IBERIA- A Missouri man died in an accident just after 2 p.m. on Monday in Miller County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Chevy S10 driven by William J. Maylee, 34, Iberia, was westbound on Highway 42 at Hawkins Cemetery Road.
The vehicle crossed the centerline and struck a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 head on.
Maylee was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Sancher-Rekus Funeral Home.
The driver of the Dodge Jerald D. Witt, 51, Iberia, suffered minor injuries and refused treatment at the scene.
The MSHP reported the drivers were not wearing seat belts.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs have signed veteran safety Tyvon Branch to a one-year deal, helping to solidify a position that could be thinned out considerably by free agency.
Kansas City is already poised to play without Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry, who is undergoing treatment for lymphoma. Fellow safeties Kurt Coleman and Ron Parker are free agents.
The 28-year-old Branch has been solid when he’s healthy, but injuries have kept him from appearing in just five games over the past two seasons. He’s spent his entire seven-year career with AFC West rival Oakland, making 461 tackles, eight sacks and four interceptions.
The Chiefs already have been busy in free agency, restructuring deals with linebacker Tamba Hali and defensive tackle Mike DeVito, and agreeing to terms with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
An emergency services program in Johnson County, which includes MED-ACT, the county’s ambulance service, has grown to include six area hospitals that are now contributing financially to be part of the program. Credit Johnson County Emergency Medical Services System
By MIKE SHERRY
Six area hospitals have signed on to become paying partners in a Johnson County program aimed at providing the high-quality care to patients in need of emergency services.
Under an inter-local agreement approved by the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, the hospitals will contribute nearly $130,000 annually to the Medical Director Program.
The program has an annual budget of about $350,000. The hospitals’ contributions will replace an operating subsidy from the county.
The hospitals are the University of Kansas Hospital, Menorah Medical Center, Olathe Medical Center, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Saint Luke’s South Hospital and Shawnee Mission Medical Center.
The advisory board that oversees the program will now include hospital representatives.
The Medical Director Program coordinates pre-hospital care among emergency responders, according to Dr. Ryan Jacobsen, medical director of the Johnson County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System. Other aims of the program, Jacobsen says, are to improve patient outcomes and ensure quality of service.
Also included in the program are nine area fire agencies and MED-ACT, the county’s ambulance service. The county’s Emergency Communications Center also participates.
The agreement culminates more than two years of negotiations, according to Jacobsen.
“We wanted collaboration as a full EMS system to include the hospitals that we transport patients to,” Jacobsen says. “We wanted their collaboration and a seat at the table in designing the goals and setting the direction for the Medical Director Program.”
Mike Sherry is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri agriculture officials have quarantined two commercial facilities after a strain of bird flu that’s deadly to poultry but poses no immediate public health concern was detected.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture announced Sunday that the virus was confirmed in turkeys at a grower facility in Asbury in the southwest part of the state. Preliminary tests also came back positive for the virus at a facility in Fortuna in mid-Missouri. It was not immediately clear how many birds were affected.
It’s the same H5N2 strain that’s been confirmed in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Minnesota.
The release says the remaining turkeys in the “involved flocks” will be killed and won’t enter the food system. Officials also are conducting testing at properties near the affected facilities to ensure the virus hasn’t spread.
WASHINGTON – The Kansas City region will directly benefit from a new White House initiative announced today to bolster tech jobs, said U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill—a longtime supporter of federal job-training opportunities and of policies to grow the nation’s tech economy:
“It won’t surprise anyone in Kansas City that the region is being recognized for its culture of innovation. This new initiative will bring together the best and brightest of Kansas City’s employers and educators to grow more good-paying jobs and tech opportunities for our state.”
The White House announced today that Kansas City, Mo.—along with the Full Employment Council and Think Big Partners—will provide accelerated training to the chronically unemployed through the “Reboot U” program. According to the White House: the University of Central Missouri and Metropolitan Community College have committed to providing customized training to program participants in healthcare organizations, small businesses, and large end-user IT firms including Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics University of Kansas Medical Center, and WireCo World Group. Partners will leverage a $500,000 grant from Missouri Division of Workforce Development. Partners will provide training opportunities that include a “shark tank” styled initial interview, generalized training in core IT competencies, specific sector training crafted by experts in target industries, and an 8-12 week paid internship or apprenticeship.
The effort is part of a nationwide “TechHire Initiative,” aimed at giving more Americans “pathways to well-paying technology jobs.”
McCaskill last year helped lead the effort in Congress to renew the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which renews the Workforce Investment Act—legislation that has a proven track-record of boosting job opportunities for Missourians.
McCaskill, also a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which has jurisdiction over technology policy, has worked to grow the tech economy in Missouri and across the country. In recent years, McCaskill partnered with Google to host workshops in St. Louis and Kansas City to help Missouri small businesses better market and sell their goods online.
DETROIT (AP) — Families of at least 64 people killed in crashes caused by defective General Motors ignition switches will get compensation from the company.
Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was hired by GM to compensate victims, updated the total Monday. It was up from 57 last week.
An additional 108 injured people also are eligible for compensation.
The fund received a total of 4,343 claims by the Jan. 31 deadline. Of those, 1,571 are under review and 742 were deemed ineligible. Feinberg says the rest lacked documentation or were deficient.
GM knew about problem switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade but recalled them only last year. They can slip out of the “on” position, which cuts off the engine, knocks out power steering and turns off air bags.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed a presidential memorandum clamping down on companies that service student loans issued by the federal government.
Obama says the steps he’s announcing will streamline and improve how the government interacts with student borrowers. He says one of his top priorities is to improve college affordability.
Obama’s memo requires those companies to better inform borrowers about their repayment options and delinquent payments. Obama is also telling loan servicers to apply extra payments first to the highest-interest loans, helping students pay off debt quicker.
The president signed the memo in the Oval Office shortly before departing for Atlanta.
PHOENIX (AP) — Mike Moustakas had two hits, including a two-run double, and the Kansas City Royals stayed perfect in Cactus League play with a 5-4 win over the winless Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.
The AL champion Royals are 6-0 and the lone unbeaten team in the majors during the exhibition season. The Brewers and Cubs are the only winless clubs at 0-5.
Moustakas had been 1 for 8 this spring going into the game. Raul Mondesi, son of the former major leaguer by the same game, had two hits and drove in a run for the Royals.
Brewers star Ryan Braun fouled out and lined out, leaving him hitless in five at-bats this spring.
Matt Long and Matt Clark hit solo homers for Milwaukee.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A 24-year-old Jefferson City woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a 2013 deadly drug deal in Columbia.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the sentence hearing for Joycelynn Brown has been set for April 27.
Prosecutors say Brown and Anthony Unger traveled to Columbia to sell marijuana to Domionte Cheatum in a deal arranged by another man. They say Cheatum shot Unger six times during a struggle that ensued when Cheatum tried to rob Unger.
Cheatum has been convicted of second-degree murder and other charges. His attorney has filed an appeal.
Samuel Butler, who was accused of arranging the drug deal, has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted distribution of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office says it’s investigating a homicide after a woman’s body was found in a field over the weekend.
Officials haven’t released the name of the victim found Sunday. Investigators believe the body was in the field for less than 24 hours. Authorities didn’t say whether they believe the woman was killed in the field or if her body was disposed of there.
Major Jim Sherly with the sheriff’s office says investigators want to speak with anyone who may have heard or seen anything around the field that’s in a rural part of the county. Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities.
IBERIA- A Missouri man died in an accident just after 2 p.m. on Monday in Miller County.
