December 2022 – Page 31 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Below normal temperatures here today

Wind chill values tonight may be around 15 degrees, and on Friday night, around 11 degrees. (National Weather Service graphic)

Below normal temperatures have moved in, with a high of 36 today, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

Tonight’s low will be 23. The wind chill was 18 degrees at 9 a.m. Thursday, the weather service said.

Well below normal temperatures now are forecast through the end of December, according to the weather service.

Bitter, possibly dangerously, cold conditions are possible from the end of next week into the Christmas weekend, the weather service said. There is a chance of flurries on Monday.

Sustained winds gusting as high as 31 mph will result in wind chills in the 20s, according to the weather service.

Today, the high will be near 36 with cloudy skies and a breezy west wind of 16 to 21 mph, gusting as high as 31 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, it will be mostly cloudy with a low of 23, according to the weather service. A west wind of 11 to 13 mph will gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 32 and a west wind of 11 to 17 mph, gusting as high as 28 mph, the weather service said.

Friday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 20 and a west northwest wind of 8 to 10 mph, gusting as high as 20 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 31 and a west northwest wind of 8 to 13 mph, gusting as high as 22 mph, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 17, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 39, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 25, according to the weather service.

Monday, there is a chance of flurries before noon, with a high near 35, the weather service said.

Monday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 15, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 26, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 18, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 34, the weather service said.

KCKCC golfer overcomes amputation to compete at college level

Parker Vancampen competed for the KCKCC golf team this year. (KCKCC photo)

by Tyler Scott, KCKCC sports information coordinator

KCKCC men’s golfer Parker Vancampen never had the idea that he would play golf. His interest always started with sports like football, basketball and baseball. But an unexpected turn in his life occurred early on, which would propel his start in playing the sport that got him to KCKCC.

When he was an infant doctors found that he had developed a bone tumor that eventually turned worse.

“They discovered it at a couple of weeks old,” Vancampen said. “We fought it until I was 3 or 4 and at that point, it got too far and they decided that we had to amputate my leg. So they amputated it and my first steps were a prosthetic leg and it was off to the races since then. I started competing and playing in sports and really just fitting in like a normal kid.”

Then as he kept playing his right knee started to dislocate every so often. That’s when his trajectory in competing started to change.

“I couldn’t trust myself to run with my prosthetic leg anymore without it dislocating and I just had a lot of fear,” Vancampen said. “I talked to my parents and told them I was going to quit all these sports. They told me I had to keep competing so I said OK. .. I’m going to play golf. I’m going to go out there and work hard at it.”

His interest grew in golf and it has transpired ever since.

This past fall, Vancampen competed in all but two tournaments. He placed in the top 30 at one event, which was his highest finish and hopes to improve upon his game this upcoming spring, which begins in the first week of March.

Vancampen’s interest in KCKCC grew from him getting to know head coach Gary Shrader, as well as the layout of Kansas City.

“I loved Coach Shrader and all my future teammates,” Vancampen said. “There are also a lot of nice courses up here and it just seemed like a good fit. You can get some good practice in and keep developing each day.”

KCKCC’s golf history dates all the way back to the 1970s with numerous individual awards and Region Championships.

Vancampen hopes to be a part of that success, while with the Blue Devils before moving onto the next step.

“I hope to transfer and play at a higher level and just continue golfing and see where that goes.”

More than 500 KCK kids received gifts from Santa

More than 500 kids received gifts at the Donuts with Santa event Saturday at Memorial Hall. The event was through the UG Parks Department. (Photo from UG)

The Donuts with Santa event Saturday saw more than 500 Kansas City, Kansas, kids receiving gifts from Santa.

The event sponsored by the Wyandotte County Parks Foundation, saw nearly 800 community members attending to launch the holiday season.

The free event was at Memorial Hall and included activities, balloon artists, hot cocoa and doughnuts.

Santa arrived to bring more than 500 gifts donated by the Wyandotte County Parks Foundation.

“I am beyond grateful for the wonderful turnout at this year’s ‘Donuts with Santa’ holiday event,” said UG Parks and Recreation Director, Angel Ferrara.

“This year our staff worked extremely hard at making sure this event was a huge success for the community. To see kids and families smiling and having fun in Santa’s village confirms that this holiday event was just what our community needed.”

As each kid arrived, they received a passport card to have stamped as they visited each station in Santa’s Village. Children that filled up their passports were able to enter to win one of six grand prizes of their choice, including a karaoke machine, electronic scooter and a hoverboard. This day would not have been possible without the time and energy of more than 35 volunteers. We are grateful for our community sponsorships, including from the Wyandotte County Parks Foundation, Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office, Price Chopper (State Avenue and Bonner Springs), Hy-Vee (Mission, Kansas), Krispy Kreme (Shawnee Mission Parkway), and the Ted Miller State Farm Agency.

The UG Parks and Recreation Department invites area youth to the Family Holiday Series, continuing this Friday. Dec. 16, starting at 6:30p.m. with a holiday movie at Joe E. Amayo Community Center, 2810 Metropolitan Ave., KCK, and stockings and gingerbread houses at Beatrice L. Lee Community, 1310 N. 10th St. KCK, on Saturday, Dec. 17 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Register in advance at www.wycokck.org/parks. (Information from the Unified Government)