She has a side gig now in real estate and as a result has toned down her rhetoric, but I gotta say I miss Dagmar Wood spicing the county commission meetings with bizarre Fox News talking points and conspiracy theories.
Ahh, those were her Glory Days. I bet they come back someday.
The only Dagmar highlight in recent months came at a Park Hill School Board meeting when she was offering citizen input, carrying on about the supposed evils of masking. In typical Dag fashion, she tried to keep speaking after her allotted time had expired but school board president Janice Bolin ended the space journey by telling Dagmar to “please respect our rules.”
As reported in this space last week, the Parkville Board of Aldermen hired Mark Ferguson, a criminal defense lawyer, to provide special legal counsel. City officials are being predictably mum about the reasoning but let’s be honest, nothing screams “we are under criminal investigation” quite like hiring a criminal defense attorney as special legal counsel.
Parkville Mayor Nan Johnston is no stranger to many types of investigations–ethics, criminal, etc.–and you may remember Ferguson served as her attorney in her DUI case.
Here’s something worth investigating. In their settlement agreement with plaintiff Jason Maki in which the City of Parkville paid Maki a record-setting $195,000 to make the lawsuit go away, the city included a mandate that Maki “will not assist others in seeking from the City of Parkville any further records related to the occurrence.”
Why is the city so worried about anyone else seeking those records it successfully kept from Maki? Kinda sends up a red flag, doesn’t it?
Yes it does.
“With respect to Mr. Ferguson, we have every right and responsibility to hire counsel in anticipation of any and all needs,” Alderman Marc Sportsman said Tuesday night, at a meeting he chaired in the absence of Mayor Nan Johnston.
Sportsman explained Johnston was unable to attend “due to an illness,” so we’ll take that at face value and not assume she was skipping out because she knew public questioning was coming about the hiring of a criminal defense attorney.
Sportsman’s above comment came after resident Elaine Kellerman, in citizen input portion of the meeting, asked about the hiring of the criminal defense attorney. “The citizens have a right to know. Is the city under criminal investigation?” she asked.
After Sportsman’s remark, alderman Brian Whitley deferred comment to city attorney Chris Williams, who gave a garden variety answer to the effect that the city has the right to hire special legal counsel for a variety of needs, blah blah blah.
Kellerman wasn’t letting up.
“We already have a lawyer in you, sir, I just wondered why we needed someone else. It’s reasonable to ask why at this time you felt the city needs to hire a criminal defense lawyer.”
No one had anymore to say on the topic.
Here’s the big reveal I promised you: Emmy Award-winning comedienne Vicki Lawrence will be our guest on what promises to be a fun episode of Landmark Live on Sept. 23. Described by Hollywood writers as “one of the most beloved television personalities of her generation,” Vicki Lawrence was plucked out of total obscurity as a high school senior and went on to become part of the now-legendary cast of the Carol Burnett Show. On the Burnett show, she created the character Thelma Harper, or “Mama,” as she is better known to her fans. After the Burnett show, Vicki went on to star in “Mama’s Family,” which was a ratings winner for a six-year run of original shows and lifted her into almost a cult-like status among legions of television viewers. She has made appearances on such shows as Laverne & Shirley, Roseanne, and many others. Also, did you know she had a number one smash hit on the music charts? We’ll be asking her about it. It was a song in the 70s that I’m sure you’ve heard but may not have realized that was her voice.
Much more on Vicki Lawrence and how we landed her for a Landmark Live appearance in next week’s Landmark.
The Landmark Live episode with Guy Speckman and yours truly talking football and the Landmark Pickem contest being held at plattecountylandmark.com will be Sept. 16 instead of Sept. 9. We’re resetting the date to allow for the availability of Tech Man Scheider, whose real boss wouldn’t let him show up on Sept. 9.
The NFL season kicks off this week, and you can make picks on our website right up until kickoff of each game. Go to plattecountylandmark.com/landmark-pickem/sign-up/ to get rolling. It’s a weekly contest with a prize of gift certificates to Nick and Jake’s restaurant at Parkville. Contest sponsor is Tony Farr Real Estate Group RE/MAX House of Dreams.
(Since he’s out of space, Ivan Foley will respect the rules and stop talking. Find him at ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)