Month: October 2016

Grand marshal, honorary starter named for Kansas Lottery 300 race

Kansas Speedway announced today that 2016 Olympic medalist Nico Hernandez has been named grand marshal for the Kansas Lottery 300 on Oct. 15.

Lottery industry veteran Geneva McCaffrey, who currently serves as Kansas Lottery account director, has been named as the honorary starter for the race.

Hernandez, who is from Wichita, Kan., won the bronze medal in the light flyweight division in Rio earlier this year. He is the first person from Wichita to win an Olympic medal since 1984. Previous winners were Lynnette Woodard – basketball; and Marc Waldie – volleyball.

He is the first person from Wichita to win an individual medal since 1968, with Jim Ryun the previous medal winner.

Hernandez is an eight-time consecutive Ringside World National Champion, a six-time consecutive Silver Gloves National Champion and a two-time consecutive Junior Olympic National Champion. In addition, he is the first boxer from Wichita to make the U.S. Olympic team.

McCaffrey has almost three decades of lottery industry experience, including over 10 years with the Florida Lottery and more than 17 years with Scientific Games. She has worked with many U.S. lotteries as the account manager, most recently for the Arizona, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin lotteries. McCaffrey has knowledge and experience in areas of marketing analysis and planning, customer service, lottery sales, prize structure, and industry trends.

Tickets are currently on sale for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 on Oct. 16. The Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race will take center stage on Oct. 15, while the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards championship race will run on Oct. 14. Tickets can be purchased online at www.kansasspeedway.com or by calling 866.460.7223.

General parking is free at Kansas Speedway and fans can bring in one 14x14x14-inch soft-sided cooler with their favorite food and beverages.

BPU employees to compete in lineman’s rodeo Oct. 15

Three linemen from the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Public Utilities will compete against hundreds of other utility workers from across the nation and as far away as Canada, Hawaii and Jamaica at the 33rd Annual International Lineman’s Rodeo in Bonner Springs, Kan.

The utility workers will test their professional and trade skills in a unique competition that is open to the public. Thousands of utility professionals are in town for an annual trade show and expo in Overland Park, Kan., with the highlight being the “Lineman’s Rodeo,” a series of competitions testing various lineman skills and safety techniques.

The rodeo competition will occur on Saturday, Oct. 15, at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, kicking off at 7 a.m. Team and apprentice events will include The Hurtman Rescue, the Pole Climb, and several mystery events. An Awards Banquet will be held at the Overland Park Convention Center at 7 p.m. that day.

BPU will be represented by Matt Campion, Jeremiah Waldeck, and Paul Howell this year, competing against more than 200 teams from various private and municipal utilities. In 2015, BPU’s team scored 392 out of 400 possible points, placing 16th out of all the teams in the Municipality Group.

The International Lineman’s Rodeo was first held in 1984, and was created to maintain a focus on safety and safe work practices and to recognize the technical craft skills of utility lineman. One other purpose has always been for the participants to have fun while sharing work knowledge with others in their trade from different companies and different parts of the country. Go to www.linemansrodeokc.com for more information about this event.
– Story from BPU

Traffic on I-435 reduced to one lane in places for roadwork

Southbound I-435 from just south of State Avenue to Kansas Avenue has been reduced to one open lane between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, so crews can complete pavement grinding work, weather permitting, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Southbound I-435 from just south of State Avenue to Kansas Avenue will be reduced to one open lane so crews can complete traffic control work beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, and reopening at 5 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, weather permitting, according to KDOT.

Once the traffic control work is completed Tuesday overnight, all lanes of southbound I-435 over the I-70 bridges and the westbound I-70 to southbound I-435 ramp will be fully reopened to traffic by no later than 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5, weather permitting, according to KDOT.

Updated daily traffic information for this bridge repair project and for the entire Kansas City metro area can be viewed at: www.ksdot.org/kcmetro/laneclose.asp.