• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Monday, January 25, 2021
32 °f
Platte
29 ° Wed
28 ° Thu
37 ° Fri
43 ° Sat
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
No Result
View All Result
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
No Result
View All Result

‘I’m not going to Platte City’

Ivan Foley by Ivan Foley
October 15, 2020
in Between the Lines
Nan Johnston arrested

Parkville Mayor Nan Johnston being arrested for an alleged DWI in late September.

19
SHARES
477
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

There’s a new drinking game in Platte County. Take a shot every time commissioner Ron Schieber guides public money to his wife’s employer. I’m already stoned to the bejeezus face down under my desk.


KCTV-5 News played the dash cam video and audio from Parkville Mayor’s Nan Johnston DWI arrest and by now you know the memorable quote:

RelatedNews

The Conspiracy Caucus

Sometimes the big lie gets used as a political strategy

Get your popcorn ready for health board meetings

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m not going to go to Platte City. Let me have my phone,” said the handcuffed mayor from the back of the squad car.


So we have an arrestee in handcuffs telling an officer of the law she is not going to go to “the station,” which is the county jail in Platte City. And then she tells–doesn’t even ask nicely–the arresting officer “let me have my phone.”

That’s rich.

It’s tough to bully and intimidate while in handcuffs.


This is after she called the Parkville police chief after being told by the deputy to step out of her car. And then she asked to call the police chief again as she was in handcuffs and being placed in the patrol car. And then came the “whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, I’m not going to Platte City. Let me have my phone.”


Nan said “whoa” so many times I thought she was singing the hit tune “Feelings.”


Whoa, whoa, whoa feelings.


What does Nan have against coming to Platte City anyway? Remember in June when she was the only Platte County mayor not to come to Platte City to salute Frank Offutt during his final meeting as mayor? Now we learn she doesn’t even want to come to Platte City while handcuffed?

I’m starting to get a complex.


As I said on Landmark Live last week, Parkville City Hall is a house of cards. Things could start collapsing mighty quickly.

Questionable tax incentives. Abuses of the state’s open records and meetings law. A lawsuit based on those alleged abuses that by now has already cost the city thousands of dollars in legal fees and could cost the city hundreds of thousands should they lose it. The FBI has taken a look into city business. The mayor firing off F bombs and other profanity in official communications. The mayor trying to use her elected position and public resources to negatively impact businesses who question her positions. The mayor apparently trying to leverage her position during a DWI traffic stop.

There’s more but my space is limited, folks. The Landmark has been on top of Parkville City Hall activity for a long time. After years of watching other media outlets being afraid of Nan’s attempted bullying, attempted intimidation and deflection, it’s nice to finally see other media now realizing that Nan’s “there’s nothing to see here” stance was a desperate game.


We’ve talked about this before in Between the Lines and we’ll talk about it again: Kudos to the men and women of the Platte County Sheriff’s Department. It doesn’t matter who you are. If they catch you driving drunk, you’re going to jail.

They’ve arrested municipal judges for DWI. They’ve arrested attorneys for DWI. They’ve arrested fellow county employees for DWI. They’ve arrested elected officials for DWI. Doesn’t matter.

It appears Nan thought there was a way she could be an exception.

Major kudos to arresting officer Jordan DeClue for never flinching during the games and attempted intimidation.


As you read in last week’s Landmark, there are some mysterious health situations in the prosecutor’s office on the third floor of the Platte County Courthouse, to which the employees of the office blame air quality in the office.

Never fear, Platte County commissioners are on the case. And we know their track record in the field of public health and science and such.


County commissioners and their air quality experts seem to be stumped about the health concerns raised in the prosecutor’s office to this point, though the study continues. FYI: After our story hit the streets last week, I was contacted by a former county employee who worked on the second floor–not the third floor–of the courthouse for several years. The outlook from that former employee?

“Mold. You did not hear it from me. It was in our office, too. They would paint over it every time. I have not had bronchitis since I left there.”


If it’s mold, that sounds serious and unhealthy. So which county commission crony is gonna get rich off of this one? Does Schieber’s wife’s employer have haz mat suits? Does the Southern Platte County Athletic Association do mold removal? Can’t this somehow be used as a way to start like a 57th grant program for youth sports? Has Cruise Holidays been negatively impacted? Do we need a $48,000 “voter education” campaign on this?

I’m not sure mold is currently covered in the county cronyism playbook but that’s nothing an asterisk wouldn’t fix.

(Ivan Foley is not listed in the county cronyism playbook but you can find him at ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)

Tags: electionsFrank Offuttlandmark liveLawsuitsNan Johnstonparkvilleplatte cityplatte countyPublic Safetyron schieberSunshine Lawstax incentivestaxes
Ivan Foley

Ivan Foley

Ivan Foley is owner/editor/publisher of the Platte County Landmark. Foley has been on the news beat in Platte County with The Landmark for 38 years, specializing in local government issues and accountability journalism. He has penned multiple award-winning investigative pieces. He provides weekly observations and editorial commentary in his Between the Lines column and serves as host of Landmark Live, a light-hearted videocast featuring newsmakers and events in the Northland. During his time at the helm of The Landmark, the newspaper has been awarded on multiple occasions for General Excellence in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. In 2016, Foley won the Tom and Pat Gish Award, a national honor given by the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky for displaying courage, tenacity and integrity in rural journalism. A big fan of the Chiefs and Royals, Foley resides in Platte County not far from KCI Airport.

Related Posts

The Conspiracy Caucus

The Conspiracy Caucus

by Ivan Foley
January 22, 2021
0

It's sunny and expected to be 55 degrees today, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. I'm ok with that. I'm old enough to remember when we had big winter snowstorms. And I hope I didn't just jinx us. I think it's fair...

Karen

Dicks and Karens

by Landmark Digital Staff
January 22, 2021
0

EDITOR: Recently I had a "Karen" moment I'm not particularly proud about. Today, as I was reading Guy Speckman's article "Sedition and Snow Fleas," in the Jan. 13, 2021 edition of the Landmark, this excerpt made me laugh out loud....

Badges

Badges, Patrick and law

by Guy Speckman
January 22, 2021
0

Welcome to January 20th. You can now wear your Christmas gifts, without people knowing they were Christmas gifts. Enjoy. No one has asked me, but I'd leave all that fence and stuff up for Kamala's inauguration. How long will she...

45 Years Ago–January 23, 1976

by Ivan Foley
January 22, 2021
0

Mr. and Mrs. Daryl Grame of Platte City announce the birth of their daughter, Stacy Dee, on Jan. 15, 1976. She weighed seven pounds 11 ounces. The grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Charles Grame, Platte City, and Mr. and Mrs....

Next Post
Due diligence

Platte County in need of Park's diligence

Popular News

  • Jakob Scroggins

    Things ‘just make sense’ for North Platte senior

    34 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9
  • Arson, murder charges filed in deadly blaze

    24 shares
    Share 10 Tweet 6
  • Scene of fatal fire

    17 shares
    Share 7 Tweet 4
  • Want the vaccine? Complete this survey

    12 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3
  • Weston man dead at suspicious fire scene

    22 shares
    Share 9 Tweet 6
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Call us at 816-858-0363

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Subscribe Online
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved