Jared Messer
Jared Messer did two things Friday night that no T-Bones pitcher has done since 2012 and 2013, as he struck out 10 in a complete-game 2-0 shutout over the Laredo Lemurs in front of 5,331 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.
Messer stayed out of trouble most of the night, giving up five hits and not allowing any walks in the first nine-inning complete-game of his career. He had a seven-inning complete-game shutout against Joplin last season on Aug. 21.
Messer faced one over the minimum in the final 4 2/3 innings, including a stretch of 11 consecutive outs. The only time he seemed to get into trouble was the fourth, when he gave up singles to Burt Reynolds and Ty Morrison leading off the inning, but then he struck out the side, getting Denis Phipps, Zane Chavez and Jesus Posso.
Messer is the first T-Bones pitcher to throw a complete game since Lucas Irvine on July 27, 2013. And, his 10 strikeouts are the most for a Kansas City pitcher since Brian Grening struck out 13 in a game on Sept. 3, 2012.
The T-Bones got on the board first in the second inning. Designated hitter Anthony Gallas led the inning with a double to deep left field. With one out, Gallas scored on a single to left by Dalton Wheat, giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead.
Laredo starter Ryan Beckman threw nearly as well as Messer. After the run in the second, Kansas City did not get on base again until the fifth inning — eight consecutive outs — when Wheat singled to right field.
Wheat then stole his second base of the night before once again advancing to third on a groundout by Vladimir Frias. Tyler Moore then grounded the ball to third baseman Cesar Valera, who thought about throwing Wheat out at home but hesitated and went to first instead, giving the T-Bones a 2-0 lead. Beckman (6-6) threw a complete game, also, giving up six hits, striking out six and not allowing a walk.
Kansas City has now won five in a row, its longest winning streak since the T-Bones won seven in a row June 29-July 7, 2015.
The T-Bones (35-42) will continue to play host to Laredo (43-35) on Saturday night at 7:05. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.
Field Day today at the Schlagle Library
The F.L. Schlagle Environmental Library at Wyandotte County Park, 91st and Leavenworth Road, will hold a field day from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. Activities will includes a potato sack race, water balloon toss, egg and spoon race, and a performance by the Kansas City Disc Dogs. The event is free and prizes will be awarded. This event is the end celebration for the summer reading program. For more information, call 913-299-2384.
Learn to sew and quilt
A class on sewing and quilting for beginners will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the West Wyandotte Library, Conference Room A, 1737 N. 82nd. The class is for ages 10 and older, and there is a limit of 15 participants. Advance registration is required to 913-596-5800.
Learn how marbles are made
A marble-making demonstration is scheduled from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Moon Marble Co. store, 600 E. Front St., Bonner Springs. Demonstrations begin around 10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. and end at about 3 p.m., provided a glass artist is available. For more information, see www.moonmarble.com/.
Documentary screening of ‘Quindaro’
A documentary screening of the film, “Quindaro,” will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 13 at the Main Kansas City, Kan., Public Library, auditorium, 625 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan. Filmmaker Jefferson Donald will be at the screening, and there will be an informal discussion afterward.
High Tea at the Strawberry Hill Museum today
A High Tea will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Strawberry Hill Museum Tea Room, 720 N. 4th, Kansas City, Kan. This event requires reservations in advance. The cost of the tea and a tour is $30 per person. The Victorian tea party will include finger sandwiches, ethnic desserts and a cup of tea. There will be tours of the museum, also. For more information, visit http://www.strawberryhillmuseum.org/event/high-tea/.
Cabela’s schedules fly-fishing class
Cabela’s, 10300 Cabela Drive, Kansas City, Kan., has scheduled a free fly-fishing class from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. Interested persons may meet at the Cabela’s Fly Shop and the class will go to the outdoor pond. The class is for beginners and experienced anglers.
American GI Forum planned
The American GI Forum will present a program from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the South Kansas City, Kan., Public Library, Meeting Room B, 3104 Strong Ave., to promote acceptance and inclusion for the Hispanic community.
Concert today postponed
A concert originally planned today has been postponed, according to the Alcott Arts Center’s website. Originally, Daniel Maltz was to perform a concert today in Kansas City, Kan. According to the website, his tour started late, and the Alcott Center will try to bring the artist to Kansas City, Kan., in 2017. For more information visit the Alcott website at www.alcottartscenter.org.
Drag racing today at Kansas Speedway
Some of the best drag racers in the Midwest will race down Kansas Speedway’s pit road on Saturday, Aug. 13. Three sold-out classes of drag racing will be on display on Saturday night: small tire, big tire and true street class as they race down the 1/8-mile track. Tickets are only available on the day of the event for $10 per spectator and can be purchased at Ticket Booth A starting at 3 p.m., according to a Kansas Speedway spokesman. Admission gives fans access to the infield and the Grandstands of Turn 4 and they will be able to access both the infield and grandstands via a crossover gate in Turn 4. Children 12 and under are free. Fans can park for free in general parking by Gate A. For $10 per car, in addition to the $10 admission per person, fans can also park in the infield. Drag race participants should enter at France Family Drive. Admission for participants is $30. Drag racing will begin at approximately 5 p.m. and run until 11 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to purchase their tickets and gain access to the grandstands. This is an alcohol-free event. Concessions will not be sold at this event but fans may bring in their own coolers (14x14x14-inch soft-sided coolers). Glass containers are prohibited.
T-Bones to play Laredo tonight in KCK
The T-Bones (35-42) will play host to Laredo (43-35) on Saturday night at 7:05 in Kansas City, Kan. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.
The events of five days ago – the death of a 10-year-old boy at the Verruckt water slide ride at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kan., – have made it clear that the Kansas law governing them is weak.
The accident was still under investigation and as of Friday, its cause had not been announced.
A glance at the laws governing amusement parks (online at http://kslegislature.org/li_2014/b2013_14/statute/044_000_0000_chapter/044_016_0000_article/044_016_0001_section/044_016_0001_k/ and regulations at www.dol.ks.gov/Safety/park.aspx) would convince almost anyone that they are very weak.
Compare them, for example, to our laws on restaurant food inspections. A state or a municipality inspector will inspect restaurants, file a report, and then the report becomes available for public inspection. Consumers can easily visit the website (https://foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx) to check on the latest report.
Under the current Kansas law for amusement park rides, however, the inspections are yearly self-inspections, and are kept by the owner of the park.
The Kansas law says, “Each patron of an amusement ride, by participation, accepts the risks inherent in such participation of which an ordinary prudent person is or should be aware.”
Consumers today have come to expect more of their government. They expect a little more oversight. But there is little federal oversight, either, of these rides. The local government has said it does not do ride inspections, either.
State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., said, “One of the things we’ve learned is the public agrees that Kansas and many other states should have stronger oversight and maybe even regulation on fixed site amusement parks.” Sen. David Haley
While he said he doesn’t have all the answers on what needs to be done, he said there is a pretty strong consensus among people that staff training and having engineers check the site should be part of the equation.
“Since there is no federal law, I think we need to look at the best practices of those states that already have seemingly event-free or negative event-free occurrences,” Sen. Haley said. “Who is implementing it, who stores the data, that seems to be a good place to start so it doesn’t cost very much to reinvent a well oiled ferris wheel.”
If a law is working well in another state, with no incidents, with oversight and training managed by that state, then Kansas could learn from them to keep its ferris wheels and roller coasters as safe as possible, he said.
While others may raise questions about legislators who accept a free gift (free admission) from someone who wants to have a law passed in their favor, a lot of legislators apparently don’t look at it that way.
Sen. Haley said he was invited to the legislators’ day at Schlitterbahn on Sunday, but did not go. He has attended before, however. He said it’s often hard to find time to spend together with the family when legislators are in public service, and he feels this was a wonderful invite by Schlitterbahn to legislators and their families to have time to spend together.
“Schlitterbahn is a jewel in our county, and this is a horrific event,” Sen. Haley said. “But I sure hope that Schlitterbahn continues to thrive and to prosper, and that this tragic accident, once they get the corrections in place, won’t mar its current and future success.”
Last session the Legislature debated what rules should be in place for parks that allow visitors to interact with potentially dangerous animals, he said.
“The examples of people going to an inherently dangerous environment with the expectation that some oversight has been afforded that won’t injure or kill them is what we have to address here,” Sen. Haley said.
He doesn’t recall any Kansas debates about amusement park ride laws because there are few if any amusement parks. When laws concerning traveling circuses were discussed, there was tremendous apathy, and some pushback, he added.
Sen. Haley said he has requested the National Conference of State Legislatures to research the best practices from different states on amusement park ride laws to see what seems to be working well in other places.
On Friday, reports out of Topeka stated the governor said the law needs to be looked at after this tragedy occurred.
The reason I favor stronger laws on amusement park and water park rides is simply that it is our families, children and grandchildren who are riding them. It’s a sad truth that nothing seems to get done unless there is a tragedy. I hope that it will not take another tragedy to get more safety oversight in place in Kansas.
