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KCKCC 3-point record holder Cam Swanson to Central Missouri

Team captain Camryn Swanson closed out her Kansas City Kansas Community College career by cutting down nets three times – the regional championship, national championship and a celebratory net cutting at a student welcome home reception. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

First a national championship, now a dream destination.

After helping Kansas City Kansas Community College win the 2019 NJCAA DII women’s national championship, Camryn Swanson will continue her basketball career at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) in Warrensburg.

“I’ve always wanted to play in that conference (MIAA) since high school,” said Swanson, a graduate of Blue Springs High School. “That was my goal and everything just fell into place. A couple of other schools were interested but nothing that I was interested in.”

Swanson will be joined at UCM by her roommate and best friend, Nija Collier, the NJCAA DII Player of the Year for 2019.

“Nija and I went down for a visit about two weeks ago and we loved it,” Swanson said. “It’s perfect, it’s one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the country. We knew right away we were going to commit.”

KCKCC’s national championship, its second in four years, was also a factor in the decision.

“We want to win another one,” Swanson said. Central Missouri won the NCAA DII national championship in 2018 and was ranked 23rd nationally this past season before being eliminated by a 3-point shot at the horn in tournament play. Finishing 25-7, the Jennies have had only two losing seasons in 36 years.

What the Jennies will be getting in Swanson is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in KCKCC history. Her 87 3-pointers this season are an all-time best and her 128 over her 2-year career ties her for the all-time best. Swanson had 11 games with four or more threes including one game of seven that is second best at KCKCC and another of six games. Playing in all 36 games, she averaged 8.6 points.

In the national tournament in Harrison, Arkansas, Swanson had five 3-pointers in the Blue Devils’ 82-68 win over Pima (Arizona) to get KCKCC to the semifinals. She added a trio of threes and 11 points in the championship game as the Blue Devils (32-4) destroyed Union County (N.J.) 84-59.

“Getting subbed out with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter of the national championship game and coming to the bench looking at all the sophomores I started this journey with was the most bittersweet moment I’ve ever had,” Swanson said. “Kisi (Young) and Nija are my best friends and knowing that was the last time we’ll ever play together in a game was tough. However, I couldn’t feel more blessed from this experience. All of us sophomores have a special bond, one that will last a lifetime and for that I’m grateful.”

Winning the national championship was far easier than getting to the national tourney. The Blue Devils led every game in the national by at least 20 points but to get to the national tournament required wins over two Top 10 teams – Johnson County (JCCC), which was ranked No. 1 most of the season, and No. 6 Highland.

KCKCC defeated JCCC in a pair of classic games during the regular season, 69-64 on the road and 64-60 at home to wrap up KCKCC’s first DII Jayhawk Conference championship. Facing the Cavaliers in the playoff semifinals, the Blue Devils won 79-76 in overtime on a Collier 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining.

“All the Johnson County games were crazy,” Swanson said. Beaten at Highland 94-88 two weeks earlier, the Blue Devils got even 84-71 in the regional championship game.

Swanson will major in criminal justice at UCM with a goal of going to law school and becoming an attorney.

“I’m really into civil rights,” said Swanson, who will graduate with a 3.8 grade point average.

Swanson is the first Blue Devil to be named team captain by Joe McKinstry in his four years as head coach at KCKCC.

“I have not done that in the past but I felt like her character and how she handles herself academically made her a good choice,” McKinstry said. “Camryn has a very quiet demeanor, has done everything we’ve asked, never been a problem and a fantastic teammate. I thought it was important that she represent us as our captain.”

Coming to KCKCC was “way better than expected,” Swanson said. “The national championship for sure and all the Johnson County games were memorable but all the bonds and friendships I made were really special. I think it just showed that hard work pays off – and if you’re looking for the opportunity to get better, come to KCKCC.”

Car backs into Wellness Center at KCKCC

A car backed into the Wellness Center at Kansas City Kansas Community College this morning. No one was injured, a college spokesman said. (Staff photo)

A car backed into the east side of the Wellness Center this morning at Kansas City, Kansas Community College, 7250 State Ave.

According to Tami Bartunek, KCKCC chief marketing and outreach officer, although the driver was in the car at the time, no one was injured in the accident.

The Wellness Center has been closed temporarily because of the damage to the east exterior wall of the building, she said. The car backed all the way through the exterior wall.

Classes that were taking place below the Wellness Center have been moved elsewhere on campus, she said. The college will look at the damage and then make a plan to fix it.

An estimated damage amount for the center was not immediately available.

Operation Lateral Storm takes hundreds of wanted suspects off the streets in KCK

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department recently participated in an operation with the U.S. Marshals Service to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. (Staff photo)

Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Terry Zeigler, right, and U.S. Marshal Ron Miller, left, today described an operation that resulted in the arrest of more than 200 persons from March 1 to April 30 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

by Mary Rupert

More than 200 arrests were made by a police and U.S. marshals operation from March 1 through April 30 in Kansas City, Kansas, according to authorities.

Operation Lateral Storm, funded by a federal grant, targeted violent crimes in specific neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas, said U.S. Marshal Ron Miller at a news conference today at the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Headquarters.

Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Terry Zeigler said crime is down to a 30-year low in some categories, including homicides, because of the efforts of residents and of operations like this.

“I guess the message to criminals is get out of our city,” Chief Zeigler said. “Don’t care where you go, don’t come to KCK.”

Zeigler said they will work with federal partners, continue to be vigilant and try to get federal prosecution so that criminals stay in prison longer.

The areas that were targeted by Operation Lateral Storm included selected neighborhoods of Kansas City, Kansas. Chief Zeigler said the primary area was 7th to 18th streets, Pacific to Grandview. In addition, there were two I.C.O.N. (Impacting Crime in Our Neighborhoods) locations in this operation, he said. The current I.C.O.N. locations, since March 4, are 10th to 13th streets from Quindaro to Greeley, and 68th to 75th streets from Kansas Avenue to K-32.

Miller, a former Kansas City, Kansas, police chief who was with the KCK Police Department for more than 30 years, said a total of 583 warrants were cleared in this operation. The operation is part of the national Operation Triple Beam that assists with local crime reduction, he said.

U.S. Marshal Ron Miller (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

The operation is sending a message that gangs don’t own the neighborhoods, the citizens own the neighborhoods, Miller said.

The drug problem and drive-by shootings here are fed by gang activity, Zeigler said.

The Operation Lateral Storm targeted hot spots of crime identified by data, according to Marshal Miller. Law enforcement then added information about the location of persons who had active warrants at the state and local level, and targeted those people, he said.

“This is not something that just happens in Kansas,” Miller said. “This is something that the Marshals Service does nationwide.”

About 5 percent of the people commit 60 to 80 percent of the crime, Miller said, so if those 5 percent are targeted who already have warrants, then crime goes down.

He said there are plans to continue these operations, including in Topeka and Wichita. Everything is done in collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies, he said, and the success of these operations has led to the availability of more federal funding for similar operations in the future.

Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Terry Zeigler (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

“Crime in Kansas City, Kansas, continues to go down,” Chief Zeigler said. “We’re at a 30-year low for homicides comparing this time this year to the previous years.”

One of the reasons crime continues to drop in this community is participation of citizens who call in and who participate in neighborhood watch groups, he said.

Another significant reason for the drop is the cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, he said. The U.S. Marshals Service put this operation together, with participation from many other agencies, he said.

It was the type of operation that has a long-term effect on crime, he said.

“We’re going after the baddest of the bad and we’re getting them incarcerated for longer periods of time,” Zeigler said. “I’m confident by the end of this year, 2019, we’re going to see another decrease in violent crime.”

The police department’s emphasis during the past few years has been on drive-by shootings, he said. In 2017, there were 345 drive-by shootings, last year because of partnerships the drive-by shootings dropped to 284.

This Operation Lateral Storm initiative concentrated on gangs, and getting members of gangs arrested, he said.

Kansas City, Kansas, has received a Bureau of Justice assistance grant of about $700,000 earlier this year, Zeigler said. The department is focusing on decreasing violent crime with its I.C.O.N. program targeting smaller areas.

In Operation Lateral Storm, the KCK police received about $60,000 to pay for overtime, according to officials. About 25 KCK officers were assigned to the operation and many became special deputy U.S. marshals for this operation, allowing them to cross the state line to pursue someone they may have been tracking, Miller said.

Miller said funding for the federal grants to run these operations originated with the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee under the Appropriations Committee at the federal level, and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, is the chairman of the subcommittee. When the federal operations are successful, they may be able to receive funding for similar operations in other communities, he added.

According to information from the police department, total violent crime in these selected neighborhoods for Operation Lateral Storm was down from 108 in 2017 to 98 in 2018 to 69 in 2019. Total property crimes, including burglary and theft, were down from 352 in 2017 to 316 in 2018 and 200 in 2019.

The homicide rate is down in these neighborhoods, from five in 2017 to four in 2018 and one in 2019, according to these statistics. Chief Zeigler said tips have increased from the community, with a reward increase to $5,000 for tips that result in solving homicides.

A news conference on Operation Lateral Storm was held Monday at Kansas City, Kansas, Police Headquarters. (Staff photo)

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department released several photos that they made of Operation Lateral Storm, including: