Anderson made big contribution

Whether you saw eye-to-eye or not with Ted Anderson, we can all agree Blue Springs has lost a friend.

A plane crash, in which Anderson was the pilot, took the life of the 77-year-old last weekend. A memorial and funeral service will be held in his honor Saturday.

There is doubt Anderson has left his mark on this community. As the CEO of Fogel-Anderson Construction Co., the company built many commercial and institutional buildings around the Kansas City area, including Moreland Ridge and Brittany Hill middle schools in Blue Springs, and the iconic Blue Ridge Bank Building at the Little Blue Parkway in Independence.

But Anderson is best remembered on these pages for his politicial activism in his later life. He had a passion for Blue Springs and had strong thoughts about city leadership, policies and the quality of life in the community. He was not afraid to be brutally honest with his opinions, which sometimes ruffled feathers, including our own from time to time.

Anderson’s Citizens for Fair and Open Government Web site generated a fair amount of controversy around election times. He also shared his views here with letters to the editor or an occasional guest column. His commentary was sharp and divisive. It came during a time of acrimonious politics in the city, and people chose sides.

 We didn’t always agree his Anderson’s methods, but we respected his candor and courage. He questioned things that others blindly accepted, and he was often right on target.

Through this process, a community becomes richer, wiser and better. Wounds heal, and sides come together and march forward as one.

In the last few years, Anderson has been on the city’s Economic Development Commission, ran and lost for City Council, and been appointed to the Planning Commission. Through it all, his passion for the community was unwavering, his honesty unyielding and his commitment unquestioned.