CAPTION: Northeast residents Bobby O’Dell and Pete Alonzo shovel their street this past week. Michael Bushnell

This picture shows exactly what happens when this city fails at clearing side streets during last week’s “blizzard.” Some streets in Northeast seemed to be neglected by crews last week.

South Kensington Avenue near Independence Avenue, however, had some help from neighbors who took matters, or in this case shovels and picks, into their own hands.

“We called that 311 place but they never answered their phone,” said Bobby O’Dell, who lives in a duplex at Kensington and Independence avenues.

This photo was taken this past Tuesday afternoon as O’Dell, his wife and two other neighbors chopped, shoveled and cleared ice ranging from half an inch to 3 inches thick from the length of the 500 block of Kensington Avenue. Given the effort these hardy Kansas City residents put in to doing work the city should have done, this newshound says they get a tax holiday for their 2009 E-Tax.

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Mayor Mark Funkhouser’s Communications Assistant, Crispin Rea, has left the mayor’s staff. Rea, we hear, will take a post at Mattie Rhodes Center.

Additionally, he announced he would make a run at the Kansas City School Board this year. “Our district needs bold and energetic leadership,” he wrote this week in an e-mail.

There are five open School Board seats, and, for a change, there are going to be more candidates than open positions this year. The deadline to file is Tuesday, Jan. 19.

It should be interesting to watch the elections, which kick off with primaries in February.