Month: July 2019

Rosedale students in Rainbow Summer Program to receive new backpacks

The Rainbow Summer Program plans a wrapup celebration Wednesday, July 24, at the Vox Theatre. 1405 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Kansas.

About 100 boys and girls in the summer program will receive free backpacks with school supplies as part of the program.

Offered by the Rosedale Development Association and Sharing Communities Rosedale, the summer program emphasized reading, financial literacy and wellness for boys and girls in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The Rosedale Development Association, 1403 Southwest Blvd., is collecting new backpacks for the students as a way for them to get a head start on their school supplies, said Alissa Workman, development director for the RDA.

Sharing Communities Rosedale began in 1977 and has provided community services, including the Rainbow Summer Program.

Each afternoon, young scholars in the summer program participate in gardening, entrepreneurship, cooking classes and sports clinics. They also had the opportunity to attend field trips to the Children’s Beanstalk Garden, the Kemper Museum of Art, the Johnson County Museum and Burr Oak Nature Center.

For the past 13 years, the Rainbow Mennonite Church has been the host for the youth program, which has been so popular that it usually has a waiting list within the first week of enrollment.

RDA, incorporated in 1978, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to work with residents, businesses and institutions to develop a thriving Rosedale community. They see neighbors not only as resourceful experts but also powerful community change agents, leading to creating intergenerational events and programs that slowly craft a culture where it is fun and easy to make healthy living choices.

“RDA’s theory of change is rooted in residents’ advocating for their vision of a thriving Rosedale, from cradle to cane,” Erin Stryka, RDA executive director, said. “Programs like RSP are vital for connecting neighbors at an early age, so they stay involved and impact the people, places and policies around them as they grow.”

Leavenworth man sentenced for armed bank robbery

A Leavenworth man was sentenced today to 12.8 years in federal prison for armed bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
 
Damon Hammeke, 26, Leavenworth, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a robbery.

In his plea, he admitted that on Nov. 21, 2017, he robbed the Country Club Bank at 2310 S. 4th St. in Leavenworth. He entered the bank wearing a white jacket and black mask and carrying a handgun. He left the bank with money.
 
Two days later, an officer in Tonganoxie attempted to stop him for a traffic offense. Hammeke fled, leading police on a high-speed chase through Tonganoxie, Basehor, Lansing, Leavenworth, Platte County, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, before they were able to stop him.
 
McAllister commended the FBI, the Tonganoxie Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Platte County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble for their work on the case.
 
 

Four T-Bones picked for American Association All-Star game

Four Kansas City T-Bones players were picked to play in tonight’s American Association All-Star game.

The four are infielder Dylan Tice, catcher Roy Morales, right-handed pitcher Tommy Collier and left-handed pitcher Nick Lee.

They will play on the South Division All-Star team at the American Association All-Star game at 7:05 p.m. July 23 at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Tice, a reserve utility player for the South, is hitting .309 with 14 stolen bases. He leads the team in runs scored at 30.

Morales is the only T-Bone to have a four-RBI game this season. He has the team-best .315 average with a home run and 16 RBI in 32 games. He will be a reserve catcher in the All-Star game, behind John Nester of Cleburne.

Collier has a 3.86 ERA, striking out 48, and leads the T-Bones in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. He gave up only four earned runs in his last 26 innings.

Lee has a 3.0 ERA, and has struck out 35 in 24 innings this season.

The T-Bones are sending their field staff to the All-Star game. Manager Joe Calfapietra will manage the team, joined by pitching coach Bill Sobee, bench coach John West and first base coach Frank White.