(7:53 p.m.) – The St. Joseph School District said all children have officially been picked up from school.

Bridget Blevins with the district said shortly before 8 p.m. Friday that all of the kids have been picked up. She said right now the district’s top priority is making sure that they all get home safe.

“When that happens, we will review the steps taken, before, during and after the winter weather moved in,” Blevins said.

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(Update 7:31 p.m.) – The St. Joseph School District said there are around now 27 kids left to be picked up from school.

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(Update 7:15 p.m.) – The St. Joseph School District said there are around now 47 kids left to be picked up from school.

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(Update 6:29 p.m.) – The St. Joseph School District said there are around now 181 kids left to be picked up from school.

All elementary kids.
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(Update 6:15 p.m.) – Shortly after 6 p.m. there were still around 280 kids in the St. Joseph School District remaining at school.

Bridget Blevins with the District said at this point all of the kids remaining are in elementary schools. She said all of the high school, middle and Hillyard Technical Center have been taken care of. Blevins said staff members have remained at school and they are feeding the kids. Some parents have opted to pick up their children. Blevins said the district will update news media outlets when all of the kids are dropped off or picked up.
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(Update 4:50 p.m.) – Bus routes in the St. Joseph School District have been delayed due to slick conditions on city streets.

Some of the drivers have not yet begun their routes because they are unable to make it to the schools.

Principals at the schools have been instructed to contact parents and let them know they can come pick up their kids if they are able.

If not, the kids can remain at the schools with staff until the buses are able to pick up students. However, the bus routes will be significantly delayed.

Bridget Blevins, Communications Dir. with the district said the school is providing food for the kids who are still at the schools

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(2:40 p.m.) – The St. Joseph School District is canceling all after-school activities for Friday due to inclement weather.

Bridget Blevins, Dir. of Communications with the district said school is dismissing at regular time – HOWEVER – buses will be running extra slow due to the slick conditions. They will be using extreme caution while transporting students and students might arrive home later than normal.

The St. Joseph Streets Department implemented Phase 1 of its Emergency Snow Ordinance at 1 p.m. and began salting roadways.  The St. Joseph Police Department is urging drivers to use extreme caution if they have to go outside due to road conditions on all city streets and highways.  Police were responding to crashes all over town more than a dozen at once at one point in time.

Missouri Western State University is canceling Winter Commencement scheduled for Saturday due to weather conditions.

Assistance PR and Marking Director, Kent Heier said in an email Friday afternoon that because of the hazardous weather conditions, Western will not hold the Winter Commencement Ceremony or any graduation-related activities this weekend.

“We know this is disappointing for those students who have worked hard to get to this point, but your safety is our top priority,” Heier said. “We hope to provide an opportunity for graduates and their families to celebrate their accomplishments at a later date, and will announce details of that opportunity on Monday afternoon. Thank you, and please be safe this weekend.”

Western had planned to graduate around 330 students during the ceremony.

A 17-year-old is being charged as an adult in connection with the fatal stabbing of Kaytlin Root at Krug Park in October.

Amanda Donna Bennett has been charged in Buchanan County Court as an adult with a felony of second-degree murder.  She we previously charged in juvenile court because she was 16 at the time of the offense.  Root’s body was found Oct. 16 by a runner along a trail in the park.

Co-defendant Sebastian Dowell appeared in court Thursday and entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in the case.  He’s due back in court in February.  He continues to be held without bail in the Buchanan County Jail.

According to court documents, Bennett and Dowell lured Root to meet them at a location in St. Joseph.  Root was alleged urged not to tell anyone who she was meeting.  The three of them allegedly rode around for awhile and eventually went to Krug Park.

“Once there the three people walked to a secluded area where the victim was rendered unconscious,” said Det. Greg Ogdahl in court documents.  “The victim was then stabbed or cut more then twice and died from the injuries.”

If convicted of the charge Bennett could face a penalty of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole until after 85 percent of any sentence ordered has been served.

A judge set bail at $250,000 cash and scheduled Bennett’s first court appearance December 13.

 

Doctors claim the St. Joseph community is not immune to the impacts of synthetic drug abuse.

Dr. Jeremy W. Hunter is Mosaic Life Care’s Emergency Department Assistant Medical Director.  Dr. Hunter said they see many people come through the ER because of synthetic drugs like bath salts and that sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what drug patients are using.  Hunter said it’s hard to tell but it seems like there are more cases coming through the emergency room.

“We seemingly have more cases of excited delirium coming through the emergency department but again it’s hard to tell with a drug that we can’t test.  It seems like there’s more of it yes,” Hunter said. “Usually the younger adults are the highest population for this type of drug of abuse but you can have patients in the middle age.  We’ve had patients in their middle age and sometimes elderly that come in with this kind of toxidrome.”

Dr. Stephen Thornton is the medical director with the University of Kansas Poison Center.  Thornton spoke Tuesday afternoon at Mosaic Life Care about “Tweeking in the 21st Century: Meth, Bath Salts and Beyond.”  Thornton said the drug culture has seen a change in how drugs are distributed when it comes to synthetic compounds and the internet.

“What we’re seeing is basically a continued rise in problems being created by them which highlights the difficultly that law enforcement and the government is having in controlling these substances because of the internet,” Thornton said. “What we’re seeing really is although these substances started out in being sold in smoke shops and truck stops now they’ve been moved into being sold on the internet.  It’s called the gray market.”

Thornton said people are buying synthetic drugs like bath salts online.

“You can buy these things from China or Europe and it doesn’t really matter to them if these things are illegal in the United States,” Thornton said. “What you’re kind of trying to figure out here is how do you control all the mail that’s coming in.”

He said side effects of synthetic drugs can cause hallucinations.  Thornton said he hopes his presentation informs people that there are other drugs out there that may look like the side effects of methamphetamine but are actually something different. Hunter said they have seen patients come in to Mosaic Life Care on synthetic drugs with side effects that have severely altered their personalities.

“The violent nature of the excited delirium can be dangerous for both the patient and the healthcare worker in that they are irrational when you’re trying to talk to them. You can’t talk sense to them. They do not understand what’s happening,” Hunter said. “It’s truly a dangerous situation for both the patient and the healthcare worker until we can get on top of it and combat the effects of the drugs and calm them down.”

Thornton said the police departments can often encounter many people dealing with the effects of synthetic drugs.

“They are going to look in many cases like someone who’s on methamphetamine.  They are going to be very agitated. Their heart rate will be real high, they’re going to be real hot and sweating.  Kind of that fight or flight picture.  Some of them have seizures, others may be psychotic just hallucinatory crazy,” Thornton said. “In general they’re just going to be very agitated.  Unfortunately a lot of them end up interacting with the police and there can be very bad outcomes on both sides there.”

Hunter said he is unsure on how many synthetic drug abuse cases come through Mosaic Life Care because they can’t test the substances but that it happens frequently.  In some cases he said the drugs can even be fatal.

“We know that they are around and we know that we have patients using them but exactly which drug it is we don’t know for sure all the time,” Hunter said. “But patients will tell us if they’re using blank, blank name so we know that they’re around.”

 

Habitat for Humanity has big plans this week in St. Joseph with a sneak peak, fundraiser and the re-opening of its ReStore.

The ReStore is a retail outlet that sells donated new and used building materials, furniture, and other home goods. For more than a year now, Habitat workers and volunteers have been renovating the old Vatterott College building off of Frederick Ave.

“Our volunteers have done everything from demolition to rebuilding, painting, cleaning, building displays, knocking down walls, tearing out floors you name it.  It’s a brand new building in here,” said Christy George, Habitat Development Dir.

“There were 20 different rooms out here, 20 different classrooms at one time,” said Melissa Koch, Habitat Ex. Dir.  “We have completely gutted the entire lower level to make room for the store.”

The agency purchased the building in November of 2015.  As we previously reported, the ReStore on S. 9th Street closed earlier this month as crews began the process of moving from that location to 3131 Frederick which boasts 4,300 square feet.

Tickets are being sold for a fundraising event for Habitat for Humanity that will give people a sneak peak at the new facility before its grand re-opening.  More than 400 people are expected to attend the “Unlock the Dream” open house Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.  The cost is $35 per person and includes participation in a silent auction and hors d’oeuvres. Koch said tickets can still be purchased by calling (816) 279-2552 or at the door.  The new location will officially open to the public Friday at 10 a.m.

Koch said they are expecting to see more people coming in to use the ReStore.

“We expect to at a minimum have a 50-percent increase in our sales,” Koch said. “With the study we had done we went from having 900 to 5,000 just traffic count on the street.”

In addition to space for the ReStore the new building hosts office space for Habitat employees as well office space for St. Joseph Safety Council after Jan 1 and more.

The store will open with new hours as well; Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A St. Joseph man has been charged after a man was assaulted and shot Wednesday night in midtown.

Byron Brown, 18 is charged in Buchanan County with a misdemeanor for third-degree assault.  Brown was allegedly taken into custody after 18-year-old Zachary Turner was assaulted and shot Wednesday night in the 2200 block of Monterey Dr.

As we previously reported, detectives with the St. Joseph Police Department submitted a case to the prosecutor’s office for consideration of charges in reference to the assault investigation Thursday.  The shooting investigation is still ongoing.

Officers with the St. Joseph Police Department responded to Mosaic Life Care shortly after midnight Thursday to talk to Turner who had been shot once in the left thigh.  According to police reports, Turner was allegedly involved in a disturbance around 11 p.m. Wednesday with a group of individuals when he was physically assaulted and robbed.  As Turner was leaving the area he was allegedly shot at by an unknown individual.  He has since been released from the hospital.

According to court documents, Brown was one of five people named in the assault according to the victim.

“During the course of the investigation it was discovered the defendant had a co-defendant contact the victim and invite him over to the residence.  Once there he assaulted the victim by hitting him several times,” said Det. Tim Schweder with the St. Joseph Police Department.

Bail for Brown has been set at $7,500 cash only.  An arraignment is set for Tuesday.