A one vehicle rollover accident sent a Missouri woman to the hospital Tuesday afternoon in Daviess County.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol 63-year-old Sheila Seager of Jameson, Mo. was driving a 1997 Ford F150 westbound on Route M in Daviess County when the vehicle ran off the north side of the road.  Seager over-corrected causing her vehicle to travel down the embankment and start to slide coming back to roll over on the road and roll off the south side of the roadway coming to rest on its wheels.

Seager was transported by Daviess County EMS to Cameron Regional Medical Center with moderate injuries.  The vehicle was totaled.

 

The Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri is ending its relationship with the United Way of Greater St. Joseph.

The Girl Scouts have been a United Way of Greater St. Joseph Partner Agency since 1933.

Kylee Strough, president of the United Way said they were informed on April 27 that Girl Scouts were electing to terminate the agency relationship.

“According to the letter they sent us it has to do with primarily some of the policies that they and all other partner agencies agreed to regarding fundraising beyond the United Way,” Strough said.

As a United Way Partner agencies are restricted in where they can seek funds and the time of years they can do it in.

Strough said the Girl Scouts also expressed some disappointment with the amount of dollars they have been receiving from the United Way.

She said for the past two years they have been allocated $12,500.  However, in 2012-13 the agency only received $5,000 in allocations.  Strough said prior to that they had been receiving $30,000 or more.

She said the decrease came when the Girl Scouts consolidated.

“In the simplest of terms it had to do with the consolidation and removal of staff and things like that in this area and we saw the number of girls in scouting decline in that time also so the United Way volunteers decreased the allocations because it appeared they were doing less,” Strough said. “And the same story is true as to when it went up.  That was when the volunteers saw significant improvement in the efforts in the area.”

The Girl Scouts serve 47 county jurisdictions surrounding the Greater Kansas City, Topeka and St. Joseph areas.

“We are disappointed to see they are no longer choosing to be a partner agency and wish them all the best,” Strough said.

As of May 31, the partnership will end.  This will bring the United Way down from 19 partner agencies to 18.

The St. Joseph Post placed several calls in to contact a representative with the Girl Scouts for comment but was not immediately able to get a hold of anyone.  When our call is returned we will update with further information.

The St. Joseph Police Department has identified the remains of a man and woman found in a home last week in St. Joseph.

79-year-old Byron R. Timmons and 80-year-old Emma L. Timmons were discovered deceased in their residence at 1702 S. 22nd St. May 4th.

Police responded to the residence and a death investigation began.

Sergeant Brett Kelly told the St. Joseph Post that all unattended deaths are treated as potential homicides until investigation shows otherwise.

Results from the investigation and the medical examination have lead authorities to determine they died of natural causes.

Capt. Jeff Wilson said their remains have been released to family members.

 

A monkey that went missing Sunday in Livingston County has been reunited with his owner.

According to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Dept. a citizen was northwest of Chillicothe and reported seeing the lost animal.

The sheriff’s dept issued a missing exotic animal notice Sunday afternoon for a 6-year-old male Capuchin Monkey around 6-7 pounds in size.

Deputy Chris Mueller responded to that location and found the missing monkey.  The department said Mueller was able to talk to the monkey who ended up jumping into Mueller’s patrol truck for a ride home.

Deputy Mueller reported the monkey appeared in good health but was very hungry.

The Monkey has since been reunited with his pet owner who the sheriff’s department said is very grateful for the citizen tip and his monkey’s safe return.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating a body found early Tuesday morning on 36 Highway just two miles east of St. Joseph.

According to Sgt. Jake Angle with Troop H the Highway Patrol responded around 6:30 a.m. after a passerby reported seeing a body on the bridge.

When they arrived on scene officials found the body of a black man who appeared to have been struck by a vehicle. However, Sgt. Angle said they are unable to determine what caused his death at this time. An autopsy is scheduled.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating with assistance from the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department.

Westbound 36 Hwy was shut down for most of the morning but has sine been reopened.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is seeking information from the public that might assist in the investigation. If you have information please contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H Headquarters at (816) 387-2345.

 

The St. Joseph School District Board of Education approved new hires at
the May Board of Education meeting. The following administrators will begin July 1, 2015:
Solon Haynes, Ed.D., has been hired as the Director of Student Services. Haynes has been
the principal of Bishop LeBlond High School since 2009. Before that, Haynes was an
administrator and teacher in the St. Joseph School District. Haynes received his Doctorate in
Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2007, and received his Masters of
Science-Special Education from Northwest Missouri State University. Haynes is a graduate
of the University of Missouri and also served in the United States Marine Corps.
Marlena Walley has been hired as the Assistant Director of Special Education. Walley was
previously the District Coordinator of Special Services in the Independence School District.
She also has experience as a process coordinator and special education teacher. Walley
received her Educational Specialist degree from the University of Central Missouri-
Warrensburg in 2014. She also holds a Master of Science in Education degree from the
University of Kansas. Walley is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri-
Warrensburg.
John Davison has been hired as the Principal of Pickett Elementary. Davison was recently
the Assistant Principal at the Colgan Alternative Resource Center and has also worked as a
special education teacher. Davison holds his Master of Science Educational Administration
from Emporia State University. He also received his Master of Science in Special Education-
Adaptive from Emporia State University. Davison is a graduate of Kansas State University.
Rebecca Schilling has been named the Assistant Principal at Robidoux Middle School.
Schilling received her Educational Specialist in Administration Secondary Education from
the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She also received her Master of Science in
Education, History from Northwest Missouri State University. Schilling was a teacher and
coach at East Buchanan High School in Gower. She is a graduate of Northwest Missouri
State University.

A man known to many in the St. Joseph School District as “Mr. B” was recognized for his volunteer contributions within the district during a dedication ceremony Monday at Oak Grove Elementary.

Robert C. Thuman was known as, “Mr. B” He was born in St. Joseph in 1942 and died at the age of 72, in Nov. of 2014.

“He passed away six months ago due to cancer,” said Mike Otto, Oak Grove Elementary School Principal.

He taught with the St. Joseph School District for many years, and then later spent numerous years volunteering his time at Coleman Elementary School and then, after it’s opening, at Oak Grove Elementary.

“He spent ten years at Coleman volunteering the entire day every day,” Otto said. “You would see him in the library every day.”

He was even awarded the  2013-2014 Volunteer of the Year award by the St. Joseph School District.

In honor of his contributions Oak Grove elementary created a reading corner featuring a rocking chair and several of Mr. B’s favorite books.  In addition to the the nook, Oak Grove also dedicated an outdoor bench to him and held a balloon release.

“We raised funds,” Otto said. “Probably all in all about $2,000 to make it happen.”

Mr. B had received $1,000 with his volunteer award from American Family Insurance which went towards part of the cost. Gray Manufacturing also chipped in to make the reading bench as well donations from PTA and others.

To finalize the ceremony Monday morning at Oak Grove a balloon release was held with the entire student body in attendance as well as members of Mr. B’s family.

“We had the balloon release once we were outside. We did a little dedication it was very sad,” Otto said. “You know he was very loyal to the school and the kids.”

The City of St. Joseph has announced it plans to give kids a reduced rate on bus passes this summer with the introduction of a new St. Joseph Transit program.

“Something to try to get the youth more interested in what public transportation is all about and what it can do for kids,” said Mary Robertson, City of St. Joseph Communications & Public Relations Manager.

The “My Summer Ride”program will give kids age 6 to 18 unlimited rides on St. Joseph Transit from May 15 to Aug. 15.  The passes cost $30 each and include other discounts and freebies from the city.  Among those are a free ticket to a St Joe Mustangs home game, one free open gym pass to the REC center, one free pass to public skate at Bode Ice Arena, and one free youth admission to the Remington Nature Center.

“They can utilize it to really give them something to do over the summer that they may not be able to do if their parents are at work,” Robertson said.

The passes start for children at age six, however Robertson said the city obviously does not want 6-year-olds riding the bus alone.

“The concept is for the kids to go with their older siblings or a babysitter or an adult guardian,” Robertson said. “We do not want to encourage a 6-year-old on the bus by themselves.”

She said it’s a way for older siblings to take their younger brother or sister to the Aquatic Park or the Nature Center over the summer and learn about transportation.

The passes are sold at St. Joseph Transit at 702 S. 5th St, City Hall Rm 107 and the St. Joseph HyVee Service Desk.

Kids will have to provide proof of age to use the passes.

 

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held this afternoon on a facility that will add more than 200 jobs to the St. Joseph Economy.

Daily’s Premium Meats will break ground at 4 p.m. at 5501 Stockyards Expressway on its new 100,000 square-foot facility.

The company announced its intentions in March to bring the meat processing company which specializes in “sliced-to-order” naturally smoked bacon to St. Joseph.

Daily’s expects to hire 212 employees during the first five years of operation, with an average annual salary of $32,154, plus benefits.

This will be Daily’s third U.S. facility, with the other two in Missoula, Mont., and Salt Lake City. The facility will be built on vacant lands across from Triumph Foods’ St. Joseph plant, 5501 Stockyards Expressway.

The company anticipates commencing production in May 2016.

 

Authorities are still searching for a monkey Monday after it went missing over the weekend.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Dept issued a missing exotic animal notice Sunday afternoon for a 6-year-old male Capuchin Monkey around 6-7 pounds in size.

The pet was last seen the afternoon of May 10 near Liv 2313 and Liv 2316. The owner had reported that the monkey is a pet, wearing a leash, and is very friendly & tame.

It’s the second year in a row a Capuchin Monkey has gone missing in Livingston County.  Last year Chillicothe Police were forced to shoot and kill a rogue monkey after his owner failed five times to shoot the animal with a tranquilizer gun.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Department warns that any exotic pet can be dangerous.

If someone spots the monkey they are asked to call the 24-hour dispatch line at 660-646-2121 and the owner will be notified.