You are invited to my holiday book signing- plenty of bargains available

For those looking for Christmas gifts for the reader in the family (or for t-shirts that are sure to irritate the Joplin Globe), I am having my holiday book signing 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, December 2, at Changing Hands Book Shoppe, 528 S. Virginia Avenue, Joplin.

I will have copies of all of my books available at special reduced prices.

Plus, the Turner Report t-shirts will on sale at a reduced price of $15.

Books that will be available include the following:

Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud: Greed, Corruption and the Joplin Tornado- $15 (normally $20)

Classroom Confidential- $10 (normal $15)

Sports Talk Memories $10 (normal $15)

Devil's Messenger $10 (normal $15

No Child Left Alive $10 (normal $15)

Let Teachers Teach $10 (normal $15)

Scars from the Tornado: One Year at Joplin East Middle School $10 (normal $15)

Spirit of Hope: The Year After the Joplin Tornado $15 (normal $10)

5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado $15 (normal $10)

Newspaper Days $5 (normal $15)

The Turner Report $5 (normal $15)

Small Town News $5 (normal $15)

Turner Report reaches milestone- Thanks for 10 million visits

Sometime Tuesday, the Turner Report reached the 10 million visitor mark.

The milestone comes just a few days after the blog's 27,000th post was published.

The Turner Report almost never came into existence. After working in newspapers for 22 years, I was teaching at Diamond Middle School when Christian Wall, an eighth grader, suggested I create a website.

I told him I would love to, but I did not have the technological capability, the money, or the time to do it.

Christian quickly set me straight. I did not need money, I did not need to know anything about computers and we could set up a website in a half hour. I was skeptical, but he was correct. Using a company called Homestead that I am not sure even exists any more, we set up a basic website for my writing class.

A few months later, sometime around the summer of 2000, using the same rudimentary technology, I created the original Turner Report, a news site that featured investigative reporting and commentary. While it had some good material on it, the website never attracted many visitors, probably no more than a few hundred in the seven or eight months I did it. Since it was a pain to maintain it and was not achieving any positive results, I eventually stopped updating it.

At that point, I thought that was it for my connection with journalism, though I was writing some Diamond school news and covering Diamond sports events for the Newton County News.

During my last year in the Diamond R-4 School District, two of my former students, Michelle Nickolaisen and Alicia Bradley, stopped by my classroom to talk with me. They told me about high school and how they wanted to keep writing, but were looking for something to write about. I suggested they should keep a journal of their high school experiences.

The next day, they stopped by my classroom and told me they were so excited about the idea, they had already started their journals, but they were doing them as blogs.

I had no idea what a blog was and I conducted an internal debate on whether I should admit that and I finally did.

They commandeered my computer and showed me their blogs and showed me that the internet had advanced to the point that web logs had been created that allowed people to publish their own thoughts or news or information for free.

I liked the price.

A few months later, as I was beginning my first year in the Joplin R-8 School District, I repeated a promise I always made to my students- if I was going to make them write every day (and I did), then I would write every day, too. Only this time I decided I would do it as a blog.

So in October 2003, the Turner Report was born. Initially, the only thing the blog had in common with the original Turner Report website was the name. My early offerings were a hodgepodge of everything from book and movie reviews to updates on what was going on at South Middle School. Gradually, I moved to the news and commentary format that I still use.

The readership was small, usually reaching only 35 to 50 readers a day and it did not increase much for years, though it developed a following among Missouri journalists and politicians.

The event that changed the direction of the Turner Report was the same event that changed the lives of everyone in Joplin- the May 22, 2011 tornado. After the tornado, I began collecting every bit of information I could find and publishing it, everything from City of Joplin news releases about the tornado to links to news reports, to the obituaries of all of those who lost their lives.

Readership increased and I began to see a new path for the blog. While most of my earlier investigative reporting had centered on state politics and court cases, I began paying more attention to what was going on in the City of Joplin and this area.

The first example that comes to mind was in April 2012 when the Turner Report revealed that the firm the City of Joplin was considering hiring as its master developer, Wallace Bajjali, had a history of bankruptcies and had been clamped down on by the SEC.

The first Wallace Bajjali report came before the Joplin City Council hired the firm. Sadly, the hiring took place anyway.

Unfortunately, the next major event that affected the blog was when the Joplin R-8 School District fired me in 2013. While I knew the school district was a mess while I was working there, it was not until I was fired and started going through records, documents, e-mails and talking to teachers and parents, many of whom I had never met before, that I realized how much of a mess it was.

After that, I reported on the financial problems of the district, C. J. Huff's speaking tour across the United States, the problems with the opening of Joplin High School, the infamous $100,000 bleachers, and then Huff's fall and his "retirement."

As I wrote about R-8 and Wallace Bajjali, the blog's readership grew, so when C. J. Huff and David Wallace departed the local scene (newswise, at least in Huff's case), some wondered what would happen to the Turner Report and I was one of those who wondered.

I did not need to worry. The news keeps going, it is just the stories that change.

Instead of writing about David Wallace, C. J. Huff and Mike Woolston, I was writing about the Jasper County judicial system, Dean Dankelson's campaign contributions, Ace Mohr's run-ins with the law and even the Rangeline Sonic lawsuit story that resulted in my September 11 trip to the Freeman emergency room.

So I no longer worry about where the material will come from, I keep looking for it and then writing about it.

The best part of the 14 years of the Turner Report has been building a community with the readers It is you that have kept me writing and made the experience so enjoyable. I will work to keep providing you with reasons to return.

Thanks for 10 million visits.

Arraignment scheduled for Joplin man accused of abusing 3-year-old boy who died from injuries

An 8 a.m. arraignment is scheduled Wednesday before Judge Joseph Hensley in Jasper County Circuit Court for Leonard Valdez, 21, Joplin, who is charged with felony child abuse in connection with the death of three-year-old Jonathan Munoz-Bilbrey.

The probable cause statement said the boy suffered head injuries, bruises and a laceration when he was brought to Mercy Hospital November 10. The boy died November 12 at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

The person who was supposed to be providing care to him at the time he was abused was Valdez, 21, who is is jail in lieu of $150,000 cash only bond.

Jonathan Munoz-Bilbrey's death occurred exactly three weeks and one day after Valdez had been arrested for domestic assault at the same address, 1502 S. Michigan Avenue, where police say the child abuse took place. The victim was the boy's mother, Natasha Michelle Bilbrey, 22, according to the JPD incident report.
 

Joplin man pleads guilty to child porn charge; Affidavit indicates Neosho man molested 7-year-old for years

A Joplin man who viewed pornography featuring children as young to one to two years old, pleaded guilty to child pornography charges today in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

Court records indicate Ronald Lee Fields, 56, entered his guilty plea during a 12-minute session.

A federal grand jury indicted Fields after a Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force investigation uncovered child pornography on his computer. During an interview, Fields acknowledged viewing the child porn, referring to it as the "titillating, forbidden thing."

An SD card from a Sony camera taken from Fields' home revealed nude photos of another man and a boy who appeared to be between the ages of three and six, with the boy sitting in the man's lap.

Fields said the photos were taken in a room at Fields' home and identified the adult as Shannon Calhoun, 32, Neosho.

The probable cause affidavit for Calhoun said subsequent images were uncovered showing Calhoun performing sexual acts on the boy over a period of several years. The boy is currently seven years old.

Homeland Security helped locate Calhoun, who had moved from Neosho to West Virginia.

Calhoun is scheduled to plead guilty 2 p.m. September 27 in Springfield to sexual exploitation of a child.

Watch the Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting live at 7 p.m.

Missouri Department of Revenue compliance officers to carry firearms

(From the Missouri Department of Revenue)

Missouri Department of Revenue Director Joel Walters today issued the following statement:

Effective today, the Department of Revenue is implementing policy in accordance with the original intent of legislation enacted by the General Assembly, giving our 12 compliance investigators the ability to carry firearms in the line of duty. This action is necessary to help ensure agent safety in our Compliance and Investigation Bureau. 

This policy was modeled after, and brings the department into alignment with the Department of Corrections’ Probation and Parole, a comparable state agency whose policy allows its investigators to carry firearms.

Greitens lashes out after State Board of Education fails to fire Vandeven

(Gov. Eric Greitens lashed out at educational bureaucrats and public education in general in a public statement released a few moments ago following the State Board of Education's failure to fire Commissioner Margie Vandeven by a 4-4 vote.)

Let me tell you why we're fighting so hard for kids and teachers in Missouri.

Today, the system works for insiders and bureaucrats who get paid real well, but it fails too many students, families, and teachers.

We know insiders and bureaucrats will lie. You deserve to know the facts.

Here's a lie: Missourians don't give enough tax money to schools.

Here are the facts: Missourians spend about the national average on our schools.

I support public schools, and our team supports public schools. We made education a priority. We put more money into schools than ever before in Missouri history. We fully funded K-12 education for the first time in years, and we added $64.6 million to the K-12 budget.

Where did that money go? Bureaucrats took it.

In our schools, we've got too many bureaucrats. We’re top ten in the country for our number of school administrators. And they’re well paid. In fact, in Missouri, administrator pay has been increasing more than twice as fast as teacher pay. Several administrators make more than $250,000.00 a year. Six figures.

That money should go into the classroom. It should go to teachers.

Our teachers deserve to get paid more. Missouri is ranked 40th in the country in teacher pay. Our pay for starting teachers: 48th in the country. Third worst in the nation.

Our teachers deserve better. Our students also deserve better.

Here's a lie: The bureaucrats say our schools are doing just fine, that there's no need for change.

Here are the facts: We need to support teachers, because our schools have been getting worse. From 2009 to 2015, Missouri fell from 18th to 28th in fourth-grade reading and from 23rd to 32nd in eighth-grade math.

In fact, even if they graduate, according to ACT testing, three out of every four Missouri kids aren't fully ready for college. Education Week gave Missouri a D+ for K-12 achievement.

This year, we put more money into education than ever before—but the bureaucrats cut the ACT for high schoolers.

These aren't opinions. They are facts.

Schools should serve kids. Our kids and families deserve better. They deserve the truth.

Here’s why bureaucrats are lying: they’re desperate to prevent change. If things change and people start asking hard questions, they will have to provide clear answers.

Question: This year, Missouri’s schools got more money than ever before, so how come teachers didn’t get a bigger raise? Where did the money go?

Question: How come our administrator pay has been rising more than twice as fast as teacher pay?

These are the facts. These are the questions that need to be asked.

There are a lot of people committed to the status quo. They've been willing to harass and intimidate anyone who stands up to them. That won't stop us from doing what's right. We're fighting to get results for Missouri teachers and students.”

Greitens move to fire Vandeven, privatize education fails

Gov. Eric Greitens attempt to strongarm the Missouri Board of Education into firing Commissioner Margie Vandeven failed this morning.

Though who voted which way has not been revealed, at least one of Greitens' five board appointments, all unconfirmed by the Missouri Senate, voted not to remove Vandeven, leaving the vote at 4-4 and keeping Vandeven, who has been commissioner since 2015, in the job, according to KY3.

Vote to fire Commissioner of Education could be happening now; Greitens makes power move

Gov. Eric Gteitens appears to have taken the final step toward firing Commissioner of Education Margie VanDeven (pictured) and replacing her with an out-of-state charter school proponent.

About an hour ago, Greitens announced the appointment of a new member of the Board of Education and it seems likely she is already attending her first meeting since a closed meeting of the State Board began at 10 a.m.

The only item on that agenda is hiring, firing, disciplining, or promoting of personnel and it is a sure bet that no one who is currently working for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be promoted.

Greitens' latest appointment, Jennifer Edwards, Springfield, president and co-founder of the Springfield Center for Dyslexia and Learning, criticized public education in her first quote of the governor's news release:

I applied to be on the Board of Education because I am worried about the downward trend in student readiness for college, and the fact that many kids with special needs are not being properly addressed in public schools.

She quickly added, "Having said that, there are many examples of innovation and success throughout our state. I can point to the district my children attend, Springfield Public Schools. Along with many other surrounding districts, they have created innovative programs, such as Go Caps, which I believe will drive higher student success. I look forward to the opportunity to serve in order to improve educational opportunities for students across Missouri.”

Edwards replaced Tim Sumners, Joplin, who was appointed in late October and was preparing to attend his first meeting today when he was told by voicemail and e-mail that his services would not be required.

That makes it likely that Vandeven will be fired by five State Board members who have not even been approved by the Senate.

Sumners, like another Greitens appointment who was quickly shoved out the door, Missy Gelner of Springfield, was reluctant to fire Vandeven, a sentiment that has been shared by many in the legislature and among Missouri school districts.

Superintendents from 77 Missouri school districts, including Tony Rossetti, Webb City; Phil Cook, Carl Junction; Dan Decker, Neosho, Ron Mitchell, East Newton; Mark Stanton, McDonald County, Zach Harris, Lamar, John Jungmann, Springfield, Kevin Goddard, Sarcoxie, and Clay Lasater, Lockwood, signed a letter urging Greitens to reconsider his approach to education:

We fear that this strategy will culminate in the appointment of an out-of-state charter school advocate with no understanding of our state or region, who intends to bring a national school reform agenda to Missouri that is a proven failure across our country. We implore Governor Greitens to reconsider. Continuation on this path will harm the educational experience and destroy collaborative progress.

The letter said the attempt to fire Vandeven was not about education, but politics. "Unless Missouri changes course, our students will be the ones who suffer from this political fallout."

The letter was not signed by Joplin R-8 Superintendent Melinda Moss.

Greitens' move to reshape and privatize Missouri education comes as no surprise.

A post on the October 8, 2016 Turner Report revealed the amount of money charter school advocates plowed into the Greitens campaign:

While much publicity has been given to the amount of money Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens has received from proponents of right to work laws, the former Navy SEAL has also been receiving sizable contributions from anti-public school sources, including longtime voucher and charter school proponents.

A search of Missouri Ethics Commission documents shows that Greitens has received at least $695,000 with a record of attacking public schools and teachers while pushing for charter schools and privatization.

Among those contributing to Greitens:

$275,000 from Bernard Marcus, founder of Home Depot. Marcus gave $250,000 to the misnamed Families for Better Public Schools, a pro-charter committee in Georgia. (The only thing public about charter schools is that they drain taxpayer money from public schools. The public has no say in how the schools are operated, they do not have publicly elected boards, and board meetings are seldom, if ever, open to the public.)

$50,000 from Ron Weiser, one of the top contributors to the Great Lakes Education Project, an advocacy group for expanding so-called school choice and charter schools.

$10,000 from Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

$125,000 from Julian Robertson, founder of Tiger Management, who gave $25 million to the Success Academy charter schools.

$100,000 from Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a private equity multi-millionaire who started the Rauner College Prep Charter Schools. Rauner recently said, "Half of Chicago Public School teachers are virtually illiterate."

$100,000 (five $20,000 contributions) from the DeVos family of Michigan, which originally found the pro-voucher group All Children Matter and Amway. Dick DeVos began the effort to undermine public schools by calling them "government schools."

$10,000 from Bill Bloomfield, chairman of Baron Real Estate, who spent more than three million dollars trying unsuccessfully to elect former charter school executive Marshall Tuck as state superintendent of public instruction in California and contributed $2.1 million to Ed Voice, which fights teacher tenure laws.

$25,000 from Marlene Ricketts, Chicago Cubs owner. The Cubs charity contributes considerable money to Chicago charter schools.

The amount of money Greitens has received from public education foes may be far greater than the contributions listed above.

The Republican Governors Association-Missouri has contributed $6 million to Greitens, funneling money from the Republican Governors Association a 527c organization that does not reveal its donors.

At this point, Missourians also have no way of knowing who contributed to the $1,975,000 Greitens received from a group calling itself Seals for Truth, though that group is not 527c and will have to list its donors on its quarterly financial report which is due to the FEC by October 15. The contribution was the largest in Missouri history, until Greitens received $2.5 million from Republican Governors Association-Missouri, the largest of five contributions from the committee.

Greitens' website lists a one-paragraph statement on his beliefs on education.

"Too many Missouri children and parents are trapped in failing schools. I’ll lead efforts to provide more choices and opportunities for kids who need it most."

Settlement reached in Nicodemus family wrongful death lawsuit

A settlement was approved today in the lawsuit filed by the parents of former Joplin High School senior Spencer Nicodemus, who died when a basketball goal collapsed on him March 2 at Irving Elementary School.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, according to a document filed in Jasper County Circuit Court, and the defendants, Universal Construction, Gared Holdings, LLC, GH Post Sale, LLC, Carroll Seating Company, Inc., and Sapp Design Architects PC "have not admitted liability, but offer settlement to resolve all disputed claims and to buy their peace."

According to the terms of the settlement, the Nicodemus family will not be able to bring any further action against the defendants, or against the Joplin R-8 School District, which was not a defendant in the action.

The eight-count, 31-page petition accused all of the defendants of negligence, and alleged liability against Gared Holdings, the company that owned Performance Sports System, which now goes by the name of GH Post Sale.

The goal that killed Spencer Nicodemus was "unreasonably dangerous when put to a reasonably anticipated use," according to the petition.

Carroll Seating entered into a contract with November 6, 2014 to provide and install the equipment. The collapsed goal was part of a change order that added four overhead basketball goals, backboards, and assemblies.

Universal Construction signed off on the equipment without ever testing it and did not do an inspection after one year as it was obligated to do, according to the petition.

The settlement is the second Universal Construction has been forced to make as a result of shoddy workmanship during the construction of the new buildings the school district needed after the May 22, 2011 Joplin Tornado.

A settlement was reached with Sue Macy, who was injured when cabinets collapsed in the office area at the new East Middle School. The petition alleged that the cabinets were not securely fastened to the wall. When the cabinets fell on her, Macy suffered injuries to her head, neck, shoulders and back, according to the lawsuit.

The case was scheduled to come to trial October 7, 2016, when the sides reached a settlement and the case was dismissed June 29, 2016.