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Thurs., August 31, 2023 |
Plattsburg, Lathrop and Gower, Mo.
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CITY OF PLATTSBURG
Public disagrees as council mulls investigation by brett adkison leader editor
Another Plattsburg City Council meeting devolved into disarray Tuesday, August 29, as the council considered whether to retain a third-party to investigate Mayor James Kennedy and city prosecutor Jayson Watkins for possible interference in a police investigation.
SCHOOLS
Plattsburg celebrates increase in test scores, attendance
As explained Tuesday, the issue centered around a young resident who was placed on a 24-hour hold after it was alleged he “flipped off” another party and then declined to provide ID to authorities. Kennedy said Tuesday that, on the night of the alleged incident, he was notified of the arrest by one of the waitresses at his restaurant.
Kennedy then contacted City Administrator Chase Waggoner to voice his concern with the 24hour hold, given the light nature of the charges and that the subject’s step-father had spoken critically of the police department during a council meeting the day before. Kennedy told Waggoner he worried that the action would result in
a lawsuit for the city and asked that Waggoner contact city prosecutor Jayson Watkins for direction. Waggoner, given the late hour, declined to reach out to Watkins. Kennedy said that he called Watkins the next morning and asked that he look into the issue. Watkins met with city officials to ||Continued on A2
WINNING WEEK 1
As students at the Clinton County R-III School District returned to session last week, they were treated to some stellar news about the district’s performance during the 20222023 school year. During an assembly Friday, August 25, school officials announced major improvements in the district’s attendance and substantial increases in student test scores during MAP/EOC testing conducted this past spring. This marks a major turn around for the district, which ranked last out of eight KCI Conference members in the 2023 Annual Performance Report (based partially on the district’s testing performances from the spring of 2022), and next to last out of two dozen schools in the Northwest Missouri region. Full results from MAP and EOC testing for 2023 won’t be available publicly until lat-
East Buchanan off to a hot start this season, including winning the KCI title. || PAGE A7
Sen. Rusty Black visits
The Plattsburg Lady Tigers softball team wins its home tournament. || PAGE A12 The 2023 high school football season started with a blast over the weekend, as all three local teams won their respective season openers. That included Plattsburg’s eight-man debut over Maysville, 78-70, East Buchanan’s 44-8 win against South Harrison, and Lathrop’s 24-8 road victory over Lexington. To see more coverage from the big sports weekend, check inside. (Above, left to right) Plattsburg defenders including Jaiveon Grayson (3), Rylan Langton (13) Isaia Howard (9), Dakota Rankin (2) and Gavin Carter (6) swarm the Maysville quarterback on Saturday at PHS. (Left) East Buchanan senior quarterback Gage Busby hands off to senior Trevor Klein on Friday night against South Harrison.
||Continued on A2
CITY OF PLATTSBURG
Council sets annual tax levy, no change from ‘22 In a short meeting Monday, August 28, the Plattsburg City Council approved the town’s tax levy for this fiscal year, which remained at the same amount as last year. The council approved a levy of $1.1346 per $100 assessed val-
KCI volleyball champions
Defending their home turf
leader editor
leader editor
One Section | 12 pages
State Senator Rusty Black speaks at the local GOP meeting last week in Plattsburg. || PAGE A6
by brett adkison
by brett adkison
INSIDE
ue on Monday, which is the maximum amount allowed and the same amount that the city levied in 2022. The City of Plattsburg’s general fund will receive the lion’s share of the overall levy at $0.5677. Other departments and funds receiving money from the levy include: Police – $0.2154;
Parks – $0.1375; Recreation – $0.0477; Street Lights – $0.1478; Cemetery – $0.0185. The city projects property tax revenues totaling $369,089 for 2023. The entirety of the levy is expected to fund operations, as none of the revenues are earmarked for indebtedness. The City of Plattsburg saw a
noticeable uptick in real property values this year, as that valuation increased from $23.8 million to $25.49 million. Personal property went down just slightly, totaling $7.1 million. Plattsburg’s overall assessed value went up from $31.4 million to $32.6 million.
Community........A5 Opinion..............A4 Legals..............A11 Sheriff...............A3
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VOL. 128, NO. 44