Area residents in northeast Kansas are invited to attend a program next week to learn about an invasive bug threatening local trees.

A program talking about the Emerald Ash Borer will be held June 7 by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, K-State Research and Extension in Doniphan County and the Kansas Forest Service. According to a flyer, the event will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Troy Community Center located at 1225 Last Chance Road in Troy, Kan. There is no cost to attend but RSVPs are requested with the Extension Office. To RSVP contact Margaret at (785) 985-3623 or [email protected].

As we previously reported, in March several larvae were removed by KDA staff from an ash tree in a native stand of timber in rural Doniphan County near Bendena. Regulatory officials confirmed the presence of the Emerald Ash Boarer and expanded the EAB quarantine to include Doniphan County.

According to the flyer, the EAB program will talk about how to identify the insects, detect when they’re damaging a tree and what to do about it. Homeowners, landowners and concerned citizens are encouraged to attend.  CLICK HERE for more information.

Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol are taking part in a statewide operation Monday for peek Memorial Day travel.

Capt. James McDonald commanding officer Troop H, St. Joseph, said Troop H is once again participating in the Memorial Day weekend enforcement operations. He said the operations’ objective is to reduce the number and severity of traffic crashes. Throughout the holiday weekend, troopers within Troop H and throughout the state have been participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness & Reduction Effort). This means every available officer will be on the road enforcing traffic laws and assisting motorists.

In addition to Operation C.A.R.E., Troop H is also be participating in the statewide peak travel crash reduction enforcement programs during the peak travel periods on Friday, May 26, and Monday, May 29. During this operation, troopers will be assigned to 20-mile stretches of Interstate 35. Enforcement efforts on secondary roads will be conducted during the same timeframe within Troop H.

“Memorial Day is the first major travel holiday of the year and the Missouri State Highway Patrol urges motorists to wear their seat belts and never drink and drive,” Captain McDonald said. “The Highway Patrol wants everyone to have a safe Memorial Day weekend.”

A new health cancer program will open next month in Maryville which will include a chemotherapy and infusion center.

According to a news release from SSM Health St. Francis Hospital, the hospital and SSM Health Medical Group plan to open SSM Health Cancer Care on June 12 which will be headed by oncologist Rolando Breier, MD.

Located at the hospital, SSM Health Cancer Care will offer infusion therapy in conjunction with patient appointments with Dr. Breier for treatment of a wide array of cancers, as well as benign hematological conditions.

“I believe in providing a more patient-focused approach to cancer care that gives patients the time and support they need in their fight against cancer,” Breier said.

SSM Health Cancer Care and new infusion center are located on the main (first) floor of the hospital directly behind the Jimmy Jones display on the east wing. The area has been remodeled to provide three exam rooms, a private treatment room and a group room with six infusion recliners where patients can receive blood transfusions, chemotherapy and other medications.

The hospital pharmacy has expanded its services to allow for mixing the chemotherapy drugs on-site to make the infusion process more efficient for patients needs

“The program will allow patients to see the doctor and receive treatment as well as other services through our multidisciplinary approach,” said Mike Baumgartner, hospital president. “The infusion center will provide privacy for those who want it or a group setting for those who prefer to be interactive.”

After days of searching the body of a St. Joseph man has been found in the Missouri River.

As we previously reported, on Monday officials with the Doniphan County Sheriff’s Office began searching the Wolf River for a missing St. Joseph man on Monday. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and Doniphan County Sheriff’s Office said the body in reference to a death investigation was recovered in the Missouri River late Saturday morning.

According to a news release, around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 27, a citizen spotted a body in the Missouri River, south of St. Joseph, MO in Buchanan County. The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office responded and recovered the body, which has been identified as Daniel Purvis, age 64, of St. Joseph, MO. Authorities had been searching the Wolf River and other nearby bodies of water for Purvis since Monday, May 22.

Christopher Colhour, age 40, from the St. Joseph area, was arrested May 22 for the theft of a 2009 Chevy Traverse which belonged to Purvis. Colhour remains in custody in Doniphan County Jail due to his suspected involvement in the disappearance of Purvis. KBI said further charges are pending.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, the Missouri Search and Rescue K-9 Unit, the Overland Park Police Department Dive Team, the St. Joseph Police Department, the Elwood Police Department, the Wathena Police Department, the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Joseph Fire Department all assisted in the case.

This investigation is ongoing. KBI said nothing further will be released at this time.

Northwest Missouri State University said according to a review the school has realized an estimated $66.5 million in cost containment and efficiencies in recent months.

According to a news release, Northwest compiled the report this spring, through the guidance of University President Dr. John Jasinski and Nola Bond, Northwest’s vice president of strategy and operations, by gathering documentation and input from all areas of the University.

The total represents cumulative savings documented by Northwest between 2012 and 2016. The University took similar actions between 2009 and 2012, but the recent review does not quantify those measures.

“One of Northwest’s core competencies is being resourceful,” Jasinski said. “We have been resourceful for 112 years and will continue to do so. We are stewards of taxpayer money and focus on quality, access and affordability. This study reinforces the Bearcat culture and climate as we carry out our traits and competencies.”

According to the review, Northwest realized about $18.3 million, the largest portion of savings, by replacing University spending on academic, program and facility needs with grants and other funds.

Northwest also reports it generated more than $11.2 million in funding by offering additional products and services, and it saved more than $9.7 million by refinancing debt. The University review references its internationally benchmarked student employment program, which offers some 1,200 profession-based roles to students as a vehicle to earn valuable professional experience, while being resourceful and reducing or avoiding costs through repurposing or restructuring its workforce, saving an additional $7.1 million in labor costs.

Additional efficiencies were captured by managing contracts to optimize services ($5.8 million) and optimizing processes ($4.9 million). Northwest saved about $2.5 million by using technology to reduce labor costs, and it tracked nearly $2.4 million through employee wellness programs that yielded employee benefit savings.

The school estimates it saved more than $2.6 million in energy costs during the last four years.

Northwest reports it realized additional savings through outsourcing ($827,500), refining academic programs ($481,500) and targeting capital funding ($441,500).

The University said it’s making plans to log additional savings in coming years.  Earlier this spring, it announced the closure of its Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing – which is project to save the University about $468,000 in FY18 – and Northwest-St. Joseph to save between $450,000 and $500,000 annually in coming years, and it will end its English as a Second Language program. The University also offered a voluntary retirement incentive to retirement-eligible faculty and staff while choosing not to fill open positions to realize additional budget savings.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of a scam circulating in the county involving tax warrants.

Sheriff John Merchant said the scam is familiar to the county but it’s circulating once again.

“Residents have contacted me stating they are receiving calls informing them that they have a tax warrant issued against them and they are subject to arrest unless they immediately pay the warrant amount,” Merchant said. “Most of these have been automated messages and several have been conveyed by a live person.”

He said on the automated messages there is a number for residents to call back.

“Several times a warrant for their arrest is mentioned if they do not return the call,” Merchant said. “One resident reported that they were informed that the Sheriff would be at their home to arrest them if the warrant wasn’t paid immediately.”

Merchant affirms that it is a scam and for residents not to return the call or give out any personal information

(Missourinet) – You will see extra state troopers on Missouri interstates Friday, on what traditionally is one of the busiest travel days of the year.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol describes Memorial Day weekend as the “gateway to summer fun.”

The Patrol will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. during the holiday weekend. Patrol Captain John Hotz says that stands for Crash Awareness Reduction Effort.

“Well we know this is kind of the unofficial kickoff of summertime and there will be a lot of people traveling for the weekend,” says Hotz. “And so we are encouraging people to be aware that there is going to be additional traffic out there.”

You will notice Missouri state troopers stationed at 20-mile intervals Friday and again on Memorial Day along interstates 29, 44, 55 and 70. They will be looking for all traffic offenses, including speeding and aggressive driving.

Captain Hotz tells Missourinet that every available trooper will be on the road, enforcing traffic laws and assisting motorists.

“The overall goal is to increase our visibility out there. We know the more patrol cars we have out there, the more people see and they typically drive in a safer manner,” Hotz says.

Hotz says that Missouri state troopers made 135 DWI arrests during the 2016 Memorial Day holiday weekend. 13 people died and another 451 suffered injuries in traffic crashes during the 2016 Missouri Memorial Day weekend.

Hotz is urging motorists to slow down, be courteous and to wear their seat belt this weekend.

“Well we know that speed is the number one cause in fatal traffic crashes that we have,” says Hotz. “Inattention is the number one cause in all crashes, but of the fatal crashes that we work, speed is the number one factor.”

This year’s fatality counting period for the holiday weekend begins Friday evening at 6 and will end at 11:59 p.m. on Memorial Day Monday.

An Edgerton, Missouri man charged with murdering his sister, three-month-old nephew, and grandparents, and then allegedly burning down the home where they lived together could face the death penalty.

In a court filing Thursday, Platte County Prosecutors gave notice of their intent to present “aggravating circumstances” to seek the death penalty against Grayden Denham.

As we reported earlier, a grand jury returned an indictment against Denham, charging him with four counts of first-degree murder and four counts of armed criminal action.  He is also charged with 2nd-degree arson, tampering with evidence, stealing a motor vehicle and animal abuse.

Prosecutors are expected to lay the groundwork to seek the death penalty in a hearing scheduled June 1 before Platte County Circuit Judge James Van Amburg. The judge earlier denied a request to disqualify the office of the Platte County Prosecutor and appoint a special prosecutor in the case.

A grand jury returned an indictment on June 24 alleging Denham shot his sister, Heather Ager, 32, his three-month-old nephew Mason Schiavoni, his grandmother, Shirley Denham, 81, and his grandfather, Russell Denham, 82. Their bodies were found burned outside their residence on Buena Vista Road in Edgerton on February 20. Fire destroyed the home. A dog had also been shot and burned.

Denham was found in Arizona driving a 2012 Nissan Versa believed stolen from the home. The vehicle’s Missouri license plates had allegedly been removed and replaced with stolen Oklahoma license plates, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Denham, 24, is being held in the Platte County Jail, unable to post $4 million cash bail.

Charlie Coats of St. Joseph insisted he acted in self-defense when he shot Jason Ginn two years ago. A local jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action on Thursday after a two-day trial.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kate Schaefer offered closing arguments on Thursday morning, beginning with a cell-phone video showing the fatal shooting in the 300 block of South 15th Street on Aug. 1, 2015.

Schaefer pointed out that the video showed the defendant chasing a running man, shooting seven times. But Schaefer says you can also here the gun click as he tried to fire another shot.

“He would have kept shooting,” Schaefer told the panel. “That is the opposite of self-defense. That is murder.”

Schaefer said Coats was “the initial aggressor, the continuing aggressor, the only aggressor, and he fired seven shots.”

Defense attorney Kenton Hall argued that Coats believed Ginn had a gun wrapped inside a t-shirt stuffed into his pants, and was reaching for the weapon when Coats fired the first shot. Hall said Coats was afraid of Ginn, who had a reputation for violence, aggression and gun play.

“You drop yours and I’ll drop mine,” Coats can be heard shouting in the video. Hall repeated that refrain, noting that Coats said it six or seven times. “That shows Charlie believed Jason was armed, and Jason never denied it. He acted like he was armed,” Hall said.

A family member told the jury that Ginn was bluffing, and that he didn’t have a gun. Schaefer pointed out that numerous witnesses said Ginn had no gun.

“Every witness said that Jason was walking away,” she said. “He never had a gun, never pulled a gun. He didn’t have a gun.”

“Shots to the back are not self defense.”

A photograph from the video showed Coats on top of a vehicle firing what Schaefer said was the fatal shot, as the victim was lying face down on the pavement.

Coats then left town, but surrendered to authorities in Columbia, Mo., five days later. Hall argued that Coats decided he didn’t want to run because he knew he was justified. “He ran because he was afraid, he had priors, but he’s not on trial for that,” Coats said.

Hall argued that the trajectory of the fatal shot showed that Ginn was standing when he was shot in the head, and then fell to the pavement after he was killed.

Schaefer said Coats knew he wanted Ginn to die, and after deliberation, upon reflection, he chased him down and fired seven shots.

“That’s not self-defense, ladies and gentlemen, that’s cold-blooded murder,” Schaefer said.

The panel began deliberations at about 10:45 a.m. Thursday, and within a couple of hours returned its verdict: guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Circuit Judge Patrick Robb ordered a sentence assessment report and scheduled sentencing July 24 at 2 p.m. Coats remains in custody in the Buchanan County Jail, where he’s been held without bail since his arrest.