Fire Safety report on Anderson Guest House issued

The Missouri Division of Fire Safety issued its report on the Anderson Guest House fire earlier today. Information from that report is featured in a Joplin Globe article by ever-reliable Jeff Lehr:

The report concludes that the cause of the fire that killed 10 people and injured about two dozen remains undetermined. But it also notes that it most likely began in the attic on the north end of the building, and that an electrical short in that area could not be eliminated as a possible cause. Bill Zieres, deputy chief of investigations for the state division, said the maintenance man’s short-circuiting of the electrical line is a possible cause of the fire. "But we also could not rule out a pre-existing problem with the wiring in the attic," Zieres said.

The information was also included in David Lieb's Associated Press article.

State officials don't buy Moark explanation

One service the media performs often gets overlooked because it is so simple. Reporters ask questions to get politicians, business owners, and others who happen to be in the news, to go on the record.
Many times the results are fascinating.
A case in point is Wes Franklin's article in today's Neosho Daily News on the state citing Moark for two odor violations:

The company's vice president of operations, Dan Hudgens, told the Daily News that what put odors over the limit were problems at the time with the filtering system inside the compost facility compound, also referred to as the Farmer Automatic Building (FAB). He said while the facility has been completely enclosed, they have experienced some difficulties with the building's scrubber - an air pollution control device that acts much like a filtering system. Hudgens said the original scrubber was a selsor pad soaked with water, but said it didn't always seem to block out foul smells.
"It hasn't worked as well as we had hoped," Hudgens said.
He noted Moark intends to incorporate new technology into the scrubber device, though he wasn't certain of the exact details involved. Hudgens stated that at the time the excessive odor readings were taken, the scrubber was shut down for readjustment in preparation for those newer developments. This was the answer Hudgens said was given to the DNR in Moark's response to both notices of excessive emissions.
However, after review, the DNR's Air Pollution Control Program wasn't convinced and filed the odor violation charges against Moark on Thursday of last week.

Jan. 9 hearing set in McDonald County cult case

A Jan. 9 arraignment is scheduled in McDonald County Circuit Court for Laura Epling, Washburn, who faces statutory sodomy charges in connection with the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church sex cult investigation. The hearing will be conducted by Judge Tim Perigo.

Mrs. Epling was bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing Monday. Details of her alleged crime were provided in Jeff Lehr's article in today's Joplin Globe.

Devil's Messenger available at Hastings

My second novel, Devil's Messenger, should be on the shelves at Hastings in Joplin sometime today or tomorrow at the latest.
We are planning to have a signing at Hastings sometime in mid-to-late January. The book is also available through various Internet sources, including Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million. The Devil's Messenger pages on those sites can be reached on the book's website's links page.

The book will cost $13.95 plus tax at Hastings.

The price of my first novel, Small Town News, has been reduced to $14.95 at the Joplin store.

Trane McCloud: putting duty first

In the Dec. 11 Turner Report, I reprinted Speaker of the House Rod Jetton's thoughts about the death of his close friend, Trane McCloud, in Iraq.
Jetton shared more thoughts about Lt. McCloud in his latest column, which is reprinted below:

I remember an old Colonel giving a speech to all the young officer recruits back in Boot Camp. He told us about the Marine Corps and what being a Marine was all about. This talk always stuck in my mind because he said, "There is an easy way and a hard way. Marines always take the hard way. Marines don't take shortcuts; we work harder, fight harder and think smarter."

This was new to me and seemed wrong. High school and college was about finding a better and easier way to do everything. Our teachers and society pushed taking the path of least resistance. I didn't know exactly what he meant at first. The Col. gave examples using past wars where U.S. Marines made tough decisions, and won battles that changed American history. He pointed out that many times their decisions made it harder on those Marines. Sometimes they even lost more lives when faced with a tough choice, but they always accomplished the mission and followed their orders.

I can't remember the name of the Colonel who gave us that talk, but it might as well have been Trane. He never took shortcuts. He always knew what the Marine Corps rules and regulations were, and he always kept us on track. He was calm and cool in all situations and nothing ever seemed to ruffle his feathers.

In time, I came to understand better what the Colonel was saying, but I have always been a rebel. The Marine Corps is hard on rebels. They want team players that will work hard, follow orders, be smart and do their duty. That's why the Corps was so good for me. I learned to depend on other people. I learned that, no matter how good I was, if I worked with others I could accomplish much bigger things. By myself, I was helpless on the battlefield.

By the time I met Trane he already knew these things, and he is a big reason I learned some of these lessons. Now, I don't want to paint a picture of Trane as some robot that just said, "Yes, sir." He was far from that. His last name is McCloud, which is Scots-Irish, and he was VERY stubborn. If you were doing things right he never said much, but if he thought you were not doing it the best way he would calmly give you his thoughts. The thing we loved about Trane was he didn't care if you were a fellow Lt. or the commanding general, he wasn't afraid to speak up and correct you.

We had this captain who wasn't a very good commander. This drove me crazy, because, back then, I always had a better idea of how to do things and I liked being in charge. This guy made following orders very difficult for all of us.

As a junior officer I learned there are a lot of politics in the military. To be promoted you have to be ranked high by your commanders. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of what we called, "butt-kissing" by some officers. For me this was no problem.

I joined the military to help win the first war against Iraq. By the time I joined the Corps and graduated from officer school the war was won even without my help Trane had seen to that. I was focused on making sure my unit was ready for combat and learning as much as I could that would help me be successful after I finished my four-year tour. So making a captain or colonel mad wasn't a big concern for me.

Remember, Trane wanted to stay in the Corps and make a career out of it. He should have been focused on keeping the commanders happy and getting credit for anything good he could. But that's not Trane McCloud. Trane wanted things done right. He was a perfectionist. He had been in a war, and he was more concerned with doing things right than getting promoted. I worried about him. He was just the kind of leader we needed to stay in the Corps and be promoted. Even though I was getting out, my Marine Corps time showed me how important career military professionals are to our country's security.

I used to get so frustrated thinking I had to take orders from this Captain who clearly couldn't lead the local Boy Scout troop in a parade through Marble Hill without messing it up. While a real leader like Trane might not get promoted because he had the courage to question orders and offer suggestions.

Fortunately, Trane was promoted and my faith in Corps was restored. He had a great career. After we returned from our six-month float he went to some specialized recon training and went back out with the 24 MUE (Marine Expeditionary Unit) for another six-month float. As a new captain, he was assigned to be a public affairs officer where he reported news for the Marine Corps and Navy. During this time, he went back to college and earned a masters degree in Journalism.

Like all Infantry Officers he wanted to get back into the fleet and command Marines. He was then chosen to be a company commander and soon after was promoted to Major. As a Major he was assigned to be the Assistant Operations Officer for the 2nd battalion 3rd Marines (2/3). He then commanded the Marine Security Element for the Joint Special Operations task Force-Pacific in Zamboanga, Republic of the Philippines.

Following his fleet tour he went back to a desk job, and was selected for the Congressional Fellowship Program, which put him in Washington D.C. He worked for Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina. I was able to visit Trane and Maggie during his time in Washington. He did a great job for the Corps and made some good connections while working on Capitol Hill, but like all good Marines he wanted to get back to the fleet with the troops.

In April he received orders stationing him and his family in Hawaii, and somehow he managed to get a slot as the operations officer for his old battalion--2/3 was scheduled to deploy to Iraq last August. The interesting thing about this job is he really didn't have to do it. One thing that helps you get promoted in the Marine Corps is doing different jobs at each rank.

As I mentioned before, he had already spent time as a battalion operations officer. At the time he was headed to Hawaii, he was in the zone to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. His plan was to go out, do a float, keep his men alive, keep us safe and come back home. Then he would hopefully be promoted and have the chance to command a battalion of his own.

That's the kind of Marine Trane was. He volunteered to do a job he didn't have to do, because he cared about his men and he always tried to accomplish the mission. He loved his wife, he loved his children and even though the hardship of being away from them for so long was tough, Trane knew the men in 2/3 and wanted to do his part.

While he was in Iraq he was selected to be promoted to Lt. Colonel. First you have to be in the zone, then you get selected and finally they officially promote you. Trane was posthumously promoted to Lt. Colonel after his death.

It is taking me a bit longer than I planned to tell you about my friend. I will stop for now, but next week I want to share a bit about his family and the service in Arlington. I hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts about Trane. I know the world has to keep going, but when you lose somebody like him, who was willing to give so much for us, I just think it's good to stop and think about what he did for all of us.

Richard concentrates on meaningful legislation, new bill would remove sales tax from bowling facilities

While some Missouri state representatives have pre-filed one bill after another, Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has thus far limited his focus to one bill, a shining example of meaningful legislation designed to improve the lot of his constituents.
HB 150 apparently came after a long investigation by Richard into what issues concerned the residents of the district he serves in Jasper and Newton counties; Consider this segment of the bill, which specifies a certain area Richard believes deserves to be exempt from sales tax:

"all purchases of equipment, machinery, materials, supplies, fixtures, and shoes by the owner or operator of a facility used for the sport of bowling where sales tax is collected and remitted on all amounts charged for participation in such sport, including amounts paid for the rental of items used to participate in such sport."

How does this affect Richard? Consider these items from his website:

1991 to present
Full duties with C & N Bowl Corporation.
1988
Additional duties of Vice President and Secretary of C & N Bowl Corporation, Senior Managing Officer responsible for overall activities over five Bowling Centers in two states. Assumed further duties associated with financial side of operations and planning.
1987
Duties were added of Chief Financial Officer of two Joplin, Missouri, locations, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and two Little Rock, Arkansas bowling locations.
1985 to 1987
Bowling Center Manager of new facility, Carl Richard Bowl East, Joplin.
1978 to 1987
Assistant Financial Officer of C & N Bowl Corporation.
1971
Joined C & N Bowl Corporation as Assistant League Coordinator and Food and Beverage Supervisor.
1965 to 1971
During high school worked in all areas of Bowling Centers including construction, janitorial, maintenance, sales and service; U.S. Post Office, processed mail and unloaded trucks.

Richard has served in various capacities on the Legislative Committee of the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, including currently serving on that organization's Legislative Committee.

Third McDonald County cult member to stand trial

Charges against Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church member Tom Epling were dropped recently due to the statute of limitations, but Epling's wife Laura will stand trial.
That decision was made today by Judge Gregory Stremel in McDonald County Circuit Court.
Ms. Epling becomes the third member of the alleged religious cult to be ordered to stand trial, following Rev. Raymond Lambert and Patricia Epling Lambert. During the Lambert's preliminary hearing in October, the alleged victim, who was underaged at the time, testified of Mrs. Epling's involvement in the sex ritual:

The woman testified that on one occasion Laura Epling walked in while she was performing oral sex on the pastor and showed the teenager how to do so, then had intercourse with Lambert while the teen watched.

Violation notices issued against Moark

Two notices of violation have been issued against Moark 7 Farms in Neosho for excessive odors, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
According to the news release:

The department's Southwest Regional Office detected the strong odors adjacent to MOARK's composting facility on Oct. 25 and Nov. 2 while responding to complaints. The odors on Nov. 2 exceeded the detection threshold by more than eight times the regulation standards. The department collected air samples and sent them to a laboratory in St. Croix for evaluation. The laboratory confirmed the excess emissions and the department issued two Notices of Excess Emissions to MOARK on Nov. 3 and Nov. 13.
MOARK was given time to respond to the department and provide information about a potential startup, shutdown or equipment malfunction. The department evaluated MOARK's response to the incidents and determined the circumstances described did not meet the definition of a malfunction. As required by state regulations, the department upgraded the Notices of Excess Emissions to Notices of Violation.The department will continue its daily surveillance on the facility and
will meet with MOARK officials to discuss eliminating future odor incidents. The department's main goal in any enforcement action is to help the facility successfully achieve compliance with the standards and then maintain compliance to protect the residents of the area. The department will continue to work within Missouri's laws and regulations to provide assistance and oversight to the facility.
The department encourages citizens in the area to continue calling if they notice odors. Citizens may call the department's Southwest Regional Office at (417) 891-4300 or may call the Newton County Satellite Office in Neosho at (417) 455-5180 or (417) 455-5158.

Once again, we have more evidence that state officials have made a mistake with their unceasing support of Moark's expansion. The company's track record is not good. Apparently, the money Moark has contributed to state and area politicians has a more enticing odor.

It started before Donayle Whitmore-Smith

The Turner Report was the first media outlet of any kind to examine State Board of Education appointee Donayle Whitmore-Smith's long record of promoting educational vouchers and her utter contempt for public schools.
It took weeks after my post on the Oct. 26 Turner Report before any of the mainstream media actually took a close look at Ms. Whitmore-Smith's background. After that, the groundswell of opposition (which would likely have occurred anyway) began and it is rapidly reaching a crescendo. My post was made the same day Governor Matt Blunt appointed Ms. Whitmore-Smith. It took 27 days, nearly four weeks, before the St. Louis Post-Dispatch examined Ms. Whitmore's record.
I noted in my post:

Governor Matt Blunt's latest appointment to the Missouri State Board of Education is not only a voucher proponent, but is a sworn enemy of public schools.
Earlier today, the governor appointed Donayle Whitmore-Smith, head of the pro-voucher group Coalition for School Choice to the board. Her leadership role in that organization was not mentioned in the press release from the governor's office.

Since that time, I have had several other posts on Ms. Whitmore-Smith including Dec. 6, when I noted her connections to a who's who in the voucher movement,
and another post on the same day, which detailed a speech given by Ms. Whitmore-Smith in which she claimed that if Martin Luther King were still alive, he would support vouchers.
***
It didn't take a month for the traditional media outlets to jump on the appointment of Rev. Stanley Archie, a board member of a Kansas City charter school, to the board. Archie, as I noted in the Dec. 15 Turner Report, is "a voucher proponent and former private school teacher and administrator." He also is on the record as supporting "school choice," the euphemism du jour for vouchers.
***
What has been totally overlooked, by the traditional media and by me, was the number of appointments Gov. Blunt has made to the State Board of Education. Donayle Whitmore-Smith was the second appointment. Rev. Stan Archie is the third.
Unfortunately, no one put the governor's first board appointment, Debi Demien of Wentzville, under the microscope. She was promoted as a former public schoolteacher and director of marketing for Demien Construction. A little bit of digging would have shown that the Southwest Missouri State University graduate is far more than that.
It appears all three of the governor's choices are closely in line with his thinking on vouchers, meaning he most likely has the power to move state education in whatever direction he wishes.
Mrs. Demien was appointed to the board in March. While it was noted that she was involved in the family business, Demien Construction, what wasn't noted is that she is director of marketing for the company's Building God's Way division, which builds churches and Christian schools. Any sort of movement of public money into private schools will obviously benefit Mrs. Demien.
Seven years ago, she wrote a book entitled Stealing America, the National Takeover of the Economy, Education and State Governments, which primarily criticizes the school-to-work programs being used in public schools. She is an outspoken critic of Missouri's A+ program, which allows students involved in the program to receive free schooling at Missouri community colleges.
In 1996, Mrs. Demien was an Alan Keyes delegate to the National Republican Convention. What are Keyes' thoughts on education:

Vouchers will help children and families, just as school choice has benefited those pursuing higher education. The educational benefit of choosing schools for reasons of instructional quality, instead of economic necessity, are obvious. Voucher programs also end the "double taxation" many families face – paying for public schools through their taxes, and yet also paying to send their children to non-public institutions. Parental choice will also increase parental involvement. When parents think that education is the government's business, they tend to leave it to the so-called professional educators. But having chosen a school, and personally directed the dollars that pay for their child's attendance there, more parents will understand that their role in learning should not be passive. The natural motive to evaluate and assist a service we have chosen and purchased provides an important additional impetus for parental involvement. Vouchers will broaden participation in access to quality education. After decades of national fretting about unequal access, sometimes with racial overtones that have nothing to do with education, will we reject this simple solution to the plight of those – particularly in the inner city – who simply do not have access to any but failed, monopolistic public-school systems?

What has also not been mentioned about Mrs. Demien has been her role as president of "Restoring America." The organization's website talks about a war of values being taught in America:

Dr. James Dobson of 'Focus on the Family' has repeatedly stated that we are engaged in "a Civil War of values" in our culture, and the prize is our children.
He wrote - "Children are the prize to the winners of the second great civil war. Those who control what young people are taught and what they experience – what they see, hear, think, and believe – will determine the future course for the nation. Given that influence, the predominant value system of an entire culture can be overhauled in one generation, or certainly in two, by those with unlimited access to children."

Or this quote:

"...this is supposed to be a Constitutional Republic - based entirely upon Christian principles – with no separation of Church and State. Since our very form of government and legal system were formed from, and based on, God's natural law and the Bible, then how can we separate church from State? We cannot. The heart cannot be removed from the body without the death of that body. Unfortunately and to our shame, none of this is being taught in our schools today. We will either educate our children to be the enemies of freedom and independence - as we are currently doing – or, we can educate them in the truths and visions of our Founding Fathers – raising future patriots for America.

The Restoring America site proudly reprints an article entitled "On the sin of sending kids to public schools," which talks about the book The Harsh Truth About Public Schools. The article includes the following passage:

In the book, Shortt documents the pitfalls of public schools, saying the anti-Christian thrust of the governmental school system produces inevitable results: "moral relativism (no fixed standards), academic dumbing down, far-left programs, near absence of discipline and the persistent but pitiable rationalizations offered by government education professionals."

Shortt also urges pastors to read the book so they might "understand why the church can no longer abdicate its historic role in the education of our children."

Says Short: "'The Harsh Truth About Public Schools' makes it clear why no Christian child should be left behind in government schools. Our Christian children are perishing because parents and pastors lack knowledge. The information in this book exposes the 'salt and light' and the 'our schools are different' rationalizations for educating Christian children in pagan schools for the contemptible falsehoods they are.

"Any parent or pastor who genuinely desires to be faithful in the education of Christian children needs to find out what the public schools are actually doing, rather than relying on what they are saying they are doing or on memories of the public schools as they may have existed 10, 20 or 30 years ago."

As for "reforming" the public schools, the article posted so prominently on Mrs. Demien's organization's website offers the following:

But what about reforming the public schools? Isn't that a solution?

Responds Shortt: "Public schools cannot be reformed to provide a Christian education, and the evidence is overwhelming that even conventional secular reforms to reinstate traditional academic and moral standards will continue to fail. But even if you think that we should nevertheless try to reinstate traditional academic and moral standards in the schools, taking your children out is the most effective thing you can do to help the children whose parents have left them behind in the public schools. Only the threat of a collapse of the entire public school system offers even the remotest prospect of positive change. Traditional reform efforts are a waste of time.

According to documents on file with the Missouri Secretary of State's office, Restoring America is owned by Mrs. Demien and Richard Vieth of St. Charles.

Candidates lining up for possible 2008 runs

I noted in the Saturday Turner Report that 28th District State Senator Delbert Scott has filed papers with the Missouri Ethics Commission indicating he will seek statewide office in 2008.
Scott is far from the only one who has filed papers indicating such intentions. The list including Rep. Jack Jackson, an unsuccessful candidate for state auditor this year, former House Speaker Steven Gaw, and former lieutenant governor Joe Maxwell.
Find out more in Jason Rosenbaum's post on the Columbia Tribune political blog.