By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt says the Air National Guard 139^th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Airport remains a vital part of the national defense.

Congress last year approved a defense budget which contains money to modernize the Air Guard’s C-130s as well as improve the Advanced Airlift Tactical Training Unit at Rosecrans.

Blunt says the Pentagon has yet to get back to him about when the 8^th C-130 aircraft will return to the 139^th Airlift Wing. Blunt is pressing military officials to return the Air Guard in St. Joseph to its full strength.

“We are going to be working hard to be sure that we get that 8^th plane back here as we’re working to move forward with the training facility that’s being built so that the on the ground simulator also maximizes its purpose,” Blunt tells reporters during a visit to St. Joseph. “This is an important part of our national priority for defense.”

The defense bill passed by Congress last year provided money to modernize the Air Guard’s C-130 aircraft as well as make improvements to the Advanced Airlift Tactical Training unit at Rosecrans.

Potential flooding hasn’t seemed to undermine the faith the Pentagon has in basing the 139^th at Rosecrans Airport.

Blunt says changes made in wake of previous floods seemed to work when floodwaters threatened this year.

“Moving that water on through so that the water doesn’t come into the area in St. Joe that used to be flooded or doesn’t go across the river to Elwood, Kansas or Rosecrans, either one. I think we have enough information from what we’ve seen this year that the work that’s about to be completed on the east side of the river and the work that is now bid and about to be fully engaged on the other side of the river appear that that plan is going to do exactly what we want it to do,” according to Blunt

Blunt says the Pentagon demonstrated its faith in Rosecrans by investing $40 million in the military operations at the Air Guard base. Floodwaters this year threatened to top the levee protecting Elwood, Kansas, but sand-bagging efforts proved successful.

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

St. Jo Frontier Casino is set to re-open, after flooding closed the casino along the Missouri River for the past 31 days.

Frontier Casino Vice President Mike Tamburelli says the casino will open at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, after going through quite an ordeal.

“You know it has; the river, the water,” Tamburelli tells St. Joseph Post. “We were following it every day, took a while for the river to go down, to get access to the property. So, we had a restoration team come in and they started cleaning up our land-based facility, which was heavily damaged.”

The land-based portion of the casino remains under repair. It houses the bar, buffet, and ballroom. It might take another two months for repairs to be completed to that portion of St. Jo Frontier Casino.

Tamburelli says he knows the public has been waiting for the re-opening.

“I’ve been going out to eat locally and they’re asking me, when are you going to open, when are you going to open?” Tamburelli says.  “Yesterday, I was at a restaurant in town and four ladies came up (to me) and asked, ‘When you opening?’”

The casino, slots and tables, opens for regular business tomorrow morning at eight. Food and drink will be available through the bar and grill in the casino portion of the complex.

A campaign this weekend is focusing on the dangers of drug-impaired driving.

Law enforcement around the state, along with the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, is focusing on drug-impaired driving April 19-20.

Jon Nelson is with the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety and Traffic Division and is Assistant to the State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer.

Nelson said this is the second year they are putting on the campaign centered around the 4/20 timeline.

“This 4/20 date is significant in the marijuana community, specifically, but, like alcohol and other drugs, marijuana can significantly impair and inhibit a person’s ability to drive and operate a motor vehicle safely. Anytime we see drivers that are under the influence of a substance, it not only puts that driver at risk and the people in their vehicle, but also all of the others on the road,” Nelson said. “We want to make sure that… people understand that even though legalization of marijuana is becoming more widespread, it’s never acceptable to drive under the influence of marijuana or any other drug.”  

Nelson said law enforcement has seen an overall increase in the prevalence of drugs in drivers in some impaired crashes. 

According to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, preliminary data from 2018 indicate, 78 people were killed and 142 more were seriously injured in Missouri traffic crashes that involved at least one drug-impaired driver.

St. Joseph Police Department Sgt. Larry Stobbs said there are misconceptions surrounding Missouri passing the medical marijuana laws.

“The reality is, if you smoke marijuana and then drive a car, you are just as impaired as you would be if you were driving under the influence of alcohol,” Stobbs said. “The impairment may be a little different between the two, but… if you’re under the influence, it doesn’t matter whether you’re impaired by marijuana or some other type of drug or if you’re impaired by alcohol, you’re still subject to the same laws.”

Stobbs said the real life consequences of being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can include losing your license, paying court and attorney costs, increased car insurance rates and increased charges if you injure or kill someone in a crash.

“It’s almost been 20 years ago, we had one of our police dispatch supervisors that was killed on her way to work by an impaired driver. The last I knew, that individual that struck and killed her is still sitting in prison because he was convicted of second degree murder. I’m sure that if you’d go back to that gentleman and go, ‘Would you have rather paid $10 for a cab ride someplace or would you rather spend 20 years in prison?’ We all know what the answer to that would be,” Stobbs said. “I know back 20 years ago when I spoke to him, he didn’t have any intentions of hurting anybody, he never thought he was going to be in an accident. That’s the thing that people need to stop and realize, is that when you’re impaired, you’re not at your 100% best.”

To learn more about the drug-impaired driving enforcement campaign, go to savemolives.com.