Eulitt, David (2024)

08/21/2008--Lisa Leslie of the United States, left, battled Russia's Irina Osipova, right, with an elbow to the mouth for a rebound in the second half in the women's basketball semifinal contest on August 21, 2008 during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. (photo by David Eulitt / MCT)

08/19/2008--Andrey Silnov of Russia reacted to his clearance of the high jump bar at 2.42m, but the bar wobbled and came down. Despite the three misses at 2.42m. Silnov won the gold medal in the men's high jump at National Stadium on August 19, 2008 during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. (photo by David Eulitt / MCT)

Jim Phelan, a steeplejack from Pacifica, California, worked atop a 40-foot flagpole on the Commerce Bank building at 1000 Walnut Street in downtown Kansas City, Mo. on Wednesday morning, repairing the pulley assembly on the aluminum pole to make the flagpole functional again. Phelan, 58, a third-generation steeplejack with J.C. Phelan Co., has been working in dizzying heights for 40 years. His 10-year-old son, Jells, has shown interest in continuing the family business. Phelan's company is one of two companies in the United States that travel to perform steeplejacking, rigging and flagpole repairs. DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Star

The city of Kansas City, Mo. and A. Zahner Company engineering firm, with the help of a helicopter crane, reinstalled the Sky Station sculpture on Bartle Hall Sunday morning that was removed in May after lightning struck the easternmost 300-foot pylon atop the Kansas City Convention Center.

Kansas City Royals fans gathered at the outdoor stage at Union Station during Tuesday's Royal Celebration rally in downtown, Kansas City, Mo commemorating the Kansas City Royals' 2015 World Series championship.

Bill Chaney’s first job at age 12 was washing dishes at Arthur Bryant’s (then owned by older brother Charlie, who had worked under the legend Henry Perry, a Carolina man who opened what is believed to be the city’s first barbecue stand). Chaney, now 85 years old, worked for 25 cents, a barbecue sandwich and all the ice cream he could eat. He eventually became a contractor and brick layer, building brick pits for some of the city’s most influential and longstanding barbecue restaurants. .

With artillery smoke hanging in the air from a 21-gun salute by his company at Fort Leavenworth, the 500th Military Police Detachment, Army Sgt. Travis Smith saluted during the playing of "Taps," during Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Star

Lightning struck the roof of the St. John's Hospital in Joplin, Mo. on Monday afternoon, May 23, 2011, following a tornado which swept through the city on Sunday evening. Severe weather hampered rescue operations with several storms passing through the area. DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Star

Sgt. Callie Darling said goodbye to her four-year-old daughter, Braelyn Rivera, shortly before Darling left with her unit, the Missouri Army National Guard 205th Area Support Medical Company, for training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, then on to Iraq. Sgt. Darling, who was deployed to aid in Hurricane Katrina, is in her first overseas deployment. The unit left from the National Guard Armory at 7600 Ozark Road on Monday afternoon, December 3, 2007.

Shane Cunanan, bottom in navy, upset heavily favored Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestler Zack Esposito, right in orange, in Thursday evening's second round action at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Kemper Arena. The duo was wrestling in the 141 lb. division. Cunanan won on points. (David Eulitt/Kansas City Star) NOT PUBLISHED

On the bell lap in the Men's 5000m TW3-4 race, wheelchair athletes jockeying for position collided in a mass crash during the 1992 Paralympics Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Daniel Sorensen (49) walked out onto the field before the game against the San Diego Chargers on January 1, 2017 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) threw a second quarter completed pass for 22 yards to wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas (13) over the defense of the Dallas Cowboys on November 5, 2017 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Chiefs lost, 28-17.

The NHRA funny car driven by Jim Head of Columbus, OH exploded during his semifinal run at the NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas Sunday afternoon. Head walked away uninjured from the explosion.

L.C. Caviness, 78, presides over used tire sales at National Brake & Alignment on a stretch of Truman Road where he has worked for 60 years. "You gotta understand the people....I have a story for everybody....I can make 'em laugh, I can make 'em cry."

08/14/2008--China's Hong Ni, left, and Ukraine's Olga Kharlan, right, duel in a multiple exposure photograph during the women's team sabre at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. (photo by David Eulitt / MCT)

Steven Weersing, 17, of Joplin, Mo. suffered massive trauma from the May 22nd EF-5 tornado that destroyed the central section of Joplin, Mo. The resulting injuries and fungal infection that ate away his skin and bone kept Weersing at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. from June 1st until September 2nd. DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Star