Beef flavored toothpaste may sound unappetizing, but it’s an option for helping keep a pet’s teeth clean.

February is National Pet Dental Health Month and Kappy Hodges with the Friends of the St. Joseph Animal Shelter said an animal’s dental care is an important part of keeping pets healthy.

Hodges said pet owners should have a veterinarian take a look at their pet’s teeth once a year. During the rest of the year, Hodges said there are preventative things owners can do to help with pet’s dental health, including getting some pet toothpaste.

“You can’t use regular people toothpaste, it has fluoride and things in it that are toxic for your pet, so you want to use pet toothpaste,” Hodges said. “They make these little toothbrushes that you can slide on your finger and just put a little toothpaste on there and rub it on their gums because you’ll want to hit that spot where the gum meets the tooth, that’s where you’re looking to brush.”

Hodges said if owners haven’t thought about their pet’s dental health, the first step is to take a look at their teeth.

“What does it look like? Are they nice and white? Is there any red on the gum line? Are they kind of yellow? Are they darker than that? Because they get kind of brown, kind of black, that tartar can,” Hodges said. “That will give you an idea of how badly they probably need some work. Pop on in to the vet and ask what he thinks, that office visit is not very expensive.”

Hodges said often, during February’s Pet Dental Health Month, veterinarian clinics will offer some kind of discount, but checkups are typically inexpensive year-round and can save money in the long run while keeping your pet healthy.

Altec Industries has announced plans to expand its St. Joseph facilities and add 105 new jobs.

The company manufactures heavy mobile equipment and related parts primarily for the utility, telecommunications and tree care industries. The main manufacturing facility is located at 2106 South Riverside Road in St. Joseph.

According to a news release, Altec will invest a significant amount of capital in personal property improvements, manufacturing and nonmanufacturing machinery and equipment, as well as real property improvements. The project is expected to create a minimum of 105 new jobs over a three-year period.

According to the release from the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, to encourage the investment in St. Joseph, various local incentives were offered. Resolutions to authorize increased real property tax abatement under the Enhanced Enterprise Zone for the first five years of the project and personal property tax abatement under the State of Missouri Chapter 100 Program will go before the City Council for approval at its February 27 meeting. The chamber said the community will not only see the creation of new jobs, but also an increase in its tax base as a result of the new investment. The State of Missouri also provided incentives under the Missouri Works Program.

“Altec would like to thank the Chamber, the City of St. Joseph, Buchanan County and the State of Missouri for all of the efforts and help with our expansion plans. These are exciting times as we invest back into the community. Our goal is to be good stewards in all communities in which we live and work. It is this type of cooperation that allows us to keep growing our facility in St. Joseph”, said Colby Edwards, Director of Manufacturing, St. Joseph.

A day after posting bond a St. Joseph woman has been charged with another felony.

Shannon Leigh Schremser, 21 was charged Thursday in Buchanan County with second-degree burglary.

According to court documents, Schremser on Thursday in the 4200 block of Paseo Dr. in Buchanan County was in possession of financial documents belonging to a man’s deceased wife that had been reported missing in a burglary that took place Feb. 17 at a home on S.E. Horn Rd.

Online court document show Schremser posted bond Wednesday in a separate charge for second-degree burglary in which she and a co-defendant are accused of breaking into a home in the 2300 block of Mansfield Rd.

Schremser is being held on $10,000 bail in the Buchanan County Jail on the latest charge and is scheduled for an arraignment in the case for Tuesday.

A St. Joseph man has been charged in connection with a home invasion last month in midtown.

Dominic Johnson, 31 of St. Joseph is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of stealing.

According to court documents, Johnson and another man allegedly forced their way into a home in the 1500 block of Jules St. Jan. 24 shortly before 3 a.m. and robbed the residents at gunpoint.

As we previously reported, a man and a woman were inside a home in the 1500 block of Jules when two suspects armed with handguns allegedly robbed them at gunpoint.

Johnson is being held on $7,500 (corrected) bail.  According to the Buchanan County Inmate Inquiry Johnson is due in court Tuesday in the case.  We have inquired about a second suspect in this case and are waiting to hear back.

The Fraternal Order of Police has released information after a man was killed in St. Joseph earlier this week in an ‘officer-involved’ shooting.

As we previously reported, Jason Fanning, 27 of St. Joseph was fatally wounded in the shooting incident that took place Monday at the intersection of 20th and Charles St. The Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday said it is working with the Missouri State Highway Patrol to investigate the incident.

The information provided by the FOP Northwest Missouri Regional Lodge 3 is as follows:

“In the early morning hours of February 20, 2017 an officer with the St. Joseph Police Department, who was on patrol with a female ride-along, attempted to make contact with a suspicious vehicle and its driver. The vehicle was registered to an individual with an active warrant connected to a domestic assault case. The officer positioned his car behind the suspect vehicle and approached it on foot. The driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, suddenly put the vehicle in reverse and struck the patrol car. As the officer gave clear verbal commands, the driver then pulled forward a few car lengths before reversing his vehicle and accelerating backwards again, almost striking the officer. The driver continued in reverse at a high rate of speed directly towards the ride-along, who was standing near the passenger door of the patrol car. Fearing for the life of his ride-along, the officer was forced to fire his weapon. Even after the officer fired, the vehicle still continued towards the ride-along, narrowly missing her and the front of the patrol car. The vehicle ultimately slammed into a tree, which caused large tree branches to fall on the officer, the ride-along, and the patrol car. The driver of the vehicle had a warrant for a violation of probation connected to a guilty plea for domestic assault. According to the probable cause statement in the prior domestic assault case, it was alleged that he threatened to kill the mother of his child with a knife after trying to run her and her children off the road with a car several times.”

Neither the prosecutor’s office nor the Missouri State Highway Patrol has issued any additional information since Tuesday. On Tuesday, Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins said the preliminary autopsy report indicates Fanning was killed by a single, penetrating gunshot wound.  Also, Scroggins said there is a lot of additional work left to be done in the case.

“The Fraternal Order of Police understands and agrees the public has the right to know what has happened. We have also made requests of the agencies involved that this information be released,” the FOP said. “This situation is a tragedy for all involved. We understand and appreciate public concern each time an officer is faced with the incredibly difficult, split-second decision to defend themselves or others against a potentially dangerous suspect.”

Police previously told us the officer has been placed on administrative leave. Scroggins earlier this week said the investigation remains ongoing.