An opportunity to bring a pet home for a special price is being offered this week.

Due to overcrowding at the St. Joseph Animal Shelter, a half-off special will be offered for dogs and cats adopted Wednesday through Saturday.

According to a press release, to adopt a shelter dog or cat, an online application must be completed. The adoption application must be submitted online, which can be done from a kiosk at the shelter if someone finds a pet they would like to adopt. The fees associated with adopting a pet vary, depending upon the size of the animal and whether it is spayed or neutered.

The Friends of the Animal Shelter of St. Joseph’s Facebook page has photos of available animals, as does the animal shelter web page. The shelter is located at 701 Lower Lake Road.

Hours this week are:
Wednesday, 1-6:30 p.m.
Thursday, 1-5:30 p.m.
Friday, 1-4:30 p.m.
Saturday, 1-4:30 p.m.

Charges have been filed after a driver ran a stop sign and hit another vehicle, sending three occupants to the hospital.

As previously reported, St. Joseph Police said Sunday night, 38-year-old Phillip S. Johnson of St. Joseph ran a stop sign at 12th and Pacific Streets and hit another car.

According to charging documents, Johnson was observed driving a Ford Focus north on 12th St. well above the posted speed limit where he drove through a stop sign and hit the passenger side of a Grand Marquis with three occupants. After the crash, Johnson remained in the vehicle while waiting for officer’s arrival. Johnson admitted to drinking alcohol and later, at the emergency room, Johnson provided a preliminary breath sample of .173% BrAC (Breath Alcohol Concentration).

Everyone involved in the crash was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries. The passenger in the front seat was in critical condition.

Johnson was treated and released. He has been charged with felony Driving While Intoxicated – Serious Physical Injury.

An arraignment is scheduled for Friday. Bond is denied.

The St. Joseph School District has selected Corey Gilpin to fill an open leadership position at Lafayette High School.

According to a press release from the District, Gilpin will assume the role of Activities Director at Lafayette High School for the 2018-19 school year. He currently teaches special education for the District.

He has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Northwest. He is currently an NCAA basketball and baseball official and has worked with the Missouri State High School Activities Association as a regional observer.

Gilpin is replacing Lafayette’s current AD Jason Simpson. Simpson was recently selected as an assistant principal for Central High School.

The Board of Education approved the hire during Monday’s meeting.

Missouri Care made a donation Monday to help students at Truman Middle School and Bode Middle School.

Missouri Care’s donation of two washer and dryer sets to the St. Joseph School District will meet the simple need of helping students have clean clothes, which can then help boost attendance and student’s self-esteem.

The washer and dryer program offers at-risk students the opportunity to bring dirty clothes with them to school to be cleaned while they attend their classes.

School Social Worker Kelly Bristol said the biggest impact of having a washer and dryer available at the school is decreasing barriers for students.

“There are a lot of students, who, quite possibly, utilities are shut off or maybe they don’t have the ability to get to a laundry mat to be able to wash their clothes frequently enough and so they’re coming to school in clothes that are dingy or dirty or that smell sometimes,” Bristol said. “When we had our Knock and Talk officers first start going out for attendance for kids that weren’t showing up, one of the themes that came up in that was students either didn’t have clothes or didn’t have clean clothes to be able to get to school because they didn’t want to be ridiculed.”

Bristol said she got in touch with a regional contact for Missouri Care about their need and put together a proposal.

“We’ve been washing clothes for some kiddos, but obviously with the used appliances it’s a little less opportunity than what we have with brand new ones,” Bristol said. “So we’ve had the need, we just haven’t been able to fulfill it as much as we wanted to and so, when this opportunity came about, we just realized we could be making such a bigger impact.”

Monetary funds were provided for the washer and dryer and Bristol said the extra funds will be used to provide bags for students and purchase laundry detergent and dryer sheets. The washer and dryer also are used for Life Skills students to learn practical skills.

Four people are in the hospital after a two-vehicle severe injury crash Sunday night in St. Joseph.

According to St. Joseph Police, at 9:40 p.m. the driver of a car failed to stop at a stop sign at 12th and Pacific Streets and hit another car with three occupants. The fire department was called out to help as people were trapped due to the extent of the damage.

Everyone involved in the crash was taken to the hospital.

The driver that ran the stop sign is in police custody for investigative charges.

The crash is still under investigation.