Free complimentary copy October 9, 2015 • Volume 2, No. 50
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REAP building named after long-time director Friends, colleagues and city officials gathered at Raytown Emergency Assistance Program headquarters Saturday to celebrate the 20-year career of Al Brown, the organization’s longtime director who retired in July. During the party, Mayor Mike McDonough read a proclamation establishing a new name for the building: The Al Brown REAP Building. Holly Grimwood, REAP’s director since July, said the board of directors came up with the idea. She said the signage on the outside of the building won’t change but a plaque in Brown’s honor will be hung inside the building.
Photos by Kris Collins Guess Y & Friends warms up at Al Brown’s retirement party Oct. 3.
Al Brown, right, sits and greets those in attendance of the celebration of his 20-year career as the director of Raytown Emergency Assistance Program.
For more information about REAP call 816-356-0054 or visit raytownreap.org
Fall colors expected in mid-October
By Kris Collins Though it’s not an exact science, the Missouri Department of Conservation expects fall colors to sweep through the Kansas City area in mid-October. “Generally speaking, Oct. 15 is a good date,” said Bill Graham, media specialist for Kansas City. “MidOctober at least is when peak color is expected, although it can vary a week or two in either direction.”
Predicting when the peak colors will hit is somewhat of difficult thing to pinpoint as Missouri has a variety of trees, shrubs and vines, each with its own schedule for changing leaves. As a result, Missourians may enjoy a fall color season that may last four to six weeks. Sassafras, sumac, and Virginia creeper are some of the earliest to change, beginning in mid-September. By late September, black gum, bittersweet, and dogwood are turn-
ing. Colors are typically fading and the leaves beginning to drop from the trees by late October. “The condition we’ve had recently are actually pretty good because we’ve had some bright sunny days – bright sunny days will help the trees produce sugars which is going to help bring out the reds and the oranges,” said Missouri Department of Conservation Community Forester Wendy Sangster. “Cool nights will kind of trap it in there.
That combination is good. “We have had a lot of moisture over the growing season this year so a lot of trees have had fungal leaf disease. Some of those trees are just turning brown and dropping leaves. They’re not going to be that spectacular. It’s kind of hard to predict. Everything kind of looks like it should lead to pretty good color this year. We haven’t had a whole lot of moisture here recently so it’s hard to predict. I think it could be a
pretty good year, but it may be kind of spotty.” Missouri’s fall color may be observed from almost anywhere, but a few notable locations are: Highways 45 and 224, along the Missouri River; Big Buffalo Creek and Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area; Maple Woods and White Alloe Creek Natural Areas; Knob Knoster State Park; and Forest Hills and Mount Washington Cemeteries.
Raytown gets first yoga studio By Kris Collins Stephanie Haynes moved back to Missouri after years of working on the East Coast, and she brought something back with her: Raytown’s first yoga studio. Haynes started My Yoga Centre, located next to Benetti’s Coffee Experience, in August and says her business is receiving a warm welcome. “It’s been a great reception from Raytown,” she said. “People would just walk in and say, ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’” Haynes was first exposed to yoga in Philadelphia, where she worked for a nonprofit organization for 17 years. “There, there was a studio on every corner and so it was easy to bike or walk catty-corner to a yoga studio,” she said. “I had a lot of back issues from driving, from traveling,
I had a lot of stress issues, just generally anxiety, stomach issues, and I started yoga and it pretty much changed my life. I felt as though I just had a much healthier lifestyle with a pretty basic yoga practice just two, three times a week.” When Haynes returned to Missouri in 2011, the lack of yoga studios within convenient driving distance spurred a decrease in her yoga regiment, and her health issues returned. Having been open for five weeks, she’s working to make classes accessible for all. “We started with 11 classes that went through the end of September and starting Oct. 10 we added six more,” she said. In the new block of classes, Haynes added a community class every Sunday from 4 to 5 p.m., which can be attended with a $6 donation.
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“We wanted to do something that brings people in that otherwise maybe could do it, so at least once a week maybe someone could afford $6,” she said. She says her goal is to make her business more than a yoga studio, hence the name My Yoga Center, as in a shared interest or possession. Haynes plans next year to work out some sort of collaboration with the school district to offer after-school yoga for young students that focuses on self-esteem, self-acceptance and body-acceptance. Haynes is also planning more activities, workshops and services. “I wanted it to be a yoga center because I wanted it to be yoga-focused, but so much more than you come, individually work out and then you leave,” she said. “I just really want it to be a place of community, and it’s really starting to become that.”
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Photo by Kris Collins Jamie Mason, center, teaches a chair yoga course at My Yoga Centre, located at 6111 Blue Ridge Blvd. The studio opened in August as Raytown’s first yoga studio.
My Yoga Centre has classes for all skill levels and ages. More information on the center and its classes
is available at MyYogaCentre.org, or by calling 816-301-0832.
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