Dead In Crash With KC-MO Fire Pumper Truck Identified

The identities of the 2 people killed in a Saturday morning crash with a Kansas City- MO fire department pumper truck have been released by police.

According to the KSHB 41 Action News Website- the victims were "Crystal Lewis- age 47 and Melinda Reliford- age 32."

The 24-year-old male driver who was critically-injured in the crash was reported to be the son of Ms. Lewis.

One of the firefighters off of the fire department truck that was hit by the speeding car was later taken to the hospital with ribcage pain.

The crash occurred at 4:18 am in front of Fire Station 18 at 3211 Indiana.

Pumper 18 was returning from an EMS call and was travelling much less than the posted speed limit when the crew saw a speeding car coming straight at them. Pumper 18's driver swerved to avoid a crash- but the car smashed into and under the front passenger side of the pumper.

The severity of the crash was immediately evident in the pumper captain's voice as he tersely radioed the incident to dispatch.

All of the occupants of the car required extrication from the wreckage. The 2 women in the car were apparently killed on impact and it took the 4 responding fire companies about 20 minutes to extricate the badly injured driver.

A police investigation of this wreck is underway.

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South-Midtown KC-MO Shooting Leaves 2 Wounded

Police reported a call at 2:04 am Saturday morning of a shooting on 75th Street.

Officers were given 2 different locations before they actually found 2 victims shot inside a car at 75th Street and The Paseo almost 5 minutes later.

Both were males- in their late teens to about 20-years-old. One of the victims was taken to a Metro hospital with 3 gunshot wounds and was in critical condition at time of EMS transport.

The other victim's injuries were less serious.

It appears that once again- the victims weren't talking- as police say they had no tangible suspect information to work with.

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Head-On Crash With KC-MO Fire Pumper Kills 2

At 4:18 am Saturday morning- KC-MO Pumper 18 (P-18)- returning from another fire call- reports "a head-on" crash involving P-18 "in front of (their) station" at 3211 Indiana in Midtown.


Four ambulances- including at least one EMS unit from Independence (AMR) responded as well as 4 other KC-MO fire companies for the "4" occupants in the vehicle that hit Pumper 18.


Two persons in that vehicle are reported dead- at least one other victim "a 24-year-old male" with critical injuries has been taken to an area medical trauma center.

Have NOT heard the disposition of the 4th victim.


Tune to KSHB-41 Action News at 8 am Saturday morning for more detils and video...

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Friday Night Sees Another KC-MO Homicide - KC-KS Suicide By Train

Kansas City-MO has racked up another killing...



A "victim" of a shooting arrived at the emergency room drive-up window of a Metro medical center shortly after 10:30 pm Friday night- according to KSHB-41 Action News.

Police say the "victim" came from a reported disturbance around 70th Terrace and Olive in south-central KC-MO..

Police also say the victim died of their injuries a short time after arrival at that med center.


They have no suspect information yet in our latest homicide.

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Kansas City- KS police say it's "possible suicide" by train in the death of a man hit near K-32 and Swartz Road Friday night.



The call came into KC-KS emergency services around 10:15 pm as a "train versus pedestrian" and the man was dead when police- EMS & fire crews arrived shortly thereafter.

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America Continues To Bleed Manufacturing Jobs

It won't be long until the United Corporate States of America doesn't manufacture anything.


The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows EVERY state save one lost those coveted- higher-paying manufacturing jobs during the past year.

How did Missouri and Kansas fare?

The K.C. Business Journal story says the Show-Me state lost more than 28000 and Kansas lost 22000 manufacturing positions.


God save America- it doesn't appear our politicians will....

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Kidnapped California Girl Rescues Herself 18 Years Later

Eighteen years ago- 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop and had not been seen since.

Wednesday- an almost 30-years-old Jaycee and a mother of two children by her kidnapper- showed up at a northern California police station.

Jaycee's kidnapper was Phillip Garrido.

He is being held by police for "kidnapping- rape by force- lewd and lascivious acts with a minor- sexual penetration"- and should be jailed (Capt.'s thoughts) with a life term.

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Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins: Republicrats Are The Party of The "Great White Hope"

After Barrack Obama won the presidency last November- the Republicrats made a grave tactical error:

They let the World know that ANYTHING Obama did- the GOP would be opposed to.


Never mind the PRIOR Republicrats poster boy got us into a bogus war with Iraq- killing-off more than 4000 Americans and please ignore the billions Bush gave to his rich banker/stockbroker buddies (and God knows who else) to bail them out of their OWN greedy-stupid mistakes.

Obama- simply by winning the election is- by Republicrat designation- THE bad man.


Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins- in a speech last week in Hiawatha-KS that's covered in print and video on this THE PITCH page- said to the crowd "Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope."


Never mind the obvious racial overtones.

Not only are people like Lynn Jenkins completely tasteless- they actually make me physically ill.

They may have been born in America- but bear little if any resemblance to a patriot.

Republicrats- for far too long now the party of Big Business and the wealthy- are now touting racism and obstructionism.

They do NOT want their red- white and blue tainted by black- brown or yellow.

They CERTAINLY don't want health care- Hell- those poor people of color might live as long as the rich white bastards.

People joke about Vice President Biden's mouth.

These things that come out of Republicrat's mouths aren't a joke at all.

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The KC-MO Morning Deluge and Some Rainfall Totals

This morning's Downtown KC-MO flooding- reported here first at CSW- resulted when heavy thunderstorms dropped as much as 2-inches of rain in a short time.



Significant street flooding also occurred in KC-MO's "Crossroad District" or "SoFlo."





There is a chance for more showers and thunderstorms with possibly torrential and flash flooding rains later tonight into Thursday morning- especially in northern Missouri.





Shown are some of the heaviest rain totals recorded on Overland Park's StormWatch site:





Here are some StormWatch rainfall totals so far in August 2009:

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KC-MO's Mayor Funkhouser and the $8000+ Persian Rug

Okay- a water leak badly damaged the Mayor's office awhile back and of course the office had to be repaired.

Granted- the Mayor's office should be fairly-well appointed- seeing how the Mayor receives prominent visitors there.

But- in these most difficult financial times- did the mayor's office need to spend more than $8000 for an "antique" Persian rug?


That cost was almost 3 times that of the new furniture bought for the renovation!

Mayor Funkhouser- I and this blog has supported you steadfastly throughout all your prior difficulties- but if TV stations have to file "freedom of information" documents just to see us taxpayer's bills- well- I can't support that.

You promised the KC-MO voters total transparency during your term and we- I- expect to hold you to that promise.

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Missouri Makes Texting- Tweeting- Illegal After August 28

Laws come into play when large numbers of people do something irresponsibly.

Something too damn many people do while (no) driving is texting or "tweeting"- as well as yak on their cellphones while drifting across lane markers.

In 3 days on August 28- the State of Missouri makes it illegal to either read or send text messages while operating a motor vehicle.

Unfortunately- the new law doesn't address people talking on their cellphones while barely driving.

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Cars Stuck In Flash Flooding Near Downtown

At 10:29 am- KC-MO Fire is responding to "31st Street & Roanoke" on the report of "2 cars stuck in high water" there.

At 10:34 am- those drivers had been rescued without incident.

Flooding is also reported on the north Downtown Loop of I-70 at Main where "one car" was stuck in high water at 10:30 am..

The heaviest rain has moved east of the Downtown area- light to moderate rainfall will continue in those areas for at least the next 30 minutes- according to weather radar trends.

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Last of the Kennedy Brothers- Edward- Dead at Age 77

He was the youngest of the Kennedy brothers- and the only one to live out his "natural" life.



The man served his country well - Godspeed Edward "Teddy" Kennedy!

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: I-435 Crash and Alert-2 at KCI

First off- a multiple vehicle crash in KC-MO on I-435 halfway down the Big Hill toward Raytown Road- the Sports Complex exit.

At least 3 injuries reported here out of 5-6 vehicle involved and there's a big slowdown both north and southbound I-435 south of I-70..

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At 8:47am- the KC-MO airport fire station reports "an MD-80 with 79" people on board has "landing gear problems" and is headed for an emergency landing at K.C.I. airport.

More on this if needed....

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Kansas City MetroRegion WEATHER: A Satellite and Radar Look To The West

It has been rare in this Summer of 2009- a warm- humid & hazy day.

A look to the west-southwest from a camera high atop the Overland Park Sheraton proves this- and also reveals clouds gathering to the west.

Thunderstorms have erupted over mostly the central part of Kansas from north to south borders and they're moving this way.

The NWS' Storm Prediction Center has no watches in effect (although several of the storms are severe) and don't anticipate issuing any on the current activity- the storms look quite impressive on both visible satellite and Doppler radar images.

It will be around midnight before storms affect the western parts of the MetroRegion- and early Wednesday before the storms reach the Metro- the greatest chances appearing now south of the Kansas and Missouri rivers.

Updates here at CSW as needed....

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New Hamburger Joint For Metro

In the shakiest economy in my 57 year lifetime- Denver-based Smashburger plans to open a Westport location- and plans to open restaurants in Lawrence and Overland Park in 2010.


No plans for the Missouri suburbs? Well of course...


They'd then have to compete with what is arguably Kansas City's BEST hamburger: Hi Boy's- with 3 locations in Independence.

Nope- Smashburger wouldn't do that well selling hamburgers at T-bone steak prices....

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Possible Cause of 2005 Liberty School Bus Crash Was "Pedal Misapplication"

It was a little after 8:15 am on the morning of May 9- 2005 and school bus driver Denise Thomas was driving Liberty School District Bus No. 80 and her 53 students on-board to Ridgeview Elementary School.

Thomas' bus was going southbound down a small hill on Missouri-291 north of Missouri-152 and picking up speed. Thomas claims she put her foot on the brake pedal- but the bus only went faster.

At the M-152 intersection (see GOOGLE StreetView image)- Ms. Thomas- still attempting to stop the runaway bus- veers right into a westbound M-152 turnoff (where the small white pickup is in the GOOGLE image) then plows straight ahead across the westbound M-152 lanes- over the median divider then into the traffic of the eastbound M-152 lanes.

Among the vehicles sitting on eastbound M-152 waiting for the traffic light were 2 cars containing their drivers: David Sandweiss and David Gleason.

Both were killed instantly (Last November- Sandweiss’ wife- Lana- committed suicide) as the bus rolled over and crushed their cars.

The bus then came to rest in the grassy area on the southwest side of the intersection.

Many of the 53 children on the bus were injured- 2 critically.

More than 4 years after the horrible crash- the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is about to release their findings on the cause of the wreck- according to The LIBERTY TRIBUNE.

That cause is likely to be "pedal misapplication."

That where you put your foot on the wrong pedal- the accelerator instead of the brake."

Denise Thomas isn't driving school busses anymore- and that's a GOOD thing.

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Shooting In South-Midtown

The call was received by KC-MO Police a little after 2:45 pm- a shooting at 6301 Rockhill.

It appears the shooting involves at least 2 vehicles- one left the scene. Possibly 1 suspect was being detained by police at the scene.

MAST-EMS transported the "30-year-old male" victim with "a gunshot wound to the upper left arm and injuries to his left knee and left thigh" in serious condition to a Metro hospital.

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Train Hits Dump Truck Near Downtown

KC-MO Fire reports a dump truck has been crushed by a train near downtown Kansas City-MO..

The accident occurred just after 2:30 pm this afternoon "behind Tension Envelope" Company in the 800 block of East 19th Street or closer to 21st Street and Campbell.

There's no report on the condition of the dump truck's driver yet.

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UPDATE - 1515 CDT - The driver of the dump truck was going to a Metro medical trauma center.
It's reported the driver "was just getting ready to jump out of the truck when the train struck" the vehicle.

The MAST-EMS paramedic didn't describe any life-threatening injuries and it sounds that driver will live with the embarrassment.

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Kansas Officials Withheld Information On Harmful Drinking Water

This story came from The TOPEKA CAPITOL-JOURNAL Monday morning.

If you live in one of the MetroRegion communities mentioned- Osawatomie in Miami county- pay attention.


According to the story- "Independent testing of water supplies in at least four Kansas communities revealed elevated levels of the herbicide atrazine commonly sprayed on corn fields and other crops to deter weed growth, according to a published report Monday. "


More troubling was this paragraph from the C-J story: "In the four Kansas communities (Osawatomie included), according to the report, water officials didn't reveal to customers the highest level of atrazine concentration in their water during the year. "

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Metro K.C. BREAKING NEWS: Liberty-MO WalMart Stand-off Over

Shortly before noon- Liberty-MO police announce they have a suspect in custody after a police stand-off with an armed person.


Reportedly- a man- said to be "a former Liberty police officer- threatened to come to the Walmart to shoot people after the store had some difficulties with the man over a check.

Police sealed off the store in the 8300 block of North Church near I-35 and Missouri-152- and parking areas before 10 am until the man was taken into custody at his Liberty apartment about 11:55am..

There were no shots fired or injuries reported as the man never did make it to the WalMart store.

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Mental Radio Talking Head Finds Fewer Advertisers On Show

Glennnnnzzz Beck- the FAR right-wing radio talker who called President Obama a racist- reportedly returns from a vacation to his radio show that will have far less advertisers than when he left.


Too bad Beck's vacation from his radio show wasn't a permanent one...

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Kansas City MetroRegion NEWS: Shooting in Lawrence-KS Leaves 2 in Critical Condition

Living wasn't so easy at the Easy Living mobile home park late Sunday night when 2 people were shot.


According to Lawrence police- the shooting occurred about 11:40 pm at the trailer park in the 3300 block of South Iowa.


Two medical helicopters responded and flew the 2 victims to a Metro Kansas City medical trauma center.




As yet- no other details on this incident....

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Lil' Wayne or Claire Mc Caskill Health Forum: Where Will The Trouble Be?

Lil' Wayne is playin' tonight at Swope Park's Starlight Theater.


Claire McCaskill is holding a public health care "forum" at Swinney Hall on the U.M.K.C. campus.


KC-MO police have announced that they ain't letting anyone IN Swope Park without a ticket to the Lil' Wayne bash.

McCaskill's people ain't letting anyone inside of Swinney who didn't sign up prior to attend the event.


So troublemakers- be you a gang-banger or right-winger/anti-Obaman --- STAY HOME THIS EVENING.

The rest of us? Stay safe since the police department will be spread thin this evening....

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Down In Lukenbach Texas- They're Celebrating A New World Record

Brother-man- guitar-picker extraordinaire Perry Wing tells CSW that 1859 guitar players broke a German-held record for the largest number of musicians playing the same 2 songs together.

Courtesy of a fellow Flickr photog- here are some photos from today's event:

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Kansas City's NEWS: Homicide Sunday Afternoon in K.C. Northland

A male is dead by gunshot after a disturbance in a Northland apartment complex.


The shooting occurred about 12:15 pm Sunday afternoon at an apartment in the Walnut Grove complex in the 3000 block of Northeast 37th Street.

The victim is said to be in his 20's.


The police didn't have any suspect or other information of this incident.

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Kansas City's NEWS: Burglars Take Cars At Title Loan Lot

KC-MO police report thugs broke into the Midwest Title Loan lot in the 7200 block of East 17th Street around 1:40 am Sunday.

The thieves broke into an office- took 5 sets of vehicle keys- then stole the 5 vehicles the keys belonged to.


Police say they did have a bit of evidence: whoever crashed down the chain-link gate to the title loan lot reportedly left a front license plate at the scene.

That too however- was probably stolen.

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Note From Mother Nature: Sending Bill To Canada

The former Hurricane Bill that is- now a tropical storm off the east coast of Maine.

Weather radars show the outer rainbands of Bill over eastern maine- moving into southeastern Canada.



Here in the Kansas City MetroRegion- a slow warm-up but dry until about mid-week- when another rainy weather system enters the picture.

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K.C. MetroRegion NEWS: Fatality Vehicle Into A Creek Crash In Platte County-MO

Around 4 am Sunday morning- a motorist driving on E Highway west of Camden Point left the roadway and plunged into Jowler Creek.

Camden Point Fire and EMS people responded and reported the motorist trapped in or under the vehicle in the creek.

They asked for another nearby department's (Dearborn) airbags for extrication as well as a medical helicopter (LifeNet).

The latter request was cancelled at 4:21 am when on-scene EMS declared the trapped motorist dead.

No further details...

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UPDATE: The driver that died in this crash was identified later Sunday as 18-year-old Kyle Barr.

Mr. Barr was also a volunteer with the Camden Point Fire department.


Our condolences to Kyle Barr's family and all the members of the Camden Point Fire department.

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Metro Kansas City NEWS: One Dead- 2 Injured In KC-KS Shooting

KC-KS Police got the call of shots fired in the area of 47th Terrace and Steele Road at 3:07 am Sunday morning.

When officers arrived a little over 5 minutes later- they found 2 males shot- 1 fatally in a car.

The live victim was shot in both legs- reportedly by "a high-powered weapon." He'll live.


Moments later- other officers in the 1600 block of South 49th Street report finding a "19-year-old male- shot in the left leg."

Police think this is related to the 47th Terrace call- where a large party had been going in that area.


No clear suspect information is yet available- as police were interviewing "many" persons at the party.

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Kansas City's NEWS: Two Suspects Free After South-Midtown Shooting

Just after 1 am- KC-MO emergency services responded to the 4900 block of Bellfountaine on a reported shooting.

A "30-something" male shot five times in the chest and abdomen was found by police in the front yard of the address.

The victim was rushed to an area medical trauma center in very critical condition while police sought "2 black male suspects" who left the scene in a black Pontiac Trans-Am.

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