The Museum Minute: That's a lotta biscuits

 

What’s Up by LeRoy Cook

What Went Wrong?

My annual January thaw arrived a week late this year, but last week’s warm-up gave pilots a preview of things to come. Many folks took wing, and as one of our new pilots said, “Never seen Butler airport this busy!” Airport bums and hangar rats gathered to at least think about spring cleaning and putting in fresh gasoline, even if they didn’t fly.

My checklist of comings and goings netted the usual suspects; a Cessna Skyhawk, a Piper Archer, a Warrior and a Cherokee. A big throaty Piper Saratoga shot some landings as well. A Cessna 172 from a Kansas City flight school suffered an electrical system failure and had to tie down here for a few days. It had a full compliment of modern instrument panel upgrades, so without juice none of the fancy glass gauges would work.

Locally-based movements included a Piper TriPacer, the resident Cessna 140, a Beech Bonanza and assorted Cessna 150 flights. I took the 1946 Aeronca out for a half-hour of traffic pattern exercise and did some test flying.

Last week, I had the sad duty of answering questions about the tragic East Coast accidents. As far as the horrible mid-air collision at Washington National airport goes, there’s not much to be said other than the obvious; They got together. The Philadelphia Lear Jet crash that occurred a few days later is more complex, and it’ll take a lot of analysis to determine the cause.

We’ve had a 16-year run of perfect safety in U.S. airline flights, so after thousands upon thousands of uneventful arrivals, one could say our luck just ran out. We must never forget just how hazardous flight can be, and we have to constantly work to mitigate the risks. Taking 64 people halfway across the country at 500 mph, miles high where the air can’t support life and temperature is 50 below zero, is a marvel of engineering. PSA’s little CRJ-700 American Eagle airliner was doing it day in and day out.

So, what went wrong at DCA? Simply put, somebody wasn’t watching and two aircraft tangled. In the dark, punctuated by bright lights, it’s not hard to lose one’s traffic. You have to understand that tower controllers only control the airspace, it’s the pilots that control aircraft. All the required warnings and advisories can’t separate traffic; somebody has to steer. Exacerbating the Washington D.C. flight scene is the plethora of restricted airspace, which crowds air traffic into tight corridors, just asking for a mid-air collision. National Airport was supposed to be replaced by Dulles International out in the suburbs, but the pampered members of our Ruling Class didn’t want to give up the convenience of landing downtown, so it handles far too much traffic.

In our previous column, we asked readers to give the origin of the “Mayday, Mayday” radio distress call. It came from the French term “M’aider” meaning “help me.” For next time, what’s the oldest still-operating airport in the United States? You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.

Corey’s Comments from City Hall

It seems like the first month of 2025 has just flown by and we are already into February. I first want to thank all the city crews for their dedication and hard work during the winter storm. We had crews out for 36 hours straight working on power lines in the winter conditions. We also had crews putting in long hours making sure our streets were safe to drive. I appreciate all our lineman, maintenance workers, police, fire and emergency management during this time. I know things did not go perfectly, but everyone pulled together to make sure we got back up and running quickly as possible.

It is budget time for the city as we prepare for our 2025-2026 fiscal year starting April 1. We have a proposed budget of $16,302,000.00 for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Currently City Council is meeting with departments to go over requests for the upcoming year. We are also looking at possible street projects, water/sewer line projects and upgrades at our Wastewater Treatment, Water, and Light Plant facilities.

The city did receive a grant from the Financial Rural Community and Agricultural Foundation. This grant was for playground equipment at the Kenton and Friends Playground for $5,000.00. We are looking to replace an old metal slide that was at the playground with these funds. We continue to try and make improvements to our park and recreation system.

The new Casey’s General Store has broken ground out by Max Motors and Interstate 49. The hope is that this project will be done sometime later this spring or early summer. That is all the details we have on the project currently.

City Council is also currently going through the codification process of our ordinances. This is an effort to update ordinances that are out of date or do not reflect the correct processes of the city. Here is a time if you think a code should be changed to reach out to your council member about it.

I am pleased to announce that by the end of February we should have a new customer utility portal for citizens. You will be able to go online and see your current usage, look at days when your usage could be high or low. This will be a benefit when it comes to your bill and not be taken off guard for a high usage month. We will update everyone once the portal is ready to be launched and how to access it.

We are also getting close to that time of year where we ask for new members for the boards and commissions that city has. If serving on a board or commission is something you like to do please go out to our website and look at the different opportunities we have. We are always looking for people to serve our community in any capacity. Go here for info: www.cityofbutlermo.com/1152/Boards-and-Commissions

-Butler City Administrator, Corey Snead

Obituary - John R. Adams

John R. Adams age 83 of Harrisonville, Missouri departed this life Friday, January 3, 2025, at his home. He was born September 6, 1941 and raised in Austin, Missouri to his parents Joe and Nettie (Wade) Adams.

John led a full and meaningful life. A man of many passions, he was well-known for his love of auctions and his remarkable collection of vintage tins, oil cans, and gas cans. His deep connection to the land shone through his enjoyment of farming, a pursuit that brought him great joy and fulfillment.

John built a respected career as a real estate appraiser, where his expertise and integrity left a lasting impression on those he worked with.

John's legacy is one of hard work, and a deep appreciation for life's simple pleasures.

John is preceded in death by his parents Joe Adams and Nettie (Wade) Adams; and his brother Larry Joe Adams.

John is survived by his wife Marquita Adams of Harrisonville, Missouri; a brother Ron Adams of South Carolina; and 1 niece and 5 nephews.

Cremation with a Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date.

Memorial Contributions may be made to HAS Friends (Harrisonville Animal Shelter) and send in care to Dickey Funeral Home, P.O. Box 432, Harrisonville, Missouri 64701.

Visitation will be held 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at Dickey Funeral Home, Harrisonville, Missouri.

Celebration of Life Service will be held 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at Dickey Funeral Home, Harrisonville, Missouri.

Obituary - Billie Jean Montgomery

Billie Jean Montgomery age 78 of Garden City, Missouri departed this life Saturday, February 1, 2025 at Pleasant Hill Health and Rehab, Pleasant Hill, Missouri.

Cremation with no services scheduled. Inurment will take place at Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas at a later date.

A complete obituary will be posted once that information becomes available.

-Courtesy Dickey Funeral Homes

Obituary - Stanley Penner

Funeral services for Stanley Penner of Moundridge, Kansas formerly of Rich Hill, Missouri will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at Bethany Mennonite Church in Rich Hill, Missouri. Burial will follow in the Bethany Mennonite Cemetery in Rich Hill. Visitation will be from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at the church. Contributions may be made to Moundridge Manor. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel in Butler, Missouri (660-679-6555). Online condolences www.schowengerdtchapel.com.

Stanley Penner, 91, of Moundridge, Kansas, passed away Thursday, January 30, 2025 at the Moundridge Manor. He was born on September 14, 1933 at Rosenort, Manitoba, Canada to Ed D. and Helena (Goossen) Penner.

Stanley attended the Rosenort School in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of Bethany Mennonite Church in Rich Hill, Missouri.

Stanley was united in marriage to Lenora (Harms) Schmidt on July 14, 1957 in Montezuma, Kansas. He was a church missionary in Arizona, Mexico and Texas. He was a carpenter and farmer in Rich Hill, MO. Stanley and Lenora moved to Moundridge in 2023.

Stanley is survived by his wife, Lenora Penner of Moundridge, Kansas; sons, Charles (Lois) Penner of Macomb, Missouri, and Brent (Rita) Penner of Moundridge, Kansas; daughters, Carolyn (Paul) Leatherman of Walker, Missouri and Janice (Rene) Penner of Welsford, Nova Scotia; daughter-in-law, Avis Penner of Jamesport, Missouri; special family whom Dad and Mom called children and grandchildren, Pablo and Cheli and family; 24 grandchildren; 45 great-grandchildren; brother, Roland (Doris) Penner of St. Mary’s, Ontario; and five sisters, Gladys (Sherwin) Friesen of St. Mary’s, Ontario, Joyce Penner of Steinbach, Manitoba, Joanne Penner of Rosenort, Manitoba, Helena (Glenn) Schneider of Leesburg, Ohio, and Stella Penner of Rosenort, Manitoba. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Milton Penner; six sisters and two brothers.

Enjoy it while you can...

 

After a balmy high today of around 69, tomorrow we will slip back to seasonable weather along with a chance of showers mid week. Later next week we'll see even colder temps as we approach Valentines Day.

95th annual Archie basketball tournament comes to an end

 Boys:

Archie 33
Adrian 63

Rich Hill 47
Harrisonville 71 (Archie tournament champs)

Sherwood 54
Knob Noster 46

Girls:

Lone Jack 41
Harrisonville 27 (2nd place Archie tournament)

Wheatland 36
Montrose/Ballard 22

More information to be added as it becomes available