More than 60 fans were donated to three St. Joseph agencies Tuesday in an effort to help those in need stay safe and cool this summer.

Kansas City Power & Light is partnering with agencies across its service area to distribute the fans for free based on agency policies.

“For the North District, which is basically St. Joe and up to the Iowa border and over to the Trenton area we’re distributing about 125 fans but overall over the whole company we’re distributing closer to 500 fans,” said Dan Hegeman, KCP&L District Community Affairs Manager.

He said 65 fans were distributed Tuesday among three agencies to cover a large portion of St. Joseph.  Fans were dropped off at Grace House located at 2638 Lafayette, AFL-CIO Community Services located at 1203 N. 6th St. and InterServ Wesley Center located at 200 Cherokee St.

Dave Howery is the Ex. Director for InterServ and said the fans will help the agency provide heat relief for families in need.

“There’s a distribution person who would help with that,” Howery said.

Howery said looking out for community members doesn’t stop at fan distributions.  He said InterServ’s facilities serve as cooling centers and when volunteer go out to distribute meals through the organization’s mobile meals program they are also keeping an eye out.

“When people go into the home for home delivered meals they’re also assessing as well.  What’s the environment like, what’s the safety factors like, and what’s the communication with that client who made need that,” Howery said. “And then we do economic assistance that helps with utilities, especially utilities to keep people in their homes and provide relief.”

For information on the fans contact each organization to find out details on distribution policies.

The City of St. Joseph is gearing up for its Independence Day celebration.

The city said Matt Snook will perform at its annual Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks event. The event will start at 8:30 p.m. on July 4, 2016 in the Bill McKinney Softball Complex at Heritage Park, 2202 Waterworks Rd, St. Joseph, MO 64505.

Gates open at 7:30 p.m. with the concert beginning at 8:30 p.m. Matt and his band’s performance will run through the fireworks display and continue until 30 minutes after the fireworks display has finished. The fireworks are scheduled to begin after it gets dark.

The event is free and open to the public.  CLICK HERE for more information.

(Update 2 p.m. – News Release) – A Platte County grand jury has indicted an Edgerton man for murdering his sister, three-month-old nephew, and grandparents, and then allegedly burning down the home where they lived together.

Grayden L. Denham, 24, has been in custody since February 21, when he was located in Arizona in a car authorities allege he stole from the scene of the other crimes.

Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said the grand jury returned the indictment on June 24. The indictment alleges 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. The home at that address had been burned, and a dog had also been shot and burned.

According to Platte County Sheriff Mark Owen, Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a structure fire at 4170 Buena Vista Road, in Edgerton, on February 20. When deputies arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames.

Deputies saw three bodies in the front yard, two adults and one infant. A dog was also dead in the yard. All of the bodies had been burned.

A male body was found by an out building east of the home. The body was lying on its back and also badly burned.

Investigators later determined that the four victims and dog had all been shot.

They also discovered that one vehicle, a brown 2012 Nissan Versa with handicapped license plates, was missing from the residence.

Investigators determined from relatives and neighbors that Denham was not allowed to drive the Nissan Versa or any of the other vehicles from that location because his driver’s license had been suspended.

Denham was located in Arizona along with the 2012 Nissan Versa. The Nissan Versa’s Missouri license plates had allegedly been removed and replaced with stolen Oklahoma license plates.

Denham is charged with four counts of first degree murder, which carry a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors could also seek the death penalty against Denham. Zahnd said he would review the case to determine whether the State would seek the death penalty.

Denham is also charged with:

• Four counts of armed criminal action, which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison.
• Animal abuse, a misdemeanor, for killing the dog.

• Second degree arson, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

• Tampering with physical evidence, punishable by up to four years in prison.

• Stealing a motor vehicle, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Judge James Van Amburg set bond in the case at $4 million cash only.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(11 a.m.) – Additional charges including murder have been filed against an Edgerton man who was found in Arizona following the death of four of his family members.

Grayden Denham, 24 is now charged in Platte County with four felony counts of first-degree murder, four felony counts of armed criminal action, felonies for second-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence and a misdemeanor for animal abuse.  Denham was previously charged with a felony for stealing a motor vehicle.

As we previously reported, on February 20, Russell and Shirley Denham were found dead at their home in Edgerton.  Their granddaughter Heather Ager, 32, and her three-month-old son Mason Schiavoni, were also found dead.  A fire had completely destroyed a home on the property, and all of the victims’ bodies had been burned.  A dog was also found dead in the yard.

According to court documents, Grayden Denham, who normally stayed at the residence, was not located there.  Grayden Denham allegedly stole a 2012 brown Nissan Versa, which was owned by Russell and Shirley Denham.

Grayden Denham was located in Arizona on February 21 along with the 2012 Nissan Versa.  The Nissan Versa’s Missouri license plates had allegedly been removed and replaced with stolen Oklahoma license plates.

Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd and Sheriff Mark Owen plan to hold a press conference Monday afternoon to talk about recent developments in the quadruple homicide investigation.

As we learn more we will update this story.

(Update 12:30 p.m.) – More than 200 pounds of marijuana has been seized by the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force.

Col. Bill Puett with the Sheriff’s Department said the Strike Force made the large drug bust Friday afternoon.  He said the marijuana was being shipped to a local freight company.

“It went to a local shipping freight company and they were able to seize it there,” Puett said. “Investigators were able to seize approximately 203 pounds of packaged marijuana that came in.”

He said at this time no arrests have been made.

“Members of the DSF have been conducting ongoing interdiction operations at a variety of locations in an effort to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs in our community,” Puett said. “Information might be that they’re being shipped by vehicle, they’re targeting some of the shipping routes and some of the ways that drugs are being shipped into the community.”

Puett said the investigation is ongoing.

“From what we’re understanding obviously some of it could have been local and it could have been distributed in other areas but once again those are ongoing investigative issues and the investigators are still working on that so I’m pretty limited on what we can really comment on,” Puett said.

The man found dead Friday night on Dover Street has been identified.

According to Captain Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department, 54-year-old Perry S. Smith was found dead in the 2900 block of Dover Street around 8:15 p.m. Friday.

As we previously reported, a 51-year-old man is in custody in what police are calling a homicide investigation. The initial call Friday night was the report of shots fired.

As of yet no charges have been filed, and police have not released the name of the man they took into custody.

St. Joseph police responded to the city’s south side after employees at a restaurant called in to report they’d found a hand grenade which ended up being drug paraphernalia.

“We were sent here because employees of the business found what appeared to be a hand grenade on the counter when they were cleaning this morning,” said Officer Ed Sexton of the St Joseph Police Department.

“We found this,” Sexton said. “It’s smaller than a regular grenade that I’ve seen, but it’s metal and it looks similar to one.”

Sexton said it’s a marijuana grinder.

“It opens up and they put marijuana in there and they can grind it down to where they can use it. It appears it could possibly have been set there by accident and someone just walked off and forgot it,” Sexton said.

Officers were dispatched to the Taco John’s restaurant at 6110 Lake Ave. at about 9:30 a.m. They cleared the call about half an hour later.

Fog is in the forecast this morning, followed by continuing warm temperatures. Here’s your 7-day forecase.

Today: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind.

Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. Northeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. East northeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. East northeast wind 5 to 7 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 80. South southeast wind 5 to 8 mph.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

One area expert is recommending taking a vacation as a vital part to a professional’s well-being.

Rebecca Lobina with the Northwest Missouri State University Small Business and Technology Developmental Center said if you can take time off, do it to give yourself a break.

“Your mental health will thank you for it. In the long run so will your boss at work, because it will make you more productive and mentally more clear. You’ll make better decisions and you’ll be more focused, ” Lobina said.

Lobina said there a number of reasons people do not go on vacation.

“Employees want to show greater dedication. Another one is a common fear that there will be a mountain of work whenever we return. There is the fear of being seen as replaceable, ” Lobina said. “The opposite of that is the belief you cannot be replaced. Some cannot afford to take a vacation.”

Lobina said vacations do not have to be grand to be effective.

“A vacation doesn’t mean you have to go to the Bahamas. Even if you take a vacation at home, take a day off to truly relax. Let go as if you were in the Bahamas. Don’t do housework. Don’t do stuff like that,” Lobina said. “Just let yourself truly relax for a few days. It will help a ton in your mental clarity.”

Lobina said there are best practices employers need to keep in mind with regard to vacations.

“It’s very important that you have a vacation policy. That your employees have to ask you however long in advance you need for your scheduling. Whether that’s a week or two weeks, whatever, ” said Lobina. “You don’t want to leave your customers hanging because you’ve scheduled too many people off.”