The St. Joseph School District has hired two long-time Missouri educators to fill the open director positions in Finance and Student Services.

According to a press release, Dr. Gabe Edgar will join the administrative team as the District’s Director of Finance. He is currently superintendent for the Marceline R-V School District. Before that, Dr. Edgar was a principal for Marceline Middle School and High School.

Dr. Edgar began his teaching career in 1997 as a business education instructor. In addition to his role as superintendent, he is a graduate program instructor at William Woods University where he teaches courses in education administration, classroom management and school supervision, school finance and curriculum.

Dr. Edgar’s first day with the SJSD will be July 1, 2018. He is replacing Wes Metz who announced his resignation in April.

Dr. Robert Sigrist is returning to the St. Joseph School District as Director of Non-Academic Support and Student Services.

He is currently Savannah High School’s principal and teaches graduate courses as an adjunct instructor at William Woods University.

Dr. Sigrist was an assistant principal at Central High School in St. Joseph for 13 years, where his responsibilities included discipline, building security, crisis management, attendance and technology. He also taught science at Lafayette before becoming an administrator.

Dr. Sigrist will replace Dr. Solon Haynes on July 1. Dr. Haynes will stay with the District as Parkway Elementary School’s principal.

The Board of Education approved both hires during closed session at Monday’s meeting.

A man was taken into custody early Wednesday morning after a standoff that lasted over four hours.

According to Sgt. Brett Kelley with the St. Joseph Police Department, a man in his 30s barricaded himself in a basement with a handgun in the 2500 block of Lafayette Street around 9:30 Tuesday night. Kelley said the incident began due to an attempt to arrest the man on investigative charges.

The Special Response Team and negotiators were called in to assist and the man surrendered peacefully around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Mosaic Life Care announced it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award.

According to a press release, the distinction places Mosaic Life Care among the top five percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data for its performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

Mosaic Life Care is the only hospital in Missouri to be named among the Top 5 percent of hospitals in the Nation for both Clinical Outcomes and Patient Safety in 2018.

“This impressive patient quality award speaks to the dedication of our caregivers and the investment they pour into their patients,” says Mark Laney, MD, Mosaic Life Care CEO. “The data is clear that the quality of care here in St. Joseph is outstanding.”

During the 2014 to 2016 study period, Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:

• 55.6 percent less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 52.4 percent less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 62.8 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 54.3 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals

To view the Healthgrades hospital quality methodologies, click here.

A St. Joseph man is in custody after a standoff early Tuesday morning.

According to Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett, deputies responded at 2:30 a.m. to a report of a disturbance in the 3900 block of East Hills Drive in St. Joseph.

Puett said a man had barricaded himself in a vehicle and had a handgun. The St. Joseph Police Department and the Special Response Team also were called in to assist.

Negotiators eventually were successful in getting the man to surrender peacefully. He was taken into custody at approximately 5:45 a.m. Tuesday.

No details are available yet on charges.

The St. Joseph School District Board of Education recently approved a number of hires in leadership positions throughout the District.

At Central High School, Jason Simpson has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. Simpson is currently the activities director at Lafayette High School. He joined Lafayette in 2016 after teaching Business at Central for 11 years. Simpson rounds out the new leadership team at Central for the 2018-19 school year. Central recently announced Dr. Terri Godfrey as the building principal for 2018-19 and Dr. Kris Larson as an assistant principal. Neal Hook remains as the building’s other assistant principal. The St. Joseph School District’s Board of Education approved Simpson as assistant principal during executive session at Monday’s meeting. The search for a new activities director at Lafayette will begin immediately.
The Board also approved David Stroud as Central’s head volleyball and assistant wrestling coach for 2018-19. Stroud currently teachers English-Language Arts at Union Star High School. He is a graduate of Missouri Western State University with experience teaching in the St. Joseph School District at both Benton High School and Central High School. He will also teach Special Education at Central.

At Lafayette High School, Bart Hardy has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. Hardy is currently teaching Mathematics at Lafayette and serves as the head football coach. He has been with the St. Joseph School District since 2005. Hardy fills the position left open after Dr. Ashly McGinnis was promoted to principal at Lafayette. The Board of Education approved Hardy during executive session at Monday’s meeting. The search for Hardy’s replacement as Lafayette’s head football coach will begin immediately.
The Board also approved Kevin Bristol as head coach for the boys’ basketball program. Bristol is a Special Education teacher at Benton High School. His coaching experience includes JV and freshman basketball at Benton and head boys’ basketball coach at Robidoux Middle School. Bristol will also teach Special Education at Lafayette.

At Benton High School, Kerstyn Bolton has been selected as head coach for the girls’ basketball program. Bolton is currently an assistant coach for the program. She is also a 5th grade teacher at Hosea Elementary School. Bolton will replace head coach Brett Goodwin. Goodwin was recently selected to fill the activities director position at Benton following the retirement announcement from Mike Ziesel. Bolton will retain her teaching position at Hosea, as well.

At Bode Middle School, Stacia Studer has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. Studer currently teaches 8th grade English Language Arts at Bode and serves as a department chair. She has been with Bode since 2002. Studer also served as an instructional coach at Truman Middle School and has held numerous leadership roles with the St. Joseph School District and in the community. She will replace Janice Wing who recently announced her retirement.

At Lindbergh Elementary School, Eric White has been selected to fill the open assistant principal role. White currently teaches at Tiffany Ridge Elementary in the Park Hill School District. He also has experience teaching in the Excelsior Springs School District and the Independence School District. White has leadership experience at Tiffany Ridge Elementary where he served as principal during summer school in 2016 and 2017. He also currently serves as an assistant to the principal.

(Press Release)