KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Matt J. Whitworth, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two Chillicothe, Mo., men were sentenced in federal court Wednesday for participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Chillicothe area.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Health and environmental officials have concluded that sludge from a St. Joseph, Mo., tannery did not contain enough of a cancer-causing chemical to cause health problems in areas where the sludge was used to fertilize farmland.

The Grand River Harmony Chorus will present its second session of Music in the Park at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) night. The performance will be near the ball park at the Walnut Street entrance to Simpson Park. Those attending should bring lawn chairs.

A new concrete road on East Third Street is in the works after about 1,800 feet of cement was poured yesterday (Wednesday) east of the railroad tracks. The project is part of the city’s Permanent Street Project. The project is estimated to be finished by the end of August, weather permitting.

Food, fun and fireworks are on tap Saturday night for the annual Chillicothe Freedom Festival in Simpson Park. However, the Independence Day holiday, for some, will begin with the 15th annual Freedom Run.

Chillicothe city officials are asking local residents to follow local ordnances when celebrating the Independence Day holiday this year and to use caution when shooting fireworks.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has added Livingston County, along with Grundy County, to the list of Missouri counties approved for federal disaster assistance as a result of May’s storms, tornadoes and flooding.

The city of Chillicothe has a $70,000 check in hand from a developer who wants to convert the 13 acres of old prison property on the north side of Third Street into a 100-unit carriage home development.

Chillicothe City Council members are now reviewing the proposal — which they received during their regular meeting Monday night — and plan to make a decision at a special meeting at 6 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) at City Hall. A decision  could have been made last night; however, several council members said they wanted time to review the proposal and give the public an opportunity to  provide feedback.

A little boy awaiting his dinner with a big grin on his face will soon have the opportunity to meet a mouse, Mickey Mouse.

Isaac Hand and his family will journey hundreds of miles to central Florida, where they will visit Disney World, thanks to the Northwest Missouri Dream Factory.

Effective immediately, the Hedrick Medical Center Diabetes Center has moved from its hospital location to the Park Center office at 502 Park Center. This change will allow more convenient access for the public. Office hours continue to be Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Patients will still need a physician referral and are seen by appointment only. A new registration area is located at the Hedrick Office Building entrance.

Grand River Area Family YMCA and Second Harvest of St. Joseph are teaming up again for their fourth year of participating in the Back Pack Buddy Program.

“Last year was such a success,” said coordinator Genie Amen-Ewing. “We targeted 75 children and by the end of the school we were able to serve 87 kids weekly with food for the weekend.”

Demolition work on the old Chillicothe High School is continuing, and a large portion of the roof on the building is now gone with material being hauled away in a large truck parked behind the school. District officials say the project is running on schedule and once the roof is removed, demolition work will focus on the walls.

A squirrel got into a substation around 9:45 a.m. today (Friday), causing a power outage for many Chillicothe Municipal Utilities customers. Power was fully restored about an hour later.

When the outage first occurred, about half of town was affected for three to four minutes; however, power remained out for an estimated 300 to 400 customers. The substation affected is located just south of the Armory. A work crew was immediately on site to fix the damage, which included replacing some insulators that were destroyed when the squirrel had intruded the area.

MoDOT has announced that APAC-Missouri, Inc. will begin a project next Monday, June 29, to resurface 30 of the 33 miles from north of Carrollton to the beginning divided lanes at Marshall (excluding a 3- mile concrete section at the Missouri River bridge in Waverly). 

Silver Moon Plaza, the outdoor multi-use space project in downtown Chillicothe, is starting to take shape and its construction is becoming a community endeavor.

Main Street Chillicothe, the non-profit downtown revitalization program and owners of the development, is offering members of the public “to leave their legacy” in the downtown area, according to Main Street Chillicothe Director Crystal Narr.