Authorities hope you can help locate a suspect who allegedly abuducted a woman in her car in Liberty, forced her to drive to Lafayette County, and sexually assaulted her.

The 40-year-old woman told police that an unknown man jumped into the back seat or her car as she was stopped at an intersection near Missouri 291 and Main Street at about 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The assailant was described as white and in his mid 30s, with a medium build and collar-length, curly blond or reddish hair. The victim noted a green T-shirt and said her attacker smelled strongly of cigarette smoke.

The woman says the man threatened to cut her if she didn’t do as he said. She was forced to drive to a remote area in Lafayette County, where the sexual assault took place.

The woman told police she escaped when her attacker got out of the car to smoke a cigarette.

Authorities released this composite sketch of the suspect.  If you can identify this man, you are urged to call Liberty police at 816-439-4701, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department at 660-259-3622 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

A six-year member of the Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents has stepped down.

Bill Loch announced Thursday he has formally resigned as a Regent, after he continued to serve once his term expired in January.

“My appointed time had elapsed and I’m a person that believes lame-duck appointments should not be involved in decisions, especially decisions that are budget-related,” Loch said. “I was appointed to serve six years and I did so diligently.”

Loch made the decision this month saying he wants to focus his time on his business and personal life. Loch is the vice president of the Maryville-based Loch Sand and Construction Company.

He was appointed in 2006 by then Governor Matt Blunt and also served as the Board president for a term. Loch’s departure means the eight member governing board is now down to five members.

The Governor must appoint three new members that must be confirmed by the State Senate.

 

Eileen Duty, the Health Services Coordinator for the St Joseph School District has received statewide recognition for her leadership and contributions to the student health field.

Mrs. Duty received the Lifetime Membership Award from the Missouri Association of School Nurses. This was only the 14th time in the organization’s 62-year history that the award has been given.

A school nurse for 28 years, she has been an active member of the association, serving on its board of directors, its executive committee and holding top leadership posts. As President of the organization, she led its strategic plan process from 2000-2004. She continues to serve on the Governor’s Council on Homeland Security, the Advisory Committee for Immunizations and is the MASN Education Chair.

District officials credit her with bringing registered nurses to all schools, and automatec external defigrillators to all buildings in the district. She played a key role in establishing the District’s Pandemic and Influenza Response Plan, and its Emergency Disaster Plan.

“Eileen has kept the focus on kids,” said Chris Den Ouden, MASN’s District President and the school nurse at Coleman Elementary School. “She is a great advocate for student health issues and is respected around the state.”

Denise Buersmeyer, the Director of Special Services for SJSD and Mrs. Duty’s supervisor, also offered high praise.

“Eileen has accomplished so much that it is hard to single out just a few things,” she said. “Her collaboration with Heartland Health through the Youth Health Partnership has led to numerous programs being realized.”

These include the Health Express mobile medical van for well-child examinations, the 4th Grade Challenge which promotes nutrition and exercise, and the concussion screening program for student-athletes.

“Eileen is the face of school nursing in the District,” said Mrs. Buersmeyer. “She is a great advocate for best practices in the field of student health. She is so deserving of this recognition.”

 

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Department of Agriculture at Northwest Missouri State University competed April 12-14 in the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) contests and returned with numerous awards, including the sweepstakes award given to the four-year institution with the highest point total.

Northwest sent 32 agriculture undergraduate students and five faculty and graduate student coaches to Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, where they competed with ag students from colleges and universities throughout the country

Northwest teams placed among the top three teams in the nation in nine contest categories, and individual Northwest students earned 12 top-five-overall finishes.

In 35 other instances, Northwest placed among the top three teams or among the top five individuals in contest sections such as horticulture ID or agriculture computers applications.

The NACTA contests occur each spring and provide the opportunity for Northwest undergraduate students to compete in various skill and knowledge-based events. This year, 900 registrants representing 40 two-year and four-year institutions competed. The contests consisted of a quiz bowl, horticulture, agricultural business management, horse judging, livestock judging, agricultural computers, crops judging, agricultural mechanics, soil judging, dairy judging, livestock management, agricultural communications and meat judging.

 

A list of Northwest individuals and teams who earned awards at the NACTA contests appears below. Complete contest results and a listing of all participating schools is available by clicking here.

The Allied Arts Council is hoping to turn St Joseph street corners into miniature art galleries.  The City of St Joseph and the AAC invite artists to apply for the first “traffic box public art project,” to create and paint art on traffic signal boxes in the downtown area.

Interested artists should visit the Council’s website, www.stjoearts.org for an application.  Artists need to send in a resume, reference contact information, a template for each submitted design (if more than one), and an artist statement for each design, postmarked by June 14, 2012 to the Allied Arts Council office. The chosen artist will receive an honorarium of $1,500.

Mail Submissions, postmarked by June 14, 2012 to:
Allied Arts Council, 118 South 8th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64501

Hand Deliver Submissions by 5:00 p.m. June 14, 2012 to:
Allied Arts Council, 118 South 8th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64501

“This project will help promote art and culture in the community, as well as bring life to a very plain traffic box,” said Jody Carlson, City of St. Joseph’s Director of Public Works.

“We aren’t looking for any particular style, something interesting and alive, yet complimentary,” said Carlson.

The Council and the City also hope to decrease graffiti on traffic signal boxes, while making them artful objects. The 2012 traffic signal box is located at 8th and Edmond streets.

“We’re helping bring art to the downtown area. It’s a whimsical way to bring art to the street corners,” said Allied Arts Council Executive Director Teresa Fankhauser.

The City of Columbia, Missouri has been doing this for some time now, with the “before and after” results shown below.

 

Are you a Pop-Culture Fanatic? Think you know everything there is to know about Movies, Music, and Television? Prove it… and earn great prizes and help out a worthy cause. No geography, no science… ALL TRIVIA from the world of Movies, Music, and Television!!

The Missouri Music Hall of Fame and the St. Joseph Music Foundation presents a night of POP-CULTURE TRIVIA on Saturday, April 28^th, 7:00pm, at the Fairview Golf Course Banquet Room (33^rd and Pacific) Doors open at 7pm. This one-of-kind fundraising event will feature 10 rounds of questions with prizes for the best table after each round, and more.  Prizes have generously been donated by numerous local businesses, organizations, and individuals.

Saturday’s competition will be heard all over the World, on “SJMF Radio”, via www.stjosephmusicfoundation.org. Listeners can play-along at home AND even be part of the event by winning prizes alongside the teams!

The cost for this event is $10 per table with teams of up to 10 people per table.  Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase, participants are invited to bring their own snacks, but grill-style food will also be available for purchase.  The use of “Smart Phones” and other electronic devices is expressly forbidden while play in is in session. Participants with such devices will be asked to turn them off or risk confiscation.

You can SAVE some money if you come by the Foundation Consignment Store (2603 Frederick Avenue, next door the Café Acoustic) and purchase a 2011 JoeStock T-Shirt.  Between now and November 19th, buy a black JoeStock Shirt for $10 and get a single FREE ADMISSION. Buy a Tie-Dye JoeStock Shirt for $15 get a single free admission AND a FREE MULLIGAN for you and your team (see store for details).

This event is open to all ages.  Proceeds from this event will be used to provide memorials and event presentations in conjunction with the Missouri Music Hall of Fame and the St. Joseph Music Foundation.

No need to register.  Contact Robert Shultz at (816) 676-1112 to reserve a table by paying in advance.  For this and any additional information, stop by the offices of the non-for profit 501(c-3) charities at 2603 Frederick Avenue, Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm. E-mail: Robert@missourimusichalloffame.org.

Law Enforcement are looking for two suspects involved with a home invasion Wednesday morning in Livingston County.

Two suspects are on the run after a relative showed up at the home east of Chilicothe on Route V and saw the suspects inside and called police.

One of the intruders had a firearm and fired two shots at the relative who tried to flee the area.  No one was injured and the suspects also left on foot.

A search of the area included a Highway Patrol aircraft and search dogs just north of the home were the suspects may have fled.

Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox believes the suspects have scoped out the rural home for days or longer.  He reports officers found significant evidence during the search which may help the case.

The suspects are described as two white males around 5’7″ or 5’8″ and up to 200 pounds.  They were wearing dark colored clothing and long sleeve tops.

Officers are also looking for a silver short bed truck spotted in the area before the invasion.

Your asked to call the Livingston County Sheriffs Office at 660-646-0515 or any law enforcement agency should you have information on this crime.

 

Authorities in Kansas were warning residents to be on the lookout for four escapees Wednesday.

A convicted murderer and another escaped prison inmate were still at large Thursday after they broke out of the Ottawa County Jail, and a convicted sex offender remains at large after walking away from the Lansing Correctional Facility.

Four prison inmates had been transferred to the jail in Minneapolis, Kansas because of overcrowding at a state prison. Two were returned to custody Wednesday, including one who turned himself in at a
Nebraska Walmart about 240 miles away.

The Kansas Highway Patrol issued a bulletin a little before 6am, urging law enforcement across the state be on the lookout for the men who escaped shortly before 5 AM.

Sgt. Gary Hovey of the North Platte, Nebraska Police Department
said Wednesday that escapee Drew Wade phoned his father, who persuaded him to turn himself in. Hovey said Wade approached the Wal-Mart manager and asked the manager to call police.

Still at large are 22-year-old Santos Carrera and 22-year-old Eric James.

Authorities are looking for a gold Nissan Altima with a Kansas license tag 649-CII.

Meanwhile, authorities in Lansing, Kansas are searching for a prison escapee, 59-year-old child sex offender Gary Leslie Furthmyer.

According to an announcement from the prison, Furthmyer escaped from his minimum custody assignment at the prison’s steam plant.

Furthmyer is serving time for a 1985 conviction in Sedgwick County, Kansas on charges of indecent liberties with a child and aggravated failure to appear.

This is not the first time for Furthmyer.According to his prison history, Furthmyer previously escaped in 1988 and returned to prison in 1993.

Authorities asked anyone who has information to call 911 or the Lansing Correctional Facility at 1-913-727-3235.

Prison officials say all escapees are considered to be armed and dangerous.