December 2014 – Page 45 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Snow in tonight’s forecast

Accumulating snow. (National Weather Service graphic)

Snow is in the forecast for late Wednesday evening through Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Amounts of snow may range from 1 to 3 inches, with 2 to 3 inches expected across the Kansas City area, the weather service said. Isolated pockets may receive 4 inches of snow.

Most of the snow is expected to fall between midnight and 6 a.m. in a fast-moving storm, according to the weather service.

As the snow winds down, light freezling drizzle may occur during the day Thursday, the weather service said.

The winter weather advisory for light snow and freezing drizzle will be in effect from 6 p.m. tonight to 9 a.m. Thursday.

Because light snow will likely accumulate on roadways, causing them to be slick, and freezing drizzle will cause a glazing of ice, drivers are advised to be very careful in their early morning commutes on Thursday, the weather service said.

Today’s high will be near 34, while tonight’s low will be around 28.

Thursday’s high is expected to be near 35, and there may be freezing drizzle before noon. Thursday night, the low will be around 28 and there is a chance of drizzle or freezing drizzle.

Friday, it will be cloudy with a high near 37. Friday night, the skies will be mostly cloudy with a low of 28.

Saturday, the forecast is partly sunny, with a high near 39. Saturday night, the low will be around 30.

On Sunday, expect partly sunny skies and a high near 44. Sunday night, mostly cloudy with a low of 35.

Monday’s forecast is partly sunny, a high near 46, and a 30 percent chance of rain. Monday night, a 30 percent chance of rain, with a low around 36.

Tuesday, it will be partly sunny with a high near 43.

Winter weather advisory tonight through Thursday morning. (National Weather Service graphic)

Column: Upswing in violence hits Wyandotte County

Window on the West
by Mary Rupert

There has been an upswing of killing and violent crimes this past week in Wyandotte County.

There was a fatal drive-by shooting overnight in the early morning hours Tuesday, and that followed a couple of home invasions on Monday. A deadly drive-by shooting was reported Friday night, along with one Saturday and one Sunday morning. There were four homicides within the past week.

After a crime rate that had been low for a long time, the numbers suddenly are up. Residents should be outraged at the violence. There’s no good reason for it. Many hearts have been broken and many lives have changed forever because of it. It’s not fair to a community that has been working hard to bridge the gap between its differences. It’s not fair to students in Wyandotte County to have to worry about violence as they take their exams.

We’ve heard a lot of theories and speculation about it this week.

Perhaps, one person said, some of the authorities ran off a lot of the criminals from a neighboring city and they decided to cross the state line and locate here.

Or, maybe it is a gang war going on, and it started with the shooting of a girl a few weeks ago. It is our guess that at least some of the crimes are related, but not necessarily all of them.

Maybe some people are desperate for money as the holidays are nearing, and are doing things they don’t usually do, like burglaries.

Officially, probably not much can be said about whether any or all of the crimes are related.

We think the likelihood of some of these being gang-related is high. If they are gang-related, we are now at a reactive stage where what can be done is to increase our awareness and notify the authorities of anything that looks suspicious. Parents need to try to stop the retaliation that some youths may be engaging in. Try to keep youth busy and interested in activities, and make sure you know where they are. Arming more kids for self-protection is not a good idea, in our opinion.

For the future years, however, parents and community leaders need to work harder right now to find places where youths feel like they belong, in order that they do not feel the need to join a gang. Parents of pre-teens need to get their kids into organized youth groups, team sports, organized musical groups, pre-career groups and other youth activity groups that have adult leadership in order to help the youths find their place.

To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email maryr@wyandottepublishing.com.

Sporting Park to hold U.S. Men’s National Team match July 13 during CONCACAF Gold Cup group finale

Sporting Park will hold an international doubleheader featuring the United States Men’s National Team on July 13 during the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage, CONCACAF announced on Tuesday.

The biennial tournament is the premier competition for the United States Men’s National Team in 2015 and the region’s marquee event, which will help determine CONCACAF’s representatives at the Centennial Cup America in 2016 and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup – Group A (U.S. MNT) Schedule
Tuesday, July 7, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas
Friday, July 10, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Monday, July 13, at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

CONCACAF’s top-ranked teams – Costa Rica (No. 16), Mexico (No. 20) and the United States (No. 28) – will headline the 12-nation tournament from July 7-26, along with Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Canada, Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, Haiti and Cuba. Honduras and French Guyana will meet in March with the playoff winner securing the final berth in the 2015 Gold Cup.

The U.S. Men’s National Team, which features Sporting KC Designated Players Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, returns to Sporting Park for the fourth time. The state-of-the-art stadium first hosted the U.S. MNT during the 2011 Gold Cup and next summer’s match will mark the sixth time a U.S. Men’s or Women’s National Team has played in Kansas City, Kan., since the award-winning venue opened in June 2011 – more than any other city in the country over that time period.

Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members interested in purchasing tickets for the Gold Cup doubleheader at Sporting Park will have access to an exclusive pre-sale prior to the general public. Additionally, individuals who place deposits for season tickets or group tickets for the 2015 season will also receive priority consideration during the pre-sale opportunity.

For the holiday season, special ‘Give the Gift of Gold Cup’ gift packages will be available for a limited time, including a $25 ticket voucher to any 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup gameday and an official CONCACAF Gold Cup T-Shirt. Visit concacafsoccershop.com for more information.
– Story from Sporting KC