Hundreds turned out in St Joseph Wednesday to show their support of Chick-fil-A.

The day was proclaimed “National Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” by former Arkansas Gov. and talk show host Mike Huckabee.

A line of cars over the lunch hour Wednesday backed-up into the street as hundred waited in line to support the company after others criticized it’s President for his remarks about gay marriage last month. Many patrons waited about 20 minutes before they could get their meal.

Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy last month said the Atlanta-based company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.

Those in St Joseph today said they came out to support his opinion and to support his right to announce his opinion.

“I came out just to show my support for something that is America.” One patron said. “this is what we are, we are free people. I spent 22 years in the military defending the constitiun of the United States and this is one of our rights.”

“I came to support the owner, the corporate president and his stand on one man, one woman marriage,” one woman said.

“And i wish more companies would follow Chick-fil-A’s standards on business such as being closed on Sundays and allowing their people to go to church and things like that,” said one patron.

Opponents of the company’s stance are planning “Kiss Mor Chiks” for Friday, when they are encouraging people of the same sex to show up at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country and kiss each other.

 

It’s a destructive insect that kills ash trees and it is now confirmed in the Kansas City area. Conservation officials say the emerald ash borer has also expanded its range in the southeast Missouri Ozarks. Experts say homeowners and property managers should be cautious and informed as they seek to protect ash trees.

“Don’t be too hasty,” said Wendy Sangster, an urban forester in Kansas City for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Learn about the emerald ash borer and when it is appropriate to remove a tree and when it is not.” Information about the pests is available here.

Another St Joe man charged with murder during a home invasion robbery has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

Buchanan County Circuit Judge Dan Kellogg ordered Kasey Hall, 20, to serve 20 years in prison, the maximum term for his guilty plea to one count of second degree murder. Under Missouri law, Hall must serve 17 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole.

Xavier Johnson, who also pleaded guilty, was sentenced earlier to 20 years in prison.

A third murder suspect, Elijah Pickett, is scheduled for trial in January.

Prosecutors says Hall’s cooperation with authorities made it possible for them to charge two other men with attempted robbery and murder. Officials believe Felix Turner and Camareo Goodwin pointed the other three suspects to Ulmer’s home where the stick up and shooting occured last August.

Pre-trial motions are pending in the case against Goodwin, who was granted his request for a new judge, and awaits a hearing on a motion for a change of venue. Turner is scheduled for arraignment Thursday.

Governor Jay Nixon is scheduled to stop in Saint Joseph this afternoon to award an Innovation Campus grant to Missouri Western. The grants are supposed to help universities and local academic and business partners train students for careers in high demand. Nixon’s appearance is set for 3:15 this afternoon at Remington Hall on the Western campus.

The Missouri Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a state law placing limits on so-called “non economic” damages in malpractice lawsuits.

The court ruled Tuesday on the appeal of a Greene County lawsuit involving a woman whose son was born with catastrophic brain injuries. She filed a medical malpractice suit against the medical center and her doctors for providing negligent health care services.

The jury awarded $1.45 million in non-economic damages. It also awarded $3.371 million in future medical damages reduced to a present value of more than $1.747 million. The trial court allowed the providers to pay half the future damages in a lump sum immediately and the other half over 50 years.

According to the ruling, statutory damage caps were not permissible when the constitution was adopted in 1820 and, therefore, remain impermissible today.

The high court held that the right to trial by jury cannot “remain inviolate” when an injured party is deprived of the jury’s role of determining damages according to the particular facts of the case.

Non-economic damages compensate injuries and losses that are not easily quantified by a dollar amount. Also known as quality-of-life damages, this compensation covers the family of victims who have died, or suffered severe injuries.

The court also threw out the arrangement for the defendants to pay out part of the judgment in installments without covering future increases in medical costs. The judges ordered the trial court to come up with a new payment plan.

The legal briefs, summaries of the briefs and oral argument audio file are available online here.

The Rosecrans Air National Guard Base will play host to a national softball tournament that will bring 40 teams from 12 states to St Joseph, to benefit “Camp Guardian” and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Organizers expect more than 500 players to take part, including Missouri National Guard members and their families, as well as players from other services.

We can expect another 500 visitors plus local spectators to converge on the Heritage Park Softball Complex August 15-18. This is the 47th year they’ve held the tournament.

Spectators can expect to see lots of action and strategy, with slow-pitch ball and a five home run progressive rule.

The tournament kicks off (8/15) by the Missouri river with a home run derby and reception at the Heritage Park Softball Complex. The opening ceremony is at 7:45 a.m. the following day with games running until Saturday, between 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. on the complex’s five fields.

Tournament proceeds and a silent auction will support the Missouri Guard’s “Camp Guardian” for those with physical and intellectual disabilities as well as the Wounded Warrior Project. The auction includes authenticated, autographed sports memorabilia by Mickey Mantle and other celebrities.

The Air Guard has raised thousands in donations while promoting physical fitness and camaraderie since its first tournament at Fresno, Calif., in 1966.

If you’d like to help out as a volunteer, call 816-236-3452. The most current tournament postings and information can be found at www.facebook.com/angtournament2012.

A full-scale response exercise is planned Tuesday and Wednesday at the Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, Nebraska.

Emergency responders in Atchison and Nodaway counties in Missouri will join their counterparts in southeastern Nebraska in the exercise.

FEMA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will observe their response.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency will host a public meeting after the exercise, on August 3rd. But because no results will be finalized at that time, the outcomes of the exercise will not be discussed.

Participants will discuss the exercise process, and members of the public are invited to attend. It begins Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the Nebraska Public Power District, Emergency Operations Facility Auditorium, at 902 Central Avenue, in Auburn, Nebraska.

Representatives from FEMA Region VII will chair the meeting and explain the exercise process. A representative from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also be present.

The two-day exercise will require the activation of emergency facilities for the states of Nebraska and Missouri, as well as Otoe, Nemaha, and Richardson counties in Nebraska and Atchison and Nodaway counties in Missouri.

The activities of participants from the state, county and local units of government will be observed and evaluated by the FEMA Region VII Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program. The Cooper Nuclear Station onsite performance will be observed and evaluated by NRC.

The exercise is a biennial requirement to determine the adequacy of the radiological emergency preparedness and response plans. The main goal is to test the ability of the states of Nebraska and Missouri, the utility and the participating counties to protect the health and safety of the public living in the vicinity of the power plant.

The evaluated exercise provides reasonable assurance that the appropriate protective measures can be taken onsite and offsite in the event of a radiological emergency.