Buchanan County Emergency Management and others helped rescue an elderly couple stuck in their home due to floodwaters.

County Emergency Management Director Bill Brinton said he helped with the rescue Thursday in the 7500 block of Cook Road by the Platte River. An elderly couple’s house was surrounded by water and they had no transportation available to leave the area.

“The water got within a foot from their house. With the help of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Department of Conservation and American Red Cross, we were able to help rescue a couple of elderly people and their cat named Fred,” Brinton said. “The Red Cross put them up in a motel and we had a good outcome.”

Brinton said the good news is that the Platte and Missouri River should begin receding soon, but several county and state roads are still closed due to flooding.

“I do anticipate all of the county roads will be closed over the weekend because crews have to get in and remove sediment and they have to inspect the roads and make sure they’re safe for people to travel on,” Brinton said. “The city of Agency is surrounded by water and we are working with the people that live down there. At Lewis and Clark Village… the water is not rising and not all the houses that were affected by the flooding back in March were affected this time so that’s great news, but we won’t know actually until we get in and start looking at the properties.”

As of Friday morning, the following roads are closed in Buchanan County:

In the Eastern District of Buchanan County –

SE 123rd

SE Kemmer

SE 115

SE Horn

112th SE

80th SE

Rock Creek SE

SE Saxton Easton

SE Saxton Easton

SE Mitchell

SE Chestnut

NE Cook

SE 85th

SE Loutermilch

NE Cook

NE 135th

NE 139th

NE Hurlingen

NE 85th

NE 85th

NE Cook

SE Possum Holler

SE Pigeon Hill

NE Hurlingen

SE Hillyard

 

In the Western District –

Mud Lake Road SW

North Shore Drive SW

116th SW

110th SW

130th SW

Lakefront Lane

Nominations are being accepted for the 28th annual Mayor’s Awards for the Arts, presented by St. Joseph Mayor Bill McMurray and the Allied Arts Council.

According to a press release from the Allied Arts Council, established in 1992, the Mayor’s Awards for the Arts recognizes individuals and organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions in the arts in the greater St. Joseph area.

Mayor McMurray said the arts are an important part of the community’s quality of life.

“I’ve certainly, all my life, been involved in the arts and support them financially and I’ve been president of a lot of different arts organizations in the city over the years, so I’m looking forward to presenting the arts awards,” McMurray said. “The arts are a multi-million dollar economic impact in St. Joseph, so not only the money but the quality of life that the arts provide, I want to support that.”

Nominations are being accepted in the categories of Artist of the Year, Arts Educator of the Year, Youth Artist, Organizational Achievement in the Arts, Individual Leadership and Outstanding Volunteer. A panel of arts leaders from across the state selects the award recipients.

Mayor McMurray will present the awards during a ceremony held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Allied Arts Council on July 18th.

Nomination applications are due by 5 p.m. on June 10. Click here for more information and a link to the nomination form.

Every May, when the weather typically starts to warm up, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, State Highway Patrol and others remind motorists to watch for motorcycles on the road.

May is designated as Motorcycle Safety Month.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, preliminary data show that approximately 12% of Missouri traffic fatalities in 2018 involved a motorcycle, with 115 motorcyclist lives lost.

Sgt. Jake Angle with Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H said May is a good month to have the safety campaign, as there tends to be an increase in bike traffic.

“I think it’s just a good month, just to remind people, really it’s more about reminding people, getting them thinking that way about being safe, about the things they need to do and not only the motorcyclists, but also the motoring public, just to make sure that everybody’s on board, just aware they’re out there, we need to get back in that mode,” Angle said. “Kind of like when school starts, with school buses, same things with motorcycles – they’re out there, we need to be vigilant, we need to be aware.”

Angle said safety on the roads is the job of both motorists and motorcyclists.

“Motorcycles are a little bit harder to see, they’re smaller, you can lose them in a blind spot easier, so just make sure that we’re giving 100% of our attention to the job of driving and we’re looking out for those people on motorcycles,” Angle said. “The motorcyclists, they have a responsibility too, they have to understand that they are smaller… that people can’t see them as well. So they need to make sure they don’t stay right in somebody’s blind spot when they’re riding a bike. I think if people will pay attention, use some good common sense, we can all share the road and everything will be fine.”

For more information about Motorcycle Safety Month, go to savemolives.com.

A two-year-old was taken to the hospital Sunday night after being hit by a car.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, around 7:20 p.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of Charles Street, a child ran up in front of vehicle where the people driving weren’t able to see. Police say the driver was able to stop quickly and it was a slow impact.

The child was transported to the hospital by ambulance for treatment of minor injuries. Police say it was considered an accident.

By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post

An introduction to what it’s like to be a part of a Red Cross Disaster Action Team will be held next week.

Ralph Dishong is the Disaster Program Specialist with the American Red Cross of Missouri and Arkansas.

Dishong said the Red Cross needs volunteers in St. Joseph for the Disaster Action Team, which is the team that most commonly responds to home fires.

“Once we get notified of a house fire, our Disaster Action Team provides 24-hour emergency response to our local disasters and they provide the basic needs for those people who’ve had that fire. For example, somebody’s house is on fire, our volunteers go meet those people… and make sure they have the basic essentials of food, shelter and clothing,” Dishong said. “Also, it’s very important for those people that have had that tragedy happen to know that somebody cares… we’re here to help people get by those initial day or two and… start the road to recovery.”

Dishong said an upcoming free training course is a refresher for some and an introduction for others who may be interested in volunteering for the Disaster Action Team.

“We’ll explain exactly what this Disaster Action Team is, what it does, how the shifts work and we will show them how to do it, so that will give them the information they need to make that decision if this is something that they want to do,” Dishong said.

The training takes place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, at the Red Cross in St. Joseph at 401 N 12th Street.

Dishong said if anyone decides after the training to be a volunteer, they will fill out a Red Cross volunteer application and complete more training.

To register for the training by noon on Monday, contact Ralph Dishong at (816) 385-5952 or ralph.dishong@redcross.org.

St. Joseph Police say several vehicles were involved in a crash Wednesday night with the occupants of two vehicles fleeing the scene.

According to police, around 8 p.m. Wednesday, in the 1300 block of South 24th, a silver Chrysler 300, stolen out of DeKalb County, hit a vehicle head on that was traveling south on 24th. Both vehicles then hit several parked cars. The occupants of both vehicles fled the scene. No injuries were reported.  

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.

UPDATE- A previous version of this story stated only the occupants of the Chrysler fled the scene.