ON A ROLL Lady Wildcats are winners of last three games, including beating New Haven for first time in at least eight years, See Pages 7-8
MONTGOMERY
STANDARD
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 USPS 361-260
Since 1868
Volume 150, Issue 37
50 cents
Trial starting for 2014 triple murder case Kavanagh faces death penalty
By Tim Schmidt PUBLISHER
Jury selection will start this week in a triple-murder case where a Bellflower man faces the death penalty. Jurors will be selected from Cape Girardeau County, located about two hours away in southeastern Missouri. The trial is scheduled to start Monday, Sept. 17, in Warrenton. Jurors will be sequestered during the entire duration of the court proceedings. Shawn Kavanagh, 27, has been charged with stabbing to death three people and critically injuring a fourth person during a brutal Valentine’s Day attack on Feb. 14, 2014, at a home south of Jonesburg. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Kavanagh, who remains held in the Warren Kavanagh County Jail. He has entered a not guilty plea. He faces nine felony counts, including three counts of first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, first-degree domestic assault and first-degree burglary. He is accused of murdering Tara Lynn Fifer, 22, of Montgomery City, and Lexy Vandiver, 29, and her son, Mason Vandiver, 8, both of Jonesburg. He also is charged with critically injuring his estranged wife Jescie Powell Kavanagh. Police said Shawn Kavanagh went to a Warren County home in the 26000 block of Humber Road, located off Highway Y, at approximately 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2014. Jescie Kavanagh was staying there with Lexy Vandiver, a co-worker at New Florence Care Center, and her two children. After being asked to leave, Shawn Kavanagh went to his car and returned with a knife and began attacking the women and the boy, police allege. Fifer, another co-worker, had stopped by the home to check on Kavanagh shortly before the attack occurred, family members said. Shawn Kavanagh placed a 911 call at 7:51 p.m. and told the dispatcher that he had just stabbed his wife and killed several people. Lexy Vandiver and Fifer were found stabbed to death. Jescie Kavanagh was airlifted to a Columbia hospital. Mason Vandiver, who suffered multiple stab wounds, died four days later at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis. Vandiver’s 18-month-old daughter was found unharmed inside the home. The couple was married for 10 months before separating three weeks prior to the Valentine’s Day attack, according to family members.
Wellsville celebration
A number of activities were held Saturday, Sept. 1, in Wellsville as part of the Montgomery County Bicentennial celebration. Pictured above, from left, are queen contestants Ariana Carmichael, second runner-up; Larna Schnitker, queen; and Anna Gangloff, first runner-up. The contestants dressed in time period clothing between 18181960. Medallions were also displayed honoring county veterans.
>> See more photos, Page 12
Farmers may be eliglible for emergency loans Farmers in Montgomery County may be eligible for emergency loans due to the recent drought. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently designated 12 Missouri counties as primary natural disaster areas. Since Montgomery County was a contiguous county to the area, producers are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. This designation by Secretary Perdue allows Farm Service
Agency to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including replacing essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganizing a farming operation or refinance certain debts. The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is April 22, 2019. FSA will review the loans based
on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of addition programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at https://www.farmers.gov/recover.
County achieves Work Ready designation
Homecoming Court
Montgomery County High School is celebrating Homecoming this week with several activities. This year’s theme is “Storm the Beach.” Students will participate in spirit days throughout the week, including Military Appreciation Day on Sept. 11. Students are also encouraged to wear beach apparel on Sept. 12, storm gear on Sept. 13 and their Homecoming shirts on Sept. 14. The Wildcats will host Bowling Green for the varsity football game on Friday, Sept. 14, at Jim Blacklock Field. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Pictured, front row from left, are Donnie Wisdom, Blain Duncan, Luc Bronaugh, Johnny Leech and freshman Logan Hutcheson. They will serve as escorts for the queen contestants. Back row, from left, sophomore Anna Shaw, senior Rylee Ludy, Wildcat candidate Gretchen Ecton, junior Wren Allen and freshman Nita Hadden.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development has announced that Montgomery County has been designated as a Certified Work Ready Community (CWRC). This designation is the result of a unified effort by workforce development professionals — along with business, education, local government, and community leaders — to meet the economic development needs of Montgomery County. “As leading officials work diligently to assist existing businesses and attract new business and industry to Montgomery County, the Certified Work Ready Community designation will help align our county’s workforce with local economic development efforts. Local businesses and educators have stepped up, together, to participate in this effort to make sure our community creates a route of success in workforce development,” stated Greater Montgomery County Economic Development Council President Brent Speight. In 2012, Missouri was one of the first four states selected to participate in the CWRC initiative. The purpose is to align workforce training programs with the economic development needs of communities. The foundation of the certification is based on individuals at the county level earning an ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) and employers recognizing this credential. The NCRC is earned through scoring at certain competency levels on the WorkKeys Assessment which measures skills critical
to on-the-job success across industries and occupations. These include applied mathematics, locating information, and reading for information. The Missouri Job Center of Warrenton, located at the office of Boonslick Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), offered the WorkKeys Assessment to individuals who were employed, as well as those transitioning from their current jobs. In addition, staff worked with local school districts to test students who would soon be graduating and entering the job market. The assessment provides evidence of skills gaps. Educators are able to establish training which addresses these skills gaps, helping to create a strong talent pipeline for both existing businesses and new businesses considering locating in the area. BRPC Executive Director Chad Eggen stated, “We are invested in this region and continually seek out ways to bring local groups together to partner on projects.” “We are so proud that Montgomery County has achieved designation as a Work Ready Community,” said BRPC Business Outreach Coordinator JoAnn Toerper. “This was truly a collaborative effort of local businesses and educators, elected officials, chambers of commerce, economic developers, and other community leaders. I cannot stress enough the importance of partners like St. Charles Community College and Division of Workforce Development personnel. Everyone worked as a team to achieve this goal.” Visit www.workreadycommunities.org/ MO to learn more.