Month: August 2018

Dark money TV ad draws Democrats’ comments

Today some candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District, spoke out against dark money going into a television ad that criticizes candidate Brent Welder.

What irked the Democratic candidates was an ad from a group called “Ending Spending, Inc.” that is running a TV ad critical of Welder, saying he is “too progressive.” Almost $160,000 was spent on the TV ad, and it was traced to a political action committee that received contributions from Joe Ricketts, a billionaire who backed Donald Trump, according to the Democrats.

Democratic candidates Sharice Davids and Tom Niermann issued a statement on the dark money ad:

“Kevin Yoder and the Republicans are clearly worried about his re-election. Yoder decided a long time ago to vote with party leaders instead of his community, counting on billionaires to bail out his campaign when he faces tough challengers, as he does now. He has now gone yet another bridge too far – calling in Republican dark money to elevate an opponent of his choosing, rather than answer to his constituents for his egregious votes. We condemn Republicans’ undemocratic meddling in the Democratic primary, and urge 3rd District voters not to fall for Kevin Yoder’s continued schemes.”

Shawn Borich, the campaign manager for Brent Welder, the target of the dark money ad, stated, “Brent Welder is the only Democrat beating Congressman Yoder in public polling and has raised more money than any Democratic challenger in the history of our district. Brent is proud to have worked for President Barack Obama who took on the Wall Street bankers behind this Super PAC.”

Candidate Sylvia Williams’ statement: “All the candidates in this race have pledged publicly to not take third party outside money in the primary. My campaign has stood by our commitment to the voters. I have concerns about the amount of outside money flowing into this race to influence the outcome of the primary election. Anything you see about my campaign that has my name on it has been paid for by the Sylvia Williams for Congress campaign. “

From Mike McCamon, a Democratic candidate: “Everyone tells me they’re tired of the money in politics. Working families know that hard work gets the best results and I was disappointed to hear rich people outside of Kansas are trying to buy our election.”

“It’s obvious that Kevin Yoder and the Republicans are worried about this election, and I think they should be, because this is an election where they’re facing a pretty significant challenge,” said Tom Niermann, who is running for the 3rd District seat. In this instance, Yoder has gone too far, Niermann said.

The primary election is Aug. 7.

McDonald’s owners donating 3,000 backpacks to the Back-to-School Fair Saturday

Students attending the Back-to-School Fair on Saturday at Kansas City Kansas Community College will receive backpacks this year, in addition to school supplies.

It’s been about five years since the event included backpacks. At the Back-to-School Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at KCKCC, 7250 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, there will be free school supplies, free immunizations, physical exams, free student haircuts, free vision screenings and glasses, free dental screening, free snacks and access to community resources for students who live in Wyandotte County.

McDonald’s owners and operators have donated 3,000 backpacks to this event, said Lisa Essig, the owner-operator of McDonald’s restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri, the Liberty, Missouri, area and in Bethany, Missouri.

“It’s really just a way for us to give back to the community, especially at this time of year,” Essig said. Parents have a lot to handle at this time of year, and “we want to be a good neighbor,” she said.

About 138 McDonald’s restaurants in the Kansas City area joined together on this project, with the help of the Trozzolo public relations firm, she said.

Besides the backpack project, the McDonald’s co-op does a lot of work with the Ronald McDonald House, she said.

In addition, the restaurants sponsor McTeacher Night, where teachers from a sponsor school come into the local restaurant, and the restaurant donates proceeds from the dinner sales to the school’s project, she said.

Many of the McDonald’s restaurants also participate in “Coffee with a Cop” to help law enforcement with community outreach, she said.

Many volunteers are working on the Back-to-School Fair through the United Way.

Students who attend public and private schools may attend the fair. Parents must provide proof of residence in Wyandotte County. Parents are required to bring their children. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/WyandotteCountyBackToSchoolFair/.

T-Bones thrash Canaries, 9-5

The Kansas City T-Bones started slow, but stormed back to take out the Sioux Falls Canaries 9-5 to sweep the three game series on Thursday.

After trailing by three runs in the first, the T-Bones offense erupted for 15 hits and nine runs. Noah Perio Jr. was the catalyst for Kansas City, going three for four with four RBIs on the night.

With one out, Mason Davis advanced to first on a single and later reached second due to a pitching error. Todd Cunningham hit a fly out to center field that helped advance Davis to third.

With two outs, John Straka sailed a pitcher to the backstop allowing Davis to charge home from third to score the first run of the game. Kansas City took a one-run lead to the bottom half of the first.

The Canaries bounced back in a big way, scoring four first-inning runs of their own. Mike Hart and Jabari Henry started the four-run inning with a pair of singles to put runners at first and second with one out.

Chris Grayson put Sioux Falls on the board slicing an RBI single scoring Hart and advancing Henry to second. A wild pitch to Jordan Dean send Henry to third and Grayson to second, putting both runners in scoring position. Dean kept the line moving for the Canaries, hitting another single, allowing Henry and Grayson to score. Dean later went on to score on a 6-3 out, putting the Canaries up 4-1 after an exciting first inning.

Back-to-back walks by Cunningham and Colin Walsh started the scoring threat for Kansas City in the third inning. Perio knocked a single to load the bases for Alay Lago with no outs. Lago sliced a single that scored Cunningham from third, cutting into the Canaries lead at 4-2.

In the top of the fifth, Cunningham hit a single to start an explosive inning. Colin Walsh hit a double to put runners on second and third to put Kansas City in scoring position. Perio Jr. hit a single for the third consecutive hit, scoring Cunningham and sending Walsh to third. With two runners on, Keith Curcio crushes a bases clearing home run to take the lead from the Canaries, 6-4.

Sioux Falls was able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the fifth. Jordan Smith hit a single to advance to first. He stole second and reached third on an error by the catcher. Smith scored on a sacrifice fly by Mitch Glasser to put the Canaries within a run of Kansas City.

Crucial walks by Sioux Falls in the eighth helped the T-Bones run away with the game. Dylan Tice reached first on a walk, but was later put out after Davis hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Back-to-back walks to Cunningham and Walsh set up Perio Jr for a three-run home run to extend the lead to 9-4 heading into the ninth.

The Canaries fought hard, scoring a late inning run, but were taken out by the T-Bones by a final score of 9-5.

Despite a rough first inning, Barret Astin (8-3) settled down and is credited with his team-best eighth win on the season. Astin pitched six innings allowing five runs on seven hits. John Straka (1-4) pitched four and two-thirds innings allowing six runs, five earned on 12 hits. Straka is credited as the losing pitcher.

After the win, Kansas City wins their third straight game improving to 46-23 on the season. The T-Bones sit firmly in second place in the South Division, 6.5 games behind the league’s best Sioux City Explorers (53-17). The Canaries lost their eighth straight game and fell to 26-43 on the season. Sioux Falls is in last place in the North Division, 14.5 games back of the first place Gary SouthShore RailCats (40-28).

The T-Bones completed the series sweep of the Canaries and headed to St. Paul for a three-game series with the third place Saints at 7:05 p.m. Friday at CHS Field.

The game can be heard on the T-Bones Broadcast Network on MixLR at http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

Season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium. Call the box office at 913-328-5618 or purchase and print at www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
– Story from T-Bones