Dangerous heat is in Saturday’s forecast. (National Weather Service graphic)
After a month or so of rain, Wyandotte County will be going through high heat in the next few days.
Wyandotte County is under a heat advisory from noon Saturday until 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
While today’s high will be near 84, Saturday’s high will jump about 10 degrees to 94, the weather service said. The heat index could be as high as 105.
Dangerous heat is expected on Saturday with high temperatures in the low to mid 90s and heat index values ranging from 99 to 105 degrees, the weather service said.
The temperatures on Sunday through Wednesday also are expected to be in the 90s, according to the forecast.
To avoid heat illnesses, the weather service advises residents to drink plenty of water, avoid caffeine, alcohol and high-sugar content beverages, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check on neighbors, the elderly and pets.
Those who must work outdoors are advised to schedule frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments.
Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location and seek emergency assistance, the weather service said. Heat stroke is an emergency and those overcome by heat should call 911 immediately. Weekend forecast. (National Weather Service graphic)
Rep. Valdenia Winn
A spokeswoman for Women for Kansas, a statewide group, said today that a hearing scheduled June 26 for Rep. Valdenia Winn, D-34th Dist., is not structured fairly.
“We’re just appalled at the structure of the committee meeting, that it would be so blatantly a violation of her rights, her right to representation, her right to a fair trial, her right to free speech,” said Cindy Kelly, a member of the leadership team for Women for Kansas.
Rep. Winn’s attorney, Pedro Irigonegaray, will not be allowed to speak at the hearing.
“People with a grievance against her are allowed a 10-minute speech, it could be 90 minutes, if they all show up,” Kelly said. “She gets 10 minutes to speak and her attorney doesn’t even get to speak at all. That’s just unbelievable.”
Rep. Winn has a hearing scheduled Friday, June 26, before a Kansas legislative investigative committee over remarks she made March 19 while the topic of in-state tuition for children of undocumented immigrants was being discussed in the House Education Committee. Her lawyer will not be allowed to make comments at the hearing. The Legislature potentially could censure or expel her.
Nine men on a committee objected to Rep. Winn’s statements about institutional racism, where she said a bill was racist, sexist and fear-mongering, prompting the hearing. The women on the committee did not file a complaint. Rep. Winn, a professor of history who holds a master’s and a doctorate in history, previously stated in an interview in March that she was making her remarks about institutional racism in a historical context and there was no intention to make remarks about any individuals. But during the committee’s heated discussion about a bill that would repeal the in-state tuition for children of undocumented persons, she remarked that anyone who supported the bill was a “racist bigot,” and apparently some committee members took it personally.
Rep. Winn pointed out in March that there were a few previous cases of legislators’ remarks where no action was taken, such as one legislator who in 2011 made a public comment about shooting immigrants from helicopters like they were feral hogs, and the Legislature did not take any action against him.
Kelly stated that Women for Kansas believes this is not a partisan issue, it’s an issue about equal rights, fairness, and the right to an attorney. Censure and expulsion are serious penalties, she stated. Rep. Winn deserves to be given equal opportunity to have legal counsel during this investigative hearing led by Rep. Erin Davis, she stated.
Women for Kansas is asking people to contact the investigating committee’s chair, Rep. Davis of Olathe, to let her know they think the hearing is not structured fairly.
“She was shining a light on the bill and now they’re coming down on her. It’s just ridiculous,” Kelly said.
“It’ll be just one more excuse for people to make fun of us,” Kelly said about the possible effect on the image of Kansas in the nation.
State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., said he doesn’t know why Rep. Winn couldn’t be represented by counsel at the hearing. He views that action to deny her attorney a time to speak as unconstitutional.
Sen. Haley said he is advising Rep. Winn to hire counsel and to file a countersuit seeking a specified amount in damages.
“This is obviously a ludicrous abuse of legislative time and authority,” Sen. Haley said. He said this hearing is a complete waste of time and money, “which is the hallmark of the leadership of the Kansas Legislature.”
Sen. Haley said he believes any legislator can speak his or her mind without fear of retribution or censure, as long as he or she does not threaten the well-being of another legislator.
He views this situation as an attempt to silence Rep. Winn and her views on the subject of the in-state tuition bill.
If anyone attempted to silence his freedom of expression and his representation of his district’s views, Sen. Haley said he would respond quickly, perhaps in a lawsuit.
Rep. Winn did not return a call for a comment for this story.
The group, Women for Kansas, is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WomenForKansas.
A panel for the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education interviewed candidates for an appointment to the board today, but did not select one.
There are seven candidates for the appointment to the board, including some well-known community leaders.
The panel interviewed seven candidates, and the board took four ballots, but did not reach the needed four votes for any of the candidates, said David Smith, chief of staff and spokesman for the district. It will be on the board’s agenda again on Tuesday, he said.
Smith said there were only five people voting on the board in total, because the board is filling the seat of Vicki Meyer, who has already left the board; while another board member, Christal Watson, had to recuse herself.
Watson cannot vote because she is one of the seven candidates for the appointed position. She had not run for re-election to the school board because she wanted to run for a Unified Government Commission position last spring, and now she has decided to apply for the open position on the school board. Her current term expires July 1.
Four other candidates for the appointment ran for the school board in the spring elections: Irene Caudillo, Korri Hall-Thompson, Janey M. Humphries and Maria Cecilia Ysaac.
Two more candidates for the appointive position are Nancy Browne, retired athletic director at Washington High School; and Jill Hershberger, retired from teaching at Eisenhower Middle School.
