State briefs 12/14/15

State: Fund can't be used for monument

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- State national resources officials said money set aside for repairs to a Missouri Civil War monument at a Mississippi historic site can't be used because it comes from the wrong fund. Missouri lawmakers budgeted $375,000 for stone and metal work to restore the state's monument at the Vicksburg National Battlefield, where Confederate and Union troops who fought there are honored. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources stated the State Parks Earnings Fund isn't an appropriate funding mechanism for the project. Heritage groups want work on the monument to be finished in time for an October 2017 rededication ceremony on the 100th anniversary of its unveiling.

Bill would bar Down syndrome abortions

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state senator is proposing a bill that would prevent abortions solely because a test indicated the baby has or could develop Down syndrome. The bill, pre-filed by Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, also would require doctors who perform abortions in such cases to certify they didn't know an abortion was sought because of the Down-syndrome diagnosis. A doctor who violates the bill's provisions would face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes developmental and intellectual delays. North Dakota has banned abortions because of a fetal genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome, and Ohio is considering a similar measure. The bill is SB 802.

Branson Airport departures decline

BRANSON, Mo. -- Departures from Branson Airport have fallen sharply in the year since its last mainline carriers pulled out. Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines quit serving the airport in 2014, replaced by public charter flights. A generous estimate puts the airport's 2015 boarding passengers around 18,000 by year's end, a fraction of the 130,000 passengers in 2013, the facility's best year. The Taney County Commission has approved spending $500,000 to go along with about $1.5 million from other sources to lure a new airline to Branson Airport, which opened in 2009. The closest the airport came to landing a major carrier was in March, when billionaire Richard Branson announced Virgin America would start serving Branson. It turned out to be an April Fool's joke.

Book returned to library after 37 years

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A book checked out from a library 37 years ago is back after the borrower deposited it into an outdoor book drop with an apology note and $6 to cover late fees. The book, which ponders whether the Bermuda Triangle exists, was due back Nov. 29, 1978, but didn't make it back to the library until this week. The anonymous borrower's note simply said, "Sorry this is so late." Springfield-Greene County Library District spokeswoman Kathleen O'Dell says it's the most overdue return current employees can recall. Technically, the borrower overpaid, because the district's maximum fine for late-but-returned books is $5. The 1976 book likely won't go back on the library's shelves because of its age.

-- From wire reports