Post Staff – Page 230 – St. Joseph Post Archive

St. Joseph man injured after swerving to avoid deer

Posted on March 23, 2017

A crash in Andrew County sent a St. Joseph man to the hospital Wednesday night.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Daniel Leslie, 37 was driving a 1995 Chevrolet Silverado southbound on Route H around 11:45 p.m. just two miles south of Fillmore when he swerved to avoid hitting a deer. Leslie’s vehicle then went off the east side of the road and hit an embankment. Leslie was transported by ambulance to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of what was described as a moderate injury.

He was not reported to be wearing a seat belt.

Temps in the 70s with a chance of rain today

Posted on March 23, 2017

Scattered rain showers are still possible during the day today with thunderstorms possible tomorrow. A few storms could be severe with the primary threats being damaging winds and hail. Storms should exit the area by Saturday night, leaving behind a much needed 0.5-1.0 inch of rain. Another round of storms and accumulating rain is possible Sunday night into Monday. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Patchy drizzle with a chance of showers before noon, then a slight chance of showers between noon and 3 p.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. South wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Friday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 57. North northwest wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 62.

Sunday Night: Showers likely, mainly after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Monday: Showers likely, mainly before 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Wednesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Obituaries March 19-21

Posted on March 22, 2017March 23, 2017

Elenor Darling Coon
1942-2017

Elenor Darling Coon 74, of Saint Joseph, Missouri, passed away Sunday, March 19, 2017 in a Saint Joseph health care center. She was born November 2, 1942 in St. Joseph, MO, daughter of the late Bessie and George F. Caw Sr. She attended Myrtle Miller and married George Coon January 14, 1962. She was a homemaker and loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She also enjoyed fishing, camping, crocheting, playing cards, embroidery, cooking, and gardening, she was a Christian. Elenor was preceded in death by husband, George W. “Duane” Coon, Sr., her parents, three daughters, Theresa Green, Nancy Coon, and Elvira Coon, two brothers, Wayne Caw, and Russell Caw, and a sister, Frances Caw. Survivors include, daughters, Dorothy (Mark) Bullimore, Eunice (Jeff) Angold, and Elenor D. Coon a son, George W. (Pam) Coon, Jr., a brother, Frank (Mary) Caw, all of St. Joseph, MO, 6 grandchildren: Charlie (Carol) Harris, Michael (Erin) Harris, Bo (Amanda) Jones, Phallin (Jeremy) Thornton, Joshua Coon, and Aaron Coon, 9 great grandchildren, Elissa, Mason, and Braydon Jones, Trenton, Maddox, and Harper Harris, Jadence, Jaxon, and Liam Thornton.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 am, on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at Rupp Funeral Home, with Rev. James Kerns officiating, The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday at the Rupp Funeral Home. The Interment will be at the Mount Auburn Cemetery . Memorials are requested to the Three Rivers Hospice.

Norman Franklin Hayes
1937-2017

Norman Franklin Hayes, 80, St. Joseph, Missouri passed away Monday, March 20, 2017 at his home.
He was born February 18, 1937 to Robert and Mildred (Lafavor) Hayes in St. Joseph, Missouri.
He married Nancie Brinton on May 5, 1980. She survives of the home.
He worked as a die cutter for 30 plus years at Mead Paper Products Factory in downtown St. Joseph.
Mr. Hayes was a past Moila Shriner and past member of the St. Joseph Lodge No. 78, A.F. & A.M.
Norman was a great family man who loved shooting pool and playing cards.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and his infant sister, Gloria Hayes.
Additional Survivors include his children, Scott Hayes, Janice Krull (Greg) and Shelby Hayes-Barbin; six grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and sisters, Shirly Bunse and Judy Howard (Jim).
Farewell Services 1:00 P.M. Thursday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Interment Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The family will gather with friends 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Wednesday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Flowers are appreciated and for those wishing to make a contribution, the family requests they be made to the American Lung Association. Online guest book and obituary at www.meierhoffer.com.

Stella Louise Wessel (Peltier)
1941-2017

Stella Louise Wessel (Peltier) was born Sunday, October 26th, 1941; and passed away Monday, March 20th, 2017 in Atchison, Kansas. Visitation Thursday, March 23rd, 2017, 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Located at St. Anns Catholic Church. A Parish Rosary will be recited at 6:00 PM with visitation following. Services Friday, March 24th, 2017, 10:30am; officiating Fr. Benjamin Tremmel, OSB. Located St. Ann’s Catholic Church. Interment located at St. Ann’s Catholic Cemetery.

Shirley M. (Weir) Schober
1924-2017

Shirley M. (Weir) Schober, 92, St. Joseph, Missouri passed away Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at a local healthcare facility.
She was born August 27, 1924 in Willis, Kansas to William and Myrtle (Barber) Weir, who preceded her in death.
Shirley married John Schober July 15, 1945, he preceded her in death March 25, 2008.
She and her husband owned and operated Shirjon Antiques for over twenty years.
Shirley enjoyed reading, gardening, fishing, drinking coffee and taking her naps. She always talked about what a great family she had and loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren dearly. The family would like to thank Vintage Gardens and Mosaic Life Care Hospice for the great care of their mother.
She was also preceded in death by her brothers, William, Jr. and Ernest Weir; sisters, Viola Page, Grace Petree, Esther Bryan, and Aletha Dove.
Survivors include daughters, Karen Reardon (Joe), St. Joseph, Gerri Webster (Dan), Olathe, Kansas; sons, Dave Schober (Betty), St. Joseph, Ron Schober (Carol), Shawnee, Kansas; thirteen grandchildren; twenty-five great-grandchildren.
Farewell Services 1:00 P.M. Saturday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Interment Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will gather with friends 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Online guest book and obituary at www.meierhoffer.com.

David Francis Knutter
1938-2017

David Francis Knutter 78, Savannah, Missouri passed away Tuesday March 21, 2017, in a Savannah, Mo health care center. He was born August 19, 1938 Orrick, Missouri. He worked as an Auto Mechanic. He preceded in death by his parents, Theodore & Gladys Knutter, brothers, John and Amos Knutter, sisters, Loretta, Sallie, Dorothy and Mary. Survivors include daughter, Loretta (Paul) Davidson. sons, David R. (Joyah) Knutter and Michael A. (Kerri) Knutter, 7 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, brothers, Leroy (Pat) and Tom (Ruth) Knutter. Mr. Knutter will be cremated under the care of the Rupp Funeral Home.

Robert “Bob” Fogler
1946-2017

Robert “Bob” Fogler, 70, St. Joseph, Missouri passed away Tuesday, March 21, 2017.
He was born June 16, 1946 in Atchison, Kansas to Frank and Ellen (Brown) Fogler.
Bob married Judy George October 21, 1972, she survives of the home.
He was a member of The Sons Of American Revolution Group, Valley Forge Society and a member of Wyatt Park Baptist Church. Bob worked for General Motors for over 34 years, retiring in 2004.
Bob loved spending time with his family and enjoyed utilizing Facebook to keep in contact with old friends. He loved all sports, especially womens’s basketball.
He was preceded in death by his father, Frank Fogler.
Additional survivors include daughter, Mary Brinton (Chris); grandchildren, Andrew, McKinley, and Cade Brinton; mother, Ellen Fogler.
Natural Farewell under the direction of Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. The family will gather with friends 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. Sunday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made to the ASPCA. Online guest book and obituary at www.meierhoffer.com.

Caregiver accused of stealing from elderly woman to pay water bill

Posted on March 22, 2017June 23, 2017

A St. Joseph woman is accused of stealing credit card information to pay a utility bill while caring for an elderly client.

Ashley Garr, 32 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of receiving stolen property.

According to court documents, in December Garr is accused of using an 86-year-old woman’s credit card information to pay for her own Missouri American Water Bill, totaling more than $1,000.

“Garr had contact with the victim at the victim’s residence prior to the fraudulent transaction,” said Det. Jeremy Peters with the St. Joseph Police Department.

Peters said the crime took place around the same time Garr was employed with InterServ.

“Her job duties involved taking care of elderly people,” Peters said. “Garr used the victim’s financial information fraudulently for financial gain while she was entrusted with taking care of the 86-year-old victim.”

In a statement, InterServ said it is aware of the allegations against the former employee and is cooperating with authorities in regards to the allegations. The statement is as follows:

“InterServ administration was made aware of these allegations by the family of the InterServ In-Home Service client. Family members were assured that InterServ would cooperate fully with authorities in regards to the allegations. InterServ would like to reassure those who support our agency that the community interests we serve will continue to be put first in all that we do.”

Garr is due in court for an arraignment March 31.

Online employment firm in Kansas hacked; job-seekers’ personal info exploited

Posted on March 22, 2017

A Kansas company that electronically connects job seekers with employers announced that it was the victim of a hacking, putting at risk the personal information from job applicants in up to ten states.

Officials with America’s JobLink, a multi-state web-based system, confirmed that a malicious third party “hacker” exploited a vulnerability in the AJL application code to view job-seeker’s names, Social Security Numbers, and dates of birth.

The job seekers are from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma, and Vermont. The company has been in business for almost 50 years and says this is the first known hacking intrusion.

The company says it discovered the activity on March 21st, and immediately intervened and deployed its technical team to assess and stop the incursion, disabling the hacker’s access to the data. Officials are working with law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend the perpetrator.

An independent forensic firm is completing work to determine how many job seeker accounts may have been viewed and where those individuals are located. The firm has verified that the method of the hacker’s attack has been remediated and is no longer a threat.

America’s JobLink Alliance Technical Support maintains other workforce systems, but they say the forensic firm has concluded that the code vulnerability did not affect them.

Child porn suspect who posed as a woman pleads guilty

Posted on March 22, 2017March 22, 2017

An Overland Park man pleaded guilty Monday to distributing child pornography on the Internet while posing as a woman.

Frank Joseph Kurtz, 70, Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography.

In his plea, he admitted that an investigation by the Israeli National Police first identified emails in which Kurtz used the alias “Lisayearning46” to send child pornography to another person. The FBI in Kansas followed an electronic trail to Kurtz, who registered with Yahoo under the name “Lisa Lewis” and used photos he found on the Internet as his profile picture.

Kurtz is scheduled for sentencing July 10. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 97 months in federal prison.

Visitor from Peru charged with stealing three identities for jobs in Kansas

Posted on March 22, 2017

A woman from Peru who came to the United States in 2005 on a visitor’s visa has been charged with identity theft and document fraud.

Jennifer Leyva, 35, has lived in Wichita since at least 2013, and is alleged to have used at least three different identities to get jobs at several Wichita-area businesses. She was arrested Tuesday by agents of the Kansas Department of Labor and Homeland Security Investigations, which investigated the case.

U.S. Attorney for the Kansas District Tom Beall said Leyva was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Wichita.

A federal grand jury indicted Leyva March 16 on 10 counts, including two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of identity document fraud, two counts of lying of an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form, and four counts of misuse of a Social Security number. The charges relate to the defendant’s employment at health care-related businesses in Wichita.

If convicted, the defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Charges filed after Amazonia woman killed in crash

Posted on March 22, 2017

Charges have been filed after a woman was killed in a crash in Andrew County earlier this year.

Keith Ryce Ellis, 19 of St. Joseph was charged Tuesday in Andrew County with a felony of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor for operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, and a seat belt infraction.

As previously reported, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Haylee Smither, 21, of Amazonia was a passenger in a BMW that careened off of U.S. Highway 71 at Andrew County Road 152 on February 18. The car rolled over several times ejecting Smither and then landed on top of her. She was transported to Mosaic Life Care where she later died.

The crash report said Ellis was the driver of the vehicle. According to court document, Ellis’ mother said Smither called while they were driving and said Ellis was “driving crazy” and would not let her out of the vehicle.

“After speak with Ellis, he also advised he was the driver and said they were arguing while he was operating the vehicle,” said Trooper D. Jehnzen with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Several days after the crash, authorities spoke with a witness who said he had seen the vehicle driven by Ellis pass him at a high rate of speed. He estimated anywhere from 95 to 100 miles per hour.

“The same witness advised Smither was in the passenger seat and had her hands on the dash like she was holding on,”Jehnzen said.

A court date was not yet listed on online court documents.

Jury awards over $7 million in wrongful death lawsuit against Heartland

Posted on March 22, 2017March 22, 2017

A Buchanan County jury has ruled against Heartland/Mosaic in a wrongful death lawsuit.

James Sullwold of St. Joseph filed a personal injury malpractice suit in 2015 against Heartland Regional Medical Center/Mosaic Life Care, on behalf of his late wife, Lois Sullwold. Monday, jurors decided against the hospital and awarded Sullwold more than $7.2 million in punitive damages.

Tuesday night Mosaic Life Care released a statement and said it plans to appeal the verdict. Here is the statement in its entirety:

“Every day, the nurses and doctors at Mosaic Life Care provide high-quality, compassionate care for our patients. Our safety standards have been recognized nationally by government entities such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with a Five-Star Quality Rating, Truven and Healthgrades. Our employees adhere to rigorous training to keep up to date on the latest in health-care education.

As reported, Mosaic Life Care was notified of a plaintiff verdict in a trial with a former patient. Mosaic Life Care will be filing an appeal based on extenuating circumstances surrounding the case.

We take patient safety and quality care seriously and will continue our strong commitment to safety measures. Our employees have our highest confidence and we are proud of their dedication to the communities they serve every day.”

Maysville School District issues statement after teacher charged

Posted on March 22, 2017March 22, 2017

The Maysville School District has issued a statement after a teacher was accused of inappropriately touching students.

As previously reported, Rodney Thomas, 39, of Cameron is charged in DeKalb County with nine felony counts of sexual contact with a student, one felony for first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, one felony for second-degree statutory sodomy, seven felonies for attempted enticement of a child, and two felonies for enticement or attempted enticement of a child.

The Maysville School District R-1, in a press release, said it is aware of the recent criminal charges filed.

“The staff member has been placed on administrative leave and has not been permitted on District property since the District first received notice of the allegations. The District will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and to provide support for students throughout this process.

The District values the security and safety of all students, and continues to encourage students and parents to report any incidents of inappropriate contact by an adult so it can take prompt and necessary action. The District has board policies in place that specifically prohibit inappropriate verbal and physical contact between its employees and students. The District will continue to rigorously enforce its policies to protect its students.”

Thomas has been arrested and is being held on $150,000 bail. Conditions of posting bail include no contact with Maysville school students.