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| BY GREG WALTERS |
Creamer Ends Letter Writing Campaign
Former Ward 1 Alderman Joe Creamer
announced last week he was ending an ongoing series of letters he has written
to the Raytown Times. Creamer has been sending his missives to the Raytown
Times since August of 2016.
In what appears to be an admission that
he has become the focus of political campaigns for public office, Creamer
wrote he wanted to “. . . give those running for office an opportunity to
discuss with you the issues ahead for our community, not my personal life.”
It would take pages of type to list
Creamer’s allegations of public wrong-doing since he began his letter writing campaign
last August.
The letters were frequently disputed by
some public officials who viewed his weekly missives as controversial and
divisive. There is no doubt in my mind his weekly letters boosted the
readership of the Raytown Times.
His last letter contained an allegation
of sorts my partner, Paul Livius, and I disagree with.
Creamer wrote, “Everyone with a blog
tries to control the narrative to support their agenda without allowing a
differing view; they use insult and do it anonymously.”
Since the Raytown Report is the only publication
that has a lively blog section attached to it, we assume his comments were
pointed our way.
Creamer wrote his comment in such a way that
it is an accusation
that we do not sign what we write at the Raytown Report.
That is totally untrue. All of the commentary
in the Raytown Report is signed by either Paul Livius or Greg Walters.
Occasionally we will use other sources for breaking news. We always give credit
to the author and source – typically, we link the breaking news item to website
from which it was published.
On the rare occasions when either of us
post on the blog portion of the Raytown Report, we sign those comments as well.
It is true the public is not required to
sign their name when they post on our blog. We allow unsigned comments because
we have found that many fear retribution or personal attack because of what
they have to say. The success of the blog portion attests to the simple reality
of the situation.
We screen every comment we receive on
the blog portion of our page. We also reserve the right to remove those
comments we find to be less than truthful, hateful or contain vulgarity.
In fact, before writing this story, I
personally deleted one comment which I felt was below the belt from the blog.
The target of that comment was Joe Creamer.
Mr. Creamer has written to our blog in
the past. To his credit, he does sign his messages. The point here is we do
allow differing views. He and all others are welcome to post on the blog
portion of the Raytown Report at any time.
Old Gaelic Blessing
On a recent visit to Raytown’s premier
donut shop, Doughboys, located at 63rd and Woodson, I found the
following message . . . which is attributed as an “Old Gaelic Blessing”.
Candidate Falls, Breaks Foot
Ward 3 Alderman Janet Emerson fell
and broke her foot Wednesday evening.
“I had just put up a yard sign,”
said Emerson, “was returning to my car, and my foot got caught in a hole in the
ground.”
She heard and audible “crack” and
immediately knew something was wrong.
“My daughter, Lisa, took me to the
hospital today,” she continued, “the x-rays show the arch of my right foot has
been broken.”
Alderman Emerson is running for
re-election in the April 4th General Election. Her opponent is Ryan
Myers.
She is scheduled to see an
orthopedic surgeon Monday, and is hopeful
she can get by without surgery.
Either way, she intends to continue
her campaign for re-election.
“I may have to campaign by phone,
but I will definitely be continuing my campaign,” said Emerson.
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| BY PAUL LIVIUS |
The Paul Livius Report
Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting –
February 21, 2017
The Board passed a resolution endorsing
the reappointment of Tommy Bettis to the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The Board heard the first reading
of an ordinance granting a conditional use permit subject to certain conditions
to allow a vehicle repair and general establishment at 8832 E. 350
Highway. Edward Golden, on behalf of Green 350 Hwy Properties, LLC, is
seeking a conditional use permit to operate a vehicle repair and general
establishment at 8832 E 350 Highway, which is zoned Highway Corridor Commercial
(HC). The previous use of the property was a gun store. The
applicant plans to use the establishment for auto repair, small parts painting
and plating. Raytown Code of Ordinances defines vehicle repair, general
as “an establishment primarily engaged in painting of or bodywork to motor
vehicles or heavy equipment. Typical uses include paint and body shops.”
The applicant agrees all vehicles to be repaired or painted throughout the
course of business will be stored indoors at all times while on the
property Vehicles that are completely repaired, painted, and operable may
be parked outside.
The Board heard the first reading of an
ordinance amending Chapter 50 (zoning) of the code of ordinances for the
purpose of updating zoning definitions in the zoning ordinances. As part
of an ongoing review by city staff of the zoning ordinance (Chapter 50) of the
Code of Ordinances of the City of Raytown, staff has revised the definitions
section of the ordinance in order for it to more closely match the land use
table, zoning districts and overlays, and for the general purposes of greater
clarity and understanding. Outside of the group homes definition, which
was added by staff and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in
December and January, respectively, no new definitions have been added to the
ordinance.
The Board passed a resolution
authorizing an additional expenditure in the amount of $2,000.00 to the
purchase of a new ambulance conversion from Osage Ambulance/Emergency Services
Supply and amending resolution R-2875-16 for a total amount not to exceed
$111,575. On December 12, 2016, Osage Industries reported that the Ford
chassis, which had been delivered to them, was of a 176-inch wheel base;
whereas, the ambulance coach we had ordered from Osage was for a 159-inch wheel
base. The options investigated for a solution to the problem included:
replacing the incorrect chassis with one of correct length, shortening the
chassis in Osage’s possession, and lengthening the coach. It was
determined that the latter, lengthening the coach by means of a cab-extension,
was the most economical and expeditious solution. Both Osage Industries
and Dick Smith Ford are contributing toward this solution; Dick Smith Ford in
the sum of $1,000.00 and Osage Industries by foregoing any markup on the
fabrication of the cab extension. Please note that funds should be
available, due to a savings of greater than $6,000.00 realized on our purchase
of portable radios this year; also, please note that with the inclusion of the
cab-extension, the total cost of the ambulance purchase remains just over
$4,000.00 less than what was originally budgeted for the project.
The Board passed a resolution approving
the purchase of three 2017 Ford police utility interceptors and one 2017 Ford
expedition from Dick Smith Ford in an amount not to exceed $118,571.00. The
Police and Public Works Departments annually evaluate the Vehicle Replacement
Program to determine which vehicles are reaching the end of their life
cycles. This year two marked patrol vehicles and two unmarked units are
due to complete their service based on mileage, age and projected maintenance
costs. Dick Smith participated in the Mid America Council of Public
Procurement (MACPP) bid process and was awarded the bid contract for the PI
Utility and Expedition vehicles.
The Board passed a resolution approving
the purchase of a 2017 Ford F-250 truck from Dick Smith Ford in a total amount
not to exceed $25,785.00 for fiscal year 2016-2017. The replacement of
this vehicle is an end of life cycle replacement and it has been determined
that purchasing a similar chassis and remounting of the existing animal control
bed would be the most cost effective choice. The Ford chassis available
from Dick Smith Ford is as close in dimension as made and is reasonably priced
through the MACPP contract. The staff reviewed many options including a
new body and remounting the existing body. The quality and condition of
the current bed made it a good candidate for remounting with the replacement of
the existing lower skirting and upgrading the emergency lighting with four
corner strobes and directional arrow stick mounted to the rear of the
body. The staff reviewed service providers including the original
manufacturer in Texas and a local provider (American Equipment Company) in
Kansas City, Kansas. The local provider proved to be the most cost
effective and efficient method of providing the remounting service. The
up-fit labor and materials from American Equipment Company will be in the
amount of $4,295. The amount is within budgeted amounts; however, this
expense does not require purchasing approval but is being presented for full
disclosure.
The Board passed a resolution approving
the expenditure of funds to Key Equipment & Supply Company for the purchase
of an Envirosight Quick View Air HD camera system and related supplies off the
national joint powers alliance cooperative contract in an amount not to exceed
$20,000. The City of Raytown has over 200,000 feet of aging storm water pipeline
that requires evaluation and monitoring to identify future maintenance and
replacement projects. The pole camera system will provide the capability
for sanitary sewer back up call investigations to be more precise and allow for
the inspection of pipelines that have significant structure loss that prevents
the use of a crawler-mounted camera. A pole camera will be very valuable
in the mapping and evaluation of the City’s storm water system by providing
accurate visual inspections. Due to the wireless design of the pole
camera, the department will also need to purchase a tablet as a part of this
project for the operations of the camera and acquisition and tracking of video,
pictures, and pipe data.
PRESS RELEASE FROM
THE RAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT
Press Release
For
Release:
February 24th, 2017
Prepared
By:
Director of Communications James Brafford
Shots Fired Call Results In Two
Arrests
Raytown Mo. Police were called to the 9100 block of Vaughn Avenue at
1:45 PM today for the sound of gunshots. When officers arrived they found 2 people
with non-life threatening injuries and arrested 2 people involved in a shooting
incident. Both injured parties were transported to a local hospital. Raytown
Detectives responded to the scene and the investigation is on-going.
If you have any information on this
or any other crimes please contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Report 17-0643PD
8 comments:
Mr. Creamer has done nothing but embarrassed the city, he was a poor alderman but more importantly of poor character based off his actions and comments. I hope he spends his free time now that he is not writing to reflect on himself and become a better less bitter person.
Get well soon Alderman Emerson.
Creamer is just doing this to protect his associates. Hunt, Hayden, Myers and Heness. Maybe they realized associating themselves with someone like him was a bad idea? Sleep in the bed you made folks.
Mr Frank came by my house the other day . He complained about the Mayor and his opponent in an attempt to past doubt on them. He said little of his goals as alderman. People who just want to cast doubt on others and not focus on their goals will not get my vote ever. He also ask if I knew anything about politics. Apparently more than he did. And now I find out he is in bed with Creamer. Well that figures
I couldn't vote for anyone associated with Creamer or Azier. So what does that mean you vote for Mr. Walters and the other in office alderman.
With Joe Creamer announcing he is retiring his letter writing campaign (cough cough), it is a bit like when they finally caught O.J. All the drama buildup and then came the capture. What do we do now?? Is there actually life after Creamer?? Are there rehab sessions available?? Will Raytown citizen's survive without Joe (Underdog) Creamer coming to our rescue??
I have a new motto for Raytown. "Raytown - Shots Fired!"
Sorry, slow joke day.
2:54
That was very well said and you are correct our elected officials have been taking us down a very bad path.
I too hope future generations are not still paying for there lack of common sense.
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