I have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time. I recognize this is a flaw in my personal makeup. I’m working on it. Making a little progress.
Sit through a 3.5 hour movie? No chance, I thought. Sounds about as enjoyable as a milking of the prostate.
But I did it. We broke it up into two nights at my house so it wasn’t really in one sitting, but yeah, mission accomplished. And it was worth it.
The Irishman, which you can find on Netflix, is a compelling movie.
After reading mixed reviews, including some mixed takes right here in your Landmark recently from columnist Hearne Christopher and his KC Confidential co-horts, I tuned to The Irishman with lukewarm expectations. I remember telling Hearne I likely would not even try to watch it.
You’ll want to research the characters–yes, it’s based on real people and loosely on real events–either before or after you’ve watched the movie to get a better understanding of what might be an accurate depiction of the facts vs. what is dramatic interpretation and pure speculation, in particular the part about Jimmy Hoffa’s death.
But if you enjoyed shows like The Sopranos on HBO several years ago, you’ll enjoy The Irishman. Don’t want to give away too much of the story so I’ll leave you with how Netflix describes the movie: “Hit man Frank Sheeran looks back at the secrets he kept as a loyal member of the Bufalino crime family.”
The show stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Check it out.
Watching The Irishman has sparked a hankerin’ to fire up more mafia movies on Netflix. With a little downtime on the news calendar over the holidays, I’ll be making an effort to watch flicks like Casino, Goodfellas, The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.
At this rate there’s concern that I’ll actually be a mobster by Jan. 1.
Gives me an idea. In 2020 let’s resolve to do a Landmark story on the history of the mob in Platte County.
Platte County R-3 School District will provide a letter of recommendation to a former employee (Chad Searcey) that it paid $275,000 to just go away.
You needed to pay him $275,000 to get rid of him yet he is still worthy of letter of recommendation?
In what world does that make any sense? “In the world of people spending other people’s money to make their own lives as easy and cushy as possible,” was the response spoken by a friend after I asked that question rhetorically within earshot
Nailed it.
I do want to give Platte County R-3 administration credit for seeing the light on the matter of the separation agreement with Searcey as far as it being a public document. If you’ve been following along, you know the district initially rejected our request for a copy of the agreement. R-3’s initial stance was that the agreement was a personnel document and therefore was not mandated for release under the Sunshine Law. Several legal observers–including our Missouri Press Association attorney Jean Maneke–strongly disagree with R-3’s interpretation. I can tell you we have had no pushback from other taxing entities when we have requested separation agreements.
We were encouraged to file a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General over R-3’s refusal to release the document but had not done so when Superintendent Dr. Mike Reik reached out to me via phone on Nov. 14 and 15, which was a couple months after we had first requested the document. Reik said he would have further conversations with the school district’s legal counsel about the matter. About three weeks later the school district provided the requested document.
Embattled Ferrelview Police Chief Daniel Clayton–and let’s be honest, his own approach and his own tactics are why he is embattled–was unsuccessful in his first attempt to get the state to overturn its decision that he should be disciplined for tampering with a public record (see story elsewhere in this issue).
It’s possible Clayton can now appeal the matter to a circuit court. But Clayton’s future as a police officer is in doubt. His peace officer’s license is at risk of being suspended–or, more likely according to sources familiar with these sorts of things–revoked. Clayton to this point seems determined to stretch out the appeals process as long as possible. That way he can keep drawing a paycheck from the Village of Ferrelview, where the current board of trustees continues to express what some observers would say is blind faith in him.
As detailed in this week’s story, Clayton had filed a motion for reconsideration, asking the Administrative Hearing Commission to give some more thought to its ruling that he be subjected to discipline. The AHC accepted his motion to reconsider and in the interim it set aside its decision. Some folks in Clayton’s camp misinterpreted this, thinking “set aside” meant the state had overturned its original decision. From Clayton’s crowd, there was some premature spiking of the football and some celebratory comments were being made on social media. Some celebratory comments arrived in my email inbox as well.
Nope. “Set aside” just meant the matter wouldn’t be forwarded to the Director of Public Safety for disciplinary action until the AHC had a chance to act on Clayton’s request for reconsideration. When the AHC took up the matter of Clayton’s motion several days later, it came back with a strongly worded response, basically saying “Not just no but hell no” to his request.
We’ll keep you posted as the matter advances either to a circuit court or to the Director of Public Safety for a decision on the future of Clayton’s license as a police officer.
(You’ll get one more issue of The Landmark hitting the streets before Christmas. In the meantime, follow Foley on Twitter @ivanfoley or on Facebook at Platte County Landmark. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)