An investigation is underway into a Sunday accident that claimed the life of an 18-year-old in Laclede County.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol Troy Parker of Lebanon, Mo., was driving a 1997 Ford 150 on Dunklin Road, 3 miles west of Lebanon, Mo. on Sunday.
Parker failed to stop for a railroad crossing and was hit by a train. Parker died at the scene.
(AP) — An auction at the iconic Benjamin Ranch in south Kansas City drew people looking for a chance to buy a memory, or some bargain horsing equipment.
Benjamin Ranch will be torn down Jan. 1 to make room for a Cerner Corp. office development. That will be the end of a ranch that started as a dairy farm more than 125 years ago.
The ranch offered a rodeo arena, horse race practice track and opera stage. It offered July 4th rodeos, horseback riding and hayrides, and many of the buildings were booked for weddings and corporate picnics.
Sunday’s auction drew people bidding on everything from wooden nickels to art work of Warpaint, the Kansas City Chiefs’ mascot, and draft horse equipment.
(AP) – Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire that destroyed a Kansas City police officer’s home and left 11 people homeless.
In the meantime, other police and emergency responders are trying to help officer Matt Hannah and his family recover from a fire that left them with only the pajamas on their backs.
The fire broke out last Thursday. Hannah and his wife were able to get their nine children out of the house.
Co-workers and residents brought piles of clothes to Kansas City police stations during the weekend. The Kansas City Police Foundation donated $2,500 and several groups are offering temporary housing.
Hannah, a 21-year police veteran, says his family will have a great Christmas, thanks to all the support.
(AP) – Young adults who are heavy Internet users may also exhibit signs of addiction.
That’s the finding of a new study that was conducted by researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Institute of Brain Science. The study tracked the Internet usage of 69 college students over two months. It reveals a correlation between certain types of Internet usage and addictive behaviors.
Researchers also found that students who scored high on an introversion scale spent 25 percent more time on instant messaging than those who scored low on the scale. Introversion also was closely tied to file downloading and loss of control to gambling.
The research was presented Dec. 18 at a conference in Chennai, India.
(AP) — Just when the government’s insurance website is starting to run more smoothly, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds a potentially bigger problem for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
Americans who already have coverage and aren’t looking for any more government help are blaming the law for their rising health insurance premiums and deductibles.
Those are the 85 percent of Americans that the White House says don’t have to be worried about the president’s historic push to expand coverage for the uninsured. Overall, 3 in 4 say the rollout of coverage for the uninsured has gone poorly as health care remains a politically charged issue going into next year’s midterm congressional elections.
(AP) – Missouri lawmakers plan to try again to limit how much money people can receive in medical malpractice lawsuits.
Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones says the liability limits are a priority for the 2014 session. And Rep. Eric Burlison, of Springfield, already is promoting a bill.
Republican lawmakers want to reinstate a $350,000 limit on noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering that was struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court in July 2012.
The court said the limit violated a common-law right to seek damages for medical malpractice that predated the adoption of a state constitution in 1820.
The proposed legislation would abolish that common-law right and instead make medical liability lawsuits subject to state law.
A similar bill stalled earlier this year in the Senate.
Monsters Inside Me, a television show airing on the Animal Planet network, retells the real-life harrowing stories of people infected by deadly parasites as doctors and scientists unravel their cases to seek a cure.
On Wednesday, December 18th, at 9:00 p.m. CST, the show will feature the story of Wade Latham, the son of Heartland Health caregiver Chris Latham, and his journey along with the investigative work of Scott Folk, MD, medical director of adult infectious diseases for Heartland Health and Mosaic Life Care.
Mr. Latham’s story will be one of three highlighted on the broadcast, and will describe how he developed a potentially life-threatening parasite after ingesting under cooked or raw crayfish while on a float trip in southern Missouri. The story also explores the diagnosis and treatment offered by Dr. Folk, as well as the successful outcome.
A teenage driver was injured in a Sunday evening crash in Atchison County.
According to the Missouri Highway patrol nineteen-year-old Jessica C. Kirk of Skidmore was driving 1997 Dodge Neon west on Mo. 46, seven miles east of Fairfax.
The car crossed the center of the road and travelled off the south side of the road. The car then went airborne and struck a tree, embankment and concrete culvert and came to rest on its wheels in a creek off the south side of the road. Kirk was transported to Fairfax Community Hospital and later transported to a hospital in Omaha. She was wearing a seat belt.
(AP) — Tire-maker Michelin says it is recalling about 1.2 million tires sold in the U.S. because an increasing number are experiencing tread loss or rapid air loss.
The tires are commonly used for pickup trucks, heavy-duty vans, small RVs and commercial light trucks. The Greenville, S.C-based company says no deaths or injuries have been reported because of the tires.
The tires, known as Michelin LTX M/S tires, were manufactured between January 2010 and June 2012. They were sold as original equipment on some vehicles and as new replacement tires.
The company says that fewer than 200 of the tires have been returned by customers. Owners can have them replaced at Michelin stores for no charge.
(AP) – Two children are back with their mother in Jefferson City after an overseas custody dispute.
Gaila Trusty’s 11- and 12-year-old children traveled to Moscow over the summer to spend time with their father. But authorities said that before the visitation period ended, the father told Trusty he had no intention of returning the children. He was charged in Missouri with child abduction, and Trusty traveled to Russia.
She and an American security consultant planned to swoop in after the children were dropped off at school. But Russian school personnel became involved, police were called and officials from the American Embassy were summoned. After a long meeting, Trusty was able to win over the Russian authorities.
The children returned to the U.S. in mid-November.
