Month: March 2017

Many still without power in KCK

BPU power outage map around 11:25 a.m. Tuesday.

Power was still out for many Wyandotte County residents as of 11:25 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Board of Public Utilities’ outage map.

There were a little more than 1,000 customers without power, according to the map. At the height of Monday night’s storm, from 5,000 to 6,000 customers in Kansas City, Kansas, were reported without power.

That number was trimmed down to around 2,000 by 11 p.m. Monday. Utility crews can be seen working throughout Kansas City, Kansas.

Downed trees and limbs were reported in the aftermath of the storm.

KCKCC professor to participate in Riverfront Readings

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCCC

A Kansas City Kansas Community College professor will be among the readers in the Writer’s Place monthly series – Riverfront Readings.

Tom Weis, professor of English, will be one of two readers at the March 10 event. The second reader is 2009-2013 Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg.

Philip Miller and Don Blevins started the Riverfront Readings series in 1986, and readers are selected by a committee. Readings are at 8 p.m. the second Friday of the month at The Writer’s Place, 3607 Pennsylvania in Kansas City, Mo. Admission is free.

“It’s an honor,” Weis said of being selected to participate. “I enjoy reading at the Writer’s Place where I am surrounded by a thoughtful and supportive audience. The Writer’s Place is the best venue in the city for poets and fiction writers to present their work.”

Weis teaches Composition I and II and American Literature in the Honors Program at KCKCC. He has a bachelor of arts from the Evergreen State College and a master of arts in English from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He has done several public readings over the past 20 years and his original poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous publications. This will be his second time as a reader in the Riverfront Readings.

Mirriam-Goldberg is the author of 19 books including “The Divorce Girl.” She is the founder of Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College, where she also teachers.

For more information on Riverfront Readings, visithttp://www.riverfrontreadings.com/welcome/. For more information on The Writers Place, visit https://mary-bunten.squarespace.com/.

Test of sirens scheduled around 10 a.m. today

A test of outdoor sirens is scheduled around 10 a.m. today.

The National Weather Service is conducting the annual Tornado Preparedness Drill between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 7.

A simulated tornado warning will be issued, and the weather radio system will be activated.

Alert messages should indicate it is a test of the system and not a real tornado warning.

Residents are asked to go through their normal tornado warning procedure at the time of the test. They should go to their place of shelter, such as the lowest floor of their building, away from windows.

According to the local authorities, outdoor sirens cannot always be heard, and residents should pay attention to radio, television, the National Weather Service website and weather radio for watches and warnings.

Tornadoes may be reported to local authorities through the 911 emergency number.