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Missouri prison system reaches potential record of 800 correctional officer vacancies

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The Missouri Department of Corrections is struggling with a possible record shortage of about 800 prison guards. Corrections Director Anne Precythe tells Missourinet the number of vacancies has doubled during the past year among the state’s 21 prisons. She points to a variety of things contributing to the shortfall.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe

“Across the nation, Corrections is hurting, because when the economy is good, and it is and we’re thankful for that, Corrections business suffers because the pay is not where it is in the general public. I believe that if you go back and trend the economy, you will see a very similar parallel line to vacancies within the department,” Precythe says.

The primary complaints from Corrections employees are low wages and lack of higher wages for seniority members. For example, a 15-year veteran officer earns the same wages as a brand new officer.

Missouri ranks 49th among U.S. states in corrections officer hourly wages and 50th in average annual salary for state workers. The state Legislature and governor endorsed a raise this year for state workers. Corrections officers are to receive a pay bump of $1,050 – the largest in nine years. Other Corrections staff are to get a $700 raise in January.

The agency is discussing options with the Governor’s Office to further increase worker pay. Precythe says she hopes to go to the Legislature next year with ideas to boost what her employees take home.

Crossroads Correctional Center and Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron and Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green have the most severe worker shortages.

“In the town of Cameron itself, we wouldn’t be able to employ all the employees we need. So, we have people driving over an hour to come to work there. Plus, you have six facilities in the northwestern part of the state. That in and of itself is challenging,” she says. “There are some areas that are in desperate times, but then there are facilities that aren’t. We’ve reduced the prison population in those three facilities and closed a housing unit or two in each of those facilities, which means we’re busing that population to other prisons to fill them up completely.”

This also presents a problem for families who have to drive further to visit their loved ones behind bars.

Precythe says Ozark Correctional Center in Fordland, South Central Correctional Center in Licking and Chillicothe Correctional Center are staffed well. Leadership is studying these institutions to understand why they don’t have high turnover rates like several of the other ones.

“We want to replicate that in other locations, whatever we find to be the case is working – we want to be able to replicate that,” she says.

Precythe says the department has also released a lot of staff.

“Staff has resigned under investigation. They have resigned before being fired,” she says. “People leave state government for an assortment of reasons. It’s not always just to go to another job. Though we hate to see the really good employees go for another job, there are several employees that we turn loose and we would not take back. That’s for the betterment of our agency.”

Precythe, who took over at the helm in 2017, inherited an agency-wide scandal involving a culture of harassment, violence and intimidation. A 2016 investigation by the Pitch.com uncovered more than $10 million paid out by the state in five years to settle lawsuits against the department.

Staff shortages have led to mandatory overtime enforced on many occasions. Employees get paid time-and-a-half for working overtime. Precythe says she’s trying to figure out how they can keep the excess annual leave they’ve earned.

“We have people who are not able to take vacation time. At the end of the year when the excess of 240 hours or 330 hours rolls off, they’re going to lose that excess annual leave because they’ve worked so much comp time. They can’t even take the comp time they’ve earned. They can’t take the vacation time,” she says.

Precythe says the training process has changed by having instructors more local to the institution, instead of waiting for the next academy. The training is still the same, but it’s done by a different set of instructors and on a faster time frame.

“Because we are so understaffed, 60% of Corrections employees throughout the entire department are less than five years on the job. We are in the business of training new people,” she says.

The agency has ramped up its hiring initiatives to help recruit new employees. Some of the efforts include attending jobs fairs around the state including the State Fair, targeted text message ads to cell phones, billboards in specific areas and working with Missouri’s military offices to hire soldiers and veterans.

One full-time recruiter and one part-time recruiter have come on board in northwestern Missouri. The agency is also looking to add full-time recruiters for northeast, southeast and central Missouri.

A high school apprenticeship program is in the works with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Precythe compares it to a Reserve Officer Training Corp, or ROTC program, for high schoolers to educate students about Corrections as a potential career path. She says the effort is not unique to Missouri and Corrections is often a family business with members following in each other’s footsteps.

Precythe says her mission has not changed since the day she hit the streets of Missouri – focusing on the workers.

“Two-thirds of our strategic plan is focused on state employees. One-third of it is focused on the outcomes and the offender population we are responsible for,” she says. “If I can get my employees in a good place, then there’s no doubt we can make a positive impact on the offender population we are responsible for. I believe we’ve been doing that. I’ve got to start with my staff and get them in a really good place first.”

About 31,000 offenders live in Missouri’s prisons.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Popular Missouri destination named one of best fall foliage spots in America

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A USA Today readers poll ranks Lake of the Ozarks second in destinations for fall foliage. Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks finished in the polling behind Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but topped eight other destinations, including the Pocono Mountains, Door County in Wisconsin, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, among others.

A scenic overlook at Ha Ha Tonka State Park near Camdenton, MO at the Lake of the Ozarks (PHOTO COURTESY OF LAKE OF THE OZARKS TRI-COUNTY LODGING ASSOCIATION & CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU)

“Every autumn, we have many visitors return to the Lake of the Ozarks area for the changing of the seasons,” says Tim Jacobsen, executive director of the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitor Bureau. “The majority of our fall visitors come from Missouri, but we get a lot from all over the Midwest and the west coast, as well, because they don’t get to experience fall like we do here in Central Missouri. They plan their entire vacations around it. Perhaps with this recognition, we’ll see more visitors from around the country traveling to our beautiful destination to enjoy our stunning scenery.”

The peak of the fall color at the Lake of the Ozarks typically occurs in mid- to late-October, when the trees are at the height of their fall display. The peak season varies from year to year, depending on the weather and can span until early November.

The Lake of the Ozarks has more than 1,100 miles of shoreline, with forests stretching along most of it with vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Lieutenant Governor’s program showcases Missouri-made items to buy

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During this first annual Buy Missouri Week underway, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe wants the public to “support our own backyard folks” and purchase Missouri-made goods the state has to offer. He says the Buy Missouri program, which includes about 150 companies both large and small, aims to boost the state’s economy and businesses. They are promoted for free on the website Kehoe’s office runs – BuyMissouri.net – with the hope of getting many more.

Buy Missouri Week is underway

“It’s very exciting. All across Missouri, there’s somebody down some road that nobody even knew about maybe in the community that says ‘Hey did you know they make whatever down that road? They make pontoon boats, they make sausage.’ It’s fascinating to find all those places out,” Kehoe says. “When you buy Missouri-made products, you’re likely helping somebody that you go to church with, that’s on the soccer field with you or the parents of somebody that your kids go to school with.”

It’s not even Halloween yet, but some Missourians are already thinking about the holidays. Kehoe, a Republican from Jefferson City, says the website is a good place to go shopping and find gifts.

“If you want a consumable, outdoor equipment, building supplies, or whatever it is you’re looking for, you can look and find a company that manufactures one of those products and then you might want to consider that as you go out and shop,” Kehoe says.

The list of goods goes on and on. BuyMissouri.net promotes all sorts of items, like automobiles, clothing, tool boxes, food and beauty products, agriculture goods, adult beverages, windows, and various candies.

“Missouri products are everything from GM cars and trucks built in Wentzville, Ford cars and trucks in Kansas City, Quaker windows in Freeburg, which is one of the nation’s largest window manufacturers, all the way down to someone who manufactures charcoal,” he says.

Kehoe says the most unique product he’s encountered is Cherry Mash – a popular sweet treat made for the past 100 years in northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph.

“Most people are familiar with it, have seen it on the shelves, have eaten it, have bought it,” Kehoe chuckles.

Gov. Mike Parson, R, pioneered the Buy Missouri Initiative as lieutenant governor. Kehoe sponsored Senate Bill 891 establishing Buy Missouri Week. It was signed into law having received overwhelming bi-partisan support in both legislative chambers.

To sign up for the program or browse the different products, click here.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

State officials look to boost pay for some Missouri veterans home workers

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Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe says the Missouri Veterans Commission is working to find ways to enhance pay for some state veterans home workers. Kehoe, a Republican, tells Missourinet commissioners are talking with the state Legislature and federal government about pay raises.

Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe

“It’s very tough to find the skilled workforce it takes to take care of folks, whether it’s a veterans home, a private home or a county-run home. The challenges it’s faced in taking care of people are similar to the industry. We just have to make sure we do the best we can to recruit and retain the best people,” Kehoe says.

Missouri’s Veterans Homes are located in metro St. Louis, St. James, Mexico, Warrensburg, Cape Girardeau, Cameron and Mt. Vernon. The homes manage a combined total of 1,350 beds.

The St. Louis Veterans Home has been investigated several times since 2017 about reports of inadequate care. New leadership took over there this year with a focus of improving care and recruiting additional nursing staff.

The troubled facility led to investigations at all of the state’s veterans homes. An independent organization visited the sites over a two-day period and found things like fear of retaliation against staff who report problems, staff opposition to mandatory overtime and lack of paperwork for infection and sanitation issues and drug dosage.

The state’s website lists current job openings for nursing staff ranging in pay from $11.35 an hour for a certified nursing assistant, $16.65 an hour for a licensed practical nurse to $1,979 on a semi-monthly basis for a registered nurse.

The Missouri Veterans Commission operates the homes. The commission is a division of the state Department of Public Safety.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri civil engineer says Joplin tornado inspired her to build tornado simulators

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Missouri civil engineer says Joplin tornado inspired her to build tornado simulators

A civil engineer at Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla says the 2011 Joplin tornado inspired her to build tornado simulators. Dr. Grace Yan has already built two small-scale versions and is working on a third one that could be the largest of its kind in North America. Yan tells Missourinet she’s researching wind pressure on civil structures when such natural disasters wreak havoc on communities.

“We need to do more research on this type of hazard so we can protect our civil structures,” she says. “The Joplin tornado killed a lot of people and caused $2.8 billion of property loss. It’s just 200 miles from us. As a civil engineer, I do want to do something to make the Midwest a better place to live.”

The tornado ripped through central Joplin, killing 161 people and destroying more than 500 businesses.

Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma encompass an unofficial geographic designation known as Tornado Alley – spawning many tornadoes each year, some of which cause major property destruction. Yan, who grew up in China, did not live where tornadoes are common.

Yan has a grant from the National Science Foundation to find out the structural conditions under multi-hazard environments.

Her smaller simulators are about three feet in diameter and use toy models to mimic the destruction of high-speed twisters. The larger one is about 20 feet in diameter and a unique feature about it is that it would be a mobile unit.

“If the model is larger, we can put more pressure taps, that’s a sensor to a type of pressure, we can get better pressure data,” she says.

Yan says since the field environment is so challenging, she uses numerical simulation.

“The wind speed in the laboratory tornado simulator would be much smaller than the real world situation, but there’s a similarity theory we can follow. So, after we get the data, we can scale up our data to see what type of real world wind speed we are simulating. We can scale up the wind speed. We can scale up the wind pressure. We just need to follow the similarity theory,” she says.

Yan is also developing a virtual reality animation that would allow users to estimate how their homes would fare in a tornado. In turn, it would help them decide whether to reinforce their structures. She hopes it will increase the community’s tornado risk awareness to guide them on how their homes can better survive in such disasters.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Remains return home today of Missouri Sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack

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The remains of a northern Missouri Navy Sailor return home today – 77 years after getting killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Second Class Harold Loyd Head of Laclede was on the USS Oklahoma when it was hit by several torpedoes and capsized, killing 429 Sailors and Marines, including Head.

Photo courtesy of KCHI in Chillicothe

It took years to locate their remains and most were buried as “Unknown”. In 2015, permission was received to exhume the graves for possible identification. On September 26, 2017, a report was issued and Head’s remains were identified.

Laclede Mayor Larry Smith says it is an honor to be part of Head’s service.

“There’s been a monument put up in their memory at the corner of the cemetery back in early 1951. So now, at least one of the remains of one of the boys that was lost has been brought back home,” he tells Missourinet affiliate KCHI in Chillicothe.

Smith says the town expects a large turnout today.

“The VFW and American Legion will be participating in some of the ceremonies,” he says. “We have areas marked for the Freedom Riders. We don’t know if we are going to have 25 Freedom Riders or 200 of them.”

Today, on what would be his 97th birthday, Head’s remains will travel under a full formal procession from Parkville to Laclede. The procession leaves Parkville at 10:30 a.m. and is expected to arrive in Laclede around 1:00 p.m.

Head will be laid to rest with full military honors.

‘Pioneer’ exits as Missouri charter school sponsor

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The University of Missouri-Kansas City will no longer sponsor its eight Kansas City charter schools in May. Charter Public School Commission Executive Director Robbyn Wahby tells Missourinet the university wants to focus on research and developing human capital.

Photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

“As with everything, when over time, if you don’t stop and re-evaluate and determine whether this is the best use of your talents and resources, you may miss an opportunity,” she says. “I think that’s what the dean was doing. Smartly, the university was thinking ‘We should be doing what we’re designed to do and then partner with the commission to transfer sponsorship to do what they were designed to do’. They’re really not set up as a regulatory body – one to do the oversight of something outside of the university.”

UMKC has been a Missouri charter school sponsor for about 20 years.

“They were a pioneer in Missouri and were one of the two universities that first sponsored charter public schools,” she says. “So, we really owe them a debt of gratitude in Missouri for them starting this work.”

The charter schools sponsored by UMKC are: Brookside Charter, Pathway Academy, Genesis School, University Academy, Allen Village School, Academy for Integrated Arts, Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy and Frontier Schools.

Robbyn Wahby

In 2017, the schools under UMKC’s watch enrolled a combined total of nearly 5,200 students.

Under state law, Missouri charter schools must have a sponsor to operate. When UMKC School of Education Dean Justin Perry first floated the idea around about ending its sponsorship role, he contacted Wahby. She says he wanted to ensure, first and foremost, that the charter schools would have a new sponsor.

“He didn’t want to start this exploration out without knowing that every school would be able to continue without any problems whatsoever,” she says. “We assured him that would be the case. “It move doesn’t really affect the day-to-day for these students. That’s really what’s really important here – for faculty, for staff in the building, for parents and students – there is no change in their life. The charter stays as is, as it transfers to a new sponsor. There shouldn’t be any concern for anyone. That was really why Dean Perry contacted me right from the beginning – to ensure that there would be absolutely no disruption for students.”

The commission is not making the transfer process complicated. The affected schools must simply submit a letter to the commission requesting a transfer of sponsorship to the commission and the date in which it wants to transfer under the commission’s oversight.

The affected schools can choose to apply to a sponsor other than the commission and the commission can simply be their backup plan.

University Academy and the Academy for Integrated Arts have officially transferred from UMKC to the commission.

Wahby says she hasn’t heard anything “recently” from other sponsors considering an exit. She goes on to say that it’s not uncommon for colleges and universities to drop its sponsorship of charter schools because she says it’s part of charter school development nationwide.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Angler’s first time at Lake of the Ozarks leads to $100k in bass tournament money

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Oliver Ngy (Photo courtesy of Anglers In Action)

A rainy weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks didn’t stop some 3,000 amateur anglers from participating in the Midwest Fishing Tournament’s Big Bass Bash. During the rainiest part of the weekend, Sunday afternoon, Oliver Ngy from the state of California hooked a 6.82 pounder – the biggest catch of the contest. The monster led to Ngy taking home more than $100,000 in prize money.

Ngy’s bass edged out the 2nd-place fish by .01 lbs. Around the same time Ngy was catching his winner, Travis Meyer landed a 6.81-lb bass.

It was Ngy’s first time ever fishing at Lake of the Ozarks, but Ngy is well-known in the angler community as a big bass fisherman. Ngy’s largest catch ever was a 17-pound largemouth bass on a lake in northern California.

The Big Bass Bash is held twice a year—April and October—at Lake of the Ozarks.

J.T. Gerlt of Missourinet affiliate KTKS in Osage Beach contributed to this story.

Hartzler and congressional committee work on differences to replace expired farm bill

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The 2014 Farm Bill has expired, however the bulk of the programs authorized by that bill continue. The Farm Bill is a five-year reauthorization of agriculture programs, conservation, nutrition, trade, credit, and other programs important to rural America. West-central Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, a Republican serving as a farm bill conference committee member, says the primary disagreement is the food stamp benefit work requirements favored by House Republicans.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler

“We should be investing in individuals who are work-capable, who are currently receiving food assistance, so that they can get the job skills needed to help fill part of the 6.9 million open jobs right now in this country,” Hartzler tells Brownfield Ag News.

Some lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, oppose the worker requirements.

Hartzler says there are also differences between House and Senate versions of the Conservation Reserve Program. In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive plants and land from production to improve environmental health.

“The House expanded the number of acres to 29 million acres for CRP, but lowered the rental rates,” says Hartzler. “The Senate did not increase the number of acres by that amount.”

Hartzler a Republican serving on the committee, says Democrats are stalling.

“They may be viewing that they may have the opportunity to be a majority party in either the House or the Senate next year and re-write the Farm Bill according to their wishes,” Hartzler says.

She says conference committee members agree about the importance of crop insurance.

Tom Steever of Brownfield Ag News contributed to this story.

Missouri’s Nobel prize winner expected a call from Sweden, but not for the reason you might think

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University of Missouri professor George Smith says he and his science friends like to play pranks. A standard prank among them is to call each other in the middle of the night – with a Swedish accent – and say they’ve won a Nobel prize. During a press conference to recognize Smith as the latest winner, he says he knew Wednesday’s phone call was the real deal.

Retired University of Missouri professor George Smith wins the 2018 Nobel Prize for chemistry, along with two other researchers

“I kind of knew it wasn’t any of my friends because the connection was so terrible. Sweden is a really advanced country, but I think that they need some work on their phones,” he says.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded Smith and two other researchers this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry by “harnessing the power of evolution”. Smith becomes the first University of Missouri professor ever to win the honor.

In 1993, Frances Arnold of Caltech in Pasadena conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes, which are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. She has refined the methods now routinely used to create new catalysts. The uses of Arnold’s enzymes include more environmentally-friendly manufacturing of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, and the production of renewable fuels.

In 1985, Smith developed a method to evolve new proteins. He says he worked on the prize-winning technique for not quite 10 years.

Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England used Smith’s phage display for the directed evolution of antibodies, with the goal of producing new pharmaceutical drugs. It is used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases. The technique can also lead to the discovery of antibodies that can neutralize toxins, combat metastasized cancers and fend off autoimmune diseases.

Smith, who is now retired, was a professor in the Division of Biological Sciences for about 40 years.

During Wednesday’s announcement, Smith displayed humor, modesty and generosity by thanking the university and his co-winners for “winning him the Nobel prize”.

“Think of science as a web of influence and so on and one particular person is in the middle,” he says. “That particular person can’t take full credit for it. You just have to realize that person is a stand in, is a representative of a whole field of knowledge.”

He says science doesn’t work by “picking winners”, deciding which person will make a big breakthrough and a lot of money.

“That’s not how science works,” he says. “Science is a big community of people that are engaged in their work and in their teaching. Someone like me can flourish at Mizzou and I think that’s something Mizzou should be proud of – of nurturing that kind of intellectual community.”
He says he hopes the honor will lead to better things for Mizzou.

“Let’s hope that the hard times that we have lived through for the last couple of years will be a little less hard times,” he says.

Smith has also received $250,000 as part of his prize. He says his family plans to donate the money in a way that would indirectly honor the award.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet