BOLIVAR (AP) – A southwest Missouri man accused of planning shooting attacks at a movie theater and a Walmart has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 21-year-old Blaec Lammers was sentenced Thursday to 15 years on each charge, with the terms to run concurrently.

Authorities say Lammers told them he originally planned to open fire on the opening-night crowd for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2” at a Bolivar theater in November 2012. He opted for the Walmart because he could get more ammunition there.

Lammers was arrested after his mother told police he had gone off his medication for mental health conditions and that she feared he was planning an attack. No shots were ever fired.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Release

Orrick, Mo.—-On December 11, 2013, the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, was asked by Ray County Sheriff Gary Bush to assist with a death investigation. On December 10, 2013, the Ray County Sheriff’s Office was notified by telephone of a structure fire, which was later determined to be a trailer located in Orrick, Missouri. Two children, Roger Garrison, age 3, and Ashton Garrison, age 1, were found dead inside the trailer. As a result of the subsequent investigation by investigators with the Division of Drug and Crime Control, Ray County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Fire Marshall’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, a warrant was obtained and Randy M. Garrison, 31, of Orrick, Missouri, was arrested for two charges of abandonment of a child in the first degree — a Class B felony.

Garrison is being held at the Ray County Jail on a $100,000 bond. The charges for which Garrison was arrested are mere accusation and not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

JEEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An attorney representing an Oklahoma business challenging a federal contraception coverage mandate is starting a nonprofit group in Missouri.

University of Missouri law professor Joshua Hawley is part of the legal team representing Hobby Lobby in its case before the U.S. Supreme Court arguing against a rule that some organizations must provide health insurance that includes birth control.

Hawley said Thursday that his group, the Missouri Liberty Project, will focus on raising awareness for religious liberty and constitutional rights issues. He does not anticipate donating money to individual candidates.
The high court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Hobby Lobby’s case next week. Hobby Lobby sued to overturn the mandate on grounds that it violates the religious beliefs of founder.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators have settled a lawsuit filed against former officials of the failed TierOne Bank officials for $6.5 million.

The Lincoln Journal Star says  the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. filed the lawsuit against eight former executives and board members. The FDIC said the eight improperly approved risky loans in Las Vegas that contributed to the bank’s failure. The lawsuit was filed May 31.

TierOne failed in 2010, and the Lincoln-based bank’s assets were sold to Great Western Bank.

The FDIC said the bank extended the terms of its bad loans in ways that concealed its financial situation, and officials ignored TierOne’s own loan policy rules in approving the loans.

The eight had denied any personal liability for the bank’s failure. The settlement doesn’t require them to admit any wrongdoing.

COLUMBIA (AP) – The University of Missouri is considering changes to its employee policy for reporting suspected sexual violence amid a flurry of attention to the issue prompted by a former school swimmer’s suicide.

The parents of former Mizzou swimmer Sasha Menu Courey say their daughter killed herself after an alleged off-campus rape by as many as three football players in February 2010. An outside law firm is reviewing the university’s response.

The Columbia Missourian reports the university has no reporting requirement and offers no training for faculty or staff on how to handle the reporting of possible violations of Title IX, a federal anti-discrimination law covering sexual harassment or violence.

The federal education department recommended such a requirement nearly three years ago.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — An Army spokesman says an escaped inmate who eluded capture for 37 years is back behind bars at the military’s maximum-security prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Spokesman George Marcec confirmed Thursday that convicted killer James Robert Jones returned to military custody this week from Florida and is being housed at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. It is unclear if Jones has been charged with additional crimes related to his escape.

The 59-year-old Jones was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Florida after authorities used facial recognition technology to identify Jones, who was living under the name Bruce Walter Keith.

He was convicted of murder and assault in the 1974 killing of a fellow soldier at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Jones was serving a 23-year sentence when he escaped.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City leaders say a retired Missouri investment mogul is trying to bankrupt their city and rekindling a business border war with Kansas over income taxes.

Two nonprofit groups with ties to anti-tax crusader Rex Sinquefield of St. Louis are spending a combined $200,000 during the tax filing season on cable television ads promoting lower taxes in Kansas and promoting Kansas city as a high-tax place to live and do business.

The Kansas City Star reports one of the ads airs only in Kansas and explicitly urges Missouri businesses to establish their companies in Kansas to take advantage of recently lowered state tax rates.

A second ad airing in Missouri takes aim at Kansas City’s 1 percent earnings tax on income and profits.

DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen is recalling about 150,000 Passat midsize cars because the headlights can be damaged if the hoods are closed roughly.

The recall affects cars from the 2012 and 2013 model years. VW says if the hoods are closed hard, the vibration or impact can cut off electricity to the low-beam headlights. Drivers would see a dashboard warning light if this happens.

Volkswagen says the problem hasn’t caused any crashes or injuries. VW dealers will install an improved bulb fitting and adjust the hood bumpers if needed at no cost to owners.

 

By Mike Sherry
KHI News Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The southern vista from Big Eleven Lake — situated along one of the busiest streets in Kansas City, Kan. — features the crescent roof of a self-service car wash and the clutter of an auto body shop wedged onto a tiny corner lot.

On Tuesday, the litter along the lake’s muddy bank included an empty bottle of peach vodka and a crumpled pack of Pall Malls.
Down the hill was fisherman Alvin Suttington, a KCK native who said the park is a relaxing, convenient amenity for urban families. But, he said, “It would be better if (municipal officials) kept it up better.”

Suttington might get his wish – and then some – under a plan from KCK Mayor Mark Holland that would transform the park, along North 11th Street between State Avenue and Washington Boulevard.

“My vision is nothing short of a national model for healthy living in an urban area,” Holland said.

Conversation starter

Since unveiling the idea in his State of the Government address a few weeks ago, the mayor said it has lit a fire in the community.

“As I talk to people, people are like, ‘This is great. Is there more that could be done? What if we did more green space? What if we looked at some housing options that would create some additional synergy for the grocery store and for the campus?’” he said. “So the dreaming has really grown.”

It was the possibility of that new grocery store, and a new community center, that sparked the idea for the healthy campus, Holland said.

Separate studies — one by a consultant hired by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., and the other by the YMCA of Greater Kansas City — identified 10th Street and State Avenue as an ideal corner for a downtown market and a fitness operation.

Holland said Healthy Communities Wyandotte added further context to his idea. The Unified Government initiated that effort five years ago after Wyandotte County came in last in a health ranking of all 105 Kansas counties.

Aided by philanthropic funding, the Unified Government has hired a design firm to develop a master plan for the healthy campus. Holland said he hoped the firm could complete its work by the middle of this year.

‘Corridor of success’

Taken together, he said, the grocery store and the community center likely would represent an investment of about $30 million in that part of the city. Holland said developers could break ground on both projects within the next few years.

Where the healthy campus goes from there is anyone’s guess, he said, but the hope is that the initial construction spurs more investment. “That is part of the goal here,” Holland said, “and really tying it down to Fifth Street and creating a corridor of success in our downtown.”

Holland said the Unified Government has been working for three years with a developer who is interested in building a grocery store around 10th and State. But even with the promise of financial incentives from the government, Holland said the two sides still are trying to bridge a funding gap.

With the community center, Holland is looking to forge a partnership with the YMCA.

One of his biggest priorities for the facility is an Olympic-size swimming pool, which he said could host youth swim meets and open cost-sharing possibilities with public and private schools.

The Unified Government Board of Commissioners has earmarked $6 million for a new community center in the area. Holland said that commitment, allocated from casino proceeds, is a way for downtown KCK to benefit from the thriving business and entertainment district in the western part of the city.

Holland also would like to have a health care provider be part of the healthy campus, though that idea is in the formative stage.

‘Put health front and center’

Jerry Jones and Katherine Kelly are among the health advocates excited by the mayor’s idea.

Jones is executive director of the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, and Kelly is executive director of Cultivate Kansas City, a nonprofit that promotes urban agriculture through programs such as Gibbs Road Farm in Kansas City, Kan.

The healthy campus would help “to really put health front and center for the folks in Wyandotte County,” Jones said, adding that it was exciting to see health play a role in economic development.

In addition to Kelly’s role with Cultivate Kansas City, she leads the Nutrition Action Team for Healthy Communities Wyandotte. She said Holland’s concept already has her brainstorming about possibilities for the healthy campus.

Kelly would love for the grocery store to stock locally grown produce, and she said it would be great for green space to feature edible landscaping, such as fruit trees that provide both shade and healthy food for the neighborhood.

Kelly also could envision a greenhouse on the campus like the one Cultivate Kansas City has at the Gibbs Road Farm.

The healthy campus, she said, would be a “big, visible, strong statement that health is composed not only of medical services. It is really modeling for what a healthy community should look like and what are all the components that should be there.”

A better Big Eleven

As for Big Eleven Lake, Suttington, the fisherman, said it’s a fine place for him to practice when he doesn’t have the gas or the money to make it out to other lakes. The park would be even better, he said, with more picnic tables and a parking lot.

He would not get any disagreement from the mayor.

“Big Eleven Lake needs some work,” Holland said. “It needs a face-lift.”

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — A new report ranks the average sales tax paid in Missouri as the 14th highest among states, but that’s still lower than many of its neighbors.

The Tax Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit research group, compiled the rankings by examining the state sales tax rate and the average local sales tax rate.

Missouri’s state sales tax of 4.225 percent ranked 37th out of the 45 states that charge sales taxes. But Missouri’s average local sales tax of 3.36 percent was one of the higher rates among states.

The report says Missouri’s combined state and local average sales tax rate is 7.58 percent. Although Missouri ranked 14th nationally, its average sales taxes were lower than in neighboring Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee.