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.