A trial setting has been scheduled for a former Buchanan County Jail Detention Officer accused of trying to engage in sexual activity with a minor.

Online court documents show 34-year-old Patrick M. Symington of St. Joseph appeared in court Monday for an arraignment. Symington was charged in August in Buchanan County with a felony for enticement of a child.

Court documents state that Symington contacted a 14-year-old girl via Facebook instant messenger sometime between July 1 and 10 and requested that she travel to his home in the 600 block of Shady to engage in sexual conduct.

A trail setting has been scheduled for Nov. 11. Symington is out on $10,000 bond.

The City of St. Joseph Health Department will be closed on Wednesday as staff aids in the department’s annual flu clinic.

The clinic will be held at Green Valley Baptist Church, 3110 Cook Road, St. Joseph, MO 64506.

Health Department staff will be busy with the clinic and subsequent clean-up and reporting the entire day. The flu clinic will begin at 9:00 a.m. and run until noon or while supplies last. This clinic is open to Buchanan County residents aged 18 and older, and who are not pregnant. Those with privately provided health insurance, Medicare or Missouri HealthNet are asked to present their card at the clinic registration.

There is no out of pocket expense charged to patrons of the City of St. Joseph Health Department Flu Clinic, our flu vaccine is free. The health department does seek payment from plans that cover the cost of the vaccine to offset expenses so we can continue to offer the protection of free flu vaccine to everyone in our community.

No services will be provided at the Health Department, 904 S 10th St, on the day of the flu clinic but will resume on Thursday, October 8th. For more information regarding the flu clinic, call 271-4725.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The ramp from southbound I-29 to Route 6 (Frederick Avenue) will be closed on Wednesday, Oct. 7, for bridge maintenance.

Contractors working with the Missouri Department of Transportation will close the ramp between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. During this time, they will also narrow traffic on the bridge on Frederick Avenue over I-29 to one lane in each direction. The work is scheduled to be completed in one day.

All work and schedules are weather permitting.

St. Joseph, Mo. — Missouri Western State University announced it has a record number of graduates enrolling this year even though enrollment overall is down.

Western’s official census as of Sept. 28 consisted of an enrollment of 5,571 students. 5,352 undergraduate students, and 219 graduate students.

After seven consecutive years of record enrollments and a growth of 27 percent between 2003 and 2011, the number of students has stabilized in recent years, and this year declined 6 percent. Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs said enrollment management experts have seen challenges coming for years, and many other schools experienced declines earlier than Missouri Western did.

“We’ve long known that the number of graduating high school students has been declining in our region, and there’s a national decrease in the college-going rate for students straight out of high school,” Dr. Daffron said. “In addition, the improving economy means more potential students choose to enter the workforce rather than pursuing a degree.”

However, the graduate enrollment is a record for the school, surpassing the 210 students who were enrolled last spring, and a 19 percent increase over fall 2014.

“We are pleased to see the continued growth in our relatively young master’s degree programs, and that remains an opportunity for continued growth as we look to the future,” said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs. The Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Information Management programs in particular showed strong growth this fall, she said.

 

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University said its final census count shows 11-percent more freshmen this year.

Enrollment this fall is 6,593 students. The total headcount comprises 5,618 undergraduate students – an increase of 2.3 percent from last fall – and 975 graduate students.

The headcount includes 1,438 first-time freshmen, an 11 percent increase from last year’s freshman headcount, and 253 transfer students, which is up 4.5 percent from last fall. At the same time, 71.4 percent of Northwest’s fall 2014 first-time, full-time freshmen returned to the University – a percentage that is up from last fall and continues to place Northwest well above the national average.

“Northwest continues to be the university of choice for profession-based education, grounded in real-world and hands-on learning experiences,” Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski said. “Our significant freshman enrollment increase combined with the overall increase in undergraduate enrollment are results of a variety of factors and actions – all tied to our strategic plan and strategic objectives.”

Compared to last year, Northwest has 127 fewer students in overall student population. The University attributes the slight dip in the overall headcount to a record graduating class of 945 students last spring in addition to intentionally decreasing graduate student headcount for select programs to ensure quality programming and student success.

A missing man has been found after authorities pinged his phone and a search began.

According to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Friday around 12:25 p.m. a 911 call came in from a man reporting he was lost, could not walk and thought he was somewhere near the Braymer/Breckenridge Junction.  His cell phone then lost power.

The Sheriff’s Office pinged the cell phone to the general area of the Sampsel bottoms.

Then the Sheriff’s Office called in several organizations to begin the search including the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, Chillicothe Department of Emergency Services, Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol and MSHP Aircraft, Adam Crouch with the Missouri State Fire Marshall’s Office, Breckenridge Fire Department, and Lock Springs Fire Department.

The MSHP Aircraft found the missing man’s vehicle north of Utica and officials began searching a large area for the man.

The office learned during the course of the investigation that family and/or friends had already been out searching for the lost man a majority of the night but it had not been report to authorities until Friday afternoon when the missing man called authorities himself.

After about 3 ½ hours of organized searching a family remember reported finding the missing man on the north side of the river west and south of Highway U and Highway 190 in Livingston County. The missing man refused medical treatment. The location of recovery was outside of the general area of the cell phone ping.

Today
Cloudy, with a high near 66. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.

Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Light east wind.

Tuesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Light and variable wind.

Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Light east southeast wind.

Wednesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 79. South southeast wind 3 to 8 mph.

Wednesday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Thursday Night
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.

Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.

Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 53.

Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 80.