Missouri Western State University - Griffon Yearbook (St Joseph, MO)

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Pony Express rerun, construction continues on West Belt Wanted: skinny, young wiry fellows, preferably orphans who are willing to risk death daily. Ten riders answered this advertisement, recreating the pio- neer mail service of the 1860's. But unlike the original mail service, which carried letters in ten days between Missouri and California, the re-enactment took seven weeks. Bryan Dancer Construction tabovej moves along slowly but steadily on the West Belt. The spirit of the past is linked to the present in the double exposure ifar rightj of the campus and the Pony Express monument. The re-run of the Pony Express was sponsored by the Brit- ish Postal Service and the Sears tire division in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of Sir Rowland Hill, inventor of the gummed postage stamp. The riders departed from the Patee House Museum luly 14, 1979 for the 1,996 mile trip by horseback. They were met in Sacramento seven weeks later by Governor jerry Brown. Dr. David Nicholson, trail boss, explained that except for the absence of threat from Indian and outlaw attacks, the rid- ers endured the same hazards as those 120 years ago. Each rider was accompanied by a motorized support team traveling on neighboring roads, transporting fresh horses. The rider with the best accumulative time was awarded the Sir Rowland Hill Cup by the British Postal Service. The realization of a 25 year old plan, the West Belt project, will bring interstate highway traffic along the west edge of the central business district. According to lay Price, president of Townsend and Wall, the West Belt will put downtown St. Joseph back on the map. Lorin Dunham, City Planning Director, agrees with Price. lt will provide a vital traffic link between the state and feder- al highway system and business district, opening the north- west part of the city for development. The modern highway, with four lanes, will stretch approxi- mately 15 miles, connecting Interstate 29 southeast to Inter- state 29 northeast. The new highway will have two entrances and two exits to the central business district. It will also connect with U.S. High- way 36, South 4th Street and the Stock Yards Expressway. In addition, it will extend to lule Street, tying St. Joseph Avenue and Highland Avenue. However, what once started out as a 537,178,000 project in 1957 is now billed at S109,726,998. Senator Thomas Eagleton helped to allocate another 59.5 million in March 1979. The cost of the project is sure to exceed S5109 million by its completion in 1984. . Much of the construction of the West Belt is completed- the section between Interstate 29 and 22nd street opened two years ago in 1978. Traffic signals have been installed on Highway 36 with ramps leading to the new Pony Express bridge. With over S100 million worth of construction and 25 years of planning, the West Belt project is beginning to show major results, pouring economic life into the city. -SHERYL DUFFY Don Koehnlein 107 West Belt

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Buchanan County Court House renovated lllt was a momentous event and the people entered into the spirit thereof with pride and enthusiasm, and well they might, for they were laying the cornerstone of the grandest county building in the West at that time. Au- gust 25, 1873. -The Daily News' His- tory of Buchanan County and St. loseph, The St. loseph Publishing Co., c. 1900 A once magnificent structure in downtown St. joseph is finally being renovated thanks to the voters of Bu- chanan County. Perhaps the word ren- ovate is too harsh to describe the pres- ervation of the Buchanan County Court House. ln 1979, a four-year levy was ap- proved by voters to provide the coun- ty with funds to restore the now na- tionally-registered landmark. lan Mehl serves as Grants Coordinator and is in- volved in keeping watch on the progress, The option of renovating rather than building a new office for the county court lltook place because of the cost and particularly because of the feeling for the building, lan added. UA new building would look just like any other bank building and symbolize the bureaucracy of today. Besides, cer- tain people in St. joseph would have made it impossible to build a new one. Presently, all exterior work is under contract. lt will total about S51 million and be finished by the summer of 1980 Interior work will cost about 52 mil- lion which first will include the heating and cooling system. Then work will be- gin on the east wing, to increase interi- or space. Comparing the Court House to a Eu- ropean Cathederal, lan related, llThe building should last for 500 years. In Eu- rope, the Cathederals stand as the cen- ter of the towns, much in the same way the Court House did when it was built. Missouri Western students have many reasons to visit the Court House. It is the place to pay property taxes, 12fCourt House fight legal battles, and attain marriage license, among other services. Some students frequent the Court House more often. Linda Bachman is enrolled in a 2-l-2 program which pairs associate degrees in para-legal and criminal justice. Linda works at the Court House in the Support Enforce- ment Unit as an investigator. 'I think the Court House renovation is an excellent plan. It meets two ob- jectives. First, it is not wasteful of tax- payer's money. lt would cost a lot more to build a new building, Linda explained. Second, it preserves what we have. The beautiful structure has much po- tential. Most citizens don't. know what's happening, nor do they appre- ciate it. But they'll be glad when it's done. ln contrast, the decaying county jail, built in 1900, is not a first for Buchanan County. Back in 1900, citizens faced the same problem as today. 'The people of Buchanan County have no cause to be either proud or satisfied with the county jail. lt