One fire department in northwest Missouri is getting hands-on training when it comes to battling propane fires.

The Chillicothe Fire Department recently completed construction of a propane live fire prop. Fire Chief Darrell Wright said the prop will give firefighters from Chillicothe and all across north Missouri hands-on training in a live fire situations involving propane.

“There’s a lot of it in our area so we definitely want to be prepared should the need arise and the only way to be prepared is to train on it,” Wright said.

MFA Oil Company Foundation and Ferrellgas provided funds and labor for the project. Wright said the prop has an emergency switch just in case, which is located about 30 feet from the actual tank.

“We’ll start some live fires but we’ll always have a classroom to start with,” Wright said. “We’ll go in and simulate turning the tank off and working with it.”

Many homes in the area use propane for heating and cooking. Wright said training on the new prop will be essential in situations where firefighters get called out for a house fire at a home that uses propane.

“Sometimes we have houses that get on fire that get close to the tank and heat the tank up, sometimes we have bobtail trucks that could be involved in an accident, there are all kinds of scenarios out on the farm where propane is leaking, or a line ruptures. We have all kinds of scenarios in the farming community that can have propane,” Wright said.

Wright said the propane live fire prop will be available for firefighters from all across north Missouri to get hands-on training.

Officials hope Motorcycle Awareness Month will carry through the rest of the year.

Keeping everyone safe on the road was the thought behind designating May as Motorcycle Awareness Month.

Due to the high number of fatalities of individuals on motorcycles, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety spends a month each year reminding drivers to always be aware of motorcyclists.

Marcus Holmes is the Intermediate Systems Management Specialist for the Division of Traffic and Highway Safety. Holmes said, through the month, they ask that all motorists be aware of motorcycles.

“It’s the beginning of the summer season and you see a lot of motorcycles out there on the road,” Holmes said. “Approximately 11 percent of Missouri traffic fatalities in 2015 involved motorcycles and that is 92 motorcyclists (who) lost their lives in 2015.”

Holmes says they ask that motorists be more aware throughout the year and follow safe driving habits such as always checking your mirrors when changing lanes.

“Allow a motorcycle to have a full lane while driving – don’t share a lane with a motorcyclist. Always make sure to signal before changing lanes or merging into traffic because motorcycles are very fast, they’re nimble – even the big ones – they can get in a blind spot of a motorist and you may not see that motorcyclist.”

Holmes said to also always pay attention when entering an intersection, as most crashes or fatalities happen at intersections or while a motorcyclist is making a left turn. He adds motorcyclists should always wear the proper reflective gear so they can be seen by other motorists.

For more information and resources, go to the Save MO Lives website.

Travelers have hit the road for the Memorial Day weekend and the Missouri State Highway Patrol has done the same.

Sgt. Jake Angle with Troop H said last year over the holiday weekend in Missouri there were 969 traffic crashes, 8 fatalities and 411 people injured. There were also 105 DWI arrests. He said troopers are out trying to keep those numbers down.

“Operation C.A.R.E. going on, combined accident reduction effort, and that’s where every available trooper will be out on the road for high visibility and strict enforcement just to put all of our manpower out there so we can try to keep traffic crashes down and also to offer our services to the public,” Angle said.

The counting day period for the Memorial Day weekend runs May 27 through May 30. It’s the first counting period of the year.

“We want to make sure we have a good presence out there. Just to remind people that we’re out there and we’re out there for a reason. Not just for strict enforcement but just to make sure if they have a problem out there on the roadway we’re there to assist them,” Angle said.

Also, troopers are participating in a special enforcement operation along I-29

“We’ll have a trooper every 20 miles and also we’ll have troopers taking part in extra enforcement along some of the US Highways, some of the bigger highways not just the interstates,” Angle said.

He reminds travelers to buckle up.

“The most important thing they can do any time they’re getting inside a motor vehicle is to put that seat belt on,” Angle said. “I don’t care if you’re going across town or all the way across the state the first thing you need to do when you get inside a motor vehicle is to put that seat belt on.”

And of course, he said if your weekend plans include drinking make sure you have a designated driver.

Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster announced this week that a judge has sentenced Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 65-year-old Robert Linebarger, of St. Joseph, to prison for five years.

The execution of that sentence was suspended and Linebarger was ordered immediately to serve 60 days’ shock detention in the Buchanan County Jail. Linebarger’s sentencing comes after his April 7, 2016, guilty plea to the class C felony of Medicaid Fraud.

According to a news release from Koster’s office, Linebarger was brought to the attention of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division by the Missouri Department of Social Services, Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit. The Attorney General’s investigation then determined Linebarger billed for therapy services he was not providing to his Medicaid clients and he abandoned some of his Medicaid clients by not showing up for scheduled counseling sessions.  However, he still billed Missouri Medicaid for those sessions.  Finally, Linebarger created false progress notes in an attempt to conceal from investigators that he had not provided counseling sessions for which he had billed Missouri Medicaid.

In addition to his sentence, Linebarger must pay restitution to Missouri Medicaid in the sum of $16,099, surrender his Clinical Social Worker license, and perform 480 hours of community service. Upon his release, Linebarger will be on five years of supervised probation.

“When you steal from Medicaid you are stealing from all Missourians,” Koster said.  “We will continue to investigate and prosecute all suspicions of Medicaid fraud by providers.”

The case was a jointly prosecuted by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney.

Koster said citizens should report suspected Medicaid fraud to his Medicaid Fraud Hotline toll free at 800-286-3932, e-mail a complaint to attorney.general@ago.mo.gov or complete a complaint form at the Attorney General’s website.

A 17-year-old Hiawatha, Kansas, student received two awards this week for her actions after a school bus rollover in Brown County last year. 

As previously reported, on the morning of November 18, 2015, a school bus driver failed to stop the vehicle at an intersection about 10 miles south of Hiawatha. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the driver was attempting to turn onto the highway when the bus went off the road and rolled one time. 

Brown County Sheriff John Merchant said while the over 20 students in the bus were shook up by the rollover, 17-year-old Raven Zimmers kept her cool.

“This young lady, after the accident, she (went) through the bus, made sure everybody was off the bus, helped them off the bus, she even sustained injuries to herself, but without thinking of herself she went ahead and helped everybody else,” Merchant said.

According to Brown County Sheriff’s Office Public Resource Safety Officer J.D. Clary, the state of Kansas requires school districts to conduct bus evacuation drills twice a year. Clary said Zimmers remembered her training that day. 

“One of the things I always stressed to the older kids was – don’t forget the little people,” Clary said. “Because they’re going to be scared, they’re going to be confused and they’re going to be looking for somebody to cling to and I told them I wanted them to be that person. Obviously, Miss Zimmers did just that and there were a lot of elementary school age children on that bus.” 

Tuesday night, at the Hiawatha High School Spring Athletic Awards, Zimmers was awarded the Kansas Highway Patrol Honorary Trooper Award and the Brown County Sheriff’s Department Award for Valor. 

Clary said both awards are not given to just anyone and the Highway Patrol Award is an especially prestigious award. 

“You have to do something pretty amazing in order to be eligible to even be recommended to the superintendent for that award,” Clary said. “That’s something the superintendent and command staff do when someone is nominated – they go through the records, they review the accident report, they talk to the trooper involved and anyone else before they make their decision. That I know of, in the 27 years that I was a trooper, I’ve never known anyone younger than probably 25 ever receive that award. That kind of goes to show you just how amazing the things that Miss Zimmers did that day under all the stress.” 

In addition to Zimmers’ actions that day in November, Clary said emergency responders reacted to the situation smoothly. 

“We have what’s called a Squad 48,” Clary said. “That’s whenever there’s a bad injury accident or possible fatality – this crew goes out – they’ve got the Jaws of Life, all those things. We had first responders, we had ambulances from the Horton Hospital (and) Hiawatha Hospital… within 25 minutes, all the kids on the bus were being seen by physicians at either the Horton Community Hospital or the Hiawatha Hospital. I think that’s pretty good for a little community with less than 10,000 people in it to have first responders that are that good at what they do. They were prepared and they were able to answer the call when it came.” 

Clary and Sheriff Merchant both said between first responders, surrounding communities and Zimmers, they were able to make the best of a bad situation. 

“An amazing girl,” Clary said. “We’re very proud that she’s from Brown County.”

A single vehicle crash on westbound 36 Highway shut down traffic for about two hours Thursday night. 

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, a woman was driving westbound on 36 between 28th and 22nd around 11:30 p.m. when the vehicle overturned, hit a guardrail and rolled multiple times, landing on its top. 

The driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. 

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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(Update 7:45 p.m.) A driver suffered minor injuries after a truck overturned on eastbound 36 Thursday afternoon.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, around 3:20 p.m., a young male driver was driving too fast for the weather conditions on east 36, west of the Belt Highway, when the vehicle hydroplaned, struck a concrete wall and a guardrail and the vehicle flipped, landing on its top.

Police said the driver suffered minor injuries.

No other information has been released at this time. We’ll update as we find out more.

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A truck overturned on eastbound 36 west of the Belt Highway Thursday afternoon.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, as of 4:05 p.m. officers were on scene.

No other information has been released at this time. We’ll update as we find out more.

Memorial Day weekend often kicks off the cookout season along with the challenge of staying healthy during the summer. 

Between fairs, baseball games and cookouts, many unhealthy options tend to be on the menu. 

Katie Buchs is the Nutrition and Health Education Specialist at the University of Missouri Extension in Buchanan County. She said the key to staying healthy during this season of hot dogs, nachos and ice cream is moderation. 

“If (eating unhealthy food) becomes a regular thing that occurs, then that’s when you have those negative effects which could be loss of energy, weight gain or even then leading to chronic diseases,” Buchs said.

Buchs said she suggests, whenever you’re attending a summer food event, to search out or bring a healthier option. 

“For example, if you go to a friend’s house, maybe offer to bring a salad or fruit to the event so that way you know that you do have that healthier option,” Buchs said. “Something else to think about is, with the summer, farmer’s markets are getting underway, so that’s a great way to be able to include fruits and vegetables into your diet, but also (they’re) cheaper because they are in season.” 

Buchs said farmer’s markets also are a great opportunity to get kids involved with healthy eating. 

“You can let them maybe pick a fruit or vegetable they’d want to try and they can help find the recipe and maybe even include them in the cooking process,” Buchs said. “Which, then, they’re more likely to actually enjoy the fruit and vegetable.” 

Buchs said the University of Missouri Extension created a smartphone app called, “Seasonal and Simple.” 

“It lists what fruits and vegetables are currently in season, it has recipes for each fruit and vegetable, it can find farmer’s markets near you,” Buchs said. “On the iPhone option, it (has) food preservation tips such as canning, dehydrating and such.” 

For more information on anything nutrition, agriculture, 4-H or community development related, contact the University of Missouri Extension’s Buchanan County Office at (816) 279-1691 or go to their website.