(News release) — The St. Joseph School District has selected Mindi Richardson as the next assistant principal for Oak Grove Elementary School.

Richardson is currently working as a Title Instructor at Amazonia Elementary School in the Savannah R‐3 School District.

Before joining the team in Amazonia, Richardson spent more 13 years in the Maysville R‐1 School District where she held various positions including Title reading and math instructor, classroom instruction and homebound instruction.

Richardson earned a master’s degree in Elementary Administration from William Woods University. She also has a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Western State University in Elementary Education with a reading emphasis.

She was hired to replace Leah Richardson, Oak Grove’s current assistant principal, who is taking over the role of principal at Humboldt for the 2017‐18 school year.

Oak Grove also recently announced the school’s new principal for the 2017‐18 school year when the
Board of Education approved the hiring of Natalie Arnold. Arnold is replacing the retiring Mike Otto.
The Board of Education approved Mindi Richardson’s employment during executive session on April 24, 2017.

(Tuesday 9:30 a.m.) – Two men have been charged after a large Meth bust Monday on I-29 in Andrew County.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the driver, Jeff E. Hart, 31, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and passenger Omar M. Chapman, 39, of Las Vegas, Nevada, were arrested for trafficking of a controlled substance. Each are charged in Andrew County with felonies of trafficking drugs, delivery of controlled substance, two counts of possession of controlled substance and a misdemeanor for unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

As we previously reported, the Patrol said one pound of methamphetamine was seized during a traffic stop around 9:25 a.m. Monday on southbound I-29 at the 57-mile marker.

Hart and Chapman are currently being held on $100,000 bail in the Andrew County Jail.

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(Monday) – The Missouri State Highway Patrol said one pound of methamphetamine was seized during a traffic stop Monday in Andrew County.

Around 9:25 a.m. Monday, a the patrol said a state trooper stopped a southbound 2003 Chevrolet pickup on Interstate 29 at the 57-mile marker in Andrew County. According to a news release, circumstances led to the trooper conducting a probable cause search of the vehicle after a Missouri State Highway Patrol K-9 sniff of the vehicle. The search revealed one pound of methamphetamine located in the vehicle.

Two people from Nevada were arrested for investigation of trafficking a controlled substance and taken to the Andrew County Sheriff’s Department. As of 4 p.m. charges were not yet listed on online court documents.

(3:30 p.m.) – A woman was killed Monday in a crash with a farm vehicle near Parnell.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Virgina Burns, 60 of Parnell was driving a 2001 Tahoe southbound on MO 46 and Marlin Meyer, 71 of Ravenwood was driving a 2011 Case IH Steiger northbound.  The patrol said the crash happened around 5:40 a.m. when the farm implement being pulled by the tractor crossed the center line of the roadway and Burns’ vehicle hit the implement.  Burns was pronounced dead at the scene. No injuries were reported for the other driver.

The road was shutdown for several hours while crews worked the scene.  It has since reopened.

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(Update 1:30 p.m. ) – Route 46 south of Parnell has reopened after a crash.

In an announcement shortly before 10 am, MoDOT said the road was closed between Route NN and the south junction with Orion Road, just north of Ravenwood. Crews from MoDOT assisted the Missouri State Highway Patrol with traffic control around the crash scene.

We are currently awaiting further information on the incident from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The 2017 Parties on the Parkway schedule was released Monday by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce.

According to a news release, thousands of residents participant in the concert series along the parkway system every year. Admission to the series is free. The scheduled is as follows:

May 11 – 5 to 8 p.m.
Soca Jukebox
(rain date May 18)
SW Pkwy & King Hill Drive

June 8 – 5 to 8 p.m.
Kalani
(rain date June 15)
SW Pkwy & 28th Street

July 13 – 5 to 8 p.m.
State Line Drive
(rain date July 20)
SW Noyes & Messanie, Parkway A

August 10 – 5 to 8 p.m.
Heather Newman Band
(rain date Aug 17)
Corby Pond

End summer with a bang! Two bands, food, drinks & fireworks! Casey Brett and Blue Oyster Culture Club.

Rockin’ on the River
Saturday, Aug. 26
4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Remington Nature Center,
Missouri Riverfront

Work is in progress to replace some century-old water pipes leading to the historic Cracker House, and it won’t cost anything.

Leah Swindler, the President of the Cracker House Project, said they discovered the pipes when they ruptured in January. During restoration work, some of the heavy equipment proved too heavy for where it was parked. The pipes will be replaced at no charge, through a special program offered by Missouri American Water.

“The weight of the lift crushed the lead pipe underneath the ground, because it’s so soft and it’s old.” Swindler said. “A leak started up, so we called the water company out, and they dug up that area, and determined that it was indeed a lead pipe from 1893.”

“So I filled out an application, and they told me that they would replace not just the pipe in front of the house, but add a meter and a line into the house for free.”

Swindler says their efforts to raise money for restoration continue. They had a trivia night at a local bar recently, which raised about $2,500, enough to begin work on repairs on the south wall of the structure. She says they’re also hosting a volunteer tourism group called Adventures in Preservation starting in May.

“People sign up for trips around the U.S., and even internationally, to learn preservation while working at an actual site,” she said. The public is invited to a series of preservation workshops, in which you’ll learn some of the processes, such as tuck pointing and window restoration processes, and they’ll learn the processes while helping fix the house.

It starts May 28 and runs through June 10th. It will cost you a $25 donation per workshop to cover materials cost. You can find out more at the group’s Facebook page here.

They’re also planning a fun fundraiser coming this fall. Swindler says they’re joining forces with the Historic St. Joseph Foundation and the St. Joseph Historical Society (Robidoux Row), to create a coloring book of historical buildings in the area. The Cracker House will collect one-third of the proceeds.

The house, at 914 Main Street, was once the home of Frank L. Sommer, the inventor of the Saltine cracker.