The Interfaith Alliance for Immigrants is hosting upcoming forums to talk about immigration in the St. Joseph community.

IAI is an interfaith group advocating for justice, hospitality, human rights and respect for immigrants and their families.  Dave Howery, the Ex. Dir of InterServ said IAI has been in existence for around six years.

“We know the interest is there in how do we provide that support and involvement.  At the community level knowing that there has to be some sort of a dialogue,”Howery said. “Without that discussion then fear and anxiety takes on a roles of its own.  We start to demonize, we start to ostracize by saying, ‘well let’s disregard that.’ So how do we counter that?… It’s that discussing between one another. What are those issues that we see that maybe divide us but also bring us closer together.”

Three forums to talk about health, education, business and resources immigrants utilize in the community are slated over the next several months. Howery said the forums are to get people thinking about how immigrants fit in.

“How do we begin to look at how do we benefit from that, past and present.  St. Joseph has a good background at that,” Howery said. “My grandparents on my maternal side came from Mexico.  They weren’t citizens, they didn’t speak English, they had nine children.  It’s always that second or third generation who begins that move from integration into the community to assimilation and we’ve all experienced that.”

The first forum will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church located at 301 N. 7th St.  The forum will touch on Education and Health with speakers Nancy Clisbee (Webster), Dr. Robert Stuber (SWB), and Fumi Cheever (MWSU).

“We talk about assimilation, coming into American and assimilating. We find that one of the barriers is language,” said Ramadhan Washington with the St. Joseph Islamic Center. “We have Ms. Clisbee who will be there from Webster, where they teach the bilingual, second language.”

The second forum will tackle social services and resources on March 21 at 7 p.m. at St. Peter Lutheran Church located at 3524 St. Joseph Ave. Speakers at that forum will include Kim Kempf and Carrie Turner (YWCA), and Donna Salcido (Inter-Serv).

The final forum will take place April 18th at 7 p.m. at St. James Church located at 5814 King Hill Ave.  Employment and business will be the topic with speakers Chief Chris Connally (SJPD), and Pat Lilly (Chamber of Commerce).

Then in May, IAI will host a prayerful gathering on the 24th the St. Joseph Islamic Center.

“Having somebody talk about that relationship and understanding about the various religions in Islam,” Howrey said. “We’ve been doing the prayerful gatherings on an annual basis, maybe twice a year to bring the community together as part of that sort of celebration, recognition of the gifts that people bring from different cultures.”

 

 

A new volunteer center at Missouri Western is hosting a campus cleanup event.

GriffsGiveBack, a new center for service learning at Western, is planning its kickoff event. The Great Campus Cleanup: Winter Edition will be held from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. Volunteers will work in two-hour shifts to help clean and organize parts of campus.
Students, employees, alumni, friends and family are welcome to volunteer. Volunteers are asked to register for a shift at www.missouriwestern.edu/griffsgiveback, then come to the second floor of the Blum Student Union 15 minutes before their shift for a brief orientation.

GriffsGiveBack is funded by the Student Government Association. The mission is to inspire a spirit of volunteerism in Missouri Western students, employees and alumni by connecting people with opportunities to give back to the community and providing volunteers with opportunities to reflect on their service experience.

For more information about serving, or to request volunteers for your community project, email griffsgiveback@missouriwestern.edu or call 816-262-4057.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office has a suspect in custody after human remains were found over the weekend.

According to a news release, Tuesday around 2:30 p.m. the office was notified by the forensic investigators who confirmed the identity of skeletal remains found on SE Cannonball Road and Missouri 33 Highway in Holt.

As we previously reported, Sheriff Larry Fish said a resident found the body Sunday afternoon in a wooded area off of southeast Cannon Ball Rd.

Currently, one suspect is in custody in connection with the case.  Investigators are still following leads.  Capt. A.J. Carrel with the Sheriff’s Office said pending proper notification of family they are not releasing any further information at this time.

A press conference is slated for Wednesday afternoon with the victim’s family, investigators and Sheriff Fish.

(Update) – Two emergency responders were injured Tuesday morning in a crash on Frederick Avenue.

Officer Patrick Zeamer with the St. Joseph Police Department said crews responded to the crash on Frederick at I-29 around 6:12 a.m.

“An ambulance was traveling eastbound on Frederick approaching I-29 on the west side of the interstate.  A midsize car had a flashing yellow arrow and made a left turn in front of the ambulance striking it on the driver’s corner,” he said. “The ambulance continued up into the concrete barrier which kept it from going down onto I-29.  It finally came to rest on its passenger side wedged between the two concrete barriers.”

Both the driver of the ambulance, a 45-year-old St. Joseph man and the paramedic, a 22-year-old Kansas City woman were transported by other ambulances for treatment of minor injuries.  They have since been treated and released.

Zeamer said the paramedics were on their way back to the office for the day and did not have any patients on board and lights were not running.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 54-year-old Nebraska woman was issued a ticket for failing to yield.

 

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The St. Joseph Police Department is urging motorists to avoid the area of Frederick Avenue at Interstate 29 due to a traffic incident.

The department issued a Nixle alert around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. We will update this post as we find out more information.

Two people have been arrested in St. Joseph as fugitives from out of state in connection with a California murder investigation.

Coty Sutton, 26 and Amber Anderson, 22 are both charged in Buchanan County with a felony of a fugitive from out of state.

According to court documents, on Sunday police executed two warrants for Sutten for a homicide and robbery out of Modesto, California. Sutten was taken into custody by police at a home on 30th and Angelique. Anderson was arrested on a warrant for accessory to murder at a home in the 3000 block of Sylvanie St.

Both are being held in the Buchanan County Jail without bail. Online court documents show a waiver and an order of extradition have been filed for Anderson. Both are slated to appear in Buchanan County court Friday for an arraignment.

The St. Joseph Police Department is searching for a man and two women are in custody after a road rage incident allegedly lead to shots fire Tuesday morning on the southeast part of town.

Authorities initially responded to what was reported as an accident on Easton Road near 29th St.  shortly after 7:30 a.m.  Sgt. Kevin Cummings said when officers arrived they began investigating it as a road rage incident involved shots fired.

Sgt. Wayne Byrom said someone in the black Dodge Avenger fired at a Chevrolet S-10 pick up truck.  The vehicles then collided resulting in a crash. No one was hit by bullets in the incident.

A man and two women in the Dodge allegedly ran from the scene.  After a brief search of the area police took the two women into custody for investigation of unlawful use of a weapon.  Byrom said the handgun was found laying in the middle of the street.  Police are still searching for the man who had allegedly been driving the Dodge.  The only description provided was that of a white man wearing a blue or gray hoodie.

The St. Joseph resident who had been driving the S-10 pick up was transported to Mosaic Life Care with minor injuries.  One of the women, after allegedly running from police and then taken into custody was also taken to Mosaic Life Care for evaluation of an injury.

Around 8:28 a.m. police issued an alert asking people to avoid the area of Easton Rd. and S. 29th St. for a police incident. Police blocked off 29 from Pear St. to Easton Road. The road reopened around 9:49 a.m.  Authorities are still investigating the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline (816) 238-TIPS.

(1:28 p.m.) – The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office is awaiting the results of a medical examination to identify skeletal remains found over the weekend.

Sheriff Larry Fish said a resident found the body Sunday afternoon in a wooded area off of southeast Cannon Ball Rd. just north of Holt.

“The call came in around 1:40 Sunday afternoon and our deputies arrived on scene and discovered the skeletal remains of an unknown individual,” Fish said. “We’ve got multiple agencies helping us right now and we’re reaching out to any missing person cases that might be around.”

He said right now they are waiting on a medical examiner to identify the remains.

“They’re still unknown yet on the identification.  As soon as they get us a notification on who that is and we get a notification to the next of kin then we’ll make that public,” Fish said.

Currently, it’s unknown if the body is that of a man or a woman.  Detectives are still on scene investigating the area.  No word yet on the cause of death.

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(9 a.m.) – Clinton County officials are investigating after  a decomposed body was found Sunday afternoon.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office located the body in a ditch in a remote area. Because it’s been exposed to the elements it’s unknown if the body is that of a man or a woman. The sheriff’s office said the body was found in Holt.

No word yet on the possible cause of death.

Authorities are investigating and a press conference will be held later in the day with more information.

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 Feb. 13 – 19 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. With the possibility of winter weather, scheduled maintenance and construction projects may be postponed.

 

Atchison County

Route 111 – CLOSED from Route E to Route Z for roadside work, Feb. 15, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Route B – Pothole patching, Feb. 15 – 17

Buchanan County

Route 6 – Pothole patching, Feb. 14 – 17

Route 116 – From Rushville to DeKalb for sealing, Feb. 14 – 17

Caldwell County

U.S. Route 36 – CLOSED at the Route 13 overpass for bridge maintenance, Feb. 14 – 17, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m daily. Traffic will be directed up and over the ramps at Hamilton during the closure.

Route 116 – From Route A to U.S. Route 69 (Clinton County) for shoulder work, Feb. 14 – 17.

Clinton County

Route 33 – From Isley Drive to SE 209^th Street for drainage work, Feb. 14 – 17

Route 116 – From U.S. Route 69 to Route A (Caldwell County) for shoulder work, Feb. 14 – 17.

DeKalb County

Route J – CLOSED from U.S. Route 36 to Route 6 for a culvert replacements, Feb. 14 – 17, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily

Gentry County

U.S. Route 136 – From the Nodaway County line to Route W for crack sealing, Feb. 14 – 17

Grundy County

U.S. Route 65 and Route 6 – Pothole patching, Feb. 14 – 17

Harrison County

Route D – CLOSED from Eagleville Road to Washington Center for a culvert replacement, Feb. 14, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

U.S. Route 136 – Interstate 35 Overpass Bridge for maintenance, Feb. 15 – 16

Route U – CLOSED from Route 46 to W 110^th Place for a culvert replacement, Feb. 15, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Holt County

U.S. Route 59 – From the city limits of Mound City to the city limits of Oregon for shoulder work and pothole patching, Feb. 14 – 17

Mercer County

U.S. Route 136 – From Route A to the Harrison County line for sealing, Feb. 14 – 17

Route P – CLOSED at the Brushy Creek Bridge for a bridge replacement. The road will be closed through February 2017.

Nodaway County

U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching, Feb. 14 – 17