Hundreds of people are planning to walk in St. Joseph Saturday with the mission to try to find a cure for Cancer.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life will take place Saturday, July 11 at the Civic Arena.

“We do a 12-hour event to kind of symbolize a cancer patient’s walk with the different things they go through with their treatments,” said Trey Drowns, event coordinator. “So each team will have someone on their team walking the entire 12 hours.”

Drowns said as of Thursday afternoon there were 27 teams signed up to take part in the event.  He said teams ranged from one or two people to a team upwards of 60 people on a team.

“Relay for Life is the largest fundraising event for the American Cancer Society,” Drowns said. “30 years ago it started as just one person walking around a track himself just wanting to raise awareness for cancer research and it kind of just caught on.”

This year’s fundraising goal is $32,000 for cancer research. Drowns said Thursday $21,500 had already been raised.

Donations are being accepted at the day of the relay, or online.

“Each team will have some type of game or activity or food or something like that to sell at relay so we can raise more funds that day,” he said.

Music, activities and food will also be on hand.

“We’d love for the community to come out and support the American Cancer Society,” Drowns said.

Drowns said a free breakfast will be held at 8:30 that morning for cancer survivor’s and their caregivers.

 

For more information check out www.relayforlife.org or contract Drowns at rflstjoe@yahoo.com or (816)-294-0390.

(UPDATE 7 p.m.) – Authorities have identified a man and woman killed early Saturday morning in Buchanan County.

According to Buchanan County Undersheriff Bill Puett law enforcement officials responded to 8610 NE Hurlingen Road around 1:05 a.m. for a check well-being.

After getting no answer at the residence they continued to investigate and found a man and a woman dead outside of their home.

Authorities have now identified the victims as 72-year-old James Johnson and 76-year-old Beverly Johnson. The cause of death was ruled both from gunshot wounds.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with their deaths.

Puett said investigators have been out all night working the case.

The case has been referred to the Buchanan County Juvenile Office authorities said any other information regarding charges or the status of the investigation will be released from the Juvenile Office.

The St. Joseph Police Department took two people into custody Friday morning after an almost four hour long standoff.

According to Commander Eric Protzman officers attempted to serve a felony warrant on 29-year-old Timothy Ellsworth Friday around 6:30 a.m. at his home in the 200 block of West Valley Street.

Ellsworth allegedly refused to cooperate with police and barricaded himself in the residence.

The Special Response Team was then called in to assist.

Protzman said Ellsworth had crawled into the space under the floor so pepper spray had to be used to force him out.

Ellsworth was apprehended and arrested on felony warrants and a 26-year-old St. Joseph woman was taken into custody for investigation of hindering prosecution.

No shot were fired. However, Ellsworth had a laceration to his head Protzman said he sustained when he forced his way into the crawl space.

Because police had to use pepperspray both individuals were transported to Mosaic Life Care for evaluation.

Authorities cleared the scene just after 10 a.m.

 

The Remington Nature Center gift shop is filling its shelves with “made in America” products.

Barbara Russell, Administrative Technician wrote in St. Joseph’s City Weekly that when the nature center first opened seven years ago her main concern was to fill the gift store with nature-themed products for its grand opening.  However, she said as time passed she’s found that customers often requested items “made in America”.  So she said she began looking for items with nature-themes at a reasonable price point that were just that.

“Through the years, I have found several reputable vendors with nature-themed merchandise,” she writes. “However, the price points are always considerably higher than my foreign-made inventory.  The quality, however, is infinitely better.”

She said she’s found that guests are willing to pay a little more for better made products, especially if they’re American-made.

“If 300,000,000 American each simply reallocated one dollar per day, spending one dollar less on foreign-made goods and one dollar more on American-made goods, this would add up to $109,500,000,000 after one year,” Russell said. “What could the real, productive American economy do with an extra $109.5 billion?”

Click Here to read this week’s City Weekly.

The St. Joseph Police Department is investigating an early morning assault that took place in the North Belt Walmart parking lot.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson officers responded around 3:42 a.m. to find an 45-year-old man with minor injuries.

Wilson said the man was going to sleep in his car when he said he was approached by a couple of white males and assaulted.

The man sustained only minor injuries and refused medical treatment.

Wilson said no weapons were reported.

Police are investigating but have not released descriptions of the subjects.

Anyone with information in connection with the incident is asked to contact the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.

 

JEFFERSON CITY— The Missouri Public Service Commission voted 3 to 2 Wednesday to deny a request from a power line project that would pass through part of Missouri including Buchanan County.

The PSC denied a request filed by Grain Belt Express Clean Line LLC (GBE) for a certificate of convenience and necessity to construct, own, operate and maintain a high voltage, direct current transmission line and associated facilities within Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Randolph, Monroe and Ralls counties in Missouri as well as an associated converter station in Ralls County.

According to the application, approximately 206 miles of the transmission line will traverse the state of Missouri from Kansas into Illinois and Indiana (Project).

“After applying the facts to the law to reach its conclusions, the Commission concludes that the substantial and competent evidence in the record supports the conclusion that GBE has failed to meet, by a preponderance of the evidence, its burden of proof to demonstrate that the Project as described in its application for a certificate of convenience and necessity is necessary or convenient for the public service,” said the Commission.

The Commission stated the five criteria that it will use to determine whether to grant a certificate of convenience and necessity to GBE are: 1) There must be a need for the service; 2) The applicant must be qualified to provide the proposed service; 3) The applicant must have the financial ability to provide the service; 4) The applicant’s proposal must be economically feasible; and 5) The service must promote the public interest.

The Commission stated in its decision that GBE met its burden of proof that it is qualified and has the financial ability to provide the service. However, the Commission concluded GBE failed to prove a need for the project, that it was economically feasible and that it promotes the public interest.

The Commission determined GBE failed to prove the Project promotes the public interest. “In this case the evidence shows that any actual benefits to the general public from the Project are outweighed by the burdens on affected landowners. The Commission concludes that GBE has failed to meet its burden of proof to demonstrate that the Project as described in its application for a certificate of convenience and necessity promotes the public interest.”

Commissioners Stephen Stoll, William Kenney and Scott Rupp voted for the order. Chairman Robert Kenney and Commissioner Daniel Hall dissented.

An assessment of damage caused by recent storms is underway in Buchanan County and other areas in the region.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorities toured the Buchanan County area Wednesday.

“We’re doing what’s called preliminary damage assessments,” said Merideth Parrish, FEMA Region 7 Public Affairs Information Officer. “Essentially what we’re doing is we’re looking at the impact from the storms that began on May 15 and are still continuing. Public assistance has us look at impacts to public infrastructure so that could be everything from roads, to bridges, public facilities if they were impacted.”

Buchanan County Emergency Manager Bill Brinton said authorities toured damage in areas near the Remington Nature Center, the trail north of the St. Joe Frontier Casino, 29th street and 28th street in town and then roads in the Eastern District and Western District.

“We’ve seen all different kinds of damage,” Brinton said. “On Lower Dekalb road the road is completely washed out.  Probably about 100 feet across is completely missing.”

Parrish said FEMA is evaluating around 22 counties in Missouri that have sustained damage from recent storms.  She said most of those areas are in the northwest and northeast parts of the state.

“We’re trying to basically paint a picture to see the size, scale and the scope of the impact of the disaster, ” Parrish said. “This is just the data collection stage, once all that data collection is done we turn that information back over to the State Emergency Management Agency and together they with the governor will look at that damage and say is this beyond the state’s budgetary ability, capability resources to be able to assist local jurisdictions and counties in recovering and repairing and rebuilding after a disaster? If it is then the governor then has the option to submit a federal disaster declaration for public assistance dollars.”

FEMA Region 7 serves the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska

“A couple of weeks ago we did finish up the same type of damage assessment for Kansas,” Parrish said. “This week we are focusing on Missouri.  We will break for the holiday and then we will start up again next week.”

Parrish said this process is just an assessment, not a guarantee that federal aid is coming.

“We try to get the damage assessments done pretty quickly,” she said. “As we’re collecting data we’re sending it to the state so they can begin their process of compiling their data for all the counties cumulatively so they can begin that review with the governor.  That governor then takes that time and that information he has to review that data and works with FEMA together to put that request in should he choose.”