Nancy Hughes: Preparing for the second attack

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8 (NIV)


The volleyball game was intense, with every spike, every serve extremely important. This match would determine which team would play for the championship. 

Players yelled “mine” or “I’ve got it” or “help” on both sides of the net. Teamwork had to be 100% or failure would be certain. No one – not one team member – could be a “weak link” and watch the volleys instead of playing the game.

Each coach watched the opposing team to see if one of the players was not totally focused on the game. If they saw it, they were quick to have their players hit the ball directly at the one who wasn’t paying attention and catch them off guard.

My granddaughter was involved in such a game. She and her teammates had won the first game of the match but the second game – the deciding game – was even harder than the first. Each girl repeatedly dug out balls that were almost hitting the ground and returned them across to the other team as hard as they could, hoping they would not be returned but ready to attack again if they were.

Ella and her team were able to pull out the win and the match but after the victory she went to her grandpa with a big question on her mind. 

“Papa,” she asked, “why was it so much harder to win the second game than the first one? We knew we could beat them because we already had. But the second win was so much harder.”

“You made them even hungrier for the second game, Ella, because you beat them the first time,” he answered. “They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by playing even harder. So you can’t play with the same intensity the second game like you did the first. You have to step it up and play with even MORE intensity the second time. Because your opponent will, too.”

I couldn’t help but apply that same logic and wisdom to my life. 

For example, I remember a specific time when I was tempted to gossip but instead replaced negative comments with positive. And yet within hours of praising the Lord for that victory, I was confronted with gossip about me that was both untrue and extremely hurtful. I felt blindsided and confused and responded with angry words and accusations instead of calm and reason.

What had just happened? I had won the first game of the match. I had turned from doing something that God hates – gossip – and instead tried to be a positive Christian influence. And with that win, I had let down my guard. I had forgotten to be ready for the second game and the intensity of the opposing team: Satan.

We can never forget that Satan doesn’t give up when we have a victory in the name of Jesus. He simply takes a step back and waits for us to be complacent. Then he regroups and attacks again with even more intensity and hate than he did the first time.

We aren’t in a volleyball game in order to win and receive a medal as the goal. We are in a war with Satan and the goal is to share Jesus so we can all spend eternity with Him. Never be surprised by a second, more intense attack. Be ready to bring on the intensity of the Creator of the Universe for the win, game and match.

Father, please help me to never give up in our fight to share Jesus with the world. Give me strength and courage to fight with more intensity every single day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

· Have you ever experienced victory in a spiritual area of your life, only to be attacked again even harder in that same area? Were you prepared for the second attack?

Apply

· Write the Power Scriptures on note cards. Place them around your home, where you work and in your car.

· Do not be surprised when you are attacked even more strongly than before by Satan. Study the Power Scriptures and be prepared to stand firm.

Power

· Ephesians 6:12-13 (NIV) “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
· I Peter 5:8 (NIV) “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
· II Corinthians 10:4 (NIV) “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

               

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)

Murder trial to begin for Carthage man who allegedly shot neighbor, bragged "I got him; I shot him in the belly"

The first degree murder trial of a Carthage man for allegedly shooting and killing his next door neighbor May 16, 2016 is scheduled to begin Monday, January 13, in Jasper County Circuit Court with Judge David Mouton presiding.

The trial of Ricky L. Marchbanks, 62, who is also charged with armed criminal action, is scheduled to last five days, according to online court records.

Motions will be heard Monday.








According to the probable cause statement, a witness, who was riding with Marchbanks in his pickup said they were pulling out of the driveway and had just begun driving down the road when Marchbanks' neighbor, Jeremy D. Neeper, 38, who was standing in his front yard at 1032 Valley, began yelling at him.

Marchbanks stopped the truck, climbed out of it with a rifle, fired a shot, then got back in the truck, saying, "I got him. I shot him in the belly."

Emergency responders were unable to save Neeper.

The case has been delayed while Marchbanks was undergoing mental evaluations.

Jason Smith: President Trump- decisive against Iran and protecting our American values

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

This past week, an Iranian led militia attacked, torched, and attempted to storm our Embassy in Baghdad. It came on the heels of Iran killing an American contractor based in Iraq one month prior.

These are just two recent examples of Iran’s continued assault on American democracy, and our support for the rule of law, individual and religious freedoms, and the State of Israel.

In response, President Trump stood resolute. He ordered a strike in Iraq against those responsible for the death of the American contractor and the attack on our embassy in Baghdad, including Iran’s Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani was not only a known terrorist responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. soldiers, but he was also the Iranian Regime’s chief architect of past, present, and future terror plots against Americans and our allies. These plots included additional attacks on U.S. facilities, diplomats, and personnel. The President’s decisive leadership was a show of strength that saved American lives.

Let’s not forget how Iran became this emboldened in the region. When President Obama signed the disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015, he essentially greenlighted Iran’s war on American values by failing to reign in their destabilizing actions.

Obama allowed Iran to fill their coffers with billions in U.S. cash to advance their ballistic missile program, expand their support for terrorism, and strengthen their reach across the region.

Within two months of the deal, Iran’s Supreme Leader boldly declared that Israel would not exist in 25 years. Then to show he was committed to his goal, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began major ground offensives with thousands of troops leading tens of thousands more of their militant extremists. In no time, these Iranian backed terrorists secured a base of operations to carry out terrorist attacks against Western Countries and our friends in Israel, while furthering their influence in places like Iraq.

Since the beginning, President Trump has done things differently and consistently fought back against Iran and other terrorist threats to the United States.

During his first three years in office, he left the horrendous Iran Deal, designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization last April, and has used a maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian Regime that has crippled their economy. He has eliminated terrorist leaders like Qassem Soleimani and others, like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, and Hamza bin Laden, the son and potential successor of late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Sadly, the fight for the preservation of our American values, like individual freedom and religious liberty, has followed us home.

In 2019, the U.S. saw a sharp rise in anti-Semitic crimes; New York City alone experienced over 210 of them. There, in just the past month, a Jewish man in his 60s was hit in the face with a brick, then a mother and her child were pelted with eggs walking on the street in their Brooklyn neighborhood, and later two Jewish teenagers were assaulted in that same neighborhood.

The anti-Semitic attacks reached a climax during the Hanukkah holiday when a man broke into a rabbi’s house and stabbed five Jews with a machete during their holiday festivities. These abhorrent and un-American attacks have no place in our country. America was founded by people seeking religious freedom and our Republic safeguards that right in our First Amendment.

Prior to the Hanukkah attack, President Trump had already signed an Executive Order to combat the rise of these anti-Semitic crimes.

His recent actions, including his response to the attack on our Embassy in Baghdad and the death of the American contractor in Iraq, sends a clear message: the open season on our American values—including our support for the rule of law and religious freedom—is over. I’m grateful that President Trump showed the world that our resolve and commitment to liberty at home and abroad has never been stronger.

Billy Long: How do I impeach thee? Let me count the ways

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

“How do I impeach thee? Let me count the ways.” 

While the Democrats, led by a new breed of socialist freshman, were consumed with impeaching President Trump, Republican Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee went quietly about our work. 

Out of the glare of the 24/7 impeachment spotlight, we were able to work long hours to pass the legislation our constituents wanted. 

From my vantage point on Energy and Commerce, I had a front-row seat to all the action, working to help my colleagues pass largely bipartisan legislation out of committee with the hope of eventually sending it to the president’s desk to be signed into law. 

As we move into a new year and look forward to what’s ahead, I want to take a moment to highlight what our committee accomplished in 2019.

As the sun was setting on the final days of 2019, we successfully passed the Broadband Data Act, a bill that promotes smarter broadband development that I was proud to co-sponsor. 

While the race to 5G is crucial, I remain committed to my constituents that have No-G. The lack of basic broadband services in rural communities is crippling in a digitally-dependent age; by enacting legislation like the Broadband Data Act that ensures our broadband maps are accurate, Congress will be better equipped to address this digital divide. 

I am proud that this crucial piece of legislation passed both the House and Senate and I look forward to the passage of its companion legislation, Mapping Accuracy Promotes Services (MAPS) Act in 2020.

The American people have expressed a deep frustration with maddening robocalls, and this year Energy and Commerce Republicans helped lead the charge by passing the bipartisan and bicameral Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act. 

This legislation combats robocalls by ensuring that every call Americans receive can be verified and blocked at no extra cost to consumers; it also gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and law enforcement the authority to quickly pursue scammers. 

Robocalls have become an epidemic in this country, and I am proud that this year we were able to offer some relief.

In December, Energy and Commerce Republicans also hosted an Energy and Environment Innovation Showcase that featured companies, educational institutions, and other organizations from across the country to highlight their realistic approaches to renewable energy. 

I invited Missouri-based Roeslein Alternative Energy, a company that produces renewable natural gas (RNG) from hog manure, to highlight how companies in our state are pursuing clean energy practices on their own without strict and unreasonable legislation like the Green New Deal. 

Like Roeslein, the companies, institutions, and organizations featured have all made significant strides towards clean energy without the federal government forcing them to do so, and the Energy and Environment Innovation Showcase effectively highlighted their achievements. 

This showcase was a huge success, and I am proud of the difference companies like Roeslein are making both in their states and across the nation.

The Energy and Commerce Committee alone has seen twelve bills signed into law, held eighty-five hearings, and held seventeen markups in 2019. 

While we have seen some partisan bills come from Energy and Commerce Democrats, we were also able to set aside our differences and work together to better serve the American people. 

This past year, arguably one of the most partisan sessions of Congress in recent history, we were still able to pass bipartisan legislation, giving Americans some hope in an otherwise bleak political climate. 

As we move into 2020 and the next session, I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Missouri’s 7th Congressional District and working with my colleagues to pass the legislation the American people care about.

Baxter Springs man whose last sentence was commuted by Obama sentenced to 11 years for meth trafficking

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Baxter Springs, Kansas, man whose previous sentence was commuted by then-President Barack Obama was sentenced in federal court today for committing another drug-trafficking violation soon after his release from prison.

Carroll J. Flowers, 69, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 11 years and three months in federal prison without parole.

In an earlier unrelated case, Flowers was sentenced on June 19, 2002, to 20 years in federal prison following his conviction in the District of Kansas for conspiring to distribute 3.2 kilograms of pure methamphetamine. President Obama commuted Flowers’ sentence and he was released on May 19, 2017, to a term of supervised release. Approximately six months later, while still on supervised release, Flowers committed this offense.

Flowers pleaded guilty on May 28, 2019, to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Dec. 6 to Dec. 13, 2017. When Flowers was arrested, he was carrying 83.1 grams of pure methamphetamine and $2,731.

Flowers was arrested with co-defendant Melissa A. Lowry, 44, of Joplin, Missouri. Lowry pleaded guilty to the same charge on Sept. 30, 2019, and awaits sentencing. She admitted to selling methamphetamine to a confidential law enforcement informant. When officers searched her residence at the time of her arrest with Flowers, they found a black-zipped pouch inside a compartment of a bedroom dresser that contained approximately 14 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, and unused baggies.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the FBI and the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team.

Creve Coeur Democrat's bill strengthens background checks for gun purchases

(From Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur)

To help prevent dangerous criminals from purchasing deadly weapons, State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, has filed Senate Bill 799 to make it illegal to buy a firearm in Missouri without passing a background check conducted by a licensed firearms dealer.

“Background checks are a common sense way to help to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals,” Sen. Schupp said.

“Unfortunately, under Missouri’s current gun laws, criminals can avoid a background check by purchasing a firearm online or at a gun show. Requiring background checks for gun purchases would uphold lawful citizens’ Second Amendment rights while stopping criminals from getting deadly weapons.”

Currently, federal law does not require a background check when guns change hands among individuals. Only transfers conducted by licensed dealers are subject to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Despite overwhelming public support for requiring background checks for all gun purchases, a study by Northeastern University and the Harvard School of Public Health found 22-40 percent of gun transfers nationwide still occur without a background check.

Senator Schupp’s legislation would make the transfer of a firearm without a background check a misdemeanor, subject to a fine up to $1,000 or six months imprisonment. Prior to 2007, Missouri required local law enforcement officials to conduct background checks on all transfers of handguns. The nonpartisan John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research reports that Missouri’s firearms homicide rate increased 23 percent after that law was repealed in 2007.

For more information on Sen. Schupp’s legislation, visit her official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/schupp.

Order signed copies of The Buck Starts Here: Harry S. Truman and the City of Lamar

Thanks for the overwhelmingly positive response I have had thus far for my book The Buck Starts Here: Harry S. Truman and the City of Lamar.

The signings last month at the Mary K. Finley Library in Lamar and Always Buying Books in Joplin were well attended and I had the pleasure of seeing many old friends and making new ones.

While I a plan to have more signings as the date for the 75th anniversary of Harry Truman becoming president arrives in April, those who would like to have signed copies of the book can order them directly through the PayPal link at the bottom of this post.









A PayPal link has also been placed on the side of the page, as well as Amazon links to the paperback and e-book editions.

The books are $20 apiece. PayPal adds sales tax and shipping

Those who prefer not to use PayPal or a credit card can receive the books by mailing $22 (including postage) to me at Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. A, Joplin, MO.

Agenda posted for Joplin City Council meeting

JOPLIN CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2020
5th FLOOR COUNCIL CHAMBERS
602 S. MAIN ST. JOPLIN MO
6:00 PM

1.

Call To Order

Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance of the United States of America

2.

Roll Call

3.

Presentations

1.

A Proclamation To Recognize The 20th Anniversary Of Joplin Recycling Center

Documents:

1. RECYCLING CENTER 20TH ANNIV..PDF

4.

Finalization Of Consent Agenda

5.

Reports And Communications

6.

Citizen Requests And Petitions

7.

Public Hearings

1.

Public Hearing Procedures

Documents:

1. PUBLIC HEARING PROC.PDF

2.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2019-284

AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2004-256, passed by the Council of the City of
Joplin, Missouri, November 15, 2004, by removing from District M-2-PD and including in District R-3 property as described below and located 3110 E 13th St, City of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

1. CB 2019-284 MINUTES.PDF
2. CB 2019-284 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CB 2019-284 SUMMARY.PDF
4. CB 2019-284.PDF

3.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2019-285

AN ORDINANCE providing to vacate approximately 90 feet of a 10-foot-wide utility easement and approximately 185 feet of a 10-foot-wide utility easement running East/West located in the 2300 block of the East side of S. Wisconsin Ave.

Documents:

1. CB 2019-285 MINUTES.PDF
2. CB 2019-285 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CB 2019-285 SUMMARY.PDF
4. CB 2019-285.PDF

4.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2019-286

AN ORDINANCE providing to vacate approximately 440 feet of a 20-foot-wide utility easement, and 115 feet of a 15-foot-wide storm sewer and utility easement.

Documents:

1. CB 2019-286 MINUTES.PDF
2. CB 2019-286 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CB 2019-286 SUMMARY.PDF
4. CB 2019-286.PDF

5.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2019-287

AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2004-256, passed by the Council of the City of
Joplin, Missouri, November 15, 2004, by removing from District R-1 and including in District C-1 property as described below and located West of the Intersection of E. 19th Street and S. Michigan Avenue, City of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

1. CB 2019-287 MINUTES.PDF
2. CB 2019-287 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CB 2019-287 SUMMARY.PDF
4. CB 2019-287.PDF

6.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2019-288

AN ORDINANCE providing to vacate 150 feet of S. McCoy Ave.

Documents:

1. CB 2019-288 MINUTES.PDF
2. CB 2019-288 STAFF REPORT.PDF
3. CB 2019-288 SUMMARY.PDF
4. CB 2019-288.PDF

8.

Consent Agenda

1.

Minutes Of The December 16, 2019 Joplin City Council Meeting

Documents:

1. DEC. 16, 2019.PDF

9.

Resolutions

1.

RESOLUTION NO.2020-001

A RESOLUTION recognizing the creation of the 2020 One Joplin Complete Count Committee.

Documents:

1. RS2020-001.PDF

10.

Ordinances - Emergency

1.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2020-100

AN ORDINANCE approving a Purchase Order to be issued to Tag Truck Enterprises of Missouri LLC in the amount of Three Hundred Eighty-Seven Thousand Nine Hundred Forty-Two and no/100 Dollars ($387,942.00) for the purchase of a 2 dump trucks with snow plows as budgeted in the Annual Budget of the City of Joplin for the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 and containing an emergency clause.

Documents:

1. SUMMARY SHEET 2020-100-DUMP TRUCKS.PDF
2. COUNCIL BILL 2020-100 DUMP TRUCKS.PDF
3. QUOTE-12102019100220.PDF

2.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2020-101

AN ORDINANCE approving a Purchase Order to be issued to TYMCO in the amount of Two Hundred Six Thousand Seven Hundred Four and no/100 Dollars ($206,704.00) for the purchase of a Street Sweeper as budgeted in the Annual Budget of the City of Joplin for the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 and containing an emergency clause.

Documents:

1. SUMMARY SHEET 2020-101 STREET SWEEPER.PDF
2. COUNCIL BILL 2020-101 STREET SWEEPER.PDF
3. STREET SWEEPER-12262019084543.PDF

3.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2020-102

AN ORDINANCE approving an agreement with Joplin Industrial Electric Co. in the not to exceed amount of Forty-Five Thousand Thirty and 07/100 Dollars ($45,030.07) for the relocating and installation of three generators authorizing the City Manager to execute on behalf of the City; and containing an emergency clause.

Documents:

1. 2019 12 11 NICHOLS TO LAWSON - RECOMEND AWARD TO JIE.PDF
2. TOB FOR JOPLIN MO LIFT STATION GENERATOR RENOVATIONS 2019.PDF
3. 00500 AGREEMENT 2020 FOR JIE GENERATOR RENOVATIONS 2019.PDF
4. SUMMARY SHEET 2020-102 GENERATOR RENOVATIONS.PDF
5. CB2020-102.PDF

11.

Ordinances - First Reading

1.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2019-289

AN ORDINANCE establishing grades and accepting the Final Plat of Hal’s Subdivision located
at NW Corner of W 26th St. & S. Roosevelt Ave. in the City of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

1. CB 2019-289 FINAL PLAT.PDF
2. CB 2019-289 MINUTES.PDF
3. CB 2019-289 STAFF REPORT.PDF
4. CB 2019-289 SUMMARY.PDF
5. CB 2019-289.PDF

2.

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2020-600

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the City of Joplin, Missouri (“City”), a municipal corporation, to enter into an agreement with Joplin Schools (“District”), a political subdivision and public school district of the State of Missouri, for the purpose of providing a school resource officer program between City and District; and authorizing the Interim City Manager to execute said agreements by and on behalf of the City of Joplin.

Documents:

1. SUMMARY CB2020-600 JOPLIN SCHOOL DISTRICT MOU RE SROS1-6-2020 MTG.PDF
2. CB 2020-600 JOPLIN SCHOOL DISTRICT MOU RE SROS_1-6-2020 MTG.PDF
3. 2019-11-25 JOPLIN SRO AGREEMENT (FINAL) (CITY EDITS)_SEE CB2020-600.PDF

12.

Ordinances - Second Reading And Third Reading

13.

Unfinished Business

14.

New Business

1.

News From Public Information Officer Lynn Onstot

Joplin man bound over for trial on Lawrence County murder charge

A Joplin man was bound over for trial in Lawrence County Circuit Court on a second degree murder charge.

Kendall Lee Crosswhite, 28, will be arraigned Monday, January 13 in the Lawrence County Circuit Court trial division.

Crosswhite is also charged with receiving stolen property.

The circumstances leading to the charges against Crosswhite are detailed in the probable cause report:


On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at approximately 0305 hours, Troop D Radio informed Trooper Kelsey Rutledge of a motor vehicle crash on Lawrence 2130 west of MO 97.

Reportedly, a farm tractor was overturned, off of a bridge, and the occupant was trapped inside. 

Upon his arrival, at approximately 0339 hours, he located a 2011 John Deere 7230, front wheel assist tractor, equipped with a John Deere loader, overturned off the south side of a narrow bridge west of MO 97 in Lawrence County, Missouri.

Trapped underneath were two white males. One of the males was subsequently identified as Justin T. Workman, date of birth, June 18, 1984 who was pronounced dead at the scene by Lawrence County coroner, Scott Lakin on October 22, 2019, at 0400 hours.

The other male was eventually identified as Kendall L. Crosswhite, date of birth February 24, 1991.

Crosswhite sustained serious injuries and was transported from the scene by Mercy Ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri where he is currently receiving treatment for serious injuries.

An employee of Biellier Wrecker Service, Mt. Vernon, Missouri, stated he witnessed a tractor, nearly identical, being unloaded on the Interstate 44, eastbound, on-ramp at approximately 0130 hours. The vehicle towing the tractor was described as a white Ford F350 with a black gooseneck trailer.

At approximately 0955 hours on October 22, 2019, the tractor was confirmed as stolen from Galena, Kansas. The owner of the tractor said the tractor was stolen within the last two days and is making a stolen vehicle report with Cherokee County, Kansas Sheriff's Office.

Recovered from the crash scene was a black cellular telephone. This device was located near the tractor and where it came to rest. A Stotts City volunteer firefighter picked the device up prior to giving the device to Trooper Rutledge, the firefighter unlocked it, and the fire fighter saw a text message that said, "Goddammit Kendall are you OK?"

A search warrant authorizing the search of this device was obtained from the Lawrence County, Missouri Circuit Court. A subsequent search of that device revealed the device was in fact Kendall Crosswhite's based upon several SMS messages that were sent and received on the device. 

On October 22, 2019, at 0155 hours, the device determined to belong to, and be in use by, Crosswhite sent a SMS message to another phone number that said, "I've got a 150,000 dollar tractor tractor on the back."

This message was sent in a conversation where Crosswhite was telling the recipient he had a flat tire but no spare to fix it with. The recipient subsequently responded with, "Isn't someone following you or isn't Justin with you ? Change it??? Justin in this message is most likely the deceased, Justin Workman.

On October 22, 2019, Sergeant Michael Bracker contacted Crosswhite at Mercy Hospital. Crosswhite told Sergeant Bracker his "homeboy" contacted him and asked Crosswhite to bring him fuel for a tractor that had ran out.

Crosswhite later identified his "homeboy" as Justin Workman. Crosswhite then said he did not want to answer any more questions.

Preliminary hearing scheduled for former Carl Junction bus driver on sex charges involving student

The preliminary hearing for former Carl Junction R-1 bus driver Dennis Frakes, 69, on felony charges of statutory sodomy and sex with a student has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, January 16 in Jasper County Circuit Court.

The probable cause statement said Frakes admitted to fondling a high school girl multiple times in an off-campus setting.

He also is accused of touching her genital area during a school band competition on the Missouri Southern State University campus March 27, 2015.

The girl was under age 17 at the time, according to the statement.