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Dorm to allow dogs, other pets at Missouri school

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) – Students in one Southeast Missouri State University who don’t want to leave their dogs or cats at home won’t have to.

The Southeast Missourian reports that the university this fall is allowing students in Myers Hall to live with their pets during a one-year pilot program.

University director of residence life Kendra Skinner says SEMO looked at similar programs at other universities in modeling its program. Myers Hall was chosen in part because its rooms have tile flooring instead of carpet.

Skinner says three pet-owning students have already been approved and several others have made inquiries. She says the program could expand if the pilot project goes well.

Missouri school district embraces gender-neutral bathrooms

NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City-area school district that garnered national attention when a transgender student was crowned homecoming queen in 2015 has installed gender-neutral restrooms at two new elementary schools and in some existing locations.

The individual bathroom stalls at Rising Hill Elementary and Northview Elementary in the North Kansas City School District two new elementary schools are enclosed with floor-to-ceiling walls and lockable doors, the Kansas City Star reported. The restrooms still have an open alcove area with a common trough sink. Both male and female symbols adorn the same sign on the wall outside the bathrooms.

The elementary schools opened Wednesday. The district also used a gender-neutral design in renovated bathrooms at two sixth-grade centers and at North Kansas City High School.

The district first tried the design at its Northland Innovation Center for gifted students in 2016, a year after one of the district’s four high schools, Oak Park High, crowned a transgender student as homecoming queen.

“We had such positive feedback from students, teachers and parents,” said Rochel Daniels, the district’s executive director of organizational development. “Since then we have decided to replicate the concept in any new construction.”

Daniels said the bathroom design was suggested by a district team comprised of parents and students.

“Students said they like these restrooms better because they are more private,” Daniels said.

She also said teachers can better monitor students because they can stand in the common area while the bathrooms are in use.

While the district doesn’t have a policy governing gender-neutral restroom, “we do have a policy about non-discrimination,” Daniels said.

“The restrooms became a point where we can provide for all students. The design was a decision based on privacy, safety and security for all students.”

Melanie Austin, whose first-grade daughter attends Crestview Elementary and takes classes at the Northland Innovation Center, supports the gender-neutral concept.

“You just don’t know what gender a kid might identify as,” Austin said. “This helps everyone to feel comfortable, accepted.”

Planned road work for northwest Missouri, Aug. 20-26

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Aug. 20 – 26 from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

In addition to the work listed below, there may be other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/northwest/. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.

Andrew County

Interstate 29 – Bridge deck replacement project at the Nodaway River Bridge. A 13-foot width restriction is in place.

Route D – Resurfacing project, Aug. 20 – 25

Atchison County

U.S. Route 59 – Pothole patching, Aug. 20 – 24

I-29 – Resurfacing project from the Iowa state line to Route 111, Aug. 20 – 25

Buchanan County

U.S. Route 36 – Bridge maintenance at the 10th Street Bridge, Aug. 20

I-229 – CLOSED from U.S. Route 36 to Highland Avenue for a routine inspection of the Double Decker Bridge and all ramps, Aug. 20 – 23

U.S. Route 36 – Shoulder work from Route AC (Riverside Road) to I-29, Aug. 20 – 23

U.S. Route 169 (Belt Highway) – Pedestrian crossing improvement project at U.S. Route 36, Aug. 20 – 24

U.S. Route 59 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 45 to the Kansas state line, Aug. 20 – 24

U.S. Route 45 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 59 to the Platte County line, Aug. 20 – 24

Route 116 – Shoulder work 0.5 miles east of Route 371, Aug. 20 – 24

Caldwell County                                               

U.S. Route 36 – Guardrail work from just east of the DeKalb County line to just east of U.S. Route 69 (DeKalb County), Aug. 20 – 24.

Route B – Pothole patching, Aug. 20 – 24

Carroll County

Routes C, CC and FF – Pothole patching, Aug. 20 – 23

U.S. Route 65 – Striping from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, Aug. 20 – 24. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Route D – CLOSED for railroad maintenance at the Kansas City District and Marceline Sub railroad crossings, Aug. 24, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Clay County

Route C – Resurfacing and shoulder project from Route CC to Clinton County line, Aug. 20 – 24. A pilot car and flaggers will direct traffic through the work zone.

Clinton County

Route PP – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Moore Road to U.S. Route 69, Aug. 20 – 24, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Daviess County

Route 13 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Honey Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through September. A signed detour is in place.

I-35 – Concrete replacement southbound from mile marker 58.3 to mile marker 56.3, Aug. 20 – 24. Lane closures will remain in place overnight.

DeKalb County

U.S. Route 36 – Guardrail work just east of U.S. Route 69 to just east of the Caldwell County line, Aug. 20 – 24.

U.S. Route 36 – Resurfacing project eastbound lanes from Route 31 North to Route 33 North, Aug. 20 – 24. A 16-foot width restriction is in place.

Gentry County

Route C – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route FF to County Road 570, Aug 20, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Route C – Pothole patching from Route FF to Route J, Aug. 20 – 22

Route C – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from County Road 570 to County Road 558, Aug. 21, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Route A – Pothole patching, Aug. 23 – 24

Grundy County

Route 146 – Pothole patching, Aug. 20

U.S. Route 65 – Bridge maintenance at the Honey Creek Bridge, Aug. 20 – 21

U.S. Route 65 – Striping from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, Aug. 20 – 24. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Harrison County

Route 13 – Driveway entrance repair one mile north of Route H, Aug. 21

Holt County

I-29 – Bridge deck replacement at the Nodaway River Bridge. A13-foot width restriction is in place.

I-29 – Resurfacing project from Route W to Route 118, Aug. 20 – 25

Linn County

U.S. Route 36 – Bridge maintenance at Higgins Ditch west of Laclede, Aug. 20 – 24. This includes a 14-foot width restriction.

Route 129 – CLOSED for railroad maintenance north of the Bucklin city limits at the Marceline Sub railroad crossing, Aug. 22 – 23

Livingston County

U.S. Route 65 – Striping from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, Aug. 20 – 24. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Mercer County

U.S. Route 65 – Striping from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, Aug. 20 – 24. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Route M – Pothole patching from Route W to the Iowa state line, Aug. 20 – 24

Nodaway County

Route PP – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route 46 to 215th Street, Aug. 20, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

U.S. Route 71 – Shoulder work from Route AB to U.S. Route 136, Aug. 21 – 22. A flagger will direct motorists through the work zone.

Routes A and V – Pothole patching, Aug. 20 – 24

Route K – Pothole patching from Route E to 140th Street (Worth County), Aug. 20 – 24

Putnam County

U.S. Route 136 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the West Locust Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through September. A signed detour is in place.

U.S. Route 136 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Elm Branch Bridge. The road will be closed through September. A signed detour is in place.

U.S. Route 136 – Shoulder work, Aug. 20 – 21

Route 5 – Shoulder work, Aug. 23 – 24

Worth County

Route 246 – Pothole patching from Route 46 to Route E, Aug. 20 – 24

Route K – Pothole patching from 140th Street to Route E (Nodaway County), Aug. 20 – 24

Route W – Pothole patching one mile west of Route Z to Route 46, Aug. 23 – 24

Kansas to offer amnesty day for people owing child support

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The state of Kansas will offer one day of amnesty for people who have bench warrants for not paying child support.

Image courtesy Kansas DCF evaders

The Department of Children and Families says the warrants will be lifted on Aug. 31. People must pay either $500 or two months of support, whichever is the lesser amount.

The agency says more than 1,100 Kansans have warrants for failing to pay child support.

Agency spokeswoman Taylor Forrest says more than 100 non-custodial parents went to DCF offices last year on amnesty day to discuss their cases but some of them didn’t have active bench warrants.

Forrest says the annual amnesty day is designed to help people avoid prosecution for failing to pay child support while also allowing their children to receive the support they deserve.

Missouri, Kansas hope to attract nearly 700 USDA jobs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kansas and Missouri officials hope to attract the nearly 700 well-paying USDA jobs that are being moved out of Washington D.C.

Rep. Hartzler

The Kansas City Star reports that Kansas and Missouri hope to land the jobs for the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture when they move as part of a reorganization announced this month. All those jobs pay more than $100,000 annually.

Missouri U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler says the move makes sense because the Agriculture Department already has offices in Kansas City and St. Louis.

USDA officials say the move is designed to put workers closer to the farmers they serve while offering a lower cost of living. The goal is to reduce turnover in these offices.

Dog park temporarily closing for upgrades

The dog park in St. Joseph will be closed for part of this week for upgrades.

According to the City of St. Joseph Parks, Recreation, and Civic Facilities, the dog park will be closed Monday through Wednesday so agility equipment can be installed in the small and large dog park areas.

The dog park is scheduled to reopen on Thursday.

Man who tried to save Branson boat victims alleges emotional stress, files lawsuit

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) – A former employee of a southwestern Missouri paddlewheel tourist boat alleges in a lawsuit that he suffered post-traumatic stress after trying to save victims of a fatal duck boat accident.

Gregory Harris filed suit Monday against Ride the Ducks International, Ripley Entertainment and the boat’s captain. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

The duck boat sank in Table Rock Lake near Branson during a storm last month, killing 17 people. An investigation is on-going.

Harris was working on the Branson Belle at the time of the accident, though he has since quit. His suit says he and others tried to pull people out of the water, but two of those people died, including a young child.

UPDATE: Driver facing manslaughter charge after rollover crash

The driver of a vehicle in a crash Saturday in Worth County is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrest report, 28-year-old Sudeana L. Reno of Grant City was arrested Saturday. According to online court records, she faces a felony first degree involuntary manslaughter charge in relation to a Saturday evening crash that killed six-year-old William Straughn.

An arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

=====

WORTH COUNTY— One person died in an accident just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Worth County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a Ford Explorer driven by Sudeana L. Reno, 28, Grant City, was southbound on Old Highway 69 one half mile south of Grant City.  The driver attempted to negotiate a curve and lost control of the SUV on gravel and overturned.

The driver’s 6-year-old son William Straughn was ejected from the SUV.  Worth County Ambulance transported Reno and the boy to Northwest Medical Center where he died.

The driver’s daughter Adriana Straughn, 9, Grant City, was not injured.  All three were properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

Shoulder work planned this week for section of Route 36

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Traffic will be narrowed on a section of U.S. Route 36 between Route AC (Riverside Road) and Interstate 29 this week.

Crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation will mill off the old roadway surface of the inside shoulder of westbound U.S. Route 36 beginning Monday. They plan to work between 6 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, through Thursday, Aug. 23.  At least one lane of westbound U.S. Route 36 will remain open during the work. Motorists may want to use an alternate route to avoid delays and congestion.

For more information call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest.

Kansas launches campaign to reduce stillbirth rate in state

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state is promoting a campaign to reduce the number of stillborn deaths in Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Wednesday it is partnering with Count the Kicks, a stillbirth prevention public health campaign.

Kansas officials say the state records an average of 232 stillborn deaths each year. The campaign seeks to save 60 babies every year by decreasing Kansas’ stillbirth rate by 26 percent. The effort achieved that reduction in Iowa.

Count the Kicks encourages expectant moms to track their baby’s movements once a day in the third trimester to determine how long it normally takes their child to get to 10 movements. If moms notice a change in the baby’s normal pattern, they are encouraged to call their doctors.

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