K-JO 105.5 will hold the 12th annual Radio-A-Thon on Friday to benefit Camp Quality of Northwest Missouri. Camp Quality is a week-long summer camp for children diagnosed with cancer. K-JO Morning Personality Gregg Lynn will be broadcasting live from the St. Joseph Hy-vee from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday. Lynn said the camp is run entirely off of donations. 

“They have over a hundred kids every year (and) it costs well over $1,000 per kid to send them to Camp Quality. They offer a summer camp experience for these kids that are very, very sick. They get to go fishing and boating and things that a lot of kids take for granted that these kids never get to do – they spend their whole weeks with doctors and nurses and doctor’s visits and sometimes can’t even go to school, but they get to go to camp for a week. Camp Quality also offers year-round support for the kids and their families with some outings and events for them to help out as well.” 

Adam Nelson is the Co-Executive Director of Camp Quality of Northwest Missouri. Nelson said the camp, which started in 1985, offers a different aspect of treatment. 

“There’s the actual medical treatment, which we know is very important,  but then we think the emotional and support side of it is also important in the treatment process,” Nelson said. “This is just an avenue for those kids who missed out on getting to go to Boy Scout or Girl Scout camp or church camp – that they get the chance to go to a camp and experience some of these things. Our tagline is – ‘Letting kids with cancer be kids again’ – That’s what we’re doing. For a week, we’re taking (care) of the medical part of it for them. So they’re not worried about the doctor’s appointments, they’re not worried about (taking their) medication at the right time. They’re focused solely on just being a kid again and having fun.” 

This year’s week of camp runs June 12th through the 17th. Nelson said funds raised during Friday’s Radio-A-Thon will go toward campground fees and the cost for campers to be able to attend the camp for free. 

“I truly am blessed with the Northwest Missouri community and the surrounding state communities as well,” Nelson said. “They’ve supported us now for 31 years and we truly could not run Camp Quality and do all the things that we do for the kids diagnosed with cancer without the support of our community.” 

The public is invited to visit Hy-vee on Friday and make a donation to Camp Quality, or call in a pledge to (816) 232-CAMP. They can also donate online anytime on the K-JO website.

Governor Jay Nixon was in St. Joseph Wednesday to announce state funding of $5 million to help pay for levee repairs along the Missouri River. The funds will go toward the 35% local match to pay for the approximately $70 million repair project.

The announcement ceremony at the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Airport featured a remarkable cast of characters, including a governor, state legislators, the mayor, the entire Buchanan County Commission, at least one sheriff and one fire chief, plus a base commander and a brigadier general, and most of National Guard personnel stationed at Rosecrans.

“This is a vitally important project, not only for St Joe, not only for Missouri but for the country,” Gov. Nixon told reporters. “This base needs to be protected and safe and not have any risks, so that these folks can do their valuable work.”

Nixon says he was not surprised at the bipartisan support the project has received, from the U.S. Senate to the Buchanan County Commission. But he says that cooperation was remarkable nonetheless.

“There’s really nothing else to say, other than there’s a whole lot of cynicism running around America right now,” Nixon told the gathering, “a lot of folks saying that folks can’t work together, can’t get things done.”

“You’ve got a bipartisan group of legislators, house and senate, you have a governor, you’ve got city, county, you’ve got the military, you’ve got the Corps of Engineers, you’ve got levee districts. Literally, everyone had to row together and do their part or we wouldn’t be here today.”

Completion of the repairs still depends on voter approval of a quarter-cent sales tax which goes on the ballot in Buchanan County August 2. Passage is anything but certain, but the ballot measure has drawn together an unusual coalition. It’s not often you hear State Senator Rob Schaaf speak in favor of a tax increase. But the St Joseph Republican does support the quarter-cent sales tax increase.

“This tax increase is something that this community absolutely has to have, in order to protect this air base, which is critical to our community,” Schaaf said in an interview. “Plus, this is a tiny tax increase, that has a sunset on it, and will only last until this levee system is fixed and protected. So it’s just something that they’ve just got to come through and support.”

City Manager Bruce Woody told the gathering that the project will proceed across four fiscal years, but should be completed in about 3.5 years. Among the elements of the project are raising the levees, protect them from underneath, the drilling of relief wells, and the addition of a “Stop log gap,” for areas where the railroad tracks cross the levees. The new device takes about two hours to set up. The old method of lifting the tracks and sandbagging the gaps takes much longer.

Officials say the Missouri River levees are vital to both the local and state economy by protecting over 6,000 jobs. They protect the Missouri Air National Guard, Rosecrans Memorial Airport, as well as many commercial, residential and agricultural properties along the river. Over $2 billion in private and public assets are located in areas protected by the levees.

An electrical problem is blamed for a house fire that caused extensive damage to a home in the 2400 block of South 16th Street Tuesday.

St Joseph Fire Department Inspector Jason Ziph says the fire caused an estimated $50,000 damage to the house at 2404 S. 16th.

A woman was checked out by paramedics at the scene but was not transported to the hospital. There were no injuries reported.

Mr. Ziph says the cause of the fire was electrical.

Fire crews had their hands full putting out the blaze. Dispatchers first sent police to the address on a “check for trouble” call. Subsequent to that they received the report of a debris fire, and after that they dispatched a full fire department response to put out a structure fire.

An old, malfunctioning fire hydrant complicated efforts to put out the fire, which was reported just three blocks from a fire station.

The St. Joseph School District hired Dr. Marlie Williams as the Assistant Superintendent of Academic and Education Services.

According to a press release from the School District, the hire came after an executive session held by the Board of Education on Monday.

“Dr. Marlie Williams will be a familiar name to many in the St. Joseph School District, as former principal of Central High School,” Dr. Robert Newhart, Superintendent said. “Her deep ties to the community and her proven track record of academic excellence make her a great fit for our district. She brings an innovative leadership style in academic services and has produced impressive results in the classroom. Dr. Williams will be charged with increasing rigor in all areas of curriculum and instruction,” Newhart said.

Dr. Williams is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services for Liberty Public Schools. She joined Liberty Public Schools in 2013 as Executive Director of Secondary Education. Prior to that, she was the principal at Central High School in the St. Joseph School District from 2006 to 2013. Dr. Williams also served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwest Missouri State University from 2008 to 2012.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from Northwest, Dr. Williams received her Master of Science Degree in Educational Leadership: Secondary from Northwest. She received her Specialist in Education from Northwest in 2006 and also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Higher Education from the University of Nebraska.

Dr. Williams has received many awards and accomplishments during her career including: Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Educator (2013), ACT Missouri Show Me Award, Northwest Region MASSP Principal of the Year and St. Joseph PTSA Principal of the Year, among others.

Dr. Williams will join the St. Joseph School District on July 1st.

The City of St. Joseph’s Liberty Tree has fallen.

Julie Noel, St. Joseph Special Events & Communications Coordinator said the city was notified Saturday that the historical tree near the entrance of Hyde Park had come down.

“It’s a symbol,” Noel said. “Back in the revolutionary days a bunch of people congregated underneath a liberty tree after the Boston Tea Party and the British decided to cut that tree down to thwart that movement but really it just rallied it.”

She said every city can only have one Liberty Tree which has to be at least 200-years-old or more.

“It has a lot of significance for the city because it was designated as the Liberty Tree for the bicentennial celebration in 1976,” Noel said.

The Parks Department is working to remove the Burr Oak from the Hyde Park Entrance

“At the time it was designated as the Liberty Tree it was the largest tree of its kind in the United States,” Noel said.

She said she is not sure what caused the tree to fall but that is could have been from old age.

The St. Joseph Police Department said there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in the investigation of the fatal shooting of a teen last week in midtown.

As we previously reported, 18-year-old Skylar Powell was found dead Wednesday morning in a parking lot near 22nd and Frederick. Thursday police took two men ages 19 and 20 into custody.  Capt. Jeff Wilson said the two have since been released pending further investigation.

“Still a lot of work being done on that case,” Capt. Wilson said. “Leads are still being worked by detectives.  As soon as the investigation allows a case will be submitted for charges.”

Wilson said the time frame on when charges could be submitted is difficult to speculate on.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the tips hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.