Several planning and zoning items are on the 7 p.m. Unified Government Commission agenda Thursday, Oct. 31, at the Commission Chambers, City Hall, lobby level, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
Also on Thursday will be a special UG Commission session at 5 p.m. in the fifth floor meeting room at City Hall for a presentation on Urban3.
Items at the 7 p.m. meeting include:
13841 Marxen Road, change of zone from Wyandotte County agriculture district to city agriculture district to subdivide property into four lots, Joe McLaughlin with BHC Rhodes.
1847 S. 14th St., change of zone from limited business district to commercial district for a mixed use, single-family residential with leasable commercial space, Travis Wilson with Veritas Architecture and Design;
1215 Merriam Lane, special use permit for a dirt fill, Aurangzeb Khan with Jahan Enterprises;
3147 W. 45th Ave., special use permit for a short-term rental, AirBNB, Joe Heidrick with Cactus Bed Properties;
3535 Wood Ave., special use permit for a transitional group home for teenagers, Desiree Monzie with Avenue of Life;
4112 Booth St., special use permit for a short-term rental – AirBNB, Jason Newman with Exzance Properties;
4141 and 4151 Fairbanks Ave., vacation of an alley, Danny Boyle with Boyle Midwest;
111 Southwest Blvd., preliminary and final plan review for the continuation of manufacturing food products, office and warehouse, Brent Thompson with Renaissance Infrastructure Consulting;
1901 S. 45th St., preliminary and final plan review for an ice manufacturing and distribution facility, Chris Herre with Rose Design Group;
3801 Leavenworth Road, an ordinance rezoning property from limited business district to planned general business district;
7615 Swartz Road, an ordinance rezoning property from single family district to agriculture district;
3101 Strong Ave., an ordinance rezoning property from limited business district to planned commercial district;
1028 Sandusky Ave., an ordinance rezoning property from single family district to two-family district.
Grant approval – a Community Health Improvement Plan coordination grant application will be submitted to the Health Forward Foundation for $174,000, with commission approval;
Dumping ordinance – an amendment to an ordinance will offer a reward of $250 to any person that provides information materially contributing to a conviction of unlawful dumping, if approved by the commission.
Fire apparatus donation – A resolution to authorization the UG to donate a 2005 Seagrave fire apparatus, which is obsolete, to the Village of Birmingham, Missouri, Fire Department.
Nomination of Thomas Gordon to the Area Wide Advisory Council on Aging Wyandotte – Leavenworth. Nomination submitted by Mayor David Alvey.
Nomination of Broderick Crawford to the Housing Authority, submitted by Commissioner Tom Burroughs.
A gardening program, “Plants that Add Interest in the Winter,” will be presented from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Sunflower Room, Wyandotte County Extension Office, 1208 N. 79th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
Lynn Loughary, K-State Research and Extension horticulture agent, will discuss plants that can add interest to the landscape, particularly in the winter months.
The presentation is sponsored by the Wyandotte County Extension Master Gardeners.
Registration is not required. There is a fee of $5 that will be waived for certified master gardeners. For more information, call 913-299-9300.
No. 1 ranking, two national
titles put target on Blue Devils’ back
Sophomore Brodi Byrd will be the only returnee from KCKCC’s 2019 national championship team when the Lady Blue Devils open their home season against Graceland junior varsity Friday at 6 p.m. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community
College begins defense Friday of its 2019 NJCAA national championship ranked
No. 1 in Division II – but with just one returnee from last year’s title team.
The Lady Blue Devils will host
Graceland junior varsity in the opener Friday at 6 p.m. and then entertain St.
Louis Community College Saturday at 4 p.m. St. Louis received votes in the NJCAA DII
pre-season poll.
The No. 1 national ranking is
KCKCC’s first ever but it comes with being the target of all 22 teams on the
2019-2020 schedule – if competing in far and away the toughest NJCAA DII
conference in the nation wasn’t enough. And that’s never going to change. Four
Jayhawk Conference teams are ranked in the Top 12.
“We’ll have everyone gunning for
us which I think is a little unfair to this group,” said head coach Joe
McKinstry, the architect of the 2016 and 2019 national championships. “We’ve
talked to our players about it. We found out what it’s like three years ago.
But with so many young players, I’m not sure they’re really able to grasp the
challenges we’ll be facing.”
Brodi Byrd, a 5-5 shooting guard
from Truman High School, is the lone returning veteran. Vaulting into the
starting lineup at mid-season, Byrd averaged 8.9 points with 76 3-point goals,
the fourth most in a single season.
“One rock I can count on on a
daily basis,” McKinstry said. “She’s the most consistent player on a daily
basis that I’ve ever had. She comes to work, supports her teammates. I never
have to question that she’s here to get better.”
McKinstry was supposed to have
one more, 5-10 guard/forward combo Caroline Hoppock from Olathe East. Hoppock played in all 36 games last season,
averaging 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Her eight 3-point goals in
a single game tied the KCKCC record. An injury suffered in a pre-season
exhibition will sideline her for an indefinite number of games.
“She finally had a full
pre-season and got herself in the best shape ever which helped make her a more
complete player only to have the injury set her back,” McKinstry said. “Hopefully
she’s able to get back sooner rather than later. She deserves it.”
Carson Chandler, a 5-8 guard from
Sarcoxie, Missouri, joined the team the second semester, averaging 1.9 points
in 14 games but she is out for the season with a leg injury that requires
surgery. Also back is Diamond Williams, a 5-4 guard from Detroit who sat out
last season with a pre-season knee injury.
“One of the best defensive
players I’ve coached,” McKinstry said.
A position-by-position look at
KCKCC’s young squad.
Point
guard – Sophomore
Destiny Zamudio, a 5-5 transfer from Malcolm X in Chicago, and 5-5 freshman
Adoreya Williams, one of three recruits from Detroit’s Mumford High School.
“Both are fantastic ball handlers
who can create for themselves and others off the dribble,” McKinstry said.
Shooting
guards – A trio
of freshmen will join Byrd and Diamond Williams at the Blue Devils’ deepest
position, 5-7 Aliyah Myers of Derby, 5-6 Jada Mayberry of Kapaun-Mt. Carmel and
5-6 Tiaira Earnest of Detroit Mumford.
“All bring great qualities that
can help our team immediately,” McKinstry said. “I especially like the speed
and athleticism of this group.”
Hybrid
guards/forwards
– Without Hoppock and Chandler, three freshmen will have to carry the load,
5-10 Anija Frazier of Lee’s Summit North, 5-9 Alieyya Jones of Lincoln, Nebraska,
and 5-11 Mercer Roberts of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“All have the ability to handle
the ball and shoot it from the perimeter,” McKinstry said. “And they’ll be
counted on defensively and for rebounding.”
Post – Kamryn Estell, a 6-1 freshman
from Belton, will be joined by 6-1 Shanea Dinwiddie of Detroit Mumford the
second semester.
“Kamryn will be counted on a
lot,” McKinstry said. “She’s a very strong presence inside, great rebounder and
help-side defender. A strong post player, Dinwiddie will give us added depth. A
strong post player, she has a good shooting touch.”
With a lack of size, the Blue
Devils will have a new look offensively – four guards and a post.
“Our bigger guards will play
forward.” McKinstry said. “Size certainly helps in rebounding but its more
effort and energy. I think this team has a lot of talent and ability but
knowing and understanding how to direct that ability is going to be our first
challenge for sure. We do have certain pieces that we didn’t have a year ago
that can really make a difference.”
Last year, the Blue Devils
averaged 89.1 points and 48.3 rebounds. Only 16.3 percent of the scoring and
8.1 percent of the rebounding is back this year, season-long statistics not
easily replaced.
“We’re trying to find ourselves
identity-wise, especially offensively,” said McKinstry, who is being assisted
for the third season by former KU standout Timeka O’Neal. “It may take a while
for our offense to click and get going. Hopefully our defense will give us some
easy opportunities to score or at least keep us in the game while the offense
develops.”
By time Jayhawk Conference play
rolls along, the Blue Devils will need it. In the last six years, Johnson
County, Highland and KCKCC have all been in the semifinals or finals of the
national tournament on two occasions. The last couple of years, Labette has joined
the trio in the Top 10 national rankings.
“I think this team has a very
high ceiling,” McKinstry said. “It will be fun to watch them grow.”
