The American Red Cross responded to help out four members of a family whose house was damaged by fire Friday morning. Fire crews were dispatched to a house fire in the 2300 block of South Tenth Street in St Joseph shortly before 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Battalion Chief Paris Jenkins of the St. Joseph Fire Department says one person was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment. That person’s condition was not immediately available.

Chief Jenkins says the first arriving company had to change tactics after an oxygen tank exploded inside the house, but the fire was knocked down by about 10 a.m.

The cause of the fire, and the extent of damage are under investigation.

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about yet another IRS telephone scam, this time in the form of robocalls.

In a news release, authorities say the con artists are now using an automated calling device that offers a prerecorded message.

The message asserts that you owe money to the IRS and threatens a lawsuit if you don’t call back. Officials say these calls have been coming in to Buchanan County residents.

The Sheriff’s Office reminds us that the Internal Revenue Service does not call or threaten taxpayers. They urge you to disregard the calls, and as always, do NOT give out your personal or financial information to unsolicited callers.

If you have information on this scam, you are urged to call one of these numbers:
Buchanan County Investigation Division
Captain Mark Brock Investigation Unit Supervisor Desk: 816 236-8839
Investigator Kenny Shryock (Sex Offender Registry Compliance Unit) Desk: 816 236- 8860
Investigator Mike Hess (General Criminal Investigation Unit) Desk: 816 236-8889
Investigator Tami Parsons (General Criminal Investigations Unit) 816 236-8886
Investigator Lonnie Bishop (Cyber Crimes & Criminal Analysis Unit) 816 236-8884

A rollover crash in North St. Joe shut down traffic for about six hours and turned out the lights in the neighborhood. St Joseph police say the crash happened at about 10 p.m. Thursday near Blackwell Road and Miller Road.

The vehicle landed on its top and took down some power lines. The driver was treated for minor injuries and cited for careless driving.

Power was restored and the roads had reopened by about 4 a.m. Friday.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is trying to raise yearly wages for deputies through a grant.

Sheriff Steve Cox has submitted the Deputy Sheriff Salary Supplementation Fund (DSSSF) grant application to the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Sheriff Cox had the approval of the Livingston County Commission, with Presiding Commissioner Ed Douglas being the grants “Authorized Official”, Sheriff Cox being the “Project Director” and County Clerk Sherry Parks being the “Fiscal Officer and Claims Point of Contact” for the potential grant.

“We are seeking to raise deputy sheriff base wages to $30,000 yearly and for 3 deputies making that amount now will receive an additional $100 per month if the grant application is approved,” Cox said.

He said Missouri Sheriffs and the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association were instrumental in getting the DSSSF grant fund passed into Missouri law. The funds are generated by each county with a small fee on civil process from the Courts. Each county is eligible to apply for the grant funds and the money is ran through the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

The grant cycle runs July 01 through June 30 each year. This grant application is seeking $21,083.04 in additional salary money for Livingston County deputies and another $6,040.29 to cover costs of fringe benefits for a total of $27,123.33.