The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 11

SECTION Some cities imagine that the world CW Guseweile B-2 The Kansas City Star Metro Tuesday August IS 1998 -jL vwwkcstarcomlocailocalhtiii KANSAS CITY AND THE REGION LEWIS DIUGUID Lawsuit stalls sale of bonds for track Memory lane melds with future Postponement delays purchase of property for Kansas speedway By STEVE NICELY Staff Writer The sale of about $95 million in revenue bonds to build the Kansas International Speedway has been postponed until the latest lawsuit by property owners is resolved The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Kan has approved issuance of the bonds but it has held off" selling them with the legal picture unsettled The delay puts off the purchase of property from nearly 150 families displaced by the track and threatens the goal of holding a NASCAR race in 2000 Seven property owners some of whom were plaintiff's in a previous suit that the Kansas Supreme Court pre-empted contend that more generous federal relocation policies should apply to all residents forced to move not just those living in the path of federally funded highways They filed their lawsuit last month in Wyandotte County District Court The Unified redevelopment plan provided only $500 for relocation expenses for a majority of families not affected by US highway improve- See SALE B-2 Col 5 Gun left in bag leads to charges 20-year-old man is accused of endangerment in death of 1 -year-old By STEVE PENN Staff Writer These farmers got a crack at some cash Cracking an egg on a head is not on the list of standard farm chores But it was on the list of competitions in the Farmer contest Monday at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia Another was in which one partner called out tools the other carried them over and then both performed a task with them Tanya Smith and her boyfriend Scott Potter both of Golden City Mo finish in the top three but they managed to make an egghead of Potter Paul and Michon Searcy of Liberty won the top prize of $560 Story B-3 Photo by SEAN GALVINThe Star A summer breeze carried the cleansing cool smell of washed earth from the rippling waters of the Missouri River The aroma opened a floodgate of childhood memories of family picnics Fourth of July fireworks displays walks and bike rides around the St Louis Arch by the Mississippi River The new Richard Berkley River-froritPark took me back down that nostalgic path and unveiled a new view of our oowerful skyline It also will give thousands of area residents and tourists another avenue of relaxing and ecijeational things to do in the Kansas City area guilty of recently being among the curious who wait for the official park open-ng! The same bicycle that earned me along the riverfront in St Louis when I was a kid accommodated my travels on the shoulders of the Mighty Mo The mile-long decorative concrete path for biking hiking jogging and skating stretches beneath the Paseo and Heart of Anferica bridges Cars passed overhead as mindless of me as Missouri River has been of itsihany wayfaring strangers Oecorative lights stood ready to illuminate the 17-acre park which starts at the Flamingo Cksino Hilton where I parked my van for my bike ride The casino connection surprising because the rent and grant payments from the gaudiest riverboat are financing the $18 million project Eventually it will connect with the River Market The bike ride was fast and effortless Workmen planting trees tnd finishing the Grand Avenue viaduct waved hello The Dakota tugboat plowed the mudd) river pushing barge No 660 upstream Moorings for tying off such boats still stick out along the south bank Grass and weeds stood tall off the trail and by the large pillars that will support rellislike awnings off" a new toad Only baby trees grew where a city sand and gravel operation had been Shade and other amenities of leisure aged their way into this south river bank park yet For a look at what this trail could become I rode back from the ASB Bridge to the Flamingo and then drove to Parkville In the English Landing Park I bicycled through the three-mile River Trail A plaque tells how Ted Riegelman a dentist dreamed of the hiking and biking trail He died in 1988 in a skiing accident Parkville area residents made bis dream a reality just off of this river downtown and in the shade of Park College I rode the smooth gravel trail along the Missouri River Tall trees provided shade They also sheltered song birds which sang joyfully as I pedaled Hikers joggers dog walkers and other bikers waved or said hello Families gathered at picnic tables under shelters and cooked on park grills Kids amused themselves on well-maintained playground equipment The river and trail also flowed past a restroom and water fountains a gazebo and bandstand QtherEnglish Landing Park included ball fields and a 100-foot long 40-foot high Waddell A Truss bridge built in 1 898 It had carried trains across a creek near Trim-1 ble Mo and later served as a highway bridge until it was dismantled and given a third life in 1987 as a trail bridge over Rush Creek in the park Thp Parkville Farmers Market and town shops stores restaurants bhd bars are nearby This north river bank bike ride was just as enjoyable as the one in Kansas City It also helped me to see what our new park might someday become Send e-mail to Lewis Di-uguldat Ldiuguidkcstarcom or yttve him a message at (816) H89-7827 and enter 1134 Stalled weather system prompts ozone alert A 20-year-old Kansas City man was accused Monday of leaving the loaded handgun that a boy accidentally fired killing a 1 -year-old boy Jackson County prosecutors charged Terrance Hoard with two first-degree counts of endangering the welfare of a child Darian Hinds was shot in the torso Aug 11 in an apartment at 4001 Warwick Blvd According to court records filed Monday a 6-year-old boy who was at the apartment told police he pulled the semi-automatic handgun from a bag that contained video games The 6-year-old boy told police he pointed the gun at the wall pulled the trigger and the gun went off" The bullet struck Darian as he attempted to climb onto a chair The court records said the 6-year-old told police that a man identified as had placed the gun in the bag prior to leaving the residence Police later identified Hoard as On Monday Hoard made his first appearance before a judge who set his bond at $25000 tem stays over the region and results in high temperatures lots of sun and little rain high reading was due to the calm winds Reeder said During red alerts area residents are encouraged to take actions that can help reduce ozone: Share a ride to work or ride a bus refuel after 7 pm and the tank and postpone lawn mowing until air conditions improve Bus systems in Kansas City Johnson County and Wyandotte County offer free fares on red alert days to riders with special ozone alert cards Call 221-0660 for information on how to obtain a card High humidity little rain keeps level high meteorologist says By MICHAEL MANSUR Environment Writer A smog-brown sky shrouded the metro area Monday prompting alerts for harmful air pollutants and raising the prospect of this longest period of bad air Forecasters issued a red alert for ground-level ozone for today have a problem and depending on the clouds and the wind it could be a problem the rest of the said Jay Reeder a meteorologist for Weather or Not Inc The sunny conditions high humidity and little chance of rain this week could keep ozone levels high Reeder said For many commuters it was clear Monday that smog was building over the area Coming into downtown the brown sky swathed buildings It leaves the impression that the smog is worse downtown but Reeder pointed out that ozone levels are often highest north of the river at Liberty or Watkins Mill where state monitors record ozone levels each hour The smog is easier to see with buildings jutting up into it he said More moisture may build downtown because of the Missouri and Kansas rivers but the ozone levels are probably fairly well distributed over the area Reeder said On Saturday a metro area monitor nearly hit 120 parts per billion just shy of the Environmental hourly limit for ozone Ozone is formed when chemicals released by tailpipes factory stacks and other sources react in sunlight Ozone is a strong lung irritant Kansas City has had many warm days this summer but it also has had a lot of wind and rain that can lower ozone levels The highest ozone levels usually occur when a high-pressure sys More than enough? Activist Clay Chastain submitted about 1800 new signatures to the Kansas City clerk on Monday far more than the 382 additional names the city said he needed to force an election on light rail improvement and bridge repair Election officials will go through the new signatures The City Council would have to approve an election on an emergency basis Thursday to get the measure on the Nov 3 ballot Kansas City Transportation Action Coalition wants to extend an expiring half-cent sales tax and use the money to help build a light rail line from Union Station to Kansas City Interna Stillborn ape tional Airport and for bridge repair Matt Campbell Park spending gets complaints A group of Independence residents on Monday alleged that i County i the public gets little use Jackson County is spending too much money on a park for which Kansas City Zoo officials were disappointed Saturday morning when an orangutan named Jill gave birth to a stillborn infant pregnancy had been normal and there was no indication of any problems the zoo said are saddened this birth was not Director Mark Wourms said in a news release are spectacular animals and our staff was looking forward to working with an offspring was eagerly awaited because both she and the father Doc are of the Bornean sub-category of the endangered species Doc is the top-ranked male in North America in the genetic breeding program for orangutans The orangutan building is closed temporarily but the other three orangutans "tare visible in their outdoor exhibit Matt Ck'npbell Lowell Krofft a spokesman for the group told a committee of the Jackson County Legislature that Legislator Dennis Waits has steered an excessive amount of tax dollars toward Adair Park a county-owned softball complex in south Independence Since 1990 nearly $2 million has been spent on improvements to that park However Krofft said that the park is often closed to the public in the evening that it is noisy during softball tournaments and that the field's lights are a distraction to nearby residents Waits said he appreciated the concerns and pledged that he and other officials would work with them i Glenn Rice Enrolling eariy The first day of enrollment for fall classes at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City was Monday Lisa Cockerel 18 (left) of Kansas City and Lisa Bass of Kansas City with her son Stephen Bass Jr 4 waited to speak tcusomeone about financial aid Both' Cockerel and Bass will take classes in travel and tourism.