Sunday, November 1, 2009

In this week's Raytown Report . . .

Vote Yes on Combat Tax Renewal by Kristi Wyatt Bare Curse Revisited by Greg Walters Win the Window Display Contest High School Sports Vote Yes on Combat Tax Renewal by Kristi Wyatt You've probably seen the billboards and read news about the Nov. 3 election to renew the Jackson County anti-drug sales tax called COMBAT. It's fair to ask: What does COMBAT do for your community? Quite a bit, in the opinion of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Our board endorsed the quarter-cent sales tax in August. We think its benefits are many. First, a little background. Voters first approved the COMBAT tax in 1989, renewing it in 1995 and 2003. It will be good for another seven years if passed on Nov. 3. The tax pays for investigation of drug crimes and the prosecution and incarceration of offenders. Importantly, it also provides funds to 80 community and faith-based agencies to provide prevention, treatment and counseling services to those with drug problems. Willing offenders go through this rehabilitation in an innovative Drug Court program. More than 1,600 people have graduated drug court, kicked the drug habit and gone into full-time jobs or school. Nearly 94 percent of graduates since 2001 have remained free of felony convictions. This brings us back to the business community and your interests. COMBAT helps keep the metropolitan area safe as it pays for 24 positions in the Kansas City Police Department alone. Officers have removed $250 million in drugs from the county since 2002. Drug crimes are not confined to drugs. They are also a major factor in homicides, assaults, robberies, burglaries and other serious crime. Everything COMBAT does to keep drug dealers and addicts off the street has a compound impact In area communities. The efforts of COMBAT-funded agencies to treat people with drug problems, whether involved in crime or not, contributes to a healthier workforce and a healthier environment in which to do business. These agencies would have to turn away many people if their COMBAT funds disappeared. The Drug Court funded by COMBAT has become an international model. Every year people from around the world come to Kansas City to see how our court functions. Any positive attention from beyond our boundaries is good for the business climate here. COMBAT also pays for Drug Abuse Resistance Education or D.A.R.E., which has brought officers to local elementary and middle schools to teach children about the dangers of drugs. So far, more than 200,000 kids have gone through the program. Like any other enterprise, we'd expect COMBAT to be accountable for its revenue and spending. To that end, there is now a nine-member commission of legal, civic and law enforcement leaders that oversees COMBAT and approves all funding. The program is also subject to annual independent audits. The quarter-cent sales tax only amounts to a penny for every four dollars in taxable purchase in Jackson County. But the tax goes a long way, raising about $20 million annually for the services I've mentioned. It needs our support on Nov. 3. Remember to vote YES on this important measure. Kristi Wyatt is the Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Policy Development for The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce since 1995. She oversees and directs public policy efforts, working with elected officials and Chamber members on priority issues such as energy/sustainability, life sciences, quality education, regionalcooperation and infrastructure. Previously she served as Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard Berkley of Kansas City from 1980 to 1991. She also served as Staff Assistant for U.S. Congressman Jerry Litton in Washington D.C. The Bare Curse Re-Visited . . . By Greg Walters I remember it well. It was a balmy fall evening in the Fall of 2004. My long time friend and co-founder of the Raytown Report, Garth Bare, and I had been enjoying some adult beverages while watching the New York Yankees challenge the Boston Red Sox for the American League Championship. It was late in game six. Suddenly Garth jump up from his easy chair, raised one trembling hand at the television and shouted, “I curse thee, I curse thee, I curse thee”. He turned an ashen shade of white, his eyes rolled back into their sockets and he collapsed back into his chair. A few minutes later, he came around. His shirt was soaked sweat. He smiled and said, “the deed is done”. I asked him what it all meant. He explained that he was sick and tired of the New York Yankees buying pennant races year after year. "So," he said, "I cursed them”. He told me had used the same type of curse Billy Sianis used against the Chicago Cubs in 1945. Sianis and his pet billy goat were thrown out of Wrigley Field even though Sianis had bought a ticket for the goat. Most readers will recognize the infamous “Goat Curse”. Garth said the Curse was necessary to break another curse the that had kept the Boston Red Sox from winning the World Series since 1918. “That”, he explained, “was why I had to intone the curse mantra three times.” It made sense to me. There was no doubt the Yankees had been buying pennant races ever since George Steinbrenner took over ownership of the team in 1973. And, the effectiveness of the curse on the Boston Red Sox was a historical fact, as was the Goat Curse against the Cubbies. So we sat back to watch the rest of the game. Boston came back in the ninth inning and finally won the game in the 12th. They went on to win the World Series that year against the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. The Boston curse had been broken. The Bare Curse had been established. The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2000. Garth and I reminisced about the Bare curse while discussing the first game of this year’s World Series. For those not keeping up, Philadelphia won game one against the Yankees. We are still avowed Yankee haters. And, though the Phillies had an impressive start, we both see that they could use some help. With that in mind, Garth has decided it is time to invoke the Bare Curse once more. You just watch . . . the Phillies in Seven!
Raytown Main Street Association
Sponsors
Win the Window Display Contest

The Raytown Main Street Association is sponsoring a "Win the Window Display Contest".

Contestants must fill in a minimum of 15 items on display in the window. Each item displayed in gthe window will have the name of the business and location where you will be able to find the exact item with the price.

Potential entrants can view the Awesome Window Detail located at 9615 East 63rd Street. The contest runs from November 1, 2009 through November 30, 2009. The winner of the contest will be drawn at the Pocket Park during the Raytown Lighting Ceremony on Friday, December 4, 2009 which begins at 6:15 p.m. The winner must be present at the lighting ceremony to claim the prize.

For more information visit the Raytown Main Street Association website at: http://www.raytownmainstreet.org/ click on the "News" button and then on the "Raytown Events" drop down to view all the rules of the contest. Or, you can call 356-3208 for more information.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS . . . O'Hara, Raytown South win District Championships O'Hara 42 / St. Pius 3 by Brother Richard Geimer Raphael Spencer, T. J. White, and Aaron Stubblefield each scored two touchdowns in the O’Hara Celtics 42-3 victory over the Saint Pius X Warriors on October 30th. The two teams were undefeated in the District showdown which was played at the Paul Monteil Field at O’Hara High School. To provide an exciting start, Raphael Spencer took the opening kickoff on his 8 yard line and returned the ball all the way for the TD. Chuck Preston crashed in for the two-point conversion. Spencer scored his second touchdown on a 29 yard run just before halftime, and this TD was followed by another two-pointer on a pass play to Louis Golden. T. J. White had two touchdown runs for his scores, a 33 yarder at the very tail end of the first quarter, and an impressive 50 yard run up the middle right after halftime. On White’s second touchdown, Raphael Spencer caught a pass for a two-point conversion. Aaron Stubblefield caught two touchdown passes, one in the second quarter for 10 yards and the other in the third quarter covering 37 yards. The Warriors’ only scoring was a 35 yard field goal by Michael Kaufman early in the game when the Celtics were up 8-0. The entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock when neither team added points to the total. The win for O’Hara made them the hosts of the first round of post season games on Wednesday, November 4th against Chillicothe. In their ten regular season games, the Celtics scored three or more TD’s in each game played. Only once were they held to less than 32 points, and in five of their games they scored more than 40 points. The Celtics were runners-up to Smith-Cotton in the West Central Conference, losing that game by eight points 28-20. However, they scored more points against the Sedalia team than the combined total scored by the other four teams of the Conference. By scoring 392 points in their ten games and giving up 155, they average 39.2 points to their opponents’ 15.5 points. As for O’Hara High School records, Raphael Spencer moved to 10th place in individual rushing yards for a season with a total of 915. Lamar Dawn ’93 holds the 9th place spot with 1,035 yards. Aaron Stubblefield advanced to 9th place in catches for a single season with 23, and only four players ahead of him have more total yardage. Stubblefield is in 5th place among the top ten receivers for a career with 41 receptions needing only three more to move into 3rd place. Already he is in second place for total reception yardage with 1,056 yards. Joe Pepple reached 1,259 yards last year to take the top position.

For more information on O'Hara sports visit http://brrichard.blogspot.com/?2072Nav=&NodeID=191 Raytown South 56 / Raytown 7 With a convincing win on Saturday over cross town rival Raytown the Raytown South Cardinals return to the state playoffs for the third consecutive year. The first round of the playoffs will have a rematch between Raytown South and Lee's Summit West. The Cardinals will have the home field advantage this time so lets pack the stands at Chitwood for iHigh Night. Come out and support Cardinals Football. For more information on the Raytown South Cardinals visit their website at http://school12220.ihigh.com/ O'Hara District Champions in Volleyball O'Hara topped Pembroke Hill in two games for the 3-A District 14 Championship played at Center High School. The scores were 25-12 and 25-4. They go on to meet Holden who were victorious over Pleasant The Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics volleyball team will join Villa Duchesne, Logan-Rogersville, and Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame for the November 6th State semifinals to defend their State Championship of last year. The Celtics had an easy first round against Holden winning 25-10 and 25-16. In the quarterfinals, they encountered a determined Saint Pius X team who took the first game with a close 25-23 score. The Celtics stepped up on the next two games winning both by 25-12 scores. Both Logan-Rogersville and Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame had tough quarterfinal games to make the final four. Logan-Rogersville made it with scores of 21-25, 28-26, and finally 25-23 playing Republic High. Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame was 25-19, 17-25, and 25-23 with Rosati-Kain as their opponent. Villa Duchesne had the easiest route with 25-19 and 25-20 scores eliminating Francis Borgia.

Huber and Wyatt to Play in MO/KAN All Star Volleyball Game

Selected among the top twelve seniors in volleyball from Missouri, O'Hara's Katie Huber and Jordyn Wyatt were selected to play in the November 15th MO/KAN All-Star Game at 5:30 at Avila College. Both were named to their All-District First Team. Also: From O'Hara, four players were named to the First Team All-Region. They were Katie Huber, Lindsey Hanaway, Michala Boehm, and Tori Hurtt. This makes them eligible for All-State honors.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see someone doing something with local businesses Downtown. Whoever put together their web page could make it a little more friendly. Having to click on this to click on that is tiresome as hell. You think they would have a direct link to get information on the contest.

P.S. I noticed Walmart is not on the list of contributors!

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Walmart. The trouble is just beginning. I observed an incident Friday while shopping in the new store that scared me into thinking I may never go back. It happened at the checkout counters involving some teenage girls trying to cut in the checkout lanes. A fight erupted between the girls and another customer prompting security and management to be called to break it up. They did a horrible job of handling it and eventually Raytown Police were called. I didn't hang around to see how it ended because I was in fear for my safety. Are they going to have to have armed guards to protect the law abiding shopper? Or is the Raytown Police Department going to have to put an annex inside this store to keep us safe? They're going to spend a lot of time here so why not just move some officers into the building? Please pass this information along to all potential shoppers so they can decide if they really want to shop at this store. I see another Bannister Mall coming down the road.

Groucho K. Marx said...

I hope the moderators of this Web site puts an ALTERNATIVE view on the COMBAT tax.

It's time WE told governments they can't keep putting their hands in our pockets- much like Corporate America are killing the overpriced unions.

VOTE NO ON COMBAT AND PUT SOME MONEY BACK IN OUR POCKETS- NOT THE POLLYS!!


-Geoffrey Spaulding

Andy Whiteman said...

Walmart is not a downtown business.

I was happy to hear that Beth Linn is using the Christmas lighting to draw people into down businesses. As I was listening to her presentation, I was wondering how on earth this can be accomplished since most of our businesses close with the chickens? Will they stay open one evening?

When I was a kid in Albuquerque, downtown stayed open until 9PM on Fridays and all week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The malls moved in and were open until 9PM every night except Sunday leading to a decline in downtown.

If downtown wants to attract customers, I wonder why the merchants don't stay open later at least one night a week? It seems to me it is difficult to get customers when most of your customers work the same hours you are open. Just defies logic.

Anonymous said...

Check out the list of stores participating in the Downtown Association give away are not Downtown Stores either.

Walmart should be invited to the party. I am sure they are dying to show how community minded they are.

Anonymous said...

The City gave away the farm (or at least the town's coffer), when they sold us out to Wal-mart. They were afraid if Wal-mart left, so would the sales tax that Wal-mart brought in, I suppose. What the City officials should of realized is that if Wal-mart left, their void would of been replaced with more small business (including downtown), target stores, etc. I hate Wal-mart, specially in this urban environment, filled with disrespectful youth, i.e. previous post.

I think you can put the blame for the Wal-mart deal exactly where it belongs. Squarely on the Sue Frank Administration, Past City Administrator, Curt Wenson and Past Finance Director, Dan Estes.

Shame, shame, shame.

Andy Whiteman said...

7:19 AM, The Walmart across from Bannister mall, which closed several years ago, had a KCPD office in it. I suggested Raytown have the same when this store was in the planning stages.

A Police presence is needed. Maybe Walmart should hire some off duty Raytown officers for security. I have seen other businesses do this.

Andy Whiteman

Pat Casady said...

The crime rate will be going up along with the demise of our
town. Brought to you by our city government and Wal-Mart.
Yes, the above mentioned sold out the people of this town.
Yesterday 11/02/09 there was a chase of three or four shoplifters
running out of the new Wal-Mart store. At this rate of law breaking
the law abiding, good people won't have a chance at being safe.
This kind of trouble will bring with it deteriorating neighborhoods and more
dropping property values. At the same time the city will raise your
taxes to make up the loss of income. Ironic because the city saw fit
to give a huge chunk of it's income away to let W-M build in the first
place. It's a circle of stupidity and the people are caught in the middle.
Bottom line........it's going to worse for the people of Raytown before
it gets better. More and more hometown businesses will be closing
and more people will selling their homes to get away.

Anonymous said...

Greg, tell Garth his magic might be working. The Phillies took game five last night.

Anonymous said...

Walmart, “I curse thee, I curse thee, I curse thee”.

Andy Whiteman said...

The new "Gateway" at Gregory and Raytown Rd is a SAFETY HAZARD. I was driving that way last night. There is a tall pillar in the middle of the road which is like putting an telephone pole in the middle of the road. Really DUMB! It is not highly visible at night since it has no safety reflectors or flashing lights. If anyone takes the turn too sharply (especially if a vehicle spins out on ice) there will be a deadly accident.

This obstacle should be removed before someone gets killed and the city gets involved in a big law suit for allowing this hazard.

What on earth is that pillar for?

Andy Whiteman

Andy Whiteman said...

Greg,
The URL to enter to read the blog and to enter comments is:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.do

I am using Firefox and keep getting a warning that since the URL is https: it is supposed to be a secure connection but is not being delivered as a secure connection. No problem except the warning is a nuisance.

Firefox has fairly high security. Is anyone else receiving this warning?

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

some drunk plowed into the house on the corner, there is a big blue tarp covering the hole.
They wont hit that phalic symbol because its in the middle of the road..

Anonymous said...

So, I have not followed the blog for several weeks but I'm irritated by some news that I learned this week. Our Raytown homeboy, Will Kraus, has announced by email that he has moved to Lees Summit. Cool! Well, he announced it by email after he sent out a request fo political contributions that did not discuss his move. I gave Will money, but if I had known that he moved out of Raytown, I would have told him to get lost.

That is disgusting, but I may be old school, so would someone challenge my logic here. How can someone ask for money from Raytown citizens and not disclose a move to our rival, Lees Summit? Am I wrong?

Also, who's running for the Dems against Will? Someone needs to take on this carpetbagger!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I curse thee, I curse thee, I curse thee Wal-Mart!

Anonymous said...

Guess this kind of ends the rumors of Will Kraus running for Mayor.

That is probably a good thing. Kraus has never impressed me that much. A nice enough guy, but certainly low on the Leadership scale.

Speaking of which. If people on this blog want to do their city a service start looking for someone to replace Mayor Bow Wow. He does not have a clue as to what he is doing and his record in office is all you need to prove it.

Anonymous said...

In my book Kraus moving is no big loss to Raytown. He always acted like a big know it all to me.

Anonymous said...

Obama had a tough night last night. So it seemed, until I read the reports on the web.

I was soooooo mistaken. Tonight was really a victory for him. Thank the lord I have those news services and talking heads to show me the way when it comes to analyzing election results.

Anonymous said...

Do you blame Will for moving, i mean really.

Funny..low on leadership scale...hum

I guess flying a helicopter in a combat zone for 2 tours..makes you a carpet bagger..
Maybe we can get some harry reid dummycrat to take over....remember its all about change..hahaha

Anonymous said...

ATTENTION MAYOR BOWER AND STAFF
We have LOST another business. The upholstery shop located in the strip mall accross from Westlake is gone. Wonder if WM had anything do to with this. Why not call the owner and find out. For an administration who says they want small business you are sure doing a great job of running them out of town. Congrats on a job well done!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

When are we going to break ground on the new shops that were suppose to go in across the street from WM?
I have my shovel and hard hat all ready to go. I fear my shovel will get rusty and I will probably be dead before that happens!!!!IF it does, the shops will set empty like to many other store fronts are doing in town at the present time. The administration is doing nothing to try and keep businesses here. Another example of Mayor at work.

Anonymous said...

If Will Kraus can see what's happening to Raytown then Mayor Bow Wow better open his eyes. We are becoming a trashy, inner city community. Bow Wow's priorities are all messed up. He continues to follow the failed policies of the Frank-Wenson administration which lead us into this mess. I don't see much hope for Raytown now that we have created a new center for crime at the Walmart. I'm sure the police department is going to be real busy trying to keep order at this new store. My advice is sell your house quickly before it depreciates even more.

Andy Whiteman said...

8:27 PM, I don't know how the district is set up. Is Lees Summit in the same district or will Will be running in a diggerent district? In my opinion if Will is now in another district, asking for money from Raytown voters is fraudulent and should be reported. If he is still in the same district, ethically he should have disclosed his move. Ask for a refund!

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

Gavin Fletchall is running for the 48th District against Kraus. Mr. Fletchall also does not live in Raytown but he doesn't have to he just has to live in the 48th district. The 48th District is part of Raytown, Lee's Summit and some of the south part of KCMO. Gavin is a very truthful young man and I truly belive he will do a great job for all of us in the 48th District.

Will Kraus has done nothing for Raytown in 6 years if you look at his record. The only reason that the Republicans want him is to fill the seat, even they don't like him.

This is from the people who are there everyday and who are watching what is going on there.

Pat Casady said...

To Anonymous 8:40
I kept most of the "Raytown Post" papers from around 2004 on.
Somewhere in there (2004 or 2005) is a statement from the
"Block developer" That he had no less than seven new businesses
ready to move in a new strip mall across the street from the new
Walmart. This was, as it turns out, just another lie for our city
officials to believe and I might say without question, they fell for it
hook line and sinker.
You have to ask yourself this question, because they didn't,
Would you invest your life savings in a retail business right across
the street from the biggest small business killer in the history of the world?
Many of the small business owners tried to tell our elected officials
what would happen but they knew better, even though only one or two
of them owned businesses in Raytown and they weren't retail stores they
were a real estate company and the other was an insurance company.
Plus as we all know, once a person is elected they get smarter than
anybody else and they won't listen to reason. Even when it hits them
in the bank account.

Greg Walters said...

The problem in Raytown is not with the people in the city. It is the inept leadership at Raytown City Hall.

The answer is not to move away from the city. The answer is to replace the leadership at city hall.

The city is working on 12 years of Frank/Bower. The same tired bodies being appointed to citizen boards. The same tired policies that do not work.

Looking back, I can think of only one citizen committee that was not populated with the same recycled members from the Frank/Bower pool of warm bodies.

That was the Recycling Committee. And Bower pulled the plug on it before its work was done.

The promise that the issue of solid waste management/curbside recycling would resurface after construction of the new Walmart Store was underway is just another broken promise.

The list of failures of the current administration is large. A ban on smoking that failed -- another "Raytown only" factoid for the metropolitan area. A rebuilt intersection that looks like a traffic hazard waiting to happen. A city council that has been led to believe it cannot bring legislative change without a pat on the head from those it has hired to run the day to day business of city hall.

Priorities that take but never give back -- like the soon to be filled Director of Economic Development funded by $200,000 plus dollars of your tax money that should be used to shore up our city's infrastructure.

I could go on and on and on -- probably use up a good amount of space allowed on this blog. But the point is that the problems in Raytown can be fixed.

Replace those who are running the show.

Anonymous said...

I see Raytown received some more bad press in today's newspaper. We are the only city around that has failed to tackle the smoking ban to protect our citizens. Tuesday the voters in the city of Liberty passed a stronger ban than their city council had on the books. But they are a charter city so the citizens can propose laws by petition unlike 4th class cities such as Raytown. Raytown continues to fail our citizens by ignoring such problems such as curbside recycling, protecting us from pit bulls, lack of code enforcement, bad streets, I could go on and on. Mayor Bow Wow and his horrible board of aldermen can't seem to do anything except raise our taxes and run small business out of town. They've done an excellent job here. Check that almost 9 % sales tax out at Walmart and Westlake. They must really all be proud of themselves. WHAT A JOKE OUR TOWN HAS TURNED INTO!!!

Anonymous said...

How can the Chamber justify the big salary that they are paying Vicki Turnbow? Look at the number of businesses that were here when she was hired versus the ones that are here now. I thought it was her job to encourage new businesses to locate in Raytown, not drive them away. Doesn't look like she's doing a very good job of selling Raytown.

Anonymous said...

Right on Greg! We do not need a full time city attorney, that is a waste of taxpayers money. We hired a Community Development Director, that has zero community development experience. It is basically a code enforcement job with a suped-up director title. Again, more waste. Now we are going to hire a Economic Development Director and for what? No one knows for sure. Come on City hall open your eyes, can't you see what you are doing to our beloved town??? You are ruining it.

Andy Whiteman said...

Obviously the administraton (aka: dictators) are bringing business to Raytown. We have QT and Walmart, Mid American Coach, an auction house, a detail shop, and I forget what else. Apparently it is OK to lose several businesses if they bring in a big box store financed by the taxpayers.

The administration (or at least certain members thereof) need to be replaced but I question how? People in Raytown don't vote in local elections. They are apathetic but sure bitch in this blog. That is the reason the same admistrators are elected time after time by a small fraction of the voters. People won't get out and vote (in numbers) on items that cost us $$$$$ such as the school tax increase which raised the property taxes on my house about $300! I don't know what the turn out actually was, but I saw very few people voting on the COMBAT tax. Maybe it wasn't important enough, but to me it was an important issue.

BTW: My house will be for sale after I move. If anyone wants to buy subject to when I move, I am taking offers.

Andy Whiteman

Andy Whiteman said...

7:58 AM, What is wrong with Pit Bulls? These are friendly, loving dogs. Some Pit Bulls are even service dogs!

The plain fact is that ANY dog can bite regardless of breed. Just ask Jim Aziere what breed mauled his daughter. It was NOT a Pit Bull or a "bully breed."

The real problem is irresponsible owners who don't socialize their dogs and even allow them to run at large! It would be more productive to ban irresponsible owners, not a particular breed. Banning a breed is discrimination the same as banning people because of race.

See:
http://www.roverlution.org/index.html
and
http://pitbullpositive.ning.com/

We need a ban on "people" who put room size speakers in their trunks and drive around with their bass booms pounding. That size of speaker should be banned from vehicles and only smaller speakers designed for vehicles should be allowed into the passenger area. I don't care what "music" people listen to but they don't have the right to force others to hear it. This world is becoming too noisy.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

The problem is that all the cities surrounding Raytown have pit bull ordinances. This makes Raytown the logical place to locate if you are especially attracted to that breed. Theunfortunate news is that it is the pit bull breed that is used by unscrupulous people for fighting and betting. The relaxed regulations make Raytown a natural place for them to move to.

Andy is right about the fact that any dog can attack. Like the lady in Raytown who was attacked in her driveway last year. She escaped, but her pet dog was killed in the attack.

If Raytown's animal control ordinance is enforced the same way its codes are enforced. There is a disaster waiting to happen.

Pat Casady said...

I have said it before and I'll say it again, our elected
officials don't talk to the people. That is until it's time
to be re-elected, other than that, they could care less what
you have to say.
The big problem is with a small town like Raytown it isn't
as easy to hide their stupidity as it is in a big city.
But the stupidity has to be shared with the people that don't
get out a vote these people out. They say you get what you pay for
but the taxpayers of Raytown are getting hosed, and the wasteful
spending and taxing won't stop until the people get out and vote
in some caring trustworthy new people to work for the people
for a change. Twelve years ago or more we heard "vote us in and
Raytown will "move forward." every election after we have heard
the same old battle cry, keep Raytown "moving forward."
Well, we all know their (City Hall) idea of moving forward is the
exact opposite of everybody else. That is unless you call speeding
downhill moving "moving forward."

Anonymous said...

Who is to blame for Raytown being the only place . . .

Where smoking is encouraged in public places.

Code enforcement is done only when someone complains.

Recycling efforts are being cut back.

Has the highest sales tax district in the metro.

Here is a short list of our "leaders" that hold Raytown captive with their backwards thinking.

Mayor David Bower, his lieutentants, Christine White, Joe Creamer and Shane Pardue.

And a city council that is more interested in receiving their $450 monthly paycheck than taking care of business.

Want better government? Get rid of those who are not doing their job.

Anonymous said...

Pitt bulls are a viscous breed and they are bred for one purpose only and that is to attack and kill. Why do most homeowners insurance fail to cover you if you own one of these animals? So Andy you can have all of them that you want. If I find people needing to get rid of one I will send them your way. I hope you will welcome them with open arms.

Anonymous said...

This was written by William J H Boetcker in 1916.

The Ten Cannots
You cannot bring prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further brotherhood of men by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and
independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and
should do for themselves.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of pit bulls, have you heard about the pit bull that attacked the mailman around 84th & Oxford yesterday. Result, leg ripped, fell & split his head open. Dog was running loose. What would have happened if that had been a small child? Andy, when you move will you PLEASE go around & collect all the pit bulls in Raytown & take them with you.

Andy Whiteman said...

7:57 AM, Pit Bulls are vicious if the idiot owner trains them to be vicious. As I said, the problem is the owner, not the dog.

I would welcome them with open arms but my dog wouldn't. I get several emails daily of Pit Bulls needing homes. If anyone wants to rescue a Pit Bull, I can forward the emails to you. These dogs are all over the country, I am I am sure the groups who send the emails will check you out before releasing the dog to you.

Andy Whiteman

Andy Whiteman said...

5:26PM, The owner is responsible for allowing the dog to be at large regardless of breed. Sounds like a big lawsuit against an irresponbsible owner. That owner should be banned from owning any dog ever. If the dog had been a Rotweiller, Doberman, or German Sheppard would you still feet the same way about those breeds.

Likewise if a person committing a crime happens to be a particular race, would you say ALL people of that race are bad?

Animal control should go around and pick up ALL stray dogs regardless of breed.

When I was a mailman, and met first at large German Sheppard, I backed to my mailster, but the door was locked and I couldn't get in. The dog put his front paws on my shoulders pinning me against the mailster and started licking my face. The next German Sheppard ran out of an unfenced back yard and nipped my ankle. I notified Animal Control and refused to deliver to that house.

Actually I am afraid of the miniature, toy dogs because many of them tend to be defensive agressive.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

The best way to rescue a pit bull is to have it put to death. That is the only way to truly protect yourself and your children.

Anonymous said...

Yes Andy, I am afraid of ALL big dogs regardless of breed. Any big dog can attack a person & hold them down. Most people have the theory that their dog is just a "sweet little baby" & won't harm you as it is attacking your leg. No dog should be allowed to run loose regardless of size. No matter how well trained they are, they feel different around stangers.

Andy Whiteman said...

11:26AM, Following your logic all criminals would be put to death. That is the only way to protect yourself and your children.

Andy Whiteman

Andy Whiteman said...

I call you attention to:
Mighty Dog Nation
Bill of Rights
ARTICLE ONE: That the mightiness of one citizen cannot be established to be above that of another; all breeds and combination thereof are created equal.

Anonymous said...

The very word “breed” has certain implications. Specific ‘physical’ characteristics are bred into an animal as well as certain ‘behavioral’ characteristics. That’s why specific breeds look a particular way and you can also expect them to have a certain disposition. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part this runs true.

Sure the owner has certain responsibilities, but some breeds of dogs just shouldn't be allowed to be in populated areas. Unfortunately many of the people who own this breed are not very responsible people. The safety and welfare of humans should be of paramount concern, not that of animals!

Had the situation with the Pit Bull that occurred a couple of days ago involved a child or an elderly person we might be discussing severe injuries or even a fatality.

Wake up to the real facts before it is too late. Raytown has become a haven for those individuals who own Pit Bulls and it is not a good thing for this community.

Anonymous said...

i agree most all crimnals should be put to death, guilty of murder DEATH,rapeDEATHcrimes against a child hmmmm DEATH. I think its funny you have to have three violent feliones before you get life. I think the two guys that killed Raytowns Ann Harrison are still alive and that was over twenty years.Think about how much more money we would have at the state and local govt level if there were less convicts we have to pay for. and yes i think most convicts are animals...Maybe we start treating bad people like bad people there might be alot less bad people..now back to your dog discussion...at least you have givin walmart a break...

Anonymous said...

First, the only good that comes from a pit bull is fighting, that is what they were bred to do....

Secondly, I am very upset with the city doing another disservice to it's residents, by not having the Recycling Center open on the weekends that it should be open. It is apparent that several others did not know about it being closed as well as a city official that pulled up at the same time as well on Saturday. Perhaps you should cut out the Alderman Retreat to Tan Tara Resort, or a few other things and think of your constiuients first! I think that this is a cop out! Keep it open! Not everyone has cable tv either so perhaps the city should try other methods of communication with us.

I had to waste gas and go to the recycling center by the old Bannister Mall Hypermart to get rid of my stuff. There is no way that I am going to save up this stuff and get rid of it once a month, there is just not enough room to do that! How come this location can stay open and the Raytown one cannot? Get your priorities in order!

Andy Whiteman said...

1:53 PM, A dog, by its nature, is defensive. I agree with you that no dog should be allowed to run at large. This applies to the toy dogs as well as the big ones. I don't trust any dog (other than my own) until we have a proper dog style introduction and the dog expresses no violent behavior. Several years ago an at large Pit Bull approached us while I was walking my dog. The Pit Bull first approached my dog and they had the proper introductions. After my dog accepted him, the Pit Bull approached me and wanted to be petted.

In another incident, an at large mixed breed "Buddy" approached me without first approaching my dog. In dog behavior, this is very rude. Buddy followed us home. Since he had no ID, I was going to keep him until the morning and attempt to locate the owner. I offered Buddy a bowl of water, but my dog would not allow that. In fact, my dog made it clear he didn't want Buddy on his property. I put Buddy out the door. I later located the owner who claimed that Buddy was always running away. A few years later I observed the individual beating another dog. It became perfectly understandable why Buddy was running away. That man should never be allowed to own a dog or child. I really wondered about the safety of the children.

11:27PM, The very word “breed” has certain implications. Specific ‘physical’ characteristics are bred into a person as well as certain ‘behavioral’ characteristics. That’s why specific people look a particular way and you can also expect them to have a certain disposition. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part this runs true.

Some types of people just shouldn't be allowed to be in populated areas. Maybe Dictator O'Bomba will take up that issue once he has completed forming the United Socialists States of America.

I certainly hope der Fuhrer is impeached before He does any more damage to this fine country. Thanks to Herr Dictator many of us senior citizens will no longer have adequate Medicare coverage. He is forcing health insurance on some while taking it away from those who really need health care.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

Where were all of you who believe that Pit Bulls are dangerous when the city was looking at banning them a few years ago? For the most part only ones that were at those meetings were people who had pit bulls from all over the metro area. I and a few other, very few, sat through all of those meeting and no one except one or two of us had anything to say. Andy Whiteman was one who was there and as I remember he was for keeping them. Most of the others were from as far away as southern Johson County Kansas.

One of the reasons that did not pass was because of that dog training school was against it and they let the whole world about it and those were the ones that were at the meetings.

I have had some very serious problems with pit bulls but the BOA would not listen.

So where were you when we needed you?

Andy Whiteman said...

"Where were all of you?" With anonymous posts, we have no knowledge of how many "all of you" are. Could be 1,2, or 3 seeming like 50 people.

As an FYI a Pit Bull ban could bring out a boycott of Raytown. That was pointed out by one of the animal rights groups. There is a petition with over 8000 stating they will boycott Denver.

Before Pit Bulls are banned, any person with a criminal record, or appearing to be a criminal should be banned. I respect Pit Bulls more than the aforementioned type of person.

Andy Whiteman