Police are investigating after a shooting seriously injured one person early Monday morning.

According to Sgt. Steve McClintick with the St. Joseph Police Department, shortly before 2 a.m., several shots were fired in the 1200 block area of Wilton Drive.

A man in his mid-20s was hit by a gunshot in his midsection. He was transported to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries. McClintick said the man is reportedly out of surgery, stable and in recovery.

McClintick said the shooting appeared to stem from property damage incidents going back and forth throughout the evening between several juveniles which built up to the shooting.

There are multiple suspects in the incident. An adult teenager and a juvenile were taken into custody on investigation charges not related to the shooting.

(UPDATE 7 p.m. Sunday) – The St. Joseph Police Department has identified the man who was fatally shot Saturday morning during an officer-involved incident.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson with the police department, 42-year-old Christopher L. Kelley was shot after threatening with a firearm.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the incident.

====

One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting Saturday morning.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department, at approximately 10:40 a.m., officers went to the 1000 block of South 12th to search for a person with warrants. During the search, the officers encountered another person who threatened with a firearm.

The 42-year-old white man was shot by officers and was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased a short time later.

Wilson said no officers were physically injured.

The two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave and the Missouri State Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the incident.

By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post

Shelly Cox is a Naturalist at the Remington Nature Center in St. Joseph and an author of a children’s book published earlier this year.

Cox said the idea for a book started about 10 years ago when she was working with 4-H students as the entomology leader.

“As the students were collecting their insects, many of them said to me that they didn’t really have a way to identify what they were finding, so it put me on the track to writing a field guide to Missouri’s insects and spiders,” Cox said. “At that time, the economy was not doing really well, so finding a way to get it published was very difficult. So after that, I just kind of put the book aside and didn’t give it a lot of thought until just recently when a friend of mind, Julie Casey, with Amazing Things Press, said, ‘We should do something with your book.’”

They came up with the idea to take the book, chapter by chapter, and turn it into children’s books with the first book in the series titled, ‘Butterflies and Moths.’

“This is just a way to introduce children to insects in a full-color, informative, fun way,” Cox said. “This book covers most of the common butterflies and moths that you would find in northwest Missouri and really throughout all of our state. Each picture was photographed by myself, a few were taken by some friends of mine, so all the information that you would find in the book will have a full-color photograph to go along with it so that the children can actually see what’s being described.”

Cox said there are also a lot of fun facts and trivia that many people may not know about butterflies and moths, along with vocabulary and terminology related to insects.

“If they’re outside in the yard, most kids love butterflies and moths, they’re easily accessible so that would be something that they could go and find something in the yard, pick up that book and compare what they’re finding and learn about them.”

According to Cox, the next book in the series, ‘Beastly Bugs,’ should be published soon and will be about spiders, centipedes, millipedes, scorpions and more. She adds that the original idea of publishing a field guide may still happen in the future, whether it be in a physical book form or an eBook.

You can find the book Butterflies and Moths for sale at the Remington Nature Center or online at Amazon.

Second Harvest Community Food Bank in St. Joseph will be offering another option for replenishing food needs after the holidays.

Second Harvest Communications Coordinator Blake Haynes said the Mega Mobile event will take place on December 31st.

“Basically, what we’ve established with our Fresh Mobile Pantry – we go out to site locations and do some fresh produce and lean produce distribution. So, seeing the need when it comes to the holiday season, we wanted to be able to supplement it a little bit after the season itself,” Haynes said. “So on the 31st of December, we’re going to be holding a similar event. We’re calling it the Mega Mobile just because of hopefully turnout and size of distribution.”

Haynes said anyone attending the Mega Mobile will need to have a current pantry card, which is available by signing up at Fresh Start at Second Harvest.

The Mega Mobile takes place from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday at Second Harvest at 915 Douglas and attendees are asked to enter off of Grand Avenue.

For more information, click here or call (816) 364-FOOD.

Lake Avenue, from King Hill Avenue south to Illinois Avenue, will be closed part of next week for Missouri American Water Company to repair a water valve.

According to the City of St. Joseph Communications and Public Relations Manager Mary Robertson, southbound traffic will detour on King Hill Avenue and then west on Illinois Avenue back to Lake Avenue. Northbound traffic will detour east on Illinois Avenue to King Hill Avenue then north.

Weather permitting, the Lake Avenue closure will start Wednesday, January 2nd, and is anticipated to remain closed through Saturday, January 5.

(Missourinet) – Missouri state troopers will be visible on the road during the New Year’s holiday weekend.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz says the five-day holiday fatality counting period begins Friday evening at 6 and ends at 11:59 on New Year’s night, which is Tuesday.

“We’ll have heavier than normal numbers of troopers out there looking for people who may be both exceeding the speed limit, driving impaired, driving inattentively,” Hotz says.

Troopers will also be assisting motorists.

Captain Hotz urges you to obey the speed limit, wear your seat belt and plan ahead if you drink alcohol.

He says nine people died and another 291 were injured in 845 traffic crashes during Missouri’s 2018 New Year’s holiday counting period.

“That’s a tremendous amount of people that are being killed out there on Missouri highways,” says Hotz. “We want to see that number go down. We’re committed to doing everything we can enforcement-wise, but also through education.”

Troopers say one person was killed or injured every 15 minutes in Missouri traffic crashes, during the 2018 New Year’s holiday counting period.

Hotz wants motorists to designate a sober driver or to take a taxi, if they decide to drink alcohol.

“We’re also encouraging people again to, if alcohol is going to be part of your celebration, to make those decisions in advance before anybody starts drinking as far as how you’re going to get home safely,” Hotz says.

He says the roadway is no place for a driver who’s been drinking.

When it’s time to take the Christmas decorations down, the City of St. Joseph will be accepting used live Christmas trees for disposal.

According to the St. Joseph Parks Dept., used, undecorated Christmas trees can be dropped off at the Drake Field parking lot at South 22nd and Commercial St.

The city asks that all decorations, including tinsel, be taken off the tree.

Trees can be dropped off anytime until January 21st.

City staff will be using the trees for mulch.