(AP) – A former employee of the Callaway County Circuit Clerk’s office has been charged with forgery.  Forty-eight year-old Lanet Bittle of Fulton faces three counts of forgery.

The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office says Bittle was arrested Friday and released on $10,000 bond. Online court records don’t list a lawyer for Bittle.

Callaway County Circuit Clerk Judy Groner says Bittle was a former supervisor in her office who was fired last October.

A state audit of the circuit court released last week found at least $355 was missing because of lax oversight and accounting issues. Groner says her office has implemented all of the audit recommendations.

Bittle’s first court appearance will be Dec. 6 in Callaway County Circuit Court.

The week began with his divorce. A few days later, Missouri Agriculture Director Jon Hagler was accused by a high-ranking employee of creating a hostile and intimidating workplace. By the weekend, Hagler was out of a job.

Gov. Jay Nixon offered little explanation about why he replaced Hagler on Oct. 11, and Hagler was silent. But in an extended interview this weekend with The Associated Press, Hagler said the departure was his own idea and the timing merely a “horrible coincidence.”

“We set very high expectations. I think we were tough but fair,” Hagler said. “I really believe we tried to operate like a business.”

In August, Hagler said he told Nixon during the Missouri State Fair he was ready to leave as director, having accomplished his professional goals. He also mentioned to the governor that it was going to be personally awkward to remain in office, as he was separated from his wife, state Rep. Linda Black, D-Desloge, who sits on House committees that shape agriculture policy and the department’s budget.

Their divorce became final Oct. 7.

Hagler said officials from Northwest Missouri State University had approached him in early October about interviewing for a job. He said he told Nixon’s staff Oct. 8 the interview likely would be made public and it was probably time to find a new agriculture director. On the same day, Hagler flew to Wyoming for an agriculture conference.

When he returned the evening of Oct. 10, Hagler said he got a message from Nixon’s office, telling him the governor was replacing him the next day.

That same evening, Hagler said he learned that Beth Ewers, the agency’s associate director of meat and poultry inspection, had resigned and distributed a letter to department employees and others outside the agency. Ewers wrote that she was tired of “working in an environment of hostility, disrespect, intimidation and fear.”

“It’s just really unfortunate timing for those two situations,” Hagler said.

It’s unclear whether Nixon was aware of Ewers’ letter, but the governor has denied that allegations of a hostile workplace led to Hagler’s replacement.

Additional allegations of intimidation by Hagler surfaced this past week when leaders of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association told the AP that Hagler was incensed by a critical magazine article in April and had called multiple association officials profanely threatening to beat up the group’s chief executive.

“That actually has some elements of truth,” Hagler told the AP, noting he’d apologized for his actions. “That was way too Old Testament. That’s not representative of me and should not have been said.

“However, it was 100 percent hyperbole _ maybe I saw too many westerns that week,” he said.

Because of the public allegations, Hagler said he decided not to pursue the university job and started work Friday at a Missouri company where he is “advising them on some international stuff.” He declined to identify the company.

Hagler remained on the state payroll until this past Thursday, which is why he said he waited to address the allegations, so as not to violate rules against talking to the press. He also showed the AP several emails and texts from Agriculture Department employees thanking him for his work at the agency.

“I did the best job I could,” said Hagler, later adding: “What I’d like to do is just return to private life … go away, give the department a little peace.”

(AP)- The retiring chancellor of the University of Missouri’s flagship campus is returning to his academic roots in agricultural economics, but this time with a global focus.

Brady Deaton will remain on campus, running the new Brady and Anne Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development. He’ll have an office in Ellis Library and a yearly salary of $200,000, approved by the Board of Curators in June after Deaton announced he would retire Nov. 15.

The institute will begin operating in January. It will focus on how the university can help influence worldwide development in such areas as food security and water quality.

Deaton will also continue as President Barack Obama’s appointed chairman of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.

7 p.m. Update Saturday    A 39-year-old Joplin man was charged Saturday in the death of a new assistant football coach at Missouri Southern State who was shot outside a Joplin movie theater, authorities said.

Jeffery L. Bruner, of Joplin, was charged with felony murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of MSSU offensive line coach Derek Moore, Joplin police said in a release. Police said Moore was shot Friday night in the parking lot as he left the Northstar 14 Theatres. He died later at a hospital.

Bruner was arrested shortly after the shooting and is being held without bond at the Joplin jail, where officials said it’s unclear if he has a lawyer. The Jasper County prosecutor’s office did not immediately return calls Saturday seeking additional comment about the charges.

Moore, 37, was in his first year on the Missouri Southern football staff. He previously coached three seasons at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., according to the MSSU website.

2 p.m. Update (AP) A new assistant football coach at Missouri Southern State University was shot and killed as he was leaving a Joplin movie theater, authorities said Saturday.

Derek Moore, offensive line coach for MSSU, was shot Friday night in the parking lot of the Northstar 14 Theatres, Joplin police said. Moore died later at a hospital.

Moore, 37, was in his first year on the Missouri Southern football staff. He previously coached three seasons at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., according to the MSSU website.

“We are stunned and deeply saddened by this tragic incident, and our prayers are with Derek’s family,” MSSU Interim President Alan Marble said in a statement on the university’s website.

The university, which also canceled its Homecoming activities for the weekend, said Moore was the father of a 7-year-old boy. The university is planning a campus candlelight vigil for Monday.

“Derek was new to Missouri Southern but he was embraced by our campus and community,” head coach Daryl Daye said in the statement. “He was a very likeable person who always had a smile on his face and made friends easily with our staff and players. This is an unspeakable loss for the MSSU athletics family.”

The university said counselors would be on hand to help students and employees deal with Moore’s death.

“In times like this, our priority is to make sure we are there for our student-athletes, coaches and support staff in whatever way necessary,” Athletics Director Jared Bruggeman said in the statement.

Saturday 5:30 a.m. Authorities say a Missouri Southern State University employee was shot in the parking lot of a Joplin movie theater Friday night and later died.

A Joplin Police Department news release says 39-year-old Jeffery L. Bruner is in custody. The Jasper County Prosecutor’s Office will review paperwork before pressing any charges.

The victim’s name hasn’t been released, but MSSU issued a statement on the “tragic death” of an employee. It also said Homecoming activities were canceled, and the football game would be rescheduled.

Police spokesman Lt. Matt Stewart said authorities believe the victim was targeted.

 (AP) — A suspect has been arrested in the death of a 22-year-old Prairie Village man.

The  the 31-year-old suspect was arrested Friday in connection with the death of Jordan MacDonald, whose body was discovered Wednesday in De Soto near an apartment building.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department says the suspect is being held in the Johnson County jail.

(AP) — The District of Columbia is on the fast track toward decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The D.C. Council is poised to approve a bill that would make possession of less than 1 ounce of pot a civil offense, punishable by a fine as low as $25. Democratic Mayor Vincent Gray says he supports it. He could sign the bill as early as January.

Some activists want the city to go further by legalizing marijuana. They’re considering a ballot initiative if the council doesn’t take that step.

D.C. leaders have long been cautious about pot, in part because Congress has the final say on city laws. Congress held up medical marijuana in D.C. for a decade. But with 17 states having some form of decriminalization, many believe Congress won’t intervene.

 (AP)- After months of investigation, authorities are dismissing an inmate’s claim that he knew what happened to a 9-year-old St. Charles boy who disappeared 25 years ago.

Scott Kleeschulte was 9 when he went missing on June 8, 1988, while walking near a wooded area not far from his home.

Chuck Miceli claimed a former cellmate abducted Scott. Miceli is a former Chicago-area police officer turned informant. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2010 on a federal fraud charge.

Miceli was brought to St. Charles County by U.S. Marshals on June 17 and stayed while police investigated his claims.

St. Charles County prosecutor Tim Lohmar said the investigation yielded nothing new. Miceli was sent back to a federal prison in Florida.

AP) — Millions of people across the country are trying to figure out what to do after receiving notices that their individual health insurance policies are being discontinued because they don’t meet higher benefit requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act.

They can buy different policies directly from insurers for 2014 or sign up for plans on their state exchange. While lower-income people could see lower costs because of generous government subsidies, many middle-class families and individuals are likely to get a rude awakening when they access the websites and realize they’ll have to pay significantly more for health insurance.

Those not eligible for subsidies generally will receive more comprehensive coverage than they had under their soon-to-be-canceled policies, but they’ll also have to pay a lot more for it.