ST. LOUIS (AP) — As Missouri prepares for its fifth execution in five months, the Missouri Supreme Court on Friday set the date for another, continuing what could be a record year.
Jeffrey Ferguson is scheduled to die Wednesday for abducting and killing a teenager in St. Charles County in 1989. His attorneys on Thursday filed appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that the execution be delayed until lower courts can decide if a stay should be granted. Ferguson’s attorneys also claim that his conviction was based, in part, on false testimony from an FBI agent.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Missouri Supreme Court set an April 23 execution date for William Rousan. Rousan was sentenced to death for killing 62-year-old Grace Lewis, who lived on a farm near Bonne Terre, in 1993.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri utility regulators are urging people to check their homes for possible water leaks.
The Missouri Public Service Commission is asking residents to observe national “Fix-A-Leak Week,” which is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The commission estimates about 10 percent of homes have leaks that can waste 90 gallons of water per day.
Residents can check for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into a toilet tank to see if color appears in the bowl before a flush.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City officials say cleaning up asbestos at a failed development site will cost about half the amount originally estimated.
City officials said Thursday that test pits at the Citadel development site turned up less asbestos contamination than previously predicted. City planner Claude Page says that means the cleanup costs will likely come in at about $1.1 million instead of the $2 million or more that was originally estimated.
The Kansas City Star reports the city has a $500,000 federal grant for the cleanup, and the cleanup should be finished this summer.
The cleanup is necessary because the developer failed to properly monitor asbestos removal before some homes were torn down in 2006 to make way for the failed shopping center.
Senator McCaskill during town hall meetings this week.
KANSAS CITY (AP) – Sen. Claire McCaskill says her staff is surveying college campuses to see what protections against sexual attacks are in place and how the institutions support assault victims.
McCaskill, a Democrat, told The Kansas City Star Thursday that she’s determined to make college campuses safer for women. She says that could includel tying federal funding for colleges and universities to how well those institutions report rapes and deliver certain services to female students.
A January report from the White House Council on Women and Girls cited a 2011 survey that found 20 percent of women reported being sexual assault victims.
McCaskill says after her staff completes its research, she plans to gather college presidents, the Association of University Women and others in higher education to create a consensus for reforms.
The “Drive To Save Lives” campaign is a national effort to reduce traffic deaths nationwide by 15% by the end of 2014.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol has branded the Missouri campaign “Drive To Zero Highway Deaths,” and will continue its current education and enforcement campaigns, which have been so successful in reducing traffic deaths in the state of Missouri in recent years. In addition, the Patrol will work with other states to help reach the common goal of “Drive To Save Lives” nationwide.
Missouri experienced 758 traffic fatalities in 2013. This is a 39 percent decrease from the 1,257 fatalities recorded in 2005. Over the past seven years, with the exception of 2012’s slight increase, the number of traffic deaths has dropped each year. Historically, this past year is only the second time (2011 being the first) since 1949 that Missouri has experienced less than 800 traffic fatalities. Not only have traffic deaths decreased, but the total number of traffic crashes has decreased. While the crash statistics for 2013 are not available currently, we do know from 2005 to 2012 the total of all Missouri traffic crashes decreased over 21%. Thus far for 2014, Missouri is experiencing a five% increase in highway deaths compared to the same time period in 2013.
“Even though we are currently experiencing a slight increase in traffic deaths compared the last year, we have seen a sharp decline in many of the recent years, and that is an important trend that the Patrol would like to see continue,” said Col. Replogle. “Every trooper is committed to working with other agencies to further reduce the number of traffic deaths in our state and nationally. We believe education and enforcement encourage safe driving, which results in fewer traffic fatalities. I want to thank the public for helping to make our highways safer.”
Of the 758 people killed in traffic crashes in 2013, 63% of those required to be restrained were not at the time of the crash. The Patrol encourages motorists to protect themselves by making sure everyone in the vehicle is properly restrained in a seat belt or child restraint. Click It 4 Life!!!
The Missouri State Highway Patrol urges motorists to continue to do their part to “Drive To Zero Highway Deaths.” Motorists should be courteous drivers. When in doubt, yield the right-of-way. Drivers should stay alert, obey all traffic laws, make sure everyone in the vehicle uses a seat belt or child restraint, and never drive drunk. Missourians can help further by reporting dangerous drivers to the Patrol’s Emergency Report Line at 1-800-525-5555 or *55 on a cellular phone.
KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2010 killing of a 67-year-old woman.
Twenty-three-year-old Rashod James pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The Jackson County prosecutor’s office said James was sentenced Thursday to 30 years on the murder count and 10 years for armed criminal action, with the terms to run concurrently.
The body of Fannie Young was found in her home more than a week after her death. The medical examiner said she died of blunt force injuries to the head and stab wounds.
Thursday’s sentence was ordered to run consecutively to a 10-year federal prison term James is serving for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Board of Education is taking up a plan for assisting and intervening in the state’s school districts.
The education board previously reviewed a draft that sought earlier interventions and greater state involvement in school districts as their performance declined.
The State Board of Education was scheduled to discuss a plan Friday during a meeting at a hotel in Jefferson City.
Missouri’s three school districts currently unaccredited are Kansas City, and Normandy and Riverview Gardens in St. Louis County. An additional 11 school systems have provisional accreditation.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — It’s almost impossible to get James Grandon to talk about himself.
But the longtime Boyd Elementary principal — honored as Missouri’s top elementary principal — loves talking about the positive changes he has seen in his school, teachers and students.
In a short walk through the 103-year-old building, he also enthusiastically discusses recent interdisciplinary projects. One required students to create passports and interact with international college students, speaking many different languages, to simulate an Ellis Island check-in experience.
Grandon was recently named the 2014 Missouri Distinguished Principal by the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals. In October, he will be recognized, along with top principals from other states, in Washington, D.C.
“This is about what we’ve done as a team. As a principal, this isn’t about me,” said Grandon, 43. “Principals don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what’s on their resumes. You think about what’s best for your kids and your school.”
Boyd has experienced a renaissance during Grandon’s 12-year tenure. When he moved into the principal’s office, enrollment had dwindled to about 160 and discussion about closing the school at 1409 N. Washington Ave., just north of Drury University, kept coming up.
Poverty and mobility were high, as they remain today, but enrollment soared to 270 during the 2012-13 year, student achievement has improved and a greater number of staff and students have stayed.
At any point, up to 15 percent of the students are homeless, and the school, which has forged strong partnerships with Drury and many nearby businesses, spends a lot of effort creating stability for children experiencing upheaval.
The school works closely with the Missouri Hotel, a homeless shelter on nearby Commercial Street, as well as its feeder schools — Pipkin Middle School and Central High School.
The most significant change came in 2006, when Grandon helped move Boyd into an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme school, making it one of the first elementary schools in Missouri to be fully authorized as an International Baccalaureate World School.
The goal of that interdisciplinary approach is to inspire students “to become lifelong learners and responsible, globally minded citizens.” Grandon said the transformation gave the school “hope and a vision.”
“In this information age, it isn’t about what you know, it’s how you use the knowledge,” he said. “It’s the children who can formulate the question and conduct the research.”
Grandon now also works with the IB organization, providing training and accrediting schools.
Fourth-grade teacher Troy Kuchta joined the Boyd faculty 16 years ago but had become slightly disillusioned before Grandon took over. He said teachers and staff were recruited to help envision a new path for Boyd, which he found invigorating.
“He’s been someone who has taken who I am and helped me understand the potential I had in myself,” Kuchta said. “.It’s made me want to be a better teacher.”
Kuchta said Grandon’s leadership style is to involve students, staff and the community in creating the changes.
“We’re very proud of what he’s accomplished here,” Kuchta said. “Being a small school, as we are, doesn’t limit what we can accomplish.”
In the mid-1990s, Grandon started his career as a teacher at Robberson Elementary. He was assistant principal at Gray and Westport elementary schools before taking the Boyd job. He has earned a bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees in education from Missouri State University.
Nearly all of the married father’s five children have gone through Boyd. The oldest two have already graduated from Parkview High, and the youngest, 11, is a fifth-grader at Boyd.
Grandon said he’s stayed at Boyd because the job is never stagnant. He can see growth and believes he has made a difference.
“This school just continues to reinvent itself,” he said. “We continue to find new and better ways to reach children, and what we’re doing here gives them a brighter future.”
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation limiting the authority of Missouri cities and counties to restrict cellphone towers.
Nixon signed four bills Thursday that partially re-enact a state law approved last year but struck down by a Cole County judge on procedural grounds.
The legislation imposes 19 new restrictions on the way local governments may regulate cellphone towers.
The measures bar governments from evaluating applications for towers based on alternative locations or requiring the removal of existing equipment as a condition for approval. The legislation also caps application fees and sets deadlines for governments to make decisions on applications.
The Missouri Municipal League says it’s disappointed Nixon signed the measures, which it says interfere with local control.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An economist says a survey of bankers in 10 Midwest and Plains states suggests the regional economy is experiencing slow to no growth.
The Rural Mainstreet Index rose slightly above growth neutral in March, to 50.1, compared with 48.4 in February.
The survey indexes range from 0 to 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. A score above 50 suggests growth in that factor in the months ahead.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the region will need to see more increases in farm commodity prices to push the agriculture-based economy back into healthy growth territory.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
