Sheriff Mike Strong is warning residents in rural sections of southeastern Buchanan County about some recent burglaries, and is asking for your help finding the burglars.

The sheriff issued the appeal Thursday afternoon via the web site www.nixle.com.  At least one of the break ins occurred Wednesday, in the area south of Agency along Missouri Route MM.

In one such incident a witness observed a white male, between five feet and six feet tall, with dark, buzz cut hair, and a goatee get into a red Toyota Camry and leave the residence.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone to report to police any suspicious looking subjects or cars by calling authorities at one of the numbers below.

If you saw anything suspicious on February 1, 2012, in the Area between 13000 and 14000 State Route MM, you should call authorities. The area is between the Belcher Branch Lake and Agency Conservation Areas, just south of the town of Agency.

Emergency – 911
Non-emergency – 816 271-4777 (St. Joe. Comm. Center/dispatch)
Delayed Response: (to simply pass on information)
BC Patrol Division: 816 236-8850
BC Detective Division: 816 236-8845 and
St. Joe TIPS Hotline 816 238-8477

A lawsuit against Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox will apparently not be moving through the appeals process.

Cox says a federal judge dismissed the suit filed by Sandrio Andujar.

Andujar filed an appeal, and requested that the courts waive the federal appeals filing fee.

Thursday morning, Cox says his office got word that the courts have ordered Andujar to pay the filing fee, which is $455.

Andujar is now in prison, where he earns money for his commissary account. Cox says with the number of years Mr. Andujar has left to spend in prison it may be some time before he has a positive balance on his commissary account.

In a news release, Cox said “We applaud the Federal Courts rulings and final order.”

Three EMS providers for LifeNet St Joseph who died in a helicopter ambulance crash last August will be honored by the National EMS Memorial Service this June in Colorado.

The names of Randy Bever, Christopher Frakes and James Freudenburg will be engraved on a bronze oak leaf which will be added to the “Tree of Life,” the National EMS Memorial.

The National EMS Memorial Service announce that 20 individuals from 13 states will be so honored at the 2012 National EMS Memorial Service to be held Saturday, June 23 in Colorado Springs.

Scherese M Bishop of Northeast Ambulance & Fire Protection District in St Louis will also be honored.  Ms. Bishop, 37, died March 11, 2011 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.  She had collapsed March 3 while trying to resuscitate a patient.

The National EMS Memorial Service has, since 1992, been honoring America’s EMS providers who have given their lives  in the line of duty. The 20 individuals being honored this year join 581 others previously honored by the National EMS Memorial Service.  Click on the logo to visit their Web site.

Each year, at a service held in Colorado Springs, members of the honoree’s families are presented with a medallion, symbolizing eternal memory; a U.S. Flag which has flown over the Nation’s Capital, symbolizing service to the country; and a white rose, symbolizing their undying love.

In addition to the presentations made during the Service, each honoree’s name is engraved on a bronze oak leaf which is added to the “Tree of Life,” the National EMS Memorial.

Click here for the announcement, including the complete list of honorees.

 

The publisher of the Regular Joe newspaper will lead this years Mardi Gras Parade in St Joseph.

Jay Kerner was announced today as the Grand Marshal of St Joseph’s Mardi Gras Parade.

St Joe’s 10th Mardi Gras parade is scheduled February 18.

The parade is co-sponsored by the St Joseph Downtown Association, K-JO 105.5 and Q Country 92.7.

Organizers stress this is an adult-oriented event, and all participants must be at least 18 years old to participate in the parade.

This year’s parade will follow the original route, from the Holiday Inn at Third and Felix to Coleman Hawkins Park.

Line-up for floats will begin at 6 p.m., with the parade following at 8 p.m.

 

Missouri Western announced Wednesday the next Vice President for University Advancement.

Jonathan Yordy, who currently serves as the director of major gifts at Lewis University in Illinois, will replace Dan Nicoson who will retire June 30^th.

Yordy has been with Lewis University since 2008. He led a successful $31 million fund-raising campaign, grew a donation program and oversaw a two year increase of 41 percent in gifts to the university.

He will oversee Westerns Advancement activities including development, alumni services and public relations. Yordy will also serve as the MWSU Foundation Executive Director.

 

 

 

 

The President of Missouri Western tells the legislature that further budget cuts would dramatically impact university programs and services. Dr. Robert Vartabedian told the House Committee on Appropriations-Education that the Governor’s recommended 12-and-a-half percent cut would reduce state funding to Western by $2.9-million.

Vartabedian says unless the cut is decreased significantly, Western would be able to fill only a very small number of about 30 position openings. Because of previous cuts, Vartabedian says the use of adjunct faculty has already increased by 25 percent over three years, and will continue to grow.

State funding has dropped from 62 percent of Western’s budget in the year 2000 to less than 38 percent if the Governor’s cuts stand. Despite the cuts, Vartabedian testified that Western’s average tuition is still the third lowest among Missouri’s public universities.  

An area in North St. Joseph was blocked off this afternoon after street crews found what appeared to resemble a pipe bomb.

Police blocked off an area near Blackwell Road and Savannah Road, and the Kansas City Police Department Bomb Squad detonated the device.

St Joseph Police Captain Kevin Castle says it was a piece of PVC pipe with some sort of explosive inside.

“Sometimes they’re legitimate devices and sometimes they’re not.  We treat them all like they are until we find out differently, and this one I’m glad we did because it was an actual device,” Castle said.

“If it were to explode and you were near it, it could injure or kill”

Castle says federal agents were on hand to collect forensic evidence after the device was blown up, in an effort to track its origin.

 

United Way and Parents as Teachers are presenting a two-hour class on effective discipline of children in a program called “Conscious Discipline.” Debbie Kunz says Conscious Discipline empowers children to make good decisions and feel good about themselves. It makes parents ask what kind of environment they’re creating at home, whether it encourages children to work with parents.

The class will be led by a certified Conscious Discipline instructor. There’s no charge to attend. It’ll be held Friday night from 6 to 8 pm at the Keatley Center, 1202 South 28th Street.