THE

NORTHWEST
MISSOURIAN

Thursday | January 15, 2015

V90 | N15

nwmissourinews.com

Preparations for
indoor athletic
facility ongoing
BRANDON ZENNER
Editor in chief | @brandonzenner

behind the cranes, using sheet music to

create the paper birds added even more
meaning to Lucy Parsons actions.
We are a very musical family,
Mannasmith said. My husband
is a retired music teacher, Vanessa
is a music teacher; music is very
important to us, so using the sheet
music was a perfect way to not throw
it away or recycle it.
Lucys mission continued to
spread and word eventually made it to
the University Relations office where
Mannasmith works. Coworkers
gathered together and ordered 50 of
the cranes, now hanging on a tree
inside the front door.

Two days before spring classes

begin for students at Northwest,
Bearcats baseball coach Darin Loe
had his players report to campus to
begin practice with the regular season
just weeks away.
Beginning Monday at 6 a.m., Loes
players know they are expected in the
basement of Lamkin Hall for hitting
practice in the three batting tunnels
and pitching. In the evening, the athletes make their way to Bearcat Arena
for throwing and catching exercises.
We utilize what we can All
athletes want to get back and get ready
for the spring, and we just dont have a lot
of space to do it, Loe said. Over the next
three weeks, thats going to be difficult as
were all trying to be as prepared as we
can be for our spring seasons.
In the midst of Bearcat baseball
practice, a number of other athletes
and students file through the space for
conditioning and training of their own.
Simply put, the space does not
accommodate all 14 NCAA Division
II teams at Northwest not including
cheerleading and dance squads. At a
university that offers a wide array of
fitness and recreational opportunities
to more than 6,000 students, times
get tough for teams seeking the
proper preparation when the weather
does not cooperate.
For example, when soccer coach
Tracy Hoza is days away from a match
and her outdoor fields are flooded, her
girls move into the basement of Lamkin
Hall, Martindale Hall or to the Student
Rec Center for conditioning, or to the
racquetball courts for footwork drills.
We make do, Hoza said. We have
to improvise a lot. However, in the offseason with the cold weather we use
the facilities the best that we can You
have to use what you have available.
While Bearcat Arena houses
the basketball and volleyball teams,
baseball and softball tend to join tennis and track for practice time, and it
can get hectic for athletes of the track
team like senior multi-event athlete
Hannah Churchman.
Its very chaotic. Our track is right
around all the doors so if someone is
coming in, its almost in our way, too,
Churchman said. When basketball is
going on, its very loud in there and its
hard to hear our coaches.
Having an indoor facility would
benefit all the teams.

SEE HOPE | A5

SEE ARMS RACE | A5

HANNAH WOODSON | NW MISSOURIAN

Nine-year-old Lucy Parsons smiles with her origami cranes. Lucy creates these cranes to help raise money to support her grandmothers battle with breast cancer.

Wings of hope
ANDY CAMPBELL
Chief Reporter | @SirAndyCampbell

Origami - the art of paper folding,

and art of hope for one Maryville family.
In January 2013, Administrative
Assistant for University Relations
Rhonda Mannasmith was diagnosed
with breast cancer. After treatment,
she was lucky enough for her cancer
to go into remission. Last trimester, though, Mannasmith learned the
cancer had returned.
The world stopped spinning for
her family, including her 9-year-old
granddaughter, Lucy Parsons. Lucy
Parsons searched for a way to support
her grandmother and ended up finding it in the book, 1,000 Paper Cranes.
A boy (in the book) was told if he

made 1000 paper cranes or more, he

would live a thousand years of life and
good health, Lucy Parsons said.
The story inspired Lucy to learn the
ways of origami in her spare time, and
she began her own mission to create
1,000 paper cranes for her grandmother.
I kind of had a flock of cranes on
my desk, Lucy Parsons said. I couldnt
write or use my desk anymore.
We were finding them all over
the house, said Vanessa Parsons, Lucy
Parsons mother.She was not very happy with the idea of throwing them away
and wanted to continue to make them,
so I said Why dont we sell them?
The Parsons began their mission
on Facebook with friends and family
members. Lucy asked for $1 for each
paper crane to support her grand-

mothers recovery. None of them

imagined how quickly the project
would gain attention.
It was kind of like a computer
virus, said Lucy Parsons. Over
Thanksgiving, we delivered a ton that
people had ordered.
The Parsons say the craziest part
was that the orders were not coming
in for just one or two cranes; friends
were ordering them in large numbers.
I got 50 as my first order. And
then another friend ordered another 50,
so I had 100 cranes to make from the
beginning, Lucy Parsons said. I started
with just twine and regular paper, but
then we had tons of sheet music that
we didnt need and friends had origami
calendars they didnt want.
Besides the emotional sentiment

New facility planned for Kansas City

University members
discuss plans to create
accessible education
JAMES HENDERSON III
Chief Reporter | @jendersoniii

Northwest, in cooperation with

other groups, has begun planning a
new facility in the Kansas City area
aimed at streamlining the process for
higher education.
This new facility, known as the
Innovation Campus, will house
programs and degree opportunities through Northwest, in Kansas
City. The Innovation Campus is the
joint work of Northwest, Metropolitan Community College (MCC)
and the Northland CAPS programs.
Their goal is to make the process of
obtaining higher education a faster
one. Computer Science professor
Carol Spradling said she is excited for
Northwest to have this opportunity.
This is going to help us grow in
the future, Spradling said. I think we
will be seen as a leader in education in
the future as a result of this.
The partnership between these
three groups and their various
business partners has very few like it
in Missouri and is the only partnership
of its kind in the Kansas City area.
In the end, they are attempting to
design a faster way to receive college
diplomas. The partnership is offering
new dual-credit courses for high
school students, new community
college opportunities and new four
year college opportunities.
This is an opportunity for
Northwest to have a new facility in

DARREN WHITLEY | NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski addresses media, educators and business partners gathered at Cerner World Headquarters as the University announced its designation with Northland CAPS and Metropolitan Community College as an Innovation Education Partnership.

Kansas City and reach out to students

who may not have thought about us in
the past, Spradling said.
Northwest already possessed the
ability to teach out of the Kansas City
area through facilities inside MCC.
However, thanks to a nearly $850,000
grant from the state of Missouri, they
now have the ability to create their
own facility to help with the overall
goal of speedy advancement.
Northwest is proud and humbled to work with our partners as we
continue to develop a seamless pipe-

www.nwmissourinews.com

line to complete a Northwest degree

connected to industry needs, President John Jasinski said.
The main worry expressed by
some students and teachers is the effect that this new center will have on
the enrollment amount of the main
campus. It is no secret that Northwest
has seen a decline in enrollment over
the past few years. So much so that
there has been one dorm closed every
year for the past few years and that
trend is expected not to change. Freshman Tori Oldenkamp said that she

@TheMissourian

thinks this will just add to the problem.

I just feel like the school should
be doing more to get students on
campus, Oldenkamp said. This
new center will make them coming to
campus not necessary.
However, thanks to Northwest
being the only four-year institution
in this partnership Spradling is not
worried about this being a factor.
Its too early to know for sure
what the effects this will have on
the campus will be, but that is a
possibility, Spradling said. However,

Northwest Missourian

I think that this new facility will do

wonders for branding and open us up
to new students who never thought
about Northwest. This has the
capability of increasing population
off and on campus.
According to Spradling, this
facility should be up and running
sometime in 2016. There is no set
plan for what programs will be offered
there. Still, she said that the plan is
that programs will cost the same as
they would on the main campus.

JUMPS
HOPE

CONTINUED FROM A1
Mannasmith became emotional
as she spoke of the encouragement
from her colleagues.
From making sure things I am
responsible for get done, to bringing us food, and cards and words of
encouragement, it has just been phenomenal the way everyone has supported me and our family, she said.
That support also emerged from
Horace Mann, where Lucy Parsons

ARMS RACE

CONTINUED FROM A1
Northwest is not alone among
universities lacking the quality and
quantity of practice space in the MidAmerica Intercollegiate Athletic Association; seen as one of the most historic and competitive conferences in
Division II. That is why Pittsburg State
finalized and broke ground on a $15
million state-of-the-art facility that is
expected to be completed this Spring.
Pittsburg State Director of Development of Intercollegiate Athletics
Kendall Gammon said that in order to
put out the best product the athletes
needed the proper facilities. The talks
began nearly four years ago when the
athletic department realized each
team was fighting for practice time
inside the universitys basketball arena and surrounding hallways.
It just wasnt adequate. It was
not even controlled chaos, quite honestly, Gammon said. It was out of
need. (Weede) was too small for our
needs at this point.
Pittsburg States Robert W. Plaster Center features a 100-yard turf
field surrounded by a 300-meter
track, and 1,500 seats that will come in
handy when it plays host to the 2016
and 2018 NCAA Mens and Womens
Indoor Track Championships.
The 154,000-square-foot facility
will also encompass a 11,000-squarefoot weight and strength room, in comparison to Northwests 3,000-squarefoot facility, as well as offices, meeting
rooms and locker rooms for the track
and field and football teams. The project is part of an overall renovation of
the Weede Athletic Complex, which
was built in 1971.
Anytime that youre able to take
a perspective student-athlete into a
154,000-square-foot building, thats
a pretty big thing, Gammon said.
Were not sure if theres actually five
of these in the US, let alone Division II,
with everything that we have in there.
Similar to the Griffon Indoor
Sports Complex at Missouri Western
that opened in 2010, Pittsburg States
facility will offer opportunities for
the community to enjoy the track and
other amenities, along with the possibility of intramurals and community

Thursday | January 15, 2015

nwmissourinews.com
attends school and her mother previously taught. Faculty and staff reached
out with their orders and words of encouragement for the family.
A lot of our friends and colleagues
at Horace Mann purchased the cranes,
Vanessa said. They also ask on a regular basis how mom is doing, and they
check in with the girls as well.
Over the holidays, with the help
of friends, family and even strangers, Lucy reached her goal to make
1,000 paper cranes, with her final
total being 1,021. With more than
$1,000 raised Lucy began talking

with her grandma about what to do

with the money.
She is going to divide the
money. We thought Make-A-Wish
was important to donate to, and
Backpack Buddies, so some of the
money will be used here locally in
Maryville, Mannasmith said.
Mannasmith says she and her
husband decided they did not need
the financial support as much as these
organizations do. Lucy Parsons mission and determination to create the
cranes out of love and care provided
the needed support for Mannasmith.

sports down the road.

With Fort Hays completing a
50,000-square-foot facility to house
a 50-yard indoor football field and
weight room, it is up to the rest of the
MIAA to join the arms race this includes Northwest.
With no established figures or
finalized renderings, the Northwest
athletic department has held internal
dialogue since before Tjeerdsma took
over as athletic director and served
as one of the reasons he returned to
Maryville. As part of the Bearcats
since the 90s, upgrading the facilities
was a vital part of Tjeerdsmas plan.
I felt before I retired that was
something that we really need,
Tjeerdsma explained. I just feel real
strongly about it now. Its not just
football; I feel real strongly about
our track and field programs, and for
baseball and softball Those three
sports dont really have what they
need right now and its really not fair
to ask them to compete in this conference and compete against schools
that have those type of things.
With Northwest still in the quiet
phase of its $45 million Forever Green
comprehensive capital campaign,
Northwest is in conversation with
alumni and donors about a proposed
agricultural learning center and indoor athletics facility. Tjeerdsma said
the plans may be released within six
months to a year, but there is still
plenty of work to be done.
Its still real early stages. Were
doing a lot of investigative stuff
now, meeting with a lot of different
groups, with our coaches, with recreation people, intramurals, students,
Tjeerdsma said. Its a big process
right now. When you have a project as
big as what were looking at, it takes a
lot of people and its a lot of involvement. You have to amass a lot of material and a lot of facts and start to
simulate from there.
With Pittsburg States $15 million facility nearing completion and
Tjeerdsma visiting the facility before
Christmas break, it has become apparent how Northwest wants to approach the design of the complex.
(Pittsburg States facility is)
similar to what were thinking about
we want something thats very,
very multi-purpose, Tjeerdsma said.

I guess were going to be in that

neighborhood, somewhere in there.
The facility would give members of
every Northwest sport a place to practice when weather is not cooperative, as
well as many other options intramurals, band practice, graduation ceremonies and concert, along with many ideas
that would benefit the community.
What Mo. West does at this
time of year is a lot of youth soccer,
baseball and softball in there over the
weekends. I think we could do things
like that, Tjeerdsma said. There
could be some revenue streaming
there. It would be a huge benefit to
high schools in this area with track
Theres a lot of benefits in a lot of
different ways.
Though Pittsburg States project
includes revenue from students fees,
alumni donations and a city contribution, Tjeerdsma says Northwests
project, at this phase, would be completely funded by donors and will dictate how fast the project moves.
If the right donors come along
and drop the big dollars and say This
is something we want, it come happen pretty fast. It could happen in
a couple years. Otherwise, it could
take longer, he said.
With Northwest students contributing a $4 fee that will begin during the trimester the Robert & Virginia Foster Fitness Center opens,
presumably Fall 2015, Tjeerdsma says
the idea of another student-fee funded project is just speculation.
Our students really stepped up
as far as the fitness center is concerned If our students see that and
the quality were giving them then I
think after that there could be a time
where we talk about an additional
fee, Tjeersdma said. Thats just all
speculation, theres nothing at all
planned on that.
The proposed idea is to keep the
facility on the Southeast side of campus near where the current football
practice facilities are, within accessible range of every team and leaving
minimal disruptions to the area. With
indoor facilities popping up across all
divisions across the country, it has become as much a battle for the extra edge
when practicing as much as it is on the
recruiting trail for players and coaches.
With a season like the one Loe faces,

The outpouring of support for Lucys project was an outpouring of support for me, Mannasmith explained.
The simple folding of paper displayed the power of family during
the time of struggle. The Parsons and
Mannasmith agree; family is everything to them, not only during this
time, but always.
Our family is our blood family,
but we have brothers and sisters in
Maryville that are community family,
that are church family, that are Northwest family, Vanessa Parsons said.
That word is used so frequently, but

A5

Maryville is our home and our family.

During lifes hardships, strength
and hope can be hard to find, but so
easily provided. It can come from the
hug of a loved on, the story of a boy
trying to save his life or the mission of
a nine -year-old girl trying to save her
grandmas. Lucys project proved that
hope can be most easily found in the
loved ones that surround us everyday.
I just want to say thank you,
Mannasmith said, fighting back
tears. To everyone: my family, my
Northwest family, my friends. Thank
you to everyone.

SUBMITTED PHOTO | PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY

Pitt States 154,000-square-foot indoor facility is expected to open this spring.

SUBMITTED PHOTO | PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY

Pitt States facility will house a 100-yard turf field and 300-meter track.

where a majority of games are played on

artificial turf fields and South in warmer
conditions, he can see the definite advantage it would bring Northwest.
It would be tremendous, Loe said.
It would be a huge benefit to all sports
to be able to utilize the space we have
much better. (Baseball and softball)
need a large, open space to practice and
the way weve designed that facility, it
would be very user friendly to all sports
involved. At this time, anyway, all of
our wishes are under one roof.
For Tjeerdsma, its as much about
keeping up with the national trend
as getting Bearcats athletes situated
with the proper space and equipment.
It separates you, Tjeerdsma
said. Until you are actually in one

(an indoor athletic facility), you dont

realize the magnitude of it.
There always that thought, that
competition, that if they have it, maybe
its something we need too. I think its
something that we look at We need
to do something for track, baseball and
softball - theyre behind the eight ball.
`The competition to have the biggest videoboard, the nicest field turf
and the nicest locker rooms is exactly
why Gammon and Pittsburg State
hopped on board to revolutionize the
athletic programs.
Its the next evolution, Gammon
said. Its an arms race in terms of recruiting the student-athlete. The only
thing worse than being in the arms
race is not being in the arms race.

Blotters for the week of Jan. 8

Nodaway County
Sheriffs Office

Dec. 3
Tyuan M. Moore, 23, Independence, Missouri, was arrested for
theft/stealing.
Dec. 4
A Maryville subject reported property damage to his vehicle.
Courtney L. Miller, 25, Clarinda,

Iowa, was arrested for driving while

revoked/suspended.

John J. Beeson, 31, Clarinda, Iowa,

was arrested for resisting/interfering
with arrest.
Dec. 8
Howard R. Wright, 43, Estherville,
Iowa, was arrested on a warrant for
failure to appear.
Desomond Matthews, 20, Raytown,
Missouri, was arrested for assault.

Northwest Missouri
State University
Police Department

ing at Franken Hall.

Dec. 9
One summons was issued for disorderly conduct at Missouri Academy.

Dec. 12
One summons was issued for liquor
law violent at Tower Suites West
Jan. 9
One summons was issued for stealing at Franken Hall.

Dec. 10
One summons was issued for steal-

Dec. 11
One summons was issued for stealing at Perrin Hall.

Dec. 9
Richard N. Luzier III, 35, Maitland,
Missouri, was arrested for forgery.
Dec. 10
Joseph L. Ruelas, 33, Maryville, Missouri, was arrested on a warrant for
failure to appear.
Dec. 15
Michael M. Fones, 24, Stanberry,
Missouri, was arrested for theft/
stealing.

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1404 S. Main Maryvile MO 64468

Jan. 11
One summons was issued for liquor
law violation at Hudson Hall.
One summons was issued for stealing at Willow Apartments.
For a crime map of Maryville, Nodaway
County and Northwest Missouri State,
visit nwmissourinews.com.

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