MWSU Sculpture I students created this inflatable.
More than a dozen local artists contributed to the exhibition inside
Other ways you can help
Cash donations welcome
Artist Karen Fleak Hauser occupies the installation
Newwave Dave showed up to perform
Eric Keith
Ian Frost
Crystal Johnson
Lisa Hancock
An unusual art installation and exhibition opens this weekend to benefit a local homeless shelter.
The artists built a mini-homeless shelter and invite you to occupy it, right on the sidewalk outside the gallery.
The organizer, St. Joseph artist Karen Fleak Hauser, and gallery operator Json Myers tell us more than a dozen local artists contributed, with art for the gallery space, and elbow grease for the construction of the mini shelter.
“I have a group of volunteers to help build it, said Fleak Hauser, “and we may be doing some dumpster diving for some of the construction materials.
“During the month, we’re going to offer people the opportunity to sit inside the shelter to see what it feels like.”
Proceeds will go to support the Winter Shelter and area food pantries. Organizers invited musicians and other performers to occupy the installation. Saturday morning, Newwave Dave regaled onlookers with guitar and vocals.
The exhibition “Room” features works from a variety of local artists. The Sculpture I class at Missouri Western State University unveiled their group project, an inflatable sculpture. Also on display is the startling “Family History” series by Neva Kidwell, which Myers called some of the most honest and courageous work he’s ever seen.
The Sugarplum Festival will kickoff next week in St. Joseph at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art.
The festival will take place Nov. 10-12 . Jane Graves with Albrecht-Kemper said it’s a great start for the holidays in St. Joseph and the surrounding areas. She said vendors move in, holiday decorations go up, and the building is transformed into a “Holiday Gift Gallery.” Graves said the Annual Sugarplum Festival is a chance for all to get some early holiday shopping done, and pick up some decorating ideas while they do so.
The festivities start Thursday evening with the Preview Party and continue thru Saturday. Festival hours are Friday, Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Sugarplum Luncheon Cafe will be open Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
~Call the Museum at 816-233-7003 for more information. Admission is $8 and children under 12 are free.
~Advance tickets can be purchased for $6 at the Guest Services counter at East Hills Shopping Center through Wednesday, November 9th.
~Parking at the museum is limited. Visitors are encouraged to park Habitat for Humanity (East of the AKMA on Frederick, just off Brookside). A complimentary shuttle will be running throughout the Sugarplum hours on both Friday and Saturday.
This annual fundraiser for the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art helps to kick off the holiday season, while benefitting the programs offered throughout the year.
Event Details are below:
Sugarplum Festival Photo courtesy Jane Graves
Thursday, Nov. 10th – PREVIEW NIGHT (Reservations required)
*$35 per guest
*Includes Weekend Pass
*1 Drink Ticket
*Savories & Sweets provided by Chef Ralph and Luna’s
*Live Performances by MWSU Chamber/Renaissance Singers
*Holiday Spirits (cash bar)
*Seasonal Ales Tasting by O’Malley Beverage in the Tap Room at the AKMA –Cost for Tasting $20
Be the FIRST to enjoy all that Sugarplum has to offer! Check out our new vendors, purchase your Sugarplum gifts, bid on the “Deck the Halls” Silent Auction items, sign up for the AKMA Spring Wine Walk and much much more!
Includes 1 Preview Admission with 1 Drink Ticket & 1 Weekend Admission.
Friday, Nov. 11th
Gift Gallery Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. – Admission $8; children under 12 free.
Luncheon Cafe: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. – Lunch Menu includes Baked Potato Soup, Chicken Salad on a Croissant, Winter Salad, Pumpkin Bars and Chocolate Peppermint Torte.
*Special Veterans Day Offer – Military Personnel admitted FREE with I.D.
Holiday Wine Tasting: 5:30 p.m -7:30 p.m.
*$20 at the door/ per guest (Includes weekend admission)
*Light Hors d’oeuvres presented by Pink Salt
Saturday, Nov. 12th
Gift Gallery Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. – Admission $8
Luncheon Cafe: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. – Lunch Menu includes Baked Potato Soup, Chicken Salad on a Croissant, Winter Salad, Pumpkin Bars and Chocolate Peppermint Torte.
*Special ½ price admission from 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
Admissions
$8 Admission
*children under 12 are free
Sugarplum Packages
Sugarplum Friend – $60
1 Preview Night Admission with 1 Drink Ticket
1 Weekend Admission with 1 VIP Parking Pass
1 Wine Tasting Admission
Sugarplum Patron – $100
2 Preview Night Admissions with 2 Drink Tickets
2 Weekend Admissions with 1 VIP Parking Pass
2 Wine Tasting Admissions
PARTICIPATING VENDORS INCLUDE:
Upper Level ~ Unique “One-of-a-Kind Vendors:
Main Level Vendors
Artcetera
Artistic Works by Lu
Chew Gourmet Dog Bones
Chic Boutique
Covenant Medical Spa
Dolls by Dimple
Gourmet Mixed Nuts
Great Penmanship
Gypsy’s
Hy-Vee Flowers by Rob
In Good Taste
In My Second Life
Just Desserts by Mom
Kat & Timbo
Katherine’s Distinctive Gifts
Knot 2 Shabby/Milla’s Custom Creations
Local T
The Lucky Tiger
The Mark-it
MJ Casady Copper Works
Mod Podge Boutique
Nesting Goods
Oh Sew Chic Handmade Boutique
Queen Bee Jewelry
Relics of Old St. Joe
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Shirley Roth Designs
Simply Posh Boutique
Triple Image Design & Décor
Two Charming Chix
Uptown Cheapskate
Wacky Snap Photobooth by Tom Flaska
Wooden Wonderland
Wyethwood Weavings
“Home for the Holidays” – Lower Level
It Works
Jamberry Nail Wraps
Mary & Martha
Pampered Chef
Polka Dots & Peonies: A LuLa Roe Boutique
Rodan & Fields
Scentsy
Stella & Dot
That’s My Pan
Thirty-One Bags
Wildtree
The Allied Arts Council in conjunction with the City of St. Joseph invites regional, national, and international sculpture artists to enter a sculpture for the 4th annual St. Joseph Sculpture Walk. The Sculpture Walk is an exhibit of outdoor sculptures displayed for one year in downtown St. Joseph.
Selected sculptures will be placed in downtown St. Joseph where they will remain for the June 2017-May 2018 exhibition.
Sculptors receive a $500 honorarium if their piece is selected. The sculptures are also entered into a competition to compete for up to $13,000 in cash prize awards. Each sculpture is for sale to the public. Additionally, one sculpture is purchased to become a permanent part of St. Joseph’s public art collection.
Interested sculptors should visit the Council’s website for more information, and can apply here. The deadline for submission is February 3 with notification of acceptance on or before March 11.
The Sculpture Walk has seen constant growth throughout its first years and is expected to become even more popular from May 2017- June 2018. Patrons from various cities, states and countries have visited downtown St. Joseph to view the annual exhibits.
Public support is needed for a successful program. Anyone interested in supporting the program should contact the Allied Arts Council at 816-233-0231. An opening reception for artists, sponsors and the public 11will be held June 9, 2017.
Many election offices around the area are holding special hours Saturday for people to cast a ballot.
In Missouri votes can be cast absentee if someone can’t make it out on Election Day. Absentee ballots can be cast until the close of business Monday. However, many area counties are holding special hours Saturday morning for absentee voters.
The Buchanan County Clerk’s Office located in the courthouse at 411 Jules St. in St. Joseph will be open Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
The Andrew County Clerk’s Office located in the courthouse at 411 Court St. in Savannah will be open from 8 a.m. to noon.
In Holt County, the election office will be open from 8 a.m. to noon at 102 W. Nodaway St. in Oregon.
The Nodaway County Clerk’s office will be open from 8 a.m. to noon at the Administration Center located at 403 N. Market in Maryville.
In Kansas, many counties are letting registered voters cast a ballot early. The Doniphan County Clerk’s Office will be open for early voting from 8 a.m. to noon in the courthouse located at 120 E. Chestnut St. in Troy.
Sometime during the month of November the St. Joseph Police department said it will be teaming up with the Northwest Missouri DWI Task Force to hold a sobriety checkpoint.
Police said the goal of the checkpoint is to take impaired drivers off the roads making them safer.
“If you find yourself in a checkpoint please pay extra attention to the posted signs and the officer working to make your community safer,” the department said in a news release. “The goal is to reduce drunk/impaired driving. We encourage the use of a designated driver or a taxi cab if you are going out. Please remember drive sober and always wear you seatbelt.”
(News Release) – The prison escapee who led police on a high-speed chase while another escapee fired shots at four law enforcement officers has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Allen Hurst, 34, received the sentence on November 3 following his guilty plea that same day.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, “The good news is that no police officers were injured in apprehending these two dangerous escaped inmates. But anyone who breaks out of prison, steals a truck, and then shoots at law enforcement officers deserves to go back to prison for a long time.”
Hurst admitted that he and a co-defendant, Scott A. Gilbert, 52, escaped from the Lansing, KS Correctional Facility on May 10, 2013. They stole a black 1997 GMC pickup from a worker in Leavenworth and drove to Platte County. The truck was located via the victim’s iPhone using GPS technology.
A Platte City officer attempted to pull over the vehicle after it left a Platte City McDonald’s, but Hurst, who was driving the vehicle, refused to stop. Instead, Hurst led several law enforcement officers on a pursuit heading northbound on I-29 with speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.
The chase later traveled through several rural highways in Platte County. During the pursuit, Gilbert, the passenger, fired a shotgun multiple times and struck the vehicles of four different law enforcement officers.
Hurst and Gilbert eventually made it to rural Clinton County, where they entered and barricaded themselves in an unoccupied residence. Officers from multiple departments, including a tactical team, surrounded the house, and the pair eventually surrendered.
Zahnd said, “While this defendant never put his hands on the gun fired at law enforcement officers, he must be held responsible for his role as an accomplice in those assaults. The sentences handed down today are just, and he will soon be returned to Kansas to face additional charges related to his escape.”
Platte County Circuit Judge Thomas Fincham imposed 20 year sentences on each of four counts of assault of a law enforcement officer and 20 years on each of four counts of armed criminal action. Fincham also sentenced Hurst to seven years in prison for tampering with a motor vehicle and four years in prison for resisting arrest. Fincham ordered all the sentences to run concurrently.
Scott Gilbert, the shooter during the high-speed chase, was convicted on these counts following a two-week jury trial that occurred in November 2015. Platte County Judge Ann Hansbrough sentenced Gilbert to 128 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, with the assistance of the Platte City Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, the Cameron Police Department, and the Trimble Police Department.
Crash in front of East Ridge Village Shops on Frederick. Photo by Nadia Thacker.
Update: Brian MClintick with the St. Joseph Police Department said the crash on Frederick happened as a vehicle pulled out of Perkins parking lot, 3900 Frederick, failed to yield as it made a left turn onto Frederick. Blue Ford Focus pulled out of lot driven by 20 year old female. Hit by west bound blue chevy cruze driven by 20 year old female.
Both had minor injury and went to mosaic for treatment. Traffic down to one westbound lane for about twenty minutes. Ticket issued to driver of Focus for failing to yield.
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A crash Friday afternoon slowed traffic on Frederick in the area near the East Ridge Village Shops.
St. Joseph Police and Buchanan County Sheriff vehicles are on scene as of 12:35 p.m. Westbound traffic is down to one lane.
A Kansas City man has been sentenced to life plus 30 years in federal prison for coordinating drug shipments for a trafficking organization that distributed more than $39 million worth of methamphetamine and marijuana in the metro area.
Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Vicencio Olea-Monarez, 38, Kansas City, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial on 21 counts.
During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the FBI began an investigation in July 2012 into a drug trafficking ring operating in Kansas City, Kan. Olea-Monarez was responsible for coordinating shipments of methamphetamine into the area. He also trafficked in cocaine and marijuana.
The jury convicted Olea-Monarez on 21 federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana, distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, maintaining a residence in furtherance of drug trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Counting Olea-Monarez, six of 10 defendants in the case have been sentenced so far.
A shoplifting suspect in Leavenworth learned the hard way not to stash your meth with your stolen lip balm.
Jason Schroyer was arrested on drug charges after being spotted shoplifting at Walmart.
Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson says Schroyer, 46, pleaded no contest to possession of methamphetamine Friday morning. Thompson says that on June 16, a Walmart loss prevention officer noticed a man, later identified to be Schroyer, taking Bert’s Bees lip-balm, and Baby’s Lip lip-balm and leaving the store without paying. They said they saw him place the items in a Walmart sack.
Walmart notified Leavenworth Police. The officers who stopped Schroyer searched the Walmart sack for the lip-balm and found methamphetamine. Sentencing is set for December 16 at 10 a.m.
County Attorney Thompson noted, “Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug.”
A jury late Thursday found Roderick Ellis guilty as charged for a kidnapping and assault that led to an 11-hour standoff at the Motel Six in St. Joseph.
The jury deliberated for about five yours before returning guilty verdicts on five counts. The most serious of the charges, 1st degree domestic assault and 1st degree assault of a law enforcement officer, each carries a maximum sentence of 10 to 30 years or life in prison.
The jury will not recommend a sentence. Circuit Judge Patrick Robb will sentence the defendant January 9 after ruling that Ellis is a prior felony offender.
As we reported earlier, Ellis was accused of kidnapping his former girlfriend Rebecca Urban on October 14, 2015. Urban testified during the trial that she had ended an affair with Ellis, but that he then began threatening her. Urban said Ellis ambushed her at work, forced her at gunpoint to drive to the motel, and then, when she cried for help, shooting her in the arm in front of motel staff.
Investigators said he then forced the woman into a room at the motel and barricaded the door. During the following 11 hours, shots were fired at law officers attempting to end the standoff.
The incident prompted evacuations and lockdowns, forcing the closure of I-29, Frederick Ave., and several businesses in the area.
The jury was selected from a pool in Clay County because widespread publicity of the case prompted a change of venue. They began deliberations shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and returned the verdict at about 9:30.
The defense team called the case one of “love and betrayal.” Public Defender Susan Rinne told the panel Ellis never intended to hurt anyone. She said Ellis suspected urban of being unfaithful.
Ellis was convicted on charges of 1st degree domestic assault, 1st degree assault of a law enforcement officer, kidnapping, and two counts of armed criminal action.
