This ballot is huge and I will attempt to shed light on what the elements are.
Constitutional Amendments 2, 3 and Proposition C all legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. What is not obvious is that amendment 3 sets up a monopoly for those that got it on the ballot. If you are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana, I strongly suggest a YES on 2 and a no on 3. There is nothing wrong with Proposition C, but I feel that Amendment 2 is better.
Constitutional Amendment 4, is simple and self explanatory.
Proposition B raises the minimum wage a small amount each year until it eventually gets to $12 an hour. Nothing tricky and I personally support it.
Proposition D would raise the motor fuel tax to pay for roads and bridges. It would also help fund the Highway Patrol. I strongly support this proposition. Missouri has had the same fixed amount of fuel tax since 1992. Gasoline may have tripled, paving cost may have tripled, but funding has stayed constant for over 25 years. We need to fix our roads and bridges.
The last 7 items on the ballot are all about changing the Jackson County Charter. They all are extensive and the ballot fails to reflect all the changes they entail. I will try to post the complete text of the 7 changes in my next post. These changes have united an unusual mixture of partisan, not partisan, business, and community groups in OPPOSITION to the changes. It is very seldom that I have seen the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson County Democratic Committee unite on political questions. These 7 items will decrease the power of the County Executive and increase the power of the County Legislators. It will give the Legislators about a 100% pay and pensions increase. The increase is hidden by basing it on a judges salary instead of a named amount. Question 7 bars any federal. state. or municipal elected official from running for county office. So the legislature wants to ensure that any State Legislator that is term limited out of office cannot run for the county legislature.
This is an attempt to increase power and pay by hiding it in with elements on the front of each proposal that may be more popular. A more honest approach would be to not group elements together, let each stand on its own merit and state openly how much of a pay and pension increase the legislators want.
Please vote NO on Jackson County Questions 1 through 7.
Raytown Police Respond To Shots Fired And Find Three Men Dead
At about 8:21 P.M. Sunday (September 30, 2018) Raytown Officers responded to the 11000 Block of E. 74th Terrace in response to the sound of shots fired. While en-route, Officers were informed that the reporting party believed they saw what appeared to be bodies lying on the ground in front of a residence.
Upon their arrival, Officers located three deceased men, appearing to have sustained gunshot wounds. At that time the Raytown Police Department Investigations Bureau was notified and responded to the scene.
An active investigation is currently underway. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the TIPS Hotline, 816-474-TIPS (8477.)
The 11000 Block of E 74th Terrace runs from Harvard for 1 block to the East and dead ends. The is a photo of the block looking towards Harvard Drive.
Every Tuesday is Taco Night at Ricon Tarasco. That means tacos are only $1.25 each. Your choices are chicken, Steak (carne Asada), Shredded Pork slow cooked and marinated Cochinito Pibil), and Al Pastor (also marinated, but in different spices and not slow cooked).
Tacos Al Pastor has been my favorite for years, until I tried Cochinita Pibil, now it is a toss-up. The pastor is a little spicier, but the Cochinita is more tender and has a hint of orange to it. Cochinita comes from the Yucatan region of Mexico and is marinated in sour orange juice and achiote.
I use to have to drive to SouthWest Blvd. or Independence Ave. to get Mexican food this authentic. It is a little milder than I am use to but they can offer you a large variety of salsa if you feel the need to punch it up a notch or two.
The restaurant is located on the South West corner of Raytown Road and 350 Highway. Just South of the grocery store. They offer carry out and the phone number is 886-5444.
Arimeta DuPree is running for the Democratic nomination for the Jackson County Legislature in the 2nd District. Raytown’s portion of that district is from Raytown Road West, with slight exceptions. I know Arimeta and have endorsed her. I admire her intellect, passion for justice, and ability to work well with people from all walks of life. Below is a video of her presentation to the Raytown Democratic Association at their July meeting. She received the organizations endorsement. I added a picture of her sign to cover my bad camera work in the last minute of the presentation.
MISSOURI STATE REPRESENTATIVE – 28th DISTRICT Jerome Barnes
Jerome Barnes is a proven leader who has given our community decades of service as a coach, athletic director, and school board member.
JACKSON COUNTY EXECUTIVE Frank White Jr
Frank White is our best hope to make changes in problem areas. His political opponents have had decades to correct problems like the county jail and now seem to blame these problems on Frank White. I am not certain of the outcome, but I like the odds better than trusting the political factions that have overseen the situation for over 20 years.
JACKSON COUNTY LEGISLATOR – DISTRICT 1 AT LARGE Jalen Anderson
Jalen is young, smart, honest and hard-working. We need more good people like him to get into politics.
JACKSON COUNTY LEGISLATOR – DISTRICT 2 AT LARGE Crystal Williams
Energetic, smart, and ok sometimes a little abrasive, but she does the right thing when it come down to the issues and the interests of everyone, rather than the interests of a few.
JACKSON COUNTY LEGISLATOR – DISTRICT 2 Arimeta DuPree
Arimeta is a personal friend who has the rare habit of thinking deeply before she speaks. I trust her character and her intellect. She will be a breath of fresh air to the county legislature.
JACKSON COUNTY SHERIFF Darryl Forte
While a court has tossed this back to the party committees to select. I still urge you to vote for Darrell Forte. What one court decides, a bigger court sometimes overturns. Of all the candidates, Forte is the only one with the skills and inclination to clean up the mess in the sheriff’s department.
You may have noticed that I have not made recommendations for those readers who will ask for a Republican ballot this coming Tuesday. The reason is that I do not know enough about the candidates to make an informed recommendation.
Rincon Tarasco is the newest addition to Mexican dinning in Raytown and is an excellent addition. The food is not Tex-Mex, it hails from the Michoacan region. Two of my favorite dishes are on the menu, tacos al pastor and chicken mole. The tacos al pastor I ordered were excellent. Next visit I will try the chicken mole. The chips served as an appetizer we homemade from flour, not corn and were fresh and warm.The mild dipping sauce was mild and very nice, but as there was not a hint of tomato in it, I call it a sauce and not salsa. Be warned that the hot salsa choice is red and at the top range of my palate’s heat comfort, and I eat jalapenos like candy.
While delicious, the tacos al pastor and the mixed fajitas my wife ordered were very mild and may need to be enhanced for those who prefer a few beads of sweat on the forehead to feel satisfied. Bottom line is this new addition is worth a try if you want to go beyond hamburger tacos.
The election is closing in on us, and I for one am thankful. I am aware all elections have their own smear component to them and one must be though if they are going to put themselves in the public eye. That being said the conduct of the two factions has been wholly different. A couple months ago the attacks started. The ProTax movement has repeatedly launched false accusations on community member who didn’t want to be bankrupted by wasteful spending.
They started by attacking local small business owners calling them degenerate parents, then they moved to accusations of criminal conduct including selling drugs. When they failed at their boycott attempt of these businesses they started in on residents, trying to advance that one was a wife-beater. And finally when they still weren’t gaining traction they went on a rampage against elected officials that refused to endorse either side but chose neutrality.
The attacks on State leaders who in the past have offered help, and small business owners who provide jobs and sales tax revenue is unconscionable. Meanwhile the groups supporting reasonable spending have attacked no one, sticking only to the facts at hand. There are no attacks on the Board members who put us in this position, or on those who have chosen to remain neutral. I believe trusting such leaders (who have already squandered) is a bad idea. Please, join me on August 7th voting NO to tripling property tax and bankrupting citizens.
John A Jacob “Tony”
Note from RaytownOnline. The only editing made to this submission was to break the text up into 3 paragraphs and to add Mr. Jacob’s name at the end. The submission was verified before publication to insure the validity of the source.
On July 19th at the monthly Raytown Democratic Association (RDA) meeting, Raytown’s Mayor spoke out in support of the three tax increases for Raytown on the August primary ballot. The RDA has already voted to not support the requested increases in property, gasoline, and internet purchase taxes. Below is the Mayor’s speech uncut.
Reports indicate a person was shot near the intersection and a suspect is in custody. More on this as it develops.
Police arrived at the scene at 4pm on July 17th to find a 19-year-old male with a serious gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to a local hospital. No information on his condition at this time. A male acquaintance of the victim was taken into custody at the scene.
On Tuesday June 19th the Raytown Board of Aldermen attempted to change the laws governing the use of fireworks in Raytown. The reason I use the word attempted is that they actually failed to vote on the ordinance. The actual voting was on an amendment to the ordinance. The video clearly shows that the actual ordinance was not voted on.
The proposed changes would allow for shooting off fireworks for 4 days instead of 1, allow the use of Roman Candles, and strike the section requiring adult supervision of minors under the age of 16. It also allows for the shooting of fireworks on New Years Eve.
There was also an interesting discussion between Alderman Black and Chief Lynch concerning the Police Dept. requesting to be paid by Parks and Rec. to patrol the park for people setting off fireworks (which is illegal in Raytown). Chief Lynch cited force reduction due to budget cuts as a reason more attention cannot be given to patrolling Parks. Alderman Black attempted to bring up that this was the same policy that existed before the budget cuts, but did not get far on this point.
Raytown Online has no immediate knowledge about past actions concerning the parks on the 4th of July, but does know that the Raytown Police Dept. has ask for overtime payment from the parks to patrol Super Splash and the Summer Music and Arts festival in the past.
There are more details on this subject on the Raytown Report, click HERE The video below is the complete portion sourced from the city’s website.
On Monday June 4th at approximately 8:28 AM police were sent to the Conoco gas station at 8100 Westridge for a Fraud. When officers arrived, it was reported that a credit card skimmer device had been located inside one of the gas pumps.
Four hours later, police received a call to Raytown Petroleum gas station at 5304 Raytown Road where another credit card skimmer device had been located inside a gas pump. Both skimmers were removed.
It is unclear if the two incidents are connected. It is unknown how long the devices have been inside the pumps. It is unknown if any information captured by the devices were accessed before they were discovered. Both devices were inside the pumps, so they were not visible to customers. There is no suspect information at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
Raytown Police are contacting all Raytown gas stations to advise them of the discovery of the skimmers, so that they may inspect their pumps. The Missouri Department of Agriculture, who regularly inspects gas pumps in the State of Missouri, was also advised of the discoveries. Raytown Police ask anyone that may have used their credit card at either gas station to monitor their transactions and accounts for any unusual activity.
Consumers may protect themselves from skimmers by:
Checking for external skimmers- External skimmers fit over the outside of the card reader and steal the credit card information as the card is being slid into the slot. They may look slightly different than the other card readers (color, texture, etc.). Often they will feel loose when you try to wiggle them and may even come off in your hand.
Checking for evidence of tampering (to install an internal skimmer)- Look for broken or missing tamper tape on access panels. Look for evidence of forced entry into an access panel, which could include pry marks, scratches, or broken locks.
Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Raytown resident and businessman David Jumgerman has been charged with the muder of Thomas Pockert. The presumed motive was that Mr. Pickert won a multi million dollar judgement against Mr. Jungerman in a case involving Mr. Jungerman shooting unarmed trespassers on his property. Mr. Jungerman has twice made major news in the past. The first time was for suing the City of Raytown, claiming that the Police lost his Rolex watch, when he was arrested for pointing a weapon at children on his property. The second was for putting a large billboard on the side of a truck calling Democrats parasites. It was later revealed the Mr. Jungerman was the biggest recipient of Federal farm aid in the area. You can learn more on this by clicking HERE. Some of the supportive links in this archived article no longer work.
The following videos are courtesy of KCTV 5 news, and we thank them for providing the code to embed these videos in this article.
On Friday April 6th 2018 the city manager of Raytown (Tom Cole) turned in his resignation. Mr. Cole indicated he had a desire to pursue other paths in life before it was too late. He will be missed.
The following is a list of some of the city employees that have quit since 2015.
At about 8:25 PM Wednesday (January 17, 2018) Raytown Officers were called to the Valero Corner Store, 6509 Raytown Road, regarding a shooting in progress. Moments after the call was received, a vehicle arrived at police headquarters, 10000 E. 59 Street, which was occupied by an adult female passenger that had been shot at least twice. EMS was summoned while other officers, on patrol and those working an off-duty job, responded to the store. Officers there subsequently arrested two adult males, relating to the shooting. The woman was transported to an area hospital where she was listed in critical condition. The adult male that drove the female to police headquarters was also taken into custody relating to the incident at the store.
There were no other injuries reported and the investigation is ongoing.
If you have any information on this or any other crimes please contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Shepherd’s Center of Raytown invites you to join out committed group of volunteers in helping provide services to Seniors living within the boundaries of the Raytown School District. Most volunteers work a set schedule of approximately three hours, one day per week.
Office Volunteers. Open shifts: Tuesday 1 – 4 pm; Wednesday 9 – 12 & 1 – 4; Thursday 1 – 4; Friday 9 – 12. This job involves answering phones, scheduling rides for medical appts., giving information from resource book, give information about upcoming events.
On-call Wheels that Care Drivers. Scheduled at least 48 hours in advance, when one of our seniors needs a ride to a medical appointment. Time needed varies, appointments average one hour plus travel time.
Substitute Meals on Wheels drivers. Regular driver positions are currently filled (generally one day per week). Substitute drivers are needed when a regular driver is ill or unavailable. Prepackaged meals and beverages are picked up from a central location and delivered to clients within the boundaries of the Raytown School District.
All volunteers must pass a background check. Drivers also must have a valid drivers license, and a licensed and insured vehicle. Training provided.
For more information, contact our Volunteer Coordinator by email: volcoordinator@sbcglobal.net or by phone: 816-356-9000.
Seeking an energetic, motivated individual to serve as Executive Director of Shepherd’s Center of Raytown. This half-time (20 hour per week) position will work closely with the Board of Trustees to provide strategic leadership, manage staff and volunteers, and oversee the successful operation of our services for Raytown Seniors, including the Meals on Wheels program. Qualifications include experience working with nonprofit, public sector, or community organizations. Bachelors degree (preferred) or commensurate experience in public administration, human or social services. To apply, please submit resume and a list of three references to: jdowning2300@yahoo.com
Insulation professional, David de la Fuente of Star Companies, Inc. in Raytown, Mo. secured the title and $10,000 grand prize at the 15thannual America’s Best Installer competition on Oct. 14. De la Fuente competed against 26 insulation installers from across the country in the skill-based competition at the EXDO Event Center in Denver.
De la Fuente exceeded the performance of his competitors in the fast-paced competition which consisted of installing JM formaldehyde-free insulation batts into mock home structures. Expert judges evaluated each competitor based on real job site criteria, including workmanship and install quality, speed, material use, and reaction to different obstacles, such as pipes, vaulted ceilings and electrical outlets.
The competition also recognized second-place winner, Noe Castillo of Denver-based Rocky Mountain Insulation, with a $5,000 cash prize. A third-place $3,500 cash prize was awarded to Shawn Elliot of Charlotte, N.C.-based Standard Insulating Companies and a fourth-place $2,500 cash prize was awarded to Jose Varela-Garcia of Olathe, Kan.-based Henges Insulation
Additional cash prizes were awarded to the following competitors from the preliminary rounds of competition:
Diego Campana-Baquero of A+ Insulation, Edwardsville, Kan. ($1,000)
Leonel Lora of American Residential Products, Orlando, Fla. ($1,000)
Doel Vazquez of Wisconsin Insulation Services, Menomonee Falls, Wis. ($1,000)
Travis Vandenbogart of Comfort Pro Insulators, Little Suamico, Wis. ($1,000)
Jake Milner of G5 / Insul USA, Nixa, Mo. ($500)
Rafael Rodriguez-Loya of Nelligan Insulation, Lynchburg, Va. ($500)
Alex Franco of Homeowner’s Insulation, Colorado Springs, Colo. ($500)
Justin McCabe of Northwind Insulation, Orchard Park, N.C. ($500)
“During a police briefing on Thursday, authorities said detectives have talked to the owner of the van. They said the owner is not in custody, not a person of interest nor a suspect.
Police are looking for Raytown resident David Jungerman as a suspect in the murder of 30-year-old attorney Tom Pickert in front of the victim’s Brookside home. Mr. Pickert was a prominent Kansas City lawyer who recently won his client a 5 million dollar judgment against Mr. Jungerman. Jungerman’s 1997 white Chevy van was seen fleeing the scene and has since been found. click HERE for KCTV5 coverage on this story.
Sources in the Raytown School District stated that the call for ambulance services went out at 7:12 and that video footage show the arrival of the ambulance at 7:27. By doing the math, and deducting the 7 minutes response time, we have 8 minutes for dispatch to take the call and relay it to a Raytown EMS unit.
Raytown broke a long loosing streak against rival Raytown South with a decisive 35 to 14 win on Friday.
RaytownOnline.com received multiple calls about the game, but not about the score. The calls were about the amount of time it took an ambulance to take an injured Raytown High player away for medical attention.
One call claimed it took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, but research indicates that was not the case, closer to 20 minutes was the actual amount of time that passed. The injury took place 3 minutes into the game. The game started at 7:00 pm. Given this, the probable time of the injury was between 7:04 and 7:08, depending on how much time passed with the game clock not running.
Photos received from people attending the game show the ambulance at 7:28 pm. (see below)
Sources at Raytown City Hall report that the EMS log indicates a 7 minute response time. What is not known is how long it took the coaching staff to decide to call an ambulance. Requests to the School District for this information have yet to be responded to.
Normally 911 calls would be routed to the Raytown Police Dept. dispatch and they relay this to the EMS unit. Normally this would also be relayed to the Raytown Fire District and they also would respond. Sources in the Raytown Fire District have no record of a call coming in on this incident.
The Raytown Board of Aldermen moved their regular meting to 6:pm on Tuesday, Sept. 5th 2017 to have a town hall meeting on the proposed budget at 7:00 pm.
The town hall meeting was packed, with people seated in a spill over room, watching it on TV. At least 80% of the crowd seemed to be supporters. friends, police, or their family members. While the meeting at times got loud and there was some heckling, the actual numbers of disruptive people were a small minority of the people attending and the Mayor did a decent job of settling them down.
City manager Cole did an overhead projector presentation of the details of the budget and the information table had plenty of copies of data from past years. The audience submitted questions with the aldermen and Mr. Cole responding to them. After that there was a public comments and questions from the podium. You can view the meeting video by clicking HERE.
The almost sole issue in the town hall meeting was the reduction of the amount of funds the Raytown Police Dept. requested. The Raytown GeneraL fund has a projected income of 10 million and the police requested 7 million of it. The 7 million is above and beyond the 2.7 million from the Public Safety Sales Tax and the Capital Sales Tax.
The primary argument for the 7 million for the police was, give the police what they are asking for or we will not be safe. The primary position by the aldermen was, we don’t have the money. In truth the Aldermen could have given the police 2 million more, by draining the contingency funds, but that would have been a one year fix that would have left the City seriously weakened for any emergency that might occur. Once the fund is drained, there would be nothing left for the next year. Other areas addressed by the audience were crime rates and crime spillover (implied KCMO residents not staying in their area), low property taxes, TIF mistakes. I did not have enough battery power to video tape the entire meeting, but do have audio for almost all of the meeting, and probably better than the city’s recording. I will post the audio and may be able to post specific requested video if it is earlier in the meeting.
I am not interested in dwelling of all the negative statements about Raytown that were made to instill fear and justify expenditures. The bottom line is we cannot spend what we do not have. We need to work to promote Raytown and Raytown businesses to increase tax revenues and every department in the city needs to tighten it’s belt. Below are two charts that show the proposed budget and historical spending by department.
One of the best events in Raytown is the annual Arts & Music Festival. If you missed it, to bad for you. Here is a small sample to entice you to show up next year.
The music kicked off with the Wildwood Boys. Here is a sample of their Music…
Millage Gilbert delivers some great old school blues.
Kjug Guitars had a nice selection of affordable guitars reconditioned guitars for sale.
Jewelry artists were well represented
Knitting and Crouchet art/craft was on sale as well.
Raytown’s State Rep. Jerome Barnes in front of the delicious food serving Lutfi”s truck.
Raytown has lost one of the best this week. He will be greatly missed. Below are photos of Randy covering the Martin Luthor King celebration, a political event and the Raytown Fishing Derby.
The known details of his passing are at the end of this article in a copy of the police report.
Randy Battagler
On 08/23/17 around 9:54 AM, officers were dispatched to the 5200 block of Blue Ridge Blvd., regarding a motor vehicle crash. Upon arriving the officers observed that only one pickup truck was involved and that the crash appeared to be minor. It was discovered that the driver of the pickup truck appeared to have suffered a medical emergency, causing the crash. Officers discovered that the driver was not breathing and CPR was initiated. The driver of the pickup truck, identified as Randall Battagler, a 65 years old man, of Raytown was transported to an area hospital where he later died.
Ian McCarthy was captured 7 or 8 miles south of Clinton Mo. on Highway U near Truman Lake. McCarthy was on foot and with a gunshot would. He Has been charged with the slaying of Clinton Officer Michael.
