Free complimentary copy February 26, 2016 • Volume 3, No. 18
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Raytown South Middle Jazz Band pays tribute to Haley
Standoff ends with arrest of burglary suspect By Kris Collins
By Eric Eckhoff Raytown Arts Council Raytown South Middle School’s award-winning Jazz Band, under the direction of Brenda Kueck, presented a concert Monday evening featuring the music of Bobby Timmons, Consuelo Velazquez, Red Garland, Miles Davis, and legendary Raytown music educator Dr. Charles “Bud” Haley. The ensemble was extremely well-rehearsed. Kueck and the students practice before and after school sometimes five days a week and their diligent effort paid off during this performance. The 21-piece band, comprised primarily of seventh-graders, featured five saxes, five trumpets, five trombones, and six rhythm students. Every section had a feature. Most of the students had the opportunity to improvise a solo as well. Kueck was excited to have such a large crowd that included not only the students’ immediate families but also community members and distinguished Raytown alumni. The audience numbers no doubt were boosted by the tribute to Haley, who was band director at Raytown Middle for many years. When Kueck first began teaching in Raytown, Haley was her mentor. During Haley’s years as a teacher for Raytown schools his bands earned countless awards and accolades. Many of his students have gone on to become professional musicians and teachers. During this performance Haley
performed on tenor saxophone. He improvised solos on a few of the selections. His true passion for teaching was on display during the final two numbers. As the band performed Miles Davis’s “So What,” seventh grade bass player Spencer Starks played a long, melodic solo that emulated the original Miles Davis recording. After the song, Haley left his seat in the sax section to congratulate Starks on a fantastic solo. During the final number, “Blues by Five” by Red Garland, Kueck featured five student soloists in addition to Haley. After Haley had a full solo to himself, he invited seventh grade alto saxophonist CJ Stigler to trade solos with him. Haley played a “lick” and CJ would reply. It was awe inspiring to see a master teacher like Haley use a performance that was supposed to feature himself to encourage jazz musicianship in young students. Among the many ensembles in which Haley performs are the Raytown Community Symphonic Band and the Raytown Arts Council’s pit orchestra for its summer theater. He plays clarinet and saxophone in both groups. Haley will be conducting his original composition “Parody Overture” with the Raytown Community Symphonic Band and the Raytown Arts Council’s Arts Festival April 24 at Raytown High School. He will also be performing with the pit orchestra during the Raytown Art Council’s summer production of Meredith Willson’s “Music Man” in July.
The Raytown Police Department took a burglary suspect in custody Wednesday afternoon after a standoff. Officers were called at approximately 12:11 p.m. to the 8800 block of E. 84th Street in reference to suspicious people walking around and behind a residence. When officers arrived on scene they found a window of the home was broken and two people were inside, at which point officers began setting up a perimeter around the home. One of the suspects ran out of the home and fled the area. He was not found immediately. Tactical officers and crisis negotiators were called to the scene.
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2 more charged in 2015 shooting death By Kris Collins
Social media changing landscape of school threats By Kris Collins Social media has increased personal connectivity and shortened the amount of time for information to be disseminated, but social media applications and websites have also changed how school districts are responding to threats. The Raytown C-II School District is making a proactive effort to stay ahead of the game when it comes to threats and safety of students, considering the ever-changing world of social media. Travis Hux, assistant superintendent of support services with the Raytown School District, said the district has come up with its own assessment process for threats made on the web anonymously. “You don’t want to be wrong. That would be horrible,” Hux said of the decision-making process. “I would think you’d be surprised in general at how many threats are made each day on the hundreds of thousands of school buildings in America. If they called off school every time that happened, we would not have a lot of school going on.” The district has had several threats made against its buildings via social media in the past few months. Most recently, the district became aware of a threat circulating on Instagram, a photo-sharing app, while students were on the way to school. The district uses an assess-
ment system from the Missouri Center for Education Safety for written or call-in threats. The assessment protocol for social media threats, Hux said, is very similar. The detailheavy assessment allows a district to score or rank a threat based on information the district receives or the nature of the threat. “It’s a great tool and it does allow you to have some reasoning behind the decision-making,” Hux said. “It’s not like a snow day where the superintendent and I drive the roads and we have to just make a determination based on the roads we’ve driven. It asks you questions. Did they say this? Do they have a detailed plan? Is it directed at specific individuals?” The district arrived at that safety assessment, in addition to other safety upgrades, after completing a safety overhaul approximately six years ago. The district used a third party to physically examine district buildings and the district’s safety procedures. Still, not every scenario can be planned for, especially when time is a factor in the equation.
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“There’s so much that goes into it it’s just unbelievable,” Hux said. “Then on top of that, I have to balance the environment. We have to have an inviting environment. Parents want to come visit. Kids should feel comfortable while they’re here and not feel like they’re in a prison.” Though the Missouri Center for Education Safety uses what Hux said are best practices, the district supplements its plans with other resources, for example, through the use of private-sector companies that specialize in school safety, one of which that was founded by an exMissouri State Highway Patrolman who was responsible for safety at the schools the governor’s children attended. “There are a lot of resources out there,” Hux said. “One of the way I try to stay informed is I have a TV in my office for the sole purpose of every time one of these events occurs, I can turn it on and glean everything I can from it. I take notes, I start surfing the web and try to get all the details I can. I do that not in a morbid way but I’m looking for weaknesses that were perpetrated and see if
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those weaknesses are in our district. I’d rather learn from other people’s mistakes than mistakes we make in our district.” Though threat assessments and safety procedures can be extremely complicated, simplicity is the key to executing good security. And practice makes perfect. “Ironically, in order for safety plans to work they do have to be extremely simple,” Hux said. “You can’t expect an employee to remember what they’ve read in a threeinch-thick binder. You just can’t expect that. It’s one reason we do physical training. The goal is for it to become second nature. “We talk about the fact that when you’re scared you’re going to function at your lowest level. Whatever is in place has to be done by people functioning at their lowest level. That’s one of the reasons we put things in place ahead of time. It’s one of the reasons doors are shut and locked all day, internal and external.” The district’s philosophy, Hux added, is that stuff doesn’t save people but people save people, which is why the district prefers to spend money on training rather than items. The district is currently working on an intruder defense system, which Hux said he’ll present to the board of education next month. “We’re always looking, always improving, always adding,” he said.
Two men were charged with multiple felonies Tuesday for the 2015 shooting and death of a 3-yearold boy in the 6700 block of Waldron Avenue. Dominique Marchbanks, 24, and 26-year-old Sulif Wilkins, both of Kansas City, are charged with firstdegree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of armed criminal action for the death of 3-year-old Amorian Hale, who was allegedly shot by Marchbanks from a vehicle outside of the Hale home, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. SirTerry L. Stevenson, 23, was charged with the same felonies on June 19, 2015, according to court records. According to court records, Stevenson and Dominque Marchbanks were in a vehicle with D’Shawn “Lumpy” Marchbanks when he was shot and killed on Jan. 30, 2015. Court documents indicate that Wilkins learned shortly before the May 31, 2015, murder of Hale, that residents of 6701 Walrond may be responsible or connected to D’Shawn’s murder. “Phone records will show Salif is on the phone the night before the murder with SirTerry,” Baker said during a press conference Tuesday. “He was again on the phone that morning with SirTerry, and he was even on the phone during the homicide.” Witnesses told police Wilkins was acting odd that morning and talked about having everyone go to the basement of the home that morning. He reportedly left the home moments before the shooting, according to Baker. One June 2, police attempted to stop a gold, four-door sedan described by witnesses as the suspect car, and were led on a pursuit that eventually ended with Stevenson’s crashing of the car and a foot pursuit, police documents state. Baker said Tuesday authorities learned Dominique Marchbanks was the individual who leaned out of the vehicle and fired a weapon into the Hale home. Arrest Warrants were issued for Marchbanks and Wilkins with $1 million and $500,000 bonds. Court records show the two men are not yet in custody. Stevenson is being held on $500,000 bond.
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