The following story tells of some amazing police work one of Raytown's Police Officers. We are certain you will find it interesting. 

SPECIAL THANKS TO MORRIS MELLOY FOR SHARING THE STORY WITH US.

On June 24th, Officer Christina was actively patrolling, and he observed a black SUV at a high rate of speed traveling south on Blue Ridge Blvd. With his experience as an officer, he could estimate the vehicle exceeded 100mph.

Officer Christina attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the SUV continued to evade him and lost sight. He located the vehicle again shortly after and activated his emergency lights and sirens for a traffic stop, but once more, it fled. Though this time, Officer Christina could read the license plate, which came to an address close to the area the vehicle was navigating through.

Officer Christina responded to the plate's registered address and waited for the vehicle. About 15 minutes later, the SUV returned to the address, and when the male driver saw the patrol car, he tried to circle to leave. However, Officer Christina predicted this outcome and had stop sticks deployed; he could not flee without hitting them, so the driver decided to park his car instead.

When Officer Christina contacted the driver, he spontaneously uttered, "I'm sorry, I just didn't want to go back to jail. I'm on house arrest." He was then arrested and detained in his patrol vehicle. Officer Christina then returned to the driver's vehicle, which was still running with the driver's door open, and he observed what looked to be an AK47 sticking up from the vehicle's passenger side within the driver's reach. Officer Christina secured the weapon and confirmed it was an AK47 with the buttstock removed. It was loaded with a magazine and 1 in the chamber.

The male driver was transported to the Raytown Police Headquarters. He was issued citations for C&I, fleeing and eluding, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and no proof of insurance.

New Art installed
at Pocket Park
Regional Program brings Public Art to Raytown

Raytown residents and visitors passing the intersection of 63^rd Street and Raytown Road can now enjoy the City’s newest public art piece which was installed today in the Pocket Park. The latest sculpture, as well as other ones are all part of the Sculpture on the Move program through the Creative Communities Alliance.

 

“CAMPANA,” by artist Joe Allred is a sound sculpture constructed of steel with a copper/bronze patina.  Spanish for bell and a literal bell, “CAMPANA” will appeal to children and adults alike.

 

“CAMPANA” replaces “Moonscape” the City’s first public sculpture that was installed in 2021. Sculptures are displayed for two-year terms. Raytown is one of 18 communities participating in this year’s Sculpture on the Move program.

 

To view the other public sculptures in Raytown that were acquired through the Sculpture on the Move program.

“Cohesive Narration” is on display in front of City Hall until 2024. "Muse-IC” is on display at Colman Park until 2024.

Raytown Police Report

Period of Review: June 19th-25th, 2023

• Number of calls for service: 381

• Number of Reports: 68

• Number of Arrests Booked into Raytown Jail: 8

Summary of Notable Events:

• On June 22nd, at approx. 8:30 pm, officers were dispatched to the area of the 8500 block of Arlington regarding shots fired. Witnesses reported seeing two cars driving in the area and the occupants shooting at each other. A short time later, officers located a car in the 7700 block of Elm that had been reported stolen from Kansas City. The car had bullet holes and blood inside. Dispatch contacted area hospitals and located a gunshot victim at Truman Medical Center who said she had been shot in Raytown. The investigation is ongoing. 

• On June 25th, at approx. 12:20 pm, officers were dispatched to a residence in the 8900 block of 62nd Terrace on an assault. The reporting party stated he had been in an argument with a family member and she had stabbed him in the arm before fleeing the scene. He was treated at the scene by EMS. The investigation is ongoing.

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Our Response to a letter from one of our readers:

One of our readers sent a letter thanking Board members who stood up and opposed the addition of another "Discount Smokes and Liquor Store in Raytown. 

Greg's response follows:

Thank you for your comments. I too am very disappointed. There is not any excuse for promoting this type of retail outlet in Raytown. It leaves a stigma of a town without rules -- where anything goes. 

The applicant (who goes by the name of "Kevin") was "outed" for having gambling devices in another of his Discounts Smokes and Liquor Stores. His lawyer said that when they found this out, they had the machines removed immediately.

Which means "Kevin" allowed them in his store to begin with. And SEVEN of the ten elected officials on the City Council, who took an oath to follow the laws of the State of Missouri, actually acted like what a good guy Kevin is for realizing his mistake. 

These same seven Aldermen the amended the application to allow the operation of the business to be expanded from the previously agreed upon closing time of 10:00 p.m. to be to 11:00 p.m.

It pains me to say that I have heard that some of our Aldermen were actually hiding out from the public . . . Refusing to take phone calls from their constituents, ignoring the simple fact of what was in front them.

Worst of all were the non-action of Ward 3 Aldermen Ryan Myers and Janet Emerson. They turned their back on an overwhelming majority of their constituents who worked very hard to make their message against approval.  

The Mayor's treatment of the public was one of "let the public be damned". City Staff actually took names of those who wished to address the Board of Aldermen on this subject. And then, refused to let them speak because they had spoken before at a previous meeting! They did this without letting the public know they would not be allowed to speak after waiting over three hours to be heard. 

It did not bother the Mayor or his followers on the Board to hear the applicant attorney drone on with the old song and dance that had been recited at a previous meeting.

It was a sad night for Raytown. Clearly, the public was ignored by many of their elected officials. 

Hopefully, better days ahead.

The best response, short of litigation*, to what happened is to thoughtfully determine where to spend your hard earned dollars. These types of businesses are not good for Raytown.

The City's Staff, Mayor, or whoever came up with this subterfuge by City Hall on the Public at a Public Hearing, should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost sight of the fact that the people they would not allow to speak actually own their homes and live here. They are the ones paying the salaries at city hall through their taxes.

As I wrote at the top. It is a sad and disappointing situation. 

Look forward to the next election.  Five of the seven who chose to ignore your voice will be up for election in less than two years.

Stay strong and remember.

Greg Walters
ALDERMAN, WARD 1

Everyone will be watching Tuesday night when the Raytown Board of Aldermen will vote on a proposed Discount Smokes and Liquor Convenience Store and Gasoline Station at the former Raytown Nursery located at 5328 Blue Ridge Nursery. 

PHOTO BY LISA BLOOM

The photo shown is of a man pan-handling at the entrance to KB's Discount Smokes and Liquor convenience store located near 65th and Raytown Road.

Many comments from readers can be found on the Raytown Report Back Pages. Click on the Comments link shown below to get there.

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Paul’s Rant!
ZONING NOTES BY PAUL LIVIUS

Some interesting notes from the Zoning meeting(s) held at Raytown City Hall. So far there have been three. Planning and Zoning held two meetings. City Hall has held one.

PLANNING AND ZONING RULES FOR PARTICIPATION: Anyone from the Public was allowed to address the Commission. Individuals were allowed five minutes to speak. Anyone speaking for a group was allowed 15 minutes.

CITY HALL RULES FOR PARTICIPATION: Originally only those living in the City of Raytown were allowed to address the Board of Aldermen. For reasons that are not clear the Mayor quickly changed that rule to anyone living within the Raytown School District. Speakers were allowed five minutes. Those speaking for a group were only allowed five minutes.

This move by the Mayor (to restrict speaking time to just five minutes) diminished the points Public speakers were trying to make.

Most telling was one speaker who worked for a competing Convenience Store. She told of having to fish hypodermic needles out of toilets, people over-dosing in rest rooms.

Another speaker spoke of being assaulted by a stranger at a convenience store on Raytown Road. She plead with employees at the store for help in stopping her assailant. She was told they were not allowed to leave from behind the check out counter.

All of which point to dangerous changes in store for the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed convenience store / gasoline station under consideration to be built literally across the street from their homes.

Five minutes was clearly not enough time for either speaker to make their point properly. 

PLANNING AND ZONING PARTICIPATION: All who wished to address the Planning and Zoning Commission were allowed to do so.

CITY HALL PARTICIPATION: Towards the end of the meeting the Mayor suggested that some may no longer wish to speak. To their credit, ten members of the audience told him no. They wanted to be heard.

MIS-INFORMATION FROM CITY STAFF: During his presentation, the spokesman for City Staff shared a photo of the Blue Ridge Nursery “showing the busy commercial operation” the last owner of the property, Bob Voorheis, had at Blue Ridge Nursery.

The photo was an aerial view. It showed what appeared to be a number of buildings on the property.

It just so happened Ward 1 Alderman Greg Walters received a phone call last weekend from Mr. Voorheis. He asked Bob about the photo.

Mr. Voorheis said he had seen the photo. “Those are not buildings,” said Voorheis.

“During the late Fall we covered the bedding area for our plants with Livestock Panels. The panels are 17’ x 4’ in size. We place a concrete block underneath the corner of each panel to protect the bedding areas during winter months.”

"The only buildings on the property were my one room office and a small garage in which we kept tools used to tend our plants."

Voorheis also said, “The City sent me a letter stating very clearly the property would be returned to Residential Zoning once my business license had expired”.

Another controversy was how many telephone calls Mr. Voorheis has received from Raytown folks.

He told us, “I called both Alderman Greg Walters and Alderman Janet Emerson and spoke to them. I also received a call from two different people who lived near the old neighborhood around the Nursery.”

“I consider Greg and Janet to be friends,” continued Voorheis. “I enjoyed visiting with them and found what they shared with me interesting.”

As to the issue of changing the zoning, Voorheis said, “I had always hoped the land would be turned into a park. In fact, I met with the Director of the Park Board on the subject, but nothing ever came of the idea.”

“Personally," continued Vorheis, “I think putting a convenience store and gas station at that location is a terrible idea.”

“The traffic was already heavy when I was in operation before we closed down. I remember cars filling our parking lot and people waiting their turn to park on the shoulder of Blue Ridge Boulevard. That usually only lasted four weeks during the busy season. The rest of the time, we were open, but not very busy."

It is ironic, but the fact is the applicant for the zoning, and most the support people he brought to the hearing all came from Overland Park and Olathe, Kansas. The spokesman for Raytown City Hall does not live in Raytown either. They were allowed to engage in back and forth discussion on the subject before them.

The people who live in the surrounding neighbors deserve the same courtesy and certainly more than just five minutes to tell their story. 

The Mayor should reconsider his decision to cut back the amount of time speakers from Raytown are allowed to address the Board of Aldermen. The people who live around the proposed re-zoning site have a right to be heard.

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How Many Liquor Licenses has
the City of Raytown issued?

Ward 1 Alderman Ian Scott made a request for information under the Missouri Sunshine Law requesting how many Liquor Licenses are currently issued in Raytown.

The answer is . . . . 57

The following is list of the license holders. If approved, the Discount Smokes and Liquor will make No. 58.

 

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL	CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL
DOLLAR GENERAL #7655	DOLLAR GENERAL #7655
WALGREENS #5357	WALGREENS #5357
CVS PHARMACY #8566	CVS PHARMACY #8566
APPLE MARKET #137 COSENTINO ENTERPRISES INC	APPLE MARKET #137
CVS PHARMACY #8598	CVS PHARMACY #8598
D & J ' S HANGOUT	D & J ' S HANGOUT
QUIK TRIP CORP # 209R	QUIK TRIP CORP # 209R
SMOKE SHOP PLUS	SMOKE SHOP PLUS
ECLIPSE BAR & GRILL	ECLIPSE BAR & GRILL
MINIT MART RAYTOWN 2	MINIT MART #777
BLUE RIDGE SMOKE SHOP I	A AND S TRADING, LLC
THE STORE	THE STORE
87TH ST. MARKET	87TH ST. MARKET
RAYTOWN CONOCO	RAYTOWN CONOCO
CHIEF PETROLEUM	EX PICKENS
QUIK TRIP #156	QUIK TRIP #156
LAS CHILI'S	LAS CHILI'S
MINIT MART RAYTOWN 3	MINIT MART #782
WAL-MART SUPERSTORE #1094	WAL-MART SUPERSTORE #1094
MINIT MART RAYTOWN 4	MINIT MART #785
LOS COMPAS MEXICAN RESTAURANT	LOS COMPAS MEXICAN REST
ALDI INC #93	ALDI  INC  #93
XPRESS DISCOUNT SMOKES & LIQUOR (KISU)	KISU LLC
TOM & JARED'S BAR & GRILL
RW BBQ AND SOULFOOD CUISINE
HIMALAYAN LIQUOR	PRAMISHA LLC
FIESTA AZTECA MEXICAN RESTAURANTS	FIESTA AZTECA MEXICAN REST
DISCOUNT SMOKES & LIQUOR	MASAUD & SONS LLC
BEYOND PETROLEUM LLC	BEYOND PETROLEUM LLC
KAY BEES 2 LLC	KAY BEES 2 LLC
KAY BEES MARKET	KAY BEES MARKET
THE IRISH PUB HOUSE	THE IRISH PUB HOUSE
SAAID CHEEMA LLC	SAAID CHEEMA LLC
SPANKY'S LOUNGE	SPANKY'S LOUNGE
MONROE'S MARKET LLC	MONROE'S MARKET LLC
NEW DISCOUNT SMOKES & CONVENIENCE STORE	NEW DISCOUNT SMOKE/CONVENIENC
APPLEBEE'S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL & BAR	APPLE CENTRAL KC, LLC
PRIME 2 LLC	PRIME 2 LLC
SPEEDY CORNER LLC	SPEEDY CORNER LLC
INCREDIBLE BOWLING CTR - BAR & GRILL	PREMIER SPORTS BAR & GRILL
RINCON TARASCO RESTAURANT
DAILY DOUBLE LOUNGE	DAILY DOUBLE LOUNGE
SMP OPERATIONS LLC
CRANE BREWING COMPANY, LLC	CRANE BREWING COMPANY, LLC
THE NAUGHTY PINE	GEPPETTO LLC
HY-VEE FOOD STORE	HY-VEE FOOD STORE/LARRY PINKSTON
EL MAGUEY MEXICAN RESTAURANT	SAPO INC
KAY BEES MARKET     .
HY-VEE FOOD STORE	HY-VEE FOOD STORE/LARRY PINKSTON
CRANE BREWING COMPANY, LLC	CRANE BREWING COMPANY, LLC
HY-VEE INC D/B/A HY-VEE GAS	HY-VEE INC D/B/A HY-VEE GAS
PAK AMERICAN TEXACO LLC	PAK AMERICAN TEXACO LLC
CLOUD 9 LIQUOR LLC	CLOUD 9
MINIT MART #4361	CASEYS MARKETING COMPANY
MINIT MART #4362	CASEY'S MARKETING COMPANY
THE KRAVE KC LLC	THE KRAVE