Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was charged with a plethora of felonies after he allegedly rammed his Chrysler truck several times into a Ford Focus while he was drunk.

Jeremy Shacklett was charged with four counts of second-degree assault, nine counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree tampering with a vehicle, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of leaving the scene of an accident, a count of first-degree property damage and driving while revoked. He was also charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving, both misdemeanors.

Court filings show he is being held on a $100,000 bond. An arraignment was held on Monday and a bond reduction was denied. His next hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 24. A mugshot was not immediately available.

According to the probable cause statement, a woman called law enforcement at 1:24 p.m. Friday claiming that a Chrysler truck was following her vehicle and kept hitting it. The Chrysler eventually forced the Ford off the road after hitting it several times, the statement says. The Ford contained the woman, a man who was driving and two children.

Deputies found the Chrsyler on Lake Road near Route B and noticed Shacklett appeared to be drunk. A breath test was taken and his blood alcohol level was .115, the statement says.

Shackle allegedly admitted to following the Ford and hitting it every time the driver of the Ford slowed down or used his brakes, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education at its Monday night meeting unanimously approved next school year’s budget for the district.

The district expects to spend roughly $307 million this upcoming school year. Previous reporting indicates that roughly three-quarters of the budget is made up of staff salaries and benefits.

The Board had approved a new salary schedule in April, which included pay raises to base salaries for employees in order to help recruit and retain teachers.

According to meeting documents in previous reporting, CPS experienced a nearly $7 million decrease in its fund balance.

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Haley Swaino

CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The bear spotted in Centralia on Saturday was a cinnamon black bear, according to Missouri Department of Conservation biologist Nate Bowersock. Cinnamon bears are a subspecies of the American black bear.

Centralia residents were warned on Saturday to be on high alert in a social media post from police after a “brown bear” sighting in the city.

Multiple people have seen the bear and shared videos with ABC 17 News.

A cinnamon bear is seen Saturday in Centralia. Courtesy of Jason McCollum

Bowersock said he has seen many of the bear sighting videos going around and confirmed it is not a brown bear.

“That bear is what we call a cinnamon black bear or a black bear that has a reddish brown coat color,” Bowersock said. “It is a black bear and not a brown bear, which would then suggest a grizzly bear, which is whole different species, which we do not have here in Missouri.”

He said black bears can range in color from blonde to black.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Show-Me State is home to roughly 1,000 black bears.

Courtesy of Emilee Lawson (Centralia)

Bowersock said the MDC received reports of a similar-looking bear in nearby Callaway County.

“It’s potentially moved up there to the Centralia area,” Bowersock said. “And we haven’t gotten any reports on it now since I think late Saturday so it might have moved on.”

MDC has seen more young bears out earlier this year.

“We’re seeing a lot of younger bears,” Bowersock said. “That bear (in the video) also looks like a young bear dispersing from its native range. So just (it is) trying to find a new place to set up shop and and live its own life.”

If someone encounters a bear, Bowersock said the best way to stay safe is to steer clear of it.

“Black bears are more scared of us than we are of them, which can be hard to think about because people have a lot of thoughts about bears in general, whether it’s a black bear or grizzly bear,” Bowersock said. “But the big thing is giving them their space.”

He said, like any wild animal, these bears are wild.

“They are just trying to look for food at the end of the day, and especially for a black bear, their whole lives revolve around food,” Bowersock said. “They wake up out of hibernation in the spring and they’re looking for food and trying to just pack weight on.”

Centralia police advised residents to not approach, attempt to pet or feed the bear. MDC encourages the same.

“We always encourage people to never feed wildlife and for bears especially, they can become what we call habituated,” Bowersock said. “They can start to lose that fear of humans if they start to get that free food.”

Since finding food is typically a bear’s top priority this time of year, he said they will often look anywhere for food sources that could meet their needs.

Bowersock said taking down bird feeders and other sources of food can help keep curious bears away as they bulk up before retreating to hibernation later in the year.

“If you think about it, a bird feeder can be enough calories for a bear for an entire day of searching the woods on its own,” Bowersock said. “That’s a lot less energy for them to expend to go bird feeder to bird feeder than scouring the woods for food.”

Bowersock said no injuries have happened as a direct result of bears being fed in Missouri, but that has happened in other states. Cleaning or bringing outside grills and smokers inside is another precaution to take if a bear has been spotted in the area. He also recommends not leaving garbage out.

“Especially since that time of year, we all like to be grilling and smoking,” Bowersock said. “That can be very enticing to a bear.”

Bowersock said in the grand scheme of things, bears do not pose a deadly threat.

“If you do hear of bear activity in the area, you don’t need to be freaking out by any means, but you should try to pull in those attractants,” he said.

As the bear population in Missouri is growing, Bowersock said it’s important to remain vigilant.

“We estimate about a 9% growth rate, which means we expect the population to double in size every 10 years,” Bowersock said. “Right now we estimate a little over a thousand Bears statewide.”

MDC receives regular bear reports out of Mid-Missouri. Bowersock estimated 1,015 confirmed bear reports in central Missouri this year, mainly south of the Missouri River.

He said the Ozark region is where the department sees the most bears.

“We’ve had more active sightings earlier in the year so far this year,” Bowersock said. “I think part of that might just be the fact that we are seeing that increase in the bear population and they are really starting to explore new areas, which includes north of the river and central Missouri.”

According to a social media post from the Centralia Police Department, animal control and conservation officials have been made aware of the bear and are monitoring the situation. Anyone who notices the bear should immediately call law enforcement at 311.

People can also report a bear to MDC on its website.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe addressed plans to remove diversity equity and inclusion language from the city’s Strategic Plan during office hours the city is hosting in June to respond to concerns over a recent White House order halting federal aid for such programs.

Members of the public voiced concerns on Monday over the city choosing to comply with the new federal regulations.

“I just don’t want us to lose ourselves, we just have to understand that Columbia is a very inclusive environment, I want to make sure it stays that way,” Columbia resident Harry Castilow said during Monday’s meeting.

Buffaloe reassured the public that the core of DEI and city programs will not be lost, however language involving goals of quotas or percentages may be removed to follow guidelines. She also reiterated that no programs are in violation of federal laws.

“[The Strategic Plan] has outcome objectives within it, so the outcome objectives within it have percentage goals of increasing diversity of boards and commissions and different things around that,” Buffaloe said. “How do we continue to do the work that is of our community values and also stay within compliance of the federal laws?”

The City Council last month passed a resolution last month that aims to shield city staff from lawsuits or claims stemming from their official duties, as long as they act within the scope of their role. That came after the city tabled an item that would have removed DEI language following pushback from community members.

The city wrote in its council memo for the May 5 meeting that the proposed changes to its vision, mission, core values, priority areas and goal statements in its strategic plan are to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump on Jan. 21 that targets the language used.

Buffaloe on Monday pushed that changes to the Strategic Plan’s language are necessary to keep federal funding for the city. A presentation during the meeting reported that Columbia receives more than $11 million in federal funding that covers projects around the city.

Columbia Transit Manager Mike Sokoff reported that around 48% of operations costs comes from federal funding.

“It helps with staffing, it helps with all aspects of keeping the doors open and the busses running,” Sokoff said.

“One of the conversations that we’ve had in the last two months is really helping the community understand how much of our local funding comes from the federal government and what will be the impacts if those are cut,” Buffaloe said.

During the meeting, Buffaloe also announce the City Council’s plans to reinstate the city’s initial definition of equity, “We recognize the local government’s role in our community’s history of systemic oppression. We are committed to removing these barriers and rooting our priorities, decisions, and culture in the principles of diversity, inclusion, justice and equal access to opportunity.”

The definition was up for revision back in May and received pushback from the public after a new definition left out the local government’s role.

The city will host three other office hour meetings in June, they will cover the same presentation:

5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday with Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample and city staff at the Columbia Fire Department’s Fire Training Academy, 700 Big Bear Blvd.

5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday with Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman and city staff in Room C of the Activities and Recreation Center, 1701 W. Ash St.

2-4 p.m. Sunday with Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll and City staff at the Friends Room of the Daniel Boone Regional Library, 100 W. Broadway

After all the meetings, the city plans to use what they heard when editing the Strategic Plan on June 16.

Following Monday’s meeting, Castilow felt more comfortable with the City’s changes.

“I think this meeting has been able to answer the questions that I had specifically about us being able to avoid feeling like we’re bowing down to the executive orders,” Castilow said. “We as a community are able to meet the requirements of executive orders without losing our soul.”

Residents who are unable to attend office hours are encouraged to reach out to their council members.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council spent more than $42,000 on a two-day retreat in May with city staff in Camdenton.

Records obtained by ABC 17 News show the final bill is nearly 2.5 times higher than the 2023 retreat to Independence, Missouri, which cost $17,153.94. 

The total cost of the trip to Camdenton was $42,606.85, with the bill including: 

$25,000.00 for training costs

$9,839.57 meals

$5,955.64 for lodging

$1,811.64 mileage

These totals included $15,597.88 for two days at The Club at Old Kinderwood, which mainly covered the cost of banquet food and drinks. 

City spokesperson Sydney Olsen said 37 people attended the retreat, which included all current council members, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Police Chief Jill Schlude, Fire Chief Brian Schafer, and City Manager De’Carlon Seewood. 

RetreatDownload

“This is something that we started in 2022, and it was an opportunity for City Council members and city leadership to get together, get out of town and talk about both what’s going well, what’s happening in the community and then also the organization, as well as what’s on the horizon,” Buffaloe told ABC 17 News. 

Seewood said that he has seen progress with how staff works together since starting these retreats.

“When I first became city manager, sometimes it felt like there was a lot of division between the council and you’re starting to see people really work more collaboratively together and there’s more relationship between staff and council to actually work on things as a team as opposed to this adversarial approach,” Seewood said. 

According to Buffaloe, topics discussed at the retreat included preferred methods of communication between staff and constituents, as well as key challenges departments are facing ahead of the fiscal 2026 budget.

“I’ve seen a tremendous change since 2022 with the relationships built between staff and the councilmembers,” Buffaloe said when asked if the retreat was effective. “We need the professionals on staff to do the day-to-day work to help meet the goals of our community members.” 

The biggest change in the retreat budget was a $25,000 fee to Raftelis for “training cost.” Records show the city paid Raftelis — which provides management consulting to help local governments — $15,000 for its May retreat. The city spent just $5,000 on Raftelis during its 2023 retreat. 

“Just like any corporation, doing leadership retreats are important and you see that happening across the nation,” Buffaloe said. “I view that local government needs to also follow those same practices.” 

Despite the hefty price tag, Seewood believes these types of retreats have contributed to the progress the city has made over the last two years. 

“One of the things you want to do is you want to make sure that your executive team, your board members, all are working for the best interest of the community,” Seewood said.  “Having those times away where you can actually sit down,  have a consultant kind of help, you kind of talk about goals, talk about objectives, talk about priorities to make sure that you can move in the right direction.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Monroe County man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly went into a Randolph County home and fired a gun at three people.

Jason Springer, 47, of Madison, Missouri, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree harassment. He is being held at the Randolph County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called on Saturday for a report of harassment. Springer was allegedly sending one of the victims threatening text messages, driving by the residence and going into the home after being told not to, the statement says.

Deputies arrived, told Springer to leave and advised that he could be arrested, the statement says. Springer allegedly made threatening comments about one of the victims. About two hours later, law enforcement was called back to the residence for a report of shots being fired, the statement says.

Springer allegedly went back to the residence, went inside the building, pulled out a double-barrel shotgun, pointed it at three people and asked who wanted to die, the probable cause statement says. He then fired a shot into a wall and another into a door, the statement says. Court documents say the round found appeared to be birdshot.

One of the residents pulled out a gun and Springer left after dropping his cellphone, the statement says. He was still logged in to his Facebook account on the phone, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged with four felonies on Monday after he allegedly assaulted someone early Sunday.

Paris Jones Jr., 33, was charged in Boone County with second-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and misdemeanor illegally possessing drug paraphernalia. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance was held on Monday afternoon.

Court documents say Jones strangled one of the victims to the point where they blacked out. Paris allegedly pulled out two knives and pushed one of them into the victim’s chest.

The victim had marks on their neck and blood coming from their ear after Jones bit it, police wrote.

Someone cited in the probable cause statement told police that they believed Jones was using cocaine. Police wrote that an item on Jones

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police say that a man tried to fight officers while he was being arrested after he allegedly exposed himself to a minor.

Roughly nine Columbia Police Department vehicles were in a parking lot Monday afternoon in the 1100 block of Lakeview Avenue, an area just north of Business Loop 70 off of Range Line Street.

An ABC 17 News reporter also saw an ambulance on the scene and Sgt. Patrick Corcoran said at the scene that the man was bring brought to an area hospital.  

No officers were injured, Corcoran said. The name of the man was not disclosed at the scene.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Sedalia is expected to interview four candidates on Monday evening for the open Ward 1 seat.

A Facebook post from the city shows that it will interview Adam Porter, Cheryl Ames, Jason Michael Joy and Virginia Kaye Brainard. The interviews will be livestreamed at 6 p.m.

Tom Oldham stepped down from his position in April after “serious allegations” were brought against him, the City of Sedalia wrote in a social media post. The city did not elaborate on the allegations in the post or in communications with ABC 17 News.

Pettis County Sheriff Brad Anders told ABC 17 News in emails that his office is investigating Oldham. The criminal investigation includes the possible sexual harassment of a youth. Oldham was recently reelected to his seat in the April 8 race.

The Facebook post on Monday stated that all four candidates filled out an application.

The city had stated in April that it would follow state statutes, allowing the mayor to make an appointment to the council, with council approval.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Mexico, Missouri, man who was found guilty in April of 10 child sex crimes has been sentenced.  

John Sidney Kelly Jr., 43, was sentenced on Monday to three consecutive life sentences for statutory rape, child molestation and other charges.

He was charged in the case with first-degree rape, first-degree child molestation, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of second-degree statutory rape, fourth-degree child molestation, second-degree rape, statutory sodomy of a person younger than 14 years old and third-degree child molestation.

He abused the victims from 2012-19, a press release from the Audrain County prosecutor’s office says.

“These sentences show the power of victims who are protected, believed and taken seriously,” Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger said in the release. “Audrain County jurors heard the truth of John Kelly Jr.’s horrific abuse of these two strong young women. Although it took a long time, justice arrived. John Kelly will never walk free again to harm another child.”

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