Month: November 2014

KCKCC men win on road; to hold Lindsey Classic Friday, Saturday

by Alan Hoskins
Over its first road hurdle, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s men’s basketball team turned its focus on playing host to the annual Keith Lindsey Classic Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14-15.

The Blue Devils got their first road win Saturday, 60-50 over Wentworth Military Academy at Lexington, Mo., to move to 3-0 on the season.

KCKCC used a 9-0 run and solid defense to build a 33-21 halftime lead and then held off repeated comebacks by the Red Dragons before stretching the lead to 59-43 in the waning minutes. Wentworth was limited to just 23 shots and six field goals (26.1 percent) in the first half while the Blue Devils were 11 for 25 for 44.0 percent.

Three Blue Devils, Tevin Downing, Joe Lendway and Austin Hall, had 11 points each while Braeson Sester added nine points and Roberto Hernandez seven and a game high four assists. A 6-3 guard from Shawnee Heights in Topeka, Downing also led all rebounders with a career high 14 as KCKCC held a 33-31 rebound advantage.

“I was real proud this team could get its first road win,” said head coach Kelley Newton. “It’s a young, inexperienced team, one we want to learn as many lessons as possible and it’s nice to have it learn while winning.”

Newton said he was particularly pleased with the play of Downing and his 14 rebounds and 11 points, and his high school teammate, 6-0 guard Braeson Sester.

“Braeson did a real good job in keeping everything together along with a couple of big steals,” he said.

KCKCC will play On Point Academy at 8 p.m. Friday in the Lindsey Classic and then take on St. Louis Community College Saturday at 6 p.m. immediately after the induction of Duane Shaw and the late Keith Lindsey into the KCKCC Athletic Hall of Fame.

In other men’s action, Highland will play St. Louis Friday at 4 p.m. and On Point Saturday at 2 p.m. Penn Valley’s women will play Fort Scott in the Classic opener Friday at 2 p.m. with KCKCC facing Ellsworth at 6 p.m.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.

Public hearing tonight on major downtown KCK development

A public hearing on a major downtown development is part of the Unified Government Planning Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

The Downtown Parkway District Plan, which was also known as the Healthy Campus Plan, will be presented tonight and there will be public comments on it.

Downtown Shareholders director Chuck Schlittler said he understands that the plan is firming up. There could be some changes to the plan in tonight’s presentation, he said. One of the changes is the name, to Downtown Parkway District. Some other minor changes may have been included, as well, he said.

Community meetings have been held previously on the Healthy Campus plan, and the next step for this project after the Planning Commission meeting tonight is expected to be a Unified Government Commission meeting, tentatively on Dec. 4.

The Downtown Parkway District Plan, according to UG information, is a redevelopment strategy that includes a full range of goods and services essential to a healthy lifestyle in downtown Kansas City, Kan., and a network of streets, paths and parkways that encourage walking, biking and active transportation to connect people to goods and services and to each other in order to make the area a great place to live and work.

The UG Planning Commission and UG Commission meetings are open to the public.
To see the Downtown Parkway District plan, visit this site.

Missouri tax preparer sentenced for preparing false returns

A Missouri tax preparer was sentenced Monday to 51 months in federal prison for preparing false income tax returns resulting in a total tax loss of more than $316,000, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. The case was in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.

Cynthia M. Raymond, Jackson, Mo., pleaded guilty to five counts of filing false tax returns and one count of aggravated identity theft. In her plea, she admitted submitting approximately 98 false tax returns under the names of 36 clients for the tax years 2007 through 2010. Her clients were not aware that she prepared returns including false deductions for business losses, charitable contributions, unreimbursed business expenses, medical expenses and false tax credits including education and residential energy credits.

She filed the returns electronically and provided her clients with different tax returns than she filed with the IRS. She routinely directed the Internal Revenue Service to deposit part of the refund to her clients’ accounts and to deposit the rest of the refund into her personal account.

Grissom commended IRS-Criminal Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.