Suspect Sought Page 3
Shrimp Pasta Page 7
Raytown Sports Page 8
Free complimentary copy February 20, 2015 • Volume 2, No. 18
www.raytowneagle.com • 75¢
Raytown Woman Works For Change By Lisa D. Stewart At the same time Gwen Grant, Executive Director of the Kansas City Urban League unveiled the results of the 18-month study, “2015 State of Black Kansas City,” Thursday night at the Kansas City Public Library, Debra Thomas of Kansas City was quietly calling and mailing friends and clients to raise the remaining $50,000.00 needed to begin renovation of her second home for elderly dementia patients. Her permits will expire if she does not begin construction in early March. “We know there are many people who care about the elderly in the underserved community and who have faced the heart-wrenching job of caring for a loved one suf-
home environment with 24-hour care, home-cooking, and hospice services provided by trained nurses and aides among her family members and other professionals, all on her payroll. Mrs. Thomas cares for clients in her home in Raytown located around 79th and Arlington. When renovations are complete on her second, five-bedroom home in Independence, she and her staff will care for an additional 10 clients on her waiting list. Debra Thomas, a registered nurse, has been living her childhood dream for the past 30 years. She felt helpless as her own grandmother was consumed by Alzheimer’s disease. When her grandmother no longer recognized her, she vowed at the age of twelve that she would
New home for dementia patients in Independence, MO
Debra Thomas (left) and resident fering Alzheimer’s disease,” says Mrs. Thomas. “There aren’t enough homes to care for these people, and we also know that by 2020, more than 200,000 Missourians will need dementia care.” The “2015 State of Black Kansas City” revealed that elderly Blacks in Kansas City receive only 54 percent of the care that Whites receive in the same area. The study was funded by Reach Healthcare Foundation and performed by faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City economics department. The reasons for the disparity range from not having savings or insurance to not being eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. Mrs. Thomas and her charitable organization, Loving Hands You Can Trust, LLC, works diligently every day to help the elderly in her community to remain in a safe, loving,
make the lives more comfortable for not only the Alzheimer’s victims, but also their family caregivers. Many families served by Mrs. Thomas report having tried traditional nursing homes and Alzheimer facilities where their loved ones could not adapt or worse, were neglected. Many observe what Mrs. Guyetta Payne reported after moving her mother to Debra’s home. “My mother had given up living. Now she’s eating well, she’s spunky. She’s just a totally different person,” said Mrs. Payne. “Debra and her staff have continual contact with the clients and know how their medication affects them, and what they like to eat. They are in frequent contact with doctors to prevent problems.” According to Mrs. Thomas, she has all permits, architectural ren-
By Brian Lee
but Sydney was being taught to, as she puts it, “land on her head.” It was a fear that her diving coach, George Halsey, had to quickly help her overcome as going headfirst into the water is the hallmark of diving. But Coach Halsey says she “picked it right up like everything else she does.” There have been some scary incidents during her transition from gymnast to diver. One time she slightly clipped the board upon descent into the water. Coach Halsey believes that event was the turning point in her development. “She has always had a good work ethic, is a fast learner, never shows up late for practice, stays late if she needs to, never complains, but, after she clipped that board, something just clicked and she just took off!” he explained. Since then, Sydney has taken the high school diving world by storm. Each week she faced new challenges and opponents, upperclassmen with much more experience than her and each week
derings and engineering plans to widen doorways, install a sprinkler system, install commercial appliances and other wheelchair-accessible fixtures in the Independence home that she purchased. “We simply need to top off our renovation fundraising account at Bank of America to begin construction in early March before our permits expire. This is our final push to get the word out,” Mrs. Thomas says. “Our architect, contractor, laborers all have reduced their fees and some materials will be donated. We need an additional $50,000 to begin work, and I know there are many people in the community who would love to make this facility available if they just knew about it.” “My dream is to open warm, loving homes throughout the city to serve our elderly in the home-like environment we would want to live in. I know the methods that work to keep people happy and healthy who are suffering from dementia,” says Mrs. Thomas. “Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, care, respect, and love—especially those suffering dementia. It has always been in my heart to serve them, and I’ve been blessed to be able to live my dream. Now I want to expand my reach.” Non-institutional care homes for these delicate patients are in extremely short supply in Kansas City and Mrs. Thomas is working hard to change that and needs your help.
Donations to Loving Hands You Can Trust, LLC are tax-deductible. They may be made at www.gofundme.com using the search term, “Loving Hands You Can Trust, LLC.” Donations by check can be
dropped off or mailed to the fundraising account at Bank of America, 10100 E. 350 Hwy., Raytown, MO 64138, payable to “Loving Hands You Can Trust, LLC.”
Raytown Freshman Making A Big Splash
From the time she was just a little girl, Sydney Jackson, a 15year old freshman at Raytown High School, endured years of long arduous training sessions in gymnastics, each session lasting sometimes 3 or 4 hours, with the prospects that she could one day compete at the higher levels of the sport. But when she reached that critical age between 12 to 14 years of age that determines a future in gymnastics, she decided it wasn’t worthwhile to continue. A friend of the family and diving enthusiast suggested that she get into diving. Sydney decided to give it a try and signed up for the high school diving team at the start of this school year’s diving season. “I really didn’t know what to expect,” explained Sydney, as she was now truly a fish out of water, or worse yet a “gymnast in water.” Yikes! There was a lot to get used to as gymnasts are accustomed to landing on their feet
learning and getting better, each week boasting better scores than the week before. She’s broken the school record. Sydney relates “I kept gaining confidence and couldn’t wait to face them [opponents to whom she barely lost] again in the conference finals.” When the conference finals came, Sydney, the young unassuming bright-eyed girl who had only been diving for three months, took 1st place in the White division of the Suburban Conference Championship. “It’s amazing how well she dove,” Coach Halsey relates, “but what is even more amazing is that she is just a freshman who beat juniors and seniors who have been diving for years, and she’s only just started!” This Saturday, February 21, 2015, Sydney will be traveling to St. Peters, Mo. to participate in the State finals. She is not putting too much pressure on herself.
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Photo by R.C. Jones George Hasley and Sydney Jackson