The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities has a new Community Solar Farm Program opportunity available to residential customers in the Kansas City, Kansas, community.
To explain how this affordable program can benefit area households, BPU will hold a free Community Solar Seminar on Monday, March 19.
The seminar will be held at West Wyandotte Public Library, 1737 N. 82nd St., Kansas City, Kansas. Two sessions will be offered, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Senior Vice President of Project Development Loren Williamson and Solar Developer Lindsay Case from MC Power Companies will address how community solar works, basic costs, utility bill credits, and how residents can access solar energy and avoid installation and maintenance.
BPU’s David Allen and Andrew Ferris will also provide assistance to those interested in leasing solar panels.
Participants can look forward to learning about these topics:
• How solar panels supply electricity to the average household
• The benefits of Community Solar versus Rooftop Solar Systems
• What participants can expect when they sign up to participate
BPU customers owning or renting a home or apartment are invited to attend. To reserve seating for the 4 p.m. or 6 p.m. session, contact David Allen at 913-573-9922 or [email protected].
– Story from David Mehlhaff, BPU chief communications officer
Kansas City Kansas Community College will begin its final season in NJCAA Division II golf this spring playing some of the best courses in the Midwest.
KCKCC and the other Division II members of the Jayhawk Conference – Allen County, Coffeyville and Independence – are leaving that division to return to Division I next fall.
The decision to make the move came as a result of the NJCAA sending such southern powers as Tyler, Texas, and Oklahoma behemoths Murray State and Seminole to the upper Midwest in order to avoid going up against Sun Belt powers in Mississippi and Alabama.
The Blue Devils will open the season in the Ottawa Spring Invitational at Eagle Bend near Lawrence March 12-13 and a Spring Warm-up event at Patricia Island in Oklahoma March 15-16 before embarking on a schedule that will take them to Mazingo in Maryville, Missouri; Colbert Hills in Manhattan; Terradyne and Auburn Hills in Wichita; Sand Creek in Newton and Hesston before the district tourney in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
“A good schedule,” said veteran KCKCC coach Gary Shrader. “All the tournaments we’ll play are on quality golf courses.”
The Blue Devils will be led by Micah Morris, who became the first Blue Devil to win a Jayhawk Conference designated tournament in 10 years at Colbert Hills last spring; and Bobby Armstrong, who qualified for the 2017 NJCAA Division II national tournament.
A native of Coyle, Oklahoma, where he was home-schooled, Morris was named to the All-Jayhawk first team. He also finished runnerup in the 2017 Wyandotte County Open. Armstrong, who graduated from Bishop Carroll in Wichita, was named to the All-Jayhawk second team.
They’re joined by one other sophomore, Trevor Bauer, a Wichita Maize South grad who transferred from Hutchinson; and three freshmen, 2017 Kansas Class A state champion Evin Wheaton of Leavenworth; Zach Miller of Greeley; and Harry Welsh, a University of Kansas transfer from Olathe Northwest.
The Blue Devils’ best finishes last fall were a second in the Ottawa Fall Invitational and thirds in the Missouri Valley and KCKCC Invitational at Dub’s Dread.
“We played some really tough competition in tournaments loaded with strong NAIA power conferences,” Shrader said. “William Woods placed fourth in the national last year and Lindenwood, Park University, Hannibal-LaGrange, Rockhurst and others were in the same field in five of the seven tournaments in which we played.”
In addition to Morris and Armstrong, Bauer played in all seven tournaments last fall while Wheaton and Miller each missed one. Because of his schedule in engineering, Welsh played in just three meets.
“Micah Morris is going to have a good year this year,” Shrader said. “Bobby Armstrong is very steady. I can always count on him coming in with a good team score. Wheaton was a pleasant surprise in the fall; one bad round kept him out of the regional tournament. We’re going to need to get good performances from Bauer and Miller. Bauer, who shot a 68 at Eagle Bend, is much better than he’s played and Miller needs to keep the ball in play and cut back on the number of putts he takes. As always, the key is to keep the ball in play and use good course management.”
Kansas City Kansas Community College
2018 golf schedule
March 12-13 – Ottawa Spring Invitational (Eagle Bend, Lawrence)
March 15-16 – Spring Warmup (Patricia Island, Oklahoma)
March 23-24 – Graceland Invitational (Mazingo GC, Maryville, Missouri)
March 25-26 – Jayhawk Designated (Colbert Hills, Manhattan)
March 29 – Practice round (Terradyne CC, Wichita)
April 7-8 – Bethel Invitational (Hesston and Sand Creek)
April 9 – Jayhawk Invitational (Terradyne CC, Wichita)
April 15-17 – Jayhawk Championship (Auburn Hills, Wichita)
May 6-8 – NJCAA District (Indian Springs, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma)
May 21-24 – NJCAA Division II National Tournament (Glenlakes, Foley, Alabama)
It has been a very busy week at the Capitol with committees hearing and working Senate bills as well as House bills that have been blessed or remained alive after turnaround.
I continue to push for HB 2185, which would restore local control for prevailing wage, to be worked by committee this session. A message was sent to the individuals that signed the prevailing wage bill petition urging them to contact members of the committee.
Research shows that prevailing-wage laws support a highly skilled and safe construction workforce that more cost-effective delivers construction projects and improves the overall economic health of our communities. There is still time to work HB 2185 during this Legislative Session. You can help by contacting members of the House Commerce, Labor, and Economic Development Committee and urge them to work and support HB 2185. (http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2017_18/committees/ctte_h_cmrce_lbr_1/)
In the House Government Technology and Security Committee this week we heard a presentation from the Kansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Part of their work includes educating consumers on their data privacy rights and how to protect themselves from becoming victims of identity theft.
The consumer protection website, www.InYourCornerKansas.org, offers tips to help consumers protect their digital information as well as other consumer protection information.
It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I both value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 452-S, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at 785-296-7430 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can e-mail me at [email protected].
No plan for school funding
The Kansas Supreme Court issued its Gannon ruling declaring the 2017 school funding plan unconstitutional on October 2nd of last year. That was 158 days ago. The legislature has had six full months to act on a new plan that will fund our schools equitably and adequately – knowing for these full six months that we have a deadline of April 30, 2018.
Friday, March 9, was the 56th day of the 2018 legislative session. The Legislature still has no plan to address the Gannon ruling. Republican leadership must stop playing games and do their jobs – we must act now to fund our schools. The Kansas Supreme Court will rule on June 30 whether or not the new school funding plan meets its requirements.
Kansans overwhelmingly support more funding for our schools. Recent polling has shown that 85 percent of Kansan’s are concerned about the level of spending in our schools. We must invest in our children and in our public schools to provide the resources for students to succeed. We must ensure that children – no matter where they live – have good teachers and access to a quality education.
Due process restored for teachers
Due process was stripped from teachers in 2014; the restoration of this practice ensures that educators are guaranteed a fair termination process. There is currently a major teacher shortage in the state. Due process is a good tool to recruit and keep quality teachers in our schools.
In good news for schools, the House debated a due process bill for teachers in Kansas. Thursday, that due process bill (HB 2757) passed the House on final action. It now goes to the Senate to be debated and voted upon.
This is an important advancement for Kansas public schools in a time of uncertainty.
Anti-bullying bill passes House
The anti-bullying bill that was passed through the House this week will address bullying, cyber-bullying, and harassment within schools in order to better protect both students and teachers.
The bill (HB 2758) will require that all school districts put in place an official procedure for reporting bullying, cyber-bullying, or harassment, with the opportunity to report these incidents anonymously should the victim choose.
The bill also requires each school district to have a plan on file with the State Department of Education that includes consequences and appropriate remedial action for anyone who commits the act of bullying, cyber-bullying, or harassment.
This week on the House floor
This week, the House worked and passed the following bills on the floor:
HB 2416: This bill would enact a new income tax credit for tax years 2018-2022 equivalent to 15 percent of expenditures on goods and services purchased from qualified vendors or non-profit certified businesses providing a certain level of health insurance benefits and having at least 30 percent of their employees be resident Kansans with disabilities.
HB 2606: This bill would specify vision test requirements for qualifying applicants for electronic online driver’s license renewal.
HB 2757: This bill would amend law concerning teachers’ due process procedures when such teachers receive notice their contracts will be terminated or non-renewed.
HB 2758: This bill would amend law governing school district bullying plans. The bill would amend the required contents of such plans to include consequences and appropriate remedial action for a person who commits an act of bullying, harassment, or cyberbullying.
Sub HB 2572: This bill would require the Department of Commerce to establish a database for disclosing information on economic development incentive programs, which would be defined to include certain income tax credits and locally-granted property tax exemptions in addition to various programs administered directly by the department.
SB 405: This bill would amend law that esta blishes the number of animals permitted in a confined animal feeding facility. Under continuing law, a facility is required to register with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment if the facility has an animal unit capacity of 300 or more.
Resources
My Legislative Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/PamCurtisKCK/
My Twitter Account, https://twitter.com/pcurtiskck
My Website, http://www.curtisforkck.com/?utm_campaign=2018ksleg7&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pamcurtis
Kansas Legislature Website, http://kslegislature.org/li/
Rep. Pam Curtis represents the 32nd District in Kansas City, Kansas.
