Month: January 2015

Saturday events

Raptor Days scheduled Jan. 24 and 25
The Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Schlagle Library and the James P. Davis Hall at Wyandotte County Lake Park, 91st and Leavenworth Road, will be hosts for Raptor Days Jan. 24 and 25. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 24 and noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Schlagle Library and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 24 and noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Davis Hall. Outdoor eagle and water fowl viewing, crafts, and a presentation about hawks, owls and falcons by Operation Wildlife are included. Twenty different types of birds of prey are expected to be on display. Presentation times will be at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Sponsors include the library, Operation Wildlife and the Board of Public Utilities.

Tyler Jobe Memorial Pancake Breakfast to be Saturday
The Tyler Jobe Memorial pancake Breakfast will be from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at Piper High School, 4400 N. 107th St., Kansas City, Kan. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Auctions items will be available. Proceeds will benefit the Tyler Jobe Memorial Scholarship Fund. Tyler was a member of the Piper High School wrestling team from 1997 to 2001. During his junior season, he lost part of his leg in an auto accident. He made it his goal to come back and wrestle his senior year. He did so with great success. He planned to become a mentor and role model for young athletes who faced the challenge of artificial limbs. But on Oct. 4, 2006, Tyler lost his life at the hand of a drunken driver. A scholarship was established in his memory and is given annually to a Piper senior wrestler who demonstrates qualities of courage, strength and character.

Another blast in Fairfax bridge demolition planned Saturday
The demolition of the Fairfax bridge on U.S. 69 will continue on Saturday morning, Jan. 24, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Last week, the end trusses of the bridge were demolished. Two more blasts will be required to finish the job. The bridge connects Platte and Wyandotte counties.At 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, a blast is scheduled to demolish the southern portions of the Fairfax bridge truss spans over the river. Because of highly variable weather conditions, this event may be delayed or rescheduled. MoDOT has designated a public viewing area at E.H. Young Riverfront Park, 1001 Argosy Parkway, Riverside, Mo. Public access to the levees will not be allowed. The adjacent Platte Purchase bridge will be closed to traffic from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Strawberry Hill Museum open for holidays
The Strawberry Hill Museum, 720 N. 4th St., Kansas City, Kan., has opened for the holidays and will remain open on weekends through Sunday, Jan. 26. The museum, decorated in Victorian style, is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, with special tours available by appointment. The cost of a tour is $7 for adults and $3 for children 6-12. Call 913-371-3264 for more information or to make reservations. Holiday parties also may be booked. For more information, see http://www.strawberryhillmuseum.org/.

Wyandotte County Museum features World War I exhibit
The Wyandotte County Historical Society and Museum, 635 N. 126th, Bonner Springs, Kan., will feature a historical exhibit about the local effect of World War I, “Local Poppies: Centennial of World War I.” The exhibit will include information Wyandotte County service members, war memorabilia, propaganda posters and local memorials from Wyandotte County. This exhibit will be on display through March 20. For more information about the days and hours it is open, call 913-721-1078 or visit www.wycomuseum.org.

Project Feederwatch continues
Project Feederwatch continues at the Schlagle Environmental Library at Wyandotte County Lake Park, 91st and Leavenworth Road. The bird count is planned each Saturday when people sign up in advance. For more information, call 913-299-2384.

Snow Ball to be Jan. 24
A benefit is planned Saturday, Jan. 24, for Catholic Charities Foundation of Northeast Kansas. The 41st annual Snow Ball will take place at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel, Kansas City, Mo. Proceeds will go toward providing for the basic needs of children and families in the region. The event begins at 6 p.m. and includes a social time, dinner and dance. Tickets are $250 per person. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiessnowball.org or call 913-433-2046.

Sumner Academy advances to Spring Hill Invitational championship tonight vs. Blue Valley Southwest

Jalen Taylor 20 points propelled Sumner Academy to a 63-45 victory over Liberal on Thursday.

Putting up a 28-25 lead at the half, Sumner outscored Liberal 17-7 in the 3rd quarter.

With 18 points in the fourth quarter, the Sabres locked in their lead. Taylor was the front runner for Sumner Academy’s offense scoring 11 points in the 2nd half while grabbing six rebounds.

Shaun Rainey racked up 15 points and Saadique Perkins added 9. Also contributing for Sumner Academy were Derek Sykes (8 points, 4 rebound), DiCarlo Jackson Jr. (4 points), Marvin Ellis (3 points), Virdal Nash (2 points, 2 rebounds) and Vance Jackson III (2 points). Rainey was a big defensive contributor as well, racking up six rebounds.

Sumner Academy finished the game with 26 rebounds (11 offensive/15 defensive).

Sumner will face Blue Valley SW tonight at 8:15 p.m. in the championship game of the Spring Hill Invitational Tournament.

Sumner Academy 14 14 17 18 63

Liberal 07 16 07 13 45

Top Performers:

SA-Jalen Taylor 20

LHS-Hayden Cocker 12

Sumner Academy: Ellis 3, V.Jackson 2, Taylor 20, Rainey 15, Nash 2, Sanders 0, Perkins 9, Marshall 0, Sykes 8, D.Jackson 4; 26 10-13 63

Liberal: Willshire 8, Baird 0, Fitzgerald 4, Shellenberger 3, Eatmon 11, Hinkle 2, Coleman 3, Green 2, Cocker 12; 13 6-10 45

3 point goals: Ellis; Eatmon 3, Shellenberger, Coleman.

– from Moses Wyatt Jr., Sumner Academy coach

Kansas attorney general asks judges for clarity in school finance case

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt today formally asked the three-judge panel in the state school finance litigation to provide a clear explanation of what information it relied on to reach its conclusion last month that the state’s funding of public schools is inadequate.

Schmidt filed a motion asking the panel to “alter and amend” its Dec. 30 order so that it complies with the Kansas Supreme Court’s instruction for the panel to engage in fact-finding as to the state’s school-funding system.

According to Schmidt, both the state and the plaintiffs submitted numerous proposed “findings of fact” to the panel, but instead of sorting through them and stating which the panel believes to be correct and which are incorrect based on the evidence in the record, the panel stated that “all facts, by whomever presented, could not reasonably be discussed individually,” and instead merely stated “[f]acts inconsistent with our original Opinion and our Opinion issued following are rejected implicitedly [sic].” The panel also asserted that the plaintiffs’ findings of fact “speak the truth” without explanation of which of the numerous proposed findings of fact the panel was referring or whether that also referred to several finding proposed by the plaintiffs that the panel previous rejected.

“The ‘speak the truth’ and ‘spoke the truth’ statements are, to be candid, extremely ambiguous and largely unhelpful for meaningful appellate review,” Schmidt wrote in his motion. “The ‘implicit’ rejection without explicit findings will require both the parties and the Kansas Supreme Court to engage in rank speculation and a high stakes guessing game as to what the Panel has determined are the actual facts and whether such facts are consistent or inconsistent under the Panel’s legal conclusions.”

Schmidt noted that without the sort of specific fact-finding that the Kansas Supreme Court ordered, and that courts ordinarily provide, it will be difficult or impossible for the Kansas Supreme Court to engage in proper appellate review of the panel’s most recent decision.

In the motion, Schmidt also noted that the panel refused the state’s request to engage in discovery and provide the panel with additional evidence after the Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling, which had clarified what needed to be proven, but then seemed to conclude that the State had not provided evidence to the panel’s satisfaction.

The case is Gannon v. State of Kansas, Case No. 2010CV1569.