Month: April 2020

Mayor, superintendent appear in new video message

Mayor David Alvey and Dr. Charles Foust, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools superintendent, are appearing together in a new video message about COVID-19.

In the video, Mayor Alvey says they and other area leaders are part of a coordinated response to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Mayor Alvey discussed the orders in effect to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, including the stay-home order. Stopping the spread of COVID-19 is a way to make sure the area’s hospitals are not overwhelmed.

KCKPS is moving education online, with the plan going into effect April 6, Dr. Foust said. Each student will have technological devices at home to remain engaged in virtual learning for the rest of the school year, he said. Seniors will be able to graduate with the state-approved 21 credits instead of the usual 25. The district also has a curbside meal pickup for students operating at six school locations.

“Please stay home, stop the spread and save lives,” Mayor Alvey said.

“We are all in this together,” Dr. Foust said.

The new video is online at https://youtu.be/9rp-bn0JDmc.

Police notes

Shooting reported on North Thorpe


A suspect shot at a home at 1:58 p.m. April 3 I the 200 block of North Thorpe, according to a social media post by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.

Officers were sent to an address on a shots fired call. The suspect shot at the house while the victims were inside, according to the report. There were no injuries reported.

Kansas attorney general, U.S. attorney combatting COVID-19 fraud

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister have announced a state-federal partnership to investigate and prosecute scammers attempting to prey on Kansans during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The two offices agree coordinating information and manpower will allow the agencies to more quickly verify allegations and prosecute those who are profiteering off the crisis.

“This partnership will allow our two agencies to bring the maximum state and federal resources to bear to stop scams, frauds and price gouging during this state of emergency,” Schmidt said. “I appreciate Steve’s strong leadership in the U.S. attorney’s office and look forward to working closely with his team to protect Kansans in the face of this crisis.”

The attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division will work directly with two prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office designated for handling COVID-19-related matters.

“Nationally, we have seen everything from people offering for sale respiratory masks they were not going to deliver to people seeking donations for non-existent COVID-19 charities,” McAllister said. “We are not going to stand by while that happens in Kansas.”

Anyone with information about COVID-19-related scams or price gouging should file a complaint with the attorney general’s office online on a form specifically designed for coronavirus issues, available along with other resources about the state’s response to the outbreak, at www.ag.ks.gov. Kansans may also call the attorney general’s consumer protection hotline at 800-432-2310 to request a paper complaint form be sent by mail.

Complaints can also be submitted to the U.S. attorney’s office by email at [email protected] or by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline at 866-720-5721.