Saturday, February 20, 2010

NWS 'Flood Watch' For Southern and Eastern K.C. MetroRegion



T
he approaching storm system will produce persistent showers- and a few thunderstorms in the southern through eastern Kansas City MetroRegion.



This will bring heavy rains to nearly saturated soil in the region- possibly producing flooding- so the NWS issued a Flood Watch from "6 am Sunday through Sunday night for the following areas:

SALINE- HOWARD- CASS- JOHNSON- PETTIS- COOPER- BATES- HENRY counties in Missouri- including the cities of MARSHALL- FAYETTE- NEW FRANKLIN- RAYMORE-HARRISONVILLE- PLEASANT HILL- WARRENSBURG- SEDALIA- BOONVILLE- BUTLER- RICH HILL and CLINTON.

The good news is that the warmer air being brought north with this storm should PERHAPS bring temperatures up a few degrees in Metro Kansas City and we'll avoid any ice or further snowfall until at least later Sunday.

_________

Part of Metro Kansas City Under A Winter Storm Warning



W
hile Johnson county Kansas and Jackson county Missouri remain under a 'Winter Weather Advisory' (the Winter Storm Watch was replaced by this).


Snow- sleet and freezing rain continues to spread east and northeast out of southern Kansas into western and northwestern Missouri- including Metro K.C..

Temperatures across the Metro at this time range from 30 degrees at K.C.I. airport- 32 at New Century in Gardner KS- to 35 here at CSW near I-435 and 87th Street in southeastern KC-MO..

Temps will remain nearly steady overnight- possibly falling a degree or two- before the storm now on the New Mexico-Texas border moves into southern Missouri by Sunday evening.

PLEASE- slow down and anticipate ahead if on the roads tonight into Sunday night.
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Kansas City: Avoid Time-Warner's Internet Phone- Roadrunner



S
ave yourself a LOT of grief and anger and avoid subcribing to Time-Warner's Internet phone and Roadrunner broadband.

That so-called "service" has been going down regularily now for more than 2 weeks- usually during the day- occasionally when we're ON the phone (line goes dead) and when I'm trying to post breaking news.

Unless you have a cell phone- you'll find your Time-Warner Internet phone dead with NO way to call in and complain nor get an adjustment on your bill.

Can't do it when the Roadrunner broadband is out (at the same time) either.

So- take it from your Captain- save yourself a LOT of grief and wasted time (trying to post time-sensitive items and you have no Net service) and- over the longer run- MONEY!
___________

CSW BREAKING: Explosion and Standoff in Western Raytown MO



A
round 11:45 am Saturday morning- Raytown Fire and Police responded to a house fire on Blue Ridge Cutoff in the 6400 block.


It turned out to be an explosion with a male armed with firearms inside.

Within minutes of the alarm- CSW was there.

As we pulled east on 64th Street- we could hear 2 pops- gunfire.

The 2nd image shows emergency crews telling us to get out.

The other images show the scene from a safer distance- KC-MO fire companies staged a block away.

Telephoto shots of the house indicates the north wall of the house had been blown outward by the force of the explosion.

By 12:31 pm- Raytown police reported that the armed man inside had surrendered peacefully- and an ambulance was sent in for unknown injuries to the suspect.

Police indicate the man "shot" some "oxygen tanks" inside the house- resulting in the explosion.

No other people were found inside the house after the man surrendered.

The suspect was reported by Raytown-EMS as "an 80-year-old male who was suicidal- had taken a large quantity of cocaine and slashed his wrists"- taken to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

_________

Friday, February 19, 2010

Metro Kansas City In A Winter Storm Watch Sunday



T
he NWS in Pleasant Hill has just issued a "Winter Storm Watch" that will affect Metro Kansas City and the northern half of the MetroRegion Sunday.

Here is the statement from NWS/Pleasant Hill:



A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT MUCH OF NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL
KANSAS AND MUCH OF THE NORTHERN ONE HALF OF MISSOURI LATE THIS
WEEKEND.




SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND SLEET ARE POSSIBLE GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM THE KANSAS CITY AREA NORTHEAST TO CARROLLTON TO MACON.



THE TRACK OF THIS STORM SYSTEM IS STILL SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN.



ANY CHANGE IN THE FORECAST TRACK WILL AFFECT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AND PRECIPITATION TYPE.



(INCLUDING THE KANSAS COUNTIES OF:) ATCHISON KS- DONIPHAN- LEAVENWORTH- WYANDOTTE- JOHNSON KS-
(INCLUDING THE MISSOURI COUNTIES OF:) ATCHISON MO- NODAWAY- WORTH- GENTRY- HARRISON- MERCER- PUTNAM- SCHUYLER- HOLT- ANDREW- DE KALB- DAVIESS- GRUNDY- SULLIVAN- ADAIR- BUCHANAN- CLINTON- CALDWELL- LIVINGSTON- LINN MO- MACON- PLATTE- CLAY- RAY- CARROLL- CHARITON- JACKSON-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF: ATCHISON... TROY... LEAVENWORTH... OVERLAND PARK... OLATHE... TARKIO... MARYVILLE... GRANT CITY... ALBANY... STANBERRY... BETHANY... PRINCETON... UNIONVILLE... LANCASTER... MOUND CITY... OREGON... SAVANNAH... CAMERON... GALLATIN... JAMESPORT... TRENTON... MILAN... GREEN CITY... KIRKSVILLE... ST. JOSEPH... PLATTSBURG... HAMILTON... POLO... CHILLICOTHE... BROOKFIELD... MACON... LA PLATA... PARKVILLE... PLATTE CITY... WESTON... LIBERTY... EXCELSIOR SPRINGS... RICHMOND... CARROLLTON... SALISBURY... KEYTESVILLE... KANSAS CITY... INDEPENDENCE
322 PM CST FRI FEB 19 2010

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT.


* LOCATION... EAST CENTRAL KANSAS AND WEST CENTRAL... NORTHWEST AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI.

* SNOW AND SLEET WILL DEVELOP SUNDAY MORNING FROM THE KANSAS CITY AREA EAST TO CARROLLTON AND MACON WITH SNOW MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF ROUTE 36 IN NORTHERN MISSOURI.
THE PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BY SUNDAY EVENING WITH THE SNOW CONTINUING UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT.
THERE MAY BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN SUNDAY MORNING INTO EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON FROM THE KANSAS CITY AREA EAST TO MACON.
ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH.

* SNOW/SLEET ACCUMULATIONS...TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF THREE TO SIX INCHES ARE LIKELY WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS.

* IMPACTS...ROADS WILL LIKELY BECOME SLICK AND HAZARDOUS WITH SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND SUNDAY NIGHT.


PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW... SLEET... OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.





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CSW BREAKING: Electrical Fire Shuts Down KC-MO's Federal Building



At 12:27 pm- 12 companies of the Kansas City (MO) Fire department responded on a "high-rise response- fire in the basement" of the Federal building at 601 East 12th Street downtown.


There was reportedly a fire in a basement electrical transformer- and that fire sent acrid smoke throughout the 20-story building that houses many Federal agencies.

Fire crews were concerned about children in a daycare center at the building- and ordered 4 MAST-EMS units.

As of this post- NO injuries have been reported from the scene- and the fire was declared "under control" at 1:15 pm.

The Federal Building has no power whatsoever and the building is being completely evacuated.

_________

CSW WEATHER: Rain and Snow Mix in the Kansas Metro



O
verland Park traffic cameras are showing large snowflakes falling- this shown camera view is from 75th Street and Metcalf- looking south along Metcalf.




Radar shows an intense band of precip coming through Metro Kansas City- and this area will move slowly through Metro Kansas City during the next 2 hours or so.



Temperatures remain a few degrees above freezing- so slick roads SHOULDN'T be an issue.

________

CSW BREAKING: House Fire In Riverside MO



F
irefighters from Riverside- Gladstone and the Southern Platte Fire District are on the scene of a house fire in the 1900 block of Northwest 45th Terrace at this time.



The alarm was sounded around 10:06 am with mutual aid requested from Gladstone and South Platte.

At 10:32 am- "an injury" was reported- but no details on whether the injured person is a civilian or firefighter.


UPDATE - 1135 CST- The injured person is reported by MAST-EMS as "a 22-year-old male firefighter" who suffered "first and second-degree burns to his hands and arms."
His condition was good- and the firefighter (unknown what department he is with) was taken to Liberty Hospital.
__________

Shout-Out To Great Britain



I
've noticed out of the several hundred hits CSW gets in a day- a surprising number are from Great Britain.






I dunno if these are some of my old Bearshare chat buds/fellow former Radio Guru DJ's- but regardless- a big hearty HEY! to all from the Big Island across The Pond and thanx for reading!


________

Cool Pix of The Northern Lights



S
olar activity is on the increase after a long pause- and solar winds are once again producing impressive 'Northern Lights' in our hemisphere- according to NASA's 'Space Weather' Web site.


Don't be surprised if- over the next few weeks- we see a flare or two as far south as our Central States.
________

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Austin Plane-Crasher Joseph Stack's Manifesto Against American Government



J
oseph Andrew Stack is identified by Travis County Texas authorities and confirmed by CSW to be the suspect who- on Thursday morning February 18 2010- crashed his company's light plane into a building housing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offices in northwestern Austin Texas.


Thus far- it's confirmed 13 people were injured- 2 people suffered "critical burn" injuries and "one person is unaccounted for" as well as Stack's body says the Travis County Sheriff after Stack's desperate last act.

Mr. Stack was apparently having financial and marital difficulties and was having serious issues with the IRS.

He left a 6-page farewell letter that outlines his problems and his attempts to resolve them.

After reading it- I really- really wonder how many more Americans are also at the brink.

I found a copy of that letter and rather than send you elsewhere to read it- post it here:


The Last Words of Joseph Andrew Stack

"If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?” The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.

While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.

How did I get here?

My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.

On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age.

The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.

Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer... and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.

For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommit... ) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml ).

SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.

Note:

· "another person" is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.

· "taxpayer" is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.

· "individual", "employee", or "worker" is you.



Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.

After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.

Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.

So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.

When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.

This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.

I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.

As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.

I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.

I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.



The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.



Joe Stack (1956-2010)

02/18/2010."

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Man Crashes Plane Into Northwest Austin TX Office Building


NOTE: POST DELAYED DUE TO UNRELIABLE TAME-WARNER ROADRUNNER SERVICE HERE.

Thursday morning a man reportedly involved in a domestic dispute set his home on fire- went to an airport in suburban Georgetown and stole a small plane- then crashed the stolen plane into an office building in northwestern Austin off of U.S. 183.


A huge fire engulfed at least one side of that office building that has since been knocked down by Austin firefighters.

The building struck reportedly contains IRS offices- a Federal agency the suspect- reported by the AP as "Jospeh Stack"- was having issues with.


At least 2 people have been taken to hospitals- but as of yet no word on fatalities- according to Austin TV station KVUE.

Here's a link to KXAN's live coverage of this incident..



________

Human Body Parts Found In Blue Summit MO



L
ocals call the area between Kansas City's East Side and the Independence city limits 'Dogpatch.'



Yesterday- Jackson County Sheriff deputies report finding human body parts scattered in a lot at 18th Street and Laurel- according to The INDEPENDENCE-BLUE SPRINGS-GRAIN VALLEY EXAMINER.

The law didn't report any other information on the find to the news media.
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Dallas-Based BBQ Chain Tries It's Luck In Kansas City



Never mind that K.C.'s BEST barbecue is 'home-grown'- a Dallas-Fort Worth chain of BBQ restaurants- Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse- is coming to the Metro- according to The KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL.


No offense Sonny- but all MY barbecue $$$ will remain with Arthur Bryant's....

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Wichita TV News-Reader Faints During Newscast



N
ow I know why TV stations spend all that $$$ to have TWO news-readers ("anchors") during local newscasts.



The WICHITA (KS) EAGLE newspaper online reports that KAKE Channel 10's Susan Peters fainted Tuesday during the station's 5 pm newscast.

The other news-reader took over the newscast while Peters lay on the floor next to him.

Local newscasts take note here- such in-studio excitement could increase local news viewership from their faltering numbers....
________

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

CSW BREAKING: Man Burned in KC-MO Trailer Fire



A man was burned when a trailer caught fire Wednesday afternoon in the 8500 block of Prospect.


The fire was reported at 4:20 pm and responding fire companies could see the smoke from the fire from nearly 2 miles away.

Fire crews found a camping trailer "fully-involved" in flames- with the man who the battalion chief says "was working on" and thought to be living in the trailer- suffering "2nd-degree" burns.

The victim's condition was not critical.

The fire's under control at 4:30 pm..


_______

CSW BREAKING: House Fire in KC-MO's Waldo Area



Six KC-MO Fire companies are putting out a fire in a house in the 100 block of East 72nd Street.

The incident was reported to 9-1-1 at 3:32 pm and when Pumper 37 arrived at 3:34 pm- they reported "heavy smoke" pouring from "the attic area of a one and one-half story" house.

Fire crews found a "dead plug" or waterless hydrant initially but quickly found another source as they pull 2 hand lines to use on the fire.

At 3:45 pm- it's reported the occupant is "in the backyard" and uninjured and the fire battalion chief orders animal control for "a couple of dogs in the backyard.

At 3:48 pm- the chief reports the fire "knocked down" with no firefighter injuries as of this post.
________

Patient Dies Waiting For Paramedics in Pittsburgh PA



I
magine for a moment that you are ill and call for an ambulance.




Imagine calling for that ambulance 10 times in 3 days and the medics never arrive- and that YOU- the ill person- is asked to walk TO the ambulance in 15-inches of snow



That's what happened recently in Pittsburgh- according to this story from Dave Statter's STATTER 9-1-1 Web page.



The lazy-assed medics never did go to the sick man's residence and the man died.



Can you say 'lawsuit?'

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Johnson County KS To Provide EMS Dispatch Service To Miami County



F
or less than the cost of one dispatcher- Johnson County will begin providing EMS call-taking and dispatch service for Miami County.



Current EMS dispatching for Miami county is provided by American Medical Response (AMR) out of Independence MO via landlines and radio repeaters.

According to the story in The OLATHE (KS) DAILY NEWS- Miami county will pay JoCo $2000 per month for the 9-1-1 call taking and EMS dispatching beginning March 1st.

That cost doesn't even pay for one JoCo dispatcher- who make in excess of $2000 per month.

We'll see how this turns out for the taxpayers of both counties....
________

Liquidate The KC-MO School Distict



L
iterally billions of dollars have been shoved into that open maw known as the Kansas City (MO) School District for at least the past 30 years.


Now- the District is looking at the biggest re-organization since a judge took hold of the faltering schools in the 1980's.

What is the REAL solution for the KC-MO School District? Dissolve it.

Consolidate the KC-MO SD into the surrounding Missouri school districts: Center- Hickman Mills- Raytown- Independence and North KC.

Divvy up the taxing base accordingly- give those surrounding districts the funds to accomplish the merge and just DO IT!

Quit screwing around with an obviously broken entity and continuously throwing taxpayer dollars at it.

In the long run it'll be better for the kids and cheaper for the taxpayers.
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Monday, February 15, 2010

CSW BREAKING: Two Injured- Possible Person Killed In Miami County KS House Fire



T
wo persons have been injured with a "female" still trapped and presumed dead in a burning mobile home in western Miami County near Paola KS.
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Paola and other fire departments were dispatched just before 10:15 pm Monday night to the fire in the 29200 block of Indianapolis Road.

A sheriff's deputy also responding on the alarm arrived less than 5 minutes later reporting "2 occupants outside" the burning trailer house with "a female still trapped inside."

The two occupants who escaped the fire suffered serious to critical injuries from smoke inhalation- one with "facial burns"- and were being transported to a Metro K.C. medical trauma center.

One of those patients is a female in her late 50's and the other patient is reported as a male in his middle 60's.

The trapped occupant had not been recovered as of this post as the flames rage on- reportedly fed by "oxygen tanks" in the residence.

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CSW BREAKING: House Burning in KC-MO's 'North End'



A 2-story house is burning just northeast of Kansas City MO's downtown.

The alarm for the 500 block of Campbell sounded at 3:25 pm Monday afternoon- and when fire crews arrived 3 minutes later they reported "heavy smoke" showing from the house with "the occupants outside."

No injuries have been reported- but several additional KC-MO Fire companies have been dispatched to the scene.
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CSW BREAKING: House Fire In Peculiar MO



At least 3 other fire departments are assisting West Peculiar firefighters battling a fire in a residence in Peculiar at this hour.

The alarm was sounded at 12:37 pm for the fire in a "1-story" house in the 100 block of Belinda Circle.

The first fire truck to arrive at 12:40 pm reported "heavy smoke showing" from the structure.

Fire crews from Belton- South Metro (Raymore) and Harrisonville are either helping in the firefight or filling empty West Peculiar stations.

There has been no reports of any injuries thus far and the occupancy status of the burning house has not yet been determined.
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Sunday, February 14, 2010

CSW BREAKING: Snowshowers Contribute to Several Multi-Vehicle Crashes on The Kansas Turnpike (I-70)

This is a continuing story as of post time...

Moderate to occasionally heavy snowshowers began moving through mostly western and southern portions of Metro Kansas City around 1 pm Sunday afternoon.

Beginning around 1:15 pm- vehicle wrecks began being reported on the Kansas Turnpike west of Bonner Springs.

One crash scene reportedly involved 20 vehicles- another near Mile post 223 is reported to involve "25-30" vehicles.

All involve no or minor injuries reports EMS..

At 1:43 pm- the Kansas Highway Patrol (KSHP) reported a wreck "involving a Greyhound bus" on westbound I-70 at K-7.

Minutes later- another crash was reported on I-435 in Edwardsville.

Other crash scenes on I-70 continue to be reported.

Scattered snowshowers will continue moving northwest to southeast across Metro K.C. during the next several hours.

Some isolated 2-inch snowfalls are possible- and the NWS in Pleasant Hill put Metro Kansas City in a Winter Weather Advisory moments ago.

Please- slow down and use your lights.
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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...