Signed copies of Newton County Memories available as holiday gifts

Signed copies of my book Newton County Memories are available as Christmas gifts for those of you who have friends with Newton County connections or who are close to someone who is featured ine book.

The book, which was published earlier this year, features my recollections of people, places and events that made growing up and living in Newton County a wonderful time for me.

Those wishing to order a signed copy can do so by sending $22 to cover the cost, sales tax and postage to Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. A, Joplin MO 64801, or use the PayPal button below.

Signed copies are also on sale locally at Granby Auto Supply and Hardware, Pat's Books in Carthage,  and Changing Hands Book Shoppe and Always Buying Books in Joplin.

Newton County Memories includes the following chapters and names:

Chapters

Introduction
2. Cold-Blooded Assassin (Remembering Dean Keeling)
14. Becky’s Mom (Remembering Helen Hildebrand)
18. Good Intentions Don’t Cut It (Remembering Willi Pierson)
21. The Meeting Place (Remembering the Neosho Square)
25. The Hangout (Remembering Gertrude Brown and the Brown Derby)
28. A Commitment to Young People (Remembering Terry Shepherd)
33. A Bases Loaded Intentional Walk (Remembering Gary Shepherd)
39. Special Delivery (Remembering Gary Nagle)
42. Return to Granby (Remembering the Newton County News)
50. No Love for the Captain and Tennille (Remembering James Payne)
53. The Long and Difficult Road (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
56. One-Year Anniversary (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
59. One of a Kind (Remembering Duane Beaver)
62. The Trailer Classroom (Remembering T. J. Bowman)

66. Those Who Can (Remembering the Teachers)
70. World Champions (Remembering the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals)
73. (The Words That Keep Her Alive (Remembering Barbara McNeely)
76. Letter to the Editor (Remembering Mr. Patrick)
79. No Stealing in Heaven (Remembering Rev. Freddie Franks)
82. Death of a Newspaper (Remembering the Neosho Daily News)
86. Art for the Ages (Remembering Newtonia History)
89. The Joy of Reading (Remembering the Bookmobile)
93. The Man in Charge (Remembering Rue Porter)
96. The Last Cup of Coffee (Remembering Wilma Bragg)
99. Taking the Blame (Remembering Mickey Owen)
102. The Last Performance (Remembering Bill Pierson)
105. Solid, Steady and Reliable (Remembering Tom Channel)
108. Instead of Just A Wishin’ (Remembering the Sportsman’s Friend)
111. The Place to Be (Remembering Rita Wheeler and Reta’s)
114. The Baseball Fields of Neosho (Remembering Ralph Houk)
116. The Last Time I Wore Makeup (Remembering Patty Renfro)
119. A Slap in the Face (Remembering Susan Warren and Little Moon of Alban)
122. A Few Ill-Chosen Words (Remembering Ranae Powell)
125. The Voice of the Cardinals (Remembering KMOX)
131. A Name From the Past (Remembering Bob Shore)
134. Making the Past Come to Life (Remembering Dixie Haase)
136. The Face of the Newspaper (Remembering Harlan Stark and Bill Ball)
139. The House on the Hill (Remembering Max Carter)
142. The Final Deadline (Remembering Eulah Hawkins)
145. It Started at East Newton (Remembering Ron Lankford)
148. Conversation and Politics (Remembering Mike Camerer)
151. Stolen Bases (Remembering an Oldtimers Game )
157. A Child Discovers Reality (Remembering Ranger Ed and the Fun Club and Children’s Shows of Yesteryear)

Names and Places



Jack Anderson
Slim Andrews
Anything Goes
Louis Armstrong
Ted Arnall
Aroma Express

Karla Babb
Pete Babb
Bill Ball
Buzz Ball
Lou Ann Ball
Baseball Digest
Duane Beaver
Don Bogle
Maggie Bowman
T. J. Bowman
Ken Boyer
Roy Bragg
Sharon Bragg
Vicki Bragg
Wilma Bragg
Lou Brock
Teddy Brock
Ernie Broglio
Brown Derby
Gertrude Brown
Vernie Browning
Jack Buck
Burnett Grocery
Bill Burress
Howard Bush
Richard Bush

Harry Caray
Max Carter
Orlando Cepeda
Norma Champion
Tom Channel
Charles O. Chester
Preston Chester
Civil War Cemetery
Bob Clark
Roberto Clemente
Sue Cole
Combat
Ronna Cook
Ed Cooper
Anne Cope
Ken Cope
Randy Cope
Geoff Cornish
Corral
Crowder College
Nettie Cummins

Dairy Dip
Bill Dalbom
Diamond
Diamond Middle School
Dog N Suds

East Newton High School
Lester Ray Edgar
Harold Ensley

Fairview
Fife and Drum
Kiley Finkbiner
Woody Fitzmaurice
Curt Flood
John Ford
Rev. Freddie Franks
The Fugitive
Donna Fullerton
Reta Fullerton

Bob Gibson
Charles Goade
Andy Griffith
Carroll Gum

Dixie Haase
Scott Harris
Eulah Hawkins
Gerry Henson
Whitey Herzog
Todd Higdon
Becky Hildebrand
Bob Hildebrand
Helen Hildebrand
Laurie Hildebrand
Anita Hilton
Danny Hilton
Craig Hopper
Jim Hunter
Ralph Houk
Kaylea Hutson

J. C. Penney
Julian Javier
Jackie Jensen
Billy Johnson
Burney Johnson
Hattie Mae Johnson
Lee Ann Johnson
Stan Johnson
Teddy Johnson
Don Johnston
Joplin Globe
Joplin News-Herald
Danny Judd
David Judd
Gary Judd
Larry Judd
Mark Judd
Tim Judd

Bill Keith
Ken’s Pizza
KMOX
Paul Knight
Debbie Kruse
KUHI

Ray Lankford
Ron Lankford
Tony LaRussa
Helen Lee
Lettermen
Brad Letts
Charlie Letts
Steve Letts
Tim Letts
Little Moon of Alban
Jim Lobbey
Lumberjacks

Joyce Mann
Mickey Mantle
Roger Maris
Janice Matthews
Willie Mays
Tim McCarver
Patrick McFarland
McGinty’s
Gray McKinney
Barbara McNeely
Midway School
Ron Mitchell
The Mouse That Roared
Stan Musial

Gary Nagle
Roger Neer
Rick Nelson
Neosho
Neosho Boulevard
Neosho Daily News
Neosho Newsstand
Neosho Nurseries
Neosho Square
Newton County News
Newtonia
Newtonia Community Building
Nichols Grocery

Old Mining Town Days
Gene Oliver
Roy Orbison
Mickey Owen
Alan Oxendine
Gary Oxendine

Helen Patrick
Hodgen Patrick
James Payne
Drew Pearson
Sherry Pettey
Bill Pierson
Willi Pierson
Rue Porter
Burl Powell
Keith Powell
Ranae Powell
Elvis Presley

Ranger Ed
Steve Ray
Irene Relf
Patty Renfro
Reta’s
Ritchey House
Johnny Rivers
Mae Robbins
Rita Roller
Jean Rowe

Chief Saddler
Ray Sadecki
St. Louis Cardinals
Karen Sapp
John Scott
Wana Senter
Mike Shannon
Gary Shepherd
Rob Shepherd
Terry Shepherd
Red Schoendienst
Bob Shore
Skinny and Rusty
Dick Smith Memorial Park
Bob Snyder
Rhonda Speak
Sporting News
Stark City
Harlan Stark
Chad Stebbins
Casey Stengel
Sterling's
Carolyn Strait
Emery Styron
John Styron
Pat Styron
Vern Styron
Amber Swartz
Randy Switzer

Danny Tanner
Richard Taylor
Vickie Thomas
Tigers
Joe Torre
Herb Troxel
Robyn Trowbridge
Bill Turner
JoAnn Turner
Kelly Turner
Vicki Turner

Rob Viehman

Susan Warren
Scott Watson
Bill Webster
Minnie Weems
Larry Wheeler
Rita Wheeler
Scott White
Steve White
Williams
Ed Wilson
Woodpeckers
David Wormington
Dee Wormington

Zoey

Thank God for the First Amendment- Politicians don't get to choose which reporters cover them

The dustup between President Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta reminded me of something that happened in the late 1980s when I was managing editor of the Lamar Democrat.

Publisher Doug Davis decided to run for Lamar City Council and was elected, which created some logistical problems for the newspaper.
.
Doug had covered City Council meetings and that was no longer feasible. I took over the beat and to his credit, Doug never looked over any of my articles until the story was in print. And though I am certain he was not always happy with the way I covered the council, he never complained.

For some reason that I do not recall, Doug also had to give up the other monthly meeting he covered, the Barton County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees.



I had a conflict the night the Board met, but at the time I had some young capable reporters who were able to handle all kinds of news coverage. One of those was a Missouri Southern student and he was the one I assigned to cover the hospital board.

After the first meeting, BCMH Administrator Elden Selves, a friend of Doug's, let Doug know he was not happy with the way the college student covered the board. . He had emphasized things the board did not want to have emphasized and Selves did not want him at the next meeting. Doug chalked it up to the reporter's youth and said he was not ready for that kind of assignment.

I talked over the situation with the reporter, who showed me his notes and I could find nothing in the story that was inaccurate. For the most part, the things the reporter emphasized were the same ones I would have emphasized if it had been my assignment.

Nevertheless, the next time the Barton County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees met, a different reporter covered the meeting.

We allowed the hospital administrator to determine who covered a public meeting and allowed him to influence our editorial decisions.

It was wrong then and it is wrong now.

That is why I have been so irritated the past few days since the dustup between President Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

Acosta is brash, irritating and his style is not something I would ever consider trying. At the same time, he is an excellent reporter, albeit one with an attitude. He reminds me a lot of former ABC White House reporter Sam Donaldson who irritated President Reagan in the 1980s.

Fortunately, Reagan understood the importance of the First Amendment and a free press, something that seems beyond our current president. Neither he nor anyone who worked for him would have ever thought of pressuring ABC to pull Donaldson off the White House beat.

I have heard Trump supporters who say that CNN can send other reporters to cover the White House briefings and the president's press conferences.

Sorry, that is not how freedom of the press works. Certainly, a reporter can have his or her credentials revoked for outrageous behavior.

Acosta's behavior, while again not my cup of tea, did not rise to that level. If the President does not to want to answer questions from Acosta, all he had to do was call on any of the other 100 or so reporters who cover White House press conferences.

Neither Donald Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, nor anyone else should decide which CNN reporters can cover a press conference any more than Elden Selves should have been able to tell the Lamar Democrat which reporter should cover the Barton County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees meeting.

***

A little additional information:

The confrontation with the president does not seem to have had much of an effect on Acosta, which should come as no surprise to anyone.

Nor did the decision to remove the reporter from the hospital board have a negative effect on his career.

The reporter transferred from MSSU to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. I worked with him again, beginning in 1991 when he was hired at the Carthage Press. During the next several years, he earned numerous awards for reporting and photography before he left journalism to try something new.

At the job he holds now, Jasper County Sheriff Randee Kaiser takes just as much pride in getting things right as he did when he covered that hospital board meeting three decades ago.

***
My new book, Newton County Memories, is available locally at Always Buying Books and Changing Hands Book Shoppe in Joplin, Pat's Books in Carthage and Granby Auto Supply and Hardware. It can also be purchased at Amazon at the link below.

Fifty-five years ago today

Class dismissed early 50 years ago today at Midway Elementary.

Word had spread quickly that President John F. Kennedy, the only president most of the second graders could remember, had been murdered. As we headed to the bus a couple of hours earlier than usual, I remember the conversation. My classmates did not believe it. "You can't kill the president" one girl said.

"They killed Abraham Lincoln," I said, having just read a small paperback biography of the 16th president. I knew nothing of the assassinations of Garfield and McKinley.

That weekend my eyes were glued to the small black-and-white television in the living room. I watched as one man, Jack Ruby, murdered another one, presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, on live television- the first time that had ever happened. It was only on one network, but that was the network I happened to be watching.

The Kennedy assassination was the first time that television took over the coverage of an event and dominated the newspapers because of its immediacy. Now it is something we expect.

On the 30-year anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, Nov. 22, 1993, I combed through the third floor archives in the old Carthage Press building and wrote a story about what it was like in Carthage three decades earlier.

The Carthage Press account from the Nov. 23, 1963 issue began, "Carthage today was a city in shock, still unable to comprehend the brutality with which the nation's chief executive was removed from office and from life." There was no byline on the article, but I thought it might have been the work of Marvin VanGilder.


"Carthaginians repeatedly remarked only, 'It's unbelievable...What a terrible thing! I didn't think it could happen in this country...What happens now?'

Flags on the courthouse lawn, over the post office, before Memorial Hall and elsewhere in the city dangled limply at half-staff, the article said.

"The city mourned the death of a president and mourned with equal fervor a demonstration of hate to awful to comprehend."

Former Joplin Globe reporter was first to tell the nation of President Kennedy's death

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. When that anniversary arrives each year, I reprint a column I first wrote in 2006 for the short-lived Joplin Daily. 

The newspaper's editor, current Carthage Press Managing Editor John Hacker, asked me to write a weekly column for the Daily. 

My first column, which was about the 15th anniversary of the death of Nancy Cruzan ran and was well-received, but the powers that be at GateHouse Media told Hacker they did not want to have a column from me in every paper, and arrogant as I have always been, I decided not to submit any more columns, including this one, which is about the death of a former Joplin Globe reporter whose claim to fame was that he was the first one to get the news of Kennedy's assassination out to the public.

"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.

New armed robbery, felony assault charges filed against Ace Mohr, Carthage man being held without bond

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed felony charges of armed robbery and assault against Ace Mohr, 25, Carthage, today.

Mohr is being held in the Jasper County Jail without bond.

The new charges stem from an October 27 incident investigated by the Carthage Police Department in which Mohr allegedly beat a Carthage man with brass knuckles and stole his wallet, phone and watch.

Mohr was arrested Thursday after he failed to show for hearings earlier this month before Judge Gayle Crane on a separate felony assault charge and in Judge David Mouton's court for a probation violation hearing.



The latest charges against Mohr were spelled out in the probable cause statement:

On 10/27/2018 (the victim) was contacted at Mercy McCune-Brooks Hospital where he reported an assault and robbery to the Carthage Police Department. 

On 10/27/2018 (the victim) was attacked and hit repeatedly on the face and head with brass knuckles by Ace Nolan Mohr at 1200 Regan St. Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. 

During the assault Ace stole (the man's) wallet (unknown items inside it), black in color Android smartphone (unknown make or model) and black Timex watch. Per Mercy Hospital records (the victim's) injuries were a swollen and tender left eye which (the victim) was unable to open; facial fractures of the orbital bones; facial fractures of the zygomatic process and facial fractures of the maxillary sinus all on the left side of his face.




This makes at least the fourth time Mohr has been charged with armed robbery. On two previous occasions, former Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney Dean Dankelson, now a judge, dropped the charges. In the third case, an alleged 2016 armed robbery in Joplin, Dankelson elected not to follow the Joplin Police Department's recommendation and did not file charges.

Mohr is awaiting trial on a felony domestic assault charge following another Carthage Police Department arrest August 18.
The probable cause statement says Mohr "pushed (the victim's) face into a wall causing (the victim's) upper lip to break and bleeding to occur.

"Ace then locked (the victim) in the bathroom, taunting (the victim) to kill (redacted). He then shoved (the victim's) face into broken glass on the floor causing a laceration on the forehead and serious bleeding to occur."

The victim was able to break away from Mohr, according to the statement and 911 was contacted.

At the time of all of these felony arrests, Mohr has been on probation. Judge Mouton sentenced Mohr to five years in prison March 5, then suspended the sentence and placed him on probation for five years after Mohr pleaded guilty to felony charges of receiving stolen property and possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

As part of his plea agreement, multiple felony charges, including possession of methamphetamine and cocaine, were dropped.

Initially, a $30,000 cash bond was set for Mohr following the domestic assault case, but Judge Joseph Hensley allowed him to be released on his own recognizance. The current armed robbery and assault cases are in Hensley's court. This time, he did not allow bond.

In a one-sentence comment on the November 5 Turner Report, Mohr claimed he has been misunderstood.

The only reason there was a failure to appear was a full blown mess up on the courts the October 29th court date changed to the fifteenth I have documentation to prove that and when I was in court the 15th Mouton didn't show up for court and they changed the next date to November 29th so please me randy Turner I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to run my name in the ground because honestly what good is it doing you.? Do you get satisfaction by slandering g a 25yr old with a family that is trying to do right I'm not a worthless junkie running the streets and getting high I've came a long way from that and will never go back so why don't you take it into consideration to stop with all your obsessions you have with me it's quite pathetic if you ask me

The woman who made me take my belt off, the officer who checked it out, and how my pants defied gravity

When I went through security at the Joplin Courts Building about an hour ago, the deputy gave the usual instructions, but added one I had not heard before.

"You will need to remove your belt."

"Must be some kind of big case," I said, smelling a story, but he shook his head.

"We had a woman who tried to sneak a knife in to her boyfriend by hiding it under her belt.'

After that incident, he said, the sheriff added belts to the items that need to be removed and scanned.

I removed my belt and thankfully, my pants did not fall to the floor.

As I waited for the belt, my phone, my keys and my wallet to be scanned, I asked if any charges had been filed against the woman. I had every intention of following her every step as she went through the judicial system. Unfortunately, she was not charged.

It is amazing how many things have been made more difficult for the rest of us because we have people in our society who have no respect for the law.

Belts at the Joplin Courts Building are a minor deal, but then again, so was buying medicines that now require tons of paperwork and a prescription, thanks to the people who discovered they were useful in making meth.

Or the tons of security people have to go through to get into most public buildings these days.

A lot of it is done because of the actions of people that our system seems well equipped to handle.

And speaking of that, there is a reason I was down at the courts building this morning, a new development in the case of someone who is Exhibit A for the failures of our judicial system.

So you want to be a Webb City R-7 assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction

The Webb City R-7 School District has posted an opening for an assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

You may notice a considerable difference between the amount of requirements listed in the Webb City listing (only a few) and the listings for the Joplin and Neosho school districts.


Just an observation.

The entire job description is printed below:

Job Description

Police to KODE: No unusual problem with missing people in Joplin

Joplin is not having an epidemic of missing people, according to the Joplin Police Department.

Though the continued social media focus on some who remain missing has created that concept, Capt. Trevor Duncan told KODE reporter Austin Hyslip that the city is not having any unusual problem with missing people.

"I think the public perception of human trafficking is not realistic to our area," Duncan said. "We're not seeing any trends in abductions."

Hyslip's report included an interview with Lynn Hamon, who has kept the public's attention focused on Joplin's missing people on her Facebook page. Hamon says there is a problem and that the Joplin Police Department does not have the manpower to handle it.



JPD statistics show 71 people reported missing this year, with five of those people still not found. One hundred twenty-three runaways have been reported.

The report mentioned four of those five people- Sarah Burton, Tracy Pickett, Shawn Gallagher and Sandra Spoon.

State Board corrects Greitens overreach, names Margie Vandeven education commissioner

During his thankfully brief tenure as Missouri governor, Eric Greitens appointed a board of education, never confirmed by the Senate, that fired Margie Vandeven as education commissioner.

Greitens' plan was to name someone whose inclinations were geared more toward privatization of education and charter schools.

The State Board corrected that transgression today.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education news release is printed below:

The State Board of Education announced on Tuesday that Margie Vandeven has been hired to return to her role as the state’s commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Vandeven will begin her duties on January 2, 2019.



“I am grateful to the State Board of Education for entrusting me with the responsibility of serving as Missouri’s commissioner of education,” Vandeven said. “It is an honor to return to the department, and I remain committed to doing what is best for the children of Missouri. I look forward to working with stakeholders from across our state – urban, rural and suburban. Through active collaboration among state and local leaders, educators and our families, we will – together – advance opportunities for each student.” (Read Dr. Vandeven's full statement here)

Vandeven initially became Missouri’s sixth Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education on Jan. 1, 2015, and served in that position for nearly three years. She began her education career in 1990 as a communication arts teacher in O’Fallon. She served as a teacher and administrator in Missouri and Maryland until 2005 when she went to work for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“With Margie’s knowledge and enthusiasm, it is obvious that she will be up to speed in a very short time,” said Vic Lenz, vice president of the State Board of Education. “She has a vision for Missouri education that will fit perfectly with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) legislation.”

Dr. Roger Dorson has served as the department’s interim commissioner since Dec. 1, 2017.

“I want to thank Roger for his amazing leadership during a challenging time as well as express my appreciation to the education community for its support of DESE and the more than 900,000 Missouri students it serves,” said Charlie Shields, president of the State Board of Education. "We look forward to continuous progress for the department under Margie's leadership."

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, under Vandeven’s direction, will look to continue its mission of guaranteeing the superior preparation and performance of every child in school and in life. The department focuses on three strategic priorities to help attain the goal that all Missouri students graduate ready for success: access, opportunity and equity, teachers and leaders, and efficiency and effectiveness.

“Missouri’s independent State Board of Education, through their selection process, unanimously chose a new commissioner of education,” said Governor Mike Parson. “Moving forward, we will continue working with Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to focus efforts on ensuring our students have the skills to succeed and meet the demands of tomorrow’s workforce.

Vandeven is the sixth individual, and second female, to serve as Missouri’s Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education since the position began in 1947.

Creve Coeur Democrat to pre-file seven bills to prevent gun violence

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

Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, will pre-file seven bills to prevent gun violence. These bills reflect her commitment to public safety by preventing gun violence and implementing commonsense reforms to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who may pose a danger to themselves and others.

Earlier this week, a gunman murdered one woman and sexually assaulted another at a store on Manchester Road in Ballwin, MO. Local law enforcement released a description of the gunman, describing him as a white male, 40 to 50 years old, and around 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477.

“Gun violence is killing innocent Missourians. Many of these senseless tragedies could have been prevented through commonsense reforms to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of dangerous people,” Sen. Schupp said. “Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need action. The legislation I will be carrying during the 2019 legislative session will help Missouri take a positive step forward to prevent gun violence and save lives.”

In Missouri, deaths from gun violence have surpassed the number of deaths in vehicle crashes each year.

The seven bill to be pre-filed would:

· Establish an “extreme risk order of protection” procedure through the courts to allow for removal of firearms from persons posing a “red flag” or significant risk of causing injury to themselves or others;

· Prevent loaded guns from getting in the hands of children in unsupervised situations by requiring safe storage;

· Create a 24 hour “cooling off period” before selling or transferring a firearm;

· Require background checks for all firearms transfers;

· Close the “boyfriend loophole” by prohibiting possession of firearms by anyone subject to an order of protection or those convicted of a domestic violence offense;

· Outlaw “bump stocks” or other devices intended to increase the rate of fire; and

· Establish a statewide task force to research and study gun violence as a community health and safety issue.

By pre-filing the bills, Sen. Schupp ensures that the proposed legislation will be introduced on Jan. 9, the first day of the Missouri General Assembly’s 2019 session. For more information on Sen. Schupp’s legislation, visit her official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/schupp.