Valley News July 26, 2018
www.grainvalleynews.com
Vol. 1, No. 6
FREE
Board of Alderman Approves Rezoning of Area for Light Industrial Development The Board of Aldermen approved the rezoning of approximately 12 acres in south Grain Valley from Commercial to M-1 Light Industrial at the July 23, 2018 Board of Aldermen meeting. The rezoning allows the area to be developed as a light industrial site. The area lies off of South Buckner Tarsney Road, near Casey’s General Store and O’Reilly Auto Parts. As a large part of the southern portion of the property is floodplain or floodway, development opportunities have been limited. The rezoning of the property allows for
the portion of the land that is usable to be developed for light industrial use. BES LLC owns the property and has a potential utility contractor tenant interested in building in the area.
Right: Renderings provided to the Board of Aldermen illustrate the area approved for rezoning from Commercial to M-I Light Industrial.
Portion of I-470 Will Be Reduced to One Lane Beginning July 27 Commuters and motorists frequenting the 1-470/1-70 interchange will need to exercise patience and plan alternate routes in the coming months due to upcoming road projects. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MO DOT) will be reducing Interstate 470 to one lane in both directions from 39th Street to the Little Blue River just south of Highway 40 beginning at 8:00pm on Friday, July 27, until approximately 5:00am on Monday, July 30th. This left lane closure is for pavement work in preparation of extensive bridge repairs at the I470/Route 291 and I-70 Interchange,
Good News Recent rain and milder temperatures are welcomed at the Grain Valley Community Garden, where sunflowers are in full bloom. Do you have good news to share? Send your good news to news@grainvalleynews.com.
Highway 40, and Little Blue River tentatively scheduled to begin in August 2018. This is all a part of the extensive I-470 bridge rehabilitation project that will repair 15 bridges along the I-470 corridor through approximately November 2018. Lane reductions will have major impacts to traffic. Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead and to find an alternate route if necessary. Motorists are reminded to slow down and pay attention while driving in work zones. Not all work zones look alike. Work zones can be moving operations, such as striping, patching or mowing. They can also be short term, temporary lane
closures to make quick repairs or remove debris from the roadway.
For updates on this project, visit http://www.modot.org/kansascity/ major_projects/I_470_Bridges.htm.
One of the bridges along 1-470 near Longview Lake to be repaired. (Photo credit: MO DOT)
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Local News
Back to School Sales Tax Holiday Begins August 3rd Back to school shoppers seeking bargains will save even more the first week of August, as the state of Missouri sales tax holiday begins at 12:01am on Friday, August 3rd, and runs through Sunday, August 5th. By state law, the sales tax holiday begins on the first Friday in August and continues through the following Sunday. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by the statute, are exempt from sales tax for this time period only. The sales tax exemption is limited to:
Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less Personal computers – not to exceed $1,500 Computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $1,500 Graphing Calculators - not to exceed $150 For more information on the sales tax holiday and which items qualify for the sales tax exemption, visit https://dor.mo.gov/business/ sales/taxholiday/school/faq.php.
Learn About Options Beyond Cable TV Cable TV bills giving you the blues? The Grain Valley branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) is hosting a program on August 16th to provide information to those who are considering cutting the cord. Beyond Cable TV will cover the different devices and services you
can use with your internet connection to start cutting the cord today. The program will be held from 6:30pm—7:30pm at the Grain Valley branch. More information on this program and all the programs hosted by MCPL can be found at http://www.mymcpl.org/events
Valley News Grain Valley News is a free community paper, published weekly on Thursdays online at www.grainvalleynews.com and on the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month in print. Cory Unrein | Co-Owner/Publisher John Unrein | Co-Owner/Production Manager Cathy Allie | Staff Writer, Proofreader Diana Luppens, Switch Focus Studios | Contributing Photographer Mail: PO Box 2972 Grain Valley MO 64029 Phone: 816.809.7984 Email: news@grainvalleynews.com Sign up for our weekly emails and join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@grainvalleynews).
Grain Valley Fair Parade Applications Now Available Applications are now being accepted for those wishing to enter the Grain Valley Fair parade. The parade will be held on Saturday, September 8th beginning at Noon. Lineup will be at Grain Valley High School starting at 9:30am. Judging will be concluded by 11:00am. In lieu of a registration fee for commercial and promotional entries, donations will be collected the day of the parade to fund a
scholarship for Grain Valley High School students. Donations may also be made online in advance of the parade at https:// squareup.com/store/grain-valleyfair. The parade entry form is available on the Grain Valley Fair website, http:// www.grainvalleyfair.com.
Grain Valley Police to Host National Night Out Event The Grain Valley Police Department invites the community to join them on Tuesday, August 7th from 6:00pm—8:30pm for an evening of free family fun at the Pavilion at Armstrong Park. K9 live demonstrations, a dunk tank, bounce house, face painting and free hot dogs will also be available. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community
partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
Education and Youth Grain Valley Welcomes Exchange Student This August one international high school exchange student will be arriving in Grain Valley on the CIEE High School Exchange program. Stina from Germany will be staying with the Jobe family and is most excited to “learn about American culture, try new things, and eat delicious food.” The Jobe family is a first-time host family with CIEE and they are eager to have a new family member join their household this summer. Stina will attend Grain Valley High School and will stay for a full academic year. Each year, international high school students representing more than 70 nationalities come to the U.S. to experience American culture as part of CIEE’s High School Exchange program. Students attend local high schools, live with American host families, and participate in extracurricular activities and athletics. During their stay, students also give back to their host communities by participating in volunteer projects and community service activities. Through the High School Exchange
program, CIEE provides lifechanging cultural exchange opportunities that help students, families, and schools gain new perspectives and develop lifelong relationships that cross borders and cultures. Founded in 1947, CIEE is the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization, serving over 300 U.S. colleges and universities, 1,000 U.S. high schools, and more than 35,000 international exchange students each year. CIEE operates 60 study centers in 40 countries, sponsors international faculty training programs, teach abroad programs, and various specialty and custom programs for secondary, post-secondary, and international students. Families interested in hosting an international exchange student can contact Judy Bintliff, CIEE Local Coordinator, at judybintliff@outlook.com or visit https://www.ciee.org/partner/ hosts/host-families to learn more about the program.
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Girls Invited to STEAM Event
Girls Scouts will host a New G.I.R.L. event on Tuesday, September 4th from 6:00pm—7:30pm at the Grain Valley Community Center, 713 S Main ST. G.I.R.L.s stands for Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, and Leaders. The event will introduce girls and their families to the many experiences available through Girl Scouts. The organization is introducing their new format, which emphasizes hands on learning opportunities in the areas of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), outdoor experiences,
entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. The event is a free, open house format for the entire family. Girls will participate in a variety of activities and leave with a number of take-aways; parents / caregivers will leave with more information on the program and how to join. For more information on Girl Scouts, visit https://www.gsksmo.org/.
Business News
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Business News is provided weekly by the Grain Valley Partnership, whose mission is to be a leader in the growth of Grain Valley. The Grain Valley Partnership is located at 1450 SW Eagles Parkway, and can be reached by phone, 816-443-5162 or via email at info@growgrainvalley.org.
Welcome Our Newest 2018 Partners:
PayChex Check out all of the Grain Valley Partnership’s partners by visiting
www.growgrainvalley.org.
Monthly Partnership Luncheons Offer Opportunities to Connect
Partnership members make valuable connections during the July 10th luncheon at the Grain Valley Community Center.
The Grain Valley Partnership sponsors a variety of events to provide educational and networking opportunities for member businesses. One of the most popular events the Partnership hosts is its monthly membership luncheons. These luncheon events provide a place for business owners to network and grow their businesses while learning about other businesses and community initiatives. The July 10th luncheon featured the State of the City address by Mayor Mike Todd and City of Grain Valley staff. The Partnership’s annual legislative luncheon will be held Tuesday, August 14th. Luncheons begin at 11:30am with networking and conclude at 1:00pm. Each luncheon features a speaker presenting on a community issue or topic of interest to business owners, and new members and guests are introduced.
For more information about the monthly luncheons and all the events the Grain Valley Partnership hosts for businesses in the community, visit www.growgrainvalley.org.
Grain Valley Price Chopper catered the July 10th luncheon.
You know your child like no one else. You know his strengths and his weaknesses. You also can tell when it’s time to reach out for help. Many people assume that tutoring is just for students who are slipping through the cracks, but as Tricia Crego of Sylvan Learning notes, tutoring services may benefit a child for many reasons. “Many times students are missing skills or have gaps. We also see many students who are getting good grades but doing poorly on tests who do not know how to review effectively and think that filling out a review packet is sufficient – it is not! Approximately one-third of our students are enrichment students looking to improve their skill set.” Tutoring services abound in many forms, from educational therapy to online tutoring, private tutoring to learning center programs. Just how do you go about finding what works best for your child? Crego recommends that parents look for a certified tutor or academic coach who can provide a 360-degree academic assessment to determine a student’s true needs and skill gaps, while offering an adaptive learning program. Likewise, high schoolers looking to prepare for the SAT and ACT should seek a tutor who offers a comprehensive college prep program. A simple online search can showcase what is available in your area, then ‘interview’ your short list to determine the knowledge, experience, and personalities to determine the best fit for your student. Many parents and students assume that the moment tutoring services begin, grades will immediately begin to rise. Not only is that expectation unrealistic, it overlooks the primary benefit of tutoring: training a child how to learn and be a more independent thinker. Despite what the adage states, practice does not make perfect. Practice, instead, makes permanent. If a student has long-ingrained poor habits or has struggled with an academic area for a long time, the process of building improved study habits
takes time. Tutoring eventually will lead to better grades, but don’t expect overnight results. The terms tutoring and academic coaching are sometimes used interchangeably. But what’s the difference? At its basis, academic coaching focuses more on strategies for motivation, focus, and reorganization, whereas tutoring focuses more on concrete academic skills that need improvement. In either event, both skills can be taught interchangeably and, consequently, an instructor can be referred to as both a tutor and coach. Many students, particularly in middle school and above, may view being tutored as a sign of weakness on their part. Viewing a tutor as an academic coach can ease that perception, as the act of being coached, much like in athletics, focuses on becoming stronger, better, and more adept. You may also want to authorize your child’s tutor to maintain contact with the classroom teacher to assume a seamless team approach. Engaging in beneficial communication with your child’s tutor, as well as your child and his classroom teacher, will ensure your child makes the most of every learning opportunity afforded him.
Sylvan Learning of Lee’s Summit
816.525.4500 www.sylvanlearning.com
Sponsored advertisement.
Sports
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Eagles July Football Camp Focuses on Fundamentals by John Unrein July 23rd through the 27th starts to bring the football season further into focus for the Grain Valley Eagles. This will be Head Coach David Allie’s fifth year at the helm. Previously, he spent fourteen years as the leader of the Raytown South program, where he enjoyed success, including getting to the Class 5 state championship game in 2008 and as well as the semifinals in 2009. Twice Allie has been the Kansas City Chiefs Missouri high school football coach of the year in 2008 and again in 2016. “Win the Day” is a common motto heard at camp from Coach Allie, his staff, and the players. The intent of
the phrase is trying to reinforce the concept of one hundred percent effort, one hundred percent of the time. Coach Allie is promoting that “success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. At the end of each workout session, we let players determine if they have Won the Day or not.” Winning the day was apparent with the emphasis placed on football fundamentals during the first day of camp. The defense worked through pursuit drill, how to wrap up the ball carrier with your eyes up, forcing turnovers by punching out the football, and squeezing a ball carrier with two defenders during their
portion of practice. Players rotated through this circuit with their position group which permits efficiency and avoids boredom for the player along with each position coach providing instruction at a station. Offensive time emphasized footwork drills for the quarterbacks, route running for the wide receivers, ball security for the running backs, and combination blocks along with chute work for the offensive line. Special teams did not escape the focus of Allie’s staff as stints were dedicated to timing kicking off, maintaining discipline or staying in your lane as a defender, as well as
catching and securing the football as a returner. “It is important to stress fundamentals during camp week and to reinforce them repeatedly so that they become habit and can be used as a building block for season success,” Allie said. The Eagles will be moving to the Suburban Conference this year. Joining Grain Valley in the Blue Division will be Kearney, Platte County, Smithville, Raytown South, Grandview, and Winnetonka. High school football games are just around the corner.
Defensive lineman receive instruction during camp.
Eagles defensive players participate in pursuit drill.
Offensive linemen go through the chute.
Eagles players work on timing kickoff.
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Answers to Last Week’s Puzzles
Community Calendar July 26, 2018 Grain Valley Historical Society Ice Cream Social 6:00pm—8:00pm Armstrong Park Adults: $6, Children: $4 This annual event raises funds to help with the upkeep of the Historical Society building and its contents. July 28, 2018 Waves of Danger Murder Mystery 2:00pm—4:00pm Mid-Continent Public Library, Grain Valley Branch www.mymcpl.org/events August 1, 2018 Senior Citizens’ Luncheon 11:30am—1:00pm Grain Valley Community Center RSVP: 816-847-6293 August 2, 2018 Bright Futures Grain Valley Annual Breakfast 7:30am—8:30am Grain Valley Community Center RSVP to brightfutures@gvr5.net.
August 3, 2018 16th Annual Grain Valley Eagle Golf Fundraiser 8:00am Shotgun Start Adams Pointe Golf Club A joint fundraising effort of the GV Education Foundation, GV Eagle Booster Club and the GVHS Activities Department. Contact Jerry Vaughan at jvaughan@gvr5.net for more information. August 5, 2018 4th Annual “Cruise for Consciousness” Car Show Benefiting the Purple Peace Foundation for Epilepsy Awareness 11:00am—3:00pm Grain Valley Community Center Pavilion August 7, 2018 National Night Out 6:00pm—8:30pm Armstrong Park Join the Grain Valley Police Department for an evening of FREE family fun at the Pavilion at Armstrong Park!.
Looking Back Sni-A-Bar Farms by Marcia Napier Long before Sni-A-Bar addition, Sni-A-Bar Elementary School, and Sni-A-Bar Boulevard, there was Sni-A-Bar Creek, Sni-A-Bar Township, and Sni-A-Bar Farms. William Rockhill Nelson, founder of The Kansas City Star, provided in the William Rockhill Nelson Trust that Sni-A-Farms should be operated for 30 years after his death to demonstrate methods of improving livestock, especially through the use of better sires. At the time of his death in 1915, 1,775 acres had been assembled adjacent to Grain Valley. Buildings were constructed, roads were established, and fences were built to provide facilities for livestock operations. For ten years following his death, Nelson’s daughter, Mrs. Laura Kirkwood, operated the trust. She established a herd of purebred Shorthorns and encouraged fitting individual steers and carloads of fat cattle for shows.
Following her death, the administration of the estate came under the direction of the presidents of the University of Missouri, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Kansas. James Napier was the farm manager. During the remaining 20 years under the University Trustees, important research and work was done and the facilities were host to many national and foreign officials. The Soviet government sent officials to spend time at Sni-A-Bar. The USDA bulletin on the up building of cattle was used as a text for students of agriculture in the USSR. Mr. Nelson’s legacy not only benefited neighboring farmers, but was effective nationally and internationally.
