Police are investigating a “threat situation” at Central High School Friday morning.

According to St. Joseph School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Newhart, there was a possible in-person threat made and police have interviewed three students involved.

Newhart said the situation is under control and students are safe.

 

Police are investigating a burglary at 1601 Frederick Friday morning.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, it appears a vehicle drove through the front of Smokerz Outlet around 3:15 a.m. Officers say it appears the suspect took items but they are still reviewing video surveillance.

No one is in custody and there is no person of interest at this time.

 

(UPDATE)  St. Joseph police say a detective sergeant on the department spotted an active disturbance in a white SUV near the Belt and Faraon shortly after noon Thursday.

Detective Sgt. Jason Strong tried to pull the vehicle over and arrest a man inside the vehicle, who left the vehicle in the street and fled.  A woman in the vehicle warned Strong that the man had a gun.  As it turns out, she had already been shot in the shoulder at another location.

According to Sergeant Roy Hoskins, Strong then fell back and called for backup, as the suspect fled into the mobile home park northeast of the intersection.

The suspect, a 24-year-old St. Joe man, was soon found hiding in a shed in the mobile home park and was arrested.  The woman, a 25-year-old St. Joe woman, was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of a single gunshot wound to the clavicle.  Sgt. Hoskins says her injuries were not life threatening.

The SUV was left behind in the right turn lane.  It was eventually towed.

 

 

An investigation continues into a shooting last night in the 1200 block of South 25th Street in St. Joseph.

Police say a 39-year-old man was shot in the leg during an argument.

His injuries were described as serious, but were not believed to be life threatening.

So far there have been no arrests in the case.

An 8-year-old student was struck by a vehicle near Mark Twain Elementary Wednesday afternoon.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, the 8-year-old boy was heading home on a bike around 3:30 p.m. in the 3000 block of Parkway A and traveled off the grassy area into the road and was struck by an oncoming vehicle.

The child was transported to Mosaic Life Care with moderate, non-life threatening injuries.

According to police, no charges will be filed as witness statements say the driver was not driving recklessly.

St. Joseph received more than six inches of rain from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning, flooding area rivers, making roads slick and causing property damage throughout the area.

Flood warnings were issued for the Platte River near Agency and the Missouri River at St. Joseph and Atchison, Kansas.

The Platte River was expected to crest at more than 26 feet by midday Wednesday, more than six feet above the minor flood stage. At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday the Platte was at 22.86 feet. The Missouri River was predicted to crest later in the day at 19.4 feet, more than two feet above the minor flood stage. The stage at 9:30 am was 17.07 feet at St. Joseph.  These numbers are provided by the U.S. Geological Survey and are posted online by the National Weather Service here.

There were reports of a church losing its retaining wall and homes rendered dangerous by high water. Rain-slickened roads contributed to at least two traffic crashes in St Joseph Wednesday. High water forced MoDOT to close several area highways. Click here for the latest list.

Longtime reporter and political commentator Cokie Roberts visited St. Joseph Tuesday for the 23rd R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues at Missouri Western State University.

During a media availability before the speech, Roberts fielded some of the same questions being posed to the two major-party candidates for president.

“There’s a sense of ‘just make it work’ for heaven’s sake, and nobody seems to be doing that,” she said, when asked about how the dysfunction in Washington is affecting voters.

“It makes the (Bernie) Sanders people crazy when they’re compared to the Trump people,” Roberts said, “but of course there’s a similarity, and obviously the dysfunction in Washington has a great deal to do with that.”

Her speech during the convocation was entitled “Insider’s View of the 2016 Presidential Election.” She told reporters that the close margins between the two major-party candidates should not be surprising.

“It’s a tied electorate, and therefore it’s a tied election,” she said. “and that was going to be true no matter what, and no matter whom were the nominees.

“So, what we have to see is how the few people who are not already committed, decide to go, and the next few weeks will determine that.”

Roberts engaged in a lively give-and-take with the reporters. When one asked a question that began with a reference to her years as a political reporter, she interrupted before the question had been asked: “…NO…I’ve never seen anything like it.”

We asked if she believes that the system is rigged, as has been asserted by at least two candidates, and she challenged us to answer the question.

Is the system rigged? “…the system isn’t rigged, but the system needs help.”

Tell me how. “You tell me how, the voters are the people who have to make it work.”

What’s wrong with it now? “People are much too polarized, and much too unwilling to compromise, and much too unwilling to talk to each other.”

When asked about the specifics of a new campaign issue, the health of Hillary Clinton, Roberts was blunt.

“Donald Trump has been setting Hillary Clinton up for a health issue for months. He started talking about her strength and stamina back in January knowing that a candidate gets sick. The public was primed and we’ll see how they react. It’s hard to know how big an issue it’s going to be. It can’t help.”

She was also quick to point that issue back at Mr. Trump.

“Donald Trump should be releasing his health records, he should be releasing his tax returns. We know very little about Donald Trump.”

She then chastised both candidates.

“I don’t know at what point a candidate is going to learn that it’s better to tell the truth the first time,” she said. “It is so crazy that we keep going through this over and over.”