A soldier from Rolla, Missouri is among four who were killed Monday during an attack by insurgents in Zabul province, Afghanistan.  The Pentagon announced Wednesday that 29-year-old Specialist Bradley L. Melton died of wounds suffered when the enemy detonated an improvised explosive device.

Melton joined the army in October of 2000.  He served at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, before being assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska.  Melton was a combat engineer, assigned to the 73rd Engineer Company, Brigade Troops Battalion, Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division.

The 4,000 soldier brigade began deploying to Afghanistan in mid-April for a one-year tour in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Also killed in the attack were Staff Sergeant David D. Self of Pearl, Mississippi, Private Lamarol J. Tucker of Gainesville Florida, and Private Cheizray Pressley of North Charleston, South Carolina.

The attack took place in the city of Spin Ghbarga, in Zabul Province, Afghanistan Monday afternoon.

(Rolla, MO)  —  More details have been released in last week’s gun battle through Rolla.  This video was posted online by KMOV-TV4 in St Louis.  Cody Willcoxson faces four counts of assault on a law enforcement officer after he reportedly got lost and tried to force his way onto the base at Ft. Leonard Wood.  Police video released yesterday shows the dramatic chase that ensued.

You can see Willcoxson’s car swerving, as police say he reached for an automatic weapon in the backseat.  A police official says Willcoxson had fired about 90 rounds during the chase, nearly hitting one of his pursuers.

Cody Willcoxson remains behind bars.

UPDATED (victim identified):

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s office and OSHA are investigating after a worker was killed today in an industrial accident at Herzog Companies in St. Joe.  Undersheriff Bill Puett says the worker, a white male in his forties, died when a piece of rail car fell on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Huett identifies the victim as 40-year-old Robert V. Montgomery of St Joseph .

We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.

A Missouri Western student died Wednesday after being pulled from a pool unresponsive on the university’s campus.

Emergency officials responded to a 911 call at the Looney Complex when a lifeguard spotted a swimmer who was underwater for what was described as an “unusually long time,” Western spokesperson Kent Heier said.

First responders arrived on the campus shortly before 2:00pm Wednesday afternoon.  A male student was pulled from the water and the lifeguard initiated CPR.  The student was taken by ambulance to Heartland where he later died.

“It’s just a tragedy,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Western’s president. “We are all saddened by today’s events and offer our condolences to the young man’s family and will do all we can to help them in this difficult time. Our staff is also prepared to help those in the campus community who knew him as a student and friend.”

Highway Patrol officers assisted in the investigation.  Western will release the students name sometime Thursday once the family has time to notify relatives.

The pool is typically open to Western students, staff and to the public throughout the year.  For now, the pool is closed and will remain closed until sometime tomorrow.

Northwest Missouri State University students are working to renovate the St Francis Hospital Cancer Treatment Center in Maryville.

The students were enrolled in the merchandising of furnishings and accessories course during the spring trimester and spent the time planning out the renovations and taking in donations from the community.

The students gained approval for the renovation from the St Francis Hospital Foundation, professor Jean Memken said.

“Through this project, the students have been able to not only learn about various ways to make an environment more peaceful and conducive to healing, but they have had a chance to do a little fund-raising in the community,” Memken said.

Teri Harr, nurse liaison for the breast cancer program at St. Francis, called the project exciting and said it gives her goose bumps to see the students’ passion for the project.

“I think it says a lot for our community that the university and the community and the hospital can come together to work on a project to help our cancer patients,” Harr said. “I think that is a phenomenal thing. I never imagined we’d have design boards and they’d come out here and actually do the physical work, which I think is a great learning experience for them, too.”

Currently the facility is designed to meet the needs of up to 25 patients who visit multiple times per week for treatments that may last up to six hours. During their planning, students interviewed staff, patients and cancer survivors about how they thought the facility could be improved. The students eventually drew up plans calling for an environment that is more vibrant, comfortable and timeless.

“We had to keep in mind that the materials had to be easy to clean and durable,” said Alison Jones, a senior merchandising major from Omaha.

The students also secured donations of goods and help to improve the existing furniture.

The project is estimated to cost between $30,000 and $35,000. Expenses include redoing the floors, ceilings, walls as well as purchasing new chairs and making improvements to the bathroom so it is handicapped-accessible. The renovation work could begin sometime this summer

“It’s good to know a lot of people will benefit from it,” said Emily Homan, a junior merchandising major from Lee’s Summit. “It’s not just redoing one person’s house. It’s redoing something that will help the whole community.”

 

A St Joseph woman was killed and another was critically hurt in a rollover accident early Tuesday morning in the 33-hundred block of Duncan. Investigators believe excessive speed and alcohol may have played roles in the crash.

St Joseph Police Captain Kevin Castle identifies the driver as Alexandra Bracken, who was killed.  The passengers were identified as Sylvia Peterson who was critically hurt, and Dallas Rails who was injured but not transported to the hospital.

Both Bracken and Peterson were ejected from the vehicle.

 

A Kansas woman faces just over a year in prison for conspiring with her husband, a bank president, in a scheme to make him appear to be indigent in order to keep the federal government from taking his assets in a bank fraud case.  But she’ll get to keep the luxury sailboat she and her husband had planned to use to flee the country.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says 47-year-old Brenda Becker of Meriden will forfeit interest in property the couple owns in Jefferson County, and the government will drop its claims to the catamaran.

Her husband, former bank president Scott Becker, is serving six years in federal prison for his conviction in the case.

The list of concealed assets is staggering.  Federal prosecutors say the pair created a fictitious mortgage falsely claiming that she had loaned him more than $1 million. They sold more than $422,000 worth of property in Finney County, Kan., liquidated a firearms collection for more than $425,000 and sold mineral rights in Finney County for more than $78,000.   They purchased a 1997 Jeantot Marine 42-foot Privilege Catamaran yacht which they renamed “Pearls and Boots.” They purchased a corporation in Panama for the purpose of liquidating and transferring assets, and they formed a Nevada corporation, Mt. Bethel Enterprises, LLC, to act as a holding company where they could park real estate and personal property until it could be sold and the proceeds moved offshore.

Search engine giant Google announced Tuesday the new ultra-fast broadband coming to Kansas City, Kan. will expand into Kansas City, Mo.

Google announced in March it planned to unveil the service beginning early next year in Kansas City Kan.

Company and city officials announced Tuesday it will move into Missouri.

The new network will be capable of delivering internet access 100 times than the home broadband service provided by cable and phone companies across the country.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James says in a news release that the regional partnership between the two Kansas Cities will help ensure the entire region’s success, making it one of the most attractive areas for entrepreneurs in the world.

 

 

(Jefferson City, MO)  —  A St Louis man will get a second trial on murder charges stemming from a fatal shooting during a birthday party.  Anthony Brown claims self defense in the shooting, which happened during a birthday party.  The Supreme Court of Missouri has remanded the case back to the trial court after ruling that the trial judge committed a reversible error in allowing a demonstration by prosecutors during closing arguments that was not supported by the evidence.  Click here to view the complete summary.

The Missouri Highway Patrol is asking for help finding a witness of a weekend accident.

The accident happened Sunday night on Interstate 29 in Platte County near Old Pike Road south of Dearborn.

A Jeep driven by 63 Year old Harry Foster of St Joseph swerved to miss another vehicle and the Foster lost control before the Jeep rolled and threw out one of the passengers.

Passengers 60 year old Rebecca Foster and 37 year old Shannon Foster were also injured. All three occupants were taken to Heartland in St Joseph

State Troopers are seeking help identifying the vehicle of a possible witness. According to their records they vehicle is a red or maroon colored Ford Ranger step-side truck. The year and license plate number of the truck are unknown.

The truck may or may not be damages and charges are pending in the investigation, according to online records.

Anyone with information is asked to call Missouri Highway Patrol Troop A Headquarters at 816-662-0800.