Wyandotte County could get 2.69 inches of rain through Sunday night. (National Weather Service graphic) Wyandotte County is a little north of a flash flood watch in effect through Sunday night. (National Weather Service graphic)
Heavy rain is expected to move into the area early Saturday morning and continue through Sunday night with 2 to 4+ inches of precipitation possible, according to the National Weather Service.
The heaviest rainfall will occur Saturday night into Sunday morning, the weather service said.
The heavy rainfall will lead to flooding along area river, creeks, and streams, according to the weather service. It will also lead to localized flash flooding.
If you encounter water covered roadways, do not try to drive through it –turn around, don’t drown, the weather service said.
Today, there is a 40 percent chance of showers before 3 p.m., then a slight chance of showers after 4 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 66 with an east southeast wind of 3 to 8 mph.
Tonight, there is an 80 percent chance of showers, mainly after 5 a.m. The low will be around 49 with a north northeast wind of 7 to 10 mph.
Saturday, there is a 90 percent chance of showers, with thunderstorms possible after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 53, with a north northeast wind of 13 to 15 mph, gusting to 28 mph. Between a half and three-quarters of an inch of rain is possible.
Saturday night, there is a 90 percent chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm, with a low of 47, according to the weather service. A northeast wind of 10 to 14 mph may gust as high as 24 mph. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain is possible.
Sunday, there is a 70 percent chance of showers, mainly before 1 p.m., with a high near 58, the weather service said. A north northeast wind of 7 to 13 mph will become south southwest in the afternoon. Winds may gust as high as 23 mph. Between a quarter and half-inch of rain is possible.
Sunday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers with a low of 41, according to the weather service.
Monday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m., with a high near 58, the weather service said.
Monday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 45.
The Healthy Campus project is making progress although not all funding is in place yet, the Unified Government Commission heard at tonight’s 5 p.m. meeting.
As part of an update on the downtown Healthy Campus project, YMCA officials said they have raised about $11.5 million of a $16 million goal, and expect to raise the rest of the funds in the next few months.
The project would build a new YMCA along with a grocery store, according to UG officials, and the area around the buildings also would be developed. A process was begun in 2014 to work on a master plan for the Healthy Campus project, Mayor Mark Holland said. The challenge to doing the public participation part first is it started the clock ticking for expectations for the project, he added.
“My belief has been if we can move the needle of health in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, we can move the needle of health anywhere,” Mayor Holland said. He is excited that this might be a national model for health here.
Bill Crandall, managing principal of CBC Real Estate group, presented the proposal for the grocery store and nearby housing projects. CBC was hired through grants that were given to this project, the mayor said.
Crandall said five developers were identified for building housing downtown in connection with this project.
He said it was reassuring to know there are five developers who are interested in coming into downtown Kansas City, Kansas, and building housing.
Crandall said it has been challenging to attract retail development, but they are steadfast in finding a grocery store for the project. They’re looking at a full-service grocery store, possibly with a small café with it. The grocery store would serve the demographic and cultural needs of the downtown area, he said.
The project has considered traditional store operators, as well as smaller nontraditional store operators, he said.
He said the UG Commission will probably have to take the leadership to invest in the grocery store building, as it has in several other community projects.
David Byrd, president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City YMCA, said the plan has moved forward significantly since his last appearance at the UG.
“The community’s ready for it, we hear it every day as we talk to the community,” Byrd said.
He hopes to bring the project to fruition in the next few years, he said. The new Y would replace the existing 8th Street Y, which was built in 1913.
Mark Hulet, YMCA senior vice president of property, showed a preliminary concept diagram of the YMCA and the grocery store, with a parking lot and pedestrian area in the middle, and a storm sewer development on the other end of the YMCA. An architectural firm has prepared a preliminary drawing of the look of the project.
The YMCA building would have two levels, according to Hulett. The upper floor would have a recreation center and gym, a wellness center with cardiovascular strength training equipment, a group exercise studio, community rooms, a teaching kitchen and administrative area.
The lower floor would have a commons area, a kids zone for younger children and adventure area for older kids, a natatorium with two swimming pools, locker rooms and a party room, he said.
John Mikos, chief operating officer for the YMCA, said the whole idea of the new healthy campus is to improve the health of the community. It goes beyond basketball and swimming, although those programs will still be offered. The YMCA has been expanding its role in the health area and in the future will be working with population health management, he said, which is an integrated approach to health. Such areas as diabetes prevention, arthritis self-management cancer survivorship and other health programs will be offered.
Dr. Daphne Bascomb, YMCA senior vice president of community integrated health, said the YMCA can bring together physicians, clinicians and community members to coordinate care, share information, and to deliver health and coordinated care.
Byrd said the fundraising campaign for the YMCA has been successful. It originally had a $14 million goal, which was raised to $16 million. So far, they have raised $11.5 million, he said, and there are requests currently out, which they will expect to receive in 60 to 90 days. The project also will be using new market tax credits, he said. These funds apply only to the YMCA building, not to the grocery store building.
He said the new Linwood Y project was very successful, spending about $11.5 million and receiving almost $2 million in new market tax credits. Also, the Atchison Y project is under construction and will open in December, also to use tax credits.
During the next few months, the YMCA will try to close the gap in the funding, Byrd said. Major contributors so far include the Health Care Foundation, Hall Family Foundation, Capitol Federal, Sutherland Foundation and the William T. Kemper Foundation.
The largest gift so far to the campaign is the UG, which has pledged $6 million as a matching gift, if the Y can raise $6 million.
Byrd said the original feasibility study said about $3 million could be raised, which has been far exceeded. “I’m confident within the next few gaps, we’ll be well within closing the gap,” he said.
In the next 60 to 90 days, there will be a community campaign with an opportunity for smaller contributors to give toward the Y, he said. New market tax credits are expected to provide the ending boost for the rest of the funding needed.
A new YMCA building is proposed for downtown Kansas City, Kansas, as part of the Healthy Campus project.
The system failed her 7-year-old grandson, a grandmother said today about the Adrian Jones case.
Adrian was the 7-year-old whose body was discovered in a barn or shed at a rural Wyandotte County address on 99th Street in November 2015. His remains were allegedly partly consumed by pigs. He was the victim of what authorities here called the worst child abuse case they had ever seen.
Adrian’s father and stepmother pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the case. The stepmother, Heather Jones, received a life in prison, 29-year sentence. Michael A. Jones, Adrian’s father, may be sentenced Wednesday, May 3, in Wyandotte County District Court, and is expected to receive a life in prison “hard 25”-year sentence.
Judy Conway of Emporia, Kan., the grandmother of Adrian, said today that she didn’t think 25 years in prison was enough.
Michael A. Jones
The day that Mike Jones, a former bail bondsman, pleaded guilty, Conway was relieved about not having to go through the trial, but she was “really upset about it” – that she wasn’t called in advance that day for her feelings about the plea agreement. “I should not have found out from a reporter after it was tweeted out,” she said. She added she thought a “hard 50” sentence would have been better for him, and she also thought Heather Jones should have received a longer sentence.
Mike Jones, 46, could be released in his early 70s if he served 25 years in prison, she said.
“I’m hoping as a family we will be notified when he’s up for parole,” Conway said. “I don’t think he should ever get out.”
Conway said the Department for Children and Families and the entire system failed Adrian. She said child social welfare authorities here in Kansas and in other states had received reports about Adrian being abused. The Jones family lived in Wyandotte County only a year or less before Adrian’s death, she said.
Conway criticized the DCF for sealing all the records shortly after Adrian’s death, and said she was not able to have access to the records. She said they were told the records would not be available until after the sentencing was over.
“We want all the records, and we feel as a family we should have had access to those records from the very beginning,” Conway said.
Conway has lobbied state legislators to get more oversight of home schools. Adrian was home-schooled, and Conway believes that the state should be checking on these children. Although most home-schooled children are not abused, there may be a few, and that is why the state should remain vigilant. She believes the state should do a background check for high-risk children.
Conway said the Jones family had 32 surveillance cameras inside their home, and there was video evidence of abuse against Adrian. Conway said there was a video of Adrian being hit with a broom. Conway said there was a text message from Heather Jones’ phone with a screenshot of Adrian being strapped to an inversion table, his hands and feet bound, and tape over his eyes.
Heather Jones
“In my eyes as a grandmother … they are equally responsible,” Conway said. “I never thought in a million years Mike would ever do anything to hurt his kids. I was entirely wrong.”
The late Detective Brad Lancaster was working on the Adrian Jones case at the time of Lancaster’s death in a carjacking near the Hollywood Casino last year.
“Detective Lancaster had made a promise that whatever happened, he would find justice for Adrian,” Conway said.
Conway said she had tried to see her grandchildren when Mike and Heather Jones had custody, but she was told by Heather that she could not see them. When the grandchildren were out of state, there was nothing she could do, she said.
Since the tragedy, Conway has found that abuse victims are often isolated. She believes home-schooling is part of the isolation for such victims.
In the Adrian Jones case, despite multiple reports of child abuse to state agencies, not enough action was taken in time to save him from death.
