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First Lady invites Missourians to candlelight tours of Mansion on Saturday (AUDIO)

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Missouri’s First Lady is inviting you to tour the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City on Saturday morning from 10 to noon.

The 30-foot white pine Christmas tree at the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City was lit on December 6, 2019 (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s Twitter page)

Governor Mike and First Lady Teresa Parson lit the Mansion Christmas tree Friday evening, in conjunction with the Living Windows event in downtown Jefferson City.

The First Lady tells Missourinet they only had five days to decorate the tree.

“There’s been a lot of help, a lot of workers there at the Mansion over this last week, and a lot of hours spent,” Mrs. Parson says. “We’ve been there many evenings late.”

The 30-foot white pine tree was donated by Mike and Ellen Hedgcoth of southern Missouri’s Salem.

There’s also a “Christmas Village” set up on the Mansion lawn, which includes a general store, Santa’s workshop and Santa’s candy cane lane house.

Several thousand people turned out for Living Windows, and hundreds more are expected to take the additional candlelight tours Saturday at the mansion. First Lady Parson, who’s championed Jobs for American Graduates (JAG) for at-risk high school students, says special ornaments will be on display inside the mansion.

“Each of the JAG schools across our state, classes, 82 of them, have presented and designed their own JAG ornament,” says the First Lady.

Student choirs from Weaubleau R-3, Versailles, Sacred Heart Sedalia and School of the Osage High Schools will be singing Christmas carols Saturday morning, on the Mansion lawn.

The tours, which go from 10 to noon, are free and open to the public.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and First Lady Teresa Parson, which was recorded on December 6, 2019 outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

New Washington University study says suicide attempts among black adolescents is on the rise

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Washington University in St. Louis says suicide attempts declined overall among adolescents in America between 1991 and 2017, but they climbed by 73% among black adolescents. Professor Sean Joe says the increase can most likely be traced back to an internalization of issues around structural racism, a lack of coping mechanisms and investment in mental health services in black communities.

Sean Joe Bio Image

The findings also reveal that almost one in five adolescents are thinking about suicide and more than one in 10 has a suicide plan.

The study suggests that more resources should be invested in youth suicide prevention programs.

Researchers used the nationally representative school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey of nearly 200,000 high school students to review suicide trends by different racial and ethnic groups.

For more about the research, click here.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri veteran says Pearl Harbor invasion was ‘biggest thing in his naval life’

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December 7, 1941 is a day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed as one which will live in infamy. It was the day that Japanese planes raced over the sky
on the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and fired bullets, bombs and torpedoes. Bill McAnany of Jefferson City served on the USS Solace and was nearby at the time of the attack.

USS Arizona (Photo courtesy of Bill McAnany)

“Probably the biggest thing in my naval life was the invasion of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, where I happened to be at that particular time,” he says. “It was quite shocking. You could look off to your right from where we were standing and we saw these anti-aircraft bursts. All of a sudden, a plane fell out of the sky.”

McAnany was twenty years old and serving in the Navy as an X-ray technician aboard the 400-bed hospital ship. He says it was quite an experience.

“There were very few at that time wounds,” he says. “But everybody was burned because if they got thrown off the ship, they were in that water. It was all very, very hot.”

McAnany says the “hairiest” part of the day came at 9:30 p.m. when a U.S. aircraft carrier with six fighter planes entered and took care of business.

“They buzzed the field and all the sudden, the sky lit up like day. It reminded you of the Star-Spangled Banner. One guy got down safe. The rest of them were shot out of the sky,” he says.

Missouri Navy Sailor Bill McAnany

Japan damaged all eight U.S. Navy battleships and four sunk. All but the USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service.

“We were about 100 yards away from the USS Arizona,” says McAnany. “And they were coming in using our ship as a marker to come into, but they didn’t drop any bombs near us or anything.”

When the attack was over, McAnany says he and his ship mates were required to remain on the USS Solace until after Christmas.

“They were being cautious because there was a lot of talk about invasions,” McAnany says.

He says the aftermath of the strike was brutal.

“We would send a couple of boats out every day and they would just go through the harbor and picking up the guys that had come to the surface,” says McAnany. “We were doing that until we left in mid-March.”

The attack killed more than 2,400 Americans and wounded 1,100 others – launching America’s entry into World War II.

McAnany served his country for 20 years, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He spent much of his 20-year Navy career in Asia.

The 98-year-old St. Louis native wants to spend his 100th birthday visiting Pearl Harbor, which falls around the time of his 50th wedding anniversary and the 80th anniversary of the attack.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Mid-Missouri Republican to chair House education committee (AUDIO)

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The new Missouri House education committee chairman is focused on educational choice, and says the committee’s aim is to ensure that every young person in Missouri has access to a quality education.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 20, 2019, as House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann looks on (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, has appointed State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, to chair the Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

Basye replaces former committee chairwoman Rebecca Roeber, R-Lee’s Summit, who died in July after suffering serious injuries in a head-on collision in March on Highway 50 in west-central Missouri’s Syracuse. Basye had served as Roeber’s vice-chair.

Chairman Basye tells Missourinet that parents should have as many options as possible for what they believe is best for their children.

“And whether that be the public school or a private school or a religious school or even a home school environment, I think the parents should have that opportunity to choose what might be best for their children,” Basye says.

While he supports educational reform and education choice options, Basye emphasizes that he will not attack public education. He attended St. Charles High School in eastern Missouri.

“I’m a product of public ed, my wife works for the Columbia public school (CPS) system, my grand kids are all public school children,” says Basye.

Missourinet also asked Chairman Basye about charter school legislation. He believes State Rep. Mike O’Donnell, R-Oakville, will file charter school legislation for 2020.

Charter school legislation was Roeber’s top priority. Current Missouri law limits charter schools to St. Louis, Kansas City and any unaccredited school districts.

They are state funded and operate independently of traditional public schools.

Basye’s sprawling district includes Boone, Cooper, Howard and Randolph counties. He’ll be serving his sixth year in the Missouri House.

State Rep. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, will serve as the committee vice chair in 2020, and State Rep. Judy Morgan, D-Kansas City, is the committee’s ranking Democrat.

The 2020 session begins on January 8.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and newly-appointed Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Chairman Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, which was recorded on December 2, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Judge: Missouri Auditor can protect the indentity of whistleblower in Greene County complaint

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In a challenge to whistleblower protection in Missouri, a Cole County circuit judge ruled against the Greene County Sheriffs office, in favor of State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

This comes from a 2017 case of whistleblower complaints about the use of public resources in Greene County in connection with a tax ballot issue.

In answer to a records request,  the auditor did not share documents that would reveal whistleblower identities. Sheriff James Arnott sued.

The brief decision upholds the state whistleblower law that says, “Individuals who make a report under this section may choose to remain anonymous until the individual affirmatively consents to having the individual’s identity disclosed.”

In her response to the court’s ruling, Galloway stated, “Without the information provided by whistleblowers and the legal safeguards that shield those individuals, the audit of Greene County may not have happened.”

 

Kehoe: seeing restored Ceres at Missouri Capitol this weekend is “once in a lifetime gift”

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Missouri officials are set to unveil a renovated statue that normally sits atop the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, and you’re invited to see it happen on Friday afternoon.

Attendees view the bronze statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, after she was brought down from atop the Missouri State Capitol in November 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at Missouri House Communications

The Office of Administration (OA) plans to unveil Ceres Friday on the Capitol’s south side, next to the media parking lot. The ten-foot, four-inch sculpture of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain, was taken down from the Capitol in November 2018 for the first time since being installed in 1924.

The statue was placed in a flatbed trailer in the Capitol parking lot for public viewing last November, and a large crowd attended the event. One of those who attended was Jefferson City resident John Tandy, who described it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“I doubt if I’ll get to see her restored again in another one hundred years. It’s fantastic. It’s a moment in time that you can’t miss,” Tandy told Missourinet at the November 2018 event.

Crews used a 550-ton crane secured by Chicago-based Bulley and Andrews Masonry Restoration to remove the sculpture last November. Bulley and Andrews is the main contractor performing $50 million in renovation work on the Statehouse, including the $400,000 spent to restore Ceres.

It’s all part of the Capitol’s construction project to bring the building’s structure back to serviceable condition and address deteriorating stonework on the Capitol facades, dome and drum, which was finished in 1917.

OA says Ceres will be unveiled to the Capitol Press Corps Friday afternoon at 3, and public viewing will begin at 3:30 p.m. Ceres will remain on the Capitol’s south side, near the media parking lot, until Monday morning, when she will be taken down. That location is right across the street from the Missouri Supreme Court.

State officials will be providing floodlights and staff to monitor Ceres during public viewing, which will give you an opportunity to see the statue in the evenings.

“Ceres is a treasure for the state of Missouri and the State Capitol. She represents the strength of our farmers and agricultural community. Having her back home and on display will be a once in a lifetime gift for viewers to enjoy this holiday season,” Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe said, in a written statement.

During the restoration, Ceres underwent a laser cleaning treatment to safely remove contaminants, while also preserving her natural color. OA says she will be lifted up to the top of the Capitol during the week of December 16, 260 feet in the air.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri’s commercial hemp program underway, applications available Dec. 16

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Missouri’s new commercially regulated hemp program is moving forward, with sample applications available here.

Official applications will be available Dec. 16 and the Missouri Department of Agriculture will begin taking applications Jan. 2. Interested producers must complete a written application, create parcel maps and complete a fingerprint criminal history background check within 30 days of submitting their application.  It costs $750 to apply and that fee helps fund the state’s program.

Department spokesperson Sami Jo Freeman says Missouri will be operating under an extension of the 2014 Farm Bill rules, allowing farmers to get seed in the ground in 2020 with no restrictions to acreage or number of permits. Once approved, a producer can grow industrial hemp in Missouri for three years. Freeman recommends that producers stay flexible under state protection as the federal government decides its final requirements and makes further changes. Interested and approved growers can give input to the USDA about the regulation process. The full federal rule text is available from USDA’s website here and is open for public comment Nov. 1 – Dec. 30, 2019.

She says the 2020 crop will yield important information for the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

“We’re going to be able to determine producers’ interests, we’re going to be able to collect data. It’s going to allow producers the opportunity to figure out how hemp grows best in Missouri because it’s been 70 years since we’ve had a successful hemp crop,” Freeman told Missourinet.

She also urges growers to find the processors and establish their costumers before they plant.  Markets are opening nationwide from textile-replacing fibers to CBD oil.  For example, Levi’s is aggressively exploring hemp as a substitute or supplement to cotton.

“As a regulated crop, it is different than corn and soybeans,” Freeman says, “and we have to phase it back in. Whenever you see new opportunities like this our producers in rural Missouri are going to take advantage of that and whenever our rural communities thrive, our urban communities thrive as well.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kyle Hill, KWIX, contributed to this report.

Medicare open enrollment ends this Saturday for Missouri seniors

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Missouri senior citizens who have not yet made their Medicare plan selections for 2020 are encouraged to contact CLAIM – through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program. CLAIM’s certified counselors give seniors and their caregivers free and unbiased help about Medicare plan options.

Photo courtesy of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

“Seniors should make plan selections if they haven’t already done so. If assistance is needed, don’t hesitate to contact CLAIM,” says Chlora Lindley-Myers, director of the department.

CLAIM can also assist consumers, who have limited income, determine if they qualify for programs to help lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Seniors can ask questions by phone or arrange one-on-one counseling by calling 800-390-3330 or by visiting missouriclaim.org.

Consumers with complaints or questions about insurance can call the department’s Insurance Consumer Hotline at 800-726-7390.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet