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It's not very often the tiny town where I grew up makes national headlines. But recently, the town of Independence, KS, in the far southeastern corner of the state, became entwined in an ugly lawsuit.

There is a little museum, school house and post office just outside of Independence, KS, on the homestead where Laura Ingals Wilder once lived. It is a place hundreds of children tour every year, many of them doing so as part of a school field trip. They learn about Laura Ingals Wilder, and about her stories depicted first in a series of books, and then made into a television series.

Now, a California production company claims to own the rights to the phrase, "Little House on the Prairie".

Friendly Family Productions, the maker of the television series based on the best-selling book, filed a lawsuit last week in federal court in Los Angeles against Little House on the Prairie Inc., a nonprofit group that runs a small museum on a farm outside Independence. The suit claims trademark infringement, unfair competition and trademark dilution.

On the surface, this might seem like just another story where a large company comes in and pushes the "little" guy around. Except this time, the "little" players happen to have some clout.

The owners of the Little House on the Pairie in southeast Kansas happen to be Jean Schodorf and her brother, perhaps you've heard of him, Bill Kurtis.

His bio starts off (and it works best if you read this in a deep, dramatic, Bill Kurtis-esque voice)...An acclaimed documentary host....and producer.....network and major market news anchor....and multimedia production company president...

Bill and Jean grew up in Independence and are wholeheartedly invested in the community there.

Ms. Schodord is quoted in the Star's article as saying, "It is so sad that the Friendly Family Productions company of the 'Little House on the Prairie' TV show feel they have to sue the real little house on the prairie."

Just as with any story, there are two sides:

The New York attorney representing Friendly Family, said in a statement Monday that the children of television producer Ed Friendly... had spent months trying to reach an agreement that would benefit the museum and protect the family's intellectual property rights.

According to Schodorf, the production company claims the museum makes about $90,000 year, which she says covers expenses and salaries.

"We are a nonprofit. We barely make ends meet," she said.

She's planning to try and raise money to fight the firm in court.

And, you can be sure, Mr. Bill Kurtis will be assisting wholeheartedly with that fight.

The CPSC put out its October 2008 Safety Review and on page two, the commission ackowledges the danger of tipping furniture, and informs parents on how to protect their children.

The report states that between 2000 and 2006, 180 deaths caused by tipping furniture and appliances were reported. The key word is reported, because it's presumed some go un-reported as tipover-related deaths.

Of those, 124 were deaths involving children under the age of 10.

I've reported personally on three of those. The stories are heartwrenching.

Collin Barberino died in December of '04. He was three years old. Collin was napping in his bedroom. He got up to get his favorite pajamas from on top of his dresser. It's believed he used the drawers of the tall dresser to try and reach the PJs when the dresser tipped forward, crushing his body underneath. His mom, as you might imagine, still finds it very hard to talk about the moment she went to his room and found his lifeless body underneath the fallen, giant dresser.

Courtlynn Schneider, also three. It was Christmas Eve 2005. She was watching a movie in her dad's bedroom; he was in another room. The movie ended and she got up to turn the TV off all by herself. The TV sat on top of a dresser. Courtlynn used the drawers to climb up to reach the on/off button. The dresser tipped and the TV came crashing down on Courtlynn. She died Christmas morning of severe head trauma.

And then there's Charlie. Charlie Horn. A northland toddler who was napping in the bedroom he shared with his triplet brother, Will. Charlie got up from his nap to play quietly in his room. He was reaching into the bottom drawer of his dresser which stood only 30" tall. That's about the height of most desks like the one you may be sitting at right now. Charlie leaned into the bottom drawer to get to a toy and the dresser tipped forward. The bottom drawer pushed upwards as it came in contact with the floor, and the top drawers slid out. Charlie died, entagled in the drawers of the tipped dresser. That was November 1, 2007. His family is about to experience the anniversary of Charlie's death. It breaks my heart.

These are just three stories of the dozens in this country. There is a very simple way to keep furniture secure in your homes. You can either buy the furniture/appliance straps available online or in some baby specialty stores:

You can also purchase simple hardware available in any home improvement store:

Either of these devices will save lives.

There have been attempts for the past several years to get Congress to pass legislation requiring makers of tip-prone furniture to include some sort of mechanism for securing furniture to walls. While the legislation has gained popularity among members of Congress, the efforts have died every year because the proposed legislation fails to make it out of committee.

The CPSC has the power to bring about change without congressional approval. If the CPSC deems something dangerous enough, it can require makers of tip-prone furniture to include devices, such as the items above, with furniture sold. So far, the CPSC has done nothing. They are, however, finally acknowledging there is a danger. They are acknowledging that this is a new enough threat that many parents haven't heard of it. They are now telling you about safety precautions you can take, that news outlets across the country have been reporting on for several years.

Here's the link to the October issue of the CPSC's safety review. It's a start.

If you are in need of furniture safety straps and can't find them at our local KC baby stores, please contact me here at the NBC Action News studios. I'll make sure you have what you need to protect your children. Email me at dubill@nbcactionnews.com.

Have you heard someone mention a Kansas City fountain, but aren't sure which one it is? Or, do you want proof we really have more fountains than any other US city?

Here's your link for research:

www.kcfountains.org

If you Google, perhaps you've noticed some changes. The Big Goog turned 10 this month.

There are some significant new features on Google; some you may have noticed, some you may have missed.

One thing many of you have probably noticed recently is a feature called "Google Suggest". Used to be that when you started to type something into Google, if you'd searched it before (and were allowing cookies) old entries would pop up to assist. Now, when you start to type, Google will actually suggest anything you might be looking to search. This is to make your search easier, and help to avoid spelling errors.

Google Streetview is pretty cool, and a bit creepy, depending on who you ask. While it's not brand new, it's fairly new and worth a mention. Streetview is a service letting you search an addresss and actually see the location in a 360-degree view. A car with a camera attached has travelled the streets of many cities to capture houses, businesses, cats, dogs, people, etc... Search your address, and more than likely you can see your house as it sat when the car drove through. Probably a year ago now. Here's the link. I've actually used Streetview to take a different look at houses on the market, to look at their respective neighborhoods, etc. Just click on the city, and enter the address. You could experiment with the NBC Action News studios. The address is 4720 Oak Street, Kansas City, MO.

Google Chrome is a new feature. Google says this about it, "Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier." Here's the link.

And last, but certainly not least, the Google News Archives. While a couple of searches I've done have been unfruitful, there is a growing archive of news accounts for pretty much anything you'd like to learn about. It's a work in progress, but worth checking out and checking back.

So Happy Birthday Google!!!

Seeing as how our station is NBC **ACTION** News, whenever I see the word "action" I often take notice. Such was the case with an email I received recently from the National Center for Fathering (based out of Kansas City).

Five ACTION points for dedicated dads. Things to do WITH your kids, FOR your kids. Here they are:

ACTION POINTS for Committed Dads

●   Challenge your children to come up with 5 things they'd like to learn before they leave home.

●   Talk with your children's mother about an age-appropriate goal or skill for each of your children to learn (and for you to work on with them) during the next month—tying shoe laces, doing dishes, mowing the grass, finding useful information on the Internet.

●   Give your children a glimpse of your budget and regular bills you pay, so they gain a better understanding of how much it costs just to keep the lights on and food in the pantry.

●   No matter what your child’s age, recruit him or her to assist you this weekend as you take care of a home maintenance task.

●   Help your kids find authors that they love to read.

The website is designed to help fathers be the best fathers they can be. Here's a quote from the site:

"If you have fathered a son, you influence how he ultimately comes to define himself as a man. The image he carries of you in his soul will in some way guide his steps... Who you are and what you do today will impact your son."

They have advice and words of wisdom for any dad, in any parenting situation. Whether you have daughters, sons, step children, adopted children, etc.

Check out the website. You'll be glad you did.

Have you seen Newsweek's cover this week yet?

The magazine's recent poll indicates an 11 point shift among white women voters toward McCain. But will it last?

My online headling pick for today is this one from marketwatch.com.

According to Newsweek (and their poll), July showed John McCain leading among white women by 44 to 39 percent. Now, his lead is 53 to 37 percent. One in three white women says she is more likely to vote for McCain because he chose Palin as a running mate, the article says. (As an interesting side note, Newsweek's polls found no shift among men after Palin's announcement.)

Today is Red Friday in Kansas City, when everyone in town is supposed to wear red to show support for the Chiefs.

But, perhaps, we should....STOP WEARING RED.

I know, I know. You think I'm talking nonsense. But listen....

Sixteen years ago, the tradition started. Wear Red on the Friday before the home opener.

Sixteen years we've been doing this. A sea of red across this great city. All to show we have faith in our team. That we are fans who want a season to end with a playoff win.

But, according to Jack Harry, the Chiefs haven't won a playoff since the very year Red Friday started. NOT ONE! They did, however, win the year before Red Friday began.

Perhaps - and I'm just throwing this out there...

Perhaps we ought to change up the tradition. Might be worth a shot. At this point, I'm willing to walk around with orange peels in my shoes, spitting off every bridge I come to. As for changing up Red Friday, what could we do? Wear a different color? Drop it all together? What do ya think?

If you'd like to try out different colors, give this a shot.