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Last day of summer school includes special guest

Billed as the Clown Prince of Basketball, Valentino Willis was a special guest of Hamilton summer school students last Friday. He played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League and averaged 25 points per game, but found his forte in comedy ball. He now conducts clinics and helps Special Olympics and the March of Dimes. His message includes admonitions to listen to parents, say no to drugs, alcohol and cigarettes and to learn the fundamentals of basketball. Here he works with a group of middle school students in calisthenics and basketball stances. (Advocate photo by Anne Tezon)

Early Pony Express deadline

Due to the July 4 holiday falling on a Friday, the deadline for all advertising for the Pony Express advertising supplement will be this Thursday at noon. The Caldwell County News offices will be closed on Friday for the holiday.

Polo Fire Department gets MDC grant

Matching funds grant checks for rural fire departments are being distributed by the Missouri Department of Conservation Forestry Division staff this summer. The Polo Fire Department is one of 82 department that will receive checks of up to $3,000 to help them buy equipment to fight wildfires and structure fires.

The Polo Fire Department received a check for $1,167, which will help firefighters purchase new mobile radios.

Last year for Supt. Yost

Hamilton School Superintendent Steve Yost has told the local board of education he will be retiring at the end of his contract in June of 2009. He said he told the board a few months ago to give the members plenty of time to search for his replacement. “There are 95 superintendent openings, and so few people are going into the field,” explains Yost.

Changes made in 3 polling places for August primary

The Caldwell County Clerk’s office has announced changes in three polling precincts for the upcoming Aug. 5 primary election.

The Davis-Fairview township precinct previously held at Braymer City Hall will be moved to the old gymnasium at Braymer School.

Hamilton I-Gomer Township precinct previously held at the J. C. Penney Museum in Hamilton will be moved to the Family Life Center at the Hamilton United Methodist Church at 104 West Samuel in Hamilton. The Hamilton II precinct previously set up at Hamilton City Hall will also be moved to the Family Life Center building. The two precincts in the Family Life Center building will be separated and treated individually.

Two Polo drivers injured in separate accidents

Kenneth Shelton, 66, of Polo, sustained serious injuries in an accident last Tuesday evening at the Travel Express station on Missouri Route 116 and I-35. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, Shelton was injured when a 1980 Dodge Ram pickup driven by James Reardon, 23, of Raytown was eastbound on Route 116 and slowed to make a left turn into the parking lot of Travel Express and turned into the path of Shelton’s 2004 Ford Taurus, which was westbound on Route 116. Shelton’s vehicle traveled off the north side of the highway and into the parking lot, striking two parked vehicles. Both Shelton and the driver of one of the parked vehicles, Nicholas Adams, 16, of Lathrop, were taken by Tri-County Ambulance to hospitals in the metro area. Adams sustained minor injuries. A summons was issued to Reardon for failure to yield.

Another Polo driver, Kyle Penoyer, 21, was taken to Cameron Regional by Caldwell County Ambulance with minor injuries Monday night after being involved in a head-on accident on Southwest Longhorn Drive. Penoyer was driving a 1989 Volvo west and Karen Henderson, 39, of St. Joseph was eastbound on the gravel road when they met at the crest of a hill. Penoyer crossed the center of the road and struck Henderson. Both

New State Farm agent already involved in community

Hamilton’s new State Farm Insurance agent, Mike Green, has jumped into community activities in only a month of tenure with his new job. He is helping coach a local softball team.

The impending move of the Michael Green family from Kearney to 40 acres near Kidder next month won’t be a big transition. The new Hamilton State Farm agent’s youngest daughter, Sarah, is playing summer softball on the Hamilton girls team and Michael Green is helping Jim Dickey coach the team.

Michael and his wife, Julie, were both raised in Raytown and Michael spent 15 years in the printing business before becoming a Farm Bureau insurance agent in the Parkville area in April of 2000. He was inspired to get into insurance by an uncle, who was a lifetime agent for All-State. “He always said he wished he was a State Farm agent,” says Michael with a smile. The chance to go to work for the biggest insurance company in the nation was like a dream come true for him. He opens up with enthusiasm when he talks about the 96 different products State Farm offers. He’s so sold on their products, he’s doing his mortgage through State Farm Bank and refinanced his car at a great rate with the company.

When the Green family settles on the Joe and Janet Caselman property near Kidder, they’ll be bringing Julie’s Fresian Sport horses and letting them roam on 40 acres instead of the 16 they have in Kearney. Julie owned her own business, The Complete Equestrian, in Kearney for six years and now works for Carter Duffy Prudential in Liberty.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Michala, is a junior at Benedictine College, attending on a basketball scholarship.

Michael is pleased with the high traffic at the Hamilton State Farm office and especially grateful to the team of employees that were already in place, including Darla Whitt, office manager; Scott Crose, who specializes in bank, life and health products, and Martha Rains, receptionist. He hopes to grow the agency even more and add more employees and really serve the clients needs. “I just want to try to live up to Clifford Scott’s legacy,” he admits.

The office is planning an open house at the end of the month, which will mark Michael’s second full month on the job. When asked if he plans to stay, Green says with a mischievous grin, “Me and Martha are gonna be here 25 years. Beyond that, there are no promises.”

Former Thayer employees file countersuit

Less than a month after a suit brought by Thayer Learning Center against five former employees was dismissed without prejudice, those employees have filed a petition for damages against Thayer Learning Center and co-owner Willa Bundy in Caldwell County Circuit Court.

In the petition filed on behalf of Janet Lewellen Traylor, Candessa Williams, Regina Burge, Nanette Burge and Linda Glenn, Attorney John Kurtz alleges the suit against the former employees was filed without probable cause “to enforce rights defendants knew they did not have, in that any person of ordinary prudence would understand agreements could not be used to enforce a contract which prevented individuals from reporting child abuse to governmental agencies or parents of abused children.”

The petition further alleges that the original suit was “part of a concerted and planned effort to keep the truth about their facility secret” and to hide the fact that Thayer Learning Center was not a school and that routine methods were indeed child abuse.”

The petition included a count of malicious prosecution and one of abuse of process, wherein the petitioner allege that Thayer and defendant Willa Bundy “covered up the fact they had an unqualified and unsupervised staff engaging in child abuse . . . and they had no expertise in adolescent development or education or training that qualified them to provide services they offered.”

Kurtz has also filed a petition for the defendants to produce documents and answer interrogatories in the case. No hearings have been set and no responses as yet have been filed by the defendant.

Hamilton City Lake Kids Fishing Day

Vince Crawford

Conservation Agent

On June 14^th, 2008, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Hamilton Police Department and Hamilton Fire Department will be hosting a Kids Fishing Day at the Hamilton City Lake!

Load up the children and grandchildren and plan on attending this event! The kids will want to sign in at the registration booth below the lake dam to pick up their ticket for chances at all kinds of fishing prizes. Registration will start at 9:30am.

This is going to be a great opportunity to get the whole family out and enjoy the day. Grilled hotdogs, chips and beverages will be served at 11:30 am. After lunch, we will all gather up at the registration booth to give away prizes, which will start up around 12:30 pm.

Bring your poles and all of your tackle to go after the big boys. Worms will be provided.

This is not a fishing contest, as prizes will be given out by drawing, but we will have a photographer on hand for folks that would like a photo of them with their fish mailed to them.

The event is open to everyone, but Hamilton City Lake fishing regulations will still apply. This includes fishing permits for anyone over age 16, and fish length limits and daily limits.

We had a great time last year with over 100 people in attendance. If you would like to help out with the event, or would like to be a sponsor, please give Conservation Agent Vince Crawford a call at 816/583-7946.

Alden Wins FFA emerging technology proficiency award

Tyler Alden of the Hamilton FFA Chapter won the Emerging Agricultural Technology Proficiency Award at the 80th Missouri FFA Convention.

Alden is a senior at Penney High School. He is the son of Robert and Beverly Alden. His advisor is Brant Burns.

Alden’s Supervised Agricultural Experience involves flushing his elite females to obtain embryos. He currently collects these from eight of his registered Shorthorn females. He sells the embryos to customers who have a good bull and are looking for a high quality cow’s embryos to produce a superior calf.

As an FFA member Alden has served as the chapter sentinel in 2006 and 2007. He has attended state and national conventions. Alden has exhibited livestock at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE), American Royal, National Western Stock Show, and Missouri State Fair.

Proficiency awards recognize FFA members who excel as agricultural entrepreneurs, employees or volunteers while gaining hands-on career experience. Emerging Agricultural Technology is one of 47 proficiency awards presented at state level and is sponsored by the Youth Activities Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives Inc.[Read More]

Jones takes 2nd in sheep proficiency

Lacy Marie Jones,member of the Hamilton FFA Chapterwas the second-place recipient of the Sheep Production Proficiency Award at the 80th Missouri State FFA Convention.

Jones is the daughter of Wayne Jones and Kim Hosman. Her FFA advisor is Brant Burns.

As an FFA member, Jones attended the national and state FFA conventions. She was a member of the national FFA courtesy corps. Jones has participated in Missouri FFA Career Development Event (CDE) programs. She was a qualifier in both the state dairy judging CDE and state soils CDE.

Jones’s Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAE) began when she was a small child. Her grandfather owns cattle and sheep. Jones started her herd with three sheep. Over the past few years she has increased her herd to 48 breeding and 68 non-breeding sheep. In the future Jones plans to improve her Hampshire breed and increase numbers.

Proficiency awards recognize FFA members who excel as agricultural entrepreneurs, employees or volunteers while gaining hands-on career experience. Sheep production is one of 47 proficiency award areas recognized at the state level. The Missouri Sheep Merchandising Council sponsors this award.

The Missouri FFA Association has more than 24,137 members representing 311 chapters. The national organization has more than 500,000 members representing 7,358 local chapters in 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.[Read More]

Hazel Martin turns 100

Hazel Martin, a longtime former community volunteer and tireless worker, celebrated her 100th birthday anniversary last week with friends and family members at Hill Crest Manor. (Photo courtesy of Kathie Cornelius)[Read More]

To represent Hamilton at Girls State

Elissa Ayers, Kielly Jewell, Alisa Wilson, and Molly Schieber, Penney High School juniors, will represent Hamilton this summer at Missouri Girls State. Each of the girls has a local sponsor: Ayers, the American Legion Auxiliary; Wilson, the Hamilton Lions Club; Jewell, Judge Jason Kanoy; Schieber, New York Life, Mike Brown.

Missouri Girls State, organized by the State American Legion Auxiliary, is a week of hands-on citizenship training. Approximately 756 high school juniors are selected to attend. The Girls State participants learn government by actually creating a simulated state, electing public officials on local, county, and state levels, and making their government function[Read More]

Citywide garage sale, inflatables, bake and produce sale May 10

Six members of CHANGE met last Thursday evening at the Green Hills Community Action office in Hamilton to make plans for the Sept. 13 J. C. Penney Days this year and to finalize plans for special promotions to be held in downtown Hamilton next weekend, May 10, during a Mud Run at the new Steam and Gas Engine Show grounds.

In conjunction with the Mud Run, CHANGE will hold a citywide garage sale. Deadline for advertising for anyone wishing to have a sale is this Friday at noon. Call the Advocate office at 583-2116 to reserve your ad and spot on the garage sale map.

Farmers market and bake sale booths will be set up in front of the Penney Mall Saturday and an inflatable slide for children will be at the Mud Run grounds, or, in the event of bad weather, at the Penney Park.

In other agenda items last Thursday, CHANGE members discussed a band for Penney Days, a portable rock wall and a large farmers market to feature home grown produce and homemade crafts. They also discussed purchasing new banners for light poles and holding another Discover Hamilton promotion this summer.[Read More]

Mud Run May 10

In order to raise funds to install facilities at the new Steam and Gas Engine Show grounds, the steam association will stage a mud run there next Saturday.

Electricity was being installed at the grounds Tuesday and volunteers put in fencing last weekend in preparation for the event.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and the run gets underway at 3 p.m. A similar run held recently outside of Polo reportedly drew 1,000 people.

Anyone planning to attend should bring their lawn chairs. Food and refreshments will be served by the Hamilton Lions, while the Cameron Elks Lodge is sponsoring a beer tent.

Association members met last night (Tuesday) to finalize plans for the event.

For specific information about the mud run rules, entry fees, etc, call Cody Walker at 816-262-1016.[Read More]

Civil War event date correction

Information in last week’s front page article about the 2009 Civil War Re-Enactment contained an error in the date of the event. The Civil War Re-Enactment will be held on June 5,6 and 7 at Kingston, not June 3 and 4, as reported earlier. Those dates will be times for the re-enactors and vendors to set up booths and camps.[Read More]

Polo City Council awards mowing bid, decides on community building events

In the past two months of regular meetings, members of the Polo Board of Aldermen have awarded a mowing bid for city property, considered 11 applications for a water/wastewater operator position and made decisions on the facilities and use of the community building and Stagecoach Park.

In their March meeting, council members heard from Debby Misel, president of the People Who Care Organization, that the restrooms were completed at Stagecoach Park and PWCO was officially turning the new facilities over to the city. She asked council members if they would like PWCO to be responsible for daily and weekly cleaning of the community building and if the organization could use the building for their meetings. Aldermen approved that arrangement.

[Read More]

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