“The Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) credits have been fulfilled for HOPE's current project,” executive director John Roberts told board members at last Monday night’s regular meeting.

Several new donations fulfilled HOPE’s 2003-2006 budget of $274,200.  This was the maximum amount HOPE could obtain in donations for the project which ended June 30 of this year, he added.

“Without the extraordinary generosity of our donors and volunteers, this organization could not exist.  We are very, very appreciative,” Roberts commented.

In other financial business, Roberts told the board HOPE’s outside bookkeeping firm apparently made a mistake when filing for a 990 tax report extension.  The report filed was for an 1120 not a 990.  The result is that HOPE may be penalized from up to $500-$1,000 for failure to file on time.  This error was first detected by HOPE’s auditing firm then by the IRS and in each case it was too late to do anything about it, according to Roberts.  “However, our auditing firm told us it has had good success in getting these removed and that when we receive notification of the penalty, they will file for an abatement,” Roberts said.

In other financial business, Roberts informed the board a preliminary draft of HOPE’s 2004 audit from Westbrook and Company is currently available.  “As soon as Dorothy Salsman and myself have had time to adequately review the draft, I will send a synopsis to all board members and supply a copy so that we may review it together at our next board meeting,” said Roberts.

In other NAP business, Roberts said HOPE has not received word yet on the disposition of their application for a new, two-year NAP project.  “At a NAP workshop in Jefferson City several months ago, it was noted there would be a waiting period of between six to eight weeks after the application was filed before notification would be given.  Our application was completed May 19 and sent in May 22, so we should be hearing something soon,” Roberts added.

In insurance business, the board was informed a binder was taken out on the HOPE insurance policy.  It was taken out through Verna Jenkins and is due July 10.  The premium is $10,297.55.  “This represents a reduction of $345.50 from last year, although the policy and coverage are identical,” commented Roberts.  A copy of the policy was available at the meeting for board members to study.  The board discussed several options of paying the premium and decided to pay it out of the general fund with the understanding the Community Activity Center (CAC) would make payments back to the fund.

In grant-related business, Roberts said he attended a two-day Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administrative seminar last month in Jefferson City.  He wanted to learn if it could be of benefit to the HOPE organization.  Specifically studied was if they could use the program to add on to the CAC building and consolidate all of their programs and services in one building.  Roberts was not optimistic about the CDBG due to the fact only seven percent of the funding has been going to community facilities.  Approximately 64 percent is going to projects that entail job creation and retention and only about one-third of the projects submitted are being funded.

In other business, Roberts told the board several HOPE bank accounts have persons authorized to sign checks who are no longer with the organization.  He suggested the board choose several current board members to be allowed to sign checks.  Those chosen for authorized signatures were Roberts, Salsman, Aline Kirchhoff, Fred Christenson and Donna LaHue.

In United Way business, Roberts reported he would give a presentation for HOPE to the United Way.  This will determine funding for HOPE for next year.
In CAC business, it was reported that primary elections for this area of Johnson County will be held August 8 at the CAC.  A final election for this year will take place in November, according to Roberts.

In other CAC business, Roberts told the board another “Pink Tea” was being planned for this year in October in conjunction with breast awareness month.  Last year’s event was very well attended, he added.

By Dana Neubert
News Staff

Kingsville Superintendent Kevin Coleman shared the budget numbers with Kingsville School Board members at last Thursday’s regular meeting.

“The budget reflects the end-of-year numbers and some came in higher than anticipated,” said Coleman.  Noting gas, electric, and fuel as being higher, Coleman said the district spent $12,000-$13,000 last year in fuel and $19,000-$20,000 this year.

“Revenues came in $50,000 higher than budgeted,” said Coleman.  “This is in part due to underestimating our assessed valuation.”

At the next board meeting Coleman  will present last year’s and the previous year’s budget for the board to study and compare.

In other financial business, Coleman presented bids to the board on milk, bread and fuel for the coming school year.  After some discussion, the board voted to accept the bids as offered.

Coleman presented the board policy updates and indicated some are mandatory and some are suggested.  The board elected to study the updates online and discuss them at the next meeting.  Board president Martha Bush suggested Coleman have copies of all the policies for the next meeting, along with a  laptop computer to access them online. 

In new business, Coleman announced that open enrollment for the Kingsville School District will be held August 3-4.  He stated he was aware of some students who were leaving the district but was unsure of any new students.
In old business, Coleman reported that the insurance consortium is shopping around for the best rates for their members and shared some plans with board members.  “No prices are available yet, but we have nothing to lose since our rates are currently so high,” said Coleman.  He recommended the district pay 100 percent of the premiums and the board took the recommendation under advisement.  “The good news is we have a lot of carriers willing to look at us and give us a quote,” he added.

In new business, Coleman reported that high school principal Lorna Warren is currently working on a program for students who need extra help but do not qualify for special education programs.  “These programs might be useful to students in danger of not passing their classes and they will benefit anyone,” said Coleman.

In transportation business, Coleman told the board that bus number one has been sold on E-Bay and he was happy with the bid they received.  He also added that the district’s new bus should be delivered this month. 

In other transportation business, Coleman said the vo-tech bus would not have to drive all the way to Warrensburg this year; they will transport students to Holden only.  This should save on fuel bills for the year, he added.

In facility business, it was reported by Coleman the school has had fluctuating water bills.  “We have had Tony Lerda of O & M Enterprises come out to the school to check for leaks to try to pinpoint the reason for some months being so high,” said Coleman.  Lerda discovered one small leak but said it wasn’t large enough to be responsible for the high bills.  He will return to the school and try to determine if there are any problems in the restroom areas that might be causing the increase.

In other new business, Bush collected goals from board members and read them to the board.  She made copies of the goals and gave copies to all members.  There was some discussion on some of the goals and it was decided to table the issue of which goals to pursue until another meeting.

In food service business, the board discussed the price of school lunches and discussed the possibility of raising the price.  It was decided Coleman would canvass other schools to determine if Kingsville’s lunch prices should be raised.  The board also requested a list of some of the free foods available to the district.

A new program involving text messaging to parents concerning students or activities is being sponsored by the F&C Bank for the school district.

The regular meeting was adjourned and the board went into executive session.  The regular meeting will reopen on August 9 at 7 p.m.

By Dana Neubert
News Staff

O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou...?  This famous line from the Shakespearian play could have been paraphrased and asked of local couple, Bob and Goldie Edwards, during the month of June.  Their answer to the question would have been - “we’ve been to London to see the Queen” and many other sights during a trip to participate in a three week study abroad course entitled, “Shakespeare in London”.

And see Queen Elizabeth II the couple did, as she rode by at the trooping the colours ceremony honoring her 80th birthday.  Along with numerous spectators lined up on the famous Mall avenue, the couple also saw Prince Phillip, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince Edward and wife Sophie, and the many royal organizations there to honor the Queen.

The class and tours had many opportunities to learn about William Shakespeare and his life in London.  Goldie Edwards, a literature teacher at Holden R-III Middle School, stated, “Next year will be my 20th year of teaching.  When I saw the class offered, I decided to celebrate my upcoming teaching anniversary by actually going to see what I had been teaching about for years.  I am looking forward to sharing what I learned in our school district.”  Members of the tour visited Shakespeare’s birthplace and hometown at Stratford-on-Avon, witnessed a Shakespearian play at the reproduction Globe Theater on the river Thames, and enjoyed two productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company at their official theater.  Other Shakespearian plays were performed  at outdoor theaters at Christchurch, Oxford and Regent’s Park.  Students attended a special lecture at Oxford by noted Shakespearian scholar, Dr. Emma Smith.

Some of the famous sights visited and viewed were Stonehenge, Salisbury and Southwark Cathedrals, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Greenwich, Hampstead Heath, Tower of London, Warrick Castle,  Blenheim Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Covent Garden, Drury Lane, Trafalgar Square, and Harrods.  Of interest to Harry Potter fans would be the dining hall in Oxford that is featured in the movies.  Numerous formal gardens, double-decker busses, and World Cup flags adorning various pubs were common sights.

Bob identified Stonehenge as his favorite site.  He also enjoyed the opportunity to be at the Prime Meridian and stand in two hemispheres at once while visiting Greenwich.  Goldie was able to attend numerous professional musical productions at West End, the British equivalent of Broadway.  “I found it humorous when I went to see Footloose and was asked as a representative of ‘my’ America to explain the plot.”  Another area Goldie found interesting was the chance to see so many of the settings and documents described in great literary works and history books.  “We stayed in the neighborhood for the setting of the Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries, visited places mentioned in Dickens’ novels, and were able to see the Magna Carta and the Gutenburg Bible, as well as many famous works of art.

One meeting that didn’t occur was an actual sit-down for tea with the Queen.  “Before we left for London, I somewhat tongue-in-cheek wrote to HRH Queen Elizabeth that we would be willing to drop by Buckingham Palace for a visit.  Expecting no reply, I was surprised when I received a letter addressed specifically to me on palace letterhead from one of the Queen’s secretaries politely explaining the Queen was booked in advance.  However, I was wished well with my class and extended the hope that we would enjoy our time in England.  We did enjoy our trip and we appreciated the many people here around Holden who kept up with our travels through our vacation blog.”