Briefly

Airman formerly of Neosho killed in Iraq

NEOSHO, Mo. -- An Air Force master sergeant who was killed Thursday in Iraq is remembered for how he put the safety of others first. Thomas Crowell, formerly of Neosho, died in an attack near Balad Air Base in Iraq. Crowell's mother, Peggy Whipp, said her son did not have to be riding in the vehicle that was destroyed by a roadside bomb. She said Crowell had others serving under him and could have ordered one of them to do it. Crowell had been in the Air Force for almost 18 years. He was hoping to retire in seven months and possibly get a corporate security job. His family said he also was close to finishing a college degree. The airman, his wife and two children lived in O'Fallon, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis. He had left Neosho after graduating from high school in 1989. Two others were killed in the attack with Crowell: Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, Pa., and Nathan J. Schuldheiss, 27, an Air Force civilian from Newport, R.I.

Pilot from jet crash released from hospital

BOSS, Mo. -- The pilot who ejected himself from an F-15C Air National Guard jet that crashed in rural south-central Missouri was released Saturday from the hospital. The man, a 10-year veteran of the Guard whose name and rank were not released, suffered a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and minor cuts and bruises, the Missouri National Guard said in a news release Saturday. The fighter jet crashed Friday morning in a wooded area near the small, unincorporated community of Boss in Dent County. An Air Force investigative report is due in 60 days.

Audit finds problems with 911 dispatch center

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A draft audit released Friday claims that the Independence Police Department's dispatch center is poorly managed and so understaffed that thousands of 911 calls are going unanswered. The audit found that dispatchers failed to answer an average of 606 emergency calls each month -- or about 20 per day -- between August 2006 and February. The 72-page audit looked at a wide range of problems in the police department's dispatch center, also known as the communications division. The dispatchers handle telephone calls and radio traffic for the police, fire and health departments. According to the audit, the dispatch center hasn't been fully staffed since spring 2000.

-- From wire reports