…VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER TODAY…

A VERY DRY AIR MASS HAS MOVED INTO THE REGION ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG
NORTHWESTERLY WINDS. MINIMUM AFTERNOON HUMIDITY VALUES ARE EXPECTED
TO FALL TO BETWEEN 20 AND 30 PERCENT WITH WINDS GUSTING BETWEEN 20
AND 30 MPH. THIS COMBINATION OF DRY AIR AND WINDY CONDITIONS WILL
RESULT IN VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER ACROSS THE REGION. THIS MEANS THAT
ANY FIRE OUTSIDE WILL BE ABLE TO SPREAD VERY QUICKLY…POSSIBLY
GETTING OUT OF CONTROL. ANYONE BURNING OUTDOORS IS URGED TO EXERCISE
CAUTION OR JUST POSTPONE BURNING TO ANOTHER DAY.

Columbus Day
Sunny, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a northwest wind 13 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Northwest wind 6 to 10 mph.

Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 74. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 50. Light and variable wind becoming south around 5 mph in the evening.

Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 73. North wind 5 to 7 mph.

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 48.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.

Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Friday
Sunny, with a high near 62.

Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 37.

Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.

A Saint Joseph man was arrested early Monday morning after a six-hour standoff with the Special Response Team.

Sergeant Brad Kerns says officers were called to a reported domestic disturbance at a residence in the 1200 block of North 26th Street shortly before 9 Sunday night.  Sergeant Kerns says the suspect refused to answer the door.  The SRT was called out.

The standoff ended at 3 am Monday when officers entered the residence and apprehended the suspect.  No shots were fired.  There were no injuries.  Sergeant Kerns says the suspect was the only one in the house.

The suspect is in custody as the investigation into the incident continues.

St. Joseph, Mo. – Walk-in appointments will be taken next week at the Calvin Center in St. Joseph for Medicare Part D Enrollment.

Eligible Medicare beneficiaries interested in enrolling or making changes to their prescription-drug coverage plan under the federal health insurance program can do so beginning October 19th at the InterServ Calvin Center located at 1412 North 3rd Street.

Brett King, Dir. of Resources Development with InterServ said Medicare Part D enrollment or those wishing to make changes to their current plans can do so between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning October 19 with no appointment necessary.

The open enrollment period for Medicare Part D closes on December 4th.

All beneficiaries and/or those who intend to enroll need to bring the following items with them:
• General Information (Name, Address, Telephone #, DOB)
• Medicare Card
• Prescription Drug Card (if necessary)
• List of prescription drugs, dosage, number of pills taken each day.
• Emergency contact and phone number.

During the enrollment period, seniors who are new to Medicare because they are just reaching age 65 may enroll in a Part D plan within three months of their 65th birthday. People living with disabilities who qualify for Medicare may enroll in a Part D plan within three months of their 25th month of disability. Those beneficiaries can change their Part D enrollment status at any time.

To determine whether you are a beneficiary of Medicare Part D or for any other Medicare-counseling questions, call CLAIM at 1-800-390-3330 or visit the website (www.missouriclaim.org). For information concerning the open enrollment process at the Calvin Center, call (816) 279-7779, ext. 0.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District will convene at Missouri Western State University Tuesday to hear oral arguments in three cases including one regarding a fine for violating the City of St. Joseph’s 2014 Smoke-Free Indoor Air Ordinance.

A three-judge panel consisting of Western District Judges Joseph Ellis and Gary Witt and Missouri Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer will hear oral arguments in the cases.

DeWayne A. Leer, one of the owners of Uncle D’s Sports Bar & Grill is appealing a municipal court decision not to dismiss a fine for allowing smoking inside Uncle D’s on Aug, 21 2014. According to the case summary, DeWayne said the trial court erred in not dismissing the charges for several reasons.  One of those is that the, “2014 Ordinance does not bear equally on all persons coming naturally within its class of ‘public places’ and ‘places of employment,’ but instead grants a special right and privilege to a special subclass of those places that does not have a special relationship to smoking indoors.”

The Court will sit at Missouri Western on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. Arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m., and will once again be held at the Kemper Recital Hall located inside Spratt Hall on campus.

Other cases involve appeals for a conviction on the use of a child in a sexual performance and a driving while intoxicated conviction.

CLICK HERE to read full case summaries

 

The American Red Cross of Northwest Missouri is collecting donations to aid in relief efforts in the Carolinas after flooding caused extensive damage to the region.

An envelope drop can be found in Saturday’s News-Press. Donations can also be made at the Northwest Missouri office located at 401 N. 12th St. or by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

As of Friday morning the Northwest Missouri office had deployed two area volunteer to aid in relief efforts in the Carolinas.

The Red Cross said although the bulk of historic rain has ended in the Carolinas, high waters are still a very dangerous reality. Central and eastern parts of South Carolina experienced the worst flooding, with rainfall totals generally ranging between one and two feet – the equivalent of several months of rain in a few days. In Columbia, the water system is operational, however, water main breaks continue to cause low water pressure to the area. Boil-water advisory remains in effect. Major flooding continues on portions of the Edisto, Black and Waccamaw Rivers in South Carolina, and coastal flood advisories remain in effect at some locations from North Carolina to Florida.

Additional rains are expected this weekend, and new evacuations are underway in some neighborhoods as officials monitor the situation.

As flood waters begin to recede in some areas, the American Red Cross continues its massive relief operation in South Carolina – making sure people have shelter, food and a shoulder to lean on.

“The Red Cross is there, and we’re there for the long haul,” said Rebecca Jordan, executive director of the Red Cross of Central South Carolina. “It (the flood) is impacting more communities, and we want to be there with a safety net to catch them and help them through it – not only today and tomorrow but in the months to come.”

An early morning rollover accident with injuries sent officers, fire-rescue personnel and paramedics to a location along I-229 near Highland Avenue.

According to initial radio traffic, three people were trapped in the vehicle and a fourth was able to get out.

When rescue personnel arrived, one person was still pinned.  Some of the injuries appeared to be serious, based on early assessments from paramedics.

The accident was reported shortly after 4 a.m. just north of Highland Ave, off the west side of the southbound lanes of I-229.  By about 4:45 a.m. the victims had been extricated and were transported to the hospital.