Take Me to the River Jay Kerner Publisher/ River Rat
If we had a sea shore, you’d see us beside it, (Possibly peddling shells). If we had archeological sites, we’d dig ‘em. If we had a mountain we’d be “goin’ and tellin’ on it” or at the very least, just “comin’ around it.” But we don’t have those things. (Sorry, Monkey Mountain doesn’t count.) We don’t have an arch or a needle, a canyon or a gorge. It seems like just about any place you can think of is known for some feature of geography or engineering. What about us? Wait a minuite. Remember the river? We didn’t think so. You know, that anonymous ribbon of muddy water that flows past us 24/7/365? Unnoticed but for a handful of what we’ve heard some young people refer to as “urban campers.” The river is the biggest thing we have here, and we treat it like an afterthought. Think about other cities on rivers. River-cities! Are we one? Of course not. We used to be! Shoot, that’s the whole reason this spot on the map came to be in the first place. This is the part of the story where we could easily lament the sad state of our so-called riverfront, but that doesn’t fit with our whole, “celebrating the coolest local stuff” tagline. Our riverfront isn’t cool, but we can celebrate the potential, and we have plenty of that! We need to remember the river. Celebrate it! It’s what we’ve got. We need to use it and enjoy it. We need to gather at it. We need to clean it up and fix it up, and reclaim it for public use. We need to make it easier to get to and to get into. We need to relocate things that take away from it. We need to give people plenty of good reasons to go there. We can make the riverfront cool again. It can be one of our very best things instead of one of our worst. Imagine a developed riverfront starting north of the Heritage Park Complex and running all the way south of downtown. We could have a kick-ass marina in there somewhere. An improved port facility with the amenities to attract shippers. A riverfront ballpark with a real, minor league team. There should be a state of the art campgrounds for visitors. And some sort of improved or replaced Civic Arena, built for the future instead of the minimalist approach that built the existing one. But no matter the wish list, it will require all kinds of public/private cooperation. We know a lot of the players involved. City and county governments. Federal agencies. Hotels are part of it and so is the Casino whether they move downtown or stay where they are. 229 will have to be dealt with one way or another.. A major component will have to be some kind of pedestrian walkway over the tracks. They have those all over. We don’t have to re-invent
anything there. Let’s go see what works in other river cities and copy the best stuff. Progress in other parts of town is wonderful, but we feel developing the riverfront should be our highest civic priority. Like Ron Allen on page 4, we were also under the impression that there’s some hotel/motel tax monies earmarked for that purpose. That means mostly out-of-town dollars fund the thing! We love the heck out of that! A lot of local labor would be put to the task. A rising tide of tourism raises a whole big bunch of boats. But as far as we’re concerned, community pride would be the biggest thing. Imagine taking your family’s visitors to a revitalized riverfront! Perhaps you’ve heard of San Antonio’s Riverwalk. I used to do some business there in the late 70’s. There was a river but nobody used it much. I remember it as kind of dirty and industrial if anything. If you would have compared it then, to our current situation, it was much worse. But somebody had an idea. Today San Antonio’s Riverwalk has completely reinvigorated that city. It’s now a vacation destination. People will go there for long weekends and completely forget the Alamo! We could have something cool like that here, but with our own unique spin on it. It’s our biggest natural asset and we’re looking the other way as it flows past our doors. That sound you hear behind you is opportunity knocking with both fists as it goes by. Let’s answer the damn door! If we fail to address our riverfront… we think we’re all missing the boat!
The Regular Joe
phone 816-617-5850 read us online at www.theregularjoepaper.com email us at email@theregularjoepaper.com snail mail us at The Regular Joe P.O. Box 1304 St. Joseph, Mo. 64502
Riverfront Development: Still Waiting for our Ships to Come in Ronald R. Allen Cities across the country are redeveloping their riverfronts for recreational and economic development. St. Joseph has approximately 2.5 miles of riverfront that is greatly underutilized. We do have a walking trail, a boat dock and a downtown Riverfront Park. I believe our riverfront could be much more. A few ideas could include a rest room close to the nature center and lighting on the walking trail. The downtown Riverboat Landing would make a great venue for eating, listening to music and viewing sunsets. Refurbish the existing building and repair the rest rooms to make it available to a potential tenant. The unused 80’ of Boat Dock could be installed in this area for river access and a pedestrian bridge to cross over the railroad linking the walking trail to downtown. At the north end of the walking trail, the city owns a large tract of land, north and west of Heritage Park. A long talked about marina and campground would fit this location, leaving room north of Heritage Park to replace the Northside Ballfield we will lose to the Blacksnake Creek Overflow Project. A marina was included in the 1990 and 2002 Riverfront Master Plans, and riverfront development was a goal of several city councils. According to a 2014 Community Survey, citizens chose riverfront recreational development as number 2 on the list of items they wanted city leaders to give the most emphasis, with Park Maintenance number 1. An election flyer distributed at City Hall, listed a marina and RV campground as projects to be funded by the 3% increase in the hotel tax, which was passed by the voters on June 7, 2011. The funds generated by the tax increase from the Holiday Inn would fund downtown projects, while the tax increase from the hotels in the rest of St. Joseph would be grouped together for riverfront development, although no projects have been built after the election. To date, around $1.8 million has been collected for riverfront development, with a projected $10 million total over the twenty year life of the tax. This money can be leveraged by the many grant opportunities available, keeping taxpayer investment to a minimum. An example is Paducah, Ky, which is building a $10 million riverfront park and marina, and after all the grant commitments are deducted, their matching funds outlay is only an estimated $320 thousand. It was proposed in the election flyer that a public/private partnership be used for development of the marina. An example can be seen upriver in Sioux City, Ia., which is about the same size as St. Joseph. Sioux City owns the land and funded the excavation and parking lot. The site was leased to an operator who installed docks for over 200 boats, then built a restaurant and a Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. A marina can provide a huge economic benefit to our community. An economic study estimated a 200 boat marina would have an economic impact of around $1.5 million per year in a city of our size. A boating facilities development portfolio states a project of this size provides around 60 jobs in the community with a payroll in excess of $1million. This is just for a marina and the monetary impact would be greater if a site for a
restaurant and RV facilities are included in the design. RV spots and boat dock slip rentals pay the same 6% tax to the city as any hotel room. Half of this money would go back to the development fund helping to recoup the taxpayers’ investment and fund additional projects. Every year these projects would provide an economic benefit to our community that is about the same size as our monetary investment. There are 290,217 boats registered in Missouri with an estimated economic impact of 3.05 billion dollars and provides 23,976 jobs. The lack of boating and other recreational facilities in St. Joseph keeps us from realizing our recreational and economic potential. St. Joseph is located on one of the longest waterways in the US. However, without these facilities, the general public will go to other communities to spend their money. The city already owns the land, grants are available, along with matching funds from the hotel tax increase. These projects were approved by St. Joseph voters on June 7, 2011. A campground and marina next to the casino would make our riverfront a regional destination. We should get started on these projects ASAP for our share of recreational spending.
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Soles for Christ Shoe Program 2015
Donations of shoes are being sought for the annual Soles for Christ Shoe Program sponsored by AFL-CIO Community Services. The goal of the program is to provide a new pair of shoes for each child to start school in and in turn boost the child’s self-esteem and enthusiasm for the coming school year. Any school age child in need is eligible. We would like to invite you to participate in this program by donating new shoes to our agency to be given away to those children in need. When purchasing your donations please keep in mind that athletic (tennis) shoes are best, as some schools do not allow flip-flop or slip-on styles. Children’s size 9 or larger is recommended (no infant sizes please). You are welcome to dropped off your donations at our agency, 1203 North 6th Street. Hours for drop off are 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. If possible, we are asking that donations arrive by Wednesday, August 6 so we can get a good count on the number of shoes that will be available. We are hoping to reach 1,500 donated shoes. Since its inception in 2003, the program has distributed over 8,906 pairs of shoes. Last year, 1,237 pairs of shoes with a value of $30,925 were distributed. The shoe distribution will be Monday, August 10 from 8 am to 4 pm and Tuesday, August 11, 8 am to 6 pm. There is no preregistration needed. Parents or guardians need to bring children with them to the distribution. They also need to furnish socks for trying on the shoes.
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion Jay Kerner Publisher/ Bon Vivant
Anyone who has seen me out and about, knows how little I normally care about my appearance. I purposely avoid Walmart so I don’t end up in any “People of” compilations. However during my teenage years I had a couple of very specific areas where I totally bought in to the popular fashion trends of the day. The first were Converse, Chuck Taylor basketball shoes. Oh man! We were poor kids. We got no-name, no-tread rejects from Block’s Super Discount Store. Leon threw in a handy pocket comb. Nobody in our neighborhood paid any attention to what kind of sneakers you had on. But all of a sudden, in the late 60’s, “Chucks” started showing up on our playground. Black canvas low-tops. (Only a total dweeb would wear high tops in those days.) One pair after another, the cool kids had ‘em. The jocks all did for sure. That was my first experience with discrimination. The kids in the Chucks totally lorded it over the Keds, the Red Ball Jets and all the rest of us. It was a seriously real thing, and seemed like the biggest deal in the entire world for a 6th grade boy at that point in history. The worst was when somebody way less cool than you got some, and leapfrogged you in being picked for kickball. Good thing there was no 11th Commandment about coveting another’s footwear, cuz my soul would have been in big trouble, Jack. I coveted big time. I used to ride the bus downtown and drool over them at Spartan Sporting Goods, but at $12 a pair, they were just a dream, when our whole family could be shod for the same money in our usual shoddier brands. My time as a social pariah finally ended (temporarily) when I opened a box with a pair of green suede Converse for Christmas in 1970. No foolin’ I just about peed myself! I wore them to school in the snow that first day back after break. (Duh!) I was welcomed into the fraternity like I finally figured out the secret handshake. And immediately looked around for some poor bastards to lord it over. It sucked to be them. I may have been wearing a threadbare T, and high-water pants, but baby I had the right shoes and nothing else mattered. I rode that wave of marginal acceptance for a few years, till the start of my sophomore year of High School. That’s when Big Bell Levis hit my universe like a denim covered wrecking ball. Damn it! My shoes were cool but you couldn’t see past my noname jeans! There was suddenly, one and only one, socially acceptable leg covering garment. Big Bell Levis. Nothing else. The other name brands were immediately shunned in mass, especially anything straight-leg. Heaven forbid! A guy like me in Big Yanks from K-Mart was pitied like a leper. You’d see people stare, then look away real quick, embarrassed. I was sacking groceries at the time, and knew I needed
to sack-up and spring for some acceptable jeans. A.J. August was the place. Downtown again, on the bus. I remember being led to the stacks, which were lit with spotlights like a holy altar of coolness. I was handed a pair in my size and I was giddy with excitement. They were stiff with new. The blue was the color of summer midnight just a little bit outside of town. As soon as the clerk left me in the dressing room, I held them to my nose and inhaled as hard as I could. I smelled the times. I smelled rock-and-roll. I smelled free love and political unrest. Or it could have been insecticide, I don’t know. What I did know, was that I was once again allowed at the cool table. People who had never noticed me, suddenly did. People I’d previously gotten along fine with suddenly looked at me like a turn-coat or something. I heard a bit of “who does he think he is?”, but I didn’t care. I had the right jeans. I was somebody now. At least for a while. My senior year was when disco hit. The music went to… well, let’s just say it wasn’t good. And all of a sudden, people were going polyester. The “leisure suit” was a thing. Sorry, but the kid wasn’t having any. Not long after that, the Queen came into the picture, and immediately started shaping my wardrobe. If you’ve ever seen me look even halfway decent, anytime in the last 3 plus decades, it’s her doing. The rest of the time it’s been up to me and you get what you get. Left to my own devices, I’d be in tie/dye and overalls every day. Hey, it’s a look!
A Joe Wedding
Pictures and Party Planning
Lura Landis Kirby is something else! We were excited to hear she was doing the wedding photography for our St. Joe Wedding, because she’s so funny and cool, but mostly because we knew what our St. Joe couple was going to end up with. We’ve seen her stuff before. In fact we wrote a piece about her business when she first moved it downtown 6 years ago. Looking back at it now, there was a description that we think still fits. Lura is a “whirling dervish” of activity. She’s moving, she’s nudging, she’s patting things and fluffing things. She’s nudging a chin there and repositioning an elbow just so. She’s squatting, then on her belly, then on her tiptoes, leaning one way then the other changing angles, composing light and shadow through her lens. We’ve seen her gently mold a sleeping newborn like it was made of clay. But that’s just half of it. Then she gets it all into the computer and uses her magic to take an already wonderful picture and tweak it the tiniest bit, to turn it into something that can take your breath away. Everyone has a camera. Everyone can take pictures. You can have anybody take your wedding pictures, your Senior pictures, your baby pictures or any others. You’ll probably get some nice shots. There are a lot of talented amateurs out there. But if it’s something you really care about, check out Lura’s work before you make a decision. Her Studio is at 724 Francis and her number is 816-749-4080. See some of her work online at www.luralandis.com. There’s a difference. You can see it. (Like the one we grabbed at random from her website.) We were’t familiar with Linda Milbourn or her business Think Outside the Box Event Planners, but our St. Joe Bride found them on facebook and booked them to decorate the wedding. (The picture at right is from another
recent event.) She talked to some other places first. They wanted what seemed like an exorbitant amount of money to rent you the same limited selection of decorations you’ve seen at all of your friends’ weddings. And their calendars were booked months in advance to boot! Sounded like a whole lot of same ol’ same ol’ to our bride. She had her own ideas. She didn’t want her wedding to look like everybody else’s, but knew she didn’t have the time or expertise to pull it off herself. Then she found Linda. She doesn’t have a showroom, or a storefront of any kind. She works out of her home. She has an assortment of wedding decorations and access to anything else. But you’re not limited to her selections. For instance, our St. Joe Bride chose a few of their items, rented a few things from other places, and made a few things, too. They put their heads together and came up with a design plan that fit her dreams as well as her budget. Best of all, she doesn’t have to sweat any of the details. It’s handled. And she knows her St. Joe Wedding will be a one-of-a-kind evening to remember.
Live Music Hi-Lites Amnesia Too St. Joseph Avenue
SAT AUG 1: SCOTTY & THE SOULTONES 9PM FRI AUG 7: 1000 YEARS WIDE HOSTS ROCK SHOW 8PM SAT AUG 8: BBQTIONERS 9PM SAT AUG 29: GRINDSTONE CREEK
Cafe’ Acoustic 2605 Frederick
ALL SHOWS 9:30pm unless noted Aug 1 Sexwolph & Violet and the Undercurrents Aug 5 Open Mic hosted by Russell Trautwein Aug 7 If you Nastee & the Perverts Comedy + Live music Variety Show @10pm Aug 8 A Light Within & Debut Hometown show featuring Sisters Of Aug 12 Open Mic hosted by Russell Trautwein Aug 13 Illucid & Public Disturbance Aug 14 BELLOQ @10pm Aug 15 Mad Libby & the Devil & the Southern Fellowship Aug 19 Open Mic hosted by Russell Trautwein Aug 20 Tom Mayfield Bday OPEN MIC Party @10pm Aug 21 Kingfisher & Model Strangers Aug 22 Metal night featuring Until the Wolrd’s End @10:30pm Aug 26 Open Mic hosted by Russell Trautwein Aug 28 CUPCAKE & Universe Contest @10pm Aug 29 Metal night ft. Flesh Hanger & Street Justice @10pm
Coleman Hawkins Park 8th & Felix Imagine Eleven Concert Series Sunday 8/2 The Elders Sunday 8/9 Soca Juke Box
Magoon’s Deli 8th & Locust
Sat 8/1 Slow Your Roll & Low Down Dirty Dirt Band Mon 8/3 Amalgam Jazz Fri 8/7 The Motors Sat 8/8 Side Track Thurs 8/13 Jason Riley Fri 8/14 Jamizon Cloud Sat 8/15 Brother Bagman Thurs 8/20 Jeff Lux Fri 8/21 Amanda Fish Band Sat 8/22 Instant Karma Fri 8/28 Darling Nicki Sat 8/28 Low Down Dirty Dirt Band & 96 Bulls
The Lucky Tiger 718 Francis
First Saturday with live music all afternoon.
Chris Jamison CD Release Party at Magoon’s August 14th Chris Jamison has a hippie soul. He’d have fit right in to the whole late 60’s peace, love and rock & roll vibe. You can see it in his clothes and in his hair. You can hear it in his speech. But you can really really hear it when he plays guitar. And he does that like nobody’s business. We first heard him years ago playing lead for The Bridge. They were a fun band that did a good job with popular covers, but you could tell he had more chops than he could show with that kind of material. We’ve since heard him with lots of other lineups, whether his own, or sitting in with a slew of others on their projects. We think he gets the best chance to flex his guitar muscles in his band, Jamizon Cloud. We’ve heard them live numerous times in different venues and always think how hard it must be to mix the sound for these guys. They’re so all over the place musically, (that’s meant as a compliment, by the way). They can be thrashy and trashy, grungy and grody. They can
be loud. Very loud. But then change it up with something soft and sweet. Chris is an accomplished player, but he likes his toys, too. He’s got pedals. Wah-wah’s.and so on. Distortion dejour. We’re excited to tell you that Chris has a new disk out called Sun Two Shine that offers up a thick slice from his bag of tricks.. He was kind enough to hand us an advanced copy, knowing in advance that if we didn’t like it, you’d never hear it from us. We’re happy to pimp stuff we think you’ll like, but we don’t claim to be critics. We’ve listened to this disk a couple times through so far. It sounds like Summer to us. At the beach. Or cruising the boulevard with the top down. We hear some Santana in there. Some Jack Johnson maybe. We know Chris loves his Zappa, so that idea is never far removed from his sound, at least to these ears. The band is having a CD Release Party at Magoon’s on August 14th. Catch the show if you can, and pick up a copy yourself. If you can’t make it, they’ll have copies on hand after that, when you stop for lunch.
The Primacy of Primary Food Jesus said it best. According to the gospel account of His temptation in the Wilderness by Satan, when the devil tempted Him to make the stones of the desert into loaves of bread, He replied, “Man (humans) shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Fast Forward to the 21st Century where we find New York Times street and fashion photographer, Bill Cunningham, at a fancy banquet on the Upper East Side, Invited by the hostess to partake of the sumptuous appetizers, Mr. Cunningham tersely replied, “No thank you. I eat with my eyes.” Both Jesus and Bill Cunningham were referencing primary food as opposed to secondary food, the food which we consume every day in the form of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to nourish our bodies. Primary food, on the other hand, nurtures our minds and spirits and because of that role, supercedes secondary food. It’s not that secondary food isn’t important. We’d starve to death without it! But we can eat all the broccoli and blueberries we want and still not be healthy if we are not first nurturing our souls, if you will. Just as secondary food can be broken down into different categories such as fruits, vegetables and nuts, primary food can be divided into components as well. These include relationships, career/purpose, self expression (art), rest and movement, and, last but not least, spirituality. In fact, one of the reasons that many people overeat and/or indulge in foods that are not healthy for them is because they are starving for a lack of primary food and are trying to replace it with secondary food. Let’s take a look at each of the primary foods and how they contribute to our overall health: Spirituality-- This involves a practice that recognizes something or someone bigger than ourselves that we can depend on to live and thrive. It includes religion but also transcends it. A spiritual practice has been linked by researchers to a longer lifespan. Career/Purpose-Boredom kills. Everyone, no matter what their age, needs a purpose for their
lives, a reason to get up and get going every morning. A landmark book entitled The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren explored this concept in detail from a Biblical perspective. Self Expression (Art)-Just as everyone needs a purpose, everyone has been endowed to achieve that purpose with abilities and talents of self expression for the benefit of others. Everyone, in fact, is an artist, not just musicians, painters and writers. Carpenters, quilters, and mechanics are all artists in the truest sense. Rest and Movement--Both our bodies and our minds need exercise to keep them active as well as rest for recuperation and renewal. Both must be incorporated into our lives in a balanced way. There’s a reason we are admonished to work six days but rest the seventh..... Relationships-Life is defined by relationships--with ourselves, our parents, friends, co-workers, teammates, the list could go on. If we want a healthy life, we must have healthy relationships based on mutual trust and respect. Unhealthy relationships make for an unhealthy life. Secondary food can keep our bodies healthy but in order to keep our total being well, which includes our minds and spirits, we must first feed upon primary food! Yours in good health, James Fly, Certified Health Coach
The Glass Eye Gallery at Tobiason Stained Glass Studio, 302 S. 8th St., St. Joseph, Missouri is hosting an art and literature festival featuring local artists and authors on August 29th, 2015 from 2 to 6 p.m. with art projects, readings and book signings, refreshments, and door prizes. Gallery artists, including Kevin Burleson, Jonn Casey, Alice Christgen, James Fly, Jeff Foster, Debbie Gentry, Mary Korneman, Kathy Moppin, Cheryl Sloan, Wanda Taylor, Deborah Weems, Marilyn Weimer, Lin Werner, will be showcasing new pieces of art, including paintings, photography, and ceramics. Fourteen authors, including Irene Alexander, Doc Arnett, Vashti Daise, Connie Dow, Mary Ebrecht, Jeff Foster, Donna Hart, Theresa Henson, Thomas Kirschner, David Noe, James Ozenberger, Andrea Plummer, and Cynde Veale from St. Joseph, and Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist Whitney L. Grady from North Carolina, all with Amazing Things Press of St. Joseph, will be launching their new releases. The books, which include twelve children’s books, three young adult books, four poetry books, a nonfiction book, and a historical fiction novel, will be available for sale with personalized autographs by the authors. Several other local authors, many from the St. Joseph Writers Guild, will be on hand signing and selling their books as well. Authors will also be reading excerpts from their books to visitors. Tobiason Studio is offering a fused glass craft project during the party as well. For just $5, visitors can make a fused glass art project. Artist/musician Tim Morrison will be painting and playing guitar throughout the festival. Free popcorn, ice cream, and other refreshments will be available. Find out more at www.tobiasonstudio.com or www.amazingthingspress.com. Children’s Writer, Donna Hart is also having a book signing at Hastings Entertainment in St. Joseph on Saturday, August 1st from 12:00 – 4:00 pm. To date, she has had published: “Sherry Strawberry’s Clubhouse” (2nd edition), “The Boy Who Loved the Sky”, “Terreben”, “Finally Fall”, “Thankful for Thanksgiving”, “Make Room for Maggie”, “A Cat Named Phyl”, and “The Happy Butterfly.” Some forthcoming titles are: “Sherry Strawberry’s Library Book”, “Sherry Strawberry’s Bird House”, and “The Girl Who Loved the Sea”, among other children’s picture books that are in the works. Her books are also available for purchase on Amazon. com, AmazingThingsPress.com, H, Boji Stone Café in Chillicothe, MO, and at The Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, KS.
photo by Howard Words
Mug Shots
Woods & Bruce Electric “No job too small!” David Bruce, Master Electrician 816-617-1152
The Yoga Room 816-238-7101 emailewcrechr@@hotmail.com
2 Brothers Affordable Local Trash Service. Now taking new customers. 262-2330
Zion UCC Church Open & Affirming 9th & Faraon
Problem with alcohol? We have a solution. AA info: district2@wamo-aa.org 816-471-7229
Now Open 4 Lunch!