After eight years in the position, Dagmar Wood must give up her role as first district Platte County commissioner on Dec. 31. Will there be a peaceful transfer of power? Probably, but if Dagmar shows up wearing a Viking helmet and fur vest you’ll know things are about to get weird.
The other day a few of us went up to Jamesport, in the heart of Amish country, to the North Central Missouri Produce Auction, located about a mile east of Jamesport. It was my second trip to the auction in the past four months. I know others in Platte County are familiar with the produce auction in Jamesport, because I’ve bumped into a Platte Countian or two up there (here’s looking at you, Tom Hutsler).
Our first trip in May was for petunias. Some of you commented on the healthy-looking petunias outside The Landmark office in recent months, Those petunias came from the Jamesport auction. For the most recent trip we were on the prowl for mums. Found some, but didn’t buy them at the auction, because it would have required purchasing a minimum lot of 20. We enjoy displaying mums in the fall but had no need for 20. So we instead stopped at Graber Greenhouse in Jamesport, where we were able to latch on to smaller quantities. Also made a new plant discovery–new to me, anyway–the celosia. It’s an eye catcher. Google it. We now have one in a large clay pot near the back entrance to The Landmark office at 212 Marshall Road, Suite C, Platte City. Give it a look next time you come by.
If you’re interested in a day trip to Jamesport this fall, the North Central Missouri Produce Auction continues on Tuesdays and Fridays through Oct. 27.
Tom Brady made his much-anticipated debut as the color analyst on the number one Fox NFL broadcast team Sunday. What was your reaction? I was underwhelmed.
I’m not a Brady hater at all, never was one of those KC fans who was venomous toward Brady at any point, even when he would beat Mahomes and the Chiefs. So my critique doesn’t come from that angle. Brady seemed a little nervous, which I suppose is understandable, but more than that there was a lack of energy in his presentation. And the pitch of his voice sounds more like a teenager taking your order at the drive-through than that of a 47-year-old man talking football. It’s tough to explain, but you know how when a person ages our voices tend to thicken a bit? Brady’s voice hasn’t thickened. Maybe it was nerves tightening his vocal cords. His voice definitely sounded higher pitched than I was expecting, and it was a hard listen. And there really was nothing notable, memorable or a teaching moment in any of his observations. He didn’t loosen up any, never gave the viewer a chance to see him as relatable or the kind of guy you’d like to have a brew with.
So yeah, underwhelming. But it’s early. He’ll improve with time. Or at least the company that signed him to that 10-year $375 million contract certainly hopes he does.
Jason Maki, the Sunshine advocate who successfully sued Parkville over public records a few years ago and now has a request in with Platte County concerning the county commissioners’ decision to spend up to $84,000 in taxpayer money on an “educational campaign” for their failed jail tax proposal, has sent in a second request to Platte County.
Maki’s newest request, dated Aug. 29, seeks electronic records to or from each of the three county commissioners or any other official, employee or agent of Platte County regarding the hiring or selection of any outside legal counsel from April 1, 2024 until present. This request is because the county commission recently hired an outside firm to assist in handling Maki’s initial Sunshine request.
Interestingly, Maki also asks for records that “identify or discuss the personal pecuniary interests of any Platte County Commissioner or their immediate family members” in relation to the selection or hiring of any outside legal counsel. “This includes any interest by which a commissioner or their spouse or dependent child has previously financially benefitted from any law firm or legal counsels hired by the county from April 1, 2024 to present.”
Maki also wants to know any private email addresses that each commissioner may have used to discuss official county business.
In a phone conversation this week, Maki told me the county to this point has handed over “very little” information in regard to his initial request from earlier this summer.
One of the documents that has been turned over to Maki thus far is an email from county commissioner Dagmar Wood to Jason Parson of Parson + Associates, the public relations firm that the county commission eventually hired to help conduct the $84,000 voter “education” campaign on the jail tax proposal. This email seems to indicate that Wood was the commissioner who led the charge to conduct the $84,000 campaign. In the Jan. 9 email, Wood is soliciting a proposal from Parson and says that she’ll pass along the proposal to fellow commissioners Scott Fricker and Joe Vanover.
In that email, it is notable Wood tells Parson that “all educational messages that go out via Facebook, mailers, website, etc. will need to be reviewed by our county attorney to make sure they educate and do not advocate for either ballot issue, as advocating (i.e. “vote yes”) is always a no-no with taxpayer dollars.”
This is important because it’s a sign commissioners knew they needed to be careful and accurate with information they were going to distribute in their “education campaign.” And yet, they screwed that up. In an early July mailer sent to a targeted list of voters, the county commission’s education campaign said “417 beds are needed now.” As we’ve mentioned, this was a total scare tactic fabrication. Currently there are only around 200 inmates in the Platte County Jail, which is far, far from 417.
I also found it interesting in that Jan. 9 email from Wood to Parson, Wood warns Parson to be careful about what you put in emails to the county commissioners. “FYI, please be advised that our commission adheres to and supports all responsive records, including emails, being subject to open records requests per Missouri’s Sunshine Law.”
That’s a definite “hey, don’t put anything in an email that might get us into hot water.”
(Foley is now your official Jamesport correspondent, apparently, but still available at ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
