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Free complimentary copy April 10, 2015 • Volume 2, No. 25
www.raytowneagle.com • 75¢
McDonough Wins Mayor’s Race And Four New Aldermen Join The BOA By Diane Krizek Editor Raytown elected Mike McDonough as its new mayor with 57 percent of the vote defeating Ward 4 Alderman Pat Ertz. The victory is not surprising given McDonough’s campaign committee reported over $29,000 in contributions compared to Ertz’s contributions of over $11,000. McDonough’s massive show of financial support was obviously garnered from forging solid relationships and building a reputation of integrity throughout his 40- year career at the Raytown Police Department. McDonough’s thank-you speech at his watch party best illustrates his passion for wanting to be the next Mayor of Raytown: “Thank you for all your help and support. I had no idea when I started that every single day of my life would be campaigning but I had some fantastic help. The main thing is that I made it thanks to you all. I promise I will work my rear off to turn this town around. It’s going to take more than ten aldermen and me on the dais so I am going to be calling on you people in the next year to get in there to help us to turn
this town around and get the things done we’ve all talked about that have been stonewalled all this time. This town is going to be something again. This town is going to be as fantastic as it’s always been, the best people in the world, the best downtown to come, the best everything including the best schools, neighborhoods and everything else that goes with it. We’re going to be Raytown. We’re going to be proud of it and we’re not going to talk bad about her anymore.”
Alderman Race
The makeup of the Board of Aldermen will change dramatically with the election of four new aldermen. Only three aldermen are left from the early years of the Bower administration. The four newbies will join Aldermen Josh Greene, Janet Emerson and Jason Greene who are in the second year of their first term. The BOA will include three former charter commissioners, empowered with knowledge acquired from the charter creation process: Jason Greene, Janet Emerson and Mark Moore. Ward 1 Newcomer Karen Black defeated incumbent, Joe Creamer, and Greg
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp and Police Chief Jim Lynch came out to join McDonough’s watch party Walters with 38 percent of the vote. Walters garnered 35 percent and Creamer got 27 percent. Ward 2 Incumbent Jim Aziere kept his seat with 53 percent of the vote, defeating Steve Guenther, whose time was also spent explaining the charter, received 33 percent and Chris Rathbone, 14 percent. Ward 3 Despite the tragic loss of his son
during his campaign, Mark Moore managed to defeat his opponents with 46 percent of the vote for the seat vacated by Charlotte Melson. Ryan Myers won 44 percent and Sterling Brown, who was not able to campaign due to health issues, received 9 percent. Ward 4 Steve Meyers defeated Mary Jane Van Buskirk by 52 percent of the vote. The seat was vacated by
The Raytown Herb Lady
By Lisa Bankston Have you eaten a Black-Eyed Susan lately or possibly chewed the bark of a Willow Tree? Have you ever added lavender bath salts to your tub and soaked your stress away? Throughout human history plants have been used for food flavoring, medicine and even perfume. Modern pharmaceuticals had their origin in plant life and drug companies are making millions from the very weeds you see alongside of the road. It could take a person years to study what plants are edible or not but there is a much easier way to discover natural remedies than munching on flowers in your backyard that could send you to the hospital. That remedy you might be seeking could be found right here in Raytown at The Herb Lady. The Herb Lady is an herbal health store owned and operated by Susan Walker. Susan is a 1974 Raytown South High School alumna who began working in the health care industry and became fascinated with natural alternatives
to the use of synthetic pharmaceuticals. Ten years ago while ironically working in healthcare, Susan was diagnosed with Multiply Sclerosis (MS). Although the cause of this disease is still not known, it damages the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and
the spinal cord. As MS progresses the nervous system loses its ability to communicate with the brain and thus one cannot control body movement. Susan immediately began a designated treatment of prescriptions; however she had adverse side effects. She then decided to get serious about alternatives available and studied scientific evidence about the effectiveness of herbal medicine. Under the guidance of a pharmacists and friend, Susan started an herbal health regiment and began taking supplements that helped fight the inflammatory disease of MS. Her last doctor’s report showed no new lesions and reflected positive results from her natural therapy. While on her mission to
Raytown Fails To Pass Proposed Charter AGAIN HOME RULE
CHARTER
By Diane Krizek Editor is moving next week to 11563 E. 63rd street in the Woodson Shopping Center. The current location will be closed the week of April 13th and reopen for business at the new location on April 21st. That week The Herb Lady will have grand opening specials and giveaways. (Store hours are: Tuesday through Friday 9 to 6, Saturday 9 to 4 and closed Sunday and Monday.) So before you run out and eat a bunch of dandelions in the yard, please visit The Herb Lady and investigate all the ways of healing. Susan Walker is a delightful local neighbor who is interested in your health and welfare and just wants to find a way to make you feel better and enjoy “looking not eating” the Black-Eyed Susans.
fight MS she opened her own herbal health store in her hometown so she could help others with what she had learned. The Herb Lady currently carries over 350 varieties of dried herbs and teas in glass jars that shoppers buy by the ounce. Each jar spells out the traditional benefit of the herb, such as Dandelion Leaf “Good for kidney health” or Chicory Root “Support for liver problems.” Susan also stocks an estimated 500 essential oils, 500 vitamins and supplements, aroma-
Pat Ertz who chose to run for mayor. Meyers will have to give up his position on the Planning & Zoning Committee. Ward 5 Newcomers, Eric Teeman and Barry Park competed for the seat vacated by Michael Lightfoot. Teeman defeated Park with 58 percent of the vote.
therapy, incense, natural beauty products, music, books, perfume fragrances, healing crystals and stones, jewelry and even the old fashion ear wax candles. My grandpa used these and I’m still trying to convince my husband to try them. Susan always recommends buyers to consult their health care professional before use and that the products in her store do not replace the advice of a licensed physician. The Herb Lady has been located in the shopping nook at 6520 Raytown Road for years, but the store
Passage of the adoption of the city charter draft failed 1903 to 1537 votes. The anti-charter campaign launched by the Committee for Professional Government won by dishing out loads of misinformation. Voters were told the charter promoted an earnings tax which was not true. Issues were raised over the Parks and Recreation oversight, the gutting of the mayor’s powers which are few, but more important to some was the residency requirement of the city administrator. Voters were led to believe that the proposed charter would force out the current city admin who does not live in the city because it requires residency of the city admin. In actuality, the charter honored all contracts that were currently in place, including the city admin’s employment contract. During the debate process, the question of whether or not the Board of Aldermen had the authority to waive the ordinance’s residency requirement for the current city admin arose because of the way the ordinance was written. In conclusion, the Committee for Professional Government was not so professional by its propaganda campaign based on misinformation rather than truth, by not understanding the fundamentals of amending
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