Excelsior Springs Standard Archive

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March 9, 2010

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Board buckles down for tough budget

By ERIC COPELAND
Managing Editor

In 21 years, Superintendent of Schools Jim Horton says, he has never seen a funding crisis of this depth—or this length.

So far, thanks to balances stored up when times were better, the Excelsior Springs School District has been able to avoid cuts. But as Deputy Superintendent John Lacy says, “You can’t spend more than you take in for very long.”

Lacy and Horton have asked for a special session of the Excelsior Springs Board of Education later this month to discuss where cuts can be made. On Monday night, Lacy explained his take on how bad things are, and how bad they could get before the economy turns around.

The school district has three primary sources of funding, Lacy explained—and all three are depressed. State revenue is running about 12 to 13 percent below budget, and Gov. Jay Nixon has cut $60 million from public education, though Lacy said Nixon could have cut more if he had slashed budgets proportionally across the board. However, he also pointed out that Nixon must still find $200,000 to cut in order to balance the state budget.

In local numbers, that means that $350,000 in state funding that the school district anticipated at the beginning of this fiscal year is no longer available.

At the same time, local tax revenue—another major source of school funding, decreased by more than $35,000 from 2009 to 2010. And Proposition C funds, the third revenue source, has been in decline since 2006. This year, Prop C revenue for the local school districts is dropping by about $166,000, to about $2.1 million.

The overall result is that these three funding sources, which make up 85 percent of the school district’s revenues, dropped a total of $480,000 from last year to this—and Lacy expects a further drop of nearly $1.9 million from 2010 to 2011.

In the meantime, expenditures are constantly rising. In fact, Lacy said, if the school board does nothing to address finances, he anticipates the $480,000 deficit this year to balloon to a $2.6 million deficit in 2011, as revenues drop by $1.4 million and expenditures rise by an additional $730,000. The following year, stimulus money that has been going into education will have disappeared from the budget, too.

“We have very little control on revenues,” Lacy said. “We could increase the tax levy, but nobody has the stomach for that and I wouldn’t recommend it. We have to reduce expenses.”

Already, the school district has instituted an early retirement incentive to try to reduce salaries while minimizing the need for involuntary layoffs. Salaries and benefits, which make up 75 percent of the school district’s expenditures, will be a prime target for budget cuts, Lacy explained.

The board will have a work session for budget discussions on Wednesday, March 24. The session will start at 5:30 p.m., following food at 5 p.m.

Meet the Need looks to future

Bids are being taken for the rebuilding of the Meet the Need Thrift Store and Flea Market at Meet the Need’s old and current location, 1302 N. Jesse James Rd.

This was announced at the business’ open house on Saturday, March 6, which is open with an assistance center that includes assistance offices and a food pantry.

Fundraisers were also announced and have been set, including the raffling off of a diamond ring, to help pay for the rebuild, People said.

“We want to rebuild as soon as possible,” People said. “Funding for the assistance center was through the thrift store and flea market.”

Fundraisers include a garage sale next week, Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20, in the Lawson Assembly of God’s gym. The garage sale will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The second fundraiser is a raffle for a diamond ring, which was donated, appraised at $2,000. Tickets for the raffle cost $5 each or $20 for five tickets with the drawing May 5, just in time for Mother’s Day.

The not-for-profit never technically closed their doors after a fire destroyed their building in October, said Kris People, president of Meet the Need Inc.

Even before Meet the Need was assisting people from a temporary trailer, People was making phone calls, informing people that the business was still helping the community in some capacity.

Meet the Need offers several types of assistance including groceries, clothing, work clothing, occasional gas to get to work or to look for work, some car repairs (if needed to go to work), help with licensing a car if you have paid for your taxes, sports equipment and sports fees, school or scout fees and some minimal, emergency dental or occasional prescription assistance.

The assistance center has a food pantry and assistance hours on Wednesdays by appointment from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There is also a bi-monthly food pantry on Wednesday nights from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for those who work but still need food, People said.

People also stressed that if there are any skilled construction workers that would like to donate their time to help when the time comes to rebuild to contact her.

For more information about the upcoming fundraisers, questions or to make an appointment contact the assistance center at (816) 630-5221.

Long arrested this weekend

Local police apprehended one of their most wanted suspects on Sunday, March 7, in the 1400 block of Magnolia West.

Lewis J. Long, 23, had been involved in two vehicle pursuits with Excelsior Springs officers. He was featured as a “most wanted” suspect in the Standard on Feb. 19. He was arrested without incident and is now in custody on local warrants.

Once the local warrants are satisfied, Long will be transferred to the custody of Ray County on a pending felony probation violation warrant.

City salt, sand stores still good

With winter at an end—most of us hope—Excelsior Springs Public Works Director Chad Birdsong says that the city made it through the cold and snow with salt and sand still in good supply.

Birdsong told the city council that more than half of the mixture is left over. However, he said there was some extra expense involved in overtime pay for employees that were called out to drive snowplows on holidays. Transportation Trust funded much of that overage, he said. In addition, the city had to replace a snow blade, but that’s not unusual—about one blade per winter requires replacement.

Siren test has been postponed

Due to the possibility of severe weather today, the statewide storm siren drill—and Excelsior Springs’ first test of its new storm warning sirens—has been postponed until later this week.

The test will now take place at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11. Fire Chief Kent Cantrell uses a guest column on page 6 of today’s Standard to offer safety tips for the spring storm season.

Richmond man killed in crash

A Richmond man died Thursday after he failed to yield to another vehicle on U.S. 50, a tenth of a mile west of N.W. 1971 Road in Johnson County.

Zachery A. Odoniel, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene after his northbound 1998 Plymouth was struck on the driver’s side by a 2006 Kenworth driven by Chad L. Patterson, 25, Harrisonville. Patterson, who was wearing a seatbelt, sustained minor injuries. Odoniel was not wearing a seatbelt.

Proceeds of Lewis’ Uganda Art show
to benefit orphans in Northern Uganda

By KRISTIN RULON
Community Reporter

“The worst place in the world today to be a child is in northern Uganda,” said Olara Otunnu, who served as United Nations under secretary for children and armed conflict from 1997 to 2005.

This quote is one of the reasons why Sherie Renne, who is now the art teacher at Lewis, has been coordinating charity art shows at other schools since 2006 for the St. Augustine Community Love Program in Paidha, Uganda. This is the first year for the charity event at Lewis, which will benefit orphans in Northern Uganda.

The art show will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, in the hallway at Lewis Elementary.

The funds raised will be used to purchase Irish potato crops and goats for the orphans to tend to as an ongoing source of income. Other orphans will receive mosquito nets and emergency medication for malaria.

To begin the project, Renne asked if the students wanted to participate and to create African-style art to sell.

Every class wanted to be part of the curriculum-based project, Renne said. Depending on the age group of the class, students learned certain aspects of a Ugandan orphan’s life, Renne said. Examples she gave were that the kindergarten classes focused on hunger in their artwork as second and third graders focused on malaria and prevention.

As part of the curriculum, students help build a life-size hut, which allowed them to watch videos about Ugandan orphans inside the hut. The students also studied artifacts from Uganda through the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

“The kids have been looking forward to this,” Renne said. “ It gives them the chance of responsibility in choosing to do this.”

Every child is donating a piece of artwork to the show and each piece will be on sale for $1 or donation.

If all of the artwork is not sold, Crescent Lake Christian Center will be taking the rest to sell at the church for the cause, Renne said. Renne also mentioned that large pieces or series can be arranged for businesses by request.

For more information about this event or to learn more about Uganda go to Renne’s Web site www.ugandaproject.webs.com.

The video on the Web site may not be suitable for children.

For questions contact Renne at srenne@estigers.k12.mo.us.

List of services to senior home repair expands

Seniors who need their gutters repaired or cleaned now have the option to have them fixed by Good Samaritan Center’s Senior Home Repair Program, funded through Clay County Senior Services.

Gutter work was added to the list of acceptable repairs after Greg Martin, senior home repair director and vice president of planned giving at the Good Samaritan Center. said he convinced Clay County Senior Services to add it due to him seeing a need for the service.

The Good Samaritan’s senior home repair program is for seniors, age 60 or older, in Northern Clay County including the cities of Excelsior Springs, Smithville, Trimble, Holt, Kearney, Lawson, Mosby and Prathersville.

The emphasis on the program is on safety related repairs, according to the Clay County Senior Services Web site, www.claycoseniors.org.

Some of the other repairs in the joint program include: replacing or repairing stair railings, building ramps, repairing or replacing steps and walkways, replacing switches and outlets, fixing or replacing light fixtures and lamps, repairing or replacing faucets, and fixing leaking toilets, sinks and bathtubs.

Repairs are limited to $1,000 per client per year and home safety repairs and modifications will provided in the home the person lives in as long as they meet the combined household income guidelines.

Clients must also sign a waiver to release Clay County Senior Services and the Good Samaritan Senior Home Repair Program of any liability of work provided by a contractor.

Since word of the program, repair projects have increased creating a waiting list, Martin said.

For a complete list of acceptable repairs or to find out if you qualify for home repair contact Martin at (816) 630-2718, ext. 25.

First Art Crawl of the Season this Friday

Featured artists like Jan Preston, at right, are gearing up for the Downtown Excelsior Partnership’s monthly Second Fridays Art Crawl season opener, which will be from 5 to 8 p.m. this Friday, March 12. Preston’s art is among several artists’ work that will be displayed in Gallery 105, located at 105 Broadway in downtown Excelsior located in the Excelsior Springs Museum and Archives. Preston calls her work “dimensional mixed media.” Another artist featured at Gallery 105 is Rhoda Powers, who works with kiln formed art glass. For more information go to www.visitesprings.com.

Census Bureau begins rural community campaign

The U.S. Census Bureau has launched “Update/Leave,” a field enumeration part of the 2010 Census mainly in rural communities in the six state region of the Kansas City Regional Census Center.

Between March 1 and April 2, 2010, U.S. Census Bureau workers will update its master address list of housing units and leave a 2010 Census questionnaire at homes in predominately rural areas. Households are asked to complete their 2010 Census questionnaire and return it by mail.

The Update/Leave Operation is done where most of the housing units do not have a city-style address such as “4505 Main Street.” An example would be a community with many rural route type addresses.

Census workers do not wear uniforms, but they will carry an official government badge marked with their name, fliers in English and Spanish stating that census answers are confidential, and a 2010 Census bag.

However, you may also ask them for a photo ID from another source, such as a driver’s license, to confirm their identity. Census workers can also provide a phone number so that you may call their supervisor to confirm that they are an official U.S. Census worker.

All information collected including addresses is kept confidential and protected by federal law.

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

Census data are used to allocate congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide.

Starting on March 22, there will be daily updates on Census participation rates available on the 2010 Census Web site at www.2010census.gov.

Pitching staff looks to lead Tigers

By DUSTIN CARROLL
Sports Writer

A team full of experience and talent returns to the diamond for the Tigers baseball team this spring.

Returning most of their starting lineup from last year’s team, the Tigers look to be a dangerous team. And one of the things that makes them so dangerous is their pitching staff.

Last year the Tigers were very young, as they struggled to find the right combination of pitchers to put on the mound against opponents. You could see the talent was there when the young arms took the hill, but the experience was the biggest piece that was missing. But that is not the case this year.

With a year of varsity experience under their belts, Excelsior will rely on four veteran pitchers and one returning starter who missed last season due to having Tommy John’s Surgery, to lead the team. Brett Bray, Scott Marshall, Kurtis Willimetz and Derek Oaks return from last years team and Jason Withrow looks to get back on the hill after missing last season. A strong core of pitchers who have shown they have what it takes to pitch against some of the best in the Conference after a strong showing last season.

The Tigers will have some holes to fill in the infield after losing some key players after last year. One of the biggest holes comes at the catcher position. A position once filed by power hitter Spencer Shockley. Shockley brought power to the plate and great defense behind it and his shoes will be tough to fill. But the Tigers do have an experienced catcher returning in Willimetz. Willimetz got some playing time last season behind the dish and looked very comfortable in the position. While he got very little time behind the plate due to Shockley getting the start nearly every game, it was obvious that Willimetz could get the job done.

To go along with his play behind the plate, Willimetz was one of the Tigers more consistent hitters as he looks to be a strong part of the lineup.

Another position that will need to be filled is at shortstop. Seth Morton was one of the Tigers strongest defensive players and played the position very well. To lose him was a big hit to the Tigers, but Coach Aaron Holst feels that the Tigers defense has stepped up since last year.

“I feel that overall we’ll be much improved defensively from last season,” said Holst. “It will be important that the new catching and shortstop prospects get better in a hurry.”

The Tigers have two weeks remaining to prepare for the upcoming season before they take on Smithville on the Tigers home field. While they don’t have much time to prepare, Holst feels confident about his teams skills and is looking forward to the season getting underway.

“I’m real excited about the team chemistry and the enthusiasm that players have brought to practice,” Holst commented. “I certainly hope that we can take some big steps this Spring in regards to Conference and District
races.”

With a strong core of returning players and a solid group of young talent coming in the Tigers are off to a good start. The experience is there and if the Tigers continue to improve this could be a very exciting season.

Blue trash carts have wheels for a reason

It can’t be coincidence. In fact, it must be a simple case of misunderstanding. All over town, residents who once kept their trash cans in their garages or behind their houses—dutifully taking them to the curb on trash day each week—are now leaving their new wheeled trash carts at the curb 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Not everyone does this; in fact, some other residents have been complaining about the blue carts sitting next to the street all day, every day. At least one has expressed his displeasure by writing a letter to the Excelsior Springs City Council.

City leaders tell us that while a lot of details in the trash pick-up program have changed, one thing hasn’t changed. Residents are expected to keep their trash carts away from the curb unless it’s trash day in their neighborhood.

We realize that there are exceptions.

This winter’s weather made it difficult, if not impossible, for some residents to move their trash carts any more than was absolutely necessary. And others have a situation at their homes where it’s impractical to keep the large cart in the backyard or otherwise out of sight.

In cases like these, of course, city leaders want people to do the best they can to maintain an appearance that doesn’t involve a trash receptacle at front and center in a residential neighborhood.

With spring weather come spring storms

By KENT CANTRELL
Fire Dept. Chief

Residents of Excelsior Springs live with the threat of severe weather year round. However, historically more severe weather with high winds, heavy rain and lightning occurs in the spring months. So, it is imperative that residents prepare now. During the week of March 8-12 residents are encouraged to use this week, Severe Weather Awareness Week, to review their severe weather safety plans. Practice what you would do in a real severe weather emergency.

Here are some tips:

Tornado Safety

1. Have a NOAA Weather Radio with a warning alarm tone. Sirens are designed to warn you only when you are outdoors.

2. Listen to radio and television for information.

3. If planning a trip outdoors, listen to forecasts.

4. Always remember to “DUCK”; Get Down to the lowest level of the structure you are in; take shelter Under something sturdy; Cover your head; and, Keep in the shelter until the storm has passed.

5. If you live in a mobile home you should abandon it if a tornado warning is issued. Identify a substantial structure you can seek shelter in now, before the storm approaches. Then, when a warning is announced take shelter there.

6. If you are in your car and have time and a route to do so, drive away from the storm. If you can’t drive away, abandon your vehicle and seek shelter in a nearby sturdy structure. If no buildings are available you may need to choose to either remain in your vehicle with seatbelt buckled, leaning down to get below the window line; or abandon the vehicle and seek shelter in a culvert or lie flat, face down, on the ground in a ditch or low spot. Just remember, neither of these options are better than shelter in a sturdy building.

Flood Safety

1. As little as 6 inches of fast moving water can sweep you off of your feet.

2. As little as 18-24 inches of water is enough to float a car and carry it away.

3. If you see a road barrier across a flooded roadway … turn around. Don’t drown!

4. Tune to the NOAA Weather Radio, or your favorite news source for all flood and any other weather related information.

5. Leave areas subject to flooding, such as dips, low spots and underpasses.

6. Do not attempt to cross flowing streams, you don’t know how deep the water could be.

7. Never drive through flooded roadways.

8. If your vehicle is suddenly caught in rising water, leave it immediately and seek higher ground.

9. Report any flooding to your local authorities or to the National Weather Service.

Lightning Safety

1. Watch for developing thunderstorms and be ready to act when thunder is heard.

2. Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from an area where it is raining. That’s about the distance you can hear thunder.

3. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Seek safe shelter immediately.

The city of Excelsior Springs will actively participate in Severe Weather Awareness Week at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 11. The outdoor weather warning sirens will be sounded just as they would be during an actual tornado warning. This will be the first sounding of the newly installed outdoor sirens. During 2009, the city replaced its existing warning sirens with new ones that produce a louder warning tone. The sirens were paid for by Capital Improvements Sales Tax funds.

On Thursday, when you hear the sirens, or your weather radio is activated, use the event to practice seeking shelter. Preparedness and practice now will go far in enhancing your ability to save your life later.