Author: KMIZ

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia says it chose to resume recycling collection to help residents maintain recycling habits without adding to their household trash burden.

Recycling drop-off centers in Columbia will remain closed and curb-side pickup resume on Monday, though all of it will be brought to the landfill. Recycling pickup was suspended Columbia after an EF-1 tornado destroyed its recycling facility on Sunday.

Columbia Utilities spokesman Jason West said one of the city’s was priorities was to keep residents in the recycling “rhythm.”

“While materials are currently being sent to the landfill due to limited processing options, maintaining these habits now will make it easier to transition back to proper recycling when better solutions become available,” West said.

“We know a lot of people are used to being used to recycling their material and we don’t want them to forget or get out of those habits so trying to get everything back to normal as possible was our first priority,” West said. “But unfortunately that landing place will be the landfill for the near future til a new solution could be worked out,”

However, West said alternatives are being discussed.

“If there are other facilities that we may be able to facilitate being taking it directly there or kind of holding it so that facility could come pick it up those are all logistics that have been, can be and will be discussed,” West said.

Columbia resident Hilary Grimm said recycling is vital for the environment and sending it to the landfill should not be a solution.

“I get the muscle memory, but it kind of defeats the purpose of recycling or supporting the recycling muscle memory if the recycling is going to the landfill it just seems ridiculous to me,” Grimm said. “Our landfill is already pretty large and I am just thinking about the fumes anyhow many things could be recycled or reused that are going to the landfill and that is heartbreaking.”

According to West, residents can put their recycling in blue recycling bags and place it on the curb. However, if a resident does not want to use the blue bags or separate their recyclables, it can be placed in their trash roll cart.

West emphasized that any extra trash bags placed next to the roll cart will not be picked up.

If you do not want your recycles to go to the landfill there are other options to where you can take your recyclables so they are recycled.

New World Recycling at 2007 Idlewood Road in Jefferson City

Gold Star Recycling at 605 Empire Dr. in Jefferson City

Boonslick Industries Inc. at 1620 W. Ashley Road in Boonville

Daniel’s Recycling at 503 2nd St. in Boonville

An insurance assessment was done on the recycling facility Thursday and found the building is a total loss, but West said that report is still “very preliminary.”

West said the focus is now salvaging equipment and that could help determine if any part of the facility’s operations can be brought back in some form but they won’t know for sure until demotion is partially complete.

According to the city, the focus now is on salvaging equipment. That could help determine if any part of the facility’s operations can be brought back in some form — but the city won’t know for sure until demolition is at least partially complete.

The city also says it won’t know how much insurance money can go toward rebuilding until a final plan for a new facility is in place.

“We have reached our county threshold.  However, other counties did not reach their thresholds to help us meet the state threshold.  The adjuster has no information to share on the recycling center at this point and has told the City of Columbia it maybe weeks before they have final on what will be insured,” Boone County Emergency Management Director Chris Kelley said in an email provided to ABC 17 News by Boone County Commissioner Kip Kendrick.

“At this point it is not looking good for us to get a disaster declaration under FEMA Public Assistance program,” Kelley added.

On Tuesday Kendrick said the county would need to tally more than $866,000 in uninsured and underinsured damage to get assistance. With estimates of the cost to repair the recycling facility still out, it’s not clear whether the county will reach that level.

According to Kendrick, the city’s recycling plant is insured for about $5.7 million.

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Euphenie Andre

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Memorial mass was held for Pope Francis at the Cathedral of St. Joseph on Main St. in Jefferson City at noon on Friday.

“We know that time is perfect in the eyes of God, and it was the perfect time for him to join and leave his legacy behind,” church member Litz Main said.

The service, held on the eve of the Pope’s funeral in Vatican City, was led by Archbishop-designate Shawn McKnight along with priests from across the Diocese of Jefferson City.

“I look forward to carrying on the vision of Pope Francis,” the Rev. Shawn McKnight said. “His dream for the Church is that every parish, every community becomes an oasis where people on the long journey of life, who are tired, hungry, and thirsty both physically and spiritually, can find refuge.”

McKnight said he was in disbelief when he first heard the news of the pontiff’s death early Monday morning.

“At first, when I read about it at 3 a.m. on social media, I didn’t think it was true,” McKnight said. “I thought it was fake news, because we had just seen him on Easter Sunday delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing in St. Peter’s Square.”

He last saw the pope in 2020 during a meeting between bishops and various departments of the Vatican.

“I met with Pope Francis in January 2020 just before COVID hit, and it was what we call an ad limina visit every five years or so, the bishops gather and meet with the Holy Father and all the departments in the Vatican.”

Francis’ funeral will take place in St. Peter’s Square, before his body is taken to the basilica, on the other side of the river in central Rome, for burial.

After Saturday’s funeral, McKnight said that the Catholic Church will enter a traditional period of mourning and prayer that will last eight-to-nine days. Once that period ends, the process of selecting a new pope will begin.

“After the cardinals have gathered and openly discussed the needs of the church in a public fashion and listened to one another, then they go into the Sistine Chapel and the doors are locked,” McKnight said. “From that point on, it’s something of a mystery.”

Months ago, the Diocese of Jefferson City had already planned a pilgrimage to Rome. That group is scheduled to depart on May 5 and arrive the following day.

“We will be arriving May 6th, which could be the day the new Holy Father is elected and revealed or even the day after,” McKnight said. “So we’re hopeful we might be there in person to see our new pope.”

After that pilgrimage, McKnight will return to Rome at the end of June to receive the pallium, a special liturgical vestment symbolizing his role as an archbishop. It will be presented by the next pope.

“I feel as though I’m becoming a natural bridge between two pontificates,” he said.

In addition to a new pope, the Catholic Church in Jefferson City is also preparing for change closer to home. Earlier this month, Pope Francis appointed McKnight as the next leader of the Kansas City, Kansas Diocese.

“Bishop McKnight also follows the step of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. he is in alignment with his thinking and we know that he leaving behind also a legacy,” Main said

Church members said they are excited to see what’s next and who McKnight will appoint.

People can also gather at the Cathedral of St. Joseph to watch the funeral of Pope Francis at 3 a.m. Saturday.

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Ryan Shiner

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Fire Department is hoping to make improvements to Fire Station 5 on Fairgrounds Road near Edgewood Drive after severe storms rolled through on Sunday.

During a public safety committee meeting on Thursday, officials said firefighters at Fire Station 5 were moved to Fire Station 3 on Rock Hill Road during the storms because Fire Station 5 does not have a basement.

Fire Station 5 is the only one in the jurisdiction that does not have a basement. Officials have made budget requests for the past three years to address that concern.

That station was built in 1991 with lightweight construction materials.

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