Month: July 2015

Community calendar

The Wyandotte Daily News is interested in news of your community event in Wyandotte County. Send information to [email protected] and include your name and phone number. Please send in planned events by about a week before the event if possible. In the event of inclement weather, call the sponsoring organization to see if the event will be held.

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/.

Wyandotte County Museum open
The Wyandotte County Museum, 631 N. 126th St., Bonner Springs, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays and holidays. For more information visit the website www.facebook.com/wycomuseum or call 913-573-5002.

Free summer movies offered July 7 to 9
Free family-friendly movies will be offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. at the Legends 14 Theatres in Kansas City, Kan. The free movies on July 7 to 9 will be “Horton Hears a Who,”rated G, and “The Croods,” rated PG. Doors open at 9 a.m., all ages may attend. Seating is limited to availability on a first-come-first-serve basis. The schedule is subject to change. Current feature films are not included in the free admission.

Mayor’s Listening Tour to be July 7 at Rosedale Middle School
Mayor Mark Holland’s Listening Tour next will visit District 3 at 5:30 p.m. July 7 at Rosedale Middle School, 3600 Springfield, Kansas City, Kan. Mayor Holland and Commissioner Ann Murguia will make remarks, and then comments of residents will be heard in small discussion groups. For more information, see www.wycokck.org/listen.

NAACP to meet July 7
The Kansas City, Kan., Branch NAACP will meet on Tuesday, July 7, at the Bethany Medical Center second floor meeting room, 21 N. 12th St., Kansas City, Kan. The executive meeting will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the general membership meeting at 7 p.m. The Women in NAACP (WIN) Committee will meet at 5 p.m. the same day and place. All members are encouraged to attend. For more information, call 913-281-7900 or fax 913-281-7847.

Blood drive scheduled July 7
An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. July 7 at Curves, 1224 N. 79th St., Kansas City, Kan. For more information or to make an appointment, visit www.redcrossblood.org.

UG Ethics Commission to meet July 9
The Unified Government Ethics Commission will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 9, on the second floor of the Wyandotte County Courthouse in Division 18, the old county commissioners’ chambers.

UG Commission scheduled to meet
A special session of the Unified Government will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 9, in the fifth floor conference room, Suite 515, at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan. The administrator’s quarterly report will be presented. After the report, there will be a closed executive meeting in the ninth floor conference room regarding labor. The UG Commission also is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at the Commission Chambers, City Hall, lobby level, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan. An agenda should be posted a few days in advance of the meeting at www.wycokck.org.

Tractor Daze planned July 11 at Ag Hall
Tractor Daze and Touch-A-Truck are planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs. The Ag Hall is near 126th and State Avenue. The events include a parade at noon, garden tractor pull at 1 p.m. and kiddie pedal pull at 1 and 2:30 p.m. There will be a Hall of Fame induction at 11 a.m. Admission is $5, with kids 2 and younger, free. For more information, visit http://www.aghalloffame.com/events/tractor-daze-touch-a-truck/.


Free concert offered July 11 at Legends
The “Live at the Legends” concert series will continue at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at The Legends Outlets, I-70 and I-435, Kansas City, Kan. Performing July 11 will be Red Guitar, transcendent melodic rock music. Future concert dates include July 18: Perpetual Change, 1980s and 1990s rock (with some hits from the 2000s).

Blood drive scheduled July 13
An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. July 13 at Granite City Food and Brewery, 1701 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, Kan. For more information or to make an appointment, visit www.redcrossblood.org

Leavenworth Road Association to meet July 14
The Leavenworth Road Association will meet at 6 p.m. July 14 at the Eisenhower Recreation Center, 2901 N. 72nd, Kansas City, Kan. The social time and dinner time of 6 p.m. will be followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. Barbecued brisket will be provided by Sylvester Smith, and those attending may bring a side dish to share with the group. Guests are welcome. The guest speaker will be Erin Dougherty from Schockey Consulting Services, with Bill Heatherman, UG county engineer, to speak about the UG’s integrated overflow control plan.

Blood drive scheduled July 22
A Community Blood Center blood drive is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 22 at the University of Kansas Francisco Lounge, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., at Rainbow Boulevard and Olathe Boulevard, Kansas City, Kan. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 816-753-4040 or visit www.savealifenow.org.

Night Out Against Crime program to be Aug. 4
A Night Out Against Crime program will take place from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 18th and Ridge, Kansas City, Kan. This year there will be a “Remembering Our Fallen Exhibit,” which pays tribute to soldiers who were killed in action while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first responders from Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., elected officials, Livable Neighborhood groups, and informational booths plan to be represented. Target is providing food for the event.

Blood drive scheduled Aug. 5
A Community Blood Center blood drive is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at the Turner High School Commons Area, 2211 S. 55th, Kansas City, Kan. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 816-753-4040 or visit www.savealifenow.org.

TedxWyandotte event to be Sept. 15
The TedxWyandotte event scheduled for Saturday at Kansas City Kansas Community College has been postponed and rescheduled. The event will now be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at KCKCC, 7250 State Ave. It will feature approximately six presenters speaking on the theme of “Breaking Through: Confronting the barriers that divide us and challenging ourselves to move beyond them.” Tickets already purchased will be valid for the new date in September. However, if you cannot attend at that time, a refund can be requested by contacting 913-288-7644. Refunds must be requested by Tuesday, June 16. For more information, contact Shari L. Wilson, TEDxWyandotte curator, [email protected] or Marisa Gray, [email protected]. Information is also available by visiting TedXWyandotte’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TEDxWyandotte or website at www.tedxwyandotte.org.

Bishop Ward plans 37th annual auction
Bishop Ward High School, 708 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kan., is planning its annual auction Sept. 26. The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. and will have a “There’s No Place Like Ward” theme. It will include a silent auction as well as food from several local restaurants and live music. At 7:30 p.m., the live auction begins. The Nigro Brothers will be in charge of the live auction. The charge for the annual event is $60 per person. For more information, visit wardhigh.org/auction2015.

Counseling offered
Keeler Women’s Center, a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., offers individual and couples counseling to women and men who might otherwise not be able to afford counseling. Nothing is billed. Donations are accepted. Call 913-906-8990 for information or to do an intake and schedule an appointment.

Mayor’s Listening Tour to be July 7 at Rosedale Middle School

Mayor Mark Holland’s Listening Tour next will visit District 3 at 5:30 p.m. today, July 7, at Rosedale Middle School, 3600 Springfield, Kansas City, Kan.

Mayor Holland is expected to make remarks, and then comments of residents will be heard in small discussion groups.

Commissioner Ann Murguia represents District 3. For more information, see www.wycokck.org/listen.

Grunke excited about new opportunities in retirement

by Kelly Rogge

While Mary Grunke has enjoyed the people, she has met and worked with at Kansas City Kansas Community College, she felt like now was the time to begin a new phase of her life.

“I want to have more time to pursue my own interests, hobbies, talents and relationships,” she said. “I have many pleasant memories of working with faculty and students in the active and energetic Social Science Division under Henry Louis and with my valued colleagues in the Research Center and throughout the college.”

Grunke came to KCKCC in 1981 after spending two years as an assistant professor in psychology at the College of Charleston (now the University of Charleston) in Charleston, S.C.

She taught psychology full-time until 1999, including a two-year period as the interim director of the Honors Program. She served as president of the Faculty Senate and head of the Professional Negotiating team, for the Faculty Association. In 1999, she became a founding member of KCKCC’s Center for Research and Community Development, along with Morteza Ardebili.

For the last 15 years, she has been the director and associate director of the Research Center, conducting research and performing data analysis to provide the foundation for data-driven decisions.

“When I came to KCKCC in 1981, typewriters were used for word processing and mimeograph machines for reproduction. Eight instructors in our office complex shared one phone (land-line and corded),” she said. “There was no Honors Program, no Intercultural Center, no Wellness Center, no College Senate, no Research Center or Institutional Research, no Continuing Education Building, no Flint Building, no Jewell Center (Paul Jewell was teaching economics), no Leavenworth Center, no email, no MyDotte. Since then, I have not known a time when KCKCC has not been innovating and undergoing change.”

Grunke received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and a master’s and doctorate in general experimental psychology from the University of Iowa. Her research emphasis was on human learning, memory and cognition.

Now that she is retired, she plans to remain in Kansas City for a few years, but eventually wants to move to St. Paul, Minn. where she still has family.

“KCKCC was such a good place to work because of the many talented, dedicated and kind-hearted people who work here,” she said. “We provide invaluable opportunities and services to our students and the community.”

Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.