[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 25]
[House]
[Pages 34079-34080]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     LEE'S SUMMIT WEST HIGH SCHOOL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, normally we come to this floor to debate, 
and quite often in our Special Orders we have the opportunity to speak 
in positive tones about positive things that are going on in our 
district or in our Nation.
  I am very proud to represent Missouri's Fifth Congressional District. 
It is the district that encompasses Independence, Missouri, and the 
home of Harry Truman. In this Fifth District, I am proud that the 
fastest growing city in the State of Missouri is not the two largest 
cities, Kansas City being the largest, St. Louis being the second 
largest, but it is a city that many people have not even heard of. It 
is called Lee's Summit.
  Lee's Summit, Missouri is exploding with growth. Its mayor, Karen 
Messerli, is doing a fantastic job. The downtown area is being 
redeveloped. But what I want to zero in on this evening is Lee's Summit 
West High School.
  Madam Speaker, this high school has achieved something that I don't 
believe can be matched by any other congressional district. So far this 
year, from September to December, they have won three State 4A 
championships. The girls volleyball team won the State championship 
coached by Mark Rice. The girls cross country won the 4A State 
championship coached by Dave Denny. And then, just recently the Titans 
football team coached by Royce Boehm won the 4A Missouri State 
championship and went through the entire season undefeated.
  I was listening to Judge Poe earlier talk about some tragedies in 
Iraq. And I sat here, and it caused me to tremble to think about what 
that young woman must have gone through; and it also caused me to renew 
my commitment to focus on the positive attributes of our young people. 
If you visit Lee's Summit High School, which has been in existence only 
4 years, 4 years, and it has already become one of the most prominent 
schools in the State of Missouri, not just for athletics, but because 
this school is well organized. Their population, 1,300 students, is 
constantly growing. The principal of that school, Cindy Bateman, is 
doing a fabulous job. They are achieving academically. And I am so 
proud to be able to stand on this floor tonight and speak without 
qualification about how fabulously this school is performing.
  Most of the time, girls' athletics are ignored. And so in the 
Missouri 4A volleyball championship, probably there are people even 
around in Lee's Summit who are unaware of the fact that that State 
championship has been won. The cross country club normally would be 
ignored, but they have achieved something positive. They brought some 
positive attention to that school.
  And so, on this night, I would not only like to lift them up and 
express how proud I am to represent that particular area, but I would 
also encourage any Member of the United States Congress who serves a 
district where a school has won three State championships thus far this 
year to let me know it, and I will give them a huge box of Gates 
barbecue. Kansas City, of course, is the barbecue capital of the 
galaxy, and I will gladly bring that barbecue in from Gates Barbecue in 
Kansas City. But I am not even worried, because I am absolutely certain 
that there is no school in the United States that has won three State 
championships in 4 months.
  I know that there are other people who are proud of their districts, 
and I am pleased that they are proud of their district, they are proud 
of their schools. And some people stand up and brag about their 
districts, and some people are actually telling the truth. But I want 
to go on record tonight as saying that the entire country can be proud 
of what has happened in this community, because the entire community 
has rallied to build this magnificent physical structure that is the 
school, and I appreciate very much the

[[Page 34080]]

opportunity to share this with the Congress.

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