Month: December 2021

Bonner’s Stean, Turner’s Ortiz grab top spots at Ladycat Classic

Olivia Stean wrestled Olathe Northwest’s Val Galligan in a 170-pound match at the Ladycat Classic tournament at Basehor-Linwood High School. Stean won the match by fall in 1 minute, 4 seconds on her way to winning the tournament. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

Twenty-nine high school girls’ wrestling teams, including Bonner Springs, Turner, and Harmon, competed in the 4th Annual Ladycat Classic tournament, held on Saturday at Basehor-Linwood High School.

Olivia Stean of Bonner Springs won the 170-pound class, going 5-0 including four falls and a forfeit. She defeated Mandy Wilson of Basehor-Linwood in the championship match. Stean is still undefeated this season at 15-0.

Arianna Ortiz of Turner won the 101-pound class, going 4-0. Ortiz won her three preliminary matches by fall. She defeated Washburn Rural’s Kristen Rezac in the final by technical fall, ahead 16-0 when the match was stopped in the third round.

Stean and Ortiz are both ranked number one in Kansas in their weight classes by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association. Stean was ranked 8th in the country in the 180-pound class in USA Wrestling’s pre-season rankings.

Jenna Knight of Bonner Springs went 4-1 and took 5th place of 16 wrestlers in the 120-pound class. Knight is now 12-3 for the season.

Freshman Kamahni Jackson of Harmon placed 9th in the 132-pound class. She went 3-2 in the tournament with three wins by fall, and she has compiled a 7-4 record so far this year.

Arianna Ortiz wrestled Fort Scott’s Ryelee Cagle in a 101-pound match. Ortiz won the match by fall in the third round. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

 

Kamahni Jackson wrestled Gardner-Edgerton’s Alyssa Rutherford in a 132-pound match. Jackson won the match by fall in the first round. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

 

Jenna Knight wrestled Emporia’s Katina Keosybounheuang in a 120-pound match. Knight won the match by fall in the first round. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

 

Emmalee Foya wrestled Baldwin’s Rein Goebel in the 132-pound C bracket. Goya won by fall in the second round. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

 

Tyler Wild wrestled Basehor-Linwood’s Meriska Henderson in a 235-pound match. Wild won the match by fall in the first round. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

 

Kaylee Killion wrestled Dodge City’s Ayden Ruiz in the 120-pound C bracket. Ruiz won the match on a 3-2 decision. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

 

Turner’s Daisy Chavez wrestled Spring Hill’s Campbell Mermis in a 155-pound match. Mermis won the match by fall in the second round. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

Faith news

Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King Catholic churches will hold Masses on Sunday, Dec. 19. Sunday Masses at Christ the King are at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and at Blessed Sacrament, Sunday Masses are at 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Christmas Eve Masses will be at 5 p.m. Dec. 24 in English at Christ the King, and at 8 p.m. Dec. 24 in Spanish at Christ the King. Christmas Day Mass will be at 9 a.m. Dec. 25 in English at Christ the King. Christmas Eve Masses will be at 4 p.m. Dec. 24 at Blessed Sacrament, and at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 24 in Spanish at Blessed Sacrament. Christmas Day Mass will be at 10 a.m. Dec. 25 in Spanish at Blessed Sacrament. For more information, visit the churches’ websites or Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/Christ-the-King-Parish-KCKS-1392808997677579 and www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck.

Casa – Worship House Christian Church, 5217 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, will have Sunday services at 11 a.m. Dec. 19. Children who attend the Dec. 19 service will receive a toy after the service. See details at www.facebook.com/casadealabanzaKCKS. For more information, visit Facebook @casadealabanzaKCKS.

The First Christian Church of Bonner Springs, 148 N. Nettleton, plans a Community Blood Center blood drive from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, in the fellowship hall. To make an appointment, visit savealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040.

The Keeler Women’s Center, 759 Vermont, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a program, “Scripture Group: Lectio and Discussion,” led by Heather Neds, from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22. Pre-registration is required to 913-689-9375. The Keeler Center office will be closed from Dec. 24 to Dec. 31, returning on Jan. 3. For more information, visit https://www.mountosb.org/ministries/keeler-womens-center/.

Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas, will have a Christmas program from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, including special music. Registration is required for the in-person service, and it also will be on Facebook Live and livestreamed. See details at https://www.facebook.com/ORMBCKC or http://ormbc.org/church-online/.

Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services in person at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, and livestream at https://www.facebook.com/opendoorkc/ and https://www.opendoorkc.com/.

Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic Church, 2300 N. 8th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a Mass in English at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/ourladyandsaintrose.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. Services also will be livestreamed on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StonyPointChristianChurch. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. A Christmas Eve candlelight service will be held at 6 p.m. Dec. 24.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold Mass at 7:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:45 p.m. in Spanish and 2:30 p.m. in Burmese on Sunday, Dec. 19. A pancake breakfast will be held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Dec. 19. Christmas Eve Masses will be at 5 p.m. and 10 pm. Dec. 24 in English, at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 24 in Spanish, and at 10:30 p.m. Dec. 24 in Burmese in the parish center. Christmas Day Masses will be at 8 a.m. Dec. 25 in English, 10 a.m. Dec. 25 in English, and noon Dec. 25 in Burmese. St. Patrick Church plans a Community Blood Center blood drive from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas. To make an appointment, visit savealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/StPatrickKCK.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. The service will be available online. Services will be at 6:30 p.m. Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and at 11 a.m. Christmas Day, Dec. 25. See more information at https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsKCK/ or https://www.stpaulskck.org/.

Sunset Hills Christian Church, 6347 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. For more information about this Sunday’s plans, visit the Facebook page of Pastor Mike Barnett, https://www.facebook.com/mike.barnett.528. Services are also provided through checkout of DVD or SD Card and can be sent by email upon request. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/sunsethills.christianchurch.

Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will have a worship service at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 19. A video of the service will be at https://www.facebook.com/Wyandotteumc. Wyandotte UMC will have a Christmas Eve service with candlelighting and communion at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 24. On Sunday, Dec. 26, the church will have a hymn sing with Christmas carols.


Information about other church services in Wyandotte County may be available from the church’s social media page.
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Kansas Supreme Court upholds hard 50 sentence of juvenile

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Wyandotte County hard 50 sentence of a juvenile.

Ronell Williams had appealed his sentence of mandatory life without parole, on the claim that it violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment for a juvenile.

The Kansas Court of Appeals had reversed and remanded the Williams sentence, but the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday reversed the Court of Appeals, affirming the Wyandotte County District Court decision.

According to court documents, Williams was convicted in 2000 of two counts of premeditated murder, one count of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated burglary for acts he committed when he was 14 years old. For the murder convictions, he was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole for 50 years, a hard 50 sentence.

Years later, Williams filed an action stating that his sentence violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Williams was convicted of shooting and killing Wilbur and Wilma Williams, who were no relation to him, after allegedly trying to steal items from their house in 1999. It was an attempted auto theft.

The Supreme Court discussed whether the trial court adequately considered the young age of the offender before imposing life without parole. The Supreme Court cited a precedent in another juvenile case, decided after the Court of Appeals ruling in this case, which held the sentencing court did not have to explain how it considered youth and its characteristics before imposing life without parole on a juvenile offender.

According to the Supreme Court, the precedents in the case required a discretionary sentencing procedure, and the sentencing must comply with the precedent when the sentence is not mandatory and the trial judge has discretion to impose a lesser punishment in light of the youth of the defendant. Since the district court had discretion to impose a lesser sentence, the Jones vs. Mississippi precedent did not apply.

The opinion reversing the Court of Appeals was written by Justice Eric Rosen.