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:
“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)