A class beginning this week will help teach youth important job readiness skills.

“Bring Your A Game to Work” will start Tuesday at Youth Alliance in St. Joseph.

According to Youth Case Manager with Youth Alliance Jill Smith, the class will go over seven different aspects of job readiness including attitude, appearance and accountability.

“Research has shown that a lot of youth today are not familiar with things that people in the past have been used to like getting to work on time and maybe what they should wear for an interview and… just haven’t learned those type of skills, so it’s important for our youth,” Smith said. “These classes are for ages 15 to 24, so it’s quite an age span. We looked at this curriculum and it was research based and it just talks about having a positive attitude, the work ethic, being accountable, appearance, all those things. So, the youth really need to learn about that and learn about themselves, why it’s important.”

Classes take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday beginning February 27th and running through March 27th. Classes will be held at the St. Joseph Youth Alliance at 5223 Mitchell Ave.

The classes are free and a meal will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, call (816) 232-0050.

A Gentry County man was killed when a tractor rolled down an embankment Monday morning in a field near Pattonsburg.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 64-year-old Victor L. Morgan of McFall was loading a hay bale onto a tractor at 10:30 a.m., when excessive weight on the front caused the tractor to tip and roll down an embankment.

The tractor came to rest on Morgan. He was pronounced deceased at the scene at 11:15 a.m. Monday.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Feb. 26 – March 4 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.

Andrew County

• U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Maryville (Nodaway County) to Route B, Feb. 27 – March 2

Atchison County

• Interstate 29 – Pothole patching, Feb. 26 – March 2
• Route 111 – Bridge maintenance at County Road 280, Feb. 26 – March 2. County Road 280 will be CLOSED from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Caldwell County

• Route 116 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 69 (Clinton County) to Route 13, Feb. 26 – March 2

Carroll County

• Route 10 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Carrollton to Route FF, Feb. 26 – 27

Clinton County

• Route 33 – Drainage work at Route PP, Feb. 28 – March 2. A temporary traffic signal will direct traffic through the intersection.
• Route 116 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 69 to Route 13 (Caldwell County), Feb. 26 – March 2

Harrison County

• Route YY – CLOSED for a culvert replacement two-tenths of a mile north of Route 46, Feb. 28, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route YY – CLOSED for a culvert replacement one mile north of Route 46, March 1, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route YY – CLOSED for a culvert replacement two miles north of Route 46, March 2, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Linn County

• U.S. Route 36 – Pothole patching from the Macon County line to Route 139, Feb. 26 – 27
• Route 5 – Drainage work from the city limits of Laclede to the city limits of Linneus, Feb. 26 – 28

Mercer County

• U.S. Route 136 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Muddy Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through March 2018.

Nodaway County

• U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Maryville to Route B (Andrew County), Feb. 27 – March 2

The Missouri Western State University Alumni Association is now accepting nominations for the 2018 Alumni Awards, to be presented at the 36th annual Alumni Awards Banquet in October.

According to a press release from Missouri Western, nominations are being accepted for the following awards:

·         Distinguished Alumni Award: Established in 1983, the Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest award given to an alumnus/alumna by the Alumni Association. The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes living alumni for their career/professional achievements; civic contributions within their local community, state or nation; service to Missouri Western State University; and other qualities which elicit pride from others who attended Missouri Western. This award is given to alumni with a difference of at least 11 years between attendance and nomination.

·         GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade): The GOLD award recognizes those early in their career who have had outstanding achievements and accomplishments. The award is based upon professional and educational achievements, community activities, honors and awards received and other noteworthy items of merit since graduation. The nominee must have received his or her initial degree from Missouri Western within ten years of June 1 of the year of recognition.

·         Herb ’35 and Peggy Iffert Award for Outstanding Service to the University: The Iffert Award recognizes an alumnus/alumna, retiree, or other friend of the University who has shown outstanding and continuous commitment to Missouri Western’s mission, vision, and legacy. This award recognizes one’s service as a positive liaison between the University and the region of northwest Missouri as well as consistent dedication to the advancement and preservation of Missouri Western.

·         Distinguished Faculty Award: Established in 1983, the Distinguished Faculty Award is given to a current faculty member by the Alumni Association in recognition of one’s lasting influence on students, excellence in teaching, professional/career accomplishments, and professional and ethical standards.

·         The Great Griffon Awards: The Great Griffon Awards recognize alumni from each college and school who exhibit outstanding contributions to the workforce, society or the University. Nominees must have completed at least 24 credit hours at any Missouri Western institution and do not have to work in the area in which they studied. Nominees can be recognized for career achievement, service to local communities, state, nation or the University. At least one year is required between attendance and award nomination.

·         Student Leadership Awards: The Student Leadership Awards recognize graduating students who have made significant impact to the life of the University during their tenure though leadership, volunteerism, or humanitarianism. The Alumni Student Leadership Awards include Graduating Student of the Year, Clifford Hughes ’55 Award and the International Student of the Year. Nominees for the Student Leadership Awards must be graduating seniors (either May or December) and have shown exemplary leadership, volunteerism, or humanitarianism.

 

All of the Alumni Awards are awarded to nominees through a selection process and at the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association.

To be considered this year, nominations must be submitted by April 1. Self-nominations are accepted.

For more information on the awards, including recent recipients, or to fill out a nomination form, click here.

Some local high school students will be reciting poetry next week at a regional competition in St. Joseph.

The Poetry Out Loud competition was developed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Allied Arts Council Operations Manager Cathy Ketter said the council has hosted the competition for 12 years.

“We’ve seen some students… it’s amazing what it does for their poise and their self-confidence to get up there and actually memorize and recite poems,” Ketter said. “We’ve had some competitors who have competed more than one year in a row and it’s been interesting and rewarding to see their progress from year to year as they learn from competition and learn also from observing other students who they are competing against.”

The competition will feature the winners of school competitions from Lafayette High School, Lathrop R-II, St. Joseph Christian School and from area homeschools. The students will be reciting three poems each.

The regional Poetry Out Loud competition takes place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27th, at the Troester Media Center. The event is open to the public.

Winners of the regional competition advance to the Missouri State Championship on March 8th in Jefferson City.

Winners at the state level will advance to the national finals in May in Washington, DC, where the national champion will receive a $20,000 college scholarship.

For more information, visit poetryoutloud.org.