July 2015 – Page 51 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Some local reaction positive to news of Woodlands’ sale

Reaction to the news that The Woodlands has been sold was positive in some parts of Kansas City, Kan.

The Woodlands was reported sold to Phil Ruffin, who also owns another dog track in Kansas, and is an owner of a casino in Las Vegas. A story published July 16 in the Wichita Eagle reported the sale.

The Woodlands, a horse and dog racing track at 9700 Leavenworth Road, has been closed since 2008 when a new gaming law in Kansas would have required the track to give the state more of its gaming proceeds from slots than the state-owned casinos give the state.

“I think the opening of it is long overdue,” said Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association. “I also know that the mayor has already publicly said that he would block it reopening because it wouldn’t be fair to Hollywood Casino, but my reasoning in that, is they don’t limit how many automotive repair shops could be open, so why does Hollywood Casino have a monopoly?

“I am anxious for it to reopen and I am not a gambler, I just think it’s long overdue,” Braswell said.

She said many people she has talked to in this area would be happy to see it reopen, and she believes they would support it.

“If and when The Woodlands opened, the sad thing is that young Dr. John Swanson (who recently died) won’t be alive to see it, because he fought hard for it, too,” Braswell said.

A bill in the state Legislature carried by Sen. Steve Fitzgerald would have allowed The Woodlands to pay the same percentage in gaming tax as the state-owned casinos; however, the bill did not pass this year. It could come back next session for discussion. Earlier this year, the UG was not in favor of this bill.

Mayor Mark Holland recently remarked that even if the state passes a bill lowering the gaming tax on The Woodlands, that the UG still doesn’t have to allow it in the community. The UG would have to approve a special use permit for The Woodlands. As part of its lobbying platform earlier this year, the UG has taken a stance that it supports the current law, not the change to a lower gaming tax rate for The Woodlands.

The mayor said in June that that he couldn’t support issuing a special use permit for The Woodlands that would undermine the casino and its 900 jobs. He said he would support The Woodlands reopening under the current law, where it would pay a higher gaming tax on its slots than the casinos do. The casino has stated that it was unfair to allow the dog and horse track to have the same gaming tax rate on slots because the casino had to make a minimum $225 million investment commitment, while the racetrack did not.

This year, Sen. Fitzgerald’s bill got out of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, and was passed in the Senate, but not in the House. Last year, the same bill was defeated on the Senate floor.

So far, there have been no indications of a sale yet in the public records on file at the register of deeds office, Wyandotte County Register of Deeds Nancy Burns said this morning. It takes some time for the paperwork to be completed and then filed.

See earlier stories, https://wyandotteonline.com/last-minute-wrangling-in-topeka-draws-comments-at-ug-meeting/ and https://wyandotteonline.com/bill-approved-in-senate-committee-to-help-woodlands-reopen/.

Retired generals say school nutrition vital to military readiness

by Bryan Thompson, KHI News Service

A nonpartisan, nonprofit group of more than 500 retired generals and admirals see school nutrition as an important factor in military readiness.
The group, Mission: Readiness, on Wednesday released the Kansas version of a report drawing a connection between healthier school meals and the pool of potential recruits for America’s armed forces.

Retired U.S. Army Major General Larry Lust of Lenexa said nearly one of every three Americans age 17 to 24 is too obese to qualify for military service.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if that doesn’t cause you some concern, you need to check your pulse,” he said.

Lust cited figures from the U.S. Department of Defense showing that 71 percent of young Kansans are not eligible to serve in the military. Disqualifying factors include lack of education and a history of crime or drug abuse, but the primary medical reason is obesity.

Lust said children get nearly half of their daily caloric intake at school, which makes the nutrient value associated with those calories important.
“We know what the old standards got us,” he said. “The new standards are helping us to walk back from where we are right now. … If you think medical expenses are high now, think where we’re going to be if these numbers don’t change.”

According to the report, the military is not immune to these expenses: 12.4 percent of the fighting force was obese in 2011, compared with 7.7 percent in 2002. That means the rate of obesity rose 62 percent in just nine years.

Excess weight among service members and their families is costing the Department of Defense more than $1 billion a year in health care spending, Lust said. It costs another $500 million to replace the estimated 5,000 troops who are dismissed each year because they’re too unfit to serve.
The costs can’t all be measured in dollars, though. Excess weight and weak bones are blamed for an unprecedented increase in non-combat injuries among members of a brigade serving in Afghanistan.

A 2010 study in The Lancet, the British medical journal, found there were 72 percent more medical evacuations from Iraq and Afghanistan for stress fractures, severe sprains and similar injuries than for combat wounds. The report said these injuries were due, in part, to poor nutrition and a lack of physical activity during adolescence.

The military leaders say good nutrition can help reduce these problems, and schools can play a pivotal role in making sure children get the nutrition they need.

Retired Army Brigadier General John Schmader of Easton said there’s evidence that the more nutritious school meals and snacks resulting from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which was championed by first lady Michelle Obama, are beginning to catch on with kids.

“Unfortunately, though, there have been efforts to let schools retreat from these important standards,” Schmader said. “Like our armed forces, we should not stop when the going gets tough. We, along with all the rest of the retired generals and admirals of Mission: Readiness, urge (the) Kansas congressional delegation to support the updated school nutrition standards, and refrain from any attempt to weaken or roll back current guidelines.”

Amy Dawson Taggart, who founded Mission: Readiness, said child nutrition has historically had bipartisan support in Congress since the school lunch program was created in 1946 to address the malnourishment that left 40 percent of would-be recruits unfit for service.

“Regrettably, it has gotten a little politicized in recent times,” she said. “You can call a group of generals a lot of things. A hotbed of liberalism is not typically one of them.

“What the generals are here today to talk about is the fact that high-quality child nutrition in schools is not conservative common sense or liberal common sense. It is plain common sense, and it is what’s good and right and true for the kids of this country.”

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

– See more at http://www.khi.org/news/article/retired-generals-say-school-nutrition-vital-to-military-readiness#sthash.7H5JGFee.dpuf

Heat advisory in effect this afternoon and Saturday

A heat advisory is in effect Friday afternoon and Saturday. (National Weather Service graphic)

Hot and humid conditions return for today and Saturday, with a heat advisory in effect from 1 p.m. today until 9 p.m. Saturday in Kansas City, Kan., the National Weather Service said.

Today’s high will be 95, with a heat index as high as 106, according to the weather service.

Saturday’s forecast is a high of 94, with a heat index as high as 106, the weather service said.

The weather will be dangerously hot in the afternoons, according to the weather service. It advised people to take extra precautions if they are spending time outside. Reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or late evening, be aware of the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible, check on relatives and neighbors, and drink plenty of water, the weather service said.

Schedule frequent breaks in the shade or in an air-conditioned room if working outside, the weather service said. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cooler location, and call 911 if it is a heat emergency.
Thunderstorm chances return Saturday night and Sunday, the weather service said. Severe storms are possible Sunday as a front slides south through the area, according to the weather service. Locally heavy rain and additional flooding are possible as well.

The main hazards with storms on Sunday are winds and flooding, according to the weather service. While the threat of a tornado is very low, it can’t be ruled out at this point, the weather service said. Small hail also is possible.

The chance of storms continues through Monday night. Wednesday, there will be a 30 percent chance of rain, according to the weather service.

The severe weather outlook shows Wyandotte County is at slight risk for severe storms on Sunday. (National Weather Service graphic)