tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post7242113020034165831..comments2024-03-27T13:12:00.821-05:00Comments on RAYTOWN REPORT: Greg Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02133276387013984873noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-7108548630242085142011-12-18T13:34:37.940-06:002011-12-18T13:34:37.940-06:00I am flattered that some would want me to run for ...I am flattered that some would want me to run for State Representative. But am honestly not interested in it at this time. Maybe someday in the future.<br /><br />It appears that there is going to be healthy stable of qualified candidates running this year. Hopefully one of them will take charge and do our City proud as its rep. in Jefferson City.Greg Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02133276387013984873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-7242622331825037602011-12-17T23:48:10.072-06:002011-12-17T23:48:10.072-06:00Greg,
As a long time resident of Raytown and invol...Greg,<br />As a long time resident of Raytown and involved in local politics, you should run for the state representative. This may be your best chance to win. But I understand your business obligation may not allow you to run and spend time in Jefferson City. Just a thought crossed in my mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-38688005546048227242011-12-17T20:12:40.760-06:002011-12-17T20:12:40.760-06:00I have friends in Hays, Ks. It won't take muc...I have friends in Hays, Ks. It won't take much effort to get all the facts about the city's new finance director.Salamandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-36237132761657118282011-12-17T18:36:03.545-06:002011-12-17T18:36:03.545-06:00before i would look at changing the paint on the a...before i would look at changing the paint on the ambulances maybe you should think about hiring somebody to run the service...just sayin..who is in charge?John Holidaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-9187375789850347552011-12-17T10:49:51.380-06:002011-12-17T10:49:51.380-06:00Yes, we are like Sgt. Schiltz without the Raytown ...Yes, we are like Sgt. Schiltz without the Raytown Report.<br /> <b>"I know nothing....nothing!"</b><br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-57575365758635250922011-12-17T08:48:37.551-06:002011-12-17T08:48:37.551-06:00I appreciate the job you guys do in exposing what ...I appreciate the job you guys do in exposing what is going on up at city hall. If we relied on our elected officials we would know NOTHING.<br /><br />Keep up the good work!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-43185396320263714372011-12-16T22:03:33.205-06:002011-12-16T22:03:33.205-06:00It costs $$$$ to repaint vehicles then people woul...It costs $$$$ to repaint vehicles then people would complaint about wasting taxpayers' money. (I would too.) As new ambulances are ordered, I suggest Ward La-France yellow for visibility. My car would be that color if I had a choice of color. <br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-31595419934164881262011-12-16T11:32:05.889-06:002011-12-16T11:32:05.889-06:00Quoting Greg, "Cushman recently resigned his ...Quoting Greg, "Cushman recently resigned his position as the head of the Raytown Ambulance Service after serving 17 years in that position."<br /><br />Not true, Tom Taylor held that position until he was fired during the Wenson Regime, apparently for not being a team player. This event was concurrent with the Charter proposal. It will be many years before this town heals from the Wenson/Frank fiascos, if ever.<br /><br />Maybe now we can at least get rid of that star-spangled whorehouse design/color scheme on the ambulances. Apalling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-43098360271270427002011-12-15T11:01:04.598-06:002011-12-15T11:01:04.598-06:007:36AM, Assuming all this to be true, it may be to...7:36AM, Assuming all this to be true, it may be to the advantage of the city to have someone who knows how to accomplish underhanded things. Of course it could backfire and cost the city $$$$$$.<br /><br />BTW: Isn't the technical name of this type of person liar or fraud? I can also think of some words that Greg won't allow.<br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-28522028746522679862011-12-15T07:36:43.735-06:002011-12-15T07:36:43.735-06:00Wow, “unethical negotiation for a higher salary.” ...Wow, “unethical negotiation for a higher salary.” Very serious accusation, combined with knowingly violating certain ethical and perhaps legal laws by altering a legal, binding contract, to extract additional benefits.<br /><br />Why did the City hire him, again?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-44197723134220969982011-12-14T21:24:10.829-06:002011-12-14T21:24:10.829-06:008:32AM, I suggest that YOU as well as everyone VOT...8:32AM, I suggest that YOU as well as everyone <b>VOTE</b> in the next city election and replace those who make poor decisions.<br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-11715590519788466722011-12-14T19:22:35.045-06:002011-12-14T19:22:35.045-06:00Greg, I am glad that you are verifying negative co...Greg, I am glad that you are verifying negative comments about a person and requiring the letter be signed. Some negative comments have previously been posted about one person. I know the person and doubted the truthfulness of the vague allegations. I believe the posts were deleted since the count of the posts decreased by 2 for that week. <br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-92069263097669555012011-12-14T08:32:10.691-06:002011-12-14T08:32:10.691-06:00Again, Raytown elected officials appear to have ma...Again, Raytown elected officials appear to have made a BAD CHOICE in hiring someone to run the finance department at city hall. The people that we hire for these positions should be SWEAKY CLEAN. There are too many people out there looking for jobs right now, so I can't imagine why you would hire someone that has a CLOUD hanging over their head. Raytown just doesn't need this kind of NEGATIVE publicity. It just shows how bad our board of alderman and city administration really are at making the simplest of decisions. Too bad we don't have a charter, I believe that a costly mistake like this, would be grounds for recalling them ALL.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-49628351815555345072011-12-14T07:50:15.230-06:002011-12-14T07:50:15.230-06:00Earlier this week we received an email about one o...Earlier this week we received an email about one of the potential candidates for the new state representative district in that takes up all of Raytown. The email was full of many allegations and accusations about one of the candidates that were, to say the least, disparaging. The writer was short on facts, but dropped third party names to back up the statements made. It was a clever message – but it was clear that the intent was to condemn while hiding behind the mask of anonymity.<br /><br />It is one thing to make an anonymous statement asserting a position or a belief. It is another to use this forum to vilify another person without having to at least stand up and say so publicly.<br /><br />In our view, making such statements with intent to damage another person’s reputation without having to expose oneself is cowardice and underhanded.<br /><br />Paul and I discussed whether or not to post the missive. Here is our decision.<br /><br />We will publish the message, provided the individual will sign off on the message, -- and -- allow us to verify their identity.Greg Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02133276387013984873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-83267884093262009542011-12-14T07:46:31.434-06:002011-12-14T07:46:31.434-06:00Pretty obvious that Mr. Loughry misrepresented him...Pretty obvious that Mr. Loughry misrepresented himself, claiming a total benefit package from his past employer as his salary to increase his beginning salary during hiring negotiations, and was able to have penciled into a signed contract, 100% paid insurance. For this he was fired.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-33766527005949204992011-12-13T21:56:31.093-06:002011-12-13T21:56:31.093-06:00It's actually not appropriate to reprint an en...It's actually not appropriate to reprint an entire article like this. You cited where the article is from, but it really should be a brief intro and link to the online version of this story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-77910317225249303292011-12-13T11:30:20.168-06:002011-12-13T11:30:20.168-06:00Raytown has had proplems for as long as I can reme...Raytown has had proplems for as long as I can remember so I sounds logical to hire someone with a problem. As a previous poster said, "Sounds like a good fit." If I was to fill out an application, quite frankly, I can't remember what my last salary was. In fact I can't remember what my current Social Security or retirement is. All I know is are not enough to live on.<br /><br /><br />6:27 PM, I vote for the man or woman regardless of party.<br /><br />Andy WhitemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-2937223637256732132011-12-13T07:33:29.561-06:002011-12-13T07:33:29.561-06:00Jim Aziere as a State Representative?
Maybe he sho...Jim Aziere as a State Representative?<br />Maybe he should look at his history on<br />representing the people of his ward.<br />Trust me on this one. Ward two had more <br />helpful representation from Greg Walters <br />in Ward one than ward two ever had from Aziere.<br />We don't know Mr.Mark Loughry but I have a question.<br />If a person applies for a job to head a town's<br />financial department and has a questionble past<br />about finances why would our leaders hire them?<br />Our leaders have hired people without a past<br />problem and have had a great deal of problems<br />with them. This may be a great ride for this town.<br />The number one qualification for being an elected<br />official should be that they are at the very least<br />sharper that a ball bearing.Pat Casadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02753840266376084738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-49606843400874451272011-12-13T07:18:16.246-06:002011-12-13T07:18:16.246-06:00Seems like Mr. Loughry has a way of twisting thing...Seems like Mr. Loughry has a way of twisting things around and that "misunderstanding" always benefit him financially. <br /><br />What professional overstates his salary during salary discussions, and pencils in wording in a contract after it has been signed by both parties and approved by the City Council and expect it to stand up to scrutiny? <br /><br />Lot of double talk, he said, she said.<br /><br />Perhaps his employer tired of the constant round around of trying to get a stright up answer and just decided to end his employment, at a steep cost to the citizens.<br /><br />History has a way of repeating itself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-40422583836607080102011-12-13T06:51:47.529-06:002011-12-13T06:51:47.529-06:00So, Mark Loughry got caught lying. He ought to fi...So, Mark Loughry got caught lying. He ought to fit right in at the Raytown City Hall. They all have been caught lying on many occasions.Raytown Residentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-45925159963091743332011-12-13T06:10:19.841-06:002011-12-13T06:10:19.841-06:00“I feel like he lied to us right from the start,” ...“I feel like he lied to us right from the start,” Box said. <br />Box said he first saw Reavey's 2010 letter to the council sometime this past summer. He was elected to the council in April. <br />Reavey told the Sentinel last month that he had never intended for his letter to become public, but he stood by everything he wrote.<br />Hill said the letter was the result of a heated conflict between Reavey and Loughry, which was resolved soon afterward. Reavey continued to be the city attorney for about another year after sending the letter.<br />“It's unfortunate that the three folks who want to get rid of Mark are using it as a document indicating fraud,” Hill said.<br />Mertz declined to comment on whether Loughry's alleged misreporting of his salary played any role in his vote to remove him. He said he did not want to discuss the reasons for his vote because of possible legal procedures concerning the firing. But he said he wanted to assure residents that he had the city's best interests at heart.<br />“Any decision that was made was a business one and not a personal one,” Mertz said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-11461168703356304282011-12-13T06:09:13.440-06:002011-12-13T06:09:13.440-06:00document included by Reavey as evidence, the city ...document included by Reavey as evidence, the city of Hays reported Loughry's base pay at that time as $77,800. Loughry was assistant city administrator in Hays at the time.<br />In the letter, Reavey characterized Loughry's behavior as an “unethical negotiation for a higher salary.”<br />In an email response to Reavey's letter sent in April 2010, verified as authentic by Loughry and a recipient, Loughry wrote that the salary he reported included an annual longevity bonus and a performance-related raise he was scheduled to receive at the beginning of September 2009, less than a month after he was to begin as city administrator in Basehor. <br />“This is a non-issue,” he wrote.<br />Contacted by the Sentinel for this story, Loughry said he would continue to decline public comment on anything related to his firing, based on the advice of his attorney.<br />Hill told the Sentinel he was aware during negotiations that Loughry's reported salary included the increase he was due to receive in about a month.<br />“It was no attempt to misrepresent his pay,” Hill said. <br />Payroll records from the city of Hays, obtained in another records request by the Sentinel, listed Loughry's annual salary as $77,800. But he was also scheduled to receive an annual longevity bonus worth 3 percent of his salary, bringing his yearly total pay at that time to about $80,130, not including a $6,000 car allowance. <br />But Erin Niehaus, human resources coordinator for the city of Hays, said Loughry did have a chance to receive a raise ranging from 1 to 5 percent of his salary at the beginning of September 2009, based on a performance review. The background check results included with Reavey's letter indicated that Loughry expected a 4.5 percent raise.<br />And the payroll records from Hays revealed that all city employees were due a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment at the beginning of 2010, and that Loughry's longevity bonus in 2010 was set to increase to 4 percent of his salary.<br />All told, according to those figures, Loughry had a chance for his total annual pay to increase to as much as $84,140 by September 2009, if he received the maximum possible raise. By 2010, that number could have increased to as much as $87,500. If he received no performance-related raise, his 2010 pay would have totaled about $83,340, based on guaranteed increases.<br />Hill said his intention was to match the pay Loughry would have received in Hays.<br />“He could stay where he was and in four weeks be making more money,” Hill said. <br />Mertz, who was on the council at the time of Loughry's negotiations, said he was unaware then of the discrepancy between Loughry's reported salary and his actual pay at the time. He said Hill should have told council members about the issue.<br />“I think before we actually hired him, we should have known that there was a discrepancy,” Mertz said.<br />Fred Box, another council member who voted to fire Loughry, said Loughry's alleged misreporting of his salary in Hays was a factor in his decision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-87804750936767085602011-12-13T06:04:28.410-06:002011-12-13T06:04:28.410-06:00For more information go to
http://www.tonganoxie...For more information go to <br /><br />http://www.tonganoxiemirror.com/news/2011/oct/26/city-attorneys-letter-claimed-loughry-lied-about-p/<br /><br />A 2010 letter from Basehor's city attorney accused former city administrator Mark Loughry of misrepresenting the salary he was paid by his previous employer, the city of Hays, during his negotiations with Basehor in summer 2009.<br />The allegation was one of four specific issues raised in the April 2010 letter from then-city attorney Patrick Reavey to city council members and Mayor Terry Hill regarding Loughry, who was fired in a surprise 3-2 council vote in September. The Sentinel obtained the letter, along with documents containing supporting evidence, in an open-records request last month.<br />Basehor City Council President Dennis Mertz mentioned the letter as possible justification for firing Loughry at the council's Sept. 19 meeting, after making the motion to do so.<br />The other issues raised in Reavey's letter regarded Loughry's opposition to Reavey's legal opinions on the separation agreement between the city and former city clerk Mary Mogle and on the possible annexation of three lots in the Cedar Falls subdivision south of Basehor, as well as an alleged revision to Loughry's contract to provide his family with fully paid health insurance, which the Sentinel examined last month.<br />Reavey's letter said Loughry had reported to Hill that his salary in Hays had been $86,000 and had written on a Basehor job application that it was $85,000, but a League of Kansas Municipalities survey had reported his salary as $76,000. According to a background checkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-55053371500066032492011-12-12T18:51:20.417-06:002011-12-12T18:51:20.417-06:00I remember Mr. Moreno when he campaigned against M...I remember Mr. Moreno when he campaigned against Mr. Kraus. The last time I seen him he was the Political Director for Mr. Nixon. My wife and I found him to be a fine young man. If he runs he has my support. We need more strong Democrats like him.Jimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767127531333372490.post-76375531626223491192011-12-12T18:27:53.182-06:002011-12-12T18:27:53.182-06:00Mr. Aziere is more a Republican than I am a Democr...Mr. Aziere is more a Republican than I am a Democray. Nice try Jim!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com