Month: January 2015

The current season snowfall total at the Columbia Regional Airport is only at 1.9″. We got .8″ snow in November, 1″ in December and .1″ so far in January. Measurable snow is not expected until the end of January at the earliest. The 30 year average monthly snowfall in December is 4.8″ and just over

Officials are looking into what caused heating problems at two Columbia schools. On Friday, Russell Boulevard Elementary dismissed their students early when temperatures dropped inside the school. The same day, Blue Ridge Elementary found it also had problems with its heating system. At Monday night’s school board meeting, Columbia Public Schools Chief Financial Officer and

Columbia fire crews responded to a house fire at 408 Sanford Avenue Tuesday night. Crews on the scene told ABC 17 a fire started near a couch in the home and spread. No one was injured. A cause and damage estimate are not yet known.

Social media is now the newest tool in fighting child abductions. Starting today the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will begin sending out Amber Alerts on Facebook’s news feed. Missouri State Highway Patrol has been using Facebook to get the word out about Amber Alert since 2011. “It has the potential to enhance

A Moniteau County man accused of killing his son-in-law appeared in court Tuesday for a case review. Donald Bateman is the suspect in the death of 43-year-old Antoine Johnson in California on September 3. Both Johnson and Bateman lived at the home and the shooting was the result of an argument. Bateman and Johnson had

The Missouri Supreme Court has issued a 30 day stay in the case of a Cole County man convicted in a deadly 2007 DWI crash. The court will take that time to decide whether to keep Larry Welch in jail, or release him. Welch was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crash

After Islamic radicals killed more than a dozen people in France and hackers target U.S. military sites, ABC 17 reached out to an expert about what you can do to prevent further incidents here at home. ABC 17 sat down with Cole County Sheriff Greg White, who actively follows several hate groups. White said even

A Columbia rape suspect was back in court Tuesday on separate charges in northwest Missouri. Brian Adkison was on trial for rape and sexual assault charges last week in Boone County, but the case ended in a mistrial. Adkison appeared before ae Caldwell County judge on kidnapping and domestic assault charges Tuesday. Adkison is accused

Electricity to about 2,000 customers was knocked out Tuesday morning because of an outage in west Columbia. Russell Blvd. Elementary, West Elementary and the Columbia Public School headquarters all lost power. The affected area is between Fairview and Stadium, near Broadway. According to Columbia Water & Light, a transformer blew near Target. Crews were able

CenturyLink will close a dispatch center in Columbia on Tuesday, leaving some people without a place to work. The center is on Cherry Street, and employed 40 people. A CenturyLink spokesman told ABC 17 News sixteen of the employees will continue to work with the company, though in different positions. Four of the employees have

Icy weather Monday had many Mid-Missouri schools cancel classes or delay start times. After adopting the “late start” policy in November, Columbia Public Schools had their third late start in the last two weeks because of weather. The city’s school board discussed the new policy Monday night at its scheduled meeting. Superintendent Dr. Peter Stiepleman

Angry parents and teachers scolded Jefferson City school board members Monday night for not doing enough about overcrowding at East Elementary School. The emotional tone of the board meeting was reminiscent of another board meeting a few months ago where dozens of Moreau Heights Elementary School parents said bullying and discipline was out of control.

Girls high school basketball scores: south Callaway Tournament: Harrisburg 69, Russellville 45North Callaway 49, New Haven 39New Bloomfield 54, Montgomery Co. 29 California Invitational Tournament:Fulton 62, California 56Jefferson City 54, Southern Boone 41 Battle 44, Marshall 34Rock Bridge 45, Blue Springs 34Helias 47, Sullivan 42Blair Oaks 45, Chamois 38 (Fatima Tournament)

Missouri is one of a handful of states that allows adults to text and drive. The current law only prohibits drivers 21 and younger or commercial drivers from texting behind the wheel. State Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, has pre-filed a bill to ban texting and driving for all ages. “The intent is not to take

The University of Missouri experienced a campus-wide power outage at around 2:23 p.m. Monday. MU spokesman Christian Basi told ABC 17 News an electrical short circuit caused the outage. MU’s interconnection with the national electrical grid tripped open as a result of that short circuit. Power was restored to all buildings at around 3:00 p.m.

Jefferson City firefighters Monday gave local schools several large boxes full of bran new coats for students in need. It cost the International Association of Firefighters and the state council more than $1400. In all, there were 42 coats, ranging in color and size. The gifts were part of “Operation Warm,” an organization that provides

We will get a break from the cold air and thaw out as we head into the second half of January. High temperatures will stay in the 20s Tuesday and only reach near 30 Wednesday as clouds and snow flurries move through. Clouds will clear out Wednesday night and a southwesterly breeze will start to

Lawmakers checked in with state officials after ABC 17 News first uncovered a serious issue at the Department of Social Services last fall. On Monday ABC 17 confirmed Representatives Sue Allen and Tom Flanigan met with the agency’s director, Brian Kinkade. They talked about computer issues delaying people from signing up for Medicaid benefits. There

CoMo Entertainment owner Ben Bradley was due in court Monday morning for one of many lawsuits filed against his company, but he was a no-show. ABC 17 News first broke the story back in October. Two brides claim they paid for party buses on their wedding day, but the buses never showed and they never

Missouri is one of six of states that allows adults to text and drive. The current law only prohibits drivers 21 or younger to text while behind the wheel. State Senator David Pearce said he wants to change that and has pre-filed a bill to ban texting and driving for all ages. Pearce sponsored a