Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. South wind between 11 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. South wind 7 to 11 mph becoming west northwest. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
A tornado ripped through the southwest Iowa town of Lenox, but no serious injuries have been reported.
Spring storms pummeled parts of Iowa on Wednesday, ripping off roofs, shattering windows and tearing apart trees.
Sandi Reyner works at a restaurant in Lenox, a town of about 1,400 people. She told The Des Moines Register that “there are
houses here that used to be two stories that are now less than one story.”
The National Weather Service says it will be sending a team to Lenox on Thursday to confirm the tornado report and assess the storm’s strength. Storm spotters also reported a tornado about two miles from Kent, which is a few miles northeast of Lenox.
A different kind of choreography is keeping the cast of Romeo and Juliet hopping. Shakespeare placed the first of several homicides in the play within a formal party, and that requires some dancing.
Because our staging takes place in Missouri in 1861, some “period” music is called for. Here’s a video of the song being used for the dance sequence. I’ll post a video of our choreography as soon as it gets a little tighter.
9/13/2011
It’s been interesting to watch the early rehearsals of Romeo and Juliet. Most of the cast, not including myself, is involved in intensive training in stage combat. It is essential that the stage fights in the play be carefully choreographed.
Director Tee Quillen’s concept for the play is to create an 1861 Missouri “museum piece,” set in Verona, Missouri during the Civil War. Thus fencing rapiers will be replaced with Bowie knives and sabres.
9/12/2011
I have more than sixty plays under my belt as a stage actor. But, it’s been about six years since my last theater performance. I’ve played six Shakespeare roles, but it’s been 15 years since my last Shakespeare play. Missouri Western State University presents Romeo and Juliet October 6-9, and I’ve been cast as Friar Laurence.
Frankly, I’m a little scared. Shakespeare’s dialogue is beautiful but daunting. The constructions are in no way modern, and for that matter, they are in no way easy.
The character creates the plots that lead to the tragedy, in an effort to bring together the Capulets and the Montagues, two families involved in a deadly blood feud. Laurence eventually succeeds in bringing the families together, but not in a happy way.
Friar Laurence wins the war after losing every battle. Critics say Laurence represents “wisdom” and “politics.” I think that’s a stretch. We shall see.
Director Tee Quillien will present the play as an 1861 “museum piece” set in Verona, Missouri. Expect a lot of memorabilia, historic reenactments, and artwork from the period.
In this space, I’ll chronicle my experience during the month-long rehearsal schedule leading up to opening night
Pictured here is the cast of Romeo and Juliet during the first read-through of the play September 2nd. Since then the cast has been busy blocking the play. That’s what actors call the stage directions that determine where the characters stand when declaiming those famous monologues.
The Missouri Senate has rejected a bill that would have banned the use of red light cameras in the state.
The ban would have outlawed the use of red light cameras and could have put a stop to St Joseph’s efforts to install the cameras at busy intersection in the city.
St Joseph officials announced earlier this month that they may install red light cameras within 90 days, pending a vote of the City Council.
State Senator Luann Ridgeway of Smithville supported the ban.
“I think it’s a really good idea because these things punish cars and not wrong doers, that’s kind-of silly,” she said.
Senator Jolie Justus of Kansas City would rather let the cities decide whether to use red light cameras.
“I actually have never been a huge fan of these but I do think this is a local control issue and I would hate to mess with it on a state level,” Justus said.
After several senators argued passionately in favor of banning the cameras, the senate voted against the ban by a two to one margin. There is little chance the legislation will surface again this session as it ends Friday evening.
The St Joseph City Council will vote May 16th whether to allow red light cameras in the city and how the program would work.
The fine for a red-light violation will be $100. Tickets related to red-light cameras will not be considered a moving violation and will not add points to a driver’s license.
A new program for student athletes who suffer concussions is going into effect in the Saint Joseph School District.
A new program will test students who are injured to determine when they can safely return to play sports without risking further injury.
All student-athletes will take a baseline test. Anyone treated for a concussion will take the test again to see if there’s been any damage. A doctor would evaluate the results and decide if the athlete can safely return to competition
The test was developed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. School officials don’t want to put any athlete at a greater risk of getting a second concussion that may cause more extensive and permanent damage, Athletic Director Doug Flowers said.
The program is nationally recognized, Assistant to the Superintendent Steve Huff said.
“It is used by about 28 NFL teams, the U.S. Olympic teams and its been endorsed by the NCAA,” Huff said. “It’s a solid, solid program.”
Injured student’s don’t get second chances, Superintendent Melody Smith said.
“They don’t get extra chances if they are injured when they are children,” Smith said. “By children I mean these people who are children in adult bodies putting 110% out on the field or the court or wherever they are. “
This may be a significant policy for the district, Smith added.
“I feel better about this policy probably than anything that has crossed my desk in five years,” Smith said.
Five volunteers left over the weekend for Memphis to shelter flood victims and more are expected to leave this week. Volunteers from the Midland Empire chapter of the Red Cross are serving throughout the south-eastern United States helping disaster victims seek shelter and recover.
Volunteers leave for two weeks at a time. Some of the local volunteers will be returning home this week, Emergency Service Director Karla Long said. “The staff will be getting ready to turn over,” Long said. “So we will be looking to do some replenishment staff into Alabama.”
Currently, local volunteers from Northwest Missouri are in Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Missouri, North Carolina,Tennessee and Texas. Long calls the Midland Empire Chapter of St Joseph a front runner in volunteering.
“People have had to come here to help us. We all remember the flood of ’93 This is sort of our way to give back. We are one of the front runners in the number of volunteers we tend to send when emergencies happen,” Long said.
Long served in Washington D.C. During the beginning of the severe weather outbreak helping plan emergency services across the disaster area’s.
The Red Cross is also in need of more volunteers. Most volunteers are retiree’s with free time but anyone is allowed to donate their time. Volunteers receive training before they head out to a disaster area.
Volunteer expenses are paid by the Red Cross but volunteers must donate their time to help others. All service deployments last two weeks. For more information contact the Midland Empire Chapter of the American Red Cross. 232-8439.
As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, parent company Herbst Gaming has sold two Terrible’s locations in Missouri and one in Iowa. Several banks have taken ownership.
Officials do not expect any changes in local management or employment.
Negotiations are underway for a possible name change, which would remove the “Terrible’s” prefix and revert the gambling house to its original name “St Joe Frontier Casino.”
Three suspects are in custody in connection with shots fired in Saint Joseph last Monday night.
The three were in a car that collided with another vehicle at 26th and Felix shortly after shots were fired two blocks away, according to St Joseph police officers.
Four suspects fled the scene and one is still being sought. Minor injuries were reported by police as a result of the collision, but none required hospitalization.
No injuries were reported from the gunshots. The incident is under investigation.
HIGBEE, Mo. (AP) – The highway patrol says a newborn child was found dead inside a duffel bag floating in a central Missouri pond.
The patrol says the baby’s body was found Sunday in a small pond about two miles west of Higbee, about 35 miles north of Columbia along Route H in Randolph County.
The child’s race, sex and a cause of death have not been released.
An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
