Jackson and Cass counties: News from around our towns

Raymore is forming arts commission

The Raymore City Council is establishing a City Arts Commission to help promote public art within the community.

The council is looking for Raymore residents with a variety of artistic backgrounds to volunteer for the seven-member commission. One person will be chosen from each ward, as well as three at-large members.

Once filled, the commission will meet with the council for input and idea sharing before setting its own mission and agenda for creating a public arts policy for adoption into the city code.

The city is looking for varied attitudes, experiences and beliefs that lead to diversified discussions and decisions while commissioners represent city residents.

Anyone interested in serving on the commission is asked to submit an online application available at www.raymore.com/Forms.aspx?FID=83.

Questions should be directed to City Manager Jim Feuerborn at 816-892-3026 or jfeuerborn@raymore.com.

Jackson County court appointment

Mark A. Styles Jr. has been appointed to a four-year term as a deputy probate commissioner in the Jackson County Circuit Court. The choice was made by Circuit Judge Kathleen A. Forsyth of the Probate Division.

Styles, a senior associate attorney with the Hardwick Law Firm, is expected to join the court around the first week in November. Court officials said he has broad experience in probate matters, having been appointed to represent the interests of various parties in probate cases.

He earned his law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Missouri – Columbia.

He replaces Scott R. Manuel, who was elevated to probate commissioner last month.

Dogtober Fest is Sunday

It’s all about dogs on Sunday, when the Jackson County Parks + Rec Department presents its 21st Annual Dogtober Fest at the Kemper Outdoor Education Center in Fleming Park, 8201 Jasper Bell Road in Lee’s Summit.

The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free with a donation of dog food.

Dogs that have been vaccinated and are on a short — but not retractable — leash will be allowed in to the event, where dogs will be available for adoption and nearly 100 booths will be set up.

Activities include a Police K9 demonstration, a costume contest for dogs, a mile-long Dog Walk, Dock Diving Workshops, Agility Fun Runs, AKC Canine Good Citizen testing, Frisbee Competition, Agility Workshops and more.

Hope House fundraiser canceled

Boots & Bling, a fundraiser for Hope House, has been canceled.

The event was scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18, at Sunset Trails Stables. Hope House CEO MaryAnne Metheny consulted with Maggie Everson from the stables, and the decision was made to cancel the event.

Hope House and Sunset Trails Stables will discuss the possibility of rescheduling the event for spring or early summer 2015.

Haunted house in Independence

The Mount Washington Masonic Lodge No. 614 in Independence has created a haunted house based on the unsolved Villisca, Iowa, axe murders of eight people in 1912. They were killed in their beds.

The haunted house, at 9515 E. Independence Ave., will be open Friday and Saturday nights in October from 7 to 10 p.m. or later.

The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12and under.

Learn more at www.MtWashingtonManor.com.

Multicultural festival at Don Bosco

Don Bosco Centers is hosting its first multicultural festival from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday to showcase its English as a Second Language School.

The free event, at St. Anthony’s at 309 Benton Boulevard, will feature food, crafts, and entertainment from around the world, as well as an open house for the school.

Race for the Future raises $39,000

Race for the Future, a 5K run/walk held Saturday, raised about $39,000 to benefit the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation and the Carrie Foresee Memorial Scholarship Fund. A total of 785 runners and walkers registered for the 5K event, 54 registered as Dream Partners, and another 58 participated in the Kid’s Dash.

Total proceeds over the race’s 18-year history are close to $341,000, according to the Lee’s Summit School District.

Roast will benefit new history museum

The Lee’s Summit Historical Society is having its first major fundraiser for the museum that will open early next year in a refurbished 1939 post office.

It will be a roast of lifelong resident and community leader Robert “Bud” Hertzog.

The downtown post office is undergoing renovation, with money from a bond issue approved by voters. The museum needs to raise more money for operations and preparing displays for artifacts in its collection. Several other fundraisers are planned in conjunction with the city’s 150th anniversary.

The roast will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at The New Stanley Aspen Room, 308 SE Douglas St.

Tickets are $65 each (with $45 tax deductible) and seating is limited. Tickets can be purchased in person at Cameron’s Home Furnishings, 26 SE Third St. downtown. Make checks payable to Historical Society of Lee’s Summit, with “Celebrity Roast” on the memo line.