Month: October 2016

Saturday events

KCKCC to dedicate Flunder conference center, softball field today
Kansas City Kansas Community College is preparing to celebrate two special occasions – the building dedication to honor a long time member of the Board of Trustees and the ribbon cutting to officially open the brand new softball facility. To kick off KCKCC’s Alumni Weekend, which is Oct. 22, there will be a free pancake breakfast from 9 to 10 a.m. At 9:30 a.m. the former Conference Center will be dedicated the Mary Ann Flunder Lodge by the Lake. The lodge is located next to the lake just north of the softball field. U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder is planning to attend the ceremony. Flunder, who died earlier this year, served on the Board of Trustees for 25 years and was well known in the community for advancing educational opportunities for Wyandotte County residents and senior citizen issues. At 9:45 a.m. will be the official ribbon cutting of KCKCC’s new softball field. Construction on the field began last year and included the installation of artificial turf on both the outfield and infield. KCKCC is the first member of the Jayhawk Conference to have this type of all-weather field. The Alumni Softball game is at 10 a.m. and the Alumni Baseball game will be at 1 p.m. KCK Mayor Mark Holland will be throwing out the first pitch with KCKCC President Doris Givens. There will be a free cookout in the Pavilion from noon to 1 p.m. Other activities include free batting cages for children with KCKCC student athletes, balloon animals and face tattoos.


Unused medications may be dropped off on Saturday
Law enforcement officers at locations across the state will be collecting unused leftover medications for safe disposal on Saturday, Oct. 22. The collection events are part of a nationwide effort to safely dispose of leftover medications to prevent accidental or intentional misuse. Medications will be accepted at drop-off sites across the state from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The medication dropoff sites in Wyandotte County include CVS Pharmacy, 4300 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, Kan.; DeGoler’s Pharmacy, Bethany Medical Plaza, 21 N. 12th, Kansas City, Kan.; Hen House Pharmacy, 8120 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan.; DeGoler Pharmacy, WestMed Medical Building, 2040 Hutton Road, Kansas City, Kan.; and DeGoler’s Pharmacy, 202 Oak St., Bonner Springs Kan. The medication is collected and destroyed by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Reola Grant Center planning car show and wife carry event Oct. 22
The Reola Grant Center in Kansas City, Kan., is planning a fundraiser festival today featuring a car show and wife-carry event. The event is planned from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Lakeside Speedway, 5615 Wolcott Drive, Kansas City, Kan. The unusual title of the event is “Cops, Cars, Bike Show and Wife Carry (Fireman’s Challenge).” The Reola Grant Center, which is a food pantry, recently moved to 5010 Leavenworth Road at the Ussery Body Shop, where the food pantry is open by appointment only. The “wife-carry event is an officially sanctioned event, by the North American Wife Carrying Association. It’s pretty much what it sounds like – one person carries another person in a race to the finish line. Registration to participate in the event is $60 per couple, with the funds going to the Reola Grant Center, and participants getting T-shirts. The winner of the contest gets the wife’s weight in beer. The entry fee for cars and motorcycles in the car show is $30. For more information about the center, visit https://www.facebook.com/ReolaGrantCenter/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/181487815608055/.

Church plans coat drive
Fellowship Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at 8844 State Ave., Kansas City, Kan., is sponsoring a Coat Drive (free coats) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Come “shop” in a store-like atmosphere. Light refreshments will be served and each person receiving a coat will be given a gift bag of goodies upon their departure.

Halloween Trunk or Treat scheduled
A Halloween Trunk or Treat will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds, 13700 Polfer Road, Kansas City, Kan. The admission charge of $5 per person includes a hayride, trunk or treating, a haunted petting zoo, and a hot dog around the fire pit. The event is sponsored by the Wyandotte County Fair Board. Proceeds go to the Wyandotte County Fair Foundation and 4-H scholarships.

Healthy Halloween event planned Saturday in Rosedale
The Rosedale Development Association is sponsoring a Healthy Halloween event on Saturday, Oct. 22. The event will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Whitmore playground, 1412 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Kan. Organizers of the event are planning a free flu shot clinic, Zumba, costume closet and photo booth, bean bag toss, face painting, ghost races, pumpkin painting, mask making and a bounce house. For more information, visit http://rosedale.org/events/7th-annual-healthy-halloween/.

Grinter Place to hold Campfire Chat Oct. 22
The Grinter Place Campfire Chat will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at the historic home, 1420 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kan. The program will be a historical reenactment presentation about Octave Chanute, who built the Hannibal Bridge, designed Kansas City stockyards, platted Lenexa, mentored the Wright Brothers and is the namesake of Chanute, Kan. There will be hot dogs, smores and tours of the Grinter House, an 1857 home that is a state museum. The event sponsor is the Grinter Place Friends. It will be an educational event open to all ages.The new site director at Grinter Place, Bill Nicks, plans to present a free historical talk about Octave Chanute, a figure in Kansas City area history, at a Grinter Place Campfire Chat Oct. 22. The event from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, will include a campfire, hot dogs, smores and free tours of the Grinter House, an 1857 home that is a state museum. Grinter Place is at 1420 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kan.

Dinner planned at church
The Sacred Heart Church Knights of Columbus are planning a spaghetti dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Sacred Heart parish, 2646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kan. The all-you-can-eat dinner will cost $7 for adults, $4 for children 6-12 and free for kids 6 and under.

Oktoberfest dinner planned
An Oktoberfest dinner and dance is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at St. Anthony Catholic Church basement, 615 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan. There will be dinner and dancing. The Willie Kirst Band will play. The admission cost is $20 for adults, $10 for children 12-20 years old; and $5 for children ages 6-11. Admission is free for children under 5.

Group plans dinner and bingo
The Men’s Club at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 94th and State Avenue, will sponsor a steak dinner and bingo at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 at the parish center, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kan. Tickets are $20, and reservations are required to 913-515-0621.

Unused medications may be dropped off on Saturday

Law enforcement officers at locations across the state will be collecting unused leftover medications for safe disposal on Saturday, Oct. 22, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

The collection events are part of a nationwide effort to safely dispose of leftover medications to prevent accidental or intentional misuse. Since the program began in 2010, more than 45 tons of unwanted medications have been collected and destroyed in Kansas alone.

“Unused medications are dangerous for kids, pets and the environment,” Schmidt said. “Getting these leftover medicines out of the medicine cabinets and safely destroyed keeps them from falling into the wrong hands and makes our communities safer.”

Medications will be accepted at drop-off sites across the state from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The medication dropoff sites in Wyandotte County include CVS Pharmacy, 4300 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, Kan.; DeGoler’s Pharmacy, Bethany Medical Plaza, 21 N. 12th, Kansas City, Kan.; Hen House Pharmacy, 8120 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan.; DeGoler Pharmacy, WestMed Medical Building, 2040 Hutton Road, Kansas City, Kan.; and DeGoler’s Pharmacy, 202 Oak St., Bonner Springs Kan.

The National Drug Take-Back Day is coordinated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which collects and safely destroys the medications.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, according to a spokesman. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that traditional methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – pose potential safety and health hazards and should be avoided.

Unused prescriptions can be turned in year-round at many local law enforcement locations. Kansans should contact their local sheriff’s office or police department for more information.

Kansas Supreme Court upholds death sentence for Kleypas

The Kansas Supreme Court today upheld the capital murder conviction and death sentence of Gary Kleypas in the 1996 murder of a Pittsburg State University student, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

“A third Kansas capital murder conviction and death sentence has now been upheld by our state courts,” Schmidt said. “I’m encouraged the state’s position that this case was properly tried and the defendant was properly convicted and sentenced under applicable law has been affirmed.”

The Kansas Supreme Court had previously overturned Kleypas’ death sentence in 2001 and ordered a new sentencing hearing. In 2008, a second jury recommended a death sentence in the case. While the Kansas Supreme Court today upheld the capital murder conviction and death sentence, it also reversed Kleypas’ conviction on a rape charge and returned the case to district court for resentencing on a conviction for aggravated burglary.

The 166-page decision was written by Justice Marla Luckert.

Justice Lee A. Johnson dissented, reiterating his view that the death penalty violates the prohibition against cruel or unusual punishment in Section 9 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights and noting two additional points of disagreement with the majority opinion.

Kleypas becomes the third person in Kansas whose sentence of death has been upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court since the death penalty was reinstated.

The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the conviction and death sentence of John E. Robinson Sr. last November. Robinson’s request for review by the U.S. Supreme Court was denied earlier this month. The Kansas Supreme Court also upheld the conviction and death sentence of Scott Cheever in July, more than two years after the Kansas court’s previous decision overturning Cheever’s conviction was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Cheever’s attorneys are seeking U.S. Supreme Court review, but the high court has not said whether it will hear the case.

In a separate case decided today, the Kansas Supreme Court declined to change the capital murder conviction and death sentence of Douglas Belt, who died in prison earlier this year. Belt was convicted and sentenced in 2004 in connection with crimes in Sedgwick County.