Month: October 2018

Promoting kindness a theme of Turner Days this weekend

The theme of Turner Days this year is “Go Blue: A Community United to Promote Kindness.” The Turner Days 5k run and the mud volleyball tournament will benefit the families of two slain Wyandotte County deputies, according to event organizers.

The 5k run starts at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Turner Days, and the mud volleyball tournament will be on Saturday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 14.

They are two of the many events scheduled for Turner Days this year, according to Vikki Mullins, publicity chair of the event.

The annual Turner Days this weekend will be held rain or shine, she said. The weather forecast for Saturday currently calls for sunshine and a high of 58, while rain is possible on Sunday.

The annual Turner Days parade is scheduled at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the festival following until 5 p.m. On Sunday, the festival continues, and there will also be a car show, she said.

Mullins anticipates about 2,000 people at Turner Days this year, and attendance could be affected by the weather, she added.

The 5k run and the mud volleyball tournament are sponsored by Turner Recreation Commission, she said, and there is a cost to enter both. Same-day registration is possible for the 5k run, while the mud volleyball tournament registration has already closed.

Proceeds from the other activities at Turner Days go back to the Turner Days group to pay for next year’s events, and also are used for other community activities during the year, as well as scholarships, Mullins said.

The grand marshal of Turner Days this year is Mayor David Alvey, who grew up in the Turner community, she said.

The event also will include craft and food booths and entertainment, she said. There will be activities for kids, also.

Most of the activities of Turner Days take place at Steineger Field at 58th and Metropolitan, Kansas City, Kansas. Turner Days is open to the public and there is no admission charge at the gate, although some activities such as the 5k run have a fee, and concessions will be for sale.

Turner High School’s homecoming is tonight at 7 p.m. at Turner stadium.

At 9:30 a.m. Saturday, South 55th Street will be blocked off for the Turner Days parade, which begins at 10 a.m. The parade route is north on South 55th Street from Douglas to Inland.

Booths at the festival will open after the parade. Parade awards are scheduled at 1 p.m. Lil Mister and Miss Turner, and Walk of Fame inductees will be recognized.

Mud volleyball games, adult division, begin at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Saturday schedule also includes Tim Bright, 2 p.m.; Dennis Chanay, 2:20 p.m.; Silver Streak, 3 p.m.; and Wyatt Huyett, 4 p.m.

The car show registration opens at 8 a.m. Sunday and closes at noon. Car show awards will be at 2:30 p.m. There also is a silent auction. The car show will end at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Scheduled on Sunday at 9 a.m. is an Olive Branch Ministries Service, and at 10:30 a.m., a Risen Lamb Church service.

Mud volleyball, high school division, is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Turner schools will provide music at 1:15 p.m. Sunday, by fourth grade music classes; and at 1:45 p.m. by the Turner Sixth Grade Academy Singers. The Turner High School Drama Department performance is scheduled at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Kansas City Tsuruoka Karate is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Booths will close at 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information on the Turner Days event, visit https://www.facebook.com/turnerdaysofficial/.

BPU employees to compete Saturday in Lineman’s Rodeo at Ag Hall

Five linemen from the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will compete against hundreds of other utility workers from across the nation and as far away as Canada, Hawaii and the United Kingdom at the 35th Annual International Lineman’s Rodeo in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

The linemen will test their professional and trade skills in a unique competition that is open to the public.

Thousands of utility professionals are in town for an annual trade show and expo in Overland Park, Kansas, with the highlight being the “Lineman’s Rodeo,” a series of competitions testing various lineman skills and safety techniques.

BPU will be represented by Eric Ferguson, David Shore, David Westfall, Jake Janes and Trenton Overton this year, competing against more than 1,000 linemen representing over 230 teams from various private and municipal utilities

The rodeo competition will occur on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, kicking off at 7 a.m. Team and apprentice events will include The Hurtman Rescue, the Pole Climb, and several mystery events.

An Awards Banquet will be held at the Overland Park Convention Center at 7 p.m. that evening.

The International Lineman’s Rodeo was first held in 1984, and was created to maintain a focus on safety and safe work practices and to recognize the technical craft skills of utility lineman. One other purpose has always been for the participants to have fun while sharing work knowledge with others in their trade from different companies and different parts of the country. Go to www.linemansrodeokc.com for more information about this event.

KCKCC to raise scholarships for future dual and concurrent high school students

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC

Plans are underway for Kansas City Kansas Community College’s first Scholarship Craft Fair, which will help raise money for high school students wishing to take dual and concurrent courses at the college.

The Craft Fair will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in Upper Jewell on the KCKCC Main Campus, 7250 State Ave. There is no entrance fee for the event, and the public is welcome to attend.

The Craft Fair was created to raise scholarship funds to give to future KCKCC high school students in dual and concurrent enrollment classes, which are often held at the student’s home high school.

Mary Kobe Peterson, high school partnership coordinator at KCKCC; Lindsey Bruns, high school partnership admissions specialist at KCKCC and Andrica Wilcoxen, director of student activities, recognized a need to assist students who would like to attend college while in high school but did not have the funds. With the help of a community member, Vicki Davis, the committee put everything in place.

“I thought this would be a fun way to raise funds and also involve our community,” Peterson said. “We hope to make this a bigger event as we grow.”

KCKCC serves 13 high schools in the Wyandotte and Leavenworth county area. The Concurrent Enrollment Partnership Program provides secondary schools with the opportunity to expand their curriculum by scheduling KCKCC courses in conjunction with their regular class offerings. Students have the advantage of taking their classes at the high school.

Courses taught at the high school have identical course content to that of courses being offered at KCKCC and are evaluated by an instructional dean at the college before being implemented at the high school. Faculty are evaluated and must meet the same criteria as instructors who teach on campus.

Due to financial need, many high school students and their families struggle to come up with the funds to take college courses. KCKCC wants to provide a solution to help students and their families by providing scholarships for these students to attend KCKCC. All funds raised from the Craft Fair will go directly to the Dual-Concurrent Students Scholarship fund.

There will be more than 30 vendors selling items for the holidays as well as Kansas City Chiefs items, food and more. The most important part of the Craft Fair is that all of the proceeds go to help future KCKCC Dual and Concurrent High School Students.

Students interested in participating in the Concurrent Enrollment Partnership Program may contact their high school counselor for additional information and details on the enrollment process.

For more information on the Scholarship Craft Fair, Contact Peterson at 913-288-7324 or by email at mkobe@kckcc.edu.