If the state board of education gives final approval, Missouri will be among 39 states asking to be excused from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Michele Clark of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says Missouri has been working on this since October. If all goes well, this would be Missouri’s last school year under the federal law.

Clark says the waiver would let Missouri decide what works for Missouri. She says the federal law kickstarted many school systems in the beginning, but now lays down an unattainable mandate. The third draft of Missouri’s proposed waiver has been posted on the department’s website, dese.mo.gov. It’s open for public review and comment.  

Students from Benton, Central and Lafayette excelled in the first level of the JROTC Academic and Leadership Competition.

Teams from all three schools advance to compete in Level II of the competition, which wraps up on February 15. Winners in Level II will advance to the championship and earn an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

The nationally recognized academic and leadership competition created exclusively for JROTC students is sponsored by the Army JROTC and conducted by College Options Foundation.

One of the main goals of the JROTC Academic Bowl is to prepare students for state exit/graduation exams as well as college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT. In each level of the competition, this fast-paced event tests their knowledge using SAT/ACT-type questions in the areas of JROTC curriculum, English, Math and Science.

The students competed against 1,583 teams from around the world to advance to Level II in an online competition called “Zero Hour Threat.”

Twenty-Four academic teams from Level II will advance to The 2012 Army JROTC Leadership Symposium and Academic Bowl Championship in Washington, D.C., on the campus of George Mason University, June 22 – 26, 2012.

The winner of the Army JROTC Academic Championship will compete against the winners of the Air Force JROTC and Navy JROTC Academic Bowls in the newly established JROTC Tri-Service Academic Bowl Championship.

Old man winter returned to St Joseph, just in time to complicate the Monday morning drive and cancel or delay classes in dozens of school districts.

A 24-year-old Auburn, Nebraska man suffered moderate injuries after losing control of his Chevy Suburban in the snow on US-136 east of Rock Port. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the rollover accident happened at 3a.m. Scott Horr was taken by ambulance to Fairfax Community Hospital.

St Joseph Police responded to 14 accidents between 4 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Police, deputies and state troopers responded to an accident at about 5:30 a.m.just outside the city limits on Missouri Route 752 just south of I-229.

A rollover accident at 4300 Maxwell at 8:40 a.m. required two ambulance responses, but none of the three children in that vehicle suffered life-threatening injuries. One, age three, was transported to Heartland and from there to Children’s Mercy Hospital.

A St Joseph Streets Department salt truck operator slid through a stop sign at Ashland and Summit Streets shortly after 8:30 a.m. The truck hit a vehicle in traffic on Ashland.

No injuries were reported but the other vehicle was removed from the scene by a tow truck.

Over 200 community leaders attended United Way’s Annual Meeting at Missouri Western’s Fulkerson Center Feb. 9.

At the event, United Way announced three special award winners:
* Spirit of Community Award (honoring one exemplary business each year for outstanding community service and support of United Way)-Nestle Purina PetCare;
* Outstanding Partner Award (honoring one area business or organization each year that has shown an exceptional history of partnership with United Way)-Missouri Western State University;
* and the Volunteer Award (honoring exemplary volunteers each year for outstanding volunteer service through United Way)-Roger Martin.

Retiring United Way Board members are Curt Kretzinger, Terry McClatchey, Seann O’Riley, and Dick Sipe.

During the annual meeting, 2011 United Way Campaign donors in attendance elected the following people to serve on the United Way Board of Directors in 2012: David Cripe, Matt Dority, Roger Martin, Brad McAnally, Michael Pulido, Tom Richmond, Amy Ryan, Darren Steele, Adam Stein, and Seth Wright.

United Way of Greater St. Joseph operates under the direction of 31 members of a local Board of Directors. The 2012 Board elected their Executive Committee at Thursday’s Annual Meeting: Bill Severn, Chair; Todd W. Meierhoffer, Vice Chair; Brett Carolus, Secretary; and Jason Horn, Treasurer.

To learn more, visit United Way online at www.stjosephunitedway.org.

 

St Joseph School District officials were honored last week at the annual PTA Founders Day Dinner.

Sandy Steggall, Principal at Truman Middle School, received the PTA’s Outstanding Principal Award.

The Davis-Langemach Award went to Roxanne Greene, who established “Camp Humboldt” an early childhood program at Humboldt.

The Dr. Dan Colgan National PTA Foundation Award went to Gertie Beaver for 50 years in PTA.

Students from 14 elementary schools will participate in Jump Rope for Heart from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 in the M.O. Looney Complex Arena at Missouri Western State University.

The event scheduled Monday was postponed because of school closings in St Joseph.

Jump Rope for Heart is a community service project to fight heart disease and stroke, our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, respectively. Students will jump rope to raise funds for the American Heart Association, which funds cardiovascular disease research and public and professional education programs. Funding from events such as Jump Rope for Heart has led to many lifesaving discoveries.

Students will also learn about building a heart-healthy lifestyle.

The average heart beats 100,000 times each day. One of the best ways to take care of your heart is to make exercise a regular part of your everyday life. Jump Rope for Heart teaches students how exercise benefits the heart and shows students that volunteering can be fun and beneficial to the whole community.

For more information about the local Jump for Heart event, contact Dr. Randall Bergman, assistant professor of health, physical education and recreation, at 816-271-4474, or rbergman@missouriwestern.edu.