A Chillicothe woman is charged with 20 counts of felony stealing from a local plastics plant.

The charges allege that 52-year-old Candace McLuckie embezzled approximately $387,524 dollars from the Sonoco Plastics plant in Chillicothe.

She was hired in 2002 when the plant was called Associated Packaging Technology as the Human Resources Manager. She was heavily involved in payroll at that time.

The plant changed owners in 2010 and outsourced payroll and tax reporting to a third party. A transfer of information to the new companies payroll system revealed the fraudulent activity. Her first court appearance is scheduled for next Wednesday in Livingston County.

 

Missouri voters could decide next year whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. The secretary of state’s office on Tuesday approved the summaries on two initiative petitions, meaning proponents can begin collecting signatures to get the measures on the 2012 ballot.

Missouri’s minimum wage currently matches the federal requirement of $7.25 an hour.  The ballot measure would increase it by $1 starting in 2013 and allow it to continue rising with inflation. It also would require that workers who earn tips be paid at least 60 percent of the minimum wage instead of the current 50 percent.

 

The owner of a Gallatin, Missouri grain company now admits she stole over $3 million from 100 Northwest Missouri farmers. Pauline K. Froman, 66, of Gallatin, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to the mail fraud conspiracy charge contained in an April 21, 2011, federal indictment.

Her husband, Daniel F. Froman, 66, also of Gallatin, pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Oct. 18, 2011.

The Fromans operated Gallatin Grain Company, 107 State Highway 6, Gallatin, which stored and bought grain from farmers in northwest Missouri. They have each admitted that they participated in a scheme that defrauded 100 farmers whose grain was stored at the business by selling the farmers’ grain in order to pay their debts.

Pauline Froman admitted that she acted knowingly in this scheme and that she deliberately avoided knowing the truth. As the bookkeeper, she was aware of a high probability that the scheme was defrauding farmers, and that a 2007 financial statement submitted to the Missouri Department of Agriculture and BTC Bank falsely reported the net worth and working capital of Gallatin Grain Company.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture has collected $400,000 in assets from the Fromans, which has been distributed to the victim farmers on a pro rata basis. The remaining loss, according to the Missouri Grain Regulatory Services, is $2,903,610. Under the terms of their plea agreements, both Daniel and Pauline Froman also waived any interest they have in the $100,000 bond posted in the case filed by the state of Missouri in Daviess County for 22 counts of stealing grain and three counts of filing false reports. Those funds will be turned over to the state for distribution to the victims.

On Feb. 6, 2009, Gallatin Grain Company’s attorney called the Missouri Department of Agriculture Grain Regulatory Services to report that the company no longer had any grain, trucks or assets. Two days later, Daniel Froman emptied the storage space at Gallatin Grain, loading 1,200-1,300 bushels of soybeans and corn into four tractor trailers. Daniel Froman transported the stolen grain as well as some farm equipment to Falls City, Neb., where the grain, farm equipment and tractor trailers were all sold for $100,000. Pauline Froman was not involved in this transfer or payment.

The mail fraud involves a fraudulent financial statement that the Fromans mailed to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Grain Regulatory Services. The financial statement falsely reported a net worth of more than $662,000 in December 2007, when in reality Gallatin Grain Company had a negative net worth of $936. The Fromans would have been ineligible to maintain their grain dealer or warehouse licenses with a negative net worth. The false financial statement was used to borrow operating funds from BTC Bank.

Under federal statutes, Pauline Froman is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution.

Daniel Froman is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Agriculture Grain Regulatory Services, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, the Daviess County, Mo., Prosecutor’s Office and the Daviess County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

It was a strong finish for this fall’s United Way Campaign in Saint Joseph. Just one week ago the drive stood at only 68 percent of the goal. But at the victory dinner last night campaign chairman Seth Wright announced the final tally not only met the $3.3-million goal, but exceeded it by $78,000.  

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it’s listening, it’s going to be more flexible, and its going to communicate better.

In a news release Monday, the Corps promised to be more aggressive and communicate better as we approach the 2012 flood season.

The Corps of Engineers recently concluded eight public meetings throughout the Missouri River basin to listen to the concerns of citizens as part of the Annual Operating Plan development. They say those concerns prompted changes.

“The past two weeks have been incredibly beneficial, and we have listened intently to the people we serve,” said Brig. Gen. John McMahon, Northwestern Division Commander. “The top priority of the Northwestern Division is to responsibly prepare for the 2012 runoff season,” he continued.

First, the Corps will assume a more flexible posture as water is evacuated through the system for the remainder of the fall and early winter. “We will get as much water out of the system as possible as weather permits and the repair work allows,” said Jody Farhat, Chief of the Water Management Division.

Second, the Corps will take an aggressive stance with winter and spring releases.

Third, the Corps will communicate more frequently and more broadly as the 2012 season unfolds.

Farhat will conduct bi-monthly conference calls. During those calls, the dialogue will continue with federal, state, county and local officials, Tribes, emergency management officials, independent experts and the press.

Audio files of the conference calls will be widely available.

A primary concern raised in the public meetings was the Corps’ strategy to only evacuate water from the reservoir system back to the designed amount of flood control storage. “We set the target in late July as an initial first step to safely drawdown historic releases in time for people to get back into their homes, farms and businesses, and for the Corps and state agencies to begin making repairs as quickly as possible,” said McMahon.

The reservoir system was designed with 16.3 million acre feet of flood control storage, which equates to approximately 22 percent of the storage in the reservoir system. Given record runoff, the Corps has initiated a technical analysis to determine how much more reservoir space might be reserved for flood control purposes. “The ongoing independent external review will yield additional insights into how we might manage the system better, both near and long term,” McMahon said.

“It is important that we take a holistic approach to operating the reservoir system, an approach that is based on science and engineering, good data and considers the fragility of the system and the ongoing efforts to make critical repairs to get ready for 2012,” he stressed.

Comments on the draft plan were taken during the series of public meetings. Written and email comments will be accepted through Nov. 25. Email comments should be sent to: Missouri.Water.Management@nwd02.usace.army.mil.

View daily and forecasted reservoir and river information on the Water Management section of the Northwestern Division homepage at http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc.

The final version of the Annual Operating Plan is expected to be complete by the end of December.

 

If you’re sending a Christmas card or package to a soldier overseas, the Missouri National Guard says mail it by December 3rd.

Jenn Whitacre, the Guard’s Family Assistance Coordinator, says good gifts for soldiers include drink mixes, dried fruit, jerky, phone cards…and for female soldiers, toiletries with a feminine touch. Items you should NOT send include anything in a glass jar, home-baked goods, pork products, alcohol, tobacco, or aerosol cans.

Whitaker says if you don’t have a particular soldier in mind but want to send gifts, you can go online to Adopt a Soldier, Adopt a Platoon, Operation Gratitude, or A Million Thanks.   

 

Crews have temporarily scaled back the search for a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper missing since August in flooding near Big Lake. The Patrol says digging will resume later this week and will continue until the body of Trooper Fred Guthrie is found. Sergeant Sheldon Lyon says searchers had to change equipment over the weekend, and also that thunderstorms this week could slow the search. The search has focused on a four-acre scour hole.  

 

Northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves says the Corps of Engineers has too many priorities for managing the Missouri River. Graves says the bill he introduced in response to this year’s flooding takes aim at those priorities. The bill would make flood control the number one priority. Graves says he wants to make it easy for the Corps.

Graves says he still has questions about this year’s flooding and the decisions that allowed it to happen.

A congressional hearing on the issue is scheduled for November 30.  

A pump failure early Monday morning has led to a boil advisory from Buchanan County Public Water District number 1. The advisory covers the village of DeKalb and areas along both sides of Highways 116, HH, and JJ in southern Buchanan County. The boil advisory is in effect until further notice.

 

Health advocates are warning Buchanan County residents to get educated about so-called “e-cigarettes.” The battery-powered plastic devices look like cigarettes and deliver a vapor that users inhale to get nicotine.

Dr. Jane Schwabe, a cardiothoracic surgeon and co-chair of Clean Air Saint Joe, says nicotine is one of the key agents responsible for heart blood vessel disease and is not safe at any quantity. E-cigarettes are not an approved way to help smokers quit, and health officials say the vapors produced are more than just nicotine and may contain other harmful chemicals.