Blunt claiming victory in majority leader race

Roy Blunt is claiming to have enough votes to win the House majority leader race, according to an article in today's New York Times. His two opponents, however, are not ready to concede.

Globe also features examination of Shorr and Moark

The Sunday Joplin Globe features an examination of Moark and the lawyer, former Missouri Department of Natural Resources director David Shorr, who has been hired to represent the company on odor violations charges at its Neosho facility.
More information on Moark and Shorr can be found in a post I made earlier tonight on The Turner Report.

Lobbying firm funneling money to Nodler campaign, PAC

More than $6,000 appears to have been funneled through lobbyist William Gamble's firm to committees headed by Senator Gary Nodler, R-Joplin during the last four days of 2005, according to documents filed this week with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Gamble's firm, Gamble & Schlemeier, is not mentioned on the documents, but the firm's fingerprints are all over them.
, Gamble is a registered lobbyist for three of the six donors listed on the disclosure form filed today with the Ethics Commission, Residential Care Facility PAC, Missouri Dental PAC, and MORESPAC. All three donations were made on Dec. 31 and the address for all three PACs is listed as P. O. Box 1865, Jefferson City, 65102...the address of Gamble & Schlemeier. Residential Care Facility PAC and MORESPAC donated 1,200 apiece, while Missouri Dental PAC chipped in with $1,000, according to the documents.
The Gamble clients accounted for $3,400 of the $6,200 contributed to the Nodler PAC during the last quarter. It also received $1,200 from R. J. Reynolds, Winston-Salem, N. C., $1,000 from Altria Corporate Services, Inc., New York; and $600 from Astra Zeneca, a Wilmington, Del., pharmaceutical company.
The lobbying firm's clients did not restrict their generosity to the Nodler PAC. The fourth quarter disclosure form for the Elect Nodler Committee, filed earlier this week with the Ethics Commission, shows Nodler receiving $2,200 on Dec. 28 from five special interests represented by Gamble & Schlemeier;
-$600 (the maximum allowable for a state senate campaign) from Missouri Dental PAC.
-$600 from MORESPAC
-$200 from MO Plan
-$300 from Missouri Physician Assistant PAC
-$500 from Missouri Pharmacy PAC
On Dec. 15, Nodler's campaign received $600 from Rural Telecommunications Com PAC.
The Ethics Commission documents show MORESPAC, MO Plan, Missouri Physician Assistant PAC, Missouri Pharmacy PAC and Rural Telecommunications Com PAC all having Gamble & Schlemeier's address, P. O. Box 1865 Jefferson City. The address for Missouri Dental PAC was listed as 3340 America Avenue, Jefferson City.
The documents indicate Nodler's senate campaign committee received $2,800 in December from Gamble & Schlemeier clients in December, including $2,200 on Dec. 28.
In addition to the companies listed above, Gamble & Schlemeier's client list includes: Ameren UE, Ameristar Casinos, General Electric, Missouri Beverage Association, Missouri Railroad Association, and Wal-Mart Stores.

Moark attorney/former DNR director defends top polluters

"We do not believe the public or the environment is well served if a citizen living downwind of a dirty smokestack is barred from inquiring about what she is breathing."
That quote, taken from a March 13, 1995, St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial, is attributed to David Shorr, who at that time was Governor Mel Carnahan's choice to run the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
In the 11 years that have passed since he made that statement, either Shorr has changed his mind or he prefers the smell of poultry to the stench given off by dirty smokestacks.
Shorr, as reported recently in The Joplin Globe and in other media outlets, will represent Moark as it defends itself against an odor violation issued by the DNR. This is nothing new for Shorr, who now is an attorney with Lathrop & Gage, operating out of Jefferson City. He has parlayed his term as the man who was designated to protect Missourians from environmental violators into a lucrative career defending some of the worst of those violators.
Moark is not the first poultry operation to be represented by the polluters' top hired gun. In May 2000, according to DNR documents, Shorr defended Meek Poultry, which operated an egg-laying complex with 810,000 hens, which produced approximately 14,200 tons of manure per year. The state fined the company $27,000 for failing to get a permit to operate the facility and failing to provide an odor control plan.
A Sierra Club news release from Jan. 28, 2000, shows Shorr serving as the attorney for corporate hog farmer Murphy Family Farms when the environmental organization sued the company for a host of violations, including "slumping and overflowing lagoons, over-application of swine wastes, manure spills, failure to obtain proper operating permits, and polluted runoff into streams and onto neighboring properties."
When Shorr defended Kraft Foods in May 2000, he acknowledged the company had dumped several thousand tons of used hot dog casings over a five-year period on a farm in Boone County, according to an article in the Jefferson City News-Tribune.
Shorr argued that Missouri laws did not apply to the situation. Assistant Attorney General Suzanne Flanegin disagreed, noting, "They were contaminated. They were garbage. They were simply dumped into a ravine on that property."
Kraft ended up paying $300,000 to the Boone County School Fund to settle the case in 2001.
In addition to representing companies charged with violating environmental regulations, Shorr is one of the legions of former state officials who are now registered lobbyists.
Missouri Ethics Commission records show Shorr currently is registered to represent Continental Coal, Inc., Overland Park, Kan.; American Cleaners & Laundry Co. Inc., Manchester; Clarence Cannon Wholesale Water Commission, Stoutsville; Little Blue Valley Sewer District, Independence; Missouri Public Utility Alliance, Columbia; Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc., Owensboro, Ky.; and University of Missouri-Columbia.
In the past, he has been a registered lobbyist for Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill., Meek Poultry, Maquoketa, Iowa; BP Amoco Corporation, Warrenville, Ill.; Duke Energy North America, Houston, Texas; and Infiltrator Systems, Old Saybrook, Conn.

Jarden to fall short of fourth quarter expectations

Jarden Corporation, which owns the former Sunbeam plant in Neosho, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. Jarden was expected to have fourth quarter earnings of 66 cents per share, but will only report 50 to 54 cents, according to the article.
However, Jarden officials said revenue will be higher than expected, more than $960 million, compared to an anticipated $888.3 million.
Company President Martin Franklin blamed costs associated with the purchase of the Holmes Group for the lower earnings.

Leggett & Platt officials to discuss quarterly results

Officials from Carthage-based Fortune 500 company Leggett & Platt will discuss fourth quarter results during a conference call 8 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27, according to a company news release.
The call can be accessed at the Investor Relations section of Leggett's website.

Former Lamar minister featured in newspaper article

Former Lamar First Christian Church minister Doug Oakes is featured in an article in today's Wabash, Ind. Plain Dealer.
Oakes was a featured columnist with The Lamar Press during its 49-week run from August 15, 1996, to July 11, 1997.

Wilson closing in on $27,000

Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, collected $7,525 during the past three months, giving him $26,909 in his campaign fund, according to a disclosure form filed Friday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Wilson's contributions appear to be more evenly split between PACs and local donors, the report indicates.
Those giving the maximum $300 to Wilson were:
Rudolph Farber, Neosho; Bill Sims, Neosho; Brenda Myers, Joplin; Nick Myers, Joplin; Donna Hayes, Cassville; Richard Davidson II, Neosho; McDonald County Title & Escrow, Inc., Pineville; Missouri Physician Assistant PAC, Jefferson City; Missouri Pharmacy PAC, Jefferson City; Missouri Dental PAC, Jefferson City; Home Building Industry PAC, St. Louis; Missouri Cable PAC, Independence; Liberty Mutual Insurance Company PAC, Dover, N. H.; American Insurance Association, Jefferson City; Tim Mitchell Medical, Neosho; Timothy Mitchell, Neosho; Goodman State Bank, Goodman; James W. Hicklin, Joplin; Hunte Corporation, Goodman; and Gary Hendricks, Neosho.
Wilson also received $150 from the Missouri State Chiropractors Association PAC, Jefferson City; and $200 from Jerry Griffith, Neosho.
The disclosure form indicates Wilson picked up $1,175 from donors contributing $100 or less.
Wilson reported spending only $338.53. The items for which he spent that money were not listed on the documents.

Former Joplin assistant police chief to begin new job

Joplin's former assistant police chief Richard Schurman will begin his duties as Grandview police chief Tuesday, Jan. 17, according to a Kansas City Star article.

Richard up to $55,000 in campaign funds

Ron Richard, R-Joplin, serves on the Financial Institutions Committee of the Missouri House of Representatives, and apparently, he has made some friends among the leaders of those same institutions.
On his quarterly campaign disclosure forms, filed today with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Richard lists $55,576.79 total in his campaign account, including $6,012.50 during the past three months.
Of the new donations, $2,100 came from various regional versions of the Missouri Bankers Association. Donors are limited to $300 by state law, but the MBA gets around that requirement and increases its political power by setting up PACs in every area of the state, then donating the maximum amount from each area.
Richard received $300 apiece from MBA Capital Region PAC, 207 E. Capital Ave., Jefferson City; MBA Truman Region PAC, 207 E. Capitol Avenue, Jefferson City; MBA State PAC, 207 E. Capital Avenue, Jefferson City; MBA River Heritage Region PAC, 207 E. Capital, Jefferson City; MBA Gateway Region PAC, 207 E. Capital Avenue, Jefferson City; MBA Mark Twain Region PAC, 207 E. Capital Avenue, Jefferson City; and MBA Pony Express Region PAC, 207 E. Capital, Jefferson City.
Get the picture.
Richard also picked up $1,512.50 from the 129th Republican Legislative District Committee, Joplin, which is not limited by the state laws.
Other contributors giving the maximum $300 included:
Committee for Political Action of Missouri CPAs, St. Louis; United Parcel Service PAC Missouri, Atlanta, Ga., Missouri Grocers Association, Springfield; General American Life Assurance PAC, Jefferson City (listed in care of the lobbyist firm of Herzog & Rhoads) Cendant Corporation, Sandy, Utah; and Carlson Gardner, Inc. Springfield.
Also, Richard received $250 from Herbst Gaming, Inc., St. Joseph; $150 from Missouri State Chiropractors PAC, Jefferson City; and $200 from Joplin CPA Nick Myers.
The only local contributors to the Richard campaign, according to disclosure forms were Myers and the Republican Legislative Committee.
The committee reported spending $3,063 during the three-month period, including $963 to Huddleston Advertising, Joplin, for promotional pens, and $2,100 in $300 increments to seven Republican legislative campaigns across the state.