Charges have been dropped against a Rushville woman who had been accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old Atchison, Kan. student in 2012 while she was a high school teacher.
Shelley Aversman, 35 was due in court Wednesday morning for a preliminary hearing on a charge of unlawful sexual relations with a student.
However, according to the Atchison County Prosecutor’s Office the student recanted his statement and said the relationship did not happen when he was in high school but rather when he was in college.
Update 11 a.m. – Police have released a description of a vehicle being sought after a motorist said the driver who he knew deliberately sideswiped him causing a rollover accident.
Police responded just before 2 a.m. to the area of 2100 Riverside Rd in reference to a vehicle on its side.
“Upon arrival we located a white male who stated that his vehicle had been rammed by another white male that was known to him,” said Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department. “This caused the victim’s vehicle to end up on its side.”
Wilson said the 28-year-old suspect fled the area possibly driving a white Dodge Caravan.
“It’s not believed that either party sustained injury,” Wilson said.
The investigation continues.
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(7:03 a.m. ) St Joseph police are searching for a motorist accused of deliberately sideswiping a vehicle and causing a rollover accident.
In a “be on the lookout” notice, authorities said the incident happened at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday in the 2100 block of Riverside Road. The sideswiped vehicle rolled onto its side.
Sergeant Wayne Byrom says he did not believe the motorist in that vehicle was injured.
After Missouri Western’s women’s basketball coach Rob Edmission didn’t bring home the MIAA Coach-of-the-Year honors despite leading the Griffon women to the MIAA Conference crown Western put together a video response. The main joke of the video was, “Not surprising since he can’t win anything here either.”
Edmission may not have brought home coach of the year honors but just two days after the video was uploaded onto Facebook it’s already gotten 27K views and 230 shares. On YouTube the video has also been seen more than 230 times.
Leona, KS Lee M. Simmons, 100, of rural Leona, died peacefully Tuesday morning, March 1, 2016, at Hiawatha Community Hospital. He had been a resident of Maple Heights Nursing Home in Hiawatha for a few months prior to hospitalization.
Lee was born at Richfield, MO, November 3, 1915, the youngest of five children born to William and Pearl Fancher Simmons. When he was 3 years of age, the family moved across the river and settled on the Reservation near White Cloud, where he later attended Highland High School.
Lee married Erma Corbet, February 19, 1934, at St. Joseph, MO. They lived around the Leona area all of their married life where they farmed and raised livestock. She died April 15, 2009. He was also preceded in death by his parents; a son John Albert Simmons December 13, 2002; a granddaughter; and a great-great-grandson; three brothers, and a sister.
Lee was a longtime member of Bellevue United Methodist Church of rural Leona and had attended for several years the Lighthouse Fellowship, near White Cloud. He was a faithful member of Smithton Lodge #1, AF&AM of Highland; Vanderslice Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star of Highland until it closed. He enjoyed hunting; received numerous farming awards through the years; was selected Mason of the Year in Blue Lodge; and was Worthy Patron for six years of Eastern Star.
Survivors include a son Paul Simmons (Mary) of rural Leona; three daughters: Ula May Drake of rural Leona, Erma Lee Monhollon (John) of Cortland, NE, Linda Sue Pratt (Nelson) of Meriden, KS; 21 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; 20 great-great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Lee’s life is planned for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Highland. Pastor Jerry Petering of Bellevue United Methodist Church of Leona, will officiate. Masonic Committal Service will be a courtesy of Smithton Lodge #1, AF&AM. Interment will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, north of Leona.
Friends may call at the funeral home after 10 a.m. Friday where the family will meet from 6 until 8 that evening.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Highland Fire Dept., Highland Ambulance, or Highland Senior Citizens Center, which may be sent in care of the funeral home, PO Box 33.
A Red Flag warning has been issued for high winds today, from noon until 6 p.m. Here’s the latest 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service.
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 63. Breezy, with a south wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
Tonight: A chance of rain, mainly before 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. South wind 8 to 13 mph becoming north northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 50. North northwest wind 11 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. Southwest wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the evening.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. South southeast wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 59.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 65.
Sunday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
A crash in southeastern Nebraska claims the life of a 24-year-old Tecumseh man.
Ryan Dela Cruz was driving along US highway 50 south of Syracuse, Nebraska Monday morning. According to the Otoe County Sheriff’s Office, his vehicle crossed the center line and rammed head-on into a semi in oncoming traffic.
Mr Dela Cruz was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials say the truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Rescue workers remove their helmets in prayer before the second body is removed from the trench.
What began as routine work on a sewer line in the 700 block of Main Street in Hays turned to tragedy Tuesday as the trench dug to access the line collapsed early Tuesday afternoon, killing two workers and injuring a third in the 11-foot deep trench.
Hays Public Information Officer Kim Rupp confirmed Tuesday night the three workers were employees of Hays-based JCorp.
Families of the three men were at the scene, sequestered in the nearby Ellis County Administration Center. The building was without water and sewer services during the operation, according to Rupp.
Rupp declined to identify any victims and said “a news release will be made available Wednesday.”
The call came into 911 at 1:36 p.m. alerting emergency responders to the accident. “It was a trench collapse,” Rupp said. “The dirt caved in as the three were in the trench.” Underground work on sewer lines had been in progress in the area over the past several days.
RELATED: Ellis County offices will be closed Wednesday.
During the operation, Main was closed to traffic from Sixth to Eighth, along with several blocks to the east of the area.
Dozens of law enforcement, fire fighters and city of Hays workers struggled to secure the hole and rescue the trapped workers.
A first victim was rescued shortly after the accident happened and transported to HaysMed. By 4:30 p.m. Rupp had confirmed the operation had changed from rescue to recovery for the other two workers still trapped in the trench.
“The Hays Fire Department, Ellis County Rural Fire Department, Ellis and Victoria Fire Departments, and the Northwest Kansas Regional Technical Rescue Team are conducting a rescue operation of two victims in the trench. The Ellis County Coroner, Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, is investigating the accident,” Rupp said in an announcement around 4:30 p.m.
“American Red Cross, Ellis County Emergency Management, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Ellis County EMS are also involved and working diligently to recover the victims,” he added.
One of the two bodies was recovered about 5:30 p.m. and transported to a local funeral home.
An APAC employee brings in a special piece of equipment to shore up the 11 foot walls of the trench.
As darkness set over Hays, special lighting and large construction equipment from APAC-Hays were moved to the area to assist in the recovery efforts. Hays officials, including Mayor Eber Phelps, City Manager Toby Dougherty, Utilities Director Johnny O’Connor, Public Works Director Greg Sund, and Assistant Public Works Director John Braun were also at the scene.
It was another four hours before the second body was finally recovered about 9:25 p.m. and taken to a local funeral home. A Hays priest said prayers at the site as the rescue workers removed their hardhats and bowed their heads.
“The rescuers were painstakingly removing dirt from the trench one bucket at a time,” Rupp said. “APAC lowered a large piece of equipment into the trench to shore up the trench walls so no more dirt could fall in while they were in there working.”
“They had to be very careful for their own safety and the victims.”
The trench and scene were finally secured by about 10:15 p.m. Rupp said the street will remain closed Wednesday as the sewer line work is finished.
A new hotel project is moving forward in Atchison, Kansas. The investment group building the hotel announced it has received approval by the Intercontinental Hotels Group to construct a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Atchison.
The City Commission began the initiative to bring a new hotel to town in 2013. Based on a report released in early 2014, an investment group emerged called the Atchison Hospitality Group, LLC. AHG is owned by nine local primary investors holding a 60% stake, and several others with minority interests.
“While the initial announcement was pretty exciting, there was still a sense of suspense because we weren’t able to announce what brand of hotel we were building at that time” said Bill Michaud, President of AHG in a news release. “Holiday Inn Express is such a great brand and the new design is very impressive. We are very excited to see this project come to life and become a catalyst to increasing activity in Downtown Atchison while supporting the growth of tourism and other economic development in Atchison.”
The facility will be located along Main Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets. There is currenly a parking lot on the property. Officials say the hotel would be four stories tall. It is slated to include between 66 rooms, an indoor pool, a fitness center, a business center, a small conference room, wi-fi and complimentary hot breakfast.
Michaud says every effort will be made to integrate elements found elsewhere in downtown Atchison to the exterior design of the hotel.
“There will be some balancing between the requirements of the Holiday Inn Express design and what needs to be done for the hotel to complement the downtown area from an overall appearance perspective,” he said.
Construction on the hotel is expected to begin late this summer with an anticipated opening date in late spring of 2017. A spokeswoman for the Atchison City Manager says the final city approval will appear on a consent agenda at the city commission’s next meeting on Monday.
Lafayette High School history teacher Derek Frieling has been named the Missouri Council for the Social Studies (MCSS) Teacher of the Year.
Frieling was named during the council’s annual conference held February 26-27, 2016 in Columbia, MO.
“I’m thrilled that Derek is the 2016 Social Studies Teacher of the Year,” said Lafayette Principal Dr. Tyran Sumy. “He’s a success in the classroom and in extra-curricular activitiess, where he leads activities such as the History Day project and the Scholar Bowl. Whatever we need, Derek always steps up to the plate and makes this a better place for Lafayette and our kids.”
Frieling teaches World History, Honors World History, Dual Credit American History, and Advanced Placement European History at Lafayette High School. He is the Social Studies Department Chair at Lafayette and serves on the Attendance Committee and the Professional Learning Community Team. He also sponsors the Scholar Bowl and an after-school social studies club known as the Dead Patriot’s Society. He was nominated for this award by Tina Shaginaw, who is the St. Joseph School District’s 2015 – 2016 Teacher of the Year.
“What most important about teaching is that you care,” said Frieling, during his acceptance speech. “There are three things teachers need to care about. First, you need to care about your subject material and teaching. Teachers should always be looking to improve their skills and learn more about their subject. If you don’t care, students will see right through you. Second, teachers need to make students care. Teachers need to find a way to engage students, either by finding something they find interesting or by being able to relate it to their lives, so students will internalize what they learn. Finally, teachers need to show students they care about the students themselves. Once students realize their teacher cares about them personally, they will work so much harder for themselves. I attempt these three goals each day. My hope and goal is to continue to connect with students and encourage other teachers to strive to achieve these same relationships.”
Frieling resides in Savannah, MO with his wife, April, and their two children. In addition to his contributions at Lafayette, Frieling is an adjunct professor at Missouri Western State University, teaching courses such as Methods of Teaching Social Studies and American History since 1865.
Early Childhood Screenings are underway in St. Joseph, for three- and four-year-olds, and five-year-olds who will not attend kindergarten next year.
The St. Joseph School District said screenings test students’ developmental progress, checking language, motor, physical, cognitive and health development.
Monday around 89 children attended the first screening. There are still several screening times open through March.
The district said every family will have the opportunity to engage with the SJSD Early Childhood Department, Parents as Teachers, Head Start, Family Guidance, Northwest Health Services, St. Joseph Youth Alliance and the YMCA.
Upcoming screenings are held at the Keatley Center, 1202 S. 28th Street:
Wednesday March 2nd 8 am – 4 pm
Saturday March 5th 8 am – 12 pm
Tuesday March 15th 10 am – 6 pm
Thursday March 17th 8 am – 4 pm
Friday March 18th 8 am – 2 pm
