SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Trojans want to build on last year's strong finish

A 12-16 record last year didn’t necessarily reflect the strides the Trojan Softball team took as a program compared to years past. Despite an up and down year, Park Hill made a run at the conference crown before finishing third and fell short of a district title in extra innings. Although they lose five starters, the 2010 Trojans will be aiming to build on the foundation they’ve laid.

Decorated returning starters include catcher Michele Rupard and shortstop Bethany Sullinger. Others returning with varsity experience include pitcher Makenzi Porter, infielder Liza Hill, and utility player Megan Nelsen. Upperclassmen Katey Kohl, Nikki Colwell, Micalla Rettinger, Nikki Moss, and Lindsey Horstman are all expected to make an impact.

The Trojans will seek contributions from younger players like Page Downs and Samantha Snodgrass from a large sophomore class to fill some of the remaining holes in the lineup.

“Our sophomore class is pretty big so if we can get a couple of them to step into varsity spots that would be good,” Coach Stuart Sullinger said. “Our freshmen are very enthusiastic, so the future looks good, but they’re not quite ready yet.”

With Rupard returning behind the plate, sophomores Porter and Lindsey Monroe will compete with a pair of incoming freshmen for a pitching role. On offense, Sullinger says the top of their lineup looks good, but hopes to round it out with players who can make contact with the ball.

“We’ll have three or four stud hitters,” Sullinger said. “The rest of the lineup we’re really trying to get them to set back and drive the ball so we can move base runners over more and execute.”

After an excruciating nine game skid they went through last year, Sullinger knows if they can do the little things right, similar streaks can be avoided.

“It’s about playing perfect catch. If the pitchers do what they should do then that’s what it amounts to,” Sullinger said. “If we can eliminate mistakes we should be ok, and that’s our number one priority.”

Park Hill will compete with some unfamiliar teams for the first time in several years including St. Joe Central, North Kansas City, and Lee’s Summit West, but Truman could be the team to beat if the Trojans compete confidently.

“I think I know in my mind what we can do,” Sullinger said confidently. “I’m not sure if they know what we can do yet.”

SWIM AND DIVE PREVIEW: PH Swimmers ready to start own title streak

When your conference rival has won eleven straight titles, it can be quite discouraging coming in second place each year. Until the 2009 season, that was pretty much the story for the Park Hill Boys Swim and Dive team. With a 9-1 dual meet record last year, the Trojans were able to snap Park Hill South’s eleven year run. An impressive amount of lettermen returning will put the Trojans in position to create a streak of their own in 2010.

A seventh place finish at state, their third top-eight finish in three years, along with wins at the Independence, Park Hill, and North Kansas City Invitationals are just some of the competitions they would like to see repeat performances or better this season. Eight athletic seniors return for the Trojans including Sam Blacksher, Alex Emery, Chris Greger, Walker Hemphill, Bryce Kober, Charlie Rider, and Ben Svoboda. Greg, Hemphill, Kober, and Svoboda were selected to the All-State team last year.

“With eight returning seniors, we have very high expectations including a conference championship and finishing in the top four at state,” coach Karl Haley said.

Also joining a recognized senior class are juniors Jarde Alderman, Matt Johnson, and Garrett Wooldridge along with sophomores Kyle Allen, Josh Black, Kyle Branton, Joey Johnson, Conner Shene, Vinnie Tutorino, Matt Wagner, and Mason Witherspoon.

New conference alignments won’t allow for Park Hill to square off with Park Hill South in conference standings for the first time in over a decade, which means Park Hill will be fighting to defend their title against other area teams. At first glance, Lee’s Summit West appears to be an initial competitive matchup for the Trojans, but Haley believes his Trojan team can prevail.

“They’ll be a contender, but with our depth and talent I think we would be favored to win,” Haley said.

Park Hill will get off to quick and competitive starts with their first dual against Lee’s Summit West on August 31st followed by Park Hill South on September 7th. They’ll host their annual invitational on September 17th and 18th.

Park Hill School District faces potential tax increase, budget cuts

With temperatures the hottest they’ve been all summer, high school fall sports practices began this week. Athletes will be back in action and students soon back in the classroom as another school year is just around the corner. For the Park Hill School District the excitement of a new school year also comes with the potential of an approximately $1.8 million budget shortfall caused mostly in part by the decrease in state education funding and lower property values resulting from the recent recession. Board of Education members will be forced this month to make decisions on what course of action will be taken to address the issue.

The district is facing a dilemma government bodies across the country are dealing with in choosing between two unpopular choices to balance the approximately $119 million budget. One option being budget cuts to make up for the shortfall. Many of those reductions could come in the form of salary freezes and decreased benefit programs for district employees. The second and likely option is to raise the district’s property tax levy. The increase in the district’s levy is based on property values and estimates say the increase would be equivalent to around $40 for a $200,000 home. This week district administrators will recommend to the board an 11.06 cent increase in the levy raising it from 2009-2010’s $4.6920 rate to $4.8026 for 2010-2011.

Usually raising the district’s tax levy would require voter approval, but the district received voter approval to raise the levy in 2002 and never increased it to the maximum cap ($4.997). So an increase only needs approval from the board until the amount reaches the previously approved fixed amount. In fact, the district has taken steps in recent years to lower the levy which was a luxury provided by, until recently, strong economic growth in Platte County with the Board of Education providing a 7.5 cent voluntary rollback for the 2009-2010 school year. Board members have until August 31 to set the tax rate as only an estimated levy increase was available when the initial 2010-2011 budget was approved.

Although an increase in the tax levy would solve the shortfall in the 2010-2011 school year, it will not likely address project shortfalls from 2011 to as far out as 2014. Over the next several years, it seems likely both avenues of making budget cuts and raising the levy will be required. It currently costs approximately $10,000 a year to educate a student at Park Hill. With a goal of not losing the quality of education they provide, board members and administrators will simultaneously need to consider ways to maintain that level of quality more efficiently and also look to new ways for the district to generate revenue. Increased activity fees and establishment of new corporate partnerships are just a few of the ideas being tossed around as potential options.

Budget crunches create the need to make tough decisions and there will be plenty in the coming years. Despite public education rarely being fully funded by the Missouri state legislature, local school districts have been able to thrive during good economic times. It goes to prove that even in the financially sound condition Platte County finds itself compared to other areas of the country; one of the top school districts in the state is not immune to the repercussions of the recession and decreased school funding.

Candidates can prove to us they're fiscally responsibile

After a brief trip out of town last weekend, I came home Sunday evening to find seven political mailings in the mailbox, all focusing on this week’s GOP primary races. Three mailings were from one candidate, two from the other, another was a three page letter from a former legislator endorsing one of the candidates, and a Republican central committee member asking for re-election. Yes, it’s only a small dose of what we’ll experience again in late October and early November, but it made me think about the inefficient use of resources and spending that went into it all.

During a campaign, candidates try to convince us if we elect them they’ll be responsible with taxpayer dollars. They speak to us about what ideas and experiences they’ll bring to the job. What they don’t even realize is they don’t have to wait until they get elected to show us. They can prove it right now and can show us throughout their campaign how they’ve handle other peoples’ money. If they can’t use contributed money given by friends, family, and colleagues in an efficient and responsible manner, then it’s hard to imagine they’ll be able to do it with their whole constituency’s money.

Candidates are required to file campaign finance reports outlining their contributions and expenditures. After viewing some of them, it may be disappointing to see where all those $25 donations go. As taxpaying citizens, we hold our government accountable for its actions and campaign contributors should approach their donations in a similar way. It’s candidates with ‘fresh ideas’ and a ‘fiscally responsible’ approach who hopefully already hold this simple concept. It makes you wonder how many candidates will use the simple opportunity of this weekend’s sales tax holiday to save on the purchase of campaign supplies going into the final months of the cycle.

Unfortunately, even if candidates raise a lot of money, it evaporates on direct mailings. Rounds and rounds of postcards can add up to significant amounts. It’s a part of the political culture. Candidates work tirelessly for months on end to meet people in person and deliver their message. Then, with only a short amount of time left they blanket voters with mass mailings making sure they’ve left no stone unturned, almost as if everything they had done up to that point didn’t matter. Sometimes it seems as if the terms ‘coordinated campaign’ and ‘direct mail’ are oxymorons because they rarely seem well-planned or are even sent to independent or swing voters.

I would be wrong to tell you these mailings don’t have an effect. They do, especially if one candidate has more financial resources than their opponent. Someone once told me a candidate’s mail pieces should provide a simple message and be attractive enough for someone to read as they throw it away. Part affiliation aside, the fact is if someone throws away one candidate’s mail and doesn’t receive anything from their opponent, you’ll likely vote for the person you received mail from. Yes, even after so much time is put into a campaign, the results could hinge on something as simple as whether a voter took the time to recall the name on a piece of mail they threw in the trash.

One thing I know is that I didn’t even vote for any of the GOP candidates I received mailings from last weekend… Why? I picked up a Democratic ballot.

Destefano, Schaaf seeking GOP nod for State Senate

The race to succeed Charlie Shields as Buchanan and Platte County’s next 34th District state senator will become a little clearer this time next week after the Aug. 3 Republican primary decides who will face Democrat Martin Rucker in November’s general election.

Speculation came and went in regards to who would and would not run for the seat. District 28 State Rep. Rob Schaaf was unopposed in his party’s primary until John Destefano filed on the last day to create what has become one of the state’s more interesting primary contests.

After four terms in the Missouri House, Rep. Rob Schaaf, also a practicing medical doctor, has taken a strong stand against federal healthcare legislation and has focused a great deal on health/medical related issues. He attended Missouri Western State University and the St. Louis University School of Medicine. The 53-year-old from St. Joseph is married to his wife, Debbie, and has two children. In addition to practicing in St. Joseph since 1985, he helped form the Missouri Doctors Mutual Insurance Company, owned by doctors it insures, and serves as chairman.

Rob Schaaf

John Destefano, 60, is a retired Kansas City Power & Light executive, where he served as chief financial officer. One of his main focuses tends to be on fiscal issues and his background as a businessman. He earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA in Finance from the University of Missouri. Destefano and his wife, Mary Pat, reside in Kansas City. They have six adult children and two grandchildren. In 2006, Destefano ran for the Missouri House’s 32nd district seat, but lost to Rep. Jason Grill.

John Destefano

Following are each candidate’s responses to The Citizen’s questions.

What inspired or motivated you to run?
S: What first inspired me was the difficulty I was having as a physician getting my patients the care they needed. I have been working for a conservative agenda as a state representative since I was elected in 2003, and as one of the few health experts in the House, have had a hand in most health related legislation. Now, with the legislative experience I have, I would like to focus on creating jobs by helping businesses through lowered health care costs and tax relief.

D: I believe I have the leadership skills and knowledge to make Missouri a place where people want to raise a family and businesses will want to expand and locate. When I retired from KCP&L after serving as CFO, I didn’t retire from life; I continued to serve others in our community. I see this as an opportunity where my financial background and conservative principles can help the state in a time where we are dealing with tough financial issues.

Why are you the best candidate? What are voters looking for on August 3rd?
S: Voters are looking for a true conservative who will work for them and not special interests. Their top concerns now are jobs and the economy, healthcare (especially concerns about ObamaCare), and illegal immigration. Most Republicans believe in our free market system to control costs, support Arizona-style immigration reform, and would not support liberal democrats. Between myself and my opponent, I best fit this description. Explanation: In order to help businesses create new jobs, we must free up some of their expenses. Tax Reform or a Fair Tax would reduce the tax burden on businesses and free up money that could be used to hire new workers. Similarly, reducing the cost of healthcare through competition in the health market would allow businesses to hire more workers. Thus, for eight years, I have been trying to increase competition in the medical market, but my efforts have been blocked by the hospital and insurance industries. As a senator, I would be in a much better position to succeed at that goal. But those special interests don’t want competition and are supporting my opponent. The hospital industry endorsed ObamaCare and now supports my opponent. In contrast, I dropped out of the American Medical Association when it endorsed ObamaCare. I personally torpedoed a huge expansion of health welfare two years ago, while my opponent was quoted in the Kansas City Star (Nov 1, 2006, page 11) as saying “Everybody should have a stake in their health insurance and pay according to their means.” He outlined to the star a mandatory health insurance program, which is the central feature of ObamaCare. In contrast, I intensely oppose forced health insurance. In 2008, I voted for and helped pass HB 1549, which prohibits any illegal alien from receiving state welfare benefits. My opponent attacked me for voting for this bill, (see quoted sources given for his TV ad) which also allows state police to enforce federal immigration law, something my opponent is on record as opposing (2006 Missouri Catholic Conference Candidate Survey). My opponent has also contributed to the election of democrat governor Bob Holden. If Republican voters in the upcoming primary election believe that opposing mandatory health insurance, increasing competition in the health market, fighting illegal immigration, and supporting Republican candidates are important, then I am the better candidate.

D: I am a family man, a veteran and a businessman. I am not a career politician. As a former member of the Green Berets, I know what leadership means and how to get things done. I have been a businessman for over 30 years, creating jobs and balancing multi-million dollar budgets. I think voters are looking for citizen legislators with fresh ideas who can stick to their values and get things done in Jefferson City.

What are the two or three main issues facing the State of Missouri?
S: Jobs and the economy are the number one issue. We are also in a severe budget crisis, and our state budget is currently balanced with 900 million dollars of stimulus money which will disappear next year. That means we will be faced with severe choices. Having been on the state budget committee for five years, I am best prepared to meet this challenge.

D: The economy is on the top of everyone’s minds; its effects can be felt throughout our communities, our families, schools and our churches. We must get people back to working at good jobs that can invest in our communities and make Missouri a leading state. We must get State Spending under control, long term budget planning is something the state has always lacked and is an area where with my unique background I can make a difference. Taxpayers deserve to know that everything possible is being done to fight illegal immigration. As a state we must get the federal government to do its job of enforcing the borders, and if they won’t, the state must step in and make sure our citizens are protected.
What would your top 3 priorities/goals be as a State Senator?
S: I believe that the reduction in health care costs that would occur by increasing competition in the healthcare market would have a major positive effect on businesses and their ability to hire new workers. I would also work for comprehensive tax reform, and I favor the concept of a fair tax exempting the necessities of everyday life, so that our poorest citizens would pay no taxes at all while at the same time helping everyone save and invest. Finally, I would continue to push a conservative agenda by stopping tax increases, stopping increases in welfare and stopping any moves backward in our pro-life and second amendment agenda efforts.

D: 1.) We must get Missourians back to work, unemployment has been too high for too long. I believe with my 30 years of financial experience I will be a strong leader in the Senate to make sure Government stays out of the way and doesn’t stifle growth in the economy. 2.) I will work to bring accountability back into state government, it is unbelievable that while our economy is hurting our state budget continues to grow. 3.) We must fight hard to ensure that our social values are not compromised. I am proudly endorsed by Missouri Right to Life and will stand strong to stop abortions and expand adoption opportunities and fight against illegal immigration.
In your opinion, what are the challenges of being involved in public service and politics? What do you see as the upside or positives?
S: I know from experience how to be more effective as a public servant. I put on legislative forums every week during session, and would continue to do so as state senator. Constituent services are key, and it is a challenge but important to try to answer every request for assistance as quickly and completely as possible. It isn’t easy to respond to every letter, call and email, either. Long hours and late nights at the capitol away from home are stressful, but I have always kept in mind that there are soldiers serving our country whose stress makes mine seem trivial. The greatest upside I experienced was the knowledge that the infection control bill I authored in 2004 has saved many lives through a reduction in hospital infections; this is an example of the rewards public service can offer. I feel that I had a very positive effect on our state, not only with legislative work I did myself, but as part of the Republican team that never raised taxes (and cut some instead), reduced welfare and the size of government and protected our freedoms. I would like to continue that work as state senator, and it has been an honor to serve as state representative; it would also be an honor to serve in the senate.

D: The large numbers of issues that must be dealt with in the State Senate can be overwhelming, but with my strong work ethic and my diverse background, I believe I have the skills to address the issues facing the state today.
What is your current assessment on our state's economy? What should the state be doing to stimulate it?
S: As I said above, our economy is in trouble. Many people are out of work, and we must stimulate business growth to provide them with jobs. The best way to do that is by reducing the expenses of businesses. Among those are taxes and health care costs, and by working to reduce these, businesses would have more resources to spend on wages for workers. Economic development at the state level must also take into account that we are competing with other states that offer better incentives; to get businesses to choose Missouri, we will need to play on that field, but with guarantees that the incentives we offer will actually stimulate jobs and growth.

D: There is no doubt that families and businesses are hurting. I think the state government must get its budget under control and make sure we have the long term budget planning for businesses to know that Missouri is stable. By creating a stable environment with lower taxes and less bureaucratic red tape, businesses will see the advantages of locating and growing in Missouri.
What issue(s) do you believe you might be able to work on with Democrats across the aisle?
S: I have learned that the vast majority of issues are not partisan, and that Democrats as well as Republicans have good ideas. As committee chair, I worked in a very bipartisan fashion with my Democrat colleagues. For example, in 2008, my committee studied Insure Missouri, a huge expansion of health welfare proposed by the Department of Social Services, and after 54 hours of hearings, every member of my committee, Republican and Democrat, signed a letter to the Secretary of State asking that the emergency rules offered to implement the program be rejected on the grounds the proposal was not done lawfully. I have worked with Democrats on many bills, and would enjoy doing so as state senator.

D: I believe that while you must stick to your values, you also have to be able to build a consensus to your positions; I look forward to working with members of both parties to get people back to work, cut continued government spending and fight illegal immigration.
Republicans currently hold a strong majority in the Missouri Senate. Pending an unlikely change, if you were to become a part of that majority what do you believe members of your party can or should be doing better?
S: As a representative, I was very frustrated when good legislation frequently died in the senate for lack of leadership to move important bills. I would be a voice of reason, working to forge compromise whenever possible. That said, with an overwhelming supermajority, there is no reason the senate could not use its ability to break filibusters more frequently. The senate’s reluctance to break filibusters has stood in the way of important legislation too often, and I would work when necessary to prevent a small minority from derailing important public policy initiatives.

D: Not enough has been done to keep Missouri’s budget from growing, in the last 8 years the budget has increased by 20 percent, while our economy continues to hurt. People expect better from their elected officials both fiscally and socially. I believe there is still room for more ethics reform, including outlawing legislators working as campaign consultants, and I support a ban on all lobbyist gifts including travel junkets, meals, and tickets to events.
What is one issue where your position is significantly different compared to your opponent? Or what is the most significant difference between you and your opponent?
S: As I noted above, my intense opposition to forced purchase of health insurance such as that required in ObamaCare separates me from my opponent. His outlining of a mandatory health insurance program is confirmed by the support he is receiving from the hospital industry which recruited him and which endorsed ObamaCare. (See the source quoted above.) I also believe that police in our state should vigorously enforce federal immigration laws, just as in Arizona, something my opponent opposes (see above source).

D: My opponent served 8 years in the Missouri House, he has a record of spending in Jefferson City that he doesn’t like to talk about. I believe that when our economy is hurting, it is more important than ever that there is someone in Jefferson City that understands finances and how increased bureaucracy hurts communities and families.

Prop C pits feds versus state: Measure on August 3 ballot aimed at preventing federal government from requiring insurance purchase

After nearly one year of heated debate, negotiations, and public demonstrations, both in support of and against health care reform, President Obama accomplished one of his top domestic policy goals by signing the “Affordable Care Act” into law on March 23. Opponents of the legislation quickly began to take their fight to the states by way of the court system and state legislatures.

In Missouri, this resulted in Proposition C, also known as the “Health Care Freedom Amendment”, which will be on the Aug. 3 primary election ballot. The measure is intended to block the federal government from requiring people to buy health insurance and bans punishment for those without health insurance.

Even before the final federal bill was decided on and passed, the debate was already brewing here in Missouri on whether or not individual states should have the right to refuse complying with the new provisions if the federal legislation were to pass. State Sen. Jane Cunningham (R-St. Louis County) introduced the “Health Care Freedom Act” prior to the 2010 legislative session when she filed Senate Joint Resolution 25 on Dec. 1, 2009. Six months later, on May 11, after many long and wide ranging debates, the Missouri House followed the Senate by voting to pass the resolution and requiring by law that it be placed on the August state-wide ballot.

The intricacies of the federal health care debate were voiced from supporters and critics of the President’s proposal over the months leading up to its final passage and many of the same arguments were made during the debate held in Jefferson City.

“The bloated ‘Obamacare’ legislation was so lengthy; no one read and understood all the provisions of the act, nor its consequences,” Platte County Republican Committee Chairman James Rooney said.

“The purpose and intent of the federal plan is to assure health care coverage for all citizens,” Platte County Democratic Committee Chairman Chair Pauli Kendrick said. “It is time to put the plan to work.”

With a number of issues already facing Missouri outside of the federal government’s health care legislation, some questioned whether the time spent on debating the issue was worth taking away from issues more state-related, such as the massive cuts needed to balance the budget, job creation, and tax credit reform. But few are against the idea of allowing Missourians the opportunity to voice their position on the issue in the form of a vote.

“The majority party’s constituents, along with a lot of mine, were contacting us often so we took up a lot of these issues relating to the federal government,” District 32 State Rep. Jason Grill, a Democrat, said. “Although I support many of these resolutions and the right for the people to vote on them, I think we could have spent more time focusing on problems here in Missouri on the state level.”

Some of the key issues being voiced by proponents of the proposition include states’ rights to reject federal legislation, the complicated nature of the lengthy bill, and the process the Democrats took in order to get the votes required to get final passage.

“Missourians have an opportunity to send a message that bad legislation at the federal level will not be tolerated,” Rooney said. “Voting YES on Missouri’s Proposition C also sends a symbolic message of support to those interested in repealing ‘Obamacare’ to eliminate these sweetheart deals and sending healthcare reform back through the legislative process to get it right.”

Opponents of the measure see it as mostly symbolic, intended to send a political message against the President’s agenda and believe the measure has little likelihood of holding up in court in the long-term.

“Wellness for all Missouri citizens is the ultimate objective and is possible when all citizens purchase medical insurance,” Kendrick said. “A NO vote is a vote against paying for the high costs of emergency visits and medical bills for those who choose not to or are unable to purchase their own insurance.”

With Proposition C on the ballot in August, primary elections usually see lower voter turnout. With a small amount of Democratic primary contests and several key competitive Republican primaries this year, it is likely there will be higher turnout of Republican voters, who would more than likely support Proposition C. Nonetheless, both local party chairs encouraged all people to vote on August 3rd.

Trojan football coach gets national nod

Although it seems like summer is only half over, for local high school football coaches it is winding down as most teams are already in the middle of or preparing for one of their team camps held prior to the start of the official first day of practice in early August. A busy time of the year for head coaches as they consider what approach is needed to fulfill their teams’ highest potential and put plans in motion to achieve it.

It’s a particular busy time for Park Hill’s Greg Reynolds. In addition to the annual preparations he’s making for the Trojan football season, he was recently selected to attend this week’s National Football League Youth Summit in Canton, Ohio. As the delegate from Missouri, he’ll join 50 other coaches from every state along with Washington D.C. in a three day conference where coaches will not only hear from speakers from a wide-range of backgrounds and discuss the top issues affecting the game, but also be recognized for their contribution to the sport.

Reynolds was recommended through a member of the Kansas City Chiefs organization because of his active involvement in the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association as a board member. The strong coaching resume he’s compiled in his ten years at Park Hill where his teams have gone 89-29 almost made him a strong candidate for the selection.

“It’s a great opportunity to talk with and listen to what other coaches from around the country do,” Reynolds said. “And it’s not about X’s and O’s, it’s about learning from others what works in terms of working with kids and what’s been proven to be successful.”

This is nothing new to Reynolds as he’s had a long-held interest in reading about and watching people try different things to achieve their success whether it is learning from other coaches or looking to styles used by leaders in the business world. The curiosity of finding that one thing people do right and applying it to what you do can make a big difference he believes.

While the NFL will have speakers in the likes of All-Pro’s Merril Hodge, Darrin Smith, and Mike Haynes along with others speaking on a variety of important youth issues, Reynolds says there are three which he sees as priorities from the rest including proper practice scheduling during hot August days, the handling of concussions, and the role high school coaches play in the ever-changing college recruiting process.

Even with all of the activities planned for the delegation during the short three day conference; it’ll be hard not to become a simple fan engulfed in the history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They’ll get the chance to tour the museum and be a part of the atmosphere of Hall of Fame Weekend which is just two weeks away. Reynolds said that is one of the things he’s looking forward to the most.

Showing up isn't good enough

Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of life is showing up. While Allen was a part of some good movies, it’s hard to imagine his famous quote to be truly applicable, especially in regards to the poor economic situation we find ourselves.

“Jobs, jobs, jobs” is the message we hear both locally and nationally as the way to economic recovery. With the latest national unemployment rate at 9.5% and an irregular pattern of people entering and exiting the workplace, it’s hard to say when the key statistic will show satisfactory signs of improvement. This comes at a difficult time because as easy as it is to say there need to be more jobs, we’re also going through a transition requiring a change of focus. In the future, successful results will rely not on how hard we work, but how smart we work and the ideas we can generate.

Companies are continually trying to produce products and provide their services as efficiently as possible while maintain a certain level of quality. It’s nothing new; you can look at most manufactured goods over the past century to see the gradual decline of manpower needed to produce it. Advances in technology make it a fact of life. Why have three employees when one can do the job just as good or even the possibility of none with the assistance of a computer?

Most people would agree these are good things and a sign of our advancement as a productive society. Good for capitalism as it increases margins and leads to growth, bad for the old standard of job creation in the manufacturing sector. Lower employee needs in old industries is creating the demand for new industries to be created.

We were always told when we were growing up if we worked hard and put in the hours we’d be rewarded. Although certain aspects will always ring true in terms of work ethic and attitude, it’s being efficient with our time and effective with our decisions that will really make the difference individually and as an overall economy. The creativity and flexibility to think of new and better ways to do things allows for the creation of manufacturing jobs to produce new technologies. It will also provide new jobs for the expanding service industry because no matter how advanced our technology is there are some areas where good employees are not replaceable.

It’s hard to know where the majority of jobs will come from once the economy is back to full-strength, but it’s safe to say many of them will be created through the creation of new businesses and different production lines. The entrepreneurial spirit that is so unique about America will be what eventually puts the unemployed back to work. Traditional employment centers have adjusted to lay-offs they were forced to make, but they can begin to employ again, not into the same jobs as before, but in new ones they create through launching new business lines and products as an expansion of their companies and even into new industries all together. The opening of small businesses will serve job creation in much the same way.

In the end, the politicians and pundits can argue all they want about what tax breaks, incentives, or stimulus will spur these actions to take place, but the true difference will come from the ideas companies, both big and small, generate along with individual entrepreneurs that will lead to real job creation.

While there is still the need to show up, leaving the rest up to a small 20% just won’t be good enough anymore.

High Stakes: Trio of Park Hill grads turning heads in pro poker world

It’s hard to find a lot of connections between the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip and Platte County, but three Park Hill graduates have been cashing in, literally, on a game that started in high school as a simple gathering of friends. Grant Hinkle (29), Blair Hinkle (24), and Blake Cahail (23) have all garnered national attention over recent years for their performances in the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Poker may be an unfamiliar game to many and the WSOP can be complicating to outsiders. If you’ve ever seen it on television, it’s likely you are watching the Main Event, which acts as the culmination and championship of a WSOP season which spans from May to July each year. A prestigious and coveted gold bracelet, valued as high as $25,000, is awarded to the winner of the over 50 individual events each year.

In 2008, Grant won a WSOP bracelet for outlasting 3,928 competitors in one of the longest preliminary events ever, taking home $831, 462 in first-place money. Just two weeks later, younger brother Blair, won his own bracelet with a first-place payout of $507,613. The win made Grant and Blair the only two brothers to win WSOP bracelets in the same year.

“At the time I couldn't really believe it. It was pretty unbelievable that both Grant and I would win bracelets in a lifetime, let alone in the same year. I was so happy when I saw the cards run out that I probably jumped twice as high as I ever had in my life,” Blair said.

Just two weeks ago, Cahail attempted to join his friends by also winning a bracelet in the 31st event of the WSOP. The tournament was HORSE, which involves five different kinds of games of which eight hands are played allowing each player to hold a different position before changing the game.

“It’s pretty unique because a lot of the tournaments are just one game and players usually specialize in one game,” Cahail said. “You have to know how to play five different games well enough so you don’t loss all your chips in one game, and that’s the best way to have a chance to win a bracelet.”

Unfortunately, after making it to the final table of the tournament, Cahail was knocked out early earning him a seventh place finish, good for a pay-out of just under $28,000. Although short of his goal, it was his highest finish in a WSOP event up to this point and with the main event coming up July 5-7, Cahail hopes to have a few more opportunities before the end of the season.

Starting with recreational games in high school, Blair and Blake became roommates in college while attending the University of Missouri. There they began playing online poker and seeing quite a bit of success. It was enough success to build reputations around the country. They eventually found themselves being sponsored by different individuals for Las Vegas tournaments where their buy-ins were paid for in exchange for a share of their winnings.

“We were having pretty decent success on the online tournaments, so people knew who we were,” Cahail said. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of people I play with online because you meet them at these events after playing against them for so long online.”

By being involved in the game long enough, they’ve been able to see some of the growth it has experienced in the last decade and had interesting opinions on where poker will go from here.

“When (Chris) Moneymaker won the main event in 2003, it showed that an amateur could do it and it really took off from there. Over the last couple years growth has been kind of flat due to the economy, but I think it will start growing again once things improve,” Cahail said.

“It continued to grow until a few years ago when the economy dropped a little along with the ‘ban’ of online poker by the UIGEA bill,” Blair added.

With the high earnings they’ve accumulated in recent years, it was asked what the future held and how long they anticipated being professional poker players. The tremendous amount of success was enough to lure both Blake and Blair away from MU before graduating and it’s something they’ve both considered going back to finish.

“I hope the future holds a few deep runs in big tournaments, and maybe another bracelet or two. Within the next year or two I want to finish my degree and move back to Kansas City. I will still play poker but just not as much during the year,” Blair said. “One thing I can't see myself doing is skipping the WSOP so I am trying to figure out a job that would allow for it.”

“I dropped out of school when I turned 21 to do this full-time. I’m going to go back to school in the fall because I want a little break from it. I’m definitely going to be doing the World Series in the summer for the next couple years. It’s definitely nice doing something you love,” Cahail said.

We need Statesmen, not Politicians

As we go into the Fourth of July weekend, people will spend their time in a variety of ways celebrating our nation’s birth. At some point, maybe while you stare up into an impressive display of fireworks, I hope you’ll reflect on America’s progress up to this point. Despite many of the challenges our country currently faces, our 234 year history has yielded some impressive results and the economic, scientific, social, and political milestones only brush the surface. As important it is to look back on past achievements, much is still unwritten. Making sure future generations can look at our progress with confidence that it contributed to the greatness of our nation should be our goal. It starts with leadership and Platte County can take the lead in looking to people who are more than politicians. We deserve statesmen.

Describing someone as a statesman is rare in our current political spectrum. It seems the term tends to be used for someone near the end of a long career in politics or even retired, earning them the title of ‘elder statesman’. But the idea of a statesman isn’t about the amount of time spent in elected office; it’s an attitude and approach to public service. Statesmen focuses on what is good for their constituents, not themselves; they use their power to get things done instead of to accumulate for their own sake; their promotion is a result of accomplishing their goals and isn’t simply the goal itself. Too often politicians manipulate us into believing every decision is a win-lose, good vs. evil option where instead they should be influencing the process to come to the closest possible win-win result.

We’ve seen glimpses of these qualities before and all too often it’s from the ‘elder statesmen’, who at the end of a career realize the best way to vindicate their time is to do something that doesn’t reward them with re-election or power, but something good for their constituencies. This isn’t always the case, but more and more our youngest, strongest and most visible leaders fail to see how to promote progress early in their careers. It’s partly because of a constant election cycle which requires politicians to spend their time convincing people of their accomplishments and winning over public opinion instead of actually working towards sustainable solutions. It can also be blamed on ego, these individuals were elected based on the idea they are ‘right’ about every issue while their opposing colleagues are ‘wrong’ and are constantly being reminded so by their political base. Compromise, the essence of a statesman, is ultimately seen as a weakness which makes us question whether a true one can emerge in such an environment.

The truth is, more often you’ll find the type of people that could help take great strides as representatives in our national, state, and local governments are actually using their efforts in other areas of our society like the boardrooms of successful corporations and thriving businesses. Compared to the stereotype of an average CEO, strong will and humility characterize many of these leaders which allow them to make competent decisions for their companies to move them forward. They’ve decided their contribution to society is best made through advancements in their services and products or the effect they can have philanthropically. This, instead of what they view as the distractions, obstacles, and criticisms associated with public office.

This weekend we will celebrate the birth of our nation and in the coming months we’ll once again begin to consider which leaders to elect to represent us. It is with hope that true statesmen do exist and will emerge in the name of public service. Without them, our country will continually be held back from meeting the challenges in front of us and fulfilling the idea of America’s potential.