Sunday, December 20, 2009

Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to Everyone! The following excerpts are from A Christmas Story by Charles Dickens. I hope you enjoy them. Greg Walters, December, 2009 "You are fettered," said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?" "I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?"
Scrooge trembled more and more.
"Or would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!" _______________________
"But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.
"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!" _______________________
The chimes were ringing the three quarters past eleven at that moment. "Forgive me if I am not justified in what I ask," said Scrooge, looking intently at the Spirit's robe, "but I see something strange, and not belonging to yourself, protruding from your skirts. Is it a foot or a claw?"
"It might be a claw, for the flesh there is upon it," was the Spirit's sorrowful reply. "Look here."
From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.
"Oh, Man, look here! Look, look, down here!" exclaimed the Ghost. They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread. Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.
"Spirit, are they yours?" Scrooge could say no more.
"They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!" cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end."
"Have they no refuge or resource?" cried Scrooge.
"Are there no prisons?" said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. "Are there no workhouses?" The bell struck twelve. _______________________ "And how did little Tim behave?" asked Mrs Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity, and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart's content.
"As good as gold," said Bob, "and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see."
Bob's voice was tremulous when he told them this, and trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing strong and hearty. _______________________
"God bless us every one!" said Tiny Tim, the last of all.
He sat very close to his father's side upon his little stool. Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him.
"Spirit," said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before,"tell me if Tiny Tim will live."
"I see a vacant seat," replied the Ghost, "in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die."
"No, no," said Scrooge. "Oh, no, kind Spirit. Say he will be spared."
"If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race," returned the Ghost, "will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." _______________________
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him. ________________________
Transparency Re-Defined Transparency According to Jim and Dave Skeletal Minutes and Consent Agendas Filing Opens for Two Seats on Raytown Water District No. 2 Board of Directors High School Sports Transparency Re-defined When David Bower was elected Mayor of Raytown he was fond of certain words and phrases. High on that list was the word “transparency”. He would often use the term as a means to distance himself from the previous administration’s excessive use of closed sessions. His was the public’s trust and he intended to allow the public to see how their local government worked. At last Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting there was an interesting discussion that shows how much Bower and his staff have redefined “transparency”. It also shows how meekly the Board of Aldermen has fallen in line with their marching orders. The discussion began when Ward 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk (who had been out of town at the previous meeting of the Board) commented that the abbreviated minutes of the previous meeting were so abbreviated that one could NOT tell what had transpired at the meeting. Outside of some Pollyannish remarks by the Mayor about how wonderful the Board works together and how great things are in Raytown, there was little about the meeting other than item headings and vote totals. In behavior that has become expected, the Mayor became confrontational with VanBuskirk. This set the stage for what is a tag team of comments from the Mayor, the City Attorney and Ward 2 Alderman Jim Aziere to show VanBuskirk the error of his ways. The rest of the Board did what they do best. Quietly sat there and said nothing. Transparency According to Jim and Dave According to Aziere if you want a copy of the minutes you can take time off from your job and drive up to city hall and get hard copies of the abbreviated minutes Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Bring some money with you. Last time we checked photocopies were being charged out at $1 per page at city hall. Or . . . you can watch a rebroadcast of the meeting if you are home during one of three time slots it is rebroadcast each week. But to do so you must subscribe to Comcast for your television signal. If you receive your television signal via antenna or satellite – so sad, too bad – the re-broadcast is NOT available to you. Or . . . if you want a copy of the video tape of the meeting, call city hall, make an appointment to have the copy made. Take a blank video tape to city hall. Leave it to be copied. Return to city hall at a later time, and the video tape is yours. Another problem is the rash of technical difficulties at recent meetings where the broadcast screen froze up or went blank during the meeting. Furthermore, the video tapes are not kept as a permanent record by city hall. See how simple Jim and Dave have made life for you? Skeletal Minutes and Consent Agendas “Been there, done that,” came to mind when I watched the last meeting of the Raytown Board of Aldermen. It was about 12 years ago the another Mayor tried the same stunt that Bower and Company have adopted as their “business as usual” way of handling the public’s tax dollars. The Mayor back then was Jack Nesbitt. Like Bower, Nesbitt had a “let the public be damned” style of governing. He directed his city staff to cut back the minutes to roll calls and headings only. The policy was dropped when he left office. He also tried to use consent agendas. This is a device whereby ordinances and resolutions are grouped together and voted through without debate on individual items. The practice never really took hold because Board members kept removing items from the consent agenda for debate. But that was different time with different elected officials. Many of whom were out-spoken and not afraid to make a stand. That is not a concern with the crew in charge today. With the exception Alderman VanBuskirk, the standard operating procedure appears to be one of go to a meeting, get instructions, and vote accordingly. Here’s a message to the Board. Do your homework. Make up your own mind. Remember, you are the ones elected by the voting public to make decisions. Those decisions should be made in public. The arguments and reasons for those decisions should be part of the public record. Skeletal minutes and consent agendas only serve to obscure and hide why and how decisions are made. Filing Opens for Two Seats on Raytown Water District No. 2 Board of Directors Two seats on the Raytown Water District No. 2 Board of Directors are up for election this spring. Those interested in filing for either seat can do so at Raytown Public Water Supply District No. 2 headquarters located at 6945 Blue Ridge Boulevard. The election will be held on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. Sub-district #3: 75th street is northern boundary, to city limits on south, Hedges on the west and city limits or Westridge on the east. Sub-district #5: 75th street is northern boundary, to city limits on south, western boundary, city limits or Blue Ridge to Elm street for eastern boundary. There is no filing fee. The election will be held on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. Questions regarding the election (when filing closes, candidate requirements, etc.) should be directed towards the Raytown Public Water Supply District at 353-5550. HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Cardinals Run Away from Shawnee Mission South, 60-40 It was a matter of time before the Roadrunner pulled away from Wile E. Coyote.Raytown South, ranked third in the 810 Preps power poll, pulled away from Shawnee Mission South for a 60-40 win in the nightcap of the opening night of the Hy-Vee Shootout. Senior guard Xzavier Moananu led the Cardinals with 16, while fellow senior center Joe Cooper added a season-high 14. The Raiders (2-2) rallied from an 11-0 deficit to take a 25-21 lead with 6:37 left in the third quarter after a Rayner Frederick layup. But Moananu hit three's on consecutive possessions, Cooper dropped a shot on the block, Corey Hilliard added a 12-foot bank shot then frosh Ishmail Wainright also trickled in a trifecta for a 13-0 surge and a 34-25 cushion. For the rest of this story and other stories about Raytown South Sports use this link: Cardinals Run Away from Shawnee Mission South Lady Celtics Rally to Win 50 – 40 in Sedalia After a slow start, the O'Hara Lady Celtics won on December 14th at Smith-Cotton 50-40. At halftime, the Celtics were trailing 24-18, but managed to whittle the score down to one point to start the fourth quarter at 36-35. A three-point shot by Cameron Randle tied the game at 40-40 with three minutes remaining in the game. Ashley Clark followed with another three-pointer to give O'Hara the lead. The Tigers were forced to foul and the Celtics took advantage with seven free throws on eight attempts to seal the victory. Eighteen of O'Hara's total came from three point range although the team did have the advantage of height with Hailey Houser and Tori Hurtt under the basket. Costly turnovers forced by the Celtic defense and missed layups worked against the Tigers. At one time the Tigers led by a 15-9 score. O'Hara took a temporary 35-32 lead inside of the third quarter when Ashley Clark hit on a trey along her way to 14 total points in the game. Cameron Randle and Alex Smith had 13 game points each. O’Hara 56 / Miege 58 (MEN’S BASKETBALL) O’Hara 42 / Shawnee Mission West 62 (WOMEN’S BASKTBALL) The O'Hara boys team lost to Miege by a close 58-56 score and the girls team dropped a 62-42 decision to Shawnee Mission West over the weekend. With a few seconds left to the boys contest, a three point shot that could have won the game for the Celtics bounced off the rim. O'Hara had led by two points after the first quarter and then by as much as four until Miege pulled ahead 24-22 midway through the second period. Aaron Stubblefield got the Celtics back on top with a layup at 33-32 during the third quarter, but then the Stags retook the lead and held on the remainder of the game. For rest of this story and more stories about O’Hara sports use this link: Brother Richard's Blog

51 comments:

JWDT said...

Transparency....very often used word, one I had used in my campaign as well, with very different meaning depending upon the person and context used in.

Sounds like many took the Webster's definition of transparency instead of asking Bowers to define (on the record) what he meant. Either way transparency has many levels. I am not defending the latest move at City Hall only showing how one uses it.

A prime example is this the current Universal Health Care bill that will be passed irregardless of who is for it and against it. If you speak to your representative they will tell you they are being transparent...even Obama will tell you he is transparent, the fact remains we are only seeing a distorted or limited view of what is going on. For those who are in favor of this 'power grab', remove the emotion and truly focus on the behavior(s) of the Legislative Bodies and leaders, one minute they are waxing the next waning, the next doing the impossible (if you read and believe the media)...for even more specific examples take Pelosi & Reid, both claimed to let all read, study and understand the Bill(s) prior to debate/voting. I am not sure, but can bet most could not understand, study or even read 2,000+ pages of 'legalese', let alone discern what it would mean...
And if I remember both Reid & Pelosi, along with the liar in office Obama, used the word TRANSPARENCY more then one over the past year.

Justin Tomac

Andy Whiteman said...

Doesn't transparent government really mean SECRET government. It seems to me the city is being run in much the same manner as Dictator O'Bomba dictates to Congress how to vote. He is even buying votes a Senator from LA or NE is stubborn.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

Greg, Thank you for bringing Public Water District #2 to our attention. I can't ever remember them having an election. We need some good cost cutting citizens to file for these seats. The present board members seem to be wasting a lot of money. What's with this putting some kind of waterfall or fountain in front of their building. They could have used this money to reduce our water rates, which by they way are higher than Lee's Summits.

Anonymous said...

Transparency is one of those words -- kind of like the new popular color of car for the year.

Somehow, somewhere, it is marketed as such. The wanna'bees in the political world pick up on what Obama says and ape the same sounds in their own little circles.

It really does not fool many people. The repetition makes for good sound bites that have a subliminal message that the speaker is the "here and now".

A 50 year resident said...

Way to go Mayor Bower!

A month before Christmas you closed the 63rd Street Bridge. Set up one of the most screwed up detours I have ever seen.

Effectively you have ruined business for the handful of faithful merchants and a former Mayor who have their establishments on 63rd Street.

Now, three days before Christmas you finally have something moving on the bridge replacement.

Anyone with a brain would have waited until after the holidays to close that bridge.

Di you, Mr. Mayor, actually think some work was going to be done during the winter months on such a project? Or are you just trying to drive a stake through the economic heart of the remaining merchants?

Way to go, Mayor.

Anonymous said...

dear 50 year resident

i work in the construction industry
i hate to inform you that houses,buildings,bridges and streets all get built during winter months.
They were working under the bridge on utilities and laying gravel base to support the heavy equipment needed to remove the old frame.
the detour is what it is, there are limited routes to move traffic...i am interested in hearing yours...put it out there or shut-up.

hey, did you hear walmart corp donated 150,000.00 to lay 16,000 CHRISTMAS wreaths on soldiers graves,they teamed up with a gentleman from worchester mass who has been putting wreathes on graves at Arlington for years...them bastards how dare the great satan do something good.

Anonymous said...

Mayor Bow Wow and his cronies at city hall are true geniuses at trying to destroy what little is left of downtown Raytown. Oh, I keep forgetting they (city administrator and department heads)don't live here so why should they care? This mayor is such a dud!! Only hope he runs again so his poor record can be used against him.

Anonymous said...

I am no Bower fan, not even close, but I think it is a joke to pretend that the opposite of Bower is Van Buskirk. This man is a grandstander, lacks any kind of knowledge about city governance and offers no value to the board. I thought it was wrong the way the board always disagreed with Greg Walters no matter what but it's not a bad idea to take the philosophy with Van Buskirk. the board and the city needs help but Van Buskirk is just as far off, if not farther, than Bower and the rest of the Board.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the 50 year old resident. Shutting down 63rd Street in the height of the Christmas season is stupidity.

I can understand a constrution worker not being aware of how things work in retail.

But a Mayor, particularly one with all the expertise and professionalism that surrounds David Bower when he is at city hall -- inexcusable!!!

Anonymous said...

yea cause without us construction workers building your stores there would be no retail...is that the best you got...

Anonymous said...

Please don't be that way.

Have some heart and understanding for the small retailer. The lack of planning by city hall this year has hurt them badly.

Andy Whiteman said...

7:32 AM, I wonder is the reason you never heard of an election in WD#2 is because all they legally have to do is to publish legal notice which means place a legal notice in a circulated newspaper in the district?

In this case it is the Red Star. I glance at the legal notices and have seen notices for other water districts. Obviously no one will see it unless they look for it. It is my understanding that the City will publish in the Red Star. The print is so small and there is no order to legal notices so I think maybe they don't want anyone to see it.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

Those elections. Such a nuisance!
Why can't they just let the highly trained professionals take care of business?

Anonymous said...

I dont really care that much for the current or any of the past Raytown Administrations as a whole, so I am not endorsing anyone by what I am going to say: I have lived here for 40 + years and even I know how to get around one bridge being out.... and if they had left well enough alone we would still have 2 lane traffic over the old railroad bridge on old raytown road by railroad street. They changed that because a few newbie screwups couldnt handle driving over it like the rest of us natives that knew how to, and at the speed limit also.

Another thing, those detours are NOT THE ONLY WAY AROUND the bridge out location. Bottom line, if people have a reason to go downtown in Raytown to do their shopping business, they will find a way. If there are not any attractive businesses there, I suppose that they will go elsewhere. I know many different routes to get from one side of the tracks to the other, and I manage to get there just fine. I do patronize some of Raytowns businesses, but not all of them. And Raytown doesnt have all of the businesses that I patronize, so I also have to go elsewhere for those shops.

Suggestions for the New Year:

Get new leadership al all levels of local government the first chance that we get.

Forget WalMart, they suck!

Get rid of the STUPID CHAMBER OF COMMERCE! They do NOTHING for this community except for toot their own horns and wine and dine and have parties as well as DESTROY our proud traditions!

Get rid of the STUPID PAWN SHOPS and STUPID TITLE LOAN SHARK BUSINESSES that prey upon the people that are not financially secure.

And get rid of anything else that is degrading to our community as a whole. I am sick and tired of seeing the crap that you see in the inner city happening in our city now. If someone doesnt do something about it now, kiss the city goodbye! Maybe KCMO will annex Raytown and take it over! WOW! Kiss your property values goodbye!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Anonymous said...

It's too bad we have to argue right before Christmas
but, if an argument is what you want then let me try.
Yes, it is admirable for Wal-Mart to donate $150,000
for the soldiers grave site. After all they make $285, Billion
in profits every year.
We should also note that by buying most of their goods from China
they have put millions of Americans out of work. Do the math, it doesn't
add up. This huge store has done more to hurt America than any other
company in the USA. Closing down plants, paying substandard wages
and using illegal aliens to further the insult.
However it is plain to see some of us like yourself can be bought off
for a few pieces of silver.
So hop in your foreign car and head to Wal-Mart and put a few more Americans
out of work. Here's something you can be thankful for, Wal-Mart hasn't entered into the construction business yet so you are safe..........for a while.

Anonymous said...

I agree that we need NEW LEADERSHIP at all level of government, that includes this Public Water District #2. These incumbents are wasting out money leading to HIGHER water rates. Let's get some new people to run and see if we can turn this thing around.

Pat Casady said...

I hate to say it but, the less City Hall lets you
here, read or see the more they will try to get away with.
I figured out many years ago the real meetings, the one's
they don't want you commenting on are held behind
closed doors or over the phone.
This is why most or them already know how they are
going to vote on something. That is why there is no
discussion, they have been told how to vote either
by the city lawyer, City Administrator or the Mayor.
Watch for the one or two elected officials the rest
don't like or agree with and he or she will be the one and only
that actually try to do right by and for the people. The rest
are worthless yes people.

Anonymous said...

i drive a chevy and have for 17 years...and i am retiring in 2 years so if walmart is entering the construction industry then so be it.
most crews now are made up of mexican labor, most construction crews have went out of buisness not because of walmart but washington policy and more to come.
illeagal aliens that work for nothing a square foot and sleep on the job sites.
your new health care bill has 30 billion in earmarks to buy the votes harry reid needed....who do you think will pay for that....merry christmas...open your wallet

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 3:31 Our city is much better off with current Alderman Van Buskirk. The city has suffered with the past Alderwoman Schlapia. There was one who knew nothing about city government. She was truly a bobble head. I for one will support him should he choose to run for another term.

Anonymous said...

Its so horrible that the 63rd street bridge is closed during downtown's busy Christmas shopping season!

Give me a break. If the bridge was open people would say the city should fix it. You close it and people say the detour is messed up? Greg you are doing a good thing with this blog but the reason people associate this with just a bunch of complainers is because this comments section, and some of the posts, are complaints just for the sake of complaining.

Max said...

Bridges, and Walmart and Mayors Oh My.

1.People complained the bridge work wasnt getting done, now it is they still complain. Yes, its a pain is the butt to get around, but get over it.
2.The new Gregory interchange, a waste of money in my opionion.
3.I happened to see all but two of the Alderman at the Lighting Ceremony, and a couple Alderman were very active in getting things done, just a clarification from a previous post.
4. Walmart Sucks.

The Raytown Plaza has new businesses, the RFQ goes out for the Greenspace downtown soon,the bridge is being worked on,all signs that maybe Raytown will have a viable downtown once again.

May God Bless Raytown in this new Decade.

Anonymous said...

I was told that one of the alderman was out of town celebrating holidays with his family. Everyone is entitled to do that. If he was here I am sure he would have been there doing his part to help out.

Pat Casady said...

Everybody knows the bridge needs to be replaced.
It's just that this city has been promising the repairs
for over five years. Then, when it's three weeks before
Christmas, when what's left of the
downtown businesses have a chance to finally have some
traffic and some much needed business, the city closes
easy access to them.
Now you can call it what you want but, if you owned a retail
business downtown you would be upset too.
We in the downtown have grown to know that City Hall
could care less if we make it or not. In fact, I'm convinced
they don't want any of the old businesses.

Anonymous said...

I agree that we need Alderman VanBuskirk. That Schlapia woman turned out to be a big joke. She was in it for herself and the parties after the council meetings, and not for the people of Ward 4. Ertz has been a big disappointment too, all he was concerned about was getting fireworks legalized again. Wonder want his angle was, possibly more fires so his water company could sell more water?

Lee said...

Anonymous @7:34,

If KC were to annex Raytown, I'd be the first to move. When I was looking for my house I specifically avoided anything that was in KC. And their city council was only half the joke then that it is now.

KC does one thing well, they supply the metro with water. Without KC, PWSD#2 wouldn't have anything to sell.

And as much as we all want to complain about the Walmart deal (it was rank stupidity), we live in a nation of corporate welfare. When our government isn't donating to big businesses (free land, TIFs, grants), it's building and protecting markets for them that serve no purpose.

Andy Whiteman said...

I agree with Pat. I wonder why they waste time having a meeting since it is already decided? Just so the open meetings act doesn't appear to be violated?

The Federal Government is now operating in the same manner. It is already decided complete with bribery!

If the bridge was closed at any other time, there still would have been complainers. I think is is strange to do the work in the winter but our BOA isn't always rational. I have no trouble getting around it with some trip planning. Actually I won't be surprised if someone drives through the road blocks.

Andy Whiteman

Pat Casady said...

Lee, don't worry, Kansas City doesn't want Raytown.
You are right about corporate welfare I like so many
others can't get by the stupidity shown by our elected
officials in the W-M deal. But, like they say we need to
move on. Move on in many areas like electing people that
can think before they agree to make a damaging decision
that will effect the very core of this town.
We need to elect more people that will stand up to the
group of people that do what they are told to do.
We need people that can actually think for themselves,
ask questions and work for the people.
Now, having said all that........
I want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas!

Andy Whiteman said...

The people need to THINK before they vote for elected officials in any office. The real problem with Raytown is only a minority of the people vote and that minority has control of the politics of this city. If more people would vote, we would have different leaders and things would change.

Merry Christmas to all including those who were elected and appointed.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

To 12-22-09 7:34am

If you are concernesd about the state of the codes enforced in this city you need to have that conversation with Mayor Bower. Bower is the reason this city is beginning to look like the inter city. He does not want the codes dept. to do the jobs they were hired for and that came directly from his mouth. I was standing close to a group of people he was having a serious conversation with and I have to admit I was easedropping. I was amazed at his arrogance and his rude additude. I felt sorry for those people who were asking for his help because he was his usual bulling self.

I have decided we should throw out all of those codes ordinances because as long as he is mayor they will not be enforced ever. Why have them on the books if no one is going to do anything about enforcing them? Then we could fire all of those rude and lazy employees in that dept. and that includes the dept. head as well. Think how much money the city will save in salaries.

Anonymous said...

Bower is one of those guys who thinks he can glad hand his way through life. He will shun hard decisions because he fears that someone will be angry at him for what he decides.

His lack of believin in anything but his own advancement is a detriment to Raytown and especially disappointing to those of us who put faith in him to right the course of this city.

The crumbling streets, the refusal to enforce city code ordinances designed to make our city a better place to live is only the tip of the iceberg.

His penchant for hiring "professionals" who do little more than warm a chair to run our city is not working.

He surrounds himself with political allies on the Board of Aldermen who have less a sense of direction than he does.

Is it any wonder things are the way they are?

Anonymous said...

You are right about Bower, he is rude, arrogant, and self centered and as long as he is mayor Raytown will continue to go downhill. I know personally about his unwillingness to enforce codes. All he could do was tell me how good a job Ms. Linn was doing but the problems never got solved. Most of them still exist to this day and he doesn't even care. Our streets are the worst they've ever been, crime is on the increase and the neighborhoods look worse than some in Kansas City. But Mayor Bower keeps telling us how great a job he has been doing. As Congressman Joe Wilson put it Mayor "YOU LIE".

Anonymous said...

12/23 11:26PM, In my opinion, Raytown doesn't look like the inner city. It IS the inner city! Could it be a conspiracy? If Raytown becomes too dilapidated, it is a prime target for a developer. Someone could make a lot of money razing Raytown and putting in new construction. How about a stadium?

Fox Mulder

Andy Whiteman said...

Apparently Walmart still thinks its old store is still open. They sent me an email about stores open until 8PM. I have never heard of a Supercenter ever closing so checked their hours using 64133 as a criteria:

Check Christmas Eve hours of local Walmart stores within 30 miles of 64133:

Wal-Mart
6709 Blue Ridge Blvd.
Raytown , MO , 64133
Phone: (816) 358-7790 Date
12/24/2009 Open Until
8:00 PM

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

Raytown does not look like the inner city. Go for a ride down Prospect around 75th Street. You will see the difference.

It does bother me that the Mayor takes our code enforcement law so lightly. He should be pushing for enforcement.

But is it only him. I never hear of any of the Aldermen pushing for better enforcement. Perhaps the problem is in the do-nothing officials we have in charge.

Anonymous said...

raytown is a ghetto listin to the police scanner
trust no one

dana scully

Andy Whiteman said...

Obviously if Raytown is allowed to continue in the same direction, it will soon look like the Prospect & 75th St. area.

Aldermen Aziere and Van Buskirk are pushing for code enforcement at BOA meetings.

Merry Christmas,
Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

I know of one alderman who has turned in code violations and nothing was ever done. He would follow up to see if they had gotten off their lazy butts and nothing was ever done. Don't put all alderman down sone of them are really trying but they can't do it by themselves. The mayor needs to get involved and lay the LAW down to enforce codes. Which by the way will never happen. My neighbor told me she called and ask for a trap to be put in her yard to trap some wild animal. She was told that they don't work on days when it rains. Wish I had that kind of job!!! I still haven't figured out what Beth Linn does besides draw a nice BIG check!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Welcome to bowersville!!!!

Andy Whiteman said...

8:28 AM Beth Linn stated at the BOA that they will not provide and animal trap is it is too cold because the animal has no shelter. It might be that the same applies for rain. BTW: There are places where you can buy an animal trap.

Merry Christmas,
Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

Andy,

It doesn't matter they told my friend that they don't give out animals traps out period!! The codes dept. doesn't do anything to help the residents or with the appearance of out city. Beth Linn can't have that much to do because her dept. is a waste of our tax money.

I wish to God we had past the charter then maybe we would have a way to get rid of those elected officals who don't do the job they were elected to do. Now we just have to live with it while our city goes to h---.

Anonymous said...

Why is it that Raytown can't plow the side streets? I know it is Christmas weekend but the only streets that have been touched are the supposed main streets. Will Christms is over and we have not seen one plow out at all on the side streets to today while we were out on runs we had to make. Is this another one of Bowers new rules? Don't make the street work if they don't want too.

Anonymous said...

Again, Raytown fails the test on snow removal. Many, many, cars have been stuck on our streets over the past 2 days, because I personally have helped some of them get going. Mayor Bower should again be ashamed of his inability to handle a basic city service like snow removal. Yes, folks after I was helped out of my neighborhood to go to Lee's Summit I find the streets are in much better shape once you get out of Raytown. Call Mayor Bower and your aldermen and ask them, where are the snowplows? I did!!!

Anonymous said...

I can honeslty say that I am pleased with the snow removal I have seen in Raytown.

The neighborhood I live in has been plowed -- twice!

Anonymous said...

I've missed 2 days paper and 1 day of mail because Raytown can't get their streets plowed. Have lived here a LONG time and I don't ever remember it taking so long to get the side streets done. Many cars have been stuck on our streets, and what about those emergency vehicles, they sure couldn't have responded if they would have been needed. OUR CITY GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED US AGAIN. Thanks for nothing Mayor Bower.

Anonymous said...

gotta say nonsense on streets are great outside of... gotta say nonsense on streets are great outside of raytown...i have been to op and lee summit and kc today all main roads have been hit but very few side streets have been plowed quit being so dramatic...you are all a bunch of whinnin babys

Andy Whiteman said...

1:19PM, I am wondering why Beth Linn lied to the ... 1:19PM, I am wondering why Beth Linn lied to the BOA? She stated animal traps are available, but not on weekends or when it is too cold. Animal traps are available online and I assume maybe at hardware or garden stores. As I have always said, we would have better service if these overpaid department heads were required to live in Raytown since they would have to put up with the same stuff as us serfs.
*******
Residential streets are the last to be plowed. I lived in KCMO and residential streets were NEVER plowed. This link is from the City website. It takes you to a page with 2 links. The first explains the policy for plowing streets. The 2nd shows a map of streets with the order they will be plowed.

Drive safely,
Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

It has been years since we have seen a snow like this. I think the street crew did a good job considering how it snowed and how much. Went to Lee's Summit and it was just as bad out there. I got stuck twice. Thank you street dept. for doing a good job.

Andy Whiteman said...

I think the public works dept. did a really outstanding job. We had a storm much heavier than usual. KCMO doesn't plow residential streets at all.

I was surprised when I moved to Raytown and saw residential streets plowed. Most cities don't plow residential streets. This service is more than I expected.

Again, I am providing the link to the city website on snow removal policy:
http://www.raytown.mo.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={CFADC4F6-BD6C-415C-AC62-E364D69D495E}&DE=

Why is the Mayor responsible for EVERY thing that is not right? I have a lot of dissatisfaction with Raytown City Government but I don't blame the Mayor for everything. Do people on this blog equate the Mayor to Dictator O'Bomba but on a city level?

It seems many in Raytown expect services that other cities don't provide and it is the Mayor's fault that it is not provided.

My sidewalk needs shoveling but I don't expect the city to come do it. I would hire someone to do it if I knew anyone.

Andy Whiteman

Lee said...

Plowing streets is all about money. I know back in the 80's it cost around $70 an hour to contract lawn care companies to plow. 20+ years later, no telling how much it costs for contractors.

For city streets people are pulled from various departments. They still have their regular job to do, so a lot of plowing is overtime. Not to mention that plowing is very hard on trucks.

And once again, KC is not the model to live up to. I have lived most of my life in the KC area and KC has never done a competent job of clearing streets.

But, OTOH in the small town where my other house is, they plowed my street (curb to curb) several times over the holiday. And treated it with salt/sand as well. The difference is that the town is built on hills and the citizens have made it clear that they consider plowing and treating streets a necessary service.

And in Raytown, my street doesn't even have curbs.... :-)

Anonymous said...

Lee, I don't recognize the letters "OTOH." OPKS, I would recognize. Is the small town in Ohio?

Lee said...

OTOH - On the other hand

And the small town is in the metro area, Platte City. It has it's problems, but Raytown could learn a lot from them.

Andy Whiteman said...

Sorry, I am not up to date on texting shorthand.