A Troy student was taken to the hospital Tuesday evening with minor injuries after a multi-vehicle crash on 36 Highway.

Deputy Raymond Hall said authorities responded to the crash around 4:45 p.m. on the highway in-between Wathena and Blair.

“There was a semi heading westbound with two individuals in it.  It tried to pass a dually pick-up truck and in doing so failed to see a small car going eastbound.  The vehicle was able to swerve to the right and avoid direct impact but still made impact with the trailer of the semi down the driver’s side of the vehicle causing injuries to the lone occupant of that vehicle,” Hall said.

18-year-old Kassi Meng, a Senior at Troy High School who was driving the 2006 Nissan was transported to Mosaic Life Care by Troy ambulance for treatment of what authorities described as minor injuries.

Hall said the investigation is still underway.  However, he said the 55-year-old Sabetha man who was driving the 2007 Kenworth will likely be issued charge.

“We’ll complete the investigation this morning and we will probably issue those charges to the semi driver for passing without clearance,” Hall said.

Traffic was slowed on the highway at that location while crews worked the scene for about two hours.

“We never did shut the highway down we just had fire department and other law enforcement personnel slow traffic down.  The roadway actually stayed clear,” Hall said.

 

The St. Joseph Fire Department is still working to put out hot spots as the Pioneer building continues to smolder in downtown St. Joseph.

“We’re still watching this east wall.  The crack is getting a little larger which tells us that gravity may soon bring it down,” said Chief Training Officer Mike Neylon with the St. Joseph Fire Department. “We’re moving everything back as far as we can possibly move it and still get water where we need it.  It may get to the point where we have to do it from above.”

Firefighters arrived on the scene at Francis and 5th St. Monday shortly after 10:30 a.m.

“We’ve been here continuously.  Moving crews in and out so they can get something to eat and a bath,” Neylon said. “The streets are going to be blocked until this structure can either be knocked in or deemed to be not a collapse danger.  Which nobody can get in it until we put it out and we can’t put it out because we can’t get to it.”

A timeline for leaving the scene is not yet known. He said at this point the plan is to just douse it with water.

“At this point that’s all we have.  We are not going to go inside to try to move any of the stuff so we can get at the deep-seated fire.  We’re going to hit it from above and hope we can soak it out or flood it out somehow because we are not going to enter that structure,” Neylon said.

The fire department plans to keep two companies at a time at that location.

“We’ve got a new crew that came on at 7 o’clock this morning and we’ve already turned out four companies so everybody is going to get a turn today to come out and man this hose,” Neylon said. “We’ll move them in and out and bring in fresh companies so these guys can go grab some groceries.”

He said people coming to see the ruined structure is another issue authorities have been dealing with.

“We’ve got people that will just walk right up to the building.  We just kind of lose sight of them and think ‘nobody is that stupid,’ but yeah they are.  It requires constant observation and that’s another reason we’re going to have to have people down here.  We’re going to have to keep staff down here to keep the lookers out,” Neylon said.  “Everybody wants to get they best picture for Facebook and that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Authorities are asking people to avoid the area.

“There’s nothing to see it’s just a smoldering pile of rubble and you don’t want to be near it when this thing cracks,” Neylon said.

The surrounding buildings were evacuated Monday, Neylon said they are letting people back into nearby buildings.

“We are allowing them in but suggesting they don’t stay there if they are right in front of this building,” Neylon said. “We can’t guarantee their safety is the simple fact.”

Electricity was shut off to several buildings including the Montee Law Firm right next to the Pioneer building.

“Light and Power is waiting for an underground vault to clear so they can start the power again,” Neylon said. “They can’t get to it until we let them in, so it’s a nightmare.”

The cause of the fire is undetermined.  Neylon told us Monday that there were rumors of illegal occupants inside the building which could have been the reason behind the fire.  No victims have been found.

 

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – At approximately 7 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, Bankers Crossing Bridge on U.S. Route 59 south of St. Joseph will be narrowed to one lane as crews work on the northern edge of the bridge.

A traffic signal will be in place to guide motorists through the work zone. The bridge is expected to reopen to two-way traffic around noon that same day.

The historic Tootle Opera House in downtown St. Joseph where Buffalo Bill Cody once performed was destroyed by fire Monday after standing tall for more than 140 years.

The building located at 5th and Francis, was commonly known as the Pioneer Building.  Fire crews responded to the fire around 10:30 a.m. Chief Training Officer Mike Neylon with the St. Joseph Fire Department said around 60 firefighters were on scene with around 15 firetrucks.  The Savannah Fire Department and the Rosecrans Memorial Airport Fire Department assisted.

“It doesn’t impact how you put it out once it gets to the point that it was that it was obviously not going to be saved.  But initially yeah, you try to keep the historical aspect intact as much as possible.  That was a pretty special building,” Neylon said. “Another one lost.”

Sarah Elder, the Curator of Collection with Saint Joseph Museums said the Tootle Opera House was built in 1872.

“It was built by Milton Tootle Sr. and it was considered at that time to be the finest Opera House west of the Mississippi,” Elder said. “It started to have a little competition from motion pictures…I want to say as an Opera House it kind of ceased that existence in the 1920s and 1930s as motion pictures became more and more prevalent.”

Elder said Buffalo Bill Cody performed in the building twice.

“As he was getting started with his Wild West shows and he was touring the country he performed at the Tootle Opera House,” Elder said.

She said the cost to construct the building in 1872 was around $200,000.

“It had these beautiful staircases and decorative work on the inside,” Elder said. “It had a main floor and a balcony and a gallery and it could hold around 1500 people.”

She said the building was renovated and turned into office space in the 1940s.

“There are a few buildings that are older than that but not many,” Elder said. “It was a big part of St. Joseph’s golden age.”

Clint Thompson is the planning and community development director for the City of St. Joseph.  He said the building was sitting vacant and was owned by Jeff Smith with JES Development out of Columbia, Mo.

“The developer had proposed to do some low income housing units, and that goes back probably about 10 years ago,” Thompson said. “He was seeking tax credits but also support by the City of St. Joseph to endorse their application.  At the time the city denied supporting the application because the city had done a housing analysis in our downtown area and we were trying to work with private development to do market rate housing in and around downtown.  Since that application was denied the developer hasn’t done anything with the property.”

Elder said the building’s loss means a great part of St. Joseph’s history is no longer there.

Neylon said crews will likely be on scene until at least nightfall pouring water on the building; a second building located behind the Pioneer building also caught fire but was put out.  No victims have been found. The cause of the fire is currently undetermined.

(UPDATE 12:35 p.m.)

Crews have been working a fire at the Pioneer Building since around 10 a.m. Monday.

According to Chief Training Officer Mike Neylon with the St. Joseph Fire Department, an alarm came in at at 10:21 a.m. stating a building was on fire.

“First arriving companies found smoke exiting the building,” Neylon said. “They rapidly got together and found that the building was indeed burning and burning quite actively. Within five minutes, the second alarm was called, the fire chief was brought in and they are in the process of trying to put it out without getting anymore damage done to surrounding buildings and without getting anybody hurt.”

Neylon said the second building on fire is across the alley from the back of the Pioneer Building. He said crews have it almost put out and are working to contain the fires so no embers cause other buildings to catch fire.

Neylon said they don’t believe anyone has been injured in the fire. He also said they do not yet know the cause of the fire and crews will be on scene at least until nighttime.

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(UPDATE 12:10 p.m.)

Crews have been working the Pioneer building fire downtown Monday morning.

According to the Post’s Nadia Thacker, it appears crews are starting to go into a second building behind the Pioneer building and there is smoke coming from that roof.cre

St Joseph Fire Department Inspector Jason Ziph said he does not believe there has been any injuries.

Authorities are still asking people to avoid the area of 5th and Francis Streets as crews work to contain the fires.

We will update this post as we find out more details.

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(11:33 a.m.)

Crews are working to contain the fire at the Pioneer building downtown.

According to the Post’s Nadia Thacker, the roof has collapsed in on both sides.

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Crews are battling a fire downtown Monday morning.

The Pioneer building downtown is on fire. St. Joseph Post’s Nadia Thacker is on scene and said the building has partially collapsed.

Residents are urged to avoid the area of 5th and Francis Streets.

We will update this post as we find out more details.

https://www.facebook.com/stjoepost/videos/1199240676823261/

The Holiday Park and South Pole lighting ceremonies are right around the corner. The festivities will begin at Krug Park on November 25, 2016. Please bring your family and friends for music, refreshments and to see the Mayor flip the switch and turn on all the lights at the park at 6:00 p.m. sharp. Take a drive through the park and visit Santa Claus and collect one of our local confectionaries.

The festivities will continue at Hyde Park where the Mayor will switch on all of the lights at 7:00 p.m. This is also a family friendly event with entertainment and refreshments. You won’t want to miss out on this great way to kick off the Christmas season.

Three suspects were taken into custody after a burglary Sunday morning.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, an alarm went off at 4:19 a.m. at the Sprint Store at 3715 Frederick Ave. Officers nearby were dispatched and saw two subjects running off and after a short foot chase, one was taken into custody and the two others were later taken into custody.

Police said charges have been filed against the 17-year-old and two juveniles are awaiting charges.

Police are still investigating whether or not the burglary is connected to other burglaries at businesses last week.