Fire Destroys Horse Barn Day Before Start of Racing Season

SPRINGFIELD-- An arsonist may have started a barn fire that killed 15 horses at the Lincoln Downs Race Track here early this morning, a day before the start of racing season.

Thirteen thoroughbred and two saddled horses died in the blaze. Ten escaped, while two stampeded through the barnyard with their backs on fire.

The fire burned from 4 a.m. till noon and the barn was completely burned down with only several rows of charred wooden supports remaining.

The blazing fire exploded near the center of the barn and flames were shooting out of the building when fire fighters arrived, Fire Chief Bernard Perry said.

The fire was suspected to have started at the middle of the barn, said Fire Chief Bernard Perry.

The heaters and electrical outlets are on the outside of the barn, track assistant manager Dan Bucci said. Fire officials are considering arson in their investigation.

For jockey Albert Ramos of Miami Florida, this was an extremely heartbreaking day. “Those are my best friends. I love horses more than I do people. I feel like I want to cry,” Ramos said while he was filling up with tears as he looked at the barn.

Above is a picture of the blaze at The Lincoln Down Racetrack around 5 a.m.

St. Joseph Shooting Leaves Two Dead and Injures Others

St. Joseph, Missouri— A gunman’s shooting rampage ended in the killing of a police officer, himself, and injured one more near 22nd and Frederick Street yesterday.

Police received calls of gunshots being fired on the corner of 22nd Street and Union last night a little after 5 p.m.

Officer Bradley Arn was among the first to arrive to subdue the shooter. As soon as the shooter saw the police vehicles drive up, he riddled Officer Arn’s car with at least seven bullets, one of them striking Arn in the head which instantly killed him, police said.

Another responding officer, whose name will not be released until the investigation is over, shot the gunman with a fatal shot to the head, according to the police report.

The shooters identity is still not clear but police are currently using finger print technology to try to identify the man.

The unidentified shooter was described by police and witnesses as an average size man with a Mohawk wearing camouflage and having a shotgun strapped to his back and a knife on his belt while shooting an assault rifle. The shooter first was seen firing at anything in front of his gun at 22nd and Frederick before heading south towards the Calvary Baptist Church, according to police.

Officer Connors later stated that this was the first police officer shot in the line of duty since 1944 and that it is something the “St. Joseph officers are not and cannot get used to.” (see sidebar)

George McFeat, a resident of St. Joseph, witnessed the police officer’s car shot with multiple assault rifle rounds. McFeat knew Arn was killed when he saw the officer plop over after being shot. Officer Arn’s vehicle proceeded to lynch forward and accelerate over a curb and eventually strike a boat in a parking lot, according to McFeat. (see sidebar)

Roger Liberty, watching this devastation from behind his house, charged back into his home to grab his deer rifle to try and end the mad man’s killing rampage.

Before Liberty could take a shot, other police officers returned fire and struck the shooter in the head which instantly killed him, according to Liberty.

“Shortly before I could pull the trigger, the gunman was shot and his head was snapped back and blood covered the bushes and ground,” Liberty described.

George McFeat was with his family driving in his van when he witnessed the killing of the officer and then was shot at himself. He received a small wound to the head from either the broken glass of his shot out window or bullet fragment from the assault rifle, police said.

Officer Connors said that they are using fingerprints to identify the shooter and are conducting an ongoing investigation. The department is also conducting an internal review with the officer who fired the fatal shot.

Sidebar

Officer Bradley Arn was only 28 years old when he was killed and had only been on the police officer for 6 years.

Officer Bradley Arn’s viewing will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday at the Stover Funeral Home on Main Street. The viewings are open to all residents of the community and the funeral is restricted to family only.

This was the first mass shooting in St. Joseph’s history. Officer Arn was the first officer shot in the line of duty since 1944. There hasn’t been a death in the St. Joseph’s police force since 1991 when an officer was struck by car.

Officers of St. Joseph Police Department are devastated and saddened by the death of their fellow officer. St. Joseph officers are not used to and will never be used to a death of a colleague.

Below is a picture of Officer Bradley Arn.

This is a video of another recent death of a St. Joseph Police Officer--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsorSNrHOHU

Five Firefighters Treated For Heat Exhaustion, Two Hospitalized After Defeating Grassland Fires

Springfield--The hot, dry weather that has held the area in its grasp for the last few weeks has been taking its toll on grasslands and firefighters of the Springfield area.

Saturday, in the wake of 15-to-25-mph winds and a high temperature of 99 degrees, fire protection agencies from across the area responded to 16 calls.

At the largest of those, a 25-acre grass fire of Peabody Road north of Prathersville and west of Route 19, paramedics treated on site at least five of 35 fire fighters for heat exhaustion, Springfield County Fire Chief Debra Schuster said.

Out of the five heavily-clad firefighters, three were hospitalized, two of which were flown to Springfield Hospital by helicopter. All were treated for about one hour and released.

The blaze at Peabody Road, which burned out of control for an hour before it was contained, probably was started by a trash fire. The blaze endangered some nearby farmland and the barn on it but was extinguished before anything but grass was burned, Dennis Sapp, fire captain of Station No. 1, said.

Schuster said fires like the one on Peabody Road had been starting all day, especially in the northern part of the city and county. Schuster said some of the fires could have been the work of an arsonist, but careless burning was a more likely cause.

“We don’t have any evidence there is an arsonist,” Schuster said. “We sure hope we don’t have someone running around starting fires on purpose, but there is that possibility.”

Fresno Pacific Advances In The NAIA Tournament With Big Win Against Springfield

Tulsa, Okla. -- Moore and Amundson combined for 42 points and demolished Springfield College Wild Boars, lifting the Fresno Pacific Bobcats through the first round of the NAIA Division I Basketball Tournament Wednesday night.

The game started off with points being exchanged by both teams and Fresno Pacific with a constant lead of two points.

Later in the first half Springfield College started missing key shots and their deficit increased with a score of 40-31 going into halftime.
Above: Fresno State's Brendan Moore dribbles the ball up the court.

“We knew we were the underdogs coming into this game, and the way the boys were playing I thought we had a shot if we kept it up,” said Mike Homly, head coach of Springfield College. “We were feeling pretty good going into the half and made some adjustments that we thought would help us out. Unfortunately, we came out flat in the second (half) and Fresno kept playing perfect,” he added.

In the second half Fresno Pacific, led by Moore and Amundson, quickly pulled away from Springfield College and kept increasing on a very healthy lead.

“We felt like we really played like a team tonight, and we deserved this win,” said Moore. “If we keep playing like this, no one will be able to stop us in this tournament,” Moore added, who led the team with 24 points.

Springfield ran into foul problems with a total of 14 and was out rebounded 44 to 35 in its game against Fresno, which were both huge factors to their loss yesterday.

Fresno Pacific will play their second round NAIA Division I Basketball Tournament game tomorrow night at 6 p.m. on NBC against Robert Morris University.

Robert Morris has faced Fresno Pacific and has proven to be a tough opponent when the Bobcats lost 86-78 earlier this season.

Local Retired Lieutenant Colonel Dies at Age 66

Springfield -- Ronald H. Lache, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Air Force and member of the Newman Center and Rock Bridge Lions Club, lost his long battle with lung cancer and died yesterday at the age of 66.

Lache of Dayton, OH has been battling lung cancer for almost six years and passed peacefully in his hospital bed at the Springfield County Hospital.

His son, Ronald Lache Jr., was with his father at the time of death. “My father was a stern but loving father, husband, and mentor. He will be missed and may he rest in peace,” said Lache Jr.

Ronald Sr. flew F-4 Phantom fighter jets during the Vietnam War and assisted in the plans and execution of the Persian Gulf War. He also was an officer of the Rock Bridge Lions Club and was considered an excellent event organizer by his peers.

Ronald was the husband of the late Delores Carney, who passed away March 7 of this year of cancer. He is survived by his mother, Thelma Lache of Springfield; his son, Ronald Lache Jr. of Springfield; Barbara Ann Peck of Dayton, Ohio; Patrice Louis Wylie of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Cynthia Lache of San Mateo, Ariz. Ronald also was grandfather of Jennifer C. Peck of Springfield.

There will be a viewing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Parker Funeral Service, 606 Washington Ave., Springfield. Interment will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Jefferson Barracks national Cemetery, 202 Jefferson Ave., Springfield.

Football Player Severely Injured After Bone Crushing Hit

Redmond, Calif,.-- Sixteen-year-old Pete Stenhoff was a physically fit, 210-pound linebacker for Chula Vista High School when he planted his helmet in the chest of a ball carrier two years ago. He hasn’t been able to walk since.

Medics that night rushed Stenhoff to the hospital, where he learned he had cracked vertebrae.

That one play not only affected his ability to play football again but his entire life. It caused him to drastically lose weight and he was not able to graduate with his class and has been forced to catch up on receiving his diploma by taking correspondence courses.

Stenhoff is one of 20,000 youths who are injured playing high school football each year, said Sports Medicine Magazine. Like Stenhoff, nearly 2,400 are permanently disabled. But he is luckier than some. Thirteen youths died last year as a result of their injuries on the football field.

Above: Pete Stenhoff in his football uniform before suffering his neck injury.

Critics blame the helmet as the main cause of the neck and head injuries that have caused these players to be severely injured to the point in which they can no longer walk.

Stenhoff, said he knew the risks involved when he signed up to play football but “I wish I could have known just how bad it could be.”

Below: A link to a video of Adam Taliaferro, a Penn State Football player who has recovered from a similar injury to Pete Stenhoff's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UHgPymLOvU

School Board Candidates Debate at Lenoir Senior Center

Lenoir- Senior citizens in the Lenoir School District worry that a proposal for year-round schooling might hit them in the pocketbook.

School board candidates took opposing stands on the proposal at the Lenoir Senior Center Tuesday night.

Some believe the plan for a 12-month school schedule could eliminate the need for trailers that now house the overflow of students and “would help overcrowding by reducing the number of students in daily attendance at the school by 25 percent,” said candidate Henry Lane. (See Sidebar for more)

Some believe the new schedule would be costlier than adding permanent buildings because of the large substantial increase of cost to educate children year-round.

Others expressed dissent that the plan would put different schools on totally different schedules causing difficulties that this community does not want to have to deal with, said Board President Elton Fay who is one of the candidates.

Although overcrowding in schools has become worse, the costs and expenses of this year-round proposal may be too costly for the senior citizens to handle.

Sidebar

Candidates running and their position during the debate:

School Board President Henry Lane- Says he believes “a changing tide” is coming when it comes to using trailers as classrooms. He believes that a year-round schooling would decrease the needs for trailers and adding a multitracking schedule would help reduce the overcrowding in the school by 25 percent.

Board President Elton Fay- He believes that year-round schooling is impractical because the cost of educating our children would go up substantially and that would also means totally different schedules for students of different ages which puts a burden on the community.

Larry Dorman- Says that he would focus on eliminating overcrowding in the schools and increasing teacher pay.