A Cameron man was seriously injured when he was ejected from his vehicle after a crash Monday night in Daviess County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday, 24-year-old Eric V. Gregg of Cameron was driving north on U.S. 69, one mile south of Winston, when he lost control of his vehicle and traveled off the right side of the road. The vehicle then traveled down an embankment, overturned and ejected Gregg. He was transported by Daviess County EMS to Cameron Regional Medical Center with serious injuries.
The topic of the next St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn will be the new regulations from the Department of Labor.
In May, a new rule was issued by the Obama administration. Under the new rule the annual salary threshold at which companies can deny overtime pay will be doubled from $23,660 to nearly $47,500.
That would make 4.2 million more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. The rules are meant to decrease the number of workers who can be classified as managers and forced to work long hours at a flat hourly rate. The White House estimates that the rule change will raise pay by $1.2 billion a year over the next decade.
According to St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Membership Natalie Redmond, the guest speaker at the June 14th event will be Carol Barnett, a local HR attorney who specializes in HR law.
“The topic is ‘White Collar wage and hour regulations that will affect most employers.’ It’s going to cover the new guidelines that have come down regarding salaried employees,” Redmond said. “Clearly this affects business owners, so if anyone owns a business locally that is not familiar with this regulation that’s going to be coming into effect in December and wants more information, it would be a good time to come.”
June’s Lunch and Learn will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14th, at the Green Acres Building.
For more information, call the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce at (816) 232-4461 or RSVP online. More information on the new regulations can be found at the Department of Labor website.
Enrollment for a week long camp this summer offering students the opportunity to discover the arts is near capacity.
Artscape, sponsored by the Allied Arts Council, is an arts camp for students in third through 10th grades. Students can participate in five full day classes with six classes each day or half day classes with three classes in the morning or afternoon.
Allied Arts Council Operations Manager Cathy Ketter says the classes offer a variety of arts options.
“We have hands-on art: basketweaving, sculpting, drawing and we also have the performing arts: we have a dance class and a Stage Stars class,” Ketter said.
According to Ketter, Artscape began 29 years ago as an enrichment camp for students.
“It gives them access to different types of arts that maybe they don’t have in school or it whets their interest a bit,” Ketter said.”
According to Ketter, only 180 spots are available for the camp and they only have a few spots left.
Artscape takes place August 1st through the 5th at Missouri Western State University’s Potter Hall. Find registration forms online, or pick up a form at the Allied Arts Council on 118 South 8th Street in St. Joseph. For more information, call (816) 233-0231.
Red Cross Volunteer/Driver Shoba Brown leaves for Texas to help with disaster relief efforts. Photo by Sarah Thomack.
American Red Cross volunteers including a volunteer with the Northwest Missouri chapter began traveling to Texas this week to help with relief efforts.
Parts of Texas received over 19 inches of rain over the holiday weekend. According to a Red Cross press release, since the beginning of the year, numerous storms have ravaged the state, displacing thousands of families and devastating homes and businesses. Areas around Houston have had severe weather and flooding for months and flooding is predicted to continue for several days.
The Red Cross has opened numerous shelters in affected areas and volunteers from across the country, including St. Joseph, are traveling to Texas to help.
Shoba Brown is a volunteer and driver with the Northwest Chapter of Red Cross. Brown left the St. Joseph location Friday morning in an Emergency Response Vehicle to travel to Texas to help with relief efforts. Brown said she would be picking up a volunteer from the Kansas City Chapter who will be along for the over 10 hour drive. Brown said they will make a stop overnight and she hopes to get an early start Saturday morning to get their assignments.
“If what I heard is correct and they’re going to send us to Houston, I’d like to get there as soon as possible and get to work,” Brown said.
According to Northwest Missouri Chapter Executive Director Angie Springs, many families have suffered losses from several floods in just this year.
“Texas has been having a tough year,” Springs said. “Disasters first hit the area as the year began and again in March, April and (in May). Red Cross workers have been helping from day one and will remain in the affected communities in the weeks and months ahead to make sure people get the help they need.”
For more information on how to help visit, the Red Cross website, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word TXFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations to Texas Floods and Tornadoes will be used to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters.
The Allied Arts Council of St. Joseph still needs around $62,000 to reach their funding goal before the end of the fiscal year.
The official fundraising campaign ended April 30th, but the Arts Council will still accept donations and pledges until June 30th.
According to Allied Arts Council Executive Director Teresa Fankhauser, the Arts Fund raises money for member organizations in the Allied Arts Council who apply for the funding. This year six organizations requested funds. A committee of citizens reviews grants and determines how much each organization will receive.
“So what’s nice is that we are raising the money and then responsibly allocating the money to the agencies,” Fankhauser said.
Some programs the funds go toward include Artscape, the Sculpture Walk and Trails West. About $62,000 is still needed to reach their goal of $212,500.
“We set our goal based on past history – how much we raised in years past and we look at the economy and trends to determine what our goal for the following year will be,” Fankhauser said.
To donate or pledge, call (816) 233-0231 or donate online.
The annual Northside Festival kicks off its 13th year on Friday.
The festival was started by business people, northend residents and people wanting to give back to students. Paul Gatewood is part of the Northend Community Association which puts on the festival. He says any funds raised during the event go towards scholarships for graduating Lafayette High School students.
“We all get together and focus on trying to raise this money for these kids and encourage them to go to college and be our future (and) make St. Joe great,” Gatewood said.
The Northside Festival begins at 5 p.m. Friday and runs through 5 p.m. Sunday at Krug Park. The event features live music, vendors, crafts and activities for children throughout the weekend. The fireworks show begins after sunset on Friday. On Saturday, a parade at 9:30 a.m. will start at Speedy’s and travel St. Joe Avenue to end up at Krug Park.
The second Bike Across Missouri or BAM event kicks off in St. Joseph on June 11th, riders leave on the 12th and travel through the 17th to end up in Hannibal.
The 300-mile, six day ride is broken up into about 50 miles per day with stops in Hamilton, Chillicothe, Brookfield, Macon and Shelbina. Each stop includes music and entertainment.
Kyle Carroll used to work for the Conservation Department and then the Missouri State Highway Patrol which he retired from in 2014. He bikes to keep in shape and has ridden in numerous bike related events including RAGBRAI and last year’s Big BAM.
Carroll said the Big BAM is a good ride for any skill level.
“When you do longer ones, it’s different than just going out and riding for a little while in the afternoon,” Carroll said. “You have to get your bike adjusted right and get in shape for it and a few things that are a little bit different. It’s a learning process, but that’s one of the neat things about BAM – it is a long ride – several day ride – but it’s not long each day and there’s lots of support and lots of people around, so for somebody who hasn’t done it before, it’s a good place to start.”
This year’s event will take riders through the hometowns and birthplaces of American innovators and inventions including the Pony Express, Walt Disney, Mark Twain and sliced bread. Bands will perform at each stop including The Black Lillies, Old Salt Union and David Wax Museum.
“It will be fun,” Carroll said. “You see the state differently from a bicycle than you do when you’re just whizzing by in a car – You hear things, see things, smell things.”
For more information on this year’s Bike Across Missouri event, click here.
Stephanie Tripp & Katie Parra. Photo courtesy Missouri Western State University.
Local entrepreneurs will manage their own stores after completing a program through Missouri Western State University’s Craig School of Business.
Pam Klaus is the Director of Franchise Programs at the Craig School of Business. She said students complete a semester long class where they prepare a business plan on a “study store.” They present the business plan to a panel of judges for the opportunity to be awarded a store.
“This semester this particular class compiles everything they’ve learned throughout their college career and it pulls it all together into this business plan,” Klaus said. “So they’re using marketing, management, their financials, accounting – all those classes they’re pulling together to use in their business plan. From that point it becomes no longer a classroom project. Once they compete and are awarded a store, they will relocate and operate franchises and they own and operate them so it’s very much real world at that point.”
Craig Realty Group founder and President/CEO Steven L. Craig; Stephanie Tripp; Katie Parra; Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory CEO Frank Crail. Photo courtesy Missouri Western State University.
The most recent competition was held on May 13th and Katie Parra and Stephanie Tripp were awarded stores through the program. Parra, a recent graduate, will relocate to Wheaton, Illinois, and purchase a yogurt store. Tripp, a 2012 graduate of Missouri Western, will own an Auntie Anne’s franchise in the East Hills Shopping Center with construction and opening dates to be determined. According to Klaus, the program is open to current and past students.
When graduates begin their small business venture through the program, initial capital is provided for the store, which the graduate pays back over time.
The program was founded by Steve Craig, benefactor of the Craig School of Business, by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and by Missouri Western. According to Klaus, through the program, the first store was awarded in 2009 and currently there are 23 stores in 11 states.
Klaus said the goal of the program is to give students their first opportunity in business and to have them grow and progress.
“I love working with the students, I love the opportunity that this affords our graduates,” Klaus said. “Right here in St. Joe we have this incredible opportunity that’s unique from any other part of the country.”
A man is in custody after an almost seven hour standoff with police Monday night.
According to the St. Joseph Police Department, officers surrounded a house in the West Hyde Park Avenue area Monday afternoon. Capt. Jeff Wilson said the Special Response Team was called in to assist around 8:23 p.m. Police said a suspect believed to be driving a stolen vehicle had fled and locked himself inside the garage of the house.
Police believed the suspect was armed. Around 11 p.m., the man surrendered willfully and was taken into custody.
Capt. Wilson said no shots were fired and the man is being held on several active warrants.
Officials hope Motorcycle Awareness Month will carry through the rest of the year.
Keeping everyone safe on the road was the thought behind designating May as Motorcycle Awareness Month.
Due to the high number of fatalities of individuals on motorcycles, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety spends a month each year reminding drivers to always be aware of motorcyclists.
Marcus Holmes is the Intermediate Systems Management Specialist for the Division of Traffic and Highway Safety. Holmes said, through the month, they ask that all motorists be aware of motorcycles.
“It’s the beginning of the summer season and you see a lot of motorcycles out there on the road,” Holmes said. “Approximately 11 percent of Missouri traffic fatalities in 2015 involved motorcycles and that is 92 motorcyclists (who) lost their lives in 2015.”
Holmes says they ask that motorists be more aware throughout the year and follow safe driving habits such as always checking your mirrors when changing lanes.
“Allow a motorcycle to have a full lane while driving – don’t share a lane with a motorcyclist. Always make sure to signal before changing lanes or merging into traffic because motorcycles are very fast, they’re nimble – even the big ones – they can get in a blind spot of a motorist and you may not see that motorcyclist.”
Holmes said to also always pay attention when entering an intersection, as most crashes or fatalities happen at intersections or while a motorcyclist is making a left turn. He adds motorcyclists should always wear the proper reflective gear so they can be seen by other motorists.
A Cameron man was seriously injured when he was ejected from his vehicle after a crash Monday night in Daviess County. 
