Northland

From our editorial board, should note:

Voters will help elect a new U.S. president Tuesday while making final decisions on races in Missouri and Kansas.

The Star’s recommendations for selected contested races:

UNITED STATESPRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTBarack Obama and Joe Biden (D)

MISSOURIU.S. HOUSE4th District — Ike Skelton (D)5th District — Emanuel Cleaver (D)6th District — Kay Barnes (D)

GOVERNORJeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon (D)

LIEUTENANT GOVERNORSam Page (D)

SECRETARY OF STATERobin Carnahan (D)

STATE TREASURERClint Zweifel (D)

ATTORNEY GENERALMike Gibbons (R)

AMENDMENTS AND PROPOSITIONSConstitutional Amendment No. 1: Shall the Constitution be amended to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings? — NO

The Platte County Commission invites you to attend the first Public Open House for the update to the comprehensive Parks System Master Plan.  The meeting will be from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on September 30th at the County Administration Building, 415 Third Street in Platte City.

The County’s original park plan was developed ten years ago and led to the creation of the current parks system, including the community centers and the newly opened Missouri Riverfront Trail.  Substantial public input was the success behind the first plan, and the parks update will follow the same path.  Additional information and feedback opportunities are available at the project website, http://www.platteparks.com .

A Legislative Forum will be held at the Platte County Board of Services for the Developmentally Disabled on Saturday, September 27, 2008, from 1 to 3 p.m. Candidates for public office from Clay, Platte and Ray Counties have been invited to present their views concerning the disability community.

The Metropolitan Council on Developmental Disabilities and Encouraging Families with Exceptional Children Together urge parents, caregivers, self-advocates and interested persons to take advantage of this opportunity to meet with and learn which candidate best supports the needs of developmentally disabled citizens in their district.

The North Kansas City Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 to solicit public input about the city’s proposed 2008-2009 budget.

 The meeting will be held in the city council chambers at North Kansas City Hall, 2010 Howell St.

 A copy of the city’s budget will be available for public review at city hall one week prior to the hearing.

Gladstone smoking ban

 The Gladstone City Council has scheduled a public forum to collect civic opinion about possibly establishing a smoking ban ordinance in Gladstone.

 The forum, which is open to the public, will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Gladstone Community Center. Pre-registration is required online.

 The meeting will be a public discussion examining the topic of banning smoking in Gladstone’s public places and whether such a ban is needed.

. All Gladstone residents and business owners are encouraged to attend the meeting.

The Northland Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 in the downstairs meeting room at the North Kansas City Public Library, 2251 Howell St. in North Kansas City.

 The meeting is open to all persons interested in the Democratic Party and up-coming election issues.

 For more information, call 816-455-8683.

Legislative Forum(For Clay, Platte, and Ray Counties)

Do you know the candidates running in your district? Do you know what views they have in regards to the disability community? Join us and educate yourself by personally meeting the legislative candidates who are running in your district. Find out where they stand on issues that concern you so that you vote for the one who best represents your views. Let them know you care, and that you have a voice!
YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

Platte County Board of Services for the Developmentally Disabled
7900 NW 106th Street
Kansas City, MO 64153

Cop Talk - at Shoal Creek Patrol Station  

1st District Road Update Forum Tuesday, September 16 8:30a.m.    Councilwoman Deb Hermann and Councilman Bill Skaggs will be hosting the next First District Road update forum on Tuesday, September 16, 8:30a.m. at Northland Neighborhoods Inc., 3015 Vivion Road.

The Clay County Economic Development Council’s legislative Affairs  Committee will host a candidate forum featuring participants in the  November election.The forum will be Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 a.m. at the Shoal Creek  Patrol Police Headquarters, 6801 Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City.The public is invited. Free coffee will be provided. For more  information, call the EDC at (816) 468-4989 or e-mail info@clayedc.com.

The Platte County Democratic Central Committee will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at its Election Headquarters office at 6232 NW Barry Road, in the Boardwalk Shopping Center.  The meeting is open to the public; there is no charge.  Please park on the north side of the office.

The Clay County Economic Development Council is accepting applications for its six-month leadership development training program for business and civic leaders.
The program, which begins Sept. 10, was created by the development council and the Pryor Center for Leadership Development at William Jewell College. Class sessions will meet one day each month at the college in Liberty.
Participants will receive training in situational leadership theory, team development skills, behaviorial and personality inventory theory, feedback assessment, vision creation skills and other subjects.
Undergraduate, graduate and continuing education credits are available.

The annual joint luncheon of the Clay County Economic Development Council, the Platte County Economic Development Commission and the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce will be at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 9 at the Embassy Suites KCI Hotel.

Gov. Matt Blunt will speak at the event, which is open to the public. Admission is $30. The deadline for reservations is Sept. 2.

For more information or reservations, call 816-468-4989.

Join your neighbors and other community leaders as we continue to develop a plan to guide the future of the Briarcliff-Winnwood project area.

Monday, August 25, 2008
Registration begins at 5:45pm
Workshop 6:00-8:00pm
(The meeting will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m.) Join your neighbors and other community leaders as we continue to develop a plan to guide the future of the Briarcliff-Winnwood Area.

WHERE:
Golden Oaks Education Center
3100 NE 46th St.
Kansas City, MO 64117
(north side of NE 46th Street midway between Antioch Rd and Chouteau Tfwy.)

A community workshop to discuss neighborhood and housing issues within the project area. This meeting will build off the visioning discussion at the first meeting. For more information and to view the meeting summary from the first meeting please visit:

Cop Talk is an open forum where residents can meet with staff from both Northland police stations to discuss crime and other disorder.

Councilwoman Deb Hermann and Councilman Bill Skaggs will be hosting the next First District Road update forum on Tuesday, August 19, 8:30a.m.

If you have any questions please contact: Terri Wolfe, Administrative Assistant to Councilwoman Deb Hermann at 816-513-1624.

She’s using all her Clay County connections. And she’s relying on all the friends and associations she made serving as president of the Kansas City park board.

I recently ran into Sandra Aust, the Democratic challenger for the 17th District Missouri state Senate seat. Aust ran unopposed in the primary. Now she will face Republican Luann Ridgeway, the incumbent in the November election, to see who will represent a district that covers most of Clay County.

I remember Aust from the park board during Mayor Kay Barnes’ term. But when I saw her Tuesday, she had transformed into an aggressive campaigner full of confidence.

The Northland Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 20 in the downstairs meeting room at the North Kansas City Public Library, 2251 Howell Street.
The meeting is open to everyone interested in the Democratic Party.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 816-455-8683.

The Northland Workforce Housing project has scheduled three public input sessions to engage citizens in a discussion about how to best meet the workforce housing needs of the Northland Community. The schedule is as follows:

· August 20 Platte County Discussion hosted by Park University. Location: McCoy Meetin' House, Park University, 8700 River Park Drive, Parkville, MO 64152.

· August 21 Southern Clay County Discussion hosted by Northland Neighborhoods, Inc. Location: 3015 NE Vivion Road, Kansas City, MO 64119.

· September 3 Northern Clay County Discussion hosted by Clay County Public Health Center. Location: 800 Haines Drive, Liberty, MO 64068.