JEFFERSON CITY — An Atchison County associate judge — one of three nominees to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court — will meet with Gov. Matt Blunt this afternoon.

GRANT CITY, Mo. — Worth County officials are moving ahead with plans to reroof their historic courthouse. A contract for a slate roof over the 1898 courthouse — the county’s third such structure — is near approval, said Presiding Commissioner Bill Mozingo.

The city of Trenton will host its 24th annual Missouri Day Festival the weekend of Oct. 18 and 19.

Patsy Simerly and her family will have to wait a bit longer to find out what treasures can be discovered inside the Remington Nature Center of St. Joseph.

The Buchanan County Drug Strike Force’s leader is already expressing concerns on the potential impact of lost funding in the year ahead.
Capt. Mike Donaldson issued a press release to local media Friday afternoon stating that the U.S. Senate’s defeat of a law enforcement funding program could harm the Strike Force’s mission. Money from the Byrne/JAG (Justice Assistance Grant) program, Mr. Donaldson said, is the leading revenue source for local drug task forces and violent gang enforcement efforts.

Genny Norton touched computer screens, heard sirens wail and otherwise handled frantic 911 calls with ease Thursday afternoon.
Ms. Norton, who is a communications center shift supervisor, is among the first St. Joseph Police Department personnel to operate new all-digital computer technology that aims to better locate the origin of 911 calls.
The switch officially occurred Wednesday morning, following the installation of hardware and software from Plant CML, a California firm that specializes in computer-aided dispatch systems.

A recent dip in gas prices is having a calming effect on people at the pumps, despite other worries over the economy.
For St. Joseph, AAA reported an average price of a gallon of unleaded fuel at $3.26, a decrease of 29 cents for the past month. At some stations, gas was selling for less than $3.20 a gallon.
That news was welcomed by customers Richard Wells and Carolyn Druba, who spent their money and part of their Wednesday afternoon filling up on the Belt Highway.

OREGON, Mo. — A former Forest City, Mo., clerk was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty the month before to stealing from city hall.

CAMERON, Mo. — Activist Erin Brockovich will speak later this month to residents worried about a cluster of brain tumors that has appeared in their area.

Northwest Missouri’s poorest bridges will be improved in the future, but the process of deciding what comes first remains to be done.