Personnel actions announced by the Gilman City R-4 School District include resignations from high school physical education teacher Adam Clark and high school and elementary art Ryleigh Hightree. Non-tenured staff offered contracts for next year at Gilman City were Troy Malone, Melody Prescott, Kaitlyn Eoff, Keely Waddle, Hailey Francis, and Cheryl Witten. Offered contracts to […]
Tag: May 2
Missouri man and woman indicted for armed robbery of banks and businesses
A Missouri, man and woman have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to commit armed robbery at four businesses and two banks in six different cities. Drake Adam Stockton-Kenney, 30, of Columbia, and Mary Catherine Sumpter, 28, of Moberly, were charged in an eight-count indictment returned under seal […]
Trial date set for Milan man charged with first-degree murder
A five-day trial has been scheduled for a Milan man charged with first-degree murder after his wife was found dead in May 2021. Online court information shows the trial for 21-year-old Edward James Elijah “Eli” Withey is scheduled to begin in Sullivan County on October 31st. A pretrial conference is scheduled for October 11th. Withey […]
Trenton woman arrested on possession of a controlled substance allegation
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports a Trenton woman posted bond after her arrest on felony possession of a controlled substance. Fifty-year-old Jennifer Dee Tunnell was arrested on March 14th, and her bond was $10,000 cash only. She had a special condition to be supervised by North Missouri Court Services if the bond was posted. […]
Newtown-Harris Board of Education approves 2022-2023 school calendar,
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education last week approved the 2022-2023 school calendar. The first day of school will be August 23rd, and the last day is scheduled for May 26th, 2023. A calendar adjustment was approved for 2021-2022. Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis reports a professional development day was moved from April 18th to April […]
Arkansas man sentenced to 18 years in a Missouri prison for intent to engage in sexual conduct with a minor
An Arkansas man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. On August 12, 2021, Jerrell West, 32, of Forrest City, Arkansas was found guilty by jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was sentenced by […]
Missouri man sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing family at gunpoint
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for robbing a family at gunpoint in their home. Cameron E. Scott, 20, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole. On June 2, 2021, Scott pleaded guilty to one count of robbery […]
Missouri Attorney General joins nationwide investigation into TikTok
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults while use is associated with physical and mental health harms. Attorneys General nationwide are examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws that put the public at risk. Attorney General […]
Harrison County Health Department to hold fitness challenge
The Harrison County Health Department will hold a fitness challenge from April 4th through May 29th. Participants will be given a list of physical and mental fitness challenges to do daily, and they will receive a point for each challenge accomplished each day. They can receive a total of 40 points daily. Points can be […]
Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]
Missouri man to spend nine years in prison without parole for illegal firearms
A Missouri man who has been involved in several shootings was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms. Zecheriah D. Stewart, 24, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to nine years in federal prison without parole. On Jan. 20, 2021, Stewart pleaded guilty to two counts of being […]
Spickard Board of Education adopts school calendar for 2022-2023 school year
The Spickard R-2 Board of Education on February 21st adopted the school calendar for 2022-2023. School will start on August 24th with dismissal at 1 pm. The last day of school is scheduled for May 17th, 2023. The calendar includes full-day professional development once a month instead of early dismissal Wednesdays. There will not be […]
American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]
Newtown-Harris Board of Education approves health insurance plan; hold discussion on coop for football
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education approved the district health insurance provider on February 9th. The provider will be the Ozarks School Benefits Association, and the district will pay $575.82. Contract extensions were approved for Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis and Kindergarten through 12th Grade Principal Kim Palmer. Counselor Megan Brown’s resignation was approved. The board […]
Missouri Supreme Court tosses laws that blocked 2019 abortion bill referendum
(Missouri Independent) – In a case that grew out of a law making it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after eight weeks, the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday said those seeking to force a referendum on new laws can begin collecting signatures as soon as the bill is passed. The ruling threw […]
United States Department of Agriculture pledges $1B for ‘climate smart’ ag products
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to spend up to $1 billion to foster the creation of climate-friendly agricultural and forestry products by offering grants to facilitate their production and the markets to sell them. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon in those industries. “Agriculture is such […]
Obituary and services for Janet Elaine Searcy
Janet Elaine Searcy, 56, of Princeton, Missouri passed away Friday, February 4, 2022, at a Princeton nursing home. She was born May 21, 1965, in Chillicothe, the daughter of James Ernest and Roberta Ruth (Robinson) Searcy. Janet graduated in 1983 from Mercer High School. She became a teacher for the Mercer County School District. She […]
Four defendants plead guilty to conspiracy involving 112 pounds of meth near elementary school
Four defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court to their roles in a conspiracy that converted large amounts of liquid methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine at a rented house within 1,000 feet of George Melcher Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri. Jose Vieyra-Lopez, 37, a citizen of Mexico; Megan Eubanks, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., and […]
DHSS investigating Legionnaires’ disease cases possibly linked to Missouri hospital
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating four cases of Legionnaires’ disease among previously hospitalized patients at Phelps Health in Rolla, Missouri. The first case occurred in May 2021. The source of the bacteria that caused these individuals to acquire infection is under investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, DHSS is […]