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Mallory and Southwick also cited the county’s schools as a key selling point. “You can go anywhere in this county and find a good community that supports its school systems,” affirmed Southwick, “because they understand the value of education.”
“The big draw is education,” agreed Jeff Kyle, superintendent of the Raymore-Peculiar School District, “and we do a great job. “We have nothing but special people working around here. It’s super to work with them, they’re a great team.” Kyle aspires to make that school system a model for the entire state and seems to be succeeding.
According to Todd White, superintendent of the Harrisonville Schools, one of the things that distinguishes Cass from other counties in Missouri and elsewhere, are the low pupil-teacher ratios, which “create a sense of community within that classroom.” Added White, “That’s important to make that connection between teacher and student and family.”
Art Ruiz of the Belton Corporation for Economic Development observed that Belton has an ongoing student and teacher exchange with Mexico. In fact, Ruiz visited Mexico looking for exchange opportunities to learn about the different cultural aspects of education. Ruiz noted too that Cass County is actively looking to expand its post-secondary education capabilities.
Potential
Gary Mallory is bullish on the potential for the still developing International Freight Gateway, located at the old Richards-Gebaur air base on the Cass and Jackson County border. The plans for the facility involve warehousing and large distribution sites. Kansas City Southern is also looking at the possibility of moving its intermodal rail facility, which is located in Downtown Kansas City, to the International Freight Gateway to increase transit times. “I think it is going to have a huge impact on Cass County,” said Mallory.
Mallory noted too that the city of Harrisonville has an airport that would be readily accessible to those who might use the International Freight Gateway. “There’s a lot of potential that’s going to be happening there,” said Mallory. Art Ruiz expects to see some announcements in the very near future as to how the International Freight Gateway will be used.
One “great step” for the county, according to Darold Shelton, has been the creation of the Cass County Corporation of Economic Development. What the group has done in the 10 months of its existence has been to involve all of the county’s cities for the common good of Cass County. “We realize that what’s good for Belton,” said Shelton, “is good for Harrisonville. What’s good at any of the other cities is truly good for the county.”
As Phil Klinkhardt of the Central Bank of Kansas City observed, there has historically been a dichotomy between the north and the south parts of the county, with the north being residential and Kansas City-oriented and the south being more rural and inward looking. The Cass County Corporation of Economic Development is designed, in part, to bridge those gaps.
Gene Thompson and Gary Mallory both saw the potential in having a topographically diverse county. “I see it as an opportunity,” said Thompson of the life style variances within the county. “There’s nothing wrong with the county being a mixture of high-density development and also rural areas,” added Mallory. “It’s a good thing for Cass County.”
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