Saturday, November 23, 2024

Authors for the Holidays event set for this morning at Carthage Public Library

 

This morning (Saturday), I will be among 43 local authors signing and selling books at the Carthage Public Library's Authors for the Holidays event.

The event lasts from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

I will have copies of my latest book, Running Circles Around the Globe: 20 Years of the Turner Report available, as well as Remembering: People Who Touched Our Lives, Only in Lamar Missouri: Harry Truman, Wyatt Earp and Legendary Locals, Lost Angels: The Murders of Rowan Ford and Doug Ringler, The Buck Starts Here: Harry S. Truman and the City of Lamar, and the 10th anniversary edition of 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado, as well as some of my earlier books.

It's a great opportunity to buy an early Christmas present for the reader on your list.

See you there!

Harassment, terrorist threat charges filed against man who threatened to "shoot up" Neosho Post Office


The Newton County Prosecuting Attorney filed felony harassment and terrorist threat charges against a Joplin man who caused a lockdown at the Neosho Post Office November 1.

According to the probable cause statement, Zachary Earl Weaver (DOB 1985) called a post office employee and said he was going to shoot him and "shoot up the Neosho Post Office."







After the call, all doors were secured and no one was allowed to enter unless allowed by law enforcement.

The postal employee continued to receive messages throughout the morning from Weaver, who said he was planning to take his own life and that it was the postal employee's fault, the probable cause statement said.


Friday, November 22, 2024

Former Joplin Globe reporter was first to tell the world of President Kennedy's death 61 years ago today

 


Eighteen years ago, current Joplin Globe reporter John Hacker asked me to write a weekly column for GateHouse Media's shortlived effort to gain access to the Joplin market, the Joplin Daily. Hacker was the editor of that publication

When the Daily launched in January 2006, I wrote a column about the 15th anniversary of the death of Nancy Cruzan, whose right-to-die case began in Carterville, went all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court and then back to Jasper County Circuit Court.

As it turned out, that was the only column I ever wrote for the Daily. The powers that be at GateHouse Media told Hacker they did not want a weekly column from me, but that he could run my columns every once in a while.







Since I was just as arrogant then as I am now, I decided if they did not want a weekly column from me, they would not receive any columns.

When I made that decision, I already had a second column written, a look at the role a former Joplin Globe newspaper delivery boy and later Globe reporter Jud Dixon played in a historical event that forever changed the United States.

I published the column in the Turner Report in January 2006 and for the past several years, I have reprinted it each year on November 22, the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 61 years ago.

***

"Get your Joplin Globe, five cents. Get your Joplin Globe five cents."

The job didn't pay much, but the country was in the midst of a depression, and every cent counted. Even more importantly for teenager Jud Dixon, it was his entry into the magical world of news.

That road took Jud from the Globe street sales to reporting jobs with the Globe and the Springfield Daily News to a seven-decade career in journalism that ended last month with his death at age 85 at his Dallas home.








Jud Dixon spent the last five decades of his life in the Dallas area, and it was there on Nov. 22, 1963, that the Joplin High School and Joplin Junior College graduate had a brush with history.

Jud was in charge of the United Press International (UPI) bureau in Dallas when he received word that President Kennedy had been assassinated during a political trip to the city. 

Within seconds, with the cool demeanor that characterized his entire reporting career, he sat behind his manual typewriter pounding out the story that no reporter ever wants to write, but at times like that, when people absolutely have to know what is going on, that’s when reporters must be at the top of their game.

"He was completely stone-faced, pouring it out of that typewriter," Jack Fallon, who was UPI’s Southwest Division editor at the time, told the Dallas Morning News. "Just by his presence, he kept everyone else around him calm."

Within moments, it was Jud Dixon’s version of the death of President John F. Kennedy that went out over the UPI wire to radio stations and television stations across the United States.

Though Jud Dixon’s coverage of that watershed moment in American history was what led his obituary, he perhaps did his greatest service to journalism and to the public after his retirement from UPI two decades ago.








Jud spent the next 18 years of his life as editor of the newsletter for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas fighting for the public’s right to know.

When Jud retired for a second time, Freedom of Information director Tommy Thomason praised his years of service. "Jud’s a journalist’s journalist. His entire career has been committed to open government as the basis of solid reporting of the issues and events important to his readers."

Jud Dixon knew the importance of a free and unfettered press serving as the public’s representative. He knew that when the workings of government were open to the public that this country could survive anything from unpaved streets to official corruption to the death of a president.

Many states, including Missouri, might pursue Medicaid work requirements under Trump


By Shalina Chatlani

Trevor Hawkins, an attorney at Legal Aid of Arkansas, remembers how busy his job got when the state for a time imposed work requirements on Medicaid recipients: His office was swamped with frantic phone calls from people who said they couldn’t comply with the new rule because they weren’t healthy enough to work or had to care for sick relatives.

“A whole heap of folks, after a month or two, started getting notices saying, ‘Hey, you’re out of compliance, and you’re going to lose your coverage,’” Hawkins told Stateline. For many people, he said, keeping their coverage was “absolutely vital to maintaining their health or getting better so they might work again.”








In June 2018, Arkansas became the first state to require some Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer, go to school or participate in job training to receive benefits. By the time a federal judge halted the policy in April 2019, 18,000 adults had lost coverage.

Arkansas was one of 13 states that received permission to impose work rules on at least some Medicaid recipients during the last Trump administration. Nine additional states requested permission to enact Medicaid work requirements during Trump’s term but had not won approval by the time it ended.

When the Biden administration came into office, it rescinded all the approvals. But now that Trump is coming back, many of those states will try again — and they’ll have a supportive U.S. Congress in their corner.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are eager to find ways to pay for extending tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term in office, and Medicaid — funded jointly by the federal government and the states — is in their sights.

Requiring states to establish Medicaid work rules, as many Republicans would like to do, would cut federal spending by an estimated $109 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That’s because the cost for about 900,000 people would shift entirely to states, while another 600,000 people would become uninsured, CBO estimated. About 72.4 million people are enrolled in Medicaid.

Arkansas renewed its efforts even before Trump’s victory. Last year, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders requested federal approval from the Biden administration to apply work rules to able-bodied adults who are covered through the state’s expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and who are enrolled in health plans that Arkansas Medicaid purchases for them on the state’s health insurance exchange. That application is pending.

Missouri Republicans have pushed for Medicaid work requirements repeatedly over the years, most notably after voters overwhelming approved expanding the program’s eligibility in 2020. That push was briefly renewed earlier this year as part of a fight amongst Senate Republicans over renewing taxes that fund Missouri’s portion of Medicaid.

Georgia, after prevailing in a legal fight with the Biden administration, already has work requirements in place for people covered by its partial expansion of Medicaid. And Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee have pending requests to require at least some of their Medicaid recipients to work.

Meeting requirements

Supporters say requiring Medicaid recipients to work, study or train for a career gives them a boost toward self-sufficiency and financial stability. Kristi Putnam, the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, said in a statement announcing her state’s latest request that it would challenge people to “embrace economic opportunities that can lead to true job advancement.”

“Meaningful work connects people to purpose — and through the pandemic we have seen negative mental health impacts from people feeling disconnected,” Putnam said.








Critics, however, say such rules end up hurting far more people than they help. In a 2020 study examining how the Arkansas work requirements played out, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health “found no evidence that the policy succeeded in its stated goal of promoting work and instead found substantial evidence of harm to health care coverage and access.”

More than 95% of the Arkansas beneficiaries the researchers surveyed already met the work requirement or should have qualified for an exemption. The main reason people lost coverage, the researchers found, was because they had trouble verifying that they were complying with the rules. Many of those who lost their coverage stopped taking their medications, delayed care and fell into medical debt.

“Our results should provide a strong note of caution for federal and state policy makers considering work requirement policies in the future,” the researchers concluded.

Under the rules Arkansas put in place during the first Trump administration, Medicaid participants under age 50 had to report that they spent at least 80 hours each month working, attending school, in job training or volunteering. The rule only applied to people who became eligible after Arkansas expanded Medicaid under the ACA to cover adults making up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

And people were exempt if they were pregnant, had a child under 18 at home, were disabled, had to care for a person unable to care for him or herself, were in alcohol or drug treatment, or were in school or job training full time.

About 70,000 of the roughly 270,000 Arkansans on Medicaid were subject to the new rules, and about 1 in 4 of those lost coverage.

Unlike Arkansas, Georgia has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. But its Pathways to Coverage program, launched in July 2023, allows people with household incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty level who aren’t already eligible for Medicaid to enroll in the program if they fulfill work requirements. Georgia’s qualifying activities and exemptions are similar to the ones Arkansas had.

Fiona Roberts, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Community Health, told Stateline that as of Nov. 15, there were 5,548 people enrolled in the program and that a total of 7,518 people had been enrolled at some point — evidence, she said, that the program is helping people move from Medicaid to private insurance.

But in its first year, Pathways to Coverage only enrolled about 4,200 people — many fewer than the 25,000 the state had predicted. The cost of the program as of the end of 2023 was $26.6 million, and more than 90% of that went toward administrative and consulting costs, according to KFF, a nonprofit health research group. If Georgia had opted for a full expansion under the ACA, the federal government would have picked up 90% of the tab and the state would have covered about 359,000 people.

Leah Chan, director of health justice at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said work requirements are particularly challenging for people living in rural areas.

“If you don’t have broadband internet at your house, you’re not going to be able to upload the documentation and your pay stubs,” Chan told Stateline. “Even eligible people can’t keep up with it, particularly in rural areas where there are additional barriers to participation.”

'Learning from mistakes'

Benjamin Sommers, a professor of health care economics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and one of the authors of the Arkansas study, said the experience with work requirements there and in Georgia should give other states pause.

“All that ended up happening was people lost coverage due to red tape, became uninsured, and in some cases, we saw that they had worse access to health care,” Sommers said.








But Arkansas Republican state Rep. Aaron Pilkington, who serves on the health committee in his chamber, said Medicaid work rules are “100% on the table and something we’ll look to ask for from the Trump administration.”

“They can find work and get better health insurance through their employer,” said Pilkington. He said the volunteering and education options make the rules even more attractive.

Meanwhile, in some of the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA, the inclusion of work requirements might be the only way politically to get expansion over the finish line.

“Most of the Democrats I’ve spoken to did not want the work requirements, but to get it passed through the Mississippi legislature it’s most likely going to have one,” Mississippi Republican state Rep. Sam Creekmore told Stateline.

“We’ve looked at Georgia’s plan. We recognize the pitfalls and are hopefully learning from mistakes.”

The Independent’s Jason Hancock contributed to this story.

Joplin R-8 Board hires 3 teachers, 16 classfied employees, 12 substitutes


The Joplin R-8 Board of Education hired two teachers, 16 classified employees and 12 substitutes during a closed session Tuesday.

Certified Hire
Janie Jarrett, William Dunn

Classified Separations - Not Requiring Board Action

Tyler Stanley, Caleb Overby, Sean King, Sandy Haner, Lori Boggs, Jane Higdon








Classified Hires

Steven Baxter, Kevin Cargill, Kaylee Patton, Camille Parkin, Danette Nelson, Elizabeth Dart, Mark Harris, Steven Keith, Sureree Legore, Jennifer Tillery, Delaney Ballard, April Shipp, Morgan Cravens, Elizabeth Marti, Julie Palmer, Justin Lawson

Substitute Hires

Diana Stotts, Karen Self, Kiley Thompson, Meagan Martin, Tina Isenmann, Gwyneth Clouse, Olivia Osborn, Brandi Miller, Brandy Snelson, Dilyn Hunt, Carol Moncado, Pearson James

Neosho woman charged with felony child abuse in death of 2-month-old son


A Neosho woman has been charged with child abuse resulting in a death.

According to the probable cause statement, Sarah E. Sobelman, 30, was responsible for the October 20 death of her 2-month-old son, Colt Martin

An arrest warrant was issued for Sobelman, 30, who is to be held with no bond. 







The charge was filed today, one day after the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed a domestic assault charge against Sobelman, alleging she attacked a man with a kitchen knife.

According to the probable cause statement on the child abuse charge, the Newton County Sheriff's Office brought Sobelman and the child's father in for questioning after an autopsy at Southwest Missouri Forensics indicated the child's death was a homicide.

From the probable cause statement:

After the autopsy, Detective Black and I spoke with {the father} and Sarah Sobelman at the Newton County Sheriff's Office. During the interview with  {the father} we advised him of the preliminary results of the autopsy on his son 

{He} was visibly upset and adamant that he had nothing to do with the death of (Victim 1). {He}stated that he would take a Computerized Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA) test anytime because he had nothing to with the death of (Victim 1). {He} stated that he watched (Victim 1) on 10/18/2024 and he was with (Victim 1) all night while the mother Sarah Sobelman worked the night shift.

{The father} stated that {he} came home from work at approximately 7am on the morning of 10/19/2024. stated that a few hours after Sarah arrived home, he went to Wal-Mart to pick up a grocery order and had to run some other errands. 

{He} stated when he returned home around an hour and a half later, he noticed that Sarah was giving (Victim 1) a bath. Sarah told him that (Victim 1) had thrown up a lot and she was cleaning him. {He} stated later that evening Sarah went to work and he stayed home with (Victim 1) and their other child who is an eight-year-old female. 








{The father} stated later that night that (Victim 1) was not acting right and appeared to be having trouble breathing .{He}said before Sarah went to work she told him to call her if (Victim 1) was not acting right and not to take (Victim 1) for medical attention until he talked to her. 

{The father} stated he called Sarah on FaceTime and showed her what (Victim 1) was doing and advised {the baby} was having trouble breathing. 

During the FaceTime call, Sarah advised to take the baby for medical attention. 

On 10/20/2024 (Victim 1) was taken to Freeman Hospital in Neosho, MO where (Victim 1) was pronounced deceased at 0159hrs. After speaking to {the father} we spoke to Sarah Sobelman. 

We advised Sarah that the preliminary findings from the autopsy on her son (Victim 1) showed the manner of death to be probable homicide. After being told this information, Sarah stated that she wanted an attorney and did not agree to speak with us any further on the matter.








Though the information was not included in the probable cause statement, Newton County Circuit Court records indicate Sobelman's interview at the Sheriff's Office led to the filing of a misdemeanor assault charge against her for allegedly attacking a female deputy.

According to the probable cause statement in the assault case, after Sobelman refused to talk and said she needed a lawyer, she started to leave and was told she was not free to leave.

Sobelman elbowed the deputy and shoved her.

The deputy did not suffer any injuries, the statement said.

Carthage man charged with DWI, felony fleeing after 115 mile per hour, no lights chase


The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney filed misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and felony fleeing a stop charges against a Carthage man who allegedly led Carthage Police on a chase with speeds up to 115 miles per hour.

A $5,000 cash-only bond has been set Nelson Bartolome Bail-Gomez.






The allegations against Bail-Gomez were spelled out in the probable cause statement:

On 11/21/2024 at approximately 2140 hours, I Sgt. Swinehart was west on High Street in the 700 block. I observed a silver 2005 Accura RSX travelling east on High. As it crossed the bridge with me, it was over the middle of the roadway, almost causing me to crash into it. It also had its high beams on during this time. The vehicle did not have a front license plate. The rear plate (CX7R6Y) was later determined to check to another vehicle. 

I turned around on the vehicle and it failed to stop at the stop sign at High and Garrison. The vehicle also failed to use its signal and was still driving down the middle of the roadway. The vehicle quickly accelerated north on Garrison. I activated my emergency lights and sirens. I reached speeds of 90MPH in the posted 30MPH zone and the vehicle was still gaining distance on me. 

The vehicle went east on E. Northwoods St (turns into E. Java St). I was now able to get reasonably close to it and it still was failing to yield to me. The vehicle failed to stop at the stop sign at Jave and 96 HWY, almost causing a crash with a silver truck on 96HWY. 

The vehicle continued east on Old 66 Blvd reaching speeds of 110MPH. The vehicle failed to signal and stop at Old 66 and County Road 118. The vehicle also failed to stop and signal again at County Road 118 and 96HWY. 

The vehicle now went east on 96 HWY where it turned off its headlights. The vehicle continued to reach speeds in excess of 115MPH, with no headlights on. The vehicle passed a semi, going into oncoming lane of travel. The vehicle then abruptly came to a stop just to the east of County Lane 110 and 96HWY. 

The driver was taken into custody and identified as Nelson Bail-Gomez. Bail-Gomez was read his Miranda Rights and asked why he ran. Bail-Gomez said that it was because he had a revoked driver's license. 






Bail-Gomez said that the vehicle did not have registration as he has never registered it and has had it a few months. Bail-Gomez also said he did not have insurance. Bail-Gomez's eyes were bloodshot and watery. I could smell the odor of intoxicants coming from his breath as he spoke. Bail-Gomez also smelt like burnt marijuana. 

Bail-Gomez said he smoked marijuana about three hours prior to this. Bail-Gomez also said he had been drinking today. Bail-Gomez consented to a search of the vehicle where two empty shooters alcoholic beverages were in the vehicle as well as multiple non-opened shooters. Bail-Gomez was transported to the Carthage Police Department. 


Joplin woman sentenced to 21 months for laundering money for online romance scam


A Joplin woman who helped con artists who were running an online romance scam was sentenced to 21 months in prison during a sentencing hearing this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

Bonnie Henning, 62, will be allowed to self-surrender January 6. When her sentence is completed, she will be on supervised release for three years.








According to court documents, Henning laundered more than $302,960 between July 2020 and August 2022. 

Initially, the money went through Henning at her home address, but after she was warned by the FBI in 2021 that what she was doing was illegal, she had the money sent through an elderly neighbor.

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Carl Junction Police Department closes investigation into firefighter's death, prosecutor won't file charges


The Carl Junction Police Department's investigation into an October 19 incident on Fairway Drive that killed Tucker Berry, 21, a firefighter with the Redings Mill and Lockwood fire departments, has concluded, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.

A case was presented to the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office, but the prosecutor elected not to file charges, according to the post:

On October 19th, around 6:00 p.m., a tragic incident occurred on Fairway Drive, leading to the death of a Redings Mill firefighter.








The Carl Junction Police Department actively investigated the incident and presented a case to the Jasper County Prosecutor's Office, who declined to file charges at this time.

We would like to thank the many people who came forward as witnesses and provided information/evidence to us, and the other agencies that assisted in our investigation.

In an October 24 Facebook post, the police department asked for the public's help and posted photos of two golf carts that were involved in the incident, which occurred in the area of Briarbook Golf Course.



Eagle-Picher announces $20 million expansion, 100 new jobs


(From Missouri Department of Economic Development)

EaglePicher Technologies, a leader in defense and aerospace manufacturing, announced today that it will expand in Joplin, investing $20.9 million and creating 100 new jobs. The company broke ground today on a new energetics facility and administration building at its existing Joplin headquarters location.

“Major expansions from industry leaders like EaglePicher Technologies continue to prove Missouri’s status as a top business destination,” said Governor Mike Parson. “This company’s decision to build state-of-the-art facilities in Joplin further demonstrates our ability to support employers through superior infrastructure and a skilled workforce. We’re pleased to see EaglePicher Technologies strengthening our defense and aviation sectors with such a significant investment.”








EaglePicher Technologies’ new manufacturing facility will feature state-of-the-art advancements in manufacturing technology with semi-automatic capabilities. Advanced software for data retrieval and tracking will be housed at the facility. The U.S. owned company is known for its battery technology, energetic devices, and battery management systems. EaglePicher Technologies experienced an influx in battery production after launching a battery into space aboard NASA’s Explorer 1 satellite in 1958.

“This investment will position EaglePicher’s energetics business for significant growth, while strengthening our ability to respond to current demands in a premier defense and aerospace manufacturing facility,” said Matt Housh, General Manager of EaglePicher’s Energetics Business Unit.

EaglePicher Technologies, headquartered in Joplin, has more than 700 total employees with 600 employed at its Joplin location. New jobs added as part of EaglePicher Technologies’ expansion will pay an average wage well above the county average.

“Today’s announcement from EaglePicher Technologies is an exciting example of putting our mission of helping Missourians prosper into action,” said Michelle Hataway, Director of the Department of Economic Development. “This innovative company’s ongoing commitment to southwest Missouri is providing new investment, creating quality jobs, and supporting industries vital to a secure and prosperous future.”

For this expansion, EaglePicher Technologies will benefit from the Missouri Works program, a tool that helps companies expand and retain workers by providing access to capital through withholdings or tax credits for job creation. The company may receive assistance from Missouri One Start, a division of the Department of Economic Development. Missouri One Start assists eligible businesses with their recruitment and training needs.







What others are saying

“This is truly a landmark development for the City of Joplin,” said Travis Stephens, President and CEO of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. “The wage levels and number of jobs that will follow are significant and the appreciation of the leadership of Steve Westfall and the Tuthill family, and their vision for EaglePicher, cannot be understated. We are grateful for their confidence in the workforce and the supportive community to locate this unique facility in Joplin.”

“EaglePicher Technologies continues to demonstrate its commitment to the MOKAN region with this significant investment in our community,” said Amy Kauffman, Workforce and Business Expansion Director of the MOKAN Partnership. “The company’s expansion not only strengthens our local economy but also brings high-quality, well-paying jobs to our residents. We are proud to have EaglePicher as a valued partner in advancing our region's growth and innovation, and we look forward to its continued success here.”







About EaglePicher Technologies


EaglePicher Technologies is a leading producer of batteries, power-supply products, and energetic devices. For more than 100 years, it has served the mission-critical space, defense, and aviation markets. The company’s products are a key component of the U.S. Defense, Aerospace, and Maritime programs.

To learn more about EaglePicher Technologies, visit eaglepicher.com.