Month: September 2014

T-Bones rank fifth in independent baseball in 2014 attendance

For the seventh straight year, the Kansas City T-Bones were in the top five for average attendance in independent baseball, according to Ballpark Digest’s annual ranking, released earlier this week.

Ballpark Digest’s list lumps together 353 teams from the affiliated minor leagues, independent leagues and summer-collegiate leagues.

The T-Bones, who play at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan., finished 44th overall and fifth among independent teams on Ballpark Digest’s 2014 list with an average of 5,187 fans per game. Only two teams from the American Association — Winnipeg and St. Paul — and two from the Atlantic League — Sugar Land and Somerset — finished ahead of the T-Bones.

By comparison to the T-Bones’ overall ranking of 44, the Omaha Storm Chasers (triple-A affiliate for the Kansas City Royals) were 31st (5,628) and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (the Royals’ double-A affiliate) were 60th (4,625). The Springfield Cardinals, St. Louis’ double-A affiliate, were three places behind the T-Bones at 47th with 5,134 fans per game.

After welcoming 248,989 fans to CommunityAmerica Ballpark in 2014, the T-Bones have totaled more than 200,000 fans during each of their 12 seasons in Kansas City, Kan. In late July, the club eclipsed the 3 million mark for total attendance in the club’s history.

“I’m proud again to be in the top five in independent team attendance, and especially appreciative of Kansas City baseball fans for their support,” said T-Bones president Adam Ehlert. “It’s really fun to see that in our brief 12-year history, we hit the 3-million fan milestone by averaging a quarter-million fans a year.”

The American Association and the T-Bones are expected to release their 2015 schedule in October.

“Our staff works awfully hard year to year and on a nightly basis, on and off the field, to keep the ‘Fun…Well Done’ atmosphere going, and the support from our fans shows,” said T-Bones vice president and general manager Chris Browne. “I can’t wait for 2015 to start.”
– Story from T-Bones

Residents may dispose of unused medications Sept. 27

Residents may get rid of unwanted leftover prescription medications on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The National Drug Take-Back Day will have several sites for residents to bring in old medications to be disposed of safely. The National Drug Take-Back Day is coordinated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which collects and safely destroys the medications.

“Unused medications are dangerous for kids, pets and the environment,” Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. “Getting these leftover medicines out of the medicine cabinets keeps them from falling into the wrong hands and makes our communities safer.”

The locations in Wyandotte County include:
DeGoler’s Pharmacy, 5701 State Ave., 2040 Hutton Road, 21 N. 12th,; Walgreens, 2850 State Ave., 7739 State Ave.; South Branch Library in Argentine area, 3104 Strong Ave.; CVS, 4645 Shawnee Drive, 4300 Rainbow; and Hen House, 8120 Parallel Parkway.

Healthy campus plan to get community comments before going to Planning Commission

by Mary Rupert
Plans for the downtown Healthy Campus will go before a group from the community for comments on Oct. 9 before proceeding to the Unified Government Planning Commission and UG Commission.

Gould Evans Architects, the architectural team, will roll out its plan for the downtown development Oct. 9, and community members’ comments can be made on it, according to Bill Hurrelbrink of the mayor’s office.

Gould Evans previously had asked several hundred people in the community for comments on the proposed plan.

Hurrelbrink said a lot of interest is being generated on this project, many phone calls have been received from people wanting to get involved, and the project is growing.

The Healthy Campus plans a development with a community center, grocery store and expanded green space at 10th and Minnesota, near the Big Eleven Lake area. Part of the proposal is that the community center would be run by the YMCA.

The public presentation of the plan will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Commission Chambers, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan. At this meeting, those attending will view the presentation and then break out in small group discussions led by facilitators. The meeting will be broadcast on the UGTV cable channel.

Later, there will be an opportunity for the public to speak as part of the official meetings at UG Planning Commission and UG Commission meetings.