The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday, February 17, 2007

MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN AN OVERNIGHT SHOOTING AT A KANSAS CITY CASINO

The first call came in at 3:47 AM: there is a shooting victim in "the north parking lot of the Isle of Capri casino, 1800 (East) Riverfront Road." Four minutes later police have arrived and confirmed a victim- "serious" injuries.

That victim - a "44-year-old male with 2 gunshot wounds to the abdomen- no visible exit wounds" - was taken by MAST-EMS Unit 140 to a nearby trauma center.

Suspect information is broadcast area-wide: "Three Hispanic males in an early-1990's white Ford F-150 or F-250 extended cab pickup truck with extensive damage to the vehicle after the victim rammed it."

Some indications this could have been an armed robbery attempt but the official results of the investigation of this incident are still pending.

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* OVERNIGHT WEATHER -
The rapid-moving storm system that brought another half-inch or so of snow overnight - about 2 inches total since Friday afternoon - was moving out.

By 2 am, many roadways had become wet & lightly-coated with snow. There were far less accidents with this latest round as many people elected to stay where they were for the night.

Temperatures fell by at least a dozen degrees from mid-30's readings at midnight to the near-20-degree mark at the pre-dawn hour.

Northwest winds gusted as high as 45 m.p.h. in Lawrence around 1 am. 40 mile-per-hour guts were common in the immediate KC Metro. Gusts had subsided somewhat to the 30 mph mark by 6 am. Wind chills areawide were in the single digits.


PLEASE WATCH KSHB NBC41 - ACTION NEWS FOR THESE AND OTHER BREAKING NEWS STORIES.

The Weather

Precipitation here- more moving in from the west - still below freezing here (28) in the Bannister Ghosttown area - watch out during the evening commute!

I see moderate snow and wet roads on the Overland Park traffic camera at 75th & Metcalf!

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1630 UPDATE -

LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW FALLING ON SUB-FREEZING ROADWAYS IS CAUSING NUMEROUS CRASHES IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF METRO KANSAS CITY.

ROADWAYS BECOMING SNOW-COVERED ARE ALREADY INDICATED ON NUMEROUS AREA TRAFFIC CAMERAS.

WE COULD SEE 1-2 INCHES OF SNOW BY MIDNIGHT.

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U.S 71 southbound south of 75th Street - Photo courtesy of the KC Scout traffic camera system.

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BREAKING NEWS: 2-ALARM FIRE WITH INJURIES IN KC, MO'S WALDO DISTRICT

There is at least one injury reported at a 2-alarm fire in a building at 75th street and Washington.

The first alarm was sounded at 9:56 am, upgraded to a first-alarm at 10 am and the 2nd-alarm sounded 7 minutes later.


More as received ...


1014 CST UPDATE:

Report from fire department chief are "6 injured" - all apparently firefighters - with "some of them burned pretty good (bad)."

More as received ...


1020 CST UPDATE -

AT LEAST ONE AND AS MANY AS "3 CRITICAL" INJURIES ARE REPORTED BY MAST PARAMEDICS ON THE SCENE.

ALL ARE REPORTED TO BE KC, MO FIREFIGHTERS WHO WERE INSIDE A BURNING BUILDING AT 7500 WASHINGTON..
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1041 CST UPDATE -

THE 2-ALARM-PLUS FIRE CONTINUES TO BURN AT 7500 WASHINGTON IN KC, MO'S HISTORIC WALDO AREA. THE BUILDING CONTAINS A TAVERN AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER BUSINESSES.

FIRE CREWS HAVE ENGAGED IN A "DEFENSIVE" ATTACK OF THE FIRE AFTER THIS BECAME THE WORST MASS-CASUALTY INCIDENT INVOLVING KC, MO FIREFIGHTERS SINCE 6 WERE KILLED IN 1988.

"SIX" FIREFIGHTERS WERE REPORTEDLY BURNED INSIDE THE STRUCTURE WHEN ATTEMPTING TO FIND THE SOURCE OF THE FIRE, WHICH WAS REPORTED AT 9:56 AM.

I HAVE SO FAR HEARD 4 MAST-EMS TRANSPORTS OF INJURED FIREFIGHTERS - ONE OF THEM DEEMED CRITICAL WITH "2ND & 3RD-DEGREE BURNS" AND AIRWAY DIFFICULTIES. THE OTHERS GENERALLY HAVE 2ND-DEGREE BURNS TO EXTREMITIES (ARMS, LEGS).

THE FIRE CONTINUES TO BURN OUT OF CONTROL...

----------------------------------------

1315 CST FINAL UPDATE -


IN KANSAS CITY, MO'S WORST FIREFIGHTER MASS-CASUALITY INCIDENT SINCE 1988, FIVE FIREFIGHTERS WERE INJURED - TWO OF THEM IN SERIOUS TO CRITICAL CONDITION -IN A 2-ALARM-PLUS FIRE IN KC'S HISTORIC WALDO AREA.

THE FIRE IN THE 1/3-BLOCK LONG, L-SHAPED - 2-STORY BUILDING IS VIRTUALLY UNDER CONTROL, MORE THAN 3 HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL ALARM SOUNDED JUST BEFORE 10 AM.

AT LEAST 11 KCFD COMPANIES ARE ON THE SCENE. NO OTHER INJURIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

FIVE COMPANIES RESPONDED WHEN THE LONG, SINGLE TONE SOUNDED AT 9:56 AM: "STRUCTURE FIRE, 7500 WASHINGTON - (CHIEF) 107- PUMPERS 29-30-37- TRUCKS 11-15." THE FIRST COMPANY ARRIVED IN AROUND 2 MINUTES REPORTING "LIGHT SMOKE SHOWING." CREWS WERE INITIALLY HAMPERED BY "ACCESS" PROBLEMS TO THE BUILDING AND SOME WATER PRESSURE PROBLEMS.

ENTRY IS MADE- INTERIOR CREWS REPORT "HEAVY SMOKE" - BUT HAVE TROUBLE FINDING BOTH STAIRWELLS TO THE 2ND-FLOOR AND THE SOURCE OF THE FIRE. CHIEF 107 ORDERS THE FD-JARGON "FIRST-ALARM" THEN A "WORKING FIRE RESPONSE" AT 10 AM, BRINGING IN CHIEF 106, RESCUE 9 AND PUMPER 33. MAST SENDS UNIT 165 AT 10:01 NON-EMERGENCY ON THEIR WORKING FIRE RESPONSE "STAND-BY.

MINUTES LATER, THE COMMUNICATIONS TURN CHAOTIC ON KCFD'S FIRE TACTICAL CHANNEL 2.

AT 10:04 AM, SOME YELLING IS HEARD - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY WHAT SOUNDS TO BE "WE HAVE INJURED COMING OUT" WITH A LOT OF BACKGROUND SHOUTS & NOISE. THE HEAVY SMOKE INSIDE THE BUILDING HAD BECOME SUPER-HEATED AND AUTO-IGNITED WHAT OXYGEN REMAINED SEEKING THE OPENED DOORS - A FLASHOVER.

ALL THE BURNED FIREFIGHTERS - INITIALLY REPORTED TO BE "6" BY CHIEF 107 - BUT ONLY 5 TAKEN TO HOSPITALS - WERE IMMEDIATELY CARRIED FROM THE BUILDING AND AT 10:05 AM THE CHIEF ORDERS ALL CREWS FROM THE BUILDING. MAST-165 UPGRADED "EMERGENCY" RESPONSE AT 10:06 AND UNIT 143 ADDED.

CHIEF 107 ORDERS A "SECOND-ALARM" AT 10:07 AM - HE IS URGENT FOR AMBULANCES AND TELLS THE DISPATCHER TO "GET SOME IN FROM JOHNSON COUNTY (KS)" AS NONE HAD YET ARRIVED ON THE SCENE. AGAIN, THERE ARE WATER PRESSURE ISSUES AS THE LADDER TRUCKS EXTEND THEIR WATER TOWERS DURING THIS TIME.

RADIO COMMUNICATIONS BECOME CHAOTIC FROM HERE ON - FIVE MORE MAST-EMS AND TWO MORE FIRE UNITS SENT IN OVER THE NEXT 30 MINUTES. MEDICAL TRANSPORTS OF THE 5 INJURED TO RESEARCH AND K.U. MEDICAL CENTERS AS WELL AS ST. LUKE'S MAIN. TWO OF THEM SOUND TO BE IN SERIOUS TO CRITICAL CONDITION - THE ONES TAKEN TO K.U..

THE TV NEWS HELICOPTER SCENES TELL THE STORY OF THE PROGRESSION OF THE FIRE OVER THE NEXT 2 HOURS. THE BUILDING IS REPORTED TO BE THE OLD WALDO THEATER - WITH BUSINESSES ON THE FIRST FLOOR - INCLUDING WELL-KNOWN KENNEDY'S TAVERN - AND APARTMENTS ON THE SECOND. FORTUNATELY, THERE WERE NO OCCUPANTS IN THOSE APARTMENTS.

THE ENTIRE BUILDING WAS CONSUMED IN ORANGE FLAMES IN BILLOWING GREY-BLACK SMOKE THAT - ONCE AGAIN- BLEW IN A HUGE CLOUD TOWARD THE PLAZA AND DOWNTOWN. PIECES OF THE BUILDING COLLAPSED SPECTACULARLY ONTO 75TH STREETS AND WASHINGTON. FOUR AERIAL LADDERS PLAYED STREAMS OF 750-GALLONS PER MINUTE EACH BETWEEN THE FIRE AND NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS. SEVERAL STREET-LEVEL HANDLINES SHOT INTO FIRE-BLACKENED HOLES WHERE WINDOWS AND DOORS ONCE WERE.

HUNDREDS OF SPECTATORS AND NEWS CREWS CONVERGED ON THE AREA. FOUR TV NEWS HELICOPTERS CIRCLED THE SCENE. PEOPLE IN BUILDINGS UP TO FIVE MILES NORTH - THE ARMOUR & BROADWAY AREA - REPORTED SMELLING THE FIRE'S SMOKE WHERE THEY WERE. PICTURES OF THE BLAZE SHOWED NATIONALLY ON MS-NBC, FOX AND CNN NEWS CHANNELS.

Scattered Cumulus II

My take on:

*MORNING LOCAL TV "NEWS" SHOWS- I'm watching one now. Again, it started off with a bunch of giggling. Is this irritating or am I just a bear before my first gallon of columbian brew?
They showed the 5th live shot over nearly 2 hours of a 18-hour-long water main break downtown - in NONE of those live shots was a Water Dept. man seen.
Sorry- I heard the 3-dreaded words mentioned again (anna & nicole & smith).
Had to ix-nay the TV.


*BAD PEANUT BUTTER- So they say the Peter Pan brand with lid codes "2111" "might" contain salmonella. After eating a quarter jar of it with saltines at work last weekend and the joy I've had since, I'm removing the "might" in any news stories I write about this.

Also ConAgra: Do we, the consumers who bought your products in good faith, also get our POSTAGE back on the 4 lids I'm sending you????


*NON-BINDING RESOLUTIONS- I'm not making any because if no one is bound to anything, why the F waste the time? (sly cigar-chomping, eyebrow-raising smirk).
To paraphrase the late John Denver- "Thank God I'm a Libertarian!"


*KC MAYORIAL PRIMARY UPDATE- Well geez, here come da sleeze. Broken among others as Mr. Civic fellow blogger Dan of 'Gone Mild,' news has it that someone mailed citizens a postcard with a less-than-favorable message about Dan & my candidate for mayor, Mark Funkhouser.
I'm not going to join the local blog community's finger-pointing, instead shaking my head & chuckling how worried these career-polly candidates are now. Most of us I'm sure realize this is the product of one of their camps.

The Funk is starting to push the City Council and it's 4 mayorial candidates hard to release information on the new city budget and the T.I.F. performance audit.
More info on the latter in my links on the lower right 'KCTIFed.'


*WINTER 2006-07- Hey folks, it's only a little over a month away for spring. We'll see some 50's next week. I also see on the long-range models (Christy Brinkley in her little red car in 'NL- Vacation.') a very wet storm around here to introduce the Ides of March.

It is also time to start thinking severe weather & tornado preparedness.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 2-fatality Pleasant Hill tornado of May 4, 1977 and the 50th anniversary of the F-5, multiple-fatality monster that started it all for me - the "Ruskin Heights" tornado of May 20, 1957.


*THE AIRLINES- Read about those poor suckers stranded in a JetBlue passenger jet for 10-hours and shook my head. Something has to be done about this issue!

Made me realize that even tho I only fly about once a year because of the strain on my arms, all of the flights have been pleasant and what few times connections were screwed up - the airline made sure I was taken care of. My fave is American, but Southwest, United, Delta, Midwest (defuncts TWA & Eastern) are/were right up there in satisfaction.
Nothing will compare to utter relaxation of the Amtrak trip I took with a friend in 1996 tho...


*"EVERYBODY'S GOING TO BE FAMOUS"- Heard Jim Carrey say this on Leno last night. Everybody's going to be DEAD one day too Jim.



Like Forrest said- "That's all I have to say about THAT."

Peace.

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, February 11, 2007

Two house fires and a man struck by a train are the overnight headline items.


** MUCH LESS-TRAGIC OUTCOME TO HOUSE FIRE NEAR BASEHOR KS -
0243 - IN207000417 - LEAVENWORTH COUNTY (LVCO) KS- FAIRMOUNT & STRANGER TOWNSHIPS- TONGANOXIE FIRE & COUNTY-EMS - "HOUSE FIRE- PEOPLE STILL INSIDE- (147TH STREET) AND LEAVENWORTH ROAD."
THE "PEOPLE STILL INSIDE" PART IS REPEATED SEVERAL TIMES HENCE. SOMEONE WITH FAIRMOUNT FIRE ARRIVES BY 0251C WHERE THE FIRE IS (DISPATCHED TO "148TH TO 149TH STS." ) AND OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES REPORTS: "FIRE (HAS GONE) THROUGH THE ROOF - NEIGHBORS REPORT THEY HEARD SOMEONE INSIDE POUNDING ON THE WINDOWS" BEFORE HE HAD ARRIVED. BONNER SPRINGS FIRE WENT TO ASSIST AT 0304C. IT'S NEARLY 4 AM WHEN IT'S DETERMINED THERE WERE NO PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE- AND THE FIRE IS "UNDER CONTROL" AT 0430C.. NO REPORTS OF INJURIES - CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION.


** MAN STRUCK BY A TRAIN AND LIVES (THUS FAR) IN KC-MO -
0439 - IN207000422 - KC-MO - FIRE- MAST & POLICE-CENTER- "PEDESTRIAN STRUCK BY A TRAIN- LYDIA JUST NORTH OF GUINOTTE." "MALE" PATIENT "WITH AN ARM & LEG AMPUTATED" FOUND "ABOUT A QUARTER-MILE WEST OF LYDIA." THE PATIENT WAS TRANSPORTED TO A LOCAL TRAUMA CENTER IN CRITICAL CONDITION.


** HOUSE BURNS IN KC-MO UNION HILL AREA -
0512 - IN2070004243 - KC-MO - FIRE - FIVE COMPANY RESPONSE: "BASEMENT FIRE IN A RESIDENCE- 3005 GRAND." FIRST-IN UNIT REPORTS "SMOKE SHOWING FROM THE UPPER FLOOR OF A 2-STORY HOUSE" AT 0518C. A "WORKING FIRE RESPONSE" OF ANOTHER COMPANY IS ANNOUNCED AT 0519C & A MAST-EMS "STANDBY" UNIT IS ALSO SENT. NO OCCUPANY STATUS OF STRUCTURE EVER HEARD - BUT INTERIOR SEARCHES FOR POSSIBLE TRAPPED PEOPLE WERE "ALL CLEAR." THE FIRE WAS "UNDER CONTROL" AT 0558C.. NO INJURIES REPORTED AND THE CAUSE IS BEING INVESTIGATED.


* ONE OF 2 KNOWN SHOT IN KC-MO -
0151 - IN207000404 - KC-MO - POLICE-EAST- MAST & FIRE- "SHOOTING- 120 N. BRIGHTON." POLICE SAY "INJURIES NOT LIFE-THREATENING" AT 0159C- "SUSPECTS 2 BLACK MALES." MALE VICTIM "SHOT IN THE LEG AFTER AN ATTEMPTED ROBBERY" TRANSPORTED NON-EMERGENCY TO AN AREA HOSPITAL.


* THE OTHER ONE SHOT IN KC-MO -
0153 - IN207000405 - KC-MO - POLICE-EAST DISPATCH: "SHOOTING VICTIM AT (THE EMERGENCY ROOM OF AN AREA HOSPITAL) - SHOOTING HAPPENED IN THE 4400 BLOCK OF MONROE ABOUT 30 MINUTES AGO - SUSPECTS WERE IN A BLACK OLDER-MODEL SATURN WITH TINTED WINDOWS." NO CONDITION OF VICTIM MENTIONED.

0230 - IN207000413 - KC-MO - A METRO-ZONE POLICE OFFICER HAS "AN INJURED HAND" AFTER A FOOT CHASE IN AREA OF 52ND STREET & HIGHLAND. THIS WAS A "BLACK MALE SUSPECT" WHO "BAILED OUT FROM A BLACK SATURN WITH TINTED WINDOWS" NEAR 51ST & FOREST FROM THE (ABOVE) SHOOTING CAPTURED. MAST FINALLY FOUND THE OFFICER AT 0240C..



* OVERNIGHT WEATHER -
A cloud cover yielded to a beautiful sunrise in Kansas City as temperatures fell to the 20-degree mark with light southerly winds.

All weather eyes will be on a developing storm system in the Southwestern USA that will bring rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow to the Kansas City MetroRegion Monday into early Tuesday.


PLEASE WATCH KSHB NBC41 - ACTION NEWS FOR THESE AND OTHER BREAKING NEWS STORIES.

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday, February 10, 2007

TRAFFIC INCIDENTS AND HABITAT FIRES PREDOMINATED DURING THE K.C. METROREGION OVERNIGHT.

VEHICULARS:
*** ONE DEAD IN KC-MO VEHICLE VS. POLE -
0341 - IN207000381 - KC-MO - FIRE- MAST & POLICE - "VEHICLE INTO A POLE" CRASH- "E. CLEAVER (JUST WEST OF) BENTON." A POLE WAS "KNOCKED DOWN" AND "EXTRICATION NEEDED" ON THE "MALE DRIVER" PER FD CHIEF. MAST-128 CONFIRMS "1 TYPE-BLACK (D.O.A.)" AT 0347C (CONFIRMED BY FD CHIEF 105 TWO MINUTES LATER).

** RAYMORE MO PEDESTRIAN SUSTAINS LIFE-CRITICAL INJURIES -
0059 - IN207000363 - RAYMORE MO - POLICE & SOUTH METRO FIRE & EMS - "PEDESTRIAN STRUCK BY A VEHICLE- ON (M-) 58 IN FRONT OF THE BEACON HOPE CHURCH (?)." OFFICER REPORTS "A WHITE MALE" VICTIM "WITH VARIOUS INJURIES" AT 0103C. MEDICAL HELICOPTER IS ORDERED AT 0108C ("IN THE AIR" AT 0119C) & THEY FLEW THE GRAVELY-INJURED PATIENT TO (A LOCAL HOSPITAL). STRIKING VEHICLE & DRIVER WERE AT THE SCENE.

** YOUNG ADULT MALE GRAVELY INJURED IN LAWRENCE KS VEHICLE VS. MOVING SEMI-TRAILER CRASH -
0240 - IN207000374 - LAWRENCE KS - FIRE & EMS - "ROLLOVER ACCIDENT- (OCCUPANT) POSSIBLE CODE-BLUE (MALE)- EXTRICATION NEEDED- 1930 AIRPORT ROAD (U.S. 24?)." INCIDENT CONFIRMED AND A MEDICAL CHOPPER ORDERED. LIFESTAR FLEW "A 19-YEAR-OLD MALE- (SEAT-BELTED) DRIVER OF A VEHICLE THAT STRUCK A SEMI-TRAILER HEAD ON" WITH GRAVE INJURIES TO (A KC HOSPITAL).

** ROLLOVER ACCIDENT IN NORTHERN CLAY COUNTY MO EJECTS ONE AND SERIOUSLY INJURES A SECOND -
0103 - IN207000364 - CLAY COUNTY (CLCO) MO- SHERIFF- HOLT EMS - "1-VEHICLE" CRASH- "ONE PERSON EJECTED- "M-33 ABOUT 1/2-MILE SOUTH OF HOLT (MO)." KEARNEY FIRE & EMS WAS SENT TO HELP AT 0114C AS THERE ARE "2" PATIENTS IN AT LEAST SERIOUS CONDITION. EMS TRANSPORTS "ONE TO (A NEARBY)" HOSPITAL AT 0145C.



INFERNOS:
** MOBILE HOME BURNS NEAR BUCKNER MO -
0404 - IN207000382 - JACKSON COUNTY (JACO) MO - FORT OSAGE & SNI-VALLEY FIRE - FIVE COMPANY RESPONSE: "RENTAL HOUSE AT 32805 E. NEIL CHILES ROAD." THIS WAS A WORKING FIRE WITH "NO OCCUPANTS INSIDE" THE STRUCTURE. LIBERTY AND CJC FIRE ALSO SENT SEVERAL UNITS - THERE WAS NO READILY-AVAILABLE WATER SUPPLY/STATION COVERAGE. FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED BY 0530C AND THE RED CROSS WAS ORDERED FOR THE UNKNOWN NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS. NO REPORTS OF INJURIES HEARD AND THE CAUSE WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION..

** ANOTHER MOBILE HOME BURNS IN EAST-NORTHEAST KC-MO -
0131 - IN207000366 - KC-MO - FIRE - FIVE-COMPANY RESPONSE: "RESIDENCE" FIRE- 452 BOOTH." DISPATCH TELLS COMPANIES THIS IS A "TRAILER." IT'S REPORTED "FULLY-INVOLVED" IN FIRE BUT "UNOCCUPIED" AT 0137C. THIS FIRE IS "UNDER CONTROL" AT 0147C. WITH NO INJURIES HEARD. CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION.

** A SUSPICIOUS ORIGIN FIRE BURNS A VACANT HOUSE IN NORTHEAST KC-KS -
0122 - IN207000365 - KC-KS - FIRE & EMS - FIVE COMPANY RESPONSE: "STRUCTURE FIRE- IN THE AREA OF N. 10TH ST. & ORVILLE." AT 0134C- "A 1-1/2-STORY HOUSE WITH FIRE IN THE REAR" IS LOCATED AT "352 N. 10TH." CHIEF REPORTS AT 0136C THE HOUSE "APPEARS VACANT." FIRE "UNDER CONTROL" AT 0146C WITH NO INJURIES HEARD. CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION.



MISCELLANEOUS CALLS:

** MALE STABBING VICTIM FOUND IN A VEHICLE NEAR KC-MO'S ZONA ROSA AREA -
0141 - IN207000367 - KC-MO - POLICE-NORTH- MAST & FIRE - "STABBING" VICTIM "IN A FORD EXPLORER S.U.V.- BARRY ROAD AT I-29." FD DISPATCH SAYS "SUSPECT IS POSSIBLY IN THE VEHICLE WITH THE VICTIM." NOT MUCH HEARD ON PD RADIO. THE VICTIM - "A 22-YEAR-OLD MALE STABBED IN THE CHEST" WAS TRANSPORTED EMERGENCY BUT WITH GOOD VITAL SIGNS BY MAST-160 TO (AN AREA) HOSPITAL.

** AIRCRAFT FLIGHT DIVERTED TO K.C.I. AIRPORT FOR MEDICAL REASONS -
0324 - IN207000378 - KC-MO - MAST & AIRPORT POLICE - "TRAUMATIC INJURY ON AN INCOMING AIRCRAFT- 55 ROME CIRCLE." THIS IS REPORTED TO BE "AN AIRCRAFT THAT "WAS DIVERTED" HERE AND "A FEMALE WHO HIT HER HEAD" FOR UNKNOWN REASON ON THE PLANE PER AIRPORT PD RADIO - ALSO "DELTA- GATE 56." AT 0332C- "A 2ND PATIENT- A MALE WITH DIABETIC PROBLEMS" WAS REPORTED AND A 2ND MAST UNIT WAS DISPATCHED.

** NO CHEMICAL ROMANCE IN WARRENSBURG MO -
0003 - IN207000353 - WARRENSBURG MO - FIRE & COUNTY (CO) EMS - "UNKNOWN MEDICAL- FEMALE WHO WAS MACED ... 112 W. PINE." TROUBLE IN THE C.M.S.U. PARTY AREA THIS MORNING: DISPATCH TELLS RESPONDING UNIT AT 0011C THAT THERE "IS A LARGE DISTURBANCE IN PROGRESS" AT SOME ALCOHOL-DISPENSING ESTABLISHMENT HERE. THIS PATIENT REFUSED EMS ACCORDING TO THE RESPONDING EMS UNIT AT 0017C- THEN A CALL AT 0020C TO "PINE AND WASHINGTON" ON ANOTHER PERSON "MACED AND HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING."

** MAINS-A-POPPING IN SOUTH KC-MO -
1. 0032 - IN207000356 - KC-MO - POLICE OFFICER REPORTS "A WATER MAIN LEAK AT GRANDVIEW ROAD & LONGVIEW- ON THE WEST SIDE" TO HIS DISPATCHER.
2. 0412 - IN207000383 - KC-MO - POLICE OFFICER REPORTS "A WATER MAIN BREAK AT RED BRIDGE & HICKMAN" MILLS DRIVE.


Skies ranged from cloudy to partly cloudy overnight with temperatures dropping from the 20-degree mark into the middle-teens. Winds were light from the north..

PLEASE WATCH KSHB NBC41 - ACTION NEWS FOR THESE AND OTHER BREAKING NEWS STORIES.

Where is the Kansas City, MO. T.I.F. performance audit?

So what's the number? Half of the city council members running for mayor?

Therefore anyone besides me find it odd that the candidates don't want the findings from this new audit hitting the news before the mayorial primary on February 27???

Heh- not if you read this site http://kctifed.blogspot.com/2007/01/bureaucratic-debt.html and THEN you get a good idea just WHY the present city administration does not want the findings of the audit released.

Kansas City, MO. Council: Release the audit!!!

Mark Funkhouser: Man- you are missing a GREAT opportunity to hold these council mayorial candidates' feet to the fire!

BREAKING NEWS

There is a 2-alarm fire raging at a chemical plant at Nicholson & North Garland in Kansas City Mo.'s Northeast Bottoms Industrial area.

The alarm initially came in shortly after 2:15 PM and a 2nd-alarm was sounded immediately when Pumper 34 arrived - reporting "multiple explosions" in a very urgent voice.

More as available...

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1625 CST UPDATE -

The 3-alarm fire at the ChemCentral petrochemical facility at 910 N. Prospect continues to burn unabated.

Except for one unmanned pumper truck and it's deck turret gun, no other water is being put on the fire.

An 6-square block area has been evacuated and I-35 northeast of downtown has been closed to all traffic.

One minor injury has been reported so far - reportedly a ChemCentral employee. His injuries are said to be minor and there are concerns he was exposed to some chemical product during the initial explosion.

There is concern now about the chemical content of the massive smoke plume being blown west and southwestward. A special aircraft used to monitor contents of smoke plumes is enroute from Texas.

Clumps of material from the fire have also been found on downtown streets.

As a sidebar- the fire's smoke plume is showing up on EAX/Pleasant Hill NWS weather radar as a moderate-intensity echo.





(Photos courtesy of the Associated Press - Photojournalists Charlie Riedel & Cliff Schiappa)

Waiting For The Spring

We've paid our winter dues. Folks around here are going to go crazy when it hits 60-degrees.

There is beauty in winter - as depicted below in a sunset photo of the Burrard bridge and the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
(Courtesy of http://www.katkam.ca)

Irwin Allen Promotional Stunt Gone Awry

It's only months after the premier of the TV show 'Lost In Space' and 'Star Trek' debuts that fall.

The NASA Gemini manned-space program was in full swing and an increasing number of young people were also beginning to experience the "ground Control to Major Tom" effect.

In that vein, this snippet was noted in a historic time line of the northeastern KC suburb of Excelsior Springs, MO. http://www.exsmo.com/museum/timeline.html


1966 Police received reports of UFO's over the city. Flying Saucer Watch Parties were organized, and more than a thousand sightings were reported.

The Backs Some Candidates Ride To Reach Mayorville

Yours truly may be one of the best in the Metro for gathering & reporting breaking SPOT news.

However, I consider the governmental & political news just as if not more important.

Local bloggers are literally tearing the fabric from the established news media in this town.

A fine example is the expose of KC mayorial candidate Becky Nace and her closet supporters/contributers posted on the BlogKC site - http://blogkc.com/archives/2007/01/becky-bartle/.


NOTE: Groucho does NOT trust career politicians, lawyers or ANYONE associated with Matt Bartle - including any pets he may have.