Month: September 2017

BPU crews assisting storm victims in southeast U.S.

Four Board of Public Utilities linemen are among about 30 electric linemen from Kansas who are on a mutual aid trip to Florida. (Photo from Kansas Municipal Utilities)

Two crews from the Board of Public Utilities have joined line crews on their way from Kansas to Florida, according to Board of Public Utilities spokesman David Mehlhaff.

The four linemen from the BPU are also bringing two BPU trucks to assist in the disaster relief work, he said. About 30 total linemen left Kansas for Florida on Thursday.

Florida is in the path of Hurricane Irma, a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, and there are also two other hurricanes currently south of the United States.

When the BPU staff last talked to the crews, they were in Atlanta, Ga., and were working their way to Orlando, Fla., where they will connect with a public utility and be sent out to whatever area needs them, Mehlhaff said. They might be gone as long as 10 days or less, he added.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency reached out to a national public utilities organization this week, asking for emergency crews to be sent to Florida, he said.

“It looks like they’re (Florida residents) going to get hammered, based on what weather experts are predicting,” Mehlhaff said. “We sent them off, told them to be safe.”

Sometimes mutual aid crews are requested in advance of a hurricane if it appears to be severe. Some parts of Florida are being evacuated in advance of Irma. The BPU crews are responding through the Kansas Mutual Aid for Utilities.

So many utility crews had already converged on Texas last week that the BPU was not needed in that emergency effort, according to Mehlhaff.

It is common for utilities to assist each other in times of emergencies, he added. Other states are also sending utility crews to Florida.

Other crews and contractors from Kansas came to Kansas City, Kansas, to assist after a storm this summer, he said, and during last summer’s big storm, crews came in to help from the Omaha area as a part of a mutual aid agreement among public utilities.

Hurricane Irma is headed for Florida, according to this graphic from the National Weather Service. Hurricane Jose is nearing the Leeward Islands, while Hurricane Katia may hit Mexico. (National Weather Service graphic)

Annual Library in the Park festival to feature bands, free tacos and free books on Saturday

The Library in the Park event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Big 11 Lake in Kansas City, Kansas. This is a photo of one of the past Library in the Park events. (File photo by Mary Rupert)

by Mary Rupert

Three bands, free tacos and free books for kids are just a few of the highlights of the third annual Library in the Park event planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Big 11 Lake, 11th and State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas.

A guest appearance by children’s author Katheryn Russell-Brown has been canceled. The author was to have flown in from Florida, where there is a hurricane, and her flight was canceled because of the weather, said Kim Woolery, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library spokeswoman.

Woolery said the event still will include a book giveaway of the children’s book, “Little Melba and Her Big Trombone,” by Russell-Brown. Five hundred copies of the book will be given away to children at the event Saturday. The book is about Melba Liston, a Kansas City jazz musician.

In addition, the Kansas City Symphony will bring its musical petting zoo to the event for children to explore musical instruments.

As in past years, the event includes a taco contest, where those attending may sample free tacos from five different taco restaurants and then vote on their favorite, Woolery said. The free tacos will be served starting at 10 a.m. Free bottled water will be provided. Participating taquerias will include Bonito Michoacan, Carniceria la Siete, Don Antonio’s, El Jefe’s and Ninfa’s.

Library in the Park also will be providing frozen custard from Sheridan’s.

Other attractions will include a balloon artist and face painter. “Everything is free – all activities, tacos, all free,” Woolery said.

Bands that are scheduled to perform include AY Musik, the master of ceremonies; The Project H, La Mafia Nortena and The Phantastics.

New this year to the festival is a big tent that will have on display the best movies, music and television shows that the library staff recommends, she said.

The most interesting aspect of the festival is that people will be able to do a lot of things, she said.

The mobile library will be stationed at the festival, and people will be able to check out books, access the computers and internet, sign up for library cards, talk about the library’s online products and ecommunity, use their library cards and stream movies on their phones and audio books, Woolery said.

The purpose of the festival is to reach out to the community.

“It’s just for us to get our services out into the community and let the community know what we do, and give them another experience,” Woolery said, “and sign up for a library card and check out items. It’s a way for us to celebrate the library and community.”

Woolery urged residents to come out to the park and enjoy the music and nice weather.

Dash KCK and the 5k run will be held prior to the Library in the Park event. The Dash KCK starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with the Downtown Shareholders as sponsors, Woolery said. It is based at the nearby JFK Community Center, which has recently changed its name to the Beatrice Lee Community Center, at 1310 N. 10th St. (10th and State Avenue).

For more information, see libraryinthepark.org.

The Dash KCK and 5k run will be held prior to the Library in the Park event, at the nearby community center at 10th and State. This is a photo from a previous year’s event. (File photo by Mary Rupert)