A pretty nice weekend is in store, especially for the end of July – partly cloudy with highs in the lower 80s and lows in the lower 60s (which is below normal). The current forecast calls for high temps staying below 90 degrees for the next week. As for rain, the next chance is in the Wednesday/Thursday time frame next week. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. East northeast wind 6 to 11 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. East wind 5 to 8 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. East wind 3 to 6 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. East southeast wind 3 to 6 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 83.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 85.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.
1vision Co-chairs Curtis Zahnd and Tara StollA task force focused on the future needs and finances of the St. Joseph School District presented its conclusions Thursday, recommending we restore an expired 62-cent operating levee, and increase revenue by restoring the full Prop. C tax waiver.
The 1Vision community task force proposal sets a lofty set of goals in everything from facilities planning to student performance.
They hope to balance the budget without spending down the district’s reserves, and are already considering several future bond issues for capital improvements. They also plan to continue their efforts at community engagement. (Watch the entire presentation above)
Co-chairs Tara Stoll and Curtis Zahnd told the school board a group of 40 community members volunteered to take part in the task force, attending six meetings of about two hours each. About 300 community members attended meetings at various school buildings throughout the district. From their input, the task force set out to determine what is important for quality education, what that means in terms of support, and what future steps need to be taken to achieve those goals.
If adopted by the Board of Education, the first phase of the tax plan calls for a vote in November on increasing the district levy by a total of $1.15, which includes the 63-cent operating levy and 52 cents via the Prop-C rollback. If approved by voters, Zahnd said the levy increase would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $218.50 per year in taxes.
Stoll told the board that 95% of the school districts in Missouri have restored the full Proposition-C tax waiver. The 63-cent operating levy was allowed to expire during the peak of the school district’s controversies over stipends and nepotism.
If approved by voters, the proposal would generate an additional $11.5 million dollars in revenue each year. Zahnd said they’re recommending $5.4 million of that be spent to maintain and improve the current staff and programs with a balanced budget, and to continue basic building maintenance and repair. He also listed some new needs for the coming school year that will cost about $6.1 million.
“And then there are new needs,” Zahnd said. “Student performance, achievement and safety; after-school student opportunities and programs; curriculum and instructions; what’s very important now, the HVAC, and the technology, for a total of $6.1 million. Again, that total: $11.5 million annually.”
As it stands now, the board could consider such a proposal at their next meeting August 14. Board Chairman Martin Rucker told board members they have plenty of time to go over the details of the very extensive task-force proposal.
A former Buchanan County Deputy Assessor is suing the county and her boss claiming she was the victim of wrongful termination and sexual harassment at work. Susie Dannar claims in the lawsuit filed last week that she was fired from her job in retaliation for reporting the activities of two co-workers.
Dannar claims one drank alcohol on the job and then drove a county vehicle. He also allegedly displayed inappropriate nude pictures and making sexist and racist comments in the office. She accuses another co-worker of calling her names and screaming at her.
In the petition, Dannar says she did not have any issues at work before newly-elected County Assessor Scot Van Meter began hiring new deputies in 2013.
She said in the filing that she reported the problems to the Chief Deputy Assessor, to Van Meter, to the county’s Human Resource Director and to Western District commissioner Ron Hook. She says Van Meter assured her the issue had been addressed, but she said the harassment and discrimination continued.
Dannar claims she was wrongfully fired on March 22, 2016, and then was “…escorted out of her office by two security officers…” after working for the county for almost 17 years.
She is demanding actual and punitive damages for the alleged sexual discrimination. She also claims sexual harassment in a hostile work environment, and that she was fired as retaliation.
Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg has scheduled a trial-setting hearing October 20 at 8:30 am.
Dana K. TutorA Mississippi woman who aspired to be like Bonnie Parker of “Bonnie and Clyde” fame has been sentenced to serve 20 years in prison for a 2008 robbery at a highway rest stop in Platte County that led to the murder of a truck driver.
Dana Tutor, 42, entered an Alford Plea to charges of first-degree robbery and second-degree murder. Prosecutors said Tutor approached truck drivers at the rest area on I-29 near Camden Point, trying to convince them to come into the rest stop building, where a co-defendant laid in wait.
On September 8, 2008, Tutor lured truck driver Valentin Kirilchuk into the building. Tutor had told him she needed money for diapers and food for a baby. Once there, Co-defendant John Hughes robbed him and shot him through the head. Hughes was previously convicted of first-degree murder and is serving a life prison term without the possibility of parole.
The robbery and murder were the culmination of a cross-country crime spree by Tutor and her boyfriend Hughes. During the spree, the two talked about getting “Bonnie and Clyde” tattoos as a tribute to the notorious outlaws.
“We are pleased to finally deliver justice for the family of Valentin Kirilchuk,” said Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd after the plea in May. “There is no doubt he would be alive today if the defendant had not lured him to his death.”
After the robbery and murder, Tutor, who by her own admission was highly intoxicated, drove the getaway car away from the murder scene. A witness in the car described Tutor laughing about the fact that Hughes had killed a man. Hours later, Hughes was arrested in York, Nebraska, by a Nebraska State Trooper for a traffic violation and driving under the influence. Inside the vehicle, troopers found the murder weapon, ammunition, and property belonging to another murder victim from Ohio.
Tutor’s fingerprints were found on the window of Kirilchuk’s truck. She was also a potential contributor to DNA that was recovered from the passenger side mirror of Kirilchuk’s truck and the murder weapon.
On Thursday, Platte County Circuit Judge Thomas Fincham ordered Tutor to serve 18-years for the robbery charge, and 20 years for the murder. The sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time.
LYON COUNTY – The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating an accident just before 9a.m. Thursday involving an Amtrak passenger train that collided with a cattle truck in Lyon County.
The livestock trailer was split in half in the collision near Road 240 and Road X outside the small town of Reading, northeast of Emporia.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told The Associated Press that at least two of the three crew members in the cab of the Southwest Chief sustained minor cuts and bruises.
He says none of the 211 passengers were hurt. The train left Los Angeles on Tuesday and will resume its trip to Chicago after a replacement crew arrives and the damaged lead locomotive is disconnected.
A St. Joseph woman is facing a felony after a multi-agency chase earlier this week crossing between Iowa and Missouri.
Kelsey Dawn Amos is charged in Taylor County, Iowa with a felony of eluding.
According to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, around 2 a.m. Monday, the Clarinda Police Department tried to stop a 1998 Mitsubishi Montero driven by Amos. Clarinda Police pursued the vehicle South of Clarinda on Hwy 71 into Missouri. Nodaway County and Maryville PD joined in on the pursuit east bound on JJ to Hopkins. Authorities said a Nodaway County Deputy was able to successfully deploy spike strips deflating the front passengers side tire. From Hopkins, the vehicle went north bound on Hwy 148 into Bedford. From Bedford, the pursuit went west on Hwy 2 before stopping near Diamond Ave.
The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office said, after a search of the suspect and vehicle cocaine, methamphetamine and money was seized.
The sheriff’s office said, a man who was a passenger in the vehicle was taken to Clarinda Regional Medical Center for conditions related to illegal drug activities.
Authorities from Clarinda PD, Page County Sheriff, Nodaway County Sheriff, Maryville PD, Taylor County Sheriff and Adams County Sheriff assisted in the chase.
According to online court records, Amos is being held on $25,000 cash only bail in the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department. She’s due in court Aug. 4 for a preliminary hearing.
Anthony KromkoA St. Joseph man will be sentenced in September for his guilty plea to child pornography charges.
Anthony Kromko pleaded guilty to one class-c felony count of possession of child pornnogrpahy on Thursday before Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg. He admitted downloading an image of a nude, underage female simulating sex acts. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kate Schaefer told the judge that 1,300 images were found on Kromko’s electronic devices, and at least 19 of those were confirmed to be child porn.
Kromko, 45, is scheduled for sentencing September 11. In the meantime he will be assessed for possible sentencing to the state’s Sex Offender Assessment Unit.
Possession of child pornography is a class-c felony. Kromko faces a maximum possible sentence of seven years in prison.
Lucas CrockettA 35-year-old St. Joseph man was sentenced to six years in prison for the robbery of a convenience store at knifepoint last year.
Lucas Crockett entered an Alford Plea to one count of 2nd-degree robbery, a class-b felony which carries a maximum prison term of 15 years in prison. Crockett was identified in security video from the Quick Stop at 6739 U.S. Highway 59 in St. Joseph. On August 8, 2016, he threatened the clerk with a knife, took the cash register, and fled on foot. He was spotted by witnesses 15 minutes later with the cash register.
In November of last year Crockett was ruled incompetent to stand trial. He spent six months in the custody of the Missouri Dept. of Mental Health, which released him back to the court in May.
Under a plea agreement, the prosecutor agreed to recommend the six-year prison term, which the judge imposed Thursday morning. Crockett will be given credit for time he’s already served since his arrest.
A few isolated to scattered showers and weak storms are possible across western and central Missouri this afternoon but heavy rain is not expected. Otherwise sunny and much more comfortable weather will move in for the end of the week and last for several days. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. North northeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. North northeast wind 5 to 8 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Northeast wind 5 to 7 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. East northeast wind 3 to 6 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. East wind 3 to 6 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.
A pretty nice weekend is in store, especially for the end of July – partly cloudy with highs in the lower 80s and lows in the lower 60s (which is below normal). The current forecast calls for high temps staying below 90 degrees for the next week. As for rain, the next chance is in the Wednesday/Thursday time frame next week. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
