Category: Local News
Help-Me-Hotline offers help for workers impacted by shutdown
By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post
Many federal workers faced their first pay day without a paycheck last week.
AFL-CIO Community Services Agency Executive Director Penny Adams said the Help-Me-Hotline is a resource available to anyone impacted by the federal government shutdown.
“For a lot of these workers, they have not ever had to reach out for any kind of assistance. Hopefully, many of them have some sort of savings they can fall back on, but the majority of the people live paycheck to paycheck and that’s not an option for them,” Adams said. “When they are in these situations, they don’t really know where to begin, so what we want to let them know is the first place we recommend they call is the Help-Me-Hotline. It’s committed to connecting people needing assistance to the resources that are out there in our community.”
Adams said furloughed federal employees in need of social services and anyone with questions about availability of public benefits can call the Help-Me-Hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to get help.
“They can call about absolutely anything,” Adams said. “We have a database that we can enter in what their needs are – say if they’re calling about food – we can enter in ‘food pantries’ and bring up all the food pantries and then we will help them narrow it down to a food pantry that works for them… because everybody’s situation is different.”
Callers also can receive information on mental health counseling, transportation, job training, substance use recovery services, child care and volunteer opportunities. Additional information about unemployment benefits for furloughed employees is available from OPM.gov.
Adams said while they are focused on helping those in the northwest Missouri area, they also have access to resources all over Missouri and in Kansas. The Help-Me-Hotline is a free and confidential service.
For more information visit www.helpmenow.org or call (816) 364-1131 or (800) 365-7724.
Areas of dense fog this morning with temps near 37
Our next chance for precipitation is Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Snow and a wintry mix is possible along and north of I-70, with rain to the south. Light accumulations are expected right now, but this could still cause some issues for the commute Thursday morning. It is still too early for details, but the chances for a winter storm and accumulating snowfall continue for Friday night into Saturday. Dangerously cold temperatures are then expected behind this system. Temperatures below zero degrees are possible for lows, with wind chills as low as -25F. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Areas of dense fog before 11 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 37. South southwest wind 7 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 24. Southwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming north after midnight.
Wednesday: Patchy fog between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 31. North northeast wind around 7 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A chance of snow showers, freezing rain, and sleet before midnight, then snow showers likely, possibly mixed with sleet between midnight and 5 a.m., then snow showers likely after 5 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 29. East wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Thursday: A slight chance of snow showers and freezing rain before 10 a.m., then a slight chance of freezing rain between 10 a.m. and noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.
Friday: A chance of snow after noon, mixing with freezing rain after 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Friday Night: Snow and freezing rain, becoming all snow after 7 p.m. Low around 17. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Saturday: A chance of snow showers before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -6.
Sunday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 7.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -2.
M.L.King Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 27.
Tuesday school closings and delays
Board of Education candidate filing deadline is Tuesday
The St. Joseph School District Board of Education candidate filing deadline is this week.
There are two positions available with three-year terms.
Anyone interested may file at the superintendent’s offices located at 925 Felix Street. The last day for candidate filing is Tuesday, January 15, at 5 p.m.
Board of Education elections take place April 2, 2019.
For a list of qualifications, click here.
Temps in the 30s and low 40s this week
Seasonable temperatures are expected with highs mainly in the 30s. A chance of snow is possible late Friday into Saturday. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 33. South southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.
Tonight: Patchy fog after 8 p.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Southwest wind 3 to 5 mph.
Tuesday: Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 40. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming north after midnight.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34. East northeast wind around 6 mph.
Wednesday Night: A chance of snow after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 36.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.
Friday: Snow likely after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: Snow. Low around 17. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Saturday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -1.
Sunday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 15.
Missouri woman hospitalized after van slides, hits tree
ATCHISON COUNTY, MO. —A Missouri woman was injured in an accident just after 6a.m. Saturday in Atchison County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country driven by Tina M. Stiff, 46, Maryville, was westbound Mo. 46 one mile south of Fairfax. The vehicle failed to stop the intersection with U.S. 59. The van slid through the intersection, traveled off the west side of the road an struck a tree.
A private vehicle transported Stiff to Fairfax Community Hospital. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.
United Way seeking volunteers for allocations process
United Way of Greater St. Joseph is looking for community volunteers for its annual allocations process.
Through the United Way Allocations Process, United Way Partner Agencies are evaluated and allocation funding recommendations are made by groups of volunteers. Volunteers examine agency operations, programs, and finances, and recommend how much money should be allocated to each agency the following year. Recommendations are then presented to the United Way Community Investment Council and United Way Board of Directors for review and final approval.
Volunteers are placed on subcommittees, and each subcommittee reviews two to three United Way Partner Agencies. The volunteers dedicate 10-15 hours of their time over a two month period from March to May reviewing the agencies, listening to presentations, and determining allocation recommendations.
Mary Gaston is a volunteer that has returned to be a part of the allocations process year after year.
“I’ve enjoyed learning about the good work that’s going on in this community,” Gaston said. “It is amazing to me how much work is going on among the different partner agencies. You don’t get that sense as an outsider, but once you’re on the allocations committees you start seeing all the stuff that’s going on, it’s overwhelming actually. There is a lot of good work going on right here.”
Those interested in volunteering in 2019 can contact Jodi Bloemker at United Way at 364-2381 or [email protected].
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Missouri River water levels remain elevated
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The amount of water being released into the lower Missouri River will remain elevated at the start of the year, but should return to normal levels throughout 2019.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the amount of water being released from Gavins Point Dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border was recently increased to help clear out excess water collected last year.
Those higher winter releases will help generate more power and clear out space for this spring’s rain and melting snow.
The 49.9 million acre feet of water that flowed into the Missouri River’s reservoirs last year was the third-highest level on record. This year, officials expect the amount of water to be close to the average amount of 25.3 million acre feet.
MSHP seeks commercial vehicle officer applicants
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is seeking qualified applicants for the position of commercial vehicle officer.
According to a press release, the Patrol is encouraging qualified individuals of all backgrounds to apply and will offer testing/interviews at General Headquarters in Jefferson City. Those who successfully complete the evaluation will be eligible to continue in the selection process for the 8th Commercial Vehicle Officer Class, scheduled to begin training on June 3, 2019. The application deadline is February 8, 2019.
To be eligible candidates must possess a minimum of a high school diploma, and a Missouri Class A POST license at the time recruit training begins.
The starting salary for a commercial vehicle officer is $3,135 per month. Other benefits include group health insurance, contributory retirement, career advancement, and more.
The selection process is a multi-phase testing procedure including: written examination, a physical agility test, oral interview board, polygraph examination, and background investigation. After a conditional offer of employment, the applicant must successfully complete a medical examination (to include vision and hearing), psychological examination, a psychological interview, drug screening, and final applicant review.
Interested persons can find out more about the qualifications by contacting a Patrol recruiter at telephone number 1-800-796-7000, may apply online at www.mshpcvo.com, or may contact the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division at 573-526-6128.
The number of successful candidates being extended an offer of employment is contingent upon factors such as budget constraints and the number of vacant positions statewide.