St Joseph Police believe they’ve found at least part of a stolen ATM machine.

Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol Captain Tiger Parsons tells us a farmer in near Faucett found the face plate and control board of the Automated Teller Machine.

“The farmer actually called Western District Commissioner (Ron) Hook, who contacted me, and we got on scene as soon as we were aware of it,” Parsons said.

“All indications are it was stolen, because it had been pried open and then obviously dumped.”

St Joseph Police detectives are confirming that the device was stolen during a burglary at a gas station at 11th & Garfield Street on September 28. That process continues.

There have been no arrests.

NorthwestCell and the Missouri Highway Patrol have teamed up to keep drivers from sending text messages behind the wheel.

Specifically, they are targeting young drivers and will take their awareness program to several northwest Missouri schools in the next two months.

Together they are calling on drivers to pledge not to text and drive. The program will head to schools in Atchison, Gentry Holt, Nodaway and Worth counties.They will be circulating shirts, wrist bands and posters at the high schools.

“More than 100,000 times each year, an automobile crashes and people are injured or die while a driver was texting and driving,” said NorthwestCell General Manager Roger Bundridge, citing a National Safety Council statistic. “Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roadways, and we need people throughout the area to take action in their communities to help put a stop to it”.

NorthwestCell is a cellular communications company based in Maryville.

 

 

The owner of a St Joseph boarding kennel is accusing a man of scamming more than $6,000 from him.

Floyd Ball is the owner of the Evergreen Boarding Kennel.   The man who allegedly took the money, also left the kennel with 14 cats, and three dogs. Now the kennel is trying to find a new home for the animals.

“The main thing I’m concerned about is, like I said, we board for other people and we can’t afford to keep 10 stalls closed in where we could be boarding somebody else. I would hate to have these animals neutralized and stuff because it’s not their fault,” Ball said.

He says the alleged scammer left 14 cats and three dogs in his care. They’ve already found a home for the three dogs and four of the cats. They are still trying to find a home for the remaining 10 cats. Call the Kennel at 667-5717 for adoption information.

A Charge of Stealing was filed in September against the man in a separate incident and a warrant was issued then. The kennel owner has also filed a case against the man for allegedly owing more than three months worth of rent on a home.

 

 

 

The St. Joseph School District is seeking third-party accreditation from an international organization.

According to a news release Tuesday, the District is a candidate for accreditation from AdvancED, which serves more than 30,000 public and private schools and districts throughout the United States and 70 countries.

Accreditation through AdvancED is a voluntary method of quality assurance designed mainly to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational standards.

The process is known for driving student performance and continuous improvement in education.

“This accreditation process will help us take a hard look at ourselves as a system and, as a result, improve student learning and strengthen our culture of continuous school improvement,” said Melody Smith, Superintendent of Schools.

“We decided to take this on so that we can get better and pay recognition to the fine work of our teachers and staff,” said Dr. Smith.

Dr. Laura Nelson, the District’s assessment director, will help lead the accreditation effort.

“This is a comprehensive, rigorous approach to school improvement,” she said. “Essentially, the process consists of an intensive self-reflection initiative, followed by an on-site visit at which a team of ‘judges’ looks for areas of improvement as well strengths.”

The accreditation process dissects the District through five standards: purpose and direction; governance and leadership; teaching and assessing for learning; resources and support systems; and using results for continuous improvement.

The District hopes to complete the process by the end of the school year.

AdvancED brings together the experience and expertise of three US-based accreditation agencies: the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement; Northwest Accreditation Commission; and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement.

They’ve pulled off the temporary signs, and traded in all those logos: today the former M&I bank officially becomes BMO-Harris Bank, after the Chicago holding company bought M&I last July.

BMO-Harris is a subsidiary of the Bank of Montreal. The transition has been going on over the last 15 months.

Sometime on Tuesday, the M&I bank web site was expected to be deactivated. Customers should now use the BMO-Harris Web site at www.harrisbank.com.

A Holton, Kansas man was killed in a head-on collision with a semi Monday morning.

The Kansas Highway Patrol report indicates Michael McCrory, 35, crossed the center-line along US-75 highway near 254th Road north of Holton.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Dan Rottman, 56, of Tecumseh, Nevada, was also injured in the crash shortly after 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Northwest Missouri State students are conducting a survey on the usage of the Mozingo Lake Park and golf course.

The survey, which will take less than 10 minutes, is organized by an advanced advertising class at Northwest.

They are assessing the resources for the park and asking resident what facilities they know about and use. The class is also working to raise the image of Mozingo as a local park and regional destination.

The Mozingo Lake Park and golf course are located five minutes east of Maryville on U.S. 136 Highway. The 3,000 acre park includes a 1,006 acre lake and was completed in 1994.

You can take the survey online, go to mozingosurvey.com.