St. Joseph, MO – Dental Care of St. Joseph is opening its doors for free services to the community.

A free dental service day will be held Saturday, Sept. 12 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3921 Sherman Avenue.  Individuals on a first-come first-serve basis can have a choice of free cleaning, filling or extraction.

Dr. Benjamin Elmore said it’s part of an effort to improve the oral health of the community as part of Free Dentistry Day, a day dedicated providing dental care to the growing number of Americans who are unable to afford important routine dental care.

“Now more than ever, there are people in St. Joseph who need dental services but have no means to afford them,” said Dr. Elmore. “This event is a great opportunity for us to share our time and resources with those less fortunate and give back to the community we serve.”

For more information, call 816-279-3300 or visit www.FreeDentistryDay.org.

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department has released a photo from surveillance video footage of a vehicle used in a threat on a Civilian Officer.

According to the department, on Saturday Aug. 29 a Civilian worker with the Buchanan County Detention Center was in the parking lot of Little Caesars on Ashland when an individual in a vehicle pulled out what appeared to be a handgun, yelled the words ‘die pig die’ at her and fired the gun. A shell casing was recovered from the scene.

The female detention officer was not injured.

After reviewing video footage of the incident the sheriff’s department has released a photo of a mid-1990s Buick 4-door car.

Four individuals were in the vehicle at the time of the incident and the department said the weapon was fired from the rear passenger seat of the Buick,

“Our civilian employee pulled their vehicle into a parking space on the passenger side of the Buick. When our employee exited their vehicle is when this incident occurred,” said Cpl. Sarah Hardin with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department. “Our employee was taken completely by surprise and was shocked that the incident occurred. Our employee immediately entered Little Caesars for safety purposes.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department is investigating after a civilian detention worker was assaulted earlier this week.

“Two Hispanic/Latino males approximately late teens early 20s pulled what appeared to be a handgun, yelled ‘die pig die’ and fired the weapon,” said Col. Bill Puett, Undersheriff. “We don’t know if it was a blank pistol or a real pistol but the employee wasn’t hit.”

Puett said the female employee was not injured.  He said she has worked with the Buchanan County Jail for many years.

“She has been here over 10-years,” Puett said.

She was not a sworn officer.  He said she just worked in the jail watching or observing inmates.

The assault took place over the weekend in a parking lot of a local business just off of Ashland Ave.  Puett said the employee was wearing a polo and tactical pants that are part of the jail uniform.

A description of the vehicle driven by the suspects is that of a late 60s early 70s 4-door dodge, green in color with a lot of rust on it.

Puett said all employees have been instructed to stay on their guard.

“We have instructed all our employees to be hyper-vigilant with awareness of their surroundings and what’s going on and the things they encounter, to be very cautious,” Puett said.  “We’ve broadcast this to the police department, highway patrol, others in the region so they’re aware.  We want everyone to be safe, to not be harmed.”

He is asking the public to report any information they may have on the incident.

“The public’s help is greatly appreciated.  If anybody saw or has heard anything about this we’d very much appreciate to have that information,” Puett said. “We understand that our community is supportive of law enforcement.  They don’t want nor will they tolerate this behavior.”

Anyone with information can contact the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS

(Correction: over the weekend not Tuesday)

The United Way of Greater St. Joseph kicked off its 2015 campaign Thursday at East Hills Shopping Center with nearly $1 million already raised.

The agency announced its goal of $3,154,325 during the event. That’s only about $9,000 more than last year’s goal. Also announced, $898,700 of that goal has already been raised through Pacesetter Companies.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of our Pacesetter Companies, and for the work of our amazing volunteers,” said Sarah Weaver, United Way Campaign Director.

The campaign will run through Nov. 5

“It’s really important that we kick off the campaign with a bang and really get going full-speed ahead because we are helping support our 18 partner agencies and seven initiatives,” Weaver said. “The work that our partner agencies do is just so crucial to our community.”

Partner agencies include American Red Cross of Northwest Missouri, Bartlett Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Inc., The CENTER, A Samaritan Center, Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Community Missions Corporation, Family Guidance Center, InterServ, Legal Aid of Western Missouri, Northwest Missouri Community Services, Pony Express Council, Boy Scouts of America, St. Joseph Safety and Health Council, The Salvation Army, Specialty Industries of St. Joseph, Inc., United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Missouri, YMCA, and the YWCA.

The Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri ended its relationship with the United Way earlier this year.

Upcoming United Way Campaign public events include:

· Sept. 3-United Way Campaign Kickoff; 7:15-8:15 a.m. at East Hills Shopping Center Sunporch Cafe

· Sept. 24-United Way Campaign report lunch; 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe fellowship hall

· Oct. 31-United Way Campaign report at Missouri Western home football game half-time (afternoon game/ exact time yet to be determined)

· Nov. 5-United Way Campaign Victory Dinner; 6-8:15 p.m. at Missouri Western Fulkerson Center