By  BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A St. Joseph high school student was arrested by Country Club Village police today on suspicion that he posted threats of violence on social media, causing seven area schools to post extra police officers and go into what is called a “soft” lock down.

St. Joseph Police Sergeant James Langston says six St. Joseph public schools as well as the Savannah High School went into a soft lock down as a precautionary measure after the department deemed a threat made over social media credible. He says the Computer Crimes Unit tracked the suspect down to Country Club Village.

“Once we identified and located the adult student suspect, he was taken into custody by the Country Club Village Police Department and was transported to the Andrew County jail, pending charges,” Langston tells St. Joseph Post.

Langston says he could face some serious charges.

“Terroristic threats is a charge that we believe this fits and assault could be, but I believe that he was booked in for investigation at this point of making terroristic threats,” Langston says.

All three St. Joseph public high schools posted extra security:  Benton, Central, and Lafayette High Schools as well as Savannah High School. Threats also prompted similar action at Bode and Truman Middle Schools in St. Joseph. Mark Twain Elementary School also went into soft lock down after police found the threat credible.

Langston declines to describe the threat.

“All I can say at this point and feel comfortable discussing is that it was a threat to commit violence at several schools within the school district and Savannah,” Langston says.

It did not go beyond a threat. No student not staff were injured.

A soft lock down, put in place as a precautionary measure, has been lifted for all affected schools in the St. Joseph School District.

School district officials placed six schools under a soft lock down at 9:30 this morning. The action took place at the three pubic high schools:  Benton, Central, and Lafayette. Bode, Truman, and Mark Twain were also affected. The action was taken after a student reported threatening language posted on social media.

The district lifted the soft lock down early this afternoon.

A news release from the St. Joseph School District stated the district is working with law enforcement on an investigation of the incident. The district reported all students and staff were safe during the soft lock down.

 

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Of all the twists during the flooding this year, one that stands out is that the recurrent flooding of the Missouri River might well be killing two local recreational lakes.

That is because as floodwaters recede, they leave behind silt, which is filling in both Lake Contrary and Sugar Lake.

Western District Buchanan County Commissioner Ron Hook says both lakes have been silting in since the 1993 flood, with the 2011 and 2019 floods really harming the lakes. Both must be dredged, according to Hook, but dredging is expensive.

“So, the bottom of the lake is obviously rising so there is very little water level in there due to all the flooding and the federal government and the state are just not helping out on anything and they expect the counties to take care of all that,” Hook tells St. Joseph Post. “We just don’t have the funding. We don’t have the money.”

Hook worries about the viability of both Lake Contrary and Sugar Lake.

“Lake Contrary is just an iconic lake from way back when they had the amusement park down there,” Hook says. “People that live along there just don’t want to see that lake disappear into a wetland.”

Hook says since Contrary Creek no longer feeds Lake Contrary, it relies on rainwater and seepage from the Missouri River, with too little water flowing into lake and too much silt being dumped into it.

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt wants Congress to tackle expanding broadband access, especially to rural America.

Blunt says high-speed Internet access can no longer be considered a luxury.

“High-speed broadband, I believe, is as important today as the telephone was seven decades ago and we need to make the same kind of commitment to be sure that everybody has a chance to have the information that comes with that high-speed broadband,” Blunt tells reporters during a recent visit to St. Joseph. “That’s everything from doing your homework; there’s no reason a kid who lives two miles from school should be disadvantaged from a kid who lives right next to the school.”

Blunt says broadband access is vital to tele-medicine, precision agriculture, and interacting with the world-wide economy.

Blunt says Missouri is behind the curve.

“And Missouri’s a little bit behind,” according to Blunt. “There aren’t many things like that that we’re behind on, but we are behind the average rural American in terms of access to rural broadband and it needs to be an absolute commitment, again, just like the telephone was seven decades ago.”

Blunt points out Congress imposed a universal service fee on telephones to ensure that everyone could have access to a phone.

The Delta Regional Authority recently announced it will invest $1 million to help build a fiber network in eight counties in southeastern Missouri to reach more than 11,000 residents as well as businesses and farms in the region.

Federal money also has been allocated to expand high-speed broadband in rural America. Congress has allocated $600 million for a new rural broadband pilot grant and loan program. The Federal Communications Commission has $2 billion available for rural broadband.

 

 

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity’s latest house, its 73^rd, is different than nearly all its others.

The house built on Harvard Street for Kelly Derks is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

And he is thrilled.

“It was amazing. It was awesome. It was a good feeling,” Derks tells St. Joseph Post.

Derks was paralyzed in an accident and now is confined to a wheelchair.

He admits he never thought this would happen.

“It is the American dream. It’s the ultimate,” Derks says. “You always want to own your own home. You always think about owning your own home.”

St. Joseph Habitat Executive Director Cate Manley says it took three years and 760 hours of volunteer work to complete it.

“I think it’s an extraordinary home and we’ve been really blessed by over 100 volunteers that came out and helped us to build this home,” Manley tells us. “Tons of contractors and people from churches. Over 12 groups came out.”

Manley calls it a very special project for Habitat for Humanity. She says it has been a long time since Habitat tackled building an ADA compliant house.

Derks approves of the finished product.

“Well, I like the open floor plan and the fact that it’s all wheelchair accessible, handicapped accessible, for my needs,” Derks says. “That makes life a little easier and much better.”

Though it took three years to build when the normal construction timeline for a Habitat house is one year, the extra time was well worth it, according to Manley.

“It’s a big blessing, but a lot of times there are obstacles with that type of blessing.” Manley says. “We feel blessed by the build of the home and really blessed by Kelly and the ability of finally turn the keys over to him.”

 

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

First floodwaters washed over Holt County. Now, tax dollars are drying up.

Floodwaters still cover large sections of farmland in northwest Missouri, more than a month after the Missouri River exceeded its banks and caused widespread flooding in northwest Missouri.

Holt County Commissioner Carla Markt says it will take a long time for the county to return to normal. She says farmers have begun to plant in the hilly part of the county, but floodwaters still cover a lot of bottom ground.

“And then the rest of it is saturated with water,” Markt tells St. Joseph Post. “So, until that all drains out of there and goes back into the river, that’s what our situation is and we’re looking at farmers not being able to farm in that bottom this year, at all.”

Lost tax revenue from empty farm fields would be bad enough, but Holt and Atchison Counties as well as Andrew County are suffering financially for something happening in Iowa. The Missouri Department of Transportation has closed Interstate 29 to through traffic, because the flood heavily damaged the interstate just across the state line, shutting it down.

Traffic might just pass through those counties to other destinations, but that traffic brings in needed sales tax revenue for rural counties which rely on it.

“It’s closed down, will be closed down for quite a while now, yet. And we’re losing out on those tax dollars,” Markt says about I-29’s closure. “It’s all very important to our schools and our roads and everything that we support as a county.”

A disaster aid package which could help offset some of the losses has stalled in Congress as Democrats press for more money to be allocated to Puerto Rico still trying to recover from Hurricane Maria which devastated the island in 2017.

Markt says those in the area cannot expect Congress to understand the devastation flooding has caused, without becoming advocates for recovery. She doesn’t hold out much hope that Congress understands the situation.

“No, I don’t think Congress will reach out to us at all about our situation,” Market says. “It will be our duty, as individuals, to reach out to them and educate them about our situation.”

Markt says she would like to host members of Congress and give them a tour of the flood damage. She has floated the idea of northwest Missouri officials compiling a small booklet to mail to members of Congress, explaining and illustrating the devastation left behind by the Missouri River flood.

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has requested President Donald Trump approve a major disaster declaration for the 13 Missouri counties devastated by flooding this year.

Parson expects the request to be expanded to include additional counties once floodwaters recede and damage can be fully calculated.

“Working in strong coordination, our local, state, and federal assessment teams have documented widespread and devastating damage as a result of the flooding. It has now been well over a month after the flooding began, and some areas still can’t be accessed,” Gov. Parson said in a written statement released by his office. “I am confident federal assistance will be forthcoming, and I greatly appreciate all the work that’s already being done by our faith-based and volunteer responders to help communities recover. Our state team and all our partners are committed to ensuring Missouri families, businesses, and communities rebuild.”

Flooding from a swollen Missouri River hit northwest Missouri March 11^th.

Parson said the joint Preliminary Damage Assessments, conducted by the State Emergency Management Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local officials, has given a preliminary estimate of $25 million in damage to infrastructure and emergency response costs eligible for federal assistance.

If approved, a federal emergency declaration would provide federal money of offset recovery costs borne by local governments and nonprofit agencies. Money would allow qualifying agencies to apply for reimbursement of emergency response and recovery costs, including repair and replacement costs for damaged roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure.

Most of the counties are along the Missouri River with some along the Mississippi River. Those counties are Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Carroll, Chariton, Holt, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Platte, Ray, and Ste. Genevieve.

Individual Assistance is being request for five northwest Missouri counties, so eligible residents can seek federal assistance with temporary housing, housing repairs, replacement of damaged belongings, vehicles, and other qualifying expenses as a result of the flooding. Those counties are Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, and Platte.

Gov. Parson also is requesting that the U.S. Small Business Administration provide businesses, homeowners, and renters in these counties with low-interest loans. Those affected by the flooding are encouraged to continue documenting losses by photographing damage and retaining all receipts.

Parson declared a state of emergency March 21^st as flooding worsened.

Parson signed an executive order March 29^th, giving the Department of Natural Resources discretionary authority to temporarily waive or suspend rules or regulations in support of flooding response and recovery.