ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Motorists on Interstate 229 will encounter single-lane traffic in various locations next week.

Contractors 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 I-29 and Route 371 (22nd Street) beginning Monday, March 12th. They plan to work from approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, Monday through Friday.

This guardrail work will continue through April.

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

Severe Weather Awareness week will carry over into next week with a weather spotter class.

Buchanan County Emergency Management Director Bill Brinton said the annual NOAA Weather Spotter class goes over various types of weather events and how to stay safe.

“They talk about tornadoes and how they grow or become tornadoes and they talk about different weather patterns and all kinds of basic information about how to be safe in the event of a storm,” Brinton said. “Weather is something that affects all of us and you need to be able to look outside or to follow the news and be able to know what’s going on and how to take safe efforts to protect you and your family.”

The free weather spotter class will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Historic Missouri Theater in St. Joseph.

St. Joseph School District summer school registration is now open.

Students this year will focus on the 4 Cs: Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking and Collaboration.

According to a press release, the 4 Cs are part of the SJSD Foundational Concepts for Learning, a 21st century learning strategy emphasizing teachers as facilitators of learning, allowing students to work together creatively to solve complex problems.

Middle school students will also have the opportunity to participate in Project Lead the Way Gateway during session one. High schools will offer credit recovery.

The SJSD will also offer the Fine Arts Institute for grades 1-8 and an improvisation workshop for grades 9-12. During the Fine Arts Institute, students will audition for, practice and perform a play. First through fourth graders will put on Disney’s The Aristocats Kids, and fifth – eighth graders will put on Annie, Jr.

High school students will have the opportunity to focus on improvisation in Project Improv. Students will take the art of improvisation and learn to build a free-flowing multiple scene long-form show. Students will learn to edit and connect scenes together, perform with greater depth, start and finish scenes and more. The workshop will conclude with a public performance.

Session one will run from May 25 – June 20, and session two will be June 21 – July 18. Busing will be available to summer school sites for each attendance area. Students may attend summer school at any site, but will need to provide their own transportation if it is outside of their attendance area.

Parents can find more information and registration forms in English and Spanish click here.

Buchanan County residents have an opportunity to experience what it’s like to work in law enforcement through an upcoming program.

The St. Joseph Police Department and the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office will present an eight-week Citizen’s Academy in April. They have been offering the program for over 10 years.

Sheriff Bill Puett said the Citizen’s Academy exposes community members to various aspects of area law enforcement.

“It introduces people who are interested to see some of the aspects of law enforcement and maybe dispel some of those myths and see some of the actual tools and techniques and those type of things,” Puett said. “For example, we have a SWAT night, they go up and watch the SWAT team… they can do ride-alongs… we do a case presentation. We talk about traffic and we talk about the jail and the court, how there’s all these little nuances of things that people, they see it on TV or they hear about it, but they’re not really exposed to the topic.”

The program takes place Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays April 3rd through May 22nd. For more information call (816) 236-1473 or pick up an application at the St. Joseph Police Department lobby. Applications must be returned by March 23rd.

The St. Joseph Public Library was recently awarded grant funding to support this year’s summer reading program.

The Offices of Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft awarded a $15,432 grant to the library.

East Hills Library Youth Services Manager Jess Gould said the grant allows the library to offer programs that provide free books or expand on reading-related educational themes.

“It’s providing resources that otherwise we would not have available,” Gould said. “We have a very limited budget and a lot of the things that we spend money on are already critical to the implementation of the program, so this is just icing on the cake of adding cooler resources, some more exciting things that we can offer and definitely use throughout the years to come.”

This is the second year the St. Joseph Public Library has received funding through the grant. It is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

This year’s summer reading program theme is “Libraries Rock” and will run June 1st to August 1st.

Seniors graduating from St. Joseph School District high schools will now have the opportunity to earn the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy.

According to a press release, the seal will be awarded to graduating high school students in districts with a DESE-approved program, who have demonstrated achievement in English, a Language Other Than English and sociocultural competence. All Missouri students studying any of the world’s languages are potential Seal candidates.

“By joining other districts in this new initiative, our graduates will be on the path toward earning free college credit and obtaining a minor in a foreign language. This opportunity is an excellent complement to existing college and career readiness programming in our district,” said Dr. Chris Hubbuch, Director of Secondary Education.

Seniors graduating from the St. Joseph School District could earn this seal on their diploma this year, as long as they have met the requirements. Earning the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy places a student on a pathway toward earning 12 hours of college credit at select universities who have endorsed the credential. Participating institutions include Missouri State University, Missouri Southern University, and the University of Central Missouri, with more institutions expected in the coming year.

To meet the requirements for the seal, students will have to obtain a 3.0 GPA in English classes and receive a “proficient” on the English II EOC. They will also need to demonstrate intermediate to mid-level proficiency in another language, scoring a 4.0 on ACCESS for ELL students. Additionally, they will need to complete a minimum of two activities for the socio-cultural component in order to receive the standard seal. These activities include service projects, tutoring, reflection and research, multicultural events, and travel.

For more information on the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy, click here.

The 2nd Act Players will be taking the stage again with spring classes starting next week for anyone age 50 and up.

Cheryl Wood is the Coordinator and Director of the 2nd Act Players. Wood said the Robidoux Resident Theatre is in its second year of the classes for anyone interested in theatre onstage or backstage.

“These are people that are either retired or their children are grown, they have some time now to take care of themselves. Instead of focusing on their careers or family, they can now do those things that they have always wanted to do but haven’t had the time to do,” Wood said.

Shirley Evans is returning for a fourth semester with the 2nd Act Players.

“Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a movie star and, of course, I was born on a farm in northwest Iowa so I talked to the chickens and the ducks and my sisters and we put on plays and it was such fun, but… life goes on with your family and your children,” Evans said. “I can’t remember what article it came out, but I was sitting on the sofa and glanced over and here was an invitation to come and learn to be an actress. I thought, ‘Well I’m going to give that a shot, I’ve always wanted to do it,’ and just simply loved it.”

Classes begin March 12th and 13th and end with a performance at 7 p.m. on May 19th at the Robidoux Landing Playhouse. There are three class options ranging from beginner to more experienced actors and technicians. 

Participants can choose a time with classes offered at 10 a.m. or 5:15 p.m. on Monday or 10 a.m. Tuesday. Classes will meet in the conference room at East Hills Library.

For more information, contact the Robidoux Resident Theatre at (816) 232-1778 or click here.