ATCHISON COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just before 7p.m. Tuesday in Atchison County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Clay A. Biester, 58, Valley Falls, was southbound on U.S. 59.
The motorcycle collided with a southbound 2018 Ford Focus driven by Allison Nicole Herbig, 18, Cummings, that was preparing to turn on to 254th Road.
Biester was ejected from the motorcycle into the west ditch. He was transported to KU Medical Center. Herbig was transported to Atchison Hospital. Biester was wearing a helmet and Herbig was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Fire station 11 at 2316 South 22nd Street, St. Joseph. Photo by Sarah Thomack.
An open house will be held this week to celebrate the completion of the new fire station 11.
The fire station is located at 2316 South 22nd Street, just south of 36 Highway.
The open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
According to a press release from the City of St. Joseph, fire crews will conduct tours of the station and refreshments will be provided. Fire department staff will also be available to answer questions and provide information on the construction of station 11. Funding for the construction of the new fire station 11 was provided through the 2013 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) half-cent sales tax.
The construction of the new fire station 9 is nearing completion and an open house will be held in the near future.
The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made…..
….them richer. Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn. They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I’m for America First & the American Worker – a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!
Koch officials have vowed to spend between $300 million and $400 million to shape the 2018 midterm elections.
The conservative Koch brothers’ network said Monday that it will not help elect the Republican Senate candidate in North Dakota, turning its back on the GOP in a marquee election.
Speaking of fundraising:
SOS Kris Kobach’s campaign for governor relied upon $1.5M loan. Kobach and Gov. Jeff Colyer spent $3.1M by July on their GOP primary campaigns. Indy candidate Greg Orman dropped $860,000, more than all Democratic candidates spent combined. https://t.co/v0Uj9q9FPs
Senators begin meeting with the Supreme Court Nominee.
Based on my conversation today w/ Judge Kavanaugh, along w/ his outstanding judicial record & legal background, I believe he is the right choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. I look forward to supporting Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination as the confirmation process moves forward pic.twitter.com/DLuzb2IW2Y
Rep. Kevin Yoder of Kansas, struggles to find balance in his district, in which Hillary Clinton won the Presidential vote.
Swing district GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder backed away from his support for a Democratic plan to relax asylum rules after conservatives blasted him https://t.co/LJJEAQPj2G
Lawrence Journal-World on mental health services for students:
“Generally, and in particular for the college-aged population, there has been advancement in the reduction of stigma associated with mental health issues,” Maestas said. “There has also been an increase in early recognition of mental health issues and consequently an increase in the number of students entering college who are already in treatment.”
Two people were injured in a three vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Grundy County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, at 2:45 p.m., 25-year-old Drew A. Kelly of Trenton was driving a Ford Fusion east on MO 6 about three miles west of Trenton when his vehicle crossed the center line and hit the trailer unit of a semi. Kelly’s vehicle continued into the westbound lane and hit the front of a Ford Explorer.
Kelly was transported to Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton for treatment of moderate injuries. The driver of the Ford Explorer, 70-year-old Herbert G. Lamb of Cleveland, Georgia, was transported to Wright Memorial for treatment of serious injuries.
The driver of the semi was not injured. Both Kelly and Lamb were wearing seatbelts.
Summer heat makes a comeback late in the week! Expect below normal temperatures to last one more day with highs in the lower 80s for today, but temperatures will climb to the lower 90s later in the week. Lows will also rise from lower 60s to lower 70s as the weekend approaches. Skies will remain partly cloudy with light southerly winds. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. North wind 3 to 8 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 92. West southwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 92.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Millions of pounds of food are distributed each year to food insecure families in the area through Second Harvest Community Food Bank in St. Joseph.
Second Harvest relies on several events and donations throughout the year to be able to help those families through programs such as Backpack Buddies and No Hunger Summer.
Michelle Fagerstone is the Chief Development Officer for Second Harvest. Fagerstone said to help 100% of the food insecure all the time in their 19-county service area they would need 12 million pounds of food. Last year, Second Harvest distributed 5.5 million pounds of food.
Fagerstone said one of the programs they offer, No Hunger Summer, works with churches and area organizations to set up feeding sites throughout communities in the area where anyone up to 18-years-old can go to receive a free lunch Monday through Friday.
“When school is let out, then a lot of families who are food insecure, that’s an added burden on them as to how they’re going to feed the kids while they’re out of school,” Fagerstone said. “So we give them the option to come and visit one of the sites and hopefully they get a nutritious meal and they get a little bit of relief off of their grocery bill.”
The No Hunger Summer program runs from the week after summer school gets out until about a week before school starts up again.
During the school year, the Backpack Buddies program helps students that receive free or reduced-price lunches at school.
“The kids on Friday as they’re getting ready to leave for the weekend, receive a package of food that has a breakfast, two entrees, some snacks, juice and shelf-stable milk in it and so it’s just enough food to tide them over for the weekend,” Fagerstone said. “It’s mainly meant to be used as a supplement to food that hopefully they’re getting at home also.”
Fagerstone said they have provided as many as 3,490 backpacks per weekend through the Backpack Buddies program in 18 of the 19 counties they serve.
2015 Canned Film Festival. Photo courtesy K-JO.
Some of the ways Second Harvest is supported through the community include events such as the Canned Film Festival. The event each year is put on by Regal Hollywood 10 Theaters and Eagle Radio along with Midwest Data and Mosaic Life Care.
“The idea is that anybody, whether they’re truly a kid or a kid at heart, can enjoy a movie on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for just the price of a can of food,” Fagerstone said.
According to Fagerstone, the event last year collected 11,400 pounds of food and they estimate that this year, with the event being extended two weeks, they will collect over 15,000 pounds. The Canned Film Festival runs through August 8th and this week, movies being shown include the Lego Batman movie and Trolls. Doors open at 9 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. You can find more information at ourcommunityfoodbank.org.
Another food drive and fundraiser comes during Hunger Action Month in September.
“We do what is called, ‘The Corporate Food Fight,’ and we invite corporations and businesses here in the St. Joseph area to compete in food and fund drives,” Fagerstone said. “They compete all month long… we bunch them up according to size and all month long they bring us funds and they bring us food. At the end of the month, we tally everything up and we give out four ‘Golden Can Awards’ to the top four performing businesses and they really have a blast with that. It brings us in about 65,000 pounds of food every year.”
Fagerstone said the largest fundraiser of the year is the Mayor’s Thanksgiving Dinner and in a few weeks they will be announcing some details about that event.
For more information about Second Harvest Community Food Bank, their programs, how to set up a food drive and more, click here.
Shyann M. Barron booking photo courtesy of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.
A St. Joseph woman could be facing felony drug charges after heroin, methamphetamine and more were found in her possession during a traffic stop.
According to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday, Deputy Nicholas Leadbetter stopped a vehicle for going 20 mph over the speed limit.
The driver was cited for speeding and one of the passengers was having problems identifying herself to the officers. Further investigation showed she was allegedly in possession of heroin, methamphetamine, THC oil and drug paraphernalia.
The woman, claiming to be a certain person from St. Joseph, was processed and booked into jail under the name and personal identifiers she was giving the officers and detention staff. While at the jail, there was a problem and the woman admitted to her real identity. She is wanted in Buchanan County on an arrest warrant.
According to the LCSO, 21-year-old Shyann M. Barron of St. Joseph may soon face a variety of alleged felony drug charges in Livingston County, in addition to alleged felony forgery/identity theft. It is suspected Barron was actually using a close family member’s name and identifiers.
Barron is being released to Buchanan County pending formal charges being filed in Livingston County.
“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” said the chief of emergency management with the Kansas City district of the Army Corps of Engineers. “There will be another 1993 flood event.”
But experts also say the region will be better protected than ever before.
Earlier this year, Congress approved an additional $17.4 billion in funding for levees and flood control — including $453 million for the Kansas City Levees project along the Kansas and Missouri rivers.
“I think we’re doomed to repeat ourselves because there’s just not a lot of political will to change the system.”
A lawsuit seeks $100 million in damages against the owners and operators of a duck boat that sank last week on a Missouri lake. 17 people died. The lawsuit is on behalf of two members of an Indiana family who lost nine relatives on Table Rock Lake in Branson.
Wall Street Journal: Kansas Gubernatorial Race Splits GOP; The election will test voters’ appetite for politics in the style of Trump.
Gov. Jeff Colyer, who inherited his position in January after former Gov. Sam Brownback took a post in the Trump administration, is trying to survive a primary challenge from Secretary of State Kris Kobach, his strongest Republican challenger. Mr. Kobach, who was once considered a Trump cabinet pick and has led a crusade against illegal immigration, enjoys the support of national conservative figures like Donald Trump Jr. and Sean Hannity.
Though Mr. Trump hasn’t endorsed anyone in the race, Mr. Kobach mirrors the president both in political style and policy preference.
“Kobach was Trump before Trump was Trump,” said Burdett A. Loomis, a political-science professor at the University of Kansas.
Lawrence Journal-World: Amtrak considers replacing the portion of the route between Dodge City and Albuquerque with bus service. Track condition, and costs to upgrade it, is what’s driving the idea.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Tim Garrison. 2018 photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s website.
(Missourinet) – The top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Western District of Missouri says there’s been an increase in violent crime and in drug trafficking in the western district.
A public swearing-in ceremony was held Friday afternoon at Drury University in Springfield for Tim Garrison, who’s a former military prosecutor in the Marine Corps.
“The trend lines in the last several years have not been favorable,” Garrison says. “Methamphetamine is up. Opioids are way up, that trend line is almost vertical.”
Garrison says about 60,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in both 2016 and 2017. He notes that’s more than the 58,000 Americans who died serving during the Vietnam War.
Garrison, who briefed mid-Missouri reporters on Wednesday at the Christopher Bond Courthouse in Jefferson City, says dismantling large drug trafficking operations is a top priority for him.
“So this notion that we’re filling our prisons with non-violent drug offenders is nonsense, at least at the federal level. We’re trying to dismantle organizations. We’re going after significant interstate and international drug traffickers,” says Garrison.
Garrison says he and other federal prosecutors in the Western District are “not after the guy smoking marijuana in his basement.” He says Mexican cartels are bringing in meth with 95 to 100 percent purity. Garrison also says Mexican cartels have been selling meth at a loss in Missouri and other Midwestern states, just to maintain market share. He says when he began prosecuting meth cases in the late 2000s, meth was regularly being sold for $15,000 to $20,000 per pound. Garrison says it was being sold for about $5,000 a pound in the last meth case he prosecuted, before being appointed U.S. Attorney by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Garrison also confirms there’s a significant presence of “outlaw motorcycle gangs” in southwest Missouri.
The Western District of Missouri includes Kansas City, St. Joseph, Columbia, Jefferson City, Springfield, Joplin and Sedalia.
Cracking down on violent crime is one of the top priorities for the 42-year-old Garrison, who began his work as a federal prosecutor with the Western District in 2007.
He says Missouri has the fifth-highest murder rate in the nation.
“According to FBI crime statistics based on reporting for cities with populations over 100,000, we have three of the top 15 most violent cities on a per capita basis inside the state of Missouri,” Garrison says.
Garrison says those cities are St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield.
He describes the violence issue as a “culture of insult,” adding that social media has been a factor in the violence.
Two people were injured in a one vehicle crash Sunday evening in DeKalb County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, shortly before 6 p.m., 21-year-old Drew R. Tibbs of Blue Springs was driving a Chevrolet Malibu west on U.S. 36, three miles west of Osborn. The vehicle went off the south side of the road and overturned onto the median, ejecting the driver. The vehicle came to rest in the median on its wheels.
Tibbs was transported to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph for treatment of serious injuries. According to the crash report, he was not wearing a seat belt.
A passenger in the vehicle, 20-year-old Courtney A. Clifton of Trenton was transported to Mosaic for treatment of minor injuries. She was not wearing a seat belt.
