Pleasant Hill's own, Seargeant Todd Burris, had a goal to ride the trail from Pleasant Hill to St. Louis. A video of him ringing the bell that signaled the completion of his trip was sent to the Time by his mother along with a picture of Burris on his bike.  He completed the trek last Sunday.

Do you remember in 2012 the eagle that swooped down from the sky to snatch a Montreal baby in the park, flew off, and dropped the baby several feet away? That buffoonery was actually 3 students taking 3D animation that came up with the idea, knowing babies and animals make popular videos. Their teacher wanted something to get 100,000 YouTube views. The students got more than 5,000,000 views.

Severe thunderstorms can be life-threatening, but not all severe storms are the same. Hazardous conditions range from tornadoes, large hail storms, and widespread straight-line winds called derechoes, to cloud-to-ground lightning and flash flooding. Starting August 2, the National Weather Service will better convey the severity and potential impacts from thunderstorm winds and hail by adding a “damage threat” tag to Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, similar to our Tornado and Flash Flood Warnings.

What do a brewery, a bike store, and the City of Raytown have to celebrate together? The opening of Phase 2 of the Rock Island Trail. The Crane Brewing Company held an event on July 10 to celebrate this milestone. The Rock Island Trail is a trail for bikers and hikers. Phase 2 completes a 13 1/2 mile stretch from Jefferson Street in Lees Summit to Brickyard Road in Kansas City,

Pleasant Hill, Mo., Aug. 04, 2021 —As the new school year approaches, Operation Christmas Child shoebox packers are making use of back-to-school prices to purchase gifts and essential items for children in need overseas. Participants are collecting school supplies, along with hygiene items and fun toys, to pack in shoeboxes. Samaritan’s Purse will deliver these gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 100 countries.

Columbia, Mo. — Former Missouri State Sen. Ed. Emery, who is running for U.S. Congress in the 4^th Congressional District, continues to recover at University Hospital in Columbia.

By: Derby Organizer 

Normally when someone in Pleasant Hill talks about being "under the Friday Night Lights" they are talking about the high school football team playing at Eklund Field. This last Friday night, this town came together in a way that only it can coming out to support #DeanosFight at the Sports Complex to hit a Home Run against Osteosarcoma and Child Hood Cancer.  A platform was set for this to be a fun event for family and friends to show the Grahams how much they are loved and give a visible sign of support, all while having a little fun.  

The town of Pleasant Hill took this platform and really put on a show.  There were over 100 participants who came out to take a swing for the fences.  An estimated 500 people came out to the event either to participate, volunteer, donate or just spectate the event.  The Derby was able to raise over $20,000 in this one night and the donations just keep coming into the Community Bank of Pleasant Hill, even as this article is being read.  This outpouring of support will hopefully help to let Dean enjoy being a kid, as this has all made him turn too adult too soon.

The Grahams cannot fully express their thanks to this community as Katrina (Dean's mother) stated, "Two simple little words of 'Thank You' cannot do justice to show how much we are humbled and appreciate all that this town has done."  It gave them a chance to reconnect with old teammates, family, friends, even teams that Dean has played against in the past to show just how wide this community can reach.  We cannot express enough thanks to all those that contributed, in any way, as this showing of love reached so many in such a short time.

Even while the Grahams are going through the worst storm imaginable, having this rock them to their core, they still are thinking of others.  While the Derby was still underway, they said that they would like to do this event yearly as there is always a family in need and they would love to be a part of helping pass this love forward.  It is also just an outstanding way for this community to put any and all differences aside and come together for a good cause.  One kid even asked, "When will the next town party be?"

It’s nearly time for the sky to be alight with sparks of colored light, dazzling pyrotechnic spectacles that announce to the world that we are proud to be American’s. We will gather with friends and family to eat, drink and celebrate in the way that only true blue Americans do--with gusto and unrelenting excitement.