Special Olympics Missouri will hold its 2018 State Games in St. Joseph.

According to a news release, this is the first time a Special Olympics Missouri state event will be held in St. Joseph since 2013.

“We could not be more excited to return our State Games to St. Joseph for the next three years,” SOMO President/CEO Mark Musso said.

More than 2,300 Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) athletes, coaches and unified partners are anticipated to travel from across the state to compete in the State Indoor Games March 16-18 in St. Joseph. The event will be the first of a three year term for the Indoor Games, keeping them in St. Joseph through 2020.

The local venues that will be used for the St. Joseph State Indoor Games include: Belt Bowl, Southside Family Fun Center, Central High School, Bishop LeBlond High School, Lafayette High School, St. Joseph REC Center and Civic Arena.

The State Indoor Games are the largest of three signature state events Special Olympics Missouri holds in a year, and features athletes competing in bowling and basketball. The State Indoor Games had been held in Fort Leonard Wood and Waynesville/St. Robert area since 2015.

The CVB estimates that the State Indoor Games will bring close to $1 million in estimated economic impact to the St. Joseph community per year.

An estimated 1,000 volunteers will be needed for the actual running of the competition. There are a wide variety of volunteer opportunities available including fundraising, meal planning, special event planning, setup and more. For more information on serving on the committee, volunteering or sponsorships, contact Susan Shaffer at shaffer@somo.org or call 573-635-1660.

(News release) – Missouri Western State University has a total of 5,562 students enrolled as of the official census date Sept. 25, an increase of 3.2 percent over 2016-17, including a remarkable 16.2 percent growth in the number of new freshmen. That total includes 5,321 undergraduate students and 241 graduate students.

“I’m extremely proud of the efforts by our staff, faculty, students and alumni and community to address the enrollment challenges we have faced for many years,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “I’m excited that more students are discovering our outstanding academic programs and the many things that make our campus special. It really is an exciting time to be a Griffon.”

The increase was led by the surge in the number of new freshmen, from 854 last year to 992 this year.

“We would have been thrilled with an increase of 5 to 10 percent in new freshmen,” said Dr. Paul Orscheln, associate vice president for enrollment management and student retention. “This kind of an increase is really remarkable, especially in today’s highly competitive environment for higher education. Our admissions staff and the many folks they work with across campus should be applauded for all that they do to provide prospective students with the information they need to choose Missouri Western.”

The addition of six new sports contributed to the enrollment growth as well. Missouri Western started competing in men’s and women’s cross country this fall, and will field men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams next semester.

In addition to attracting new students, Missouri Western continues to meet its goals for retaining current students.

“For many years, we have made a concerted effort to help our students persist and succeed,” said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I am pleased we continue to meet our retention goals, and we continue to seek new ways to help that number continue to grow.”

Another area of growth was in dual credit enrollment, with about 18 percent more high school students taking class for credit at Missouri Western compared to last year.

“More and more students and parents are recognizing the value of getting college credit before high school graduation,” said Dr. Gordon Mapley, dean of the Western Institute, which oversees the dual credit program. “Our faculty and staff have done an outstanding job of working with high school teachers to develop high-quality dual credit programs and making them available to a growing number of students.”

Graduate school enrollment set a record at 243 last year, and nearly matched it this year, with 241 students enrolled.

Students from Missouri account for 86 percent of Missouri Western’s total enrollment, with 33 percent from Buchanan County.

(News release) –  St. Joseph, Mo., man has been charged with possessing methamphetamine to distribute following a high-speed pursuit that resulted in his arrest and the seizure of more than two kilograms of methamphetamine.

James Patrick Pardee, II, 27, of St. Joseph, was charged in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Pardee remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Plattsburg, Mo., police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop for a lane violation on a black Audi A4 driven by Pardee on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Pardee fled from officers at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour for approximately nine miles, the affidavit says, until his vehicle crashed into a guardrail.

Pardee and a female passenger got out of the vehicle; Pardee was arrested and the female passenger escaped. Officers found a backpack inside the vehicle that contained numerous clear plastic baggies with a total of more than two kilograms of methamphetamine. Investigators later determined that he had recently sold approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine, the affidavit says.
Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusations and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Plattsburg, Mo., Police Department, the Clinton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

A St. Joseph man accused of killing his 77-year-old grandmother appeared in court Tuesday morning for an arraignment.

28-year-old Robert Forrester was charged Friday with a felony of second-degree murder in connection with the death of Beverly Forrester.

As we previously reported, officers responded to a home on Yale St. Thursday evening in reference to a disturbance call and found Beverly dead. Court documents stated Robert was also found in the home with what appeared to be blood on his person.

Robert appeared before Judge Rebecca Spencer Tuesday.  Robert will apply for a public defender. A preliminary hearing has been set for Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. He remains behind bars in the Buchanan County Jail without bail.

(News release) – A former St. Joseph, Mo., Boy Scout leader has been charged in federal court with distributing child pornography over the Internet.

Michael R. Goeller, 45, of St. Joseph, was charged in a criminal complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2017. The complaint was unsealed and made public following Goeller’s arrest on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Goeller remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the investigation began on Feb. 15, 2017, when a law enforcement officer in Arkansas downloaded a video file that contained child pornography through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network that was later linked to Goeller’s computer.

On Sept. 20, 2017, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Goeller’s apartment and seized a laptop computer and other digital electronic devices and digital media storage devices. A full forensic digital examination of the devices seized from Goeller is pending, the affidavit says, but a digital forensic preview tool was utilized on the laptop and indicated at least 10 images of child pornography and other files names with terms associated with child pornography.

After the completion of the search warrant, the affidavit says, investigators learned that Goeller had made contact with a local priest to confess to child pornography having been found on his computer. Goeller also immediately resigned as an assistant scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America due to his interaction with this criminal investigation.
Larson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI.

Fire inspectors are continuing to look into a fire that destroyed a building in downtown St. Joseph Monday night.

Fire Inspector Robert Blizzard, with the St. Joseph Fire Department said crews arrived on scene in the area of N 13th and Church Streets around 11:37 p.m. Monday to find flames coming from the rear of the building.  Blizzard said the building had sat vacant and no utilities were hooked up at the time the fire started.   No injuries were reported.

“No one that I know of was inside the building at the time,” Blizzard said. “The fire is under investigation.”

He estimated the building a complete loss of around $35,000.  When crews left the scene around three hours after arriving, Blizzard said only the front and half of the north and south side walls of the building were left standing.

Roads in the area were closed off while crews were on scene.

A St. Joseph teen has pleaded guilty to charges filed after a crash in April in which four other teenagers died.

As we previously reported, 18-year-old Skylar Lucas-Cox was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of 2nd degree assault following the crash on Riverside Road near Cook which claimed the lives of Karlo Ginn, Dayton Crockett, Dasean Darden and Javion Thompson.

Court documents assert Lucas-Cox was driving recklessly in a stolen vehicle, and that after the crash he tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and benzodiazepines.

Lucas-Cox appeared before Circuit Court Judge Daniel Kellogg Monday and pleaded guilty to his role in the crash.  Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 6 at 10 a.m.