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March 12, 2010
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Community News | Sports | Opinion | Close Window
Horton updates board on issues
By ERIC COPELAND
Managing Editor
 With serious budget issues directly ahead, Superintendent of Schools Jim Horton gave the Excelsior Springs Board of Education an update Monday night on some issues, both local and statewide, that are worth the board’s consideration.
He pointed out a handful of bills that have been proposed by state legislators, though he noted that with the Missouri House and Senate currently on a break, they aren’t currently moving ahead on these issues or any others.
Still, he said, he has some concerns about issues with the teacher retirement system.
“It’s a little underfunded,” he said, though of more importance is some talk about merging the system with other retirement systems. He said he didn’t know whether the talk would go anywhere, but explained that the education retirement system tends to have more money than some others, which makes talk of mergers pretty attractive for lawmakers.
Earlier in the meeting, Deputy Superintendent John Lacy painted a bleak budget picture for the school district, and Horton reinforced that image by talking about serious budget issues at the state level as well.
He discussed House Bill 2277, which would eliminate state aid for summer school, and said that programs such as summer school, career ladder and A-Plus are firmly in the crosshairs of lawmakers looking to balance the budget.
“Basically, they’re looking at big pockets of money,” he explained.
On Thursday, word came out of Jefferson City that Gov. Jay Nixon had cut another $125 million from the state budget. Among the areas affected in this latest round of cuts is state assistance for school transportation services, which was reduced by $4 million.
Horton also noted that MAP testing for local students begins April 6 and continues until April 13.
In Horton’s monthly superintendent’s report, he also stated that school personnel had made a presentation about their integration of the Professional Learning Communities concept at a conference in Rolla and were set to make another similar presentation at a state principals conference this month.
Donations needed as Haiti’s food depletion issues continue
By KRISTIN RULON
Community Reporter
The following information was retrieved via phone call on Tuesday, March 9, from Excelsior Springs residents Daina Kennedy and Rita Robertson, who are assisting Joy House Ministries in Haiti for 45 days. Rita will be contacting the Standard weekly with updates on conditions and her activities in Gressier, Haiti. Updates will be published in the Friday editions of the Standard. This is second update. The first update ran in the Friday, March 5, edition.
Daina Kennedy and Rita Robertson are still sleeping on the roof of Joy House Ministries in tents, which they are lucky to have.
The rainy season has come early for Haiti and many are still without tents or tarps to sleep.
Kennedy notes that she is seeing families in ‘tent cities’ with infants sleeping on the ground, which explains the increase of babies coming in with pneumonia.
“It rains almost every night,” Kennedy said. “We had crazy wind the other night. It felt like we were going to blow off the roof.”
At first, Kennedy said, the sensation of the aftershocks was something they weren’t quite used to at first but now “we’re over it.”
She described the aftershocks as two types, the kind you feel and the kind you hear.
The one you hear, Kennedy said, reminds her of someone slamming a door without you knowing it. The one you feel causes side-to-side shaking.
“It’s as if you are on your bed,” Kennedy said, “and someone is shaking the bed.”
Tents and tarps are needed from donors, along with money to purchase food. Funds are being collected to built temporary housing, which Kennedy said costs $1,700 per unit.
Helicopters carrying food fly over Gressier, everyday as food is sent to Port-au-Prince. As of Tuesday, March 9, no helicopters had landed in Gressier with food, which is a critical issue.
Kennedy mentioned that in the clinic two people this past week were told that their bodies were past starvation and that their systems would no longer take in any nutrients. It was just a matter of time for them.
“The problem is that the Haitians have no source of income and are unable to buy food,” Kennedy said.
Through the Joy House Team, though, Kennedy and Robertson were able to purchase food in bulk from a suburb outside of Port-au-Prince, but they are concerned about the American teams coming in.
Joy House has employed 20 Haitians providing food and shelter for them, and the food goes to them first, Kennedy said.
Some of the American team members have even given up a meal or two to help feed them, Kennedy said.
Joy House does not have the ability to give out large amounts of food to the public in the open but can give food to church leaders, who then pass food on to their congregations but do not have an abundant amount to give, Kennedy said.
Any person or organization that would like to directly help the Haitians’ food crisis can do so by going to www.haitijoyhouse.org, with 100 percent of the funds donated going directly to Joy House in Gressier.
Also, anyone wanting to donate tarps or tents can still do so by dropping them off at Excelsior Trade Fair, 1220 N. Jesse James Road.
Council to meet Monday night
The Excelsior Springs City Council will have its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 15, in the council chambers at the Hall of Waters.
Daylight Saving Time begins
Daylight Saving Time starts at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 14, so don’t forget to set your clocks an hour ahead before you go to bed Saturday.
HPC plans public workshop
The Excelsior Springs Historic Preservation Commission will host a community workshop to review the first draft of the city of Excelsior Springs’ Historic Preservation Plan.
The workshop will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, in the council chambers at the Hall of Waters, 201 E. Broadway.
During the session, the draft document will be presented and members of the public will have an opportunity to make comments and ask questions. The plan is designed to build on the strengths of the city’s current historic preservation program and provide a foundation for strategies to help shape historic preservation in the future.
Ribbon-cutting set for March 20
The Excelsior Springs Area Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a ribbon-cutting to coincide with the grand opening of the Thrifty Store, 1745A W. Jesse James Road.
The ribbon-cutting will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 20.
Yard waste site opens April 1
The city’s yard waste disposal drop-off site, closed since last fall, will re-open for the growing season the afternoon of Thursday, April 1.
The site, located off Marietta Street south of the old football field, will be open from 3 p.m. to dusk on Thursdays and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays. Local residents can leave brush, plants, grass, leaves, limbs and stumps of any size at the site. No bags or twine can be left there, as the yard waste will be turned into mulch.
HPC approves COA for shop
During a short meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Excelsior Springs Historic Preservation Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for a sign at a new downtown business.
Mind, Body & Soap Co. will be located at 105 E. Broadway.
In other business, the commission reviewed the current draft of the Historic Preservation Plan, now 50 percent complete, and talked about walking tours in the downtown historic district.
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Golliglee earns Eagle Scout award
Parker Golliglee of Excelsior Springs has earned the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts of America offers to scouts, the Eagle Scout award.
Golliglee was recognized in a Court of Honor ceremony held at the First United Methodist Church in Excelsior Springs.
He is one of approximately four percent of all boy scouts who attain the rank of Eagle Scout, according to Scoutmaster Stan Suddarth.
Each candidate must earn 21 merit badges and successfully complete a community service project to earn his Eagle.
Golliglee planned and coordinated a three-part project to re-stripe his church parking lot, paint the parking blocks, and construct a decorative fence on church grounds with the assistance of his troop and church members.
ES Job Corps graduate shares story of successful career
By SKYLA MCKOWN
Staff Writer
The Excelsior Springs Job Corps Center is home to 495 students all training for their career of choice. Several students go on to have success stories, including 2006 graduate Jana Hinkle.
After moving to a new high school, Hinkle found she was lacking the appropriate amount of credits to graduate. She had known two people to attend Job Corps in the past so she decided to look into it. She enrolled in November 2005, hoping to train in the concrete field.
Working hard during her time there, Hinkle was picked for a 10-student program in Independence that lasted seven weeks and included special environmental classes, including those dealing with asbestos. While participating in this program, Hinkle met a woman who took her to the insulators hall where she got certified and joined the Insulators Union. The union will set members up with contractors who then decide to continue to work with the member or not based on their job performance.
Hinkle became a graduate of the Excelsior Springs Job Corps Center in 2006, but stayed on for advanced trade study. On Wednesday, Sept. 2007, she received a phone call with a job offer. Hinkle had wanted to wait until Monday to leave for the job, but she was urged to come immediately as to not miss the opportunity.
On Thursday, she was leaving Job Corps for good. Taking advantage of Job Corps Transition Assistance Program, Hinkle was taken to a hotel to stay temporarily as she began her career as a Union Insulator Apprentice.
As a Union Insulator Apprentice, she aids in installing installation on pipes in buildings, including power plants on the power ducts.
One must be an apprentice for four years, taking 160 hours of off-the-clock, unpaid class time during each year in addition to regular working hours.
Hinkle is in her third year as an apprentice, working ten hours four days a week. Being very job-oriented, such hard work pays off for Hinkle however, with pay increasing based on a set scale each year of the apprenticeship.
When asked about salary, Hinkle’s modesty shows as she hesitates, “Well,” she says, “I make more than my parents, and most other people I know.”
After four years as an apprentice, she can be approached to become a foreman.
Less than three years after leaving Job Corps, Jana Hinkle is well on her way to a long career in the Insulators Union.
Debaters compete at district tournament
The ESHS Debaters competed in the debate division for the National Forensic League district tournament this past weekend.
The district tournament was double elimination.Brian Shewell made it to the third round; Ashley Harness, fourth round; and Abi Broadbent, fourth round in LD. Dakkota Huber was eliminated in round six, the semi-final round of Lincoln-Douglas Debate tying for fifth place.
In the Public Forum Debate, Heather Hellyer and Chelsi Welsh were eliminated in round four and Logan McGregor and Jessica Casey in round five. Trevar Difalco and Patrick Mordue were eliminated in round six, the semi-final round, tying for fifth place.
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Living the life of a Super Bowl Champion
By DUSTIN CARROLL
Sports Writer
A trip to Bourbon Street in New Orleans where thousands upon thousands of people pack the streets for the annual Mardi Gras Parade is an event that stands out in the minds of those who attend for the rest of their lives. A trip down Bourbon Street on the back of a float carrying the team that just won the Super Bowl while the entire city cheers you on is unimaginable.
Excelsior native Gregg Williams had the opportunity to experience what it is like for thousands of people - more than have ever attended Mardi Gras - to cheer you on and congratulate you for lifting up the city and doing something that has never been done in New Orleans. Win a Super Bowl.
For Williams the Super Bowl win meant much more as he had the opportunity to share the victory with his family and friends. Many of them being from right here in Excelsior.
“Being able to win Super Bowl XLIV was special,” said Williams. “Being able to win Super Bowl XLIV with my oldest son was special. But being able to celebrate with friends from Excelsior was priceless.”
Williams bought 30 tickets to the big game and brought down numerous friends from Excelsior to experience what it was like to be part of the Super Bowl. The guests had the opportunity to stay at a hotel right across the street from the team and spend some time with Williams before the day of the game. And more importantly, his guests got to celebrate with him afterwards.
For Williams and his family, the victory topped off what was already a great weak as his youngest son Chase was named to the Super Press Team the Wednesday before the game.
“The Williams family had a pretty good week,” said Williams.
But now that the craziness of the Super Bowl win has begun to die down a bit, Williams and the rest of the Saints staff have the job of preparing for next season. A process that began as soon as they stepped off the plane in New Orleans after the game.
Teams that are lucky enough to make it to the Super Bowl add an extra month onto their season. As soon as the big game is over they go right into the next. Something that Williams said he would do every year. But that doesn’t leave a lot of room for a vacation to sit back and soak up everything that has just happened.
For Williams his last day off was July 20th of last year. So for him, winning the Super Bowl hasn’t quite set in. But he says he thinks everything will hit him when he finally gets his ring in a couple of months at the ceremony. A ring that he will be bringing back to Excelsior when he rolls through the second week of July for his annual golf tournament.
The ring is not the only thing that will be in Excelsior the week of Williams’ tournament as he has already made plans with player and friend Chase Daniel- a former Heisman Trophy finalist and quarterback at the University of Missouri- to take part in the tournament and the activities that will be going on throughout the week. And along with Daniel, the NFL Network will be covering the events live.
Williams says that they are ahead of the curve when it comes to setting up the golf tournament and he feels that this year’s will be one of the best to date. Although the weeks events will be cut back by one day due to the 7-on7 and the Lineman Challenge being dropped from the schedule due to changes in MSHSAA practice regulations, Williams promises that the three days of events that are being held will be huge.
With the tournament projected to be one of the biggest ever, Williams and
the Foundation have posted an early registration on their Web site www.greggwilliamsfoundation.org for people to get a head start on registration to secure themselves a spot on the course.
While the Foundation and Williams have been working hard to get a head start on this year’s tournament, Williams has much more work to be done in New Orleans as the team prepares for free agency and the draft which will be held on April 22. Williams and the coaching staff are currently in the process of gathering all the information they can on players across the country, figuring out who will join the championship team for another run at greatness. But while his schedule is extremely busy, Williams finds time to continue to help the city he grew up in and the team in which he got his start with.
“I spoke with Andy Sims and invited him and all of the members of his coaching staff to come down and sit in on our practice, watch us review film and be a part of everything we do,” said Williams.
Williams has reached the top in his profession, winning the biggest game in sports. But although Williams has been very successful he feels that there will be someone in Excelsior that out succeeds him in the future.
“An Excelsior Tiger had a chance to win a Super Bowl,” said Williams. “And there is someone in Excelsior that can do better. Don’t be afraid to dream big. And for those who are the mentors, don’t put a cap on those dreams.”
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Move your clocks and protect your family
This weekend, we’ll all lose an hour of sleep. On the plus side, the beginning of Daylight Saving Time means that we’ll start seeing longer days, warmer weather and a break from this endless winter.
But in addition to moving our clocks an hour ahead before we go to bed Saturday night, the Excelsior Springs Fire Department suggests we do something else that needs to be done with some frequency—change the batteries in our smoke alarms.
Every home should have a smoke alarm. That goes double if you have children, especially young children. While a smoke alarm won’t prevent a fire from breaking out at your house, it gives you and your family a much better chance of detecting a fire early and getting everyone out safely.
Of course, we hope no one experiences the devastation of a fire. Even small blazes can cause thousands of dollars in damage and destroy priceless and irreplaceable possessions. But the value of photo albums and antique furniture is dwarfed by the value represented by keeping your loved ones safe if such a terrible incident occurs.
Most times, we forget about smoke alarms until they beep at us to tell us their batteries are getting low. But if we simply replace the batteries whenever we move the clock, we can be assured that the alarm will always be ready to protect us.
Are open offices right for your business?
By JERRY OSTERYOUNG
Guest Writer
Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential. They experience synergy only in small, peripheral ways in their lives. But creative experiences can be produced regularly, consistently, almost daily in people’s lives. It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure. ~ Stephen Covey
One of the trends currently being seen in big corporations is the move towards open offices. An open office is one in which staff has offices with no walls. Occasionally, low cubicles are present, but many firms are eliminating cubicles altogether.
Intel is thought to have started or popularized the use of cubicles claiming that this layout fosters a sense of privacy while also retaining a somewhat open feeling. Cisco, on the other hand, has moved towards an open office concept that they claim promotes more cooperation and collaboration among staff members. Additionally, Cisco states that this open office concept has reduced their space needs by over 37 percent.
When JCPenney moved their corporate headquarters from New York to Plano, Texas, they employed 3,600 individuals. In the new space, 80 percent of the offices would be an open concept, so they really had to address acoustical issues.
JCPenney managed the sound challenges in two ways. Firstly, physical acoustical issues were dealt with. Floor, wall and ceiling insulation, as well as wallboard and ceiling tiles were selected to minimize sound reverberation. Secondly, high-tech noise masking systems were used in the ceilings to dampen noise and prevent its spread. The transmission of noise between low wall cubicles was, also, stopped by the use of both padding in the partitions and acoustically absorptive finishes on the furniture. With these issues resolved, the staff at the Plano headquarters really likes their open offices.
In another example, Atomic Object LLC has arranged desks into groups with everyone facing towards the center. While this wall-less environment is challenging, it has fostered a sense of team building not seen before. There is so much more sharing of ideas and cross fertilization since other employees not working on the project being discussed are able to take part in these conversations. At Atomic Object, staff communications have been vastly improved as people do not have to talk over cubicle walls.
Because everyone can see what each staff member is doing, the open office environment tends to hold people more accountable. With their computer screen out there for all eyes to see, going on Facebook or playing a computer game just is not done.
While cubicles appear to give privacy, they are not effective in that people tend to talk louder in cubicles. Furthermore, in an internal survey at Intel, 50 percent of the staff stated that cubicles inhibited innovation. Additionally, cubicles tend to stifle individuality, which is so important in creative business types.
Is an open office for everyone? No. However, for some businesses it can be a perfect fit. Younger staff really can relate to and appreciate the value of openness, and they seem to adapt to this office concept very quickly.
Now go out and take a look at your office concept – not just in terms of implementing an open office design; but rather, in terms of evaluating the effectiveness of your current layout. Walls, by their very design, are barriers to communication and even tend to stifle creativity.
See if your office can be laid out in a more effective fashion that will enhance your business and the morale of the staff.
You can do this!!
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