Free complimentary copy September 4, 2015 • Volume 2, No. 45
www.raytowneagle.com • 50¢
Raytown South High School stadium kickoff
Photos by Kris Collins Raytown Quality Schools Board of Education members, school staff and students, and community leaders gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 27 for Markland Field Stadium at Raytown South High School.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony held for Raytown South stadium
Raytown Schools Board of Education members, students and school staff, city officials and community leaders gathered at the
new Markland Field Stadium at Raytown South High School Thursday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony ahead of Friday’s game
against Truman High School. Several people spoke at the ceremony and the common denominator was pride.
“I’m proud to finally see a great stadium that we’ve deserved for a very long time,” said Mayor Mike McDonough, a 1973 graduate of
Raytown South High School. “… (Superintendent Allan) Markley and the board members, thank you
South continued on page 2
Raytown South debuts new stadium, falls to Truman By Kris Collins A large crowd at Raytown South High School’s new $3.2 million stadium welcomed the football team to the school’s first home game in 50 years, but the team was unable to pull off a win against Truman High School this past Friday night. The Cardinals got off to a rocky start as a ball carrier fumbled on the kick off after running into one of his teammates and the Patriots offense found its way to the end zone two minutes into the first quarter. Truman’s Will Jenkins made good on the extra point to put his team up 7-0. Raytown answered shortly after the beginning of the second quarter courtesy of
junior wideout Tyree Sorrells on a 30-yard pass from senior playcaller Jabril Cox. The Cardinals executed a fake kick for the PAT and Cox ran the ball in for the two points, putting his team ahead of Truman 8-7. The Truman defense caught Cox in his own end zone with five minutes remaining in the first half to make it 9-8. The Patriots spiked the ball to leave 7.6 seconds on the clock for Jen-
kins to send home a 23-yard field goal to make it 12-8 as both teams headed to the locker room. During halftime Raytown Quality Schools Board of Education members and Superintendent Allan were recognized for their vision of the campus improvement and thanks were extended to the community for its support in the endeavor, Markland Field Stadium. Truman found the end zone again three minutes into the third quarter via pass to Phillip Woolsey. A successfully converted extra point made it 19-8. Raytown’s Cox carried the ball six yards to pay dirt with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter and the team converted the extra
4th annual Raytown Arts & Music Festival a success
point. Truman led the Cardinals 19-15 heading into the last leg of the game. Truman senior Dean Clemons tallied another for his team on a 16-yard run and Jenkins tacked on the extra point to make it 25-15 with five minutes left in the game. Raytown forced Truman to punt with 2:50 on the clock and Cardinals standout Cox scored again with 1:30 remaining in the game. Raytown made good on the extra point and kicked off trailing 25-22. With both teams out of time outs, the Truman QB took a knee with the ball until the clock hit zero. The Cardinals take on Park Hill South away Sept. 4.
City bids work for downtown streetscape project
By Kris Collins
Photo by Grant Pfizenmaier Tom Shipley, left, and Michael Brewer, of the famed Brewer & Shipley, play a tune for the crowd at the 4th annual Raytown Arts & Music Festival Aug. 29. By Kris Collins Thousands of people were at C. Lee Kenagy this past Saturday for the Ray-
town Arts & Music Festival, and by Raytown Parks and Recreation Department Special Events Supervisor Dave Turner’s judgment, the event
was a knock-out on all accounts. “It went really, really well,” he said. “A lot of our main sponsors were just su-
A request for bids for construction in the first phase of the downtown streetscape project in Raytown’s Centralized Business District has been issued and it’s expected the Board of Aldermen will be able to review contracts in early October. The $948,000 first phase of the project will focus on East 63rd Street between Raytown Road and Blue Ridge Boulevard. Raytown Director of Development and Public Affairs John Benson said the development plan was approved by the Missouri Department of Transportation this past month, and the city can now move forward with con-
Festival continued on page 8
Landmark Birthday Page 2
Photo by R.C. Jones Raytown South High School quarterback Jabril Cox scored two of his team’s three touchdowns against Truman High School Aug. 28.
Turn Up Your Tailgate Page 7
struction. “We got a grant to help pay for construction of the first phase, and because of the Federal Transportation Enhancement Grant that is paying for 80 percent of the first phase of construction, the construction plans then have to be submitted to Missouri DOT for their approval,” Benson said. The $483,000 grant covers approximately half of the cost of the first phase. Benson said the city has budgeted $900,000 for phase 1. The project was put on temporary hold approximately two years ago after a first round of bids received for phase 1 construction came in over budget. Benson said the city had to reject
all the bids and enact some cost saving measures — the use of less expensive streetlights, for example — to decrease the cost. An exact start date for construction is unknown. Benson said the start date will depend heavily on the contractor. Regardless of the contractor, he said construction will likely get into full swing in the spring of 2016 and finish later in the year. As outlined in the city’s Streetscape Master Plan, the object of the revitalization is to improve navigation downtown, create sense of place for the downtown area, and to set a standard of quality for future development. The master plan was completed in 1996 and the
Streetscape continued on page 2
Recognition Page 8