A Princeton, Missouri, man was seriously injured in a crash between a tractor and a tractor-trailer Friday morning in Mercer county.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, shortly after 10 a.m., the tractor and the tractor-trailer were both southbound on US 65 about four miles north of Princeton. The tractor, driven by 44-year-old Gilbert E. Lawson, was turning left onto a private drive. The tractor-trailer, driven by 44-year-old Timothy D. Spickard of Trenton, was attempting to pass the tractor when it hit the tractor in the northbound lane, causing Lawson to be ejected. The tractor-trailer continued on US 65, went off the east side of the road, overturning onto the driver’s side.

Lawson was transported to Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton for treatment of serious injuries. No injuries were reported for the driver of the tractor-trailer.

By Sarah Thomack
St. Joseph Post

This weekend, in Atchison, Kansas, there’s an opportunity to satisfy your sweet tooth and help a local theater restoration.

Atchison Chamber of Commerce President Jacque Pregont said there are over 13 different businesses participating in the Annual Chocolate Tasting this year.

“Chocolate cupcakes, chocolate covered espresso beans, I believe somebody is doing chocolate covered bacon, so you’ve got about 13 places to go and pick up your chocolate,” Pregont said. “You can either eat it as you go, or you can bring a little container. Lots of people have started bringing little containers to put the chocolates in so they can take them home and enjoy them one at a time and savor each and every one.”

This year, the funds from tickets for the Chocolate Tasting will be donated to the Fox Theatre project.

“We’re doing major renovations and reopening our movie theater, so we’re trying to give them a little bump to help pay for that project,” Pregont said. “We’re also excited to see that opening, they say the end of March, 1st of April, so we thought why not help them out with the ticket sales from our Chocolate Tasting.”  

The Chocolate Tasting is Friday and Saturday during normal business hours. You can find a list of participating businesses and more information at visitatchison.com.

A “Night at the Museum” this weekend will focus on reconnecting children with nature.

The Remington Nature Center will be holding the Night at the Museum event Friday evening. It will feature nature themed crafts and the Nature Center will be open for touring from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday.

Shelly Cox with the Remington Nature Center says there will be a presentation at 6:30 p.m. called “Reconnecting Our Children with Nature.”

The presenter is graduate student Tracy Dotson who has a bachelor’s degree from MWSU in Health and Communications and an Associate’s degree from MWSU in Health Information Technologies. She is currently a graduate student with Grand Canyon University, majoring in secondary education. The presentation is recommended for educators, scout leaders, and parents, but children are welcome to attend.

The Remington Nature Center is located at 1502 McArthur Drive in St. Joseph. Regular admission prices apply.

For more information, contact Nature Center Manager, Andrea McCoy at (816) 676-3204 or click here.

By Sarah Thomack
St. Joseph Post

The St. Joseph School District Early Childhood Department will begin developmental screenings at the end of the month.

District preschool programs serve 4-year-old children who turn 4 by August 1, 2019.

The required screening is the first step for those interested in SJSD preschool programs.

SJSD Coordinator of Early Childhood Services Mary Fleming said there are several dates available in the spring to set up an appointment for the screenings for 3 and 4-year-old children in St. Joseph.

“First they work with a nurse to do a health, vision and hearing screening, then they move over and work with a parent educator who does some tasks with them from the DIAL Assessment – motor tasks, some questions that are kind of cognitive tasks and some language tasks and then the kids get to go play for a little while,” Fleming said. “We score those screenings and sit down and chat with the parents about what we found. It’s just good to know where your kids are at because we’ll have some information there about whatever level you find that your child is performing at, some things you can do at home with them.”

Fleming said there are some things parents or guardians can do to prepare their future preschooler for the screening.

“I would tell them to chat with their little person about just trying to be comfortable, they’re basically just going to interact with some grownups that they don’t know yet, but we’re used to dealing with little children,” Fleming said. “They might have a chat with the nurse, it will be kind of like going to a doctors appointment… and they’re basically going to play some little games with somebody and when it’s all over they get to go play.”

Fleming said the screenings should take about an hour and a half and parents or guardians should bring shot records, a birth certificate and proof of residency.

Dates and times for screenings are:

Feb. 28 – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

March 1 – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

March 2 – 8 a.m. to noon

March 4 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

March 5 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

March 6 – 8 a.m. to noon

Screenings take place at the Keatley Center, 1202 South 28th Street in St. Joseph.

For more information or to make an appointment, click here or call (816) 671-4000.