According to Holden Mayor Terry Hedglin, an agreement has been reached
between the City of Holden and the Department of Natural Resources in
regards to damages to be paid for a molasses spill that resulted in
the death of fish from a local creek September 7, 2004.According to Hedglin, if the agreement is approved by the Holden City Council in their next regular session on January 11, the Holden Water Board will pay a fine of $1,750 and an additional $3,305 to reimburse DNR for their expenses associated with the spill. Once paid by the water board, reimbursement of that money would be received from O&M Enterprises, who orchestrated cleanup of the spill. The incident occurred last fall when a tank holding molasses at a local business in Holden ruptured, causing molasses to spill onto the ground. Initial cleanup efforts were unsuccessful and the molasses made its way into a nearby creek bed. Officials at the business notified the Holden Fire Department for assistance in cleanup efforts. Unfortunately, the fire department was unable to clean up the molasses, so officials with the local business contacted Tony Lerda of O&M Enterprises. Lerda possessed the appropriate equipment to accomplish the cleanup, but was faced with the added problem of where to put all the molasses once it had been removed from the creek bed. Lerda attempted to process the molasses through the wastewater treatment plant, in hope of disposing of the molasses without further incident or environmental threat. Unfortunately, the sugar and water in the molasses were too much for the plant to process appropriately, and the solution of diluted molasses upset the treatment plant, resulting in its exit from the plant into nearby Pin Oak Creek. Micro-organisms in the creek fed on the molasses, using all available oxygen in the stream. Without oxygen, some fish and plant life were unable to thrive, causing the loss of some small fish in the creek. Lerda contacted DNR on the matter and was directed to clean the molasses from the creek and continue to monitor oxygen levels closely. According to officials with DNR, oxygen levels in the creek began rising closes to normal by September 13, 2004. According to Hedglin, the DNR fines could have been much worse. He said the maximum fine that could have been imposed is $10,000 per day. In September, Hedglin said he didn’t anticipate the maximum fine being charged, because of the city and O&M’s cooperation with DNR. “Everyone cooperated and did exactly as instructed by DNR,” he said. “I’m happy everyone was able to cooperate and get the best outcome from a bad situation. By Christi Stowe News Editor A winter storm caused
power outages, downed trees and flooding as it dumped large amounts
of rain, snow and ice over widespread portions of Missouri and Kansas
last Tuesday and Wednesday.Due to the storm and the freezing temperatures and slick roads left in its wake, students in Johnson County, including Holden received a five-day weekend, with school being cancelled last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. According to information received from area electric companies, power has been restored to all West Central Electric Cooperative members and much of Aquila’s customer population, who lost electricity during the storm due to the weight of ice on power lines and tree branches. Although there were no outages reported in the immediate Holden area, according to WCE and Aquila, there were a number of customers without electricity in Jackson County. As of last Thursday, Aquila reported the highest number of outages in Lee’s Summit, where 6,747 Aquila customers were apparently in the dark. Other outages were reported in Lone Jack, Belton, Blue Springs, Camden, Grain Valley, Grandview, Greenwood, Henrietta, Kansas City, Lake Lotawana, Lexington, Liberty, Oak Grove, Pleasant Hill, Raytown and Richmond. WCE reported their customers without electricity to be “in the hundreds.” At its peak, the storm caused 33,000 reported outages in Aquila’s Missouri service territory. According to WCE, outages began in the WCE service area around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, with the Lone Jack area the hardest hit. Crews from neighboring cooperatives arrived Wednesday afternoon to assist WCE crews with outage repairs. “We were fortunate both that the storm didn’t hit us quite as bad as first predicted, and that we have an aggressive tree-trimming and spaying program in place,” WCE General Manager Glenn “Skip” Alsup said. “We were also lucky that the winds didn’t pick up as predicted.” According to WCE representatives, in 2002, thousands of WCE members were without power, some for as long as eight days. With strong winds and gusts, crews spent the better part of the first days of the 2002 storm repairing the same outages multiple times as Mother Nature continued to tear down what little progress was made. “During this storm, outages numbered in the hundreds rather than the thousands,” Alsup said. “That speaks volumes for the success of an aggressive tree-trimming program.” Representatives of Aquila said Friday they planned to have electrical service returned to all customers without power later that night, but cautioned customers that the thaw forecast for the weekend could cause scattered outages throughout Saturday and Sunday. The company advised that the warmer temperatures would cause the ice on drooping tree limbs to melt, causing some to spring back into previously undamaged or recently repaired lines, creating a limited number of further outages. Aquila crews remained on call in preparation for that possibility. Aquila’s tree trimmers and electrical crews numbered 850, who began working at daybreak Wednesday to conduct maintenance and repairs necessary to return service to all neighborhoods. According to Johnson County Emergency Services Director Karen Eagleson, there were no reports of damage from the ice in Johnson County. “The northwestern portion of the county received a lot more ice than the rest of the county,” Eagleson said. “The largest amount of ice in Johnson County was from Kingsville running north to the county line.” Meanwhile, Kansas City area residents are bracing themselves for additional ice and snow in the forecast expected to arrive in the area this week. By Christi Stowe News Editor |
After working from home because of two heart surgeries and later running
a successful office in Pleasant Hill, hometown real estate broker Roy
Sturgis has once again opened an office in Holden. With the opening of the new office at 265 NW 131 Highway (next to Pinky’s Outfitters and across from Miller’s Mausoleum) Holden’s homebuyers and sellers are offered the opportunity to enjoy the services offered by Sturgis without having to drive to Pleasant Hill or make an appointment to see him at his home. The office opened for business, officially, January 3. Sturgis Realty has been in business since 1997, and executed operations in the past from the building that now houses Murphy’s Barber Shop on Second Street in Downtown Holden. The business has also been run out of Sturgis’ home and most recently, Sturgis Realty was located in Pleasant Hill. Sturgis, who has lived in Holden all his life said even while his office was housed in Pleasant Hill, customers from Holden were common. “A lot of my clientele was from here,” Sturgis said. “I decided to come back for the potential growth of the new subdivisions in town.” Sturgis also said he feels the new location will allow him to better serve his Holden customers. Sturgis has recently hired two salespeople for his realty team, Paul Watson and Janice Elkins, and he said he intends to continue to look for qualified individuals to join the Sturgis Realty team. Currently, Sturgis Realty offers services in buying and selling residential and commercial properties, farms and land. Sturgis said he hopes to be offering seminars to be held at the office in the future and specifically intends to offer a seminar on “Residential Real Estate Financing,” which will focus on first-time homebuyers and FHA loans. He also has plans to purchase a new office when able and join a real estate franchise. A unique and helpful service offered by Sturgis Realty is a free “market analysis.” According to Sturgis, this service is a comparison of prices of houses in the area. In other words, it gives buyers and sellers the ability to check that their home is in an appropriate price range. “It keeps buyers from overpaying and it keeps sellers from over or underpricing,” Sturgis said. Sturgis, like many realtors also offers buyers’ services, which he strongly recommends those in the market to purchase a home utilize. “Ninety-eight percent of the time, the cost of this service is free,” Sturgis said. “In my eight years as a realtor, I’ve never seen a buyer pay a fee for this service... I feel there are a lot of people out there who just don’t understand that.” Sturgis explained it is important for buyers to be represented by someone who solely has their best interests in mind during the purchase of a home. He said the cost for the buyer’s agency is usually split between the seller’s agent and buyer’s agent, using the commission at the end of a sale dividing it fifty-fifty. Therefore, the cost of this service is free to the buyer and costs the seller nothing additional to what they are already paying their real estate agent. Sturgis also recommends buyers see representatives with their financial institution or a mortgage company and obtain pre-qualification for a home loan prior to looking for homes to buy. “It just makes the transaction run more smoothly for both the buyer and the realtor,” Sturgis said. Sturgis also intends to offer a service through a program in the area called “Housing For America’s Workforce,” which is designed to obtain grant money to assist homebuyers in the low to middle income bracket in the purchase of very nice homes they may not otherwise afford. Janice Elkins, a salesperson with Sturgis Realty, recently attended the class necessary to obtain certification with the program. “It’s a good program,” Sturgis said, “and we definitely plan to use it.” Sturgis is a member of the Missouri Association of Realtors, Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors and the Heartland Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Sturgis said he feels his association with MLS is of extreme importance because this service governs the realtors who associate themselves with it, forcing all realtors who are members of MLS to adhere to fair, appropriate and legal guidelines in the representation of their clients. Sturgis lives in Holden with his wife, Karen. He has three grown children, Tammy, Amy and R.D. He graduated from Holden High School in 1972. “I am looking forward to the potential growth that is going to be in our area in the next few years,” Sturgis said. Sturgis Realty is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sturgis and his sales team are also available by appointment in the evenings and on Saturdays. By Christi Stowe News Editor Lorenzo T. West,
22 of Kansas City, formerly of Holden, was arrested Friday in connection
with the January 1, 2005 stabbing death of Jeffrey Coulter of Chilhowee
according to investigators with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department.
The arrest is the result of a week long investigation into a disturbance that took place over the New Year’s holiday at a rural Southwestern Johnson County residence. According to officials, the incident occurred at a very large holiday party in which approximately 50 people were in attendance. It has been reported that at some point during the party, several uninvited guests showed up and were asked to leave. Reportedly, a short altercation ensued, but the individuals did eventually comply with the request. According to investigators, it is believed the real trouble began when the uninvited guests returned to the party with more people and weapons, which resulted in the stabbing of three men and several more assaults with various types of weapons including sticks, clubs, metal bars and tire irons. “It was a brutal, calculated attack,” Johnson County Sheriff Charles “Chuck” Heiss said Monday. “We plan to hold everyone involved accountable.” According to investigators, it was during this attack Jeffrey Coulter, 27 of Chilhowee was stabbed. He died later that day at a Kansas City hospital as a result of his injuries. Thomas Strouse and Ben Murphy, no ages or addresses given, were also stabbed during the altercation and are recovering from serious injuries, according to reports. “The crime was completely senseless,” Heiss said. “Had someone called 911 when the first altercation occurred, much of this could have been avoided.” Investigators conducted numerous interviews with witnesses during the investigation. According to a Monday morning press release from the sheriff’s office, it was these interviews that led investigators to consider Lorenzo T. West as a suspect in the stabbings. “We need the community to respond and partner up with the sheriff’s department in this investigation,” Heiss said. “There were a number of parents who were extremely helpful... They stepped up and did the right thing. We need that kind of cooperation to continue.” According to the release, on January 7, 2005, Lorenzo West came to the offices of the Johnson County Sheriff to speak with investigators. During this interview, Heiss says West confessed to stabbing Jeffrey Coulter, Thomas Strouse and Ben Murphy. West is currently charged in a two-count felony warrant with one count of First Degree Murder and one count of Armed Criminal Action for the stabbing and death of Jeffrey Coulter. He remains in the Johnson County Jail in lieu of a $1,000,000 bond. According to officials with the sheriff’s department, West was arraigned Monday morning in the Johnson County courts. According to Johnson County Courthouse officials, if convicted, West faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty on the murder charge. Additional charges against are pending and the investigation into the January 1, 2005 incident continues. According to Heiss, investigators are now focusing on the identification of individuals responsible for the attacks on other people present at the party. “We still need people to come forward,” Heiss said. “There are a lot of people who need to be held accountable, and it is our full intent to identify those individuals.” Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact investigators with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department at (660) 747- 5511. By Christi Stowe News Editor |
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