JULY
July 6 – Platte County communities celebrated Independence Day with parades, musical performances and fireworks; The homicide near Farley was still under investigation, with two persons of interest identified and on the run; The damaged Parkville Farmers Market building was set for demolition after suffering two vehicle strikes in 2022; Kevin Hawkins, once homeless, now helps other in that same plight.
July 13 – McKayla Archambeau and Cordero Cervantes were apprehended out of state, wanted in the death of Farley man Taylor Hawkins; Members of the Platte County Steam Engine Show committee cut wheat in preparation for the August steam engine show in Tracy; Another fatality crash occurred on Highway 45, this time near Farley; The University of Kansas Medical Center puts out a call for asthma patients for groundbreaking study.
July 20 – Commissioners consider a renewal of the county’s three-eighths-cent roads tax with a special meeting; Hailey Morgan sells her wares at the Northern Platte Farmers Market in Edgerton; Excessive heat advisories were already forcing the partial closure of the carnival at the Platte County Fair, days before the fair was scheduled to begin in Tracy; Yet another fatality crash on Highway 45 closes the highway for hours; Platte County resident Ernie Martel keeps his wife’s memory alive with a little food pantry located in Northmoor.
July 27 – The 159th Platte County Fair was held in Tracy, with a hot weekend had by all; Election directors Chris Hershey and Wendy Flanigan have 100 percent confidence in the integrity and safety of Platte County’s election system; The City of Parkville hired Brittanie Propes as its first director of Parks; No votes were taken at a special meeting held to discuss the possible renewal of the county roads tax.
AUGUST
Aug. 3 – Platte County 4-H kids completed a Youth Explorer Series, including gardening at Barry Platte Park in Kansas City North; Commissioners announced their intent to place a roads tax renewal on the November election ballot; The Riverside Junior Police Academy graduates its fourth class; the Parkville Board of Aldermen discuss the importance of transparency following years of accusations of a lack of transparency at city hall; Tim Sublette, owner of Smithville Music Studio, releases a book.
Aug. 10 – The annual Cops and Kids event was held in downtown Platte City; Road work on Highway 152 set to close lanes into September; Platte County prepares for the Steam Engine Show in Tracy; Plans to replace the Parkville Farmers Market building get under way with a public engagement forum; The Taulbee family celebrates its 100th annual family reunion.
Aug. 17 – The Platte County Steam Engine Show was held in Tracy; A charity golf classic memorialized R-3 grad Matt Madill; The Missouri Department of Transportation announces upcoming road closures, including the partial closure of Interstate 635 for road work; The Dearborn area veterans memorial was nearing completion; Platte County Republicans issue a statement supporting fellow Republicans who rejected the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Aug. 24 – The annual Parkville Days festival was held in downtown Parkville; Platte County Commissioners placed a reduced roads sales tax on the November election ballot; The Platte County Detention Center reached a record number of inmates in detention with 232 prisoners in the 180-bed facility; Students headed back to the classroom with most COVID restrictions dropped.
Aug. 31 – High school athletes returned to the field; a Lakeview Middle School student was taken into custody after a gun was discovered in his locker; The North Platte Historical Society hosted an All Things Farming exhibit at the museum in Dearborn; Platte County Democrats reorganized and sought common ground to bring the party together; The City of Parkville completed the bulk of work on the reconstruction of Highway 9 at Highway 45.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 7 - Platte County’s Board of Education received an update and a new look at the district’s ongoing large-scale construction projects with the release of aerial photos of Platte County High School and Platte Purchase Middle School; Serial sex offender Brian Keeling was found guilty; A controversial rezoning request for a residential project was tabled until October; Platte City resident and Ukrainian native Tanya Pidgurska organized a charity photo exhibition at Platte City’s branch of Mid-Continent Public Library.
Sept. 14 – The Pirates took their first win of the season against the North Kansas City High School Hornets in Platte City; The Park Hill School District was facing a shortage of bus drivers, forcing even qualified office staff into the driver’s seat; One dead, one injured in Platte City crash; The Platte City Study Club celebrated its long and storied history; Long-time county prosecutor Mark Gibson received the honor for the best assistant prosecutor in the state.
Sept. 21 - The Kansas City Aviation Department released a list of vendors set to open shop inside the new one-terminal Kansas City International Airport; West Platte High School crowns homecoming king Peyson Chadnler and queen Laura Hill; Intern Bry Weltz from Park Hill’s LEAD Innovation Studio begins work at the Citizen; Adventures with Tea offers more than Earl Grey; A committee to urge voters to vote yes to renew the county roads sales tax was formed.
Sept. 28 – Lennie Callaway continued the long tradition of farming tobacco in the Weston area; The City of Parkville announced a partnership with BNSF railroad to study a possible downtown quiet zone; Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd was elected vice president of the National District Attorneys Association; the Mid-Continent Public Library Board of trustees slashed system funding, prompting outrage from some members of the community.
OCTOBER
Oct. 5 – Weston’s annual Applefest was held in downtown Weston and featured a parade, arts and crafts, food and more; In the wake of the Mid-Continent Public Library’s board of trustees’ vote to slash $1.3 million from the library’s tax income, Platte County residents questioned commissioners on the motives of the board members they appointed; A Plaza Middle School student was arrested after bringing a handgun to school in his backpack; North Platte crowns its homecoming king Seth Cruz and queen Felicity McCulloh; West Platte superintendent Dr. John Rinehart announced his retirement.
Oct. 12 – Platte County R-3 celebrated its homecoming with a parade, game and dance; Bill Graham weighs in on the upcoming election season; The Riverside Chamber of Commerce carves out some early Halloween fun with the Carved Experience; The Parkville Board of Aldermen approved an amendment to city code limiting short-term residential dwelling rentals in residential districts; The North Platte Historical Society Museum and Cultural Center planned a program about the history of fox hunting in Dearborn.
Oct. 19 - Missouri Department of Transportation hosted a public meeting as part of the Interstate 29/Interstate 35/Highway 169 planning study to improve safety and reduce congestion; Political newcomer Rebecca Nafzinger ran for Platte County Clerk; Funding for the house arrest program was increased in an attempt to address ongoing overcrowding at the county jail; The City of Parkville received two awards from the Missouri Chapter of the American Planning Association for its master plan and its Bell Road improvement proposal.
Oct. 26 – After his death in 1955, Albert Einstein’s brain traveled a strange path ending in a cooler in a Weston doctor’s office; Authorities were not amused by a teen’s ‘joke’ about ‘shooting up’ Park Hill High School and the teen is charged with making a terroristic threat; Parkville leadership explained the role of the Parkville Economic Development Council (EDC) to a concerned resident; Intern Bry Weltz shares her experiences as a Halloween Haunt screamster at Worlds of Fun.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 2 - The Park Hill football team celebrated after snapping a 3-game losing skid and advancing to the Class 6 District 4 Semifinals with a 49-42 postseason win over Rockhurst; A Platte County grand jury indicted McKayla Archambeau for murder in the June 28 killing of a man near Farley; Republican Scott Fricker and Democrat John DeFoor Sr. vied for presiding commissioner in the November general election; Pilot Greg Kaaz provides help through his volunteer work with Angel Flight.
Nov. 9 - Republican Scott Fricker won the day over Democrat John DeFoor Sr. for Platte County Presiding Commissioner; Former Park University president Dr. Beverley Byers-Pevitts died in Florida; Platte City veteran Tom Wiggins shares his story of survival and supports disabled leaders across the nation; Missouri Chief Justice Paul C. Wilson honored the Platte County Circuit Court for its service to youth.
Nov. 16 - Democrat Jamie Johnson, the newly-elected state representative for House District 12, made history as the first representative for the new house district and as Platte County’s first Black state representative; Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd announced that the actions of law enforcement officers in shooting and killing Mekiah Harris were reasonable and justified under Missouri law; A former Weston police officer was accused of punching a motorist after a DWI stop in August; Prosecutor’s office staff volunteered in Platte City through the office’s new CARES program.
Nov. 23 - The Farmer’s House opened its newest market in downtown Platte City; The West Platte Board of Education announced current high school principal Brock Dover as the next superintendent of schools; Bill Graham says the stomach may think turkey, but the heart thinks of thankfulness on Thanksgiving; Platte County student Alex Beeman earned a perfect score on her ACT test; The Platte County Sheriff’s Office enters into a private contract for security services for inmates in local hospitals.
Nov. 30 - County budget shows sales, use tax growth in 2022; Cadet 1st Lt. Svetlana Ehlers is visually impaired, but keeps strong confidence, even in the face of adversity, in serving in the Civil Air Patrol; Miss Teen USA Sophia Dominguez-Heithoff used her title as a jumping board to education.
DECEMBER
Dec. 7 – Parkville held its annual Christmas on the River event, capped off with fireworks over the Missouri River; The Platte County Sheriff’s Office sought grant funding to purchase body cams for deputies; Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd predicted an uptick in DWI arrests will begin with the legalization of recreational marijuana in Missouri; Smithville man Garry Yoakum spotted a UFO in August, becoming a local celebrity due to his report.
Dec. 14 – The first phase of reconstruction of Platte County High School was completed in Platte City, and celebrated with a ribbon cutting and tour of new facilities; An audit of Kansas City’s short-term rentals shows the city has lost money due to compliance failures; An exterior courtyard at the new KCI terminal pays homage to the multi-terminal round design of the old airport.
Dec. 21 – A Platte City holiday display raised funds for cancer charity The Hudson Project this year; Two KCI Airport police officers were injured after a pursuit ended with a crash and a shooting; Santa Claus visited Exchange Bank; Evergy officials spoke before the Platte County Commission to discuss their efforts to address poor electrical service in Platte City.
Dec. 28 – The Riverside community mourned the death of two-time mayor Betty Burch, who was also the mother of current mayor Kathy Rose; During her time in office, county clerk Nancy Armstrong sorted and digitized one ton of old documents and donated them to Park University’s library, where they will be available to the public.