WIFI Internet Access Coming to Parkville

We didn't get Google Fiber north of the river but we are going to get access to Time Warner Cable's wireless hotspot connection. Announced this morning, Parkville and about a dozen other popular Kansas City destinations will receive the service. Existing Time Warner customers just need to sign on as part of their plan and those without Time Warner can sign on to the service through their web browser and purchase it in hourly, daily or monthly increments. For more on the announcement, check Time Warner's wifi homepage.

Changes to the Site

This is a public service announcement...

The website will be overhauled in the next week to better serve you and kick off the cobwebs.

Thanks for your patience and support!

-Ed

People without camera phones report 'Huge triangle craft hovering' over Parkville

If you think this is weird, clearly you haven't been to Parkville, Missouri: 

'Huge triangle craft' reported hovering low over Missouri town - National ufo | Examiner.com:

'via Blog this'

Farewell, Huckleberry Friend

R.I.P. Andy Williams 1925-2012 (follow the link if it doesn't play here):

And let's not forget the beautiful Audrey Hepburn:

9/11: Never Forget

Photo Credit: Neville Elder 

Park Hill Issues Another Possible Predator Alert

From the Park Hill School District, another situation involving a possible predator and our kids:

     "This morning (Thursday Sept. 7), we had another Park Hill School District student who had a suspicious encounter with a stranger. Incidents like this are good reminders to talk to our children about stranger danger.

      "This morning, a Park Hill South student was waiting for the bus at the corner of Lenox and Ava when a man stopped his car to talk to her. Although she did not know him, the things he said to her made it clear he had observed her before. As her stepmom saw someone talking to her and came out to check on the situation, the man drove away.

       "This was a white man with shaggy brown hair in his 20s, who was driving a silver, four-door car.

       "The student and her family did the right thing by reporting the incident to the school and to the police. The Kansas City Police Department is investigating."

From the editor: A lot of kids have cellphones nowadays, it's not a bad idea to instruct them to call 911 when they think they're in danger (and they should call 911 first -- even before calling parents).  In the short term, it would seem like a good idea for parents to rotate as lookouts at bus stops.    

A Sporting View: 40 is the New 20

     No less than five games out of the 17 played during the opening week of the NFL season were won by teams that plundered their foes for 40 points or more.

     According to the good folks at the Elias Sports Bureau, you have to go all the way back to the 1950s – 1954 to be exact – to find a like performance during the first week of the season. For a little context, that was the year that Bill Haley and His Comets topped the newly formed “Rock and Roll” charts with “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” and Cousin Brucie was manning the wheels of steel.

Five-O Busts a 78-pound 420 at Platte City

From the Platte County Sheriff's Department:

   On August 28, 2012, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Platte City Police Department executed a search warrant on a room at the Super 8 motel in Platte City, Missouri. The search warrant was the result of a narcotics investigation conducted by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

   The search warrant resulted in the recovery of approximately 78 pounds of marijuana that was concealed in luggage. Jeremy Burke, 27, of Kentucky, has been charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance with a $75,000 cash only bond. 

Lakeview Middle School Student Approached by Stranger

From the Park Hill School District:

     This morning, we had a stranger approach a student at a bus stop before school.

A Lakeview Middle School student was waiting for her bus in the Misty Woods subdivision when a stranger in a black Ford F-150 truck stopped to talk to her.

     He got out and went to speak to her, claiming that his truck had broken down. A neighbor who was driving on the same road noticed that something looked odd and stopped. The neighbor called the student over, called the police and waited while the man walked back and forth to his truck, eventually starting it and driving it away.

     The man was a white male in his late 20s, with blonde, shaved hair and a brown mustache and goatee. He was about 6 feet 1 inch tall, about 200 pounds, and he was wearing a red Dr. Pepper shirt and a camouflage hat.

Editor's note: The Platte County Sheriff includes some safety tips for parents and students after the break, to which I'd like to add to potential and would-be child molestors: Stay the hell away from our kids. 

Remembering Neil Armstrong

Trailblazing astronaut Neil Armstrong passed away this weekend. From The Luminary archives:

These Are Parkville Days

From the Main Street Association:

44th Annual Parkville Days Riverfest  Friday, August 17 - Sunday August 19, 2012 English Landing ParkFree Admission!

Something for everyone – music, carnival rides, more than 100 craft and art booths, a Saturday parade, good eats, games and fun for the whole family! Friday, August 17                   6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Saturday, August 18              10:00 am to 10:00 pm Sunday, August 19                10:00 am to 6:00 pm Parade  The 44th Annual Parkville Days Riverfest parade will be held on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 10:00 am which begins at 63rd Street and Hwy 9 and ends in historic downtown Parkville.

More to follow!

Willard and Roper by a Nose

The unofficial results from the August 7 primary:

County Commission District 1

Platte County Treasurer

   

From the Publisher: Get off the Ropes and Vote

By Mark Vasto

     Chances are, if you haven't voted already (the polls at Parkville were humming for a primary election) you might be on the fence as to whom you should vote for today. 

     Perhaps you haven't heard each candidate's message (although The Luminary did a good job presenting both sides of the race on this site...see the posts below) or perhaps you still need to be convinced of the candidate's merits. 

     To me, this is a very simple race to recommend candidates for. For a few of the races, it's simple in that it takes little thought at all to recognize who should not be in office and aren't worthy of your vote or further thought. Others, I just feel from past experience working with them, make better candidates. Either way, it's easy for me to share who I voted for today -- and why. 

     We'll start with the Dusenbery / Roper Republican primary election for First District Commissioner. 

We're 85!

Thanks, Parkvillians, for making us a "hot" download and placing us at #85 for our debut album on Amazon out of the 95,000 news and opinion sites offered daily!

That is all.

The Candidates Speak, Pt. 2: Kathy Dusenbery

For more than a decade Kathy Dusenbery has served the public in one office or another. Her political career began as an appointed alderman (she went on to win re-election) and she was twice elected mayor of Parkville. In 2008, she bested longtime former Parkville mayor Bill Quitmeier to win the 1st District Platte County Commissioner seat. In each race, Dusenbery faced contentious opponents, but it's safe to say even she was surprised by the level of attacks launched by her opponent in this race. Supporters of Dusenbery have characterized her opponents attacks as being beyond negative -- "hostile" was how one supporter described them and Dusenbery claims to have even received a death threat. Here, in her own words, is Dusenbery's position statement as provided to The Parkville Luminary:

"Working to protect our quality of life is what I do as County Commissioner."

By Kathy Dusenbery

    What does a County Commissioner do? The most important job is to build a sustainable budget. Putting together a budget during these economic times leads to tough decisions that are not always popular. Citizens of Platte County have had to live within their means and tighten their belts in this economy and so has your County. Despite these tough times, we have still managed to lower your property taxes.

     Like everyone, we are learning to do more with less at the County. Returning your Federal tax dollars to Platte County through road, bridge and law enforcement improvements is important to me. As a 10-year member of the transportation committee at Mid-American Regional Council (MARC) and serving my second year on the executive board of MARC, I have been able to bring your tax dollars home. MARC is where regional decisions are made are to where federal dollars are assigned.

The Candidates Speak, Pt. 1: Beverlee Roper

If you hadn't heard of Beverlee Roper before this primary election chances are, if you live in the southern portion of Platte County, you are at least somewhat familiar of her name by now. Roper, the current Weatherby Lake municipal judge, is challenging Kathy Dusenbery for the 1st District Commissioner position -- and it's been an aggressive challenge at that. Roper's mailings have assailed the incumbent and as her war chest expands, so does her signage and the amount of "robo calls" made to residents. Here, in her own words, is her statement of position as provided to The Parkville Luminary.(Make sure to follow the link to read more after the break!)

"I am the Republican in this Race"

By Beverlee Roper

     As the campaign for Platte County Commissioner in District 1 wraps up, the most frequent question people ask is whether I am a Republican or a Democrat, a simple and fair question. While many of my good friends are Democrats, and my deceased husband was a lifelong Democrat, I do not hesitate to answer that I am THE Republican in this race.

    I strongly believe in the principle of the Republican Party that smaller and more efficient government brings prosperity by allowing people to make their own decisions about how to spend their own money. Of the two candidates in this race, I am the only one who will serve by living up to that principle. Of course, smaller and more efficient government should never mean sacrificing public safety or customer service, the highest priorities of any good government.

A Sporting View: The Olympic Argument

This column was first written and published during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.


     You can learn a lot from watching the Olympic Games -- and argue a lot – and that was certainly the case with this year’s Winter Olympiad. 



     Really, the Olympic games are the greatest things that the world does in concert. Some would argue the World’s Fair or World Cup but taken in its entirety it cannot match the pageantry or the sheer spectacle the games provide and besides, the World’s Fair ceased to be relevant at around the same time the ice cream cone was invented. 

KISS our Olympic Game Ceremonies, London

This isn't Parkville news, but we couldn't resist reminding the world and our special friends in Britain what a real Olympic Ceremony looks like. Featuring Katerina Witt and Kristi Yamaguchi, here's the Hottest Band in World, KISS (apologies to Paul McCartney):

The Torch is Now On Kindle and Fire

A message from the publisher:

A Kindle device.

Hi, everybody! The Luminary, Parkville's favorite (and only) biannual newspaper is now available for those readers who have Kindle, Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire readers. It's available on Amazon.com (follow the link) and costs $0.99 per month. All matter of news, features and various other content will be auto-delivered wirelessly to your Kindle and updated throughout the day so you can stay current.


It's risk free - this Kindle subscription starts with a 14-day free trial. You can cancel at any time during the free trial period. If you enjoy your subscription, do nothing and it will automatically continue at the regular monthly price.


Stay tuned for more digital-related Luminary announcements and news. 

Google it Right Here

Kansas City north of the river, including southern Platte County, will be affected by this. Let's listen in on what they have to say at 11:00 a.m. today. 

Beetle Invasion Means: Kiss Your Ash Goodbye

 By Alicia McGarry and Mark Vasto

An invasive beetle that has ravaged ash trees throughout the United States has been spotted in the Parkville area, and that sighting has prompted a federal response, sources say.

    Speaking on the condition of anonymity because of an alleged warning from government officials threatening legal action for leaking such information to The Luminary, sources said inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service division (USDA) may be beginning the process of quarantining and burning several forested areas of land in the Parkville area. 

    The emerald ash borer (EAB) is native to northern China, Japan, the Koreas and eastern Russia. The first documented infestation in America occurred in 2002 in Detroit, but scientists speculate it arrived several years earlier. After all but wiping out the ash tree population in that state, the bothersome bug has cut a huge swath of destruction and is blamed for the death of more than 50,000 trees.

MAN CHARGED WITH DOUBLE MURDER IN MISSING SISTER CASE; ARRESTED AT PARKVILLE

By Mark Vasto

Sisters Britny Haarup (L) and Ashley Key (R)
with their three children.

     Three days after their reported disappearance, a Trimble, Missouri man has been charged with the murder of two sisters as they slept inside a rural Edgerton home.

    Clifford D. Miller, 31, was charged early Monday morning in Platte County with two counts of first degree murder in the beating and suffocating deaths of 22-year-old former Platte County South student Ashley Key and her 19-year-old sister, Britney Haarup. Key was the mother of a 4-year-old girl and Haarup was the mother of two infants aged 5 months and 15 months. She was engaged to be married.

   The charges wrap-up an intense investigation by area law enforcement over the weekend. 

   According to court documents, Miller admitted to Platte County detectives that he went to the Perry Street, Edgerton house owned by Haarup's fiance Matthew Myers sometime around 6 a.m. after an all night methamphetamine binge with the intention of raping Haarup. Miller said he was an acquaintance of hers but did not have a physical relationship with her. 

(Editor's note: Miller is not related to the Miller family of Parkville. What follows after the break is a graphic description of the crime and investigation, as reported by the Platte County Sheriff's department.)

BODIES BELIEVED TO BE MISSING EDGERTON WOMEN FOUND DEAD

From the Platte County Sheriff's Department:

On the morning July 15, 2012, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office executed two search warrants related to the Britny Haarup and Ashley Key investigation.  One warrant was executed in Parkville, Missouri with the assistance of the Parkville Police Department. The second warrant was executed in Trimble, Missouri with the assistance of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.

As a result of investigative efforts and tips received from the community the Platte County Sheriff’s Office developed a person of interest in the case.  Platte County Sheriff’s detectives interviewed this person of interest and based on information received from the individual law enforcement focused its search efforts on a field located in Clinton County, Missouri in the vicinity of 200th Street and County Line Road. Sheriff Porter Henson of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the Platte County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a search of the field.  

A search of the field was conducted by members of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas City, Missouri Police Crime Laboratory and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. During the search items of evidentiary value where discovered and the bodies of two white females were also found.