The City of St. Joseph Health Department will be closed Friday for staff to take part in a work retreat.

The Health Department located at 904 S 10th St. will suspend all services on Friday, Nov. 18.  That includes WIC, pregnancy testing and case management, TB services, immunizations, HIV/STD testing and case management, vital statistics, and environmental services. Animal Control and Rescue shelter and administrative offices will also be closed.  All other agencies at Patee Market Health Center will be open as scheduled.

According to the city, the services are being suspended so staff can take part in an all-day training retreat focusing on customer service, emergency preparedness and public health policy and procedure updates.

Animal Control and Shelter operations will resume Saturday with the shelter open to the public from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Services at Patee Market will resume Monday.

The St. Joseph Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign will kick-off tonight to raise funds for the agency’s efforts in the community.

The Kettle Campaign will officially kick-off at 5:30 p.m. at the East Hills Shopping Center at the children’s play area near Dillard’s and Sears stores.

The Salvation Army will kick off the event with its traditional brass band playing Christmas songs, a teen chorus performing, followed by a Mayoral Proclamation presentation in recognition of the army’s 130 years of service to the Saint Joseph area.

The Christmas total for 2016 will be announced at the kick-off.  A new feature to Red Kettle sites this year is the ability to make donations at “Change to 41444”. Donors may text donations in denominations of $15, $25, $50 or select Other. The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program also kicks offs.

The Red Kettle Campaign is The Salvation Army’s largest fund drive of the entire year. In Saint Joseph, funds help to operate the army’s services throughout the year; including the Booth Center for Homeless, the Family Store and the corps community center. Last year, The Salvation Army provided 30 million people with assistance across America, roughly one person per second of every day. Each night 27,000 nights of shelter are delivered, with many sheltered right here in Buchanan County. Eighty-three percent of dollars donated go to direct client services.

Anyone who wants to help ring in the Christmas season by volunteering to be a Salvation Army bell ringer can call LeeAnn at 816.232.5824 to reserve a time and location.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled next month for a St. Joseph man accused of setting fire to his apartment November 8th and forcing the evacuation of his neighbors.

As we reported, Rydell Rawls is charged with knowingly burning or exploding, a class-d felony.  During his first appearance earlier this week, Rawls told Associate Circuit Judge Keith Marquart he would apply for a public defender. Judge Marquart scheduled a preliminary hearing December 9th.

In court documents, St. Joseph police say Rawls set several items on fire in his apartment at 1602 Brookside, causing a  large disruption to the other building residents and forcing a response by the fire department.

Rawls is being held in the Buchanan County Jail unable to post $10,000 cash bail..

Circuit Court arraignment is scheduled December 8 for a St. Joseph man accused of crashing a stolen Mustang into a Strike Force vehicle to avoid arrest.

As we reported earlier, Daniel Embrey is charged as a prior and persistent offender with tampering and resisting arrest for the incident October 25.

Drug Strike Force investigators say they spotted a stolen Ford Mustang in the parking lot of a south-side convenience store.

But in court documents, officials say when they tried to make contact with the driver, he drove the vehicle into the strike force vehicle and then fled at high speed. He was later spotted and apprehended several miles away.

Earlier this week, Embrey waived his preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial. Embrey is free on a $10,000 bail bond pending arraignment December 8.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University, along with the National Weather Service, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and local emergency managers, are joining forces to promote winter awareness in Missouri.

In commemoration of Winter Weather Awareness Day in Missouri Wednesday, Northwest urges people to review hazards and winter safety rules to prepare for the upcoming season.

Additionally, Northwest’s University Police Department will host its third annual CoCoa with the PoPo, an event for University students and employees to learn about winter weather preparedness, from 3-5 p.m. Thursday at the police department’s offices in the Support Services Building.

Northwest and emergency management organizations across Missouri remind residents that extreme cold temperatures are a danger during winter months. Prolonged exposure to the cold can cause frostbite, hypothermia or, in extreme cases, death. Excessive cold is one of the leading weather-related causes of death across the country. Infants and the elderly are most susceptible to extreme cold. Freezing temperatures also cause damage to crops and property.

For more winter weather tips, contact the University Police Department at (660) 562-1254 or visit the National Weather Service online or the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency at sema.dps.mo.gov.

When dealing with winter weather, emergency management experts offer these tips:

• Dress for the conditions: Wear several layers of light-weight, warm clothing. Layers can be removed to prevent perspiring and subsequent chill. Outer garments should be tightly woven, waterproof and hooded. For the hands, mittens, snug at the wrists, offer better protection than fingered gloves.

• Make a plan: Have an emergency plan in place, and do as much as possible before an emergency happens. Whether at home or traveling, determine how you will communicate with others and develop an emergency communications plan that includes communication methods and individuals to call.

• Update your address book: Add emergency contacts, current work and school numbers and information for emergency services. Designate an out-of-state or out-of-area contact in the event family members cannot immediately communicate locally.

• Build a kit: Make a preparedness kit or review your existing kit with winter weather in mind. Kits might contain bottled water, high calorie non-perishable food items, a battery-powered radio, flashlights, extra batteries and a first aid kit. Make a winter car kit to keep in the trunk of a vehicle as well. This kit might include a sleeping bag or blanket, high calorie food items, a first aid kit, a rain coat, gloves, a spare radio with batteries, jumper cables, flares and a shovel and sand to give tires traction.

It is also important to keep updated on weather forecasts and understand the difference between a watch and a warning. Evaluate current conditions and expected conditions, and take those into consideration when making travel plans. Also, know where to go for further information about what to do and where to go during an actual emergency.

• Winter Storm Watch indicates severe winter weather may affect your area within 12-48 hours.
• Winter Storm Warning indicates severe winter weather is in the area or expected immediately and can be life threatening.
• Ice Storm Warning is issued for ice accumulations of a quarter-inch or more.
• Blizzard Warning is issued when sustained winds or frequent gusts to 35 miles per hour or greater and considerable amounts of falling or blowing snow (reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile) are expected to prevail for a period of three hours or longer.
• Frost/Freeze Warning is issued when below freezing temperatures are expected.
• Freezing Rain is rain that freezes when it hits the ground, creating a coating of ice on roads, walkways, trees, and power lines.
• Sleet is rain that turns to ice pellets before reaching the ground.

Around the home

• Keep ahead of advancing winter weather by listening to NOAA weather radio.
• An ice storm will take down power lines knocking out electricity. Check battery-powered equipment before the storm arrives.
• Check your food and stock an extra supply. Include food that requires no cooking in case of a power failure. If there are infants or people who need special medication at home, have a supply of the proper food and medicine. Make sure pets and animals have shelter and a water supply.
• Be careful when using a fireplace, stoves or space heaters. Proper ventilation is essential to avoid a deadly build-up of carbon monoxide. Don’t use charcoal inside as it gives off large amounts of carbon monoxide. Keep flammable material away from space heaters and do not overload electric circuits.
• Don’t kill yourself shoveling snow. It is extremely hard work for anyone in less than prime physical condition. It can bring on a heart attack, a major cause of death during and after winter storms.

Winter car safety

• Your automobile can be your best friend or worst enemy during winter storms. Get your car winterized before winter arrives. The following items should be checked: ignition system, cooling system, fuel system, battery, lights, tires, heater, brakes, wipers, defroster, oil and exhaust. Keep water out of your fuel tank by keeping it full.
• If you travel often during winter, carry a winter storm kit in your car. It should include a flashlight, windshield scraper, paper towels, extra clothes, matches and candles, booster cables, maps, sand, chains, blankets and high calorie non-perishable food.
• Winter travel by car is serious business. If the storm exceeds or tests your driving ability, seek available shelter immediately.
• Plan your travel. Try not to travel alone and drive in a convoy when possible.
• Drive carefully and defensively.

A Chillicothe man is accused of abusing a 1-year-old boy.

Austin Holstine, 23 was charged Monday in Livingston County with a felony for first-degree assault.

According to court documents, Holstine was watching his girlfriend’s son while she worked overnight Saturday.  Police were called to Hedrick Medical Center for a child abuse report involving the toddler early Sunday morning. The girlfriend allegedly reported that when she got home around 2:30 a.m. Sunday she found her son who was born in 2015 had been physically abused.

Officer Jeremiah Grider with the Chillicothe Police Department said in a probable cause statement that the girlfriend confronted Holstine about the injuries.

“Stated to her that he had accidentally closed the front door on his head. Austin stated that the juvenile’s nose was bleeding because a crayon had got stuck in his nose and Austin had to dig it out,” Grider said.

Grider said he examined the child whose injuries looked fresh.

“There was bruising from head to toe,” Grider said. “Bruises and swelling throughout his face head and extremities. Several marks, that appeared to be caused by fingernail, from someone grabbing the child in an extreme manner. Several marks, that appeared to be made from a thin wire, as if the child was hit with an object. A continuous line around the child’s neck that appeared to be from a thing wire or rope type object that had been placed around the child’s neck.”

A social worker from Children’s Mercy Hospital was reported to have examined the child.

“The social worker explained that the child had internal injuries along with surface injuries. She explained that the child suffered from a lacerated liver that would be caused by blunt force trauma and that the child’s left left suffered from a twist fractured tibla caused by someone purposely twisting the leg to the point of fracture,” Grider said. “The marks on the child’s neck were conclusive that he was being strangled with a thing object such as a wire or rope. She added that these are very clear signs of physical abuse.”

Holstine appeared for an arraignment Tuesday in Livingston County court.  He is currently being held on $250,000 cash only bond, because he is unable to post bond the court remanded him to the custody of the Daviess/Dekalb Regional Jail.  A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.

 

Julie Alt is leaving her position as the City of St. Joseph Emergency Manager.

Alt said she is resigning due to health concerns.

“I’m moving back to Liberty to be near family,” she said. “I have a few health issues right now so I decided to step back and take a little bit of time off.”

Alt took over as the Emergency Manager in 2015 after George Albert retired. Her last day is Friday.  St. Joseph Fire Department Chief Mike Dalsing will act at Interim Emergency Manager until a replacement is hired.