Artists are being sought for the 2018-19 Sculpture Walk in downtown St. Joseph.

According to a news release, the Allied Arts Council in conjunction with the City of St. Joseph is seeking sculpture artists to enter the 5th annual St. Joseph Sculpture Walk! The exhibit is a showcase of outdoor sculptures displayed for one year in downtown St. Joseph.

The Allied Arts Council said, Sculptors receive a $500 honorarium if their piece is selected. The sculptures are also entered into a competition to compete for up to $13,000 in cash prize awards. Each sculpture is for sale to the public. Additionally, one sculpture is purchased to become a permanent part of St. Joseph’s public art collection. The deadline for submission is February 5 with notification of acceptance on or before March 5. CLICK HERE for more information.

A committee is launching efforts to encourage St. Joseph voters to approve a tax levy for the St. Joseph School District on the November ballot.

The Committee to Move St. Joseph Forward is launching its campaign efforts Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 4:30 p.m. at the Felix St. Square Concession Building. Co-Chair Kristi Arthur, said after the launch, the committee will then start making rounds in the St. Joseph community to promote a yes vote on Proposition 1.

“We’ll canvas every Saturday; the 14, 21, 28 and then November 4th,” Arthur said. “We need as many people to turn out to help with those events as possible.”

Arthur said the committee was formed after the St. Joseph School District Board of Education approved putting the $1.15 ta increase on the Nov. 7 ballot. That happened after the 1Vision Special Task Force recommended the tax levy.

“A community group of over 60 community members wanted to come up with a plan to move St. Joseph forward,” Arthur said. “It’s really important for us to lift up that a group of community members developed the plan and pushed the board to put it on the ballot.”

The committee said, if the proposition is approved by voters it would generate $11.5 million each year. According to the St. Joseph School District, approval of the proposal will allow the district to eliminate a projected budget deficit, retain teaching positions, maintain low class sizes, expand the use of technology for all students and support the current educational programs.

CLICK HERE to view a detailed plan on what the funds will be used for on the committee’s website. Arthur said community volunteers are also needed. Volunteer opportunities can be found HERE.

Anyone who wants to vote on the Nov. 7 ballot needs to be registered in Buchanan County by today (Oct. 11).  According to Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey her office will be open until 5 p.m.  Contact the clerk’s office for details regarding voter registration at 816-271-1412 or visit the website here.

The last day for voters in Buchanan County to register to vote in the November Special Election is Wednesday.

According to the Buchanan County Clerk’s Office, voters need to be registered by October 11. The Clerk’s office will be open Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. according to the county’s website. Anyone needing information regarding their voter registration can contact the Clerk’s office at (816) 271-1412.

The only item up for consideration on the Nov. 7 ballot is the St. Joseph School District Levy proposal. The proposition reads as follows:

“In order to replace and offset State funding reductions; meet
the operating expenses of the District; continue existing
programs; address instructional diverse student needs; retain
and attract qualified staff; reduce class sizes; maintain its
facilities; increase student safety; increase early childhood
education opportunities; fund a 1:1 technology initiative; and
continue installing and renovating heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC) systems at the three High School
gymnasiums and auditoriums and two remaining Middle
Schools, shall the Board of Education of the St. Joseph
School District, Missouri, be authorized to increase the
operating tax levy ceiling to $4.2562 per one hundred dollars
of assessed valuation and to eliminate fully the Proposition C
Sales Tax Rollback in its operating levy under Section
164.013 R.S.Mo.?
(If approved, this proposition would fully eliminate the
Proposition C Sales Tax Rollback and is estimated to increase
the District’s adjusted operating levy from $3.0636, currently,
to $4.2562 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation in
the 2018 Tax Year and to be applied to the assessed
valuation for each year thereafter.)”

CLICK HERE for the Buchanan County Clerk’s website.

Business owners wanting to sell their business or entrepreneurs interested in buying one can utilize a new website through Missouri Western State University to do so.

According to a news release from Western, the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) in the school’s Craig School of Business recently launched a website that connects existing business owners wanting to sell their business with prospective buyers.

The Business SUCCESSion web page, csb-cfe.missouriwestern.edu/biz-opps, is essentially a bulletin board of businesses available for sale, according to Annette Weeks, director of the CFE.

“It’s part of the CFE’s mission to promote succession planning and keep small businesses open while making opportunities available for new entrepreneurs,” Weeks said. “Small businesses are integral to our region, and retaining a successful business is an important part of that.”

The CFE, which opened in 2014, trains, mentors and supports business owners and entrepreneurs in the St. Joseph area and beyond. Since it opened, the CFE has provided free consulting services to more than 200 new and existing entrepreneurs.

To learn more or to set up a confidential, one-on-one consultation, email Weeks at aweeks@missouriwestern.edu or call the CFE at (816) 271-4283.

A teenager was seriously injured in a crash Monday afternoon in Andrew County.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Austin Ortega, 17 of St. Joseph was driving a 2003 Ford Mustang southbound on Route C at Country Road 190 around 5:21 p.m. when the crash took place. The patrol said the vehicle started to slide, went off the west side of the road and hit a tree with the driver’s side door. The mustang came to rest against the tree on its wheels facing north. Ortega was flow by Life Net to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of what was described as a serious injury. He was reported to be wearing a seat belt.

A northwest Missouri man is accusing of splashing boiling water on another man during an argument causing severe burns.

Alfred Hyatt Jr., 57 of Ludlow is charged in Livingston County with a felony of first-degree assault.

According to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday around 6:15 p.m. deputies responded to a home in Ludlow in reference to an assault.  Sheriff Steve Cox said the alleged victim was a mentally disabled man that was at home with the mother’s boyfriend when an argument took place between the two men.

“Allegedly the suspect made a racial slur and the victim punched the suspect. The suspect reportedly then took a pot of boiling water and splashed it on the victim,” Cox said.

The victim was taken by ambulance to Hedrick Medical Center for treatment of what was described as at least second-degree burns.  Cox said the victim was then referred to the KU Burn Center for additional treatment.

Hyatt is being held on $100,000 cash only bail in the Daviess/DeKalb County Regional Jail .  A court date was not yet listed on online documents.

(Monday 11:50 a.m.) – A man has been charged after the manager of a Chillicothe McDonald’s was stabbed over the weekend.

Nathan Osborne, 30 of Chillicothe has been charged in Livingston County with felonies of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

According to the Chillicothe Police Department, Sunday shortly after noon officers responded to the McDonald’s on US 36 and 65 Highway in reference to an assault. Police said a manager at the store received stab wounds from an employee armed with a knife. The suspect allegedly fled the scene on foot.  The suspect was later arrested hiding in some weeds near Highway 36 after a search of the area.

The McDonald’s manager was treated at Hedrick Medical Center for wounds he received and has since been released.  The store was temporarily closed while police conducted an investigation.

Osborne is currently being held in the Daivess/DeKalb Regional jail on $250,000 cash only bail.  Online court document state, part of Osborne’s bond conditions include no contact with Jordan Myrick and that Osborne is not allowed to enter McDonald’s property. A court date was not yet listed on online documents.

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(Sunday) – The Chillicothe Police Department is investigating an assault with a weapon at McDonald’s that injured an employee.

According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, Sunday around noon officers responded to a report of an assault with a weapon at Chillicothe McDonalds. The assault was between two employees and one was injured. Police said the suspect is now in custody.

“At this time Chillicothe McDonalds is closed while we conduct our investigation. Please avoid the area if you can, thank you,” the department said on Facebook.

A St. Joseph man has been charged with a weapons violation after a standoff at an apartment complex last week in midtown.

Kelvin Sibert Jr., 31 has been charged in Buchanan County with a felony of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department said the charge is in connection with a nearly four hour-long standoff that took place Thursday at Oak Ridge Apartments.

As we previously reported, police said the incident started as a domestic disturbance call at 12:41 p.m. at the U.S. Oil gas station at 22nd and Messanie Streets. Capt. Wilson said an altercation between a man and his girlfriend was reported. The man allegedly held a handgun in a threatening manner and then fled the area. Police were on scene at Oak Ridge Apartments until Sibert surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody shortly before 5 p.m.

The court found Sibert to be a danger to the victim and denied the setting of bail based on a probable cause statement. An arraignment is set for Oct. 17.