RIVER RADIO NEWS 022814
JACKSON MAN ARRESTED ON METH CHARGE
A Jackson man is facing a felony drug charge for methamphetamine.
According to the Highway Patrol, 24 year old Zachary I. Keller, was arrested Thursday morning in Cape Girardeau County on a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine.
Keller is also facing two misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
EARTHQUAKE RECORDED NEAR WILLIAMSVILLE
An earthquake was reported shortly before 10 am Thursday near Williamsville.
According to the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, the earthquake had a magnitude of 2.4. The earthquake was located 8 miles east of Williamsville and 14 miles west of Puxico. It had a depth of only one tenth of a mile.
MOBILE OFFICE SCHEDULED FOR DEXTER
Citizens will have the opportunity to speak with staff members of Senator Roy Blunt next week at a Mobile Office in Dexter.
Mobile Offices are opportunities for Missourians to discuss their questions or concerns with the federal government one-on-one with members of Senator Blunt’s staff.
The Office will be held at the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission from 1 to 2 pm on Tuesday, March 4th.
MEETING TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK TO DISCUSS IMPROVEMENTS TO HIGHWAY 51 IN BOLLINGER COUNTY
The Missouri Department of Transportation has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, March 4th, to discuss improvements to Highway 51 in Bollinger County.
The proposed project includes replacing the Highway 51 bridge over Little Whitewater River on a new alignment in an effort to improve safety. In addition, the proposed structure will be six feet wider than the existing bridge.
The meeting will be held from 4 to 7 pm at MoDOT's Maintenance Shed in Patton.
CAREER AND INTERNSHIP FAIR SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK AT SEMO
The Office of Career Services at Southeast Missouri State University is sponsoring an all majors career and internship fair next week.
The fair will be held from 10 am to 2 pm on Thursday, March 6th at the Southeast Missouri State University Student Recreation Center – north. Students and alumni of all majors and all class levels are encouraged to attend the event which will feature over 75 employers.
More information, including entry requirements, is available at SEMO.edu.
MARCH TO KICK OFF WITH BOUT OF WINTER WEATHER
February is coming to an end today; however it looks like we are not escaping the winter weather just yet.
According to a Special Weather Statement issued by the National Weather Service, periods of ice accumulation could be possible Sunday and Sunday night across Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.
Our current forecast shows a chance of freezing rain starting as early as Saturday evening and continuing to early Monday morning when snow will move into the area.
Snow showers are expected to continue until about 7 am Monday morning. A Winter Storm Watch is set to go into effect at Midnight, Saturday night and continue to noon Monday.
LINGUISTIC ERROR COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS IN MISSOURI DRUNKEN DRIVING CASES
The legal interpretation of a three-letter word could sink the results of countless alcohol breath tests in drunken driving cases across Missouri.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that several St. Charles County defense lawyers have successfully challenged blood-alcohol level test results over a linguistic error that remained in state regulations for 14 months before it was fixed in late January.
State Department of Health and Senior regulations say the machines must be periodically tested at one of three blood-alcohol levels: 0.10 percent, 0.08 percent or 0.04 percent.
Before the fix, the rules included the word "and" rather than "or." Some defense attorneys successfully argued that police had to conduct tests at each of those three levels.
The legal limit for blood-alcohol levels for Missouri drivers is 0.08 percent.
MISSOURI HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES LEGISLATION THAT WOULD BLOCK COMMON CORE
A Missouri House committee has advanced legislation that would block the state from implementing new education standards.
The measure endorsed Wednesday would prevent schools from using the Common Core Standards, unless the Legislature passes a bill to adopt them. The Missouri State Board of Education voted to adopt the standards in 2010.
Sponsoring Republican Representative Kurt Bahr says the new benchmarks for reading, writing and math take important teaching decisions away from local school boards. The bill's opponents say the new education guidelines help students prepare for college.
Missouri students are scheduled to take Common Core-aligned tests this fall. Many other states have also adopted the standards.
The measure now heads to the House Rules Committee.
MISSOURI SENATE APPROVES LIMIT TO GOVERNOR’S BUDGET CUTTING POWERS
Missouri governors would be barred from making budget cuts to schools under a proposed constitutional amendment passed by the Senate.
The proposal approved Thursday also would prohibit governors from withholding money budgeted to pay public debts.
The Senate's 30 to 2 vote sends the measure to the House. If passed there, the proposed constitutional amendment would go before voters later this year.
The Missouri Constitution already prohibits governors from making line-item vetoes to budget bills for public schools or debt. But governors currently can freeze or reduce the budgeted spending for any program.
Last year, Governor Jay Nixon temporarily froze part of the money budgeted for public schools while pressing lawmakers to sustain his veto of an income tax cut. He released the money after the veto override attempt failed.
