Reports of mail delivery problems throughout the KC metro area continue to pop up. For a while it was thought things had improved at Parkville but in recent weeks complaints from Parkville about slow–or no–mail delivery are back with a vengeance. Newest communities to report problems include Smithville and Weston.
“Nobody should have to wait for their mail for weeks and nobody should have mail lost,” Sen. Josh Hawley was quoted as saying in the Kansas City Star recently. “And then the total non-responsiveness where you can’t get an answer out of them. They won’t answer residents. They won’t answer me. I just think it’s ridiculous.”
A recent post office audit showed the Barry Woods Annex postal facility in the Northland had 1.6 million pieces of delayed mail, the Star reported.
The NFL says quarterback Jimmy Garopollo has been suspended for the first two games next season for the use of performance enhancing drugs. Making the bad news worse for Jimmy is that the drugs never enhanced his performance.
May 4 is the date for this year’s Weston Testicle Festival. I bet it’s gonna be nuts.
Sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jim Plunkett, who died on Friday, Feb. 16.
Plunkett, 66, served as second district county commissioner for two terms, first being elected in 2004, and was often a voice of reason and common sense during that time frame.
His complete obituary can be found elsewhere in this edition of The Landmark.
Major thanks to Chelsea Davenport, owner of Raising Rust in Platte City, for use of her Chiefs parade photos on the front page.
Candidate filing for county offices begins next Tuesday, Feb. 27.
A couple of weeks ago I remarked to not be surprised if Dagmar Wood, current district one county commissioner who has decided she’ll give up the commission seat to run for assessor, ends up being the only candidate for assessor. Well, color me surprised, because before that paragraph had even hit the streets Marcus Farr, currently a certified appraiser in the county assessor’s office, had sent an official announcement that he’ll be running for assessor. So it will be Wood vs. Farr in the August Republican primary.
At least, those are the only two potential candidates as of this writing.
There is, of course, more time for others to join the fun.
Once filing opens on Feb. 27 it remains open until Tuesday, March 26 at 5 p.m.
If you’ve been to public meetings in the new City Hall in Platte City you’ve noticed the acoustics in the council chambers are not good, and the problem is amplified when board members are not speaking loudly and clearly. City officials indicated this week they are taking steps toward acquiring microphones for the board room.
Desperately needed.
Update on college basketball futures betting.
For those of you who follow college basketball and more importantly are holding me accountable on my college basketball futures tickets at Hollywood Casino: I have made one additional futures bet to go along with the others I previously listed.
On Feb. 4, I grabbed a futures ticket on Tennessee to win the national title at 15-1 odds. This puts the Volunteers in my list of futures investments on Kentucky, Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State and North Carolina, all of whom I grabbed at their posted odds on Jan. 19.
The complete list of my championship futures (and there will be no more national championship futures wagers, this is it for me):
$50 on Kentucky at 20-1 odds. Potential payout $1,050.
$25 on Connecticut at 11-1 odds. Potential payout $300.
$21 on North Carolina at 18-1 odds. Potential payout $399.
$10 on Michigan State at 60-1 odds. Potential payout $610.
$25 on Duke at 22-1 odds. Potential payout $575.
$20 on Tennessee at 15-1 odds. Potential payout $320.
It’s important to note that the odds listed were at the odds posted on the Jan. 19 for the first five on the list and on Feb. 4 for Tennessee. As bettors know, odds are a living breathing document that can change by the hour or even the minute, so if you go to bet any of these you will likely be getting a different number than listed above.
From a reward standpoint, it would be sweetest for Kentucky to win the title. In reality I think my best shot lies with Connecticut. Got it at a good number of 11-1 on Jan. 19. Connecticut has really been strong this past month, so if you went to bet them today their odds have dropped all the way down to 4-1.
On the other side of the coin, it would have been better for me to wait on Duke and Kentucky. Odds for Duke as of this moment are 30-1 instead of 22-1, and odds for Kentucky are now 25-1 as opposed to 20-1.
Current odds on Tennessee are 13-1, Michigan State is now 50-1. North Carolina remains 18-1, just as they were on Jan. 19.
(Find Foley waiting for his invitation to the big testicle festival. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)