The St. Joseph School District has hired two long-time Missouri educators to fill the open director positions in Finance and Student Services.

According to a press release, Dr. Gabe Edgar will join the administrative team as the District’s Director of Finance. He is currently superintendent for the Marceline R-V School District. Before that, Dr. Edgar was a principal for Marceline Middle School and High School.

Dr. Edgar began his teaching career in 1997 as a business education instructor. In addition to his role as superintendent, he is a graduate program instructor at William Woods University where he teaches courses in education administration, classroom management and school supervision, school finance and curriculum.

Dr. Edgar’s first day with the SJSD will be July 1, 2018. He is replacing Wes Metz who announced his resignation in April.

 

Dr. Robert Sigrist is returning to the St. Joseph School District as Director of Non-Academic Support and Student Services.

He is currently Savannah High School’s principal and teaches graduate courses as an adjunct instructor at William Woods University.

Dr. Sigrist was an assistant principal at Central High School in St. Joseph for 13 years, where his responsibilities included discipline, building security, crisis management, attendance and technology. He also taught science at Lafayette before becoming an administrator.

Dr. Sigrist will replace Dr. Solon Haynes on July 1. Dr. Haynes will stay with the District as Parkway Elementary School’s principal.

The Board of Education approved both hires during closed session at Monday’s meeting.

A man was taken into custody early Wednesday morning after a standoff that lasted over four hours.

According to Sgt. Brett Kelley with the St. Joseph Police Department, a man in his 30s barricaded himself in a basement with a handgun in the 2500 block of Lafayette Street around 9:30 Tuesday night. Kelley said the incident began due to an attempt to arrest the man on investigative charges.

The Special Response Team and negotiators were called in to assist and the man surrendered peacefully around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Mosaic Life Care announced it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award.

According to a press release, the distinction places Mosaic Life Care among the top five percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data for its performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

Mosaic Life Care is the only hospital in Missouri to be named among the Top 5 percent of hospitals in the Nation for both Clinical Outcomes and Patient Safety in 2018.

“This impressive patient quality award speaks to the dedication of our caregivers and the investment they pour into their patients,” says Mark Laney, MD, Mosaic Life Care CEO. “The data is clear that the quality of care here in St. Joseph is outstanding.”

During the 2014 to 2016 study period, Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:

• 55.6 percent less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 52.4 percent less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 62.8 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 54.3 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals

To view the Healthgrades hospital quality methodologies, click here.

A St. Joseph man is in custody after a standoff early Tuesday morning.

According to Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett, deputies responded at 2:30 a.m. to a report of a disturbance in the 3900 block of East Hills Drive in St. Joseph.

Puett said a man had barricaded himself in a vehicle and had a handgun. The St. Joseph Police Department and the Special Response Team also were called in to assist.

Negotiators eventually were successful in getting the man to surrender peacefully. He was taken into custody at approximately 5:45 a.m. Tuesday.

No details are available yet on charges.

The St. Joseph School District Board of Education recently approved a number of hires in leadership positions throughout the District.

At Central High School, Jason Simpson has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. Simpson is currently the activities director at Lafayette High School. He joined Lafayette in 2016 after teaching Business at Central for 11 years. Simpson rounds out the new leadership team at Central for the 2018-19 school year. Central recently announced Dr. Terri Godfrey as the building principal for 2018-19 and Dr. Kris Larson as an assistant principal. Neal Hook remains as the building’s other assistant principal. The St. Joseph School District’s Board of Education approved Simpson as assistant principal during executive session at Monday’s meeting. The search for a new activities director at Lafayette will begin immediately.
The Board also approved David Stroud as Central’s head volleyball and assistant wrestling coach for 2018-19. Stroud currently teachers English-Language Arts at Union Star High School. He is a graduate of Missouri Western State University with experience teaching in the St. Joseph School District at both Benton High School and Central High School. He will also teach Special Education at Central.

At Lafayette High School, Bart Hardy has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. Hardy is currently teaching Mathematics at Lafayette and serves as the head football coach. He has been with the St. Joseph School District since 2005. Hardy fills the position left open after Dr. Ashly McGinnis was promoted to principal at Lafayette. The Board of Education approved Hardy during executive session at Monday’s meeting. The search for Hardy’s replacement as Lafayette’s head football coach will begin immediately.
The Board also approved Kevin Bristol as head coach for the boys’ basketball program. Bristol is a Special Education teacher at Benton High School. His coaching experience includes JV and freshman basketball at Benton and head boys’ basketball coach at Robidoux Middle School. Bristol will also teach Special Education at Lafayette.

At Benton High School, Kerstyn Bolton has been selected as head coach for the girls’ basketball program. Bolton is currently an assistant coach for the program. She is also a 5th grade teacher at Hosea Elementary School. Bolton will replace head coach Brett Goodwin. Goodwin was recently selected to fill the activities director position at Benton following the retirement announcement from Mike Ziesel. Bolton will retain her teaching position at Hosea, as well.

At Bode Middle School, Stacia Studer has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. Studer currently teaches 8th grade English Language Arts at Bode and serves as a department chair. She has been with Bode since 2002. Studer also served as an instructional coach at Truman Middle School and has held numerous leadership roles with the St. Joseph School District and in the community. She will replace Janice Wing who recently announced her retirement.

At Lindbergh Elementary School, Eric White has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. White currently teaches at Tiffany Ridge Elementary in the Park Hill School District. He also has experience teaching in the Excelsior Springs School District and the Independence School District. White has leadership experience at Tiffany Ridge Elementary where he served as principal during summer school in 2016 and 2017. He also currently serves as an assistant to the principal.

(Press Release)

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State University forensics team, known as the Speaking Bearcats, finished its 2017-18 season April 7-8 by hosting the Public Communication Speech and Debate League (PCSDL) National Tournament and winning three more national titles at the event.

According to a press release, the team won the national championship in Division I Speech Sweepstakes while Hailey Vernon won an individual championship in audition monologue and Bryana Jones won the national title in Pecha Kucha.

In total, the team won three sweepstakes awards and 25 individual awards at the tournament. The Speaking Bearcats are now winners of 30 team and individual national titles since 2009.

“This team did an outstanding job,” Northwest Director of Forensics and tournament director Brian Swafford said. “The championships are outstanding, but I am equally impressed with all the other award winners. We had five national runner-ups and six third-place finishes. These results tell me this young team is going to be really, really good in the coming years.”

Individual results for the Speaking Bearcats at the PCSDL are listed below:

• Natalie Cote (freshman, emergency disaster management, Lawrence, Kansas): second place, research paper; third place, great speeches; fifth place, duo improv acting, with Baylynd Porter.
• Gavin Hopkins (junior, speech and theatre education, Gallatin, Missouri): third place, duo improv acting, with Alexander Whittington; fifth place, audition monologue; sixth place, table topics.
• Bryana Jones (freshman, organizational communication, Raytown, Missouri): national champion, Pecha Kucha; second place, public narrative; second place, table topics; second place, humorous political commentary; third place, individual sweepstakes; fourth place, great speeches; sixth place, duo improv acting, with Clarissa Lenger.
• Clarissa Lenger (freshman, special education, Liberty, Missouri): second place, sports communication; fifth place, table topics; sixth place, duo improv acting, with Bryana Jones.
• Baylynd Porter (sophomore, history, Ozark, Missouri): second place, slam poetry; fourth place, public narrative; fifth Place, duo improv acting, with Natalie Cote.
• Hailey Vernon (junior, speech and theatre education, Omaha, Nebraska): national champion, audition monologue; third place, public narrative; fourth place, slam poetry; sixth place, individual sweepstakes.
• Alexander Whittington (freshman, speech and theatre education, Pleasant Hill, Missouri): third place, slam poetry; third place, audition monologue; third place, duo improv acting, with Gavin Hopkins; fifth place, individual sweepstakes; fifth place, interviewing.

The Speaking Bearcats also performed well at the National Speech Championship March 24-25 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Cote was a semifinalist in communication analysis and a novice exhibition finalist in prose and informative speaking, and Porter was a novice exhibition finalist in poetry and informative speaking.

The team traveled to the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament March 14-17 at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Speaking Bearcats claimed four awards at the tournament, which drew more than 80 teams, making it one of the largest speech and debate national tournaments ever recorded. Cote was a semifinalist in communication analysis; Hopkins finished fourth in congress; and Jones was an octofinalist in impromptu speaking and claimed an excellent award in persuasion.

Unlike recent years when Northwest competed at the national tournament with an experienced team, Swafford noted the Speaking Bearcats traveled this year with only first-year competitors.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of May 7 – 13 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs, litter pick up and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.

Andrew County

• Interstate 29 – Bridge deck replacement project at the Nodaway River Bridge. Traffic is head to head in the northbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through August and includes a 13-foot width restriction.
• U.S. Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Route 48 to Route A (Nodaway County), May 7 – 12

Atchison County

• I-29 – Flushing bridges, May 7 – 11. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
• U.S. Route 275 – Drainage work, May 9 – 11

Buchanan County

• Route DD – Pothole patching at 43rd Service Road, May 7 – 8
• I-229 and U.S. Route 36 – Sweeping and flushing bridges, May 7 – 10
• Route 752 – Sidewalk project at Pryor Avenue, May 9 – 11

Caldwell County

• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair from Grindstone Creek (DeKalb County) to Sale Barn Road east of Cameron, May 7 – 11
• Route 116 – Shoulder work from Route A to U.S. Route 69 (Clinton County), May 7 – 11
• Route A – Shoulder work, May 7 – 11
• U.S. Route 36 – Bridge maintenance at the Long Branch Bridge, May 7 – 12

Carroll County

• U.S. Route 65 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Carrollton to County Road 368, May 7 – 9
• U.S. Route 65 – Bridge maintenance at Shootman Creek Bridge, May 7 – 10. This will include overnight lane closures and a temporary traffic signal has been installed to direct traffic.
• Route NN – Shoulder work from Route 139 to the end of state maintenance, May 10 – 11
• Route D – Pothole patching from Route C to U.S. Route 36 (Livingston County), May 10 – 11

Chariton County

• Route E – Pothole patching from Route 5 to the Macon County line, May 10 – 11

Clinton County

• Route 116 – Shoulder work from Route A (Caldwell County) to U.S. Route 69, May 7 – 11

DeKalb County

• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement resurfacing and realignment project at the Route 33 North/Route M junction. Traffic is head to head in the eastbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through July 3 and includes a 14-foot width restriction.
• U.S. Route 36 – Guardrail improvements from the Buchanan County line to 1.4 miles west of Route N near Stewartsville, May 7 – 11
• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair in the eastbound lanes from SW Taylor Road west of Stewartsville to the Route 33 North/Route M junction, May 7 – 11
• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair from Grindstone Creek to Sale Barn Road east of Cameron (Caldwell County), May 7 – 11

Gentry County

• Route V – CLOSED for pavement resurfacing from Route AA to Route H, May 9, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route V – CLOSED for pavement resurfacing from Route AA to U.S. Route 169, May 10, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Grundy County

• U.S. Route 65 – Resurfacing project from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, May 7 – 11. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Harrison County

• Route EE – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Muddy Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through May.

Holt County

• I-29 – Bridge deck replacement at the Nodaway River Bridge. Traffic is head to head in the northbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through August and includes a 13-foot width restriction.
• U.S. Route 59 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Davis Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through June.

Linn County

• Route B – Pothole patching from Route 5 to Route 139, May 7
• Route WW – Pothole patching from Route 5 to the Macon County line, May 9
• Route V – Pothole patching from Route M to Route C, May 9 – 10
• Route C – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route M to Harbor Drive, May 10, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Livingston County

• Route C – Pothole patching from Route Z to U.S. Route 36, May 7
• U.S. Route 65 – Resurfacing project from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, May 7 – 11. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
• Route DD – Pothole patching from Route C to Route D, May 9
• Route D – Pothole patching from Route C (Carroll County) to U.S. Route 36, May 10 – 11

Mercer County

• U.S. Route 65 – Resurfacing project from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, May 7 – 11. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Nodaway County

• Route 148 – Pothole patching from U.S. Route 71 to the end of state maintenance, May 7
• Route 246 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route AC to Leopard Road, May 7, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• U.S. Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Route A to just north of Route 48 (Andrew County), May 7 – 12
• Route 246 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route AC to Leopard Road, May 9, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route NN – Pothole patching from Route 46 to Route E, May 9
• U.S. Route 71 – Shoulder work, May 9 – 11
• Route 246 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Lion Road to Mercury Road, May 10 – 11, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
• Route NN – Pothole patching from Route E to Route 148, May 10 – 11

Sullivan County

• Route 129 – Resurfacing project from Route 6 to Route H, May 7 – 12. This includes a 10-foot width restriction. A pilot car and flaggers will direct traffic through the work zone.

Worth County

• Route M – Shoulder work from Route C to Route EE, May 9 – 11
• Route 46 – Drainage work at Indigo Road, May 10
• Route F – Drainage work one mile north of Route 46, May 11