February 2017 – Page 35 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Democratic tax plan to be considered in final House action this morning

A Democratic tax plan advanced in the House on Wednesday with an 83-39 vote.

The plan which had the support of Democrats and moderate Republicans, would end the LLC tax cut that has been in place for several years and affects small businesses. It also would raise income tax rates.

The Democratic tax plan will be up for final action today about 11 a.m. when the House goes into session.

Kansas reportedly faces a budget shortfall of over three-quarters of a billion dollars. The atmosphere in Topeka has changed this year, with a number of moderate Republicans winning office, especially from Johnson County.

State Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist., stated, “I am pleased that a coalition of Democrats and Republicans in the Kansas House stood together to pass a comprehensive tax reform package. While HB 2178 is not perfect and may not be the final product, it is the first step towards restoring fiscal stability in our state. It sends a strong message regarding the House position that the ‘march to zero’ income tax policy is no longer acceptable.”

The Democratic plan was opposed by Gov. Sam Brownback, who issued this statement on Wednesday:

“Today, the House moved forward on the Democratic tax bill that would pummel the pocketbook of middle class families. It drastically hikes taxes retroactively on workers making as little as $15,000 annually. While on the campaign trail many of these representatives pledged to raise taxes on the wealthy, but now they are attempting to tax everyday Kansans. It doesn’t have to be this way. I will continue the fight to keep your income taxes low.
“This plan also unfairly raises taxes retroactively on Kansas job creators, sending a negative signal to businesses looking to start or relocate in Kansas,” the governor’s statement continued. “There is a better way. My budget solves the challenges of today, has solutions for tomorrow, and avoids punishing tax increases on middle class workers, families, and job creators.”

KCKCC women come from five back to win in final seconds

Field goals by Hazlett, Tauai and Wagler erase 68-63 deficit in final minute

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Just when things looked the bleakest for Kansas City Kansas Community College women’s basketball team Wednesday, reserve guard Whitney Hazlett made the biggest play of her career and veterans Brie Tauai and Brooklyn Wagner followed with game-deciding field goals.

Trailing 68-63 at Brown Mackie, the Blue Devils lost starting point guard Kayla Horn with just 1:14 remaining. That’s when Hazlett, a 5-6 sophomore from Mill Valley, came off the bench to drain a 3-pointer, easily the biggest basket of her two years at KCKCC, and the veterans took it from there.

“We got another defensive stop and then a great catch and finish by Brie Tauai on a pass from Millie Shade to tie the game at 68-68,” said KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry. “Brown Mackie then turned the ball over, we called a timeout with 12 seconds left, drew up a play that the girls executed perfectly and Brooklyn Wagner finished with the basket that gave us a 70-68 win with six seconds remaining.”

The win boosted the Blue Devils’ record to 17-9 overall and 5-3 in Region VI play just one game back of No. 9 ranked Highland (6-2), which invades the KCKCC Field House at Sophomore Day Saturday at 2 p.m. The win also kept KCKCC 2½ games ahead of Fort Scott (3-6) for the all-important fourth place regional finish and a first round home playoff berth. In other action Wednesday, Johnson County (8-1) all but wrapped up the Region VI and Jayhawk championships, avenging its only loss of the season with a 90-76 win over second place Labette (7-2).

Brie Tauai turned in one of her best performances of the season, leading all scorers with 24 points on sizzling 11-of-15 shooting while grabbing five rebounds.

“At halftime, I challenged Brie and she responded great,” McKinstry said. “She was huge the second half.”

Millie Shade added 12 points and a game high eight rebounds; Brooklyn Wagler missed only one of five shots, scoring 11 points, grabbing seven rebounds and leading in assists with eight; and Hazlett matched her career high with 10 points including KCKCC’s only 3-pointer of the second half.

The Blue Devils were a sizzling 25-of-38 for 65.8 percent on two-point field goal attempts but just 4-of-21 from 3-point (.190). They were also guilty of 17 turnovers and outrebounded 30-28. Leading 36-29 at halftime, KCKCC fell behind 49-48 entering the final quarter in a see-saw battle that had nine ties and 11 lead changes.

“On a night when we weren’t very good, it was nice to make enough plays on both ends of the floor and to come away with a region victory on the road,” McKinstry said. “We’ve been in this positon a few times this year each time we’ve handled the situation a little bit better. So I was happy for them to feel that reward for sticking with it and battling – a good road win for us.”

Red flag warning issued for Wyandotte County today

Dry fuels across the area will combine with gusty winds and dry weather conditions to bring very high fire danger, according to the National Weather Service.

A red flag warning has been issued for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, in Wyandotte County, the weather service said.

Humidity values are expected to drop to around 20 percent, and the southwest wind is expected to gust between 20 to 30 mph today, according to the weather service. Areas generally along and south of the Missouri River will be under the red flag warning.

Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged today, the weather service said.

Today, it will be sunny with a high near 71, according to the weather service. A southwest wind of 8 to 16 mph will gust as high as 26 mph.

Tonight, it will be clear with a low of 44, the weather service said. A southwest wind of 9 to 11 mph will gust as high as 21 mph.

Friday, it will be sunny with a high near 70, according to the weather service. There will be a south southwest wind of 8 to 11 mph.

Friday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low around 48, the weather service said. A south southwest wind will be 8 to 11 mph.

Saturday, expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 68 and a southwest wind of 6 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday night, the low will be 49 with mostly cloudy skies, the weather service said.

Sunday, it will be mostly sunny with a high of 72, according to the weather service.

Sunday night, the low will be around 55 with mostly cloudy skies, the weather service said.

On Monday, Washington’s birthday, there is a 60 percent chance of showers with a high near 67, according to the weather service.

Monday night, the low will be 51, the weather service said.

Tuesday, the high will be near 65, according to the weather service.