It’s official. The Paseo is back to being The Paseo, thanks to 70 percent of the voters in Kansas City on Tuesday.
By a vote of 8-4, the Kansas City council had officially changed the name in January. Had anyone ever really started calling it Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard?
Happy that voters saw the light on the silliness.
Remember several years ago–in one of the silliest decisions in recent history–when two of the then-county commissioners took formal action to officially rename the Platte County Courthouse as the Owens Lee Hull, Jr. Justice Center?I wonder how that question would turn out if submitted to voters.
Honestly, I think we already know the answer to that.
I don’t want to say I told you so but I’m going to hint at it just a bit.
Remember when the sheriff’s department moved in on some alleged illegal activity at the Village of Ferrelview regarding the sale of a couple city-owned vehicles? I do.
I remember intimating in this column space that in my opinion authorities were buddying up to the wrong people inside Ferrelview City Hall. I remember writing that the voice I trusted inside there was that of Mickey Vulgamott, who was city treasurer at the time.
Anyway, charges were officially brought against then-board of trustee member Russell Wilson for allegedly getting an inside deal on the purchase of a city vehicle. Now those charges have been dropped.
“The testimony of key witnesses, as recorded in depositions taken in this case, differs substantially from their initial statements to investigators, rendering the state unable to proceed with prosecution. Accordingly, the State of Missouri, by and through Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Blake C. Sherer, hereby dismisses this case,” wrote Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd in a recent notice of dismissal submitted to the circuit court.
The witness–or witnesses–recanting his/her original statements was not Mickey Vulgamott. Vulgamott’s deposition matched what she had told the detective in the investigation. There may have been some new ground covered in her deposition on things the detective didn’t ask in his investigation because perhaps the detective thought he knew it already.
There was manipulation and telling of untruths going on at Ferrelview City Hall. Embarrassingly for investigators and prosecutors, the side that was being manipulative is the side the investigators had buddied up to.
Eventually that all came out in the wash. Charges against Wilson have been dropped.
What a waste of time and money, not to mention the bad publicity Wilson unjustly received as a result of charges from an investigation that it turns out was part fantasy.
Hats off and major kudos to Jayce Tingler, recently named the new manager of the San Diego Padres.
Tingler, age 38, is a graduate of Smithville High School and reportedly still makes a home in Smithville.
Tingler was born and raised in Smithville. At Smithville High School, Tingler played baseball and set the school scoring record in basketball. His mother, Diana, was girls basketball coach at Smithville High, while his father, Steve, coached basketball at West Platte.
Tingler played baseball at Mizzou and was drafted in 2003 by the Blue Jays. He never advanced beyond Double-A. He became the hitting coach for the Rangers’ Dominican Summer League team in 2007, then took over as the DSL manager for the 2008-09 seasons. Tingler also managed the Rangers’ Arizona League team in 2010. In all three seasons as manager, his teams made the playoffs. Tingler was promoted to coordinator of instruction of the Rangers’ Arizona and Dominican Republic operations in 2011. The following year, he became Texas’ minor-league field coordinator, and supervised on-field instruction for minor-league players.
Tingler also was in charge of organization for spring training and instructional league. In 2015, Tingler joined the Rangers’ coaching staff as field coordinator and outfield and base-running coach, a job he held for two years before working as an assistant to the general manager from 2017-18. This past season, he was their major-league player development field coordinator.
Following up on last week’s report about Platte County R-3 wanting to charge someone over $700 to fill a Sunshine request for emails in the Chad Searcey situation: It seems it gets worse.
“$700 is chump change compared to what they quoted me in 2013,” says Kirby Holden.
In 2013, Holden put in a Sunshine request to R-3 for emails that appear in a keyword search of emails from Dr. Michael Reik or Dr. Mike Brown to board of education members. Holden wanted emails that contained the terms “Kirby Holden,” “Holden,” or his website “plattecountyr3facts.com.”
Platte County R-3 officials told Holden such a search for documents would require a payment of $2,700.
“We estimate the time and expense required to respond to your request includes approximately 25 hours of professional staff time at an hourly rate of $82 and 25 hours of clerical time at an hourly rate of $26, for a total of $2,700. The final cost attributable to you may be more or less than this estimated amount,” Vicki Diggs, R-3 custodian of records, told Holden in a response dated July 18, 2013.
Good grief.
(There’s no $2,700 paywall for Between the Lines. Follow Foley on Twitter @ivanfoley, find him on Facebook or email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)