More than a dozen children still need to be fully adopted in the K-JO 105.5. Toyland Express.

K-JO and Olive Garden held a Toy Drive last week to benefit the Noyes Home for Children and the Adopt-A-Family program.

Out of around 30 kids staying at the Noyes Home for Children there are still 13 kids left to be fully adopted.

Aaryn Sommers with K-JO said there are many kids that only need a few items left on the list before their Christmas wishes are full-filled.

“They each need one or two more gifts,” said Sommers.

Click Here for a list of items still needed.

Those items must be dropped off at the studio located at 4104 Country Lane by 5 p.m. Wednesday.

More than 100 people took part in this year’s drive bringing in toys and gifts.

The extra toys will go to AFL-CIO Community Services for the agency’s Adopt-A-Family Christmas program.

“It’s for families who need toys because they can’t afford them for their family members,” Sommers said. “We’re trying to help bring a good Christmas to everyone possible.”

After all of the Noyes Home Children are adopted K-JO plans to hold a party Dec. 10 to distribute those gifts to the kids.

“We’re going to have a parade where we take all the gifts over to the Noyes Home,” said Sommers. “Olive Garden is providing dinner and we’re going to watch all the kids open the gifts and we get to see all the wonderful smiles on their faces while I cry.”

It’s the 12th year K-JO has held the Toyland Express for the Noyes Home.

 

World AIDS Awareness Day was created by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 and is celebrated annually December 1st around the
world.
In recognition of World AIDS Day 2014, the St. Joseph Health Department along with community partners P.E.A.C.E. (People Establishing AIDS/HIV/STD Care and Education), Missouri Western State University, RAISE Clinic of Northwest Health Services, and Zion United Church of Christ will sponsor the following awareness events:

Monday, December 1, 2014

Free, walk-in HIV testing at the St. Joseph Health Department from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Brryan Jackson will give a presentation at Savannah High School beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Zion United Church of Christ – 816 Faraon Street – St. Joseph – 6:00 p.m. Candlelight Memorial Service

Missouri Western State University – Brryan Jackson will address students and staff in Spratt Hall 101, beginning at 8:00 p.m. (open to the public)

Members of the community are encouraged to wear a red ribbon as a symbol of support for prevention of HIV/AIDS, as well as support for those affected by this disease and ribbons
will be available at a variety of sites within our region

The theme for the 2014 World AIDS Day is Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS Free Generation. Attend one of the previously mentioned events to learn more
about what is happening in Northwest Missouri in working towards this goal.
Hear the uplifting and inspirational story of Brryan Jackson, who was purposefully injected with the HIV virus as a baby. Mr. Jackson’s father is now in
prison for his unconscionable and selfish act, and Brryan has turned his story into one of hope.
For more information about this year’s World AIDS Day activities or to schedule an outreach education or testing event, please contact Mitzi Teliczan at (816)
271-4659.

A traffic accident at I-29 and Frederick in St. Joseph tied up traffic for a short period of time Friday.

Traffic was backed up as officials worked the accident on the overpass.

The road was reopened at 4:15 p.m.

 

The 2014 Holiday Home Tour will feature four homes and a magic display this year.

“Because we are both magicians when you come to our home you’re actually going to see a little 10 to 15 minute magic show as a bonus,” said Lance Rich, Home Owner participating in the St. Joseph Symphony Holiday Homes Tour.

The event will take place Saturday, Nov. 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 30 from noon to 4 p.m.  Homes taking place in the tour this year include the Horn Residence, 1021 North Noyes Boulevard, The Magic House of David Sandy and Lance Rich, 4710 Stonecrest Terrace, The Susan Montee Residence, 49 Stonecrest, and the Townsend Historic Home, 1024 Felix Street. Tickets for the homes tour are already on sale and cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door.  They can be purchased at the St. Joseph HyVee store at the service center, or online at http://saintjosephsymphony.org/

“The funds are for the St. Joseph Symphony,” said Sharon Kosek, St. Joseph Symphony Holiday Home Coordinator. “We have a full variety of activities, we have pre-concert activities, concerts.”

Decorating has already begun on the homes.

“It’s sort of a Christmas Circus theme,” said Rich. “About five years ago I actually wrote a story called the Christmas circus and all of the characters that you see on these trees are represented in that story.”

There are around 30 tree that have been decorated in the Magic House.

“A lot of man hours have gone into putting it up but even more though have gone into creating this,” said Rich. “My mother actually made and created all of the nutcrackers.”

A hidden room can also be found inside the Magic Home.

Other themes this year include a Swiss-style design at the Horn residence, modern art and a dragon water fountain found at the Montee residence, and a view overlooking city hall featured at the Townsend home.

 

 

The largest annual holiday lights display in Northwest Missouri will be lit up for thousands of people to view during the Christmas Season.

The switch will be flipped Friday on both the Holiday Park at Krug Park and South Pole at Hyde Park .

The Krug Park Holiday Park first started in 1981.

St. Joseph City workers begin decorating for the lavish display of lights in the summer.

The city expects to have more than 100,000 visitors tour the scene this year.

The South Pole located in Hyde Park will also be lit up for the season.

Both parks will be open from now until January 1st from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Admission is free however, free will donations are accepted.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/articles/Krug-Park-Saint-Joseph-MO-Park-Lights.html#ixzz3KOA2ebsy

The K-JO 105.5 Toyland Express is collecting toys and money to benefit the Noyes Home for Children and Adopt-A-Family Friday until 5.

“There are certain things that they ask for that we will do everything we could possibly do,” said K-JO Program Director, Gregg Lynn.

Around 30 kids from the Noyes Home have submitted their Christmas wishes this year. Toys and donations are being collected by the K-JO Toyland Express.

“We talked to a 15-year-old boy and we gave him some Christmas gifts and it was the first gift he’d ever gotten, ever,” said Lynn. “That’s why we do it.”

If you would like to help Lynn said to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the K-JO studios, 4104 Country Lane between 8 and 5. Or you can drop off a toy anytime at Olive Garden Restaurant.

It’s the 12th year K-JO has held the Toyland Express for the Noyes Home children.

“First we help out the kids for the Noyes Home for Children,” said Lynn. “Anything over and above that we deliver to the Adopt-A-Family program and there are families that maybe didn’t get adopted or just partially got adopted and they’ll be able to come and maybe choose from some of these toys and maybe help with their wishes too.”

On November 26, 2014, Morgan County Deputies along with Officers from the Versailles Police Department responded to 18548 2nd Street in Versailles, Missouri to an assault in progress call.  Upon arrival, Officers confronted Randall Roden age 41, of Versailles, who had assaulted another individual.  While attempting to restrain Roden, he was tazered twice, however, Roden fired multiple rounds at the officers from his pistol. One of the rounds fired by Roden ricocheted and struck a Morgan County Deputy resulting in minor injuries.  Officers returned fire which resulted in the death of Roden.  An autopsy is currently being scheduled.

The investigation is being conducted by members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control.

Governor to visit command center today with DPS Director Isom, Col. Replogle and will have dinner with Guardsmen

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon today asked Missourians to join him in thanking those members of state and local law enforcement and of the Missouri National Guard who are away from their families over the Thanksgiving holiday, including those who have been called up for state emergency duty in the St. Louis area.

“I appreciate the sacrifice that these law enforcement officers and citizen-soldiers are making, especially during this holiday weekend, in order to protect lives and property,” Gov. Nixon said. “I would ask Missourians to join me in thanking these officers and guardsmen as they spend time away from their families this Thanksgiving weekend.”

The Governor will be joined by Department of Public Safety Director Dan Isom and by Missouri State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Ron Replogle later today when he goes to the unified command center in Jennings to thank members of state and local law enforcement for their work. He then will join citizen-soldiers of the National Guard who have called up to the St. Louis region for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Out of 74 rural schools that once stood in Doniphan County, Kan. fewer than 20 structures remain.

The one room schoolhouses are a piece of history that are slowly vanishing in Northeast Kansas. Children in grades first through eighth once all attended class together and were taught by one teacher.

“Before they had these school districts then they had the Iowa Sac and Fox Mission,” said Glendon Hartman, Doniphan County Schoolhouse Historian and Wathena resident. “The missionaries would come and so those would have been the earliest schools and then there were also church schools and subscription schools around.”

Hartman said one of the first districts in Doniphan was organized in the 1800s.

“in the 1850s district 1 at Wathena was considered one of the first districts,” said Hartman. “Wathena was one of the first districts organized by Benjamin Harding.”

Life-long Troy resident John Wiedmer attended a one room school house from 1954 until its closure in 1958.

“I started at LaGrange school when I was in first grade,” said Wiedmer.

LaGrange was also known as District 30 and was located about five miles northwest of Blair and around eight miles northeast of Troy. Wiedmer not only attended school there but has family ties to the school’s founding.

“Around 1914 my grandfather whose name was John also, donated the land so that they could build the school,” he said. “It was just a couple of hundred yards from his house and he had nine children.”

The school was completed on Dec. 15, 1914.

“There was no running water in the school, we had outdoor bathrooms and we would bring our lunches and we would put them in the cloakroom with our coat that’s where we would put our sack lunches and the desks were all connected to each other and they were in a row maybe six or eight desks,” said Wiedmer. “A lot of kids said they learned a lot because while the teacher was teaching the older grades the younger kids would listen and so they would be learning things.”

LaGrange was forced to close its doors in 1958 because there were not enough kids in District 30 left to attend. Hartman said that was a common issue for the consolidation of many rural schools.

December 2014 would have marked 100 years for the building of LaGrange if not for a fire that burned it to the ground Tuesday morning of Nov. 25.

Wathena Fire Chief Tony Libel was the first responder on scene and said when he got there he saw flames spanning 50-feet into the air. He said saving the structure was not an option at that point.

“Worked around it a little bit, the grass was on fire around it a little but we just put that out and wet it down a little and let the fire itself burn inside the building,” said Libel.

Doniphan County once had more than 70 schools but now students in the county attend one of only three. Hartman said the 17 rural school buildings left standing have either been turned into homes, churches, community buildings museums, or stand in ruins. The histories of the structures have been documented and are available for anyone to learn about at the Doniphan County Library, Dist. 1.