Nancy Hull
Education Reporter

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Call Nancy at 816-271-8566.

School tax — A lot can change in 5 years
by Nancy Hull
Monday, Sept. 1, 2008

Former St. Joseph School District Superintendent Dan Colgan is a glass-half-full type of guy. No doubt about it.
“I’m an optimist,” Dr. Colgan said.
Perhaps he was a bit too optimistic this time.

6 file lawsuits over tumors
by Nancy Hull
Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008

One of six Cameron, Mo., residents suing companies linked to a former insulation plant hopes the lawsuits bring answers about her husband’s two brain tumors.
“We want to find a link between all these brain tumors. We hope the lawsuit will put the pressure on them so that we can find that link,” said Carol Helms, whose husband, Steve, has been diagnosed with at least one malignant brain tumor.
By “them,” she was referring to the former Cameron plant, Rockwool Industries, and the state agencies that have been investigating whether there’s an above normal number of brain tumors in the Cameron area and whether environmental factors tied to the plant have played a role in the tumors.

St. Joseph School District increases its tax rate
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008

St. Joseph School District taxpayers will see a slight increase between their 2007 and 2008 property tax bills.

District to buy up most block for Central parking
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008

First there were 10 houses in the 2500 block of Charles and Sylvanie streets.
Now there are four.
Soon there will be one.

District ready for new year
by Nancy Hull
Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008

St. Joseph School District Superintendent Melody Smith emphasized the importance of two upcoming ballot proposals during Friday morning’s annual convocation that welcomes back district staff.

Soil, water tests give no clues
by Nancy Hull
Friday, Aug. 22, 2008

CAMERON, Mo. — Many of the more than 200 people who gathered Thursday evening didn’t like state officials’ news that there’s still no answer to two of the community’s big questions: What’s causing brain tumors here? Are there more brain tumors here than normal?
Soil and water testing from areas including the drinking water supply and the site of the former Rockwool Industries insulation plant have shown no health threats, officials said.
Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Senior Services and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry presented these most recent findings in the Cameron area brain tumor investigation. The meeting was in the Cameron United Methodist Church.

Maurice and Doris Ellis dance into a new love
by Nancy Hull
Friday, Aug. 22, 2008

Maurice Ellis, 80 at the time, had his hand in his 70-year-old dancing partner’s back pocket.

Private schools back in class
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

The sophomores brought what Ken Girard jokingly called “their game faces.”
They were quiet, didn’t show much expression and didn’t laugh much at his jokes.
Maybe they were tired. Or nervous. Or maybe that’s just teenagers on the first day of school.

From face-to-face to cyberspace
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008

Local youths soon will engage in something many haven’t done much of all summer: face-to-face communication. With online and text messaging communication on the rise, it hasn’t been uncommon for local children, tweens and teens to chat with friends solely through cyberspace. Even prank phone calls have gone online.

High levels of lead, arsenic found at site
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008

An environmental red flag was discovered at the site of a former insulation plant in Cameron, Mo. — a place suspected of being linked to what seems like a higher-than-usual number of brain tumors in the area.
High levels of lead and arsenic were discovered in a soil sample from the former Rockwool Industries plant, said Dennis Stinson, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Superfund section chief.
“This was found in just one area. It was not widespread,” Mr. Stinson said Tuesday.

Shoe giveaway helps hundreds
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008

Clarissa Russell traded her worn out, too-tight, hand-me-down tennis shoes for a brand new pair two sizes bigger. Her mother hadn’t realized how small her 9-year-old’s shoes were. "You poor baby, if I had known that, I would have let you run around barefoot,” said her mom, Rebecca Russell.

Families prepare for start of school
by Nancy Hull
Monday, Aug. 11, 2008

St. Joseph School District parents: You have a lot to do within the next two weeks.
Register your children for school. (Be prepared to pay more at registration than you did last year.)
Get your children immunized for school. (Or fill out a medical or religious exemption form.)

Savannah debator sets record
by Nancy Hull
Monday, Aug. 11, 2008

Mike Kozminski might be the only father who can say this about his son: “He has greater numbers than Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey,” Dr. Kozminski said.

Young pageant talent in it for the fun
by Nancy Hull
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008

Malia Johnson isn’t your typical beauty queen. She crinkles her nose at frills and makeup and couldn’t care less about those big televised beauty pageants. Although the 8-year-old has competed against hundreds of others throughout several local and national pageants, it’s not about competition for her. She’ll tell you she has 36 trophies, yet she pays no attention to what place they represent.

Avenue City school bond passes; Buchanan County proposal fails
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008

Rural school district voters handed out varying decisions Tuesday.

Dancing keeps ‘Happy’ young
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008

The thin lady with the fuzzy gray hair glides through the series of stomps, slides, turns and heel-toes. Although she’s older than most in the Joyce Raye Patterson Senior Citizens Center’s line dancing class, her skills and enthusiasm soar above the rest. Dance. That’s what Ima Jean “Happy” Angold loves most. It keeps her young, healthy and, like her nickname, happy. At 79, it’s a big reason why she’s ready to embrace the years beyond 80.

District reveals MAP scores
by Nancy Hull
Friday, Aug. 1, 2008

The state of St. Joseph School District students’ academic performance depends on the ruler.
According to the No Child Left Behind ruler, district students are increasingly struggling to catch up with rising expectations.
According to district administrators’ ruler, students are becoming more successful with time.

Donated school supplies in demand
by Nancy Hull
Thursday, July 31, 2008

St. Joseph School District administrators’ phones will start ringing soon. “Our office will probably take about 30 or 40 phone calls from parents, asking where they can get assistance with school supplies,” said Brian Shindorf, the district’s assistant director of elementary education. “We’ve got families that call and say, ‘If we don’t have some type of help with this, our child is going to show up to school on the first day without supplies.’”

Strangers at a light show act of kindness
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The newlyweds were already having the best day of their lives. They’d said their “I do’s” at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and were cruising up the Belt Highway to their 500-person reception at the St. Joseph Country Club when the waves and honks came.

School’s in for summer?
by Nancy Hull
Monday, July 28, 2008

Summer time doesn’t mean vacation and school-free days in the Muse family. Instead, it means avoiding the outdoor heat by attending indoor, air-conditioned classes The summer schedule brings a perk.

In a time of war, Mark and Jenny Cathcart found love
by Nancy Hull
Friday, July 25, 2008

Sgt. Mark Cathcart would be out for five days at a time — searching for Iraqi civilians, keeping guard, sleeping on top of his truck.

Four-day school week gains traction
by Nancy Hull
Thursday, July 24, 2008

State education leaders will discuss an increasingly popular topic: four-day weeks. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff plans to bring up the topic with the Missouri State Board of Education during its monthly meetings Aug. 7 and 8, said education department spokesman Jim Morris. “This issue is getting more attention across the nation, so we’re going to at least talk about it with our board when they meet next,” Mr. Morris said.

Rising gas prices hit schools in region
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Some Northwest Missouri schoolchildren will have longer bus rides, fewer field trips and if worse comes to worst, the loss of a bus ride to and from school. Diesel fuel prices have nearly doubled in the past year. As a result, the price of running school buses has skyrocketed, leaving schools and families with undesired changes. “It is a crisis,” said Paula Larison, branch manager of the Durham School Services bus company in Savannah, Mo.

Striving for a green clean
by Nancy Hull
Monday, July 21, 2008

New York led the way in this environmentally friendly initiative. Then came Illinois. Followed by Missouri. That’s right. Missouri, not Oregon or Washington or some other state with a green reputation, is a national leader when it comes to going green.

Search for cancer answers continues
by Nancy Hull
Friday, July 18, 2008

State officials have found buried materials left from a former Cameron, Mo., insulation plant.
The underground steel slag and waste rock found this week at the former Rockwool Industries site was 10-feet thick, said Julieann Warren, site assessment unit chief with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR and the Environmental Protection Agency will run tests on the buried mass and other samples within the next couple of weeks before announcing the results at a Cameron town meeting.

Districts seek tax increases
by Nancy Hull
Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Buchanan County School District says it needs more tax money to take track athletes off the streets and keep flying basketballs out of band practice.

Council narrowly approves pact with Museums Inc.
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The St. Joseph City Council put an end to a much-debated museum issue. But the ending could signify the beginning of a new battle.
The council voted 5-4 Monday evening to approve a one-year contract between the city and St. Joseph Museums Inc.
Critics of the contract, including Ellis Cross and the Friends of the Museum Hill Mansion, call the contract “unconstitutional” and have said they’d sue the city if it approved the contract. Following the vote, Mr. Cross wouldn’t comment on his next move.

DNR, EPA look for clues at former Rockwool site
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

CAMERON, MO. — Workers pushed what resembled a lawnmower, but one with an antenna, along the ground. They placed an orange flag in the soil every so often, marking where to drill.
Cameron residents, one with two brain tumors and another who lost his wife to brain tumor complications, looked on.
“We need to find out what’s wrong in Cameron,” said Bill Kemper, whose wife, Karen Kemper, died in May.

It's costing more to eat healthfully
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Donna Wilson looks at the price of apples and cauliflower at the grocery store and sees one thing: the worsening of an already alarming childhood obesity problem.
“Grapes are $7 a pound now. In a community where 54 percent of the children’s families are eligible for free and reduced lunch prices, this is a huge problem,” said Ms. Wilson, youth health coordinator for Heartland Health.
Ms. Wilson and other local health and education leaders fear soaring food prices force some to forgo the healthier, more expensive items and bulk up on the bad-for-you, cheaper products.

St. Joseph’s second citizens
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, July 13, 2008

We know the history of Joseph Robidoux. He’s the one who had the first trading post in the area that now bears his name — St. Joseph. But who opened the second store? Albe Saxton and Elias H. Perry. Not ringing a bell?

The importance of No. 2
by Nancy Hull by Jimmy Myers
Sunday, July 13, 2008

Comedian and social commentator Will Rogers once said that the best job in the United States is that of vice president — “All he has to do is get up every morning and say, ‘How is the president?’” Regardless, it’s at this point in a presidential election year that bets are placed on everyone’s favorite possible “No. 2.” Will John McCain choose Mitt Romney? Is Hillary Clinton going to be Barack Obama’s right-hand woman? Landing the No. 2 spot comes with the potential to be No. 1.

Turning lives around
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Eleeseea Crail hasn’t run away from home in a while. The 16-year-old also has quit hitting her sister and stealing from her mother.

Cancer woes lead to questions in Cameron
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, July 6, 2008

Cyndee Gardner’s day started out bad. She attended the funeral of a co-worker and friend who died from brain tumor-related complications. Then her day got worse. In the afternoon, she took her soon-to-be third-grade daughter to the doctor.

By George! First president returns to school
by Nancy Hull
Friday, July 4, 2008

Officials at George Washington’s former home saw a crisis: Washington, the United States’ first president, was on the road to extinction from schools.
So those at Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, Va., raised $450,000 and put portraits of Washington, along with lesson plans, into 3,000 schools within the past year.
One local school, St. Francis Xavier School in St. Joseph, has made that list. During the school’s trip to Washington, D.C., last month, seventh- and eighth-graders and school staff visited Mount Vernon, where they saw the Washington portrait print and materials they’ll soon receive by mail.

Avenue City School District turns 50
by Nancy Hull
Thursday, July 3, 2008

Four one-room schoolhouses merged in 1958, giving birth to the Avenue City School District. Sunday, the district will honor the 50 years that have since passed. The district consists of a kindergarten through eighth-grade school in Cosby, Mo. — several miles northeast of St. Joseph.

Encyclopedias: From treasures to trash
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, June 29, 2008

They were all the rage decades ago, with their slick pages, leather binding and wealth of knowledge. Today, they’re collecting dust. The Internet claims another victim: encyclopedias.

YouTube case remains in limbo
by Nancy Hull
Saturday, June 28, 2008

Juvenile authorities have yet to determine the fate of a teen who allegedly beat another teen in a Savannah (Mo.) High School locker room more than three months ago.

Music was currency for ‘Humpy’
by Nancy Hull
Friday, June 27, 2008

In the backyard, they gathered around the tobacco wagon. “Grandpa would be playing fiddle, Dad was playing guitar, another one was on the piano. Including my dad, there were nine kids, and they’d all be there playing instruments at my grandparents’ when I was little,” Teri Peck, 47, said. “They were poor, and that’s what they did for entertainment.”

School district plans $1.6M in building improvements
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

New windows, doors, roofs, asphalt and more will greet students when school begins in August.

Officials target bad apples
by Nancy Hull
Monday, June 23, 2008

More St. Joseph School District teachers are on probation compared to several years ago.
In recent years, district administrators have had up to 30 of the about 900 teachers on improvement plans in any given year, said Doug Flowers, the district’s director of human resources. About 10 years ago, that number was much lower, he said.
When teachers have improvement plans, they face losing their jobs if they don’t show improvement. They also face pay cuts.

School district hiring 100 new teachers
by Nancy Hull
Monday, June 23, 2008

The St. Joseph School District will replace about a tenth of its teaching staff.
One hundred of its about 900 teachers left at the end of the school year. The district has just one more teacher to hire before completing the task of replacing the 100 teachers.
A year ago, the district replaced 118 teachers. While this year’s turnover is lower, both years are above average — something Doug Flowers, the district’s director of human resources, attributes to the retirement of the baby boomer generation.

School’s lunch ID system in limbo
by Nancy Hull
Saturday, June 21, 2008

A controversial school finger scan system is on hold.

The first time around
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Teenagers these days don’t drive like they used to, longtime driver’s education instructor Tom O’Brien said. Many years ago, teens had some driving experience before they started driver’s ed. Parents’ long work hours have changed that, Mr. O’Brien said. Today, it’s not uncommon for teens to take the wheel for the first time during classes. He sees another big change.

New school site to boost project cost
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, June 15, 2008

The property switch for the proposed northeast St. Joseph elementary school could up the $43 million school district construction project by about $3 million. St. Joseph School District Chief Operating Officer Rick Hartigan said the change from the Karnes Road site to the Cook Road site has significantly knocked the district off its timeline for opening and closing schools. Now, if voters say “yes” in April 2009, the district won’t have enough work done to lock in the originally planned construction costs.

Camp Quality brings hope
by Nancy Hull
Friday, June 13, 2008

Harold Jones has taken his train from southeast Nebraska to Northwest Missouri’s Camp Quality 18 summers in a row. He’s also taken the train to many other Camp Quality sites since that 1990 Northwest Missouri camp.

School board rewards top official
by Nancy Hull
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The St. Joseph Board of Education gave Superintendent Melody Smith a good review, extended her contract and upped her salary Monday. Following its monthly meeting, board members met in executive session with Dr. Smith for her annual review. Board President Diane Watson said the board decided to give Dr. Smith a 3.1 percent raise — the same raise teachers will receive.

School district OKs budget, looks ahead to tax renewal
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The St. Joseph Board of Education approved its annual budget without incident Monday evening.
Next June could be much different.
What voters decide in April 2009 will greatly influence the district budgets that follow.

Students urged to get shots early
by Nancy Hull
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ensure your child sits in a classroom instead of a waiting room on the first day of school by getting those required shots now. Need more motivation? The sooner your child receives immunizations, the sooner your child gets to wear a Hannah Montana or “Pirates of the Caribbean” Band-Aid.

Hillyard earns new accreditation
by Nancy Hull
Monday, June 9, 2008

Hillyard Technical Center doesn’t only prepare students for work anymore. “With this accreditation, we’re not just preparing students to go on and work. We’re also preparing them to go onto college,” Hillyard director Regina Briggs said.

School demands one from the thumb
by Nancy Hull
Sunday, June 8, 2008

National controversy over a high-tech lunchroom system that requires a finger scan for chicken nuggets has spread to Plattsburg, Mo. The Clinton County School District joined the national list of school districts moving toward a lunchroom system where students swipe their fingers instead of debit cards. Since the system requires the electronic fingerprinting of students, some district parents have raised security concerns.