Kansas City Power & Light is making life a little brighter for thousands of needy households in the area. The utility on Friday donated 18,576 compact fluorescent light bulbs to the Second Harvest Community Food Bank. Volunteers packed 984 special bags with the light bulbs for members of Second Harvest’s Fresh Start food pantry. Officials say about 2,322 households serviced by Second Harvest and its partner agencies.

Families already being served by the participating pantries will receive two four-packs of CFLs when they visit the agencies during the organizations’ regular distribution schedules and adhering to already established intake processes.

“This is a great opportunity for us to partner with KCP&L to help get these light bulbs to families in need and we are very thankful for their contribution,” said Chad Higdon, Second Harvest Community Food Bank’s Executive Director. “Especially around the holidays we see families struggling, and this distribution effort will not only help offset the cost of light bulbs these individuals would have to purchase, but the families will see savings in their monthly utility bills as well.”

CFLs use 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs and over the course of the bulbs lifetime can save a household an average of $40. This partnership between Second Harvest and KCP&L will provide these savings to low-income customers free of charge. KCP&L is also working with Harvesters in Kansas City and Ozarks in Springfield to provide these savings to customers in other parts of the region.

This partnership between Second Harvest and KCP&L will provide these savings to low-income customers free of charge.

“We are excited to be partnering with Second Harvest to get these energy-saving light bulbs in the hands and homes of our customers who need them most,” said Brian File, KCP&L Senior Manager of Products & Services. “These bulbs will provide our customers with the opportunity to not only save energy but ultimately save money.”

A former state trooper from Cameron and Missouri Western has been promoted to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Professional Standards Division in Jefferson City.

Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announced the promotion of Sergeant Kristin D. Coulson to the rank of lieutenant .

Coulson was appointed to the Patrol on January 1, 1993, as a member of the 65th Recruit Class. Upon completing her training at the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, she was assigned to Troop H, Zone 5, St. Joseph, MO. In 1995, she transferred to Troop B, Macon, MO, where she worked in Zone 1, then Zone 2.

Coulson transferred to the Division of Drug & Crime Control, General Headquarters, Jefferson City, MO, on January 1, 2001. On November 16, 2003, she transferred to the Human Resources Division, General Headquarters. Coulson was promoted to corporal on December 12, 2004, and to sergeant on November 12, 2006, while assigned to the Human Resources Division.

Lieutenant Coulson grew up in Cameron, MO. She graduated from Cameron R-1 High School in Cameron, in 1988. Coulson earned a bachelor’s of science degree in legal studies from Missouri Western College in St. Joseph, MO, in 1992. Lt. Coulson and her husband, Sgt. Jeff Coulson, have two daughters, Shelby and Lydia.

A 73-year-old man serving seven years for his conviction on sodomy charges has died in custody in a prison in Cameron. In a news release, the Missouri Department of Corrections said Alvin

Jernigan was pronounced dead at 6:17am on Monday, November 10 at the Western Missouri Correctional Center.

Jernigan was received in the Department of Correcions on September 11, 2013 after his conviction in Jackson County.

The DOC reported the 73-year-old inmate died of apparent natural causes

October real estate sales in our area were lower than last month but higher than last the figures from October 2013.

According to numbers provided by the St Joseph Regional Association of Realtors, residential real-estate sales in the association’s nine-county area totaled $12.3 million.

That’s 2.16% higher than the $12.05 million total in October of 2013, but it’s lower than the $13.6 million figure for September 2014.

The year-to-date numbers were also lower. So far, through October, 1,045 homes have been sold, worth an estimated $119 million. That compares to 1,080 homes worth more than $123 million in year to date sales by October of 2013.

Court appearances scheduled Friday involve two people charged with first-degree child endangerment in the death of a nearly two-year-old girl.

Jaspera Rainey is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday. Co-defendant Patrick Middlebrook is set for a counsel-status hearing, and is set for a preliminary hearing next week. Both are being held in lieu of bond in the Buchanan County Jail.

The charges stem from the death in August of young Jaliyah Blackmon, Rainey’s daughter. Investigators say Jaliyah received multiple injuries to the head and body that ultimately caused her death.

Rainey is being held in the Buchanan County jail under $75,000 bond. Middlebrook’s bond was set at $50,000.