More than 500 Saint Joseph-area residents dined with New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman. He’s the featured speaker for Missouri Western’s Convocation on Critical Issues.
Convocation founder Dan Boulware says the Convocation has pursued Friedman for several years and is glad to have him.
The columnist and author addressed the convocation dinner Monday, and is scheduled to address the convocation at 9:30am today in the Looney Complex. The Convocation is free and open to the public.
Firetrucks and tractors, kids and camels and candy, King Hill’s finest turned out in droves despite the threat of rain Saturday for the 23rd annual South Side Fall Festival Parade.
These photographs are courtesy of Nancy Goode.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled next month for a teenager from St Joseph now charged as an adult with second-degree murder.
Buchanan County Judge Keith Marquardt on Friday found that Elijah Pickett was a danger to society, and at the request of prosecutors, ordered Pickett held without bond pending a preliminary hearing October 13th.
Pickett is charged with 2nd-degree murder in a robbery gone bad that claimed Brian Ulmer’s life.
Witnesses identified him as one of three suspects who held several people at gunpoint during a robbery at a home in the two-hundred block of 16th Street on August 22. Witnesses say when Pickett threatened to harm some children in the house, Ulmer tried to intervene on their behalf and was shot in the head three times.
No charges have been filed against the two other assailants. Police say their investigation continues.
Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins requested that Pickett’s bond be denied. Scroggins says the 16-year-old has an extensive juvenile record. Judge Marquardt agreed and denied bail.
Lawyers in the case will meet for a status hearing September 30. Theresa Lininger of the Public Defender’s Office will represent Pickett.
“I can express no kinder sign of love, than this kind kiss.”
That line is actually from Henry VI, but the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare are laced with kissing lines, kissing references, and kissing.
As you might expect, Romeo and Juliet is no exception. There’s a lot of kissing in this tragic romance.
Misty Ballew (Juliet) and Kiefer Helsel (Romeo) seem up to the task.
Click here for earlier “Confessions Of A Stage Actor.”
Redistricting could increase the population inequalities between Saint Joseph City Council Districts.
After a census the boundaries are redrawn to comply with a city charter provision that districts be “substantially equal.” If the five districts were perfectly equal, each would hold 20 percent of the city’s population.
City Manager Bruce Woody says Councilmembers had to define “substantially equal.” Complicating the issue is a request from County Clerk Mary Garvey to reduce the number of split precincts, precincts that straddle district borders. Right now there are three.
Woody came back with a plan including one split precinct and a 2 percent range between high and low districts. The current range is 4.9 percent. The Council decided to remove all split precincts, even though that will increase the range of inequalities to 5.4 percent. A final plan will probably come before the Council in October.
Livingston County officials have arrested five sex offenders for violations of registration requirements.
In a recent compliance check, officers checked on 35 offenders in Livingston County. Cox says most were in compliance with sex-offender registration laws. Five had failed to follow the requirements and were arrested on Tuesday.
Cox says the violations included failing to notify authorities of activities on social web sites, failing to disclose vehicle information, cell phone information, and incorrect address reporting.
Sheriff Steve Cox says his deputies received assistance from the the Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Cox says they have at least three additional persons of interest where investigation reports will be provided to Prosecuting Attorney Adam Warren for consideration of charges. They have also shared information with another county sheriff regarding a potential registration violation in that county.
A free copy of the registered offender list may be obtained at the dispatch window of the Livingston County Sheriffs Office, 901 Webster Street, Chillicothe, MO.
To the majority of the people involved in this investigation we truly appreciate their compliance and cooperation. We greatly appreciate the assistance of the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force for their dedication and assistance.
According to a news release, the suspects are identified as follows:
1. Joseph Allen Panholzer, 40, Chillicothe, bond initially placed at $40,000. Arrested on 09-09-2011 and since released on bond.
2. Bryon Keith Pride, 50, Chillicothe, bond originally placed at $2,500.
3. Eric Lee Raymo, 39, Chillicothe, bond originally placed at $2,500.
4. Jeffery Dale Oster, 28, Chillicothe, bond originally placed at $2,500.
5. Alan E. Kitchener, 29, Chillicothe, bond originally placed at $2,500.
Planning A Course Together, or PACT, will launch the next phase of its school improvement planning process with a pair of open houses. Steve Huff of the Saint Joseph School District says participants can gather information and share their views.
The open houses are scheduled October 17th at the Troester (TRAY stir) Media Center and October 18th at Spring Garden Middle School. Both will run from 6 to 8 pm. PACT began work in 2010 and presented 51 statements of recommendation to the school board in June.
More details about the recommendations are available at the PACT website (www.PACTforSJSD.com). Visitors to the website can also view an informational video and request a speaker for an upcoming meeting or event.
PACT (Planning A Course Together) has entered the next phase of its community engagement process for the St Joseph School District.
This next step is an effort to share information with the community about recommendations made to the Board of Education in June, 2011 and gather input about ways to improve them.
The PACT Facilitating Team recently announced the co-chairs for this step of the process. These co-chairs are Kevin Kirby, Executive Director of the American Red Cross (St. Joseph Chapter), Lori Prussman, immediate past president of the St. Joseph PTA Council, and Lee Sawyer, Chief Operating Officer of NPG Newspapers.
From 2010-11, PACT brought together almost a thousand community volunteers to learn about the challenges facing SJSD and develop a plan for addressing these challenges. In June, 2011, PACT presented a set of 51 statements of recommendation to the Board of Education. These recommendations include a draft Facilities Master Plan and suggested improvements in other areas related to the District, including pre-school/early childhood education, technology, finance, staffing and safety/security. PACT is now taking the recommendations to the community and asking for input on how they can be strengthened.
More details about the recommendations are available at the PACT website. Visitors to the website can also view an informational video and request a speaker for an upcoming meeting or event.
Motorists in northwest Missouri may be traveling a little easier in the coming weeks as the Missouri Department of Transportation works on the next steps to get flooded roads open as quickly as possible.
Repair work has begun along Route-136 in Atchison County, and officials hoped to advertise a second project on 136 highway on Tuesday. MODOT has advertised a project for emergency repairs on Route-59 in Buchanan County. The initial work along US-136 includes repair of the roadway and shoulders by MoDOT crews.
Department officials have posted numerous photographs of area highways damaged by flooding here.
“Our primary goal is to get these roads open and safe as soon as we can to alleviate travel frustrations for the people who live, work and travel in this area of the state,” said Don Wichern, district engineer for the MoDOT Northwest District in a news release. “We’ve been constantly monitoring the water levels on all our flooded routes, and the water receded enough in the last couple of days on these routes for us to get in there safely to begin some repairs.”
MoDOT will work to make repairs as quickly as possible and is using a combination of internal and contract work to get the job done.
“Even with the water flowing over these roads since the beginning of June, we’ve been making plans to be ready to move forward as soon as we could to get the roads open,” Wichern said. These plans include assessing damages where possible, getting prepared to let emergency contracts, stockpiling materials for repairs like tens of thousands of tons of rock to fill holes and gaps in the pavement, and working with officials to request federal funding.
Other routes in the northwest area that are a top priority for travelers include Route 159, Route 111 and numerous lettered routes. Many of these still have water over the road, but are being closely monitored. Interstate 29 in Missouri does not have any water on the road and except right at the Iowa border has remained dry. However, due to water over the road and damage on the Iowa side, the interstate will remain closed until Iowa is able to open their portion.
Until roads are officially open, MoDOT urges drivers to stay away from flood-damaged and closed roads. Drivers should never drive around barricades, fences or other road-closure devices. Doing so is illegal and places motorists at risk due to damage to the roadways and bridges, unexpected pavement failures and heavy equipment at work.
The St Joseph School District is selling the former Neely Elementary School to a private enterprise, which plans to convert the structure into an apartment complex.
The school board on Monday night voted unanimously to approve the sale of the building to Foutch Brothers, LLC.
Officials say the company will convert the building, at 1909 South 12th Street, into nearly two dozen housing units.
They will pay $50,000 for the more than 40,000 square foot facility. The school district will sublease the adjacent Learning Resource Center for early childhood classes.
Officials in the district made promises not to leave behind an “eyesore” in the neighborhood.
The alternative, demolishing the building, would have cost the school district $550,000.
