Nadia Pflaum: Downtown is to murder as Parkville is to gills

Last weekend’s outbursts of violence on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City reinforced a well-guarded perception held by some who have chosen to live just outside the city’s border. I hear it from friends who have moved to Lee’s Summit, Overland Park, North Kansas City and Parkville: KCMO is a scary place to live.

Nadia Pflaum. 

That perception is based on real information. The TV newscasters announce a death by stabbing or shooting every other evening , and if there were no murders that day, they update us on the one previous. The murder count increases by a digit or two every week. It’s real, it’s happening, and will likely continue to happen despite weak attempts to stop the bleeding (like the new citywide curfew for kids under 18 that was just approved by the City Council and Kansas City Mayor Sly James).

Will the curfew work? Yeah, right. Will KC’s cops enjoy enforcing it? Hell no. Will the city’s kids change their behavior? Not likely.

But will some unsuspecting Parkvillian who dares to venture into the confines of the city end up Swiss cheesed in the crossfire of some thuggy gang war?

Please.

Consider this: the publisher of this newspaper caught hell a month or so ago for having the audacity to cover the economic damage that flood waters from the bloated Missouri River inflicted upon downtown Parkville’s business community. Some folks preferred to smile and pretend the water wasn’t there, lest any potential visitors with money in their wallets steer clear, thinking that Parkville had turned into Atlantis.

Volume 11, Episode 2: The Most Riveting and Timely Weekly Newspaper in Parkville History

Volume 11, Episode 1: Eight Years and No End in Sight

And to think...they said we wouldn't last three weeks...

Volume 10, Episode 4

HUTSLER TARGETED FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

   Embattled downtown businessman Tom Hutsler can add the fact that he's the target of a criminal investigation to his long list of recent woes.

   On Monday, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd had law enforcement hand deliver a blunt, crystal clear warning to Hutsler: keep your hands off the downtown Parkville sandbags.

Volume 10, Episode 3

Captain Jordan's Wild Ride: Parkville's Finest Fine After Coke Bust

Seldom does a routine traffic stop in downtown Parkville take a turn like it did for Parkville Police Captain Jon Jordan last Sunday night.

His ride began at the corner of 13th and Main when Officer Brad Dingman stopped a black 1995 Pontiac Firebird for having an expired license plate. After a computer check of the plate number, Dingman found two outstanding warrants issued to Demario R. Bello, 23, of Kansas City, Missouri.

According to police reports, the driver denied that he was Demario Bello but was, in fact, his twin brother, Caylon Bello. And while Dingman said he observed several traffic tickets made out in the name of Demario Bello when the supposed “Caylon” Bello checked the glove compartment in a failed attempt provide any identification or proof of insurance that stated that he was, in fact, “Caylon” Bello.

Volume 10, Episode 2

Top Stories:
Flood Relief Fund Created
Patriot's Bank Donates Historic Documents
Latest Flood Updates

Plus:
Platte City Murder Charge Filed
Gladstone Defeats Single Hauler Initiative

Mike Moratz:
Weatherby Lake Trash Hauler Discussions on Down Low

All that plus Steven Youngblood, Park University news, and the Calendar of Events in this week's Parkville Luminary.

Corps of Engineers Releases New Flood Plan

Brigadier General John McMahon

After much deliberation with my team, I have selected a plan for responsibly evacuating flood waters from the Missouri River Mainstem System through the remainder of 2011. This risk-based decision was not made lightly. We must get the water back into the river banks and out of the floodplain so that people can return to their homes, farms and businesses as soon as possible.

The release schedule selected prepares the basin to be ready for the 2012 runoff season. Our number priority, as always, is public safety. This drawdown schedule is the safest option to evacuate floodwaters from the reservoirs in a timely manner, while simultaneously decreasing the risk to temporary and permanent levees, our six mainstem dams and other critical infrastructure.