71% of 310 Seniors at Central High School as of Friday had already committed to pursue some type of education after graduation.

“It really is up from last year,” said Terri Godfrey, Central High School Assistant Principal. “I think we had about 66% total last year.”

Godfrey said she thinks the increase is based on a buzz around the school’s social media campaign for Seniors that started this school year.

“In the fall the Counseling Center did the #iapplied and it was during college application week,” Godfrey said. “Now a lot of their scholarships and things have come back and they are able to make their decisions at this time and we’re calling it #idecided.”

There have also been several events held at the school around the campaign including, the school’s first inaugural Decision Day held Friday to honor students who have plans for post-secondary education.

At Decision Day 2015 students got a chance to take part in a signing day to show where they plan to go to school and tweet photos with the hashtag #idecided.

“We are honoring our students who have committed to post-secondary plans,” Godrey said. “Anybody who has applied and decided to go to a college, university, technical school or join the military.”

Godfrey said the campaign has gotten a lot of good feedback from students.

“There’s kind of been a buzz about it and we’re focusing on seniors but I’m hoping that the Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors are also listening and paying attention and that when it comes time for them to be Seniors that they’re going to remember this and that they’re going to get busy even earlier and remember exactly ‘hey they got to do this now I get to do this,'” Godfrey said.

The school said previously, signing ceremonies have been reserved for athletes; so this project is a way to recognize all students with a post-secondary plan for further education.

The Eastern District of Buchanan County plans to close off a section of Mount Moriah Road for repairs.

Starting Tuesday SE Mount Moriah road will be closed from SE120th Rd. to SE130th Rd.

The closure is expected to last until Friday, April 17.

Buchanan County Emergency Manager Bill Brinton notes that in the event of inclement weather those days may be subject to change.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University will have a surplus property sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, at the Materials Distribution Center, located at the corner of West 16th Street and College Park Drive.

The sale is open to the public, including Northwest students and employees. Sale items will be available for inspection by potential buyers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, April 27, and 8 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 28.

Full payment must be made immediately after the sale. The University will accept cash, money order, cashier or certified check, personal or business check. All purchased property must be removed by 4 p.m. Friday, May 1.

Items to be sold include but are not limited to: Miscellaneous computer equipment and supplies, miscellaneous notebooks, flat screen monitors, office equipment, desks, file cabinets, miscellaneous chairs, round tables, block tables, dining room table, A/V carts, wood bookcases, metal shelves, window shades, garment closets, electrical supplies, electrical boxes, florescent light fixtures, gym mat, beverage air cooler, display stand, electric stove, photo enlarger, Baldwin pianos, police light bars, parts washer, miscellaneous lawn mower wheels, Lamkin gym floor pieces (3 feet by 3 feet), portable scoreboards, bicycles, shower stalls, scrap metal, John Deere Gator and miscellaneous parts.

Vehicles to be sold include but are not limited to: 2007 Chevy Impala (bad camshaft, 160,000 miles)

A crack seal repair project began Friday on a 23.03-mile stretch of U.S. 73 from the north city limits of Horton in Brown County to the Kansas/Nebraska state line (excluding the portion of highway through the city limits of Hiawatha).

Project work includes the filling of cracks in the roadway pavement with an-asphalt like sealer to protect the pavement from damage caused by excessive moisture and debris.

Work will take place during daylight hours, Monday through Friday, with some occasional Saturday work. The work will be coordinated so that all lanes will be opened to traffic by one-half hour before sunset.

Northbound and southbound U.S. 73 were be reduced to ONE OPEN LANE as of Friday for both directions, in several mile increments, beginning at the north city limits of Horton as crews will head north in one lane to the state line and then return south in the remaining lane to the north city limits of Horton.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane for both directions along with intermittent closures of adjacent cross roads during the project work hours. Traffic will be directed through the project work zone via a pilot car and flagger operation. Drivers should expect delays of up to 15 minutes maximum and are encouraged to use alternate routes, if possible.

The Kansas Department of Transportation urges all motorists to be alert, obey the warning signs, and “Give ‘Em a Brake!” when approaching and driving through the project work zone.

Scodeller Construction, Inc. (Lee’s Summit, MO) is the primary contractor on this crack seal project with a total contract cost of $229,539. Overall project work is scheduled to be completed in May 2015, weather permitting.

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit involving the St. Joseph School District and Chief Financial Officer Beau Musser after almost a year.

Musser filed suit last May against the district, former Superintendent Dr. Fred Czerwonka, former Human Resources Dir. Doug Flowers and Board Member Dennis Snethen.

According to court documents released by the St. Joseph School District Friday afternoon, Musser agreed to dismiss his claims against all parties for a settlement of $450,000.

Last month the board approved the settlement in a closed meeting by a vote of 5-0.

Click here to view the settlement agreement

Musser originally claimed he was placed on leave for continuing to question the practice of handing out stipends to administrators without the knowledge or approval of the school board.

Musser was asked to come back to work in November last year after being on leave for more than seven months.

The findings of a recent state audit report gave the St. Joseph School District and overall rating of “poor” and was critical of the district’s practices in a number of areas, including compensation, payroll procedures record-keeping and policies, summer school funding, the district’s financial condition, bonds, procurement procedures and construction projects.

In fact, the audit found that a staggering $25 million in stipends were paid over the last eight years that were “either unapproved, unauthorized or improper.” He estimated that total to be in excess of $40 million dating back to 2001. $3.8 million in stipends were paid in 2013-2014.

In a special meeting held Friday afternoon the St. Joseph School District Board of Education selected Eric Bruder to fill the vacant spot on the board left by the resignation of Dr. Dan Colgan last month.

The board narrowed the list of candidates down from 16 to five in a special meeting Tuesday evening.

All five candidates, Bruder, Matthew Brock, Jeff Bird, Mike Veale and Karen Hauser each answered questions posed by board members.

The questions ranged from how each candidate would have handled matters presented from audit findings to the qualities they would bring to the table.

The board of education voted unanimously to appoint Bruder to fill the vacant spot on the board.

Bruder is currently the President and CEO of Van Am Tool & Engineering in St. Joseph and the former Ex. VP and COO of WireCo World Group.

Bruder graduated with a B.S. in Electronics Engineering and a MBA from Rockhurst University.

In his letter of intent Burder said, “if appointed to the open Board of Education seat I would work with the other Board Members to focus on getting the District operating well and to rebuild community trust in order to push the district forward with proper funding to support initiatives and operating budgets going forward.”

Click here to view Bruder’s initial letter of intent

A fugitive was taken into custody in St. Joseph Friday in connection with an extensive law enforcement investigation.

According to Lt. Shawn Collie with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Dept. authorities were notified that Motrez Dixon wanted on a Missouri Parole Warrant for unlawful use of a weapon was in the St. Joseph area.

“One of the things we do is fugitive apprehension,” Collie said.

Dixon was located at a residence Friday in the 2700 block of Seneca.

Collie said Members from the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Dept., The St. Joseph Police Department Crimes Unit and investigators from the Drug Strike Force and Special Response team were called in to assist.

Collie said they attempted to make contact with Dixon in the home around noon and he came out and surrendered to law enforcement fifteen minutes later.

A female and a young child were also located in the residence and moved to safety.

After law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at the home they located a firearm.

A second search warrant was executed at a residence in the 3500 block of Gene Field road a short time later in connection with the investigation.

Collie said items related to the firearm were recovered at that location.

“Anytime we arrest somebody or seize a firearm we get together with other agencies to see if it’s related to other investigation that may be going on,” Collie said.

At this time the case is currently being investigated with the possibility of future charges.

 

The St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity is collecting can donations to raise proceeds to build a home.

“We have just kicked off our green house project,” said Melissa Koch, Habitat for Humanity Ex. Dir. “It’s our opportunity to begin our aluminum can collection and our ultimate goal is to collect enough aluminum cans and recycle them to raise $65,000 to build a house out of recycled money essentially.”

There are currently four Habitat for Humanity Green House locations set up in St. Joseph for can donations.  One at each Apple Market location in St. Joseph and a fourth at the Habitat Restore located at 827 S 9th St.  A grant from KCP&L helped to fund the initial build cost of the green houses.

Koch said there will also be a green house donation set up at St. Joe Mustangs for fans to recycle their cans at games.

“We have only been in it one week and we haven’t even talked about it and we already raised $14,” Koch said. “So we decided at that rate we would be able to raise the money in 20 months.”

She said on average around 33 cans equals out to $1.

The Habitat Board of Directors has also decided to designate all metal recycling from the Habitat restore to the project which could decrease the amount of time to raise enough funds to build a home for a family in need.

“We just though, this an opportunity to let anyone and everyone contribute contribute to the helping of a family and the building of a new home,” Koch said.

She said Habitat is also looking for individuals, businesses and organizations that are interested in Sponsoring a green house.  She said the cost of a sponsorship to build a house is $400 for anyone interested in placing a green house donation location around the area.

 

A first court appearance was held Friday morning for a man charged in connection with the theft of historic gold coins from the Pony Express Museum.

80-year-old Richard Follett of Stewartsville, Mo. entered a not guilty plea in front of Judge Rebecca Spencer.

Follett was charged Tuesday with felony theft/stealing.

According to court documents a witness saw Follett enter the Pony Express Museum and force open a display case containing rare gold coins valued at over $7,000.

Pony Express Museum Director Cindy Daffron said the six gold coins dating back to the 1800s have not been returned.

Follett has a preliminary hearing slated for April 30.

Today Sunny, with a high near 66. West northwest wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 40. North northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable.

Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. South southeast wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Saturday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. South wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Sunday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. South wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Sunday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 68.

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 70.

Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.

Wednesday A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Chance of precipitation is 30%.