Post Staff – Page 207 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Kansas man used PlayStation to collect child porn

Posted on April 24, 2017

A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to using a PlayStation video game console to obtain child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Michael L. Stratton, 30, Burlington, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. In his plea, he admitted using a PlayStation 3 to chat about child pornography and trade child pornography.

According to court documents, Sony monitors user activities on the PlayStation Network. The network allows account holders to communicate in a way similar to text and emails. A user complained to Sony about Stratton, who was sending messages using the name Susan_14.

Sony sent reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which identified child pornography that Stratton had downloaded. Sony also determined that Stratton had sent messages to other users including: “u want to see naked kids tonight,” and “Friend Request. Do you have child porn?”

Sentencing is set for Aug. 7. The parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of five years in federal prison.

Celtic Street Faire to be held in downtown St. Joseph

Posted on April 24, 2017April 24, 2017

A Celtic Street Faire is coming to downtown St. Joseph this summer.

According to a news release, the Ancient Order of Hibernians is teaming up with the St. Joseph Downtown Association to host the event June 24 from noon to 6 p.m. at Coleman Hawkins Park at Felix Street Square. Wine, liquor, beer and artisans will be served from noon to 6 p.m. Music will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. featuring Bob Reeder and U2 Cover Band Rattle & Hum.

Proceeds raised from the event will benefit the Second Harvest Community Food Bank and other local charity organizations.

Hopkins teen seriously injured in motorcycle crash

Posted on April 24, 2017

A 17-year-old was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash in Hopkins Saturday afternoon.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Dalton D. Peve of Hopkins was driving a 2000 Yamaha motorcycle east in the 600 block of East Barnard Street shortly after 3 p.m., when he lost control, hit a curb and was thrown from the motorcycle, hitting a utility pole guide wire.

Peve was taken by Nodaway County Ambulance to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph for treatment of serious injuries.

Windy and sunny conditions to start the week

Posted on April 24, 2017

Dry windy conditions will prevail today into Tuesday, keeping warm weather in place across the region. However, a cold front will sweep through the region Tuesday night, likely generating thunderstorms during the evening and overnight periods of Tuesday, with showers lingering well into Wednesday. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.

Tonight: A slight chance of showers after 4 a.m. Increasing clouds, with a low around 55. South southeast wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday: A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Southeast wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., then showers likely after 4 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 48. West wind 7 to 13 mph becoming north northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 53. North northwest wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 61.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Friday: A chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., then showers after 5 a.m. Low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Chip seal project begins this week in Maysville

Posted on April 23, 2017April 21, 2017

(News release) MAYSVILLE, Mo. – Local residents may have already seen the signs and some material along Route C in DeKalb County ahead of a planned chip seal project. Local maintenance crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation plan to apply this preventive maintenance treatment from Route 6 to U.S. Route 36 next week, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, Monday, April 24 through Wednesday, April 26, weather permitting.

Over the course of the project, crews plan to begin the treatment at Route 6 and work southbound to U.S. Route 36. They will then proceed northbound from U.S. Route 36 to Route 6. The road will be narrowed to one lane in two-mile sections. A flagger and pilot car will be used to guide motorists through the work zone. All work is weather permitting and schedules are subject to change.

Motorists should anticipate delays and pay attention to all road signs and personnel controlling traffic. If approaching the work zone from a side road, please wait for the pilot car before proceeding through the work zone.

Missouri celebrates 30th anniversary of Adopt-A-Highway Program

Posted on April 23, 2017April 24, 2017

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Transportation’s popular litter prevention program – the Adopt-A-Highway Program – turns 30 this year.

MoDOT officials noted the milestone Thursday with a celebration in Jefferson City featuring area Adopt-A-Highway volunteers.

Texas started the program in the mid-1980s as an effort to involve citizens to help clean state highways. Missouri followed suit in 1987. Today in Missouri, more than 5,200 groups and 50,000 volunteers participate in the program, and more than 6,200 miles of roadway have been adopted.

Adopter groups include commercial and private enterprises, civic and non-profit organizations, families and individuals. Adopters perform about $1 million a year in litter cleanup and beautification efforts.

“This extra help allows us to devote resources to other much needed tasks,” said MoDOT Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger.

Participants in the program have four options: clean up litter; mow; beautify through landscaping or plant native Missouri wildflowers and grasses. MoDOT provides adopters with a certificate of appreciation, safety training and materials, and a sign with the group’s name posted on each end of the adopted highway section. MoDOT also provides trash bags and pick up and disposal.

Adopters must agree to adopt at least a half-mile of urban roadside or two miles of rural roadside; collect litter at least four times a year; sign a three-year agreement; submit an activity report to MoDOT and follow all safety procedures.

Watershed meetings to be held Monday

Posted on April 23, 2017April 21, 2017

(News Release) – Mo-Kan Regional Council in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) will be hosting the second meeting in a series of public meetings to share information and gather input on the Independence-Sugar Watershed. All watershed residents from urban to rural landowners to city and county officials are encouraged to attend. The goal of the April 24 meeting is to learn about local watershed priorities, help to identify resources to achieve these goals and build important partnerships between all watershed residents.

Monday, April 24, 2017
9 to 11 a.m. Platte County YMCA, 8875 Clark Avenue, Parkville, MO 64152
6 to 8 p.m. Remington Nature Center, 1502 McArthur Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64501

Residents can visit the Independence-Sugar website (IndependenceSugar.com) or Facebook page to learn more about the watershed and complete a brief survey about their local water quality and quantity issues.
Contact (816) 233-3144 to RSVP or for more information. RSVP is not required but suggested.

Former fencing master donates equipment to Northwest club

Posted on April 23, 2017April 21, 2017

Fencing club receives donation of equipment April 12, 2017. (Photo by Todd Weddle | Northwest Missouri State University)

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University received a generous donation of fencing equipment this spring from a former stunt actor and fencing master to help students interested in learning the ancient sport.

Don Dino, who spent six decades practicing and teaching the art of fencing, donated his equipment after learning about the needs of the new Northwest Fencing Club. Dino is the father of Dee Dino, a specialist in Northwest’s Office of Student Involvement.

“It’s exciting for me that his legacy of teaching fencing can continue,” Dee Dino, who attended Shakespeare festivals with her father and brother every summer, said. “Anything we can do to assist clubs and organizations to be more viable for the long term. Having my dad’s name on something that helps students, that’s always been his passion.”

Don Dino played in numerous stage and film productions. He performed as a lead cast member in the “Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular” at Disney-MGM Studios theme park, which is known today as Hollywood Studios, in Orlando, Florida. He also choreographed fight scenes for the Shakespearian State Festival in Boulder, Colorado.

Northwest Fencing Club founder Cassandra Alfstad. (Photo by Todd Weddle | Northwest Missouri State University)

Dino said he hopes his donation will excite a new generation of fencers at Northwest. The donation includes electronic and dry foils and sabers as well as an electronic scoring system. Dino also provided fencing attire such as helmets, jackets and gloves.

Cassandra Alfstad began fencing in seventh grade and started the Northwest Fencing Club, which includes nine members, last fall.

“The club is now able to provide others with the equipment needed to succeed,” Alfstad, a sophomore zoology and wildlife ecology and conservation major from Indianola, Iowa, said. “We hope this brings in more members and allows athletic diversity to expand across the campus.”

The Fencing Club meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Martindale Hall dance studio. Members learn and practice fencing skills during their meetings.

For more information about the Fencing Club, contact the Office of Student Involvement at (660) 562-1226 or Cassandra Alfstad at [email protected].

Hearing delayed for Kansas teen held for drinking party shooting

Posted on April 22, 2017April 22, 2017

A Wathena teenager charged in connection with a shooting at an underage drinking party in Buchanan County remains in custody. William Dowlen’s preliminary hearing was delayed Friday as his attorney asks the court for more information in the case.

Sheriff’s investigators described a large party during the early morning hours of January 22 in the area of S.E. Mt. Zion Road. According to a court affidavit, 20-year-old Justice Joiner was shot in the leg during a disturbance at the party. Joiner suffered injuries that required multiple surgeries.

Dowlen is charged with a class-e felony count of unlawful use of a weapon.

During a preliminary hearing docket call on Friday, Dowlen appeared with his attorney, who asked for a continuance. Associate Circuit Judge Keith Marquart agreed, and rescheduled the case May 12.

Dowlen remains in custody in the Buchanan County Jail, unable to post a $25,000 hybrid bond.

Charges filed in prison murder; jailers union and ACLU weigh in on continuing prison controversy

Posted on April 22, 2017April 22, 2017

Patrick Schroeder faces new murder charges

Over the last week there have been a slew of new developments concerning the embattled prison system in Nebraska, which has seen more than its share of controversy already, from a computer glitch that paroled inmates early, to murdered inmates.

Riots at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution in southeastern Nebraska have caused extensive damage to the facility. At least four homicides have been reported there in the last year. On Friday, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office announced first-degree murder charges against the cellmate of a man who was fatally attacked last week in the facility.

Patrick Schroeder, 39, also faces one count of use of a deadly weapon in the death of 22-year-old Terry Berry, who was found unresponsive in his cell April 15. According to the Attorney General, an autopsy showed Berry had been strangled. Schroeder is already serving a life prison term for the 2006 murder of a 75-year-old man from Pawnee City, Ne. Berry was scheduled for release in December, and had a parole hearing next month. He was serving three to four years for felony forgery and a jail assault conviction from Platte County, Ne.

On April 21, three staff members were assaulted by an inmate at the Tecumseh facility. In a news release, NDCS said staff members were moving several inmates who appeared to be under the influence of homemade alcohol. One inmate was standing with his hands crossed in front of him when a corporal approached him and told him he was going to place handcuffs on him. At that moment the inmate turned and swung at the corporal, who was knocked to the ground and received contusions to his head.

A union leader representing Nebraska correctional officers says a prison with a history of deadly riots would see less violence if employees didn’t have to work as much overtime. The executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, Mike Marvin, says workers are forced to stay on the job for overtime shifts at the Tecumseh prison because of staffing shortages. He says that as a result, many employees are tired and less alert when threats arise. Marvin says the staffing shortages have persisted because the Department of Correctional Services isn’t paying enough to keep experienced employees. Some leave for better-paying jobs in county jails.

The inmate moved across the room and assaulted another corporal who was restraining another inmate. The corporal suffered contusions to the head, required five stitches and received a chipped tooth and another was knocked loose. Staff responded and used OC spray to stop the assault and subdue the inmate. As they were attempting to restrain the inmate, he bit a caseworker in the thigh. The two corporals were treated and released from Johnson County Hospital. The caseworker did not seek outside medical care.

This incident was isolated to one inmate and did not require the unit to be locked down. The facility was reported to be operating normally.

Corrections director Scott Frakes has acknowledged that overtime is a problem for the department, even though it’s commonly used.