tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post3453859870477780139..comments2024-03-27T13:12:00.821-05:00Comments on RAYTOWN REPORT: RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCEGreg Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02133276387013984873noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-81587848527026049072014-10-13T16:57:50.281-05:002014-10-13T16:57:50.281-05:00From The Salamander
A few comments about the demi...From The Salamander<br /><br />A few comments about the demise of<br />Raytown's Jewel -- Super Splash.<br /><br />It is closed, for the 2015 season,<br />and more than likely will never re-open.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Who knows?<br /><br />Some individuals blame mismanagement by the Parks Department and its secretive board.<br /><br />Use of the word "secretive" is the correct term when describing the actions of Mayor Bowers' park<br />board.<br /><br />Is the pool really losing money hand over fist. There is no way of really telling. And stories we hear on the street or read in<br />the local papers are conflicting.<br /><br />Example: Randy Battagler's Raytown Times carried a lengthy report indicating his sources claimed the water hole had "turned things around and the future looked brighter than ever."<br /><br />A couple of weeks later the Parks<br />Department votes to close the pool because it is "losing money".<br /><br />Who should we believe? a quandary, to be sure.<br /><br />Battagler is a trained, respected veteran Newshawk. Either he was<br />blowing smoke at his readers when he glowingly wrote how the park had turned things around. Or, someone with knowledge of the pool's status deliberately misinformed him.<br /><br />In this instance your Salamander will side with Randy's professionalism.<br /><br />As for the Parks Department, your correspondent has long wondered how on earth the PD could possibly know the state of the pool operation finances.<br /><br />Some time back your writer made<br />specific inquiries about the pool's finances.<br /><br />I was told that the pool does not maintain or issue a profit and loss statement.<br /><br />The then park director told me they (the pool) do maintain some sort of tracking record.<br /><br />When pressed further he invoked the usual bureaucratic double talk about confidentially preventing further information being disseminated.<br /><br />Moving on, the park department tells us that it might take as much as $400,000.00 in repairs just to get the pool in shape<br />to stay in business.<br /><br /><br />This astounding figure causes one to wonder if ever any maintenance was pulled on the pool equipment It almost appears as though no one ever troubled themselves to perform maintenance on the place.<br /><br />Was the pool properly maintained. It appears doubtful. The records show an instance which tell you a lot about how poorly the place was kept up:<br /><br />When Super Splash opened originally, the facility operated daily (except Sunday) from 10:00 A.M to 9:00P.M.<br /><br />The pool was a perfect fit for the community.<br /><br />Parents could take their children to the pool and enjoy their choice -- bright sunlight or a cool swim in the summer evening.<br /><br />One day, one of the underwater lights went on the blink.<br /><br />Was the malfunction repaired? No. It was not. Not on your life. <br /><br />Instead of fixing the light it was decided to shut off the lighting system -- which allowed the pool to be open evenings. The result: Pool hours were drastically curtailed.<br /><br />It was all downhill from that day on.<br /><br />Is there any hope for Super Splash? Doubtful.<br /><br />More than likely the park board will go out of town, find some sort of self-styled pool rescuer and pay him a wad of money to assess the situation.<br /><br />Like most people you hire, he will come back and tell us the situation is hopeless.<br /><br />Your Salamander is not guessing this will happen. He is flatly stating this is exactly what will happen.<br /><br />I have only this advice for the Park Board.<br /><br />When you secure the services of this overpaid expert, be certain that he lives at least 50 miles outside of Raytown.<br /><br />50 miles is the accepted standard for hiring out-of-town experts.Salamandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-60779729909553131832014-02-14T17:33:40.476-06:002014-02-14T17:33:40.476-06:00Just returned to the Big R and read up on the blog...Just returned to the Big R and read up on the bloggers. Back to the storm which paralyzed our city and almost put our city's PR department into Limbo. <br /><br />zno problem as far as I am concerned when it comes to going home early in<br />case pf snow. Those public info and like jobs are useless and whether or not the person filling the position shows up for work doesn't matter because they accomplish nothing while on the job.<br /><br />Enough of that. Let's go back to that fellow who wrote telling his son had to shovel the sidewalk seven (7) times during the recent snowstorm.<br /><br />My only question is this: What was he using as a shovel -- a spoon?<br /><br />The individual who wrote that gibberish is either kidding or he is, as our friends south of the border would say, "One Sunday Short."<br /><br />Either that or he is one slice of bread short of a sandwich.<br /> <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-56886752884937983942014-02-09T08:01:27.333-06:002014-02-09T08:01:27.333-06:00Good night GeorgeGood night GeorgeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-65335780838249574722014-02-08T21:35:28.936-06:002014-02-08T21:35:28.936-06:003:17pm Your statement is so elusive, so ambiguous,...3:17pm Your statement is so elusive, so ambiguous, that it is very difficult to surmise what it is you're trying to convey. Was that your intent? If so, why bother posting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-83985050640650991372014-02-08T17:58:07.053-06:002014-02-08T17:58:07.053-06:00Say goodnight Gracie Say goodnight Gracie Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-27276309523363362782014-02-08T15:17:09.517-06:002014-02-08T15:17:09.517-06:005:15 comment was in reference to that one public ...5:15 comment was in reference to that one public citizen and the recent comments about the 2 city employees ; there is the common denominator in all of it ANDY.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-9384490301877893742014-02-08T14:09:43.087-06:002014-02-08T14:09:43.087-06:00"I'm tired of Liberals dividing this coun...<br />"I'm tired of Liberals dividing this country up into little groups, setting them upon each other, breeding spite and envy, and then having the nerve to accuse Conservatives of hatred." - Allen West<br /><br />Can I get a 2nd on the motion?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-80346006056041438912014-02-08T13:47:54.954-06:002014-02-08T13:47:54.954-06:00I agree with an earlier post.
Why pay for a per...I agree with an earlier post. <br /><br /> Why pay for a person who is truly NOT needed fulltime. Any senior staffer could of taken on talking to a news crew once in a blue moon. PD has always given news releases in this manner. <br /><br />The PIO position is a complete waste of tax dollars. I would rather have more PD, EMS and street employees.<br /><br />City hall will ignore this or put a PR spin on the matter...more waste of tax dollars. Never ends.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-2789142185081787302014-02-08T08:54:28.757-06:002014-02-08T08:54:28.757-06:00Andy, if you had been at a recent city council mee...Andy, if you had been at a recent city council meeting you could have heard the off the record comments being made by the city's PIO making fun of Councilmembers as they were speaking during public session.<br /><br />Then there was the infamous showdown she had when Elise Breitenbach was being interviewed by channel five. She told the reporter after the interview that she wanted to refute everything Breitenbach had said.<br /><br />Then went into a monolog attacking a private citizen. Don't look for the video. It has mysteriously disappeared from the channel five archives.<br /><br />At the recent lottery at city hall I witnessed the city clerk mixing it up with one of the charter candidates. She was abrupt, cold and downright mean in her body language and words when asked if unused numbers in the lottery would mean that ballot positions could change if the number was not used.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-21862717122416166442014-02-07T22:21:31.828-06:002014-02-07T22:21:31.828-06:005:16 PM, Maybe it depends on who the citizen is an...5:16 PM, Maybe it depends on who the citizen is and their behavior. The City Clerk has NEVER been surly with this citizen. We have had disagreements but she always remained professional. I don't remember interfacing with the PIO except once via email about a website that was not updated and she had an excuse for not updating.<br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-41584581160088143312014-02-07T17:16:35.029-06:002014-02-07T17:16:35.029-06:00Understand it now; the connection with the city cl...Understand it now; the connection with the city clerk and the public information officer. And the comments about both. Yes they both have been surly to that public citizenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-7222571144978031972014-02-07T16:37:47.364-06:002014-02-07T16:37:47.364-06:00For the PIO to realize that she was on the news an...For the PIO to realize that she was on the news and then to immediately have her face taken off the air, is a clear indication that she knew she did wrong. Why remove your face otherwise...Bad hair day? <br /><br />C'mon Raytown City hall!!! You keep asking for more tax dollars and this is where it goes? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-25393895407502190792014-02-07T15:32:43.781-06:002014-02-07T15:32:43.781-06:00I went to KCTV 5. Com and just read the story and ...I went to KCTV 5. Com and just read the story and it has her quotes and the entire story my computer is acting up so I could not pull up anything video. However I noticed Nrendas interview was live at 11:53 am and two post were put on the City website one at 12:11pm and one at 1:13pm so this shows not only did she play Hookie but someone else was doing Her Job as well my daughter and daughter in law worked from home that day but they work for sprint and quintiles and their jobs can be done on the computer Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-78595004507355060692014-02-07T13:32:42.624-06:002014-02-07T13:32:42.624-06:00Our city leaders pat themselves on the back
tellin...Our city leaders pat themselves on the back<br />telling themselves and us, what a great job<br />they have done. Consider this, how many new <br />car dealers have we got now? How many does<br />Lee’s Summit have now? Sales tax gone? How much<br />tax income does the WalMart generate that <br />Raytown gets to keep? How many small businesses<br />have been run out of Raytown because of the<br />way city hall does business? Why does it take<br />so long to appease our city codes people before<br />a new business can open in downtown. When will<br />the people of Raytown get what their tax dollars are<br />supposed to do for them?<br />Now lets see what we do have. We have a group of<br />people running Raytown that doesn’t give a damn<br />for the people and or their wants and wishes.<br />We have a group of people in city hall that spends<br />our tax dollars like there is no end to it.<br />We only have ourselves to blame for this sinking ship.<br />Please talk to your neighbors, friends and anybody<br />that can vote in this town to vote, vote, vote, them<br />out!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-79544445355232400612014-02-07T11:42:16.366-06:002014-02-07T11:42:16.366-06:00A sad day we have in this Nation when you have peo...A sad day we have in this Nation when you have people who think they are entitled to services from our government. Many of these same people do not pay anything back into the system or have paid very little back.<br /><br />Example:<br />Several people we have helped including a niece who believes it is alright to breed with the first sperm donor who comes along and instead of getting a job and supporting the child as well as going after the sperm donor to get him to assist with the child he help make they run down to the nears government office and start getting all kinds of government support. When things look like they are not getting as much as they feel they should they spread their legs and start the baby process all over again.<br /><br />If that is not upsetting enough for those of us who work for a living and are not making children with anyone and everyone. We have those that self abuse themselves so they can get on government assistance.<br />I can name two different families within Raytown that are currently getting government benefits because they have allowed themselves to get so over weight that they say it hurts their back and they cannot work. Fun thing is they can do other things and have publicly complained that they had to find a new doctor to get their benefits as the doctor they had been seeing told them they needed to go on a diet.<br /><br />The mother of this person has been getting benefits for some time always with some excuse about she should get a job, but one minute it is she cannot stand the next it is she cannot set for long periods, but she sure can go spend hour after hour in a chair fishing.<br />Now I agree there are those that need assistance from time to time, but this government give away has to be fully reviewed and we who pay for these services need to say enough if the bleeding hearts want them then let the chuches go back to actually helping the people and those who think everyone needs help without first helping themselves can go to the churches with funds to help.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-5656245660214190972014-02-07T11:21:51.308-06:002014-02-07T11:21:51.308-06:00I would think that Brenda, being a PR professional...I would think that Brenda, being a PR professional, would have refused to be interviewed at HER business. Why does Raytown need to waste money on a PR person? Always has seemed like an unneeded job to me unless it is for cover up purposes and that makes it more unneeded!<br /><br />9:15 PM, I agree with you, but in the old days it never occurred to anyone to sue the school district is a child felt too cold or got frostbite waiting for the bus. Society today is litigation happy.<br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-14602593390093686362014-02-07T11:15:57.261-06:002014-02-07T11:15:57.261-06:00O well, so they caught the PIO, dirty handed. The ...O well, so they caught the PIO, dirty handed. The roads are too bad to get to Raytown city hall, which was open all week, but not bad enough for her to get to work at her private business. <br /><br />That's pathetic to say the least.<br /><br />There goes a good $60,000 a year with additional costs of benefits down the drain for the City.<br /><br />Good to know this is what we get when the City wishes to raise taxes. <br /><br />Again, pathetic and a black eye for the Mayor and BOA.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-45722541110246793482014-02-07T10:51:57.575-06:002014-02-07T10:51:57.575-06:00If you're going to lie, at least be accurate. ...If you're going to lie, at least be accurate. Here's the story:<br />http://www.kctv5.com/story/24631400/as-snow-piles-up-some-businesses-remain-open. Pretty sure her and her husband aren't both named Brenda. Heck, it's not even a big story, and people are acting like a 60 second clip on the local news is as big as Hollywood. <br /><br />Again, don't get what the big stink is. At best, her bosses told her to not come in because frankly being a PIO isn't that ESSENTIAL of a task in that type of weather. In fact, the city's website says City Hall is closed during weather emergencies. If Tuesday didn't qualify, you may not be posting from the midwest, because it definitely qualified as a weather emergency type of day. Here's the city link, first question: http://www.raytown.mo.us/index.asp?Type=B_LIST&SEC={2AED44E3-F4DD-4949-B816-86F3571A5FD2}&DE={AA3C60A9-91CE-4FD5-A9BD-AF5C2A9E0D4D}<br /><br />At worst, she took a personal day to work at her own business, one that's THREE BLOCKS from her apartment. She could WALK there. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-36368040431178777462014-02-07T09:55:37.552-06:002014-02-07T09:55:37.552-06:00Slow news day? Really??? The major t.v. Stations w...Slow news day? Really??? The major t.v. Stations were on the coverage all day long Tuesday. Measuring snow fall, showing empty parking lots with snow drifts, showing white out conditions, showing wreaks. My older son came by the night before and slept on the sofa so he could shovel "7" times my driveway that day. Luckily neither of us had to go into work. I live on a major emergeny snow route and it was coming down at an alarming rate just as was predicted. He would come in warm up and we would flip thru all the news channels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-33333114466960183532014-02-07T09:47:15.301-06:002014-02-07T09:47:15.301-06:00Did anyone see the post on the City's' Fac...Did anyone see the post on the City's' Facebook page about snow routes and priority roads? I don't remember seeing that posted during past snow storms. It was the post just an hour and two minutes prior to the infamous " keep your dogs in" post. Sure don't remember seeing that at all in previous snow storms but then again I don't check that sight regularly. Hmm I wonder what prompted that...... Makes one wonderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-17558704080029933112014-02-07T09:22:23.828-06:002014-02-07T09:22:23.828-06:00To KMCCLA ; back when I went to Raytown schools if...To KMCCLA ; back when I went to Raytown schools if snow did not reach the supers mailbox we had school. Back then people had sense to dress properly as weather indicated and most had 1 parent home to see that they did. Dress codes were intelligent then too. I had a student wearing nike sandles and another wearing nylon gym shorts! And forget coats; they only wear hoodies with a designer name on them. School Districs have a certain amount of snow days worked into their yearly contractsPeternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-37662887111754176592014-02-07T09:06:48.696-06:002014-02-07T09:06:48.696-06:00To 2:11am yes to self employed people the thought ...To 2:11am yes to self employed people the thought of a personal day or vacation day worked into many if not most companies would seem like a Hooke day. And to 6:46 Sly James did a remarkable job! Jackson County was closed as well as many others; Raytown being one of the few open on Tuesday with limited services. Sly James was great to suggest staggered times on the hiway for the following days ; he should be commended for heeding MDOT and the National Weather Services warning. Now there is a Mayor who caresAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-53638962865653797482014-02-07T06:46:04.851-06:002014-02-07T06:46:04.851-06:00I wondered why the Channel five news story had Bre...I wondered why the Channel five news story had Brenda on it but when you went to the website it was removed and her husband was on instead.<br /><br />Guess she did not want the bad publicity of being caught playing hookie. I am surprised that she has enough pull with the television station to get the stories changed. <br /><br />I guess her public relations connections paid off big time. <br /><br />She certainly is lucky that the t.v. crews did not take a personal day or vacation day due to the snow storm.<br /><br />Face it folks, she is a clever gal who took advantage of a slow news day and her buddies from t.v. land took care of her.<br /><br />As for her calling in and saying she could not make it into work due to the weather. Hogwash. She made it to her business. The news van made it to her business. She could easily have made it to Raytown City Hall.<br /><br />Kansas City is receiving praise for how their Mayor stepped up and at least acted like he took charge in the snow storm. <br /><br />In Raytown it looks like city hall was like children getting a snow day off. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-60776116979903128442014-02-07T05:59:08.432-06:002014-02-07T05:59:08.432-06:00.
Here's a link to RAIDS online where you can ....<br />Here's a link to RAIDS online where you can see current Raytown crimes pinpointed on a map. On the left side of the page, you can specify the date range you want to view as well as the types of crime you want pinpointed on the map. Mouse over the circles (pin points) on the map and you can read the details about each crime. Nice<br /><br />http://www.raidsonline.com/?address=Raytown,MO<br /><br />Susan Dolannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-71610440080337840552014-02-07T02:11:07.934-06:002014-02-07T02:11:07.934-06:00What Brenda Gustafson does on her own time is her ...What Brenda Gustafson does on her own time is her business but she wasn't one her own time, this time. <br /><br />Her excuse for skipping out on work to the city of Raytown was lame, she has been surly toward citizens who have asked her to do her job with the city website, and she has interfered with a public citizen's press interview.<br /><br />Perhaps Mrs. Gustafson should be given a permanent vacation. Then she could spend all the time she wants in her Lees Summit house and Lees Summit business. <br /><br />I'm sure there is someone in Raytown who would be grateful to have a new job as our PIO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com