The Missouri legislature got very little done this session, and among the failures is the inability to pass a sports wagering bill. Again.
Gonna have to keep heading over to Kansas for your sports betting fun, guys and gals. If you’re like me you spend money on food and drink while you’re over that direction. Missouri is getting no benefit from any of that. Sad. Or to use a Trump expression: Sad!
(The exclamation point makes all the difference, I guess.)
And with no legalized sports betting in Missouri, Guy Speckman and I will have to wait even longer to build the record of success that will allow for our induction into the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame. Sad!
Curse the rains if you want but I recently planted some new grass in an area near my back patio, so Farmer Foley is overjoyed with all the moisture. The grass is looking like it’s on steroids.
Got another product recommendation for you.
The new recommendation is Wet & Forget cleaner for outdoor use. It’s a moss, mold, mildew and algae stain remover. No bleach involved. I use it on covered areas of the patio and other outdoor surfaces on the north side of my home, which sometimes doesn’t get enough sun to completely dry out certain surfaces. Just spray this on and let it do its thing. It works in concert with natural elements like sun and rain and wind. Be patient. It takes time, the change is gradual not immediate. But it works like magic on surfaces like concrete, vinyl siding and much more. No scrubbing. I’ve used it multiple seasons now. Good stuff.
There is also a Wet & Forget indoor cleaner. Spray it on your shower door once a week. Rinse it the next day. It’ll save some scrubbing.
You should be able to find both the Wet & Forget cleaners available at many local home improvement stores or through Amazon.
Marji Gehr, who has been assistant city administrator under DJ Gehrt at the City of Platte City for a few years now, has taken over most of the administrative duties as DJ nears retirement. Effective June 30, Gehrt will be off to retirement and taking care of a ‘honey do’ list his spouse has waiting for him.
In the final weeks before his retirement becomes official, Gehrt is focusing on only a couple of projects: 1. The new City Hall building project. 2. The future Hwy. 92 widening project from I-29 to Bethel Road. Everything else is under Marji Gehr’s watchful eye.
Mark your calendars. Gehr tells me a retirement celebration for Gehrt is planned for Thursday, June 15 at the current City Hall at Fourth and Main. The ceremony is planned for 3 p.m. that afternoon. The public is invited to drop in to wish Gehrt well and thank him for his contributions and his service to the community the past 11 or 12 years or so.
Some upcoming event news for you:
Memorial Day ceremony is set for Monday, May 29 at the Platte City Cemetery. It will start at 10 a.m. Marji Gehr tells me she is finalizing selection of the speaker and we should be able to report that for you in next week’s edition.
Major change for July 4. Platte City’s July 4th celebration, which has been wildly successful on Main Street the past two years, will be getting a new home this year. Gehr tells me this year’s July 4th activities will be at Rising Star Park, which is the park at 1009 Second Street featuring the splash pad and zip line and other features. “We want to take advantage of that green space,” she says, including taking advantage of more shade on a potentially hot July 4th than was found on Main Street. Gehr says the plan is for food trucks, similar to previous years. There will still be a shuttle ride offered from the high school to the Rising Star Park, and there will be parking space available at the nearby Harrel Ferrel baseball fields, 501 Branch.
Time frame for the daytime event this year is listed as 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4. Fireworks at night at the Platte County R-3 campus.
Platte County commissioners heard the update from their jail population consultant, Bill Garnos, on Monday. The update was rendered meaningless several weeks ago when Scott Fricker, presiding commissioner, couldn’t hold his water long before the latest update was ready and exposed some things going on behind the curtain by saying: “We need a plan to improve and expand our jail and we need it as soon as possible.”
Here’s the most important comment from Garnos speaking about his report that you really need to know. These are the county commission’s paid jail consultant’s own words: “Jail issues are one of those things where reasonable minds can differ,” Garnos said. “Some may look at the numbers and state more beds are needed and others may say too many people are being incarcerated for various reasons.”
Joe Vanover–far and away the most reasonable and level-headed of the three–is the only one of the three Platte County commissioners I’ve heard publicly mention the possibility of a regional jail project being a proposal. And this week Vanover became the first one of the three we’ve heard publicly say there’s a chance a new proposed jail for Platte County might not be located in downtown Platte City, so if you’re against a state prison sized jail in downtown Platte City there is hope in hearing what the commission’s eventual proposal might be. Here’s the Vanover quote, the encouraging part is buried at the end of some scary stuff about getting sued and dangerous criminals overrunning our streets, assumedly including the alleged KCK cop shooter the sheriff’s office accidentally set free recently:
“Before the pandemic, the immigration and city inmates served as a cushion for the jail population. But we gradually had to get rid of that cushion, and we never brought them back after the pandemic. Wishing for fewer dangerous criminals is like wishing for more rainbows and unicorns. The current jail is absolutely maxed out. We need more space ready to put the criminals that are too dangerous to be left free in our community. We can wait until the situation is so bad that something terrible happens and Platte County gets sued, or we can fix this problem before it gets out of hand. The changes forced on us by the pandemic proved that jail inmates do not have to come to court for every hearing. That means a new detention center does not have to be built in downtown Platte City.”
(Find Foley spraying Wet & Forget on areas of need, or email him at ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)