Category: Business

McDonald’s to raise funds for flood victims tonight

Tonight, McDonald’s will hold a fundraiser to help flood victims and relief efforts.

McDonald’s restaurants in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in St. Joseph, Missouri, are participating in the fundraiser from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 27.

Twenty percent of the sales generated between those hours will be donated to local American Red Cross chapters in Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, and other organizations that help flood victims. The proceeds will go to help communities devastated by Missouri River flooding.

The goal of the fundraiser throughout the area is $100,000 for flood relief efforts.

“I’m just pleased to have this opportunity to help,” Cassandra Savage, a McDonald’s owner-operator, said. She owns two McDonald’s restaurants in Kansas City, Kansas, one in Roeland Park, Kansas, and six other McDonald’s restaurants.

None of the local restaurants was affected by flooding, but communities such as St. Joseph, Missouri, Omaha, Nebraska, and along the Missouri River in other locations have suffered devastating losses from the flood.

“We were fortunate enough not to have any devastation at all,” Savage said. “That’s why we feel we are in a position to help them.”

BPU offers community solar program for commercial customers

The Board of Public Utilities has opened its BPU Community Solar Farm to commercial utility customers.

The solar farm has nearly 4,000 photovoltaic solar panels.

Commercial customers now will be able to have access to solar energy through the BPU’s solar farm program, that makes it affordable and accessible to everyone, a spokesman stated.

Previously, the community solar farm program was available only to residential customers.

“We are pleased to now offer BPU commercial customers the option of utilizing renewable solar energy that is produced right here in Wyandotte County,” said Don Gray, general manager of BPU, in a news release. “The Community Solar Farm provides simple, affordable access to solar energy for the entire community, with participants benefiting from reduced costs on their electric bills and the knowledge that they are reducing their individual carbon footprint.”

The BPU scores high on the renewable energy scale, with 45 percent of its power generation from renewable energy sources including wind, hydropower, landfill gas and solar.

Each of the 3,780 individual solar panels in BPU’s 1,000 KW Community Solar Farm will eliminate 12 tons of CO2, according to the spokesman. That’s the equivalent of reducing single automobile emissions of 23,500 miles, planting 278 trees, or recycling 37 tons of waste versus placing it in a landfill.

Commercial BPU customers will be able to lease from one to 500 solar panels over a multi-year period depending on the size of that commercial customer, while receiving a credit of approximately $3.20 a month for each panel on their utility bill. An initial one-time lease fee of $470 applies throughout the 25-year life of the farm, with the user option of selling the individual panel back to BPU if a participant moves out of the service area.

For more information on this new program, go to www.bpu.com/solar, call 913-573-9997, or email BPU at [email protected].

The BPU also will hold a free solar seminar for Kansas City, Kansas, residents on Tuesday, April 16.

The seminar will take place at the West Wyandotte Public Library, 1737 N. 82nd St., Kansas City, Kansas. Two sessions will take place, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 16.

Bonner Springs family makes custom knives

A Bonner Springs couple, Kevin and Cindy Scott, showed their custom-made knives at a gun and knife show on the weekend in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by William Crum)

by William Crum

One of the many things that makes Wyandotte County unique is the people and what they do.

One company that is based in Bonner Springs, Kansas, is called Scott’s Custom Knives.

Kevin Scott has been making knives for well over 15 years. Cindy Scott also makes knives for the company.

They have received numerous awards for craftsmanship. They’re located in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

On March 23 and 24, they were at a gun and knife show held at the KCI Expo Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

After talking to Scott, I learned a lot of what true craftsmanship really is. I was impressed. In my personal opinion, if you want custom knives this is the place to go.

Scott’s Custom Knives has a website at www.scottscustomknives.com.