CSW BREAKING: Police Tactical Operation in Independence MO

Independence police tactical officers are currently surrounding a house in the 2900 block of Northern in western Indy.


There was a call around 2:37 a.m. to Sterling and Sheley where it was reported there was a "man with a gun" in that area.

By 4 a.m.- emergency crews had set up a staging area at the park at 31st Street and Hardy.


So far- no reports of injuries- and there aren't any further details available at this time.


There was also the report of a police tactical operation in Olathe KS earlier this Saturday morning- but that incident was resolved without any reports of injuries.

 

Please watch KSHB-41 NBC Action News at 8 a.m.- 5 and 10 p.m. for details on this incident...

___________

MoDOT: I-470 Sinkhole Fixed- Roadway to Open Tomorrow (Friday)

Not even working 24/7- the contractor hired to repair the westbound I-470 loop into westbound I-435 has finished the job.

The construction camera image shows workers from the Pyramid Contractors of Olathe as well as MoDOT employees cleaning the roadway in anticipation of a POSSIBLE morning drive-time opening of the road.

I-470 was damaged in early July when torrential rains caused a section of the earthen embankment the roadway sat on to collapse- opening a large gap in the roadway.


Pyramid stands to collect nearly $800000 in bonuses for finishing the work prior to the September 15 deadline.

__________

CSW BREAKING: Independence MO Police Chase Results in Injury Crash

The Independence police (IPD) pursuit of a "white duely" or dual rear-wheeled pickup possibly being driven by a female resulted in a crash within the past 20 minutes at the intersection of Sterling and 10th Street in northwestern Indy.

It's reported the suspect's vehicle was westbound on 10th Street when it struck another vehicle that was travelling on Sterling.

AMR-EMS paramedics and the fire department is on-the-scene with the occupant(s?) of the Sterling vehicle- injuries not believed life-threatening- while the suspect vehicle continued west on 10th Street and was ditched by the driver.


There's currently an area search by police for that driver and the IPD has asked for use of the KC-MO police helicopter.

____________

Under-Reported News- AP: Flash Drive Compromised American Security in 2008

An unidentified representative of a "foreign spy agency" was involved in a breach of the US military's security during the Bush II administration in 2008.


All this person had to do was insert "a flash drive into a U.S. military laptop" at an unreported location "in the Middle East" to infect Pentagon computers- ""establishing what amounted to a digital beachhead," for stealing military secrets-" stated the Associated Press story.

_________

WDAF-TV News Exposes Sleeping KC-MO Water Department Employees

The post's headline probably somewhat explains the situation of a large water main that runs along the west side of Blue Ridge between about 77th Street to just south of the 83rd Street intersection- more on that in a minute.


The good folks at WDAF FOX-4 got a cellphone video from a citizen showing Kansas City MO Water Department employees sleeping on city time in city trucks. 
The FOX-4 story interviews some irate residents in the Guinotte-East Bottoms area where the workers were busted.


Now- back to the Blue Ridge water main.

Leaks and breaks on this main occur at least yearly in that stretch of this main north-south artery and there's an off-road-type road surface to prove it.

Just repaired was a break on both sides of Blue Ridge at 79th Street (the Raytown city limit is about 50 feet east of Blue Ridge to a point where Raytown intersects Blue Ridge just south of 74th Street).

Recent repairs were to a section near 80th Terrace where the roadway dips and bumps- and earlier repairs made to the line around 77th Terrace where there's already a few potholes with the off-road surface.

So I take you to the photos- of the southwest corner of the 83rd Street and Blue Ridge intersection- where a small leak a couple of months ago has turned into a street-covering stream.

The leak WAS reported- and it appears at least some work has occurred at the leak's source.

However unless this leak is fixed soon- it's going to create issues with the roadway on Blue Ridge- ranging from a geiser to a sinkhole like what occurred on Holmes awhile back.


Elected officials need to address this city's infrastructure like last year if they hope to keep large sections of this metropolis livable.

_____________

Note From Self To Other News Media and Politicians: America's STILL in The "Recession (Depression)"

Note this line from an ASSOCIATED PRESS story I came upon- "...the economy is on the verge of slipping back into a recession."

Slipping BACK into a "recession?"   How about SLIPPING FURTHER?


I'm hearing/seeing some increasingly-horrible stories  among my own circle of family- friends and acquaintances and the stuff I hear/read and see daily isn't comforting.

Governments beg Americans to "spend- spend- spend-"  all the while those same governments are raising "fees" and taxes to cover the shortfalls caused by citizens losing their jobs- homes- confidence and sanity- as IF we somehow magically come into money in a wrecked economy to PAY the new "fees" and taxes.


It's getting hard to see the glass half-full when it's cracked and frankly- broken.

___________

Taxpayer-Financed Corporate Welfare Likely For KC-MO's Metro North Mall

Did you read the story about the distinct possibly for corporate welfare regarding a proposed Independence MO business park?

Well- the KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL reports of ANOTHER project that will probably seek taxpayer-financed corporate welfare too:  the Metro North shopping mall.

No only that- but the firm that owns MOST of that shopping center wants that same KC-MO governmental agency who would issue that corporate-welfare to lower-the-boom of condemnation on the remaining property owner at the mall who so far has refused to sell to the OTHER developer.


Somewhere in all that mess is the taxpayer- disguised as a microscopic midget.

________

Independence MO Business Park Will Probably Need Taxpayer-Provided Corporate Welfare

American citizens seemingly need to get this realization through their heads:
In the 21st Century- MOST businesses will seek taxpayer-financed corporate welfare to build in YOUR city.

I mean- WHY- if I'm a wealthy owner of a corporation- should I spend MY or OUR money to build a new facility when America's politicians are so willing to finance my plans on the backs of taxpayers?


So goes the talk of Independence pollys on a "new" east Indy business park- and the ONLY indication in this EXAMINER feel-good story about taxpayer subsidies is in this paragraph in the story:

"Clayco executives stressed that this is a public-private partnership and said the city has to continue to play an active role – possibly with city money – though Independence City Manager Robert Heacock said it’s too soon to know if financial involvement will be needed or what that would look like."

Meanwhile- these SAME Independence pollys want you residents to increase YOUR sales tax for more police and fire protection.


You get what you (don't) vote for....

__________

American Airlines Employees in Tulsa Reject Contract Offer

Well- American Airlines (AA) just closed the maintenance facility at K.C.I. airport- leaving AA just 2 such facilities- one in Fort Worth TX- the other in Tulsa OK..

According to The TULSA WORLD- AA employees at the Tulsa facility just rejected a contract offer that would have resulted in LESS pay and LESS benefits!

The employees have rejected that offer by a 2 to 1 margin- reports The WORLD- and the rejection also includes a strike authorization by the union membership.


NEWS FLASH:  MANY American corporations are NOT only engaging in subtle forms of employee intimidation- but they're also trying for employee pay and benefit give-backs.

Lord- help us all!

____________

Metro K.C. Crashes in Past Few Hours Leave 3 Dead- Others Injured

Just received word of a double-fatality crash on K-32 in Edwardsville KS..

The crash occurred about 4: 30 p.m. at the intersection of K-32 and 98th Street involving 2 vehicles...

Two people died at the scene and one was flown by medical helicopter to a Metro medical trauma center.

Information on the deceased or the other injured isn't available yet.


An elderly lady who "possibly had a medical issue" according to a MEDACT-EMS paramedic crashed her car into another at College Boulevard and Ridgeview in far northern Olathe around 3:10 p.m. Monday afternoon.

The woman's medical condition was critical as she was being transported to an Overland Park hospital by a MEDACT-EMS crew- where she later died.

The other vehicle's injuries were not life-threatening.

No other info on ident yet....


Smithville Fire- NRAD-EMS and other agencies are presently working what was reported at 4:53 p.m. as "a 4-vehicle" crash on U.S. 169 and 180th Street north of Smithville MO..

Have nothing further on this one.

__________

NWS National Weather Outlook for September 2010

In a nutshell- above-average temperatures are expected over the east-central third and southwestern United States- with below-average temperatures forecasted along the Pacific Northwest and West coast.

Precipitation is forecast to be above-average along the southeastern Atlantic coast- Florida- and westward along the Gulf of Mexico coast to the border with Mexico.


In the Kansas City MetroRegion- all indications are for an average September both temperature and precip-wise.

___________

Sugar Creek Tries New Revenue Stream: Cameras To Catch Speeders

That northern Jackson county Missouri community is getting "speeder cameras-" as they are called in the story from The INDEPENDENCE- BLUE SPRINGS- GRAIN VALLEY EXAMINER.


The City of Sugar Creek will employ a St. Louis -area firm- B&W Sensors L.L.C.- to deploy one of their systems where "there is a definite speeding problem" in Sugar Creek- SCPD Chief Herb Soule told The EXAMINER.

There are a few Missouri communities already using this system- and while it HAS raked in some big bucks in fines- it HAS slowed traffic down to mostly legal limits in the areas which the camera/sensor system was most frequently deployed- according to a feature story on the B&W Sensors L.L.C. Web site.

__________

After More Than 13 Hours- Gladstone Police Standoff With Barricaded Burglary Suspect Ends

This is an update to a story brought to you on CSW yesterday...

It was just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning when police from Gladstone and other agencies entered the residence where the burglary suspect was holed-up and arrested the suspect.


No one was injured in the standoff that lasted just over 13 hours.

____________ 

Central States News: Teacher Stabbed by Student in Beatrice NE

Many probably have this illusion that violence against educators only happens in big-city settings.

This story from The BEATRICE (NE) DAILY SUN tells of a teacher at an elementary school who was stabbed with a pen by a student Monday morning.

The teacher was taken to the city's hospital then released.


No word on any disciplinary action to be taken regarding the student.

____________

Gladstone Standoff Into The 10th Hour

Tactically-trained police officers from agencies such as North Kansas City and Riverside continue to aid Gladstone officers in a situation involving a believed-barricaded robbery suspect.

KSHB NBC ACTION NEWS reports Gladstone Public Safety officers sighted a suspicious man and a woman around 11:15 a.m. near Northeast 71st Street and North Indiana.

The woman was detained- but the man- a burglary suspect- ran into a house.


The stand-off that goes into the 11th hour has inconvenienced nearby residents and- earlier this afternoon- a school that was 5 blocks away.

________

Central States NEWS: Major Apartment Complex Fire in Joplin MO

A huge fire in Joplin MO Monday morning has reportedly destoyed two buildings and damaged a third in an apartment complex in southeastern Joplin.

According to The JOPLIN GLOBE- 2 police officers sustained minor injuries trying to help occupants out of the destroyed building before firefighters arrived.

At least 5 other people later reported mostly minor injuries.


The GLOBE reports no other injuries and the fire was under control early Monday afternoon.

__________

"Suspicious" Death of Independence MO Man- Wife Missing

Independence MO Police are investigating the death of a northeast Independence man- and the disappearance of his 50-year-old wife.


The INDEPENDENCE- BLUE SPRINGS- GRAIN VALLEY EXAMINER says that 63-year-old Ronnie D. Ashworth was found dead in his home in the 18500 block of Blackhawk Trail after they received that report from an unknown person.

The IPD reports that the deceased man's wife- 50-year-old Catherine A. Ashworth and her 2002 black Mustang was also missing.


The story doesn't state whether Mrs. Ashworth is considered a suspect or not.

___________

"Small Fire" Damages Children's Theater in Columbia MO Mall

Sometimes- the radios of CSW reach WAY out- hundreds of miles when atmospherics are right...

At 6:28 a.m. Sunday morning - we received the report of "smoke in the Columbia Mall" at 23000 Bernadette on Columbia fire deaprtment frequencies.

Within 10 minutes- at least one additional fire unit was also called to that scene.

I only heard most units return to their stations around 8 a.m.- but The COLUMBIA (MO) DAILY TRIBUNE reports that there was "a small fire" in the "TRYPS children’s theater in the Target wing."

Damage was estimated at "$2500" by CFD officials- but a spokesperson with the children's threater said damage will run "much higher." 

____________

CSW BREAKING: Worker Burned at Lake City Ammunition Plant in East Independence MO

A worker at the Lake City Army Ammuntion Plant at M-7 and M-78 highways was burned Sunday morning.


The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. at one of the buildings on the sprawling complex in eastern Independence.

The worker was reportedly "burned on the arm" by unknown means and the Lake City fire department reported "no smoke- no fire" when they arrived at 9:38 a.m..


There was no age or gender information on the patient- nor any other details yet available on this incident

___________

Another Fatality Crash in the Northland- A Homicide and Other Metro K.C. Sunday Morning News

Metro Kansas City emergency services- particularily KC-MO- were generally busy this Sunday morning in late August 2010.

For the second morning in a row there's been a fatality crash on Interstate or I-29 in the KC-MO Northland.

This happened just before 1:30 a.m. just north of Missouri or 'M' 152 highway and it involved at least 2 vehicles.

A car fire was reported and confirmed ("fully-involved" according to KC-MO Pumper 44) but it was at least initially reported to be NOT involved in the crash.

Wreckage and victims were found further north of the car fire.

Two cars' drivers were transported to hospitals- both in non life-threatening condition.

One was a male- the other a "22-year-old female" according to a KC-MO Fire paramedic.  She was also possibly intoxicated.

There's no identity yet on the deceased person.

This time the northbound lanes were closed while police and Missouri Highway Patrol investigated the crash.

The other death involves the latest KC-MO homicide...

A male in his 20's who had been shot in his upper chest pulled into the police gas/service station at 1245 Prospect around 3 a.m..

EMS was called- and transported the man to a nearby hospital- where he has reportedly died from his wound.

Police told KSHB NBC ACTION NEWS that the man was shot around 8th Street and Van Brunt on Kansas City's Northeast side.

Police have few leads in the initial investigation and report no suspect information.


A man was seriously hurt in Kansas City KS around 12:30 a.m. when he drove his motorcycle off of northbound I-635 south of State Avenue.

Reportedly there were no other vehicles involved- and the cyclist and his bike ended up more than "50-feet" off the east side of the roadway.

The 33-year-old patient was taken to a medical trauma center with back- leg and possible head injuries and the paramedic didn't say if the man was wearing a helmet.

__________

Other crashes occurred in:  KC-MO at Truman and Cleveland around 1:10 a.m. involving 2 vehicles and 4 people suffering non life-threatening injuries- and in Lee's Summit around 1:15 a.m. where an SUV was found rolled over but unoccupied on southbound I-470 north of Woods Chapel Road.


The 27-year-old male driver was later located walking some distance from the crash- and he was taken to Centerpoint Med Center with non-serious hurts.


A deck caught fire and is under investigation in Kansas City KS..


The call went out to the fire department at 2:30 a.m. for the fire "on a back deck of a house" at 1723 West 39th Avenue.


KC-KC FD "Pumper 10" reported "a small fire" after their arrival at 2:37 a.m. that was completely extinguished within 10 minutes and no one got hurt.

At 6 a.m.- there is Breaking News of another Kansas City MO shooting- this one in Midtown.


The incident is in the 3500 block of Baltimore- reported to "possibly be the result of a carjacking" according to police

The victim is "a male in his 40's with a gunshot wound to the chest and an exit wound to the right flank" said a KC-MO FD paramedic- and the man's condition was very critical.

Police didn't have any available suspect information yet.

Please watch KSHB-41 NBC Action News at 8 a.m.- 5 and 10 p.m. for details on this incident...