Alonzo Weston
Monday, Dec. 1, 2008
Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008
Are twins double the pleasure or double trouble in the classroom?
Friday, Nov. 21, 2008
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008
Speaker challenges students to stay drug, alcohol free
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008
Parents struggle to help as homework evolves
Monday, Nov. 17, 2008
‘We’re attached to each other’
Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008
Making the most of poverty
Monday, Nov. 10, 2008
They thought, never in their lifetime
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008
Monday, Nov. 3, 2008
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
Second period, from his bed
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Reading, writing, arithmetic ... and work, work, work
Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008
Hey, teacher! What’s that on your ankle?
Friday, Oct. 24, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008
Mr. Dyer goes to Washington
Monday, Oct. 20, 2008
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008
The golden year of 1973
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008
It's not another Depression ... yet
Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
Scouting indeed can save lives
Monday, Oct. 6, 2008
Proud heritage, dwindling numbers
Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008
Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008
New Family Guidance facility will open Monday
Friday, Sept. 26, 2008
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008
Program teaches residents how to manage money
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008
Offering hope to kids
Monday, Sept. 22, 2008
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
Friday, Sept. 19, 2008
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008
Monday, Dec. 1, 2008
St. Joseph School District officials see many children who don’t have a place to call home. And the number of homeless youths is growing.
“I haven’t compared the numbers of this particular time to last year at this time, but if our numbers continue at this rate, we will surpass the numbers we had last year,” said Deb Cook, Title I/homeless coordinator for the school district.
Mrs. Cook said the district served 529 homeless children by the end of last year. That number could reach more than 700, she said.
Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008
The stock market goes up and down more than a roller coaster. Foreclosures paint a checkerboard of homeownership on the American landscape. Banks need bailouts and people need jobs. Even as the economy slouches toward recession, the St. Joseph School District will depend on the generosity of the community come April.
That’s when the district will ask voters to extend a 63-cent operating tax levy and approve roughly $40 million in general obligation bonds to pay for new school construction.
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008
I can’t remember the first time I said thanks. It could have been on a birthday, a Christmas or after someone had given me a piece of candy. All I know is I didn’t learn how to express gratitude on my own.
Center offers new options for treating addictionsSaturday, Nov. 22, 2008
Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare unveiled a new program at its addiction treatment services facility Friday morning. Called the Secure Medically-Monitored In-Patient Detoxification Program, it provides staff who are authorized to administer medication for addiction withdrawal. Myrna Trickey, Family Guidance Center vice president, said the medical detox program will not replace the other types of treatments offered at the facility. But a medial director staff of nurses and attendants will now be able to operate the in-house treatment facility seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Are twins double the pleasure or double trouble in the classroom?
Friday, Nov. 21, 2008
Patsy Rodriguez remembers how close her 9-year-old twins Mateo and Marco were as babies. They were practically inseparable.
“They used to hold hands a lot even as toddlers,” she said. “They’d fall asleep side by side with one laying his head on the other.”
They were so close that Ms. Rodriguez worried about them being separated when they started school. But she remembers a teacher telling her that the boys would be fine. The separation would be good for them, the teacher said.
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008
Lindbergh Elementary School third- and fourth-grade students are getting a hands-on lesson in helping the needy. Starting Monday, Jenni Miscavish’s third-graders and Kim Seckinger’s fourth-graders will begin a two-week canned food drive at the school.
Speaker challenges students to stay drug, alcohol free
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008
Steve Fitzhugh stood in the middle of the Bode Middle School gymnasium Tuesday morning barking drills like a football coach. “Do you agree or disagree that’s it’s OK to drink?” He asked a group of students fidgeting at center court. Those who agreed were asked to move to one side. Those who disagreed were asked to move to the other side of the court.
Frugality in tough timesWednesday, Nov. 19, 2008
One good thing about growing up poor is the experience comes in handy during tough times. That way, not having a job, a car or enough money isn’t so much a shock to the system.
Parents struggle to help as homework evolves
Monday, Nov. 17, 2008
Kylee Strough and her husband, Brett, can help their son Conner with his homework now. But the St. Joseph couple know that time is short. A day is coming when their only son will have to study on his own. “We’re able to keep up and help him at this point,” Mrs. Strough said of her fourth-grader. “I think they’re learning things earlier than we did when I was in grade school. I don’t remember some of the things he’s doing now at this age.” Kelsey Guthery doesn’t even think to ask her mother for help with her homework. The 17-year-old Lafayette High School junior goes straight to her older brothers for help.
‘We’re attached to each other’
Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
John Ostertag didn’t know what to think. He and Enid Harris had been writing letters back and forth to each other for months. And he had saved up $100 so he could buy a Model T Ford and drive down to Kansas City from his home in Atchison, Kan., to see her for the first time.
Grant targets at-risk studentsFriday, Nov. 14, 2008
Mike Chambers remembers a time when children followed in their parents’ footsteps to a line of work. Millers’ sons became millers. Steelworkers’ sons became steelworkers.
But as factories left, opportunities did, too. And as a result, the unemployment rate rose.
“A task force was created to look at unemployment in St. Joe, and they came up with several reasons,” said Mr. Chambers, regional director of external affairs for AT&T Missouri. “One of them being that a lot of our students in St. Joseph didn’t finish high school.”
The St. Joseph high school dropout rate was 26 percent in 1989 when the local United Way created its Profit in Education (PIE) program. PIE brought together business, government and school leaders to work on initiatives to decrease the dropout rate. Since PIE was created, the dropout rate has steadily declined. But it’s a problem that still exists.
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
In the not too distant future, children will become adults who will compete in the global market.
To be successful, they will have to connect with other societies around the world, both economically and socially.
And that is one reason why Central High School during the last few years has been working on approval for a program to give kids that edge.
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
he past year we’ve been deluged with music from the Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff Philadelphia International Records musical vault. Now we have the Total Soul Series from Philly Soul’s golden age in the 1970s.
Car lot owner donates vehicle to family in needWednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
The image of a man pushing two girls to school in a wheelchair is an unforgettable one. Soon, it will only exist in memory.
A day when race won’t matterWednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
After my son was born I wrote a poem for him to read as he grew up. It’s stashed away in a drawer somewhere now with all my earlier writings. I could find it if I looked around for a day or two, but I remember some of it.
Schools using tech behind the scenesTuesday, Nov. 11, 2008
There were plenty of apprehensive looks at first. But school board members quickly grew comfortable with their laptops as they held their first paperless board meeting Monday evening.
Making the most of poverty
Monday, Nov. 10, 2008
Some mental image of tragic poverty is probably what first comes to mind of passersby who see them. A man pushing a wheelchair with two girls, covered up in a blanket, to school. A flood of questions about their life no doubt follows.
Are the girls paralyzed? Are they invalid? Are they impoverished?
“We don’t have a car,” said Andrew Huntley, the man pushing the wheelchair. People stop and ask him questions all the time, he said. Some offer rides; some are just curious.
They thought, never in their lifetime
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008
Vivian Madison has seen times when she couldn’t sit at a lunch counter but could sit in a segregated theater balcony. She’s seen dogs sicced on people and fire hoses turned on them just because they were black and wanted to vote. “It didn’t happen to me, but it sure happened to my people,” she said. But Mrs. Madison has seen times change too. She’s seen schools integrate and times change enough where she was able to work as a clerk in the finance department at City Hall.
Education faces shortage of male, minority instructorsMonday, Nov. 3, 2008
Doug Flowers wanted to get into the financial field when he first went to college. Somewhere along the way that changed. He knew he could make more money in accounting, but his passion began growing elsewhere. He went into education.
“I went into physical education and health. Part of that was being able to share with students on a daily basis the importance of being physically fit and healthy,” Mr. Flowers said.
Mr. Flowers became a physical education teacher in 1991, but eventually became the director of human resources for the St. Joseph School District.
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
When Don Lentz was a school principal, he didn’t believe in swatting kids on the hands for misbehavior. He preferred the backside.
“If I slap a kid’s hand and send him back to class, that hand’s going to hurt and he can’t write,” Mr. Lentz said. “I used a paddle because I figured they could at least stand and listen and write.”
As a high school teacher for 20 years and middle school principal for 13 years, Mr. Lentz said he’s only paddled two students. That was only as a last resort. And it worked.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
I first heard Milton Nascimento on his 1995 Warner Brothers debut album “Angelus.” It was here I found one of the gifted singers of our time. And now more than 10 years later, one who is still not widely recognized.
That to me is simply amazing since Nascimento has one of those rare voices that seems to transcend genre or any earthly comparison.
Second period, from his bed
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Jes Starke gets to stay in bed on school days. He watches movies, plays video games and gets to eat pizza and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
But being confined to bed since early September can make a young boy want to paint the walls.
“He was looking at the wallpaper there and he said, ‘Do you think Dad would care if I took these stripes and painted them green and blue? I’m tired of this red,’” said grandmother Sandy Holland.
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Four years ago I was getting letters and e-mails like these for writing about the Michael Moore movie “Fahrenheit 9/11” and the hypocrisies of the Bush administration
Reading, writing, arithmetic ... and work, work, work
Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008
Shane Fleck probably knew he’d start working young. After all, it’s in his blood.
“My dad and whole family always started out working at a young age trying to provide for themselves,” said the 18-year-old Central High School senior.
Mr. Fleck also owns his own lawn care business. He works about 30 hours a week and attends classes full time.
Hey, teacher! What’s that on your ankle?
Friday, Oct. 24, 2008
No one knows Tammy Flowers has a tattoo until she takes off her shoes. It’s nothing distracting, just a small flower on her right big toe.
Teachers wearing tattoos are not unusual in the St. Joseph School District, said Mrs. Flowers, an instructional coach for the district.
“If we took a survey of our teachers, you’d be surprised to see how many of our teachers have tattoos,” she said.
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008
Sporting events can sometimes turn into Seinfeldian moments for me. Like the characters in the award-winning “Seinfeld,” weird things often happen to me in the most mundane of circumstances. Some are of my own doing. Some are not.
District educates about bullyingWednesday, Oct. 22, 2008
The late, great NBA superstar Wilt Chamberlain once said that “Nobody roots for Goliath.” What he meant was that bullies get no sympathy. But they still want to be loved and respected like anyone else.
Mr. Dyer goes to Washington
Monday, Oct. 20, 2008
Webster Dyer fielded questions like a pro as he stood in front of his gifted Rainbow student classmates Friday morning. The bright 12-year-old Edison Elementary School student was sharing his experiences from a trip he took to Washington, D.C., the week before with a slide show. “Was the Lincoln Memorial smooth or bumpy?” asked one classmate. “Ummm, define smooth or bumpy,” asked the well-spoken sixth-grader.
Students shine a light on 'Lost Boys'Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Valentino Achak Deng was a refugee from the Sudanese civil war. His fictionalized memoir, “What Is What,” tells his story as well as that of other “Lost Boys” who were sent to brutal refugee camps before making it to America. But America itself poses a whole new set of problems for these young men.
“What Is What” was the summer reading assignment of the students in the Talented and Gifted Language Arts/Humanities class at Central High School.
After reading the book, the 22 gifted students in Brandon Haskey’s class were inspired to create a walk-through exhibit on the experiences of the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” The students gathered exclusive interviews and photos of the St. Joseph Sudanese population and other unique items for the exhibit.
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008
McCoy Tyner’s new CD “Guitars” might just be the jazz album of the year. It’s that good. And it’s entertaining on various levels.
The golden year of 1973
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008
There’s a new TV series on now called “Life on Mars,” where a present-day New York detective gets hit by a car and is transported to 1973. It’s a pretty neat premise for a show for people like me, who were walking around at that time. Middle-aged folks who get great glee out of hearing the music, seeing the cars and clothing from our youth being replayed again like a dusty old LP.
Smith says students closing the gapTuesday, Oct. 14, 2008
The St. Joseph school board discussed student testing and expressed general satisfaction with student achievement over the past year during its regular monthly meeting Monday evening.
District defends reserve levelsTuesday, Oct. 14, 2008
The St. Joseph School District has a little more money in the bank than other districts across the state, according to a preliminary audit last week.
It's not another Depression ... yet
Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008
Dolores Reeder doesn’t think times are as bad now as they were in the 1930s. Not yet anyway. And if things do get worse, it won’t be in the same way, she said. “Back then we didn’t even have a telephone, and they carry telephones with them now,” Ms. Reeder said. The 79-year-old St. Joseph woman was born a few months after the Depression started in 1929. She doesn’t remember much about it. But she does remember during that time when her father couldn’t even afford the $10 it took to get her younger brother’s body from the hospital after he had died.
Follow the signsWednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
Haven’t cleaned out the old Bopp File in a while. To the uninitiated, the Bopp File is a computer file where I store all my unfinished columns, strange ideas and weird thoughts. Here’s what I’m tossing out:
Proposition would create home care councilWednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
Bob Pund has trouble getting out of bed. The Columbia, Mo., man is paralyzed from the shoulders down. A home health care provider makes getting out of bed and everything else in his life a little easier. That’s if he can keep one.
Scouting indeed can save lives
Monday, Oct. 6, 2008
It was the day after Thanksgiving last year. The Miller house was full of people and everyone was still full of Thanksgiving dinner.
Jeannie Miller and her two sons, Aaron and John, had just settled down to watch movies for the evening. Grandma, an aunt and her kids were getting ready for bed.
Then somebody smelled smoke.
Proud heritage, dwindling numbers
Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008
Ben Rich pulled an old and faded yellow piece of paper from behind the counter and ran a wrinkled finger down the list of names of the St. Joseph B’nai B’rith-Joseph Chapter No. 276.
Prominent and familiar St. Joseph Jewish names. More than 100.
Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
“Greetings from Paradise!” read the beginning of a recent letter addressed to Bill and Elaine Guenther and handwritten on yellow lined tablet paper. It came from their friend Gordon Wiser, mayor of St. Joseph for one term from 1978 to 1982.
A doll's life is just too realWednesday, Oct. 1, 2008
Went shopping with my wife Saturday for our granddaughter Asia’s birthday presents. I didn’t go along for the shopping for birthday clothes part. I learned long ago that when women go shopping for clothes, it can be an all-day excursion.
Santana: Multi-Dimensional WarriorTuesday, Sept. 30, 2008
When many people think of the music of Carlos Santana and his band Santana, they usually think of Latin-tinged pop hits like 1969’s “Evil Ways,” and 1970s “Black Magic Woman.”
NAACP branch looks to restartSaturday, Sept. 27, 2008
Danell Hawkins believes that if there were still an NAACP branch in town, he’d still have his trucking business. The St. Joseph man believes racism forced him out.
New Family Guidance facility will open Monday
Friday, Sept. 26, 2008
Movers and workers put the finishing pieces in place Thursday morning on the new Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare building. The shiny, beige 35,000-square-foot structure at 724 N. 22nd St. opens for business at its new facility Monday morning.
Love Train: The Sound of PhiladelphiaWednesday, Sept. 24, 2008
I don’t understand this recent fascination with the Philly Soul sound. Sure it’s good music. Who doesn’t get a good old school party vibe listening to the O’Jay’s “Backstabbers” or The Spinners “I’ll Be Around?”
Obama forces a stark debateWednesday, Sept. 24, 2008
A friend told me a man made racist jokes about Barack Obama at a voting site during the last local election. It was before Obama had picked a running mate. The man said Obama should pick Rambo as his vice president.
Program teaches residents how to manage money
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008
Valerie Porlier-Smith is good with people, art and poetry. It’s the left-brain stuff she struggles with — like budgeting, prioritizing and money management. “Once money is in my hands, it kind of acts like water through my hands,” she said.
Offering hope to kids
Monday, Sept. 22, 2008
Cooper Blakely used to speak of butterflies, daddy and ABCs. The 3-year-old, blond-haired ball of smiling preschool energy hasn’t spoken any of his favorite words since autism took them away.
Woman hopes trained dogs can assist farmers with disabilitiesSunday, Sept. 21, 2008
One day Kristy will open doors, carry pails, close gates and do other farm chores for some disabled northwest farmer. Today the black Labrador shepherd mix opens the door on a new AgrAbility program called the Pets Helping Agriculture in Rural Missouri (PHARM) Dog Project.
Homeless count shows fluctuating numbersFriday, Sept. 19, 2008
Robert E. Bishop has had bad luck with women so far.
Breaking up with a live-in girlfriend put him out on the street seven years ago. Hurricane Rita put him out of Beaumont, Texas, in 2005. Today, he’s 56 years old and homeless, living at the Juda House and hoping to get both back to Beaumont and his girlfriend back.
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008
If a space alien wanted to know what jazz sounded like you’d play him “Kind of Blue.” This 1959 modal jazz masterpiece is widely esteemed as the definitive jazz album. It should be the first piece of music to start any serious jazz collection.
