FULTON (AP) – A former Callaway County clerk has pleaded guilty to felony forgery for stealing about $11,000 from the court in central Missouri.

Lanet Bittle pleaded guilty Friday and was ordered to repay the full amount in restitution.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Bittle was sentenced to five years of unsupervised probation as part of a suspended sentence. If she violates the terms of probation, she faces up to seven years in prison for each of the three forgery counts.

Bittle was fired in fall 2012 after an accounting review noted the missing money.

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. (AP) — A 2-year-old boy who wandered away from a gathering at his home has died after being found floating in an above-ground pool in the rear of the residence.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to a 911 call at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday in Grain Valley. The child’s mother told investigators family members lost sight of the boy for a period of time before finding him in the pool.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Springfield officials say they have reached an agreement with a group trying to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

However, neither side is disclosing the terms of the settlement.

The Springfield News-Leader reports the agreement is awaiting signatures from other parties and its terms are likely to be made public in coming weeks.

The lawsuit was filed by groups wanting the city to reduce penalties for those caught with up to 35 grams of marijuana. The groups asked the city council to put it to a public vote. The council instead passed an ordinance reducing the penalties and then repealed the ordinance a few weeks later, avoiding a public vote.

By Bryan Thompson
Kansas Public Radio

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it will regulate a host of new tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, was welcome news to the director of the poison control center at the University of Kansas Hospital.

Tama Sawyer, the director of the KU center, said rising sales of e-cigarettes appear to have caused a sharp increase in the number of children needing treatment for nicotine poisoning. She said 34 children were treated for nicotine poisoning at the KU Center in 2012. The number increased to 45 last year and is on pace to exceed that this year, she said.

E-cigarettes contain varying amounts of liquid nicotine. Some come in bright colors and flavors that are enticing to children, Sawyer said.

“You may have a pink liquid that smells like cherry and you have a child not old enough to understand that this isn’t something cherry,” she said, noting that the lack of child-proof caps on the nicotine bottles increase the danger. “The potential for a serious poisoning is certainly there.”

Nicotine poisoning can cause a dangerous fluctuation in a person’s heart rate and blood pressure.

Under the proposed FDA rule, makers of e-cigarettes would have to register with the FDA and disclose the ingredients in their products. The regulations also would prohibit e-cigarette companies from distributing free samples or from marketing them as healthier alternatives to regular cigarettes.

Because e-cigarettes don’t contain tar and produce a liquid vapor instead of smoke, some claim they are less harmful. But many public health officials say more research is needed on whether their high nicotine levels could lead users – particularly teens – to eventually take up smoking.

Kathleen Sebelius, the outgoing secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, called the proposed rule “the latest step in our efforts to make the next generation tobacco-free.”

The American Lung Association is urging the FDA to add a ban on the sale of candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products to the regulations, which will be available for public comment for 75 days.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in the Kansas City-area were kept busy after three banks were robbed within hours of each other.

The first robbery Thursday was reported at First Federal Bank in Raytown. Police say a man wearing a dark, long-sleeve construction shirt with a neon green construction-style vest and a white hard hat fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

About midafternoon, two men who said they had a weapon got away with money from a UMB bank branch in Raytown. No firearm was seen and no one was injured.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Jackson County authorities have arrested a man who allegedly walked up to a car at a Kansas City gas station and fired eight shots, killing a man and paralyzing his 10-year-old son.

Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says 27-year-old Dontae Jefferson of Kansas City was charged Thursday with first-degree murder and five other felonies in the April 18 attack at a BP gas station. The shooting killed 34-year-old Ka’Vyea Curry and injured his son, Ka’Vyea Tyson-Curry. A 5-year-old in the car was not injured.

The Kansas City Star reports surveillance video showed the shooting and tips from witnesses helped police make the arrest.

Court records don’t show that Jefferson has an attorney.

The 10-year-old remains hospitalized and on a respirator.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former chief executive officer of a Kansas City company has pleaded guilty to embezzling thousands of dollars from the business over nine years.

Federal prosecutors announced James Kilkenney pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of wire fraud in federal court. He was chief executive and chief financial officer of Waechtersbach USA before he was fired in April 2012.

The Kansas City Star reports Waechtersbach admitted he overpaid himself $133,592 and used company funds to pay off loans he took against his 401 (k) fund.

Waechtersbach buys products from German and Asian companies to distribute to U.S. retailers.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Diners could soon see calorie counts on menus of chain restaurants.

But what about the roasted chicken sold at grocery stores, or the hot dogs convenience stores offer? Will movie theaters have to tell patrons the number of calories in a giant soda and bucket of popcorn?

The food industry is closely watching the Food and Drug Administration to see which establishments are included in the final menu labeling rules, expected this year.

The idea is that people may pass on that bacon double cheeseburger if they know it packs 1,000 calories.

The agency issued proposed rules in 2011 but has faced pressure to revise them to exclude retailers like grocery and convenience stores.

The rules could be released soon; the FDA has sent them to the White House.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Missouri educator has been named the Grand Island campus president for Central Community College in Nebraska.

Dr. Thomas Walker Jr. will take over on July 7 for Alan Hartley, who’s been interim campus president since August. Walker also will serve as college vice president of student enrollment services.

Walker is vice president for student affairs at St. Louis Community College in Forest Park, Mo. Previous positions include dean of administrative services at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo., and dean of student services and enrollment management at Davidson County Community College in North Carolina.

Walker earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master of public administration degree and a doctoral degree in higher education administration from the University of Memphis.