South wins district title, ends Park Hill streak

No matter what had happened in Park Hill and Park Hill South’s three previous meetings this season, there was no question the district championship meeting they earned their way to last week would be the most important and deciding game of their series this year. While Park Hill South had won two of their three meetings this year, Park Hill won 1-0 in the most recent game on October 15^th and had the confidence of knowing they had ended Park Hill South’s season three years in a row in district play coming into last week’s meeting.

Despite what seemed as the Trojans’ strong recent grasp over the Panthers in district play, it was a moment in Park Hill South’s 3-0 victory over Smithville which they believe gave them the extra energy boost needed to finally break that streak. Injuries can not only create a physical absence on the field, but remove an emotional focus as well. So when a senior-laden and tight-knit group saw senior Ryan Dansby break his leg in the second half, it really shook the Panthers up.

“When it happened, we were up 3-0, but it was almost as if we could have lost it at that point,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said. “They were really upset and it really took a lot out of us. The possibility for injury is always there, but to play hard you can’t let it enter your mind. However, when you see it happen, it’s almost impossible to erase from your mind.”

The lingering effects of the injury carried over into the next day’s practice where they needed to focus on the ensuing title game against Park Hill, something they’d been focusing their entire season towards. Enter the coaching staff, who organized with the booster club to order warm-up jerseys with Dansby’s #2 on them. The energy that created was something to be reckoned with and evident in the stadium the following night, not only from the team, but the parents and students as well.

“We really needed to do something to get their mind off it,” Toigo said. “They were so excited when they got those warm-ups earlier tonight. Their spirit has been great all year, so when we lose (on the field or, in this case, off of it) we can keep them from getting too far down.”

Re-energized, the Panthers had renewed their focus on their postseason aspirations while also using it to play for their injured teammate. Adam Weatherly would put Park Hill South up a goal towards the end of the first half, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead at halftime. Brian Kissee would score in the opening minute of the second half to give them the exclamation point they needed for what would be the final 2-0 score. Park Hill, while physical and competitive until the very end, would not recover, never quite able to finish on a handful of near scoring opportunities.

After avoiding a complete Gatorade-drenching and hearing his team sing their fight song, Toigo talked about the new motivation and importance of using that to score early.

“There’s no question we’re playing for Ryan, as well as for ourselves. When we’re playing for ourselves, we’re playing for Ryan,” Toigo said. “If we can score first, we’re not bunkering ourselves in, but it gives us that little boost of confidence. I think we’re where we want to be right now.”

Park Hill South was playing Liberty in the Missouri state sectional round Tuesday night at The Citizen went to press. A win would send them to the state quarterfinals against Rockhurst/Lee’s Summit North this Saturday.

PH South takes conference swim title

Park Hill South claimed the conference championship over Park Hill in the Suburban Conference - Red Division swim meet last weekend with 514 points. Park Hill came in second with 438 team points. Park Hill South notched first place finishes in five which included Liam Huffman in the 100 and 200 freestyle, Tom Prinslow in the 500 freestyle, and the 200 and 400 free relays with swimmers Alex Heuton, Chase Riekhof, Travis Colpitts, Prinslow, and Huffman.

Park Hill also secured five first place finishes which included Barry Chang in the 200 individual medley, Matt Wagner in the 100 backstroke, Kyle Allen in the 100 breaststroke, Vince Tutorino in the 100 butterfly, and the 200 medley relay team of Wagner, Allen, Tutorino, and Marcin Glebocki.

Both teams will now prepare for the state meet held in St. Peters, Missouri next weekend.

Fall Round-up: Oct. 23-30

Park Hill Football

After an energy draining loss to Park Hill South two weeks ago, Park Hill was hoping they could drum up some of the postseason magic from years past in their opening round district game against St. Joe Central last Friday. The Trojans had good reason to believe a second chance at the Indians could go their way if they played well as Park Hill mounted a comeback earlier in the season to pull ahead of St. Joe Central late in the game before the Indians posted a score in the final minutes to win 32-29.

The hope that a close game may fall in the Trojans favor disappointed quickly though as St. Joe Central came out firing on all cylinders, mounting an early first quarter 14-0 lead. It wouldn’t get any better from there for the Trojans as St. Joe Central would tally more than 300 yards of offense in the first half, widening their lead to an insurmountable 37-0 score.

Park Hill would be able to post several scores late in the game, but the damage had been done as St. Joe Central ends the Trojans’ season with a 43-13 loss. Park Hill ends the season with a record of 3-7.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Soccer

As The Citizen went to press Tuesday night, Park Hill and Park Hill South were competing in district semifinal match ups against Staley and Oak Park. Victories would put them into the district title game Thursday evening. If both the Trojans and Panthers were to post wins, it would set up a fourth and final chapter for the two rivals in 2012. This time with everything on the line, the two would be fighting for a postseason berth and right to claim the ultimate bragging right of sending the other home for the season.

Park Hill Volleyball

After thumping St. Joe Central in the opening round of district play, the Trojans’ season came to a disappointing end with a 25-8, 25-7 loss to Staley in the district semifinals. While Park Hill didn’t finish the season on a high note, the Trojans’ 18-12 final record is the team’s first winning record in several years.

Park Hill South Volleyball

Compiling a 31-3 record during the regular season was proof that Park Hill South was one of the top teams in the state. But in the heavily competitive state of Missouri volleyball, Park Hill South was defeated in the district title game by St. Theresa’s last week in three hard fought sets.  The Stars defeated Park Hill South in district play last year to end their season as well.

After losing the first game, the Panthers battled back to claim a 25-21 win in game two to send the district title match into a third game. There the Stars would clinch their second consecutive title with a 25-18 win.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

Kainen Utt led Park Hill in the sectional cross country meet last weekend with his 18^th place finish, qualifying him for the state meet this weekend. Also competing for Park Hill were Nate Thomas who finished 41^st and Hanok Tekle who finished 60^th.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

Tucker Melles and Gus Whitman will be competing in the state cross country championship next weekend after quality performances this past weekend in sectionals. Melles finished 17^th overall while Whitman was close behind with his 21^st place finish. Other Panthers competing in the sectional race included Keyan Launders (46^th), Tristan McCoy (62^nd), Lendon Calhoun (66^th), Alex Thurston (69^th), and Jacob Bowlin (75^th). Park Hill South finished seventh as a team overall.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

Erica Guzman fell just short of qualifying for the state meet last weekend when she finished 39^th in a field where 30^th was the cutoff to advance out of sectionals. Lizzy Jurries also competed for Park Hill South, finishing in 72^nd place.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

Mercedes Robinson and Kim Rau finished their season last week at the sectional meet at Ray Pec. Robinson’s 46^th place finish and Rau’s 57^th place finish were not enough to qualify them for the state meet.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Golf

The Trojans and Panthers had several quality performances in the Class 2 state golf tournament two weeks ago. Adrianna Elliott led Park Hill with her 20^th place finish after rounds of 85 and 95. Park Hill South’s Lindsey Gile placed 42^nd and Park Hill’s Bailey Warlen finished 77^th.

Panthers easily handle Northmen

Scoring in just about every way imaginable in their 56-8 stomping of Oak Park last Thursday in the opening round of district play, Park Hill South (6-4) now looks to their matchup with the Kearney Bulldogs (6-3) Wednesday night in the district semifinals. The Bulldogs received a first round bye and will be well rested to host the Panthers. Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox says his team will face an opponent with a long history of success, but one he can also see glimpses of his own team in based on the balance of their offenses.

“They’re used to winning and they’ll expect to win, no question about that,” Simcox said. “We haven’t played them in a long time so we’re going to have to study up a bit. In some ways they’re a lot like us on offense. They run more of a double-slot where they’re able to do what the defense gives them, so they’re pretty balanced.”

That balance was on full display last week in their opening round playoff game against Oak Park. If there was any doubt Park Hill South would be able to carry the momentum from their 45-14 win over Park Hill last week into this week’s first round district game against a struggling Oak Park team, it was quickly put to rest.

“We want to be efficient and we know we can’t be on an emotional high every week, but it can’t affect our efficiency,” Simcox said of coming off the previous week’s rivalry game.

The Panthers stuck with the legs of running backs Myles Hammonds and Ronnie Bertelsmeyer to rack up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Bertelsmeyer punched in a two-yard touchdown run in between Hammonds touchdown runs of 4 and 37 yards. That lead would eventually build into a 35-0 at halftime after Hammonds added his third touchdown and receiver Nick Griffith pulled in a 62 yard pass from quarterback Shaefer Schuetz.

Runs of 20 yards from Craig Scott and 15 yards from Corey Land produced two more touchdowns in the second half to widen their lead to 49-0. With a running clock in the second half, Oak Park was able to put their first points of the game on the board when Joe Anderson took a double handoff that went 25 yards for a touchdown.

Freshman Collin Faro posted the game’s last points with a two yard touchdown run in the game’s final minutes to bring the contest’s final score to 56-8. The Panthers would combine for 467 yards of offense and did so fairly evenly between their playmakers as Hammonds ended the night with 97 yards on nine carries while Bertelsmeyer compiled 67 yards from seven carries. Scott who added a touchdown on the ground, caught five passes for 115 yards.

Simcox talked about his team’s depth and how that has helped them not only fill in when injuries occur, but also how it creates options to spread the ball around.

“That’s the advantage of having numbers to where kids are competing against each other in practice for positions, for playing time,” Simcox said. “In a game like this one, it really pays off.”

Harold Wayne Pepper: 1929-2012

Harold Wayne Pepper, 83, left this Earth to go to his Eternal home on October 28, 2012.  Born May 24, 1929 on the family homestead north of Weston, Missouri, he was the only child to the late Aneta Steele and W.B. Pepper Jr. While growing up, Harold helped his father work the same family farm five generations of his family had previously.

He was a lively boy and enjoyed telling stories about his youth and the ornery adventures he and his friends had.  He attended the Salem Christian Church in his earlier years, where his father was the long-time Sunday school superintendent, and attended Weston schools where he graduated from in 1948.

He married Martha Jean Lawrence on December 15, 1950 at the First Christian Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. They celebrated their 61^st anniversary last year.

Harold was a veteran of the Korean War where he saw combat action. Private Pepper was a member of the 780^th Field Artillery Battalion. He was later promoted to Corporal, earning three service stars and a Meritorious Achievement award. 

When his tour of duty ended in 1953, he returned home to farm the land he grew up on, hauling livestock, water, and even raising cattle for a period of time. He would make this his life’s work. In 1954, he and Jean had their first child, Dan, followed by their second, John, two years later. Dan and John grew up working the farm alongside Harold, just as he had with his father. Harold was also a member of the Masonic Lodge A.F. & A.M. in DeKalb.

Harold loved spending time with his family, talking about tractors, tools, and the history of Weston. He was a man of simple tastes; enjoying a warm cup of coffee or cold beer, reading various local newspapers, driving his truck, and catching up in conversation. He will be remembered for his unique laugh and sense of humor, interest in agriculture, and love for animals.

Harold is preceded in death by his parents Aneta Steele and W.B. Pepper Jr., and long-time beloved pet cats Teetle and Peanuts.

Harold is survived by his two doting and caring sons, Dan Pepper and wife Kris of DeKalb, MO and John Pepper of Kansas City, MO.  He has four grandchildren, Rachel Pepper and Jason of Platte City, MO, Hannah Thornton and Matt of St. Joseph, MO, Matt Pepper of Kansas City, MO, and Ben Pepper of Kansas City, MO.  He also has one step great granddaughter, Aubrey Thornton. 

The family will receive friends on Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 10 a.m. at Vaughn’s Funeral Home in Weston, Missouri followed by a funeral at 11 a.m. to celebrate his life.  Interment, with military honors, will be at Mount Bethel Cemetery, Weston, Missouri. 

Memorial donations may be provided to the Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron, Missouri.

SPCAD encounters permit obstacle with Parkville

Approximately three weeks into their contract as the ambulance provider for the Southern Platte County Ambulance District, American Medical Response (AMR) says the welcome they’ve received from the community has been with arms wide open as they work to introduce themselves to local residents. But it hasn’t been without its hiccups AMR operations manager Cam Hendry reported to the district’s board of directors at last week’s regular meeting.

The main obstacle AMR has experienced so far is occupying the space they have leased in Parkville at the Bell Road Industrial Park from which to base their operations. AMR briefly moved in before learning of a requirement to obtain a conditional use permit from the City of Parkville. Intending to stage living quarters on the property for their paramedic teams overnight and store their ambulances, the intended use does not meet the approved zoning. Until the permit is issued, AMR cannot occupy the space and has been staging their units out of the nearest overnight venue available, which a motel outside and north of the district off Prairie View Road, near Barry Road.

“Right now that is the biggest culprit,” board president Bobby Kincaid said.

Parkville Acting City Administrator Sean Ackerson says the property owner has submitted an application for a conditional use permit to allow dwelling units within an industrial zone and that a hearing is scheduled.

“They are wanting to move into the Bell Road Industrial Park, which is predominantly zoned industrial,” Ackerson said. “Per municipal code they need a conditional use permit for the use, particularly the living quarters. I’d describe their use as fire department-like in that they have both habitable space as well as the garage function.”

The hearing on the permit will be held October 30^th. If action is taken, it would then go to the board of aldermen for final approval on November 6^th. Hendry said the proximity to the intersection of Highway 45 and Highway 9 in Parkville is most ideal, but would be open to all options if an arrangement could not be reached with the landlord and City of Parkville.

Another topic covered at the meeting was response times, which was one of the main factors in switching ambulance providers in the first place. Hendry provided a report to the board of all emergency calls and responses placed in the month of October. Kincaid expressed concern over some complaints he had personally received about response times, but those were cleared up by how the data is measured. Hendry noted that meeting the nine-minute average response time in AMR’s contract is based off the time between when a call is received and an ambulance arrives to the scene, not the time it takes to respond to the scene and then potentially transport a patient to an emergency room.

“They’re meeting the response times called for in the contract. We don’t want to see anyone lose their life due to an ambulanace, it’s very important to me and the rest of the board,” Kincaid said. “They (AMR) are going to do everything they can do make sure that happens, where the Fire Department in the past had not.”

The board also welcomed news of strong cooperation between AMR and bordering jurisdictions, which had been a particular concern in regards to the Kansas City Fire Department who previously held the service contract. AMR is still in negotiations with KCFD and the Northland Regional Ambulance District (NRAD) for mutual aid assistance should the situation call for it.

Park Hill South claims second straight King of Hill title

After a decisive 45-14 Park Hill South victory over Park Hill at last week’s King of the Hill rivalry game, the Panthers and Trojans now head into Week Ten, the first round of district play, where each will be faced with the situation of winning to advance or losing to end their season. Park Hill South (5-4) notched the third seed with their win and will host sixth seeded Oak Park (1-8). Park Hill (3-6), the fifth seed, will travel to fourth seeded St. Joe Central (5-4) in a rematch of their contest two weeks ago where the Indians pulled out a 32-29 victory.

It took a full quarter for both teams to shake off what might be described as the adrenaline of the rivalry atmosphere before the first points were posted last Friday night. After being denied on a fourth and goal play late in the first quarter, Park Hill South would come back on the next drive with a short field to score on a four-yard touchdown run from Myles Hammonds to give them a 7-0 second quarter lead. Park Hill would struggle to gain offensive momentum most of the night, particularly in the first half, but their defense would hold Park Hill South to a modest 10-0 half lead after the Panthers added a 34-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

“We thought that if we could run at them early and be physical with them, it could pay off,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. “Defensively, we wanted to take away what they wanted to do by stopping the run.”

Park Hill South did just that by building a first half lead, putting the pressure on Park Hill to create momentum coming out of the locker room for the second half. It would be Park Hill South turning up the heat though, as they scored touchdowns on all four possessions of the third quarter to build an insurmountable 38-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Through the air and on the ground, the Panthers displayed one of their most balanced offensive performances of the year. True to form, Park Hill South would use the legs of Hammonds to run the ball to set up the four scores that Panthers receivers Logan Gillespie, Craig Scott (2), and Robert Lane would pull in for touchdown receptions. Hammonds would end the night with 184 yards on 27 carries.

“If we can keep them from cheating on our run game, we can run it. If they cheat, then we’ll throw it to the outside,” Simcox said. “The game’s always a little bit easier on offense when you can do a little bit of both.”

Park Hill’s lone score until late in the fourth quarter came from a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kenyotte Harris in the third quarter.

But Park Hill’s defense just couldn’t stop the resilient Park Hill South offense as the Panthers would cap off the third quarter scoring their fourth straight touchdown in as many drives. Ronnie Bertlesmeyer would put the icing on the cake with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter to extend Park Hill South’s lead to 45-7.

Quarterback Clay Ford would add a short touchdown run in the game’s final minutes to narrow the margin to 45-14. The night would be the Park Hill South’s though as the Panther faithful stormed the field to celebrate clinching their second King of the Hill title in as many years. Simcox told his team following the game that he hoped it was an opportunity for the program to look forward to bigger things.

“Because we’ve lost so many games to them over the years, it’s hard for our kids to get over it,” Simcox said. “As a program, we have to look to bigger things. This will always to be big, just as long as it doesn’t affect your next game.”

Fall Roundup: Oct. 15-22

Park Hill Soccer 
…following their early week win over Park Hill South 1-0, the Trojans went to split the remaining two games they had last week. They fell behind a good Rockhurst team before mounting a comeback that fell just short in a 4-3 loss.

“In the second half we stepped up our line of defense and applied pressure to make things a bit more difficult for their playmakers,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “A couple of great individual efforts on free kicks were the deciding factor.”

They ended the week with a 3-0 win over Liberty to improve their overall record to 15-6 coming into this week. In a preview of their first round of the district tournament next Tuesday, Park Hill played Oak Park Monday night. Park Hill beat the Northmen 1-0 earlier in the season.

Park Hill Volleyball

…concluded their regular season schedule with two wins last week with decisive victories over St. Joe Central (25-14, 25-13) and Ruskin (25-15, 25-8). Lindsey Grace continues to lead the Trojans in kills and blocks with 189 and 65 respectively, on the year while Kelsey Bearce leads the team in aces and assists.

Park Hill came into this week with a 17-11 record and  was matched up with St. Joe Central again Monday night in first round of districts where they advanced to play Staley Wednesday night.

Park Hill South Soccer

…beat Lee’s Summit West 1-0 early in the week to claim a share of the conference title before dropping a disappointing match to Kearney 1-0 to end the week. The Panthers (19-5) will wrap up their regular season this week with a game at Oak Park on Thursday. Securing the top seed in districts, Park Hill South will face winner of Staley/St. Joe Central in the semifinals on Tuesday at Staley.

Park Hill South Volleyball

…won both of their home games last week to end the regular season. The first came against Truman as the Panthers notched a 25-21, 25-14 victory in two games. Park Hill South would need to go down to the wire in their second game against Liberty to seal a 25-18, 28-26 victory.

The Panthers are the number one seed in the Class 4, District 15 tournament this week and will play Wednesday in the semifinals against the winner of the Winnetonka/William Chrisman match.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

placed fourth in the Class 4, District 8 race over the weekend. Tucker Melles led Park Hill South with a second place finish and first team all-conference selection. Other Panther runners who competed included Gus Whitman (16^th), Keyan Lunders (24^th), Tristan McCoy (36^th), Lendon Calhoun (37^th), Alex Thurston (38^th), and Jacob Bowlin (47^th).

"They all had a great race. Many ran as fast or faster than conference which was on a flat course," coach Brad Banning said. "Tucker Melles had a great race, just getting out kicked for first place. I think we are peaking at the right time heading into sectionals. I'm very proud of the team."

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished fifth in the Class 4, District 8 race last weekend. Kainen Utt finished tenth as the Trojans’ top placement. He was followed by fellow teammates Nate Thomas (19^th), Hanok Tekle (26^th), Cain Winebrenner (33^rd), Noah Barajas (45^th), Carter Barajas (52^nd), and Brandon Rich (61^st).

 "I thought our team competed hard.  I was happy for Kainen, Nate, and Hanok who qualified individually for the sectional meet," coach Jon Davis said. "It was disappointing that we didn’t get our team through to the sectional meet."

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…placed sixth at the Class 4, District 8 race Saturday. Lizz Jurries and her 16^th place finish led the Panthers. Margaret McKeon (18^th), Erica Guzman (22^nd), Audrey Rothers (40^th), Madeline Homoly (54^th), and DeDe O’Toole (57^th) also competed for Park Hill South.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…took eighth place at the Class 4, District race last weekend. Kim Rau led the Trojans with a 21^st place finish. Following her were Mercedes Robinson (23^rd), Brooke Bischof (43^rd), Emma Gaiser (47^th), Gianna Tutorino (51^st), Madeline Mudd (59^th), and Libby Lund (64th).

"With all the injuries we battled this year I am extremely proud of the way the girls finished," coach Jason Parr said. "We have Kim Rau and Mercedes Robinson who will run at Sectionals next week.  I hope that both of these girls will make it out to State."

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

...Madeline Homoly and Charlie McFarlane took tough and unfortunate falls in the Class 4, District 8 race last Saturday, which prevented them from advancing to sectionals this weekend. 

"These two falls obviously hurt our team score and I feel really terrible," Coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said.

The Panthers' sixth place finish was led by Lizzy Jurries and her 16^th place finish. Margaret McKeon (18^th), Erica Guzman (22^nd), Audrey Rothers (40^th), Homoly (54^th), and DeDe O’Toole (57^th) also competed for Park Hill South. McFarlane was not able to finish the race because of a turned ankle from her fall. Jurries, McKeon, and Rothers will advance to sectionals next week. Coach Pam Jurgensmeyer had only good things to say about her runners moving on. 

"We are really excited about Lizzy Jurries, Erica Guzman and freshman Margaret McKeon qualifying. Lizzy is running better than she has since her freshman year and we are really excited to see her next week. This is her 4th straight year at Sectionals. Sophomore, Erica has been running really strong all season. Margaret McKeon has been so fun to watch all season, and each week she is improving, making us so excited to see what will happen next. Margaret is very talented, hard working and positive and brings a really great energy to the team," Jurgensmeyer said.

Park Hill South Tennis

…facing a tough draw in the first round of the Missouri Class 2 state tennis tournament last week, Adele Royle fell 2-0 to Lindsey Whitehead of Ladue Horton Watkins.

Park Hill Tennis

…Brooke Barnard advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tennis tournament last week with a 2-1 win over Janet Auclair of Fort Zumwalt East. Barnard would loss 2-1 in the quarterfinal round to Bridget Jane Mayfield of Kirkwood.

Sanchez resigns from Park Hill board

A simple mistake. That's what long-time Park Hill school board member Fred Sanchez says caused him to wear a concealed weapon to last week's regular board meeting. While licensed to do so in the state of Missouri, Park Hill School District policy says firearms are not permitted on school grounds. Sanchez resigned on his own accord, saying he believes he should be held to the same standard he has held students to in his many years as a board member which is a policy of zero tolerance.

"I do not have to do this," Sanchez said as he addressed the board Tuesday evening. "The integrity of the policy means the protection of the district cannot be undermined if everyone under it lives the same way."

In a call with The Citizen and once again at Tuesday's meeting, Sanchez said he arrived late to last week's meeting after being under the weather all day. He went on to say following the conclusion of the public meeting when the board was preparing to go into closed session, a fellow board member pointed out to Sanchez that he had been carrying a concealed firearm, which he had forgotten to remove in his hurry to make it to the meeting.

"It took me aback, almost like being in a near car crash, because I immediately realized the situation," Sanchez said to board members.

While Sanchez removed the firearm from the building and placed it in his car, it still did not meet the criteria of moving the gun off district grounds. After seeking clarification with the Platte County Prosecutor's office, district officials, and personal counsel, it was concluded that Sanchez broke no laws. Though, with the lingering realization he had made a serious oversight and mistake, Sanchez made the decision to resign.

"I've had calls and emails telling me not to do this (resign)," Sanchez said. "After spiritual prayer, what came to mind were the heart-wrenching experiences over the years of children sitting right here, good kids being stupid one day, but because of my votes I changed their lives forever. What is the difference? How can I conduct myself as a board member and be guilty of breaking policy? I cannot."

Sanchez was referring to his participation in decisions made on student disciplinary actions where a zero tolerance policy applied and how it would be difficult not to apply the same accountability to himself in a similar circumstance.

"I cannot in good conscience put myself above the same consequences," Sanchez said. "I'm guilty of breaking policy in place to protect student safety and behavior."

Another factor in Sanchez's decision was the progress he said the school district is making and the important issues it currently faces.

"I'm removing myself as a distraction and target, which the district would be ill-served by."

In Sanchez's closing remarks, he asked the board to revisit the zero tolerance policy because of the potential effect it has had on so many children's lives resulting from one simple mistake, sometimes having been no fault of their own. Following Sanchez's remarks, board members unanimously accepted his resignation. There was then brief discussion on zero tolerance as well as whether there was a policy precedent for how to deal with the situation had Sanchez not chosen to resign. There was not and Superintendent Scott Springston said it would be handled on a case by case bases.

South falls short of Final Four appearance

Park Hill South ended the team portion of their season with a loss to Lee's Summit North in the state quarterfinals 5-2. The Panthers fell just short of advancing to their first Final Four appearance in school history after defeating St. Joe Central in the sectional round 5-2. Adele Royle will play in the individual portion of the state tournament this weekend after winning first place in districts and sectionals last week.