November 2013
road Rules
How to play fair when it comes to background checks, drug tests and providing references Pg. 50
âžş CPD
A look at local law enforcement Pg. 30
Cold-blooded criminal cases Columbia's biggest crimes of all time Pg. 36
Deputy Chief Dianne Bernhard
Law & Order
Lawsuit settlements Pg. 43
The ups, downs and dollars of day care PG. 46
What's up with Mizzou North? PG. 23
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 7
8 \\\ November 2013
From the Publisher
Editorial Chris Harrison, Group Publisher ChrisH@BusinessTimesCompany.com Sarah Redohl, Managing Editor SarahR@BusinessTimesCompany.com Katrina Tauchen, Copy Editor Katrina@BusinessTimesCompany.com
Truth, justice and peace ›
This month the CBT looks at law and justice. Merriam Webster defines law as: the whole system or set of rules made by the government of a town, state, country, etc. And justice is defined as: the administration of law, especially: the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity. Our cover feature, “The Justice League,” brings back great memories of Saturday mornings sitting in front of the TV with my brothers, anxiously waiting for the newest Super Friends episode. Super Friends, also known in some eras as the Justice League, consisted of a group of likeminded superheroes: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. These superheroes were charged with saving lives, capturing criminals and sometimes even saving the earth from destrucPhoto by tion. They often worked in teams using their comTaylor Allen bined superpowers to fight crime. The theme song and introduction of every episode ends with a booming voice and the words, “Dedicated to truth, justice and peace for all mankind.” We are fortunate to have our own local Justice League dedicated to the same principles, including the Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff and MU Police Department. These three law enforcement entities have individual command structures, their own jurisdictions, different leadership, separate budgets and operational procedures and different uniforms, but they all have one mission: truth, justice and peace for all of the citizens of Columbia and Boone County. In addition to this in-depth look at local law enforcement, our article on Boone County cold cases might jog your memory. Unless you’ve been living in a hole for the past 20 years, you are likely familiar with the Kent Heitholt case. But CBT writer Kristi McCann delves into other curious cases, some solved, some still unsolved, in the article “Cold Cases.” Lastly, I think every business owner or manager has been asked to give a reference for a previous employee, and many have likely considered administering random drug testing to employees or criminal background checks before hiring a new person. Unless you are a seasoned human resources professional or you have the inclination to pay an attorney to tell you what is legal, you may not know what the rules are. There are rules, by the way, and our article “Rules of the Road” will give you many of the guidelines you need as a business owner or manager to avoid getting into trouble. As always, we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. We love feedback, good and bad, so don’t hesitate to email me anytime at chrish@businesstimescompany.com. Best,
November 2013
ROAD RULES
How to play fair when it comes to background checks, drug tests and providing references PG. 50
➺ CPD
A look at local law enforcement PG. 30
COLD-BLOODED CRIMINAL CASES
Columbia's biggest crimes of all time PG. 36
Deputy Chief Dianne Bernhard
LAW & ORDER
Lawsuit settlements PG. 43
The ups, downs and dollars of day care
Chris Harrison, Group Publisher
PG. 46
What's up with Mizzou North? PG. 23
Deputy Chief Dianne Bernhard stands in front of the north wall of the Columbia Police Department at 600 E. Walnut St. Promoted to the position in 2012, Bernhard is the first woman in the history of the CPD to hold that rank. Photo by Anthony Jinson.
DESIGN Kristin Branscom, Art Director Kristin@BusinessTimesCompany.com Creative Services Gillian Tracey, Creative Marketing Assistant Gillian@BusinessTimesCompany.com MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Erica Pefferman, Director of Sales Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Angie Huhman, Director of Non-Traditional Revenue Angie@BusinessTimesCompany.com Mason Neff, Marketing Consultant Mason@BusinessTimesCompany.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Taylor Allen, Madeline Beyer ,Casey Buckman, Breann Hollinger, Anthony Jinson, Kendra Johnson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jim Camoriano, Al Germond, Olivia Hancock, Vicki Hodder, Kristi McCann, Sarah Redohl, Molly Wright Interns Abby Connoly, Olivia Hancock, Sydne Hayman, Breann Hollinger, Kendra Johnson, GH Lindsey, Tim Nwachukwu MANAGEMENT Chris Harrison, General Manager ChrisH@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Business Manager ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Cindy Pudney, Operations Manager CindyS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Erica Pefferman, Director of Sales Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription rate is $19.95 for 12 issues for 1 year or $34.95 for 24 issues for 2 years. To place an order or to inform us of an address change, log on to ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com. The Columbia Business Times is published every month by The Business Times Co., 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, MO 65202. Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited. OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Columbia Business Times and ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com strives to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among Columbia’s business professionals.
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 11
About The Last Times What people are saying ›› Sarah, I want to thank you and your staff for the very positive article in this month’s Business Times. I enjoyed reading it and have heard many neat comments from friends and folks I didn’t know. I also must confess that I seriously considered declining the interview simply because I do want to stay out of city affairs and wasn’t sure an article was in ev-
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eryone’s best interest. I am very glad I went forward. Nancy did a great job; I enjoyed working with her. Your photographer took a face for radio and made it quite presentable — though probably not up to your recent cover standards. Thanks again for considering me. I must say, it was good for the ego. Bill Watkins
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SEEKING-IT MR. FIX
What's happening online Celebrity Apprentice @CELEBRITYAP2013 17 Sep Celebrity Apprentice All Stars 2013 is out! paper.il/CELEBRITYAP2013 Top stories today via @ColumbiaBiz @tyler_neale @jerryleewilson
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Landmark Bank @LandmarkBank 7 Oct RT @ColumbiaBiz: @landmarkBank unveiled video teller! New innovation is changing the way customers bank: columbiabusinesstimes.com
Thank you to everyone who attended our Oct. 3 luncheon at Columbia Country Club to honor Columbia Home’s six Women at Work. See you next year!
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Around the office Women @ Work
TOM Y LE BRAD INTO TAPS BEER THE END TR PG. 26
A very happy hour
Join the CBT at Cheerleader Pub & Grill, located at 1400 Cinnamon Hill Lane, Nov. 7 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. for a happy hour celebrating our latest issue.
Correction
PG. 47
Subscribe Today 573.499.1830
Oops! We forgot to mention Heritage Academy as yet another Columbia high school. Heritage Academy is a University Model School that has met children’s spiritual and education needs since 1993.
Write to CBT editor Sarah Redohl at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com
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ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 13
November 2013 Vol. 20, Issue 5 columbiabusinesstimes.com
30
Criminals, Beware
All the facts, figures and funds behind our city’s own justice league: the Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Department and MUPD.
36
43
Departments 11 13 17 18 21 23 25 29 53 55 57 58 61 62 63 64 66
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From the Publisher Letters to the Editor Movers and Shakers Briefly in the News A Closer Look Business Update P.Y.S.K. Opinion Nonprofit Spotlight Technology Celebrations Deeds of Trust Economic Index Business Licenses By the Numbers 7 Questions Flashback
50
Cold Cases
Law and Order
Cost of Care
Rules of the Road
Mysterious, chilling and some still unsolved: A rundown of the most infamous murder cases in Boone County.
From attorney’s fees to bigtime settlements, experts weigh in on how firms divvy up the big bucks.
The rising need of stricter regulation and state-funded resources for Missouribased child care — and how Columbia stacks up.
Called for a job reference? Think twice before you spill. Learn the do’s and don’ts of background checks, drug tests and providing references.
16 \\\ November 2013
Movers and Shakers
➜ Are you or your employees
making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com
›› Professionals grow, serve and achieve
palmer
mooney
›› Barb Shepard After 15 years at The Doe Run Co., a St. Louisbased company, Shepard has joined Great Circle, a Missouri-based behavioral health nonprofit, as the organization’s chief human resources officer. Shepard has been involved with Great Circle for years on its board of directors and brings more than 30 years of human resources to bear in her new position. ›› Monica Palmer Columbia radio personality Palmer has a new gig as the communications manager at the Missouri Food Bank Association, a coalition made up of six foods banks across the state. The Gasconade County native will take the new position after spending 15 years in broadcast media. ›› Heather Lockard The Missouri Association for Community Action has found its new executive director. Following the retirement of the association’s previous director of 28 years, Elaine West, MACA carefully selected Lockard, who has been with the association since 2008 as the training and development manager. MACA is a statewide organization representing the 19 community action agencies around Missouri. ›› Wayne Banks Socket has announced the hiring of Banks as an account executive. He will operate out of the company’s St. Peters offices and focus on developing business customers in the St. Louis area.
campbell
whorton
›› Landmark Bank
promotions
Jo Mooney has been promoted to vice president and head of relationship management in the wealth management department. Janice Campbell has been promoted to assistant vice president and manager of the real estate loan processing division. In addition, both Kim Whorton and Kurt Knauts have been promoted to the level of bank officer. ›› Boone County National
Bank promotions
Shana White was promoted to customer service representative II for the customer service center, and Nathan Wikowsky was promoted to consumer banking representative at the bank’s West Broadway branch. In addition, Ben Chism was named business banking service representative for the Downtown branch. ›› Stephanie Miller Westminster College in Fulton has brought on Miller as vice president and dean for enrollment management. Prior to joining Westminster, Miller worked as vice president for enrollment management at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., where she increased freshmen retention rates by 8 percent. Miller brings 30 years of higher education experience and extensive qualifications, including a doctorate in education, to her new position.
knauts
beussink
›› Rachel Augustine The Missouri 4-H Foundation has announced that Augustine will serve as the foundation’s new associate director of development. In her new role, Augustine will be responsible for managing Missouri 4-H’s special events and yearly fundraising programs, along with establishing and maintaining a Web presence for the foundation. ›› Agents National Title Insurance promotions Nicole Azdell has been promoted to compliance manager. Lori Dorman has been named director of operations and risk management departments. Jessica Black has been promoted to the position of risk management analyst. Noah Heaton has been promoted to senior risk analyst. ›› Douglas Kennedy Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed Kennedy of Poplar Bluff to serve on the state’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education. In the new position, Kennedy plans to focus on making college more affordable. ›› Glen Beussink UMB Bank has announced Beussink is bringing his more than seven years of banking experience to his new position of vice president and commercial banking officer. He will be responsible for business development and relationship management in the bank’s northern Missouri region. CBT
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 17
Briefly in the News
›› A rundown of this month’s top headlines
Retirement woes trade show The Central Missouri Events Center north of Columbia will host the 21st National Small Farm Trade Show and Conference, the largest annual show of its type in the United States. The conference’s keynote speaker will be veterinarian and columnist Dr. Robert L. Kinkhead.
The vast majority of American workers are not contributing enough to their retirement funds, according to a new study by MU personal finance professor Rui Yao. Yao found that in 2010, more than 90 percent of working Americans ages 21 to 70 contributed less than 20 percent of the IRS-defined maximum for retirement contributions. This is an uptick from previous years; in YAO 2004, just 43 percent contributed less than one-fifth of the IRS maximum, while in 2007, that figure grew to 51 percent. Although the decline in savings can be tied to the nationwide recession that began in 2008, Yao says the trend of saving less during tough economic times is counterproductive.
75 years U.S.’s best
CLEAN, a St. Louis-based industrial laundry and cleaning company with locations in Columbia, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Morris Lazaroff began the company in 1938 and handed it off to his sons in 1969. Now CLEAN is in its third generation of family leadership and has 11 locations across four states.
new director for UM Press
Westminster College in Fulton has been named one of the best colleges in the country for military service and veteran students by Victory Media, a media entity focusing on service members’ transition to civilian life. Westminster was one of only 1,800 schools in the country to receive the organization’s Military Friendly School designation. This is the fifth consecutive year that Westminster has made the list. 18 \\\ November 2013
The University of Missouri Press, which drew nationwide attention when it was closed and subsequently reopened in the fall of 2012, has a new director. David Rosenbaum, previously the director of product development and project management for the American Heart Association, will take control of the press effective Nov. 1. ROSENBAUM Rosenbaum brings with him 15 years of experience in publishing and is a published author of three books. “We all know that scholarly communication is in a state of extreme volatility, changing at every level,” Provost David Foster says. “David brings to Mizzou a very aggressive, out-of-the-box perspective that will be very important in making the press successful in the current publishing environment. He has some compelling ideas of how to create a more visible presence for the press in the world of scholarly publishing.”
What’s happening
Vet Med
The MU College of Veterinary Medicine received renewed accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education, the accrediting body for all DVM programs in the United States and Canada.
Virtual assistance
Free flu SHOTs Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services is offering free flu vaccinations for children from 6 months to 18 years old. The vaccine is available at Public Health and Human Services’ clinic, located at 1005 W. Worley St.; no appointment is necessary.
Landmark Bank’s Stadium Boulevard branch just got an upgrade. In October, the branch unveiled the first “video teller” machine in the state. The video teller sits in the drive-thru area and looks similar to an ATM at first glance. However, the video teller requires no ATM card and instead connects customers to a teller at a central location who can assist him or her, even outside of normal bank hours.
RETIRING
Jackie Jones, University of Missouri vice chancellor of administrative services, will retire at the end of the calendar year, according to a press release from the MU News Bureau. Jones has spent the past 12 years in her current position and 34 years total as a university employee. In the community, Jones also serves on the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the board of directors of REDI.
Up-and-coming Matt Kitzi, a partner at Jefferson City-based law firm Armstrong Teasdale, has been named one of the state’s up-and-coming lawyers by the magazine Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Kitzi was selected from a group of 180 nominees based on his career to date and his public service accomplishments, which include a seven-year term as Missouri commissioner of securities.
KITZI
TOP NOTCH Visionworks Marketing Group received two American Graphic Design Awards for its work with clients in the mid-Missouri area. The awards, given out by the industry magazine Graphic Design USA, spotlighted work Visionworks did for Central Methodist University and Fayettebased dentist Jessica L. Quint.
Prepping for the Peace Corps MU announced it will introduce a new program designed to prepare students for entry into the Peace Corps starting early next year. The Peace Crops Prep Program will be only the eighth of its kind in the country, and MU will be the largest university in the country to offer such a program. There are about 35 MU alumni serving in the Peace Corps at present. “This is a great celebration for Mizzou,” MU Chancellor Brady Deaton, who served in Peace Corps from 1962 to 1964, says. “The Peace Corps gives us the opportunity to learn about the world in a new way. It allows us to see ourselves and our nation in a new way.” CBT
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 19
Jared W. Reynolds, CFP® Carroll Wilkerson, CFP®
Does your financial advisor buy, hold and hope?
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FIND A BETTER WAY:
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2013 Fall Arts Preview pg. 97
573.875.3939 • WRWEALTH.COM
October 2013 ➺ Bill Waktins,
CEO of Riback Supply and former city manager
Fall Fashion issue
The second life of Bill Watkins PG. 30
In God We Trust
pg. 80
Religion in the marketplace
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FROM "LIKES" TO VOTES Social media and local campaigning
OUT OF TIME Term limits PG. 36
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it's the
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September/October 2013 Display until October 31
COU Update
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www.jeffersoncitymag.com
Downtown RevOlutiOn
Want to advertise? Call 573.499.1830. 20 \\\ November 2013
pg. 45
A Closer Look
New Businesses in
Columbia
›› A quick look at emerging companies
1. Campus Poolside
3. Günter Hans
5. Blenders
The new Brookside apartment complexes springing up downtown have brought more students than ever to The District with their high-end amenities, and now Campus Bar & Grill is looking to get in on the action. Located at the rooftop pools at Brookside’s 10th and Elm streets location and the complex’s new parking garage on Walnut Street, the Campus Poolside bars will cater mostly to students staying in the city for the summer. The downtown bar opened near the start of June, but the Walnut Street location is just opening up. Proprietor: Campus Poolside LLC Contact: 573-303-1927
After returning from a study abroad in Belgium in 2009, Lydia Melton found that none of the European-style food she found in Columbia lived up to what she’d had across the pond. After a monthlong fundraising turn on crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter earlier this year, Günter Hans opened its doors at 8 Hitt St. (set back from the street in Alley A) in late August and has been serving gelato, pretzels, pretzel sandwiches and two kinds of waffles along with wine, sangria and European beers. The snack shop and bar spent October celebrating the Bavarian tradition of Oktoberfest as well. Proprietor: Günter Hans Inc. Contact: 573-608-5734
Kieran McBride started making smoothies to fuel his active lifestyle, and he’s parlaying that experience into his new business, Blenders Smoothies and Juice. Located on the ground floor of the new apartment building at 308 S. Ninth St., Blenders makes its smoothies from scratch with no powders or purees, just fruit. Customers can chose from flavors such as the Bermuda Triangle or Zeus Juice and add supplements such as protein powder or vitamin boosts. The store also offers healthy snacks such as fruit-and-granola bowls and wheat pretzels. Proprietor: Blenders LCC Contact: 573-889-8430
2. Kit Bond Strategies Kit Bond may have left the Senate in 2010, but that doesn’t mean he’s resting on his laurels. About a year after leaving office, Bond started his own consulting firm, the aptly named Kit Bond Strategies, which recently opened an office in Columbia. The firm provides a number of services ranging from strategic communications and startup development to international business development and government affairs consulting. Just last year, KBS helped to organize a trade delegation to China that resulted in two trade agreements for St. Louis businesses. The firm also has offices in St. Louis, Kansas City and Washington, D.C. Proprietor: Matthew L. Roney Contact: 573-256-2111
4. Game On With the recent reopening of Columbia landmark Gunther’s Games downtown, gaming is becoming a hot area of business in Columbia, and Game On is looking to capitalize. Columbia Computer Center owner Dave Hutchinson opened the new gaming center, located at 212 E. Green Meadows Drive on the city’s south side, in late September. Game On has up-todate consoles and gaming computers for customers to come in and play and will host multiple in-store tournaments a month. The store is open until 2 a.m. most days and serves beer as well. Proprietor: Columbia Computer Center Contact: 573-777-4746
6. Ozark Mountain Biscuit Columbia has its fair share of food trucks, but none of them are quite like Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co. Owner Bryan Maness brings his experience as a chef at Café Berlin and Broadway Brewery to bear on the simple Southern food he loved while growing up in northeast Arkansas and southern Missouri. Menu items include a chicken-fried chicken sandwich (on a biscuit, of course), a pulled pork sandwich topped with cabbage slaw and “arkansauce” and pecan pie. Being a food truck, the Biscuit Co. is rarely in the same spot too long, but it often turns up in business parks and near the corner of Broadway and 10th Street downtown during happy hour. Proprietor: Ozarkist Enterprises Contact: 573-999-9086 CBT
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5 2 ➜ Are you an entrepreneur? Are you sprouting a new business? Tell us about it at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 21
22 \\\ october 2013
mizzou north
Business Update
›› Transformed, trending and up-to-the-minute
Artistic Transformation
Officials prepare Mizzou North to house MU’s Museum of Art and Archaeology and Museum of Anthropology Work is under way to transform the second floor of the former Ellis Fischel Cancer Center into galleries that will house University of Missouri art and artifacts. The cancer hospital, which joined MU Health Care in 1990, moved last March from its roughly 223,000-square-foot home at 115 Business Loop 70 W. to the University Hospital’s new patient care tower. University officials subsequently announced a plan to move MU’s Museum of Art and Archaeology as well as its Museum of Anthropology to the space now available in the former cancer center to permit renovation of the campus buildings currently housing the museums. Both Pickard Hall’s art and archaeology museum and Swallow Hall’s anthropology museum will remain in the former Ellis Fischel building — now dubbed Mizzou North — for the “foreseeable future,” MU administrators say. Long-term planning for Mizzou North will begin later this year at the earliest, said Karlan Seville, MU Campus Facilities Communications, in an email. As it stands, Mizzou North is undergoing renovation to pave the way for its new museum tenants. The building’s second floor will be renovated for the exhibits along with the former patient entrance on the first floor, says Michael O’Brien, dean of the MU College of Arts and Science. “It’s going to be beautiful,” O’Brien says.
will likely reopen in Mizzou North by April or May of next year. When it does reopen, the first museum upgrade in a visitor’s line of sight will be the entryway, in which 19th-century plaster casts of original Greek and Roman statues will stand. But most of the renovations will focus on Mizzou North’s second floor, chosen to house the museums, Barker says, because its heating and air conditioning systems can be regulated apart from the rest of the building. Already walls, doors and ceilings are being removed to make way for cabinets and other structures that will store the museum’s collections. The storage area is slated for completion in November or December. Still to come is the work on the public display areas, which Barker aims to have completed by late March or early April. He expects work in the galleries to include changes in the lighting system, painting and floor repairs as well as more wall removals so that art collections will not be split among rooms. “We’re moving walls so the rooms are larger and folks can see groupings of collections in a single space,” Barker says. The exhibitions themselves probably won’t change, at least in the near future. Although the building’s configurations may require layout modifications, Barker says iconic works such as Thomas Hart Benton’s Portrait of a Musician will be on display in Mizzou North as they have been in Pickard Hall.
Brushstrokes and more
Museum grouping
Alex Barker, director of MU’s Museum of Art and Archaeology, had hoped to keep the Pickard Hall museum’s galleries open long enough to hold its annual Haunted Museum in late October, but the museum’s last open day was Sept. 30. The building is due to be empty by the end of the year, and the museum
The collections of MU’s Museum of Anthropology are slated to join those of art and archaeology in less than a year, with Swallow Hall renovations scheduled to begin in June 2014. Swallow Hall’s collections, comprising the only anthropology museum within Missouri, include millions of artifacts that date as far back as 9000 B.C. The
By Vicki Hodder
Leslie Carlson, a mover from Terry Dowd Inc., packs a painting in the European and American Gallery in Pickard Hall. Photo by Madeline Beyer, MU Campus Facilities.
museums will be paired in a way administrators hope will generate interest in both; the art and archaeology museum will be on the north side of Mizzou North’s second floor, Barker says, and the anthropology museum will be on the south side. “So you can literally leave one museum and wander across the hall to the other one,” O’Brien adds. Mizzou North will continue to house other university departments already in the building. Two School of Health Professions programs — its health psychology department and diagnostic teaching labs — will stay where they are, Seville said in her email. The MU Center for Lymphedema Research, Practice and Health Policy also has offices and laboratories on the building’s third and fourth floors. Within that center is the headquarters for the American Lymphedema Framework Project, a national initiative dedicated to improving the management of a common side effect of cancer-related surgery and radiation therapy called lymphedema. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 23
Holly Crane, Owner
Meet Holly Crane, owner of Little Indians Preschool in Hallsville. Holly recently obtained an SBA loan from The Bank of Missouri to expand her growing daycare business. An SBA loan from The Bank of Missouri is one of the best financing options for small and growing businesses. An SBA loan can help you finance an entire business, equipment and fixtures, business real estate and much more.
Meet our SBA Lending Division team, from left to right: Karin Bell (Vice President), Keith McLaughlin (Senior Vice President), Crystal Morris (Administrative Assistant), Geoff Karr (Loan Officer).
24 \\\ November 2013
P.Y.S.K. Person You Should Know
›› Job description: I fight to protect the rights, records and freedom of the accused in criminal and traffic cases.
Jennifer Bukowsky
›› Years lived in Columbia: 16
Founding attorney at Bukowsky Law Firm
›› Original hometown: Ballwin, Mo. ›› Education: J.D. from the University of Missouri Law School in 2006, Master and Bachelor of Science in accountancy from MU in 2001
Age:
35
›› Professional background: I worked as a CPA prior to law school. After law school I spent one year clerking at the Missouri Supreme Court for Judge Mary R. Russell. Then I spent a little more than three years working as an assistant public defender here in Columbia. After that I opened the Bukowsky Law Firm. I’ve handled more than 1,250 cases defending clients charged with everything from DWIs and traffic matters to more serious charges such as rape, robbery and murder.
Photo by Anthony Jinson
›› A favorite recent project: I have two pro bono cases in which I’ve filed habeas petitions to seek the release of two men, each imprisoned for murder, who have actual innocence claims. In one case, there was no murder; the six pathologists who have reviewed the case all agree that the decedent died from a methamphetamine overdose. In the other case, my client was only 14 years old at the time of the offense, and his attorney did not call any witnesses in his defiance trial — including seven eyewitnesses to his actual innocence.
➜ Bukowsky is the vice president of the Boone County Bar Association. She serves on the boards
of directors for the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Heart of Missouri United Way. She is also a weekly guest on the Gary Nolan Show on 93.9 the Eagle on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to noon.
›› Why I’m passionate about my job: Criminal defense is not about criminals; it is about defending individuals from the government. When I fight to defend the liberty of my individual clients, I protect liberty for everyone. ›› If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: This is it. I do what I do because I believe in it, and I love doing it. There are other things that interest me, such as journalism and politics. ›› Favorite place in Columbia: Boone County Courthouse columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 25
›› Accomplishment I’m most proud of: Last year I got what I’m told is the first “not guilty” verdict on a Boone County murder case in 47 years. ›› What people should know about this profession: Years ago, a senior partner of a law firm I worked for during law school told me that “the law is a jealous mistress.” Over time I’ve learned what that meant. The practice of law is a competitive profession filled with competitive people who want to win, to beat the other side. My desire to win is like a jealous mistress because it continually lures me away from spending time with my family. Luckily, my husband knows this about me, and he can usually (but not always) help me maintain a good work/life balance. ›› A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: Brant and Brock Bukowsky. When I started dating Brant in early 2000, Brant and Brock worked together out of a bedroom of their little house on Lupine Drive. The bedroom was packed with computers, which made the room hot, so they worked shirtless, just the two of them in there together, all day every day. They had zero employees. Over the course of the past 13.5 years, I’ve watched with continued amazement as they’ve started and grown different businesses, most notably Veterans United Home Loans. ›› What I do for fun: I like to throw big parties. I haven’t met a card game I didn’t like. I enjoy adventures that follow long airplane rides. I love planning my next outfit, and I spend way too much time in my closet. But what I actually spend most of my “free time” doing is working. ›› Family: My husband, Brant, and I have two (handsome and intelligent) sons: Blake, 6, and Gus, 4. My parents are Kevin and Kathleen Koboldt. They met as freshmen at MU and got married at the A.P. Green Chapel in Memorial Union the day after they both graduated on May 11, 1974. All four of their children are Mizzou Tigers. My brother Dan got his bachelor’s from MU. My brother Tim went to MU for both undergrad and medical school. And my youngest brother, Kevin, is a freshman at MU this year. CBT 26 \\\ November 2013
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 27
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28 \\\ November 2013
Roundtable › Al Germond
point-of-view
Money Well Spent Eavesdrop on conversations among the parents of young people these days, and the topic invariably centers on how to keep their children productively occupied. Activities too numerous in number and scope to enumerate broadens the discussion. Details exchanged about out-oftown trips on weekends to a variety of recreation venues — baseball, softball and soccer Al Germond is the games as well as tournaments are typically host of the Columbia mentioned — come into the conversation. Business Times Other destinations are described because Sunday Morning of specific attractions ranging from zoos Roundtable at 8:15 and museums to water, theme and amusea.m. Sundays on KFRU. ment parks. Although the Columbia Parks He can be reached at and Recreation Department and an equally al@columbia business abundant number of privately funded rectimes.com. reation venues are lauded in general for what they provide, the theme and tenor of these conversations among parents veers into what isn’t here. This leaves us wondering about future recreation needs across Columbia and what the community needs to do competitively to keep families, children and their recreation dollars here at home. Competition for family recreation dollars has increased over the years as more and more of it apparently saunters out of town and often into other states. One hears envious talk about solidly developed recreation venues where a dozen or more well-kept soccer and baseball fields are under one roof, so to speak — eclipsing in size, scope, features and overall maintenance, what we simply have never been able to construct, market and maintain. The suburban Kansas City area, the Sunflower State side of the border, that is, has marshaled its recreational resources to its great advantage, leaving Columbia wallowing in listless and underdeveloped inferiority.
Friendly competition Although the Lake of the Ozarks often comes up as a day trip destination, parents also chat among themselves about more ambitious trips to the Schlitterbahn water recreation complex just across the line in Kansas. This may spur trips to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, both of which are on this side of the line. Eastward-bound trekkers may pass the day among the attractions of the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Science Center and the City Museum. Of course Columbia can’t compete in
those realms. The St. Louis attractions are world class, and we are fortunate they are only a few hours away. This takes me back to when I was selling radio advertising for WDBR, a youth-oriented FM station in Springfield, Ill. Every spring, I’d sell a season’s worth of advertising — the $1,000 package of 30-second spot announcements — to a man named Knight who owned and operated a miniature golf course on Wabash Avenue at what was then the edge of town. Eventually swallowed up by the outward march of retail development, Knight relocated the golf course and broadened his range of recreation activities to a new site along the Interstate 72 bypass and rechristened the operation under two separate themes: Knight’s Action Park and Knight’s Water Park.
Although the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department and an equally abundant number of privately funded recreation venues are lauded in general for what they provide, the theme and tenor of these conversations among parents veers into what isn’t here. Entrepreneurial opportunity
Count Illinois’ capital city as fortunate to have this expanded recreation park with its broad range of activities for families and their children. I cite this because if a similar recreation park could somehow be implanted here, it would be another recreation opportunity for parents and their children There’s no personal stake in this except to use it as an example to expand the Columbia area’s opportunities for recreation. The Knight operation includes a go-kart track, batting cages, a 50-tee driving range, miniature golf, kiddie rides, arcade games, bumper boats, water slides, pedal boats and other water park attractions. A complex such as this would appear perfectly suited for the youth of this area and a destination many, if not most, young people would vote to attend again and again. It’s beyond imagining how more than 35,000 college and university students would react if such a complex were at their doorstep. Talk about an entrepreneurial Knight's Action Park is located in Springfield, Ill. The park originally had only a miniature opportunity! CBT golf course but has grown to include go-karts, a water park, arcade games and more. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 29
JusticeLeague The facts, figures and funds behind our mid-Missouri heroes in blue and brown By Sarah Redohl Photo by Anthony Jinson 30 \\\ November 2013
Pictured from left: Columbia Police Department Public Information Officer Latisha Stroer, Boone County Sgt. Deputy Sheriff Brian Leer and MUPD Capt. Brian Weimer.
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 31
Justice League
All 911 calls go through Public Safety Joint Communications and are then dispatched to various law enforcement and emergency response units as needed. Although each department responds based on its reporting jurisdiction, sometimes the lines are blurred.
Sworn Police officers
38
160
34
$40 per day
How much each inmate in the Boone County Jail costs
Three MUPD officers, who often utilize bikes on campus, must be near patrol cars at all times in case of an emergency with the Research Reactor Center. Between three and five MU officers patrol every day, but on MU football game days, the entire force must be present.
Civilian Staff Boone County Sheriff: 25-30 Columbia Police: 42-45 MU Police: 18
Uniforms
The total number of CPD officers per 1,000 residents has decreased from 1.58 in 2004 to 1.44 in 2013. Civilian staff ranges from record keepers to administrative assistants, personnel staff, secretaries, community service aids and evidence custodians, among others.
Boone County Sheriff's Department
CPD's community service aids help with non-injury accidents, abandoned vehicles and parking violations.
Columbia Police
THE GUN Boone County Sheriff: 40-caliber Glocks Columbia Police: 9-mm Glocks MU Police: Smith & Wesson M&P 9
32 \\\ November 2013
Detainment cells Boone County Sheriff: 209 Columbia Police: 7 temporary MU Police: 2 temporary
MU Police
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 33
Justice League
PSJC
Department established in Boone Co. Sheriff 1821
Columbia Police 1826
MU Police 1954
Current Chief Dwayne Carey
Current Chief Kenneth Burton
Current Chief Jack Watring
history:
Boone County was granted its charter in 1821. That same year, Overton Harris became the first sheriff of Boone County. In 1866, a quartet of troublemakers stormed through Rocheport and killed a variety of pets and livestock. After fleeing town and attempting to kill Deputy Sheriff James Gillaspy, one was killed in a shootout, and the others were captured. Since 1821, only one sheriff has been killed in the line of duty, Roger I. Wilson. Wilson, along with Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Ben Booth, was killed after confronting two robbery suspects in 1933. More than a year later, the suspects were caught and convicted of the two murders. Around that time, the Boone County Jail was located at the site of the current Boone County government offices. The jail is now located at 2121 County Drive, along with the Sheriff’s Department. Dwayne Carey, the current Boone County sheriff, was elected in 2005.
Public Safety Joint Communications handles emergency calls for 11 user agencies, including the Columbia Fire Department, Boone County Fire Protection District, Southern Boone County Fire Protection District, CPD, BCSD, MUPD, Ashland PD, Hallsville PD, Sturgeon PD and University and Boone hospitals’ ambulance service. This year, a backup dispatch center in northern Boone County was completed in case evacuation of the current facility was ever necessary. Within the next year, PSJC hopes to break ground on a new 911 center to be built on the Boone County Sheriff’s Department campus, according to O’Sullivan.
In 1933, the city built its current police headquarters to accommodate the expanding department. The building was renovated and a third level was added in 1978. After 2000, the CPD began to rely more heavily on technology to solve crimes. It also brought back a police motorcycle unit and created the mounted unit with two horses within that decade. In 2009, Kenneth Burton was appointed to chief, and in 2010 the new Police Training Center opened.
BUDGET
User agency reimbursement:.........................$990,488 General sources:............................................ $1,740,728 Revenue:................................................ $2,731,216
The University of Missouri Police Department was established in 1954 to enforce parking regulations, patrol campus, investigate campus pranks and handle lost and found items. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the MUPD’s image became more like the modern police department model. It began sending officers to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Basic Police Academy to expand its peacekeeping powers to control a series of destructive political protests against the Vietnam War. Demonstrations of more than 3,000 people gathered on Maryland Avenue, and protestors raised the North Vietnamese flag on the ROTC flagpole. Another aspect of the former MUPD model included more than 70 watchmen, responsible for locking and unlocking campus buildings. Now, much of the locking is done electronically, and the department currently has only six watchmen.
The Columbia Police Department began its service in 1826 when the city was first incorporated. Prior to 1826, the Boone County Sheriff’s Department provided protection. In the 1860s, the population of Columbia had increased tenfold, from 123 in 1823 to 1,541. By 1906, Columbia had its first car wreck, and in the 1920s, the department added four men and two cars to fight increased crime during the Great Depression.
Personnel: .............................................. $2,028,883 Supplies: .......................................................$86,200 Travel and training: ....................................... $37,961 Intragovernmental charges: ......................... $8,503 Utilities, services, miscellaneous: ............$543,119 Capital additions: . .......................................$26,550 Expenses:.........................................$2,731,216
STATS Property Crimes TOTAL
7,012 6,438
Property crimes
527
Number of Crimes by Jurisdiction (as of Oct. 10, 2013)
500 – 400 –
413
384 294 257
200 –
180 80
100 – 6
0– Burglary
34 \\\ November 2013
Source: Uniform Crime Reporting for 2013, as of Oct. 10, 2013
600 –
300 –
Larceny theft TOTAL
Boone County Columbia MU
CRIME in 2013
Highest Crimes in Boone county
5
5
Criminal homicide
0
0
0
0
Negligent manslaughter
39
34
Rape
1
3
3
0
Attempted rape
144 102
72 2
Robbery
2
Aggravated assault
2
Motor vehicle theft
15
9
Arson
2
5
Violent crimes
and s e s en
Exp
ue
reven EXPENSES:
1. Boone County Sheriff Personnel: .......................................................$8,319,086 Materials: .............................................................$716,681 Travel and training: ...............................................$67,272 Utilities and maintenance:............................... $531,237 Vehicle expenses ............................................... $447,776 Contractual services:.........................................$469,105 Other: . ................................................................$643,349 Fixed asset additions: ......................................$382,580 TOTAL: ..................................................$11.6 million ***$5.1 of the BCSD budget is spent on Corrections***
2. Columbia Police: Personnel: ......................................................$15,962,114 Supplies: ...........................................................$1,194,514 Travel and training: ............................................$201,999 Intragovernmental charges: ............................ $976,329 Utilities, services, miscellaneous: ................... $821,012 Capital additions: . .............................................$427,965 TOTAL: ...............................................$19.58 million 3. MU Police Salaries and benefits: . ...................................$2.8 million Fuel: .......................................................................$76,000 Other equipment and expenses: . ................... $216,000 Computer expenses:.......................................... $40,000 Supplies: .............................................................. $25,000 Insurance: ............................................................ $25,000 Training: ................................................................$12,000 Business travel: . ....................................................$6,000 TOTAL: ................................................... $3.2 million
REVENUE: 1. Boone County Sheriff’s Department General fund: .................................................$8,689,680 Sales tax:....................................................... $2,699,394 Other: . .................................................................$218,907 TOTAL: ..................................................$11.6 million 2. Columbia Police: Grants: . ...............................................................$158,579 Other local revenue: . .........................................$224,331 General sources: ...........................................$19.2 million TOTAL: ...............................................$19.58 million ***Other local revenue includes funding from school districts***
3. MU Police General operating revenue: ........................ $2.52 million Reimbursements from athletic events: . ........ $421,831 Reimbursements from other events:...............$266,102 TOTAL:.................................................... $3.2 million ***Reimbursements for events are not guaranteed***
The MUPD’s main jurisdiction is on the university’s main campus, but the department also responds to calls on various UM-owned properties in the area, including MU Family Medicine on Smiley Lane, Mizzou North (formerly Ellis Fischel Cancer Center) on Business Loop, KOMU south on 63 and farms out at Midway, among others. Last year, CPD officers once again became responsible for bringing arrested persons to the County Jail. Previously, the BCSD would send a vehicle to transport future inmates twice per day. After the initial shift meeting, CPD officers head to their assigned beat. According to Public Information Officer Latisha Stroer, they have the freedom to do whatever they see fit to keep the peace within their beat. “The only time I can think of them being directed is when [Chief Burton] has a directive in mind,” Stroer says. “For example, they always have to check in with the schools in their beats each shift.” BCSD, CPD and MUPD all collect evidence in a similar fashion. It’s collected, packaged and documented by the officers and sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol lab in Jefferson City. The CPD met City Manager Mike Mathis’ directive to cut its budget by 2 percent for FY 2013. The CPD eliminated a captain position, overtime has decreased and the budget for vehicle maintenance will be reduced. The travel and training budget increased by nearly 63 percent between FY 2012 and FY 2013. The BCSD will now assist Boone County residents interested in a concealed carry permit with the entire process, beyond applications and background checks, following the discovery that the Missouri Department of Revenue gave CCW holders’ information to federal authorities both in November 2011 and January 2013.
Columbia Public Schools partially funds the four CPD school resource officers, who handle all in-school criminal reports and arrests.
Law-abiding citizens might show up at the department to: Boone County Sheriff: Report a crime; pick up property from evidence; pay for delivery of court orders, eviction notices and other papers; obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon; provide information about a crime
Columbia Police: Report a crime, pick of property from evidence, drug prescription drop-off, turn in found property, get a copy of a police report MU Police: Report a crime, pick of property from evidence, ask questions, ask for directions during special events, contact security officers when locked out of campus buildings and store firearms while on campus
did you know? “People think there’s some magic line, like if you’re driving down Stadium and you cross some line, we can’t pull you over.”
MU POLICE Capt. Brian Weimer
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department has 209 cells and is consistently at its maximum capacity of 209 inmates. When there isn’t room for inmates, BCSD houses inmates in other jails, including the Callaway County Jail.
Sources: City of Columbia FY 2013 Adopted Budget, MUPD 2013 FY Budget and University of Missouri News Bureau.
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 35
36 \\\ November 2013
The most chilling solved and unsolved murders in Boone County By Kristi McCann
It was a dark Halloween night in Columbia. The college town was bustling with students and residents gallivanting around downtown and enjoying the holiday’s festivities. Columbia Tribune sports reporter Kent Heitholt was one of the few individuals still working into the wee hours of the next morning. At approximately 2:10 a.m., Heitholt packed up his things and after a brief talk with co-worker Michael Boyd, headed toward his car to return home. Within minutes, the night turned even darker. The stocky 6-foot-3-inch man weighing upward of 300 pounds was brutally beaten and murdered. High school junior Ryan Ferguson and friend Chuck Erickson had been partying at By George, a nearby bar. Ferguson, who says he remembers the night clearly, says he and Erickson left the bar at closing time and returned home. Two years later, the two were arrested on suspicion of murdering Heitholt. Ferguson has been fighting for his freedom for more than a decade. The case has been nationally recognized due to unusual changes in witness testimonies, confessions of perjury and Ferguson’s sincere pleas of innocence from the start. The case has no matching DNA, no physical evidence and no motive against Ferguson. To date, the “Free Ryan Ferguson” Facebook page has more than 60,000 supporters, and his parents have been tirelessly traveling the nation to share his story. Ferguson continues to serve a 40-year sentence and anxiously awaits the verdict of his recent trial that took place in the Kansas City Court of Appeals on Sept. 10, 2013. Heitholt’s murder remains a mystery, and just like other high-profile criminal cases in Boone County, it’s full of confusing witness confessions and years of investigations. Some families of victims have been lucky enough to draw a close on their drama. Others, such as the Fergusons, continue to search for answers. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 37
Victim: Janett Christman Suspect: Robert Mueller Status of case: Unsolved Victims: Dennis Poyser and JoAnna Baysinger Murderer: Earl Ringo Jr. Status of case: Solved Earl Ringo Jr., a former employee of Ruby Tuesday in Columbia, was convicted of robbing the restaurant and murdering 45-year-old truck driver Dennis Poyser. Ringo plotted the robbery and relied on the help of childhood friend Quentin Jones to execute it. On the mornCE SENTEN ing of July 4, 1998, 22-year-old restaurant manager JoAnna Baysinger opened the back door to let the delivery man in. Ringo bolted inside with a pistol in hand, and Jones was close behind him. Ringo shot Poyser mere inches from his face and forced Baysinger to open the Ruby Tuesday safe. Once the men obtained $1,400 from inside, Ringo asked Jones if he wanted to shoot Baysinger. He complied and shot Baysinger in the head. When Jones testified, the courts bargained with him and arranged a deal to avoid the death penalty. In return, he was required to serve three consecutive life sentences, including one without the possibility of parole. Ringo was sentenced to death.
death
On March 20, 1950, the front page of the Columbia Tribune depicted a photo of 13-year-old Janett Christman with a headline that told the city she had been murdered while babysitting. Just two days before, all of Christman’s eighth-grade friends had attended a party, but Christman had already committed to babysitting the 3-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Romack. Christman was the daughter of the Ernie’s Café and Steakhouse owners and was noted for having a well-developed shape for her young age. Around 10:30 that evening, Officer Roy McCowan received a chilling phone call from a girl who was hysterically screaming. Before the officer had time to collect any information, the phone call went dead. Due to the time of night, there was nobody manning the test board at the telephone company, and the phone call could not be traced. More than three hours later, the Romacks returned home to find their house in disarray and Christman lying in a pool of her own blood. Investigators found evidence of struggle from the kitchen, where the phone was located, all the way to front of the house. The victim had been raped, there were wounds on both sides of her head, her face was scratched, and the cause of death was ruled asphyxiation from an iron cord. Investigators declared the murderer to be someone who was familiar with the Romacks’ house, and Robert Mueller, friend of Ed Romack, was soon brought into the case upon suspicion of murder. Mueller had previously made comments about Christman’s “well-developed” body and knew she was babysitting for the Romacks that evening. Disagreements and lack of cooperation between the police force and the Sheriff’s Department caused the case to get off track. Mueller died in 2006 at the age of 83, and Christman’s case was never brought to a close.
Victims: Mary Bratcher, Fred Jones and Mabel Scruggs Murderer: Ernest Lee Johnson Status of case: Solved Ernest Lee Johnson purchased a bottle of beer and cigarettes around mid-morning on Saturday, Feb. 12, 1994, at a convenience store he frequented. During his visit to the store, he asked the cashier who would be working the next shift. The cashier told Johnson she would be relieved at 5 p.m. by Mabel Scruggs, who was scheduled to close up shop. Throughout the rest of the day, Johnson returned to the convenience store a handful of times but never made another purchase. The cashier noted Johnson staring at her while she deposited money from her shift in the safe. Between visits, Johnson, a drug addict, made a trip to his girlfriend’s house, where he purchased crack cocaine and borrowed a .25-caliber pistol from his girlfriend’s 18-year-old son. Just after 1 a.m., the deputy sheriff responded to a phone call to check on the convenience store. The lights were still on, the cash register and money vault were open, and there was smeared blood on the lock of the front door. City police officers arrived at the scene with keys to open the store. Upon entering, two bodies were discovered dead in the bathroom, and a third body was found in the walk-in cooler. Johnson was sentenced to death on June 20, 1995.
38 \\\ November 2013
CE
SENTEN
DEATH
Victim: Susan Davis Murderer: Ralph Davis Status of case: Solved
CE
SENTEN
death
Susan Davis was reported missing on June 10, 1986, after she failed to show up for work at Caroline and Co. Evidence found during the investigation showed she had cashed her paycheck on June 9 but was never seen again. Reports of a violent relationship between she and her husband, Ralph, became apparent while testifying witnesses, and some even admitted to hearing death threats toward Susan. A break in the case came when a storage facility in Jefferson City contacted the Sheriff’s Department after Ralph had failed to pay rent. Rental agreements confirmed he had begun renting the unit on June 10, 1986. The managing company was in the process of reclaiming the storage unit when they found a Ford Escort belonging to Susan. The car’s driver-side door had been shot out, and the interior was splattered with blood and bone fragments. During a search of Ralph’s business and house, officers found Susan’s diamond wedding ring from a previous marriage and a .12-gauge shotgun, which Ralph had purchased the day prior to Susan’s disappearance. In the days following his purchase, Ralph had filed for a divorce, traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and secured custody of his two children. Between the time of Susan’s disappearance and Ralph’s arrest, he lied to police and claimed his ex-wife had run off with her alleged lover. Ralph was arrested and executed by lethal injection on April 28, 1999. It was the first case in Missouri that used DNA analysis to prosecute a suspect.
Victim: Erroll Miller
Victim: Rebecca Doisy
Murderer: Dolores Miller
Murderer: Johnny Wright
Status of the case: Solved
Status of case: Solved
Just two months after she wed her 10th husband, Dolores Miller was charged with killing him with an injection of insulin. The couple had met in the Lonely Hearts Club and lived together in Dixon, Mo., after they wed. On Feb. 3, 1982, Erroll was admitted to the Truman Veteran’s Hospital in Columbia for a brain tumor. A month later, he had recovered enough to move into intensive care, but later that day, he lost consciousness and died. Dolores was arrested and accused of murdering her husband by killing him with an excessive amount of insulin. Statements from the courts report that Dolores had injected roughly 100 units of insulin into her husband. Tests taken shortly after Erroll’s death showed abnormally low blood sugar. Police confirmed that Dolores had been married at least six other times in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and South Carolina. At least two of her previous husbands had died. Upon investigation, officers found $2,500 cash, pharmaceuticals and a pistol in her car and rented room she had in a boarding house. She faced life in prison without parole for 50 years.
Rebecca “Becky” Doisy, a 23-year-old student teacher, had been working as a waitress in Columbia. Johnny Wright was a regular at the diner where Doisy worked and consistently asked her out. For quite a while, Doisy politely declined Wright’s offers, but eventually she could not say no any longer. According to co-workers and Doisy’s roommate at the time, she finally gave in to Wright’s request and planned to explain over drinks why she was not interested in him. Doisy was not seen after the night she was out with Wright, and her body was never found. With his criminal history, Wright was a person of interest. He even failed a polygraph test but was let go due to lack of evidence. Columbia Detective Chris Egbert says the search for Doisy went on for years, but the clues turned to dead ends, and eventually the leads dwindled. Wright moved out of Columbia and changed his name, but in 2007, his driver’s license was canceled because the name did not match his Social Security number. Using his real name, Wright walked into an Atlanta police station two years later to request a criminal report for a job opportunity. The report drew a red flag, and Wright was arrested on suspiCE SENTEN cion of murder. Media joked that Wright had paid $15 for his own arrest. He received maximum sentence.
life
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 39
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42 \\\ November 2013
How do firms divvy up the big-time settlements? And how are attorney’s fees calculated? Local experts weigh in on the money behind the business of law. By Molly Wright
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 43
In 2012, when Sherry Hunt, a False Claims Act Realtor, sued her employer Citigroup for systematically violating U.S. mortgage regulations, the $158.3 million settlement made national news. In the same respect, so did Rotts & Gibbs LLC, the Columbia law firm that represented Hunt. The firm also received financial compensation for their efforts, which, unlike the settlement amount, is confidential. But that doesn’t stop the general public from wondering how these fees are calculated. Do firms rely on a formula, or do they receive a percentage of the settlement? And how are fees divided within the firm? To better understand how this works, the CBT consulted some experts in the field and discovered that, just as with all businesses, there are not only common practices but also a wide range of possibilities. “There is no generic large settlement model,” says William (Bill) Rotts, partner with Rotts & Gibbs LLC. “It depends upon the kind of litigation, the client and the settling party and what the needs are for each. There is no prescription as to what the fees would be because that varies from case to case depending upon the legal action.” According to Rotts, protecting the client is also a major concern. “There is generally a confidentiality arrangement with these highprofile cases as well,” he says. “The recipient doesn’t want the world to know; they don’t want that lottery effect, everyone learning that you are now well-to-do, friends, family and neighbors coming out of the woodwork.”
Show me the money
“There is no generic large settlement model. It depends upon the kind of litigation, the client and the settling party and what the needs are for each.” — William Rotts, partner, Rotts & Gibbs LLC
Trachtenberg says. “Basically, if you can get more relationships, you get more money.” John Lande, Isador professor of law at MU, says it’s important to remember that law firms are businesses. “There may be norms within the firms about allocation of income, such as giving ‘rainmakers’ [the lawyers who bring cases to the firm] some sort of premium.” In law firms where there are partners along with associates who are salaried, they often divide profits among the partners according to various formulas. According to Trachtenberg, in some firms associates might get a bonus just for being part of the firm when the settlement came in. “If they work on the case, they might get a bit more, or they [the firm] might give a medium bonus across the board to everyone,” he says.
However, Trachtenberg, who previously worked as a litigation associate at a large law firm in New York, says there are a couple standard methods for how fees are dispersed within the firm. The first is called the lock-step method, which Trachtenberg says is based on seniority levels. “You can’t get any more or less as any other partners of your seniority level,” he says, adding that this system generally works more effectively in the bigger law markets. Most firms utilize what he refers to as the “eat what you kill” method. “It’s more common that if your client writes the firm a big check, that you get more than the other partners,”
In the same respect, the fees lawyers charge their clients vary from firm to firm. “There are two main systems for determining lawyers’ fees — contingency and hourly — and a variety of alternatives,” says Lande, who has been teaching at the university since 2000. “A contingency fee system typically is used when plaintiffs have been injured, such as in an automobile accident or by a defective product, and they can’t afford the litigation. The plaintiff’s attorney then says, ‘I’ll receive attorney’s fees only if you get a recovery.’ Typically, if they settle, the lawyer gets 33 percent of the recovery. If they go
University of Missouri associate professor of law Ben Trachtenberg agrees that fee models vary widely. “There as many ways to divide a pile of money as there are human beings,” he says. “I don’t think it’s uncommon that when a firm gets a really big check that people that work at that firm get a bonus.”
Cost of counsel
Areas of law covered by law firms in the Columbia area Administrative Law (11) Admiralty and Maritime Law (2) Agricultural Law (3) Alcoholic Beverages (2) Alternative Dispute Resolution (6) Animal Law (5) Appellate Practice (20) Assault (1) Banking Law (7) Bankruptcy (6) Bankruptcy Chapter 11 (2) Bankruptcy Chapter 13 (2) Bankruptcy Chapter 7 (2) Business Law (16) Civil Practice (6) Civil Rights (5) Class Actions (3) Commercial Law (15) Communications and Media (1) Constitutional Law (2) Construction Law (12)
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Consumer Law (3) Contracts (8) Corporate Law (11) Criminal Law (16) Debtor and Creditor (6) Drivers License Suspension (1) Education Law (1) Elder Law (6) Eminent Domain (4) Employee Benefits (1) Energy (2) Environmental Law (5) Family Law (16) Family Mediation (1) Fathers Rights (1) Finance (2) General Practice (7) Government (10) Health Care (6) Immigration (1) Inheritance (1)
Insurance (12) Intellectual Property (3) International Law (2) Investments (1) Labor and Employment (16) Leases and Leasing (3) Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (2) Litigation (24) Medical Malpractice (13) Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures (3) Military Law (2) Municipal Law (6) Natural Resources (1) Nonprofit and Charitable Organizations (1) Personal Injury (23) Premises Liability (6) Products Liability (14) Professional Liability (4)
Property Law (1) Qui Tam Litigation (1) Real Estate (15) Regulatory Law (1) Resorts and Leisure (2) Seat Belt Injury (1) Securities (1) Social Security (3) Sports Law (1) Taxation (6) Technology and Science (1) Torts (5) Toxic Torts (2) Transportation (9) Trusts and Estates (18) Whiplash (1) Wills and Probate (15) Workers Compensation (15) Zoning, Planning and Land Use (3) Source: Lawyers.com
to trial and win, they may get 40 percent. If they don’t recover anything, the lawyer doesn’t receive any fees. There may be litigation costs, such as paying for expert witnesses, and the client is usually liable for those costs even if there is no recovery.” An hourly fee, as the name suggests, is based upon the lawyer’s investment in time. “In this case, clients pay for the lawyer’s time, which is often measured in one-tenth of an hour,” Lande says. There are also alternative fee arrangements, which might include flat rates for certain legal tasks, combinations of hourly and contingency fees or premiums for achieving certain results or settling the case quickly. Rotts believes most of their clients prefer the contingency route because it doesn’t place them financially at risk. “Contingency fees by description are contingent upon our successfully resolving the case in favor of our client,” he says. His firm sometimes agrees to a hybrid arrangement of contingent and hourly billing when they recognize unique characteristics in the case that warrant special treatment. “Usually this is with wrongful death cases and where the beneficiary is a minor child or an incompetent adult and all with a mind to maximize the recovery for that beneficiary.” In circumstances such as this, if their time exceeds a normal contingency fee amount, then they take the lesser of the fee alternatives. Surprisingly, though fee structures, both in how clients are charged and how firms share the wealth, are complicated, this topic is not generally covered in great detail in law school. “All law students are required to take a course on legal ethics, and these courses generally discuss how lawyers can set attorney’s fees, though the discussions usually are pretty general,” says Lande, adding that some law schools offer elective courses on law practice management, which may or may not discuss allocation of a law firm’s income among lawyers in the firm. Perhaps in the future, this will change. “There have been some criticisms that law schools could do a better job of teaching students about the reality of law practice,” Trachtenberg says. CBT
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46 \\\ November 2013
cost care of
A look at the dollars, cents and quality of child care in Columbia By Vicki Hodder | PHOTOs BY ANTHONY JINSON Although sociology major LaNee Bridewell was determined to complete her degree after the birth of her son in 2009, she needed day care — inexpensive day care. Bridewell, a single mother who worked about 25 hours per week while attending the University of Missouri, was living on minimum wage in the apartment she shared with her infant son and three roommates. Bridewell thought she would be able to get by as a full-time student after she received word from the Missouri Department of Social Services in the summer of 2009 that she was eligible for state child care assistance. Bridewell’s income did not exceed about $550 a month, which made her eligible for the maximum amount of state assistance, and she thought her child care costs were completely covered. So Bridewell was aghast when she realized she needed to pay roughly $300 each month to the child care center watching her son while she attended college and worked. The fee was the difference between the state payment and the child care provider’s rate, for which she was responsible. At first, Bridewell alternated between paying a bit on her rent and a bit on her day care bill. Switching to online classes wasn’t an option; the classes Bridewell needed to finish her degree were not offered online. Instead, she worked more hours to try to make ends meet, and her coursework suffered. She flunked all of her fall 2009 classes — and she still couldn’t make the rent. Eventually Bridewell discovered she could use her federal student loans to pay for day care as well as rent. She earned her sociology degree in December 2010 and went on to receive a master’s degree in educational leadership and pol-
icy analysis last May before accepting a fulltime position with the University of MissouriKansas City. Yet, she vividly recalls her struggle with day care costs. “It was my biggest expense,” Bridewell says. “It was the most stressful thing on my plate.”
Dollars and cents It’s a type of stress all too familiar to many Columbia families. Child care costs in Boone County are among the highest in the state, with only a handful of counties charging more on average to care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children, according to information provided by Child Care Aware of Missouri. For example, the average price of infant day care in a Boone County child care center is $183 per week; that compares to an average cost of $129 per week in Callaway County and $150 per week on average in Randolph County, Child Care Aware says. The Columbia-based not-forprofit organization, affiliated with Child Care Aware of America, provides child care referral and other related services in mid-Missouri. Day care costs in Columbia run slightly higher than Boone County averages, a Child Care Aware report indicates. (See box on page 48.) Despite these relatively high costs, Child Care Aware administrators say local child care providers are charging what they must to continue to run. “Believe me, child care providers are not getting rich; they’re not overcharging parents,” says Joanne Nelson, director of Child Care Aware of Central Missouri. “Even at the cost you see there, they are barely making it by the time they pay their staff, their insurance, their employee taxes.” columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 47
Rather, the cost of doing business in Columbia is the reason the community’s average child care costs exceed those in most other Missouri counties, says Pamela Speer, executive director of Missouri Accreditation, an independent nonprofit agency that accredits child care programs throughout the state. Rent, insurance costs, payroll, taxes, materials and food: These are part of a “very costly” overhead, Speer says. “It’s the economics of the county,” she adds. The median family income is indeed higher for Columbia than for the state as a whole, census figures provided by Child Care Aware show. In Columbia, the median annual family income is $66,032; the statewide median family income is $59,020, according to those figures.
State support Parents may apply for a state child care assistance subsidy, which offers reimbursement for child care costs based on income and the type of care provided. Reimbursement rates differ between counties, and parents are responsible for paying the difference between the child care provider’s rate and the state rate. State officials set reimbursement rates based on appropriations approved by the Missouri General Assembly and data received through market rate surveys, says Rebecca Woelfel, Missouri Department of Social Services communications director, in an email. In Boone County, rates effective as of July 1 say families may receive as much as a $27.85-per-day subsidy if a center is caring for their infant for a full day or up to $17.04 per day if a licensed family home day care is watching their infant for the day. For preschoolers, the Boone County reimbursement rate drops to up to $16.55 for a full day in a center and up to $12.98 for a full day in a licensed family day care. Half-day reimbursement rates for preschoolers top
out at $12.90 for center-based care and at $8.65 for licensed family day care. Other categories exist with their own reimbursement rates. Among them are unlicensed — but state-registered — day care providers. Unlicensed Boone County family home day care providers may receive up to $15 a day from the state for a full day of infant child care or up to $12 per day for a full day of caring for a preschooler.
Going underground Often, that’s not enough. Many Columbia families struggle to afford day care even if they qualify for a subsidy, local day care experts say. Child Care Aware’s Nelson tells of a call her organization received from a woman with six children who sought care she could afford on her Burger King wages. Even with the highest level of state reimbursement, Nelson says the woman would have needed to pay at least $30 a day for child care. “She was trying to go back to work and honestly trying make ends meet, you know, but there’s no way she could do it with six kids,” Nelson says. Parents in less dire straits are struggling as well. Child Care Aware administrators see parents seeking to cut day care costs in a couple of ways. Some may turn to flexible arrangements based on personal relationships, these administrators say, and move their children among several caregivers within a week or swap child care with other parents. Others take their children to unlicensed day care in hopes it will prove more affordable. It’s a “gray area,” says Shelly Lock, Child Care Aware of Missouri referral center manager, that’s permitted by Missouri law but not well regulated. Home day cares may operate without licenses — exempt from mandatory inspections or state monitoring — as long as they are caring for no more than four unrelated children. Relatives of the caregiver are not counted as part of the total, which
opens the door to unlicensed providers caring for any number of related children on top of the four unrelated children that the state allows. “We have an awful lot of children that are falling into those almost what we call underground providers where there’s no inspection, there’s no monitoring and no governance of the quality of care there,” Lock says.
“Believe me, child care providers are not getting rich; they’re not overcharging parents. Even at the cost you see there, they are barely making it by the time they pay their staff, their insurance, their employee taxes.” —Joanne Nelson, director, Child Care Aware of Central Missouri Shelley Blecha of Imperial, Mo., believes stronger regulation might have prevented the accidental suffocation death of her 3-month-old son Nathan at an unlicensed family day care near Arnold. The provider, who Blecha found through her church in her search for a home-like day care atmosphere, had been watching Blecha’s older son for years before starting to care for Nathan in 2007. Nathan died after the provider placed him on his stomach in a playpen with loose bedding. Since then, Blecha has been lobbying for a law that would tighten regulations by requiring licensing if just one child in a day care is unrelated and giving the state the authority to immediately close an illegal unlicensed facility. “Something needs to be done,” Blecha says.
Proposing change The average cost in 2013 of day care in a Columbia child care center broken down by age group: Infant, up to 12 months........................................................ $191 per week Toddler, 13 through 24 months ......................................... $191 per week Toddler, 25 through 36 months . ...................................... $163 per week Preschooler, 37 months through 5 years......................... $150 per week Source: Child Care Aware of Missouri
The average cost of day care in a licensed Columbia family child care operation is lower: Infant, up to 12 months....................................................... $135 per week Toddler, 13 through 24 months......................................... $134 per week Toddler, 25 through 36 months.......................................... $121 per week Preschooler, 37 months through 5 years.......................... $119 per week Source: Child Care Aware of Missouri
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Child Care Aware administrators agree. Nelson and Lock recommend strengthening oversight of unlicensed programs, specifically proposing: • limiting the number of related children allowed in unlicensed day cares; • defining “related” more precisely; • requiring facility inspections; • requiring training for providers caring for statesubsidized children; • requiring national fingerprint background checks for all day care providers, whether unlicensed or licensed. “It’s hard to say this because I understand families that are struggling financially need a place, and you don’t want to put that mom that’s caring
# of children in Columbia younger than 6 years old who need day care:
8,722
# of children in Missouri younger than 6 years old who need day care:
309,817 Median family income in Columbia
$66,032 Median family income for Missouri
$59,020 Source: U.S. Census 2007-2011 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates, published in 2012, as reported by Child Care Aware of Missouri
for kids in her home out of business,” Lock says. “But we know that it’s not a good environment to have 20 kids with one adult.” Missouri Accreditation’s Speer also says the state’s child care statute needs to be revisited. “We need to start paying attention to the unregulated provider and look at it across the board,” Speer says. State subsidies also should be higher, the Child Care Aware administrators say. Many factors go into calculating those reimbursement rates, Nelson says, so she has no definite dollar or percentage increase in mind. But as it stands, state child care assistance isn’t enough to make child care affordable for many families that do qualify, while child care providers often are barely able to make payroll. “The reimbursement rates don’t go up like other costs,” Nelson notes. Missouri Department of Social Services officials declined to comment on the proposals. State officials declined to comment on the proposals. Speer also would like to see the state’s reimbursement rates increase. Still, Speer notes her focus is on ensuring that the quality of care children receive improves. “We also need the dollars in the State of Missouri to improve the quality of care,” Speer says. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 49
Rules Road ofthe
How to play fair when it comes to background checks, drug tests and providing references by Jim Camoriano Staying out of trouble is a good idea when growing up, but it’s equally important when you're trying to earn that paycheck. Obviously, interviewing for a teller's job after robbing a bank or applying to be a school counselor when you have cocaine coursing through your veins is not the best way to land a job. Or keep one. Felonies aside, workplace behaviors have a way of sticking with us, for better or worse. The good news for both job seekers and those hiring are the checks and balances set forth by state and federal law. The guidelines are pretty clear on what is taboo when it comes to the interview process. It can get a little murky, though, when you’re asked to comment on former employees. Benjamin Franklin once wrote that “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would add two more: jury duty and job references. If you’re an employer, you’ll at some point get a call asking what your former employees were like.
References You may have heard about the boss who responded to a reference request by telling the prospective employer: "Yes, Tom used to work for us. What do we think of him? He has two brains; one is lost, and the other is out looking for it." Harsh? Yes. Illegal? No. But let’s say Tom had filed a discrimination 50 \\\ November 2013
complaint against his former employer and believes the old boss is working hard at trying to blackball him. In Missouri, that might be considered retaliation and could be covered under the Missouri Human Rights Act. The act went into effect in 1959 and prohibits discrimination in employment involving eight factors: a person’s race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability or age (40 to 69). The law is enforced by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, an agency that falls under the purview of the state’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. If you’re reading this column, you already know workplace relations can be rough sailing. You let an employee go because not only was he or she not performing, but he or she also ended up being a troublemaker. A few months down the road, you get a call. It’s another company calling about the guy you canned. What do you say? You’d like to tell them the guy was a cross between bad breath and Armageddon, but you don’t want the employee filing a defamation lawsuit. You can sugarcoat it, but then you run the risk the new employer comes after you when the employee’s true colors start to show. Many companies, particularly large firms, play it safe and only verify the former employee’s name, title, length of employment and salary. What if you’re the one hiring and need to check the reference of a promising applicant?
By law — federal, state or otherwise — the former boss doesn’t have to give you anything. Common practice, however, falls somewhere between verifying the employee had a pulse to sharing his or her daily work routine.
"Yes, Tom used to work for us. What do we think of him? He has two brains; one is lost, and the other is out looking for it." Harsh? Yes. Illegal? No.
Many human resources experts agree: Prospective employers should ask and former employers should answer a few fundamental questions, namely: 1. Why is the candidate qualified for the role we're looking to fill? 2. What did he or she do well, and what did he or she need to improve upon (strengths and weaknesses related specifically to the job)? 3. Would you rehire this person? Your goal in hiring is to make sure what the candidate just told you about himself or herself
matches reality. The questions above are aimed at filling gaps the candidate, or you, may have left out in the interview. It is critical to get the most objective source possible to weigh in on the matter. Sometimes, however, you just have to punt. For example, one of my friends got a call from a college campus theater department, asking about one of his previous employees. My friend rattled off some initial easy answers, but then came the tough one: “Can you tell me about his character?” (At this point, my friend could have been a little snarky and replied, "You're the theater department; isn’t that your job to tell him what character he is?”) Truth was, my friend did not have an accurate bead on the employee because he held a parttime position, so he simply said he didn’t have enough information to answer the question. End of story. No harm, no foul. I’ve compiled a quick list of do’s and don’ts (at right) that may come in handy when you’re called upon as a reference. It’s by no means exhaustive, but it can keep you on track.
Criminal background checks and drug tests Let’s face it. We live in a society full of background checks. From the moment we go off to school, we are being sized up: The boy with a crush on his schoolmate will need to be vetted by all of her friends; your gun purchase means a waiting period; and when it's time to tie the knot, your in-laws will run the most extensive background check of your life. Finally, if you ever decide to run for public office, get used to the media revealing the time in kindergarten when you pulled Jimmy off the merry-go-round and forced him to drink soap bubbles. When it comes to the legality of probing an applicant’s past, we need to bring in the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It requires that companies consider the nature of any discovered offense, its relation to the job at hand and the time that has passed since the crime. Employers must also give applicants the opportunity to explain their records. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets time limits on what can be reported, with the exception of criminal convictions, which have no sunset. According to HireRight, one of the largest employment screening firms in the country, most large companies it works with choose a screening system that searches county courthouse records in jurisdictions where the applicant has lived for the past seven years to
find felony and misdemeanor records. Under the FCRA rules, bankruptcies that occurred more than 10 years ago are off limits, and tax liens and civil suits/judgments cannot be reported after seven years. One caveat: These restrictions do not apply to applicants for any job with a minimum annual salary of $75,000. If a company adopts a blanket policy of excluding all applicants with a criminal record, it could be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects applicants from discrimination. Cobbled together with
Employers Do’s/Don’ts When Serving as a Reference
Do:
➤ Check with your company’s HR department on procedures for answering reference questions. Does a response need to be in writing? What’s your firm’s policy? ➤ Adhere to the Missouri Human Rights Act when asking questions, both during an interview and as a reference. Off limits are: race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability and age. For more information, contact the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, labor.mo.gov. ➤ Consistency and accuracy is important, so delegate the role of responding to references to one individual (or to very few). Also, consider asking the outgoing employee to sign a waiver in which he or she agrees to waive all rights to file a lawsuit against you or your firm.
Don’t:
➤ Proceed without the former employee’s signature, authorizing the reference check. You don’t want to give a response if you can’t verify the request is legitimate. ➤ Cover up legitimate concerns and withhold a negative reference (for example, hiding the fact the employee was violent or belligerent). Such an act can be considered a “negligent referral,” in which liability is transferred from the hiring employer to you. ➤ Volunteer information. Don’t feel obligated to provide more than what is requested. The way to do this is to avoid straying outside objective behaviors (you should focus on performance, not on personality).
state law, the essential point here is that your company needs to tread lightly and only take action on matters that substantially relate to the applicant’s ability to perform a specific job. Stray from that, and you may end up the one committing an offense.
Drugs and alcohol If you run a private company, Missouri law doesn’t place many restrictions on your testing policies. You can implement a program, provided your employees are made aware they will be subject to testing. Notification can be posted in the workplace and included in the policy manual. Off-hours, off-site alcohol use generally is OK as long as it does not affect the employee’s work performance. You cannot refuse to hire someone on the sole fact he or she lawfully drinks beer or chews tobacco away from the workplace. However, if a worker stumbles into the office and is higher than the national debt, you may have grounds for taking action, including administering a drug test on the spot.
What about social media? A tenuous position arises when, on one hand, your company uses Facebook and Twitter as recruitment tools and, on the other, makes employment determinations using the same bank of personal data. The cement is still very wet when it comes to Internet law in this area. The federal Stored Communications Act carries the spirit of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unlawful searches and seizures, but making that apply to activities such as background checks is more difficult. Case law is still developing on this. The best advice, according to attorneys in this field, is to steer clear of that which is unknown. So, though you might end up seeing the person you just interviewed appear on Facebook sticking marshmallows in his or her ear while slurring the words to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” it probably is best to focus on his or her job-related qualifications, and leave it at that. The bottom line here for employers is to make sure your management and employees periodically review HR policies on these matters. If you’re a small business and don’t employ an HR unit, you may want to have an attorney comb through your policy manual (or help develop one). That’s the end of the story, for now. I’m being summoned for jury duty. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 51
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Nonprofit Spotlight
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›› The Food Bank
Feed the Hungry
The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri is not your typical nonprofit. In 2012 it distributed more than 28 million pounds of food to the 32 Missouri counties it serves. The organization can provide 12.5 meals for every dollar given to it. Donations are almost wholly used for acquiring and distributing food for the needy; in 2011, 98.1 percent of all donations were spent for that very purpose. One thing that sets the Food Bank apart from other charities is its ability to give its supporters a tangible idea of where their donations are going. Its visibility in the community is higher than most nonprofits, and that’s no accident. “We run the Food Bank like a business, looking for efficiency and effectiveness in everything we do,” Executive Director Peggy Kirkpatrick says. That efficiency and effectiveness is evident in Food Bank programs such as Buddy Packs and the Mobile Pantry. Buddy Packs give kids a way to extend their schools’ free or reduced lunches and breakfasts into the weekends and over holidays, and the Mobile Pantry brings food to rural areas in the 32 counties it offers its services to. Because these areas don’t have a concrete place to supply resources, the Mobile Pantry comes Amanda Andrade “This year alone, our volunteer hours have increased by almost 18 percent. I think it’s a direct reflection on the goodness of so many of our citizens.”
Scott Maledy “I think the Food Bank does a fantastic job of squeezing every dollar to feed the most people possible.”
once every month to six different counties to distribute food. In 2010, the pantry distributed 993,642 pounds of food. It’s programs such as these that board members say get people to notice and want to give to the Food Bank. Member Dave Machens says the organization is highly successful in demonstrating that supporters’ money and donations are not being spent in vain. “I think that, as a donor, you always want to see your money’s doing what you want it to do,” he says. He believes the Food Bank is exemplary on that front. “The community sees that they use their money in an efficient way,” board member Ann Littlefield says.
A persistent need Kirkpatrick remembers being so moved by the plight of the hungry in Columbia that she decided to do something to help. “I worked at the university and kept seeing homeless people eating, and sometimes sleeping, in a fraternity Dumpster,” she says. “Unfortunately, I saw this for nearly seven years before Dave Machens “There is no accurate stereotype of a hungry person. Adults we work with and classmates of our children could easily be clients without our knowing it.”
Steve Sowers “I’m involved because it is a great organization that helps kids and families who are hungry.”
By Olivia Hancock
I said a prayer to God asking him to do something or send someone to do something. … I was working at The Food Bank two months later.” Although the Food Bank has been ever increasing in its food-gathering efficiency — Littlefield estimates they collected around 30 million pounds of food in the first six months of 2013 — the need for food assistance has been growing with it. The Food Bank saw an increase of 20 percent in the number of people seeking assistance in those same six months as compared with 2012, Kirkpatrick says. In the Food Bank’s area, there are 121,000 people defined as “food insecure,” meaning they don’t know where they’ll get their next meal. Machens says he hopes the Food Bank’s work can help people not only eradicate hunger in the short term but also help them out of poverty in the long run. “We have seen the need increase every year,” he says. “Somehow we have to slow that down.” CBT Not pictured: Steve Maloney, Joe Priesmeyer, Laura Erdel, David Nivens, Ann Littlefield and Ron Kelley. Pictures by Kendra Johnson. George Kennedy “I volunteer at the Food Bank because we feed people, especially children, who need our help. I joined the board for the same reason.”
Mariel Liggett “My proudest moment has been watching gradeschool kids pick up pretty backpacks full of delicious and still nutritious food that mean they won’t go hungry over the weekend.”
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 53
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Technology
›› Kristi McCann reviews the latest trends in the business
Hacking Apple
Biometric fingerprint scanner poses technological and legal questions As expected, the Apple iPhone 5s sold at record-breaking rates the first weekend the product was tangible by consumers. More than 9 million devices were purchased while an astonishing 200 million devices were updated to their recent iOS 7 software upgrade, according to CBS News reports. From the statistics, it’s clear Apple is an unstoppable tech expert, right? Wrong. The buzz about the new biometric fingerprint scanner that was integrated into the new 5s design created an even bigger buzz when a German com-
puter club hacked — indeed, hacked — the system a mere two days after Apple unleashed the technology beast. The computer wizzes, known as Chaos Club, posted a video on their blog describing in detail how they had engineered a fake print to beat Apple’s biometric fingerprint scan. Starbug, the hacker who performed the test, posed a valid argument on the group’s blog: “As we have said now for more than years, fingerprints should not be used to secure anything. You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints." So, how did this group of German geniuses scam Apple’s technology? Well, it’s a bit more complicated than the group made it seem, but by highly increasing the resolution of a fingerprint photo and inverting the image to 1,200 dpi, the group was able to trick the 500 dpi scanner. Their creation and innovation unfortunately puts iconic action heroes, such as James Bond, and the Apple corporation to shame. Even prior to the release of the new technology, consumers were skeptical and cynical toward its capabilities. Questions were posed about where the fingerprint scans would be saved and who would have access to the information. Marcia Hofmann’s piece in Wired offered another questioning argument. Biometric fingerprints were considered physical evidence and could be used against someone in court. On the contrary, a simple four-digit code would require a judge to have a defendant incriminate himself or herself in a trial, which, in fact, is illegal. Only time will tell whether handing over biometric fingerprint technology to a mass amount of general consumers will cause more disaster than security. In the meantime, it’s posed a challenge to techies around the world who have already proven to Apple that they are keeping up with the company’s genius innovations. CBT
Apps of the Month The Police Academy provides expert training and safety instruction to law enforcement-serving individuals. But leave it to smartphones and digital devices to provide gentle reminders to police officers, security guards and even law-breakers. Patrolman’s Vehicle Guide: This Android and Apple application assists on-duty police officers with vehicle identification. The app also provides communication between officers by allowing photos of vehicles to be sent between phones. Miranda Warnings/Rights: The digital Miranda Act, available in English and Spanish, serves as a reference guide for your individual rights. PoliceOne: This is a must-have app for police officers. It offers up-to-date criminal and law enforcement news, videos, professional advice and tips to use while on duty.
One to Follow @ColumbiaMOBuzz The official Twitter account of TheBreakingNewsNetwork.com provides news updates on everything including policy changes, criminal acts, legal affairs and more. The Twitter handle that serves only Columbia and its surrounding areas has more than 1,500 followers. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 55
56 \\\ November 2013
Celebrations
›› Rachel Holman, CEO, Les Bourgeois
NEW C EO
The Business of Winemaking Les Bourgeois has a new leading lady
Rachel Holman. Photo by Casey Buckman.
Timeline 1974 › Curtis and Martha Bourgeois purchase 15 acres of property on the Missouri River near Rocheport. 1985
› The first significant grape harvest is a sign of potential winemaking success for the Bourgeoises.
1986
› Curtis Bourgeois Jr. returns from a summer internship and takes an interest in managing the family business.
1987
› Production triples to 1,500 gallons, which includes the new lines of Pink Fox, Seyval and Jeunette Rouge.
1993
› A wholesale agreement with Boone Distributing is made, and soon after, Les Bourgeois wine is in grocery stores and restaurants.
1998
› A major purchase is made of a 180-acre farm on the south side of the Rocheport exit.
2000 › Thirty-five acres of grapes are being planted to support production goals that expand to St. Louis, Kansas City, Louisiana and Kansas. 2005 › Seventy-five thousand gallons of wine are sold. 2013
› The commercial property spans the northeast corner of I-70 and Route BB to include the 20,000-square-foot winery, storage facility and 35 acres of planted land.
This year has been one to celebrate for Missouri wine-lover Rachel Holman. After establishing herself in a professional role at Les Bourgeois in 2005, Holman worked her way up and was recently named CEO of the Rocheport winery. “I am so glad I get to continue to work with the people I have always worked with, but now I am able to provide them with more,” Holman says. “Being able to make sure they have the resources they need to make their job easier has been amazing.” A new job title, a growing business, a recent marriage and ever-changing daily responsibilities have kept Holman’s life fresh and interesting. No two days are exactly the same for her. Some days, she works with engineers and architects to dream up new winery expansions or ensure all aspects of the winemaking process are properly functioning. Other days, she reviews production numbers or weekend recaps from on-site events. “Everyone here wears a lot of different hats, and that’s no exception for me,” she says. “Some days are a breeze, and other days I am here until midnight. My job is constantly evolving, but that’s the nature of the beast that produces 130,000 gallons of wine each year.”
Passion for the product The decision to promote Holman was established after Curtis Bourgeois, son of the original owner, decided to take a backseat in running the business. Not only did Holman’s eightyear presence at the winery and heavy involvement on the Missouri Wine and Grape Board make her the perfect candidate, but she also possesses the most important characteristic of a successful CEO: passion. The knowledge she holds about wine and her love of Les Bourgeois are prevalent in her words and actions. “I want the business to move in a direction in which we can provide that wine culture and
By Kristi McCann lifestyle that I think is really attractive to people while also staying true to the company’s family roots,” Holman says. “We want people to know that they can come out and have a myriad of different experiences here: an educational winetasting where they can learn the nuts and bolts of winemaking, a fabulous culinary experience at the bistro or a weekend getaway from Kansas City or St. Louis. I want to help bring that culture to people who aren’t familiar with it or feel it isn’t obtainable.”
“My job is constantly evolving, but that’s the nature of the beast that produces 130,000 gallons of wine each year.” — Rachel Holman, CEO, Les Bourgeois The winery experience For out-of-towners, a winery must-see is the A-Frame. It’s an environment that begs to be enjoyed, according to Holman. “There’s something for all of your senses,” she says. “It feels gorgeous, it’s a beautiful view, you’re tasting wine, and you’re relaxed. It can be intimate, but it can also be a group affair.” The A-Frame is also where Holman discovered her love of Les Bourgeois. “I watched the people who worked here as they interacted with guests and each other,” she says. “It was hard to tell who was working and who was just visiting. They all looked like they were having such a good time.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 57
80
Deeds of Trust
Deeds of trust were issued between Aug. 19 & Sept. 13
›› Worth more than $300,000
$200,000,000 Columbia Mall LLC Bank Of America Lt 1 Pt Columbia Mall Plat 2
$3,225,000 MM II LLC Boone County National Bank Lt 2 Watson Place Plat 3
$46,000,000 National Bakery Industrial Owner LLC Deusche Bank Trust Co. Americas Lt 1 Pt Bl 2 Bear Creek Sub
$2,500,000 P1316 LLC Boone County National Bank Str 32-48-12 //Ne Sur Bk/Pg: 2537/9 Ac 24.350
$43,000,000 Jade Properties LLC Bank of America Lt 1 Sfh Subdivision $43,000,000 Wendy’s of Missouri Inc. Bank of America Lt 1 Sfh Subdivision $24,950,000 Walnut II LLC Life Insurance Company of the Southwest Lt 1 1224 East Walnut Plat 1 Ff With Easement $11,200,000 College and Walnut LLC Life Insurance Company of the Southwest Lt 1b College and Walnut Plat 1-A Ff With Easements $9,036,000 Keene II LLC Boone County National Bank Lt 1d Keene Estates Plat 1-A Replat Lot 1a $8,500,000 R J E J M LLC Boone County National Bank Lt 1 Pt Conley & Perkins Sub $4,950,000 Columbia Hospitality Services LLC Purcell, Kim; Whaley, Vicky; Rodrigues, Arnoldo Etal Lt 1a Pate Sub Replat Pt Lot 1 $4,400,000 Keene II LLC Boone County National Bank Lt 1e Keene Estates Plat 1-A Replat Lot 1a $4,000,000 1322 Paris Road LLC Landmark Bank Lt 1 Grace Bible Subdivision
58 \\\ November 2013
$2,300,000 Horizon Steel Buildings LLC First State Community Bank Lt 65 Valley Creek Plat 5 $2,200,000 Peachtree Commercial Properties LLC Mid America Bank Lt 64 Rockbridge Sub Replat Pt Lot 42 44 51 61 $2,200,000 G A P Properties LLC Mid America Bank Str 32-48-12 //Nw $1,800,400 Pfenenger, George A. and Joan D. UMB Bank Lt 12 Woodrial Sub Plat 3 $1,800,400 Pfenenger, George A. and Joan D. UMB Bank Lt 25 Rock Valley Plat 1 $1,475,000 Hinshaw Family Partnership LP Boone County National Bank Lt 58 Pt University Add Lt53-56, $1,036,294 Wilson, Katherine A. and Michael F. Callaway Bank The Lt 1 Range Sub Plat 2 $1,000,000 Broadway and Broadfield Properties LLC Coil, William Randall and Cydney J. Lt 1507 Broadway Farms Plat 15a Lots 3-5 $860,000 Heritage Woods Development LLC Hawthorn Bank Str 34-48-13 //Se Sur Bk/Pg: 4127/116 Ac 6.420
$800,000 Broadway and Broadfield Properties LLC Hawthorn Bank Lt 1507 Broadway Farms Plat 15a Lots 3-5 $800,000 Weaver Joint Revocable Trust Boone County National Bank Lt 4 Arrowhead Lake Estates $784,500 Clervi, Matthew Edgerton Revocable Living Trust Mid America Mortgage Services Inc. Lt 148 Copperstone Plat 1 $726,301 Earleywine, Ehren and Lisa Bank Of St Elizabeth Lt 1a Brookfield Estates Plat 4-A $725,000 1101 E. Broadway LLC Central Trust Bank The Lt 1 Pt Ff M R Conley's Sub & A Strip Of Land 9 Inches In Width $630,000 White Oak Investment Properties LLC UMB Bank Lt 12 Pt Central Add $582,400 Hemme Construction LLC First Midwest Bank of Poplar Bluff Str 20-48-13 //Nw $576,800 Reasoner, Cleveland O. III and Laurie D A S Acquisition Company LLC Lt 221 Thornbrook Plat 7 $563,300 M G 2009 Revocable Trust; Gadbois, Anthony and Mary Commerce Bank Lt 5a Country Farms Sub $560,092 Loop 70 Properties LLC Bank of Missouri The Lt 90 Alamo Place $546,981 Patel, Dineshkumar P.; Jigneshkumar, Shruti and Suryaben Providence Bank Lt 107 Gates At Old Hawthorne
$510,000 1205 W Broadway LLC Callaway Bank The Lt C Broadway Office Park Condominium $485,000 Ginger C. LLC Central Trust Bank The Lt 6 Pt Ff Vessers Subdivision
$399,254 Snyder, Bryan K. and Mary Bank of Missouri The Lt 411 Old Hawthorne Plat 4 $388,368 Heller, Patricia White and Ross Alan Landmark Bank Lt 212 Heritage Woods Plat 2
$475,000 Cotswold LLC Exchange Bank of Missouri Lt 1 Vandiver Corporate Centre
$388,000 Tarbox, Byron Bus and Janna M. Landmark Bank Lt 7b Country Farms Subdivision Replat Of Lt 7
$471,695 Martin Builders Inc. Boone County National Bank Lt 84 Setter's Knoll Plat 4
$384,107 Kemper Construction LLC Hawthorne Bank Lt 42 Deerfield Ridge Plat 2
$465,500 Patterson, Adam C. and Shannon M. Landmark Bank Lt 2a Thornbrook Plat 15-A
$384,000 Houtz, Susan L. and William A.; Jameson, Chas and Deborah Mid America Mortgage Services Inc. Str 18-48-11 //Ne Sur Bk/Pg:534/750 Ff Track E
$456,000 Wilcoxson Custom Homes LLC Boone County National Bank Lt 232a Copperstone Plat 7 $450,000 Nivens, David Ross and Sara Catherine Commerce Bank Lt 26 Survey Ff Bonne Femme Estates $448,074 Loop 70 Properties LLC Bank of Missouri The Lt 90 Alamo Place $432,000 L T S -1 LLC UMB Bank Lt 1 Pt Matthews Sub $421,550 Shindler, Jeri Lou and Phillip A. Landmark Bank Lt 324 Copperstone Plat 3 $417,000 Bentinganan, Amy and Vincent Boone County National Bank Str10-47-12 //Nw Sur Kk/Pg: 2754/78 Ac 10.000 $410,334 Patwardhan, Anjali and Prakash Boone County National Bank Lt 176 Old Hawthorne Plat 2
$381,800 Auman, Marcella R. Revocable Living Trust Missouri Credit Union Lt 1416 Highlands Plat 14-B The $373,243 Warren, Chad A. and Lisa A. Associated Bank Str 7-46-12 //Ne Sur Bk/Pg: 4081/65 Ac 20.020 $370,000 Eddy, Joe D. and Kelly R. Callaway Bank The Str 4-48-14 /E/Se Sur Bk/Pg: 642/963 Ff Tract 1b $360,000 Swain, Julia Ronchetto and Wesley Scott Landmark Bank Str 13-48-13 //Sw Sur Bk/Pg: 273/345 $355,800 Wilshire, Gilbert B. and Regina Boone County National Bank Lt 27 Pl 2 Southfork Lake Sub $346,984 Bernskoetter, Robert L. and Tracy M. Wells Fargo Bank Lt 299 Thornbrook Plat 9
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 59
60 \\\ November 2013
Economic Index ›› It’s all about the numbers Labor (from missourieconomy.org) Columbia labor force August 2012: 97,431 August 2013: 98,005 Columbia unemployment August 2012: 4,471 August 2013: 4,728 Columbia unemployment rate August 2012: 4.6 percent August 2013: 4.8 percent Missouri labor force August 2012: 2,988,521 August 2013: 3,009,384 Missouri unemployment August 2012: 208,189 August 2013: 216,318 Missouri unemployment rate August 2012: 7 percent August 2013: 7.2 percent
Construction Building permits residential August 2012: 88 August 2013: 110 Value of residential building permits August 2012: $9,537,697 August 2013: $10,729,992 Detached single-family homes August 2012: 46 August 2013: 27 Value of detached single-family homes August 2012: $7,461,000 August 2013: $10,729,992 Commercial building permits August 2012: 16 August 2013: 30 Value of commercial building permits August 2012: $12,605,135 August 2013: $5,944,969
Commercial additions/alterations August 2012: 14 August 2013: 26 Value of commercial additions/ alterations August 2012: $901,597 August 2013: $4,034,696
Housing Single-family homes sales, Boone County August 2012: 187 August 2013: 207 Single-family active listings on market, Boone County August 2012: 880 August 2013: 876 Single-family homes average sold price, Boone County August 2012: $185,296 August 2013: $190,746 Single-family home median sold price, Boone County August 2012: $162,000 August 2013: $165,000 Single-family homes average days on market, Boone County August 2012: 110 August 2013: 69 Single-family pending listings on market, Boone County August 2012: 150 August 2013: 176
Utilities Water August 2013: 47,070 August 2012: 45,963 Change #: 1,107 Change %: 2.4 percent Electric August 2013: 47,441 August 2012: 46,235 Change #: 1,206 Change %: 2.6 percent CBT
“Over the past 20 years I have worked with different copier and printer companies. Five years ago, I met Andrea and the folks at GFI. What a difference this vendor makes! With GFI you gain a partner that works with and understands your business needs. I recommend calling GFI, every time!” Kat Cunningham, Owner of Moresource
Contact us for an assessment today! www.gfidigital.com |
Andrea Paul | (573) 424-1864 | apaul@gfidigital.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 61
New Business Licenses ›› Columbia residents and their upstarts
Adelman Travel Group Adelman Travel Systems Inc. 3103 W. Broadway, Suite 101 Corporate and leisure travel
Hobby World of Columbia James R. Hundle 1804 Paris Road Hobby store
Boone Upholstering Jack Laudenlager 705 Big Bear Blvd., Apt. A Upholstering labor
Just Jeff’s Just Jeffs LLC 109 Colorado Ave. Mobile food service
Break Time MFA Petroleum Co. 3200 E. Stadium Blvd. Convenience store/gas
Kit Bond Strategies LLP Matthew L. Roney 1123 Wilkes Blvd., Suite 320 Consulting
Buckingham’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que A. Brown Co. 5614 E. St. Charles Road, Suite E Food and drink sales
Midwest Engineering & Design James Dove 3100 Brown Station Road Engineering consulting
Campus Poolside Campus Poolside LLC 1221 E. Walnut St. Garage Bar
Modern Ams Larry J. Wayland 800 Vandiver Drive, Suite 101 Gun and pawn store
China Star Jian Qio, Weng 3301 E. Broadway Business Park Court, Suite D Restaurant, food service Continental Title of Missouri Dan Klauber 409 Building 4 Vandiver Drive, Suite 100 Title company Flat Branch Home Loans Flat Branch Mortgage 1515 Chapel Hill Road Mortgage banker Game On Columbia Computer Center 212 Building B, E. Green Meadows Drive, Suite 7 Bar and gaming center Heart of America Athletic Training Kevin Bay 2604 Paris Road Private training gym with retail clothing 62 \\\ November 2013
Numotion United Seating & Mobility LLC 313 E. Ash St. Retail medical equipment Taylored Massage Sara Lee Taylor 1034 E. Walnut St. Massage therapy The Arcade Showroom Wesley Upchurch 610 A Big Bear Blvd. Buying, selling and repairing coin-operated equipment Vapor Up Douglas K. Stevens 1406 Forum Blvd., Suite 102 Retail of electronic cigarettes
Catherine Rhodes Photography Catherine Marie Rhodes 28 N. Eighth St., Room 412 Wedding and portrait photography Fazoli’s Fazoli’s Restaurant Group Inc. 308 S. Ninth St., Suite 101 Quick-service Italian restaurant Health Through Hands Samantha Lichelle Mitchell 1034 E. Walnut St. Therapeutic massage services Love Tree Studios LLC Aubrey Rowden 18 S. Ninth St. Photography services Yellow Dog Bookshop Hammond Chevalier LLC 8 S. Ninth St. Used bookstore A Major Music Gregory Arthur Allers 411 W. Broadway, Apt. 4 Music services, event booking, composition Acclaim Paintless Dent Repair Acclaim Paintless Dent Repair 1516 Mills Drive Mobile dent repair and replacement service Bubbles and Sponges Cleaning Kimberly S. Gonzalez 1504 Stone St. Home/office cleaning and organization
Yardhouse Fabrics Anthony P. Delong 1400 Forum Blvd., Suite 39 Fabric retail
Change In Motion Personal Training Brandon Johnson 2103 Lafayette Personal fitness training
Blenders: Smoothies & Juice Blenders LLC 308 S. Ninth St., Suite 113 Smoothie and juice bar
Cocoon Carriers Megan Nicole Oberg 3700 Timber Run Drive Sale of baby carriers and other baby equipment CBT
By the Numbers ›› Boone County statistics
Boone County citizens called for jury service
There’s more to keeping the peace than police. Juries, juvenile detention centers, lawyers and more play a part in law and justice.
Source: 13th Judicial Circuit of Missouri 2012 Annual Report
Total admissions to the 13th District Juvenile Justice Center Source: Juvenile Justice Center Annual Reports
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
=100 people Total number of people called Not called in Letter returned/ no response Disqualified Excused Served on a jury Failed to report
327
303 253
2012
2011
2010
Number of trials in 13th District
Average cost of law school
Source: 13th Judicial Circuit of Missouri 2012 Annual Report
Source: University of Missouri School of Law
40,000
50 40
42
49
46
30
$40,500
$36,907
30,000
$23,600
20,000
$19,538
20
18
19
2012
2011
10,000
10 0 0
2010
2009
2008
Missouri resident
Non-Missouri resident
$ 37 $14,659
26 $12,483
46 $35,495
Private law school
147
Robberies by location (Source: Uniform Crime Reporting 2012) 40 $10,615
Public law school
MU law grads in 2012
12 $35,775
Total reported crime by county
% change in total number of lawyers
Source: Uniform Crime Reporting 2012
Source: American Bar Association
Howard: 85
Boone: 6,205
Cooper: 489 Moniteau: 223
+1 %
Audrain: 534
Cole: 2,249
+0.5 % +1.8 %
Callaway: 1,436
U.S. 2013: 1,268,011 2012: 1,245,205
Missouri 2013: 24,423 2012: 24,276
+4 % +0.6% Illinois 2013: 62,496 2012: 60,069
Iowa 2013: 7,383 2012: 7,308
Kansas 2013: 8,199 2012: 8,156
columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 63
7 Questions
➜ Boone County Fire Protection District Headquarters 2201 I-70 Drive NW, Columbia, MO
›› Get to know your professionals
Missouri Task Force 1
Kent Cunningham, Logistics Manager, Missouri Task Force 1
2. How did you get involved? How long have you been involved? I started about nine years ago. I had heard the county was getting some tractor-trailers for a special program called Missouri Task Force 1, and I wanted to get involved. I talked with Steve Paulsell, the Boone County fire chief at the time. He saw a fit, and I was in.
Fun Fact: 64 \\\ November 2013
3. Who makes the decisions of where and when the task force goes somewhere? FEMA is the organization from which Missouri Task Force 1 takes direction. Within the organization, there are task force leaders and safety officers for our various teams: search, rescue, medical, hazardous materials, logistics and planning.
Photo by Kendra Johnson
1. What is Missouri Task Force 1? MOTF-1 is an urban search and rescue task force through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), based in Boone County, and we have 210 members. Today, there are 28 national task forces staffed and equipped to conduct round-the-clock searches and rescue operations for earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and catastrophic structural failures. Task force members work in four areas of specialization: search to find victims trapped after a disaster; rescue, which includes safely digging victims out of tons of collapsed concrete and metal; technical, which is made up of structural specialists who make rescues safe; and medical, which cares for the victims before and after the rescue.
4. Basically, how does the process work? Who gives the orders to go? How do you know where to go? Anywhere there is a disaster, FEMA will put on notice the closest three task force organizations based on who is on rotation that month. We are alerted by cellphone to be aware we may be deployed. Once that alert comes and we’re activated, we have four hours to report and be on our way. MOTF-1 is capable of performing operations from conducting physical search and rescue operations in damaged structures to providing disaster communication support using state-of-theart satellite systems. We also provide emergency medical care at disaster sites, carry out reconnaissance duties to assess damage and determine needs, conduct hazardous material surveys and assist in stabilizing damaged structures.
5. What types of assets and materials does the task force have at its disposal? We are funded through FEMA and have $3.5 million of equipment: saws to cut concrete, cameras used to access areas where a hole has been drilled, personal protective equipment, vehicles and more. 6. What are some of the latest trips the task force has taken? We just got back from Loveland, Colo., where we assisted in rescue and evacuation by providing assistance in airlifting residents stranded due to the loss of roads. We’ve also been deployed for other federal and state disasters, including hurricanes Isabel, Dennis, Katrina (twice), Ernesto, Dean, Dolly, Ike and Sandy; the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001; the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003; and the 2008 Republican National Convention. 7. What has been the most rewarding experience for you, personally, since getting involved? People genuinely appreciate the work we do. I have had people shake my hand and tell me thank you, and there is no better feeling than knowing you are making a positive difference in people’s lives. CBT
➜ Missouri Task Force 1 can be deployed throughout the United States and internationally.
ADVERTISER INDEX Accounting Plus...................................40-41 Anthony Jinson.......................................... 67 The Bank of Missouri................................ 24 Boone County National Bank................68 Business Showcase................................... 16 Carpet One..................................................60 Caledon Virtual.......................................... 56 Central Trust................................................27 City of Columbia Public Works.............20 City of Columbia Water &Light............... 5 Columbia College......................................49 Commerce Bank....................................... 59 GFI Digital...................................................... 61 Hawthorn Bank..............................................7 Hub & Spoke................................................. 14 Huber & Associates.................................. 54 Inside the Lines.......................................... 52 Joe Machens Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge......3 Joe Machens Ford........................................4 Joe Machens Volkswagen........................ 11 Johnston Paint & Decorating................ 42 KMIZ........................................................ 27, 60 Landmark Bank.............................................2 Maid Pro...........................................................8 Mercedes-Benz of Joe Machens..........10 Mid-City Lumber Co................................. 45 Midwest Computech............................... 59 Naught Naught........................................... 65 Olde Un Theatre........................................ 52 Plaza Commercial Realty.................. 62,63 Quantum Wireless.................................... 54 REDI................................................................ 26 Room 38........................................................22 Tech Electronics........................................ 42 US Bank..........................................................22 United Way.................................................. 28 University Club........................................... 28 University Of Missouri Healthcare.........6 Van Matre, Harrison, Hollis, Taylor & Bacon, P.C.................................................... 65 Watkins Roofing.......................................... 61 Wilkerson & Reynolds..............................20 Wilson's Total Fitness.................................9 columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 65
Flashback
By GH Lindsey Photo by Breann Hollinger
›› Then and now
➜ The Columbia business landscape is always evolving, but it’s important to remember our historical roots.
Originally built in 1910 for a grand total of $15,000, Wabash Station has served as a gateway to Columbia for more than 100 years. Before finding a second life as a bus station following a remodel in 2007, the station acted as the terminus for the Columbia spur of its namesake railroad, which operated freight and passenger lines from Buffalo in the east to Kansas City in the west. The Wabash Railroad served Columbia uninterrupted for more than 50 years before ceasing operations in 1964; most of the
passenger traffic headed to and from Columbia was tied to the University of Missouri. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and was acquired by the city in 1982. Around 1998, the city began planning to restore it, but those efforts didn’t come to a head until 2006 when, following Missouri Sen. Kit Bond’s securing of $2.37 million of federal transportation funds, construction for the restoration began. About a year later, the renovated and expanded station, featuring art from local artists Don Asbee and
David Spear, reopened as both a bus depot and offices for Columbia Public Transportation. Wabash’s newfound role as a bus station has served it well, especially with the expansion of low-cost carrier Megabus, which got its start in the Midwest, into the city in 2008, which provided easy transportation from Chicago, a major growth area for MU enrollment. In 2011, the station began hosting the North Village Farmers and Artisans Market, further entrenching it in the neighborhood and the city of Columbia. CBT
➜ We love Columbia business history. If you have any interesting photos and stories, please send them to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com 66 \\\ November 2013
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