Anyone watching television this past month has undoubtedly seen the Subaru commercial with dog that grows up with the young family. I really liked the tune in the background, so, I did some checking to see who did the song. It is so good I thought I would share with readers this week. I hope you enjoy this song by Mount Moriah. It is called The Letting Go. 

Use this link THE LETTING GO

For those who like a more polished recording of the song here is the studio version.

Use this link THE LETTING GO (studio version)
 

-- BREAKING NEWS --

3 arrested at KC Zoo: Big crowds, big fights FROM FOX 4 NEWS

TO VIEW THE VIDEO USE THIS LINK READ MORE

KANSAS CITY, MO. – Two women and a teenage boy were arrested Sunday afternoon after a series of fights marred Free Day at the Kansas City Zoo.

Kansas City, Missouri Police arrested 40-year old Minnie Davidson for resisting arrest. Another woman, Drucilla Davidson, 20, and a 15-year old boy were both charged with assault on a police officer.
The largest fight took place at closing time in the parking lot near the main entrance. But  Mary Summers from Independence, Mo., told FOX 4 there was also a huge brawl earlier in the day in the Africa section of the zoo.

“Somebody yelled, ‘Gun!’ and that’s when I just threw my kids underneath the bench and threw myself on top of them,” Summers said.

It began with two groups in their late teens and early twenties flashing gang signs at each other.
“One guy just swung and hit the one guy and that’s when the two groups came together and they started fighting,” Summers said. READ MORE

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GREG WALTERS

April 2013 a Benchmark Election? BY GREG WALTERS

In late December of 2012 an unusually large number of candidates filed for seats on the Raytown Board of Aldermen.

The incumbents they faced were well entrenched in their positions. They had the unspoken support of the Mayor, who is said to have persuaded two of them to file after they had initially decided not to run for re-election.

One of the candidates filed in Ward 5 had been disqualified, leaving the incumbent, Steve Mock, unopposed.

In Ward 3, three candidates had lined up to take on Councilwoman Christine White. Since it was a “winner take all” elections, the three candidates opposite White, Janet Emerson, Chris Merrill, and Mark Moore ran the real danger of splitting the votes opposing the incumbent. The odds were clearly stacked in favor the Alderman White.

In Ward 4, Jason Greene was in a similar predicament. He faced two opponents, former Ward 2 Alderman Jerry Kinman, who had never been defeated in an election and the current Councilman, Jim Hamilton, who like Kinman, had never tasted defeat in an election.

In Ward 1, political neophyte Josh Greene, at the age of 23, faced the President of the Raytown Democratic Association (RDA), Richard Tush. A veteran candidate, Tush had also run a successful campaign two years earlier in his election to the Raytown Water District.

In Ward 4, Rita Bennett, who had once run for City Collector, faced one term Alderman Bill VanBuskirk.

Results Beyond Expectations . . .

Election Day dawned sunny and cool, but not uncomfortable. The turnout was low. Not a good sign for the challengers – traditionally, low turnouts favor incumbents, particularly when challengers are dividing up the anti-incumbent vote.

Then the results came in. (two view the final results scroll down to last week's posting)

In three elections the challengers reached stunning landslide victories – ALL of them captured over 60% of the vote. By definition, anything over 6o% is considered a landslide.

 

So, What Happened?

The three candidates that won their races, Josh Greene in Ward 1, Janet Emerson in Ward 3 and Jason Greene in Ward 2, had similarities in their campaigns that eventually worked in their favor. For their most part, they have City Hall to thank:

• The Downtown Walmart Grocery Store has been a hot topic going into the election and it remained hot throughout the election. Denials by incumbent city councilmembers of knowledge of the plans for a Walmart Store were disproved and not believed by the public.
• A letter mailed by former Mayor Sue Frank outlining her opposition to the planned Walmart Grocery Store did not endorse candidates. But it certainly did lend credibility to the campaigns of those who did not endorse the project.
• The disconnect between the public and City Hall was growing over the proposed Downtown Walmart Grocery Store. City Hall appeared to dismiss opposition to the planned development as a small part of their constituency. Election results show they misjudged the opposition.
• Another action by the Mayor and City Council that angered voters was the $30,000 pay increase granted City Administrator Mahesh Sharma. At the same time, the City waived a requirement that the City Administrator live within city limits. 
• The closing of the YMCA was mishandled by City Hall. The eventual closing may have been a forgone conclusion, but the late response by City Hall to finding a solution to the crisis was seen as a failure by the public.
• The challenger’s campaigns were clearly run independent of each other. The incumbents, with an image of walking in lock step through many public votes on the Raytown City Council, were seen as the same campaign.
• While all candidates worked hard, there is reason to believe that losers were out-hustled on the door to door aspect of the campaigns. As any veteran politician will tell you, nothing works as well as wearing out shoe leather in a door to door campaign.

A Raytowner's Believe It or Not

All elections have their oddities and coincidences. Here are some interesting facts we have found in the wake of the April 2^nd election.

• Josh Greene set a Raytown record for the youngest elected Alderman. At the age of 23 he is one year younger than former Aldermen Garth Bare and Greg Walters when they were first elected.
• All three of the Aldermen Elect were delegates to the Missouri Republican State Convention as Ron Paul delegates in the 2012 election.
• The Greene Brothers are not the first brothers to hold office simultaneously. That distinction goes to the Kinman Brothers, Jerry and Jeff.
• Other familial relationships on the Raytown City Council from the past: Greg Walters served with his Uncle Charles Walters for two years.
• Alderman Christine White was not the first from her family to serve. Her late husband, Robin White, served as Alderman from Ward 1 prior to Mrs. White being elected as City Collector and eventually as Alderman.
• Another upset that was not expected was the defeat of Rick Thode in his bid for re-election to the Raytown School Board. Mr. Thode is a known close ally of Mayor Bower. Credit also should go to the two winners in the school board contest, Pam Arnuld and Bobbie Saulsberry. Both were seen campaigning door to door in their campaign for School Board.  

PAUL LIVIUS

Our Blog's Purpose BY PAUL LIVIUS

Recently, a blogger posted a well-written, well-thought out comment concerning area codes and the United Nations.  After much discussion, Greg and I have agreed our blog is and should be about Raytown issues.  We invite the blogger to seek other forums more appropriate to his or her views.  That blogger is, of course, invited to submit ideas pertaining to Raytown.

FIT BOTTOMED GIRLS

Thank Goodness for Spring, I was Losing Steam! BY ERIN

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had it with winter. I tried not to let it keep me down or in, but after months and months of cold, I’m so done. And I think my kids are also ready for warm weather so that I don’t drag them on never-ending errands until their cheeks are bright pink from the cold. It’s... Continue reading

FRIENDS OF RAYTOWN PARKS  

Calendar of Events

To view and up-to-date schedule of what is going on in Raytown for the month of April visit the Friends of Raytown Parks Monthly Calendar. The calendar lists community activities open to the public including events at the Mid-Continent Public Library, Governmental meetings and Community Events.

The calendar is sponsored by Friends of Raytown Parks & Recreation, Inc. for the benefit of the community of Raytown, Missouri.

Use this link CALENDAR OF EVENTS    

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