Month: April 2016

Season kicks off Saturday at Alcott, with art, poetry, zombies and all

by Mary Rupert

The season is just starting for Alcott Arts Center at 180 S. 18th St., which holds its first art show of the year on Saturday, but already this year there have been zombies in the hallways.

The “zombies” were actors making an original horror film recently at the Alcott Arts Center, according to Chris Green, executive director at Alcott.

From TV 25’s show, “Drive-in Movie Maniacs,” the zombie film should be shown in the fall on the television show, Green said. “Drive-in Movie Maniacs” shows old horror movies, for the most part. TV 25 is a small television station from Channels 25.1 to 25.9 serving a three-county area. It is on the airwaves, but not yet on cable.

“It was fun, I enjoyed watching them,” Green said.

Green said TV 25 is expected to be at the Alcott Arts Center for the opening of the season on Saturday, April 9.

Students from the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools will exhibit their artworks that day, she said. They include students from Wyandotte High School, Schlagle High School, Sumner Academy, Rosedale Middle School and Frances Willard Elementary.

The art show, in the Alcott’s Second Saturday series, opens with a reception and entertainment by students at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, she said. Doors open at 6 p.m. to the gallery. Students also will do spoken word and poetry recitations as part of the program, she added.

“They’re so talented,” Green said about the students’ artwork. Some of the students did sculptures out of cardboard and papier mache. Students at Wyandotte did a drawing series using a map.

“There is some really good pencil drawing, some acrylic painting, oil pastels and some photography,” Green said. “I am blown away by the talent.”

Green said she thought it would be appropriate, since the Alcott Arts Center is an old school building, to ask students to come in for the first show of the year. The students are very excited to have this opportunity, she added.

The art show is free and open to the public. The Alcott is not ADA accessible yet, Green said.

After the art show this opening weekend, the Alcott plans a fundraiser on April 30. Students in a National Arts Society honors club from Blue Valley Northwest High School will auction vases they have made in class as a benefit for the Alcott, Green said.

Two years ago, the same group chose the Alcott to be the recipient of a “clocktion,” or a clock auction, she said. The group auctioned clocks it made for the fundraiser.

Arts and crafts classes for children will start on June 7 at the Alcott, and will be held at 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays. The cost will be $5 per session.

The Alcott also is gearing up for its youth theater production and adult theater production, including “Twelfth Night” for the sixth year in September.

Fort Hays State announces graduates from Wyandotte County

Six students from Wyandotte County graduated from Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kan., in the fall 2015 semester.

The graduates include:

From Bonner Springs: Cameron Finley, a Bachelor of Science in justice studies.

From Edwardsville: Megan Marie Webb, a Bachelor of Business Administration in management.

From Kansas City, Kan.: Tonya R. Brown, a Bachelor of Arts in sociology.

Jonathan Mark Corbett, a Bachelor of Science in information networking and telecommunications (computer networking).

Cord Jason Fletcher, a Bachelor of Business Administration in management.

Airen Benard Maxwell, a Bachelor of Science in justice studies.

Chicken nuggets recalled

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a Waco, Texas establishment, is recalling approximately 40,780 pounds of fully cooked chicken nugget products that may be contaminated with extraneous plastic materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.

The products were sold in Kansas and and several others states.
The fully cooked chicken nugget products were produced on Oct. 5, 2015. The following products are subject to recall:

20-lb. cardboard boxes containing two, 10-lb. clear plastic bags of fully cooked chicken nuggets labeled as “GOLD KIST FARMS Fully Cooked Whole Grain Popcorn Style Chicken Patty Fritters.”

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. P-20728” inside the USDA mark of inspection and include package codes 5278105021, 5278105022, 5278105023, 5278105000, and 5278105001. These items were shipped for institutional use to Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

The problem was discovered after the firm received several consumer complaints regarding plastic contamination of the chicken nuggets. The firm notified FSIS personnel of the issue on April 6.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls. Consumers may call 800-321-1470.