JACKSON COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on felony charges.
Just after 10:30 p.m. Friday, a Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped Jordan Lee Thornton, 30, Oskaloosa, for a traffic violation near 126th Road and US Hwy 75 near Hoyt, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.
The deputy soon discovered the 2012 Toyota Prius had been stolen from a Topeka car dealership.
The deputy arrested Thornton for felony possession of stolen property, interference with law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and driving while suspended. Thornton remains in custody in the Jackson County Jail.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Dec. 11 – 17 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.
MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.
For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.
Atchison County
U.S. Route 59 – Shoulder work from the Holt County line to U.S. Route 136, Dec. 11 – 15
Buchanan County
U.S. Route 36 – CLOSED for sign installation at the ramp from westbound U.S. Route 36 to northbound Interstate 229, Dec. 11, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
U.S. Route 36 – Sign installation on westbound U.S. Route 36 at the I-229 interchange, Dec. 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The driving and passing lane will be closed and traffic will be directed through the intersection using the turn lane.
Caldwell County
Route 13 – Milling from Route F to SW Longhorn Drive, Dec. 11
Dekalb County
Route J – Drainage work from U.S. Route 36 to Rogers Road, Dec. 11
Route N – Culvert repair from Route 6 to Patton Road, Dec. 13
Gentry County
Route H – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Isaac Miller Trail to 445th Street, Dec. 11, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
U.S. Routes 136 and 169 – Shoulder work, Dec. 11 – 14
Linn County
Route WW – Pothole patching from the city limits of Marceline to the Macon County line, Dec. 11
U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair westbound from Route F to Route 11, Dec. 11 – 12. This includes an overnight lane closure.
Route B – Pothole patching from Route 139 to Route 5, Dec. 12
Route V – Pothole patching from Route M to Route C, Dec. 13 – 15
Livingston County
Route 190 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 65 to the Daviess County line, Dec. 11 – 15
Route KK – CLOSED from County Road 216 to the end of state maintenance, Dec. 14, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mercer County
U.S. Route 136 − CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Muddy Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through February 2018.
Nodaway County
Route C – Shoulder and drainage work, Dec. 11
U.S. Route 71 – CLOSED for culvert repair at 268th Street, Dec. 11 – 13, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Access to 268th Street will be closed during this time.
U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B (Andrew County) to Route U, Dec. 11 – 15
Route KK – Shoulder and drainage work, Dec. 12 – 13
Worth County
Route 46 – Shoulder work and bridge maintenance one mile west of Grant City, Dec. 12 – 13
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The first-degree murder trial of a 28-year-old Wisconsin man charged in the stabbing death of his Missouri girlfriend’s mother has been postponed.
Nicholas Godejohn, of Big Bend, Wisconsin, had been scheduled to go to trial this month. But the Springfield News-Leader reports it could now be nearly a year before he goes before a jury.
Godejohn is charged in the June 2015 death of 48-year-old Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard at her home in Springfield. Authorities says Godejohn killed the woman so he and her daughter, Gypsy Blanchard, could be together.
Gypsy Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors have said Dee Dee Blanchard abused her daughter and forced her to pretend for years that she was disabled to raise money.
NEW YORK (AP) — This year’s flu season is off to a quick start and so far it seems to be dominated by a nasty bug.
Health officials say the flu vaccine seems well matched to the viruses making people sick, but it’s too early to tell how bad this season will be. The main flu bug this season tends to cause more deaths and hospitalizations and vaccines tend not to work as well against this type.
Flu began picking up last month. By the end of last week, seven states reported widespread flu activity: Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Virginia.
Most flu seasons don’t really get going until around Christmas. That’s how last year’s flu season played out.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the latest data Friday.
Paul Davis, the former Democratic leader in the Kansas House, is running for the 2nd District Congressional seat in Kansas. In the 2014 governor’s race, Davis carried the district by six points over Gov. Sam Brownback. FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Political forecasters attempting to gauge the chances for a power shift in Congress are watching several key 2018 races across the country, including two in Kansas.
In the 3rd District, several Democrats are competing for the right to challenge four-term Republican Kevin Yoder, and in the 2nd District, a former Democratic candidate for governor hopes to claim an open seat.
Democrats challenging Yoder have the advantage of running in a district that Hillary Clinton carried over President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, albeit by a single percentage point.
Paul Davis, the former Democratic leader in the Kansas House, has what might prove to be a bigger advantage in the 2nd District, which covers roughly the eastern third of the state. He carried it by six points in his unsuccessful 2014 bid to unseat Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
That strong showing and the fact that at the end of the first reporting period Davis had raised more campaign cash than his Republican rivals combined suggests that he is capable of winning the seat, said University of Kansas political scientist Patrick Miller.
“Clearly Paul Davis showed that he could appeal to some of those right-leaning voters in 2014,” Miller said. “His challenge is to replicate that and really get back that center-to-right support that can carry him over.”
Davis, a partner in a Lawrence law firm, is hopeful but cautious.
“Obviously I wouldn’t be in the race if I didn’t believe we had a good opportunity to win,” Davis said. “I also know that I’m a Democrat in Kansas and things are never easy.”
If Davis can get by Kelly Standley, a small-business owner from St. Paul, in the primary, he plans to court independent and moderate Republican voters by pledging to cross the aisle to forge compromise solutions on health care, taxes, the environment and a host of other key issues.
“You know, we’ve got plenty of people on both sides of the aisle in Washington that are just sitting on the end of the political spectrum, just providing more and more noise,” Davis said. “What we need right now are people who are going to be Kansans and Americans first and not Democrats and Republicans.”
GOP field lacks big names
State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth announced his bid for the GOP nomination in the 2nd District in July. CREDIT FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
When Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins decided not to run for a sixth term, she expected that several high-profile Republicans would jump into the race to succeed her.
That didn’t happen.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach opted to run for governor instead. Attorney General Derek Schmidt considered a run but decided instead to seek re-election.
To ensure that the GOP fielded its best candidate, state Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, from Leavenworth, was willing to defer to any number of higher-profile Republicans. But when none stepped forward he jumped into the 2nd District race, saying it was essential for Republicans to hang on to the seat to help thwart an attempt by Democrats to gain control of the U.S. House.
“Bernie and Hillary’s Democrats are desperate to retake Congress and resume their death march to socialism,” Fitzgerald said at his July campaign launch. “We cannot let that happen.”
Fitzgerald said if elected he would help President Donald Trump further his agenda for tax cuts, tougher border security and the rollback of Obama-era environmental regulations.
“The puddles in your backyard are no longer ‘waters of the United States’ to be regulated by the federal government,” he said, before also praising Trump’s decision to withdraw from what he called “the international climate scam.”
Republican state Sen. Caryn Tyson of Parker highlighted her support for President Donald Trump’s agenda when she joined the 2nd District race in August. CREDIT FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Five now in GOP field
Similarly, state Sen. Caryn Tyson, from Parker, highlighted her support for the Trump agenda when she joined the race in August.
“We need to embrace the president’s call to repeal and replace Obamacare, secure our borders and pass comprehensive tax reform to cut taxes,” Tyson said in her campaign announcement.
In a recent interview, Tyson, who manages a Linn County ranch with her husband, described herself as a “reasonable conservative,” which she defined as someone willing to engage in debate and compromise to get things done.
As she campaigns, Tyson said she has not detected any buyer’s remorse from 2nd District voters who supported Trump.
“A majority of people, I think, tend to take the attitude that they wish he wouldn’t tweet so much,” she said. “But they agree with the agenda that he campaigned on.”
State Rep. Kevin Jones, a former Green Beret from Wellsville, and Basehor City Councilman Vernon Fields and Topekan Matt Bevens round out the GOP field.
Former Kansas Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave recently withdrew from the race amid reports that Brownback fired him for, among other things, awarding state contracts to friends and business associates.
Race seen as competitive
Davis’ 2014 performance and his early fundraising prowess have put the 2nd District race on various watch lists. The seat is one of several that prognosticators believe Democrats could flip if there is a substantial midterm backlash against Trump.
Recently, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a website run by University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato, adjusted its prediction on the Kansas 2nd District race, moving it from the “likely Republican” column to “Republican leaning.”
It’s a slight change, but one that signals that campaign watchers expect the race to be competitive, said KU’s Miller.
“I don’t think that either side has a clear leg up,” Miller said. “The strengths of Paul Davis versus the Republican tilt of the district — we don’t really know how that will come out.”
Investigators on scene of Friday’s accident-photo courtesy KCTV
KANSAS CITY (AP) – Police in Kansas City, Missouri, say an 8-year-old boy has died after being hit by a garbage truck outside his grandparents” home.
Television station WDAF reports that Dra’Viontay Baker was playing in a small wagon with a 9-year-old friend when the truck hit him Friday afternoon.
Police say Dra’Viontay was rushed to Children’s Mercy Hospital, where he died. Officials said the boy was a third-grader at Truman Elementary. His friend was not injured.
Police say the driver was not impaired and stayed on the scene until officers and medics arrived. The driver told police he was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the boy.
JACKSON COUNTY — A Kansas woman has died from injuries in a Friday fire at a home in Jackson County.
Just before 8 a.m., first responders were dispatched to a home in the 600 Block Commercial Street in Netawaka, according to a media release.
A woman identified as Catherine A. Duncan, 75, was badly burned from a fire in a cooking stove. The open flames ignited her clothing. The stove was being used to heat the residence. Life Star Air Ambulance airlifted Duncan to the University of Kansas Medical Center Burn Unit. She was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. Friday, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The residential structure was not damaged in the fire.
The Netawaka, Whiting, Fire Departments responded to the scene as well as Jackson County EMS and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Sarah McClure’s father speaking out about the lawsuit in June-image courtesy KSHB
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas paid out a total of $395,000 to settle lawsuits by two former rowers who said the school didn’t respond properly to their reports of being sexually assaulted on campus.
The Kansas City Star reports that the university admits no liability in agreeing to pay former rower Daisy Tackett $245,000 and former rower Sarah McClure $150,000.
Tackett reported a Kansas football player raped her in 2014 and McClure alleged she was assaulted by the same man a year later. The women claimed the school violated Title IX because officials should have anticipated a heightened risk of sexual assaults at the apartments where football players live.
The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify victims of alleged sexual assault, but Tackett and McClure have said they want their names used.
A space dedicated to the academic success of student-athletes at Northwest Missouri State University will soon bear the name of a family that instills a legacy of education, service and leadership at the institution and beyond.
According to a press release, with the approval of Northwest’s Board of Regents, the Student-Athlete Academic Center, located on the lower level of the Lamkin Activity Center, will be renamed the Harr Athletic Success Center.
A dedication ceremony is planned for 10:30 a.m.Saturday, Jan. 13, in the center, and the public is invited to attend.
“We talk about being forever green and there is no better personification than Dr. Harr,” Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski said. “His family’s impact on the University and our region is decades long, and Doc has helped so many people and supports our student-athletes in a matter-of-fact manner. His devotion to lifelong learning, scholarship and positive impacts is modeled by his wife, Teri, and his family – modeled after his mom and dad. The Board of Regents is thrilled to honor Doc in this way, and we are all so much better for having Doc and the Harr family as part of our heritage.”
The naming honors Dr. Patrick Harr’s decades of service as a volunteer physician for Northwest athletic teams, setting lasting examples for the Maryville community and its student-athletes. Harr also has served as a member of the Board of Regents since 2013 and served as chair of the Board since 2015. Born and raised in Maryville, Harr attended Northwest’s Horace Mann Laboratory School as a child and began his college coursework at Northwest in the 1960s before transferring to the University of Missouri-Columbia for medical school. He returned to Maryville in 1974 to begin his career as a family physician.
Additionally, Harr’s father, the late Dr. John L. Harr, was a member of the Northwest faculty from 1944 until 1979. During that time, he served as chair of the history department and, as the Homecoming faculty chairman for 20 years, helped develop many of the Homecoming traditions that continue at Northwest today. Patrick Harr’s mother, the late Helen Harr, also was a trained teacher.
Northwest opened the Student-Athlete Academic Center, which formerly was the University’s fitness center, after the 2015 opening of the Robert and Virginia Foster Fitness Center. A leisure lounge for student-athletes with couches, tables, chairs and TVs, the space provides an area to students-athletes for study and socialization.
A Cameron man was seriously injured in a crash early Saturday morning in Caldwell County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 41-year-old Scotty R. Caselman was driving a Ford F-350 south on Alamo Road about five miles southeast of Cameron at 3:45 Saturday morning. Caselman lost control of the vehicle which went off the east side of the road, hit an embankment and came to rest on its wheels.
Caselman was transported to Liberty Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
According to the crash report, Caselman was not wearing a seat belt.
JACKSON COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on felony charges.
