Post Staff – Page 541 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Catholic Charities opens temporary operating sites after fire

Posted on January 21, 2016January 21, 2016

Fire on 10th and Penn. Photo courtesy Tabitha Martin — Fire on 10th and Penn. Photo courtesy
Tabitha Martin

Catholic Charities of Kansas City- St. Joseph is operating out of two temporary sites after a fire damaged its new location on 10th street before the agency ever even had the chance to open the doors for business.

As plans are made to rebuild the agency’s location at 1123 S. 10th St. Catholic Charities said it’s continuing to offer emergency assistance and services to people in need in Northwest Missouri.

People in the St. Joseph community seeking help with food, rent, utilities and other urgent needs are asked to call 816.232.2885 to schedule an appointment with a Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance Coordinator. People with appointments will be seen at InterServ’s Wesley Center, 200 Cherokee Street.

First floor of the building after the fire was extinguished. Photo courtesy Catholic Charities

Northwest office staff will also be located at Midland Empire Resources for Independent Living. They will schedule appointments with all other clients at MERIL’s office at 4420 S. 40th Street, St. Joseph. To make an appointment, call 816.232.2885. Individual staff members can also be reached via email.

“We recognize that need for Catholic Charities in St. Joseph is greater than ever,” CEO Deacon Dan Powers said. “We’re grateful to the partners who opened their doors to us when we were in need – InterServ, MERIL, our Catholic parishes and the United Way of Greater St. Joseph. They prove what a compassionate community this is.”

Second floor where fire is believed to have started. Photo courtesy Catholic Charities

Renovations to the new Catholic Charities home in St. Joseph were underway when a fire that began on the second floor swept through the building Sunday, December 27. It was unoccupied at the time, but damage was extensive. Lisa Tulp with Catholic Charities said the plan had been to open the doors at the new location in mid-January prior to the fire.

Catholic Charities provides poverty-reduction assistance to nearly 5,000 St. Joseph area households every year. Services include emergency assistance, housing, workforce development, adoptions and parenting support. The agency also offers one-on-one case management for individuals, families, veterans and former offenders. Services continue without interruption at the main Kansas City office at 850 Main Street.

“We look forward to opening our doors and welcoming people to our permanent home in 2016,” Deacon Powers said.

A definite timeline for the opening was not announced but Tulp said the hope is to be in by late Spring.

SJSD to hold work session on Compensation Study

Posted on January 21, 2016

(January 21, 2016)—The St. Joseph School District Board of Education will hold a work session on Saturday, January 23, 2016 to discuss the recent Compensation Study from CBIZ.

The session will be held from 8:00am-11:00am in the board room at 925 Felix Street.

“This gives the board an opportunity to discuss next steps, possible funding ideas and how we go about processing this information,” said Dr. Robert Newhart, Superintendent. “We know the staff and community have a vested interest in making sure our staff members are compensated fairly in all areas and we need to discuss this at length with our board members.”

Newhart said that this is the first opportunity the district has had to discuss this information with board members since the January 11 Board of Education meeting.

Also, Carolyn Sanders, Assistant Director of Human Resources, has resigned. Sanders last day with the district will be February 2, 2016.

“Carolyn Sanders was anintegral part during a critical time in the Human Resources Department as policies and procedures were being reviewed. We wish her the best in her future endeavors,”Newhart said. “We will begin discussions on how to restructure the human resources department immediately and will communicate that to staff accordingly.”

Evacuation at Humboldt Elementary was false alarm

Posted on January 21, 2016January 21, 2016

Humbolt Elementary evacuated as fire crews respond. Photo by John P. Tretbar

Humboldt Elementary was evacuated as a precaution Thursday morning but ended up being a false alarm.

Around 10:15 crews from the St. Joseph Fire Department responded due to fire alarms going off in the building.

Around 300 kids were evacuated as a precautionary measure to St. Mary’s Church Gym while crews inspected the building.

Joey Austin, Dir. of Communications with the district said the fire department found no source or reason for the alarm.

“All students and staff are accounted for and are fine,” Austin said.

Obama vetoes legislation to end Waters of the U.S. rule

Posted on January 21, 2016

(MissouriNet) – President Obama has vetoed legislation that would end further regulating the country’s rivers and streams.

On Wednesday the President vetoed what would have overturned the EPA’s rule known as the Waters of the U-S. Senator Blunt co-sponsored the legislation and said the EPA will have authority over nearly 100-percent of every body of water in the country. Blunt said this in turn creates more permitting requirements for Missourians and stifles economic and job growth.

Supporters of the rule said it would protect streams and wetlands from pollution by more clearly defining which waters are protected.

Contraband charge leads to extended prison stay

Posted on January 21, 2016

Another contraband arrest at a Kansas prison leads to additional time behind bars for an inmate.

Carlos Jackson, 34, an inmate at the Lansing Correctional Facility, was sentenced Wednesday to 40 more months with the Department of Corrections.

According to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson, on September 12, 2014, staff at the prison searched Jackson’s cell and his person because they heard that Jackson had contraband. When doing a strip search, Jackson pulled out a cell phone from his boxer shorts. Further, the staff found a and a cell phone charger and a homemade knife in the pocket of his jeans that hung up in the cell . All these things are illegal for inmates to possess while incarcerated.

On December 14, 2015 a jury found Jackson guilty of possessing the contraband.

During sentencing, the defense attorney, Clinton Lee, argued for a downward departure for his client from the standard sentence of 43 months as required by the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines. The State, argued by County Attorney Todd Thompson, asked for the standard sentence. Judge Gunnar Sundby denied the departure, but instead granted a mitigated sentence as allowed by the sentencing guidelines to 40 months saying this was due to the financial problems the State of Kansas is having.

Mr. Jackson was convicted of a murder in Topeka in 2003 as a juvenile, and then later convicted of three aggravated batteries as an adult from Douglas County.

Winter road conditions continue to cause crashes

Posted on January 21, 2016January 21, 2016

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports a lot of accidents caused in part by snowy or icy road conditions.

Two people were hurt in a crash along 195th Avenue west of Bethany Wednesday afternoon. A crash report says Isaac Smith of New Hampton, Missouri lost control of his truck shortly before 1 p.m. The vehicle left the snow-packed roadway and overturned onto the passenger side.

Mr Smith suffered minor injuries and refused treatment. His passenger Katherine Laytham suffered moderate injuries. The 24-year-old New Hampton woman was transported to Harrison County Community Hospital.

A Mooresville, Missouri woman suffered moderate injuries after a crash along US-36 highway in Livingston County. Authorities say 74-year-old Sharon Schneiter’s vehicle went out of control on an ice-covered bridge at the Grand River, hitting both guard rails numerous times.

Ms Schneiter was transported to Hedrick Medical Center with moderate injuries.

Serious injuries reported in Clinton County crash

Posted on January 21, 2016

A single-vehicle crash in Clinton County Wednesday night sends a Lathrop man to the hospital with serious injuries.

A crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol says Donnie Hash, 30, lost control of his vehicle along Route-116 five miles east of Lathrop at about 8 p.m. The vehicle left the roadway, hit a ditch and vaulted over 256th Street before overturning in a field.

Mr Hash was transported to Liberty Hospital with serious injuries.

Water Main break causes south-side traffic headaches

Posted on January 21, 2016January 21, 2016

Police and public works employees, along with a crew from Missouri American Water, were dispatched to the area near Lake Avenue and Michigan Street in South St Joseph early Thursday morning.

Water was bubbling onto the roadway and then freezing from an area near the Pizza Royal restaurant. Officials say it’s likely a water main has burst.

According to officers at the scene, there was quite a bit of water freezing in the roadway starting just before 5 a.m.

Five crashes in Troop H blamed on winter driving conditions Tuesday

Posted on January 20, 2016

The Missouri State Highway Patrol worked five crashes in Troop-H on Tuesday, all of which were caused at least in part by slick roads.

An Albany, Missouri motorist was hospitalized with moderate injuries after hitting an icy patch along US-136 highway north of Stanberry. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Kyla Brass, 20, suffered moderate injuries when her vehicle left the roadway and hit a fence. She was transported to Northwest Regional Medical Center in Albany for treatment.

Two men from Carrollton were hurt in a single vehicle crash south of Chillicothe Tuesday afternoon. A crash report says snow caused the driver to lose control of his vehicle along US-65 highway. The vehicle left the roadway and went into a ditch. Richard and Russell Stoner of Carrollton were transported by private vehicle to Carroll County Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries.

A Kansas woman suffered minor injuries Tuesday afternoon when she lost control of her SUV along US-136 west of Princeton, Missouri. A crash report says 45-year-old Leslie Dill of Leavenworth was transported to Harrison County Community Hospital for treatment.

A rollover crash in Nodaway County Tuesday morning is blamed in part on the snow-covered roadway. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a 21-year-old Kansas City, Missouri woman, Taylor Breen, lost control of her SUV along Route-O east of Ravenwood. The vehicle left the roadway, hit a ditch and overturned shortly before noon. Ms Breen was transported to SSM Health St. Francis for treatment of minor injuries.

A 25-year-old woman from Conception, Missouri suffered minor injuries in a crash west of Stanberry Tuesday morning. The crash report says Michelle Latour lost control of her car along US-136 highway at about 7am. The vehicle left the roadway, hit a ditch and a concrete culvert. Ms Latour was trapsported by private vehicle to SSM Health St Francis.

Inmate sentenced for possession of drugs with the intent to distribute in prison

Posted on January 20, 2016

A man serving time for murder was back in court Wednesday for sentencing on charges he possessed synthetic cannabis and intended to distribute it in a Kansas prison.

Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson says Darrell Rodgers and his girlfriend Alesia Warrior were convicted of the 2005 murder of Warrior’s husband, Jeremy Warrior.

This story was featured on the television program “Wicked Attraction.”

Darrell Rodgers, 42, was returned to a Leavenworth County courtroom Wednesday and sentenced to an additional 29 months after he was found in possession of synthetic cannabis, sometimes known as K2, during a pat down search a year ago. Authorities believe he intended to distribute the artificial cannabis within the Lansing Correctional Facility.

During a search on January 2, 2015, staff of the facility patted down Mr. Rodgers and found in his pocket two large bags of what was later determined to be synthetic cannabis.