The St. Joseph Police Department is investigating after numerous vehicles were vandalized downtown.
Capt. Jeff Wilson said officers responded to the U.S. Postal Office located at 201 S. 8th St. around 7:15 a.m. Friday to a vandalism call.
“Staff reported five mail trucks with one tire slashed on each,” Wilson said. “Another Ford passenger vehicle had two tires slashed.”
Detectives are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call police or the TIPS Hotline (816) 238-TIPS.
A local publisher moves forward with his efforts to re-brand St. Joseph as the “Tenderloin Capital of the World.” Jay Kerner of the Regular Joe newspaper this week received confirmation of his trademark application from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
“We are pleased to report that the mark has been issued a Notice Of Allowance in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 07, 2017,” according to a Notice of Allowance from the government.
Kerner is in discussions with several local non-profits with an eye toward setting up some kind of tenderloin event in the city. “It will be a festival just like all the other festivals, except with more tenderloins,” Kerner said.
“We have six months to file what’s called a ‘statement of use’ with the trademark office,” he said, “but our next step is to pick a non-profit.”
As we reported earlier, Kerner says the designation is a natural.
“Because the Saltine cracker was invented here, and because we’ve been pork producers for generations, we believe that this was the place where the cracker first met the pork,” Kerner said.
He has set up a Facebook page for the event moving forward. Here’s a link.
The Midland Empire Resources for Independent Living has announced a new chief executive officer for northwest Missouri.
Rob Honan has been names MERIL’s CEO. According to the agency, Honan has served as the executive director for the Missouri Governor’s Council on Disability, a state council that promotes inclusion for Missourians with disabilities. Honan said he wants to use that experience to strengthen MERIL’s roles as an advocate for disability rights.
“It is important for MERIL to be involved in discussions about public policy issues that affect people with disabilities,” Honan said. “As an organization, MERIL encourages lawmakers to support legislation that benefits people with disabilities, and we encourage people with disabilities to learn about the issues that affect them and to advocate for themselves.”
MERIL offers a variety of services for people with disabilities and those who are aging, including assistance with personal care attendants, in-home nursing, home health, assistive technology, sign-language interpreting, youth transition, information and referral services, and community education and advocacy. More information about MERIL and its resources is available on www.meril.org and at 816-279-8558.
An 89-year-old man was seriously hurt in an ATV crash Thursday afternoon in north-central Missouri.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Loren Bond of Excello, Missouri was riding an Arctic Cat up a hill when it overturned on top of him. The accident happened along Jackpot Street southwest of Excello at 12:05 p.m. Thursday. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office and Ambulance Service also responded.
Bond was flown to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries.
A study released this month shows St. Joseph among the leading metro areas in the state for exports.
According to the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, the most recent totals from the International Trade Commission and Bureau of Economic Analysis show continued growth in St. Joseph Exports with more than $1 billion in exports from local companies.
In 2015, St. Louis and Kansas City lead the state among metro areas with over $8.9 billion and $6.7 billion respectively. St. Joseph follows in third place. With the recent growth, St. Joseph now more than doubles Springfield, which shows annual exports at $442 million.
“As I like to say, St. Joseph is a community that makes things,” said R. Patt Lilly, President and CEO of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. “In fact, based on the recent data, 18 percent of the community’s gross domestic product (GDP) is made up of export products, the highest in our region of the country. Over the past five years St. Joseph’s exports have grown by at a healthy 56 percent. While the numbers speak well for St. Joseph’s economy, it is also why we talk about and support U.S. trade and exports, something that seems the center of much debate in Washington, D.C. these days. For now, though we can enjoy the news of continued economic growth.”
To view the study for exported goods from 2010 to 2015 released in March of 2017 CLICK HERE.
(UPDATE) According to Sgt. Chris McBane, the Traffic Unit Supervisor for the St. Joseph Police Department, one motorist suffered moderate injuries, and one was issued a citation. McBane said a semi was southbound on 59 Hwy, and a car was northbound. McBane said the car crossed over the center line and struck the rear wheels of the semi trailer.
***
(UPDATE) According to a Nixle alert from the St. Joseph Police Department at 10:42 a.m., the highway has reopened.
***
U.S. Highway 59 in southern St. Joseph was closed for more than two hours Friday morning after a crash involving a semi and a passenger vehicle.
The impact of the collision separated the semi’s rear-axle from the rest of the trailer. The accident closed 59 Highway between Elizabeth and Parker Streets. Traffic was routed east to King Hill Ave.
The St. Joseph Police Department issued a Nixle alert at 8:12 a.m. advising motorists to the area.
Light snow will move into the region late tonight into early Saturday morning, spreading 1-2 inches of accumulation through the afternoon. Although snow may initially accumulate only on grassy or elevated surfaces, slow travel is still expected Saturday morning, and slick roads are a possibility as snow continues to accumulate. To add insult to injury for early-blossoming plants, a hard freeze is also expected tonight and again Saturday night. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 40. North northeast wind 8 to 13 mph.
Tonight: A chance of snow, mainly after 3 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 26. East wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday: Snow before 4 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow. High near 34. East wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Northeast wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 41. Light southeast wind becoming south southeast 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Sunday Night: Rain and snow likely before midnight, then a chance of rain between midnight and 4 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow after 4 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 48.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.
There’s a critical need to get water and reliable feedstuffs to cattle in the aftermath of wildfires that have ravaged many parts of southern and western Kansas.
As of Thursday morning, more than 660,000 acres in 21 counties had been scarred, along with numerous evacuations and road closures.
K-State Research and Extension beef systems specialist Justin Waggoner, based in southwest Kansas, says the fires have crippled systems that are ordinarily used for getting water to cattle, which means producers may be forced to haul water to thirsty cattle.
Waggoner-1 you know on a 14-hundred pound cow, we’re looking at somewhere around 10-to-14 gallons of water per day is what it’s going to take to meet those requirements. Getting water to the cattle, I think that’s one of the, you know, the most immediate need that’s probably out there if we do have cattle that have survived in these situatons. (:17)
Waggoner thinks it’s important for producers affected by the fires to know that they’re not alone. Whether it’s a need for hay, any type of assistance, fence supplies or fence rebuilding, he says producers shouldn’t hesitate to ask for help. K-State Research and Extension agents in southern and western Kansas, as well as those throughout the state, are available to help producers.
Remington and Agenstein Halls at Missouri Western State University will host two science fairs for high school students on Friday, March 10. Winners of the 39th annual Missouri Junior Academy of Science Regional Fair and the 44th annual Mid-America Regional Science and Engineering Fair will advance to the state level. Both events are open to the public.
The Junior Academy of Science fair will feature students from area high schools presenting their scientific research papers. The academy is the junior division of the Missouri Academy of Science, an organization that promotes the greater participation of students in science activities. This fair is sponsored by Nestle Purina. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Agenstein Hall, room 324. For more information, contact Dr. Csengele Barta, cbarta1@missouriwestern.edu.
The Mid-America Regional fair promotes education and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and STEM-related fields, encourages the greater participation of high school students in scientific research and brings together students across northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas through competition. Posters will be available for public viewing from 3 to 4 p.m. The awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. in Agenstein Hall, room 324. This fair is sponsored by Nestle Purina and the Kansas City Section of the American Chemical Society. For more information, contact Dr. Karen Koy, kkoy@missouriwestern.edu.
St Joseph’s incoming Emergency Manager says she’s excited to take on the new challenge.
Jada Thomas has been with the City of St. Joe since 1998, working as a dispatcher and dispatch supervisor before taking her current jog as terminal agency coordinator in charge of the criminal justice information system. She says her experience in the Communications Center will come in handy.
“The Communications Center is a vital part of that,” Thomas said. “It’s basically a mini Emergency Operations Center on its own at the beginning of any incident.”
“That’s where an incident begins, where you start to determine what you need and where you need it, and to send those resources out. So, it’s basically emergency management and an EOC on a smaller scale.”
Buchanan County’s Emergency Management Director Bill Brinton offered high praise for Thomas, calling her a “fantastic choice” who he said would help improve communications and relations between the city and county. Thomas says there’s always a chance for problems between agencies, but she says the team learns from such foul-ups.
“I think done very well communicating between the disciplines, and we’ve learned from mistakes that we’ve made,” she said. “We always try to rectify those and clear up any miscommunications or problems that have happened so we don’t repeat those mistakes in the future.”
Thomas starts work on March 20th. She replaces Julie Alt, who stepped down last fall for health reasons. Fire Chief Dalsing has been serving as Interim Emergency Manager.
