Police said a St. Joseph man was injured during an attempted robbery Tuesday morning after being hit in the head with a board.
According Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department a 40-year-old man said he was working on his porch in the 800 block of Vine St. around 9:16 a.m. when he was attacked from behind with a board to the head.
“The victim struggled with both assailants as they attempted to get his keys but were unsuccessful,” Wilson said. “Both fled the residence on foot running east.”
The man who physically assaulted the victim was identified as a black man with shorter hair in braids wearing dark jeans and a white t-shirt. A second suspect was described as a white male possibly in his 20s with a shaved head and medium build. The man was wearing dark jeans and no shirt.
“The victim struggled with both assailants as they attempted to get his keys but were unsuccessful,” Wilson said.
The man was taken by ambulance to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of lacerations. Police said the injuries were minor and he has since been released.
Wilson said no suspects have been arrested at this time. The case is still under investigation.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to call the tips hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pope Francis has appointed a bishop to the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, permanently replacing a cleric who was convicted of failing to report a suspected child abuser.
The diocese announced on its website Tuesday that Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. will take over from Archbishop Joseph Naumann, who has been overseeing the diocese since Bishop Robert Finn resigned in April.
Finn was found guilty in 2012 of one misdemeanor count of failure to report suspected abuse and was sentenced to two years of probation. He is the highest-ranking church official in the U.S. to be convicted of not taking action in response to abuse allegations.
Johnston will be installed in his new post Nov. 4. He currently leads the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, also in Missouri.
UPDATE: Chillicothe couple charged after officers allegedly found drugs and deplorable living conditions in a home with four children inside.
45-year-old Daniel Schliessman III and 36-year-old Michelle Schliessman are each charged in Livingston County with a felony for first-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child Involving Drugs. Michelle is also charged with a felony for Poession of a controlled substances.
According to court documents the charges came after officers with the Chillicothe Police Department responded Sunday around 7:21 a.m. to the intersection of Fair Street and Irving Avenue to find a 13-year-old autistic boy running in the street naked in 48-degree weather.
Officers said they have responded five time in the past six months to find the same child outside of his house unsupervised. Officer Josh Miller said the most recent occurrence was on Sept. 7 when the child was found in the roadway of US 65 Highway after numerous 911 calls from individuals saying the child had nearly been struck by vehicles.
Miller said after taking the child back to his home officers had to wake up his parents, Michelle and Daniel who did not know he had left the home. Three other children also lived in the home.
After obtaining permission to search the residence Miller said a black tool bag was found on a shelf about three to four feet from the ground in the basement with two small baggies with a white crystal substance inside. He said the substances tested positive for Meth. Items used to cook and manufacture methamphetamine were also found.
“All of the items seized were directly accessible and in near vicinity of where the children are allowed to roam,” Miller said.
Dog and cat feces and vomit was also found in multiple areas of the home including the children’s bedrooms in the upstairs floor of the residence.
“The residence was in disarray and it appeared the house had not been cleaned in an extended period of time,” Miller said. “Michelle and Daniel reported that they had moved into the house approximately four days ago. Michelle reported the children had no toothbrushes available and had not brushed their teeth for approximately four days.”
Miller said that all four children were dirty and that it appeared they had not bathed for an extended period of time.
“During a Mirandized interview, Michelle admitted she had been using methamphetamine while Daniel was incarcerated for the previous seven months,” Miller said.
The pair appeared for an arraignment in Livingston County Monday on the charges.
Bond has been set at $10,000 for Daniel and $25,000 for Michelle. They are both being held in the Daviess/DeKalb County Regional Jail.
A preliminary hearing is set for the pair for Sept. 23
All four children ages 6, 11, 13, and 14 have been taken into state custody.
An individual claiming to work in the warrants division for local sheriff’s departments is leading to warnings from the actual authorities.
According to Cpl. Sarah Hardin with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department an individual referring to himself as “Lt. Lewis or Dep. Matt Gildon” has been callling individuals and telling them that he works in the warrants division of the sheriff’s department.
“The male caller then tells the person he has special permission from a judge to contact individuals about their warrant and that the individual needs to go to Wal-Mart or Walgreens, get a money order, and then the male caller will give the individual instructions how to send the money order,” Hardin said. “This is a scam.”
It’s a scam that has been taking place in Buchanan and Clinton counties.
“If the individual calls the male’s number back there is a very professional and legitimate sounding voicemail,” Hardin said. “Do not be fooled by this caller or voicemail.”
Hardin said the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department does not call individuals with warrants and ask them to send a money order.
“Do not give an individual any personal information like date of birth, social security number, or credit/debit card information over the phone,” she said.
File Photo from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office
There was once a waiting list to be a volunteer firefighter at the Cameron Fire Department, but now there’s almost always an opening.
“As time goes on it’s getting harder and harder to find volunteers for any type of thing that you need in general but volunteer firefighters across the nation is becoming a lot more difficult to find,” said Chief Mike O’Donnell with the Cameron Fire Department.
O’Donnell said when he started with the department in 1986 he had to wait for several years to volunteer.
“Now I have openings at the present time and have had for several years,” O’Donnell said.
The issue isn’t just limited to Cameron it’s a trend that’s being seen across the nation.
“The one big reason it becomes more difficult because firefighters work different jobs now then they used to,” O’Donnell said. “It used to be individuals lived and worked in their communities, now they may live in the community back work out of town.”
Volunteer in Cameron actually even get paid to go on calls.
“Paid per call fire fighters, it’s basically a firefighter that gets paid a fee every time they attend a fire call,” O’Donnell said. “It gives the firefighter a little bit of an incentive and pays for some of their bills for gasoline maybe for their car or clothes that they may ruin during a fire call or something of that nature.”
It’s a practice that has been going on with the Cameron department since before O’Donnell started with the department. But finding firefighters is still a challenge even with paid calls.
Mike O’Donnell said he has 35 positions in his department, but only 29 are filled. He’s looking for volunteers for those six openings.
He said anyone interested can pick up application forms and return them to Cameron City Hall, 205 N. Main, between the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Questions contact Chief Mike O’Donnell at chieffd@cameronmo.com
A mural in downtown St Joseph depicting our Civil War heritage is nearing completion at 620 Edmond, even as another downtown mural with a Native American theme (522 Felix) began to take shape Saturday.
That makes five new downtown murals in the blink of an eye.
These two newcomers join a fanciful musical jam session on the wall at 619 Felix Street, a walk in the park along the sidewalk on three streets outside the Joyce Raye Patterson Senior Center at 100 S. 10th Street, and a multi-building panorama depicting America’s westward expansion, visible along the 500 block of Edmond Street.
Childhood Obesity is a growing concern in the Nation and in northwest Missouri those statistics are worse.
Doctor Jane Schwabe with Mosaic Life Care said it’s estimated that nationally, 2/3rds of children are overweight and 1/3rd are clinically obese. Dr. Schwabe said statistics from the St. Joseph School District show those statistics are worse.
“2/3rds of our students are overweight, and probably more in the 40-percent range hit the obese category,” Dr. Schwabe said. “Our statistics are actually worse than the national average, not just among kids but among adults. We have a fairly unhealthy population here in northwest Missouri so we’re trying to start on all sorts of fronts as far as education to raise awareness so we can hopefully reverse the trend.”
She said the biggest concern she has is that a report released earlier this year by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that for the first time ever kids that are 10 and younger are predicted to live less long than their parents.
“Since the United States started each generation successively lived longer than the preceding generation as antibiotics came in and different things we were living longer and longer until now,” Dr. Schwabe said. “It seems to be largely due to lifestyle related things and obesity is one of those things we used to not see in children. We would see it in adults as we got more sedentary as we got older but now we’re seeing a group of kids that are being raised that are relatively inactive compared to kids 30-years-ago.”
September is National Childhood Obesity month. In-light of that, Mosaic is trying to raise awareness to the issued surrounding obesity.
Schwabe said more than seven years ago Mosaic Life Care began the 4th Grade Challenge, a program to teach 4th graders about the importance of proper nutrition, adequate exercise and healthy habits such as being smoke free. She said statistics have shown that when children reach 4th grade, they begin to make choices and adopt habits that will last their entire lives.
The Clinton County Collector and Property Tax System audit has shown improvement in a follow-up after earning a rating of “poor” the first go-round.
In February the county earned an overall performance rating of “poor” by the Missouri State Auditor’s office after $46,208 in cash was found stashed in a closet.
The follow-up does not give an overall rating but says improvements have been made.
The audit said “Based on an inspection of the office, including the closet where money was previously found, all monies seem to be adequately stored either in a cash drawer or in the safe.”
State Auditor Nicole Galloway said officials have acted on recommendations.
The follow-up review for the Clinton County Collector and Property Tax System audit was primarily conducted in June and July 2015.
Today
Sunny, with a high near 70. North wind 7 to 10 mph. Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 46. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 69. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph in the morning. Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 49. Light and variable wind. Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 75. Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 59. Monday
Sunny, with a high near 81. Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Wednesday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Wednesday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Thursday
Partly sunny, with a high near 82.
Police said a St. Joseph man was injured during an attempted robbery Tuesday morning after being hit in the head with a board.
