Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox is once again singing the praises of his department’s new web site (www.livcoso.org). Cox says since it was unveiled last month, the site has generated calls and email tips, largely responsible for the arrests of eleven fugitives to date.

At the time of this writing (Feb. 20, 2012) the site had a total of 2,142 unique visitors. Of these 2,142, Cox says 1,462 have come in the month of February. The runnning total of 4,328 visits led to 152,441 viewings of web pages viewed. The peak day was February 16 with 341 unique visitors and 9,618 pages viewed.

Cox says three more persons on the LCSO Most Wanted were arrested last week.

On February 19, they extradited Christie Ann Noble, 36, Chillicothe, from the Carroll County Sheriff. Ms. Noble had been arrested on a Livingston County arrest warrant for two counts of possession of a controlled substance, a class C felony. Bond was set at $10,000

On February 19, they arrested Brian Keith King, 47; Lebanon, MO after Mr. King surrendered himself to the LCSO on two warrants for alleged bad check violations. Bond was initially placed at $4,153.50 cash.

On February 17, Linn County officials arrested Shan’te Douglas Glasgow, 23, Brookfield, on the Livingston County arrest warrant for alleged domestic assault, failure to appear in Court. Mr. Glasgow was incarcerated in the Livingston County Jail in lieu of $7,500 bond.

Sheriff Cox urges you to visit the site and sign up for alerts to receive information about “most wanted” fugitives, sex offenders and messages from the sheriff.

By March, Cox hopes to add access to the county jail roster, arrest photos, charges, and related information. We also plan to have a complete listing of all outstanding arrest warrants to compliment the “Most Wanted” section.

If current snowpack and climate trends continue, Northwest Missouri can expect a reduced threat of flooding along the Missouri River this spring. That’s the word from the National Weather Service in its annual Spring Flood Outlook.

Officials say Spring flooding across the area will be driven by rainfall events if the current trend of snowpack continues. Snowpack magnitude across the entire Missouri Basin is expected to be significantly less than last year, although officials remind us that peak mountain snowpack doesn’t occur until mid-April.

The new March through May climate outlook indicates a higher probability of above normal precipitation to the east across the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley, but for most of this area, the climate outlook indicates equal chances of above, below, or normal precipitation.

The Weather Service says these outlooks only give the probability of above, below, or near normal precipitation/temperatures.

Climate outlooks do not provide any information regarding the potential magnitude above or below normal levels of precipitation and temperature.

Typical spring flooding is expected.

With current snowpack, soil moisture, and stream flow conditions, a normal precipitation pattern would likely cause minor flooding at Missouri River forecast points which frequently flood.

Similar conditions are expected along the tributary creeks and rivers. Minor, or in some cases moderate flooding is likely at locations which typically flood as a result of normal Spring precipitation patterns.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – A St. Joseph call center is adding 300 jobs to accommodate growing business from two corporate clients.

NCO Group announced Monday that it is expanding its operations in St Joe.

The company says the new hires will accommodate two Fortune 500 clients. NCO is a global outsourcing firm based in Pennsylvania.

NCO’s Systems & Services Technologies plant in St. Joseph mostly works on loan servicing for auto, credit card and other consumer debt.

The company didn’t provide any details on its new clients.

Some state senators worry that Missouri may be going too far with legislation prompted by the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State University. Senator Eric Schmitt of Saint Louis County says his bill responds to reports that an employee at Penn State told his boss about witnessing sexual abuse, but did not tell police.

Under Schmitt’s bill, anyone failing to comply with reporting requirements could face misdemeanor charges punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. But four senators voiced concern Monday as the Senate debated the bill. They say it could have unintended consequences for families.  

Chaz Bono, the child of entertainers Sonny and Cher whose transformation from female to male made worldwide headlines, will visit the area next month for a lecture at Northwest Missouri State.

The lecture is scheduled March 7 at 7 p.m. at the Charles Johnson Theater in the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building.

It is free and open to the public; tickets are available at the Student Services Center located on the first floor of the Administration Building.

Bono came out publicly as a lesbian in a 1995 interview with The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian news magazine. That decision prompted his public work in support of rights and social justice for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) rights and social justice.

He has written three books including “Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man,” a ground-breaking and candid account of a 40-year struggle to match his gender identity with his physical body and his transformation from female to male.

His first documentary, “Becoming Chaz,” received a standing ovation at its Sundance debut, was nominated for three prime-time Emmy Awards and premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network in May 2011. His follow-up, “Being Chaz,” chronicles Bono as he embraced his new life and prepared for his appearance on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” last fall, amid controversy and threats to his life over his decision to participate in the show.

Chaz began his public speaking career in 1995, as the keynote speaker at the annual fundraising event for the Mautner Project, the national lesbian health organization. He has spoken at numerous LGBTQ events for other national organizations such as The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). He has also served as a featured speaker at Gay Pride events in cities all across the country.

At Northwest, Bono will share his personal journey of attaining sobriety, gaining acceptance from his family and proceeding with his transition in the public eye. He speaks about a range of LGBTQ issues related to marriage equality, portrayals in the media, the workplace, politics, transgender equality, transgender youth, and the physical and emotional process of hormonal and surgical transition.

World crude oil prices jumped to a nine-month high on Monday, after Iran said it had halted crude exports to Britain and France in an escalation of a dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

U.S. Markets were closed for the Presidents Day holiday, but in electronic trading, benchmark crude in New York was over $105 per barrel.

Brent Crude in London was over $121/barrel.

Gas prices are also higher, with retailers all over St Joe offering self-service regular for $3.35.9 per gallon.

The national average was $3.65.5 on Monday according to Triple A. That’s up from $3.55 on Sunday, $3.51 a week ago, $3.38 a month ago, $3.16 a year ago. Experts say the national average could reach a record $4.25 a gallon by late April.

In Missouri the average was $3.34.7. The Kansas average was up to $3.42.8.

About twenty groups entered floats in this year’s Mardi Gras Parade in downtown St Joseph on Saturday night. Dozens lined the parade route between Third and Eighth Streets along Felix, as entertainment and bead tossers rolled by.

Here are some photographs courtesy of Will Corlett.