Members of the St. Joseph School District Board of Education met Monday night to hear from seven candidates for an open seat on the board and pick four of them as finalists. One candidate pulled out of the running on Monday.

Margaret “Maggie” Elder, Dale Krueger, Aaron Duncan, Larry Koch, Susan Willenbrink, John Hickman and Kenneth Reeder were the candidates still vying for the seat left vacant by the resignation last month of Chris Danford.

After hearing three-minute presentations from the remaining candidates, the board voted for Koch, Duncan, Elder and Hickman to advance to the interview stage next month. The four finalists will meet individually with the board during a special meeting on Saturday, April 8 at 9am in the school district’s boardroom.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Newhart announced that Jim Norris withdrew from consideration because of the residency requirement.

(Update) – A man has been charged in Buchanan County after a woman was shot over the weekend.

Dion Clark, 37 of Kansas City, Mo. has been charged in Buchanan County with a felony of first-degree Domestic Assault.

Capt. Jeff Wilson said officers responded to Mosaic Life Care shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday after a 30-year-old Kansas City, Mo. woman was admitted for a serious injury from a single gunshot wound.  Wilson said as of Monday afternoon the woman was in critical condition.

According to charging documents, Clark is accused of shooting the woman in her torso with a 9mm handgun at 210 N. Belt Highway, the location of the Belt Sports Complex.  Witnesses allege in documents that the incident happened Sunday between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m.

“The injury put her in a critical medical condition that required surgery to repair,” said Det. Dustin Robinson with the St. Joseph Police Department.

Court document show Clark has convictions for a felony of unlawful use of a weapon, two for resisting arrest,  third-degree domestic assault, possession of marijuana, and delivery of drug paraphernalia.

“He has spent time in federal prison for felon in possession of a firearm,” Robinson said. “Clark currently has a failure to appear warrant for his arrest out of another jurisdiction.”

Clark is due in court Tuesday for an arraignment.  Online court documents show bail has been denied based on the probable cause statement finding the defendant to be a danger to the victim.  He remains in custody in the Buchanan County Jail.

A St. Joseph man has been charged after allegedly threatening a group of people at Hyde Park for stealing narcotics.

Dakota Polley, 18 is charged in Buchanan County with a misdemeanor of 4th-degree assault.

According to court documents, Thursday in Hyde Park Polley is accused of pulling a weapon on a group of people who he believed stole his narcotics.

“The defendant told the subjects they were not allowed to leave and he would shoot them if he didn’t get his narcotics back,” said Det. Chase Cotter with the St. Joseph Police Department. “The defendant searched the victims for his drugs and a firearm identical to what a witness described was located at the scene.”

Cotter said Polley threatened to shoot people in the park.

“He threatened to harm the victims with a pistol while keeping them against their will because he could not find his narcotics,” Cotter said.

Polley was arrested Friday and is being held in the Buchanan County Jail without bail.  Online court documents said bail was denied based on the probable cause statement the court found the defendant to be a danger to the community.

Polley is due in court Tuesday for an arraignment.

[News Release] 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 March 27 – April 2 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 with weather conditions.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

Andrew County

U.S. Route 71 – From Business U.S. 71 (Nodaway County) to Route B for pothole patching, March 27 – 31

Buchanan County

U.S. Route 36 – At the 11^th Street Overpass Bridge for maintenance, March 27 – 30

U.S. Route 169 – Sealing, March 27 – 31

Route 116 – From the city limits of Rushville to U.S. Route 169 for chip sealing, March 27 – 31

Caldwell County

U.S. Route 36 – From Route P to Route 13 for shoulder work, March 27 – 31

DeKalb County

Route A – Sealing, March 27 – 31

Route 6 – Pothole patching, March 27 – 31

Routes O – CLOSED from Route 6 to U.S. Route 36 in two mile sections for surface improvements, March 27 – 31, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

Routes J – CLOSED from Route 6 to U.S. Route 36 in two mile sections for surface improvements, March 27 – 31, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

Gentry County

U.S. Route 136 – From the U.S. Route 169 Junction to Route F for sealing, March 27 – 31

Harrison County

Route Y – CLOSED from E 322^nd Avenue to W Main Street in Mt. Moriah for a culvert replacement, March 27, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Interstate 35 – From the 104 mile marker south of Eagleville to the 98 mile marker north of Bethany for pothole patching and sealing, March 27 – 28

Route 46 – From Route NN to U.S. Route 69 for sealing and pothole patching, March 27 – 31

Route B – CLOSED from Route A to E 222^nd Street for a culvert replacement, March 29, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Holt County

U.S. Route 159 and Route C – Pothole patching, March 27 – 31

Linn County

U.S. Route 36 – Bridge flushing, March 27 – 31

U.S. Route 36 – From Route 11 to Route 5 for pavement repair, March 27 – 31

Livingston County

U.S. Route 36 – Bridge flushing, March 27 – 31

U.S. Route 65 – At the Grand River Bridge for maintenance, March 27 – 31

Nodaway County

U.S. Route 71 – From Business U.S. 71 to Route B (Andrew County) for pothole patching, March 27 – 31

U.S. Route 136 – From Route 48 to Route 46 for shoulder work, March 27 – 31

U.S. Route 71 – From Route FF to Hawk Road for drainage work, March 30 – 31

U.S. Route 136 – From Katydid Road to Route F for drainage work, March 30 – 31

Putnam County

Route CC – CLOSED at the South Branch Shoal Creek Bridge for a bridge replacement project. The bridge will be closed through May 2017.

U.S. Route 136 – From Route U to Route H for drainage work, March 28 – 29

Sullivan County

Route WW – CLOSED from Bear Road to Route E for culvert replacements, March 27, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Route T – CLOSED from Tiger Road to Ember Road for culvert replacements, March 28, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Missouri Western State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship will offer free workshops during the second annual Entrepreneurship Week. 

The week, March 27-31, includes multiple workshops put on by Missouri Western faculty members for local business professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, college and high school students and anyone interested in learning more about running a small business. 

Annette Weeks is the Director of Entrepreneurship at Missouri Western’s Craig School of Business. She said Entrepreneurship Week is one of Missouri Western’s ways of giving back to the community. 

“There’s 5,594 businesses licensed in St. Joseph, out of those, 80% of the establishments are nine employees or less,” Weeks said. “Twenty-one percent of the jobs are from the very small businesses so those are the ones we focus on. They’re not the ones that can afford to have an HR Department or afford to have a full time accounting department so those are the entrepreneurs that we want to assist.” 

Some of the workshops during the week include “How to Write a Business Plan,” “Artists as Entrepreneurs,” “Social Media Tools for Small Businesses,” and “Using Excel for Beginners.” 

James Adkins is a professor at the Craig School of Business and will be holding workshops on QuickBooks and more.

Entrepreneurship Week runs Monday through Friday on the Missouri Western campus with a Capstone Business Luncheon on Friday. Workshops are free and open to the public. Registration is required for the luncheon.

For more information or to register for any of the events, call the Center for Entrepreneurship office at (816) 271-4283 or click here.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said it patrols major highways in the northwest part of the state that are often used to transport contraband.

Several large drug busts were made on I-29 over the past several weeks in Andrew County.  Sgt. Jake Angle with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said at least three large marijuana seizures were made in the past two weeks.

“We don’t see it coming from any one source,” Angle said. “The southern border, a lot of times we see contraband coming up from there.  But also from the states now that are legalizing marijuana we’re seeing some marijuana coming out of those states and being transported across the country.”

Angle said most of the recent seizures have been traveling through Missouri to other locations.

“It’s part of our job to uncover criminal activity.  In Troop H we have a criminal interdiction team that works specifically at that. Looking for wanted fugitives, people carrying contraband, things like that,” Angle said. “Lately we’ve been very productive on Interstate 29 but that’s what we do day in and day out.”

Angle said he does not believe the recent seizures are tied together. He said other area highways, including I-35 and US-36 can have the same problems.

“Anytime you’re working around a major corridor, a major interstate, highway…Any roadway like this that passes through the country, goes beyond and through Missouri, unfortunately those are used by people to carry all kinds of contraband,” Angle said. “Drugs, weapons, whatever the case may be.”

He said the best thing officers can do to combat the issue is to to make stops for traffic violations.

“They try to conduct a complete traffic stop concept.  Which means they’re looking for any indicators, they’re talking to people, looking inside their car.  You’d be surprised sometimes the information the officers out there can garner from doing that traffic stop,” Angle said. “It may lead them to doing that request to search the vehicle.”

Buchanan County has started to prepare for new voter photo identification requirements.

In November, two thirds of those voting in the general election decided Missourians will have to present a photo-ID to cast a ballot. Buchanan County Clerk, Mary Baack-Garvey said they are working to implement the new requirement. The measure goes into effect June 1, which means voters will be required to show an ID in an August election.

“Everybody needs to know they have to have photo ID to vote,” Baack-Garvey said. “I’ve got to assume nine out of 10 voters have got to have a driver’s license in their pocket. I think here in Buchanan County we’re going to be fine.”

If someone needs an ID, a driver’s license and supporting documentation, like a birth certificate would be paid for by the state. Those without photo ID could still vote if they sign a waiver and show a utility bill or paycheck.

“The state is really working hard to make sure that these people who do not have one, they’re able to get one,” Baack-Garvey said. “We will have flyers, phone numbers, websites. Anything that they would need to get their free ID.”

Baack-Garvey said the Clerk’s Office started preparing earlier this month.

“What we’re really going to train our judges to do, number one is saying, ‘Can I please see a form of photo ID.’ Instead of, ‘Can I see an ID,'” Baack-Garvey said. “We’re going to hopefully have flyers out, almost to hand out to every voter if they do not have a form. Those who already have a form of ID, they’re so used to showing their photo ID anyway.”

If someone doesn’t have a photo ID, Baack-Garvey said they will have to sign a provisional ballot.

“If you do not have one you’re still allowed to vote you just have to sign an extra form,” Baack-Garvey said. “Now with this new implementation of photo ID, if they have zero form of ID, not even a paycheck stub with their current address they would fall into the provisional ballot line.  So there’s two different provisional ballots that are going to be at polling places now.”

She said nothing will change for absentee voters.

Anyone with questions on the new requirement should call the Buchanan County Clerk’s Office at (816) 271-1412.

A structure fire on Highland Avenue early Saturday morning shut down traffic on St. Joseph Avenue briefly. St. Joseph Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Bangerter said some people reported the building on fire east of the Avenue shortly before two a.m.

“It’s more of a lean-to, actually, from the old lumber yard back here,” Bangerter said. “We’ve had problems in the past with people living or squatting back there, but I don’t know if that had anything to do with it.”

“They didn’t have any evidence of it, but a few years ago we had a fire right behind this and there were some people living down there at the time,” he said.

Chief Bangerter said the first engine company to arrive at the scene put the fire out fairly quickly.

“The guys didn’t report anything unusual, basically a vacant building with no obvious source of the fire.” A fire inspector was called in to determine the cause of the blaze. Bangerter said there were no injuries.