Saturday, September 12, 2009

Drivers In JoCo-KS K-10 Double-Fatality Crash Identified



T
he Kansas Highway Patrol has released the details on the head-on crash on K-10 east of Evening Star Road- first reported here at CSW Saturday morning.



The KHP says that Ms. Kara Louise Morgan- age 26 of Lawrence- was behind the wheel of a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta and was driving east in the westbound lanes of K-10 when she struck a westbound 2000 Toyota Camry being driven by Mr. Eric Tyler Sill- age 20 of Olathe-KS..


According to the original BREAKING NEWS post here- it took at least 30 minutes to free both drivers from the wreckage at at least one of them was declared dead at the scene.


CSW offers our condolences to the family and friends of both drivers.

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Lawrence-KS Police Investigate Saturday Morning Shooting



T
he incident occurred some time around 2 am Saturday morning when Lawrence police report getting a 9-1-1 hang-up call from the 900 block of Michigan.



When police arrived- a male victim of a shooting had already been taken to Lawrence Memorial hospital.

That victim has been transported by EMS to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City- and his condition was reported as serious to critical with gunshots to both legs.


Lawrence police are investigating....

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Metro Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Possible Double-Fatality Crash In Western Johnson County KS



T
he call was dispatched at 3:09 am- a reported 2-vehicle crash on westbound K-10 east of Evening Star Road.


When a JoCo sheriff's deputy arrived a minute later- she reported the drivers of both cars unconscious and trapped in their vehicles.

Emergency units from District 1 Fire and MEDACT-EMS responded- but one of the EMS units was cancelled before they arrived.

One victim had been extricated from the wreckage as of 3:30 am- but as of 4:10 am- neither patients had been transported to a hospital from this scene.

Westbound K-10 is closed east of the crash site as Kansas Highway Patrol and JoCo Sheriff investigators work the scene.


More details on KSHB-41 NBC Action News at 8 am....


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Friday, September 11, 2009

Honored Producer and Writer- Larry Gelbart- Dies

He was pivotal in the development- writing and production of the famed TV series M*A*S*H* in it's earlier years.

The Emmy-award winner also co-wrote and produced the motion pictures 'Tootsie' and 'Oh, God!.'

As "El Sig"- he chatted to his admirers- including yours truly- on the M*A*S*H* Internet newsgroup for years.

He had only recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Larry Gelbart- television and motion picture comedy writer and producer- died in his Beverly Hills-CA home today at age 81 according to the LOS ANGELES TIMES.


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BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Shawnee-KS Drowning



A
s first reported exclusively here at CSW- Shawnee-KS emergency services were called out to 6709 Lackman around 2:15 pm on a report of a car that had been driven into a lake there.



The update as of 2:50 pm was a MEDACT-EMS said a male victim is in the submerged vehicle and that divers from Overland Park Fire are in the water attempting to locate him.

The victim reportedly possibly had some sort of medical emergency before the car accelerated into the lake from an apartment complex parking lot.


As of 3:02 pm- 2 searches by the OP-KS dive team have been apparently unable to locate the victim.

The search continues....

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Metro Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Possible Drowning Reported In Shawnee-KS



T
he call came out at 2:11 pm for Shawnee firefighters and MEDACT-EMS on a car into the lake (see Google SatMap image) and possible drowning at 6709 Lackman.



The vehicle apparently has sank into the lake and an Overland Park dive team has been summonded to the scene.




It's yet unknown the number of possible occupants in that vehicle.

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Beloit-KS Football Player Who Robbed Another Gets Probation



I
t's reported in the SALINA (KS) JOURNAL as "a hazing"- but reading the story it seems more of a humiliation and strong-armed school robbery of a Beloit freshman..




According to the SJ article- "The case involved a muscle-relaxant gel wiped on the body of a 14-year-old freshman football player, causing injuries, and the theft from the victim of a small amount of cash. The victim wasn't identified."


The crimes carry a "31-month" jail sentance- but one of the 2 offending Beloit seniors- Joe Studer- age 18- will likely just receive 2 years probation as well as suspension from any school sports or activities.
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Federal Reserve Contradiction Of Earlier 'Rosy' Report



T
oday's report is from Kansas City's 10th District of the Federal Reserve- which states the optimistic report posted here at CSW earlier this week was basic straw-grasping.



According to this story at The Kansas City BUSINESS REPORT- the Federal Reserve report stated that "overall bank earnings in the district continue to fall but remain in the positive range at 0.58 percent. Nationwide, the average is 0.15 percent, down from 0.24 percent in 2008."

Those are the commercial foreclosures that I made earlier note of in that those were on the increase- lagging behind home foreclosures.

Reported in the Fed report- that facet of doom is addressed as "Construction and land development loans (CLDs) are the main culprit for asset-quality deterioration in the district. Kansas banks had the highest percentage of noncurrent CLDs in the district, now exceeding 15 percent."

"Missouri banks had a roughly 11 percent rate for noncurrent CLDs. Nationwide, the rate is 13.6 percent, up from 8.7 percent at the end of 2008 and 3.11 percent at the end of 2007-" the Fed report stated.


Logic applies that this "recession (depression)" will continue as jobs continually dry-up and people continue to hold their spending in a wholly-uncertain employment market.
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It's Official: Mayor Funkhouser Has Lost Captain Spaulding



O
n Thursday- KC-MO City councilman Russ Johnson advanced an ordinance that would sweep MAST-EMS into the city fire department.


Voting FOR this ordinance was Mayor Mark Funkhouser. Other yes votes came from councilpersons Deb Hermann, Beth Gottstein, Cindy Circo, Terry Riley and Cathy Jolly


This was approved a WEEK before any "public hearing" on such a move to fold one of America's BEST ambulance/paramedic services into that labor-troubled city department.

Labor-troubled as in fire department strikes against KC-MO and it's citizens in 1975 and 1980.


Funk- I've supported you through "Mammy-gate" and other childish controversies but- after this vote to dissolve MAST-EMS into the KC-MO FD- you have finally lost me.

You claim a "cost-savings" in doing this. I'll bet you a month's pay that no immediate savings come out of this move- but it will actually cost the city MORE to do this.

What will KC-MO do with the current multi-million dollar MAST-EMS headquarters on Eastwood Trafficway?

What about the many dozens of MAST employees who DO NOT live in KC-MO?

How are the different shifts of paramedics and EMT's going to fold into the 1 day on- two days off schedule of firefighters?

How will firefighters sleep at night when the ambulance in the station gets calls and/or moved around to fill coverage gaps like MAST does now?

And- most important- what will KC-MO residents do when the paramedics and EMTs join the firefighters in another slowdown or strike?

At any rate- Mayor Funkhouser and most of the City Council have lost my support- and any future vote.

__________

Cat Lovers: Avoid Raymore-MO At ALL Cost



M
ost of you by now I'm sure have heard of the Raymore cops who shot and killed a deaf-declawed 19-year-old house cat that had gotten out of it's owners house on Labor Day Monday.


The cat reportedly had escaped and gotten into a neighbor's garage and Raymore Police claimed the de-clawed cat had scratched a child in the process.

So- rather than take the cat to the animal shelter for observation and possible rabies tests- the cops took the cat into a field- shot and killed it- then put the cat's corpse into a grocery bag and dumped it in a city trashcan.

The Raymore police chief's name is Mayberry- but no Barney Fife jokes here....

Contact the police:

Captain Roger Mayberry (Acting Chief)
rmayberry@raymore.com
100 Municipal Circle
Raymore, Missouri 64083
Ph: (816) 331-0530Fax: (816) 331-0564


http://www.raymore.com/index.aspx?nid=100

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Open Question to Congressman "You Lie"



W
here the HELL were you Congressman "You Lie" when George Bush was having thousands of Americans killed in Iraq or when your apparent hero was giving away billions to Wall Street and his "have mores" buddies?



Where was Congressman "You Lie" when PATRIOT ACTS 1 and 2 were passed- eroding American citizen rights and making the 9-11 terrorists de-facto victors?


I thought so....
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Hey Kansas and Nebraska Furniture Mart - Take The Royals and Chiefs Too



F
rom all that I've read- the Nebraska Furniture Mart people not only started the discussions between Wizards owners and the KC-KS government- Nebraska Furniture Mart ALSO owns the land the Wizards would be buying with STAR (taxpayer-subsidized) bonds.


Why stop there NFM?

You people ought to relieve us poor Missourians of the Royals and Chiefs too!

It's time the Kansas side of this so-fragmented Metro started subsidizing ALL of Metro Kansas City's "pro" sports teams.

We'll sell you both stadiums too. Good luck trying to move them across the state line.

Let's quit this childish competing with OTHER metropolitan areas and start fighting amongst ourselves for the ever-shrinking pieces of corporate pie.

Better yet- lets just put up a 20-foot wall along the state line that runs the length of Metro Kansas City with checkpoint gates at major streets and highways.

Meanwhile- I'll just pretend Kansas City-KS and the Nebraska Furniture Mart don't exist....
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009

AP: "Worst Recession since 1930s Appears to be Over"



N
ow the national press is drinking the same Kool-Aid that the Federal Reserve drinks.


You people at the Federal Reserve and Associated Press need to get OUT more!
________

What IS "Inside The Mind of Mark Foley"


Gay boys- of course!
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Big HOORAY For Raytown: Smoking Ban Shot Down



L
ast night- Raytown's elected "council" The Board of Aldermen- shot down a proposal to ban smoking in that western Jackson county city.


Good for them!

This is America dammit- if a business wants to have someone smoking a fully LEGAL PRODUCT inside their establishment- it should be that business owner's right to decide.

Or the customer's decision whether or not to do business there.

I'm sure someday- the "health Nazis" will totally get their way and none of us will do anything that in any way shape or form is a detriment to our health.

I hope I'm dead by then!
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BREAKING NEWS: K.C. Wizards May Back Out Of Bannister Mall Stadium



I
t appears that the Kansas City Wizards soccer team may be about to back-out of their south Kansas City-MO stadium plan and move to Kansas City-KS instead.




In Wednesday morning's KANSAS CITY KANSAN- it was reported that- according to a story on "bigsoccer.com" (I couldn't find the story there)- Kansas City Wizards President Robb Heineman is in negotiations with Wyandotte county and state officials to build a new soccer stadium in KC-KS..

The Wizards currently play their home games in the T-Bone's Community America baseball stadium.


IF the K.C. Wizards abandon their current plans to build a new 18500 seat stadium at the former site of Bannister Mall- it's unlikely ANY re-development plan for the Bannister area will take place for years.

Lane4 Development Co. had wanted even more city financial help for the planned south KC-MO development- but that request was turned down.


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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

WDAF FOX-4's Dedication To Kansas City News Coverage Shrinks



I
t's "official"- WDAF Channel 4- Kansas City's FIRST on-air station- news department and station that got a helicopter back in 1994 has grounded SkyFox.


That station is already last in weekend overnight news coverage- they don't have a staff photographer on duty at those times nor will they call one out to a news event unless it's "The Second Coming" as one Channel 4 staffer told me awhile back.

There will be major news events where Channel 4 WILL take a back seat to the superior aerial pictures that a news department helicopter can provide.

Flooding and tornadoes are just two events best covered from the sky.

Shaky internet-connection video just won't hack it on those.

Guess I can leave WDAF Channel 4 out of my channel rotation when it floods or there are twisters around....
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President Obama's Message To Students A Good One



I
t's the worst imitation of a "socialist" I've ever seen or heard.


The message was straightforward without a HINT of politicalism.

I would have been chez proud to have had my children spoken to by President Obama because his message re-enforces what we SHOULD be telling our children.

The young people at Wakefield High School in Obama's audience are now crowding around- squealing and smiling at the opportunity to meet the President.

Education is the key to success.

It's really a shame those who were critical of Obama's speech before he even gave it weren't educated with anything but hate....
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Monday, September 07, 2009

K.C. Scout Officials To Hold Public Meetings On Proposed I-435 On-Ramp "Metering"



O
n-ramp metering is simply traffic signals installed on freeway on-ramps to regulate the flow of traffic during peak periods.


The OLATHE (KS) NEWS says Kansas City SCOUT traffic officials are considering on-ramp metering along I-435 in Overland Park- and that the Metro agency will hold 2 meetings open to the public to get citizen input on the process- a done deal whether the public likes it or not

In case you feel like wasting your time anyway- the meetings are as follows: "The first meeting will be 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 17 at the Jewish Community Campus of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115th St. in Overland Park. The second meeting will be 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Leawood Middle School, 2410 W. 123rd St. in Leawood."
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Omaha-NE Pollys Come Up With New Revenue Source



U
nsightly satellite dishes?


According to The Lincoln-NE JOURNAL-STAR- the Omaha City Council is considering a new fee for that city's residents: satellite dish inspections.

Not reported in the story was if the Omaha City Council drinks from the same vat of Kool-Aid as KC-MO's City Council....

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Sunday, September 06, 2009

Northmoor Fatality Pedestrian Update and Other K.C. MetroRegion Wrecks Early Sunday



N
orthmoor police and the Missouri Highway Patrol report having the suspect of a fatality hit & run of a group of pedestrians in custody.


That suspect is reported as 23-year-old Jack A. Martin of Liberty-MO.. The MHP reports Martin's Jeep Cherokee that struck the group was also in police custody.

Reported here first at CSW at 1:55 am Sunday morning- the incident occurred at Northwest Vivion Road and North Frontier as "multiple" pedestrians hit after a disturbance..

It was initially reported that "3" persons- including the deceased- were struck. One of those struck was also in critical condition.

-----
Three people were hurt- one seriously- when just after 3:30 am Sunday morning a SUV driving at "a high-speed" plowed into the back of a car waiting at a traffic signal in the 4900 block of Bannister which in turn hit the car of front of them as well as a car turning in the intersection.

A female passenger in the first car struck was not seatbelted had serious injuries. The other 2 patients had less-serious injuries.

The driver of the SUV was under hospital arrest by police- who closed Bannister Road between I-435 & U.S. 71 for a couple of hours to investigate the crash.

-----
In a one-vehicle crash reported first here at CSW- the driver was in surprisingly good condition.

The crash occurred on M-291/Cookingham just west of the intersection of Flintlock around 4:50 am.. The wreck was found by a Liberty police officer on patrol.

After about a 30 minute extrication from his vehicle which had "rolled several times" according to a MAST-EMS paramedic- the "26-year-old" man was taken to an area medical trauma center in good condition.

-----
A 46-year-old Omaha truck driver suffered leg injuries after a crash of his rig on southbound I-35 north of Kearney-MO about 6:20 am..

The MO Highway Patrol reports that the driver- "James J. Nichols of Omaha-NE" was trying to avoid another vehicle. Nichols crashed through a guardrail and the semi came to rest on it's side on the west side of the highway.

Nichols suffered non life-threatening "leg" injuries. It wasn't reported what- if anything- Mr. Nichols was carrying in the semi's trailer.
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Northland Fire Department Performs A Pre-Dawn River Rescue



T
he call came out over the Southern Platte County Fire department's (SPCFD) radio frequency at 3:37 am- it was reported "4 males and a dog" needed rescue from "a sailboat that was stuck on a sandbar and taking on water- on the Missouri River between the Parkville-MO boat ramp and the I-435 bridge.


There was heavy fog on the river- and over most of Metro K.C. by that time.

It took until about 4:15 am for the fire department rescue boat to reach the scene. Two of the males and the dog were returned to the boat ramp at the English landing Park in Parkville.

The other 2 men- one reportedly the boat owner and at least one reported by firefighters as "intoxicated"- returned to a camp site on the river's bank after being saved from the sandbar.

No one was injured and the "rescue" was completed by 4:45 am..

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Early Sunday Shootings In Both Kansas Citys



S
o far- the 2009 Labor Day holiday weekend has been relatively calm regarding street violence.



Two exceptions overnight:


Just after 2 am- KC-MO East patrol police were called to 12th Street and Cleveland on the report of shots fired in that area.

When officers arrived- the found an "uncooperative" Hispanic male who had a minor gunshot wound.

The man wouldn't tell police anything about a suspect and refused MASt-EMS transport to a hospital.


At 3:48 am- Kansas City-KS emergency agencies rolled on an "unknown medical call" that turned out to be a shooting in the 900 block of Sandusky.

The victim here was "an approximately 35-year-old Hispanic male" who intercepted 2 bullets: one to his chest and another to an arm.

This victim's injuries were critical and police didn't have any suspect information available.
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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Critical-Injury Wreck in the Northland



M
-291 is being closed in the area of North Flintlock after a Liberty police officer on patrol found a single-car crash just west of that intersection in KC-MO..



Extrication is being performed on the lone occupant and the injuries are said to be "life-threatening."


Accident investigation officers have also been summonded here.

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Hit and Run Driver Kills 1- Injures 2 Other Pedestrians In Northmoor-MO



T
he incident was reported at 1:55 am Sunday morning at Northwest Vivion Road and Frontier in unincorporated Northmoor.


Riverside Police reported this was "a hit & run" on "3 pedestrians."

One of the pedestrians was dead on arrival of 3 MAST-EMS units sent- one patient had critical injuries and the 3rd had not immediately life-threatening injuries.

Police said the striking vehicle was "a red Ford F-150 pickup truck with heavy front-end damage- last seen northbound on Frontier."

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Tornado Strikes Monroe LA With Confirmed Injuries

The tornado struck around noon on Easter Sunday. There is considerable damage repo rted in that northeastern Louisiana city of around 5000...