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Month: March 2019

I-29, Highway 59 remain closed as MoDOT assesses flood damage to area roads and bridges

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By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Interstate 29 north of St. Joseph remains closed as does Highway 59 south of St. Joseph as the Missouri Department of Transportation assesses the damage done to area roads and bridges.

Assistant District Maintenance Engineer, Jennifer Sardigal, says some roads and bridges might need repair once the floodwaters covering them recede.

“There have been some roadways that have been affected and some of the asphalt is coming apart and then we do have a couple of bridges that are having some structural issues due to the flowing of the water,” Sardigal says.

Sardigal says MoDOT hopes to reopen I-29 to Rock Port by the end of this week. Reopening the interstate beyond that is not possible until floodwaters recede off the interstate in Iowa. It might take some time for Highway 59 and the Amelia Earhart Bridge into Atchison reopens.

Flooding has closed up to 30 roads in northwest Missouri.

Sardigal says some floodwater got underneath the pavement.

“In which case it causes the risk of the pavement falling in, which is kind of what’s happening at a couple of bridges where the water just came rushing in fast enough to erode away a bunch of the soil,” according to Sardigal.

Sardigal says the pavement and shoulder has to be assessed before a road can be re-opened.

Highway 59 remains under water and the water is deep.

“You can sort of see the center line all along the roadway between (Highway) 45 and the bridge going into Atchison, but it is still covered.” Sardigal says. “At this time, we cannot see any damage, but we won’t know for sure until the water recedes.”

Sardigal says pavement and shoulders must pass inspection before a road can be reopened.

 

Missouri man sentenced for abusing 11-year-old boy

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JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — One of two Missouri men accused of subjecting an 11-year-old boy to grueling exercises and beatings has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Robert Black-Gamble -photo Jasper Co.

Thirty-year-old Robert Black-Gamble was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to felony child abuse. As part of his plea agreement, a second count of child abuse was dismissed.

Black-Gamble and 33-year-old John Mason Jr., both of Joplin, were arrested in January. Authorities said the boy had showed up at school with severe bruising on his buttocks.

Mason, who is accused of participating in the abuse, has a preliminary hearing scheduled May 15.

Flood Of 2019 Through Your Eyes

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Help us to all see this years flood through your eyes by posting photos of what you saw during the flooding. Sharing your experience in pictures can really help others understand how this has affected our communities across Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa.

The Latest: EPA assessing Superfund sites in flooded areas

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — The Latest on flooding throughout the Midwest (all times local):

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is assessing two Superfund sites located in areas that have seen overwhelming floods in recent weeks.

The EPA identified the Superfund sites as the Nebraska Ordnance Plant in Mead, Nebraska, and the Conservation Chemical Corporation in Kansas City. Superfund is a law that gives the EPA funding and authority to clean up contaminated sites.

The Mead site operated as a munitions plant from 1942 to 1956 and its disposal of radioactive waste and other chemicals led to groundwater contamination. The EPA says it has not found evidence that any hazardous contaminants were released by the flooding.

Man hospitalized in St. Joe after he falls asleep at wheel

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ANDREW COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 1p.m. Tuesday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Hyundai Sonota driven by Dale E. Simerly, 77, Union Star, was northbound on U.S. 169 two miles north of Union Star.

The driver fell asleep. The vehicle traveled off the road, struck a sign, a utility pole and overturned. A private vehicle transported Simerly to Mosaic. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

Griffons win at Northwest Missouri State 9-3

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MARYVILLE, Mo. – After a slow start, the Missouri Western baseball team turned on the offense in a  9-3 win at Northwest Missouri Tuesday afternoon.  The game was a non-conference contest as the Griffons improve to 12-11 and the Bearcats drop to 11-15.

Northwest led 1-0 after three innings on a single run in the first, but MWSU jumped out to a 6-1 lead after scoring three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings

NOTABLES

  • Making his first start of the season, Jacob Cooper gave up three hits and a run in the first, but held the Bearcats hitless and scoreless over the next four innings to move to 3-0 on the season
  • Wyatt Meyer put MWSU on the board in the fourth with an RBI single, his second hit of the game
  • Brooks Day made it 3-1 with a two-out, two-RBI single to center
  • The Griffs added three more two-out runs in the fifth on a two-RBI single by Zach Pych and an RBI-single by Dusty Stroup
  • Northwest made it 7-3 in the seventh, scoring two runs on an error
  • Jordan Jackson gave the Griffs insurance with a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the eighth. It was Jackson’s third home run in just 28 plate appearances this season
  • Day stole two bases and Fahd Shakeel added a stolen base
  • All but two Griffons in the starting lineup contributed to the team’s total of 11 hits

UP NEXT

  • A home series with Central Oklahoma (16-9) that is scheduled to begin Friday
  • The Griffons and Bronchos are tied for fourth in the MIAA standings at 9-6.

— MWSU Athletics —

Ong wins 3rd straight tournament; Western finishes 2nd as a team

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WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf took second place at the Jennies Golf Invitational on Tuesday. Shi Qing Ong continued her stellar play this spring, winning her third event in as many appearances this spring.

Missouri Western entered Tuesday in third place in the team standing, trailing Northwest Missouri by four strokes for second. The Griffons outshot Northwest Missouri by 15 strokes in the second round, leaping the Bearcats for a second-place finish with a total score of 629. Central Missouri walked away with the team victory on their home course with a score a 614. Missouri Western has now finished in the top-three in each of their three events this spring.

Ong makes it three-straight wins after her victory in Warrensburg. She entered round two in second place after her 75 (+4) on Monday before putting together the best single-round performance in the second round. Ong tied her career-best single-round score with a 69 (-2) to bring her overall score to 144 (+2), winning the event by five strokes. What led Ong to her third win of the season was her consistency, as she scored a par or birdie on 30 of her 36 holes in Warrensburg.

Anna Bech recorded another top-10 finish in her first season as Missouri Western, tying for 10th with a two-round total score of 158 (+16). Bech’s five birdies gave her the most at the event. She has now finished in the top-10 in all three of the Griffons’ tournaments this spring.

Jenna Kosmatka shot up 15 spots on Tuesday to tie for 20th with her 78 (+7) in the second round. Kosmatka’s second-round score in Warrensburg is her best single round of the season, besting her 81 at the Warrior Invitational on March 12.

Chong Yong scored back-to-back round scores of 82 (+11) to tie for 23rd. Katie Irvin finished with a two-round total of 183 in her first team appearance this spring.

Missouri Western Women’s Golf will head south for its next event as the team competes in the Henderson State Invitational on April 1 and 2.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest’s Schultz named MIAA Field Athlete of Week

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Northwest Missouri State University senior Kevin Schultz has been named the MIAA’s outdoor field athlete of the week.

Schultz (Platte City, Missouri) scored 7,145 points in the decathlon at the Cactus Cup in Kingsville, Texas. Schultz’s score is the highest this season in NCAA Division II and is a provisional qualifying mark.

The 7,145 points set the Northwest school record and is the highest point total in the decathlon among MIAA participants since 2017.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri Western men finish sixth at Lindenwood Invitational

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ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Golf completed the third and final round of the Lindenwood Invitational on Tuesday. The Griffons finished in sixth place out of the 20 teams competing at the event.

The Griffons entered Tuesday in fourth following their 303 team score in the third round, bringing their overall score to 899. Missouri Western was one of four MIAA schools to finish in the top-six, with Lindenwood winning the event with a score of 869.

Patrick McCarthy led the Griffons on the scorecard, tying for 12th with a three-round total of 220. McCarthy’s best round came in the second when he shot a 71, which was also the best single-round score on the team.

Tom Buffington was the next-best score for the Griffons, finishing with a 224 to tie for 23rd. Jake Mikesch tied for 44th with a score of 232. Mikesch had the second-best round on the team when he shot a 72 in the opening round on Monday.

Lucas Horseman and Jett Simmons rounded out the Missouri Western scoring at Lindenwood, finishing with scores of 235 and 239 respectively.

The Griffons will have over one week before making the short trip to Kansas City for NSIC Regional Preview on April 15.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats’ Witthus named NABC All-American

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 26, 2019) — The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today the 2019 NABC Coaches’ Division II All-America team. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in Division II, these student-athletes represent the most outstanding basketball players across America in NCAA Division II.

Northwest Missouri State University senior Joey Witthus (Chanhassen, Minnesota) becomes the third different Bearcat to earn NABC All-America honors. DeShaun Cooper (2014) and Justin Pitts (2017, 2018) are the previous Bearcats to earn NABC All-America status.

Witthus, the MIAA player of the year and most outstanding player at the MIAA tournament, is averaging a team-best 21.5 points per game and shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Witthus has buried an-MIAA high 108 three-pointers, and he is shooting 45.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Witthus also leads Northwest in free throws made (157) and is shooting 85.3 percent from the free throw line.

Witthus has scored 731 points this season. He needs 23 more points to equal the Northwest single-season scoring record set by Justin Pitts (754) in 2016-17.

Northwest will take on Mercyhurst at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, in the Elite Eight.

2019 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION II ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Gage Davis, St. Cloud State, 6-4, Senior, Guard, Bolingbrook, Ill.
Jacobo Diaz, IUP, 6-9, Senior, Forward, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Adam Eberhard, Bellarmine, 6-8, Senior, Forward, Evansville, Ind.
Tim Guers, Saint Anselm, 6-3, Senior, Guard, Langhorne, Pa.
Chris Hansen, UCSD, 6-7, Junior, C, Lafayette, Calif.
Amir Hinton, Shaw, 6-5, Junior, Guard, Philadelphia, Pa.
Daulton Hommes, Point Loma Nazarene, 6-8, Junior, Guard, Lynden, Wash.
Ryan Richmond, Bentley, 6-1, Senior, Guard, Toronto, Ont., Canada
Johnathan Lawton, Florida Southern, 6-2, Senior, Guard, Williamstown, N.J.
Kendale McCullum, Lewis, 6-1, Senior, Guard, Elgin, Ill.
Brandon Parker, Francis Marion, 6-3, Senior, Forward, Sumter, S.C.
Ryan Quaid, West Texas A&M, 6-6, Senior, Guard, Fort Collins, Col.
Marquill Smith, West Georgia, 6-4, Senior, Guard, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Ben Sonnefeld, Colorado School of Mines, 6-3, Senior, Guard, Katy, Texas
Shaun Willett, Queens, 6-4, Senior, Forward, Palm Bay, Fla.
Joey Witthus, Northwest Missouri State, 6-7, Senior, Guard, Chanhassen, Minn.

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