Highway 33 Closed due to Culvert Failure

The Missouri Department of Transportation announced the closure of Missouri Highway 33 between Kearney and Holt.

Missouri Route 33 between MO Route CC and Burris Road near Holt and Kearney will be closed until further notice effective Wednesday, August 28. The closure is expected to begin between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm.

The closure is due to a culvert failure according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. The official signed detour for this closure is I-35 in both directions.

The reopening date is currently unknown until the project can be designed, awarded, and replaced.

For more information about MoDOT news, projects or events, please visit our website at www.modot.org/kansascity.

 Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Include Safety In Your Plans For Labor Day Weekend

The Missouri State Highway Patrol encourages everyone to plan for a safe 2024 Labor Day weekend. Whether you are on the water or on the road, it’s everyone's responsibility to travel safely and observe all Missouri laws.

In Missouri, 15 people died and 477 were injured in 1,058 traffic crashes over the 2023 Labor Day holiday.

The 2024 counting period for the Labor Day holiday will be from 6 p.m., Friday, August 30, 2024, through 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 2, 2024.

In Missouri, 15 people died and 477 were injured in 1,058 traffic crashes over the 2023 Labor Day holiday. This means one person was killed or injured every 9.5 minutes. Troopers arrested 125 people for driving while intoxicated during last year’s holiday weekend.

In 2023, there were 12 boating crashes which included zero fatalities and three injuries. No one drowned over last year's Labor Day holiday. Troopers arrested 10 people for boating while intoxicated during last year's counting period.

The Highway Patrol will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness & Reduction Effort) over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Speed, inattention, and impaired driving are leading causes of traffic crashes. All available troopers will be patrolling Missouri’s roadways and waterways. Troopers on the roadways will be enforcing Missouri’s speed limit, seat belt, and impaired driving laws, in addition to being available to assist motorists.

Never operate a vehicle or vessel while you are impaired. Alcohol affects your judgement, reaction time, vision, coordination, and comprehension. The movement of the boat, vibration and noise from the boat’s motor, sun, and wind are all boating stressors and enhance the effect of alcohol on your body. If alcohol is part of your water activities, drink responsibly, and never operate a vessel if you’ve consumed alcohol.

The public is encouraged to call the Patrol's Emergency Report Line (800) 525-5555 or *55 on your cellular phone if they witness criminal activity or experience an emergency. These emergency numbers are operational for both highway and water emergencies. If your celebration includes alcohol, designate someone else to drive whether you are in your boat or your car.

Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Scammers Continue to Pose as Law Enforcement

Phone scammers pretending to be Clay County Sheriff’s Office employees continue to call residents in an attempt to scam them out of their money. Unfortunately, people still fall for the scam.

The Sheriff’s Office says that the most common phone scam they hear about is the one about jury duty. It comes and goes but it is the most frequent version.

“Scammers call residents claiming to be a deputy from our office (sometimes they use the name of real employees they got off our web site) and say you missed jury duty, so now there's a warrant for your arrest,” reads a Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

Scammers will do whatever they can to keep a potential victim on the phone. They will try to confuse the victim with case numbers, court dates, fines, and payment arrangements.

“They say you can avoid arrest by paying a bond. At first, they'll ask to meet in person, but they are usually not local, so they'll change that to sending them an electronic payment,” states the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office wants you to know these facts about warrants and jury duty:

* In Missouri, the penalty for missing jury duty is NOT arrest; it's a fine.

* We NEVER call to tell someone there's a warrant for their arrest. We'll make them aware of that in person when we arrest them.

* We do not accept electronic payments. The only way to pay a bond is in cash in the Detention Center lobby.

* Though they usually are not local, scammers often spoof local phone numbers - including ours - to make themselves appear legitimate.

Another variation on this is saying you were an "expert witness" who missed court, and now there is a warrant for your arrest. 

The Sheriff’s Office recommends hanging up on the scammer if you get one of these calls.

Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Two Dead in Excelsior Springs House Explosion

***UPDATE 08/26/24***

The deceased victims in this incident have been identified as 70-year-old Oliver W. Campbell and 65-year-old Katherine A. Campbell. Both lived at the house at 14406 Kimberly Dr.

The Sheriff’s Office recieved notification from the Missouri State Fire Marshall about the explosion that stated, “Because of the force of the explosion and extent of structural damage, no cause could be identified as to the source of the gas leak or the ignition source. The Missouri Division of Fire Safety classified the explosion as undetermined.”

***

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office located two bodies in the rubble of a home that exploded in the early morning hours of Friday, August 23, in rural Excelsior Springs. Investigators believe they have recovered the bodies of the residents of the home.

The blast could be felt and seen for many miles and blew open the doors of neighbors’ houses.

The Sheriff’s Office started receiving calls at 4:42 am, about a house that exploded in the 14400 block of Kimberly Drive. When deputies arrived on scene, they found the house was completely destroyed, and a fire was burning. The blast could be felt and seen for many miles and blew open the doors of neighbors’ houses.

Investigators have found no evidence of foul play. The Missouri State Fire Marshall’s Office is working to determine the cause of the explosion. Representatives from the Missouri Propane Safety Commission were also on scene.

No neighbors were hurt, though some reported damage to their homes.

The Medical Examiner responded to the scene, and the Sheriff’s Office will share the names of the deceased once their identities have been confirmed and next-of-kin notification is complete.

Brian Watts contributed to this story.

School District Prioritizes Security with Personnel Changes

During its Aug. 21 business meeting, the school board signed off on two items designed to help meet the safety and security objectives in Kearney School District’s five-year strategic plan.

The Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Kearney to provide a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the district. District and city officials collaborated over several months to update the MOU, which dates back to 2014.

District Superintendent Emily Miller

The most important change to the MOU is that the District’s SRO will now be an employee of the city and report directly to the Kearney Police Department. District administration will have input on the selection process and work collaboratively with the Chief of Police and City Administrator regarding the SRO’s duties. Kearney School District will reimburse the city for the SRO’s time spent within the school district.

In addition, a motion to designate a district employee as a School Protection Officer (SPO), which is allowed under state law, was also approved by the board.

“It just gives the school district some flexibility to add additional safety and security personnel,” Superintendent Emily Miller said.

The SPO can perform functions similar to those of an SRO in schools. The only exception is the ability to make an arrest, which is reserved for law enforcement officers.

current KSD SRO Adam Kirkland

The plan is to have current KSD SRO Adam Kirkland become the district’s SPO, according to Director of Operations Erek Noland. KPD Ofc. Cameron Philip has been selected for the SRO position. It’s anticipated that he will start his new role in September.

Stakeholders identified increasing safety and security as a top priority in the district’s strategic plan. The administration made difficult budget decisions in order to find the resources to expand KSD’s safety and security team.

Dr. Miller assured the board that staff members, students and families won’t see a decrease in the level of service from the new SRO. In fact, the revised MOU combined with the addition of an SPO means that KSD will now have two trained safety and security professionals on-site.

Brian Watts contributed to this story.