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Suspect pleads guilty in Overland Park bank robbery

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USDOJ bw smallA Kansas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges stemming from a bank robbery in Overland Park.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Mamoudou U. Kaba, 21, Shawnee, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during the robbery.

In his plea, he admitted that he brandished a gun on Sept 22, 2015, when he robbed U.S. Bank at 9900 West 87th in Overland Park, Kan.

He pointed a gun at a clerk and customers before fleeing the bank with stolen cash. He faces up to 25 years on the robbery charge and not less than seven years on the firearm charge, with the sentences running consecutively.

Former bank employee sentenced for embezzling more than $500,000

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USDOJ coin
A Leavenworth woman was sentenced Tuesday to four months in custody followed by four months home confinement for embezzling more than half a million dollars from the bank where she worked.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Ashley Blacketer, 29, also was ordered to pay full restitution.

Blacketer pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred while she worked for Exchange National Bank & Trust in Leavenworth.

Over a period of six years, Blacketer covered up the crime by falsifying a ledger showing the amount of cash in the bank’s vault. The crime was discovered during an audit after she left the bank for another job.

Temperatures above normal through Christmas Day

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weather-12-21Slightly above normal temperatures will persist through the remainder of the week with the next chance for precipitation arriving by Friday as a weak storm system moves overhead. Conditions will then dry out temporarily on Saturday before a strong storm system moves into the Plains on Sunday. This system will bring moderate rains to the area Christmas afternoon and evening, with a slight chance for a passing thunderstorm or two. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 41. South wind 6 to 9 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the morning.

Thursday Night: A slight chance of snow after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday: A chance of snow before 11 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow between 11 a.m. and noon, then a chance of rain after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. South wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 42.

Saturday Night: A chance of drizzle after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Christmas Day: Rain likely before noon, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 59. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39.

 

Shop St. Joseph winning number announced

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Photo by Nadia Thacker
Photo by Nadia Thacker

(News release) – The winning number for the Shop St. Joseph Holiday Program is:

0815080

The shopper with the winning ticket has 24 hours to come forward to claim the $10,000 prize. Shoppers are urged to keep their tickets because if the winner hasn’t come forward by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, another number will be announced. This process will continue at 5 p.m. on weekdays until a winner comes forward with the correct ticket. Exclusions include Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The winner MUST call the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce at (816) 232-4461 during business hours or (816) 261-3610 after business hours to arrange a time to verify the ticket. He or she MUST come to the Chamber office at 3003 Frederick Ave. before 5 p.m. Wednesday to claim the prize. The person with the winning ticket should come to the Chamber to have the ticket verified, not a member of the media. Media members cannot verify a winning ticket.
The winner must be 18 or older. Proof of age, Social Security number, home address and place of employment (if applicable) is required to claim the prize. Chamber of Commerce staff, Chamber officers and their immediate family members (dependents living at the same address) are not eligible to win the grand prize. Participating business owners, managers and employees are eligible to win, with the exception of tickets distributed through their own place of business (including other participating locations).
The winner will be responsible for any applicable taxes.
One winning number per each second-chance prize were also drawn today. Those numbers will be announced after the grand prize ticket has been verified.
Two certified public accountants worked with Chamber staff to provide oversight of the program. Roughly 1.2 million tickets were distributed this year through the 110 participating merchants. This is up from 96 merchants in 2015.
This is the 10th year for the local holiday shopping program. The program’s goal is to keep holiday spending in the local economy, so sales tax collected goes back into helping St. Joseph and Buchanan County projects.

(Video/Photo Gallery) The demolition, and the waiting, continue in downtown St. Joe

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Demolition continues in downtown St. Joe, and so does the waiting.

Three historic buildings in the downtown area are being demolished at the same time, even as construction continues on at least two buildings elsewhere downtown.

The owners of Home Style Furniture says they are still waiting for the crew next door to remove debris along their adjacent wall. Only then can Home Style’s structural engineer make a final determination about whether the business can remain at its current location at 302 S. 3rd. Fire destroyed the vacant Mitchell Seed Company building next door on the night of October 21.

Owners Deana and Bob Hand were forced to sell all of their inventory at Home Style to a salvage company. They’ve been searching for another building in the area in the event that their current building cannot be used.

Around the corner at 4th and Angelique, the same demolition company continued its work tearing down the Carpet Mill building, which was damaged by a storm in July. City officials say the owner of the building had not responded to notices that ordered a demolition, so the city hired the company to do it.

Demolition continued on the Pioneer Building at 5th and Francis Streets. A crew using heavy equipment resumed their efforts to push down the west wall of the building along Francis Street Tuesday. Earlier, most of the south wall was pushed down. Once an engineer determines it is safe to do so, fire inspectors will pick through the rubble in an effort to determine what caused the fire November 21.

Under the current emergency order by the city, the demolition crew has until Dec. 23 to render the structure safe for entry.

US-36E to close in Hamilton during January

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wpid-wpid-modot-logo-200x150-200x150.jpgA stretch of 36 Highway in Caldwell County will close after the first of the year for bridge maintenance. The Missouri Department of Transportation says crews will close eastbound U.S. Highway 36 in Hamilton on weekdays beginning January 3.

MoDOT crews will close all lanes of eastbound U.S. Route 36 at Route 13 from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 pm. Monday through Friday, weather permitting, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017.

Motorists will be rerouted up and over the ramps at Route 13. It will take approximately one month to complete the project.

All work is weather dependent and schedules are subject to change.

Physician’s assistant sentenced for bogus Botox injections

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USDOJ bas relief logoA physician’s assistant who gave Botox injections to clients in Garden City and Scott City, Kansas was sentenced Tuesday to a year on federal probation for violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Joel Erskin, 53, Garden City, Kan. pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and dispensing misbranded drugs.

In his plea, he admitted the crimes occurred while he owned and operated Renovo Medical, LLC, also known as University Medical. Erskin purchased cheaper versions of Botox® and Juvaderm® from Canadian pharmacies. The Botox he purchased was misbranded and failed to meet labeling requirements. The Juvaderm was adulterated and not approved for distribution in the United States.

Erskin did not inform his clients that the drugs were purchased from Canada and did not meet federal standards.

Beall commended the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway for their work on the case.

Backpack Buddies distributions relocate due to SJSD early out

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SecondHarvest_Logo_newtag_rSecond Harvest’s Backpack Buddies program is holding distributions at several other areas around town due to the St. Joseph School District dismissing earlier because of weather.

The early dismissal in the district has caused several hundred St. Joseph School District kids to miss getting their Backpack Buddies, a supplemental feeding program offered by Second Harvest Community Food Bank.  The distribution is designed to last the kids through the two-week long winter break. So the food bank has coordinated with Hy-Vee and Bode Ice Arena to give out the Backpack Buddies at alternative locations.

A distribution is being held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Second Harvest Community Food Bank located at 915 Douglas, Hy-Vee on N. Belt and Bode Ice Arena at 2500 Southwest Parkway.

The agency is also partnering with Bode Ice Arena and Evolution United Methodist Church to provide a free meal to any children under the age of 18 Wednesday through Friday this week and Monday through Friday next week from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at both Bode and Evolution located at 202 W Hyde Park Ave.

For more information contact Second Harvest at (816) 364-3663.

 

Interpretive Signage Project installed at Pony Express

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Photo courtesy Pony Express Museum
Photo courtesy Pony Express Museum
Photo courtesy Pony Express Museum
Photo courtesy Pony Express Museum

An Outdoor Interpretive Signage project is now on display at the Pony Express National Museum.

A news release said the purpose of the project is to reach visitors 24 hours each day and continue to convey the story of the Pony Express.

The museum in St. Joseph acted as a pilot site and received a grant from Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area (FFNHA) for this program. Two signs have been developed; one has been placed outside of the entrance to the Museum and the second has been placed outside the entrance of the Pony School, a reproduction one room school house from the 1860s.

The museum said the signs encourage links between the Pony Express Story and FFNHA. This project compliments the work of the Heritage Area in several ways including explaining the importance of communication to California during the Civil War and telling visitors to the museum how the Pony Express and its trail was a vital artery for pioneers going west as well as delivering the mail in only 10 days.

The Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission rates are $6 adults, $5 seniors, $3 youth, and $1 children 4-6. For further information about programs and events call (816) 279-5059 or visit the museum website at www.ponyexpress.org.

Local FOP to host Shop with a Cop

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FOPAround 40 kids from Andrew and Buchanan Counties will get a chance to shop with a cop Wednesday night in St. Joseph.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 said it plans to host a Shop with a Cop shopping night at South Belt Walmart.  The kids will take part in shopping with area law enforcement from the St. Joseph Police Department, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, Andrew County Sheriff’s Department, Country Club Village Police Department, Savannah Police Department and Missouri Western State University’s Police Department.  The FOP said the kids were nominated by their schools or by officers they met on calls for service in Andrew or Buchanan County to be able to attend.

A second shopping event will also take place in Cameron for 8 kids at the Cameron Walmart sponsored by the lodge.

“Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 would like to thank all of the wonderful people in our communities that helped us make this event possible,” said Mike Hardin, FOP Lodge 3 President. “We couldn’t do it without their help.”

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