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July 8, 2008
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Community News | Sports | Opinion | Close Window
Elms celebrates 120th anniversary
By ERIC COPELAND
Managing Editor
 The back lawn of the Elms Resort & Spa was buzzing all weekend, as the historic hotel kicked off its 120th anniversary celebration with accolades and special attractions.
The occasion warranted recognition from both the city and the state, as Mayor Carolyn Schutte and State Representative Bob Nance read proclamations honoring the hotel.
Councilman Ken Fousek, a local historian, also spoke briefly about the hotel's history, and the Elms' general manager, Eric Busick, and marketing director, Keith Winge, also addressed the audience.
The weekend continued with the Missouri Wine Festival Saturday. Hundreds of wine lovers turned out for an afternoon and evening of wine tasting, music and art.
Fousek, who also attended the wine festival, said at Monday night's council meeting that he was tremendously pleased with both the events and the turnout. "I talked to a lot of people who had never been here before, and said they found the town interesting," he said. He also noted that while many tickets to the wine festival were sold in advance, a large number of people purchased tickets at the gate the day of the event.
Mayor Pro Tem Ambrose Buckman showed off his photo with the "Trumans" and noted that the event was well organized and successful.
Councilman Jim Nelson said that the Friday event, as well as Waterfest a week earlier, showed what Excelsior Springs can accomplish with the right people and the right goal.
"I agree," Schutte said. "I give a round of applause for the Chamber and the downtown group (the Downtown Excelsior Partnership, which cosponsored the wine festival)."
The Elms is collecting stories from past guests about favorite or memorable past events. To read the memories already submitted, or add your own, visit www.elmsresort.com/anniversary.
City's budget picture improves
By ERIC COPELAND
Managing Editor
A budget amendment approved by the Excelsior Springs City Council Monday night puts the city on track to have a $230,000 surplus in the general fund by the end of the fiscal year.
The amendment boosted revenues to $6,680,289, $293,543 higher than the adjusted budget of $6,386,746.
Expenditures increased, too, but not by nearly as much -- up $99,687, from $6,345,951 to $6,445,638.
Director of Administrative Services Steve Marriott said the bottom line is that the ending fund balance has been adjusted upward by $193,806. Marriott said the increase in expenditures was due in part to expenses related to needed repairs at the Hall of Waters, as well as a plan to add another building inspector to the staff and a couple of vehicles to the city's fleet. In addition, he said, there is some extra expense for the city manager and council related to increased legal fees and work toward a Master Plan.
Mayor Carolyn Schutte and State Representative Bob Nance read proclamations honoring the hotel.
Councilman Ken Fousek, a local historian, also spoke briefly about the hotel's history, and the Elms' general manager, Eric Busick, and marketing director, Keith Winge, also addressed the audience.
The weekend continued with the Missouri Wine Festival Saturday. Hundreds of wine lovers turned out for an afternoon and evening of wine tasting, music and art.
Fousek, who also attended the wine festival, said at Monday night's council meeting that he was tremendously pleased with both the events and the turnout. "I talked to a lot of people who had never been here before, and said they found the town interesting," he said. He also noted that while many tickets to the wine festival were sold in advance, a large number of people purchased tickets at the gate the day of the event.
Mayor Pro Tem Ambrose Buckman showed off his photo with the "Trumans" and noted that the event was well organized and successful.
Councilman Jim Nelson said that the Friday event, as well as Waterfest a week earlier, showed what Excelsior Springs can accomplish with the right people and the right goal.
"I agree," Schutte said. "I give a round of applause for the Chamber and the downtown group (the Downtown Excelsior Partnership, which cosponsored the wine festival)."
The Elms is collecting stories from past guests about favorite or memorable past events. To read the memories already submitted, or add your own, visit www.elmsresort.com/anniversary.
Wealth Springs to cut ribbon
The Excelsior Springs Area Chamber of Commerce has announced a ribbon-cutting and grand opening next week at Wealth Springs/Case & Associates' new location at 118 Spring St.
The event will be held from 4-6 p.m. next Tuesday, July 15.
The new Wealth Springs office is in the site that formerly was the home of Gazebo-Brown Floral. The building has undergone extensive remodeling since Frank and Cathy Parrino retired from the floral business and closed the flower shop last year.
HPC meeting cancelled
The Excelsior Springs Historic Preservation Committee meeting that would have been held this week has been cancelled due to a lack of business to conduct.
The meeting is normally held at 4 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month in the council chambers at the Hall of Waters, 201 E. Broadway.
Two Movies on the Lawn slated
After a number of successful Movies on the Lawn this summer, the Elms Resort & Spa and The Excelsior Springs Standard will be expanding the concept for the first time this weekend, showing one movie on Friday night and its sequel Saturday night.
The 2004 Disney action yarn "National Treasure" will start at 9 p.m. this Friday, July 11, on the back lawn of the Elms.
At 9 p.m. the next night, the stars of that movie, which include Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voigt and Harvey Keitel, return for "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," the film's 2007 sequel.
Those who attend each movie will be charged a $1 grounds fee. Lawn chairs and blankets are suggested, and inexpensive concessions will be available during the movies.
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Junior Bible Quiz team travels to Nationals
Survivors: Junior Bible Quiz team ended their quiz year successfully. The team went to the National Junior Bible Quiz Festival in Kenosha, Wis. Lawson's team members are Samantha Miller, Zachary Cook, Isaiah Buxton and Elizabeth Watts.
Samantha, who will be entering 7th grade in Richmond, is the daughter of Wayne and Anne Miller of Rayville. Isaiah, a home schooled 6th grader, is the son of Shawn and Janell Buxton of Polo.
Zachary, who will be entering 5th grade in Lawson, is the son of Pastor Roger and Linda Cook of Lawson. Elizabeth, a 5th grader in the Excelsior school district, is the daughter of Pat and Venita Watts of Excelsior Springs.
Nationally there are around 2,000 teams and 10,000 children who are a part of the Junior Bible Quiz program, which is sponsored by the Assembly of God church fellowship.
Lawson was one of 80 teams, representing 32 states, who qualified to compete at Nationals.
As part of their trip to Nationals, Lawson won the Northern Missouri District championship in April, defeating teams from Kansas City, Columbia, St. Charles and Moberly.
In May they competed in the North Central Regionals in Bloomington, Minn., where they finished 8th. There they competed against the top 23 teams in the seven state area.
With a theme of "Passing the Torch," the three-day JBQ Festival began with an opening ceremony similar to a Olympic's opening, with each team marching in, carrying their team flag/banner.
Nationals ended with the presentation of team and individual
awards/recognition.
Lawson's team was recognized for finishing in 30th out of 80 teams. Miller and Cook each received a $200 tuition scholarship to North Central University in Minneapolis for having earned the Master Seal in the JBQ program.
This award is given to participants who correctly answer all 576 questions in the Bible Fact-Pak study material correctly.
Cook and Miller also received special recognition for having earned three national awards above the Master Seal, for their mastering of the quiz material: the Master Quoter award, the "Almost Impossible" award and the "Impossible" award.
To receive the "Impossible" award in the JBQ program, a participant must correctly answer all 576 Bible Fact-Pak questions at the earliest interruption point in the question, in one sitting. The participant also has to "perfectly" quote 107 verses of scripture and answer numerous other questions related to people, places and events in the Bible, as well as the Bible doctrine.
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"Robman" spins 'round the sphere to play and pray
From Lebanon to the Midwest, "The Robman" is scheduled to return to Excelsior Springs
By KIM SIMMONS
Standard Sports Editor
Some youth from the Excelsior Springs community may remember Rob Kinnard, better known as "The Robman." He was involved with last summer's vacation Bible school at Barbee Memorial Presbyterian Church, where he provided his Christian ministry through an enthusiastic demonstration of a variety of sports. Kinnard is presently in Lebanon with The International Sports Evangelists (ISE), an organization that he founded and headquartered in Richmond, Mo., where he is also Director of Parks and Recreation.
ISE got its start in 2000 after partnering with Living Faith Ministries International - a ministry based in Lebanon. The team conducted basketball camps that were interwoven with powerful testimonies. Following that successful trip, the group agreed to continue the work that had been started by sending a team to the country every July.
Kinnard and this year's ISE team of Chris and Cherith Wier (Excelsior Springs), John and Becky Wier (Lawson) and Larry Nowicki (Raytown), are presently in Lebanon for that annual trip, but "The Robman" will be back in the Midwest just in time to once again team-up with Barbee Memorial for another round of sports evangelism (along with puppetry, music, snacks and crafts).According to Kinnard, the first Lebanon trip became the springboard for ISE's passion for international missions. Since that time, the team has also traveled to the Ukraine to conduct sports camps and to play in exhibition games.
"We have a partnership with First Baptist Church in Zapata, Texas, and have made two trips there. We've also traveled into Mexico to do construction work and support an orphanage ministry, but local missions is where it all begins," said Kinnard, who is grateful for the opportunity to work with kids in the Excelsior Springs area once again.
His personal return to our area (to Barbee's vacation Bible school, in particular), will be July 30 - Aug. 2.
"We are excited about Barbee praying for us and using vacation Bible school offerings for the ministry of the International Sports Evangelists," said Kinnard, who passionately believes that God utilizes the talents of many dedicated people of all denominations by "using sports, prayer - walking, clowning, puppetry and related ministries to share the good news of Jesus Christ."
"The Robman" definitely has his own spin on sharing the Gospel, and the folks at Barbee are excited to present it once again with the youth of this community.
Call Barbee at 637-6258 for more detailed information about its upcoming event that will feature Kinnard's own style of sports evangelism.
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Elms is a stalwart of our city's rich past
The Opinion Page is not usually where we talk about individual businesses in our community, but over this past weekend -- as our nation was celebrating its 232nd birthday -- one of the businesses that has been the bedrock of our city's history also marked a milestone.
The Elms Resort & Spa kicked off its 120th year on July 4, the exact date in 1888 that the original hotel opened. It was a wooden building in a different location in those days, and over its history it's been through a couple of fires, some financial trials and a lot of ups and downs.
But when the hotel first opened, Excelsior Springs was still in its infancy. And throughout a century and a quarter of history, most of the time Excelsior Springs has come to rely on that grand building south of downtown as a mainstay, a stalwart that survives through thick and thin. There were some pretty trying times, but in every instance both the Elms and Excelsior Springs have pulled through.
The hotel hosted a full weekend of activities, from the proclamations Friday night -- accompanied by appearances by actors portraying two of the Elms' most famous guests, Harry and Bess Truman -- to the wildly successful Missouri Wine Festival Saturday. And we understand other 120th anniversary events are planned over the coming year.
Excelsior Springs residents pride themselves on the rich history of our community. The tapestry of our past puts many older communities to shame.
And we're fortunate to have businesses like the Elms that add to that history by incorporating their own almost legendary story into our community's past.
The dynamics of brotherhood
By ERIC COPELAND
Managing Editor
Women tell me that the relationship between sisters is so complex, so multi-layered, that it can't really be explained to anyone who hasn't experienced it.
Even those who have seen it in action, but weren't directly involved, have only a fleeting understanding of how deep this relationship runs. I have no doubt that they are telling me the truth, because -- not surprisingly -- the same is true for brothers.
I love my younger brother dearly, but even so I don't have a full appreciation for the dynamics of the relationship between brothers. After all, I was already 7 1/2 years old when Bob was born (remember the ages when that "and a half" was so important?). Today, that difference seems relatively small, and it is. Our relationship today is stronger than it has been at any other time in our lives, and it's getting stronger all the time. But when you're 10, and your kid brother is 3, that's a world of difference. And when you're 14, 16, 18, 21 -- never mind even trying to relate to a 7, 9, 11 or 14-year-old. It's like two different worlds, planets that aren't even orbiting the same sun.
But over the past few years I've watched my own sons and paid close attention to their relationship. I can't say I understand it, but what I've seen will likely resonate with anyone who has ever raised a couple of little boys.
Michael just turned 7 last month. Caleb is a few weeks shy of his fourth birthday. That difference of nearly three years clearly defines which is the older brother and which is the younger, and they are two very different kids. But together they are a force of nature.
That said, this weekend I observed two very different facets of brotherhood -- and they confirm for me that, try as I might, I will never really be able to wrap my head around the concept.
One happened during weekend playtime. I believe I was on the computer, and my wife, Michelle, was reading. I wasn't paying 100 percent attention, but I did catch a snippet of conversation that made me wonder just what was going on. Caleb walked from the kitchen through the living room and into the bedroom the boys share, and said simply: "I put the helmet on, and it hurted anyway." Sure enough, when I looked up he had on the helmet we bought him to use with his Thomas the Tank Engine scooter. I never learned exactly what still "hurted" even despite the helmet, but since Caleb was still wearing the device, walking and talking -- and since Michael didn't send him right out again to be a guinea pig for another venture -- I let it go at that.
A little earlier in the afternoon we were all out in the backyard, loading brush into my father-in-law's pickup, when our work ground to a halt upon the discovery of a copperhead at the bottom of the brush pile. We handled the situation as best we knew how, noticing that the boys weren't nearby but not knowing much more than that.
A few minutes later, Michael ventured outside and asked if it was safe for Caleb to come back outside. It turned out that at the first sign of danger, Michael had acted quickly, ushering his little brother inside to safety.
From protection to stunt work in just a few hours. How do you describe such a roller coaster?
Brotherhood, of course.
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