It’ll be a warm and windy Monday ahead of a cold front. That front will lead to showers and a few storms, mainly east of I-35. Then we get close to normal through the middle of the week before temperatures get cold for the end of the week. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Patchy drizzle with a slight chance of rain before 10 a.m., then a slight chance of showers between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a temperature rising to near 68 by noon, then falling to around 53 during the remainder of the day. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 20 to 25 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Blustery, with a northwest wind 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 13 to 18 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 44. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 18 mph increasing to 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. West southwest wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Breezy, with a northwest wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23.
The west side of Worth County will be without water starting at 8 a.m. Monday.
According to Bobbie Gladstone, a Clerk with the Worth County Public Water District, only rural areas will be affected. The northern boundary of the water outage will be Highway E to the southern boundary of Highway W.
After water is restored a boil advisory will be in place for 48 hours.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and have a suspect in custody.
Just after 3 a.m. Sunday, police responded to an open 911 line to a local store at 10th and Topeka Boulevard in Topeka, according to Lt. Colleen Stuart.
On arrival, officers located a suspect exiting the store office.
It was determined the suspect had been found behind a store counter taking items. When confronted by a store employee, the man showed a weapon and forced the employee into an office where the employee was then struck several times.
The suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash from the store safe and was in the process of exiting the store when police officers arrived.
Police arrested Craig Smith, 45, on requested charges of Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Kidnapping. He has previous convictions for theft, Aggravated Battery and Drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) – An effort to raise money to improve the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in the author’s Missouri hometown of Hannibal is off to a strong start.
The Hannibal Courier-Post reports that just six weeks into the effort, the fundraising campaign has already raised 75 percent of its $600,000 goal. That was aided by an anonymous $100,000 donation.
Twain was born Samuel Clemens in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, and moved to Hannibal as a boy. Many of his most famous works are based on his life in Hannibal.
Executive Director Henry Sweets says the money will be used to complete renovations for a building near the home where Twain grew up and to upgrade exhibits.
A Leawood couple’s home was searched for marijuana in 2012 by the Johnson County Sheriff, despite there being no marijuana in the house. CREDIT PLANTLADY233 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal trial that begins Monday will focus on whether police lied about the results of tests on discarded tea leaves found in a Kansas couple’s trash to get permission for a SWAT-style raid on their home.
Robert and Adlynn Harte are seeking $5 million for economic losses plus emotional pain, distress and humiliation after a 2012 raid on their Leawood home. They are also seeking $2 million in punitive damages.
Authorities targeted the Hartes, both former CIA employees, after seeing Robert Harte leaving a store that sold hydroponic gardening equipment. Johnson County sheriff’s deputies found brewed tea leaves outside their home. An affidavit claimed field tests indicated the leaves were marijuana. A search of the home found only vegetable plants. The Hartes say law enforcement lied about the test results.
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) – A former high school cafeteria worker has won a $340,000 judgment in her lawsuit alleging she was discriminated against by the Independence School District.
Amy Stubbs filed the lawsuit after she was fired as a cook in the cafeteria at William Chrisman High School in May 2015. Her daughter attended the school.
The Kansas City Star reports Stubbs alleged her daughter was sexually harassed at the school and the district didn’t do enough to protect her. Stubbs contended was disciplined and eventually fired for complaining to district officials.
The school district said in a statement that Stubbs was fired for posting comments on social media about a security issue at a school building. The district says it plans to appeal the verdict.
COUNTY— A Missouri woman died in an accident just before 5a.m. Sunday in Dallas County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser driven by Heather L. Green, 41, Buffalo, was westbound on Mo. 32 five miles east of Buffalo.
The vehicle traveled off the right side of the road, struck an embankment and the driver was ejected.
Green was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Springfield mortuary.
She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
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. 4 – 10 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, mowing, 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 at facebook.com/MoDOTNWDistrict.
Andrew County
U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B to Route U (Nodaway County), Dec. 4 – 8
Buchanan County
Interstate 29 – The northbound I-29 ramp to northbound I-229 will be CLOSED for bridge repair, Dec. 4, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route 116 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 59 to Route E, Dec. 4 – 8
Carroll County
U.S. Route 65 – Drainage work from County Road 120 to County Road 130, Dec. 4 – 6
Clinton County
Route 33 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route PP to Horseshoe Lane, Dec. 4 – 8, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. A temporary traffic signal will direct traffic overnight.
Gentry County
U.S. Routes 136 and 169 – Shoulder work, Dec. 4 – 9
Harrison County
Route 46 – Shoulder work, Dec. 4 – 8
U.S. Route 69 – Shoulder work one mile south of U.S. Route 136, Dec. 5 – 6
Holt County
Route 118 – The ramp from Route 118 to southbound I-29 is CLOSED for the Davis Creek Bridge replacement project through mid-December.
I-29 – Bridge replacement project at the Davis Creek Bridge near Exit 84. I-29 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction. This includes a 12-foot width restriction. The lane closures will remain in place through mid-December.
U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair westbound from Route F to Route 11, Dec. 4 – 5. This includes an overnight lane closure.
Route FF – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Gas Road to Gold Road, Dec. 5, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair eastbound from Route 11 to the West Yellow Creek Bridge, Dec. 5 – 6. This includes an overnight lane closure.
U.S. Route 36 – Sealing and pothole patching eastbound from Route F to Route 5, Dec. 6 – 7
Route P – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Hyde Road to Hacker Road, Dec. 8, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
U.S. Route 36 – Sealing and pothole patching westbound from Route 5 to Route F, Dec. 8.
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
U.S. Route 136 – Shoulder work one mile south of the city limits of Ravenwood, Nov. 4
U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B (Andrew County) to Route U, Dec. 4 – 8
Route 46 – CLOSED at the Nodaway River Bridge for maintenance, Dec. 4 – 8, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.
U.S. Route 71 – Signal and intersection work at Main Street in Maryville. Most work will be off the roadway, but there may be some lane closures with flaggers at the intersection, Dec. 4 – 8
KANSAS CITY – Former professional basketball player and representative for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to a charity fraud scheme, according to Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Kermit Alan Washington, 66, of Las Vegas, Nev., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, to two counts of making a false statement in a tax return and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Co-defendant Patricia Harris, 65, of Las Vegas, also pleaded guilty yesterday. Harris pleaded guilty to making false declarations before a grand jury.
Washington and Harris are among 11 defendants who have pleaded guilty in several cases related to the investigations of an international software piracy conspiracy and charity fraud scheme.
Washington agreed to refer professional athletes to attorney Ronald Jack Mix, 78, of San Diego, Calif., so that Mix could file workers’ compensation claims in the state of California on behalf of the athletes. Mix then agreed to make donations to Washington’s charity, The Sixth Man Foundation, doing business as Project Contact Africa.
Washington accepted approximately $155,000 in donations to his charity, which were actually illegal referral payments from Mix and his law firm. Washington diverted those funds from the charity’s bank account to pay himself or for personal spending. Washington admitted that he failed to account for this income to the charity on Project Contact Africa’s IRS filings during those years.
In a separate but related case, Mix pleaded guilty on May 23, 2016, to filing a false tax return. Mix admitted that he made donations ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for referrals of athletes, some of whom lived in the Western District of Missouri. Mix then claimed those payments as charitable contributions on his individual tax returns from 2010 to 2013.
Washington also admitted that he accepted approximately $82,025 in contributions to his charity from Reza Davachi, 43, of Damascus, Md., and likewise diverted those funds from the charity’s bank account to pay himself or for personal spending.
In a separate but related case, Davachi pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2015, to his role in one of the largest software piracy schemes ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Investigators seized more than $20 million in assets from conspirators who are estimated to have sold in excess of $100 million worth of illicit, unauthorized and counterfeit software products to thousands of online customers.
Davachi admitted that he managed the on-line presence of the Project Contact Africa eBay/PayPal charity. Davachi actively used the Project Contact Africa charity’s eBay/PayPal account to sell unauthorized, illicit, and counterfeit software and software components through eBay, and used the charity’s PayPal account to facilitate payments for these software components. By using the charity’s account to sell his items through the eBay charity store, Davachi saved thousands of dollars per month that he would have otherwise had to pay eBay in the form of various fees. During this time, the Project Contact Africa eBay/PayPal account took in approximately $12 million in revenue, and eBay/PayPal sustained losses of approximately $908,231 due to the waived fees.
Customers of the Project Contact Africa eBay charity store were under the impression that “100 percent” of the proceeds of sales were intended to go to the charity when, in fact, only a portion of the proceeds actually went to the charity. The remainder went to Davachi and his company, Rez Candles, Inc. Davachi also admitted that he allowed numerous other individuals to use the Project Contact Africa eBay/PayPal charity store to sell their own items at a significantly reduced amount as compared to other for-profit sales methods on eBay, with the understanding that they would pay back to Davachi a portion of their savings.
By pleading guilty, Washington specifically admitted that he filed a materially false individual tax return on Feb. 18, 2014, and that he filed a materially false Form 990-EZ for his tax-exempt organization on Aug. 20, 2012. On this Form 990-EZ, Washington claimed that Project Contact Africa received $52,069 in income; in reality these charity accounts received approximately $114,774 in income, some of which Washington diverted to his personal accounts and used towards his personal spending.
Washington also admitted that used the name, personal address and business address of another person without lawful authority in numerous state and federal filings on behalf of the charity. The identity theft victim, identified in court documents as “T.G.”, was a resident of Oregon. Washington admitted that he used her identity information so that Project Contact Africa could maintain its active status within the state of Oregon, which enabled the charity to receive the charitable donations from Mix and permitted Davachi to maintain the charity store for his sales on eBay.
Harris admitted that, while under oath before a federal grand jury, she made materially false statements by denying that she played any role in creating and co-authoring false and fictitious board minutes for the Sixth Man Foundation d/b/a Project Contact Africa charity. Harris admitted that she created and co-authored false and fictitious board minutes for purported board of directors meetings in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, which never actually occurred. The information and content contained within these falsified board minutes was relayed to Harris by Washington. She aided in the preparation and falsification of these minutes at Washington’s direction.
Under federal statutes, Washington is subject to a sentence of up to six years in federal prison without parole for the tax counts, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison without parole on the identity theft count. Harris is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. By pleading guilty today, Washington acknowledged that the court may order restitution as related conduct in connection with his personal tax years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, and for the tax years 2010, 2012, and 2013 for the tax returns filed for the Sixth Man Foundation, D/B/A Project Contact Africa.
The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
An honors class on human rights will host Missouri Western State University’s first Human Rights Fair this week.
Class members and student organizations focused on human rights will present informative displays on several issues, including domestic violence, sex trafficking, forced labor, health care, child marriage, child homelessness and environmental degradation.
According to a press release, the fair is a commemoration of Human Rights Day, which is celebrated on Dec. 10 each year, honoring the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948.
This year, Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Declaration, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being — regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages.
The Human Rights Fair will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 5, in the Blum Student Union Lobby.
It’ll be a warm and windy Monday ahead of a cold front. That front will lead to showers and a few storms, mainly east of I-35. Then we get close to normal through the middle of the week before temperatures get cold for the end of the week. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
