Overland Debate DVDs

As you all know from this post The Overland Examiner was able to tape the Overland Council Candidates Debate. What you might not know is that we also put together a DVD of this event. We contacted all of the candidates as well as the Mayor offering a free copy to them. 5 responded positively, while 4 chose not to respond at at all. I have no idea why someone would not want a free copy of this DVD as well as the opportunity to copy and distribute it to their constituents (or prospective constituents). However, the lack of response from Mayor Ann Purzner, Councilman Knode and Councilman Sellers, (Edited: as Candidate Keller contacted me on 3/23/07 asking for a copy of the DVD)suggests they have no interest in providing this information to you.

Since they are apparently not interested in these DVDs that leaves us with a few more we can hand out to Overland Residents. This DVD is the complete debate. The only edits to the video are where we cut and merged files to allow us to break the DVD up into 3 chapters, which are:

• Opening Statements
• The Questions portion
• Closing Statements.

This DVD is Copyright John Moyle of The Overland Examiner with some rights reserved. However, as we clearly point out in the Terms of Use on the DVD, we encourage those who can, to copy and distribute it so long as they use the entire DVD, do not edit it in any way, and credit The Overland Examiner as the source. The only other limitation we have is that this DVD cannot be used for any commercial purposes without written consent from John Moyle of The Overland Examiner.

If you would like a copy of this DVD all you need to do is email me by clicking here and we can work out how to get one to you. Supplies are limited so if your interested please email me right away. This is a FREE service, we are not charging for these DVDs and we only ask that once you've watched it you pass it along to another interested resident and encourage them to do the same.

On another note, I am proud to announce that The Media Giraffe Project recently published a Scout Report on our efforts here. The Media Giraffe Project promotes Citizen Media efforts and is associated with the University of Massachusetts - Amherst as well as the Giraffe Heroes Project.

I've known about the Giraffe Heroes Project and the Media Giraffe Project for some time. They seek to promote civic involvement and community development by highlighting people working for change on their own. The Giraffe Heroes Project has a program for schools that uses real people and their efforts to show children that anyone can make a difference (A program I hope the Ritenour school district will adopt in the near future). The Giraffe Heroes Project's seeks to teach that you can "Stick Your Neck Out" and effect positive change (which is also the title of the book by John Graham on the subject). The Media Giraffe Project focuses on Citizen Media efforts designed to "foster participatory democracy and community". They focus on identifying and highlighting "Media Giraffes", because they believe "focusing on the stories of individual people is the best way to inspire additional leadership and action." Both are organizations worthy of your time, attention and donations.

I am proud to announce that our efforts here have been recognized by The Media Giraffe Project. The Overland Examiner's primary purpose is to help inform the residents of Overland, Missouri and fill the role of "City Hall Watchdog" to the best of our ability. That will always be our main mission here. However, we do hope to soon expand the site to cover all the news in Overland as we believe that City Hall is only one of the many areas residents of Overland could use better information. We are developing this "bigger and better" version of the Examiner as time and money allow.

In the end, this recognition would not have happened if we didn't have our readers. You've been supportive, informative in your own right, and occasionally critical. I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you for your continued support. Without it, this site would have likely disappeared a long time ago. It's our readers that keep this project alive and keep me motivated (though excessive energy still comes from coffee by the gallon). Thank You Very Much For Your Support!

One Last Note: Remember there is a Council Workshop Meeting Scheduled for 6:00PM today at the Overland Community Center. The subject of this meeting is supposed to be the proposed Cozad Development at 8801 Page Avenue. The number one question I have on this issue is: Why is the City considering giving a Tax incentive for this program when the people behind it will not commit to what the project will be or even if they will continue to own and operate it long term? I hope to see you all there.