The AFL-CIO Community Services Agency is starting to collect shoes for the Soles for Christ program.

The program provides area students in need from preschool through 12th grade with a new pair of shoes for school. AFL-CIO Executive Director Penny Adams said they serve students in Andrew and Buchanan Counties in Missouri and Doniphan County in Kansas.

“The idea is to build a child’s self-esteem and enthusiasm for the coming school year,” Adams said. “I know school just got out, but we get around and start this program about now and the distribution will be in August.”

Adams said the goal this year is to collect 1,500 pairs of new tennis shoes.

Donations can be dropped at the agency at 1203 North 6th Street by August 1st. The shoe distribution will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, August 6, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 7.

For more information about donating contact the AFL-CIO at (816) 364-1131.

 

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater St. Joseph are partnering to lead the community, businesses and non-profits through a visioning process to determine what residents want St. Joseph’s future to look like and what steps need to be taken to achieve that future.

The process, called Imagine St. Joseph 2040, has included more than 500 residents who have spent time analyzing trends and discussing how St. Joseph can prepare now for a better future.

“This is really a fact-driven process, we’re not just looking for opinions on what we’ll look like in 20 years,” said St. Joseph Chamber Director of Communications and Marketing Kristi Bailey. “We are looking at the facts, what’s happening around us and what we need to do to prepare ourselves for a better future.”

Throughout a series of meetings and analysis from March through May, these areas have been identified as priorities (*in alphabetical order):

 

• Actively engage community in a positive, proactive way
• Be proactive toward start-ups and existing businesses to stay and grow here
• “Better together” – leverage and strengthen partnerships, e.g. public/private/non-profit
• Communicate: transparency and trust
• Develop a first responder team to retain or retrain the newly unemployed
• Develop a reputation that values education and lifelong learning
• Emphasize downtown development – housing and business
• Engage community in crime prevention efforts
• Frame issues clearly with the public on critical and future issues
• Identify and develop strong new leaders
• Improve conditions for a thriving animal health industry
• Increase intergenerational mentoring
• Invest in and improve infrastructure
• Make St. Joseph a place where people want to come and stay, e.g. livability
• Poverty intervention – address root causes and best practices
• Support and encourage new and innovative ideas

St. Joseph residents are asked to help prioritize these issues by going to imaginestjoseph2040.com/getinvolved and taking a survey.

Also, residents are asked to participate in a Facebook Live event on Monday, July 16, at 6 p.m., to discuss these priorities and plans for the future with Rebecca Ryan, nationally-recognized futurist and economist who is leading the visioning process. Find Imagine St. Joseph 2040 on Facebook and RSVP to the event.

For more information on Imagine St. Joseph 2040, go to imaginestjoseph2040.com. 

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety is accepting nominations for individuals, organizations and events to be recognized for efforts to promote safe driving.

“The goal of our Coalition is to reduce fatalities on Missouri roads, and we know there are a lot of people in Missouri who contribute to the success we’ve had to lower the number,” said Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer Nicole Hood. “This is an opportunity to recognize those who are helping to save lives by encouraging safe driving.”

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety has seven regions it serves including Northwest, Northeast, Kansas City, Central, St. Louis, Southwest and Southeast. According to a MoDOT press release, there are five statewide awards and two awards for each of the seven Coalition regions. The statewide awards include:

• the Lay Down the Law Award recognizing an individual or a group in law enforcement
• the Tempe Humphrey Award recognizing an individual or group who have focused efforts on our younger drivers
• the Arrive Alive Award recognizing an individual or group for their leadership and dedication to reducing fatalities
• the “Show Me Safety” Award recognizing an individual or group for an event
• the Safety-Neer (Engineering) Award:  recognizes an engineer(s)/team who has incorporated a unique or proven safety feature in a highway project that has resulted in reduced fatalities.

The regional awards include the Arrive Alive Award and the “Show-Me Safety” Award. Details about the awards can be found at www.savemolives.com, and the form is online and simple to complete. Nominations are due by July 15, and five individuals with an interest in transportation safety have been selected throughout the Midwest to judge the awards. Regional awards will be judged by the regional coalitions or independent judges they choose. The winners will be recognized at the 2018 Traffic Safety and Blueprint Conference in Columbia in September.  Award winners and those who nominate them will be notified in early August.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of June 18 – 24 from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, mowing, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs, litter pick up and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.

Andrew County

• Interstate 29 – Bridge deck replacement project at the Nodaway River Bridge. (Traffic is head-to-head in the northbound lanes.) This traffic pattern will be in place through August and includes a 13-foot width restriction.
• U.S. Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Route 48 to Route A (Nodaway County), June 18 – 22

Atchison County

• I-29 – Pavement repair from mile marker 124 near the Iowa state line to mile marker 111 near Route 111, June 18 – 22
• U.S. Route 275 – Resurfacing project from the Iowa state line to U.S. Route 136, June 18 – 22

Buchanan County

• Route 759 – Pavement repair of railroad crossing northbound from Hickory Street to Florence Road, June 18 – 21. This includes overnight lane closures.

Caldwell County

• U.S. Route 36 – Bridge maintenance on the Brushy Creek Bridge, June 18 – 21. This includes overnight lane closures.

Carroll County

• U.S. Route 65 – Sealing and resurfacing project from the Missouri River to the Iowa state line, June 18 – 23. This project includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Chariton County

• Route E – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route JJ/F to Route 5, June 19, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route 11 – Bridge maintenance at the Salt Creek and Brush Creek Bridges, June 19

Clinton County

• Route 116 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the McGuire Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through July. A signed detour is in place.
• Route C – Shoulder work from Route 116 to Route CC, June 18 – 20
• Route C – Resurfacing project from Route 116 to Route CC, June 21 – 22. (A pilot car and a flagger will direct traffic through the work zone.)

Daviess County

• Route 13 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Honey Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through September. A signed detour is in place.
• I-35 – Pavement repair from mile marker 58 near Route BB to mile marker 51 near Cameron, June 18 – 22

DeKalb County

• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement resurfacing and realignment project at the Route 33 North/Route M junction. Traffic is head-to-head in the eastbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through July 3 and includes a 14-foot width restriction.

Gentry County

• Route H – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Ettieville Road to 520th Road near Darlington, June 19, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Grundy County

• U.S. Route 65 – Sealing project from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, June 18 – 23. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Harrison County

• Route AA/H – CLOSED for a bridge deck replacement at the I-35 overpass. The bridge will be closed through July. One lane of I-35 may be closed in each direction during the project.
• I-35 – Resurfacing project from the Iowa state line to Route N at Eagleville, June 18 – 23. This includes a 16-foot width restriction and will include overnight lane closures.
• Route YY – CLOSED for a resurfacing project, June 22, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Holt County

• I-29 – Bridge deck replacement at the Nodaway River Bridge. Traffic is head-to-head in the northbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through August and includes a 13-foot width restriction.
• Route UU – Pothole patching, June 18
• Route B – Bridge maintenance at the I-29 Bridge, June 18 – 19
• I-29 – Resurfacing project from Route W to Route 118, June 18 – 22
• U.S. Route 159 – Bridge maintenance at the Little Tarkio Creek Bridge, June 20 – 21

Linn County

• U.S. Route 36 – Shoulder improvements from just east of Route 11 to Route 5, June 18 – 23. This project includes a 16-foot width restriction.

Livingston County

• U.S. Route 65 – Sealing and resurfacing project from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, June 18 – 23. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
• Route A – Pothole patching from Route 190 to Route W, June 19 – 20
• Route Y – Pothole patching from Route 190 to Route W, June 21 – 22

Mercer County

• Routes C and JJ – Pothole patching, June 18 – 22
• U.S. Route 65 – Sealing project from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, June 18 – 23. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.

Nodaway County

• U.S. Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Route A to just north of Route 48 (Andrew County), June 18 – 22
• U.S. Route 136 – Shoulder improvements from east of the city limits of Maryville to Route 46 in Ravenwood, June 18 – 22

Putnam County

• U.S. Route 136 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the West Locust Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through September. A signed detour is in place.

Worth County

• Route AA – CLOSED for a resurfacing project, June 18 and June 21, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily