MARYVILLE, Mo. – When the 2016-2017 academic year begins, Northwest Missouri State University’s division of academic affairs will feature a new organizational structure that the University’s chief academic officer says reflects a 21st-century university and supports profession-based learning.

Effective July 1, Northwest Provost Dr. Timothy Mottet announced, the University will leave behind the academic college structure it has followed for decades and adopt one consisting of professional schools led by directors who will report directly to the provost. Deans who have traditionally led the academic colleges and other academic areas will become associate provosts.

“This restructuring flattens the organization and empowers academic units to develop new and innovative academic programming and to be more connected to the organizations who hire our graduates,” Mottet said. “It’s allowing us to be more nimble and interdisciplinary, which both students and faculty are requesting.”

The reorganization was set in motion last year, Mottet said, when a candidate selected to fill Northwest’s vacant dean role in the Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth College of Business and Professional Studies rescinded his acceptance of Northwest’s offer. As a result, Northwest appointed Michael L. Faust as visiting dean of the Booth College and reconfigured that college’s three academic departments as professional schools as part of a pilot program.

Early success of the pilot prompted academic leaders to rethink Northwest’s former Department of Health and Human Services, which had been based in the College of Education and Human Services. That initiative led to the development of a new, free-standing, multi-disciplinary School of Health Science and Wellness, which the University launched last fall, officially making it Northwest’s first professional school.

Concluding the pilot program in preparation for the fall 2016 trimester, Northwest will officially dissolve the Booth College and retain its academic departments as professional schools, known as the Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business, the School of Communication and Mass Media, and the School of Agricultural Sciences.

Additionally, Northwest will dissolve its College of Education and Human Services and reorganize the Department of Professional Education as the School of Education. The computer science unit, which currently is housed within the College of Arts and Sciences and an academic department that also includes the University’s mathematics programming, will form a new School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

Northwest will, however, retain its College of Arts and Sciences, which will house the departments of English and Modern Languages, Fine and Performing Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and Natural Sciences.

Professional schools, Mottet explains, represent academic units closely aligned with a profession, while academic departments contain broader disciplines. Mottet said the restructuring is still evolving and faculty-driven.

“There was never a master plan,” Mottet said. “This has developed into an elegant organizational structure that all started with the rescinding of the Booth dean and faculty willingness. This is an example of faculty who have trusted the process, and I am deeply appreciative of that.”

Tarkio Student Charged After Bringing Weapon To School

At approximately 9:38 a.m., on February 11, 2016, Tarkio High School officials were made aware of a student possibly possessing ammunition on school property. School officials contacted the student and escorted him to a secure location in the high school and contacted the Tarkio Police Department. Upon arrival of the Tarkio Police Department, officers located a handgun in the student’s backpack at which time he was taken into custody and the school placed on lockdown. Officers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Tarkio Police Department, and the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office conducted a protective sweep of the school and the school was taken off lockdown.

The suspect has been identified as, Michael T. Knoth, 19, of Tarkio, Missouri. On February 12, 2016, Knoth was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and making a terrorist threat. Knoth continues to be held at the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office in lieu of bond. The investigation continues by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control, Tarkio Police Department and the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office.

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Thursday- Tarkio Student In Custody After Bringing Weapon To School

At approximately 9:38 a.m., on February 11, 2016, Tarkio High School officials were made aware of a student possibly possessing ammunition on school property. School officials contacted the student and escorted him to a secure location in the high school and contacted the Tarkio Police Department. Upon arrival of the Tarkio Police Department, officers located a handgun in the student’s backpack at which time he was taken into custody and the school placed on lockdown. Officers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Tarkio Police Department, and the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office conducted a protective sweep of the school and the school was taken off lockdown. The suspect, a 19-year-old white male, is currently being held at the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office. The Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control continues to investigate.

(February 12, 2016)—Amy Todd, Director of Human Resources for the St. Joseph School District, has submitted her resignation. Her last day with the district will be April 1, 2016.

Todd was hired by the Board of Education at the June 22, 2015 board meeting.

“Amy was instrumental in restructuring the Human Resources Department during a very important time for the district. She worked diligently to change many policies and procedures within the district during a challenging time. There is no doubt the Human Resources
Department became a more structured and efficient department under Amy’s leadership. We wish her the best,” said Dr. Robert Newhart, Superintendent.

The St. Joseph School District will post the job for Director of Human Resources on the district website.

A St. Joseph man is facing several charges after a chase in Buchanan County Thursday morning.

Travis Coon, 31 is charged with felonies for first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest by fleeing, and second degree assault on a law enforcement officers.

As we previously reported, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department said around 8:30 am Thursday a deputy with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department tried to stop a vehicle after witnessing careless and imprudent driving in which three separate vehicles were nearly hit.

When the officer tried to stop the vehicle the department said the driver of the stolen vehicle in an attempt to elude the officer nearly hit several more vehicles and then was involved in a one vehicle accident near the area of I-229 and A highway. After crashing the driver continued his escape efforts leaving the crash scene in the damaged truck. The driver was taken into custody at 8:40 am after hitting a Sheriff’s Department vehicle with the stolen truck he was driving. No injuries were sustained to the driver or to deputies.

A passenger who exited the stolen truck just after the crash was located and arrested by St. Joseph Police detectives and patrol personnel.

The department said the case remains under investigation.

Bond for Coon has been denied. An arraignment is set for Tuesday in front of Judge Rebecca Spencer.

Five people were hurt in an early-morning traffic accident in St. Joseph.

St. Joseph Police Sergeant Chris McBane says a vehicle rammed into a tree at Ashland Avenue and Beck Road at about 1:05 a.m. Sgt. McBane says the injuries ranged from minor to severe. One of the victims refused treatment at the scene.

The four others were transported to Mosaic Life Care. The accident remains under investigation.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down a stopgap law for funding the state’s public schools, saying it left poor districts $54 million short.

The justices ruled Thursday that the Republican-backed law enacted last year doesn’t comply with the Kansas Constitution. The court gave lawmakers until the end of June to write a new law.

The ruling came in a lawsuit that four districts have been pursuing since 2010. The Supreme Court has yet to decide on the larger question of whether Kansas must boost its education spending by at least $548 million a year.

Lawmakers approved the 2015 law as temporary fix. The law replaced a per-student formula for distributing more than $4 billion a year to school in favor of stable “block grants.”

“In a courageous and well-reasoned opinion, the Supreme Court of Kansas has once again ruled that the state legislature is not meeting its constitutional obligation to Kansas public schools. Kansas educators have been working harder than ever to deal with the realities of irresponsible tax cuts, the corresponding revenue decline and the increase in need these policies have produced,” Kansas NEA President Mark Farr said in response to Thursday’s ruling.

(AP and Post)

A vehicle has been stopped after allegedly fleeing from deputies in Buchanan County Thursday morning.

Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department said around 8:30 am a deputy with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department attempted to stop a motor vehicle after witnessing careless and imprudent driving in which three separate vehicles were nearly struck.

Upon initiation of the stop the vehicle, in an attempt to elude the officer the driver of the stolen truck, nearly hit several more vehicles and then was involved in a one vehicle accident near the area of I-229 and A highway. After crashing the driver continued his efforts to elude the officer leaving the crash scene in the damaged truck. Deputies continued to try and stop the vehicle for the safety of the public. The driver was taken into custody at 8:40 am after striking a Sheriff’s Department vehicle with the stolen truck he was driving. No injuries were sustained to the driver or to deputies.

A passenger who exited the stolen truck just after the crash was located and arrested by St. Joseph Police detectives and patrol personnel.

The department said the case remains under investigation.

A 2-year-old was killed after being hit by a vehicle Wednesday morning in Daviess County.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Gerald Souders, 66 of Jamesport was driving a 2003 Dodge Ram around 11:10 a.m. and was pulling forward to turn out of a private drive on RT-NN about 2 miles west of Jamesport when he struck Jayden Hostetler, 2 of Jamesport. Hostetler was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sgt. Jake Angle with the highway patrol said he does not anticipate charges being filed but that the accident remains under investigation at this time.

Mosaic Life Care is continuing to monitor the Zika virus as reports of travel-related cases increase into 12 states and the District of Columbia.

Alabama health officials said Wednesday that they’ve confirmed the first travel-related case of the Zika virus. Other states reporting travel-associated cases according to the CDC include Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia and the D.C.  Puerto Rico

Dr. Scott Folk, Dir. of Adult Infectious Diseases with Mosaic Life Care said it is possible we could also see a travel-related case in St. Joseph at some point.

“With the way that people travel these days, they like to go here there any everywhere I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point we do see a traveler with Zika but none so far,” Dr. Folk said.

He said currently the virus has only been seen to spread through a certain type of mosquito.

“It’s transmitted largely by the same mosquito that transmits yellow fever,” Dr. Folk said. “These yellow fever mosquitoes are found in Central and South American and the Caribbean and also in the southeastern U.S., Florida and some of the adjoining states.”

Dr. Folk said one of the concerns is whither the Zika virus will adapt to Asian Tiger Mosquitoes because they are found in a much wider area of the U.S. more so then the Yellow Fever Mosquitoes. He said the Asian Tiger Mosquitoes are found in 32 states including Missouri.

“That’s some of the concern but some of that concern has to be tempered by the knowledge that the infrastructure that we have in the U.S. to control mosquitoes is a lot more robust then what it is in some of the countries in the Caribbean,” Dr. Folk said. “Simple use of air conditioners instead of having the windows and doors open the windows and doors are closed in the U.S. and the air conditioner is on so that will help.  Then trying to go around and eradicate any areas of standing water that will help reduce the risk of transmission because mosquitoes like to breed in those kinds of areas.”

The Zika virus is suspected of causing a defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.

He compares the virus to Dengue and Chikungunya in the aspect that while those diseases are found spread by mosquitoes in the Caribbean they have not been a significant problem in the U.S.

“Hopefully the same scenario will play out with Zika if indeed the virus does adapt to these additional mosquitoes, these Asian Tiger mosquitoes,” Dr. Folk said. “Hopefully with the infrastructure that we have in the U.S. as far as mosquito control it won’t be a significant problem just like Dengue and Chikungunya. Although, there is ongoing transmission in the Caribbean it hasn’t been a significant problem here in the U.S. Hopefully that’s the way it will play out here.”

Right now Dr. Folk said the best thing to do to avoid the Zika virus is to to avoid traveling to countries with reported active transmission of the virus.  Pregnant women are especially urged to avoid travel.

“As far as risks to people here in the St. Joseph area right now at least that’s largely a function of travel to the areas where Zika is found and the best way to stay up on that is through monitoring CDC’s website,” Dr. Folk said. “Pregnant women are currently being advised to deffer travel to areas where Zika virus has been reported.”

(AP and Post Staff contributed to this article)