Three ranked teams in KCKCC volleyball invitational Friday, Saturday

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Some of the best college volleyball in the Midwest will be on display Friday and Saturday when Kansas City Kansas Community College holds its annual invitational tournament.

Three nationally ranked teams – No. 6 Coffeyville, No. 13 Cowley College and No. 18 Iowa Central – are in the 8-team invitational that will tip off. Friday. Sixteen matches are scheduled with continuous action starting at 11 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.

KCKCC, which plays at Coffeyville Wednesday, will open against Southwestern Iowa at 1 p.m. Friday and then will take on Iowa Central at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Blue Devils will play Southeast Nebraska at 11 a.m. and Labette at 3 p.m. The tournament schedule:

Friday Games
11 a.m. – Labette vs. Southeast Nebraska; Cowley vs. Longview.
1 p.m. – KCKCC vs. Southwestern Iowa; Iowa Central vs. Coffeyville.
3 p.m. – Longview vs. Southeast Nebraska; Cowley vs. Labette.
5 p.m. – KCKCC vs. Iowa Central; Coffeyville vs. Southwestern Iowa.

Saturday Games
9 a.m. – Southwestern Iowa vs. Cowley; Longview vs. Iowa Central.
11 a.m. – KCKCC vs. Southeast Nebraska; Longview vs. Coffeyville.
1 p.m. – Iowa Central vs. Cowley; Labette vs. Southwestern Iowa.
3 p.m. – KCKCC vs. Labette; Southeast Nebraska vs. Coffeyville.

Amid opposition to Tyson plant, Leavenworth County board drops support for bonds

by Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service

The Leavenworth County Commission on Monday morning backed off its support for a controversial chicken processing plant, throwing the future of the massive project into doubt.

The commission voted 2-1 on a motion by Clyde Graeber to formally rescind a resolution that would have paved the way for $500 million in bonds to be issued for construction of the Tyson Foods plant near the Leavenworth County town of more than 5,000. Graeber unexpectedly resigned, effective Sept. 28, at the conclusion of the meeting, citing health problems.

Bob Holland, the dissenting vote Monday, had visited a Tyson facility and is the only one of the three to have had contact with the company.

Commission Chairman Doug Smith said, though the county has preliminary agreements with Atlas Energy with Suburban Water to supply utilities to the plant, the developers have not yet applied for the needed rezoning of the proposed site.

“It was announced everyone (would) start building in 90 days and they have not been to zoning,” Smith said.

It could be December before any county rezoning application could come up for approval. The commission promised future consideration of permits or incentives for the Tyson plant would be held in open session.

The shift comes after a heated town hall meeting held Friday by several Kansas lawmakers in Tonganoxie that drew more than 2,000 people.

State Rep. Willie Dove, a Bonner Springs Republican, said Monday that residents are frustrated, in part, because Tyson and local officials involved in the proposal have not been transparent.

“They deserve some answers,” he said. “And this is how people react when they don’t have enough answers to a particular question they keep asking over and over.”

State and local officials had put the deal together for the chicken plant without public input before Gov. Sam Brownback unveiled it earlier this month.

It’s unclear if Tyson will move forward without the promise of the county bonds.

Before Friday’s town hall meeting at a Tonganoxie park, the three host legislators said they weren’t taking a position on the plan until they had more information.

But during the meeting they heard a steady stream of concerns about issues, including odors and pollution.

“It means for at least 10 years and longer, our culture in this area will revolve around chicken farms and low-paying jobs. Is that the best you can do in our area?” one woman said from the stage to cheers from the people gathered.

No one at Friday’s meeting spoke in favor of the plan, and the outpouring of opposition caused Dove and the other two host lawmakers to announce they were taking a stand. The legislators said at the end of Friday’s meeting that they were now firmly against the plant.

“We were patiently waiting for someone in the crowd to come up and say something about this, that they thought it was a good thing. No one came forward,” Dove said.

Dove and the other lawmakers on the panel said they have concerns about a lack of transparency in the development of the proposal. The plan, including state and local economic incentives, was drafted behind closed doors and made public at an event earlier this month.

“It didn’t seem like something that was properly done in the first place,” Dove said.

Republican Rep. Jim Karleskint of Tonganoxie said he’s heard concerns from people that the project can’t be stopped at this stage.

“Many of you fear this is a done deal, we don’t have any choice. Folks, we do have a choice,” Karleskint said, which elicited cheers from the crowd.

The lawmakers disagreed on what their role could be. Dove said they don’t have authority in the process and the next steps to approve the plant would be made at the county level.

However, Democratic Sen. Tom Holland of Baldwin City said if the plan is not stopped at the county level, he’ll consider legislation to block state incentives for the plant or to give local residents more say.

“I understand that Kansas is an agricultural state, and agriculture drives the business here,” Holland said. “However, we need to be sensitive as state lawmakers to communities’ wishes. Tonganoxie has literally gotten run over.”

The facility would produce trays of chicken to be sold at grocery stores. Tyson officials say the plant would employ 1,600 people and process more than 1 million birds per week.

When the plan was announced, Brownback hailed the project as important economic development and said it was “a great day for Kansas.”

“Growing Kansas means we must grow the food and agriculture sector, which accounts for nearly 45 percent of the state’s economy,” Brownback said at the time. “This is a step in the right direction to further diversify and grow our state’s economy.”

Kyle Palmer and Amy Jeffries of KCUR contributed to this report.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/amid-opposition-tyson-plant-leavenworth-county-board-drops-support-bonds.

Today’s weather: Foggy, rainy start to day

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected Tuesday morning and afternoon. (National Weather Service graphic)

Fog and rain were in the Tuesday morning forecast from the National Weather Service.

Visibility was expected to be limited to a quarter-mile in some areas this morning, the weather service said.

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms will move through eastern Kansas through the morning and early afternoon, according to the weather service. No severe weather is expected with it.

Another round of storms will be possible Wednesday evening, the weather service said. Some of those storms could be strong with small hail and gusty winds being the primary concerns.

Today’s high will be near 87, with a south southeast wind of 6 to 14 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, the weather service said. There is a 20 percent chance of precipitation.

Tonight, expect mostly clear skies with a low of 74, and a south southeast wind of 13 to 15 mph, gusting as high as 22 mph, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 87, the weather service said, and a southwest wind of 6 to 13 mph.

Wednesday night, there will be a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 72, according to the weather service. A light and variable wind will become east around 6 mph in the evening. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.

Thursday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 89 and a south wind of 6 to 11 mph, the weather service said.

Thursday night, the low will be around 72 with mostly clear skies, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be sunny with a high near 89, the weather service said.

Friday night, the low will be around 70 with mostly clear skies, according to the weather service.

Saturday’s forecast is sunny with a high near 87, the weather service said.

Saturday night, expect a low of 68 with partly cloudy skies, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 84, the weather service said.

For more information, visit https://www.weather.gov/eax/hwo.

A dense fog advisory was in effect Tuesday morning. (National Weather Service graphic)

A few strong storms are possible Wednesday evening. (National Weather Service graphic)