Clearing hurdles Page 2
Cajun creation Page 7
Rotary reads Page 8
Free complimentary copy April 11, 2014 • Volume 1, No. 28
www.raytowneagle.com • 75¢
JSL Competed In Week Long Competition To Renovate Apartments For Homeless Teens The Junior Service League of Independence Provisional Class of 2014 organized a week long project from March 31 through April 5 in which active and sustaining members of the organization competed to renovate two studio apartments. The redesigned apartments are located on Steppingstone’s Kansas City campus at 5100 Noland Road. The goal of project, “Extreme Apartment Makeover: Stepping Stone Edition”, was to provide local, young women in need with fully furnished, beautifully designed apartments with all the amenities and JSL members know what girls like and appreciate. Eden Dowler, the Vice President of this year’s Provisional Class is a Raytown resident who led the way to make this project possible. Although Steppingstone is located in Kansas City, many of the students in its program attend Raytown Schools and work in Raytown. Continued on page 7
Pictured are: Joy Hobick, Amy Hollon, Shelly Kliefoth, Natalie Nowiszewski, Cathy Tharp and Paula Gamble
Providing local, young women in need with fully furnished, beautifully designed apartments with all the amenities is the goal of the JSL project.
Jackson County Moves Forward With Eastern Jackson County Courthouse Renovations For the second time in two years, Jackson County is taking on the task of completing a major renovation to one of its courthouses. At the regular weekly meeting of the Jackson County Legislature on Monday, April 7, County Executive Mike Sanders and Presiding Judge Marco Roldan of the 16th Circuit Court provided an update on the planned renovations for the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence.
A rendering of what the courthouse will look like upon completion.
County Executive Mike Sanders (center) and Presiding Judge Marco Roldan (right) giving an update to the county legislature on renovations to the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse.
Some of the work is already underway. In January, Jackson County Public Works crews began tuck pointing the exterior of the courthouse, which was last renovated in 1972. Tuck pointing is a process that involves restoring the joints of a building so it is sealed properly and protected from water leaks. That work will be completed in early summer.
As that work is finished, bids will go out for the interior renovations. Highlights of the interior work will include five new courtrooms and a new jury room that features double the square footage and capacity as it stands cur-
rently. “When this project is complete, we believe this facility will be able
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Former Raytown Science Teacher Named To National Teachers Hall Of Fame
Jan Alderson, former Raytown science teacher, was one of five inductees in the 2014 National Teachers Hall of Fame after a rigorous nomination/ application process. Alderman began teaching 45 years ago in the Raytown School District and retired after 31 years. After she retired, the Shawnee Mission School District invited her to make use of its 23-acre environmental science laboratory that includes a creek for water and invertebrate testing where she has spent the last 14 years working under Dr. Joe Gilhaus. Tes Mehring, board member of the Emporia-based National Teachers Hall of Fame recognized Alderson last month at a Shawnee Mission South High School assembly. Also present was Mark Hoffman who has a PhD in bacteriology and is a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He studied under Alderson at Raytown South High School in the 1980s and attributed her inspiration and influence in his career which also included a stint at Cerner. Over her career, Alderson has received other teaching awards, one of which was finalist in the National Aeronautic’s and Space Administration’s Teacher in Space Program. The program ended in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded and killed teacher Christa McAuliffe. The National Teachers Hall of Fame was established in 1992 and has its home at Emporia State University in Kansas. Alderson is the ninth Kansas educator to be so honored in the hall’s 22-year history and the sixth Kansas City area educator among its 115 inductees. Alderson will be formally inducted during ceremonies in May in Washington, D.C., and in June in Emporia.