about the importance of Hispanic civic engagement at the eighth annual Hispanic Day at the Capitol.

Hispanic Day at the Capitol is a free-to-the-public event hosted by the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission as a way to celebrate the additions and accomplishments made possible by the Hispanic and Latino communities in Kansas.

We had a great time today at Hispanic Day at the Capitol with Gov. @LauraKellyKS, Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla, and Acting Secretary of Labor Delia García. National Committeewoman Teresa Krusor also hosted the @KDPLatinoVote Caucus! pic.twitter.com/gNWblP1xEK

— Kansas Dems (@KansasDems) April 3, 2019

Dolores Huerta was a leader in the Chicano civil rights movement and a co-founder of the United Farm Workers labor union. Her great niece, Fernandez-Lenati, encouraged the audience to “show up” as Hispanic and Latino citizens.

“The power is in the person. It’s not in the title. It’s not in the position — it’s the person,” Fernandez-Lenati said. “I became an activist before I could even read.”

Fernandez-Lenati reinforced the importance of voting and letting Latinx voices be heard.

“You don’t have to run for office to impact change,” Fernandez-Lenati said.

She also encouraged the Hispanic and Latino community to support other minorities, such as the LGBTQ and African American communities.

“When minorities join together, we become the majority,” Fernandez-Lenati said.

Other prominent speakers included Acting Secretary for the Kansas Department of Labor Delia Garcia, Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla and Evergy CEO Terry Bassham.

Richard Martinez, the interim executive director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, took time to recognize each speaker and reinforced the importance of Fernandez-Lenati’s words.

“You have to be confident and know that you have a place at the table,” Martinez said.

The Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission was established in 1975 in the effort to eliminate official neglect and provide opportunities for Hispanic advancement in Kansas.

“At the end of the day, we have more in common than not,” Fernandez-Lenati said. “We have to shift our thinking to the next level.”

Paige Henderson is a University of Kansas senior from Lenexa majoring in journalism.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for possessing heroin to distribute, according to the United State’s Attorney.

Danny R. Jones, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Friday, April 5, to 18 years in federal prison without parole.

On June 27, 2018, Jones pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute.

Law enforcement officers, prior to executing a search warrant, established surveillance of Jones’s residence on May 10, 2016. Officers saw Jones leave his residence, driving a Ford Taurus. An officer stopped the vehicle for an improper license plate and arrested Jones, who was driving while having a revoked driver’s license. The officer searched the vehicle and found a diaper bag on the passenger-side rear seat. Inside the diaper bag were several clear plastic bags that contained a total of 190 grams of heroin.

Jones is one of eight defendants charged in this case, all of whom have pleaded guilty, and is the final defendant to be sentenced.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A horse whose dismembered remains were found in a Kansas City park was a family pet that was pregnant.

Miguel Valdez told WDAF-TV that breaking the news to his children was difficult. But he said it was equally disturbing to go to animal control and identify the mare, named Senaida, which the family had owned for nine years. He says he’s “upset and angry.” The horse was at a friend’s farm in Kansas City, Kansas, when it went missing.

A man playing disc golf found the animal’s remains a week ago in Kessler Park. Police there say the horse appeared to have been prepared for consumption. After the meat was removed, the carcass was placed in a barrel and dumped in the park.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Animal control officers in Kansas City are investigating how the dismembered remains of a horse ended up in a city park.

A man playing disc golf found the remains Monday evening in Kessler Park.

Police spokesman Capt. Tim Hernandez says the horse appeared to have been prepared for consumption. After the meat was removed, the carcass was placed in a barrel and dumped in the park.

The horse’s head, hooves, legs, entrails, ribs and lungs were scattered in the area.

Hernandez said in a news release that a veterinarian will determine the time and cause of the horse’s death.

Animal control will lead the investigation unless it is determined the horse was stolen.