Peer support training a great success

Last week, the Belton Missouri Police Department hosted a 40 hour peer support training class with FRST Midwest.

Over the past week, these 23 first responders from around the Kansas City metro, including Miami County Kansas Sheriff's Office Master Deputy Terry Burgoon are certified to provide peer support training within their agencies and for other agencies.

Courtesy of the Miami County Kansas Sheriff's Office 

Public service announcement from the Butler Senior Center

Dirty Bingo tomorrow night at the Butler Senior Center is cancelled.

At last week’s board meeting, the Friends of the Butler Senior Center Board voted to suspend Dirty Bingo until March 2024.

Obituary - Donald C. Peters

Donald C. Peters, born August 11th, 1956, joined our Father in Heaven on December 10th 2023.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years Lonnie Sue (Green), son Jason Tyler Peters, daughters Lisa Marie Peters, Kelsey Lynne (Alex) Heath and grandson Grayson James Heath, a sister Ellen Peters Clemens and brothers Dale (Pam) Peters and John Peters. He was preceded in death by his parents Kathryn and Ed Peters, nephew Matthew Clemens, and brother-in-law Gary Clemens.

Born in Kankakee, IL with his childhood being spent in Deerfield, IL, he attended college at Northwest Missouri State University. He graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Nutrition. After graduation he took his first job in Fort Wayne, IN with Alied Mills selling animal feed.

Don met his wife Lonnie in the spring of 1979 and they married May 1st 1982.

From the moment they were married, whether it be coaching baseball, tearing down log cabins, raising their children, or doing civil war reenacting, they were a team, not always by Lonnie’s choice. After starting a family, Don decided on a career move. He took a job with Bristol-Myers selling animal pharmaceuticals. Throughout 30 years and numerous company buyouts the family settled in Peculiar, MO where he retired.

Don coached little league baseball in Ft. Wayne after college and would continue coaching his own kids as they got into sports. He was always the voice of encouragement they could hear. When his youngest daughter decided to join the cross-country team in school he thought why not start running. He continued even after she had graduated.

Still having so much to give, after retiring he took a position as Executive Director at the Cass County Historical Society. His love of history and his incredible ability to tell stories never failed him. From mock trials with middle schoolers, research, or talks given to any group who asked, he always had a captive audience. He had an amazing talent for getting people involved and having fun before they even knew what was happening.

Don had a great love for history, sports, fishing, gardening, and family. An avid baseball fan, he was a lifelong member of the Chicago Cubs fan club. He always planned things larger than life, whether it be work related, Easter egg hunts, Halloween parties on the farm, or just being one of the kids. His wit was unsurpassed, his heart large, and he will be missed greatly.

A visitation will be held at Cullen Funeral Home Inc., 612 W. Foxwood Dr. Raymore, Missouri 64083 on Friday, December 15, 2023 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For the visitation we would like to celebrate Don’s life and love for his almamater. We invite everyone to please wear white and green or any Northwest apparel to honor him. A memorial service will be held at Cullen Funeral Home, Inc. on Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

Butler Lions make donations for the holidays

 THE BUTLER LIONS CLUB made several donations last week just in time for the holidays. Top, Lion Wayne Vermillion presented a check to the Coats for Kids program accepted by Carol Ann Winburn and Jamie Pippin-Loe. Center, a check was presented to the Bates County Sheriff’s Office for the Shop With A Cop program and at bottom, Vermillion presented a donation to the Bates County community food pantry which was graciously accepted by Director Renee Bannerman.

Senior Center menu

 

Recipe of the Week

 

Butler annexes key piece of property

 It was another short session for the Butler city council on Tuesday. All members present with the exception of Jeff Hall.

City Clerk Corey Snead reminded everyone that business licenses need to be renewed and reminders have been sent. However, if anyone does not receive the notice please contact city hall.

Response from the questionnaire for the comprehensive plan has been better than expected. The next step is to further review plans from 1968 and 1982 to see if goals were met; however it appears most were not, as both included a large increase in housing among other things- many of the items will be reviewed to see if they would still pertain today to determine if they will be added to the current plan.

Bringing more commerce to Butler is a hot topic as the city is working with several firms who specialize in rural economic development for smaller towns such as ours. It seems that it may be easier than previously thought to lure a big box retailer to our city and another firm will be here to discuss options on January 16th, 6 pm at city hall and the public is invited to join. One big plus would be for a retailer to make use of the old Walmart or Country Mart buildings if at all possible.

The council voted to annex a small parcel of land just west of the old Super 8 motel which is a prime retail spot that would nicely generate tax monies as well as utility hookups and more. Rumor has it that Casey’s stores may be considering the location but information is slow in coming.

Remember the Butler city council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm at city hall and the public is highly encouraged to attend.

What’s Up by LeRoy Cook

 

More Open-Air Flight

Wind was the issue last week. On some of the boisterous days, only the hardy and half-witted ventured out. Scott Buerge and I canceled one trip that didn’t have to go, and the rest of the flyers that day wished they had. When the forecast calls for wind shear of 45 knots at 2000 feet, the ride will be rough.

Among the local space-renters taking wing last week were Christian Tucker, who flew to Downtown Kansas City in the Mooney M20C and took his family to Lebanon as well, Les Gorden, up with his grandson in his Piper Twin Comanche, and Roy Conley, who slipped away briefly to exercise his Grumman Tr2. The transient traffic included a Van’s RV-6 homebuilt, an ATD Piper Archer and a UH-60 Black Hawk Army Guard helicopter, all of them battling the gusty winds. 

The premier maker of kit airplanes, Van’s RV factory out in Oregon, entered Chapter 11 Reorganization last week, unable to meet obligations to its creditors, mostly suppliers but also a flock of customers. The issue has been underpricing and the cost of covering some faulty parts not Van’s fault. Dick Van Grunsven came out of retirement to help, throwing millions of his own money into the pot, but it’ll take surcharges on existing orders to dig out of the hole, it appears.

If you think you’ve had some bad days, consider the EMS helicopter pilot in Iowa last week who hit a duck while enroute to a patient dropoff. The web-footed canard came through the right windshield, at 100 knots, smacked into his chest, splattering innards and feathers all over the interior. The hapless pilot recovered well enough to put the chopper down at a nearby airport. Only the duck was a casualty.

And then there was the just-couldn’t-win scenario overwhelming a Turbine Lancair pilot down at McKinney, Texas. He first encountered a loss of cabin pressure at 25,000 feet due to a rupture in the door seal, which he handled by descending to 10,000 feet. Next, the propeller tried to overspeed, but it responded to power reduction. Then throttle knob came off in his hand as he attempted a landing; he couldn’t get the propeller into reverse thrust to stop, ran off the end of the runway, went through a fence and onto a road, where a car plowed into the right wing and engine cowling. No major injuries, but lots of damage. 

Shawn Breckenridge answered last week’s question about why a certain airplane had a periscope installed. He said it was to see the runway ahead, but the rest of the story is, the airplane was Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 New York to Paris Ryan, the Spirit of St. Louis, which had a 400-gallon gas tank ahead of the cockpit and no windshield. Lindy reportedly leaned out the window instead of extending the periscope most of the time. For next week, can you tell us what was unusual about a Cessna Caravan’s flight last week around the traffic pattern at Hollister, California. You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.