Tuesday Tails: 8 puppies up for adoption and weekend adoption deals.

 

 

The St. Joseph Public Library system is asking voters on Tuesday to renew a portion of its operating levy.

A special election will be held Aug. 8 for Buchanan County voters to decide whether to continue a .15 cent levy for a period of 20 years for the St. Joseph Library to operate and maintain facilities. If approved, the levy would continue in 2020. As we previously reported, Library Director, Mary-Beth Revels said the levy was initially approved by voters in 1999.

The total library levy is .42 cents, of that .27 cents is permanent. Revels said the in total it generates about $3.2 million a year. She said the library realizes the community appreciates the inclusion of a sunset clause so the .15 cents is up for renewal every 20 years.

Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey anticipates a voter turnout of around 10 percent Tuesday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. CLICK HERE to view ballots and polling locations.

Police are investigating a shooting early Sunday morning.

According to Sgt. Steve McClintick with the St. Joseph Police Department, the shooting in the 200 block of Michigan Avenue was reported shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. McClintick said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over property. A man in his 30s was shot in the arm and upper thigh. He was transported to the hospital with what McClintick said appeared to be non-life threatening injuries.

The shooting suspect fled the scene but McClintick said three people at the scene when officers arrived were taken into custody on charges unrelated to the shooting.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Aug. 7 – 13 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.

 

Andrew County

• Interstate 29 – At the U.S. 59/71 interchange for drainage work, Aug. 8a.m. to 1 p.m. One lane of I-29 will be closed during the ramp closure below.
• U.S. 59/71 – CLOSED southbound ramp to I- 29 for drainage work, Aug. 9, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Buchanan County

• Route CC – Pothole patching, Aug. 7 – 9
• I-29 – At mile marker 37 (north of Faucett) for pavement repair, Aug. 7 – 10. Includes a 12-foot width restriction.
• U.S. Route 36 – One mile east of Route AC for a bridge project, Aug. 7 – 12
• Route 6 – From I-29 to Woodbine Road for a sidewalk improvement and resurfacing project, Aug. 7 – 12
• Route V – From Route 116 to the Platte County line for pothole patching, Aug. 8 – 10
• I-229 – CLOSED southbound ramp to U.S. Route 36 eastbound for sign installation, Aug. 10, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Caldwell County

• Route 116 – From U.S. Route 69 (Clinton County) to Route A for shoulder work, Aug. 7 – 11

Carroll County

• Route J – From Route 139 to U.S. Route 69 for pothole patching, Aug. 7 – 8
• Route E – From Route D to the city limits of Carrollton for pothole patching, Aug. 7 – 8
• Route U – Pothole patching, Aug. 8 – 10
• Route UU – Drainage work, Aug. 9 – 10
• Route C – Pothole patching, Aug. 10 – 11

Chariton County

• Route 11 – At the Brush Creek Bridge for maintenance, Aug. 7 – 8
• Route JJ – CLOSED from Twitchell to Bristol Road for a culvert replacement, Aug. 9, 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Route CC – At the Yellow Creek and Yellow Creek Overflow Bridges for maintenance, Aug. 9 – 10
• Route JJ – CLOSED from Twitchell Road to John Roth Road for a culvert replacement, Aug. 10, 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Clinton County

• Route 116 – From U.S. Route 69 to Route A (Caldwell County) for shoulder work, Aug. 7 – 11
• Route T – At the junction of Route M for drainage work, Aug. 7 – 11

DeKalb County

• U.S. Route 36 – East and westbound in the city limits of Cameron for pavement repair, Aug. 7 – 11. This will include overnight lanes closures in some areas.
• Route EE – One mile north of U.S. Route 69 for shoulder work, Aug. 9 – 10

Gentry County

• U.S. Route 136 – From Stanberry to Route P (Nodaway County) for pothole patching, Aug. 7 – 8
• U.S. Route 169 – From Route 31 to Stanberry for a resurfacing project, Aug. 7 – 11

Harrison County

• Route A – From U.S. Route 69 to the city limits of Ridgeway for sealing, Aug. 7. A pilot car will direct traffic through the work zone.
• Route A – CLOSED from the city limits of Ridgeway to Route B for sealing, Aug. 8, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route N – From the city limits of Eagleville to the city limits of Blythedale for sealing, Aug. 9. A pilot car will direct traffic through the work zone.
• Route N – From the city limits of Blythedale to the city limits of Cainsville for sealing, Aug. 10. A pilot car will direct traffic through the work zone.

Holt County

• U.S. Route 59 – From the city limits of Oregon to the city limits of Mound City for pavement repair, Aug. 7 – 11
• I-29 – At the Davis Creek Bridge for a bridge replacement project, Aug. 7 – 13. I-29 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction, near Exit 84.
• Route 118 – CLOSED the ramp from Route 118 to I-29 for bridge replacement project. The ramp will be remain closed until Nov. 30.

Linn County

• Route 139 – From Route E to Route YY for drainage work, August 7
• U.S. Route 36 – At the Locust Creek Overflow Bridge for maintenance, Aug. 7 – 10. This will include an overnight lane closure with a 12-foot width restriction.
• Route JJ – CLOSED from the Chariton County line to Keene Road for a culvert replacement, Aug. 8, 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Nodaway County

• Route V – CLOSED from Route H to Glacier Road for culvert repair, Aug. 7, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route PP – Pothole patching, Aug. 7
• U.S. Route 136 – From the city limits of Stanberry (Gentry) to Route P for pothole patching, Aug. 7 – 8
• Route NN – CLOSED from Navy Road to Noble Road for culvert repair, Aug. 8, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route AB – Pothole patching, Aug. 8
• Route 246 – CLOSED from Route E to Mercury Road for culvert repair, Aug. 9, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route NN – From Noble Road to Navy Road for culvert repair, Aug. 9 – 11
• Route B – From Route FF to Route 148 for pothole patching, Aug. 9 – 11
• Route VV – CLOSED from Mahogany Road to Meadow Road for a culvert replacement, Aug. 10 – 11, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. This will be an overnight closure. The road should reopen by noon on Aug. 11.
• U.S. Route 136 – From 290^th Street to 282^nd Street for a slide repair, Aug. 10 – 11

Putnam County

• Route 149 – Resurfacing project, Aug. 7 – 13

Sullivan County

• Route 5 – Just north of Browning for a slide repair, Aug. 7 – 13

Worth County

• Route 246 – CLOSED at the Platte River Bridge for a bridge replacement project. The bridge will be closed through September.

The St. Joseph Symphony will be trying something new to raise funds this year. 

A dinner and auction will take place August 26th and a golf tournament on August 28th.

The event on Saturday, the 26th, will include dinner, live music from the symphony and a live auction and silent auction. Some of the auction items include custom artwork and a Branson trip.

Rico McNeela is the Music Director of the St. Joseph Symphony. McNeela said an opportunity to conduct the symphony in their December concert will also be a part of the auction.

“With that, you get a baton, a couple of lessons with me and a chance to stand up in front of the orchestra and conduct before our hometown audience,” McNeela said. “My plan is to make whoever purchases this comfortable so they know enough to walk out and feel comfortable and confident and have a great time.”

The golf tournament will take place on Monday, August 28th at the Moila Country Club.

McNeela said the golf tournament will be “symphon-o-fied.”

“Golf is not something you generally associate with symphonic music, however, we’re going to have some special events,” McNeela said. “Jake (the chair of the golf tournament) is going to actually be at what we’re going to call the trombone hazard. He’s going to be stationed on a green and the only way to get him to stop playing is to pay him. So a five dollar fee will get you a quiet putt, otherwise you can take your chances.”

Proceeds from the dinner, auctions and golf tournament will benefit the upcoming St. Joseph Symphony season.

The dinner and auction take place beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 26th at Moila. The golf tournament begins with lunch at 11 a.m. followed by a 12:30 shot gun start on Monday, August 28th at the Moila Country Club. 

For more information, click here or call the St. Joseph Symphony office at (816) 233-7701.

St. Joseph, Mo. – St. Joseph is one of the largest cities on the path of totality for the Great American Eclipse on Aug. 21, and Missouri Western State University has several activities planned to help educate and entertain the public about this astronomical phenomenon.

 – The Bushman Planetarium is showing “Totality,” a new show about all kinds of eclipses, at various times, including two showings on the morning of the eclipse, at 9 and 10 a.m. Aug. 21. Click here for show times and to purchase tickets, which must be purchased in advance.

– The Potter Art Gallery inside Potter Hall presents SOLAR, an exhibition of solar-themed artwork from, Aug. 7 to Sept. 15, with a closing reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15. Admission is free, and the gallery is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

– The Walter Cronkite Memorial inside Spratt Hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20, with space-themed special displays and a space suit photo-op. Admission is free.

– Talk with the Experts at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Aug. 20 in the Potter Hall Theater. Guest speakers include Michael Bakich, senior editor of Astronomy magazine; Brian Busby, chief meteorologist at KMBC-TV in Kansas City; Mike Reynolds, professor of astronomy at Florida State College at Jacksonville; and Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The talks will be free and open to the public.

– Eclipse!, a family-friendly musical revue with live performances of music with solar or lunar themes woven together with the stories and legends associated with the solar eclipse, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20, in the Potter Hall Theater. There is no admission charge, but donations will be accepted. The show is directed by Dr. Bob Willenbrink, founding dean of the School of Fine Arts, with musical direction by Lory Lacy Zuptich, adjunct faculty of flute. The production is funded in part by a grant from the David H. Morton Memorial Fund for the Arts.

For all eclipse-related activities, please check the University’s Eclipse 2017 website. The website also will feature spectacular images of the total solar eclipse via a livestream broadcast with an H-Alpha telescope.

On the actual total solar eclipse day, Aug. 21, Missouri Western’s campus is closed so our employees can experience this once-in-a-lifetime event.

The One-Vision task force is recommending tax increases for the St. Joseph School District totaling about $1.15 per $100 of assessed valuation. If approved by the Board of Education later this month, voters will be asked to re-implement the 63-cent operating levy that was allowed to expire three years ago. The ballot question is also expected to include a request to return to the district’s previously-approved property tax ceiling, by waiving the so-called Proposition-C rollback.

Wes Metz, the district’s Director of Finance tells us Proposition C was a way for the state to juggle the books somewhat in an effort to get local district to reduce property taxes back in the early 1980s.

“The state determined at that time that they would provide sales tax money to school districts if they rolled back their property taxes,” Metz said. “But during the 1990s, school districts began running short of money, and the state funding was coming up a little short.”

Metz says the state then allowed local districts to waive the original Proposition C, to get back to their tax rate ceiling, and still collect the extra funds from the sales tax.

“Basically what that means is it raises you up to your tax rate ceiling that has already been approved by local taxpayers,” he said. St. Joseph did not waive the Prop-C rollback, although 95% of the school districts in Missouri have already taken advantage of the process.

So Metz says if the school board places the combined measure on the ballot in November, and if voters approve, the measure would add a total of about $1.15 to the district’s property tax levy. By eliminating the Prop-C rollback, the district would add 52 to 56 cents in local property tax. The proposal would also re-approve the 63 cent levy that expired in 2014. If approved, the changes would raise property taxes by about $218.50 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

Metz says the 1Vision task force was given five scenarios ranging from doing nothing to raising taxes by $1.50. They came back with the current proposal.

“It’s very ambitious,” Metz said. “But, if the district wants to move forward, and continue to improve, add additional programs and things like that, and try to compete with other school districts, and hopefully draw some people to our community, that’s what it’s going to take to move things forward.

The school board is expected to consider the proposal at its next meeting August 14. Voters could get their chance this November.

(Update) – A house fire on Olive Street caused thousands of dollars in damage Friday morning.

Fire Inspector Steve Henrichson with the St. Joseph Fire Department said the first fire truck arrived on scene around 8:12 a.m. Friday and the last truck left around 10:15 a.m.

Henrichson said a neighbor saw flames coming out the back door of the home located in the 1800 block of Olive. Firefighters arrived to find a fire in the basement.  Crews were able to contain the blaze.  No injuries were reported.

Henrichson said the cause of the fire was accidental. He said the residents were working on a motorcycle in the basement and fumes got to the water heater and ignited. The fire burnt to the first floor and the back half of the house.

The house is estimated to be a complete loss by inspectors of around $45,000 to $50,000.