CLAY COUNTY — The year that was 2022 was one of many impactful moments. As we in the Courier-Tribune newsroom looked back on the top headlines from the year, several themes emerged. They are presented in this two-part series. Part I looks at the first half of the year, while the second, publishing in the Jan. 5, 2023 edition, looks at the last half of 2022.
In addition to this content, more year-in-review coverage, including a countdown of the 10 most read news and sports stories online and the most viewed photos and videos of the year, will be published online at MyCourierTribune.com.
Continuing issues and recovery from COVID-19
With the introduction of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 late in 2021 and early in 2022, a sharp increase in demand for COVID-19 testing occurred. With a rise in case counts it become difficult to locate available rapid COVID-19 tests on retailers’ shelves or obtain an appointment from a provider for a test. As a result, allowed ordering from the state for at-home test kits was temporarily paused for a few days.
Since then, a ramp up in at-home test kits production occurred, the state continued to add testing sites, vaccines and boosters for added variants have been made available and the federal government offered test kits by mail to all U.S. residents. As of Dec. 27, 58% of adults in Clay County Public Health Center’s jurisdiction have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 53% have been fully vaccinated. Of those under age 18, 23% have had at least one dose of the vaccine and 20% are fully vaccinated. Since the pandemic began, CCPHC has reported a total of 32,464 cases of COVID-19 and 395 related deaths.
Early in the year, State Attorney General Eric Schmitt continued his legal fight against masks in schools by suing local school districts including Liberty and North Kansas City in the Northland. According to the AG’s suits, Schmitt argues school districts don’t have the authority to impose public health orders like mask mandates. However, city and public health department guidelines were in effect and covered districts, so leaders in Liberty and North Kansas City public schools kept mask requirements through mid-February despite demands from Schmitt to stop.
Later that month, mask wearing became recommended in schools by local leadership, but not required after students’ and staff absences and reported COVID-19 illnesses declined.
Kearney, Liberty and Smithville began seeing new businesses pop up, filling vacant storefronts with businesses that started during the pandemic. The economic development showed pandemic recovery continued taking hold in the Northland. Many of the businesses that have opened since the start of the pandemic, including several retailers, continue to thrive in 2022.
Businesses that opened in Liberty during the pandemic include Exercise Coach and The Parlor on Water Street.
In Smithville, a slew of businesses have been added to Smithville Marketplace along U.S. Highway 169 and downtown like Domino’s Pizza and Rose Cottage Boutique since the pandemic began.
In Kearney, a resurgence of retail has also taken shape with opening of clothing stores like Market 816 Boutique, Urban Edge and Three Birdies.
Impactful people
During the 2022 calendar year, CT staff made an effort to shine a spotlight on individuals who celebrated milestones or received significant awards, marking their positive community impact. They included the following.
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Dr. April Adams, Liberty High School principal, gets to chat
with her family via Zoom after the announcement was made that she
is Missouri’s 2022 Secondary Principal of the Year.
Kellie Houx/Courier-Tribune
Liberty High School Principal April Adams was named the 2022 Missouri Secondary Principal of the Year in mid-February. Adams has been the lead principal at Liberty High since 2009. Assistant Principal Sara Wickham said Adams has led the school through the tough times such as the COVID-19 pandemic to helping a teacher get gum out of her hair with peanut butter.
“I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else,” said her assistant Sarah Burt. “She is the sort of leader who balances all the needs within the school from the students, staff and faculty to those in the community, too.”
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It’s not all seriousness in the Brown home gym. There is some
monkeying around for father and son, Reggie and RJ. RJ, a
third-grader at Maple Elementary in the Smithville School District,
won second in the National Ninja League World Finals in Greensboro,
N.C.
Kellie Houx/Courier-Tribune
This spring, RJ Brown, a student Maple Elementary in Smithville, took second in the National Ninja League World Finals in the 6 to 8-year-old age division out of nearly 300 other competitors from around the world. Brown has been training for and hopes to one day appear on “American Ninja Warrior,” the TV show where competitors put their physical strength to the test on various obstacles such as the salmon ladder, the jump hang and the warp wall.
After 34 years of service to Liberty Hospital, President and Chief Executive Officer David Feess retired mid-year. During the 11 years of his executive tenure, Feess directed the growth of the organization from a single hospital to a health system that today includes 15 primary and specialty care clinics.
Educational issues & action
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“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson will be retained in
Liberty and Liberty North high school libraries.
Submitted Illustration
In late November 2021, a handful of parents questioned book selections in school libraries around the Northland, especially the book, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson. Parent comments about the sexually explicit nature of portions of the book spurred a district review as some parents said the book about gay-life experiences equated to pornography.
At the Feb. 15 Liberty school board meeting, school board members voted to retain the book without restriction in the library collection at Liberty and Liberty North high schools.
With efforts from law enforcement and health care providers, a concerted effort to prevent fentanyl overdoses has been underway in the Northland this year. By the spring, Liberty, Smithville and Kearney districts issued Narcan to school nurses as schools continue to see overdose cases in students. NARCAN Nasal Spray is a prescription medicine used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency with signs of breathing problems and severe sleepiness or not being able to respond.
May 10 was the first-ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day, named by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education named EPiC Elementary in the Liberty School District a Missouri Gold Star Schools for 2022. The elementary is one of eight Missouri schools to receive this designation. The rigorous criteria of the Missouri Gold Star Schools program is aligned with the National Blue Ribbon Schools program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
A racial discrimination lawsuit was filed against the Kearney School District in May. The suit came a year after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into the district for racial discrimination after a different family filed a complaint and removed children from the district citing racism. As a result of the lawsuit, outgoing Interim Kearney Superintendent Todd White wrote a letter to district families, saying work to end systemic racism isn’t done and must continue.
“This work is urgent and important. The job of a community is to prepare its students to become productive members of society who are capable of reaching success in numerous ways,” he wrote.
The lawsuit has not reached a conclusion. District leaders say efforts started to improve diversity, equity and inclusion will continue. DEI efforts that have begun in recent years include formation of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, the student-lead Kearney Inclusion ‘N Diversity club, a support agreement with the Kansas City chapter of the NAACP and the school SPIRIT program.
School facility developments
Keeping in line with the district and high school mascot, the Smithville School District’s newest building off Commercial Avenue was named {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/schools/k_12/smithville-district-names-activity-center/article_798166b4-7a0e-11ec-aaab-af02d316f88f.html” target=”_blank”}Warrior Activity Center. District leadership, families and the community celebrated with an open house in late May.
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At an open house in late May, the Smithville Warrior Activity
Center opened.
Kellie Houx/Courier-Tribune
The two-story facility includes a synthetic turfed area for football drills with garage doors that open onto the view of the stadium. The upper level includes wrestling mats that will be used by middle and high school teams. There are also coaches’ offices, restrooms and access to a concession area.
Government reform
Dianna Wright was hired as {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/county_and_northland_news/county-hires-new-administrator/article_ee13d9da-8ac1-11ec-bf16-436e286d9e28.html” target=”_blank”}Clay County administrator in early February by the county commission following a nationwide search. Wright was selected from six finalists out of 42 total applicants.
The leadership change comes on the heels of many other changes including the county shifting to a constitutional form of government that saw a shift in elected offices in previous years and a pending expansion of the county commission.
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Clay Commissioners listen as State Auditor Nicole Galloway
presents her office’s audit findings of the county. Galloway’s
office gave the commission a “poor” rating, the lowest rating
possible.
Amanda Lubinski/Courier-Tribune
After years of legal battle, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway finished her citizen-petitioned state audit of Clay County early in 2022, giving the Clay County Commission a {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/state-auditor-gives-clay-county-poor-rating/article_fdb119b8-9a73-11ec-a0d9-6766f25df433.html” target=”_blank”}“poor” audit rating.
The rating is the lowest possible and was attributed to years of mismanagement by former county leaders, including actively obstructing the audit as well as spending millions on an Annex project that went nowhere. To the dismay of some taxpayers, no criminal charges were filed against former leaders as a result of the audit.
Hot topics
![]()
Dr. Cecelia Robinson, a member of the Clay County Bicentennial
Commission, speaks to the crowd June 4.
Kellie Houx/Courier-Tribune
{a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/clay-county-bicentennial-celebration-june-4/article_72edfa0a-dc2f-11ec-8f64-cf1596e0599a.html” target=”_blank”}Clay County officially hit 200 years old in early January and party planners invited the entire community to celebrate during events throughout the year. The countywide celebration took place in early June.
In addition to Clay County government celebrating the county’s 200th anniversary, Clay County Sheriff’s Office also celebrated 200 years of service to the community.
A wrap-up party of the 200th birthday year will be held Jan. 5, 2023.
Hours of public comments continued during Liberty City Council meetings in 2022 by those for and against the removal of a {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/city_government/liberty-mayor-reverses-decision-on-confederate-monument-public-comment/article_b62522b2-9986-11ec-bbe8-af924d6235cf.html” target=”_blank”}Confederate soldier monument in Fairview cemetery in Liberty. Known as Block 174, the lot containing the monument has been the subject of petition drives to save the monument as well as defacing from those who wish it to be removed.
In mid-February, Liberty Mayor Lyndell Brenton said due continuing efforts of the revestment legal process that is underway, no further future oral public comments would be taken. Brenton then reversed that decision. Comments are now allowed during discussion of “Other Business,” which occurs toward the end of council meetings.
No resolution to the revestment legal process has been reached.
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In Liberty May 13, store shelves normally full of infant formula
at Walgreens off West Kansas Street were bare.
Amanda Lubinski/Courier-Tribune
A nationwide {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/baby-formula-shortage-felt-in-northland/article_cccf9e74-d2fd-11ec-be37-37ff4fd66784.html” target=”_blank”}infant formula shortage this spring hit Missouri particularly hard, experts said, because a large portion of the recalled formula was distributed here. Missouri is one of six states where more than half of baby formula supplies were sold out. Across the Northland, retailers and families struggled to get the formula products they need for their families.
As a result of the shortage, those receiving WIC public assistance in Clay County for Similac formula began getting substitutions of different formulas so those in need would not go without.
After being shutdown and not producing formula that lead to the shortage, Abbott Laboratories received FDA clearance to restart production of formulas in mid-May.
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One of the 10 nurses in the Liberty Hospital Birthing Center who
was pregnant, Alison Harrell, was due May 27.
Submitted Photo
A local story in May of {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/community_living/liberty-hospital-s-birthing-center-staff-enjoys-baby-fever/article_3e99e80a-d62a-11ec-b8b2-1f1f9b4895ce.html” target=”_blank”}10 nurses and one obstetrician-gynecologist all pregnant at the Liberty Birthing Center ended up making news around the world.
{div class=”subscriber-preview”}“It was part of the hospital newsletter, and honestly, I didn’t expect this story to be so popular. It has been a happy morale booster for the department,” said Nicki Koelling, director of the birthing center. “Sure, it’s not uncommon to have two or three nurses pregnant at the same time,” she said. “I have never seen 10 though.”
A majority of the babies have since been born at Liberty Hospital.
The {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/community_living/clay-county-community-celebrates-juneteenth/article_7ca6fe88-ecb6-11ec-90d6-3347dcbd3191.html” target=”_blank”}Clay County Juneteenth two-day celebration in mid-June included the Liberty Legacy Memorial unveiling in Fairview Cemetery, which features more than 750 names of African Americans buried in mostly unmarked graves as well as the unveiling of the colorful Sankofa bird sculpture in front of Garrison School Cultural Center.
Public Safety
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After nearly 37 years at the helm of Kearney’s police
department, Chief Tom Carey, at left, retired Jan. 10. Carey has
served in the department’s top role since May of 1985. Also on Jan.
10, Tom O’Leary, at right, who was serving as a detective and
captain in the police department, was sworn in to replace Carey.
O’Leary started with the city’s police department as a patrolman in
1994.
Submitted photo
Effective Jan. 10, after nearly 37 years at the helm of Kearney’s police department, Chief {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/kearneys-longtime-police-chief-retires/article_3458d94e-6a89-11ec-b4c6-63e79b4551b6.html” target=”_blank”}Tom Carey retired. Carey had served in the department’s top role since May of 1985. Capt. Tom O’Leary from within was appointed to fill the chief of police role.
A free concert in the summer at Kearney Amphitheater was held in Carey’s honor.
In February, Liberty Police Chief {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/liberty-police-chief-announces-july-retirement-date/article_e14b075a-94df-11ec-9f17-1bf81810f5ac.html” target=”_blank”}James Simpson announced his retirement effective July 1. Simpson, a long-time Liberty resident, joined the Liberty Police Department as a police officer in 1985 after completing a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Central Missouri State University.
In early June, James Martin was named Liberty’s next police chief.
Smithville police began seeking the public’s help in March to locate {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/search-for-missing-man-continues-9-months-after-disappearance/article_7d56d91a-74d4-11ed-b190-1f0cdbbe00c1.html” target=”_blank”}Ryan Weeks, a man that was reported missing from Smithville in February.
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Ryan Weeks was first reported missing from Smithville this
spring.
Submitted photo
In April, Weeks’ last known location and other details were updated. A friend spoke with Weeks between 7 and 7:30 p.m. March 28 at a gas station near Missouri Highway 152 and North Brighton Avenue in Kansas City.
As of December, investigators are still searching for Weeks.
The sheriff’s office launched a task force in Clay County in June to investigate {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/clay-county-sheriffs-office-launches-sex-trafficking-task-force/article_f74faee0-f23e-11ec-aac6-3ff1eb444c00.html” target=”_blank”}child sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
That same month, the task force and its law enforcement partners, in an operation dubbed {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/feds-arrest-32-in-child-exploitation-stings-in-missouri-kansas/article_3f0f31dc-e6ce-11ec-ac9b-7fc761772cc6.html” target=”_blank”}“Blue Ghost,” netted dozens of arrests of individuals for suspected crimes against children in stings in Missouri and Kansas.
Business development
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This rendering shows the expected look of Meta, formerly
Facebook’s, nearly 1 million-square-foot data center that is being
constructed in Golden Plains Technology Park.
Submitted illustration
The Northland is attracting technology hubs with lots of development in 2022.
Meta Platforms, Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced in March it is developing a nearly 1 million-square-foot data center near Smithville. The center means an investment of more than $800 million supporting up to 100 operational jobs and more than 1,300 jobs at peak construction.
The data center, the first of its kind in Missouri, is expected to be operational in 2024.
Ford Motor Co. began another expansion to the {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/business/ford-receives-additional-tax-abatements-for-liberty-plant/article_e7eca1e6-522b-11ec-b03b-63d5e0330f7d.html” target=”_blank”}Ford Stamping Plant in Liberty after receiving city approval in late 2021. This latest addition will be of 55,000 square feet of industrial space when complete.
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Additions to the Ford Stamping Plant continued in 2022. The
latest is a 55,000-square-foot expansion of industrial space.
Submitted Photo
Ford also began adding thousands of jobs and updates to its local Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, meaning a $95 million investment and 1,100 union jobs for a third shift to increase production of the Transit commercial van and E-Transit electric van.
After multiple years of planning and fundraising for the major road improvement project, the second {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/ground-breaks-on-second-interstate-35-interchange-in-kearney/article_f7ab82a8-bb41-11ec-bd8e-6f7df410eea9.html” target=”_blank”}Interstate 35 interchange at 19th Street construction in Kearney got underway with a groundbreaking in April. Construction is expected to continue until 2024.
The project is being funded through cost-share efforts between the city and Missouri Department of Transportation. MoDOT is covering $10 million while Kearney voters approved a $24.3 million bond issue in 2018 and a sales tax increase to 8.625% for debt obtained by bond issuance to help cover the city’s portion of construction costs.
In Memoriam
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Longtime area photographer Jeff Billings, seen here, passed
away. The photography community along with local high school
athletics teams have mourned the loss.
Submitted Photo/kcsports.net
{a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/sports/longtime-area-photographer-jeff-billings-passes/article_6da685e2-787c-11ec-9f7c-7b0075b18144.html” target=”_blank”}Jeff Billings, known to many in the Northland for his work photographing Liberty high school teams, passed away in mid-January. Billings began KCSports.net, a sports photography service focused on Liberty area schools, in 2006.
Billings’ passing prompted many in the local high school sports world to take to Twitter to express their appreciation for the community photographer and business owner, who also once owned Billings Construction.
Retired William Jewell basketball coach {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/news/liberty-community-mourns-loss-of-larry-holley/article_48570e84-d6b3-11ec-aba0-27f6397f573e.html” target=”_blank”}Larry Holley passed away unexpectedly at the age of 76 in May. Holley was a staple of Jewell basketball, coaching the Cardinals for 40 years prior to his retirement in 2019. He accumulated 918 wins, placing him in the top 10 of all-time wins by any college basketball coach.
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The Liberty and William Jewell athletics communities continue to
mourn the loss of longtime leader Larry Holley.
File Photo
After his passing, expressions of sorrow came in from across the region. The floor of the Mabee Center at Jewell, named for Holley, was the site of a {a href=”https://www.mycouriertribune.com/sports/boys_basketball/jewell-honors-larry-holley-in-season-opener/article_416ebc92-69b2-11ed-9ac3-577891188fde.html” target=”_blank”}touching tribute to him during the season opener of the Jewell basketball season in November. It was the season opener of the first season since Holley’s passing.
