The St. Joseph School District released a statement late Tuesday to announce that Beau Musser has been requested to return to work at the St. Joseph School District.

In an email released Tuesday the District said “Musser has been directed to report to work as the Chief Financial Officer of the St. Joseph School District on November 17.”

As we previously reported, Musser was placed on leave when he reported on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of administrative stipends and payments to consultants that had not been approved by the St. Joseph School District Board of Education. Some of those expenditures were approved after the fact by the board.

When he reported the stipends to a pair of school board members, Musser told the St. Joseph Post the district retaliated. He said he was accused of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment and then placed on administrative leave.

Musser filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the district, Superintendent Dr. Fred Czerwonka, Human Resources Director Doug Flowers, and board member Dennis Snethen. The lawyer handpicked to defend the lawsuit recently withdrew from the case, citing a conflict of interests.

The district said that it has retained OMNI Employment Mangement Services, an HR consulting firm, to assist Musser and staff with his transition back into the office.

Musser began his career with the district as the Chief Financial Officer during the 2013-14 school year.

Additionally the email state that “the St. Joseph Board of Education passed a resolution to hire the Kansas City law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne to explore policies and procedures involving school district personnel allegations.”

The board also passed a resolution for the firm to explore policies and procedures involving personnel allegations, including whether Superintendent Dr. Fred Czerwonka and Director of Human Resources Doug Flowers unlawfully retaliated against Musser. 

Click Here for BOE Resolution passed by the St. Joseph School District to reinstate Musser.

Click Here to see the district’s email in full

 

Cameron Emergency Services is once again collecting canned &/or non-perishable goods for the Cameron Food Pantry.

As in the past, the Food Drive is a contest to see who can collect the most food between police, fire, & EMS personnel and the Cameron Newspaper. Support your local Food Pantry and Cameron Emergency Services by dropping your donation off at the Public Safety Building (101 N. Chestnut) before the November 21st deadline.

The contest will be decided when the items are presented to the Food Pantry during the Annual Christmas Lighting Ceremony.

Rumors are swirling in Country Club Village this week, in advance of the public delivery of a state audit next week. Officials say the Board of Trustees is considering a number of budget possibilities.

The Village Police Department has been placed under scrutiny, as has its streets fund.

But Village Clerk Julia Elder says there has been no formal vote on the budget, and none of the rumors has any official basis in fact, at least not yet.

The State Auditor’s Office has been looking into the village budget. There were complaints about how the motor fuel tax and half-cent sales tax were being spent. Before the last election, some said the two taxes were being put into the general budget improperly.

Elder says the public delivery of the state audit is scheduled at 6pm, November 12, at John Glenn Elementary School.

The preliminary voter turnout results in Buchanan County show a low number of people heading to the polls.

The 11 a.m. precinct report From Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey shows only around 14.1-Percent of 54,323 registered voters have cast a ballot.

By 3 p.m. that number wasn’t much higher. It only increased about 9-percent with a voter turnout of only 23.7-percent being reported.

Baack-Garvey said Monday she was hoping for a 40-Percent turnout.

Republican Supervisor Glen Drake at the National Guard Armory Precinct said voter turnout has been steady.

“I think the weather is good and there are some interesting propositions on the ballot,” said Drake. “People have been coming in at a steady rate.”

At 3 p.m. the Armory was reporting it had a 26.6-percent turnout with 812 ballots cast

Voter Janelle Wanek said she came out to vote on a number of issues.

“I thought the Judges and the amendments were very important and the Senator race,” said Wanek.

Polls will close at 7 p.m.

For a list of precincts and to see ballots Click Here.

Stay tuned with St. Joseph Post, 680 KFEQ for live updates when the results start coming in as well as constant updates on KJO 105.5 and Q Country 92.7

Students at Hyde Elementary school celebrated their work towards a healthier lifestyle Tuesday morning.

The students have been involved in Mosaic Life Care’s 4th Grade Challenge, a partnership with the St. Joseph School District.

“Caregivers and community volunteers teach local 4th graders about the importance of proper nutrition, adequate exercise and healthy habits such as being smoke free,” said Mosiac Spokeswoman Tracey Clark.

According to Mosiac Statistics show that when children reach the elementary school age they begin to make choices and adopt habits that will last for their entire lives.

The 4th Grade Challenge began as a partnership with the district in 2008 and now runs in all St. Joseph public elementary school as well as some area schools like Savannah, Amazonia, and Helena.

Kids at Hyde celebrated their work Tuesday in keeping track of their health including nutrition, exercise, and wearing their seat belts.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently awarded four Northwest Missouri State University students with Kids Eat Right grants to present health education programs to local teens and adults.

Dietetic students Regina Devenport, Melinda Kelsey, Krysta McGinnis and Alyssa Slater applied for the grants and received $200 each. They were among just 50 students, interns and registered dietitians throughout the nation to receive the grants.

“The four students that applied are excellent students. It took a lot of gumption to get going,” said Karen From, instructor of nutrition and dietetics at Northwest and director of the University’s Didactic Program in Dietetics.

To receive the grant, the students were required to plan and present two educational programs each. The programs were presented to teens or adults and followed the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ “Healthy Schools. It’s a Team Effort” program.

“The program is intended to educate the school and community about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity for academic success,” said Kelsey, who also is employed at Northwest as a graphic designer and became involved in the dietetics program last year. “I have a strong passion and interest in learning about dietetics.”

Northwest’s dietetics program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education and supplies its students with the knowledge necessary to support them in the dietetics profession. The program also encourages and arranges for students to gain work experience and identify with a variety of professional role models in the nutrition and food service profession. Northwest’s program also is experiencing major growth, having increases it enrollment from 25 student in 2009 to 75 this fall.

After successfully completing the requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree and the Didactic Program in Dietetics, students apply for a dietetic internship. To be accepted into a dietetics internship, students should have a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average, more than 300 documented volunteer hours, foods and nutrition work experience, and excellent references.

“We encourage our students to get out in the community and on campus to acquire real-life dietetics experiences,” From said.

For more information about Northwest’s dietetic program, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/hhs/programs/dietetics.htm.

Target Corporation

 

MINNEAPOLIS -Target Corporation today announces that it will close 11 locations as of February 1, 2015. Target guests in the affected markets can continue to expect the same great variety and service at other Target locations and also visit Target.com for their shopping needs. To find the nearest Target store, guests can use the Find a Store function on Target.com.

The decision to close a Target store is only made after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of a particular location. All eligible store team members are being offered the option to transfer to other Target stores. Team members who choose not to transfer will be offered a separation package.

The following stores will close:

Wichita East, Kansas
301 S. Towne East Mall Drive
Wichita, Kan.

Lithonia, Georgia
8109 Mall Parkway
Lithonia, Ga.

Castleton, Indiana
8448 Center Run Drive
Indianapolis, Ind.

Monroe, Michigan
2121 N. Monroe St.
Monroe, Mich.

Clinton, Iowa
2900 S. 25th St.
Clinton, Iowa

Northland, Michigan
21400 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, Mich.

McHenry, Illinois
1860 N. Richmond Road
McHenry, Ill

Bay City, Michigan
4135 Wilder Road
Bay City, Mich.

Austin, Minnesota
1701 18th Ave. N.W.
Austin, Minn.

Calumet City, Illinois
1717 E. West Road
Calumet City, Ill.

Carrolton, Texas
2620 N. Josey Lane
Carrollton, Texas

Iowa Congressman Steve King predicts the Republicans will win back the majority in the Senate and finally break the gridlock in Washington. He says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has stalled the legislative process by refusing to schedule votes, which will not happen under the leadership of Senator Mitch McConnell.  680 KFEQ’s Barry Birr has that story: