After cancelling the last two events, tonight’s show is scheduled to go on as planned.
Crews are setting up the St. Joseph Civic Arena for tonight’s WWE Event. The show will feature WWE Raw superstars.
As of this afternoon, crews were finishing up with setting up the stage for the event which starts at 7:30 tonight and tickets are still on sale, while they last. Tickets start at $15.
Tickets are available at the Civic Arena box office.
A timely phone call to 9-1-1 and some quick work by police thwarted an armed robbery at a south side grocery store Friday morning.
St Joseph Police responded shortly after 11:15 a.m. Friday at the Sack and Save grocery store at Lake Avenue and Missouri in south St Joseph.
Captain Matt Rock of the St Joseph Police Department says an employee at the store was on the phone with dispatchers, and an officer was just outside the business as the robbery commenced. That officer spotted the two armed suspects as they fled the store.
“As the call went out, we had an officer who was in the area,” Rock said. “He asked if the subject had left on foot or in a vehicle, and was advised by the caller that they were still in the store at that time.”
“So we had somebody right on top of this. We were very fortunate.”
Captain Rock says the pair discarded firearms, cash, hoodies and bandanas as they fled the scene to the east of the store. Officers were scouring the area to collect that evidence. Rock says they recovered an undetermined amount of cash and at least one weapon.
Both suspects were taken into custody. There were no injuries reported.
“The Talk” has traditionally been a conversation between a parent and their teenager about either the dangers of underage drinking or acting responsibly when hormones kick in for the first time.
These discussions are extremely important for families. However, any adolescent teaching moment these days must also include an open and honest exchange about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
Just take these very sobering statistics into consideration. Drug overdose deaths among teens 15 to 19 years old are up 91 percent in the past decade. And the vast majority of these deaths are because every day, 2,000 teens in this country are using prescription drugs for the first time for the sole purpose of getting high.
The year 2009 marked the first year that, overall, more people in the United States died from drug overdoses than from automobile accidents. And this happened primarily because our nation is abusing prescription drugs at unprecedented levels. In fact, more people abuse prescription drugs than the number of people who use cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin – combined.
To help parents find the resources they need to have ‘the talk’ with their kids before they even think about abusing drugs, we’ve teamed up with the Partnership at Drugfree.org to educate our community about the dangers that lurk in medicine cabinets.
A multi-year Medicine Abuse Project campaign begins this week to help bring much-needed attention to this epidemic and to educate the public about the dangers of abusing prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
As their partners in this initiative, we will help promote the Drug Enforcement Administration’s fifth National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Sept. 29, when citizens can turn in their unwanted and expired medicines in a safe and responsible manner. When the results of the four previous Take-Back Days are combined, the DEA and its partners collected over 1.5 million pounds, or 774 tons, of prescription drugs.
In addition to these efforts, we are taking aggressive action to bring to justice those who think giving thousands of pills to a patient without a legitimate prescription is a great way to make a few extra dollars. Actually, it’s a great way to find a new home in prison.
Just ask Bruce Baker, a former Independence, Mo., physician who was prosecuted for this very offense. Baker was part of a conspiracy that illegally distributed tens of thousands of OxyContin and oxycodone pills worth more than $1 million. Baker will serve more than 13 years in federal prison without parole and co-defendant Kevin Cummings, the leader and organizer of the conspiracy, was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney David Ketchmark (AP)
The expression: “It’s never too late to have the talk” doesn’t apply when it comes to talking to your children about prescription drug abuse. If you are a parent, and you are ready to have ‘the talk’ with your son or daughter, it’s important that you have the best resources available to make this an educational and informative discussion. Go to www.drugfree.org for helpful tools and more information.
Acting U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark, Western District of Missouri
Bishop LeBlond boys’ basketball coach Tim Wenkel has resigned all duties at the high school effective immediately.
Wenkel, who was in his first season at LeBlond, was arrested Wednesday and charged with a Class A misdemeanor of stealing.
He stole $875 worth of property from another car on August 25 in the parking lot of Walgreens at 2620 S. Belt Highway and the crime was caught on the store’s surveillance camera.
According to court records, Wenkel allegedly admitted to police that he is an alcoholic “who was driving under the influence of alcohol when the crime occurred.”
The 34-year old Wenkel was also a religion teacher at Bishop LeBlond.
He was hired this spring to replace Steve Vertin, who was relieved of his duties after 13 years as Bishop LeBlond’s head coach.
Wenkel came to LeBlond after a successful stint at Hermann High School.
Police and the Saint Joseph Youth Alliance will collect a couple of hundred pounds of old drugs Saturday. Police Sergeant Larry Stobbs says Saint Joseph is one of more than five thousand communities across the country in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
You’re encouraged to check homes and businesses for expired drugs and bring them to the Take-Back program for safe disposal. Stobbs says old drugs should not be flushed down the toilet because of potential water contamination. Bring your unwanted drugs to the collection site on the parking lot at East Hills between Sears and Dillards from 10 until 2 Saturday.
During a call organized by the National Immigration Forum last week – farmers from the states of Washington, New York, Arizona and North Carolina said congressional inaction on immigration, federal enforcement of current laws and stricter state laws are leaving fruits and vegetables rotting on the vine. The Obama Administration has conducted raids on illegal immigrants – trying to get the public to see how immigration reform could move forward – but they have caused many longtime ag workers to be deported. These workers are skilled workers – according to NIF Executive Director Ali Noorani. New Yorker Maureen Torrey – Torrey Farms Marketing Vice President – says Congress needs to develop a common sense farm worker program. But with immigration reform a controversial topic – many members of Congress have shied away from discussing it. There’s now a growing coalition of growers, law enforcement officials and others in the immigration issue.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture – through its Rural Development’s Community Facilities Program – announced Wednesday more than 5-million dollars of funding supporting 127 projects in 25 states and Puerto Rico. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says this funding will help rural communities, protect the safety of residents and create a framework for job creation and economic growth. The entire list of projects receiving funding www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/rdCFChart.pdf.
Funding will go to projects in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Puerto Rico.
A University spokesperson announced Thursday afternoon enrollment dropped this year.
The total enrollment for this fall dropped to 6,074 students, that’s down 3.5 percent compared with last years record-high enrollment.
Despite the decline, this years fall enrollment is the third-highest for the University. Last year was the highest with 6.297 students enrolled for classes.
“We’ve been anticipating a decline for a couple of years now because of smaller high school graduating classes in Missouri,” said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The overall numbers aren’t what we hoped, but we are pleased with our continued growth in international students, graduate education and online education, including students taking only online courses.”
Looking more into the numbers, 52 international students enrolled this year, a 21 percent increase from last year. 171 graduate students are enrolled, that’s 6.2 percent higher than last year.
This year the university is offering more than 200 online courses. Enrollment for online courses went up 15 percent.
The reduced enrollment marks the end of eight consecutive years of enrollment growth at Missouri Western, including record enrollments each of the last seven years. From fall 2003 to fall 2011, enrollment grew 27 percent.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given Nebraska permission to blend aflatoxin-tainted corn from the 2012 harvest with other corn for animal feed.
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture had joined Iowa and other major corn-producing states in seeking exceptions to federal rules regarding aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are a group of chemicals produced by certain mold fungi on corn. They can occur more frequently during hot, dry summers.
Almost 70 percent of nearly 2,000 samples from the early stages of the Nebraska corn harvest tested positive for aflatoxins.
The agriculture departments say the blended corn is safe for animals. Corn with more than 20 parts per billion can’t be used for human consumption or as feed for dairy animals.
