A matching grant of $5,000 will go towards renovations of Hyde Park ball fields.
The City of St. Joseph Parks, Recreation & Civic Facilities Department announced Thursday that it has been awarded a $5,000.00 grant from the Royals Charities Royalty Fields Program. The matching grant was awarded on behalf of the Glass Family and the Royals Charities Board of Directors. The money awarded to the Parks Department will be used in the renovation of Hyde fields.
The Royals Charities provides financial assistance for softball and baseball facilities improvements in the Midwest. The matching grants are specifically for local governments and non-profit organizations to help operate softball and baseball programs. The grants awarded are for projects that are primarily for the youth which include essential and non-essential field renovation components such as fencing, new sod, dugouts, lights, scoreboards, equipment, restrooms, and bleachers.
Wintry weekend weather expected to begin Friday with freezing drizzle across the area starting during the morning hours and persisting through much of the day, especially north of Highway 36. South of Highway 36, temperatures may warm above freezing by noon with freezing drizzle changing to drizzle south of that highway. Friday night into Saturday, an arctic cold front moves through with temperatures falling through the day. Light snow will accompany the storm system associated with the front with accumulations generally half an inch or less. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 25. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. Southeast wind around 11 mph.
Friday: Patchy freezing drizzle after 7 a.m., mixing with drizzle after 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 35. South southeast wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Friday Night: Areas of drizzle before 10 p.m., then a chance of drizzle or freezing drizzle between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., then a slight chance of freezing drizzle after 2 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 19. Southeast wind 7 to 16 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph.
Saturday: A chance of freezing drizzle before 9 a.m., then a chance of snow and freezing drizzle between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., then a chance of snow after 10 a.m. Cloudy, with a high near 22. Blustery, with a north northwest wind 17 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: A chance of snow before 7 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around -3. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Sunday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 14.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 4.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 29.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 13.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 37.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23.
The Blue Angels perform at the Sound of Speed Air Show, hosted at the 139th Airlift Wing in St. Joseph, MO., May 2nd, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Bond)
(News release) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The U.S. Navy Blue Angels demonstration team announced last week they will be part of the Sound of Speed Air Show and Open House Aug. 25 and 26, 2018.
The announcement was made during the annual International Council of Air Shows convention in Las Vegas where the Blue Angels released their 2017 and 2018 schedule.
“The air show planning team has been working diligently these last few months and are very excited to support the Navy’s premiere demo team for the community’s 2018 Sound of Speed Air Show and Open House,” said Abe Forney, the airport manager at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.
Air show officials began planning the 2018 show as soon as this year’s air show ended. Capt. Mark Gaines, who acted as the deputy director for this year’s air show says the military jet demonstration teams are on a two year planning cycle and requests must be made two years in advance.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase aviation in the military,” said Gaines. “But it’s also a chance for us to open the base and let folks see what we do.”
The Blue Angels have performed in Missouri the past few years with an air show in St. Louis in 2016 and Kansas City in 2015. Their most recent appearance in St. Joseph was 2010.
The Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing is comprised of approximately 1,100 citizen-Airmen from local communities throughout the region. The unit operates the C-130H Hercules cargo aircraft and has a dual mission to the state of Missouri and the federal government. Rosecrans Air National Guard Base is located at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, St. Joseph, Mo.
Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol plan to take part in a special operation starting Friday in northwest Missouri.
Captain James E. McDonald, commanding officer of Troop H, St. Joseph, said that Troop H officers will be participating in the C.A.R.E. Lifesaver weekend from December 16, 2016, through December 19, 2016. During that time frame, enforcement will be increased in an effort to stop motorists from driving impaired this holiday season and to reduce injury and deaths caused by impaired drivers.
“The holiday season is a time to celebrate with friends and family,” Captain McDonald said. “If those celebrations include alcohol be sure to have a sober designated driver. No one should have to endure losing a loved one during the holiday season.”
Freezing drizzle is expected across the area from Friday morning through Friday evening. This may cause slick roads and slippery sidewalks, driveways, etc. through the day. Temperatures are expected to warm above freezing for areas south of Highway 36 by mid day Friday, so the greatest potential for glazing will be across northern Missouri. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 27. Wind chill values between zero and 10. North northwest wind 6 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 11. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 25. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Southeast wind around 11 mph.
Friday: Areas of drizzle or freezing drizzle before 3 p.m., then areas of drizzle between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., then areas of drizzle or freezing drizzle after 5 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 35. South southeast wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Friday Night: A chance of drizzle or freezing drizzle before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 21.
Saturday: A chance of freezing drizzle before 8am, then a chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 23. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -2.
Missouri State Auditor Nicole GallowayState Auditor Nicole Galloway traveled to St. Joseph Tuesday to tout new legislation aimed at making it easier to audit, prosecute and get repayment from public officials who engage in fraud, theft and misconduct.
Galloway joined Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins announcing Senate Bill 176, which was prefiled in the General Assembly by Springfield Republican Sen. Bob Dixon. Galloway said the current law has no teeth, from enforcement to collection.
She said the Auditor’s Office has identified a lot of official misconduct, including here in the St. Joseph School District. The ill-gotten funds statewide total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars…
She listed a “portfolio” of audits in which they’ve seen official misconduct.
“We have seen a court clerk down Carl Junction steal tens of thousands of dollars,” Galloway said. “There was a Wright County collector that manipulated tax records to benefit her and her family. Those are just a few examples that we have found over the past couple of years since I have taken office.”
The bill would allow judges to order restitution, which Prosecutor Scroggins said makes it easier to collect.
“It clearly gives the court the authority to order restitution in these kinds of cases,” Scroggins said, “and it has a process in place wherein we can collect that in the same way that we would any of the other civil judgments we might be currently collecting, and it can be returned to the public.”
Scroggins said the decision was made early on during the local school district investigation to let the FBI take the reins, not because they are better investigators, but because they have better laws at their disposal.
Scroggins the new law would have helped local authorities during the controversy, which wound up in the hands of federal investigators.
“We did not have at that time, do not have at this time actually, very good laws on the books as to, clearly, how that can be investigaged, and clearly how that can be prosecuted,” Scroggins said. “So, the decision was made early on in that investigation to turn it over to federal authorities because their laws were better.”
The law allows local prosecutors and law enforcement officials to request the help of the auditors office, something that Galloway said is not always available now.
“This legislation will allow local prosecuting attorneys another tool, in order to hold these folks accountable to the public dollars that they have abused and sometimes lined their pockets with,” she said.
“My hope is that this will move forward swiftly because it has bipartisan support. This is a good government accountability bill, and so, if we did make it through the legislative process it would take effect in August of 2017.”
A Chillicothe man is facing charges after a nearly year-long auto theft investigation and a police chase in northwest Missouri.
Gregory Simpson, 31 was charged Sunday in Livingston County with a felony for tampering with a motor vehicle stemming from an incident that allegedly took place in January, and a felony for resisting arrest stemming from an incident that allegedly took place Saturday.
According to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, on Sat., Dec. 10, an auto theft investigation which began January 31, 2016 on Old Highway 190 resulted in an arrest.
The office said the suspect who stole this vehicle allegedly damaged a different yard in rural Livingston County and made way into Daviess County. At one point the yet unknown and unreported stolen vehicle was involved in a chase with another county agency and then the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The suspect eluded the officers and subsequently ditched the pickup in a remote area near Kearney, MO.
Several days later the vehicle was located and LCSO staff responded to process the pickup. The search of that vehicle resulted in trace evidence being collected and sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab for DNA testing. Late last week the LCSO received lab confirmation and identity of the suspect.
On December 10 the LCSO arrested Gregory Allen Simpson, 31, Independence at a rural Livingston County address for alleged Auto Theft. Later Simpson allegedly attempted to flee the LCSO staff on foot and was again apprehended.
Simpson is being held on $25,000 bail in the Davies/Dekalb Regional Jail.
Sheriff Steve Cox said the LCSO is continuing with assisting Daviess County Sheriff, the MSHP, Clinton County Sheriff, and others regarding possible information for incident reports they have open.
A teenager charged as an adult with murder for the death of Kaytlin Root appeared in court Tuesday. Amanda Donna Bennett, along with co-defendant Sebastian Dowell, are charged with luring the 17-year-old Root to Krug Park, rendering her unconscious, and then stabbing her to death. Her body was found by a runner along a trail at the park October 16.
If convicted of the second-degree murder charge Bennett could face a penalty of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment.
She would not be eligible for parole until 85 percent of any sentence ordered has been served.
Bennett remains in custody after a judge set bail at $250,000. Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer scheduled the case for a preliminary hearing docket this Friday. As we reported, Dowell is being held without bail awaiting his next court appearance in February.
Cold temperatures but generally dry weather is expected through the middle portion of the work week. Temperatures will generally range from the 20s across northern Missouri to the 30s along the I-70 corridor. A wintry mix of precipitation is possible Friday with temperatures starting out near or below freezing, then warming up through the day into the 40s. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 25. North wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 13. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 29. Light and variable wind becoming north northwest 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 13. North northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light northwest.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 26. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Friday: Cloudy, with a high near 38.
Friday Night: A chance of rain and snow between 7pm and 2am, then a chance of snow after 2am. Cloudy, with a low around 20. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 21. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday Night: A chance of snow before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 0. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Police sent out an alert canceling the advisory on missing child Levi Pearson.
The 1-year-old was located safe and the suspect, Alvin Wiggins, is in custody in Kansas City.
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The St. Joseph Police Department is asking for help locating a missing 1-year-old.
A missing person alert was issued around 10:30 p.m. for Levi Sebastian Pearson last seen wearing a gray/red striped t-shirt, black sweatshirt, and gray sweatpants. He’s described as black, around 2 feet tall and 25 pounds. Last seen in St. Joseph Monday.
Wiggins
The department is also searching for 42-year-old Alvin Wiggins described as a person of interest in the case. Wiggins allegedly left with the child in a white 2006 Buick Lacross with expired temp tags, possibly en-route to Kansas City. Wiggins is described as a black man around 5’9″ weighing 220 pounds.
Anyone with information that can assist in safely locating Pearson or Wiggins is asked to call 911 or contact the police directly.
Missouri Highway Patrol has issued an endangered person advisory for Pearson:
State of Missouri Endangered Person Advisory
The St. Joseph Police Department has issued an Endangered Person Advisory for a missing person incident that occurred at
2121 South Overside Road, St Joseph, MOat 3:30 PM on December 12, 2016.
Missing Is:
Levi S Pearson a black, male, age 1 1/2.
Vehicle Information:
White 2006 Buick Lacrosse bearing Missouri unknown temporary permit, last seen at 2121 South Overside Drive possibly heading towards Kansas City MO.
Possible suspects or associates are believed to be:
Alvin Wiggins, a black, male, age 42, height 5′ 11″, 250 lbs, brown hair, brown eyes.
The endangered missing person:
Levi S Pearson, is a black , male, age 1 1/2, height 2′, 25 lbs, black hair, brown eyes, with mole on left cheek, eczema on back, wearing green & gray or gray & red striped shirt.
Brief circumstances regarding the Endangered Missing Person incident:
Wiggins took the child during a visit and is possibly en route to the Kansas City MO area. He is considered armed and dangerous though no weapons were displayed at the time and is a known drug user. Levi suffers from asthma and does not have his medication.
Anyone seeing the missing person, suspect, associate, or vehicle, or anyone having any information related to the endangered missing person should immediately dial 911 to contact the nearest law enforcement agency or call the St. Joseph Police Department at 816-752-7135.
