Disappointed. There really is no other word to describe how I felt waking up on Tuesday morning to the news that Missouri District 36 Representative DaRon McGee resigned from his position the night before, after allegations of sexual harassment came to light.

According to his letter of resignation, however, McGee has accepted an employment position in Kansas City, “which will, unfortunately, cause me to return to my district full-time as of May 3, 2019.” The letter was received by the Speaker of the House at 6:55 p.m. on Monday evening.
Apparently, McGee was the subject of a Committee on Ethics investigation, and Chairman Eggleston reported those findings following the submission of the resignation letter.

In the report, the committee indicated that in early January, a mandated reporter contacted the Missouri House of Representatives Division of Administration to report allegations that McGee attempted to engage in an amorous relationship with a House employee whom he supervised. The report goes on to say that McGee repeatedly delayed and obstructed the proceedings, impeding resolution of the matter.

“Respondent’s actions demonstrate disrespect of the House of Representatives and a failure to acknowledge the severity of his actions towards the Employee,” the report says. “The Committee on Ethics, having given full consideration to this complaint, including hearing the evidence and testimony presented at the preliminary hearing, and in light of the Respondent’s repeated attempts to delay the proceedings and obstruct the authority of this Committee, concludes that the actions of the Respondent constitute a moral and legal wrong and hereby issues this report, containing an enumerated list of recommended sanctions, as a final resolution of this matter.”

This report, adopted by a unanimous vote of the Committee on Ethics, was filed the same day that McGee resigned.

According to the report, McGee did his best to shut this investigation down. The committee, as part of its investigation, was given a series of text messages between McGee and the employee, which indicated that McGee attempted to engage in a sexual relationship with the employee, despite rejection. McGee then took matters into his own hands by taking actions that resulted in the employee losing her job.

This just a year after former Governor Eric Greitens resigned amid his own sexual misconduct. The list of men in power facing these types of allegations is ever growing. And ever disappointing.

We deserve representation with values and morals. We deserve to have men and women in power positions who do not take advantage of that power. We deserve to hold our elected officials accountable, and we deserve to hold those same men and women in high esteem. We deserve better.

Happy springtime! It’s finally starting to feel a bit more like spring nowadays, and I’ve seen some tulips popping up all over town. This time of year always puts a smile on my face: the grass is turning green, the sludge and gunk from a snowy winter are now just a memory, and I’m waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside my window.

Warmer weather also means that the neighborhood kids (and adults who act like kids) are out playing, walking, running, or riding their bikes. Spring for me means, while driving, I’ve got my sunglasses on, my windows down, and my music turned a little louder. I’m the first to admit that I’m not always the most responsible when it comes to driving, I do my best to put my phone down.

According to the Missouri Department of Insurance, while texting is most often associated with distraction in the car, other distractions include eating, drinking, grooming, DWI and passengers in the car. Some of these actions seem more innocuous than others, but all forms of distracted driving are reckless, cost money and endanger lives. The MO Eyes on the Road campaign encourages precautionary measures to curb the number of vehicle accidents due to distracted driving.

I urge you all to keep your phones away, keep your hands on the wheel, and keep your eyes on the road. That text message can wait. It’s not worth a life.

Ahhh, can you smell that? The grass is finally starting to perk up, the bulbs are starting to show their faces, and the sunshine is warming my skin. Spring is in the air, but that’s not what has me sniffing around so much lately. It’s election season, and the aroma of some good, quality, old-fashioned competition for our local seats is in the air for a change.

Of course, the competition can make some people nervous, but I think that it’s what makes the election process so great (and more fun to cover for the paper). A little rivalry, in my opinion, helps keep our elected officials at the top of their game.

As I write this, it is Tuesday: Election Day. I don’t know the results yet, and won’t even pretend to speculate on who wins what races. I remain hopeful, however, that whomever is selected to serve Grandview and South Kansas City will do so with pride.

Tonight, as I watch the results trickle in from home and finish the front page of this paper, I’ll be thinking about the issues we face on a day-to-day basis in this part of the Kansas City metro. Our priorities remain the same: quality education, housing, businesses and infrastructure in order to lead healthy, happy lives in our community.

Whether we see changes made, or more of the same, I think we will be victorious, as those who we select to serve our communities will have our interests at heart. Now, do you smell it? Smells like a win.

The Midwest is ugly in the winter time. Especially this year. With our seemingly unending spells of snow and ice, we are left with a mess sludge and mud. Add to that the litter that James Stark refers to in the letter above, and our city just looks gross.

I agree with you, Mr. Stark. As a community, we need to take more pride in our town. Whether we get our own hands dirty, or employ the help of other institutions, we do have some work that needs to be done. Over the last six years since I’ve been working at the paper here in Grandview, I’ve witnessed, written about, and been a part of different groups and organizations who wish to make our home a better place to live.

The City of Grandview agrees, too. They offer the Trash Busters Program to citizens and businesses. In conjunction with Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MODOT)No MOre Trash campaign, the city allows the opportunity for volunteers to earn money while beautifying Grandview.
Class II safety vests, pick-up sticks, and trash bags are provided by the city. The bags are then placed along the roadside that has been cleaned and will be picked up for disposal by MODOT. Invoices (also provided by the City of Grandview) must be completed for each collection date and submitted for payment. Organizations or individuals will then receive $5.00 per bag collected.

In the past, organized groups have gotten together for clean-up days, and the money raised has been donated to local nonprofits, like Grandview Assistance Program or the Grandview Education Foundation.

If interested, or for additional information on the city’s Trash Busters Program, contact the Public Works Department at 816-316-4856.

With spring finally on the horizon, and it looks like we’ll finally be thawing out, we can begin to put in a little effort to clean up our little corner of the Midwest. Let’s make Grandview and South Kansas City shine.

It’s finally getting close to election season, which just happens to be my favorite time of year. Lucky for me, it comes around a few times each year. However, locally, the April elections are the cherry on top of my election-time sundae.

This April, I don’t envy voters in Kansas City at all. Eleven candidates have thrown their hats into the election circus ring, which should prove to make for interesting news coverage, no doubt. However, it’ll be up to the voters to sift through the pool to find the candidates who really have what it takes. Personally, I’d be happy with a handful of those who are seeking KCMO’s highest office, but unfortunately, I don’t have the opportunity to make that decision.

The community where I do vote, though, has, for the first time in several years, some opposition for a real election. From school board candidates to Board of Aldermen hopefuls, we will finally be able to see some new ideas brought forth in Grandview. I’m happy to work with whomever wins, incumbent or otherwise, but I’m sure anxious to see what happens when some of our elected officials will have to, for the first time in some cases, run a real election.

With races also happening in Hickman Mills and Center school districts, our pages will likely be filled with all the information you could possibly need to make informed decisions come April 2.
I’m looking forward to getting to know each of the candidates, and I can’t wait to savor the cherries this spring.

In case you haven’t read it yet, my front-page story from Mayor’s State of the City address last week in Grandview refers to the reduction in crime in our beloved city. Not a slight reduction, either. Crime in Grandview has plummeted by 12 percent. This is huge. For a community that, for years, received a bad rap in the metro and was considered one of the fastest dying cities not all that long ago, Grandview has made tremendous strides.

It’s hard to sit through presentations, like the Mayor’s State of the City address, or Grandview school board meetings, or even a Chamber of Commerce networking event, and not get excited about the things happening in our town.

Grandview has a lot to be proud of. In recent years, plans have been implemented and dollars have been spent to help improve the image of this great city. Now, as Mayor Jones alluded to last week, it is in the hands of us, the citizens of Grandview, to keep the talk positive.

I’m proud to be from Grandview, and I’m even more proud to work alongside some of the metro’s finest men and women each day, telling the good stories of what is going on around here.
The Grandview School District’s leadership has dubbed this school year as a year of momentum.

Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones said that Grandview is a place where dreams can begin and come true for those who live here. If I had to sum up my thoughts on Grandview for the foreseeable future, I think I’d say we are pursuing hope - not just in planning for the future, but in preserving our rich community history.

President Harry S Truman walked the streets of Grandview, the same streets we frequent today. He cultivated the family farm and dreams of his own during his time here. He helped to create a momentum for this city to prosper, and despite our ups and downs, we continue to walk down his path.

He was quoted once as saying, “Prosperous farmers make for a prosperous nation, and when farmers are in trouble, the nation is in trouble.”

When Grandview is successful and thriving, the community benefits in many ways. We can thank the police department, city leadership, and others for the reduction in crime in our city. And, I do. Very much so. However, I think we also need to look inward, and pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. It truly does take a village, and I’m lucky to be a part of this one.

Many years ago, when Michael (now 13) was just barely walking, I remember making him snow ice cream for the very first time. I sent him outside, bundled up like the little brother from A Christmas Story, with a wooden spoon in one hand and a big, plastic bowl in the other, telling him to find the cleanest snow he could find.

The first time he did this, I remember how excited he was to make something out of the snow in our yard. And, I’m sure, he was thrilled that I was actually allowing him to put something from the ground in his mouth.

Of course, while he was young, I had to pick dried leaves and sticks out of the bowl before I deemed it edible. Michael would help pour in the ingredients, and I let him think he was doing most of the mixing while I went behind him and stirred it up.

Snow ice cream is a simple treat. We make it with a can of sweetened condensed milk and a little bit of vanilla extract. As time has passed, I have made sure to keep the ingredients on hand every winter.
This last snow, I though, would surely be the one where Michael didn’t ask for his snow ice cream.
But, sure enough, as soon as the forecast showed snow early last week, Michael asked if we’d be carrying on the tradition.

“Of course,” I told him, checking the cabinet to ensure nothing was expired (past-date sweetened condensed milk is no good; trust us on this). My teenage son, armed with bowl and spoon, headed out to scoop up some white snow for our treat. I watched from the window, remembering when he was just a little bitty thing, and was reminded that while he has grown and so much has changed, some things have remained the same.

“It’s not as good as I remember it being,” he told me, after we’d mixed and put the latest batch of snow ice cream in our bowls.

“It’s not the flavor of the ice cream, but the novelty of it, that you remember being so good,” I told him. He nodded, and took his bowl of snow ice cream with him to his room to continue playing video games.

Alone I sat, in my living room with the blinds open, watching as snow continued to fall last Saturday, with the sound of Fortnite coming from the other room, the taste of cold, sweet vanilla on my tongue, and a warmth in my heart for ongoing traditions with my son.