Emory Spainhour vigil in Harrisonville

On Sunday March 13, 2022, at 5 p.m., The Harrisonville Police Department, along with the family and friends of Emory Spainhour Jr., will be holding a vigil for Emory. 

The vigil will be at the Commuter Parking Lot on Rockhaven Rd. The vigil will mark 6 months since his unsolved murder that occurred on 9/13/2021. 

We are inviting the community to come to the vigil to show support and to help the police find any additional information for the active investigation.

Motor vehicle accident outside of Butler

On March 2nd around 1:30 p.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol along with Bates County Sheriff's Deputies an Butler Fire Department responded to a one vehicle accident on East Dakota Street just outside of Butler.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occurred when the 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by 30 year old Nickolas W. Guyer of Butler traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree.

Mr. Guyer sustained minor injuries and he refused medical treatment at the scene of this accident. The vehicle was totaled and towed from the scene of this crash by Douty's Tow of Butler.

View crash report below:

https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=220105878

Scott Bacon to be new Deputy Principal at Ray-Pec High School

Scott Bacon will be the new Deputy Principal at Ray-Pec High School, effective July 1. Bacon will work alongside current Principal Steven Miller during the 2022-2023 school year, and then will assume the position of principal upon Miller’s retirement in June 2023. Bacon is currently principal at Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, Kan.

The Board approved the hiring during its Feb. 22 meeting.

Bacon said he is honored to have the opportunity to serve the Ray-Pec community.

“Ray-Pec is a very highly respected school district in the metropolitan area,” Bacon said. “The opportunity, as it is designed, is very unique in that it will afford me the opportunity to come in, listen, learn, observe, and collaborate with Mr. Miller, his administrative team, and staff. It also provides the opportunity for me to get to know the students, staff, the parent community, and the culture of the school community. This arrangement will be very beneficial to all and should provide for a seamless transition.”

His years of leadership in a rapidly-growing district give Bacon an understanding of issues similar to those being experienced in the Ray-Pec School District. In addition, the attendance area for Blue Valley High School mirrors Ray-Pec High School in that it is part suburban, part rural.

Dr. Kristel Barr, Director of Secondary Education, said, “Scott has a tremendous amount of experience that he will bring with him. He is very student-centered in his approach to education and has a strong desire to continue to innovate our educational system; this makes him a perfect fit for RayPec and where we want to go in the upcoming years.”

Bacon has been principal at Blue Valley High School since 2004. He has worked in the Blue Valley School District since 1989, when he went to Blue Valley High School as a history and German teacher and coach.

He was assistant principal and activities director from 1993 to 1995, and was associate principal of curriculum and instruction from 1995 to 2002. From 2002 to 2004, he was principal at Pleasant Ridge Middle School in the Blue Valley School District, before returning to Blue Valley High School as principal in 2004.

Previously, he taught German and history and coached football and wrestling in Grand Island, Neb., and was a coach while completing his student teaching at Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kan.

Bacon earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Wichita State University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Emporia State University.

Bacon and his wife, Robin, live in Olathe. She is a nurse and is the medical simulation lab coordinator at the Center for Professional Studies in the Blue Valley School District. They have three grown children. Daughter Rylee Price, a designer for Under Armour, lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Son Trent Bacon is a salesforce administrator for Western Governors’ University. Son Tyler Bacon is a registered nurse at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Both sons live in Olathe.

The district’s plan to have Bacon work alongside Steven Miller for one year is designed to allow for a smooth leadership transition when Miller retires in June 2023. The “Deputy Principal” will be a one-year appointment for the 2022-2023 school year. This will allow Miller to share his extensive knowledge about people, processes, and systems in the District.

Dr. Kristina Martin to be new Activities Director for Raymore-Peculiar School District

Dr. Kristina Martin will become the activities director for the Raymore-Peculiar School District, effective in July. The Ray-Pec School Board approved the internal transfer at its Feb. 22 meeting.

Martin is currently the associate principal at Raymore-Peculiar High School, a position she has held since 2013.

Martin said she was drawn to the position because activities and athletics bring out the best in students.

“Strong academics in conjunction with strong activities and athletic programs are foundational to strong educational settings and communities like Raymore and Peculiar,” she said.

Ray-Pec Director of Secondary Education Dr. Kristel Barr, said that Martin has a strong set of skills that are a match to the job and will lead to continued success.

“In addition, she knows the district well and from many different angles so she has a 360-degree view of our programs,” Barr said.

Martin’s move to the Activities Director role is part of a plan that will restructure the administrative leadership at Ray-Pec High School. Martin’s current position of associate principal will be reclassified as an assistant principal position, with Martin moving into the Activities Director position. The recruitment of an assistant principal to replace Martin will begin soon.

Before becoming associate principal at RPHS in 2013, Martin worked one year as Director of Educational Programs in the Park Hill School District. From 2009 to 2012, she was principal of grades 7-12 for the Archie R-V School District. From 1999 to 2009, she worked for the Ray-Pec School District as assistant principal at the Ray-Pec Freshman Center, and as a teacher and coach. She began her education career in 1994 in the Harrisonville School District, where she was a computer science teacher and coach at the high school and middle school levels.

Martin earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary business education, with an emphasis in computer technology, from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She received a master’s degree in secondary administration from Central Missouri State University (now the University of Central Missouri); in Warrensburg. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Kansas.

Martin’s husband, Sean, is a physical education teacher and the head varsity football coach at Ray-Pec High School. The Martins live in Raymore with their youngest son, Patrick, who is a student at the high school. Their three older children, Quincy, Toni, and Shane, are Ray-Pec graduates. With Dr. Martin’s move to the Activities Director position, oversight of varsity football will be the responsibility of the high school principal.

Dr. Martin will replace Kirk Hipple, who has resigned, effective at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Obituary - Barbara Jean Goddard

Barbara Jean Goddard, 83, of West Line, MO passed away on Sunday, February 27, 2022, at Crown Care Center in Harrisonville, MO. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2022, from 12:00 - 1:30 pm at Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, MO.

Graveside services will follow at 2:00 pm in Glenwild Cemetery in Cleveland, MO. Memorial contributions can be made in Barbara's name to the Cass-Midway Booster Club.

Barbara was born on December 30, 1938, in Osawatomie, KS, to Clyde and Freda (Barber) McCoach. Barbara was a graduate of Parker High School, where she was a cheerleader and participated in school plays. Her younger years were spent in rural Linn County playing on the banks Marais de Cygne. Barbara was living in Kansas City, working at Hallmark Cards when she met John Goddard, the love of her life. Barbara married John on July 20, 1958, in Osawatomie, KS. They enjoyed 60 years of marriage, traveling, and attending many activities of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She worked as a secretary in the medical field, most notably for Cass County Hospital and Visiting Nurses. 

Barbara especially enjoyed driving a bus for Cass Midway Schools for the last 10 years of her working life. She loved interacting and getting to know the kids on her routes and visiting with the other drivers.

Barbara was a devoted wife, mother, Grammy, and Great Grammy. She taught Bible School, was a 4-H leader and instructor and was an amazing seamstress. Barbara made wedding and formal dresses for special family members. She was very creative - painting, crocheting, and crafting - attending many local craft fairs with her daughter and daughter-in-law. Her cooking and baking were renowned. Her chocolate pie and Christmas candy were family favorites, all of which she was still making well into the last season of her life.

Barbara is preceded in death by her husband, John on August 1, 2018; her parents, brother, Richard McCoach, sister, Linda Staley, and daughter-in-law, Lynn Goddard. She is survived by her son, Dave Goddard of Amsterdam; her daughter, Kathy (Rex) Pippenger of Salina, KS; 6 grandchildren: Sarah Blasi (Jesse), J.R. Goddard (Brandee), Megan Klomp (Jake), Jessie McWilliams (Ben), Chase Pippenger, Kara Goddard; 6 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Racially Motivated Federal Hate Crime Targeting Black Man

The Justice Department announced today that Colton Donner, 27, pleaded guilty in federal court to threatening an African American man with a knife because of the man’s race, and in order to intimidate and interfere with the man’s right to fair housing.

According to documents filed in connection with the plea, on Sept. 11, 2019, Donner was driving through a residential area of Paola, Kansas, when he saw the victim, an African American man, walking on the sidewalk. Donner stopped, got out of the car, and approached the victim while brandishing a knife. Donner threatened the victim, yelled racial slurs, and told the victim that Paola is a “white town.”

“Using racially motivated threats of violence to drive someone out of their home or community is a deplorable crime, and the Justice Department stands ready to use our nation’s hate crimes laws to hold perpetrators accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racially motivated hate crimes have no place in our society today. All people deserve to feel safe and secure living in their communities, regardless of race, color or national origin.”

“Any attempt to deny someone an opportunity to live where he or she chooses based on race, color or national origin is wrong and a violation of that person’s civil rights,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for the District of Kansas. “It is the responsibility of the Justice Department to prosecute such offenses to ensure the equal protection under the law to which we all are entitled, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

“Every individual has the right to occupy a home free from racial discrimination, yet the defendant targeted the victim for no other reason than the victim’s race,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. “The defendant’s actions directly undermined the victim’s right to reside in a community in Paola, Kansas, and to enjoy the protections afforded under the federal civil rights act. The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, have no tolerance for this type of fear and intimidation and are committed to protecting residents regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, national origin or familial status.”

Donner faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the civil rights offense.

The case was investigated by the Paola Police Department and the Kansas City Field Office of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tristan Hunt of the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

Courtesy of the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs

Archie R-V School District introduces our 2022-2023 superintendent, Dr. Michelle Wityk

The Archie R-V School District introduces our 2022-2023 superintendent, Dr. Michelle Wityk.

Here is a short message from Dr. Wityk:

“I am excited and honored to serve the Archie R-V School District, the Board of Education, the faculty and staff, families, community, and business leaders as we work to move the District’s mission forward to benefit our students. 

I am dedicated and committed to ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education, ultimately preparing them for graduation and life after high school. This is only possible by creating strong and collaborative partnerships and relationships with all stakeholders.

Bates County approves lease refunding certificates of participation with a net savings of about $250,872

NEWS RELEASE:

BATES COUNTY, MISSOURI APPROVES
LEASE REFUNDING CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION WITH A NET SAVINGS OF ABOUT $250,872

At a regular meeting on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, the County Commission of Bates County, Missouri approved a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of $4,825,000 Lease Refunding Certificates of Participation to its Municipal Bond Underwriter, L.J. Hart & Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The Series 2022 Refunding Certificates have reoffering yields ranging from 1.15% to 2.10% to constitute a new effective interest rate of 1.92%, compared to an average interest rate of 3.47% for the Series 2018 Certificates being refunded. Through this refinancing, the County reduces future interest expense by $250,872.

Presiding Commissioner, Jim Wheatley, briefly described the plan which involved accelerating principal payments to absorb interest savings from 2023 through 2030 with the bulk of the savings occurring in 2031 and 2032. It was one of three options that L.J. Hart & Company shared with the County officials and became the favorite idea because it shortens the final payment on the financing by one full year while still preserving a short call feature of April 15, 2027 to allow for future prepayments at no penalty to the County. It is also produces good interest savings without having to deplete the County’s reserves. “We generally came to a consensus that this plan represented our most economical action and are very pleased that the municipal bond market brought us favorable interest rates to save Bates County taxpayers the $250,872, “Mr. Wheatley remarked.

Larry J. Hart, CEO, and Erin McManus, Senior Analyst of L.J. Hart & Company, stated that County received an A+ rating from S&P Global (formerly known as Standard & Poor’s Corporation) on this financing. The sound financial condition of Bates County was one of the key factors leading to the good marketing results. They also mentioned that the help from the County elected officials Marlene Wainscott as County Clerk, Jim Platt as County Treasurer, and each of the County Commissioners, contributed to the success of the rating conference call. “All of the offices of Bates County as well as the residents should be pleased that the A+ rating was awarded for this financing,” Ms. McManus remarked.

L.J. Hart & Company was directed to make the refunding certificates available to local financial institutions and individual investors. The Community First Bank of Butler purchased $500,000 of the Certificates which contributed to the overall success of the financing. According to L.J. Hart & Company, the lease certificates mature from April 15, 2023 through April 15, 2031 and interest paid by the County is exempt from federal and state of Missouri income taxes. The settlement (closing) date is March 9, 2022, and the refunding lease proceeds are to be kept at the current trustee bank to be applied on April 15, 2022 to prepay all of the remaining $4,850,000 of the Series 2018 Certificates. The Commission expressed their gratitude to Mr. Hart and Ms. McManus for their management of the refunding and their quick response to achieve this $250,872 of future interest savings.