The Red Cross is offering a $5 Amazon gift card to everyone who comes in to give blood or platelets through Aug. 29.
The American Red Cross has declared an emergency blood shortage. They have less than a three-day supply of most blood types, and less than a two-day supply of type O blood, according to a spokesman.
Individuals may schedule an appointment at any of the mobile blood drives by going to www.redcrossblood.org, or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, https://www.redcrossblood.org/blood-donor-app.html, or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
There is one Wyandotte County location during the gift card period through Aug. 29. The blood drive is from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 26 at the New Story Church, 5500 Woodend Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
Donors also may donate blood at other locations in neighboring cities, which are listed at www.redcrossblood.org.
Former Unified Government employee Maddie Waldeck said her old boss grabbed her and pushed her against a wall last May at work. A Wyandotte County jury found him guilty of battery.(Photo by Andrea Tudhope, KCUR, Kansas News Service)
by Andrea Tudhope, Kansas News Service
A Wyandotte County jury found a high-ranking official of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, guilty of misdemeanor battery against a female employee Tuesday.
Maddie Waldeck, a former Unified Government employee, said on May 1 last year that she was having a “light-hearted” conversation with colleagues after work when her boss, Dennis “Tib” Laughlin, grabbed her by the shirt and pushed her against a wall.
“At the time, it struck me as funny,” Laughlin testified.
Eyewitness Theresa Duke, who was subpoenaed to testify, told the court she did not find it funny.
“Honestly, I was shocked,” Duke said.
Duke said she did not want to testify because Laughlin was and is currently her boss — he is General Services Director at the UG, and has worked there for 21 years.
In closing arguments, Wyandotte County Assistant District Attorney T.C. Penland pointed out that Laughlin was in a position of authority over Waldeck at the time of the incident, which he called a “power move.”
“There’s a line between unacceptable and acceptable,” Penland said. “He crossed that line when he grabbed a female subordinate by the shirt and pushed her into a wall. From polite to rude, from complimenting to insulting, from innocent to guilty.”
Laughlin’s lawyer Vincent Rivera implored the jury to consider his client’s intent and the “jovial” work environment under Laughlin. County Administrator Melissa Sieben, Laughlin’s supervisor, testified that Laughlin is “ridiculously intelligent” and that some people don’t get his humor.
After the trial Tuesday, Laughlin, through his lawyer, declined KCUR’s request for comment. Laughlin faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Laughlin’s sentencing is set for the end of August.
Waldeck, who waited outside the courtroom Tuesday, said she feels relieved.
“I hope this sends a message that no one else should have to go through what I went through and I hope that that helps others,” she said.
Waldeck told KCUR that the two years she worked with Laughlin were the “most stressful and heartbreaking” of her professional life. She documented over those two years that she said made her feel uncomfortable.
After Tuesday’s verdict, Waldeck said she’s hopeful it will bring change to the Unified Government, where she worked for five years.
“Wyandotte County is full of great people, and it’s a great place to live. I think it’s time we stand up against things that people do wrong,” she said.
In a statement, the Unified Government told KCUR the incident was thoroughly investigated when it was reported.
“That investigation came to a different conclusion than the jury. But now that the jury has spoken after a trial, the UG will take steps it deems appropriate,” it read.
The Kansas City, Kansas, National Night Out Against Crime event will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 18th and Ridge, Kansas City, Kansas. The event is free and open to the public.
