June 2019 – Page 14 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Severe weather possible this afternoon and evening

Wyandotte County is in an enhanced risk area for severe storms, including hail, wind, tornadoes and flooding, this afternoon and evening. (National Weather Service graphic)

Severe storms are possible late this afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. Large hail, damaging winds, flash flooding a few tornadoes are possible.

The storms will begin from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with all hazards, and will transition to the main hazards being damaging winds and flash flooding as the storm starts moving southeast in the evening and overnight, according to the weather service.

There are varying models of what the storms will do later today. The weather service forecast is predicting a line of storms will shift south into St. Joseph, Missouri, then it may weaken as it gets to the Kansas City area. In its initial storms, it could include supercell thunderstorms, the weather service said.

After today’s storms, the forecast is for dry weather the rest of the week.

Heat and humidity will continue today. The high will be 88 with a heat index near 91 in Wyandotte County, according to the weather service.

Moderate and minor river flooding, including on the Missouri and Kansas rivers, will continue in Wyandotte County. The Missouri River at Parkville, which includes Wyandotte County in its forecast area, is in moderate flood stage, while the Kansas River at the eastern border of Wyandotte County is in minor flood stage.

Today, the high will be near 88 and a southwest wind will be 9 to 11 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 68, according to the weather service. A south southwest wind of 5 to 9 mph will gust as high as 18 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is expected.

Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 88 and a south wind of 7 to 13 mph, the weather service said.

Wednesday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 71, and a south wind of 6 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 90 and a south wind of 5 to 7 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, the weather service said.

Thursday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 72, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 92, the weather service said.

Friday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 72, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be sunny with a high near 94, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly clear with a low of 71, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny with a high near 93, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be mostly clear with a low of 71, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 92, the weather service said.

For more weather information, visit www.weather.gov.

The Missouri River at Parkville, which includes Wyandotte County, was in moderate flood stage Tuesday morning. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)

The Kansas River at 23rd Street, where the gauge is at Kansas Avenue and the state line was in minor flood stage on Tuesday morning. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)

The Missouri River at Kansas City, where the gauge is at U.S. 169 near the City Market in Kansas City, Missouri, was in minor flood stage on Tuesday morning. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)

NBAF animal disease lab building in Kansas now will be under USDA

by Brian Grimmett, Kansas News Service

The terms for handing off the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, have been settled — even as the billion-dollar-plus research site remains under construction.

In the agreement signed recently, the Department of Homeland Security remains responsible for completing construction of the state-of-the-art research facility. But it will hand over the job of running the place to the U.S. Department of Agriculture when construction wraps up. That’s expected at the end of 2020.

DHS has been responsible for the project since its inception, but the research arms of the USDA have always been heavily involved in planning. The USDA was always going to be overseeing research at the facility — if not its actual operation — even before the idea of taking over operations completely was requested in President Donald Trump’s 2019 budget proposal.

Now the USDA won’t be a tenant, it’ll be the landlord.

“The roles of the research people does not change,” DHS NBAF Coordinator Tim Barr said. “The security setting does not change. The relationships that exist with the FBI and other entities, that does not change at all.”

NBAF is intended to be a world-class animal disease research facility and will ultimately be the only location in the U.S. where scientists will study live foot-and-mouth disease in livestock.

Once finished, the building will house more than 500,000 square feet of laboratory space, including the nation’s first biosafety Level 4 large animal research laboratory.

The BSL-4 laboratory will allow researchers to study deadly zoonotic diseases — those that are highly contagious and can spread between humans and animals — that don’t have any known vaccinations or treatments.

NBAF will be replacing the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.

The USDA recently opened up an office in Manhattan to begin recruiting potential employees.

“A facility like this allows us to bring those people in, do the work that we need to do and be more prepared to stand-up operationally when we move into the NBAF facility,” said Ken Burton, USDA’s NBAF coordinator.

He said the agency would like to have 80 percent of the workforce needed for NBAF hired by the end of 2020.

The USDA expects to need as many as 400 employees once the facility is completely up and running at the end of 2022.

Brian Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and natural resources for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio, KCUR and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett or email grimmett (at) kmuw (dot) org.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.

See more at https://www.kcur.org/post/nbaf-animal-disease-lab-kansas-has-switched-teams-and-its-usda-thing-now.

College adopts strategic plan as its centennial year approaches

Views
Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Kansas City Kansas Community College will celebrate 100 years as an educational institution in 2023. The college’s Board of Trustees has approved a “Centennial Path,” a strategic plan which will guide the school for the next four years.

Dr. Greg Mosier, the president of the college, spoke to about 50 members of the Congressional Forum Friday, June 21, at Children’s Mercy Park. The Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors the forum.

Dr. Mosier, who came here about one year ago from Rochester (Minnesota) Community and Technical College where he was executive vice president of academic affairs, told of how the strategic plan will be implemented.

One of the goals of the centennial plan will be to attract and attain a high-performing diverse workforce that will reflect the communities that the college serves. The Wyandotte Economic Development Council, which visits numerous Wyandotte County businesses, reports that the number one need is having qualified workers. The college has various training programs in such skill areas as machinist, diesel mechanic and heating and air conditioning technician. The college’s Technical Education Center also offers courses in such areas as culinary arts and cosmetology.

The college is considering courses in such areas as utility linemen and hospitality worker.

Dr. Mosier said that the college this fall will offer night time classes at Wyandotte High School. He said the college is in conversation with various organizations to extend its presence in the downtown area.

Dr. Mosier meets regularly with Dr. Charles Foust, the superintendent of the Kansas City, Kansas, School District. Many of the students from the Kansas City, Kansas, district who attend the community college must attend remedial classes.

Dr. Mosier told of national recognition that the college’s jazz band, women’s basketball team and debate team have received.

The college last fall opened a Veteran’s Center. Its goal is to prepare men and women for the civilian workforce.

Dr. Mosier said that the college had an economic impact of $182 million during 2018.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.