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by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society If you have watched any television news over the past couple of week, you are no doubt aware it is the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. D-Day, June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the Battle of Normandy which lead to V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) on May 8, 1945.
But it wasn’t until the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 8, 1945) that Japanese Emperor Hirohito knew defeat was inevitable. The fighting ended on August 15 however, the Japanese delegation did not officially sign the document of surrender until September 2, 1945. Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, representing the Emperor of Japan, signed the Instrument of Surrender. He was followed by the Chief of the Army General Staff, General Yoshijirō Umezu, who signed for the Japanese Army. After this, General Douglas MacArthur signed the Instrument of Surrender as the Supreme Allied Commander. His signature was followed by that of 8 more gentlemen representing the other allied countries. The Instrument of Surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri, a battleship now enshrined at Pearl Harbor. I believe Missourians have always seen the significance of this ship being chosen because the haberdasher from Independence, President Harry Truman, made the decision to drop the bombs, thus ending the War. The Historical Society recently received a gift from Blake Elliott, a book compiled by his brother, Terryl Elliott entitled Until I See You Again. It is a collection of World War II correspondence between his parents with a few letters from his grandmother and other relatives included. While his mother, Vivian was from Independence, Missouri, his father was born and raised in Grain Valley. Herschel’s parents were Walter and Lula (Sanders) Elliott. His older sister was Anna Maude Caldwell and his younger sister was Naomi Graham. Herschel attended 12 years of school in Grain Valley, graduating in 1929. He was on the 1928 Football Team, the only undefeated team in the school’s history. The team was placed in the GVHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Before going into service Herschel lived with his family in a house near the corner of Main Street and U. S. 40 Highway, now Eagles’ Parkway. It was torn down in the mid 1950’s, never having anything so “modern” as running water, indoor plumbing or central heating. The letters reveal a simple life in a much simpler time. They reveal the hardships of the War following the Great Depression. In their daily, yes daily, correspondence readers can learn about sugar rationing, gasoline rationing, and scrap metal drives; family members and friends being laid off from General Motors and others working long hours at Lake City Arsenal. Readers can also learn about other “local boys” serving in Europe or the Pacific. And we can also learn about the eagerly awaited PX rations, which included cigarettes, candy bars, soap and razor blades. And then, there was personal information, some good news like the birth of a nephew and some not so good like the death of Herschel’s mother. From the first letter home written on May 5, 1941 to the final letter written on October 18, 1945 one can better understand the hardships endured during World War II. While Herschel was an airplane mechanic who never saw combat, he did serve his country. The following is from a short newspaper article that fairly well sums up his experience. “Cpl. Herschel T. Elliott, husband of Mrs. Vivian Elliot, 1407 West Alton, arrived home, Tuesday evening (November 13) from the European Theater of War, after thirty-five months overseas. Cpl. Elliott has received his honorable discharge. He served in North Africa, (Sardinia), Corsica, Southern France and Germany.” Herschel and Vivian returned to Grain Valley where they lived with his widowed father and their two sons (Terry, who arrived in 1946 and Blake in 1949) until moving to Blue Springs in 1952. by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation Bobwhite quail need quality places to feed, rear young, and hide from predators. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) suggests late summer is a good time to evaluate quail habitat on farms and acreages. For more quail, or to keep “bob-white” whistles as a summer sound, check to see if vegetation meets quail needs now and for the winter to come.
Be cautious about mowing grassy or weedy spots in field edges and pastures, as some may conceal young birds that will mature in winter. Avoid or postpone unnecessary mowing to boost quail numbers. “Oftentimes, it is this late summer season when people start mowing odd areas, and they wipe out decent cover,” Kyle Hedges, MDC wildlife management biologist said. Missouri quail research has shown that more than 35 percent of all quail nests are set to hatch in August. August is critically important for those adult birds that had a previous failed nest, or for whatever reason, they didn’t get around to nesting until late summer. Furthermore, many young broods from nests that hatched in July are feeding and growing. Late summer is a good time to evaluate the plant mix, whether it is a cover strip beside a field or an entire pasture. Does habitat have a good mix of forbs such as native wildflowers as well as grasses? The wildflowers host insects and provide seeds that broods and coveys need for food. They also provide openness at ground level that helps birds easily move around to feed or escape predators. “If the fields are all rank grass and lacking forbs, landowners can make plans for some dormant-season disking to improve the forbs next summer,” Hedges said. If both forbs and grasses are growing too thick for ground-dwelling birds to easily move about, late winter burns can create better conditions and boost brood survival the following summer. Late summer is also a good time to spot spray and eliminate invasive species such as sericea lespedeza. Landowners can note encroachment into grasslands of unwanted trees and make plans for removal. Another summer check is walking fields to see if the plant mix is hosting insects that quail feed upon. “If you walk through a field and don’t have insects bouncing off your pants, it’s probably no suitable brood rearing habitat,” Hedges said. “Almost always, the lack of insects is due to a lack of forb numbers or plant species diversity.” A late summer need for quail is thickets with shrubs that provide both shade and air flow at ground level, such as wild plum, sumac, rough-leaved dogwood or blackberry. “Quail need to escape the brutal temps of midday, and they need thickets or some surrogate like edge feathering to do that,” Hedges said. “Just having thickets isn’t enough, you need to look at those thickets and make sure they don’t have an understory of fescue or some other non-native making them worthless. I want bare ground under there, so the birds can get some shade, but also have some air flow.” MDC staff can help private landowners with quail habitat. In some cases, cost share programs for habitat improvement are available. “I would much rather see a farm now than in December,” Hedges said. “I can get a better feel for what is lacking, which 99 percent of the time is good brood habitat.” To learn more about how MDC can help private landowners with wildlife habitat, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/property. For tips on bobwhite quail habitat management, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z8Q. The following information is derived from the Grain Valley Police Department daily calls for service log for the week of July 29—August 4, 2020.
The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors met virtually August 4th, voting to allow schools beginning the school year virtually to participate in MSHSAA events.
The following changes were for the 2020 – 21 school year only. The Board discussed a request made by member schools to grant relief of the MSHSAA Constitution, under the Hardship Provision of the MSHSAA Constitution, for the 2020-21 school year only, waving the requirement for member schools to provide instruction in a building or buildings. The Board granted relief of the MSHSAA Constitution which provides a MSHSAA Member School the ability to participate in activities if the school begins the school year or transitions to entirely virtual instruction, provided they are following all health department requirements and phases, if applicable. Following lengthy discussions, the Board determined this should be a local school decision. Upon the approval of the Board, a member school may now determine if its teams will participate in MSHSAA activities while its students are receiving virtual instruction only, while following all requirements and guidelines set forth by their health department officials. Students must meet all requirements of the local school, with the local school having the ability to always be more restrictive. It is a local school decision on what criteria it puts in place in order to earn the privilege to represent the school in interscholastic competition. MSHSAA member schools may always be more restrictive than the minimum requirements of the MSHSAA By-Laws put in place by the member schools; however, they cannot be less restrictive. The Board also took up two requests for relief of By-laws for the 2020-21 school year. The first was concerning By-Law 3.16.6 and in conjunction with Board Policy 23. These two areas of the MSHSAA Handbook define a “preseason jamboree”. The Board granted relief from a portion of the terms and conditions to allow for an additional option of a two-team jamboree. This action was done to help schools wishing to take part in a preseason jamboree. The Board also granted relief from By-Law 5.1.2, which deals with postseason eligibility. This by-law states “To be eligible to enter a team or individual in any preliminary or state event, a school must have competed in at least half of the number of contests permitted under the by-law pertaining to that particular sport.” Given the sudden changes that may occur during the season, the Board voted to grant relief of this section of the by-law to allow teams that complete less than half of their scheduled contests to remain eligible for the postseason in their sport or activity. Due to the ever changing procedures on how member schools are handling the start of this school year, the Board discussed and approved moving the release date of the classification and district assignments for the Fall seasons. Originally scheduled to be released on Friday, August 21st, the assignments will now be released on Friday, September 18th. Member schools will now have until September 11th to notify the MSHSAA office if they have a sport that will not be able to participate in the postseason. Those teams that will not be participating in the postseason will be removed from the classification process for that specific sport. Districts around the state, including Grain Valley, have announced plans to delay the start of school and engage in a mix of in-person and online learning this fall. Grain Valley Schools extended their first day of school to September 8th and has announced a hybrid learning plan for students in grades 6-12. Practices for several fall sports are set to begin in Grain Valley the week of August 10th. Missouri’s Sales Tax Holiday begins on Friday, August 7th and runs through Sunday, August 9th. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by the statute, are exempt from sales tax for this time period only. The following items are included in the sales tax holiday:
“Clothing” - any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on or about the human body including, but not limited to, disposable diapers for infants or adults and footwear. Each article of clothing must have a taxable value of $100 or less. “Personal computers” - a laptop, desktop, or tower computer system which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, a keyboard, and devices designed for use in conjunction with a personal computer. Personal computers and computer peripheral devices cannot exceed $1,500. “School supplies” - any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes, including but not limited to, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, back packs, handheld calculators, graphing calculators, chalk, maps, and globes. The value of each school supply purchase is not to exceed $50. In addition, school supplies shall also include graphing calculators valued at $150 or less and computer software having a taxable value of $350 or less. One of the beloved traditions of fall in Grain Valley, the Grain Valley Fair, plans to continue this year with modifications due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic..
The Fair, scheduled for Friday, September 11th and Saturday, September 12th, will be held in its usual location at Armstrong Park, but gone are many of the traditional events. Mike Todd, Grain Valley Fair committee member, said the carnival will not be held due to the complications of social distancing and safety protocols. “There will be no carnival because social distancing is almost impossible and the amount of riders they are limited to along with the additional staff they have to have to disinfect the rides each time makes it a non money maker for them,” Todd said. The parade has also been canceled because social distancing cannot be guaranteed along the parade route. “A lot of people are packed into a pretty small area standing shoulder to shoulder and we want to make sure to be as safe as possible,” Todd said. The 3rd annual Grain Valley Fair 5K is currently scheduled to continue as an in-person event, with a virtual 5K option as well. The 5K is planned for Saturday, September 12th at 8:00am. A link to register for the 5K event can be found on the fair website, www.grainvalleyfair.com. Those who come to the fair for food are in luck. Friday evening will feature food vendors and some of the popular food trucks featured at this summer’s Food Truck Friday events. The food vendors and trucks will be located in the parking lots behind the Community Center where the fair is traditionally located. The committee is looking at starting the event around 5:00pm. With plenty of space in the area, the committee hopes to be able to include a beer garden that would meet social distancing requirements. “Music is still up in the air and will depend on where we are at on the county's opening plan at that point,” Todd said. Food vendors and select food trucks will be back on Saturday, September 12th in the parking lot area. A select number of non food fair vendors are also planned. “We will also have them set up around the track behind the pavilion. They will be in their own pop up tents and will all be spaced at least 10 feet apart,” Todd said. Much depends upon the status of Jackson County’s reopening plan, so many details remain tentative. Additional details will be provided on the Fair’s website, www.grainvalleyfair.com, and on the Fair’s Facebook page. Grain Valley Schools, in line with several other districts in the area, has decided to delay the start of school and develop a hybrid model of instruction for students in grades 6-12.
The School Board voted during a special meeting on July 30th to change the start of the school year to Tuesday, September 8th. The Board also approved a recommendation by the administration to change to a hybrid model of instruction for students in grades 6-12. Families will continue to have full time virtual as an option. Middle school and high school students with a last name beginning with A-J will be in person on Mondays and Wednesdays and those with last names beginning with K-Z will be in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students will learn virtually from home the other three days each week. Elementary students will attend school in person full time. The Early Childhood Center will also begin school with its traditional in-person model. “Jackson County health officials have asked school districts to consider starting the school year virtually and to delay the start of the school year until after Labor Day - both due to case numbers in Jackson County trending the wrong direction. We have chosen the option we feel responds to county concerns, while ensuring at least some in person instruction for all students. Going with our hybrid model for middle school and high school students hopefully sets up everyone involved with the greatest chance of a consistent and predictable routine,” Brad Welle, Deputy Superintendent, Student and Community Services, said. “By reducing the number of students who are in our middle schools and high school at one time, we reduce the likelihood that a confirmation of a positive case with one student leads to large numbers of students being excluded for 14 days at a time. Elementary students, by comparison, stay with the same group of classmates much of their day. If the need arises for a classroom of students to stay home along the way due to exposure, we are less likely to need to close an entire elementary school due to widespread inter-mingling of students like what you find in a middle school or high school operating at full capacity.” In an email to parents announcing the decision, the district stated it is committed to the hybrid model through at least September. In an effort to further reduce course loads at the high school level during this time, students will follow their “A” day schedule for the first nine weeks of the school year and their “B” day schedule for the second nine weeks. Middle school students will be equipped with Chromebooks, and high school students will be receiving Dell 3100 Chromebooks this fall. “The current plan is for students to come to the high school during their assigned date and time window for a ‘Chromebook swap’ where they will receive their new device,” Welle said. Details regarding the Chromebook swap for high school students will be communicated by the school in the near future. The district had already planned to replace high school student Chromebook devices this school year. Devices still in good working condition will be used to supplement devices in elementary schools. While the elementary schools are planning in-person learning full-time, the district is implementing a new learning management system, called Seesaw, at the elementary level to support virtual learning. Families without access to the internet may contact their schools to request mobile hotspots for student use. While students have gained a few extra weeks of summer break, teachers and administrators have been hard at work preparing for the new school year. “By delaying the start of our school year by two weeks and beginning after Labor Day, we are able to front load a year's worth of teacher professional learning days before the first day of school. The focus of our teacher training in August will be to support the adoption of the hybrid model in middle school and high school, and to prepare for any other need for online learning K-12 this year that arises. Our goal is for any virtual experience this year to look very different from last spring. We intend to set our parents up to be supportive parents to their children, rather than feeling like too much of the teaching burden for all these subjects is on them,” Welle said. Dr. Amanda Allen, Principal at Grain Valley North Middle School, said that teachers and administrators are excited to have students return to school this fall. “We are so thankful for the opportunity to see our students in person. Being in-person is essential to building relationships and connections with students. Ever since the decision for hybrid learning was made, I have witnessed our teachers immediately shift their planning to accommodate for part in-person and part virtual instruction. They are eager to meet their new students and see the new opportunities this learning model will bring, such as increased one-on-one time with smaller daily in-person numbers and more personalized and individual attention,” Allen said. Parents had a taste of online learning this past spring, but Allen explains the focus will be different in the fall. “Hybrid learning will vary greatly from the virtual learning last spring. While I believe our staff did a fantastic job of staying in contact with students last spring, our primary focus was not the learning of new material. In the spring, we focused mostly on maintaining school-home connections and making sure students knew that we cared and were there to support them. This fall, our teachers will receive extensive training in blended learning and virtual learning models. All teachers will have a learning management system and proper tool training for conducting online courses.” “With the hybrid learning model, secondary teachers will work to flip much of their direct instruction. Flipped instruction asks students to watch videos, complete and annotate readings, actively research, or practice new skills that will then be put to use during the in-person instruction. Many of our teachers have spent their summer filming direct instruction videos for the upcoming school year. The in-person instruction will be a valuable time where students can collaborate (safely distanced), hold discussions and discourse, participate in hands-on activities (with elaborate cleaning protocols), and receive in-person feedback from their teachers.” While families had to adjust quickly in the spring to home-based learning, Allen has some tips for families to create the best learning environment at home. “Based on child development research and our own experiences as a district this past spring, we know that students perform better when a consistent routine is in place. Keeping a regular sleep schedule, establishing regular learning hours, and maintaining regular mealtimes on both virtual and in-person days will keep students more attentive and engaged in their learning. The other benefit of keeping a schedule throughout the week is that it will better serve students when teachers are available for ‘live’ online help on Fridays during regular school hours,” Allen said. “The other key to success at home is frequent communication. Teachers, students, and parents/guardians should be in constant contact. With students attending in person two days a week and virtually three days a week, we want to ensure that the two in person days are not the only days that students interact with their teachers. Students will receive feedback virtually on online assignments that are essential to their education. It is essential that teachers and parents/guardians partner to keep students actively engaged and adjusted to the new instructional strategies.” by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society James H. Cannon, Notary Public, acted on behalf of James Lucas to establish the town of Grain Valley on September 5, 1878. The town was situated on land flanking the newly laid tracks of the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Mr. Cannon, an astute businessman, had recently built his new mercantile business on land adjacent to and south of the new town.
The land was purchased and platted in his wife’s name, Mary Elizabeth (Dyer) Cannon. The Cannon Addition 2 consisted of 13 lots and a small undefined triangle west of Main Street (or for a time, Broadway) and south of the railroad one block to Harris Street (known then as Main Street) Cannon Addition 1 was made up of 26 lots on block one and two between Harris Street and Broadway. Although there were 39 lots in total, only a few lots near the railroad and along the main north/south street were developed. When U. S. 40 Highway was complete in 1926 businesses were built on the southern edge of her property. But the majority of the Cannon Addition was not completed until the 1970s housing addition from Main Street west about four blocks. The final phase to Kirby Road wasn’t completed until the late 1990s. The Graves & Ashcraft Addition may have been the first property added to our town. It was made up of two blocks stretching 220 feet from Walnut Street on the North to Front Street (then North Main Street) on the South. Block one was 245 feet wide and had twenty-one lots of varying sizes. Block two was slightly wider art 270 feet, but had only 19 lots. Twelve of the lots were 50 X 125-feet. John Graves was born in Howard County near Glasgow, Missouri, in 1852. According to the History of Jackson County Missouri, published in 1881, “In 1869-’70 he attended the State University at Columbia, Boone County, and in 1871 came to Kansas City, where he was employed ad clerk in a bank. In the fall of 1874 he commenced the grocery business, and two years later traded this for a farm in Johnson County, Kansas, where he resided two years. Then commenced business at this place; in engaged in the lumber business and is express agent.” He married Ida Porter in April of 1872. When his wife died in 1891 he packed up his children and moved to Kansas City to be closer to family. The 1880 U. S. Census names five different Ashcraft families living in Sni-A-Bar Township. John and Susan Ashcraft were married in Virginia before settling in Cooper County, Missouri. The other families all came from Cooper County, near Columbia. Could the small Graves & Ashcraft Addition have been owned by John & Sarah? Maybe Peter Ashcraft owned the land briefly before his wife died and he moved his family to Montana. Did William Otto and his wife Betty (St. Clair) Ashcraft own the land? Or maybe it was one of John and Susan’s sons. Perhaps Otto and his wife Rebecca sold the land before moving to Kingsville, Mo. The last possibility could be William T. Ashcraft and his wife Matilda. They had three daughters who remained in the area: Verdie Phillips, Rhodie Pearson, and Lilly Tesch. Until COVID-19 is under control and I can do more research at the Jackson County Recorder of Deeds office, the owner of the land in the Graves & Ashcraft Addition will have to remain a mystery. In the meantime think of the Ashcrafts as a big family that chose Grain Valley for their home in the 1880s and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we function as a family. I know many of you have experienced social distancing family gatherings. Going out for dinner means staying in as some of you opt for using dinner delivery services rather than eating in a restaurant. Movie night means a social distancing trip to the drive-in or streaming a movie because theatres are closed.
The pandemic has also changed the way you work and how your kids go to school with your family huddled around tech devices as home as opposed to being in school or at the office. Doesn't matter if your family is new to 'working' from home or if you're an expert, here are a few tricks and tips to help you and your family stay productive and keep a healthy balance. 1. Call your Internet Service Provider and increase your Internet speed. Everything revolves around the Internet. If you and your family will be working from home every day, you need better and faster Internet. Your Internet download speed should be no lower than 50 Mbps (Megabits Per Second) if you have multiple people working and doing online schooling from home. If you're curious about how fast your Internet speed is, check out SpeedTest.net (www.speedtest.net). Regardless of your Internet provider, you can find out what speeds your household is experiencing. Check-in with your provider to see if you can take advantage of any special deals for Internet. If you've had some challenges with your home internet, visit HighSpeedInternet.com (www.highspeedinternet.com) to find out if there are providers in your area that can offer higher speeds. 2. Extend wireless to every corner in your home. Imagine how happy everyone in your household will be if you can extend the Internet to the dead zones. Unless you want your entire family huddled around the dining room table when it's time to work, you need to get Wi-Fi everyone in your home. The most effective method is to have cable professionally run in your home so you can install Wi-Fi extenders, but this process isn't in everyone's budget. Google and Netgear make Wi-Fi Mesh networks that can help eliminate those dead areas. A Mesh network works by repeating your wireless signal from your router to those weak spots. My favorite method is to use a Powerline adapter from TP-Link or Netgear. A powerline adapter uses the power lines in your house to send a wired or wireless signal to those weak areas. Powerline adapters are very easy to set up which makes them the ideal solution to help you give the power of wifi to your family. 3. CyberSecurity is a Must. Don't forget to keep you and your family educated on the latest scams to make it during this pandemic. I know I share this in just about every blog post I make, but remember that 99% of cybercrime requires user interaction. As long as you're careful not to click on any strange emails, texts, web sites, download unknown apps, and don't give any personal information out, you're safe from most threats out there. If you're running a Windows or Macintosh computer, you already have anti-virus built-in. No need to spend extra money on those packages like Norton, McAfee, or Avast. If you are using video conferencing tools with your office, make sure you keep those secure conversations away from your smartphone hubs like Google Home or Amazon Alexa. These devices are designed to listen in to your conversations. Unplug them or work in a room without them during office hours. Finally, set up automatic backups for your information. Doesn't matter what device you work at home from, back up your stuff. Using cloud backup is the most beneficial way to get up to the minute backups. If you have a tablet, take advantage of Google Backup, or iCloud backup If you're using a computer, use Carbonite (www.carbonite.com) for your backups. 4. Purchase a good All in One printer. You never know when you or other members of your family might need to print, scan or fax (yes, I said fax) something out. When looking for an All in One printer, get one that holds half a ream of paper, has a sheet feeder, when scanning in documents and is AirPrint compatible (you don't know what you're missing until you print something from your, iPhone, iPad or Android phone or tablet). You should expect to spend over $100 for a good home printer which means stay away from those cheap printers. They will cause you nothing but headaches. Two of the best brands of printers to purchase are HP OfficeJet Series of printers and Epson's EcoTank printers. 5. Monitor your children’s online activities. The Internet is a pathway to many sites that many consider being dangerous for children. Keep them safe. When kids are using tech devices, it's so easy for them to get distracted. You can't watch them every minute, so you need to make sure they are doing what they should be doing. All Windows, Apple, and Android devices have parental controls on them, but having them use Apple and Android tablets are the best method, as the parental controls on those devices are very robust. Make sure you keep an eye on those gaming devices. Download and use the parental controls apps for the family XBOX, Playstation and Switch so you can lock them down. Keep them out of chat rooms on social media and on games. That friend your child is talking to could be an online predator grooming them. Finally, check those devices daily to make sure they aren't getting around parental controls and using safe Internet habits. 6. Create set 'office' hours. Working from home for your family can be distracting as there are so many things that pull you and your kids from those tasks you should be doing. First, make sure all of your household duties are done before your family workday. Dishes, making the bed, breakfast and other household chores that are unfinished can the eternal distraction that prevents you and your family from getting anything done. Next, create set hours for work and play in your household and stick to them. Finally, don't overdo it. If you or your kids need to take a break from working and tech, do it. Yes, you and your kids need to focus on the 'grind', but never isolate yourself too much. Make the most of your time at home to enjoy the company of your family. Once you get into a set pattern of working at home with your family, you might find it more relaxing and productive than the normal grind. Gone are the hectic schedule of trying to rush you and your kids out of the house to get to school and work. If you follow these steps and get into the groove of having your family work from home, you may never want to leave your house again. Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to burton@callintegralnow.com. If you prefer to connect with me on social media, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter and watch great tech tip videos on my YouTube channel. I love technology. I've read all of the manuals and I want to make technology fun and exciting for you. Reach out to us a www.callintegralnow.com or phone at 888.256.0829. Truman Heartland Community Foundation will present this year’s Citizen of the Year honorees, selected by area mayors as a part of its 25th Annual Toast to Our Towns Gala, presented by CommunityAmerica Credit Union, online on Saturday, September 26, 2020.
These local volunteers were chosen because they lend their time, talents and position to promote our communities. Grain Valley’s honoree will be Christina “Kiki” Claphan. A pillar in the Grain Valley community for over a decade, friends and family were shocked when Christina “Kiki” Claphan passed away suddenly in February 2020. Kiki’s legacy of kindness continues to make an impact throughout Eastern Jackson County. During her life, Kiki’s joyful spirit helped her connect with and instill confidence in every child with whom she taught. A paraprofessional, Kiki spent the last ten years working with students with special needs in the Grain Valley School District. An active member of East Side Church in Independence, in 2017, Kiki developed and led a Sunday school class for children with special needs at the church. Kiki was always willing to lend a hand at school and in the community. For several years, Kiki played the role of Mrs. Claus in Grain Valley’s annual Holiday Festival and in the summer months, she supervised teenagers who worked for the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. Kiki went above and beyond to make the programs fun and exciting for participants with her contagious sense of adventure and excitement. A thoughtful mentor, she went to great lengths to ensure that each child in attendance felt special and important. Known for her big caring hugs, the Grain Valley community celebrated her life by championing the motto “Love Big, Hug On” and using #KindLikeKiki on shirts and social media. Kiki’s siblings, Leslie Keys and Don Claphan, will accept the award on her behalf. The Toast to Our Towns Gala will be held online on September 26, 2020. This one-hour celebration of philanthropy will start at 7:00 p.m. and broadcast to more than 40 different watch parties throughout Eastern Jackson County. Information about sponsoring a watch party is available at www.thcf.org/Gala. |
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