by Cole Arndorfer


​The Grain Valley Board of Aldermen met briefly for their second August meeting on Monday, August 28. This short meeting included a proclamation for National Service Dog Month, approval of a liquor license for Valley Moments, a public hearing on the property tax levy, two resolutions, and five ordinances.
 
Mayor Todd and the board of aldermen presented a proclamation to recognize September 2023 as National Service Dog Month. Todd said that the need for service dogs is growing and the city is continuing to work toward becoming an inclusive community, in which all citizens and their service dogs are embraced. Deborah Morrison and her service dog, Mango, accepted the proclamation from Mayor Todd.
 
Under previous business, the board heard the second presentation for a liquor license for Valley Moments. As the business owner, Sadie Gibson, has a state license in hand and the police department has signed off on the application, the board approved the liquor license for the business.
 
The board then moved on to a public hearing for the property tax levy. General fund, debt service fund, parks and recreation, and public health are all the pieces that make up the total tax levy. Going through the current levy, the general fund currently makes up $0.4685, the debt service fund is at $0.8362, parks and recreation comes in at $0.1035, and public health rounds out to $0.0412. This makes the current total tax levy $1.4494. With regards to the increase in assed property valuation seen in the past year, the following changes to the levy have been proposed: general fund would be brought down to $0.3907, the debt service fund would drop to $0.5427, parks and recreation would come out to $0.0863, and public health would be decreased to $0.0344, bringing the proposed total for the tax levy to $1.0541.
 
City Finance Director, Steven Craig explains, “since this is an odd year, Jackson County has been appraising the properties and we saw about a 26.8% increase in the assessed valuation compared to last year. The state law does require that the levies be rolled back to be revenue neutral… and ours did roll back approximately 40 cents as a result of that.”
 
City Administrator Ken Murphy said that these are the numbers that the city has at this time and that they should be receiving a more solid round of numbers by the next board meeting in order for the board to take action on the issue. He also pointed out that the city has to have these numbers sent back in to the county by the end of September, noting that this is later in the process.
The board then discussed possible problems that changing the levy may cause as there are still citizens in the appeals process with the county regarding their property assessments. Craig said that there is a statute in Missouri state law that would allow the board to take action to adjust the levy if, for whatever reason, the assessments were to be held at the 2022 rate. After no members of the public stepped forward to talk on the matter, the public hearing was closed. The issue will come back for the next board meeting.
 
Under resolutions, the board discussed and took action on two resolutions.
 
The first resolution was to establish the need to amend the 2023 budget in order to fund the all-inclusive playground project at Armstrong Park. The board approved this resolution unanimously.
 
The second resolution was related to the first. This resolution entered the city into a contract with Cunningham Recreation to build the all-inclusive playground at Armstrong Park. The new playground would be installed by the end of the year and will take the place of the two existing playgrounds at Armstrong Park. The two existing playground sets have the capability to be moved to some of the other, smaller, parks in the city once they are removed. The board approved this resolution unanimously.
 
Under ordinances, the board heard five bills, four for their second reads and one for its first and second read.
 
The first bill approved the vacating of the platted cul-de-sac on the east and west side of NW Jefferson Court as discussed in the previous meeting. This was approved 6-0.
 
The next bill approved amending chapter 415 of the Code of Ordinances relating to Flood Hazard Prevention in order to adopt a new countywide flood insurance study. This item was also discussed in the previous board meeting. It was approved 6-0.
 
The third bill was approved to allow the city to create an ordinance that outlines the procedure for disclosing potential conflicts of interest and substantial interests for certain officials. This item was discussed previously in the last meeting. It was approved 6-0.
 
The fourth bill was approved to allowed the city to add Chapter 255, Article I, Section 255.010 to the City Code in order to allow bow hunting for deer within city limits. This item was discussed at length in the previous meeting. This was approved 5-1 with Alderman Arnold being the sole “no” vote.
 
The final bill discussed went with the first resolution discussed previously in the meeting. This bill was approved to allow Mr. Murphy to amend the 2023 budget in order to fund the all-inclusive playground project at Armstrong Park. The first read was approved and it was read again, by title only, where it was approved again 6-0.
 
Next on the agenda was city administrator and staff reports.
 
City Administrator Ken Murphy had just one item for his report: he said that the city is making progress on the construction of the new police station and that officials should be on the lookout for upcoming dates to walk the site in September.
 
For his mayor’s report, Mayor Todd spoke on the upcoming fair and parade taking place in the city September 8-9. He stated that the parade start time was moved up to 10 am this year in hopes to draw more attendance for that. He also said that there are well over 120 vendor spots, which is the most the city has ever had and the first time he can remember having to put together a waitlist for the event.
 
The next board of aldermen meeting will be held on September 11 at City Hall, starting at 7 pm. 

Drew Melching and Brooklyn Spencer of Grain Valley, Missouri, are among Missouri’s brightest high school students who attended the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) in June at the University of Missouri.   

MSA began in 1985 and each summer provides more than 300 rising high school juniors the opportunity to expand their educational and social skills. The program provides enrichment opportunities to support learning and personal development for gifted Missouri students, and offers a variety of daily extracurricular activities to enhance critical thinking and communication. More than 11,000 students have completed the academy to date.

“MSA was an opportunity to expand my horizons to an extent that has bever been available to me before,” Melching said. “I am grateful to have experienced MSA and the unique insights it brings.”

Melching, who attends Grain Valley High School, is the son of Michael and Jennifer Melching. As a rising junior, Melching participates in tennis and pilot training. 

“MSA introduced me to philosophy and an incredibly diverse group of very funny and intelligent people,” Spencer said.

Spencer, who attends Grain Valley High School, is the daughter of Jason and Mendi Spencer. As a rising junior, Spencer participates in tennis.

As the state’s largest and oldest public, land-grant university, Mizzou has more than 30,000 students, 13,000 full-time employees and 305,000 alumni.  Since 2015, the Missouri Scholars Academy has been administered by the MU Honors College.

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society


This photograph was chosen for August because students now go “back to school” in August. When the picture was taken, school began after Labor Day in September. This gave young men more days to help their fathers with the crops and girls more days to help their mothers with canning the garden vegetables. Today, the school calendar seems to be tied to ending the first semester before the winter break. 

Mr. Frantz’s Bus Route, 1940
 

This photograph first appeared in Valley News on July 1, 2021. Since that time, I have learned a bit more about transportation in the Grain Valley School District.

Transportation began in the fall of 1937 when Mr. T. D. Peal purchased two buses which he contracted to the school district. The drivers were Mr. Peal a local feed salesman and Mr. Ray Frantz, the owner and operator of a gas station and a bulk fuel oil delivery business.

Each bus had two morning and evening routes. One driver first picked up the rural students south of town with a second route of students living near the school. The second driver also had two routes on the north side. (They didn’t mention how students living east and west got to school!)

To my surprise, this information comes from the 1942 Treasure Chest. It appeared near the back of the yearbook in the section labeled “advertising". It is titled “Transportation Report for Last 5 Years”.
  

by Michael Smith
 
​
The Grain Valley volleyball team is deep.
 
Head coach Tori Squiers had plenty of options to choose from when constructing the rotations for her varsity roster.
 
Freshman Piper Jackson was one player who was in the running for varsity minutes. At first,
Squiers chose to have her start out playing the junior varsity team. However, after seeing an entire summer of Jackson playing with the JV girls, the head coach noticed that it wasn’t a good fit.
 
It’s because Jackson excelled so much during the summer that Squiers elevated her to the varsity roster and she played in the team’s season opener Monday at home against Smithville.
 
The freshman proved she belonged as she made an impact with four kills and four blocks in a 25-18. 25-16, 25-13 sweep of the Warriors.
 
“We knew about her and we were excited about her,” Squiers said. “She was just too fast for the JV speed. “She was a standout on the court so we tried her out at the KU camp this summer. She was able to keep up with the pace and that’s what we needed.”
 
The Eagles are six players deep in terms of players who can put the ball away and get blocks at the net. Jackson was one of those as she made life difficult for any Warriors player that went for a kill.
 
For a player who admitted she was nervous before the start of the match, she didn’t look like it as she looked composed and in control at the net.
 
“I was pretty nervous before but once I started playing, I was good,” Jackson said. “Everyone was really welcoming so it was easy to connect with the team.”
 
Whenever she did something positive on the court, the Grain Valley student crowd chanted, ‘She’s a freshman!’ On Monday, she didn’t look like one. She looked like a player who had one or two years of varsity experience.
 
“I think it’s always tough coming in as a freshman,” Squiers said. “Her teammates supported her and the crowd supported her well. When you hear, ‘She’s a freshman,’ it gets you fired up.”
 
Junior Kayla Gallagher was one of those teammates showing support for the freshman as she was impressed with Jackson’s debut.
 
“She fits right in,” Gallagher said. “Her energy matches what we do.”
 
Jackson is a part of a deep Grain Valley squad that saw nine players on the court Monday. Everyone who played got at least one kill. Gallagher led the way with 10 kills and showed a strong jump serve that was effective enough for a team-high five kills.
 
“We are all pretty good players, we can play wherever she puts us,” Gallagher said.
 
Added Squiers: “A lot of teams have weak rotations. That’s a strength of ours because we don’t have a weak rotation. We have the depth. All six rotations are strong.”
 
The Eagles never trailed by more than two points as they dominated throughout. They put the nail in the coffin of any hope of a comeback from Smithville early in the third set.
 
There was a rally that lasted nearly two minutes, and Grain Valley ended up winning it when sophomore outside hitter Kyliegh Casey put away a kill that put her team up 9-4 as Grain Valley never looked back.
 
“It definitely was an adrenaline rush for our side,” Gallagher said. “It’s always good to win those kinds of points when  the motivation is on your side.”
 
Senior Megan Davies added seven kills for the Eagles.

Jackson County Public Works Environmental Health Division inspects all restaurants, grocery stores, schools, mobile food and temporary food establishments in the City of Grain Valley. The following violations were reported in the last 7 days:
 
El Maguey
102 Buckner Tarsney Road
Observed rice, taco meat and fresh vegetables without proper date markings in the walk in cooler. Corrected on site.
 
El Tequilazo Cocina Y Cantina LLC
522 S Main
Observed moldy block cheese. Corrected on site.
Observed unlabeled chemicals. Corrected on site.
 
Sonic Drive-In
706 Main
Observed hot dogs stored in container full of water and unknown particles floating. Corrected on site.
Observed containers of shredded lettuce stored in make table kept longer than 24 hours with no prep/discard dates. Corrected on site.
 
Sushi Avenue
1191 NE McQuerry Road
Sushi Chef was unable to provide demonstration and knowledge of Approved HACCP Plan. Unable to locate HACCP Plan when requested by inspector. Re-inspection required. Note: Chef did locate approved HACCP Plan.
Unable to obtain parasite destruction letter. Corrected on site (letter was located).
pH logs were not logged as required under HACCP Plan the last 3 days. Re-inspection required.
Chef checked pH for current date in front of inspector.

​The following information is derived from Grain Valley Police Department daily calls service log for the week of August 21-27, 2023.
 
August 21, 2023
PHQ
Citizen contact

1200 Blk Phelps Ct
Animal control

600 Creek Ridge
Alarm

200 Blk Cypress
Welfare check

PHQ
Public service

 
August 22, 2023
Buckner Tarsney Rd/Woodbury
Motor vehicle accident

1400 Blk NW Eagle Ridge Dr
Welfare check

1100 Blk Buckner Tarsney Rd
Stealing

1200 Blk Phelps Dr
Stealing

1400 Blk Blue Branch
Suspicious vehicle

 
August 23, 2023
2100 Blk S Dillingham
Citizen contact

1200 Blk Long Dr
Citizen contact

1400 Blk NE Mary Ct
Verbal disturbance

600 Blk Jefferson
Area check

PHQ
Citizen contact

300 Blk SW Crestview
Suspicious vehicle

800 Blk Poplar
Disturbance

1400 Blk Blue Branch
Parking complaint

Main/Yennnie
Welfare check

Main/Eagles
Suspicious vehicle

800 Blk Harvest
Fraud

 
August 24, 2023
1100 Blk Sandy
Welfare check

100 Blk Jenson
Parking complaint

700 Blk Brome
Leaving the scene

1200 Blk Willow Dr
Property damage

PHQ
Citizen contact

300 Blk SW Eagles Pkwy
Suspicious vehicle

200 Blk SW Eagles Pkwy
Noise disturbance

200 Blk SW Eagles Pkwy
Verbal disturbance

BB/Duncan
Traffic light damage

1000 Blk NW Eagles Ridge Dr
Extra patrol

1800 Blk Pond
Animal control

1400 Blk Olympic Dr
Alarm

 
August 25, 2023
400 Blk Walnut
Harassment

100 Blk Old 40 Hwy
Stealing

PHQ
Citizen contact

Kirby/Eagles
Suspicious vehicle

2100 Blk Hedgewood
Suspicious vehicle

700 Blk N Main St
Welfare check

700 Blk Tall Chief
Agency assist

500 Blk SW Eagles Pkwy
Suspicious activity

 
August 26, 2023
1600 Blk Eagles
Citizen contact

800 Blk LeeAnn
Threats

800 Blk Ridgeview
Assault

1600 Blk Eagles
Citizen contact

PHQ
Citizen contact

800 Blk San Karr
Stealing

800 Blk San Karr
Physical disturbance

200 Blk SW Eagles Pkwy
Area check

Woodbury/Woodbury Pl
Citizen contact

 
August 27, 2023
300 Blk Front St
Harassment

1100 Blk Dean
Abandoned auto

300 Blk Front St
Suspicious activity

PHQ
Public service

BB/Jefferson
Road obstruction

1300 Blk NW Ashley Ln
Physical disturbance

1300 Blk NW Ashley Ln
Disturbance

 
 
Additional calls for service:
Suicidal subject: 2

by Joe Jerek, Missouri Department of Conservation


Need trees and shrubs for your landscape? Go native with tree and shrub seedlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Native trees and shrubs can help improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of private property.

MDC’s George O. White State Forest Nursery offers a variety of low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings for sale for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover, and other purposes.

The nursery provides mainly one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Seedlings varieties include: pine, bald cypress, cottonwood, black walnut, hickory, oak, pecan, persimmon, river birch, maple, willow, sycamore, blackberry, buttonbush, hazelnut, redbud, ninebark, elderberry, sumac, wild plum, witch hazel, and others. MDC recommends ordering early for the best selection.

“The nursery grows millions of seedlings each year, but some species are very popular and sell out quickly,” said Forest Nursery Supervisor Mike Fiaoni. “And some seedlings occasionally succumb to harsh weather or hungry wildlife, despite the nursery staff’s best efforts.”

Fiaoni added that even if a species is listed as “sold out,” customers can still place an order for those seedlings because other orders may get cancelled, freeing up inventory. Customers won’t be charged for seedlings unless they are available to ship.

Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or increments of 25 per species. Prices range from 34 cents to $1 per seedling. Sales tax will be added to orders unless tax exempt. There is a shipping fee and a $9 handling charge for each order. Receive a 15% discount up to $20 off seedling orders with a Heritage Card, Permit Card, or Conservation ID Number. Orders will be shipped or can be picked up at the nursery, located near Licking, from February through May.

​Orders can be placed beginning Sept. 1 through April 15, 2024. Place orders online at mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-seedlings.

by Michael Smith


After an impressive offensive performance in the jamboree last week, the Grain Valley football team proved it was a sign of things to come.

The Eagles looked impressive in a jamboree against Liberty North and Lee’s Summit as they scored a total of five touchdowns and were able to move the ball effectively throughout.

That seemed to carry over into Friday’s season opener against Fort Osage at Murray Moody Memorial Field. The Indians had won four in a row against the Eagles, including two in the Class 5 state quarterfinals.

It appeared that the Indians streak was on the verge of continuing after junior running back Ryver Peppers scored on an 18-yard run to put his team ahead 42-32 with 5 minutes and 53 seconds remaining. However, new Grain Valley quarterback Sal Caldarella had other ideas.

The senior signal caller responded with two touchdown passes in the final 5 minutes, including the game winner to junior wide receiver Aaron Barr with 37.2 seconds left as he led a comeback in a 46-42 victory, ending Fort Osage’s four-game winning streak over the Eagles.

“It’s bittersweet,” Grain Valley senior running back Ty Williams said of ending the losing streak against Fort. “My freshman year was the last time we beat them. We though, ‘We got to beat Fort. We got to beat Fort. Tonight we did it.”

The Eagles overcame a bevy of mistakes, including two failed extra point attempts, an unsuccessful two-point conversion, a blocked punt that led to a Fort Osage TD and a fumble in the red zone that swung the momentum of the game in the Indians’ favor in the second quarter.

Even after all that, the Eagles showed grit and resiliency to win a game in which it trailed for the majority of it.

After Grain Valley went down by 10-points late in the fourth, Caldarella went to work. He fit a pass over the top, in a tight window, as senior wide receiver Noah Olah made an over-the-shoulder catch with a defender right behind him and he raced into the end zone for a 44-yard catch-and-run to make 43-39 with 4:28 left.

“I played little league with Noah, so we already had that connection growing up,” said Caldarella, who credited his offensive line for his success. “He was at Blue Springs with me. It’s constant reps and we have learned how to play with each other over time.”

Added Williams: “Noah is a dog. He’s probably the fastest guy in the state right now.”

Grain Valley forced a three-and-out from the Fort offense and got the ball back with a little more than two minutes left. Disaster seemed to strike the Eagles on the next drive as Williams suffered a leg injury after a low tackle on a 2-yard run by an Indian defender. He was out for the rest of the game.

Williams finished with 224 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns. There were three occasions trainers had to work on Williams’s leg throughout the game due to what appeared to be cramping.  Each time the senior toughed it out and came back into the game.

“He can break it, he’s got some speed,” Grain Valley head coach David Allie said of Williams. “If you give him a crease, he has good vision and gets up field.”

With Williams out, Caldarella hit Barr along the left sideline and the junior wide receiver tight roped his way into the end zone for the winning score.

“That was our waggle switch play,” Barr said of the winning score. “Normally we switch it and we did because Fort Osage’s safeties like to bite down and we knew it would be open.”

Caldarella, a transfer from Blue Springs, was brilliant as he totaled 204 yards and three TD through the air, while completing 11 of his 18 passes. He also had six carries for 82 yards.

“Honestly, everything is good and we have more opportunities to throw the ball,” Barr said. “We couldn’t do that last year – it’s two different quarterbacks. He can fit passes into small windows. We are grateful to have him on our team.”

Both teams exchanged touchdowns in the first quarter as Williams scored on a 2-yard run and Peppers hit pay dirt on an 11-yard scamper to go into the second period tied at seven apiece.

Fort Osage then outscored Grain Valley 14-6 to go into halftime up 21-13. Indians senior Xander Shepherd blocked a Colton Clyman punt and returned the ball 26 yards for a score. A fumble recovery by junior Levi Carter on a lost ball from Williams set up a long drive that was capped by a 5-yard Peppers TD run.

Before that score, Fort Osage senior quarterback Kyle Wilson had his pass tipped by a Grain Valley’s Jordan Fuller, but sophomore Nicholas Penamon caught the deflection and made it to the Grain Valley 5-yard line on a 50-yard passing play.

The Eagles’ lone score in the second came on an 80-yard run from Williams, in which he found a huge hole in the middle, cut right and outran the Fort defense.

The Indians continued their momentum into the early third period when Wilson, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 194 yards and three scores, found Curtis Holloway over the middle for an 80-yard TD through the air to make it 28-13.

However, the never-say-die Eagles responded with a play action that resulted in a 50-yard scoring pass from Caldarella to Olah. Grain Valley then got an interception of Wilson from junior Toby Inman as he returned the ball to the Fort Osage 4. Williams plunged into the end zone on the ensuing play to cut the lead to 28-26 after a failed two-point conversion late in the third.

Fort Osage then answered with a swing pass from Wilson to junior Alex Snodgrass that resulted in a 33-yard score 11 seconds into the fourth. But once again the Eagles came back with another score as Williams found pay dirt on a 37-yard run in which he juked two Indian defenders.

“I want to thank God for this opportunity,” Williams said. “Without him, we’re nothing. Secondly, shout out to my O line, they make me look way better than I really am. Without that O line, we aren’t doing anything.”

Olah finished with five catches for a 123 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles, while Barr added three receptions and 65 yards and a TD.