A St. Joseph man was sentenced Monday for the shooting death of a man in a midtown home last year.

Scott Hollandsworth, 36 was sentenced in Buchanan County Court to serve 15 years for felony voluntary manslaughter and 15 years for felony armed criminal action with the sentences to run consecutively.

He pleaded guilty last month in connection with the shooting death of 33-year-old Shawn Martin.

As we previously reported, court documents said Hollandsworth got into a verbal altercation with Martin that escalated into a shooting at a home in the 1500 block of Felix St. on Dec. 7, 2015.  Hollandsworth turned himself into Riverside police custody two days after St. Joseph Police found Martin dead inside of the bathroom of the home.

Missouri Western State University will host “Speaking of Ferguson: A Political Science Forum featuring St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 in the Fulkerson Center on Missouri Western’s campus.

The event is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by the St. Joseph branch of the NAACP, Buchanan County and the Department of Economics, Political Science and Sociology.

McCulloch was the prosecuting attorney in 2014, when a grand jury elected not to indict Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. He will talk about that process, and audience members will have the opportunity to submit questions through a moderator.

McCulloch has been the prosecuting attorney of St. Louis County since January 1991. After serving for one year as a law clerk for the Honorable Joseph G. Stewart of the Missouri Court of Appeals, he served as an assistant prosecuting attorney from 1978 to 1985. He was in private practice from 1985 until his election in 1990.

McCulloch is past president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National District Attorneys Association, a member of the Metropolitan Committee and Chairman of the National District Attorneys Association NAC oversight committee. McCulloch is also on the Advisory Board of LAAW, the Children’s Advocacy Center and several other victims’ rights organizations.

St. Joseph business and community leaders have plans to travel to Washington, D.C. for the 18th straight year to lobby on behalf of area residents.

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce said thirty-four delegates from local business, government and community groups will make the trip this year on April 12 and 13.

Each year, the chamber said it’s Government Relations Committee and the Community Alliance of Saint Joseph meet to discuss legislative priorities on the local, state and federal levels. The federal issues are brought to the attention of federal legislators and their staff members on this trip.

“This annual event allows us to communicate our opportunities for growth and challenges with our legislative leaders in Washington,” said Steve Johnston, Director of the Community Alliance of Saint Joseph. “Our Washington officials serve and often chair important House and Senate committees. By better understanding our goals, they can provide valuable leadership for assistance. Equally important, we have the opportunity to meet with their legislative staff assistants in vital areas such as levees, transportation and infrastructure, military funding and education. Establishing positive working relationships is critical.”

In 2016, support of the 139th Airlift Wing again is one of the group’s top priorities. The chamber said meetings in the Pentagon will help the group solidify growth. Community engagement has a major impact on military bases around the country. The 139th Airlift Wing is the fourth largest employer in St. Joseph.

“The Fly-In gives us a chance each year to talk with St. Joseph’s federal delegation about our legislative priorities,” said R. Patt Lilly, President & CEO of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. “Working together has allowed us to get results in Washington, D.C., over the years, which has resulted in funding and support of a number of projects and initiatives benefiting residents.”

A man has been charged with arson after a fire in Midtown Thursday displaced a family of four.

Khayree Darton, 36 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony for second degree arson stemming from an incident that took place Thursday in the 1600 block of S 17th St.

According to court documents, a little after midnight Darton is accused of intentionally setting fire to the home after his girlfriend broke-up with him.

“Told Darton she did not want to be in a relationship with him and started to leave the residence when Darton wanted her to stay,” said Officer Eric Powell with the St. Joseph Police Dept. “As (she) was leaving Darton said ‘that’s why I caught your house on fire.'”

Powell said the woman left the residence and returned about seven minutes later to find the house engulfed in flames.

“The defendant and victim have been in a relationship approximately two years and ongoing domestic assault issues.  The defendant has previous convictions reference domestic assault. The defendant committed arson and destroyed the victims home with no regard for her safety,” Powell said. “No regard for the safety of the neighbors.”

As we previously reported, fire caused extensive damage and displaced a family of four Thursday morning.  The family was found safely evacuated.

Court documents said Darton is from Louisiana and is currently unemployed.

Darton is being held without bail.  An arraignment is set forTuesday

An early-morning traffic accident blocked traffic on U.S. Highway 36 Friday. Sgt. Wayne Byrom of the St. Joseph Police Department says a tractor-trailer hauling cattle overturned in the westbound lanes of the highway amid that roadway’s S-curves between 10th and 22nd Streets at about about two a.m.

The driver suffered minor injuries but was not transported to the hospital. Sgt Byrom says they were just beginning to load the cattle into another truck, and had not yet assessed the animals’ conditions by 5 a.m.

Travel resumed as usual on the highway by 10:50 a.m. One eastbound lane was closed during the initial investigation as a precaution because part of the trailer was sticking out across the concrete Jersey barrier and over eastbound traffic, but Byrom said eastbound traffic was moving smoothly through the area.

The westbound on-ramp at 22nd was closed.

Kansas City Power & Light is planning to take on energy from two wind farms in northwest Missouri.

KCP&L made the announcement Thursday of the purchase of an additional 500 megawatts (MW) of power from two new wind facilities in its service region. That’s enough energy to power up to 170,000 homes.

One wind farm is in Osborn in DeKalb County and a second in Rock Creek in Atchison County.

“This announcement marks a significant investment in renewable energy, and will benefit our customers and the region,” said KCP&L President and CEO, Terry Bassham. “Over the past decade, we’ve transitioned our energy mix to become more sustainable and cleaner, and today is the most recent in a series of investments in renewable energy. We’re excited to announce our first wind facilities in our Missouri service area.”

Osborn is a 200 MW wind farm that is being constructed by NextEra Energy Resources in DeKalb County just east of St. Joseph, Mo. Osborn is expected to reach commercial operation by the end of 2016.

Rock Creek is a 300 MW wind farm that is being constructed by Tradewind Energy in Atchison County, near Tarkio, Mo. Rock Creek is expected to reach commercial operation by September, 2017.

Wind Advisory 12:00 p.m. to 07:00 p.m.
Red Flag Warning 01:00 p.m. to 08:00 p.m.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 60. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 24 to 29 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 44 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 7 to 12 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 58. Breezy, with a northwest wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. North northwest wind 6 to 15 mph becoming east after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56. Southeast wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Sunday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday Nigh: tA chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 57.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.