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Atchison County Mo. Preparing for Water to Reach near Rockport, I-29

Workers are making a levee to protect the water-plant at Rockport. Sandbagging is expected to start sometime Tuesday.

Concerns continue to brew in Atchison County Mo. as releases start to peak at the Gavins Point dam on the Missouri River.

Rumors continue to circulate, however officials made it clear Monday afternoon, no major breaches to levee’s in the county have occured.

Two small breaches happened over the weekend where the levee dropped down because of erosion.  Those have since been fixed by volunteers and the Army Corps of Engineers, Atchison County Commissioner Curt Livengood said.  There was a third small concern that was also addressed.

The County is prepping the water-treatment plant that serves rural Atchison County and Rockport.  They are making a levee around the plant to prevent it from being flooded if the waters reach the plant at the intersection of Interstate 29 and U.S. Highway 136.  The work started last tuesday, Rockport Police Chief Curtis Elam said.

“My job is to protect this water-plant and some people say it was overkill, and if it was, then I’m sorry,” Elam said.  “I couldn’t imagine three months or longer until the water went down and the water-plant was not functional until then.”

Prisoners from Maryville are helping place sandbags on the levee’s and will help around the water-treatment plant near Rockport this week, Atchison County Emergency Management Director Rhonda Wiley said.

“The heat is a very big concern,” Wiley said. “Everybody is pitching in and helping us with hydration as well as food (for the volunteers).”

Voluntary evacuations have been issued for an area in Atchison County West of the interstate to the Missouri River.

“We would like to see them getting their personal belongings out of their home,” Livengood said.  “It’s hard for us to patrol all their houses so we don’t want them to leave their houses if they don’t have too.”

Most people are evacuating south of U.S. Highway 136.  Some north of the highway are getting prepared but are not ecavuating because the waters did not reach them in 1993.  Around 60 homes or less are evacuating at this time, Livengood said.

Road Closure Information can be Found Online via MoDot. Click on the picture to view their interactive map.

There is a likely hood that Interstate 29 could become over-topped with water.  That would close the interstate, Livengood said. Road closure information can be found by clicking the picture to the left.

The financial strain on the county has yet to be seen, eight days into the preparations, Livengood said.

“Luckily we have had some growth in the last few years and that has helped us,” he said.  “If it gets to the point where they close I-29 North and I-29 South, that intersection of 136 and I-29, which is where a lot of our revenue comes from, it will hurt.”

 

 

 

(VIDEO)Northwest Mourns the Death of Head Football Coach.

Northwest Missouri State head football coach Scott Bostwick died Sunday morning from an apparent heart attack.

Bostwick suffered a heart attack while doing yard work Sunday. He is survived by his wife and two children.

See below for video of Sunday evenings press conference at Northwest.

Bostwick, former defensive coordinator for the Bearcats, was named head coach in December following Coach Mel Tjeerdsma retirement announcement.

“We are hurting today, we will hurt tomorrow,” Northwest president Dr. John Jasinki said. “Thoughts about Scott’s next game day and field conditions will provide us comfort through these difficult times.”

Many spoke of the family atmosphere at Northwest. Athletics Director Wren Baker joined that family in December. He and the other university and athletics officials met with the team Sunday afternoon.

“Everybody in athletics talks about family but this place is really about family, that’s why they put 10,000 people in the stadium every Saturday,” Baker said. “We had an hour to share stories about Coach Bostwick. We cried, we laughed, but overall, I think it was the beginning of a healing process and I think they are doing as well as could be expected.”

Coach Tjeersma will leave June 26th to coach the United States national American football team in the 2011 IFAF World Cup. Until then, Tjeersma will be around to help the team heal and move forward.

“I’ve got three weeks yet so we’ll be here,” Tjeersma spoke of himself and his wife. “This is where we need to be.”

Services will be scheduled this week.

St Joseph City Officials Preparing for Flooding

City officials say the increased flow of water on the Missouri River should reach the St Joseph are around June 14th.

The Army Corps of Engineers predicts the river to rise between 27 and 32 feet in St Joseph.  Those levels are greater than last year’s flooding and could exceed river levels from 1952 and 1881, depending on rainfall in the river basin.

The Corps of Engineers delivered an automated sandbagging and 100,000 sandbags to St Joseph this week.  The city already has 60,000 sandbags on hand.  They will be used for public safety only, city officials said.

Six pumps were ordered this week and four are now in place to pump 30 million gallons of water per day at the wastewater treatment plant.  Once the river level reaches 26 to 27 feet, the plant cannot drain to the river.

The nature center boat dock has been removed and the Riverwalk trails are closed.

Key elevations that will affect St. Joseph are:

  • 21 feet                 Riverwalk Trail closed
  • 24 feet                 residential area on the northwest side flood

Riverfront Park experiences water

  • 25 feet                 MacArthur Drive is closed to local traffic only
  • 26 feet                 Pumping of effluent to the river
  • 29.5 feet              City Yards will be evacuated

 

Car Crashes Through Shoe Carnival Front Door

Police stand outside Shoe Carnival Friday morning after a car crashed through the glass doors just after 10:00 a.m.

No one was hurt when a car crashed through the front of Shoe Carnival on the Belt Highway Friday morning.

Witnesses say an elderly man was trying to park his car just after 10:00 a.m. He apparently hit the gas pedal and not the brake. The car crashed through the glass doors and made a 90 degree left turn inside before stopping.

A witness says the driver let her cross the street before he attempted to park.

The witness also says a clerk at the front check-out of Shoe Carnival jumped onto the desk and out of the way of the car. A structural engineer was called in to make sure the building is safe.

Governor Urges Missourians to Prepare for Flooding and Ramps up State Efforts

As releases from the Gavins Point Damn on the Missouri River will double more then ever the amount released, Governor Jay Nixon is meeting with northwest Missouri officials to pool resources and protect residents.

Governor Nixon spoke at the Remington Nature Center in St Joseph Thursday afternoon.  The Governor spent much of the day meeting with local officials to determine the impact.

The amount of water released upstream will reach 150,000 cubic feet per second by June 7th.

Several local non-federal levee’s will over-top in the region and there’s a potential two federal levee’s could over-top in northwest Missouri as well.  One of them in Holt County, the other on the Kansas side of the river in the St Joseph area pending rainfall in the next two months.

Nixon urged residents to be prepared and said all resources will be available.

“We will continue to coordinate with state, local and federal emergency management officials in every step of the process,” Nixon said.

Nixon would not comment on how the Corps of Engineers could or should have managed the river.

“We are where we are as we stand here,”  Nixon said.  “That’s a debate we will have…in the days, weeks and years to come.”

Liaison officers are already working to set up emergency management centers, including one in Holt County.  Flood waters will be at least the same level that Atchison and Holt counties dealt with last year, Nixon said.

“When you look at what we were able to accomplish last year, the locals and all of us in this together were able to keep the highway (Interstate) open, but these numbers we are looking at would appear to be higher numbers than we seen last year.”

Buchanan County Comission R.T. Turner said he is worried about the amount of time the water will be around.

“When we are talking about two months of this, that’s always a concern and we will be watching it close,” Turner said. “Our levee’s here in St Joseph, protecting the airport and south St Joseph, are going to be okay.”

Another concern to emergency officials is how rainfall the area could recieve.  If a more than average rainfall hits Northwest Missouri, the federal levee’s will overtop.

A river level of 27 feet will stop storm-water drainage out of St Joseph and could flood businesses and homes with few places to pump the water out to, Turner said.

More information updated daily online at www.mo.gov

 

Tagged Bass can Yield Cash Rewards for Anglers

Anglers can get $25 or $75 for reporting tagged catches as part of MDC research study.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is tagging 1,600 legal-sized smallmouth bass on five rivers in southern Missouri as part of a research project.  Anglers who catch tagged bass can earn $25 or $75 by reporting their catches to MDC researchers.

MDC biologists are tagging smallmouth bass in the Black River, Castor River, Courtois Creek, Current River and the North Fork of the White River, and will continue tagging during the spring season over the next two years.

According to Fisheries Management Biologist John Ackerson, these types of research studies have been successful with other fish species such as catfish and walleye.

“The research project will help biologists learn more about angler catch rates and fish movement in these rivers,” Ackerson said. “Information gained from anglers reporting their tagged catches will help us manage this species, which many Missourians love to fish.”

He explained that tagged bass do not have to be kept to receive a reward.  Anglers may just remove the tag and release the fish. Tags must be returned to the MDC to receive a reward.

To report tagged catches, anglers must call the phone number listed on the tag and provide the following information:

  • Tag number
  • If the fish was kept or released
  • Date of catch
  • Total length of fish
  • Approximate location of catch

For more information on the research project, contact Ackerson at 417-255-9561, extension 275, or[email protected].

 

(UPDATED)Woman Dead after Shooting in St Joseph. Police Searching for Suspect.

Police are asking the public to help find Ty C. Arnold who is a suspect in Wednesday's shooting.

A woman is dead after a shooting in a St Joseph home Wednesday afternoon.

Police are asking for assistance in locating the suspect, Ty C. Arnold.

Police describe Arnold as a white male, 6’5” and 230 lbs. with hazel eyes. He should be considered armed and dangerous.

He may be driving a dark colored 1999 Ford truck with a license number of 7AE-430 and some information suggest he left town northbound on Interstate 229, Police Captain Kevin Castle said. Though he could be heading to acquaintances in rural area’s south of St. Joseph, Castle said.

Police arrived on scene of a shooting around 1:30 this afternoon to find the body of a 27-year-old female with a gunshot wound.

The victim’s name is not being released until family members are notified. The homicide at this time is believed to be related to a domestic dispute.

Two children were around the home when the shooting happened .

Neighbors say they heard fighting this afternoon coming from the house. Neighbors said typically the subjects were pretty quiet.

If you have any information, you are asked to call the police. 238-TIPS

State Approves Northwest Missouri State Tuition Increase

State officials have approved a requested tuition increase by Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.

The University requested a 4.5 percent tuition increase that had to be approved by the state Higher Education Department because University officials were raising tuition beyond the allowed increase rate.

The increase is 1.8 percentage points above the amount normally allowed by the state. Law requires public institutions to limit the increases to the consumer price index or the institutions could lose state aid.

State money accounts for about half of the revenue for Northwest.

Higher Education Director David Russell approved the increased because state funding was down near 11 percent in the last three years while the increase was just .2 percent above the Consumer Price Index.

Students will pay roughly $300 more per year once the is implemented.

 

 

 

Northwest Missouri Counties Prepare for Flooding

 

Flood Damage seen near the Big Lake Village in June of 2010, by Micheal Clements

Holt and Atchison counties in Northwest Missouri are prepping for flood waters that could come by this weekend.

The increase in flow upstream has prompted emergency officials to issue voluntary evacuations throughout the river basin.

In Holt County, sandbagging efforts are picking up steam as sandbagging machines will be delivered to several rural communities later this week, County Clerk Kathy Kunkel said.

“We have a sand station in the city of Forrest City, in Mound City and in Craig,” Kunkel said.  All of those sandbagging operations will be spun up in the next couple of days as we get sandbagging machines, volunteers and some other resources we requested from SEMA(State Emergency Management Agency).”

A State of Emergency has already been declared in Atchison County.  The National Weather Service predicts the river to rise to 23 feet at Rulo, Kunkel said.

“They are showing a 23 foot river through Saturday at this time.  A lot of our Corps resources are showing us at the four foot stage by the weeks end,” Kunkel said.

Those same levels were reached last year, in 2007 and in 1993.  The big concern is how the levees will hold up to all the pressure depending on how long the high waters stick around.

“All levees have been repaired since last year,” Kunkel said.  “We feel like we are in good condition.”

 

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