I’ll begin my column this week with a sincere apology to all of our subscribers. We have received an abundance of calls and visits regarding last week’s delivery of the Jackson County Advocate. The paper was delivered on-time to area post offices on Wednesday, October 23 for delivery on Thursday, October 24, just as it usually is. Once the papers left our possession, it is unclear what happened.

Since taking ownership of the Advocate in 2012, we have never missed a printing deadline, and we work diligently to complete the paper on time each week. I can assure you we won’t in the future. We will do our best to work with the post office to ensure timely deliveries (as this is not the first time we have had a widespread miss).

We work hard to deliver a product each week that we can be proud of, and frankly, there’s nothing to be proud of if no one is reading what we wrote. We ask for your patience, and cross our fingers that this will be remedied soon.

In the meantime, if you do not receive a paper for whatever reason on your normal delivery day, please feel free to stop by our office during our normal business hours to grab a copy. I’d hate for more in our community to not have their news that they have come to rely on since 1953.

Conversation with the Congressman

It’s not everyday that I receive an invitation to have a one-on-one with our government leaders. However, on Friday afternoon, over pizza and soda, I sat down with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II. When I received the phone call on Thursday afternoon requesting the meeting, after accepting (one does not turn down an offer from a Congressman like that), my first thought was, “Oh no, what did I do to make him mad?”

I racked my brain, trying to remember if there was anything over the past few weeks that we have printed that might be of concern. Drawing a blank, I woke up Friday and got myself ready for the day as if I were meeting a celebrity. And, to be honest, Cleaver is a bit of a celebrity in the most Kansas City way. He even has a boulevard named after him.

From the moment Cleaver walked into Providence Pizza on Friday, though, my mind was put at ease (he wanted to meet there because that’s where he brought the Grandview High School basketball team after their state championship earlier this spring). After some brief chit-chat, he dove right into the elephant in the White House.

“The only reason he’s (President Trump) not going to get indicted is if he wins the election,” Cleaver said. “If he loses the election, he’ll be indicted. He’s in trouble. This is a weird moment in time, probably for the whole country.”

He talked about how farmers across America have started to rebel in a sense, and that farmers in Missouri have had a tough time with both tariffs and flooding. He said 70% of farmers in the country voted for Donald Trump. And while he won their votes at the time, Cleaver said that some are now saying that because of the administration and decisions that have been made since Trump took office, they are at risk of losing their farms and having trouble selling their crops.

“Some people think that if the President is impeached in the House, that that’s it and he packs up and goes home,” said Cleaver. “That’s not how it works. I’ve realized that a lot of Americans believe that when you say impeachment that the President leaves.”

Even with the latest developments in the impeachment process, including two arrests last week, Cleaver doesn’t believe that President Trump will be impeached. He added that there is speculation that Rudolph Giuliani, who currently serves as President Trump’s personal attorney, will also be indicted.

“I’m a simple preacher. I didn’t go to a fancy, nice school,” said Cleaver, “but I would not sit and have lunch in a public restaurant with two Russian-born believed-to-be mafia people like Giuliani. I mean, geez. He could have been anything.”

Cleaver said he thinks the country is at the tip of the iceberg, and that more things will come forth in the next few months (he even said it might give us all headaches).

Bringing the conversation home, Cleaver said he would like to be included in conversations that affect our community. He has seen growth and good things from Grandview and looks forward to seeing the Gateway Village soccer project come to fruition (don’t we all?).

“That project is a game-changer,” Cleaver said. He serves on a Congressional Modernization committee and has noted that the Gateway project is something that they have agreed to earmark funds in order to see it get underway. “I would be able to help with the financing piece.”

He asked me how business is going, and whether we’ve seen any hits either due to tariffs or the political discussions taking place across the country regarding the press.

“The attack on your industry is being felt across the globe,” said Cleaver. “If we lose our newspapers, we are in trouble. Most of the things everyone hears about in Washington was found out by newspapers. I don’t know what needs to be done, but you guys can fix things.”

We finished our talk with local school districts, elected officials, and other entities that we cover on a weekly basis. He reiterated that he’d like to keep the lines of communication open.

So, I’m not in trouble. That’s a relief. It was nice to actually sit down and just chat for a while with him. No agenda. No list of questions. Just a conversation. I’m always open to those sorts of invites. Maybe next time we can grab tacos.

This week, newspapers across the country are celebrating. From the dailies, to the monthlies, and all those in between, for 79 years we have all collaboratively honored our craft with a week commemorating everything that our industry stands for. As we celebrate National Newspaper Week, we recognize the service we provide our communities, and we emphasize the importance of our role, as both a forum and a voice.

“The power of the press rests in the ability of journalists to hold government accountable, to mobilize public opinion on matters that are important to individuals, communities or the nation, and to provide necessary information of value,” says Gene Policinski, a founding editor of USA Today, and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute and of the Institute’s First Amendment Center.

Holding government, locally, regionally, and nationally, accountable is at the core of what we do. But, at least at this paper, we are much more than government watchdogs. We live in the community we work in. We celebrate state wins right along with you. We mourn the losses of lifelong residents just as you do. And, we visit the same businesses and eat at the same restaurants as most of you.

Our hearts are poured into our pages week after week, whether we’re writing good news or bad. We consider our work a privilege, and we understand that our job here is never really done. As long as there are stories to tell, and as long as there are people to read them, we’ll be here keeping a watchful eye on things, and cheering our community along with each of you.

Over the weekend, along with celebrating my birthday on the 28th, I also had the opportunity to celebrate good journalism with my friends at the Missouri Press Association’s annual banquet and Better Newspaper Contest awards luncheon. The Jackson County Advocate brought home some accolades, too.

Two first-place plaques will be hanging on the wall in our office soon, one for best story about religion (for the feature on Flourish Furnishings) and one for best story about history (for the piece on the forgotten cemetery in South Kansas City). We also received second, third and honorable mention awards for: best coverage of government (I took second and honorable mention in this category); best story about rural life or agriculture (feature on the Terrace Lake community garden); best sports feature story; best business story; and best sports news story or package.

Of course, we don’t do what we do for the awards. But, being recognized for a job well done is always nice, and is very much appreciated. I look forward to celebrating more journalism next week, as it is National Newspaper Week. I love what I do. I love being able to tell the stories of the community; your stories. I love getting to know the people and places in my hometown, and I love uncovering the nitty gritty when necessary, too.

It’s not about the awards. It’s about telling the story of us. And that’s what matters most. So, celebrate with me this week. Cheers to a newspaper that remains an award-winning hometown news source since 1953. Cheers to the Turnbaugh family, who I hope are still proud of their little family business. And, finally, cheers to each of you, who continue to support local journalism simply by subscribing or picking up a copy of this paper week after week. We couldn’t do it without you. Thank you.

Be kind. Two little words painted by little hands that truly made my day. A day that I was sort of dreading, knowing before I even woke up that it would be a long one, I arrived to work with weight on my shoulders and an overall grumpy attitude.

Putting pictures on the page, I began to get excited for the kids over at Meadowmere Elementary School in Grandview to see their story on the kindness rocks they made last week. Then I thought: what if there’s a rock outside my office and I missed it? So, I headed outside.

I looked all around the front of our building. There weren’t any in the bushes. There were none near the newspaper stand. And I didn’t see anything in the flower boxes. A little bummed, I headed back inside. That’s when I saw it. The small, colorful rock was sitting in the corner of door frame. Somehow, I missed it (as did my coworkers) when I walked through it this morning.

I picked it up, smiled big, and read the words: be kind. A nice little reminder to be kind to myself and others. Who knew a little rock could have such an impact on a person’s day?

I plan to take the kindness rock I found to another location, and I look forward to watching the Facebook page to see where it ends up. Maybe it’ll make someone else’s day just a little bit better and brighter, too.

I was in my dorm room at Northwest Missouri State when it happened. My roommate had just come in from the showers, and she said that everyone was telling her to turn on the news. That’s when we saw the second plane hit. In just a few minutes on the morning of September 11, 2001, the world as I knew it was forever changed.

Nearly 3,000 people did not come home that Tuesday night. Countless family members spent hours, days or weeks waiting for the dreaded inevitable news of their loved ones. Of the 2,977 killed in the attacks on September 11, 343 firefighters of the New York City Fire Department died while fulfilling their duties at the World Trade Center.

Since 2011, 343 firefighters annually from all across the metro have participated in the Kansas City 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb. This past Sunday, Sept. 8, 13 members of the Grandview Fire Department embarked on the 110-story climb at the Town Pavilion downtown. In full gear, the firefighters were supported by members of the community, coming together for a day of extreme physical challenge and intense reflection in a truly inspirational setting.

Together, the first responders honor New York’s bravest who sacrificed their lives on September 11, 2001, and they support the families in Kansas City who have suffered a line of duty death. Proceeds from the stair climb benefit S.A.F.E., the Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment Fund, which provides the comfort of financial support for the surviving spouses and dependents or, in their absence, the parents of sworn law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services personnel who lose their life in the performance of their duties.

Grandview Assistant Fire Chief Jim Toone participated in the climb for the first time this year. Upon arrival, each climber receives the name and description of one of the 343 fallen firefighters. On Sunday, Toone climbed in memory of Michael Roberts.

“It’s an honor to get to climb for another firefighter who didn’t get to come home on 9-11,” said Toone. “It brings, at least in part, a physical reminder of the lengths that 343 public servants took to reach those needing rescue. The event is physically exhausting and worth every step.”

Toone estimates that he, along with the other 342 participants, climbed 2,640 stairs. Almost a stair for each life lost on that horrific day. A sobering reminder of just how fortunate we are, and how grateful we should be to those who put their lives on the line for us each and every day. We will not forget. 

It’s been a number of years since I remember first meeting Carol Stark, editor of the Joplin Globe. It was sometime after the catastrophic and deadly tornado ripped through the quiet, small city that she called home, killing 161 people and causing billions of dollars worth of damage. Yet Carol Stark moved forward, she had a job to do.

As a young journalist, I was a little awestruck at first, not knowing what to say or how to act in front of this woman whom I admired and desired to emulate. I recall sitting in a room at a Missouri Press convention, where the movie Deadline in Disaster played, and watching Carol out of the corner of my eye. The movie, a documentary based on her newspaper at the time of the tornado, was heart wrenching and motivating at the same time. But, I remember keeping an eye on Carol, who sat with a look on her face that could only be described as pride as she watched her team work through their emotions and forge on. They had a job to do.

Not long ago, I was selected to serve alongside Carol Stark on the Missouri Press Association’s Board of Directors. Still a little bit awestruck, but with a few more years under my belt, I realized that Carol was warm and inviting and had one of the biggest hearts of anyone in the room. She loved newspapers to her core, and she wasn’t shy about giving advice or speaking her mind when it came to defending her passion. She became not only someone I looked up to, but also a dear friend.

After a lengthy, ugly battle with cancer, Carol Stark left this world and headed to the next last week, undoubtedly with her byline at the ready to record her next series of columns. How I wish I could read what she writes next. Carol taught me many things in the years I got to know her, but most importantly, she helped to remind me to love what I do and make sure every word comes from a place of passion and love, regardless of the subject at hand.

Carol Stark was, in my mind, royalty in the world of Missouri journalism. I will miss her wit, her guidance, her criticisms and her warmness. But, I will do my best not to dwell, because, as she’d remind me, I have a job to do.