Liberace Page 4
Green Chili Canes Page 7
Basketball Jamboree Page 8
Free complimentary copy December 5, 2014 • Volume 2, No. 10
www.raytowneagle.com • 75¢
THCF Awards $28,690 In Grants To Benefit Raytown Truman Heartland Community Foundation hosted its annual grants luncheon on Friday, November 14, 2014, where a total of 54 grants were awarded to nonprofits totaling more than $255,000, an alltime high for the foundation. The event was attended by 180 people at the Hilton Garden Hill in Independence. This year, $90,000 in grants was awarded for Children’s Education programs in our community thanks to the estate gift of Dr. Carl Jelley. The Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council also participated by making their own grants to eight organizations totaling $2,200 from their own endowed grant-making fund. The Junior Service League (JSL) made three grants totaling $8,500 and six donors made grants from their Donor Advised Funds to add $20,000 to the total available. At the luncheon, 12 new members of the Heartland Legacy Society were recognized bringing total membership to 107 members. A significant portion of the grants awarded at the luncheon was made possible by the gifts of eight individuals who left a gift to the foundation when they passed away through an estate gift: Dorothy D. Bay, J.D. Browning, Beverly A. Cathcard, Dr. Carl Jelley, Margaret Hurt, Homer McWilliams, Marcella Morgan, Marjorie Pollard. The Raytown community will benefit from $28,690 in grants awarded to the following organizations.
lege tours and ACT registration fees for students of Raytown, Raytown South and Van Horn High School. Additional funding of $300 came from the Youth Advisory Council, $2,455 from the Glenn and Ada Betts Family Fund and $100 from the Linda and Mike Gerding Family Fund. Raytown Arts Council Awarded $1,500 for Summer Musical 2015 to purchase a set of body microphones. Raytown Christian Church Awarded $1,211 for Raytown Summer Lunch Ministry. Additional funding of $500 came from
the I Love My Valley Fund in honor of the Mesimer Family, $289 from the Cliff and Diane Jones Foundation, $500 from the Youth Advisory Council and $100 from the Linda and Mike Gerding Family Fund. Parents as Teachers Program, Raytown C-2 School District Awarded $11,000 for Wraparound Raytown program that provides health, nutrition and early childhood education to low income families. For the complete list of grant awardees, visit THCF.org and select Grant & Scholarships on the menu bar then select Grant Recipients.
City of Raytown - EMS
Raytown Christian Church
Missouri College Advising Corps
Raytown Arts Council
Parents as Teachers Program, Raytown C-2 School District
City of Raytown – EMS Awarded $1,780 for Child Safety Seat Program that provides child safety seats and installation for families in need. Additional funding of $720 came from the Samuel W. Edmunds Charitable Fund. Jewish Family Services Awarded $5,000 to expand its Help@Home Subsidies program to assist Raytown senior citizens by fixing leaky faucets, cleaning gutters and moving furniture. Missouri College Advising Corps Awarded $3,245 to support col-
Grant checks were presented by Phil Hanson, CEO of THCF, (far left) and Martha Cockerell, Chair of the THCF Board of Directors (far right). Photos by Aaron Lindberg Photography
Christmas In The Park Now Open It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas around Longview Lake, and Jackson County invites the public to take in the sights and sounds of its annual holiday Christmas in the Park. The 27th Annual Christmas in the Park features nearly 175 animated displays and 300,000 colored lights set up at Longview Lake Campground. It remains open until December 31. While admission is free, 35 different charities will share in the donations made voluntarily by the thousands of people who visit the display. In the 26 previous years, Christmas in the Park has generated over $1 million for local charities. Mark Hite, Longview Lake Park foreman, has been working on Christmas in the Park since its inception and had a hand in the design and/or construction of all the lighted displays. As this year’s premiere drew near, Hite and his crew were in the maintenance barn at the park, working on the last of two
new displays – one featuring an animated scene of toy soldiers who fall down after a cannon fires. Hite said it was inspired by the march of the wooden soldiers, a featured scene in the annual Christmas spectacular of the Radio City Rockettes. This year’s second new display is a salute to military veterans.
“Most of Christmas in the Park displays have been switched from their original incandescent light bulbs to newer technology LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, which use less electricity and thus cost less to operate. Still, it takes about nine miles of extension cords to power the displays,” said Hite.
Hite is entirely self-taught when it comes to display design. He sketches out his designs and then translates his drawings to aluminum wire lashed to a metal frame. Colored rope lights are then used to outline the figures or letters. The department tries to create two new displays each year.
Parks + Rec Director Michele Newman said her department begins planning for Christmas in the Park in February of each year, when the organizing committee holds its initial meeting. The 25-person Longview crew does most of the setup and teardown, augmented by a handful of other department employees in the final weeks before opening. “Christmas in the Park is one of several holiday traditions in Jackson County,” said Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders. “They not only give our families a great opportunity to celebrate the holidays together, but also provide all of us the chance to give back to some of the wonderful charities in our community.” To reach the campground, from I-470 take the View High Drive exit and go south about two miles to Southwest Third Street. From there, signs will direct you to Christmas in the Park.