Month: April 2015

Saturday events

K-State scheduled to play its purple-white football game Saturday in KCK
There will be a lot of purple going on Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., where Kansas State University will play its purple-white spring football game. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Sporting Park. Regular tickets already are gone, but there may be standing-room-only tickets for sale for $10, according to the K-State football website. The Wildcats were 9-4 in 2014, finishing in the top 20. Coming back from that team are 12 starters and 47 letter winners.

KU women’s rowing double dual meet to be Saturday at Wyandotte County Lake
The University of Kansas women’s rowing team will hold a Big 12-Big 10 dual meet at Wyandotte County Lake, 91st and Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kan. KU, along with Oklahoma, will represent the Big 12, facing Big 10 schools Iowa and Wisconsin. The two sessions of rowing may begin about 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Grinter Place quilt show continues April 25-26
Grinter Place State Historic Site will hold its 39th annual quilt show Friday – Sunday, April 24 – 26. Friday and Saturday hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Sunday hours are noon – 4 p.m. Local quilts will be on display. Quilting materials and craft items will be available for purchase. Visitors can see and make a donation for a chance on this year’s opportunity quilt, hand-quilted by the Grinter Place Quilters. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Patti Winkler will present “Quilts in the Classroom: How Quilts Tie into History.” Admission to the quilt show is free. Admission to tour the house is $3 adults, $1 students. Kansas Historical Foundation members and children 5 and younger admitted free. Grinter Place is at 1420 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kan. For more information, call 913-299-0373 or visit kshs.org/grinter_place.

Spanish singing lessons planned
Learn to sing Spanish songs at a program from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at the South Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kan. The program is for all ages.

Performance will celebrate Dia de Los Ninos
Celebrate Dia de Los Ninos with an Anansi the Spider Performance from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at the Main Kansas City, Kan., Public Library, story time- craft room, 625 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan. It is for children and tweens. Performed by the Kansas City Young Audiences resident, the program will include a story, performance, dancing, music, crafts and snacks. For more information, call 913-279-2128.

Strawberry Hill Museum open on weekends
The Strawberry Hill Museum, 720 N. 4th St., Kansas City, Kan., is open on the weekends. The museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The admission charge is $7 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 12, and free for children under 6. Special tours are available during the week for groups of 20 or more by calling 913-721-0081. The museum’s tea room is open from 1 to 4 p.m. on the second Saturday and Sunday of each month. For more information, visit www.strawberryhillmuseum.org/.

Exhibit on Prohibition to visit Wyandotte County Museum
“Spirited: Prohibition in America,” a National Endowment for the Humanities traveling exhibition, will visit the Wyandotte County Museum from April 6 to May 25. The exhibit covers the history of Prohibition, which started in 1919 and continued 13 years. The museum is at 631 N. 126th St., Bonner Springs. Hours of the exhibit are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. The exhibit is free to the public. For more information visit the website www.facebook.com/wycomuseum or call 913-573-5002.

KCKCC baseball to face Fort Scott Saturday
Kansas City Kansas Community College will face Fort Scott in a baseball doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Blue Devils home field. The Blue Devils will be competing for fifth place.

Blue Devils face key baseball, softball tests Saturday

by Kelly Rogge

Kansas City Kansas Community College opens Region VI softball playoff action on the road Saturday while the Blue Devil baseball team closes out regular season Jayhawk Conference play with a home doubleheader with Fort Scott.

Fifth place will be on the line in the baseball twin bill at 1 p.m. Fort Scott (14-16), by virtue of 11-5 and 8-7 home wins over KCKCC Thursday, could move past the Blue Devils (15-19) into fifth with a sweep. The fifth place finisher will open Region VI playoff action at fourth place Coffeyville (17-17) next weekend while the sixth place finisher will open at Neosho County (21-13).

Meanwhile, the Lady Blue Devils softball team (5-17) will be at Cowley County (31-12) in opening round playoff action Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. If a third game is necessary, it will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. The Lady Blue Devils are 16-23 overall.

Nick Banman hammered a 3-run home run with one out in the bottom of the eighth Thursday to rally Fort Scott to an 8-7 win in the second game of the doubleheader after KCKCC had gone ahead 7-5 on Travis Stroup’s 2-run triple in the top of the inning. Alex Thrower doubled and singled twice; Tanner Foreschler singled three times; and Sam Baxter singled and doubled in KCKCC’s 13-hit attack.

Fort Scott built leads of 5-0 and 8-1 in the 11-5 opener. Landon Mason had three singles and Thrower a double and single to pace KCKCC’s 9-hit attack. The sweep dropped KCKCC’s overall record to 27-22.

Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.

Column: Bits and pieces about the news this week

Window on the West

by Mary Rupert

The Unified Government swearing-in went off well on Thursday night, and the 1st District, at large seat is finally occupied, after two years of being vacant.

The two new commissioners, Melissa Bynum and Harold Johnson Jr., appear to be well-qualified and ready to work on the community’s behalf.

One thing struck me about this swearing-in, though. Although I’m usually asking for more information, I felt there was a little too much information given at the ceremony. Just the facts and issues pertaining to public policy, please.

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Marty Thoennes, executive director of the Central Avenue Betterment Association, said he feels one of the biggest issues facing the UG Commission will be how to get enough revenue, specifically, the UG’s collection of unpaid property taxes. He says a big chunk of properties have not been current on paying their property taxes, and not much progress has been made on this, although there have been some efforts made at resolving it. The amount the UG collects on its property taxes could make a difference in the projects it has on the drawing board this year.

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While the state legislators in Topeka could be desperately diving into fountains looking for spare change in the next few weeks, in order to avoid raising all the taxes, while planning to make more cuts to schools and social programs, the news recently at the federal level was that a group of federal employees abroad had been spending money on prostitutes. There has to be some middle ground between the Topeka skinflint philosophy and the federal spendthrifts.

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Some of us were watching the Unified Government commissioners sworn in last night, and other area residents were watching the Kansas City Royals game on television, from Chicago. The Royals reportedly got into a fight with Chicago over some slights, real or imagined. It seems to me the umpires could do a lot toward solving these problems. If a ball is thrown by a pitcher and hits a player, intentionally or not, just automatically eject the pitcher from that game. If a batter goes after a pitcher or other player, automatically eject that batter from that game. Then see if the number of incidents decreases.

To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].