The St. Joseph School District Board of Education has announced three finalists for the superintendent’s position.

The Board held first round interviews on Saturday, January 13.

“The search has been a rigorous process that began with input on what the district is seeking in a new superintendent from hundreds of citizens and staff members through focus groups, public forums and an online survey. We were very pleased with the quality of applicants we received and are confident that any one of the three finalists would be an excellent leader for our school district and in our community,” said Lori Prussman and Larry Koch, the two Board members overseeing the search process.

During the upcoming round of final interviews, citizens, staff members, parents and students will provide the Board input on a finalist.

According to a press release from the school district, the three finalists are Dr. Rebecca Albrecht, Dr. William Cowling and Dr. Douglas Van Zyl.

 

Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Albrecht is in her third year as superintendent of Maryville R-II School District. Previously, she was superintendent of Trenton School District for nine years. She has raised achievement in both districts, including helping Trenton earn its first “Performance with Distinction” award from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is actively involved in the community and a partner with higher education institutions. Dr. Albrecht is a native of Northwest Missouri and attended Northwest Missouri State University. She also has a master’s degree from Southwest Missouri State and her Specialist and Doctorate degrees from William Woods University. She and her husband have three children.

Dr. William (Bill) Cowling is currently Assistant Superintendent of Management Services for the Blue Springs School District. He has been in that position for 10 years and oversees ancillary operations and associated financial requirements. He has had a 25-year career in Blue Springs as a teacher, principal and assistant superintendent. Over the past 10 years, he has led multiple district improvement projects with associated public interest initiatives. In addition, Dr. Cowling has had a long career as an officer in the Army and National Guard, including multiple tours overseas. He spent time in Iraq helping to rebuild local communities. He has a BS from Central Missouri, an MS from the University of Kansas, and a doctorate from St. Louis University. Dr. Cowling has deep roots in St. Joseph, with family members and a small family farm in the area. He and his wife have two children.

 

Dr. Douglas (Doug) Van Zyl is in his eighth year as superintendent in Fort Dodge, Iowa, which is a school district of approximately 4,000 students. He has helped increase student achievement, stabilized the budget and helped develop multiple partnerships between the school district and local business and civic organizations. He recently helped the district pass a bond issue with more than a 70% approval rating. Prior to Fort Dodge, Dr. Van Zyl was superintendent of Harrisonville, Missouri, for three years. He has also served as an assistant superintendent, principal and teacher. He has a BS degree from Northwestern College, an MS from Sam Houston State University, and a doctorate from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Dr. Van Zyl and his wife have three children.

All three candidates will participate in interviews with the Board and with interview committees later this month.

The interview committees are comprised of teachers, administrators, community stakeholders, parents and students. Each candidate will spend most of a day within the school district ending in a two-hour interview with the Board.

After the finalists have all been interviewed, the Board will select one candidate to hire and will begin negotiations around the new superintendent’s contract. No salary has been set and the appointment is pending salary and benefit negotiations with the selected candidate. All the candidates have indicated they plan to live in St. Joseph if appointed superintendent.

School Exec Connect, the firm assisting the Board with the superintendent search, conducted a number of forums and focus groups with members of the school community and conducted an online survey to determine the specific expertise, experience and skills desired in the new superintendent. This research led to the creation of a “New Superintendent Profile” that was presented to and approved by the Board. School Exec Connect then recruited and reviewed the applications of more than 25 individuals, conducting interviews with a number of possible candidates, prior to presenting a slate of semi-finalists for the Board’s review. The Board conducted interviews with the semi-finalists January 13th and narrowed the field to the three finalists to be further interviewed during January.

The Board expects to name the new superintendent at its February meeting.

A vintage book sale hosted by the Friends of the St. Joseph Public Library began Tuesday.

According to Library Community Services and Promotions Coordinator Crystal Stuck, the sale at the Downtown Library location is different from their fall sale and includes a variety of items.

“Not everything we have is vintage, we just don’t quite know what to call it,” Stuck said. “At our fall sale, everything is a dollar or two dollars, but every once in awhile, we have items that we want to price higher than that, so we decided to have a special sale every January at the downtown library. So these are things that are old, maybe they’re a little more fragile… collectibles.”

The sale includes approximately 600 items such as novels and local interest and nonfiction books.

Proceeds from the sale go toward library services and programs, including the summer reading program.

The sale runs through January 31st at the Downtown Library at 927 Felix Street. It is open during regular library hours, which are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

 

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office in Hiawatha, Kansas, has received several reports of a texting scam in the area.

According to Sheriff John Merchant, some residents are reporting they have received text messages stating their bank account has been compromised and a number is given to call. When the number is called, they are prompted to enter their debit card number.

Sheriff Merchant said most financial institutions will not text you that type of information and urges residents to never give out personal information over the phone or through text.

Sheriff Merchant adds there have been several variations on this scam, as residents are also receiving phone calls with the same information from a number they do not recognize with callers representing themselves as bank personnel concerned about debit card usage. Callers are then asked to verify their debit card account numbers.

Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of a scam is advised to notify their bank immediately and contact local law enforcement.

An event in March will offer a new challenge for area runners and walkers.

The Outlaw Adventure Run/Walk in St. Joseph will incorporate unimproved trails and sections of the improved areas of Krug Park along with a variety of obstacles along the way.

Recreation Programs and Athletic Facilities Supervisor David Cavin with the St. Joseph Parks and Recreation Dept. is the organizer of the Outlaw Adventure Run.

“The idea… is to offer St. Joseph and the surrounding area a outdoor race or activity different than what we’ve ever done before or even any other group in St. Joe has done before,” Cavin said.

The 5K run takes place at 9:30 a.m. on March 24.

For more information or to sign up, visit the Outlaw Adventure Run Facebook page or click here.  

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A St. Joseph man was sentenced in federal court Friday for his second federal bank robbery conviction.

According to a news release from Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, 50-year-old Terry L. Hager of St. Joseph, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., to 11 years and one month in federal prison without parole.

The sentence includes a 33-month term of incarceration upon the revocation of Hager’s supervised release in an earlier bank robbery sentence in a separate case.

Hager, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 3, 2017, admitted that he stole $13,957 from UMB Bank, 1211 N. Belt Hwy., St. Joseph, on March 5, 2016.

According to court documents, Hager was wearing a baseball cap, a bandana over his face, sunglasses and clear plastic gloves when he entered the bank. Hager approached a teller and motioned for her to be quiet by placing his finger to his lips then demanded that she give him all the money. After the teller emptied the contents of her drawer, Hager demanded the money from her second drawer, but she was unable to comply because she did not have a key for the drawer. Hager told the teller to get on the floor and called a second teller, who did have the key, over to the teller counter. (As this occurred, a third teller was able to push a panic button to alert law enforcement of the robbery). As the second teller was interacting with Hager, she attempted to press an emergency button, but he placed his hand over the button preventing her from doing so.

After he received cash from both tellers, Hager exited the bank. He later led law enforcement officers on a high-speed pursuit, traveling approximately 80 miles per hour through a densely populated residential neighborhood with groups of children playing near the street. Officers were forced to terminate the pursuit due to the significant danger to the public.

The next day, Hager was located at a local Walmart store and placed under arrest without incident as he left the store.

This case represents Hager’s second federal bank robbery conviction. Hager, who was incarcerated for more than 22 years on his first bank robbery conviction, was released from federal prison and placed on supervised release on Dec. 2, 2013. He was still on supervised release for his first federal bank robbery offense when he committed the second.

On March 26, 2015, while on supervised release for his first federal bank robbery, Hager was arrested in Buchanan County for second-degree domestic assault after a report that he threatened and physically assaulted a woman with whom he shared a domestic relationship. He was convicted of the offense on July 6, 2015, and sentenced to eight months’ incarceration. On Feb. 11, 2016, Hager appeared in federal court for a supervised release revocation hearing. After making a statement on his own behalf, Hager’s supervised release was continued with further instruction that his supervised release would be reviewed in 90 days. Hager committed the bank robbery approximately 23 days later.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison D. Dunning. It was investigated by the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

Northwest Missouri State University will honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events next week.

The seventh annual peace brunch is from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Jan. 15 in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom. A free hot breakfast buffet will be served, and the brunch will feature Carleane Hawkins, who is founder and principal consultant of The Camdy Group as well as a 1997 Northwest alumna, as its keynote speaker.

The week continues with presentations and activities centered on civil rights and social justice issues. All events are free and open to the public.

From 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, on the first floor of the Administration Building, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will host an art exhibit, “Theory of Resistance,” in collaboration with Assistant Professor of Art Dr. Michael Faris. The exhibit will feature various art pieces representing the civil rights movement, and Faris will discuss his work.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, in the Student Union Boardroom, the Northwest community is invited to a screening and discussion of “Selma.” The film chronicles Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

The week’s activities conclude at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, in the Charles Johnson Theater with a presentation by Sheyann Webb-Christburg, the youngest participant to take part in the “Bloody Sunday” event at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Nicknamed “The Smallest Freedom Fighter” by Martin Luther King Jr., Webb-Christburg will share her story of marching alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at age eight. She will share her experiences of transitioning from a segregated school to an integrated school as well as her experiences during the Civil Rights Movement.  

Although Martin Luther King Jr. was born Jan. 15, 1929, his birthday has been observed as a national holiday, Martin Luther King Day, on the third Monday of each January since 1986.

In observance of the holiday, Northwest will not have classes Monday, Jan, 15, and all University offices are closed.

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week events at Northwest are sponsored by Northwest’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. For more information, contact Dr. Justin Mallett, Northwest’s director of diversity and inclusion, at [email protected] or (660) 562-1317.