Saturday, July 09, 2011

Olathe Apartment Building Damaged in 2-Alarm Fire


A 2-alarm fire at the Jefferson Place apartments in Olathe reportedly didn't hurt anyone.



The fire was reported around 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon in one of the buildings of the complex located in the 12200 block of Strang Line Road.


A 2nd-alarm was sounded about 10 minutes later with the fire brought under control about 15 minutes after that.


No dollar damage estimate nor cause available yet.

May 22 Joplin Tornado Claims 159th Victim

The death toll from the EF-5 that tore apart south Joplin MO on May 22, 2011 has risen to 159 with the death of another injured victim in a Joplin-area hospital


Janice Kay McKee- 60- had been a resident of the Greenbriar Nursing home that was demolished by the tornado- and had actually passed away on June 13 from injuries she suffered during the tornado.

Missouri River Flood of 2011 - Upper Missouri Reservoir Readings- 5-Day Rainfall Forecast for July 09


The following are the latest reservoir readings on the upper Missouri River- taken on Saturday morning- July 9.


The key to the project parameters listed can be found on this previous CSW post on daily USACE project readings.



There are also three-week predictions made by USACE on inflows and discharges for each dam/reservoir in the Pick-Sloan system found HERE.


Also- the National Weather Service's US 5-Day precipitation outlook and forecasted rainfall amounts.

CSW BREAKING: Fatality Crash Near Holden MO- Stabbing in Valley Falls KS


Fairly quiet in Metro Kansas City so far this pleasant early July summer morning- but not the case MetroRegion-wide...


A stabbing was reported in Valley Falls KS around 12:40 a.m..



The incident occurred in the 1200 block of Oak- and it reportedly involved "a male on meth."

Police mounted a ground search for that male suspect- while the victim was transported by EMS to a Topeka hospital in at least serious condition.

No word if the suspect was ever caught.
Around 1:50 a.m.- a vehicle rolled-over and crashed on Southwest U Highway and Southwest 1171 Road just northeast of Holden MO..



At least one of the vehicle's occupants was reportedly ejected during the crash- and at least 1 fatality was also reported.

At least 2 people in the vehicle literally "walked away" from the crash scene a JoCoMO Fire-EMS dispatcher said.


In an accident report issued later Saturday- the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MOHP) states that 20-year-old Holden resident Randy F. Harvison was the passenger in a 2001 Chevy pickup driven by 20-year-old Loren Albert B. Page of Holden.

Page lost control of the truck northbound on U Highway and overturned- throwing the un-seatbelted Mr. Harvison out during the crash.

Mr. Harvison was killed- but the driver Mr. Page was reportedly not injured.

No other injuries were heard from this incident.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Man Charged For 2008 Murder of Harrisonville Woman

Finally...


The CASS COUNTY (MO) DEMOCRAT MISSOURIAN in Harrisonville reports that 52-year-old Jeffrey Dean Moreland has been charged with the 2008 murder of Harrisonville wife and mother Cara Jo Roberts.


Moreland is a former Grandview MO police officer.


As reported here at CSW in 2009- Moreland allegedly broke into the Robert's home during the afternoon of November 5, 2008 and murdered Cara Jo.



Moreland had been arrested last week on rape and sodomy charges unrelated to Mrs. Roberts' murder.


For at least 2 years- there were no suspects or leads in the Cara Jo Roberts homicide case until recently.

Missouri River Flood of 2011 - Upper Missouri Reservoir Readings for July 08

The following are the latest reservoir readings on the upper Missouri River- taken on Friday morning- July 8.


The key to the project parameters listed can be found on this previous CSW post on daily USACE project readings.


There are also three-week predictions made by USACE on inflows and discharges for each dam/reservoir in the Pick-Sloan system found HERE.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

CSW BREAKING: Fatality Crash in Leavenworth County KS


This incident was reported to Leavenworth County (LvCo) emergency services at 2:49 p.m. Thursday afternoon as a "rollover" crash at "150th Street and State" Avenue.



Personnel from the Fairmount Township Fire department (FTFD) and LvCo-EMS responded- and reportedly had to perform extrication on at least one of two reported critically-injured victims: "a 14 and a 15-year-old."


A medical helicopter was ordered to the scene- but their response was cancelled by a FTFD unit on the scene.


LvCo-EMS transported a "15-year-old female" with a possible head injury to the University of Kansas Medical Center in KC-KS..


EMS also reported that the "driver" of the vehicle that rolled-over "multiple times" died at the crash scene..


The Kansas Highway Patrol crash report issued later states that the driver of the "2005 GMC Envoy- 16-year-old Kylee N. Wilson of Leavenworth" was killed.


Fifteen-year-old Haley L. Sparks of Leavenworth was the injured passenger.

K-10 Hosts Another Serious Crossover Crash


This morning a few minutes before 8 o'clock- 43-year-old Olathean Connie J. Moll was traveling east in her 2001 Ford pickup on the entrance ramp to K-10 from K-7 when she lost control on the wet pavement.


Moll's truck slid across the eastbound lanes of K-10- across the grassy median- and into the path of an oncoming 2007 Kia driven by 31-year-old Jill L. Nickolson of Overland Park.


Both woman were injured- the Kansas State Patrol report didn't state how badly- and were taken to Overland Park-Regional Medical Center.



There has been a recent outcry by citizens for a median cable or like barrier that would cut down on the number of crossover crashes on the busy freeway that connects Lawrence and populous Johnson County. 

A meeting is scheduled July 14 in Eudora to discuss such a safety measure- states the LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD in a story about this crash and other K-10 fatalities.

CSW Weather: Metro Kansas City Area Rainfall Amounts From June 1 To Midday Today


It just SEEMS dry around here- but rainfall amounts around Metro Kansas City haven't been that far off from our seasonal averages.



These maps are from the good folks who operate the Johnson County/Overland Park KS "Stormwatch" site.



Rainfall totals have been scattered from the upper 3-inch amounts to a maxima of 7.36-inches west of Stillwell in JoCoKS.



The Kansas City Northland has received the generally higher amounts over the past few weeks.

CSW Weather: Metro Kansas City Rainfall Maps


Here are 2 maps- one showing the Metro Kansas City Northland- the other central KC and JoCoKS- showing the amount of rain that fell earlier today.



Click on each image for full size- and see that the heaviest rainfall in the Metro was in the Northland- where nearly 2-1/2-inches fell near I-435 & U.S. 169.



Other heavy rains also fell in Missouri River-flooded areas of northwest Missouri overnight- where 3 to 4-inches were indicated by NWS Doppler weather radar.


We should again dry out for a few days- getting hot and humid- before another cool front moves south across our area by the late weekend.

CSW BREAKING: Partial Building Collapse in Midtown KC-MO


At 11:41 a.m.- nine companies of the KC-MO Fire department were dispatched to a reported building collapse at a church at 1701 East Linwood Boulevard in Midtown.



The first-arriving company at 11:43 a.m. reports that the "southeast" part of the church had indeed fallen down- but the building was "unoccupied" and no other structures are reported damaged not are there any injuries.


Utility companies and "dangerous buildings" inspectors have been requested to the scene.

Missouri River Flood of 2011 - Upper Missouri Reservoir Readings for July 07


The following are the latest reservoir readings on the upper Missouri River- taken on Thursday morning- July 7.

The
key to the project parameters listed can be found on this previous CSW post on daily USACE project readings.
There are also three-week predictions made by USACE on inflows and discharges for each dam/reservoir in the Pick-Sloan system found HERE.

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

CSW WEATHER: Severe Storm Chance Slight for Metro Kansas City


The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center (NWS-SPC) in Norman Oklahoma continues to place Metro Kansas City on the northern boundary of a "slight risk" for severe thunderstorms later this Wednesday afternoon- evening into early Thursday morning.




Covering parts of central and south-central Missouri- the greatest part of the risk area is westward over Kansas- then north along the eastern Front Range of the Rockies into North Dakota.




In addition to the risk for severe storms- there's also a "slight" risk for excessive rainfalls over Kansas during the same time period.



Please stay alert to changing weather conditions and for any weather watches or warnings for your area.

MetroRegion Kansas City NEWS: Emporia's Entrance Rocks Go Up


Last winter- Emporia politicians railroaded the citizenry into purchasing city limit markers for that eastern Kansas city on I-35.



Four stone markers- or monolithes as I refered to them- were approved in these fiscally-stern times to the tune of +100K- according to the previous stories here at CSW.


You can see by the prior posts that the finished product- shown here- looks quite a bit different from prototypes.

In spite of heavy taxpayer opposition- the Emporia pollys are holding a "ribbon-cutting" tomorrow for the first of the 4 incredible wastes of tax money.


There was word of a possible taxpayer protest also taking place during the ceremony- CSW will let you know how that turns out.

Missouri River Flood of 2011 - Upper Missouri Reservoir Readings for July 06


The following are the latest reservoir readings on the upper Missouri River- taken on Wednesday morning- July 6.

The
key to the project parameters listed can be found on this previous CSW post on daily USACE project readings.

There are also three-week predictions made by USACE on inflows and discharges for each dam/reservoir in the Pick-Sloan system found HERE.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

CSW WEATHER: Severe Storm Watch Includes Part of Metro Kansas City


It's Severe Thunderstorm (tstm) Watch No. 603 until 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.




All Metro and Metroregion Kansas counties are in the watch- but only Buchanan and Platte counties in Missouri are included as well.




A mesoscale storm system is moving into northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri from southeastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa.


As this area with imbedded strong to severe thunderstorms moves southeast- large hail but especially damaging winds are possible in the stronger storms.



Missouri River Flood of 2011 - Upper Missouri Reservoir Readings for July 05


The following are the latest reservoir readings on the upper Missouri River- taken on Tuesday morning- July 5.


The key to the project parameters listed can be found on this previous CSW post on daily USACE project readings.


There are also three-week predictions made by USACE on inflows and discharges for each dam/reservoir in the Pick-Sloan system found HERE.


According to that forecast chart valid July 4- the Gavins Point dam releases continue at 160000 cfs through July 31.

A Kansas City Riverfront Fourth of July


The new Paseo Bridge over the Missouri River looks and drives great and the structure got a little bit of a dress-up for the 4th of July this year.




Thousands of people saved the $10 admission to the Riverfest and parked along the river to watch the big fireworks show- our vantage point was the top of the Isle of Capri Casino parking garage.




There were a series of red-white and blue LED lights along the sides of the bridge that were turned on minutes before Sunday's big fireworks display on The River.



I wasn't ALL that impressed with the bridge's new lights (why not run them up the pillars- why not decorate the cable strands?) but hey- the fireworks show was awesome and (see YouTube vid below) I share that finale with all of you.

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Metro Kansas City Area Fire Departments Busy Sunday Morning


There were working structure fires on the Missouri side of the Metro Sunday morning...


Two such fires were reported in Pleasant Hill- at 12:23 and at 2:35 a.m..

The first was reportedly in a building on the Big Creek Nursery property in the 1200 block of North Missouri (M)- 7 highway.

An at least small amount of flames was spotted by the first arriving fire crew coming from a corner of a rook on the building- and mutual-aid pumper or engine companies were requested from Harrisonville and South Metro (Raymore).

That fire was fairly quickly brought under control at 12:38 a.m. with no word yet on the amount of damage done- but no one injured.


The second fire was reportedly at Dale's Used Cars at 201 N. M-7.

Once there- emergency crews found fire showing from the back of the building on the car lot- and again mutual aid was requested from South Metro.

That fire was brought under control and without injury at 2:54 a.m. with that blaze's cause also under investigation.


KC-MO Fire companies responded to a house fire at 2:08 a.m. in the 4500 block of Claremont on the city's far East side.

Pumper 39 had been sent to the area to investigate smoke minutes earlier- then found the 1-story house heavily-involved in flames and called for more help.

This fire was brought under control at 2:23 a.m. with no reports of injuries.

Damage was heavy- but the occupants were reportedly away at the time of the fire.


Lastly was a fire in a motel room in Independence MO..

That incident was reported at 2:49 a.m. at the Deluxe Inn at 10301 East U.S. 40 highway where a small fire was found in the walls of one of the rooms there.

That fire was declared "out" at 3:04 a.m. with no reported injuries.

The room where the fire occurred was tagged as unsafe and the cause was under investigation.

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...