KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Lyon Lenk doesn’t take priceless things for granted.

“You have to give it some serious thought,” he said. “We just want the basics, to have this yard and a choice in how our lives look like.”

One of those priceless moments is when he proposed to his fiancee with a family diamond smuggled from Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation.

“We got engaged at the beginning of the pandemic because there’s just no one else I want to do this life thing with,” he said. “Kelsey is everything to me. I’ve never met a kinder, beautiful person.”

Following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Lenk decided to get a vasectomy due to his wife's medical history.

“We’ve talked about me getting a vasectomy,” he said. “I’ve got to contemplate what could potentially be a lifesaving procedure for the person I love the most.”

Dr. Christian Hettinger, a urologist at the Kansas City Urology Care, said they have been inundated with requests for information about vasectomies.

“Since Friday, we’re up 900% in people looking to get a vasectomy," he said.

The demand for vasectomy consults is drastically increasing across both Missouri and Kansas.

Hettinger gave an example from just a single clinic’s calls for consults over the weekend.

“Typically, it’s about three phone calls over a weekend," he said. "Over this past weekend, it was 50 calls looking for vasectomies."

Hettinger says he will tell his patients the same thing.

“It should be viewed as a permanent form of sterilization, it’s not something that’s a good temporary fix if you will,” he said. “It’s not something I would plan to have done and then reversed in the future.”

Lenk cautioned that a lot of consideration should go into the decision.

"It’s not right for everybody," he said. "Either I get this, or we risk her being denied a procedure down the line and that’s unacceptable to me, so it’s not a sacrifice, it’s the right thing to do.”

This story was originally reported by Megan Abundis on KSHB.com.

OLATHE, Kan. — Brian Eubanks of Kansas was all smiles in Mazatlán, a city in Sinaloa, Mexico, enjoying the holidays with loved ones.

“We visited beautiful beaches. We were planning on scuba diving this last Friday,” Eubanks said. “The people there were very friendly. We felt totally safe most of the trip.”

But the feeling changed when violence broke out earlier this week after alleged drug trafficker Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was arrested in Culiacan, just two hours from where Eubanks was staying in Mazatlán.

“They (locals) told us there was violence breaking out, and we didn’t know how bad it was,” he said. “But we still went to the beach, and the beach was pretty empty and most restaurants were closed on the beach... we started seeing National Guard helicopters flying around.”

As the violence moved increasingly closer to Eubanks, his hopes of leaving by plane were dashed.

“We didn’t ever get to the airport in Mazatlán because it closed down that day, so there was a blockade on the way to the airport," he said. "The cartel took some semi-trailers from people and set them on fire in the middle of the road.”

By default, car and bus were the only way to escape after the airport shut down and his flight was canceled.

Eubanks had difficulty booking flights with American Airlines, although he says the company was helpful. Luckily, he had relatives in the area who were willing to drive him to safety.

“When we left, they closed the whole city down as far as restaurants, shops [and] closed the beach down just as a precaution because people were out getting robbed by the cartel,” he said. “They drove us to Durango, and we caught a bus to Guadalajara — we had a flight out at 6 a.m. [Sunday].

"On the drive to Durango, we saw a couple of the trucks that were burnt out that they (cartel) blockaded the road with, and we drove through a tunnel filled with smoke still — the electricity was cut out in the tunnel," he added.

Throughout the journey, emotions were high, but Eubanks says he is comforted to return to Kansas soil.

“It’s very relieving. It’s very freeing to drive on the road myself knowing that I had the possibility of not being here for a long time,” he said.

This article was written by Leslie DelasBour for KSHB.

ORRICK, Mo. (KSHB) — The town of Orrick, Missouri, is currently without a police department after all their officers walked out on the job.

Orrick's city attorney, Kevin Baldwin, confirmed that the police chief, along with all other officers quit, but didn’t provide a reason.

The city said it’s been a month without them and the town's police department is currently not operating.

“The chief resigned, as did the other full-time officer and the part-time officers as well. No notice was given or complaints lodged with the Board or Mayor by any officer before this action was undertaken," the city said in a statement. "It was sudden, without warning, and did not allow for an orderly transition. However, such events are not unusual in small-town Missouri."

For residents, it's alarming.

“It’s concerning, we’ve always had an officer, we’ve always had a police department,” Melody Blyth, who lives in Orrick, said.

The news was a surprise to the small town of nearly 900 people.

The City of Orrick said the officers gave no notice and there were no complaints previously filed by the officers.

Blyth said she now feels unprotected.

“We’ve got people who have sheds being broken into, tools being stolen, breaking into vehicles, we have drugs in this community, who’s going to protect us?” she said.

Blyth said she’s had to keep a closer eye on her property and decided to get surveillance cameras.

“We are out here alone,” she said. “There’s not a feeling of safety. I know if I had to do something I would do what I have to do to protect myself, bottom line.”

The City of Orrick said that because the officers left without warning, it didn’t allow for a smooth transition.

In the meantime, it’s contracted with the Ray County Sheriff’s Office to provide coverage for 40 hours a week.

"The City is working closely with the Ray County Sheriff’s Dept. to provide coverage for the City, and those Deputies who patrol outside of the normal duties will be compensated by the City for their time spent patrolling Orrick," the city said in a statement. "They will, of course, have the power to enforce not only City Ordinance violations but State and County violations as well."

Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers promised to support the town, enforce city laws and ensure safety.

The office is currently answering 911 calls, but is awaiting a contract approval from the Ray County Prosecutor’s Office so deputies can consistently patrol the town.

The sheriff said he submitted the contract in early November.

KSHB 41 did not hear back from the prosecutor’s office about a timeline for the contract.

Those in town said response times are a concern.

“Twenty minutes? You can be dead, 20 minutes you can have your house broken into, 20 minutes is a long time,” Blyth said.

Childers said that when a Ray County deputy can be assigned to Orrick, the response times will be shorter.

“When there’s an off-duty deputy they will be assigned in town,” Childers said. “Response will be 90 seconds because that’s how long it takes to drive from one end of the town to the other.”

He said the town will have one sheriff’s deputy at a time per shift.

“We just don’t want people knowing when we are going to be there to cut down on the crime that's going on," he said.

However, Orrick said it also relies on citizens to keep crime in check.

"Like any small towns, the very best policing is done by our citizens who remain forever vigilant in looking out for their friends, neighbors and community. We have many retirees who often note strange occurrences and/or suspicious activity and any calls to 911 will be answered by the Ray County Sheriff’s Department," the city said in a statement. "The City, its Mayor, and Board of Aldermen are confident that there will be no significant lapse in coverage and/or any increase in crime that will not be charged and/or fully prosecuted – as it has been in the past.”

The city also said it plans to restructure its police department and will work with other law enforcement agencies and professionals to find new officers after the new year.

This story was originally reported by Megan Abundis on kshb.com.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Ontario Hill said he takes his mother's advice very seriously.

"My momma told me to go to school every day," the kindergartner said. "That's why I have to go to school every day, so I can learn."

And that's exactly what the young kindergartner and his classmates at Frontier Schools in Kansas City, Missouri are doing — learning.

In their P.E. class, they're learning a new skill: how to ride bikes.

"You have fun with your friends," Hill said.

P.E. teacher Johnny Brown said it gives his students a sense of independence.

"A bike is in a lot of ways freedom, freedom to go places," Brown said. "And it's also really enjoyable, riding a bike."

Eric Sharp, one of the teachers at the school said it is one of the first things students learn that adults can do too.

"So they see people bigger than them doing this and once they do it, that confidence level just goes through the roof," Sharp said.

Sharp, who is an avid bike rider, looked to raise $5,000 to provide bikes for the kindergartners.

"I started through the Strider corporation," Sharp said. "I just went through them and buy enough for the 25 bikes for our kindergartners."

It is part of a national program called "All Kids Bike" through the Strider Education Foundation.

Sharp reached out to the local mountain bike community, and they helped him raise 85 percent of the funds.

"When you see 25 kids riding on a bike at the same time, it leaves you almost speechless," Sharp said. "To try and describe it, you can't even put into words, just enjoyable."

The bikes are a little unique.

"They don't have any pedals," Sharp said. "So they can sit on the seat and sit on the ground just like this. It keeps them nice and sturdy and safe and they just walk. As they progress, they can go a little bit faster."

And even though some may fall, it's getting back up that's important.

"We also want to teach them life skills, so riding a bike, that's that confidence, that lifelong athletic activity that they know they can do to stay in shape and have fun," Sharp said.

Sharp's goal is to expand the bike program so more students at Frontier Schools can learn how to ride.

This story was originally reported by Rae Daniel on KSHB.com.

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — Students are back in class at Metropolitan Community College's Longview campus in Missouri, and one student is starting her college career earlier than most.

Brayisha Avery wrote her first college paper at age 12.

"I like it. It's really fun. You learn a lot," said Avery, who goes by Bray. "What I especially like about college is you get to choose what you want to do."

Avery explained how she is able to start taking a college class at just 12 years old.

"I've been homeschooled for about three to four years and so we just sort of like kept moving up grades because we were just like flying through them," she said.

Now, Avery is starting her high school coursework and coming to her first college class this semester. She takes an English class at the MCC-Longview campus.

At Metropolitan Community College, the dual enrollment program is one of the many ways students like Avery can start earning college credit before they've finished high school. This semester, more than 1,700 high school students are enrolled in one of those programs, most of them juniors and seniors.

"And then that makes their college education, once they graduate, less expensive, they're transfer-ready, and it helps them get through their four-year degree that much faster," Katherine Swanson said.

Swanson is the MCC Longview campus president.

"It's not for everyone and I would say it's for very few that are that young, but if a person is that talented and ready for it, then we're happy to meet with them and see if it's the right place for them," she said.

Avery took a placement test before starting class at Metropolitan Community College.

"The first day, I came in actually to sit down there, sitting with her," said Avery's mom, Karesha Worford. "So I was really nervous at first, but she's winging it and she's like, she feels really confident doing it, so I'm like, ok go ahead."

Worford is proud but not necessarily surprised.

"All I've ever wanted to do was to be a support system to her and help her and push her along the way, and I really don't have to do too much pushing because she's a natural," Avery's mom explained.

KSHB asked if Avery is the youngest student in Metropolitan Community College's history.

"You know in our, you know 100 plus year history, it's hard to tell. I know we've had a couple who are a little bit younger, but not a lot," Swanson said.

To Avery, starting college courses early means starting her dreams earlier too.

"I wanna play basketball or I wanna be an astronaut," Avery said.

She also dreams of being done with college around age 17 or 18 and maybe finishing at schools like Harvard or Yale.

This story was originally published by Lindsay Shively at KSHB.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whenever the Missouri Department of Transportation begins construction on land that is considered a site of early settlements, archaeologists must be on site. This allows them to ensure cultural resources are not impacted.

When construction began along 5th Street and Washington Street as part of the Buck O'Neil Bridge Replacement Project, cultural resource specialists at Burns & McDonnell made a few discoveries.

When the team made a surprising discovery, Andrew Gottsfield, a senior cultural resource specialist at Burns & McDonnell, was there.

"When we dug a hole right there, we realized that it was native soil, and then we dug a hole right in the basement here, and we found a bunch of brick, so we just connected the dots and found the foundation and came around," Gottsfield said.

That foundation, the team thinks, is from an old hotel from the 1800s.

With the discovery of the foundation, Gottsfield said, came the discovery of other kinds of essential artifacts.

"We found what we think are numerous privies, which are outhouses, and outhouses to archaeologists and urban archaeology are important because people would put their trash in the privy," Gottsfield said.

There were bottles, jars, soap holders, combs, eyeglasses, and more. The group found some items dating back hundreds of years.

Through their discovery, they concluded that the hotel was most likely for working-class people.

"This is important because we can document the lives of people that aren't documented in history. Most of history is documented by the people that are the rich merchants and whatever. So this will give us an indication of the day-to-day behavior of the people that were working that built Kansas City," Gottsfield said.

The artifacts will now go back to the cultural resource specialists' lab to be cleaned and documented. Some of the pieces could go into a museum or be put on display for MoDOT.

Officials will send some to a facility for other people to use when they find similar sites to do comparative work with the artifacts.

Daisha Jones at KSHB first reported this story.

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Haven Shepherd's life could have ended shortly after it started.

She was born in Vietnam, the result of an affair between her married father and another woman. For reasons that may never be fully clear — from potential societal shunning to financial hardship — her biological mother and father decided to kill themselves and Haven.

They strapped suicide bombs to themselves and set them off.

Both parents were killed instantly.

But Haven survived.

She was found about 40 feet from their burning home with severe damage to her legs.

Villagers took her to the nearest hospital in Da Nang, where doctors saved her life but couldn't save her legs. Other patients donated to her hospital fund so she could continue receiving care for nearly 40 days.

Shelly Shepherd

Meanwhile, across the world in Carthage, Missouri, Rob, and Shelly Shepherd felt called to add another child to their family of eight.

Shelly's friend had started a foundation in Vietnam, and they were opening a handicap shelter. The friend heard about Haven and told the Shepherds about her.

Initially, they were skeptical.

"I was like, and we have so much going on. We'd need a kid with feet. They've got to keep up," Shelly said. "And then when I met her, you know, she's just so joyful...and I realized, it's just feet, we can do this, we can bring her into the family."

At 20 months old, Haven flew with the Shepherds to the United States.

Shelly Shepherd

They took her to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City to have a surgeon look at her wounds.

"[The surgeon] was just like, 'I'm just amazed.' He said, 'Her amputations are beautiful. We couldn't have done any better here in our hospital.' And so that was a huge blessing," Shelly said.

Haven blended into the Shepherd family quickly. Her six older siblings were all athletes, and Haven wanted to play sports, too.

At first, she tried running track, but it wasn't a good fit.

"Turns out I really don't like the heat, and I don't like to sweat," Haven said. "I just remember telling my mom, I was like, 'I'm done. I don't want to do this.' I quit at the prime age of eight years old."

Shelly Shepherd

Haven had been swimming since she was four years old, but until she turned nine, she never considered competing. At her first meet, she realized she had talent and truly enjoyed doing it.

Swimming also had another benefit — she could take off her prosthetic legs for a few hours.

"Not a lot of people realize that wearing prosthetic legs all day is really tiring," Haven said. "And when I get to take my legs off in the middle of the day for like two or three hours, that was like bliss to me."

She started with lessons at the local YMCA. Then she transitioned to Berzerker Swimming, a competitive USA Swimming club.

Shelly Shepherd

At age 13, she set the goal of making it to the Paralympics.

"She never really wavered from her decision," Shelly said. "And it's a grueling schedule. I never really had to say, 'yes, you have to go to practice.' She never really questioned it."

Haven continued to rise within the ranks of competitive swimming. When she was 16, she won a silver medal at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru.

In June of 2021, she competed in the 2020 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her performance earned her a spot on Team USA.

Shelly Shepherd

"It was just such a long process, and [it] didn't really hit me until I got home," Haven said. "I knew how excited I was, but it didn't really hit me because you're just so so stressed for that whole time, and then it happened. So you have the relief, and then you're exhausted."

After years of training — including an extra year because of the pandemic — Haven said she's ready to complete the goal she set when she was 13.

"I don't really have any expectations on myself," she said. "I just want to go in being me and having fun."

For her mom, it's a reflection of all of the hard work it took to get to this point.

"When I think about where she came from, the little amputee, just orphaned girl that we picked up, to how much life she has lived in 18 years — that's such a miracle," Shelly said.

Haven continues to share her positive spirit and not dwell on the past.

"I don't look at the things that I've lost," Haven said. "I mean, I've lost so much in my life. I've lost my legs, but I've never let that hold me back."

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games begin Aug. 24. Haven will swim in the 200-meter individual medley on Aug. 28 and the 100-meter breaststroke on Sept. 1. NBC will have primetime coverage as well as streaming options for the events. For more details, visit the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics website.

Callie Counsellor at KSHB first reported this story.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If anyone would know how to kick off the Fourth of July weekend, it’s probably Mabel Johnson.

A World War II veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, the 106-year-old Johnson has seen her share of the nation’s birthdays.

The Olathe, Kansas, resident celebrated this year’s birthday by throwing out the first pitch at Friday night's Kansas City Royals game.

Johnson has been a Kansas resident since 1991, when she moved to the Kansas City area with her husband, who also served during WWII, and their children, according to a U.S. Coast Guard blog post.

This story was originally published by Sam Hartle at KSHB.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's something to be said for a fresh start. That can be as simple as how you feel after a haircut, or it can be a lot more complicated than that. Either way, it just feels good.

One Kansas City, Missouri, nonprofit spends its days providing fresh starts for a couple of very specific groups.

"Look good, feel good" is an adage that’s true for pets and for people.

The Grooming Project teaches people who have a history of drug addiction and/or crime to become certified dog groomers.

But that title means so much more than using clippers and giving doggy baths.

"I could be having a bad day, and then come in here, and the dogs make my whole day different,” said Jeanne Dennison, a current Grooming Project student.

Dennison also lives in the program’s family dorm.

"I came in here with like 9 or 10 warrants, and now I have none," Dennison said.

Case manager Barbie Daniels has been where these students are, living a life ravaged by drugs.

Now, her job description includes helping them tackle any legal issues.

"Have you ever seen the 'Rocky' movies?” Daniels said. “I feel like Mickey in the corner. I'm just cheering them on. People going from hopeless, to having some amount of hope — having goals, and plans for their future, and they have these great things going on in their lives."

On a normal day, you’ll find Amy Hall at the center of The Grooming Project operation, running the complicated calendar for the day.

Amy's a former student too, who spent more than 20 years addicted to methamphetamine. She said The Grooming Project changed her life, and she lives to see that change in others.

"We groom these people how to be men and how to be women," Hall said. “I get paid for being spiritually fulfilled."

Hours and hours of washes and trims happen inside the agency. And in the end, for every soul who comes through the doors, a transformation does as well.

"You can tell a difference in them from before and after,” Dennison said, referring to the dogs. “And you can see a work of art in them."

This story was originally published by Taylor Hemness at KSHB.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) - A group of Kansas City-area healthcare workers was in the right spot at the right time Wednesday.

The right spot just happened to be on a Hawaii-bound flight in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The right time just happened to be when a fellow traveler went into labor in the airplane bathroom.

“This lady just starts screaming, 'Oh my God, we need help, doctor, medical, oh my God,' she’s like freaking out," LAni Bamfield, a registered nurse at North Kansas City Hospital, said Friday in recalling the event.

Bamfield, along with two other neonatal intensive care unit nurses, a physician assistant and a family medicine doctor, took to social media to document their efforts to help a mother deliver her baby 27 weeks into term.

“We’re used to stressful situations, but not like this. In a controlled environment where we have equipment. So, we were very focused and we just looked up to the flight attendant and Amanda’s like, can we turn around to Sacramento, what’s closer, can we get somewhere now,” Mimi Ho, also a registered nurse at North Kansas City Hospital, said Friday.

At the time of the medical emergency, the flight still had three more hours of travel before landing in Hawaii.

“I think we were just kind of nervous that there was an emergency and we’re over the ocean and that like there was no where to go," passenger Tesha Thomas said.

As passengers learned of the birth, they began gathering items the medical professionals needed.

When the flight landed, medical staff were on the tarmac waiting to take mother and baby boy to the hospital.

“He’s stable, they don’t have a name yet since she wasn’t expecting to have a baby really, but the nurses and doctors have nicknamed him Jet at the hospital," Ho said.

This story originally reported by McKenzie Nelson on KSHB.com.