tisk, tisk, tisk.....

folks, we need to work together here. at the present time, it seems as though we have too many cooks in the kitchen. it may be benifical for the city to seek an unbiased consultant to weigh the priorities. the first thing the city needs to do is FIX OUR STREETS!!! i've had the shocks in my car replaced twice due to the dismal conditions of our streets. rather than looking for pet projects to develop, they need to take care of what they've already got.

I agreee fix the streets how many times are we going to dump money into down town it fails everytime there are other things that need fixed streets, sewers if you want growth we need streets, sewers, schools, not a another down town flop! We need an unbiased view to get things back on track get our priorities straight! Last but not least way to go Mayor "My Way or the Highway" you make this town so proud with your name calling etc no wonder we have businesses and industry beating a path to our town.

the citizens must understand the same thing the council failed to grasp. this particular stimulus package is a HUD initiative. that means that all projects have to be directed towards HUD ( translated very simplistically ...POOR) guidelines.

streets/sewers/infrastructure May be eligible If the work is done in HUD qualified areas of the city And the project creates Permanent Jobs. there are stimulus areas which target all manner of varying areas..... some are transportation, some infrastructure...... etc.

the mayor was so outrageously out of line last night it was truly a seminal moment for me. i have been willing to overlook this man's outbursts,( even supported him in his constant criticism of Vince Cappel) but this behavior was totally unacceptable. the mayor is a fool , cannot control himself, and therefor the council finds itself in disarray. last night ken shearin should have had his mouth washed out with a bar of soap as the five year old he behaved like. anything which "got done" was achieved IN SPITE of shearin, not because of him.

as one who has been a vocal critic of mr. cappel, allow me to say that i actually felt sorry for this man as he endured the onslaught thrown at him by shearin. if this council would learn to direct the manager as to what THEY actually want, then the staff would not have to fill in the void created by council's inactivity. yes, as suggested by mr. falkner, there should have been a meeting to direct this money...... and the COUNCIL should have called for that meeting. cappel is caught between a fledgling council which takes too little initiave and when he moves forward on the behalf of the citizens, the CM is accused of being duplicitous.

the mayor is supposed to run the meetings. since he did not the entire council should have stood up and chastised their brainless leader. enough is enough.

I'll never forget the morning I opened the newspaper to discover that the apparently uninformed voters elected the mayor to office. I guess they didn't read the story about him slapping an elderly lady in the face with a steak at a local restaurant.

The majority only have themselves to blame for electing this man-child. This stuff is better than Mayberry RFD! I'm just waiting for Barney and Goober to walk in at any moment.

As long as we are lining up with our hands out to get that free money, what else matters....Anyone who is participating in spending a dime of the money that we do not have should be ashamed...
When your grandkids cannot afford to have any type of quality of living, becaue they are trying to pay our debt back to the Chinese, I am sure they won't give a damn what silly project the money went to.

Take note St. Joe, this is what you get when you jump on a "vote the bums out" bandwagon. This is also why the current form of city government is a good thing. At least one person who knows how things are done transcends elections.

Sounds like Mayor Shearin needs to take some time off and relax this summer. Perhaps he could resign, get into some kind of rehab program, then come back and run for re-election as a new and improved Mayor Kenny. Or he could resign, hook up with Mayor Funkhauser, and start a political consulting business.

Or he could just resign and go away.

I'm a newer commenter here.
Heritage? Are you a council member? You seem to know what's lurking in every corner and appear to enjoy playing the devil's advocate, or so it seems.
If this money MUST be spent downtown, let's use it on a permanent carnival. We already have a room full of barkers. Then don't forget the rides. Most go "round and round". Something that would further accommodate our current council and manager.
I can not believe the video. Heritage criticizes the mayor's "5 year old" attitude. Let's be fair on the playground. You, too, hear 5 year old children say "Take that back or.." *sniffle*
GEEZ GROW UP!

Heritage,

With respect to His Honor, the Mayor: It is not like me to say “I told you so.” I will say this however because it contains a very valuable lesson. Sometimes it takes awhile and sometimes it does not but, eventually, everyone comes around to realize I am right all the time.

go4it50, FYI-heritage is not a council member, but she is a very involved citizen and is also named in this article as being present at the meeting last night. She has more insight than you or I definitely to comment on this. You do not have to be a council member to get involved and the public has a right to be.

But I do want to say as for the video? Thanks for the laugh dude. St. Joe's finest.

You know, if they started wearing spandex and hitting each other with metal chairs, they'd probably get a bigger crowd for their meetings, a la the wrestling shows on TV. Maybe some cool nicknames, like Vince "the Rock" Capell and "Battlin' Mike Bozarth".

Heck, you might even make enough money so you wouldn't have to touch this "free" money.

Well, Well, Mayor Kenny and Manager Vince I hope you are proud of yourselves on the front page of the paper this morning. And thank you News-Press for airing the city's dirty laundry on the front page for the world to see. I am disgusted by our city leaders who can't get along and resort to cursing at each other and shaking fingers in the public spotlight. It embarasses me to say that yes I voted for this mayor because I felt a change was needed, but times like this make me regret taking the time to vote. Believe me, after seeing him in action, I wouldn't vote for him again.
Mr. Mayor, you need to stop acting like a child and behave like the man of integrity that you should be when in a public office. It's okay to disagree with someone, but there are much better ways of getting your point across. If you are in a feud with the manager, keep it personal, and not out in the public eye. Please stop embarrassing the citizens of the city you were elected to represent.

We are lucky in this town to have someone like heritage that takes the time to ensure that downtown gets the attention it needs. She is a strong advocate for this city and I respect her opinion even though I don't always agree with her on other topics.

I still don't understand the unwarranted emphasis the "downtown" receives. There's nothing there, people. The downtown is a collection of old, crumbling buildings, and little or no business anymore. Perhaps they could use a bit of the stimulus money and buy a bullet to use to put the downtown out of it's misery. I agree that there are other areas of town that need attention. Saint Joseph should have started years ago with its downtown emphasis, instead of the mall (a huge waste of money) and the north shops. All of that could have been funneled into downtown, along with a nice riverfront park. Look at Wichita, KS, and their riverfront, or even San Antonio, or Sioux City, IA. Those cities have monopolized their waterfront area, and that's helped develope the business side, too. Right now...it's too little, too late.
I'm also, though, distressed at the nastiness demonstrated by our city leaders...ALL of them. It's appalling that people in those positions can be that caustic and rude. No wonder we get so little positive done around here. I vote for heritage for mayor!!

pops I agree! Heritage?

Definitely Heritage for Mayor! :)

hahhaha. I just watched it again for another good laugh. I think I will refer to them as Fred and Barney from now on. And Barney definitely needs to wash his mouth out with soap, get all that rubble out!

Can I mark this video as a favorite? Please please NPG let it stay on your site. Can we Youtube it? It will serve to brighten my day anytime I need a good laugh. Guess I truly am St. Jor Proud now.

Prior to last night, I thought the most entertaining council meeting was during the Tuscany TIF debate when two of our brighter council memebers (who wanted J.C. Penny's comments) kept asking to speak to "Mr. Penny". I thought they were kidding. They weren't....

err that would be St. JOE proud.

Now, where is Betty, Wilma, and Pebbles and Bam Bam?

You are kidding me right? Hey, maybe Michael, TJ Max, "Cole" and Sam would like to comment too!

Pretty soon they will be requesting the Geek Squad to make a Border patrol!

Heritage, I can't beleive you would insult five year olds like that! ;-) Personally I find most five year olds to be better behaved.

Vince has had to endure years of guff from this guy mostly in private and sometimes publically. It is understandable why he fails to back down. Council seems to be upset when staff follows there direction (downtown as a priority). They are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

As to the various attempts to ressurect downtown. Folks try, some work, some don't. One problem is that we seem to repeatedly criticize failures and fail to acknowledge successes. If the city tries ten projects in downtown, some are going to fail, some will succeed. The only true failure is not trying. To have a thirty year old failure repeatedly thrown in your face sure does not make you want to make an effort does it. (Not allowing for the fact that many making the effort on this now were in grade school or high school then.)

Look at Omaha, they have made repeated efforts both publically and privately to work on their downtown. There have been many many projects over a 30 or 40 year period. Some failed ... a downtown mall. Some succeeded ... the Old Market. They have the advantage of a number of local businesses willing to locate downtown and bring lots of people with them (ConAgra, UP, First National, etc.) We don't have that advantage.

Our mayor has demonstrated repeatedly (and had prior to election in my opinion) that he is unfit to hold office. Look at the appeal court decision when he sued his former employer: "Ten months later Shearin was terminated because he was not working well with other departments and dissatisfaction with his performance by management."

That was written in 1982! He has never gotten better. He is completely unable to play nice in the sandbox and should be fired. I would say that management (the voters) are now dissatisfied with his performance.

Also, the NP is just doing their job. If they didn't report the facts how else would we know what a fool this guy is.

Oh man, if my dad were alive to have seen this video....I can't quit watching and laughing! TOO FRIGGIN HILARIOUS.

I think Rob Calloway should organize a real live boxing match starring Fred and Barney. I would pay to see that. Hey maybe Barney can stand up and do a repeat of a few years back and shoot the bird to the audience!!

I can't say it enough. Thanks for the laugh and for a Friday even better.

okay, just saw the addition of the still picture with them both pointing their fingers at each other. I cant help but think of captions.

"Pull my finger"
"No! You pull mine!"

"Hey, whats that green thing on your finger?"

Smell it, smell like ____? Taste it...taste like____? (in a cheech and chong voice)

Oh so many captions could happen here, anyone else with a few?

i completely agree with you 238. in fact, i already said it....... :0) those who nay say the efforts downtown may also not have been down there for quite a while. go down there tonight to the first friday arts, walk around and see the new activity. it isn't all bars, and downtown is becoming much more of a family venue.

the fact is that is is fiscally remiss to take the attitude of "let downtown rot". the infrastructure has to be maintained, services must be provided. the resurrection of downtown would allow it to pay its "fair share" of taxes, rather then being a burden. i spend every dollar i can reasonably spend downtown, and i tell each merchant that i am patronizing their business largely because of their willingness to take a chance on our beautiful historic and irreplaceable treasure.

just so some of you who may not know, although in my over 1600 comments i have verified it often enough, i am sarah hochschwender ( quoted in the article) . thanks clinton for spelling it correctly!!!!!!!

Love this! This is why I left this podunk town. Let's spend millions of dollars on building up the dirtiest part of the town that nobody will ever be seen at. Infighting amongst council members - go back to grade school!

Drama drama drama. I can't believe no one is raising a point about the fact Barbara LaBass actually casted a NO vote for this. Does she think she's doing the city a favor?

What they were voting for last night was the first step in the process. It's not like they're getting the check today. They have time to decide where to allocate the money and all that will get taken care of (hopefully).

What shouldn't happen is the city council turning down money like idiots. You can agree or disagree with the idea of the stimulus all you like, but it doesn't change anything. That money WILL be used. We might as well keep it in St.Joseph, NO MATTER WHAT.

The fact we have city council members dumb enough to turn it down at first, only to have an emergency meeting where someone STILL votes it down...that truly bothers me.

An interesting perspective by the NP for recognizing both the unprofessional and inappropriate behavior of Mayor Shearin and the condescending and even challenging approach of the City Manager who is subordinate to the council.

There is no basis for the Mayor to defend his conduct except for him to admit having lost his temper and making an appropriate apology to the community.

What causes this matter to have the interesting perspective claimed requires a bit of reflection from two other situations of recent history.

Anyone recall the state audit of the city and the manner in which the city manager replied to the mayor on a communication for various responses concerning that subject.

And then there was another matter when it was alleged the city manager had made derogatory remarks toward some citizens of the city and the state auditor all under the cloak of two pseudonyms. Any one keeping up with local events knows that the council did "nothing" in meeting their sworn obligation as elected officials, with the NP running for political cover over protecting ethical standards of journalism.

No you can not defend someone when a lapse in common respect and judgement has occurred but it is also important to note each of the events experienced on the path leading to the destination of last night did not just happen because of one bad day.

I never post..but couldn't help myself today.
Are you kidding me with this mayor. It's not the first time I've seen his outburst in the news. When is the next election?
SQ- that's some funny stuff.
I say..we all start attending this meeting. When we don't like something, let's throw rotten eggs,curse and stomp our feet. Sorry, shouldn't have given him any ideas.
Seriously !!

I am glad that I voted for Alonzo's Dog, Maxwell in the Mayoral Election. He wouldn't have been so embarrassing.

incredulous - you are right. I think if anyone remembers this, and they will due to the theatrics, but I doubt Babs will get re-elected.

"If I can't have what I want, then nobody else will either" attitude doesn't cut it.

Psst...my tennis shoes can run faster than YOURS!

"oh yeah....well my daddy can beat your daddy up!"

LOL, a bunch of kindergartners!!!

Or hey maybe with a little more honed skill, they could be doing shadow hand puppets!! Barney just about had it there. Quack quack.

well, the one thing that come,s to mind, and i didnt get the chance too see the vedio yet is we are all human and some of us express our self,s differently then others.integrity is formost in our live,s. we lose our timpers and that is the way it is with some of us.im glad they accepted the money. that was paramount, but,and i love the old nastalgic downtown also, it is just not the only need in st. joe.what did you mean the manager was below the council? you better tell vince capell that.that is what manager means.oh well, have a nice day. p.s. thanks to you mr clinton thomas.

They both need to be replaced the Mayor and the city manager, they both are from the good ole boys club and that is how our city goverment is ran. Maybe we just need a clean sweep at election time and replace the mayor and all of the city council members as well as go back to a mayor and council form of goverment, why pay this idiot the kind of money he is making. Make the mayor and our council run the city and eliminate this city managers position and put this salary into the city somewhere it is needed.But it was kind of funny to see 2 grown men act like children.

In my opinion, the mayor of St. Joseph is the most childish elected official in Missouri. He is an embarrassment to this city.

now wait a minute, our mayor is trying to do his job, he was truely interested in doing his job, he just show,s a diferent way of expressing his veiw,s. im sure he is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. i too say we can run this city without a manager. it just wouldn,t fit in to the good-old-boy,s way . they couldn,t do the thing,s the way they say it should be. what can we do?

We should be real proud of our Mayor. NOT

apple, the farmer's market is coming back soon, under different management. infighting amongst the vendors divided the former effort, not the location. having it on sunday when the churches are letting out should help also. with expanded vendors beyond just produce, providing free music, and a little luck it will do very well.

I would enjoy seeing something like Overland Park or Kansas City has built. A little more permanent, etc.

One of the problems with Shearin is that he refuses to learn the job. Little things like budgetting, etc.

Please, NOT YouTube! St. Joseph will be known as the city where the guy urinated in the coffee and the city that elected a six-year-old mayor!

What would also be great would be a restaurant adjoining a farmer's market where one could get breakfast, etc. Perhaps using some of the offerings from the market when appropriate. Have tables out front ... serve some good coffee (I prefer Roastery from KC) .... maybe include wifi ... serve lunch ... Cyprus Avenue on Sat afternoon on the radio ...

A farmer's market as a stand alone in a parking lot is not nearly as much fun.

Shearin has had the chance to steer our city in these directions but has failed miserably. He wants to pick battles with Vince rather than lead the city. Let Vince run the day to day.

Vinken. Makes a cute couple.

planning on attracting home made artisan soaps, candles, pottery, jewelry, stained glass...... definitely food options. would love your input actually. ( you know where i live :0)>>>> also, i am hoping that some of the vendors might be encouraged to make a more permanent commitment to downtown by becoming shop owners. always trying to help with my meager bounds to bring out the best i know this city has within herself.

i am sincere in asking for your help and any input. soon there will be a website to apply to, trying to scope out all the permits and insurance issues.

Pops, you should come downtown tonight for the Sounds of Summer concert and go walk around during the band's breaks to check out the First Friday goings on. You just might change your mind about downtown. Unless of course the prospect of changing your mind is just too scary.

well, i really meant we need a mayor run town, not ken, but someone who is not of the good-old-boy club.even a mayor should do a better job then a pay for hire manager.i know, the good-old-boy,s wont allow that, i just said.

I think the council should turn down the money so maybe a town,other than this one, might get the money. A town with strong leadership and sensible planning. I do not understand why anyone would be surprised by the way this issue has been handled. It is business as usual in this town.

donaldo, the idea of city manager form of government is to bring professional management to the day to day operations of the city. Can you imagine what the status of the city had Kenny had the power of both mayor and city manager? This is the guy who would not go to the budget meetings and then complained he did not understand the budget (the most basic document for running the city).

Besides, sometimes, the good ol' boy club works and gets things done.

i have NO problem with good ole boys. my daddy was one. the problem arises when the good ole boys are not GOOD. people who have given to their city and served her well shouldn't be criticized by virtue of the fact that they have done so. i don't like to throw the baby out with the bath water..........

there is a sense of entitlement which is deserved by those who have carried the water and done the volunteering and worked for what they believe in. that entitlement is often deserved. sometimes it isn't. mr. shearin stepped over the line, but i think most people already knew he was walking on a tightrope.

sounds to me like you are an outstanding member of the good-old-boy-club. in the past history of st. joe, mo. we had a moyor run city and i might have been younger then but i didnt see this in-fighting as we have today. p.s.for who does the good-old-boy club work for? i have not seen where it works for the citizens of st. joe. just line,s it,s pockets of the fat cat,s of st. joe. true or not?

i dont think entitlement should be a factor, after all if it was entitlement that made you what you are today you wouldn,t need education you would be born with integrity and you would automaticly be in! i think you need to learn these things, i know i did, and i am a better man for it today. there were knocks and bumps along the way, but i pulled through. some here would beleive i failed miserably, oh well, i feel successful.sometime you just have to please yourself.

sarah for mayor!

I would love to see downtown improvement because the river is beautiful and it could be an attraction however it doesn't seem that our city government is smart enough to make that happen. How many times have they tried? As far as name calling during meetings, that's unprofessional.

238 - The concept of having a city manager to professionally administer the "day to day functions" of city functions works well in the majority of cases.
The exception and where things begin to unravel is when any of these single entities begin to place their position and authority above the elected council and and thus the people that employ them.
As for the good ol' boy network; please comment on how you might view this once finding yourself on the outside and in disagreement with events. Believe the correct word is cronyism.

I too am sick & tired of the good ol' boys. I did not vote for the Mayor, but I do like that someone is finally standing up to Vince. The Mayor & Vince were both out of line the other night, I saw the whole thing in person, not just the short clip.

I believe it is time to get rid of the good ol' boy Vince, just as long as he takes his boy Hiter with him, God help us if Hiter runs for & wins the Mayor spot next year, You thought the good ol' boys were bad, wait & see what he does. We will have no control, & get nothign but LIES LIES LIES.

Ken, the villiage called, and they said they are wanting their idiot back...

donaldo, were you directing your comment to me???? if so, that is the best i have heard all day!!! trust, me, i am as far from on the insider track in this city as you can get.............

and i stand by the statement that those who are called good ole boys might just be........GOOD.

now i am going to put my pistols back in their holsters.