(Click to enlarge flyer) Flyer courtesy Savannah R3 School District
In an effort to give young athletes access to affordable equipment a sports drive will be held later this month in Andrew County.
The Andrew County School District distributed flyers to let families know about a youth athletic equipment drive and recycle event which is a partnership between PLAY ON and Andrew County Schools.
The flyer asks for parents to send gently used athletic/dance uniforms and equipment that have been outgrown or no longer used to school between March 9 to 16. Then a recycle event will be held March 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Savannah. There families will be able to look through the donated equipment for items their kids can use.
The flyer states that all items are free but it is not a need based event, “No family enjoys purchasing new equipment every season so all Andrew County families are invited to donate and shop.”
“It’s a hardship for families, especially those with more than one kid to have to purchase new equipment every year,” said Diane Gould, PLAY ON Committee member. “We just thought this would be a good way for the community and the schools to come together and make the burden lighter on all the families.”
Suggested donations include baseball and softball pants, football pants, gymnastics wear, soccer shorts and shin guards, and more.
For more information contact Diane Gould at (816) 721-7701>
St. Joseph, Mo. – Open burning for spring 2015 has been approved for Monday, April 6, 2015 through Sunday, April 26 by the Chief of Enforcement Section of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Open burning is permitted on these days within the City of St. Joseph under the following guidelines:
Burning of yard waste of residential properties only – ONLY dry yard waste such as leaves, brush and logs grown on the property can be burned. NO trash, paper, lumber or building debris may be burned.
Burning is allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
All fires must be in an upright cylindrical metal container with a volume equal to no more than 55 gallons. Containers must be located at least fifteen (15) feet away from any building. Only one burn container per residence.
All fires shall be monitored from a point on the property where the fire is located, by a person capable of containing a fire, should containment become necessary.
Fire-fighting material, including but not limited to, a garden hose or a container of water sufficient to contain any fire started shall be at the site of the fire.
If weather conditions such as high winds indicate the safety of the community or the public may be endangered or if open burning may create a health hazard, the Fire Chief or Health Director may invoke a temporary burning ban.
Any violation of the open burning restrictions may result in a summons to appear in court for a misdemeanor violation.
Residents are encouraged to explore alternatives to open burning. Many options for disposing of yard waste are easy, do not contribute to air pollution, are not dependent on time restrictions or the weather, and provide the healthy benefit of physical activity while doing yard work instead of breathing acrid smoke from a waste fire. Such activities include mowing leaves into fine particles and leaving them lay to fertilize the lawn, or incorporating leaves into a mulch container to decompose into humus for use in
vegetable and flower gardens or for use on lawns as a soil amendment. Larger wood brush that can be chipped makes excellent mulch around trees and shrubs. Family and friends with gardens may want additional yard waste to use as mulch.
If you choose to burn, please do so within the days provided, as open burning session will not be extended due to weather blackout dates.
A man who impersonated a Kansas City police officer when he sexually assaulted a woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Grant C. Rader, 36, received the sentence on March 5 after pleading guilty in Platte County Circuit Court to forcible sodomy and false impersonation.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, “This is a particularly frightening crime. The defendant went to great lengths to pretend to be someone sworn to protect and serve so that he could assault and violate. He is a predator in the truest sense of the term ”
According to Zahnd, on March 7, 2013, a woman was at the Power and Light District, celebrating her upcoming birthday with her sister and a friend. Rader was also there but did not interact with the woman.
The woman’s sister left sometime after midnight when the two of them got into an argument. The woman then took a cab back to her apartment in the Northland. Her friend met her there to make sure she was safe.
Rader apparently saw the argument and the woman get into a cab alone. He followed the cab to the woman’s apartment.
After arriving at the woman’s apartment, Rader approached the woman, identified himself as a police officer, and told victim she was under arrest. The woman’s friend argued with Rader for approximately twenty minutes to just let the victim go. Rader refused to release the woman and left with her in his truck.
Rader falsely identified himself to the friend using the name of an retired Kansas City, Missouri Police Officer. Within minutes after Rader left with the woman, her friend called the Kansas City Police Department to find out how to post bond for the victim. Police told her that there was no active duty Kansas City police officer by the name Rader had given. The dispatcher told the friend to hang up and dial 911.
While the friend was on the phone with police, Rader drove to another location in the apartment parking lot. He told the victim that he would have to “search” her and forced the victim to partially disrobe. Rader told the victim he would not take her to jail if she would have sex with him. The victim refused and Rader sexually assaulted her. He then made her get out and left.
A few hours after the assault, Rader sent a text message to a friend reading, “Dude whatever happens I was at ur house till 5am to get my keys, so I could drive home! I did not drive to pnl.”
The victim reported that she heard police “chatter” coming from Rader’s phone and that he had a computer mounted to his dash with a map on it. Police later found that Rader’s phone and iPad had a police scanner app that would have produced the chatter described. Rader’s truck had a bracket on the dash to hold an iPad. Police also found a badge during a search of Rader’s home.
Zahnd said, “This defendant clearly had a plan to find a vulnerable woman and sexually assault her. He had a police scanner app on his phone, a badge, and made his iPad look like a police computer. It’s chilling that someone would masquerade as a police officer in order to sexually abuse another person.”
To protect yourself from a police impersonator, Zahnd recommended:
• If you are pulled over, it should be by a uniformed officer with a badge in a marked vehicle with lights. The officer should be able to show you current police department identification.
• When in doubt, call 911. You can drive slowly in your car with your flashers on while talking with 911 until marked units arrive.
• If you feel uneasy, ask for a supervisor or other officers to come to the scene.
• Trust your instinct. If the situation doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t.
Judge Thomas C. Fincham sentenced Rader to 15 years in prison for forcible sodomy and six months in jail for false impersonation. Rader must complete 85% of his prison sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
Q-Country’s Travis Dodge reading to S. Holt Elementary students
Missouri School Read-In Day was celebrated Friday by students at South Holt Elementary School.
“We’re just trying to promote literacy,” said Ted Quinlin, Elementary School Principal. “We’re trying to make reading fun for the kids with all the different authors, with all the different types of books that are out there.”
Celebrity readers took part in reading to preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd graders Friday morning. Students heard from Q-County program director Travis Dodge, Mound City News editor Adam Johnson and Buchanan County Deputy Tiger Parsons.
“It’s our whole elementary school,” said Quinlin. “We have about 185 elementary school kids in Pre-K through 6th.”
This year’s theme revolved around Dr. Suess.
Students at S. Holt reading
The older elementary grades participated in an Author discussion with published author Jason Offutt who talked about the writing process and shared some of his own works.
CARROLLTON, Mo. – Drivers used to driving 55 miles per hour on Route 10 from Carrollton to Hardin are in for a change next week.
The Missouri Department of Transportation, after speed and safety studies, will raise the speed on this section of Route 10 from 55 to 60 miles per hour on Monday, March 9, 2015.
The speed limit will then be consistent for the length of Route 10, which runs from U.S. Hwy 65 in Chariton County to U.S. Hwy 69 in Clay County.
(March 5, 2015)— St. Joseph School District Board of Education President Brad Haggard announced today he received a letter of resignation from board member Dan Colgan. The letter was sent via e-mail to Mr. Haggard this morning. Colgan was elected to the board in April 2010.
Colgan served as board president for one term, from 2012-14. Colgan’s term was set to expire in 2016. Click here to read the board’s response.
(March 5, 2015)— St. Joseph School District Board of Education President Brad Haggard announced today he received a letter of resignation from board member Dan Colgan. The letter was sent via e-mail to Mr. Haggard this morning. Colgan was elected to the board in April 2010.
He served as board president for one term, from 2012-14. Colgan’s term was set to expire in 2016. The procedures for filling a vacant Board of Education seat are found in board policy BBE and state: Unexpired Term Fulfillment/Vacancies Except as provided by the Missouri Constitution and state statutes, and subject to the right of resignation, all members of the Board shall hold office for the term thereof and until their successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified. Vacancies which occur on the school Board between the dates of election shall be filled by majority vote of the remaining members of the school board to serve until the time of the next regular school board election. The person(s) appointed shall hold office until the next school board election, when a director(s) shall be elected for the unexpired term(s).
When it becomes necessary for the Board of Education to appoint one or more members to the Board of Education, the following procedures will be used: # Notification Process – The fact that a vacancy exists or will exist will be announced at the next Board meeting. Local news media will also be notified. In a case of resignation, a vacancy shall be declared to exist when the Board of Education votes to accept a member’s letter of resignation. In a case of removal from office, a vacancy shall be declared to exist when the secretary of the Board certifies to the Board that a vacancy exists. Residents wishing to be appointed to the vacancy shall make their desire known by sending a letter to the secretary of the Board stating their qualifications and their reason for wishing to be on the Board. A period of two weeks from the date of the announcement will be allowed for receipt of these letters. # Review/Interview Process – The letters received will be reviewed by the Board of Education at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting, or at a special meeting called for that purpose. The Board may select final candidates from the applicants, and these individuals will be interviewed in open session at a regular or special meeting of the Board. # Selection Process – The appointment(s) will be made in open session at the next Board meeting held subsequent to the interview process. Appointments shall be made through a formal motion and seconded, and an affirmative vote by a majority of the Board. This vote must be held in open session. # Exclusion of Resigning Board Member – An individual who is resigning from the Board shall not participate in choosing his successor. Board Policy Adopted: September 13, 1982 Board Policy Revised: September 12, 1994
Reviewed: September 29, 2006 Cross Refs: BBB, School Board Elections Legal Refs: §162.471, RSMo.
(St. Joseph, Mo.) – Cabana Ice Cream will open its South Belt store for the 2015 season Friday for the 25th year.
Cabana said it plans to mark its’ 25th anniversary with specials throughout the year.
The store said it also plans to introduce a new drive-thru ordering system to reduce customers’ time waiting in line.
According to a news release, for those who can’t make it to the South Belt store, Cabana’s other location, Cabana Grill, is open year round and located at 2131 St. Joseph Ave. Cabana Grill has most of the same ice cream treats as Cabana plus a full fast-food menu. And Cabana Grill will soon be getting the unique Flavor Burst ice cream which you could only previously find at the South Belt Cabana.
Both locations will be featuring an opening weekend (Friday through Sunday) special of small ice cream cones for only 99¢ when you mention you saw it here.
The stores welcome you to stop by and enjoy the coming warm weather with a delicious cone or other treat.
The 2015 Red Cross Heroes Campaign kicked off Thursday with more than 60 individuals and teams participating to raise funds for the agency’s local efforts.
From now until April 30 Heroes will try to raise $1,000 each to help local families with emergency services. The agency said all funds raised stays local.
Funds are used to help Armed Forces Emergency Services, Disaster Response, Disaster Prevention and Preparedness and Health and Safety Education.
The St. Joseph Post is participating in the campaign. If you would like to help us raise funds for the Red Cross Click Here or you can drop off your donation at 4104 Country Lane, St. Joseph, MO 64506.
A new partnership between the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and Highland Community College is giving high school students in Brown County the opportunity to learn how to save lives and earn college credit at the same time.
The program called “Teen Lifesaver Initiative” is expected to kick off in April and will provide lifesaving skills to all high school students of Brown County.
“We will be going into the two high schools in Brown County (Hiawatha USD 415 and Horton USD 430) to teach and certify every high school student in CPR, First Aid, and the proper use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator),” J.D. Clary, with Brown County Sheriff’s Office said. “We intend to to this at no cost to the schools or the students receiving the training and certification.”
Clary said it’s in partnership with Highland Community College so students who successfully complete the program will receive .5 of college credit.
The cost to start up the program is expected at around $23,000 and includes training and certification of instructors, manikins to use during the training, books, masks and other required materials.
However, there will be no out of pocket cost to the school districts or the students. The sheriff’s office said it will be funded through the Sheriff’s Office Community Education Fund and by grants and donations made by corporations and individuals
“This initiative was the brain child of John Merchant, our Sheriff,” Clary said.
A donation of manikins valued at more than $800 from the National Auto Dealers Charitable foundation will aid in the program. The presentation is scheduled to take place at the Hiawatha Ford dealership in Hiawatha, Kansas (1814 Oregon
Street) on Monday March 9, 2015 at 1:30 PM.
“It is our intention to go forward with whatever funding we have to complete our goal of educating our teens ready to preserve life in our county,” the department said in a White Paper-Teen Lifesaver Initiative issued by Clary.
