According to a press release, two of the music performances previously announced have been canceled: the Music Technology Ensemble Concert on Nov. 7 and the Faculty Recital by Sascha Groschang on Nov. 8.

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Department of Music at Missouri Western State University has several performances scheduled in this week. All concerts are free and open to the public.

·        Music Technology Ensemble Concert, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, Kemper Recital Hall inside Spratt Hall.

·         Faculty Recital: Sascha Groschang, cello, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, Potter Hall Theater. Groschang is an active recitalist and chamber musician, having performed across the United States and Asia. She has appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall numerous times, and gave her solo debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2009. She has shared the stage with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Sarah Mclachlan and has extensive recording experience, including sessions for NBC, Atlantic and Rhino Records. She is an adjunct faculty member at Missouri Western.

·         Music Department Recital, noon Friday, Nov. 10, Potter Hall Theater. Instrumental and vocal music majors will perform various musical works at the monthly department-wide recital.

·         Faculty Recital: Dr. Paul Hindemith, baritone, and Dr. Nathanael May, piano, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, Potter Hall Theater. Dr. Hindemith’s professional career has taken him from coast to coast and overseas performing opera, oratorio, operetta, musical theatre, and art song. Hailed as “touching and expressive” by the Washington Times and as “vocally and theatrically sturdy” by the Baltimore Sun, the baritone has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra; the San Diego, Utah Festival, Ohio Light, Skylark, and Fargo-Moorhead Operas; and theatre companies like Theatre Latté Da in Minneapolis and the Robidoux Resident Theatre in Saint Joseph. He is director of vocal studies at Missouri Western. As a festival producer, concert organizer, recording artist, consultant, educator, and pianist, Dr. May seeks to engage audiences with music of the modern era. Noted for ‘quicksilver grace’ (Fanfare) and ‘highly developed, extremely differentiated touch and sound’ (Fuldaer Zeitung), he has performed on three continents and was named the 2012 Winner of the American Prize in recorded solo piano performance. He is associate professor of music at Missouri Western.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s time for a change in America — a time change. Let’s sleep an extra hour to that.

At 2 a.m. local time Sunday, daylight saving time is ending, and it’s back to standard time for most people in the United States.

The shift means it’s lighter earlier in the morning and darker earlier in the evening. And you’ll get 60 minutes more of shut-eye between Saturday night and Sunday wake-up.

Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and most of Arizona don’t observe daylight saving time, so there’s no need to change the clocks in those places.

Daylight saving time will return at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 11.

An upcoming event in St. Joseph will seek to address what to do locally to combat the opioid crisis. 

St. Joseph is one of nine cities in Missouri selected to host regional summits to address the opioid crisis. 

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams will be speaking, along with others from law enforcement, the Missouri Department of Mental Health and a local resident who has dealt with addiction.

Health Educator for the City of St. Joseph Health Department Nancy Taylor said the first half of the summit will consist of speakers and the last part will include a local impact and strategy session.

“We will look at how do we address our issue locally with these different panelists and then through group discussion,” Taylor said. “Then just getting feedback from people on what we can do locally, whether it’s Buchanan County, Andrew County, or any of the counties in northwest Missouri, how do we handle the opioid crisis.”

The Missouri Opioid Summit takes place from 7:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, November 14th, at Missouri Western State University’s Fulkerson Center. Taylor said registration is almost full.

For more information, click here.

The Buchanan County Clerk’s office will be open Saturday for absentee voting.

Anyone that will be out of town on November 7th, can vote in-person from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Clerk’s office in St. Joseph located at 411 Jules Street, Room 121 in the County Courthouse. 

In-person absentee voting ends Monday at 5 p.m.

For more information, click here or contact the Buchanan County Clerk’s office at (816) 271-1412.

FAUCETT, Mo. – If all goes well, the first motorists could be driving across the new bridge on Route DD Bridge over Interstate 29 at Faucett as early as next Friday, Nov. 10.

Contractors from Emery Sapp and Sons of Columbia, working with the Missouri Department of Transportation, have been working since late August to replace the old bridge, built in 1958.

Before the new bridge can be opened, each ramp at Exit 35 (Faucett exit) will need to be closed for paving. The contractor has tentatively scheduled ramp paving for Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. The current plan would close one ramp at a time for paving. The southbound off ramp would be closed first at approximately 7:30 a.m., followed in order by the southbound on ramp, northbound off ramp and finally the northbound on ramp.

As with all planned work, schedules are subject to change. MoDOT encourages all motorists to slow down, buckle up, eliminate distractions and drive safely to ensure everyone is able to Arrive Alive.

For more information about this and other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest and view the online Traveler Information Map.

A complaint filed earlier this week with the Missouri Secretary of State and Missouri Ethics Commission against the St. Joseph School District regarding election laws is now heading to the state Attorney General.

As previously reported, Chris Green, a small business owner and former educator filed the complaint alleging that the School District is “wasting taxpayer dollars to advocate for passage of a significant tax increase on the November 7, 2017 ballot.”

On Thursday, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he was handing the matter over to Attorney General Josh Hawley. In the press release, Ashcroft said, “We are thankful this matter has been brought to our attention. Government should strive for full transparency and accountability, and taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely no matter the level of government. Missouri’s election officials are working every day to ensure free and fair elections. For that reason, it is imperative that this issue is examined prior to election day on November 7. It is the responsibility of those elected – from the highest levels of public office down to the local school board – not to violate the public trust.” 

The St. Joseph School District issued the following response:

The St. Joseph School District has received a copy of Secretary of State Ashcroft’s press release suggesting that the District improperly used public funds to promote Proposition 1. In his press release, Secretary Ashcroft also stated his support for transparency and accountability and the wise spending of tax dollars so as not to violate the public trust. Ironically, the District’s communications were designed to promote exactly what Secretary Ashcroft says he supports—transparency in how the District intends to spend tax dollars.

The District vigorously denies violating any laws. Missouri law clearly allows the District to advise the public as to the impact of a ballot measure, and explain how tax dollars will be spent. This is the very definition of transparency.

Unfortunately, Secretary Ashcroft has not himself followed Missouri law, according to the school district’s legal counsel. Missouri statutes are clear about the process Secretary Ashcroft must follow, but he has failed to do so. He is authorized to refer a complaint to the local prosecuting attorney, not the Attorney General, and then only after he has conducted an investigation and issued a statement of probable cause. He has done neither, but instead has asked the Attorney General to investigate. Missouri law does not allow Attorney General Hawley to be involved in this complaint.

No one from the Secretary of State’s office has even discussed the complaint with any District official. Aside from its concerns over Secretary Ashcroft’s failure to follow the law, the District is further troubled by the fact that the leading opponent of Proposition 1, Herzog Contracting Corp., contributed $125,000 last year to Secretary Ashcroft’s campaign. This leads the District to believe that this is really a last-minute, coordinated effort by those opposing Proposition 1 to smear the school district, and ultimately harm the children of St. Joseph. Proposition 1 is a non-partisan issue.

We are confident that neither the Secretary of State nor the Attorney General wants to become involved in last minute election shenanigans such as this. We urge both to follow the process established by the Missouri Legislature. The school children of St. Joseph do not deserve to be pawns in Jefferson City political games.

The tax levy is still slated to be on the ballot in the Nov. 7th election. If the proposition is approved by voters it would generate $11.5 million each year.