Author: Ward

Plans put in place for downtown warming shelter for homeless

Plans are moving forward for a warming shelter around 6th and State Avenue in downtown Kansas City, Kansas.

Alan Howse, Unified Government assistant county administrator, said at the Nov. 22 UG meeting that the shelter has a lease at 550 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, and they are working on getting the shelter operational. Cross-Lines Community Outreach will be the operator for the cold weather shelter, he said.

Utilities, water and electricity will be from the Board of Public Utilities, he said, which is giving a reduced rate to the UG to pay heat costs.

The shelter will be operational from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. with a maximum capacity of 35 people, first-come, first-served, he said.

It will operate only at 25 degrees Fahrenheit or below, he said. It has already been colder than that on certain days earlier this season, and there were already a number of days when the threshold was met, he added.

Howse said he anticipated the shelter would be open by mid-December if not earlier. Some steps are still remaining before it goes into operation, he added. Mid-December through March 31 are the proposed dates of operation. An Emergency Services Grant from the CARES Act will fund part of the operation, according to UG information.

The shelter will decide by 8 a.m. each day whether it will be open, with information on it available at 913-214-1104.

Mayor Tyrone Garner said UG staff has jumped right at the situation and made the shelter happen. Its location and features were not an easy decision, but it was a community collaboration, with involvement from the community, he said.

The UG has a map of other current emergency warming centers, not shelters, that may be open in cold weather at https://unifiedgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/LocalPerspective/index.html?appid=d9aad8acbe92423caffbc6325f415e12

Holiday lighting show kicks off Friday night at Renaissance Festival grounds

Knights of Light, the third annual holiday lighting event at the Renaissance Festival, will kick off Friday, Nov. 25, at 130th and State Avenue, Bonner Springs.

Christmas lights and decorations will be placed at the festival’s buildings, celebrating with food entertainment, crafts and visits to Santa Claus.

The event will run from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays until Dec. 18, then will be open from Dec. 21 through Christmas Eve, as well as Dec. 30 and 31.

There will be a party at 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve for guests 21 and older.

Tickets are $20 per adult and $12 for children ages 5 to 12, with free admission for children under 5.

Children will receive free hot chocolate and every attendee will get a gift bag and a chance to win a prize.

Dogs also can attend — admission is $5 for dogs.

Tickets and information are available at www.kcrenfest.com.

Democrat Sawyer steps away from leadership post; Hawkins seeks job of Kansas House speaker

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Kansas House Democratic leader Tom Sawyer, first elected to the Legislature in 1986, said Tuesday he didn’t intend to seek the leadership job entering the 2023 session.

The announcement that Sawyer would step aside but remain in the House followed decisions by House Speaker Ron Ryckman and House Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch, both Republicans, not to seek reelection in 2022. House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, who was reelected, is expected to be chosen by peers to serve as House speaker for the two-year legislative cycle.

Sawyer, of Wichita, was House majority leader from 1991 to 1992, House minority leader from 1993 to 1998 and House minority leader since 2018. His final day in that role would be Jan. 9.

“Upon deep reflection, I believe it is time for me to step back and allow the caucus to have a new leader who will lead us and Kansans towards achieving these important goals,” Sawyer said. “It has been an honor of a lifetime to be entrusted with the responsibility to lead our caucus over the many years.”

Voting in the August primary and November general election left House Republicans with a two-thirds majority important when considering vetoes of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Democrats gained one seat to bring the caucus to 40 in the 125-member House. Democrats fell two seats short of breaking the GOP supermajority and offer more assistance to Kelly during her second term.

Sawyer, who ran for governor in 1998 and served four years as chairman of the Kansas Democratic Part, said he expected Democrats to expand their numbers in the House.

“This growth, which I hope to see continue in the coming years, will strengthen our position to advocate strongly for the issues that matter most to Kansans, such as tax relief, expanding Medicaid, fully funding public education including special education and legalizing medicinal marijuana,” he said.

Hawkins, who has served in the House since 2013, outlined in a letter to House Republicans a critique of the governor. He said Kelly botched handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed crime and inflation to rise and made anti-abortion policy an “afterthought.”

Individuals elected in November to serve in the 2023 Legislature will vote Dec. 5 on nominees for House speaker, House majority leader and House speaker pro tem as well as the top Democratic posts in the chamber.

Kansas Reflector stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/democrat-sawyer-steps-away-from-leadership-post-hawkins-seeks-job-of-house-speaker/