Public asked to help locate two persons of interest

Terrell Moore
Emma Sue Sumptor

Kansas City, Kansas, police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating two persons of interest.

According to a police spokesman, the two are persons of interest in a case involving an aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer in Kansas City, Kansas.

They both have ties to Liberty, Missouri, and Overland Park, Kansas, according to the spokesman.

Terrell Moore, 16, is a 5-4, 140-pound male with brown eyes and black hair.

Emma Sue Sumptor, 19, is a 5-1, 120-pound female with red hair and green eyes.

Anyone with information may call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS or submit a tip at kccrimestoppers.com.

Restaurant, bar owners plead for help

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Melissa Nead said it best.


“My back is against the wall and a knife is at my throat.”


Nead, the co-owner of The Dotte Spot Bar and Grill, explained her desperate situation to the Legislative Committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce Friday, Jan. 8, as it met via Zoom.


Nead said the 10 p.m. closing in Wyandotte County has cost her business when bars and restaurants in neighboring counties, such as Johnson County, can stay open until midnight.


Nead said she has been very careful to follow all of the mandates that the Health Department has required during the coronavirus pandemic such as keeping the capacity to 50 percent and wiping down tables.


Other bar and restaurant owners made the same pleas. Similar complaints also were heard at a meeting of the Economic Development Committee of the Unified Government Commission Monday night, Jan. 4.


The chamber issued a news release stating that it supports extending the hour of operations “to align with neighboring counties.”


Mayor David Alvey said he hopes that, working with the Health Department, a way can be found for restaurants and bars to extend their hours.


In other action, the chamber’s Legislative Committee presented its 2021 Legislative Agenda. Many of the items were those carried over from previous years.


The chamber supports a business and residential property tax system that phases in radical increases. A multi-year floating average, similar to that used by agriculture, has been suggested.


The chamber supports a “comprehensive pipeline” of high-quality education from early learning to post-secondary.


The chamber opposes any increase of the state sales tax rate and lowering the food sales tax.


The chamber supports the expansion of Medicaid to serve an estimated 120,000 low income Kansans. This would leverage federal funds.


The chamber supports federal legislation that would streamline the forgiveness process for amounts of $150,000 or less in the Paycheck Protection Program.


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

To see an earlier story about restaurant and bar owners, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/restaurant-and-bar-owners-say-theyre-on-the-ropes-because-of-early-closing-times/

Officials to be sworn in today

Several officials will take the oath of office today in Kansas.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree will be sworn in at 1 p.m. today, Jan. 11, at Memorial Hall, 600 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Masks and social distancing will be required.

Today is also the day that state legislators will be sworn in. Those ceremonies will begin around 2 p.m. today in Topeka at the Statehouse. The number of people who can be admitted to the ceremony will be limited because of COVID-19 restrictions, and ceremonies will be online at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_0NO-Pb96CFABvxDwXAq8A.