ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Motorists on U.S. Route 36 will encounter single-lane traffic in various locations beginning next week.

James H. Drew Corporation, working with the Missouri Department of Transportation plan to close one lane in order to safely work on sections of guardrail both on the roadside and in the median between 1.4 miles east of Route N in DeKalb County and the Buchanan County line.

Work will begin Monday, April 16th, and is scheduled to continue through mid-May. They plan to work from approximately 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, Monday through Thursday.

During the work drivers may experience delays. The project is weather dependent and could be rescheduled.

For more information on this and other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest.

The 65th year of Pancake Days in St. Joseph is this weekend.

Brad Campbell with the St. Joseph Host Lions Club said this is their largest fundraiser of the year.

“A lot of people know the Lions Clubs here in town regarding our fruit sales, our Pancake Days and between all of our events, the three Lions Clubs here in our community, we put back over 25-30,000 every year back into our community through local donations,” Campbell said. “This has always been a great event for us. People turn out, it’s a very family fun-oriented event on the Pancake Days. Pair up against your sibling, find out how many pancakes you can eat at one time… bragging rights for a year.”

All you can eat pancakes and sausages will be served for $7 at the door. Milk, juice and coffee will also be available.

The funds raised go toward the Lion’s mission for sight research, area charities and eye glasses for St. Joseph Community members that need them.

The Annual Lions Club Pancake Days run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday at the East Hills Mall in the Food Court.

A Breckenridge teen was seriously injured when he was hit by an ATV Thursday evening.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 14-year-old Eric C. Morgan was walking on Main Street east of 6th Street in Breckenridge at 5:45 p.m. When he crossed the street he was hit by an ATV driven by 14-year-old Caden N. Warren of Breckenridge. Morgan was transported to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for treatment of serious injuries.

According to the crash report, Warren was not injured.

UPDATE (3:40 p.m. Thursday) –  St. Joseph police are still investigating after a woman was injured from a gunshot early Thursday morning.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department, shortly after midnight Thursday, officers responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Harvard Street.

A woman was reportedly backing her vehicle into her driveway when she noticed a white male wearing a dark-colored hoodie in the alley. The man reportedly shot at her vehicle, hitting it. She was injured from the gunshots to her wrist and was treated and released from the hospital.  

Capt. Wilson said there are no suspects in custody at this time. 

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

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St. Joseph police are investigating after a woman was transported to the hospital with a gunshot wound early Thursday morning.

According to Sgt. Wayne Byrom with the police department, shortly after midnight, there was a report of shots fired coming from Harvard Street. Officers responded and found a woman with a gunshot wound.

She was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

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

With warmer weather and construction season approaching, the Missouri Department of Transportation is urging motorists to be extra cautious in work zones.

Northwest District Engineer Chris Redline said since 2000, 13 MoDOT workers have been killed in work zones.

“That’s awful. The public is even more at risk in work zones, because 16 drivers lost their lives in work zones last year and almost 60 in the last five years, so people just really need to… put your phone down and pay attention to what you’re doing,” Redline said.

This week is National Work Zone Awareness Week and MoDOT staff, along with local law enforcement are urging motorists to pay attention and drive carefully through work zones so everyone arrives home safely.

Sergeant Jake Angle is the Public Information and Education Officer with Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H. Angle said anytime there are signs designating work zone speed changes or workers present to pay attention to those.

“Even if the zone appears unoccupied, a lot of times there’s even people in there standing up cones from the day’s work or they are in there doing clean up work or other things behind the actual construction workers, so just because you don’t see a lot of workers present there still may be workers present and we need to heed those signs,” Angle said. “We talk to people all the time about paying attention, not being distracted when they’re going down the roadway… when you enter those construction zones, the risks increase so we need people to extra attention. That’s why we need them to put seatbelts on, put the phones down, pay attention to what’s going on, not just in construction zones but especially in construction zones.”

The MSHP reported that cellphone-involved crashes in 2016 resulted in 14 fatalities, 88 serious injuries and 1,020 minor injuries. Of those crashes, 24 occurred in work zones.

For more information on National Work Zone Awareness Week and the Buckle Up Phone Down challenge, click here.

A Kidder woman was killed in a crash on I-35 Tuesday night.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, shortly before 11 p.m., 64-year-old Kenneth M. Lewis of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was driving a semi south on I-35. Around mile marker 56.6 near Cameron, a Ford 500 driven by 32-year-old Constance R. Huff of Kidder failed to slow down and hit the back of the semi. Huff’s vehicle went off the road and overturned before coming to rest on its top in the median. Huff was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.

According to the crash report, Huff was not wearing a seat belt. Lewis was wearing a seat belt and was not injured in the crash.

The ones who are always there to answer 911 calls are being recognized during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

“On somebody’s worst day, I’m there. I get them the help that they need to make sure that they are safe and my officers are safe,” said Kallie Sherwood, Communications Operator.

As part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, communications operators with the Buchanan County area Communications Center had a rare opportunity to get together Tuesday morning. Communications Center Manager Capt. Jennifer Protzman said some operators and officers that were former dispatchers filled in for the morning.

“This is only the second time that we’ve been able to meet all together as a group because we’re 24/7, 365, so this is really unusual and a real blessing that we’re able to do this,” Protzman said.

According to Protzman, there are 17 operators overall with four supervisors. They spent the morning doing team building exercises together, painting, writing about some of the calls they have answered and more.

Protzman said the week recognizing those in the telecommunications profession is held the second week of April and was started in 1981 by a sheriff’s office in California.

“It’s just a way to recognize the work and the dedication of our communications operators. They often go unrecognized… they’re the calm in the storm, when the chaos is going on,” Protzman said. “The officers are known as the thin blue line and the communications operators are known as the thin gold line, the ones that information comes to first and they… as far as safety, safety of the citizens and the officers, they’re our first line of defense, so to speak.”

St. Joseph Police Chief Chris Connally said they couldn’t operate without the ones taking the calls in the 911 Center.

“They’re key to effectiveness in serving the community and a lot of what they do improves the situation before our officers even get there at the scene or before the firefighters get there at the scene. They gather that vital information for the fire department, they deescalate situations before the police arrive,” Connally said. “Just everything they do, they’re part of the lifeline of the police department and the lifeline of public safety for our community.”

Kallie Sherwood has been a Communications Operator for several years. Sherwood said one of the calls that has stuck with her was one she received just a few weeks ago.

“We had an open 911 call from a cell phone, which happens all the time, GPS coordinates, no conversation. I was actually getting ready to hang up the phone and I could hear this man making noises,” Sherwood said. “I stayed on the line with him, we sent police, we sent an ambulance, because he was able to tell me ‘ambulance,’ but that’s all he could tell me. I didn’t know until the officer opened the door that he had actually hanged himself and the bow that he was hanging from broke and he was laying on the floor when they got there.”

Sherwood said while receiving calls similar to that one is a difficult part of the job, knowing that officers arrived in time and the man in that situation is alright and alive is one of the rewarding parts of the job.  

“It’s not for somebody that’s faint of heart. You have to have a thick skin because you’re going to be called every name in the book,” Sherwood said. “ You have to really do some soul searching before you decide if this is a career for you, and if it is, we welcome everybody.”

Those working in the Communications Center dispatch for the St. Joseph Police Department, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Fire Department, and six rural fire departments. The center is also a public safety answering point for all 911 calls in the county. 

The St. Joseph School District’s Director of Finance, Wes Metz, announced his resignation this week.

According to a press release from the SJSD, Metz has accepted a position in the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District. His last day with the SJSD will be June 30, 2018.

Metz was recently named as Lee’s Summit’s chief financial officer. He is currently leading the SJSD finance department and also serves at the Board of Education treasurer.

Metz has been with the SJSD since 2015.

The Board of Education accepted Metz’ resignation during the meeting on Monday.

The search for his replacement will begin immediately.