Missouri Western State University’s Homecoming celebration to commemorate the centennial of Western’s Founding in 1915 kicks off Sunday night with a fireworks display.

This year’s theme is “Century Long, Griffon Strong.” Events are scheduled Oct. 11-17.

Homecoming festivities will start with a fireworks show open to the public at approximately 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, with viewing on Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium. People can sit in the stands to view the show, or may bring blankets to sit on the field.

An annual Homecoming highlight is the parade in downtown St. Joseph. It will start at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17. Floats will line up at Frederick and Union Streets, they will proceed down Frederick and will be joined by the Golden Griffon Marching Band and area high school bands at City Hall. The parade will go west from City Hall on Frederick and Francis Streets, then south on Sixth Street, and east on Felix to Tenth Street, where the parade will end.

Student organizations will participate in a variety of contests during the week, including a hunt for Max the Griffon on Monday, a lip sync battle and karaoke on Tuesday, Griff-elodeon on Thursday and a pep rally and dance contest on Friday. Organizations that accumulate the most points will be announced at the football game Saturday.

Other Homecoming activities include:

Wednesday, Oct. 14

Community Blood Center Blood Drive, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Hoff Conference Rooms, Blum 218-219. Drop in, or schedule an appointment by going to savealifenow.org and entering sponsor code “MWSU.”

Friday, Oct. 16

Alumni Golf Tournament, 9 a.m. registration, 10 a.m. shotgun start, Fairview Golf Course. Cost is $45 per person or $180 for a team of four; includes greens fees, cart and a boxed lunch. Advanced paid registration is required by calling 816-271-5646.

33rd annual Alumni Awards Banquet, 5:45 p.m. reception, 6:15 p.m. dinner, Fulkerson Center. The cost is $30 per person. Advanced registration is required by calling 816-271-5646. This year’s honorees are:

· Herb ’35 & Peggy Iffert Award for Outstanding Service to the University – Mayor Bill Falkner

· GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade) – Elijah Haahr ’05, Missouri State representative for the 134th District (Springfield); Seth ’08 & Kelsey ’08 Lyons, First Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company Franchisees

· Distinguished Alumni – Dr. Ken Rosenauer ’74, Professor of English Emeritus; Larry Stobbs ’74, Former Mayor of St. Joseph and local philanthropist; Scott Graham ’78, Retired Executive, Bristol-Myers Squibb; Col. Andrew Halter ’86, Maintenance Group Commander, 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard

· Distinguished Faculty – Don Lillie, Professor of Theatre, Cinema and Dance (Posthumous)

Saturday, Oct. 17

Homecoming Parade, 9:30, downtown St. Joseph

Arts, Beats & Treats, 10:30 a.m., Remington Hall atrium. Bring the kids after the parade for Missouri Western’s birthday party, including several craft projects and games, an obstacle course, balloon creations, Planetarium shows and more.

School of Fine Arts Reunion & Centennial Alumni Exhibit, 10:30 a.m., Potter Hall. If your degree is in Art, Music, or Cinema, Theatre and Dance, this is YOUR Reunion. Meet Dean Bob Willenbrink, hear about the Potter Hall project, tour the Centennial Alumni Art Exhibit and catch up with classmates.

Homecoming Tailgate, 11 a.m., Parking Lot H (in front of Baker Family Fitness Center)

Football game vs. Washburn, 2 p.m., Craig Field at Spratt Stadium. At halftime, alumni are invited to parade on the field.

The Homecoming Royalty Court will preside over the week’s activities, with the King and Queen crowned during a pep rally and dance contest for students Friday evening. Candidates are:

King: Alec Smith, Liberty, Missouri; Branislav Tadic, Kansas City, Missouri; Connor Samenus, Kansas City, Missouri; Kyle Kendall, St. Joseph; and Reyhan Wilkinson, St. Joseph.

Queen: Charmaine Banez, Unionville, Missouri; Chevy Ingebritson, Huntsville, Missouri; Ida Haefner, Hillboro, Missouri; Jordan Chohon, Columbus, Nebraska; Ljubica Basic, Kansas City, Missouri.

A 24-year-old is being charged after allegedly having sexual relations with a 14-year-old in Buchanan County.

Linford A. Johnson is charged with a felony for second-degree statutory rape stemming from an incident that allegedly took place Wednesday in St. Joseph.

Court documents state that according to reports and statements Johnson had sexual intercourse with the child victim but was unaware of the victim’s age at the time of the incident.

“The defendant has been told numerous times by the victim’s mother to stay away from the victim and he was made aware of her age on numerous occasions but continued to have contact with the juvenile victim,” said Officer Quentin Abbott with the St. Joseph Police Department.

“Because of the serious nature of the crime, it is not unreasonable to believe the defendant would not appear in court,” Abbott said. “The defendant is from another country and has no family ties to the St. Joseph area.”

Johnson is being held on $25,000 bond.

A Grundy County woman is facing a felony charge after allegedly holding a gun to her and her daughter’s head.

44-year-old Jennifer Rolen was charged Tuesday with a class C felony for abuse or neglect of a child.

According to court documents The Grundy County Sheriff’s Department began investigating after a hotline call from Humphreys school to the Grundy County Children’s Division in reference to Rolen who was allegedly suicidal and had reportedly held a gun to her own head in front of her children.

“Rolen had three juvenile children that were allegedly nearby at the time all of this had taken place,” said Deputy Sheriff Jose Lopez with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office

Lopez said a neighbor who lives up the road from Rolen was concerned for the girls’ safety.  Lopez said the neighbor reported receiving a phone call from Rolen on the evening of Sept. 9 telling her to come get the three girls.

“Went on to state that Rolen called right back a second time and stated that there was a gun involved and that she was going to kill herself because she couldn’t take it anymore,” Lopez said. “Had then taken the children and kept them with her family for the night, before calling the Sheriff’s office.”

After the children were taken into emergency custody Lopez said they were interviewed at the North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center.

Lopez said during the course of the interviews one of the girls said on the night of Sept. 7 her mother got mad at her.

“Grabbed her by the throat and attempted to choke her,” Lopez said. “On the same night, she had overheard her mother yelling about having a gun and stating she was going to use it.  Stated that she went outside to try and take the gun from Rolen, and her mother then pointed the weapon at (her), so she had went back inside the residence.”

An arraignment is set for Oct. 13.

How well police are providing services to the community is the question the St. Joseph Police Department wants answered.

The department is currently conducting the 2015 Community Survey. The survey is done every other year. This year 4,000 postcards were mailed to randomly selected households throughout the city. 800 cards per council district were sent out, each with a website and code number that is used when completing the survey online.

“That number can only be used once,” said Sgt. Greg Gilpin on social media. “The survey consist of 41 multiple answer questions asking how safe residents feel in their neighborhood to what types of crimes the police department should be concentrating most of our efforts.”

There is also a section asking for written comments where citizens will be able to say in their own words how well the department is providing services and areas that need improvement.

“Some of our best information comes from those written comments,” said Gilpin. “If you received a survey card please take a few minutes to complete it. Your answers are very important to us.”

He said anyone that does not have access to a computer or prefers to receive a written survey should call him at 816-236-1473.

A Central High School student has been named one of 34,000 commended students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The NMSC said Madison Grooms, a Senior at Central High School is a student that is being recognized for her exceptional academic promise.  Although she won’t continue in the 2016 competition for the National Merit Scholarship awards the NMSC said Grooms placed in the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered.

“The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” The NMSC said. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key roles their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation.  We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

A man accused in the domestic violence death of his wife is facing a stiffer charge.

55-year-old Martin Davis now faces a felony for first-degree domestic assault for serious physical injury.  He had previously been charged with a felony for second-degree domestic assault.

Charges were initially filed in May against the St Joseph man after his wife, Sandra Dee Davis, 52, was found injured in the couple’s home on May 1.

Sandra died after emergency surgery at Mosaic Life Care.

“The victim having multiple injuries and bruises, on multiple surfaces of the victim’s body (broken ribs, kidney bleed, bruises on face, arms, legs, back),” St. Joseph Police Department Detective Trenny Wilson said in the sworn probable cause statement.

Online court documents show Friday, Davis was found competent by the court to understand the nature of the offense charged and able to assist in his defense.  A preliminary hearing was waived and Davis was bound over to circuit court where an arraignment was scheduled Monday for Oct. 29.

Davis is currently committed in default of bond.