An assessment of damage caused by recent storms is underway in Buchanan County and other areas in the region.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorities toured the Buchanan County area Wednesday.

“We’re doing what’s called preliminary damage assessments,” said Merideth Parrish, FEMA Region 7 Public Affairs Information Officer. “Essentially what we’re doing is we’re looking at the impact from the storms that began on May 15 and are still continuing. Public assistance has us look at impacts to public infrastructure so that could be everything from roads, to bridges, public facilities if they were impacted.”

Buchanan County Emergency Manager Bill Brinton said authorities toured damage in areas near the Remington Nature Center, the trail north of the St. Joe Frontier Casino, 29th street and 28th street in town and then roads in the Eastern District and Western District.

“We’ve seen all different kinds of damage,” Brinton said. “On Lower Dekalb road the road is completely washed out.  Probably about 100 feet across is completely missing.”

Parrish said FEMA is evaluating around 22 counties in Missouri that have sustained damage from recent storms.  She said most of those areas are in the northwest and northeast parts of the state.

“We’re trying to basically paint a picture to see the size, scale and the scope of the impact of the disaster, ” Parrish said. “This is just the data collection stage, once all that data collection is done we turn that information back over to the State Emergency Management Agency and together they with the governor will look at that damage and say is this beyond the state’s budgetary ability, capability resources to be able to assist local jurisdictions and counties in recovering and repairing and rebuilding after a disaster? If it is then the governor then has the option to submit a federal disaster declaration for public assistance dollars.”

FEMA Region 7 serves the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska

“A couple of weeks ago we did finish up the same type of damage assessment for Kansas,” Parrish said. “This week we are focusing on Missouri.  We will break for the holiday and then we will start up again next week.”

Parrish said this process is just an assessment, not a guarantee that federal aid is coming.

“We try to get the damage assessments done pretty quickly,” she said. “As we’re collecting data we’re sending it to the state so they can begin their process of compiling their data for all the counties cumulatively so they can begin that review with the governor.  That governor then takes that time and that information he has to review that data and works with FEMA together to put that request in should he choose.”

A Bethany, Missouri man faces dozens of felony charges for allegedly stealing and trying to sell the bronze name plates off of gravestones at the Bethel Cemetery south of Pattonsburg.

Officials peg the value of the name plates at over $20,000. 46-year-old Leslie Harrison is charged with 16 counts of theft and 16 counts of property damage plus three drug or paraphernalia counts.

Mr Harrison is scheduled to appear before a judge July 6. In the meantime, he’s behing held under $85,000 bail.

Eagle Radio’s Nadia Thacker takes a look at the top stories for Tuesday, June 30.

Police confirm a 48-year-old homeless man is charged in connection with a weekend assault in midtown that lead to the death of 36-year-old Robert J. Martinez.

Hank William Cooper has been charged with first-degree Involuntary Manslaughter.

As we previously reported, police responded Saturday to find Martinez in the 1400 block of Penn Street seriously injured from an alleged assault. Martinez was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment where he later died.

According to court documents on Saturday in the 1400 block of Penn Street Cooper committed first-degree assault against an individual by striking with his fists multiple times and hitting him with a wooden pole.

Detective Dustin Robinson with the St. Joseph Police Department said Cooper intentionally and knowingly struck his victim in the head with the pole which cause the victim to go unconscious and bleed profusely from the injury.

The preliminary autopsy report listed the cause of death as blunt force trauma.

Robinson said Cooper is homeless and has been arrested for failure to appear in court six times before. Cooper has a criminal history of being arrested three times for obstruction, twice for domestic assault, resisting arrest by threats of force, stealing and trespassing, assault on law enforcement, violation of ex parte, and receiving stolen property.

He is currently being held on $100,000 bond.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway on Tuesday released a follow-up report to the Country Club Village audit the office performed.

The follow-up review was conducted in May, after a November, 2014 audit earned the village an overall performance rating of “poor.” The follow-up report does not include an overall rating.

Ms Galloway says the village has addressed a number of the more controversial problems cited in the original audit report. The auditor said officials in Country Club separated the accounting of money designated for roads, improved the development of annual road maintenance plans, and was ensuring board meetings were held in according with Missouri’s Sunshine Law.

“The Village of Country Club has implemented a number of recommendations to address issues ranging from road improvements to balanced bank accounts,” Galloway said. “I believe these changes will improve government operations and create better, more efficient government for the citizens of Country Club.”

For follow-up reporting purposes, audit findings are prioritized and then selected recommendations are evaluated and ranked as implemented, in progress, partially implemented or not implemented.

In the Country Club follow-up report, 15 recommendations were selected for evaluation. Of those 15, 12 recommendations have been successfully implemented.

You can find out more at the State Auditor’s Web site HERE.

Police have identified a man who died over the weekend in St. Joseph after an assault in midtown.

36-year-old Robert J. Martinez has been identified as the man who died Sunday after an alleged assault in the 1400 block of Penn Street around 10 p.m. Saturday.

According to St. Joseph Police Department Commander Eric Protzman officers responded to that location Saturday find a man who had sustained serious injuries from an alleged assault.

Martinez was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment and later died from his injuries.

A man in his mid-40s was arrested Sunday in connection with the case.

An investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information related to the incident are asked to contact the detective division at 816-271-5336 or crime stoppers at 816-238-TIPS.

 

Famous Dave’s has closed its St. Joseph location.

According to the restaurant’s manager, Sunday was the last day of operation at the St. Joseph chain located at 5401 N. Belt Hwy.

Employees worked Monday to clean up the facility.

Famous Dave’s opened in April of 2007 in St. Joseph and employed around 30 to 35 people.

The store manager said employees have the option to work at another Famous Dave’s location if they would like.  The closest one to St. Joseph is in Legends in Kansas City.

A reason for the closing was not readily available when we called.

Gift cards can be redeemed at all other Famous Dave’s location.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled against federal regulators’ attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants.

The rules began to take effect in April, but the court said by a 5-4 vote Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to take their cost into account when the agency first decided to regulate the toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired plants.

The challenge was brought by industry groups and 21 Republican-led states.

Writing for the court, Justice Antonin Scalia said it is not appropriate to impose billions of dollars of economic costs in return for a few dollars in health or environmental benefits.

The case now goes back to lower courts for the EPA to decide how to account for costs.

(Video footage from a bystander found on YouTube)

CAMERON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a biplane pilot injured during a crash at a northwest Missouri airshow has died from his injuries.

The Cameron Police Department announced the death of 50-year-old Steven O’Berg of Smithville in a news release Sunday. O’Berg was injured when his Pitts biplane crashed around 1:50 p.m. Saturday during a performance at the Cameron Airshow. Police said he was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The release said his family is asking for privacy to “grieve their loss.”

The airshow’s Facebook site said the full show would be performed Sunday. The phone number for airshow organizer Eric Evans, who also manages the Cameron Memorial Airport, rang unanswered Sunday.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration say they are investigating.