Hundreds of Saint Joseph area residents are without electric service after a thunderstorm rolled through this morning. KCP&L indicates that about 400 Saint Joseph customers are blacked out, and more than 1800 in and around Savannah.
The new outages come just after some customers waited three days to get service restored after thunderstorms last Thursday.
The Missouri River is once again dropping below major flood stage in our area. But officials in Elwood say it will have to drop a lot more before they get relief from interior flooding.
In the meantime, they are using pumps to remove about 100-million gallons of water a day from low lying areas in and around Elwood. Levee Board President Craig Sheppard tells us that interior flooding has caused a lot of problems.
At least two roads are closed, and a pair of businesses have been shut down for weeks because their facilities are surrounded by a lake of rainwater that has nowhere to go. They must also protect some sanitary sewage lagoons that are surrounded by interior floodwaters.
That water did not come from the Missouri River. Recent rainfall has nowhere to go because the ground is saturated and they can’t yet open the gravity flood gates that allows the water to flow into the river channel.
Sheppard says under normal circumstances, river stages must drop well below flood stage, down to about 12 or 13 feet, before they can open those gates. By Sunday night, the river stage at the St. Joseph gauge was 27.3 feet. It’s expected to drop to about 26 feet by Friday.
These photographs were taken near US-36 and 165th Road.
Click on each photo to enlarge it.
Fire caused by an electrical problem displaced a St Joseph family from their home Saturday.
Crews responded to the 25-hundred block of Angelique Street just before 2 p.m. Saturday. No one was home when the fire broke out. There were no injuries.
Investigators pegged the damage at about $15,000. The family is getting assistance from the Red Cross.
The Riverside School District (USD 114 in Elwood/Wathena)could use your help Monday morning.
They’re returning equipment, fixtures and furnishings back to Elwood. It was removed when rising river levels prompted a mandatory evacuation.
Meet at Riverside School, in the parking lot by the gym at 8:00 am to sign in. They also need trucks and trailers.
The theme of this year’s Trails West! festival is “Civil War, Divided Loyalties.” The crowds enjoyed ongoing reenactment performances.
KCP&L will once again give out free dry ice to those still without power. In St. Joseph at Lowe’s 3901 North Belt Highway 12:30-2:30pm Saturday, or until supplies last, and in Maryville at True Value Hardware 1416 South Main 1:30-4pm or until supplies last.
These photographs were taken outside the Lowe’s hardware store on the North Belt Highway Friday.
Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White has been presented the 2011 Enoch B. Morelock Award for recognition of outstanding moral character, service to law enforcement and service to the community.
White received the award in recognition of his courageous effort to save the life of a victim trapped in a burning house, as well as his ongoing contributions to the community. The rescue happened last December when White ran into a burning house in Pickering to save a man who had been overcome by smoke inhalation. White carried the victim down a flight of stairs, through the living room, and outside to a spot safely distant from the fire, which fully engulfed the house.
White is married, the father of three children, and is actively involved in civic organizations in Maryville.
US Attorney Beth Phillips has presented the prestigious Guardian of Justice Award to five officers from the Saint Joseph Police Department and Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department.
Phillips says Detective Sergeant Eric Protzman, Detectives Steve McClintick and Shane Luikart, Officer Jason Strong, and Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Tiger Parsons distinguished themselves during their arrest of an armed federal fugitive and violent offender who fired upon the officers before he was taken into custody.
Christopher A. Punzo was armed with two loaded weapons when he barricaded himself in a small bedroom of a Saint Joseph residence. The Buchanan County/St. Joseph Police Department Special Response Team responded to the scene, but Punzo resisted hostage negotiators attempts to peacefully arrest him. He also shot at the officers, wounding Strong in the leg before they took him into custody.
The Guardian of Justice Award recognizes investigative excellence, selfless collaboration, tireless trial support, commendable diligence and professionalism, and noteworthy assistance to prosecution.
Classes were cut short today at four St Joseph Schools because of severe weather.
Steve Huff of the St Joseph School District tells us Lindbergh, Parkway and Pershing Elementary were dismissed at noon. Central High School was dismissed at 11 a.m.
Severe weather on Thursday evening toppled the communications tower at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop-H headquarters in St Joseph.
Sergeant Sheldon Lyon tells us the 335-foot steel tower was their original transmitter tower used to dispatch state troopers even before the Troop built its new headquarters in 1979.
There is no timetable for replacing the tower. Lyon says they’ve brought in a contractor to remove the tangled remains of the old tower. After that, he says it will be a matter of defining the project and putting it out for bids.
Click on each photo below to enlarge it.
